Check out the new blog I’ve started for a project in my Interactive Marketing class!

We were asked to create a blog about something we’re passionate about on the Blogger website, and since I’ve already got this blog as my baby, I decided to do something somewhat related, but with a twist! It’s still new, and still in the works… But I really like the direction it’s going in!

It puts a primary focus on:

• Vegan/vegetarian foods
• Fitness related entries
• Reviews on random products focused on fitness and vegetarian/vegan food
• My own personal progress with P90x
• And there will also be some recipes thrown in because it’s impossible for me to have a blog without that!

One of my favourite sweet things to eat is carob. In powder form, solid form, whatever. It tastes awesome, and you don’t have to add any sugar to it! Oh, did I mention I’m also not really eating sugar? Some foods I eat have sugar in it, but not a lot… I haven’t opened up a bag/jar of sugar (white or brown) for a month, maybe longer. I was using honey, but then decided to give agave nectar a try. What a good decision! That stuff tastes great.

Anyways, here’s a recipe that I put together to satisfy that sweet tooth that pops up screaming for chocolate every once in a while! I’ve made this a few times now, one of the times being for a presentation in front of a group for a health and wellness class. The response was great, everyone loved them! There wasn’t a single one left, which was awesome, because that means a few people had more than one…

I did a print out with the recipe for people, so instead of writing out the recipe here, I’ll just post a picture of the recipe. It’s so simple, anyone can do it! If you decide to make this, and have ANY questions or are confused, ask away! Hope you enjoy!

Note: mix all ingredients together in a food processor!

Mmmmm....

Vegan Tortilla Pizza

Ingredients:

• 1 whole wheat tortilla wrap
• About 3 tbsp sauce (recipe below)
• 1/4 cup Daiya Vegan Cheese (this is easily my favourite non-dairy, non-soy “cheese”! You would not be able to tell that it’s not real cheese, and I’m really picky when it comes to cheese…)
• Basil for garnish, because it looks pretty.

Method:

• Set oven to broil at about 425 F.
• Spread the sauce over the tortilla, leaving about 1cm around the edges.
• Sprinkle the “cheese” over the saucy tortilla.
• Pop it in the oven, and let it sit in there until the “cheese” is melted, and the edges of the tortilla are starting to brown.
• Serve with some basil sprinkled on top, and enjoy!

Sauce Ingredients:

• 1 pint cherry/grape tomatoes
• 1 bunch of basil
• 1/4 cup walnuts (I know, it seems weird! It tastes great though…)
• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4 tsp sea salt
• Pinch of freshly ground pepper

Sauce Method:

• Place all ingredients in a food processor, and process until smooth! Simple as that. Store it in the fridge for 5 days at the most.

Now here’s some pictures, because I’m one of those people who likes to take pictures of their food.

Into the chopper you go!

If you haven't tried this stuff yet, you should!

Finished product, YUMMY!

I also have other reasons why I no longer want to eat meat, such as it doesn’t make me feel good inside. In any way. The way it makes my stomach feel is just horrible; I feel lethargic and bloated when I eat meat. The way it makes my mind and heart feel when I stop pushing the thought out of my mind that the meat most of us eat is filled with disgusting crap and the animals are basically tortured, is just horrible. I don’t feel as though I have enough knowledge or willpower to become vegan any time in the near future, but I do know that I can at least keep meat off of my plate. I know that a lot of people, for some strange reason, get a little weird when they see that someone is deciding to no longer eat meat. I’ve never understood this, as what we all eat is our own personal choice. On that same note, I don’t like it when people are “preachy” and judgemental towards those who DO decide to eat meat.

So what is the point of me writing this in my recipe blog? Well, it’s my blog, and if I want to write about something… Well, gosh darn it, I will. Really though, it makes me feel more motivated to write it “out here” in the internet world, because it gives me a strange sense of accountability. Also, even though there are recipes in this blog that have meat in them, there will be no more recipes containing meat. Instead, I will be posting healthier recipes, and more recipes that are alternative versions of their meat-filled sisters. I’m not going to go back through old entries to edit things, because at that point in time, the recipe was what it was.

I’m pretty excited about this, because I’ve been very much into eating clean for a while… The addition of this makes me feel really good about what I’m going to be putting into my body, and gives me a lot of motivation in keeping with my fitness goals.

Well, that’s my thoughts for this evening. It’s late, and I have to be up at 5:00am. So goodnight for now, people on the internet!

-Nikki

Post-video posting thought: hmm… What a strange still of the video that shows up on the preview! Makes me look like the old lady on the episode of The Simpsons where Lisa gets lost on her way to the museum… The lady I’m talking about, she’s the one trying to get Lisa to buy an octopus or squid or something… Then she pushes it up against the window of a phone booth and says ”You buy it! You buy it!”… Ugh…

I also seem to talk with an upward inflection. Maybe it’s because I get nervous in front of a camera? <–That’s me mocking my upward inflections… ha… ha… ha…

Click below to see the written version of the recipe/method!

Roasted Chickpeas

Ingredients:

• 1 can of chick peas
• 1-2 tbsp evoo
• spices (I used cayenne pepper, paprika, cumin, sea salt, and a pinch of curry powder)

Method:

• Pre heat oven to 400 F.
• Mix all ingredients in a bowl.
• Spread 3/4 of the chickpeas in a roasting pan, and bake in the oven for 45 minutes, checking/stirring the chickpeas every 15 minutes or so.

Chickpea Tuna Salad

Ingredients:

• The remaining 1/4 of the chickpea mixture
• 1 small can of lemon pepper tuna (or any flavour you like)
• 1 serving of brown rice

Method:

• Mix it all together, and eat!

Here’s the link to my original apple crumble recipe!

Here’s some pictures!

In the oven!

Mmmmmmm!

Peanut Butter Cookie Dough Protein Balls

Ingredients:

• 1 scoop vanilla protein powder
• 1/4 cup quick cooking rolled oats
• 1 tsp cocoa powder
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tbsp carob chips
• 3 tbsp natural peanut butter (or nut butter of your choice)
• 2 tbsp honey

Method:

• Mix all ingredients together in a bowl with your hands, and roll the dough out into little balls.
• Place in a plastic baggie, and pop them in the fridge.
• Let them harden for at least an hour. You can eat them right away if you like, but they taste better after being in the fridge for a bit.

An army of protein balls!

So click below to check out my review!

Decor:
The outside is a little boring, but I like how simple it is. On the inside, it’s cozy, but looks like it needs a little help from Restaurant Makeover. (EDIT: I’ve seen that this place actually has been on Restaurant Makeover… I had a good laugh at that! It actually looks a little run down now compared to how it looked right after the makeover…) This place is pretty big, and in a great location, so it really does have potential to be awesome. Maybe couches/chairs and coffee tables instead of diner-style seating would be an improvement for the owners to consider. The menus are pretty cluttered, so unless you already know what you’re going to order, it may take a while to figure things out… My suggestion is to stick to just a coffee, espresso, latte, cappuccino, or tea.
Service: I only saw one woman working there, but it wasn’t busy at all so I guess that’s fine. For the size/capacity of the place, I hope that during busier times they have at least one other person working. The woman working there tonight was really friendly though, so no complaints there!
Food:
They have pastries from Dufflets, so again, no complaints there! Though in terms of originality, they should try having their own baked goods instead of getting them from another bakery. It’s always a let down when I go into a cafe, and they’re selling someone else’s food. I didn’t try any of their cooked foods, because I had a funny feeling that I would have been waiting for a while to be served… So I ordered a lemon tart (mmmmmm!!!!!), and an espresso. The espresso was pretty good (but not the city’s best), not sure what brand of coffee they use though. I also didn’t know if they had any specialty drinks because as mentioned above, the menu at the front was too cluttered to actually read.
Price:
Wow. For an espresso and a lemon tart, I paid between $7-$8. That’s pretty much what I’d spend at Starbucks for one of my usual orders (beverage and a treat). So after paying, my expectations were that the coffee and treat would be better than what I can get at Starbucks. Not so much… In fact, for that price, I can go to the cafe down the road from where I live and order: 1 coffee, 1 espresso, and 2 fancy pastries. And the place down the road from me is pretty darn good… At the risk of sounding cheap, it was a bit expensive for what I got. I’ve read that they have that $3.99 breakfast, so there’s obviously cheaper items there, but I haven’t seen anything good about it on here, so I’d probably never order it.
This place really does have potential to be a great hang out spot, but to be honest I would probably go to a Starbucks instead. That way, if I’m paying $7 for my coffee and treat, at least I know it’s going to be amazing.

Click here to see more reviews on my Yelp profile!  

I can’t believe it’s 2012 already!

Without going into detail, I’ve gotta say that 2011 was a year filled with good and bad. There were definitely memories made, tears shed, and laughs had. It was a year where I learned a lot about life, and about myself. As I’m sure many people did!
Here’s to hoping that 2012 is filled with good things for everyone! *raises glass*

Now that I’m settling into my new place, I’ll be posting entries a little more often! I don’t make resolutions for the new year, but if I DID make one, it would be to post more in this blog. Now that I’m back in Toronto, I’ll be wandering around the GTA a little more, posting more reviews, and letting all of you out there know about some hot little foodie gems hiding around this wonderful city. This new year feels like a fresh, new start. So in honour of that, I will also be making a few changes to the layout and feel of this blog! Check back soon to see!

For now, that’s all. I have a lot of spring cleaning to do… Wait, no. That doesn’t sound right… Winter cleaning? Hmm… I don’t know. Just cleaning. Then I’m going to head out to a few of my favourite spots in the downtown core! So until my next post, enjoy your day!

Love, Nikki

So I decided to put together my SUPER EASY eggnog latte along with a review for the Starbucks 2011 Christmas Blend, and here’s what I got: A video. Yay! I also talk about using a stove-top espresso maker… I make a mistake describing how to use it (at 3:30, oops! ), but I correct it… I also talk a lot… But hey, if you read this blog, you should be used to how much I ramble about things by now!

The video was filmed and edited on an iPad 2 and the iMovie App! Such an awesome application, and so easy to use!