Tuesday's Tune - April 30th, 2013

Today's tune is Reggae inspired, in honor of my friends leaving for Jamaica today.

Lucky bitches.

Cheers!

xo

WHO knew?

Hello! Happy Monday :)
What a beautiful weekend we just had in Hudson! Finally starting to feel like Summer is on its way!

As mentioned in previous posts, I am really trying to live a healthier lifestyle! I love taking healthy tips from Magazines, Pinterest, and Friends. A couple of month's ago, my girlfriend's nutritionist mentioned adding the spice Turmeric to her meals. After looking up the benefits of Turmeric, I was seriously blown away! It's crazy to think we have all these powerful natural remedies, right at the tip of our hands!

Here are 10 Health Benefits of this beautifully colored spice!

• It is a natural antiseptic and antibacterial agent, useful in disinfecting cuts and burns.
• Prevented breast cancer from spreading to the lungs in mice.
• May prevent melanoma and cause existing melanoma cells to commit suicide.
• Is a natural liver detoxifier.
• May prevent and slow the progression of Alzheimer's disease by removing amyloyd plaque buildup in the brain.
• It is a potent natural anti-inflammatory that works as well as many anti-inflammatory drugs but without the side effects.
• Has long been used in Chinese medicine as a treatment for depression.
• May aid in fat metabolism and help in weight management.
• Has been shown to stop the growth of new blood vessels in tumors.
• May help in the treatment of psoriasis and other inflammatory skin conditions.

Crazy right? Turmeric is in the same family as one of my favorite's, Ginger. I really enjoy cooking with Turmeric, because the flavor is very light, but the bright yellow color, adds beauty to any dish! Turmeric is great with fish, rice, and any vegetable.

Here's a creation from a few months ago. Very easy, and extremely healthy!

Tuna Lettuce Wraps

1 Can of Tuna
Iceberg Lettuce
Half the juice of a Lemon
6 Kalamata Olives Chopped
2 Green Onions Chopped
1 Tablespoon Ground Turmeric
Sea Salt & Pepper

Combine ingredients into a bowl.
Removed Iceberg Lettuce leaves carefully, place 1/2 cup of Tuna mixture on lettuce and roll.

Cheers!

xo

*Info from http://www.healthdiaries.com/eatthis/20-health-benefits-of-turmeric.html

Tuesday's Tune - April 23rd, 2013

Sweet like Candy to my Soul.

LOVE this remix... oldie but a goodie, my gf played it over the weekend, and I forgot how great it is!!

Cheers!



Start your day off right!

What do you eat for breakfast? For years I didn't eat anything, terrible I know. It was when I started working in an office that I realised how essential it was. So for the past couple of years, I would just do toast & low fat yogurt when I got into the office, but after learning from friends and doing some research, I realised that I had it all wrong. Instead of my toast & low fat yogurt, I opted for a shake for the drive in, and an organic hard boiled egg for when I arrive. This keeps me full all the way till noon, but I do think its important to keep your metabolism up, so I enjoy having some fruits and nuts in between breakfast & lunch!

Today I'm going to share with you this delicious shake recipe that I created just over a month ago! Just by switching up certain foods, (ie low fat to full fat yogurt, and eliminating bread) and incorporating new ones, I've noticed a huge difference!

Ingredients:

3 Tablespoons Goat Yogurt (2% or full fat)
1/2 Cup Frozen berries
2 Tablespoons Ground Flax Seeds
1 Tablespoon Chia Seeds
Handful of fresh Spinach
3/4 Cup Organic Soy Milk


Blend all ingredients & voila! Because the Chia Seeds absorb liquids like crazy, I would suggest you drink it asap.

Now I know you're probably thinking Goat yogurt & Seeds what? But give it a chance! Goat dairy is much better for you than Cow dairy, our bodies burn & break down the fats much easier. Its hard to train yourself to think otherwise (took me a while) but low fat anything, is terrible for you! It just basically means that they've removed the fat and replaced it with chemicals! So if you're not sold on the Goat yogurt, fine, but at least go for a full fat Greek yogurt instead! We will get into the benefits of Chia & Flax seeds another day, but trust me when I say that they're PACKED with nutrients. Because of their natural gelatin properties, they absorb the liquids and make you feel fuller, for longer. Both can be purchased at your local health food stores, or even your local Bulk Barn (where I buy them).

Cheers!

xo

Tuesday's Tune - April 16th, 2013

Rude, condescending, and pompous, are just some of the words that come to mind when thinking of Kanye West. I'm sure after his Taylor Swift stunt, a lot of you felt the same way as I did towards him, pissed off. Still to this day it annoys me, what a prick for taking away that moment from her!! BUT, I gotta say... if there's one word that does describe this jerk, its talented. I actually boy-cotted his music for years, but recently I've been listening to his earlier albums, specifically "Graduation", released in 2007. Really good stuff, doesn't take away that he's still a total douche bag in my books, but I do appreciate his music, I'll give him that.


So today's tune is off his 2007 album "Graduation", featuring the ever so talented Chris Martin from Coldplay. Enjoy!

Cheers!

xo

Happy Friday!

So the Weather Network was originally forecasting 20cm of snow for the Montreal area, parts of Ontario, and parts of the US. Seems like insanity considering we're half way through April?! But in retrospect, I guess this isn't unheard of, we've just been used to shorter Winters! 
"BIG" surprise though, they were wrong for Montreal, seems to be mostly rain! (Word)

This morning I thought to myself, what makes people happy on sunny days, AND on rainy days? Alcohol!! (Well, it makes me happy anyways.. don't judge.) My girlfriend sent me THE most amazing cocktail recipe... the ingredients just make my mouth water, and quite frankly anything to do with a little bubbly, I'm sold!
So if you're feeling like you need a little pick me up from all this terrible weather, check out this recipe below!

Photo from http://kirantarun.com

Citrusy Champagne Sangria

Ingredients:

• 4 cups freshly squeezed grapefruit juice
• 1 cup ginger ale
• 1 lemon, thinly sliced
• 1 blood orange, thinly sliced
• 3 clementines, thinly sliced
• 1 honey crisp apple, thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup pomegranate arils
•  1/4 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup water
• pinch of salt
• 1 bottle of chilled champagne

Directions:

1. Prepare simple syrup by stirring sugar and water until sugar completely dissolves. Keep in refrigerator to chill while prepping other ingredients.
2. In a tall pitcher, add all fruits + grapefruit juice + salt + simple syrup and ginger ale . Chill in refrigerator for a few hours, preferably overnight.
3. To serve, add sangria in a fancy-schmancy glass and top it with bubbly champagne!

Sounds delish no? My girlfriends and I, are making an impromptu turkey dinner tomorrow night, you definitely know what will  be on the cocktail list ;-)

Cheers!

*Recipe from http://kirantarun.com

Better late, than never!

Hello!!
Wow it's been a while, I know! "Life is what happens to you when you're busy making other plans". Love that quote, it describes my life perfectly over the past 6 months.

I've been busy with house hunting, as well as working on a healthier lifestyle for myself!
Anybody who's house hunted before, and/or goes to the gym, can relate with me on how time consuming each of these things can be. I won't lie, house hunting is fun and exciting n' all, but it's also extremely stressful and nerve racking. ANYTHING can happen, that is the advice that I give to all you future first time home buyers! 
Also, and I know I'm not alone when saying that this has been a terribly LONG winter. As a result I've suffered from minor seasonal depression. My friends and I, often blame our problems on the weather, what about you? The other month I was listening to CJAD (I am officially my father), and they were discussing how seasonal depression is a legit condition, many people suffer from it and don't even realise it. So having said that, I am extremely happy Spring is here, and that Summer is on it's way!

As mentioned, I've been really trying to live a healthier lifestyle. This means working out, eating healthier, avoiding processed foods, and just simply paying attention to what I am putting in my body! Don't get me wrong, I still cheat, I eat junk once in a while, and on a hangover I will definitely destroy a poutine (ha). But in general, I've been having so much fun exploring super foods, their benefits, and creating daily recipes out of food that I would have normally never even cared to look at! My plan for this blog, is to continue on with my cupcake love, but to also share my healthy tips & recipes with you all!

So stayed tuned for new meals, cupcake ideas and products, and of course, new music ;-)

Cheers!

xo