Rain, rain go away

Sunday, July 26, 2009

Seriously, could someone tell me where to find summer? It appears to be missing and I'm starting to be concerned.Despite the lack of sunshine, I had a lot of fun this week! It was great to keep up with the Fruit & Veggie Challenge and fill my plate with lots of fruit/veggie goodness!!

On Sunday, Joey & I BBQ'd and it was delightful. I had a veggie burger, with asparagus and a salad with house dressing (I made it with half the oil and it was still amazing!) from the reFresh cookbook.

For dessert we chomped on a plate of watermelon, which was juicy and ripe and lovely.

On Monday I made pork chops with beans and salad after Booty Camp before heading to a Broadway dance class - what a busy night!

Luckily this was a super easy dinner to prepare and I had everything ready to go. It provided me with enough fuel to make it through the night. I really enjoyed both classes.

We also had (my favourite) kale & asparagus stir fry with rice and cucumber slices. So yummy!


This week I discovered the joys of quinoa porridge (inspired by Meals that Heal Inflammation). It was so easy to make and I loved the extras that were included (sometimes spices with almonds, cranberries and apple, another day it was banana) and it kept me full until lunch.

On Thursday I went out for dinner with Alicia and Vanessa to celebrate Alicia's 25th birthday. We went for Greek (as we often do) I had the grilled veggie souvlaki with mixed veggies, rice and a greek salad without feta (not shown)

It was a yummy meal and we really enjoyed ourselves chatting and catching up. Vanessa is heading to law school in September and Alicia is prepping to do her thesis so she can head to teacher's college next year. I am really proud of both of them!

Friday morning started off with some scrambled tofu.

I can't tell you how much I enjoy this. I think next time I will add more veggies. I think this would be awesome with mushrooms and peppers.

I decided to take a little adventure to the Annex for lunch. It started raining as soon as I got on the streetcar which really bummed me out. I got off at Bloor and headed into Trove to scope out some dresses and accessories. When I came out (empty handed) the sun was shining! I was suitably impressed with the sudden change of events! On my adventure I went to BMV and scored used copies of Fresh at Home and La Dolce Vegan for $8.99 each!! I felt so excited and lucky. I am such a big fan of reFresh and my other cookbook by Sarah Kramer so this was just awesome. I can't tell you how many of my cookbooks I have bought at BMV.

I used to visit Kensington Natural Bakery when I was going to musical theatre school years ago. They offer a variety vegetarian food options as well as a ton of gluten free and wheat free baked goods. I brought my lunch back to the office. Rice noodles with peas & cashews and mixed veggies.

It was just okay. I wasn't particularly impressed and the tofu kind of scared me. (It looked like it had pores) I did pick up a gluten free cookie which was crunchy and yummy and it made up for the lacklustre lunch.

On Friday night we went to Lori's house for a little housewarming/jazz fest goodness.

Check out all the food!!
I spent the night enjoying her homemade guacamole and salsa with corn chips and a ton of veggies. I brought some of my carob cherry cookies and once Lori had told everyone how good they were everyone started digging in!! I had a really fun night chatting with Lori and her friends over fantastic food.

On Saturday night I headed to a going away party from my friend Jessie.

She is like a little sister to me. I "adopted" her in high school and we became very close. She is one of the sweetest, kindest, most intelligent people I know and while I'm sad that she's moving (to England to teach at an arts school!!) I am excited for her to have this amazing opportunity. Plus, it leaves me with a reason to go to England!

What a busy week!!! Up next week- last two boot camp sessions (with new measurements!), more bellydancing and zumba, some book reviews and the latest challenge for fruits and veggies - try a new fruit or vegetable!


5 comments:

Nachos said...

I love love LOVE that you adore the ReFresh cookbook as much as I do!!

I made the granola last weekend and it was amazing (ok - I didn't follow it exactly... I left out the walnuts and made up the entire dried fruit portion in sultanas & dried goji berries only because I'm not normally a fan of dried fruit). It's so so yummy!!!

Is the veggie burger in your first photo the one from the book?


P.s. I've been reading your blog for a few months... you've totally inspired me to join a gym! [I'm a bit of a fatty at the moment!!]

My first day is tomorrow, they're gonna teach me how to use all the equipment etc. :D

Unknown said...

Great eating, Ash. How do you stay on track with your nutrition...seriously! I had a bit of a pizza binge yesterday but Kannan and I ran a 20k in the morning so we forgave ourselves. Reading your blog puts us right back on the "straight and narrow". Thanks for being so inspiring:)

Ashley Gibson said...

Nat - I love that you love it too!! The veggie burger was a store bought one. It's the SOL brand. I really like them and they are gluten free.

I hope youre first day at the gym goes well!!! Let me know how it goes. Be sure to check out the classes they offer - that's my favourite part! I'm not really a go-work-out-on-my-own kinda gal. I'm glad I could inspire you to get moving!

Robin - It's all about balance and moderation. You don't see everything I eat (I had pizza on Saturday night!) and I do have treats during the week. I try to show some of them on my blog but I don't want to get into the habit of putting everything up (gets a little boring and tedious!)

I do my best to have a healthy meal plan each week, bring my lunch usually 4/5 days at work and make good choices whenever possible. My gluten/dairy free-ness limits my choices at times but I do find treats that I can eat and enjoy.

Congratulations on your 20k - YOU are inspiring my dear!!

LauraA said...

Go with your instincts and add peppers and mushrooms to your tofu scramble...it's so yum! Green onions too if you like them/can eat them...maybe some taco spices!sq

VeganLisa said...

What great book finds. I have both on my shelves and highly recommend them.

I'm really excited to have found your blog. I love seeing Toronto through other's eyes.

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