Meal Planning Magic

Meal planning is something that I used to be really good at and made a BIG priority for myself. But since I've been living on my own, it's been a task that has dwindled on my list of priorities. Because my schedule can be all over the place, I find it more challenging to set a day to do my grocery shopping and meal prep and then stick to a meal plan when I'm running from worky to Corbin's house to rehearsal and everywhere else! I end up spending more money on take away food than I would like and I come home to a house that doesn't have a tonne of choices in the fridge and pantry.

This week I set out to be more diligent with my meal planning. I set a goal to bring a packed meal to all work shifts and rehearsals and made myself a little meal planner, complete with my schedule for each day. I'm happy to say that I was pretty successful!! I made some delicious meals, saved lots of money and had a great time cooking with Corbin on Monday and Tuesday.

Here are a couple of my favourites from the week!!

This taco salad from Choosing Raw was unbelievable!! We loved it so much!! I made the filling with walnuts, lentils and sundried tomatoes and changed up the spices a bit. The guac was incredible and cashew sour cream is one of my very favourite things. We enjoyed this for dinner one night and by lunch the next day I was CRAVING it! I love leftovers!!! We will be making this again. And again. And again.

I made these veggie bowls back in March for Corbin's birthday and we were obsessed with the ranch hummus that was on top of them! When I was looking through Pinterest trying to decide what to make for dinner on Tuesday, they popped up and I knew we had to have them again. I think they were even better the second time! We used fresh herbs in the hummus which made it extra green (and extra yummy) and had a handle on how to make the polenta this time around. They were so good! And also provided great leftovers for the next day. There are a lot of components, but with two of us pulling everything together in the kitchen it was actually pretty easy and came together in about 40 minutes.



For a treat, I decided to try out this One Bowl Gluten Free Banana Bread recipe and it turned out so well! It was really easy, I had most of the ingredients on hand and everyone who tried it really enjoyed it. They were also surprised that it was gluten and dairy free, which is always a good sign! It was just delicious banana bread. I will definitely be making this again! (Actually today, as I want to bring some to my cast for our last rehearsal tomorrow)

I'm really proud that I stuck to my plan this week and had a blast in the kitchen. While my meal planning may not be as structured as it used to be, I can still make it happen if I make it a priority! If you're super and on the go like I am, take the time to get some groceries and make a couple of yummy meals that you can enjoy throughout the week. Your tummy and your wallet will thank you!

What are your best meal planning tips? What was on your meal plan this week??

Cauliflower Pizza

The internet has gone nutty over the cauliflower pizza phenomenon. I'll admit that I was skeptical thinking, "How can cauliflower mush even pretend to taste like pizza crust?" anytime I saw another cauliflower pizza crust pop up on Pinterest.

Oh friends, I have crossed over to the dark side and it's DELICIOUS over here.

Not only is this cauliflower pizza crust super tasty, it's also really easy to make. We've already made it a second time and I think it will be a staple for dinners with us.

Cauliflower Pizza Crust 
(Gluten free)

Half a small head of cauliflower
1/2 cup shredded goat cheddar (or cheese of your choice)
1 egg
2 tbsp nutritional yeast
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1-2 cloves of garlic, crushed
1/2 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Add roughly chopped cauliflower to food processor and blitz until all cauliflower is in rice-like bits. Cook / steam for 5-8 minutes.

In a medium bowl, add 1 1/4 cup cauliflower bits, egg, cheese, nutritional yeast, spices and garlic. Mix until well combined.

Prep a cookie sheet with parchment paper and a bit of oil. Place your "dough" on the sheet and pat to form an equally distributed oval, that isn't super thin.

Bake crust for about 15-20 mins until golden and edges are starting to crisp up.

Once the crust has cooked, top your pizza with your favourite things! We used tomato sauce, sautéed bell peppers and mushrooms, red onion, sundried tomatoes and a bit more of the goat cheddar.

 Place topped pizza under broiler until cheese has melted. Remove from broiler and serve.

After you've made the recipe once or twice, feel free to play around with the cooking time and toppings. The second time around, Corbin left the crust in the oven for a bit longer (closer to 18-20 minutes) and it was awesome.

Are you interested in more yummy, healthy recipes like this one? From October 20-24 I'm going to be running a clean eating group through Facebook with lots of recipes, tips and tricks for healthy, delicious, clean eats. If you'd like to be included in the group, send me an email or connect with me on Facebook! 

Why I Pin + Amazing Weeknight Din

"What's the point?"

This is a question I was asked twice last week about Pinterest and I found myself launching into a diatribe about my affinity for the social media tool I use to collect and organize all sorts of fun things.

I was introduced to Pinterest by my awesome friend Amanda. She was an early adopter (and beta tester I'm pretty sure) for Pinterest and I remember glancing over at her desk in the spring of 2011 and seeing this scrapbook-like page with all sorts of pretty things. I soon got myself an account and started pinning up a storm.

I started with pretty things and snazzy things since as we all know, I love all things pink, sparkly and dress-related. It gave me an opportunity to organize all the things I saw that I loved and sometimes coveted, and in some ways helped me to define my style. I started following some of my favourite bloggers and brands and loved feeling inspired by their pins.

I loved being able to pin photos of recipes I found while perusing blogs. No longer was I bookmarking random recipes in google reader and then going back to try and find a recipe based on its title, I now had an awesome visual to associate with each delectable looking recipe and started to create new boards with varying categories and silly names (like 'where are the boys I have a milkshake' filled with popsicle and ice cream recipes and inspiration)

Using Pinterest with my blog designer helped me define exactly what I was looking for when my blog got overhauled last year. I don't think I could have been as cohesive with my colour choices and look/feel without it.

It's also ideal for the quote lover in me.

Most recently I've been pinning up a storm with wedding and bridesmaid ideas as we approach sweet Lindsay's wedding. It's been a blast to collaborate with Linz and the other bridesmaids on our dresses and accessories and hair and everything girly. We've collected a lot of awesome ideas and it has made wedding planning even more fun.

Right now I'm feeling a whole lot of Pinterest love thanks to last night's dinner:

A roasted sweet potato stuffed with kale, white beans, shallots and garlic, thanks to something I pinned months ago. It was easy and delicious; the perfect weeknight dinner with leftovers for lunchy. Thanks Pinterest. 

Pinterest has become one of my favourite corners of the internet and all of the above are reasons why. It's a happy place. Even my sweet potato can attest :)

If you don't already, take a minute to follow me on Pinterest so you can keep up with all the fun!

Do you pin?
Who do you love to follow?
What are some of your favourite uses for Pinterest?