Ohmmm

I have so many nut butters now, I barely even know what to do with them. I think I have more nut butters than any single person really needs. I have peanut butter (2 jars!), chocolate peanut butter, almond butter, macadamia nut butter, nutella, tahini and coconut butter. Oh my gosh! How did I end up with so much? I'm on a nut butter-buying ban until some of these jars disappear, no matter how delicious it looks in the store!

I decided to dip into an old favourite - nutella - for breakfast today.

I had it on a bagel that's been in my freezer for ages now, with some strawberries. I always forget how much I love nutella until I have it again! I remember when I was a child my mom would very rarely buy it because I would just sit and eat it with a spoon from the jar. Pure heaven.

I had a very busy day at work, and even though I brought my lunch I ended up eating a quarter chicken meal from Swiss Chalet. I still ate the apple and Kashi bar I brought as a snack, but the picture of the whole thing will have to wait until tomorrow!

I ended up going shopping after work because I was in desperate need of tank tops for the gym (I picked up 4 for about $20!), and got home later than expected. I knew I wouldn't have time to cook anything before yoga, so I had a bowl of strawberries to tide me over.

Yoga was just okay - the regular instructor still wasn't back due to an injury, and I'm not a big fan of her substitute. It was more like an hour of very light stretching and meditation, which I wasn't too worried about because I'm still so sore from yesterday.

Dinner was butter-lemon spaghetti with shrimp, and I bulked it up with some cherry tomatoes.

It was good - not the best dinner I've ever made, but still pretty tasty. Now I'm just tired, and can't wait to curl up in bed with my book, and some chocolate and tea.

Goodnight bloggies!

What kind of nut butter do you like best?

I Heart Supermarkets

I love grocery shopping. It might even be an addiction, that's how much I love it! There's something relaxing about browsing the aisles, finding foods you've never tried before, and comparing brands. I could spend hours in a grocery store.

Isn't the produce section pretty from above?

I recently joined a gym that shares a space with a grocery store, and it's basically the perfect combination for me. I go to the grocery store and the gym's right there, so I feel like I might as well get a workout in too ;) And then I'm still on my endorphin high from my workout when I'm choosing my food, so I tend to shop healthier. Today I picked up enough produce to feed a small army:

For a pretty reasonable price :)

By the time I got home I was starving, so I ate a date (plus a few more) while dinner was cooking.

I also had a little of the wine from last night.

The coconut shrimp from last night was so good that I made the same thing tonight! This time I served it with some cheesy mustard cauliflower and some wilted spinach (needed to use up my old supply to make room for the new container), and it was just as delicious.

I kept up the tropical theme for dessert, and had some non-fat yogurt with pineapple and caramel sauce.

Mmm, caramel sauce :)

I was still craving something a little chocolatey after my dessert, so I made a mug of chocolate spice tea and had a square of dark chocolate with it.

I never know where my time goes at night! One minute I'm finishing work, and the next it's already after 11:00. I feel ready for bed but I still have a bunch of things that need to be done. Hopefully I won't be up too late!

Do you like grocery shopping?

Trip Recap

I'm back! I spent the last 2 days shopping, moving, and enjoying all kinds of food - definitely a successful trip.

Wednesday

I was really impressed by Whole Foods, although I can definitely see why some people would call it "Whole Paycheck". I almost had a heart attack when I saw some of the prices lol. I was very selective with the groceries I bought, but I still managed to get some nice things - Peanut Butter Puffins, unsweetened soymilk, Maranatha Almond Butter, blueberry spread, agave nectar, unsweetened shredded coconut, bulk pecans and walnuts, and a loaf of oat bran bread. Can't wait to try everything :)

After my shopping, I got the most delicious lunch EVER. I wish I lived close to a Whole Foods just so I could come for the lunch!

I got Asian Pear & Ginger Kombucha tea thinking it would be really good, but it was just okay -nothing spectacular. :\

Here's a closer view of all the food I got - I basically tried a little bit of everything, and it was all fantastic! My favourites were the hummus (bottom right corner), the chickpea and date couscous (top left corner), and the cauliflower bistro dish (right below the couscous). Hands down the cauliflower was my favourite of the three, but at the bistro bar it was missing the tag that lists the name and ingredients, so I guess I'm destined to not know what was in it. I'll have to keep an eye out for it next time!

Last piece of cauliflower :'(

For dessert, I enjoyed a sample of some endangered species chocolate.

Yum!

(You can also see my favourite painting in the back of the car where I ended up eating the chocolate - I love the deer!)

After my amazing trip to Whole Foods, I met up with my mom for dinner at Canyon Creek. I was in the mood for a glass of wine, and my mom recommended the Peller Estates 'Heritage' Chardonnay, which was excellent and was exactly what I wanted. Thanks mom! ;) She ordered the Peller Estates Cabernet-Merlot, which she said was also good.

I helped myself to the multigrain bread and honey butter before the meal. The bread basket is definitely my weakness!

I had been all set to order the Seared Tuna Salad that I wasn't able to try the last time I was at Canyon Creek, but I just wasn't in the mood for it, so I changed my mind last minute, and instead ordered the Pan-Seared Halibut:

"Thick cornflake and Parmesan-crusted fillet on a bed of sautéed baby spinach and peppers with tomato-caper hollandaise. Served with sour cream ‘n’ chives mashed potatoes"

I decided to substitute seasonal veggies for mashed potatoes. My mom ordered the Simply Fish:

"Fresh grilled fillet marinated in extra virgin olive oil, citrus and white wine, seasoned with smoked Alderwood sea salt and lemon pepper. Served over sautéed spinach with cipollini onions, peppers and a mixture of seasonal vegetables"

My meal arrived looking delicious.

The meals were both excellent, but my mom was disappointed that "seasonal veggies" meant "one giant piece of broccoli", because she hates broccoli so she ended up just eating her fish, while I got double broccoli.

We passed on dessert because my mom had a Terry's Dark Chocolate Orange waiting for us at home, most of which disappeared without getting photographed :( Oops.

Thursday

Today was just a random shopping day spent bouncing around random locations in the GTA. This morning when I woke up I had some of the bread I bought from Whole Foods with my new Maranatha Almond Butter, and it was AMAZING. I'm now converted! I wish I had the jar with me right now so I could have some more!

After lazing around all morning, I made my way over to J-Town in Markham for some grocery shopping and lunch.

The bento I got was very simple, but it was actually really good. I must've really been craving some old-school Japanese food pretty badly, because I've never really been a Japanese pickle-person, but I was really enjoying the flavours of everything, even the umeboshi (pickled plum). I also had some Milk Coffee Pocky and oolong tea with my meal.

I spent the rest of the day driving around and shopping a bit - mostly just looking, because nothing really caught my attention. While at Vaughan Mills I ran into my favourite smoothie place ever, Jugo Juice. There used to be one right where I live, but it was bought out by one of the employees and turned into an independent smoothie store I didn't like as much, and now the closest one is an hour drive away :( Now whenever I see one, I always feel like I have to get a smoothie, just because I can!

I usually get their Green Tea Buzz smoothie, but their current featured smoothie (Blind Date - bananas, dates, non-fat milk and low-fat frozen yogurt) sounded so good I decided to try it instead of my regular.

It was amazing! I really liked how the chunks of date were chewy, so the smoothie felt more like a real meal because there was actually something to chew on. It was very sweet, probably because the fruits in it are naturally very sweet, and it just tasted great! I would definitely get it again.

After the drive back home, I met up with Nathan and a friend of ours for beers at Morty's to celebrate being done with exams. I got a glass of Rickard's Red, and we enjoyed a couple plates of wings and fries, mmm :)

Nathan enjoyed the wings ;)

You'd think after all the food I'd be absolutely stuffed, but I'm actually still hungry! Weird, huh? I'm also exhausted, so I think after a few snacks it's bedtime for me. Tomorrow I have to be up nice and early, because Nathan and I are going on a romantic overnight trip to Buffalo before we both begin work for the next few months. We're going to visit my favourite restaurant while we're there, so I'm really excited!

Wonder what it is? ;) Guess you'll just have to wait and find out!

Goodnight, and I'll see you all after my trip! ♥

Chocolatey Oatmeal Goodness

This morning I was still craving chocolate, so I made some chocolate oats.

In the bowl:

• 1/2 cup quick oats
• 1/2 cup chocolate almond milk
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 small banana
• 1 tbsp Dark Chocolate Dreams peanut butter
• cocoa-dusted almonds

I'm getting ready now to go out for a Farmer's Market date with Nate ;) I need to hurry because he should be here any minute!