Salba

he other day I picked up some Salba from my local health food store. I had never had it before, and the packaging did not give a lot of information about what it was.

Salba is one varietal of the chia seed. According to sourcesalba.com, Salba is "the only ancient grain for which there are acute and long-term human nutritional studies." It is also the only food to hold a medical patent (for its ability to manage blood sugar).

Gram for gram, Salba has 15x more magnesium than broccoli, 2.5x more protein than kidney beans, and 6x more calcium than milk. It is full of omega 3 fatty acids (8x more than salmon) as well as folate, potassium, and antioxidants. It is gluten-free, and certified Non-GMO.

Salba is grown in Peru, and each seed is handpicked. It is more nutritious than chia seeds.



I tried some this morning in my strawberry banana smoothie (1 cup unsweetened almond breeze, 1/2 cup strawberries, 1/2 banana, 1 tsp Salba, 1 tsp hemp seeds):



I also had a slice of toast with tomato and mozza:



Rewind to yesterdays eats ...

Breakfast was 1 grapefruit, 1 yellow pepper, 1 apple and 1/2 cup OJ blended into a juice:





I also had 1 slice of French toast:



I was very productive yesterday, getting lots of errands done. I went to the farmer's market around noon and picked up some produce:



Lunch was leftover veggie and tofu stir fry.

Dinner last night was tilapia, roasted potatoes, and snap peas with hummus:





Have you ever tried Salba? What is the most "nutrient dense" food that you incorporate into your diet?

ou really need to try a VOO Parfait - you don't know what you are missing!

Chocolate Vegan Overnight Oats with Raspberry Banana Soft serve

- 1/3 cup quick oats
- 1 scoop chia seeds
- just over 2/3 cup unsweetened chocolate almond breeze

Mix together and refrigerate overnight. Layer with soft serve (Raspberry banana soft serve - 1 frozen banana, 1/4 frozen raspberries and approx. 1/4 cup almond breeze, blended together in Vita-Mix or food processor).





This breakfast is extremely filling, yet VERY healthy. I ate it around 9:30 this morning and it kept me full until 2:00 this afternoon.

For lunch I was craving eggs. I made Mediterranean baked eggs.

Mediterranean Baked Eggs

- 1/4 of a red pepper, minced
- 1 T feta
- 2 eggs
- 3 T almond unsweetened regular almond breeze/ milk
- 3 black olives, minced
- sprinkle of oregano and pepper

Mix into a greased individual baking dish, and bake @ 400 for 20 minutes.





I spent the afternoon running errands and shopping for back to work clothes. One week from today I go back to work! I cannot believe how fast the summer has gone by - I am going to savour the last of my days off.

Dinner this evening was a tofu and veggie stir fry.





The stir fry included: Tofu, Onion, Red Pepper, Zucchini, Baby Corn, Water Chestnuts, Sprouts, and Sauce (soy, hot chili sauce, sweet chili sauce).

Later in the evening I went out to play a card game with some friends. I had a small cup of soup, and 2 drinks, and stayed up past my bedtime (hence the late night/ early morning post).

What is your favourite ingredient to put in a stir fry?
Do you have any good stir fry sauce recipes? I would love some new ideas!

CSN Stores: Tea Kettle Review

hen aspects of my life are out of balance (even by a little bit) I feel it physically. I got very little sleep a couple of the last nights we were camping, and today I felt the effects. I had a terrible headache and couldn't keep my breakfast or lunch down. I started feeling better by the end of the day, and my headache is almost gone now. I spent most of the day trying to sleep my headache away and keep food down.

Breakfast was a green monster with 1 large scoop of Amazing Grass, 1 cup unsweetened Almond Breeze, 1 T almond butter, 1 frozen banana:



Lunch was a small portion of wild rice, with a half a can of tuna
(mixed with light mayo & Dijon mustard):



Since I immediately lost my breakfast and lunch after consuming them, I was very hungry by about 2:00, and had a snack of Source Vanilla yogurt with a sprinkle of chocolate chips and coconut, and 1 T PB:



This was my first time stirring PB into my yogurt, and it was great! I see why this is so popular among food bloggers. I kept this snack down - thankfully.

When my stomach is not feeling well, the best thing I can eat is soup. I had a bowl of mushroom soup with a few crackers for dinner, along with 2 egg whites with hot sauce.

Dessert this evening was a bowl of fruit:



CSN Store Review: Product Review

I have worked with the people at CSN Stores quite a few times in the past, and they recently offered to send me a Kitchen Aid Kettle to try and review. The hubby and I have never owned a kettle, but he has been bugging me to get one ... needless to say, we jumped at the opportunity. I was happy to see it waiting for me in the mail when I returned from camping.

The kettle I chose was:

KitchenAid Cookware Gourmet Essentials 2.25 Quart Soft Grip Tea Kettle in Pear





Pros:

- Ordering with CSN Stores was extremely easy

- The product was shipped in a very timely matter, and they even upgraded the shipping

- The Kettle is very visually appealing. I LOVE the colour! It comes in various other funky colours as well :-)

- The soft grip handle makes it very easy and comfortable to hold and carry to the stove when it is full of water.

- The water boiled in under 3 minutes.

- The kettle let out a audible squeal when the water was boiled - I could hear it well over the TV.

Cons:

- The unique handle is a little awkward when trying to pour from the kettle, especially for a lefty like me.

- The kettle is smaller than other models I have seen, and might not be big enough for everyone.

Overall, I love my new kettle. It is super cute!




(Honey Ginger Green Tea)

Something else came in the mail when I was gone camping ...



Yipppppppppppeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! I have been a reader of Caitlin's blog from the beginning, and followed her journey as she came up with the Operation Beautiful movement, got a book deal, wrote her book, and then celebrated its release. It is surreal to be reading a book and know some of the stories and people in it. Many of the people who are featured in the book I "know" from the blogging world. Caitlin called for her readers to submit their stories, and their Operation Beautiful messages, which she then compiled in the book. Looking back I wish I had shared a story or message with her - it would have been neat to have been featured in the book!

Is your story or Operation Beautiful Message in the book?

Do you use a kettle? What kind? What do you use it for the most?

The hubby and I never used a kettle before because we had a water cooler that also supplied boiling hot water. It recently broke.

Home From Camping and Giveaway Winner

ome sweet home!

After a wonderful week of sleeping in a tent, and relaxing outside, I am happy to be home. I came home to a few surprises in the mail (I will show you tomorrow), and a whole lot of entries for my Mystery Giveaway.

Without further ado, the winner of Mystery Giveaway #2 is:

Chosen by a random number generator: 134

Congratulations to Kat from Keep'n the Faith! Please send me your mailing address and I will send out your mystery package!

I had a lot of great eats over the past week. Here is a selection of some of my meals:


(Breakfast scramble)


(small veggie sub)




(French Toast)


(Salmon and Asparagus)


(Steak and Potatoes)


(Bacon and Eggs)


(Ribs, corn and sweet potatoes)


(Spaghetti and Jarred tomato sauce)


(Garlic bread)


(Pancakes)


(Chili from scratch)


(Cinnamon bun)

This is just a selection, as I spent most of my time relaxing while camping and didn't take a whole lot of pictures. Most of my eats were along the same lines of the pics I posted (add in a burger, some salad, smokies, fruit, cookies, chips, beer...). I also had some incredible pink grapefruit gelato that I am going to try and recreate this week.

I am happy to report that there were WAY less bugs on this trip than my last camping trip in July, and the weather was WAY better than the camping trip I went on in May.

I am excited to be home to enjoy my last FULL week of summer holidays. I have a lot on the agenda for this week, and I plan on eating a LOT of fruits and veggies to make up for those I missed while camping.

What is the longest you have ever been away from home?
Do you get home sick? Did you as a kid?

The longest I have been away from home is about 2 weeks. I don't get homesick, but I do like getting home to everyday life sometimes.

I am going to crash hard tonight - g'night!

Gone Camping & Mystery Giveaway #2

omorrow morning the hubby and I and a bunch of our friends are heading off for a week long camping trip. We will be tenting it from Sunday - Sunday, and I am so excited!

I won't be blogging for the week, but I will be back on Sunday 15th.

Last night we went to the exhibition/fair and wandered around, saw the rides, looked at the exhibits, and watched Roller Derby, and Weird Al. Dinner was typical fair food - I had a couple bites of a corn dog, 1/2 slice of pizza, some fries, and a few mini donuts.

You know, healthy stuff.

Breakfast this morning was 2 eggs and 2 pieces of dry toast.



Lunch was mac and cheese and an orange.

We have been cleaning out our fridge so we wouldn't have stuff going bad in there while we are gone. It is quite empty, so we picked up a fresh Sobey's pizza for dinner:



Dessert was another orange.



While packing for our camping trip I also baked some cookies to take along:



Mystery Giveaway

As a thank-you to my readers, I am going to do another Mystery Giveaway! The winner will receive a surprise package in the mail, but they won't know what they are getting - you know, like Christmas!!

I did a mystery giveaway last time I went camping, and Jessica won ... check out this post to see what she got!

This giveaway is open to residents from the US and Canada only.

The winner will be chosen randomly when I get home on Sunday August 15th.

How to enter:

You can enter up to 4 times per day from today until Saturday 14th. Leave a seperate comment for each:

1) Tell me something intersting about yourself.
2) Tell me a place you would love to visit.
3) Tell me one of your pet peeves.
4) Tell me one of your favourite foods.

Remember, you can enter 4 times EACH DAY that I am away.

*If it looks like your comments are not showing up - they ARE there, they just won't appear until I approve them on Sunday.*

Good luck!

Everyday Foodie 1 Year Blogiversary

365 Days. 382 Posts. 4284 comments.

One year ago today I started this blog, unfamiliar with blogging, food photography, and recipe creation. Looking back over my posts and photos from the past year, I have come a long way! I also realized that I have had a lot of good eats and good times!

This blog keeps me sane, happy, and busy. I love it.

Breakfast had to be something epic this morning.

I combined a couple of my favourite breakfasts, Mocha Oats and Vegan Overnight Oat Parfaits to create ...

Mocha Oat Soft serve Parfait



Coffee VOO

- 1/3 cup quick oats
- 1 scoop chia seeds
- Just over 2/3 cup brewed cold coffee
- Put in fridge overnight or for a few hours

Chocolate Soft Serve

- 1 t cocoa
- 1 frozen banana
- 1/4 cup (or more) Almond Breeze
- Blend in Vita-Mix or Food Processor until soft serve consistency

Layer in a cup. Top with cacao nibs and coconut, and eat with a spoon!





Lunch was a toasted tomato sandwich, and a juicy peach:





One of the things I love most about blogging and reading blogs is the inspiration I get to try new foods and recipes. I also love the photography aspect.

If you have a blog, what do you love most about blogging? If you don't have a blog, why do you read food blogs or other blogs?