Chickpea/Sweet Potato Buddha Bowls!

I finally got around to making those buddha bowls I talked about like 2 months ago. Roasted sweet potato, onion, broccoli and kale. Crispy and spicy chickpeas. All topped with a light yogurt and lemon dressing.

It was almost too easy. It's literally just a giant bowl of vegetables. I've made this a few times since I finally tried it out. I love a big bowl of such colourful veggies!

Yum

Vegan Chocolate Cake (and less than vegan buttercream)

I'm not a vegan, nor do I play one on tv. I'm only trying this cake because you can make it all in the cake pan and it looks super easy. And I'm always up for trying new things.

I didn't end up making this in the cake pan, though. It was easier to mix in a big bowl and I don't mind doing one extra dish. If that is the cost of chocolate cake I am in!

So your supposed to mix all your dry ingredients (flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt) in your pan or a bowl and then make three indents. Fill one with vanilla, one with oil and one with vinegar. Then you dump a cup of water over the top and mix until it's smooth.

Here it is before it goes into the oven.

And here it is after baking at 350 for 35 minutes. The house smells amazing! I made a coffee and cinnamon butter cream.....just to ensure this "vegan" cake wasn't so vegan anymore.

I think she liked it.

Lemony Paneer Curry

I saw this recipe at CURRY AND SPICE a few days ago and I put it in the back of my mind for something to try. Our grocery store doesn't sell paneer and although I have made it before I enjoy the convenience of it already being made for me. So I waited until we were able to get into the "big city" and picked some up.


Head over to CURRY AND SPICE to see a more detailed recipe.

I have had mixed results with recipes where the tomatoes are supposed to "melt" but this one seemed to work out very well. I tried to follow the recipe she posted exactly but I don't have lemon or lime leaves so I just used a peeled the rind off a lemon and let that cook in the sauce for a bit.




Turned out really well. I made it exactly as she wrote it (other than the lemon and lime leaves) and there are a couple of tweaks I would make to suit us. Next time I would probably make it with chicken as well. Paneer is hard to find and the store bought stuff isn't that good. I also think it could have used just a little bit of spice. Just a kiss of heat at the end.

Will definitely make this recipe again. Took probably 20 minutes total to make, which is perfect for those night it takes 2 hours for your daughter to go to sleep and it's all of a sudden 9:45pm and your like "guess we should eat something."

Vegan Cucumber Mint Smoothie

I seem to be on quite the kick these days of drinking and especially trying out new smoothies. I have one every single morning for breakfast. Daphne loves it and it's the only tried and true method I have found to get spinach inside her body.

One afternoon, after I put D down for a nap, I was snacking on some cucumber and cruising around the internet. I am obsessed with looking up the health benefits of foods, so of course I looked up cucumber. Not too much information I wasn't already aware of: lots of fiber, helps with inflammation etc...but that's how I stumbled across the idea to make a smoothie with cucumber in it. How could I have been so blind...so ignorant..so blissfully unaware!?

So for my first attempt I used: cucumber, mint, apple, spinach, honey, chia seeds, ice cubes and enough water to get it to a smoothie consistency. This time I tried it with all the skins on, they do hold a majority of the goodness of fruits/veggies, so although all the recipes I found online had the cucumber peeled I wanted to try it my way first.

And here is the result:

Really good. Daphne liked it. Needed more mint, though. I really like that there is a faint taste of cucumber throughout it. Very refreshing. Put some vodka in there and I'm ready for summer! It's definitely a hardier texture than a fruit smoothie but that's how you know it's good for you, right?

I will be making this again, for sure!

Culinary Tour of Arnprior - Krave Bistro

I was very interested to try Krave Bistro. It looked super cool through the windows and the menu was intriguing. Coincidentally my mother-in-law decided she wanted to try it out for her birthday dinner. I was pretty excited. It's only a 15 minute walk from our house...although it was 32 degrees the day we went so we drove....too hot for Daphne....and mommy.

The restaurant is very trendy. Brick walls, old Coca Cola and wanted posters on the walls. The ceiling fans are even unique. So, you could say I was very into the decor.

Red pepper and feta dip

The service was very friendly and attentive. It was shockingly busy for a Tuesday night and with only one server working the service was understandably a little slow. But we weren't in any rush.

Baked Ravioli

We ordered two starters. Baked ravioli and a red pepper and feta dip. Both were incredible. Agreed by all. The ravioli was crunchy on the outside and full of molten cheese. It came with a little bowl of marinara to dip them in. The red pepper and feta dip was creamy and sweet. Served with tortilla chips and triangles of naan bread. I probably could have eaten just that for dinner and been happy. The portions were significant.

For dinner I had a skillet mac'n'cheese. Half because I wanted pasta and half because I wasn't sure Daphne was going to eat her dinner so I wanted to have a back up. She ended up LOVING the waffle fries they serve so I had a load of leftovers to bring home. Like I said, the servings were huge but the quality didn't suffer...although I do think they could have put more cheese on the mac'n'cheese.

Skillet mac'n'cheese

Montreal burger

My husband, Will, had a Montreal burger and a poppyseed salad. I didn't try his burger but it was a massive patty topped with smoked meat, swiss cheese, and Dijon. He didn't have problem putting it all away so I think he liked it.

I didn't get any pictures of my in-laws food...not sure if they wanted to be included in the blog...but there were rave reviews from across the table for the fish taco and the brie burger.

They also serve breakfast....and I am really into breakfast...so we will HAVE to go back. I'll be honest we didn't pay for the meal so I can't speak too much to the total cost of 5 people eating, but the pries on the menu were incredibly reasonable.

No complaints at all. It's nice to see a trendy delicious restaurant in Arnprior. There are so many dark watering holes and fast greasy garbage restaurants here...we deserve some quality.

And BONUS: I love how they serve pop in glass bottles....

Frozen Yogurt Berries

I saw this idea on Pinterest and I couldn't resist trying it. Aside from how tasty this is, it's also adorable and very easy.

You need: fresh berries and yogurt....that's it.

Wash whatever berries you're using; I use blueberries and blackberries. Roll each berry in the yogurt so they are fully coated. Place on a lined baking sheet and put it in the freezer.

I bought a tub of honey flavoured Greek yogurt because I figured the yogurt I make would be too thin to really coat the berries properly.

Freeze for about an hour and then enjoy!

Guilt free snacking and so summery!

Sink full of...

Sink full of zucchini 

Sink full of lettuce

 Sink full of basil

 Sink full of kale

I NEED A BIGGER FREEZER!!

Chocolate, Peanut Butter & Banana Smoothie!

Another really easy and healthy breakfast smoothie I've been enjoying.

 In this smoothie I blend together: banana, cocoa powder, yogurt, peanut butter, oats, chia seeds, a little honey and spinach. Add water or milk along the way to get to your desired consistency.

And there it is...my yummy (somewhat more indulgent than my usual) chocolate banana smoothie. It's still pretty healthy though, with the spinach and chia seeds. I also always use my own homemade yogurt so I know that's healthy as well... and Daphne LOVES it!

Quick tip: I froze my banana (peeled) overnight and that helped this smoothie be closer to a milkshake texture....yum.

Culinary Tour of Arnprior- PJ's

Our first stop on this "culinary tour" is PJ's restaurant on Madawaska boulevard. Originally opened in 1968 it has been a staple favorite in Arnprior since then.

At least that's what the website says. Looks like a Kelseys to me. On the first page of there website they promote how large the portions are...you know your getting quality when your known for how much food they pack on your plate. They also claim to be famous for there pizza and "flavour crisp chicken"...whatever that is.

So I guess you can tell I had no expectations before we ordered from PJ's. The menu is huge and they give you shit loads of food. Not a recipe for a quality meal in my mind. Also, you can't order off the regular menu if your getting take out or delivery. So almost every single meal that could be considered somewhat healthy is not available for take out. Disappointing. Guess I'll have to order that FOURTEEN DOLLAR Greek salad.

So we decided to order a small pepperoni pizza and a turkey sandwich to share. It was hard to decide what to get because everything was SO EXPENSIVE! Just an order of onion rings costs $8.95. A large Margherita pizza is $20.95 (before tax). The small pepperoni we ordered cost $11.95 before tax. Compare that to PizzaPizza where a small pepperoni costs $8.60 before tax or Dominos at $9.74 before tax.

The pizza was good for the most part. What is that saying? Pizza is like sex. When it's good it's good and when it's bad it's still kinda good. It was full of cheese, which is great...but I'll pay for it later with a sacrifice to the porcelain gods..sorry TMI. I had to scoop off probably a tablespoon of extra sauce that exploded out the top when I bit it...gross. The dough was soft and thick. I'm sure some people love that but I'm a thin and crispy girl. Or at the very least thick crust that doesn't droop when you hold it up.

The turkey sandwich was....well...sliced turkey, mayo and lettuce on Dempsters. Boring. Atually it was probably Miracle Whip. I've never had Miracle Whip but this "mayo" was a lot sweeter than any mayo I have ever had.

I'm glad we tried it. It reminds me of a Perkins... they can probably do bacon and eggs really well but stay away the rest of the day.

Overall I wouldn't recommend it. It was pretty greasy and the portions weren't even that big and I can get a sandwich double the size at Subway (with actual vegetables on it) for less than $6.95.

This is all the food we got for approx. $22. Not huge portions as they are known for. It was basic food, nothing special and way overpriced. I'm not sure why they are so popular around here.


Delivery was fast though.

Culinary Tour of Arnprior, Ontario

I have had this idea since we moved to Arnprior and now that the weather is nice again and it’s easy to get out and explore I think I will finally do it! I’m going to do a little eating tour of Arnprior. I have a list of a few places that have been recommended to me and a couple I have seen while walking around town.

My goal is to try each of these places before the end of summer so I can do a little post about each one.

The places I’ll be trying are:

Krave Bistro

PJ’s

The Press Café

Danny Mac’s Pub and Eatery

Bonnie Janes

and Wes’. 

Wes’ is a chip stand but people keep telling me it’s the BEST in Renfrew county/Ontario/Canada so I feel obligated to try it…especially since it’s right around the corner from my house.

Some we will try for dinner and some for lunch. Really depends on the day and the Daphne :P I’m guessing a few meals will be takeout as my anxiety gets the better of me in busy restaurants sometimes. To be honest, I'm more interested in the quality of the food then the atmosphere anyway.

First post will be coming JULY 5th. Stay tuned.

Medetteranean Quinoa WAFFLES

Remember about a month ago I did THIS POST about making quinoa burgers. They were really good. Well I tried them again but this time I made them in the waffle maker!

Medetteranean Quinoa Waffles!!!!

Not pictured: a lightly seasoned arugula salad on top.

Breakfast Smoothie

For the last few months I've been making a smoothie for breakfast almost everyday. It's an easy way to get lots of fruit and veg into me in the morning and Daphne will even share a few gulps. Without this smoothie spinach would never get near her face.

My typical smoothie consists of: pineapple, peach, strawberry, banana, spinach, carrot, chia seeds, honey and cinnamon.

With about half a cup of homemade yogurt and then enough water to make it blendable. Super yummy, and healthy.

Artichoke/Mushroom/Chicken Alfredo

I finally found artichoke hearts at my grocery store! That probably isn't as exciting for you as it is me, but if you'd ever been in the local grocery store here you would be pumped.

So I grabbed a couple cans with no real idea what I was going to do with them. Until last night when created the most delicious, most filling, most artichokey dish I have ever made. Yum.

So I sauteed mushrooms, onion, chicken and the artichoke hearts together with salt and pepper. I decided not to add any other flavours because I am a HUGE fan of the taste of artichoke and the pasta it was going on top of had lots of flavour.

I made a basic Alfredo sauce with a butt load of pepper and garlic.

The combination of flavours really worked together. I did plan to mix it all together but lets be honest....I made too much food and I literally didn't have a pot that would fit it all. But it worked out just serving the Alfredo on the side. 

T'was yummy. Will make again.