Tag Archives: Quinoa

Need motivation?

I’m not sure if it’s the new year resolution buzz – but everyone seems to be looking for motivation to get active lately. After taking entire week to recover from my vacation at home for the holidays (seriously it took my 7 whole days to feel normal!), last week I was back into my routine full force. I needed a stress reliever and the only thing I’ve found that truly lessens my stress – or increases it if I skip my workouts – is fitness. For all you fitness goers, I’m sure you can appreciate how important having a regular workout regime is for your personal well-being (inside and out) and if you are anything like me, setting goals and challenges is what keeps you moving!

(Side note: I am NOT perfect, no I do not workout everyday – but I aim to 4-6 days a week consistently.)

In the true new years fashion I have decided to set myself some 2012 goals… and it just so happens that for a number of very interesting and influential reasons I have dubbed 2012: the year of fitness! I’m feeling really motivated to get my hands (and feet, and arms, and legs – you get the picture) dirty and face my fitness goals head on! I figure why not make them vocal so I can keep focused, motivated and hold myself accountable to ensure I achieve them.

My goals in no particular order:

  • Do a 30-day hot yoga challenge
    Totally doable, I love hot yoga, I’m in the yoga capital of Canada and I need if for my body and soul. 
  • Train for and run a half-marathon
    If you missed my entire explanation behind this BAHG (<- Big, audacious, hairy goal) see here. 
  • Learn to paddle and/or kayak
    Lets be honest. I, have huge shoulders for a woman and I’ll be damned if I don’t put them to use! 
  • Do Crossfit
    Crossfit is me, through and through. Incase you have no idea what crossfit is, let me enlighten you :) Here, here and my favourite one:

As the next few weeks pan out, so will my plans for all of these. Stay tuned.

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If this wasn’t already enough goodness and motivation packed into one post, what else is this blog good for…healthy recipes! When I was home for Christmas, a friend of mine called me out for my lack of blogging and that she really loved seeing what I ate… so this Crystal, is for you :)

Quinoa Pancakes


Ingredients:

  • 1/2 cup cooked plain quinoa
  • 1 egg (or the equivalent in egg whites)
  • 1 banana (or any kind of fruit!)
  • 1/2 cup of your favourite yogurt (0% plain greek is my suggestion!)


Since this was my post-workout meal and dinner. I doubled the typical serving size.

Step 1: mix cooked quinoa and eggs

Step 2: pour mixture into oiled frying pan and cook at medium-high heat.

Step 3: lift edges to make sure it cooks evenly and without sticking.

Step 4: once you’ve flipped it and completely cooked both sides it should look like this (minus the falling apart bits). Now you can top it with whatever you prefer and enjoy!

Bon appetit!

The recipe is really that easy and in it you have three of the healthiest forms of protein you can get… besides avocado, seafood, nuts and lean meats of course ;) Quinoa is hands down one of my favourite foods, I use it in everything! Stirfrys, soups, baked goods, in the form of pancakes, and often a replacement for wheat, rice, oatmeal and more! Dying to know more about this super food, read here.

Alright, let’s hear them – what are your 2012 fitness goals?

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Filed under Positive Reinforcement

Treehouse Family BBQ

This past weekend summer was still raging in Vancouver and with 25○c + temperatures we organized a Treehouse Family BBQ!

There are currently seven of us living in this crazy awesome house (varying ages, professions, interests, maturity levels… haha) but we all get along great! *knock on wood* We decided to have a potluck style BBQ and all make something for the grand BBQ. We had a wonderful variety of dishes: Kale salad, veggie skewers, fresh corn, pita pizzas, garlic bread, homemade baked fries and black bean quinoa burgers.

Along with this great health kick I’ve been on since I’ve arrived in Vancouver, I’ve started to experiment more and more with healthy, clean eating recipes! Since most of our household is vegetarian I decided to make Black Bean Quinoa Burgers as my contribution!

Recipe time!

  • 2 cans of black beans
  • 1 cup of cooked quinoa
  • 1/4 red onion
  • 1/2 sweet potato cubes (frozen)
  • fresh parsley
  • 1 tsp freshly chopped garlic
  • 1 tbsp italian spice
  • dash of pepper, basil and cayenne pepper
  • 2 tbsp olive oil

Step #1: Sautée your favourite things! Mine this time consisted of red onion, garlic, olive oil, sweet potato pieces (frozen I had in the freezer).

Step #2: Chop fresh parsley (I’ve found a new love for parsley… in everything)

Step #3: Rinse black beans

Step #4: Mix in black beans, parsley and any and all spices! I used italian spice, fresh cracked pepper, basil and a bit of cayenne pepper!

Step #6: Mash entire mixture and add in one cup of cooked quinoa. Mix together nicely and form into patties.

Step #7: Bake at 350○C for 30 minutes. You could at this point pop them on the BBQ for a few minutes to get the charcoal flavour but because we had the veggie skewers on it, I just baked the burgers!

We ate them on thin burger buns, topped them with avocado, sliced hot-house tomatoes, spinach and a bit of tatziki.

While we were preparing I decided to try my hand at a fruity, refreshing, summer-y cocktail!

In the mix: Soda water, peach/melon V8, fresh iced tea and a small amount of white wine. Topped with fresh blueberries and strawberries.

It turned out quite good actually – everyone wanted one!

One of our BBQ guests brought us an amazing polish cake for dessert and we had a big fruit salad to complement it!

I can’t recall the name of the cake, but it was made from large wafers with caramel, jam and custard lightly spread in between the layers, then topped with melted chocolate and pecans.

I hardly ever have desert, but I couldn’t pass up this light desert and tea to end the evening!

I don’t know why, but Faith and I have adjusted to Vancouver remarkably well. We know our way around the city like the back of our hands and are comfortable trying new things and going new places. We get along with almost anyone and are so fortunate to have found our Vancouver home filled with great people.

A lesson I’ve learned, time and time again is that the way to reach your goals, no matter what they are is to surround yourself with good people because even when you stop believing in yourself – they won’t.
I’m happy to report I’ve found those people here in Vancouver.

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Filed under Personal Records