Wednesday, November 23, 2011

November round up, continued!

Last week before going to Cirque class I didn't have much time to eat a full meal so I went to Panacea to buy a snack and discovered this little gem! I've always wanted to try it, but it was a little pricey, so now that I have a TVA discount card, I finally get to taste it! :D
Earthlings Organics Raw Matcha bar. Its soo crunchy! Tastes a lot like graham cracker! 

If you get a chance,you HAVE to try it :)

Best time of the week! This is uneven split

I don't know how I got into this position. Somehow I pulled the rope back while in uneven split and ended up like this xD

The next day...
Fresh, encore!
Take out again because I have to babysit my cousins from Singapore since its their last day here so everyone else went for dinner. We had sooo much fun at home! I showed them some videos that I took from 3 years ago while they were really young and goofy LOL. We literally ROFLed. They changed SO much!

Anyway, I got a card for free juice from Fresh due to their bad service that day. They also forgot to give me tofu!! >:(

This was what I ordered- Grounding greens bowl (their special of the week). Steamed greens, walnuts, avocado, grilled tofu steaks(which I did not get any) and protein boost topping with lemon garlic sauce. I find it pretty normal...This is the first time ever that I didn't rave about their food, but I still love them!

Sadly, my cousins are leaving the next morning...I was extremely sad when I woke up and find the house all quiet! :'(
Justine, the youngest one, drew this for us :D (my family). Such a good artist! Can't wait to see them again!

So, this past Sunday, I went to the first Raw food potluck hosted by York region raw food meetup group. I usually go to the ones in downtown T.O. and I'm so glad that there's one in Markham now! The host, Cynthia, also invited Rawlicious' owner, Chelsea! She brought some super duper delicious Chocolate dipped Macaroons! We got to listen to her raw food journey! :D I loved hanging out with like minded people and I absolutely love the conversations that we had! One lady said "We spend so much time cleaning our house and not our bodies.." Everyone burst into laughter LOL!
By the way, Cynthia also has a blog, go check it out! www.silkpurse.blogspot.com

Some of the desserts and appetizers at the potluck. On the left is a very scrumptious Banana-pear pie topped with a very delicious paste made with sunflower seeds and sprinkled with pumpkin seeds. I made Raw Banana Orange Oatmilk because I had a lot of leftover sprouted oat groats, so I just threw it into the blender and added some random stuff. Amazingly it turned out very , very well!

Food, glorious food! Everything was so good! The Chocolate dipped macaroons are on the far right hand corner. I also made Asian "Vermicelli" noodle. :D

Veggie cocktail :D yum!

So full after finishing everything!

My mom picked up some papaya and coconuts while waiting for us at the potluck, so that night I got to enjoy a Papaya Cardamom smoothie made with refreshing coconut water! Sweet!
Here's a useful equation for you :) 
 Papaya+Cardamom = Peanut butter+Jelly

Go nuts for coconuts!

Monday, November 21, 2011

November round up! :D

Some say November is the most boring month of the year. I agree at first, but after all the excitement and events that happened over the past 2 weeks, I disagree! xD

Here's a round up of my November :D

First off, I visited Urban Herbivore for the first time! I went to the one at Eaton centre. I still can't believe that random people at the mall are now eating vegan food!!

I ordered the Avocado sandwich, but they made the wrong one for me...They offered to make another one for me, but I said I'll have the tempeh one that they made since I don't want them to waste it. They felt bad and gave me a huge piece of banana walnut choc chip bread! I have to admit, it was delicious! They bake their own bread in store (I saw them take it out of the oven) and its made of spelt, not white flour. Its super crusty! The sandwich also comes with a small salad.

Not a bit left!

Next, I want to introduce to you the Ethiopian wrap(Injera) that I absolutely love. I discovered what Injera was when I visited M&B Yummy Vegan Ethiopian restaurant. Its healthy and tastes great! I finally found it at a convenience store near Lansdowne subway station :D yay!!
Its largely made of teff (a very tiny and nutritious grain) and barley, fermented (like sourdough bread), then I'm not sure if they bake it or put it on a pan...

Some new tricks at Cirque class. My favorite- Man in the Moon :)
Banana split! xD

The best part of the last 2 weeks was when my aunt, uncle, and cousins from Singapore came to visit! Missed them SO much! Haven't seen them for exactly 3 years! The cool thing is that they came at the right time because I get to celebrate my 18th birthday with them!
I took a day off work so that I can go to Niagara Falls with them. Caught this rainbow while strolling by the falls.

Siobhan, my favorite cousin. She's like a little angel!

Justine, the mischievous little one. On the left is my sister.

She's a cutie pie

But can be very bossy sometimes! I have no idea what my sister is doing...The little boy in the background staring into space is Ethan, also my cousin, and the older brother of Siobhan and Justine. He used to be really fun and loud, but he barely talks now...I blame it on the ADHD medication that he's taking...

Sisters!

I love this picture!

 Niagara Falls. Very misty.

We went to watch Spongebob 4D at night. It was a lot of fun!

We went to Niagara Falls for a day trip only. The following day ...

...was my 18th birthday! I made two raw cakes the morning of, then we had a little potluck party in the afternoon :D
This one is Dark Chocolate fudge cake with creamy chocolate icing. Some couldn't believe that it's raw because it tasted "flou-ry", but there was no flour in it! :) Very, very, very, fudgey and yummy!

The second one is Blueberry "Cheese"cake. The blueberry topping is kinda melting LOL. Very delicious as well! Thank you, Mother Nature, for giving us such versatile nuts! My friends told me the dessert was more filling than the meal itself! (because the desserts are made of nuts and seeds, whereas the food that people brought were simply refined carbs :/

My mom's cousin brought the mini berry cheesecakes (back row), and my friend Meagan made the chocolate cake on the left. She made it with brown rice flour and leftover soy pulp from making soymilk! It turned out well! A chef in the making! I told her we should be business partners since I wish to have my own cafe/restaurant/recipe book one day :D She used to be really unhealthy, but I kinda transformed her xD

My cousins and I. My eyes were kinda swollen because my mom made me cry in the morning...

Take two!

Made my super long wish and cutting my cake!

Take two!

From left: my aunt from Singapore, my aunt from here, my mom's cousin, me

So healthy, I can have my cake and eat it too!

Meagan and Jade, two of my besties, bought me Fresh's new recipe book! So happy!!!!I love how thoughtful they are :D
It was such an awesome 18th birthday! :) We hardly ever get to have a family gathering this big since I don't have many relatives in Canada, so this little party made me extra happy!

 Next up, Fresh restaurant! I was super excited when I found an online deal for Fresh! $10 for $20 Fresh card! I bought two :)

Fresh's Tangled Thai salad. The dressing is very tasty and nostalgic! Reminded me of "Lou Sang", a traditional dish in Malaysia served during Chinese New Year.

I also bought a $20 for $40 deal for Freshii, a take out place that lets you customize your own meal for a very reasonable price!
I ordered the Vegan wrap and changed the dressing to Sriracha sauce. You can either choose the ones that are already created or pick your own ingredients for your salads, wraps, or bowls.

Spread mustard on top because they didn't give me enough sauce

And also some ketchup :) I love ketchup and mustard so much, I can put them on anything!

I know this is kinda random, but I was at a washroom stall in the GO transit terminal one day and saw this on the door...
And I smiled :) It brightens up everyone's day! Thank you to the anonymous who wrote this.

This post is getting very, very long! More November stories to come tomorrow!! Stay tuned!

Monday, November 14, 2011

Post run party at Rawlicious

The party was actually two weeks ago, but I never got a chance to post it up til today. It was a little party to celebrate the Toronto Vegetarian Association team at the Scotiabank Marathon, half and 5k event. Rawlicious was one of the generous sponsors so of course our party had to be at their restaurant! :D

One of the new locations- high park

Their menu

Free nacho plate for us to share :D so yummy!

Salsa, guacamole, Cheesy flax nacho

Everyone got to enjoy a free smoothie! I ordered Tropical Green.

He was talking enthusiastically about the 100 year old man who ran the marathon in 8 hours and followed a vegetarian diet 

I ordered the Caesar wrap- made with veggies in Caesar dressing with onion bread croutons and wrapped in collard leaves. Super delicious!

closer look. The tomatoes were leftover salsa from the appetizer plate. I love their Onion bread croutons!

The team! Many were not here, though...

My completion cert :)

and some really cute "thank you" buttons in the certificate envelope xD

Can't wait til the Rawlicious at Markham location opens!