Choosing A Healthy Diet As A Student

Hey guys! Hope you've all been having a great day. In all honesty, I've probably fallen asleep while either commuting or in class (shh!) like a good dozen times. Midterms are definitely not helping me out with the energy levels. Yesterday before my first midterm at 6 pm, I needed some energy and my impulsive self was screaming "Pass me a chocolate bar!"..... healthy right?! The smarter, more logical thought would be to grab a piece of fruit but self control is not my strong suit when it comes to food. I'm working on it though - slowly but surely. One of my goals for this year was to try to eat healthier when at school and not buy food in the caf since the options aren't the best! Truth be told, I haven't been very good at packing lunches and that's mostly because I haven't planned out my meals. If I have any chance of changing my diet for the better, having a set menu that I can go to and cook even when I'm in a hurry is the only option. I've been on Google trying to find some good options for breakfast and lunch, since dinner time is most often at home and I eat pretty clean in that case. Here are some recipes I'm dying to try! (keep in mind that I'm a picky eater so things can get tough when picking recipes...)
BREAKFAST //  Eating a nutritious meal in the morning is so important but people tend to skip out on breakfast because they're in too much of a hurry. These recipes are quick and simple and will keep you satisfied until lunch comes around!

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I've tried making pancake with bananas and eggs only which taste great but they never ended up being able to hold their shape after I flipped them. I'm hoping this recipe which includes baking powder will fix that issue!

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Although having bread isn't the best choice, (always choose whole wheat over white though!) sometimes it's okay to indulge and satisfy that bread craving. Instead of slapping on some processed sugar-filled peanut butter or spread a thick layer of cream cheese, these are some healthier options that look delish! I definitely need to pack on the veggies with eggs on toast and avocado.... girl, you know I love me some avocado! If you're feeling like eating something sweet a good choice is spreading some almond butter (one that is just made of almonds and without added sugar) and pile up some banana or strawberry slices - yum!

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One of my favourites, that is super quick, is throwing together some greek yogurt, granola and fruit for an easy parfait type situation! This recipe I found looks awesome because you can make your own granola at home and have it around for when you need a quick fix. Plus you know exactly what's going into it unlike store bought granola mixes!

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One of my biggest concerns with my health is trying to maintain my iron levels up. I've had some pretty low levels before so I try to eat foods that will help me through it. As I said, I'm super picky and I never thought I'd like spinach but I make spinach and cheese omelettes all the time now! This one is extra special because it has feta which I love. Definitely give this recipe a try if you're not a spinach fan. 

LUNCH// I'm most likely at school when lunch comes around so packing something to take with me is super important if I want to avoid having that pizza on campus (you can treat yourself but make sure that it's not your daily choice!) I'm definitely going to be giving these a try!

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How fun is this idea?! I definitely struggle with keeping my salads fresh when I have to take them on the go but this makes it so easy! Mason jars are good for just about anything it seems.

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Tacos with tilapia and guacamole... yes please! Because so often healthy recipes call for chicken, it's nice to mix it up with some fish once in a while. Tilapia is one of my favourite kinds of fish and like I mentioned earlier, my middle name should probably be guacamole (#iloveavocado). The tacos are most certainly on my must-try list for lunches.

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Just like tacos, wraps are easy to make and take with you on the go. These look super yummy and they're a chicken caprese salad on the go - what's not to love?! (Did I mention I seriously love cheese... Ok, middle name Guacamole, first name Mozzarella!)

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If you're in a hurry or in the middle of studying and don't want to make a full mean, I love smoothies as an alternative! This recipe looks great and is something I do all the time but I make a few adjustments. Since I have my iron deficiency issues I always sneak in spinach inside my smoothies. Another thing I like to do is sprinkle some chia seeds inside to bump up the nutrition. A great tip is to freeze the fruit you use for your smoothies at the beginning of the week - firstly because it makes it easier for you when you're in a hurry and don't feel like prepping and second of all, you won't need ice! 

I hope you've enjoyed some of these ideas and try them out with me! I'll definitely be letting you know how it goes. If you have any suggestions I'd love for you to share them in the comments! Thanks for stopping by xx

Release your inner granny

How fun is this little notebook for recipes?

I seriously love to bake and whenever I get the chance to snatch some recipes from more experienced bakers, I take it. Last year during Thanksgiving/Christmas I went a little nuts with the cooking and baking so I had tons of leftover cookies and treats. One day I decided to go across the street and share some with an elderly woman across the street. She always sent over cookies so I thought I'd return the favour. She was super sweet and sat down for a while so we could chat about different recipes. It was such a cool experience and I thought I'd share two recipes she shared with me.

I'm not like most people who love pumpkin anything during the fall season but her pumpkin cookies were absolutely delicious. They were just sweet enough and the few chocolate chips in them were a perfect balance! These are great cookies to make for non-pumpkin lovers and you never know, this may be what converts them. I think next weekend I'll have to make these cookies again because they are ideal for this weather!

The second recipe is very much inspired by my neighbours Italian background! Anyone who knows me knows that I love cannolis A LOT. These cookies have the same feel because they have the same ricotta taste but they have the nicest burst of freshness from the lemon accents found in the dough and the glaze. They aren't too heavy and are great cookies to make for other people as a gift. You could either bake them and put them in a decorative jar or you could roll the dough into balls and freeze them that way the person receiving the gift can bake them whenever they fancy. 

Give these recipes a try and let me know how they turn out! Have fun being a granny and baking! Happy Saturday :)

Glorious Peonies.

Vanilla Cupcakes

Whenever I get a little overwhelmed with school work and need to de stress, I love to bake! It's so gratifying to work on new recipes and share them with other people -- especially when they turn out delicious! Saturday night I decided to make an easy recipe since I didn't have time to go out and buy specific ingredients so I made vanilla cupcakes. I looked around for a recipe that was fairly simple and found this one. They turned out yummy and my family and friends approved! The cupcake itself wasn't dry and it had a fine crumb just like the recipe advertised. The buttercream was great especially since I didn't have 4 cups of icing sugar in the house to make a traditional buttercream.  I was a little skeptical at first since the recipe said to whisk egg whites and sugar over a pot of simmering water but it made the frosting have a meringue taste but with a creamy butter texture mmm mmm good! I was feeling a bit lazy so I decided to opt out of the fancy icing techniques and just used a knife to frost them and put some leftover snowflake sprinkles on top. Not the most seasonal sprinkles but they looked cute ;) Hope you try out this recipe!

Thanksgiving (a few days late.....)

This past Monday was Thanksgiving which is one of my favourite holidays! Why? I love spending a day with family and friends and just being thankful for everything that happened in the past year. But, the other reason I love it so much is because of the FOOD! I love getting to cook and bake for Thanksgiving (since I'm the only one willing to follow new recipes in my household). Before I impress you with my baking skills (haha) I will say that I can only make the things I make because of Martha Stewart. Ever since last year, I've been obsessed with their site whenever I have the chance to cook and I've found some great Thanksgiving recipes that I continue to use every year.

I realize that these recipes are obviously a little late for Canadians to make Thanksgiving dinner, but don't fret! You can use these recipes for Christmas dinner too and Thanksgiving in the States is not for another month ;) -- a little early prepping never hurt anyone, right?

This year, I decided to make their Roast Turkey with Herb Butter, which is delicious and super easy to make. For sides I made their recipe for Perfect Mashed Potatoes and an easily thrown together tomato and cucumber salad, and for dessert (my fave) I made Pecan Pie and Apple Pie. I had one of my best friends over and she said everything was delis, and since she's a huge foodie, you can take her word for it!

TIPS: The pecan pie recipe calls for 3 cups of pecans but that's way too many for the amount of filling so stick with around 2 cups and a few more. If you want the pie to slice more easily, try chopping up half of the pecans and decorating just the top with the pecan halves -- I may need to take my own advice on this one for next time! This recipe doesn't say to pre-bake the crust but I would definitely encourage you to that way the bottom crust doesn't get soggy. Bake the bottom pie crust with aluminum foil filled with dried beans (so it doesn't get random air bubbles all over) for about 10-15 minutes and them put the filling in and bake for the remaining time or until the pie is slightly jiggly in the centre. Don't worry it firms up as it cools. Then you'll have the perfect pie!

Here are some pictures of the result of my hard labour! (btw, the biscuits are Pillsbury - I didn't have time to make my own rolls for Thanksgiving this year #lazygirlprobz)

Can you tell I love tomatoes?

Can I get an AMEN!!!!

Sorry, had to dig in ;)

After my friend had reached food coma status! LOL

Now, I'd like to introduce you to the man in my life.......

My five month old Bichonpoo puppy, CHARLIE. Isn't he the cutest?!

We ended the night playing with Charlie and showing off his new skill of playing fetch. We got some great pictures!

 This long hair of his definitely makes him look like Max from the Little Mermaid, don't ya think?

Oh happy day, tomorrow's Friday! Enjoy the weekend xo 

Glorious Peonies.