Things can tend to get a little bit grey and boring during the fall, especially here in Vancouver (ehem… Raincouver.) Sooo, I made this pink hummus to brighten up your afternoon snack! Also everyone knows that pink is prettier, so why not… right?!

What’s in it:

• 1 can chickpeas (garbanzo beans)
• 1 large lemon
• ¼ cup tahini
• 1 garlic clove
• 2 tbsp olive oil (always use extra virgin!)
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 2 tbsp water
• ½ small cooked red beet

Combine tahini and lemon juice in your blender. Add in the olive oil, garlic, and salt. Process these ingredients until smooth. Now, take those chickpeas and add them into your blender slowly (half a can at a time.) Blend as you are adding in the chickpeas so your hummus becomes nice and smooth. Finally, add in the cooked red beet until your hummus becomes as light or dark pink as you like. And voila! All done. Serve with your favourite veggies or crackers.

Chickpeas are a great source of protein, so this pretty-in-pink snack will keep you full all afternoon long. Keep in mind chickpeas are pretty high in calories so try and not crush the entire batch in one go… haha (you will want to though, trust me!)

Hope you love the recipe! Try it out and let me know what you think in the comments below. <3

x,

Canadian Thanksgiving is coming up this weekend, and I am STOKED. Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays, mostly just because the holiday festivities are fully centered around eating (guilty, lol.) Since we have a long weekend quickly approaching, I thought I would share one of my favourite breakfasts to make when I have a bit of extra time in the morning!

“Breakfast Cake” is what I call baked oatmeal. Why? Because it tastes way too good to be called something as lame as “baked oatmeal.” So, Breakfast Cake it is lol.

What’s in it:

• ½ tsp cinnamon
• ¼ tsp cloves
• ½ cup oats
• 1/3 cup unsweetened almond milk
• ¼ tsp baking powder
• 1/8 tsp baking soda
• ½ tsp vanilla
• 1 Bosc pear
• 2 – 3 tbsp maple syrup
• Handful unsweetened coconut flakes

Preheat over to 350 degrees fahrenheit. Get out your blender and blend together the bosc pear, almond milk, and oats. Just blend it enough so that the oats break down a bit, it doesn’t need to be pureed. Mix in the remaining ingredients in a bowl, and pour into a small oven-safe baking dish. Bake for 20 – 25 mins. Let sit for a few minutes to cool, then serve with more warm almond milk on top! This recipe makes one serving, so if you are cooking for two I would double it!

There are majorrr benefits to eating oats in the morning. This skinny recipe is seriously low in calories, but is high in protein so it will power you up for your day ahead. Oatmeal is also very low in fat. Alllll great things. Breakfast cake for the win.

Give this way-too-yummy-to-actually-be-healthy recipe a try! You will be happy you did 🙂

x,

If you live in Vancouver and have not been to Café Medina yet, go. Right now. They have an unreal menu, and a beautiful new location at 780 Richards Street. The new location was wayyy nicer than the old one. The high ceilings and big windows let in tons of natural light, and make for a really cozy environment.

So obviously if you go to Café Medina you need to try their waffles, which come with unrealll sauces. Milk chocolate lavender, salted caramel, peach & bourbon butterscotch, and white chocolate pistachio rosewater (just to name a few.) Hungry yet? I’m hungry just writing this lol.

This time, I decided I would try something new instead of my usual waffles. I had the “La Sante” dish which was a small plate with a soft boiled egg, avocado, tomato salad, olive tapenade, and salami. Since I am a total snacker and this was the perfect dish for me. Super yummy with lots of different flavours and not overly-filling. Check out the rest of Café Medina’s menu, and go give it a try! It is well worth it 🙂

x,

Okay let’s be real for a minute here. Salads are not exactly the most exciting things in the world. If you make a “salad” with just leaves and some awful store-bought dressing it will be probably the least satisfying meal ever. SO. Lets re-define a salad.

A salad can be a meal or a side. In this recipe, it’s a side dish. When you make a salad as a meal you need to add the following things: protein, carbs, veggies, and yummies. That’s right, yummies. LOL. Yummies are what I like to call the salad toppers, such as: cheese, nuts, seeds, dried fruits, and all that good stuff. For example, I used feta cheese as my yummy of choice in this Watermelon Salad Recipe.

Now that THAT is out of the way…I bring you my Yogurt Tahini Dressing!!! This dressing takes a boring side salad and makes it fab.

What’s in it:

• 2 tbsp tahini
• ¼ cup hot water
• 2 garlic cloves
• ½ cup greek yogurt (0% is best)
• juice of a whole lemon
• ½ tsp coarse sea salt
• ¼ tsp fresh ground pepper

Whisk tahini and hot water together. Whisk in rest of ingredients. DONE! This will keep in fridge for up to a week.

My Yogurt Tahini Dressing goes best with iceberg lettuce, romaine lettuce, thin sliced purple onion, tomatoes, and of course yummies. You cant forget the yummies (just sliced almonds here.) Let me now how you like the dressing, and comment below with what you used your Yogurt Tahini Dressing on! 🙂

x,

This is a recipe I loveee to make when I am craving some comfort food. Butternut squash is very low in calories and high in fiber. This skinny recipe is great if you are looking for some fab tasting comfort food that will also help keep you looking your best.

What’s in it:

•      1 medium butternut squash
•      1 cup quinoa
•      Large handful of dried pecans
•      Large handful of dried cranberries
•      Cinnamon
•      Golden sugar
•      Fresh ground pepper
•      Pinch of salt

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Cut your squash into one inch cubes. Throw the cubes in a bowl and add your cinnamon, pepper, salt, golden sugar. Bake for 30 minutes. 5 minutes before baking time is up, add in the pecans and dried cranberries. For the spices, pecans, and cranberries, how much you add is all up to you! I like to throw those babies in very generously, so I will leave it up to you how flavourful you want your dish to taste!

x,

My watermelon salad recipe is adapted from a recipe that one of my best friends showed me. I added cheese to mine, because everyone knows that cheese makes everything better. This salad is actually amazing, and works as a great lunch, snack, or even breakfast!

What’s in it:

• 1 small watermelon
• 1 generous handful of basil leaves
• 2 limes
• Fresh ground pepper
• Feta

Start by chopping up your watermelon into approx 1-2 inch cubes. Next, chop up the basil and throw it in the bowl. Cut up as much feta as you like in cubes, and add it to the watermelon as well. Squeeze as much lime as you like on the salad (I like lots of flava flave so I am overly generous with pretttty much every ingredient haha), and then add in a bit of fresh ground pepper. Gently toss, and voila!

This is the best watermelon salad that you will ever eat. I can hear you already (I said the same thing I promise), LIME AND PEPPER in my watermelon? Don’t ruin it! No. Just no. Trust me on this one. Try it and you will love it. So. Delish.

x,