Sometimes i get curried away

Well hello there

I might have visited the cheese
section at the grocery store
today after all the cheese pictures
i posted yesterday!

First off i want to say how happy i am that all of you agree that Ploughmans lunch is just savoury heaven on a plate

If you had disagreed a donna visit might have been in order

I'm very persuasive

Especially when it comes to my  lover friend cheese

I would also like to thank my mum for asking in the comment section if it was a hint of what i wanted for my birthday dinner

You are quite perceptive mum!

Even if she used to be blonde like me ;o)

So guess what?

Yesterday was Lulu adoption/homecoming day!

She thanked me for visiting by climbing up my fancy work clothes and slobbering on my thigh

Her sister Alice likes to show her affection by putting her mouth around her new sisters entire head

My sister might pass out from panic attacks if Alice keeps being so "affectionate" 

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So i know its Thirsty Thursday...

(FYI: nothing good is going to happen if the start of a conversation is "So i know" dot dot dot)

BUT

I have a recipe for you instead

SO

I am going to discuss something liquid (i was going to say wet but it sounded too dirty) just to keep with the Thirsty Thursday theme 

Lets talk about fruit smoothies

{A healthy alternative to the soda/milkshake options available at fast food/food courts?}*

{OR}

{CALORIE KILLING SUGAR VEHICLES???}

dum dum dummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

{Lets find out}

* Please use announcer voice when you see sentences in { }'s

I'm going to use the Tim Hortons new Fruit Smoothies as my example

for all you american bloggers, tim hortons is canadas version of starbucks, only cheaper

Since March, Tim Hortons has adorned its coffee shops with gigantic pictures of bananas, strawberries and other berries for the launch of its “healthier” snack: Real Fruit Smoothies. Available as mixed berry or strawberry banana, they contain only 130 calories (for a small serving), and half a cup of fruit (equal to one of the seven to 10 servings doctors recommend adults consume every day). A closer look at nutritional values, though, reveals the drinks contain no fibre or protein, which means that there is no fresh fruit actually being thrown in the blender, says registered dietician Nicole Springle.
In fact, the “real” fruit comes from purees and juices, confirms a Tim Hortons spokeswoman. That doesn’t have the same health benefits of the fresh stuff, says Springle, because those purees and juices don’t come with the fibre and protein that help slow down the pace at which we assimilate the sugar that fruit naturally contains. Hortons’ Real Fruit Smoothies have 30 grams of sugar. That’s more than the sugar content of any Tim Hortons doughnut. SOURCE

Bah! Seriously? This blows my mind, 30 grams of sugar is crazy and no fibre = healthy fail in my humble opinion

My recommendation?

You know i'm going to give it!

Drink home made smoothies

They are cheaper, can be healthier (hello chia seeds) and you can control how many calories/sugar/fat are in them

Here are a few suggestions...

Chocolate covered strawberry smoothie

Minty monster

Her royal highness smoothie

When at a loss you could always check out Oh She Glows Green Monster Movement website which has lots of recipe ideas!

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Okay, so on to the recipe

I didn't forget my promise yesterday even if i got so hot and sweaty i ended up throwing myself against a rock in defeat...

Just kidding that was me after a sweaty hike with my rock climbing dog and fabulous friend Mandy today

Sydney asked to come along since she and Mandy are total buds

Our hike in Cambridge was SO much fun and we came across some fun wildlife and views!

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Okay okay i know, recipe time


I mentioned to my mum on a mad lunch dash to the house to decide on pot light positioning that i was going to cook and blog this recipe and she declared it best idea ever (she was the one who originally came up with the recipe about 10 years ago)

Cold Curry Chicken Salad

or

Curried Cold Chicken Salad

You decide

(i'm a little undecisive today, can you tell?)

Ingredients

2 Chicken breasts (i got a preroasted chicken at the grocery store)

1/4 cup of Mayonaise (i used soyanaise)

1/4 cup of Greek yogurt

2 tsps of Curry powder (i used curry paste, same thing)

Extras - I used chopped cucumbers, raisins, green onions, chopped grapes

Directions

1. Cut chicken into cubes

2. Mix mayonaise and greek yogurt with curry

3. Toss in extras

4. Stir in chicken

5. Season with pepper and sea salt if you wish

6. Enjoy on top of a cold salad with a hunk of fresh multigrain bread

Its not a ploughmans lunch but this dinner is DELICIOUS!

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Well i had a great UFC class yesterday, it was all about squat lifts and lunges, poor Monica and Nadeen, they cursed me through the whole class for dragging them there, i'm not being silly here Monica actually chanted "i hate donna" for every side plank she did, she was smiling the whole time though so i'm sure she was kidding ;o)

I'm noticing my rolls starting to loosen up a bit - this is a good thing, its what my body does when i start to lean up a bit so i'm happy to see change, makes saying no to naughty food that much easier

Well yay for Thursday meaning one more day till Friday!

I have zumba tonight and i'm crazy excited to shake my booty!!!!!!!!!!!

Puppy Love

So i'm kind of obsessed with my dog

She is one of the great loves of my life


Even though her chicken farts are legendary


She knows when i need a cuddle


She knows when what i really want is a good long walk in the park


Wait a second, that sounds like something she would really want


Guess that leads me to the fact my dog is a little bit manipulative


In a cute way of course


She knows how to get your attention

I feel like a mum who understands her babies cries only i know what kind of bark means i need to poo, i would like my night time treat, and dear god mummy can we go home yet?


The reason i'm talking about dog lovin?


Because Sydney is getting a new cousin


Her name is Lulu and she is the cutest little thing


Sydney isn't quite so sure


She still hasn't got used to her new cousin (and Lulus new sister) Alice


Outside Alice and Sydney are running buddies and best friends


Inside Sydney would very much like to be left alone thankyouverymuch


But now i've had enough time to forgive my sister for stealing my doggie name


I'm madly in love with the newest edition to our family


Sydney is still deciding


When she has lots to ponder like this she enjoys keeping me company in the kitchen


Remember when i said i was in the kitchen for 8 hours?


Well she stayed with me the whole time (except for the weird bathtub incidents)

Obviously for my good company


Not to stalk dropped bits and pieces of scrap food

Oh no, not for that reason AT ALL


She deems this one of her most favourite things cooked on Monday probably because it contained Peanut Butter!

I will share the recipe soon, once i remember what i did and try to recreate it, lol!


I also created this since i'm obsessed with the Starbucks version and it was going to put me in the poorhouse if i didn't come up with my own version soon!


Don't worry i didn't forget its Thirsty Thursday!!!

Donnas Starbucks be damed Iced Coffee

Ingredients
1 container of unsweetened chocolate almond milk
2 sleeves of starbucks instant coffee (oops probably shouldn't damn the company providing me with one of the ingredients for my drink!)
3 packs of Splenda or your preferred sweetener (sorry guys, but i do love my splenda, you could use stevia or organic sugar if you wish!)


Directions
1. Put all in the almond milk container
2. Shake
3. Make sure the lid is on properly
4. Shake the iced coffee out of your hair because your lid was not on properly!
5. Pour over ice one cup at a time, 45 calories baby!!!!!!!!!!!

So yesterday TRX was cancelled boo boo boooooo so Christina and I went to the UFC class where it was non stop exertion for 45 minutes straight and since we are gluttons for punishment we went to Physique 57 after, but little did we know an instructor from Guelph was teaching and we got our asses handed to us in a not so pretty way


I got home and could only make it up 3 of the 4 stairs that leads to our living room!  I'm not kidding, i really wish i was, my body is still shaking


My eats were still super good today even though BF and I had the day off together which is usually our down fall, we want yummy food when we get to hang out with each other!  I have made 2 epic (Daves words) vegan dinners in a row, very proud of myself!!!


Okay thats all for me, have a great Thursday!


Ps: We missed you at UFC Monica, next week you are SO coming with us!!!

Do, Don't, Should

 Just because i adore something


Most definitely doesn't mean BF does
Especially when it comes to tonights dinner, but more on that later...


I enjoy changing recipes up to make them more appealing to my and BF's palate


(Am i the only one that finds palate to be an odd word? Makes me think i'm talking about stacks of wood instead of taste bud preferences, and now i just spent 10 minutes googling which is the correct way to spell it, i'm still a little confused, lets just move on!)


So i've made a list


Oh you know i did, i just love my lists


What i Do love to eat
What i Don't like to eat
What i Should eat but don't because i'm stubborn like that

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But first i have to remember Thirsty Thursday!


This week is a little different


Cause you see its FREEZING outside


And i didn't want a smoothie


So i decided to share something else


Something that makes me sigh, smile, then giggle


Maybe you should try this recipe at home? ;o)

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Ch-ch-ch-changes in FOOD preferences

What i Do love to eat now
Chia seeds
Apple butter
Wheatberrys
Old fashioned oatmeal

What i Refuse to eat
Dill
Almond essence
Peanut butter in Oatmeal
Cilantro 
Nuts in food (nuts alone? totally cool, nuts in food? ick!)

What i Should eat but don't because i'm stubborn like that
Mushrooms, ewwwww - i still can't bring myself to eat them!  One of my earliest foodie memories is at the Beefeater Steak House in England where i would eat the battered mushroom caps my parents would always order but first i had to pull the mushroom out, make some kind of gross noise and then eat the coating!  Even now the fact that the mushroom had touched (and infected) the batter makes me want to gag!

Yummm this is tasty, thanks for dropping all this salt and vinegar kale mum!

This is what Sydney will eat.... Anything!  I sometimes refer to her as my personal cleanup crew, i bet she would die of happiness if i let her up on the kitchen counters to clean up the mess i make, especially the red pepper left overs, red peppers are her most favourite food!

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Recipe Addition time

Take one longing look at the salad bar in Zehrs

+

One giant bowl of a new-to-me grain

+

7 Fabulous mixings

+ 

Sprinkle with some magic (aka citrus) dressing

= 

Donnas Citrus Wheatberry Salad

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Lookie Lookie, we have ummmm wood wall thingees in our hole

Man, there were so many things WRONG with that sentence!

Happy Thursday, its the WEEKEND in 9 hours 

I'm really behind on my google reader, I can't wait to catch up this weekend!


What is everyone up to for Easter?