Eat Dance Live

There is so much to update from this week but here is the latest thought in my mind in three images: So psyched! This trip with my sister has been the best!

Once upon a time, there was a modest little bakery at the corner of Bank and Gloucester Street, named Bread and Sons . When they moved into town, the two heroes of our story learned that at 195 Bank Street, they would likely find one of the best vegan pizzas in town. Now, everyone knows that excellent vegan pizza is a rare thing to behold. Fake cheeses and processed soy meats abound, masking the health and deliciousness of what vegan food can be. Few are the vegan pizzas our heroes have truly considered delicious and consumable. Only once before, at Bread & Brew in Washington DC, had they had vegan pizza worthy of raising their four united thumbs to. The quest for a better vegan pizza was theirs to make.  However, life's trials and tribulations kept them from the little Ottawan bakery, and it quickly faded from their memory. Many moons passed... Papers were written, tears were shed, laughter rang within the halls of their home, walks were taken, meals were eaten...

Oh, stinky stinky deliciousness... A fruit so smelly it's banned from many airports and other forms of public transportations in Asia, and yet, there's lots of great reasons to eat durian: (sure it kind of looks like a liver... or half a brain... but it's delicious I promise!) it's rich in fiber, so helps with digestion and appetite. durian is rich in folate, so can help combat anemia, which women are particularly prone to have High in vitamin C, it promotes collagen production, so healthy skin, bones, tendons and ligaments (which is probably a really good idea for me right before I run my 1/2 marathon next week!!!) Rich in potassium, it's great for bone health too! With high levels of manganese, it also helps regulate blood sugar. For thyroid health, durian is a good source of copper, which plays a role in maintaining your metabolism. B6, one of the nutrients needed to produce seratonin, a mood enhancer, is quite high in durian... so eating durian mi...

Time to pass through Toronto = Time to go eat at Live Organic Food Bar We're in London (Ontario) this weekend to spend some quality time with my partner's fam. With a bus stopover in Toronto, we couldn't help ourselves but stop over at our favourite raw restaurant. Here were some of the eats: 1) The Raw Poutine: Andrew saw this on the menu and couldn't get over the fact that someone had actually made raw poutine. Despite my now six years of living in Canada, I've never actually had poutine (even when I wasn't vegan). I know that probably makes me a bad immigrant. Why would I pass up this Canadian culinary wonder you ask? There are three things my taste buds have never taken to: a) potatoes; b) gravy; c) greasy cheesy things... so why in God's name would I try a combination of them? I hear poutine is fantastic if that's your thing, and that's wonderful, but it's just not mine. However, this raw version, made with marinated jicama fries, a mi...

Nothing says lazy Sunday morning like brunch, especially making French toast for the one you love. (I know it's Tuesday, but this will give you something to look forward to.) With a fairly empty fridge, here was the most no-frills vegan french toast recipe I came come up with: Easiest Vegan French Toast Yield: 2 servings 4-6 slices of toast* 3/4C non-dairy milk 1 bananas 1T vanilla protein powder (optional) 1 tsp cinnamon pinch of salt 1-2T oil (or margarine) for frying 1. Blend all ingredients except toast, and place in deep dish. 2. Dip each slice of toast in the mix until it's well soaked, coat each side. 3. In a medium hot pan, fry each slice with 1t of oil until golden brown on each side. 4. Serve with bananas, berries, maple syrup, and some extra cinnamon!  *I used thick slices of sourdough so they soaked up more.

I've been saying over the last week that of all the comfort foods out there, there's nothing quite like the blueberry muffin. I never actually ever got to eat that many growing up, but there's something about them that embodies warmth and loveliness to me. With that in mind, I've pretty much been obsessing about finding a vegan blueberry muffin recipe over the last little while. On top of that, because I'm picky, I was out to find something wheat-free, preferably low sugar (or avoiding cane sugar altogether), and low fat. Yep, I've become one of those people, so sue me. After scouring the internet, the heavens opened and line shone in when I found this recipe on the Tone it Up girls' blog in preparation for Valentine's Day. The bonus? They're healthy and high in protein. Low fat? Only 3T of oil per batch. Low sugar? Only about 1/3C (which I knew I would cut down on anyway). Wheat-free? That's always easy to tweak with. Vegan? Blueberries? ...

This week's culinary creation was inspired by trying to finish the frozen Ezekiel sprouted corn tortillas that have been sitting forgotten in the freezer for too long. It's also kind of like these no cheese pizzas , but baked a bit for warmth. Problem is, I like these enough that now I just want to buy more tortillas to make more even though the point was to get rid of them... "No Cheese" Tortilla Pizzas Take 3 Yield: 4 "pizzas" 4 Ezekiel sprouted corn tortillas tomato sauce* nut cheese (optional)** toppings (broccoli florets, mushroom slices, roasted peppers, spinach, zucchini) *1/2C soaked sundried tomatoes + 1 date + 1/2 tomato, blended all together  ** 1:1 ratio of cashews and macadamia nuts (about 1/3 to 1/2C each), juice of 1/2 lemon, salt to taste, water (added slowly for consistency), blended slowly adding in water until it makes a thick cheese spread 1. Preheat oven to 325. 2. Layer tomato sauce, cheese, and toppings onto t...