Hot and Cold

Hi! Remember me? It’s been a while. And by “been a while,” I mean two days. Good news is that we now have the internet!! Yayyy!!! Now I can live stream the Tour de France which makes me a very happy girl indeed.

The simple eats continue, especially considering this heat we’re in. The idea of putting anything in an oven sounds suicidal.

Monday night I made a big pot of sumthin’ in preparation for the heat wave. Always nice to have a ton of leftovers that I can just pop in the microwave when I don’t feel like cooking! Featured above is a mix of quinoa, black beans, tofu and frozen veggies. For those two bowls, I mixed it with salsa + laughing cow cheese.

I have also spent many more hours internetting in my new favourite cafe.

Many lightly sweetened iced teas and coffees have been consumed. However, I’ve learned that if I come with rations, I can stay away from the delicious looking baked goods they sell :)

While I may not have been blogging, I was most certainly talking about blogging with another blogger. Bloggity blogging bloggers.

Kristen from Cook, Bake, Nibble!! We’ve been planning to get together ever since I first announced I was moving to Toronto. We couldn’t wait until the big meet-up on Sunday!

We’d originally planned on going to a specialty pizza place, but it was closed. Really, it was just a sign that we needed to re-visit Fresh.

 
I was tempted to get another immunity boost juice to help my cold along, but I also wanted to try something different. After much debate, I ended up with the hangover helper:  orange, banana, ginger, spirulina, wheatgrass. I hoped the wheatgrass would help “the sickness” and having a cold can sometimes feel like a hangover anyways ;)

More debate ensued over what to eat. Kristen and I were both feeling salads – must be the heat!!

 
Not surprisingly, I went for the Super Protein Salad: chick peas, grape tomatoes, cucumber, grilled tempeh & our high protein omega rich *salad topper on salad greens (*puffed quinoa, goji berries, currants, pistachios, hazelnuts, almonds & sea salt).

The protein mix sounded too unique to pass up! I got the house dressing (apple cider vinegar, tamari, lemon juice, mustard, garlic & organic flax oil) and really enjoyed it. The tempeh was amazing and the puffed quinoa added a really cool texture to the mix. So creative!

I must also thank Kristen for putting up with my incessant hacking and nose blowing. Hopefully I’ll be better for the meet-up on Sunday! Kristen is super bubbly and loves chatting about food as much as I do. I see many Toronto eating adventures in our future!!

Today is Waffle Wednesday. An occasion I was excited to celebrate in my new place, but it was not meant to be. I forgot to buy baking powder. Oops!

Egg white french toast was the next best thing. Smothered in a sauce made up of mashed banana, peanut butter, maple syrup and cinnamon.

No waffles, but just as tasty. You can’t really go wrong with eggs and bread :)

After this I went to the gym! Notable, because Monday was my first day there in 5 days, and then I couldn’t bring myself to go back on Tuesday. Monday’s weightlifting sesh was a little on the brutal side. I was coughing and snotting all over the place, which is not very sanitary given the environment. Today I went back and did a “moderate” cardio workout on the elliptical, rowing machine and stepmill. Much better. I’m still sick, but I left feeling good! Yay!

The gym also provided a nice air-conditioned escape from the heat. I hope you runners are being careful out there!! I came home starving and immediately hit up those leftovers – this time dressed with black olives, feta and hummus, eaten as a cold salad.

“Baked” sweet potato (ie microwaved for 6 minutes) topped with cottage cheese.

The perfect hot weather meal!!

Ohyes, and many of these:

Iced tea to beat the heat, and soothe my sore throat.

And, erm, gelato for the same reasons mentioned above ;) Half melted from the two-second walk home (yes, I now also live a hop, skip, and a roll from a gelato place – danger!). Went for coconut raspberry and blood orange flavours. Might I add it also worked perfectly to cool me down. Well, the word “cool” is rather relative these days.

 

Question of the Day: What’s your favourite way to stay cool in the summer heat? I know we’re not the only ones in a heat wave! I’ve definitely been enjoying a couple cold showers day :)