Good Food Box

Today I received my very first good food box.  I am proud to be supporting my local farmers.  The program, run by Foodshare Toronto, allows me to buy fresh, good quality produce, at a fraction of the cost. As someone who is watching both her wallet and what she eats, this couldn't be a more perfect fit for me.  

As I arrived at the pick up site,  I felt as if it was Christmas morning.  There sat a little green box, contents unknown, with my name on the lid.  It was just waiting to be opened. Each piece of produce pulled out of the box brought a smile to my face.  I wish everyone could be that happy when buying their fruit and veggies.  

My first box, priced at $24.00, was a small organic good food box. It included:

4 Apples

1 Avocado

1 Bunch Bananas {Fair Trade}

1 Large Cabbage

1 Bunch Kale

1 Bunch Red Leaf Lettuce

1 Red Onion

1 Green Pepper

1 lb Potatoes

.5 Basket Field Tomatoes

2 Heirloom Tomatoes

All of these items are organic and only two (the avocado & bananas) are not local produce. 

As of right now I am excited to eat all of this food and to try out the other boxes that are offered.  I'm sure next weeks present will be just as wonderful!

G.

Current Obsessions {GGO}

Summer continues! I never really get tired of the warm weather and all that comes with it.  Particularly the August events that happen every year.  They play a starring role in my current obsessions.

1) Shark Week (it's a constant obsession). I will admit here that I've developed a wee love for sharks.   This year was one of the best shark weeks programming wise. Not only did Canada actually get the full week, but they added in some shows on more than just great whites and attacks.  Hopefully they will continue to bring a new variety of shark shows next year.

{Help! I have shark week on the brain}

2) BBQs.  What is summer without food grilled over a flame and friends to share it with?  Whether you have burgers or spider dogs, grilled pineapples or peaches the bbq adds a little extra magic to whatever you're cooking.

{Paleo burger & faux-tato salad}

3) Family Gatherings.  Every year we do a big weekend get-together with my Mums side of the family.  We compete in games, catch up and eat turkey cooked in a garbage can.  It's one of summers greatest highlights. 

{My team for the family games competition}

4) The Canadian National Exhibition. The food building alone is enough of a reason to go.  Add in the games, rides, shows and various other activities and it's a solid day of good times with friends.

{The view from above}

August has been kind to me, if only summer could last forever!

G.

G Eats: Honey Ginger Chicken Stir Fry

Stir fry has to be the one of the easiest ways to use up a lot of veggies and stretch out a smaller amount of meat.  It comes together quickly for a delicious meal full of good for you stuff. This recipe came together as one of those toss-what-you-got-into-a-pan-and-make-it-delicious kinda meals.  Feel free to use whatever vegetables you have on hand for this one.

Honey Ginger Chicken Stir Fry

4-6 Boneless skinless chicken thighs, cut into 1 inch pieces
Marinade:
3 TBSP Coconut Aminos
1/2 tsp each Onion Powder, Garlic Powder & Ground Ginger

Place chicken in non reactive bowl. Combine marinade ingredients and pour over chicken.  Toss well to coat.  Set aside in fridge for at least 1 hour.

1/2-1 Cup Tapioca Starch {enough for just a light coating on the chicken} seasoned to taste with salt & pepper
Coconut Oil for the pan
Assorted Mixed Vegetable {onions, carrots, celery, mushroom, broccoli or whatever you have on hand}
2 Cloves garlic; minced
Sauce:
1/4 Cup Coconut Aminos
Ground Ginger
Chilli Flakes
Lime Juice 
Honey
{add the seasonings to your own taste, depending on how hot or sweet you like your sauce}
Arrowroot Powder {for thickening if needed} 

Heat enough oil in a frying pan or wok for a shallow pan fry.  Dredge marinated chicken pieces in the tapioca starch, shaking off any excess.  Pan fry in batches until cooked, flipping part way through.  Roughly 5-7 minutes.  Set aside on paper towel lined plate.

Remove extra oil and toss in your mixed vegetables {except for the broccoli which can be added later so it won't over cook}.  Fry until they begin to get tender {you can add a bit of water to steam them slightly if you want to speed up the cooking process} when they are at the halfway done mark, stir in the broccoli and garlic.  Cook for a couple more minutes, then pour in the sauce.  Continue cooking until the vegetables are at their desired doneness and the sauce has thickened.  Add the chicken back to the pan and mix.

Serve on a bed of riced cauliflower.

Enjoy!



G.

Current Obsessions {GGO} Birthday Edition!

Yesterday was my birthday! I got to spend the day outside with my friends having tons of fun. I thought an obsessions post would be appropriate for today.

1) Birthday Cakes! Are we surprised this is number one? What is a birthday but an excuse to eat as much {paleo} cake as possible?

2) Paleo Desserts Cookbook.  It goes hand in hand with number one. You can't have cake without cake recipes. This book rocks!

3) Long Sunny Walks in the Summertime.  Walking is free AND good for you.  I love spending solo time appreciating the beautiful things around me.

4) Batting cages.  Even if your terrible this is a lot of fun with a group of friends and it's relatively inexpensive.  I personally swing until I can't lift my arms anymore.  Batter up!!

 

Not a very in depth post, but here it is, short and sweet {just like me}. Now I'm off to find more cake.



G.

Vacation Grub and Universal Updates

We're back from our trip and it was so lovely! The weather held up quite well for us and we only went maybe $150 over our budget.  All in all the trip was a success!! I though I would give a quick overview of our adventures and some of our challenges too.

Our hotel was very nice and a 10 minute walk from the main parks.  This really allowed us to come and go as we pleased without having to take a taxi or wait for the free shuttle, which had to be booked in advance and only ran at certain times. The only downside was I had picked the hotel for it's three restaurants inside hoping we could utilize them more.  Needless to say after spending $40 on a subpar breakfast the first day we realized we would need to dine elsewhere for the remainder of our stay if we wanted to stay on our budget. Our breakfast fund was greatly saved by the discovery of a Golden Corral in a 3 minute walk from the hotel.

Our first stop was Island of Adventures, I would rank it as my 2nd favourite park of the trip (Seaworld stole my heart). I loved how immersed in each area you felt as you walked through. Naturally Harry Potter World was one of our biggest highlights and we made sure to visit multiple times.  I was a big fan of the big-as-your-head turkey legs at the Three Broomsticks. The Boy was a big fan of butterbeer.

 

To avoid buying too many overpriced snacks we loaded up on fruit, veggies, beef jerky and grain free granola to keep our energy up during the day.  We learned quickly that a lot of the in-park places to eat, that weren't full restaurants, would not offer substitutes. I found myself having to pay extra for little more that a few pieces of iceburg lettuce, a cucumber hunk and a wedge of tomato.  Since we had the all access passes it allowed us to enter and leave the parks as often as we wanted, so we made a habit of leaving to hit up the food court in the city walk where I could get a super large salad with all the fixins' AND grass feed beef on top.

Universal Studios was neat but not nearly as much fun as the other parks.  I liked all the movie stuff, but found as far as rides and activities went there wasn't as much to do if you didn't want to shop. Still a good time though.

We took big time advantage of the all you can eat buffet at Aquatica that allowed us to go back as many times as we wanted through the whole day.  It didn't have the most food choices but it definitely kept us fed and went easy on our wallets. 

Now let's talk Seaworld.

Seaworld was by far my favourite park on our trip. Filled with rides and all sorts of aquatic life there was so much to do that we didn't even get through it all in one day. Naturally the shark encounter area was the best where we got to go through a tunnel with sharks swimming all around us.  Right outside it there was a restaurant where there was a big aquarium full of sharks to look at while you ate.  It was one of our splurges but allowed us to eat a really hearty meal in the middle of the day, got us out of the heat for a while and allowed me to stare in childlike wonder at the sharks. I think the one "complaint" of the day was that I would run off the minute I saw something interesting, leaving The Boy to try to grab my backpack to keep track of me.  I had warned him I was going to be a 6 year old all day.

Overall the trip was just fantastic and, despite our financial constraints, we managed to optimize our time and funds to ensure the maximum amount of fun was had by all.



G.

Going Places On A Budget

Countdown to Universal has begun! In two weeks The Boy and I will be headed on a much anticipated trip to Florida.  We will be spending a full week traversing the many Universal parks and embracing the kid-like wonderment inside.  This trip was my present to him for his 30th birthday back in January, so needless to say, the buildup has been torture.  It will be his first time on a plane as well as our first real vacation together as a couple.  We are very excited.

When I initially purchased this non refundable trip (hotel, airfare and all access passes) I was gainfully employed and looking for a suitably awesome gift for a milestone birthday.  Now as the date approaches we find ourselves in a bit of a financial pickle, which adds a level of stress to our vacation plans.  Since everything else is already paid for, our main expenses will solely be food.  Luck would have it I had been squirrelling away some cash over the last few months so we will be attempting to spend a week at Universal on a $600 cash budget.

I am well aware that nothing is cheap at theme parks.  Add to this my dietary restrictions and there is a recipe for nervous making feelings. However, I am determined that we will stick as close to our budget as possible, while getting our necessary nutrients and have fun as well. I am already plotting out all the possible cheap places to eat as well as closest grocery stores to our hotel.


Wish us luck!!



G.

G Eats: Tuna Salad Rolls

We've had some confused weather around here lately.  Last week everyone was out in full force donning summer clothing, only to be rudely interrupted by hail on the weekend.  We were left to frantically pull out our freshly packed away cold weather wear.  My beach volleyball team toughed it out in icy sands, then I awoke the next morning to a beautiful warm sunny day.  Although Mother Nature can't quite make up her mind there is one constant here in my humble abode: even the slightest rise in temperature outside turns my apartment into a stuffy hot box.

Naturally when it gets hot inside I try to keep the stove/oven use to a minimum. We eat a lot of snack plates around here in the summer months.  In a bid to keep our food interesting, even if I'm not cooking it, I've started experimenting with using sheets of nori to make cold rolls.

The other night I was left on my own for dinner and feeling rather lazy.  I decided to whip up a batch of paleo mayo and have some tuna salad.  *A note on mayo {paleo or otherwise}: if you are not making your own mayo, you should be! Fresh homemade mayo tastes sooooo much better than any of the store bought crap.  Also with the use of a regular or immersion blender it's easy to toss together a batch.  I strongly believe that my salads requiring a mayo dressing greatly benefit from a homemade approach.* 

Now, let me say, there's nothing fancy about my standard tuna salad.  It's just canned tuna, mayo, celery, onions, salt, pepper, dill and paprika.  Sometimes I add a little more heat to it if I'm in the mood for spice, but I like the simplicity of it.  Initially I had planned on just eating it with a fork right out of the bowl leaning against the counter like the classy girl I am. Then I figured I'd toss it on some lettuce and perhaps sit down. But the nori beckoned to me from the cupboard and it whispered tuna salad rolls. 

Tuna Salad Rolls

For the tuna salad:
1 Can flaked tuna in water; drained
2-3 Tbsp Mayo {hopefully homemade}
1 Celery stalk; diced
1-2 Green onions; diced {use just the white part here and reserve the green tops for the rolls}
1-2 tsp fresh or dried dill {or to taste}
1-2 pinches of paprika
Salt & Pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients in a bowl until evenly combined.  Adjust seasonings to taste. Set aside in fridge.

For the rolls:
1-2 Sheets of nori {the number of sheets you use will depend on how thick you want your rolls}
1/3 Cucumber; seeded and cut into matchsticks
1-2 Green onion tops; sliced lengthwise
1/2 Carrot; cut into matchsticks {or you can use a carrot slaw mix like I did to save time}
1/2-1 Cup shredded lettuce
Tuna Salad

Lay out a sheet of nori on a cutting board.  Sprinkle it with a little bit of water to make it pliant.  I just wet my finger tips and flicked the water onto the sheet so it was slightly damp but not so wet that it would tear once I started to roll.

Start by laying down some of the tuna salad.  I leave about an inch and a half of the nori sheet closest to me empty so I have room to start to roll from.  Layer your vegetable matchsticks on top followed by the lettuce.  Now you should have a mound of filling ready to be rolled up.  The amount of filling you put in will not only determine how large your rolls will be but it will affect how easy it is to roll the nori. I'm not an expert at rolling nori so I just went with the good old trial and error method for this.

Grab the end closest to you and pull it up over your fillings.  You want to tuck it over as your begin to roll and really focus on keeping it tight so your salad stays nicely secure in the nori package.  Roll all the way up to the end and make sure it adheres so your roll stays together. Repeat with remaining ingredients. 

Once all your rolls are made you can then cut them into your desired size.  You can keep them longer like the size of a spring roll or cut them more bite sized like sushi.  I suggest you use a very sharp knife that you clean off after every cut or two or it'll become harder to cut through your rolls.

Plate and enjoy!

Note: Feel free to play around with the tuna salad flavourings.  This is just a basic recipe so you can add whatever spices or ingredients you want to make it more exciting. If you're not a mayo person use a mashed up avocado instead.  Hate tuna? Chicken salad would work as well. You could also just lay down the mashed up avocado and put the remaining ingredients on top for a vegetarian friendly roll.  The sky's the limit!

G.