Bites of Summer

Summer is slowly fading out. While our furnace has yet to be turned on, we have spent fewer days on the beach and more days finishing our yard before frost sets in. A fresh crisp breeze is drifting in the window while hazy light filters through the clouds. It is beautiful and peaceful. Yet I'm still enjoying the last bits of summer, including the bounty from the farm fresh gardens! One way to enjoy all the fresh produce available right now is in sandwiches - no heat required meals are my favourite when the heat goes above 20*C. This sandwich is something special I learnt from my birthday lunch! My Mom arrived with the most amazing spread of delicious food! Watermelon salad, hummus and fresh vegetables, and quinoa salad sandwiches! Oh and the most incredible coconut cake, but I need to get that recipe from Mom before I can share it - she created it for my special day! We enjoyed the sandwiches so much that I recreated them that very week, and enjoyed them for a few days...for both lunch and dinner. When I like something I tend to go over board.  If you like nutritious food that leaves you drooling for more, this is a recipe you need to try! It is more of a guideline than a recipe as it is a 'what produce you have in the fridge is what you want to use' sort of recipe. And the amounts are up to you too - as this is completely customisable. So really, here's the list of what my mom and I liked in the ones we created, and you can create yours with your favourite vegetables too!

Quinoa Salad Sandwiches

an original recipe from my Mom!

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cooked qunioa -roughly 2 cups
black beans
chick peas
kidney beans
pumpkin seeds, raw and unsalted
kale
carrots
cucumber
red and yellow bell peppers
red cabbage
red onion

Strain and wash all the beans and place them in a bowl with the cooled qunioa. The chop all the vegetables into little pieces and add them to the bowl until the desired ratio has been achieved. Dress with your favourite dressing [mine was olive oil based with herbs and lemon juice] and serve in pita  bread. I enjoyed my best with spinach and hummus lining the pita before putting in the quinoa salad - but really it comes down to personal preference.


What has been your go to meal this summer? Are you favoring those recipes that neglect your oven? Or do you brave the heat in favor of a cooked meal every night? Now that fall is swinging into season my oven and i may just be rekindling our relationship, but I will keep this sandwich in play year round.
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How to Battle a Sugar Craving

How are those sugar cravings coming along? Have the all but disappeared now? We're on day six of Strike Sugar September with Tosca Reno and the Eat Clean Diet, and I for one am loving it! At this point I really don't crave sugar at all, and am feeling great. My boys are enjoying less 'treats' and more fruit. I am powering through my workouts, running after two little hoodlums sweethearts all day, and yet still find myself naturally waking up early feeling rested and ready for the day ahead. It's a great feeling!

The fabulous people over at the Eat Clean Diet have come up with a info graphic to help you wend your way through a sugar craving and WIN! To download your free copy, head on over to Eat Clean Diet's resource page. Post it on your fridge, or snack cupboard if you have one as a friendly reminder of what to do when a craving hits!

Just Keep Going....

If you're new to the no sugar way of life, then you may be needing a little extra boost right now! Keep going - the worst part of ridding sugar from your diet is the withdrawal [yes, withdrawal] that your body goes through as you detoxify. Sugar is addictive, in all its forms. You will find a whole world of wonderful tastes open up to you as you indulge in fruits and vegetables, instead of something packaged as brightly as fruit yet packing the nutritional punch of a Slurpee.

JUST KEEP GOING!