Well, guess what? I’m done my summer class!!! Happy Dance time!! Well, technically I still have 2 labs to go to. But, I wrote my last exam, so to me…that means I’m pretty much done! So, HORRAY!

I got myself a little treat that I haven’t had in [...]]]> Long time no talk!

Well, guess what? I’m done my summer class!!! Happy Dance time!! Well, technically I still have 2 labs to go to. But, I wrote my last exam, so to me…that means I’m pretty much done! So, HORRAY!

I got myself a little treat that I haven’t had in a while to celebrate.

Holy. Yum.
 

Also, I’ve been loving my melon lately.
 
Cantaloupe, watermelon, honeydew…when I break out the melon, I just KNOW it’s truly SUMMER!

I have a fun week planned for myself – starting with ballet class tonight, Canada Day celebrations tomorrow and a very special someone visiting for the weekend! I’m also looking forward to celebrating my very first July 4th!

Oh and I also, I have a fun, healthy and delicious summer drink I want to share with you coming up this week!

Off to do a bit o’ shopping and then it’s Ballet time!

Enjoy this glorious day

How do YOU know it’s truly summer?

My friend Amanda is visiting from Boston this weekend, so I got the chance to play tourist with her!

After a tour of SoHo yesterday, we stopped at the very crowded Cafe Habana for lunch.

If you’re ever in the area, I highly recommend visiting Cafe Habana, if not for the [...]]]> Welcome new readers!

My friend Amanda is visiting from Boston this weekend, so I got the chance to play tourist with her!

After a tour of SoHo yesterday, we stopped at the very crowded Cafe Habana for lunch.

If you’re ever in the area, I highly recommend visiting Cafe Habana, if not for the atmosphere alone. It’s crowded, but it has a very authentic feel to it and it is always hopping!

They’re famous for their corn, grilled and served with chili powder, lime & cotija cheese, which Amanda and I shared.

We each also got a meal. I got Molletes (toasted cuban bread topped with black refried beans & melted cheese served with fresh tomato salsa) and Amanda got a chicken and corn tortilla casserole dish with baked beans. 
Hit. The. Spot.  

After  lunch we did some shopping and I picked up some Baked by Melissa cupcakes for my friend Alex’s b-day!

1 s’mores, 2 cookie dough and 1 tie die. Yum! Amanda and I each picked up 2 for ourselves as well (obvs);)

Then it was off to the birthday party at Sambuca.

Sangria was poured.

And enjoyed….
 
JH!                                      Me!                                    Amanda!

There was a delicious and tangy chopped salad…

A CHEEEEESY whole wheat eggplant pasta dish…
 

And many other lovely looking delights!

…Such as CAKE!

Happy B-day ALEX!

Alright, I’m off to take a Haitian dance class with Amanda at Alvin Ailey! SO EXCITED!

And tonight I’m going to a Super Bowl partay with the BF and friends. I was notified that only “Super Bowl food” will be served, so I offered to bring some healthier fare (mainly so I would have something to eat)!

I’m bringing:

- Homemade Tortilla Chips
- Homemade dip (either salsa or seven layer bean dip, I haven’t decided yet)
- Shrimp and White Bean Salad

*Another thing that I like to bring to a party (but am not bringing tonight) that always is a crowd pleaser is Brie Cheese, just a whole thing of it, opened and topped with apricot preserves. SO DEE-LICIOUS! Bring along some whole wheat crackers and watch it disappear!*

What’s your favorite dish to bring to a party?

I got up early today! At 8:30am!  I know some of you crazy people get up at 7am or even *gasp* 6am, but this is an accomplishment for me!

I have tons to do today! Most of it involves studying but I have a bunch of [...]]]> Happy Meatless Monday! And Happy Thanksgiving to all my fellow Canadians!

I got up early today! At 8:30am!  I know some of you crazy people get up at 7am or even *gasp* 6am, but this is an accomplishment for me!

I have tons to do today! Most of it involves studying but I have a bunch of other stuff on top of that!

So moving right along. Eats from yesterday included:

Irish banana oats, topped with a medjool date and some crunchy almond butter. With a side of Times Digest (a nine-page synopsis of The New York Times).
I mean, who has time to read a whole newspaper

Midday I did a 1.5 hour power yoga class. Intense. And amazing. I <3 yoga.

Lunch was some un-pictured Lean Green Mac and Cheese with whole wheat noodles, spinach and zucchini.

I had a hardcore sweet tooth afterward so I decided to venture out and try some of the renowned Baked by Melissa mini cupcakes.

[source]

Baked By Melissa, is a tiny little hole in the wall (literally) on Spring St. off Broadway that sells incredible miniature cupcakes.

There are 9 flavours of tiny stuffed cupcakes. And the line to get them is always super long.

I got 6 to share with the bf: 2 red velvet, cookies and cream, cookie dough, peanut butter cup and s’mores.

They are actually the size of a quarter:

So teeny.

BUT SO DELICIOUS! Little bites of heaven. I don’t even want to know what goes into those. They are decadent.

For dinner I made Vegetarian Chili based off of a recipe in one of my new favourite cookbooks.

But of course, I had to screw it up. The recipe called for 1.5 tablespoons of chili powder. Well, my chili powder happens to look QUITE similar to my cinnamon.

So you can guess what happened. Cinnamon Chili! I thought it was totally ruined. But I kept at it…. I added a bit more chili powder than was called for and upped some of the herbs to balance it out.

And… it turned out Delicious!

My bowl with a dollop of Fage. I also put a mini sprinkling of goat gouda but you can’t really see it.

Looks good huh? Want the recipe?

Okay HERE it is. I suggest sticking with the original amounts, and not mistakenly adding an extra tablespoon of cinnamon… but whatever floats your boat.

Off to tackle the day. Be back later with some interesting healthy food news straight from my hometown!