Weekend Warm-Up : Extended Summer

Here in Vancouver we are having an Indian Summer and supposedly it's lasting for another 60 days. Good news to me. I'm not a fan of the rain. Yes, I know, I live in Vancouver, rain city.

img via

 This week I started off with some slight back pain but thought I would push through it because I joined a new gym (Trevor Linden gym). Well it was really stupid on my part and I ended up hobbling around feeling like someone was constantly ringing out my spine like a wet towel. Ouch! So I dedicated some time to get rid of the pain instead of the gym. A little meditation and yoga hit the spot. My back pain is usually caused my an emotional blockage (ie.stress). Every time I try to convince myself that it's an actual physical injury and try to stretch and massage the heck out it. This method only equals complete failure. Once I calm down and realize it's stress I take the right steps. Stubborn Aries here!

This Saturday I'm heading to the car dealership. I'm thinking of getting a Ford Escape. The 2012, not the new 2013. The new one reminds me more of mini van. I've actually wanted an Escape for years and years but always ended up with something different. My car right now is incredibly non functional for me. Only 2 doors and does not have room for any dogs. It's also awful on gas so hopefully I say good bye to the nice car and hello Escape.


Lovely Links:

• an update for your morning granola. Pumpkin Granola for the Fall season. Yum!
• actual legit reasons to skip your gym session. Listen to your body.
• i've mentioned having warm lemon water in the morning before and here are some more reasons why.
• completely agree with this movie date tip. Maybe try it out this weekend?

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!
-Michelle

Healthy Food Recipe : Homemade Granola

I love cereal! but cereal doesn't love me. So I've found something new. Granola!

Mixed up Before Adding Wet Ingredients and Dried Fruit



I love all cereals but they do not agree with my stomach and usually aren't that great for you due to the processed ingredients, added additives/chemicals and all the sugar (even in healthy ones). Let's be honest, you didn't really think those frosted flakes, fruit loops and shredded wheats were good for you? It's all broken down and rebuilt ingredients in a box. The reason it can last so long on the shelf is because of how broken down the material is.

A great alternative to cereal is... Homemade Granola. My BF and I were buying a small bag from the local cafe that makes everything fresh and the bag was costing us $9.00 each time. So I thought it was time to just make it at home and save some money. Big bonus: now I know exactly what is going into my granola and add what we want to it. I love to change it up for the different seasons.

Here is my homemade granola recipe:

 

Summer Sun Granola

 

Dry Ingredients:

• 2.5 cups of rolled oats (try to use organic)
• 1/2 cup of slivered almonds
• 1/2 cup of pumpkin seeds
• 1/4 cup of shredded coconut
• 2 tablespoons of ground flax seed
• 2 tablespoons of chia seeds
• 1/2 cup of carob chips

Dried Fruit:

• 1/2 cup of cranberries
• 1/2 cup of golden raisins

Wet ingredients:

• 1/2 cup of real maple syrup  (no Aunt Jamima's)
• 1/2 cups of real honey

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Directions:
Take a cookie sheet and spray with pam or pam olive oil. In a measuring cup combine the maple syrup and honey together.

In a large bowl stir all dry ingredients except for the dried fruit until fully mixed. Slowly pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients bowl. Stir until everything thing has a light coating on it. You can add more of the wet ingredient mixture to your taste*.

On a large cookie sheet spread the mixture out evenly. Once the oven is ready set it on the middle rack to bake.

After 10 minutes take the pan out and gently mix the granola around on the pan. Place back in the over and set time for 5 minutes. After 5 minutes check on the granola and see how golden brown it is and add the dried fruit. Mine took another 5 minutes to reach the golden brown I like.

Remove the pan from the oven and let set for an hour. Once the granola has hardened you can break it up into a sealed tight container.

*try not to use too much sugar.

Tip: I like to eat this in the morning so I am able to burn off the calories from the dried fruit, oats and maple syrup/honey.

What do you add to your granola? I would love to hear some ideas I can add next time.

-Michelle