iheartwellness.com

Happy Tuesday Yo!

I am just loving my life today! Are any of you feeling this way today?

This morning started off with a wonderful meeting at a coffee shop in our old hood (about 20 minutes from where we live now) and then I went for a visit with my sis and we headed downtown to our fave spot - Urban Fair! We chatted, sipped americano’s and saw some Canucks

All in all it has been a great day so far!

I am baking a delicious batch of sweet potato fries as we speak and all I have to do is heat up left over Quinoa burgers I made for last nights dinner to accompany them! I heart easy, health dinners.

Let me share with you the Quinoa Burger!

1 1/2 cup quinoa
1 red pepper
1 medium carrot
1 cup flax meal
1 small onion
sea salt
herbs (fresh or dried - I used about 2 tbsp mrs. dash original blend)

Rinse and cook quinoa as it says on back of package - Usually for 12 minutes

Add cooked quinoa and all other ingredients to the food processor and process until blended.

Form into patties on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet and bake @ 350 for 15 minutes per side.

Super crispy and YUMMY!!

I received this quote today from Ryan and fell in love with it!

“Good communication is as stimulating as black coffee, and just as hard to sleep after.”

So true isn’t it? And let me tell you all, I love my coffee black

Fitness Update!

Today was Cardio day!! I rocked 30 minutes on the elliptical and my legs are killing, but in a good way Thank you Fitnessista!

**Tip - Remember to always listen to your body when working out. If you are following a workout plan and it says to do 30 minutes of cardio and you can only push out 20 - it’s ok! Your bod knows best

Do you love quinoa? Do you eat if for breakfast or dinner? Do you make a date to spend time with your siblings on a regular basis?

XXOO
Kris

Hey! Happy Monday to you all!

Wow, the weekend is over and it is time to get back to work Who am I kidding I do my thang even on the weekends. The only difference the weekend brings is that Ryan is home for 2 days straight!

Yesterday was so beautiful here, so we decided to hit up our favourite S’bucks and enjoy a little relaxation and then we took the pooch to the beach to throw the ball around a little. Hudson is addicted to the ball still!

Action Shot!

Hudsy made a friend “Beans”! The owner said they named him Beans because he passed gas a lot

I decided to rock the flip flops out because it looked so Spring like out there, but by the water it was freezing!

So I went back in the warm car, when they played!

After the beach romp we headed to Whole Foodies for some lunch!

Pinto Bean Soup and Gluten Free pakoras

We got home around 2pm and Ryan headed to a meeting while I baked cookies, watched shows online and caught up on emails. It was such a wonderful relaxing Sunday!

Dinner was super! Mexican Millet on Greens. So tasty. I could eat this daily with the fresh avocado, I swear….

Off to the gym to do my Day 4 and 5. I was a bad girl and missed my Day 4 cardio workout yesterday. Honestly these legs of mine are still so sore from my Day 3 leg workout!! I hope I can do cardio today! Wish me luck!

What is your favourite thing to do on a Sunday? Do you like having a full day or a relaxing day??

XXOO
Kris

Happy Friday Everyone!!!

I heart Friday’s so freaking much!

Last night my sister and I headed on one of our crazy little adventures and went spray tanning! We choose to go to a salon with a natural product and they airbrush you by hand. We figured the colour would go on a bit more evenly if we had a human spray us instead of a machine

Have you ever had this done??

We left there looking pretty bronzed. In the morning I got a text message from Michelle asking if I looked any darker than my natural pasty self and I checked myself out in a mirror and well….no….I didn’t look that much darker than I did going into this place.

I figured I would find some random patches of orange somewhere hidden on this body and there was nothing!

We called the salon and she told us the lady who sprayed us gave us the “light” version as we were pale. UGH! I payed $33 smackers for this tan, I want to look tanned! So they were super nice enough to have us come in this afternoon to get a darker tan applied for free We just got back and WOW do I looked Dark!

I do NOT look as dark as Ross did on that Friends episode he gets a tan….thank goodness!

I love that show!

I look like I just got back from Hawaii for a week and I didn’t even see the sun for this. I am staying clear from tanning beds as I do not want any premature wrinkles

Today was supposed to be my Day #3 - cardio day of my Fitnessista.com Bikini Body Workout and I think I have to pass today since I can’t sweat or my tan will run

I will jump back on that fitness wagon tomorrow morning. My goal is to look like this when I am done:

She looks pretty tanned. I wonder if it is spray??

I made a fab batch of yummy bars yesterday that I found on the lovely LoveVeggiesAndYoga.com site! You have to check these bars out! AMAZING!!

I love making treats that require no baking, it is so easy! I have had 2 of these today, and yes, I have put them on my food list for today

Have you ever spray tanned??

XXOO
Kris

Hi Everyone!! Happy Thursday! Woooo Hooo it is almost Friday, can you believe how fast this extra short week has gone by?

I am just eating a hearty salad and then I am off to the gym to jump on Day 2 of my Bikini Ready Exercises I found on Fitnessista.comr

Yesterday was day 1 which was 30 minutes of Cardio on the good ol’ Treadmill……

I did what was explained on the site and listed out my Workouts and my Eats for each day as I go along! It is really simple so far

Here is happy me on the treadmill! Haha, I am only smiling for you guys, I really hate this thing!

My snack yesterday was simple and delicious, an apple with cinnamon and nut butta = YUMMMYYYY!!

Dinner was tasty. I made the veggie burgers found on OhSheGlows.com with a nice Kale Salad. I replace the Spelt in the original recipe for Oats and it works so well! Super filling and very high in protein!

Off to workout! Day #2 here I come. I can Gina will have me working hard

Are you doing a special workout to get yourself Bikini Weather??

Have a great afternoon!

XXOO
Kris

Howdy Everyone!

How is this Wednesday treating you all? My day is going very smoooothly if I may say so.

Wow, I can’t believe Easter is all over and done with now and my kitchen is filled with dark chocolate that screams at me whenever I walk by it. Sometimes I have to give in and have 1 or 2 little foiled eggs…….I love them, I can’t help it!

“April showers bring May flowers” and that is exactly what is happening here today I do wish it was sunny and warm here, but I also know the little buds on the trees that are forming now need this drizzle. We are seriously considering a little getaway to get into some sun!

When the weather is like this it is difficult to find things to do with your days, so yesterday Ryan and I hit up the mall! He did his “boy” things - ie. Sony Store and Best Buy and I did my “Girly” things - Sephora, H&M, and other clothing stores.

After our separate shopping time we joined together to battle T&T Supermarket to hunt down some Japanese Green Tea! At Ryan’s families place they always serve this delicious green tea and I had to find it. Luckily having a half Japanese boyfriend pays off and he lead me to the correct one! Genmaicha is the one that I love! It has yummy puffed brown rice in with the tea and it gives it a wonderful “popcorn” flavour.

We bought a huge bag of loose leaf genmaicha tea for $4 smackers!

Also on my list of purchases was this fun tea pot that is made for loose leaf teas

Green Tea is so good for your bod as it is a high and powerful antioxidant. Antioxidants safely interact with free radicals (the cancer and illness causers in the body) and helps neutralize these free radicals so they won’t harm your body.

Drinking green tea throughout your day will help you feel calm, pure and energized! I probably drink close to a liter and a half of this stuff in a day. I keep my little tea pot on my desk and fill my mug when it gets low. Of course I still drink plenty (2 liters) of pure, clean water a day as well which helps with proper hydration

Off to do some running around and enjoy this day!

Do you love Green Tea? What is your Favourite Green Tea??

XXOO
Kris

Good Morning Everyone!

I hope you are all enjoying a beautiful Monday morning. Well it isn’t so bueno here this morning weather wise, but besides that it is going very smooth this a.m.

Ryan and I are heading out for a morning coffee date and some running around! Sephora here I come. I need some new facewash and as mask

How was everyone’s Easter?

Here is a recap of what my day was like:

Breakfast at the ‘rents place! My sister and I made Averie’s Vegan Pancakes, which were pretty delicious, minus the issue I had with them sticking to the pan The rest of the family enjoyed my mom’s famous waffles, with blueberries, raspberries and pure maple syrup. Mimosas were placed next to our breakfast along with a nice cup of coffee….such a beautiful treat!

After breakfast was a little Egg Hunt. My parents are renovating their house, so the eggs were hidden amongst building materials, covered sofa’s, and all that jazz. During the renovating process, my dad is cleaning out different areas of the house and came across this t-shirt I had gotten in my Easter basket probably 14 years ago.

My mom painted this shirt and my sister and I each got one that year. I can’t believe this kids size L still fits me (somewhat). So what better way to kick off an Easter hunt than to rock the same shirt I did back when I was a Tween

Once all the eggs were found, Ryan decided to enjoy the nice weather and wash our ride! It was desperately in need of a cleaning and I am so happy to see my baby all shiny again

I enjoyed my word searching

And some chocolates!

Dinner was at Ryan’s family’s place where we enjoyed some Chinese food and good company (forgot the camera at home). Ryan and I usually bring our own meals over as it saves time and hassle for others, so I quickly whipped up a salad with some hummus and packed it up for the ride to the family’s house.

After dinner, we put out some snacks, popped in a movie and relaxed…….just what we needed

What did you do for Easter? Is there memories you have of being a little one at Easter?

XXOO

Kris

Howdy Everyone!

It is Thur-Friday!!! An extra long weekend for most people and I am so excited to have Ryan home for 4 whole days straight!

I love Easter time because of the colours, the chocolate, the food and the egg hunt…..yes you heard right. My sister and I still hunt for chocolate. Its not extreme like it was when we were little, it is usually a basket my mom will hide in the house and we have to find it. Oh goodness, am I too old for this?! I hope not because I LOVE it!

This year my family is having an Easter Breakfast and Ryan and I are going to make Averie’s Vegan Pancakes when the rest of the fam has some good ol waffles! I love breakfast at the parents house, the smell of coffee fills the air and the sizzling of food is so pleasant!

Thank you all for the comments on my last crazy starbucks visit! I am glad other have came across a similar situation in a local starbucks as I have!

Soooo yesterday I got injured while making my salad

I put my hand into the bag of cilantro to rip a bunch off and I felt this HUGE poke and sting! What the heck was it?! I looked in my cilantro bunch and found this sucker staring at me!

It has spikes on the stem!

My finger had a bump the swelled up like a mosquito bite! I can’t tell if a tiny thorn is still in there!

So everyone that uses cilantro, please Beware!

Other BIG news in our house - We got a new TV!!! We really needed a new tv that we can transport around to presentations and such, it was on sale and we purchased!

The funny thing is, we don’t have cable. Remember I have said that before? Ryan is really big into using his time wisely and if cable was here he would watch tv. I think I am actually making progress though

So last night to test out the new tube we played some Wii! Old school Mario Bros, baby!

What are your plans for the weekend? Do you have any Easter traditions, or dinners?

XXOO

Kris

Yummy!! What a weekend filled with good eats!

We had a delicious dinner with the fam at my nana’s place Saturday night, a spur of the moment lunch out at Whole Foods Sunday and some great baked items while watching the movie The BlindSide last night! Perfectly, filling weekend

The worst news? Ryan forgot our camera at the office on Friday and I was unable to capture any of it

Out and about yesterday Ryan and I had an interesting “issue” happen while at S’Bucks in West Vancouver. It is quite a lengthy story, so I will sum it up as quickly as I can.

When we arrived at the door of S’Bucks, I was going to reach for the handle, but this older woman was slowly walking towards the door as well. I stopped and let her open the door for us as that is what she seemed she wanted to do. I smiled and said “thank you” but obviously not loud enough for her to hear. This is when all the crap hit the fan.

She turned and looked at us and said “I have been in the hospital for 3 days and I am weak. I held that door open for 6 people and no one said thank you, at least you smiled” We thought she was giving us kudos for smiling, so Ryan chuckled. She looked him directly in the eyes and said “You think this is funny?! You think it is funny no one says thank you, what is wrong with you”….then her husband came to stop her from yelling and asked her what her issue was, she explained it all about these 6 people with no “thank yous” and we just took our place in line……not going to lie, we were kind of laughing thinking Why is this happening to us? All of a sudden she taps me on the shoulder and persisted to tell me that her husband left her here because of us, and thanked us for ruining her palm Sunday.

I apologized. I was not sure what else to do. After her rant with us, she started giving everyone else in the starbucks a run for their money and many people started to leave.

I felt sad for her. I knew there was something not quite right. I found this bothered me for my whole day! Did I make this woman’s day a nightmare?

Talking to myself later on I realized that we are all connected together by a vibe that we are in. If you think of someone you haven’t seen for years, you usually run into them. For me to have that lady cross my path at that time tells me it was for a reason and that I was in a vibration that she was. In the morning I was a tad “off” I was kind of grumpy with Ryan and I wasn’t sure why……I can now see how easy it is to let your emotions effect you.

Do you believe that we are people are all connected? That we react to vibrations?

I felt better when I came home and I realized that I did not ruin this poor woman’s day, that she was just looking to pick a fight and blame someone else for her unhappiness. She was trying to bring us all down to her level which most likely was an unhappy one……I hope she is having a better day today

If I am in a bad mood, I can picture this and I turn around:

After our exciting Starbucks date we headed to Whole Foods, my second home. We munched on some Wheat Free Pakoras and well chatted about the crazy lady!

I did pick my self up a little somethin’ somethin’

Dark Chocolate Hemp Powder!

It was on sale and I was so stoked! Normally I am not a fan of the hemp as it tastes a tad like weeds to me but as soon as I saw Dark Chocolate flashing at me and Protein, I knew I had to try it!

This product is fab with Almond Milk! I make a tall glass of this last night and it tastes like a chocolate milkshake………..Not. But it is pretty good and a lot better than the regular flavour. You can taste the chocolate nicely and it still has a bit of “nuttiness”. It was definitely tasty enough for me to look forward to drinking it this afternoon!

I have decided no treats until the weekends so this will fill my void.

Manitoba Harvest makes some wicked products!! I can’t wait to try their Hemp Milk.

Do you like Manitoba Harvest’s Products? Which is your Favourite?

XXOO
Kris

Happy Monday Everyone!

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend! What did you get up to?

Thank you all for the beautiful emails and comments on my last post on Happiness! Isn’t happiness the most important thing in life? I know now how absolutely important it is for me to survive

Friday during the day I went out with my nana for a nice cup of coffee at a local starbucks and we chatted about life and just chilled out. After my day out we decided to stay in and relaxed Friday night and watched the movie 2012. Have any of you seen it? It has me so nervous and I couldn’t finish watching it all! I am not sure what to think about all this 2012 talk…..so I pretend non of it happening. Is that right of me to do? Ugh. I don’t know.

Saturday we had some running around to do, I went to my parents for some dinner and some wine Nothing beats a glass of red on the weekend!

Sunday was pretty relaxing, just the way I like it. The time change did funk me up a bit and I ended up sleeping in this morning because of it. I think I am back on my internal clock now and was back to my full energized self today. I had a really good workout to prove it

I have a New Cooking Tip from the Nana! While we visited on Friday, we discussed cooking and she showed me how she steams her veg quickly in the oven! She uses parchment paper and seals the chopped veggies up, drizzles them a tad with oil and places them in the oven. Zero clean up! I was so excited to try this, I made some delicious steam sweet potato that night

East, Oven Steamed Sweet Potato:

Preheat the oven to 425

Clean the sweet potatoes, and chop them into bite size pieces.

Take a piece of parchment paper large enough to place a whole chopped sweet potato on with enough paper left to fold over and roll up.

Sprinkle the parchment with oil and place the potatoes on, and fold the edges of the parchment together.

Place the paper wraps on a cookie sheet and place in the oven for 12 - 15 minutes. Done! So yummy and So Easy!

Thanks Nana

Do you have any quick, tips for preparing food? Do you like steamed veg? I love oven baked sweet potatoes, but understand steaming is better?

I am off to make some veggie burgers and then finally the night has come when I set up my own office

XXOO

Kris

Happy Friday My Blog Friends!

Wow, this week is over and I am so excited for the weekend! We are meeting up with a friend tonight and then possibly going to see Alice in Wonderland. Saturdays are always busy for us and Sunday we have some meetings planned, so we are looking forward to that!

I watched this very interesting TED talk with my parents last night when I was visiting with them. It is all about Happiness.

Who doesn’t want Happiness in their life? I can honestly say when I ask someone what their ultimate goal is in life, they all say Happiness. In this video titled “Plug into your hard-wired Happiness”, Srikumar Roa explains that we have true happiness already in us and we do not have get anything, do or be anything to be happy, we are hard wired with happiness and it is in our DNA.

Interesting…..so you may ask - then why am I am not happy? why does my life suck? The reason explained in this video is we have spent our entire life learning to be unhappy. HUH! Wow, I heard that and I almost fell off my seat! It makes so much sense to me!

We have all been buying into mental model of “this is how the world works” “life is supposed to be hard” “you need this type of job to be happy”, etc, But we don’t know as humans that we have these mental models.

Growing up I always loved nice things and I still do, but I am realizing as I get older it isn’t the Louis V’s and the BMW’s that are going to make me happy (they help and feel good to have ) But I don’t need these things to get me to my internal happiness. We need to be happy now within ourselves with the items and family and job we have for us to grow further.

Most of society lives in the “If then” scenario - “If I move to California, Then I will be happy” or “If I was in a relationship, Then I would be Happy”. But people find that when these things actually happen and they pack up shop and move to Cali….they don’t find their happiness.

What can you do to be Happy Everyday?

I am a firm believer in setting goals, and that everything happens for a reason. So set a goal and that might be to start your own business, keep that goal in mind but focus and enjoy the Process, not the Outcome. The outcome isn’t necessarily going to make you happy, but if you love the process (this is why I believe you have to love what you do everyday!) you will always be in Happiness or bliss.

So enjoy your processes! Everything always works the way it should when you are on the right path

I believe our lives are too short to be wasted and everyone should love more!

I know this is a tough topic for most people, so I would love to hear what you all think?? Let me know if you watch the video!

This little guy makes me happy!

To your Happiness this weekend Everyone

XXOO
Kris