My wonderful readers and friends!

I am still here, I just needed a huge break from blogging my dear friends :) I felt a little burnt out on ideas, recipes, etc... I was starting to feel like I wasn't having as much fun blogging as I had in the past, less inspired and motivated. After a nice break I am feeling so much better and I'm actually going to be putting my efforts towards this blog and another! Here is my other blog, which is dedicated to my fitness goals. At the moment I'm trying out Jillian Michael's 90 day Body revolution. I'm on day 6, so feel free to follow me as I work my butt off to try to get into better shape :) Even though I lost 44-50lbs eating clean, whole foods I still have a bit of weight I want to lose to get into a healthy, happy range. I really like structured workouts, where I know I have to set aside 30mins-1 hour to workout a day :)




We went to Saltspring Island recently where we met some wonderful organic farmers, and veggie lovers at the farmer's market. The market had only been open for it's 2nd Saturday and it was packed! For such a small island they really give local markets a run for their money! The talent, the products, the food and entertainers are amazing!!!


See for yourself, thought I'd share a few photos :)

Awesome entertainer! He did a lot of balancing with spinning bowls, at one point I think he had 8 of them going and he was hanging on to each of them. He balanced one on a tip of an umbrella! Very cool entertainer :)

Here are some sprouted peanuts that I bought from a lovely young couple. They also sold mushrooms, sprouts and rice paper sprout wraps. Their products were amazing and decently priced. The peanuts were such a different texture to regular store bought nuts that we are all used too. Moist, soft, yet crunchy with a much milder flavour. We shared this with friends :)

MMMM my lunch and goodies to take home. I had that really yummy rice paper sprout wrap with a fresh squeezed orange dip vinegrette :) My spicy sprouts are also shown in this pic! I gobbled those up when I got home mostly on salads :)

*sighs* Isn't the harbor gorgeous...loved eating lunch there. Live music playing in the background, the sun's warmth on my skin and the ocean...beautiful day!

Jack LaLanne's Power Juicer Elite!

I really do love juicing, but this Christmas I was not expecting to find this under our tree!!!
This juicer is one of my dream appliances for my kitchen. I used to drool over the infomercials, uhh not that I watch infomercials haha. Anyways, I love this juicer! It makes the best juice I have ever tasted, not to mention squeezes out ever last drop of liquid from whatever you are juicing. I don't know if you can see it on the box in the picture, but it also makes soy, almond and rice milk. I have yet to try it, but it's on my list of things to do.

Last night I was reading some news headlines and I came upon this!

"Jack LaLanne, the fitness guru who inspired television viewers to trim down, eat well and pump iron for decades before diet and exercise became a national obsession, died Sunday. He was 96." (The Record)

The link will take you to the actual article. The man was 96 years old and a fitness icon. Thank you Jack for encouraging people to exercise and live healthy lives :)

It seemed fitting that my lil one and I would make our favorite juice this morning.

The ingredients:


Juice the apple, orange and pineapple. I sometimes add 2 apples to this recipe or an extra orange. Whatever I have more of really :) Just remember to peel the orange, otherwise you will get a very bitter juice. You can also juice the apples whole, however there is conflicting research about whether or not it's healthy to consume apple seeds. I usually cut them out, just to be safe.

The juice..mmmm

Here is an action shot for you :)





If you want to take your juice one step further like we did this morning, than pour it all into your blender.

Add one med-large banana or if you prefer 1/2 cup plain yogurt.

5 cubes of ice or 1/2 cup of crushed ice.

Blend till smooth!





The final result! Delicious!
2 common questions?!
There are 2 questions I am always asked about this juicer. The first is "Do you really get more juice?" The answer is, yes! The infomercials claim it makes about 30 percent more than other juicers. To be honest I was surprised, I thought it would be more. I guess my old juicer was just that horrible!

The second question is, "What's clean up like?" Clean up is easy, I just remove any pulp and rinse. I was concerned that the filter and blade would be difficult to clean, but I don't even need to take a scrub brush to it. I just rinse everything in my sink and give it a wash and dry. Takes me about 5 minutes.



To end this post I think this quote is appropriate and oh so true...probably more truth behind it now than ever in North America.

“The only way you can hurt the body is not use it. Inactivity is the killer and, remember, it’s never too late.” -Jack LaLanne