You can eat those delightful mini eggs straight up, or get a little crazy and build a nest on top of your oatmeal.

It was a great way to start my Easter Sunday, seeing as I have to work tonight, and will therefore be missing my family’s Easter dinner. Such is the life of a student who has bills to pay! I did splurged on a little present for myself though.

Just a little bottle of Long Table Distillery Gin to add to the collection. They are a brand new distillery in downtown Vancouver (I can walk to their distillery in about 15 min). I had a great conversation with the owners, and I’m looking forward to see the small batch specialty spirits they have planned.  

I even spent a bit of time making something more than just a sandwich for dinner at work. So while it’s no turkey dinner with all the fixin’s, I am looking forward to my spicy peanut soba noodle salad for dinner – chocked full of broccoli, cauliflower, edamame, and carrots. I may even fancy it up with some fresh west coast shrimp when I get to work

So let me live vicariously through you – what fun things are you up to this Easter weekend? Tell me about your family traditions, favourite Easter candy, or anything else you want!

I always keep a stash of random chocolate bars in my pantry, because you never know when a chocolate craving will hit. I’d rather have some good quality chocolate on hand, as it’s more satisfying than picking up a Snickers/Twix/KitKat (or insert any other mass produced “chocolate” bar here). Tuesday night I came home after an 11 hour day in the hospital kitchen looking at food waste coming back from each meal (tiring and kinda gross). I was looking for a quick chocolate fix, so I pulled out this Zazubean Cheeky Chocolate Bar – Salted Toffee & Banana with Maca.

Zazubean is a local brand making delicious chocolate bars using organic and fair trade ingredients. Each of the bars are made with 70% dark chocolate or higher, so you are getting a great chocolate punch. They consider their chocolates bars to be “functional chocolate”, as they all have specific ingredients that have reputed health properties (such as the maca in the above bar).

The Cheeky chocolate bar is a great salty sweet treat. Just a few squares of the dark chocolate was enough to curb my craving and I loved the crunchy toffee bits throughout. The banana flavour was subtle, but I’m okay with that. It was just what I needed to unwind after a long day. If you see Zazubean in your local store, pick up a bar and give it a go. They may seem a bit pricey, but when you have quality chocolate, you can satisfy that sweet tooth with less.

While I was outside taking photos in the small amount of sun we had today, Sienna decided to join me. She was much less interested in the chocolate though – instead, she was chewing away on my pathetic chive plant.

Apparently she was not impressed I was taking her photo.

She can have the chives – I’ve got my chocolate

I saw a recipe for Deep Chocolate, Dried Blueberry, and Pistachio Bark in the December issue of Alive Magazine (one of my favourite *free* magazines for food and health information). I thought it looked amazing, but I wasn’t 100% sold on the flavour combination – not only did it include the blueberries and pistachios, but also lime zest. So I did some tweaking, and ended up with two decadent and delicious chocolate bark recipes to share with you.

Chocolate bark is deceptively simple to make – melt chocolate, spread on some parchment paper, add things, and let it set. Because of this, I like to use a really good quality chocolate. My personal favourite is Callebaut – you can get blocks at many local grocery stores in the bakery department, usually all year. It melts beautifully, never seizes up on me (and I melt chocolate over direct heat), and has great flavour. I always keep some dark chocolate and white chocolate on hand, because you never know when something will need a quick chocolate drizzle to take it from ordinary to extraordinary.

My first chocolate bark was the most festive looking – White Chocolate Cranberry Pistachio Bark. I love how it combines all of the colours of Christmas – definitely looks beautiful on a cookie plate. I used the lime zest in this one, and it gives it that little extra something.

For those who aren’t big on the white chocolate, I made a very BC inspired Dark Chocolate Blueberry Hazelnut Bark, sprinkled ever so lightly with some sea salt. I’ve had chocolate bars with blueberry and hazelnuts in them before, so I already knew this would be a winner flavour combination. And you can never go wrong adding a little sea salt to dark chocolate. I like to think of this as the “antioxidant” bark, as we all know both blueberries and dark chocolate have an abundance of them. So basically, it’s health food

Which ever one you make (or heck, make both!), you’re guest will love it. It looks impressive, tastes amazing, and no one needs to know you spent maybe 10 minutes max making it.

White Chocolate Cranberry Pistachio Bark

makes 12 – 16 pieces

This chocolate bark just says “Christmas treat” with its ruby red cranberries and green pistachios. Lime zest adds an unexpected flavour dimension, and keeps the white chocolate from seeming overly sweet.

• 8 oz (240 g) good quality white chocolate, chopped (I like Callebaut)
• zest of 1 lime, finely chopped
• 1/4 cup dried cranberries, chopped
• 1/4 cup pistachios, chopped

1. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, and place in the freezer while you melt the chocolate.

2. Melt chocolate in a double boiler, or if you are daring like me, over direct heat (just make sure you have it on low and watch it). Once it has melted, stir in lime zest.

3. Spread chocolate into a rectangle on the parchment paper. You can make it thicker or thinner, whatever you like. It’s rich, so I make it on the thin side.

4. Sprinkle the cranberries and pistachios over the top. Place back in the freezer until set, then break into pieces.

Dark Chocolate Blueberry Hazelnut Bark

makes 12 – 16 pieces

Give your chocolate bark some BC flair with dried blueberries and hazelnuts. Sea salt takes the chocolate to another level. This decadent treat not only looks impressive, but is packed with antioxidants, so you can feel even better about indulging a little over the holidays.

• 8 oz (240 g) good quality dark chocolate, chopped (I like Callebaut)
• 1/4 cup dried blueberries, chopped
• 1/4 hazelnuts, chopped
• sea salt

1. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, and place in the freezer while you melt the chocolate.

2. Melt chocolate in a double boiler, or if you are daring like me, over direct heat (just make sure you have it on low and watch it).

3. Spread chocolate into a rectangle on the parchment paper. You can make it thicker or thinner, whatever you like. It’s rich, so I make it on the thin side.

4. Sprinkle the blueberries and hazelnut over the top. Sprinkle a very tiny amount of sea salt over the bark (too much, and it won’t be balanced). Place back in the freezer until set, then break into pieces.

Merry Christmas to all my readers – I hope you have a wonderful, delicious, and family filled holidays!

These are not exactly some novel creation – I’m sure you have seen variations all over food blogs (my inspiration came from here and here). They involve dates, raisins, cocoa powder, nuts, and a food processor. Really, they are kinda like a Larabar, but shaped in a bite sized ball.

I love them because they are easy to make, use natural, healthy ingredients, and oh yeah, they taste great. They are almost like having a rum ball (or kahlua ball as I like to make them)…in fact, I bet you could add a little rum or kahlua to the recipe and make a healthy version of those!

Raw Fudgy Snowballs

makes 24

All you need is a food processor and your hands to make these fudgy little treats. It’s amazing how easy it is to transform healthy, nutrient dense ingredients such as dates, raisins, cocoa powder, and almonds into something that tastes rich and decadent. I bet no one will guess how you made them.

• 3/4 cup pitted dates
• 1/2 cup raisins
• 1 1/2 cup almonds
• 6 tbsp cocoa powder
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1/4 tsp sea salt
• 2 – 3 tbsp maple syrup (optional)
• shredded unsweetened coconut

1. Combine date, raisins, almonds, cocoa powder, vanilla, sea salt in your food processor, and blend on high until it starts to form a sticky mass. If the mixture seems to dry and isn’t coming together, add some maple syrup (this really depends on how dry your dry fruit is – mine was quite dry, so I added maple syrup).

2. Roll small pieces of the mixture into 1 inch balls, and roll in coconut to coat. Store in the fridge.

Note: You could easily play around with the kind of nuts used, or try a different extract such as coconut or almond…or even mint if you like that sort of thing.

Last week was orientation week at my core site hospital. Not gonna lie – I was an excited ball of nerves on the first day, because I had no idea what to expect. And when my first bus was late, and then my second, I had a minor meltdown that I was going to be late on the first day (no one wants that to be their internship coordinator’s first impression). But miraculously I was on time, and after about 30 min with my coordinator, I was put at ease.

The first week was pretty relaxed – a lot of meeting people, touring the hospital, job shadowing, paperwork, and going through expectations, goals, etc. Oh yeah, and we had a welcome potluck with many of the RD’s on staff.

I hummed and hawed over what I wanted to bring. The night before I was in a baking mood, so I dug through my pantry and came up with ingredients to make some delicious whole grain cookies.

As you can see from the photos, hazelnuts and chocolate chips were the stars of these cookies. I thought about adding oatmeal (because who doesn’t like an oatmeal cookie), but found a container of quinoa flakes and decided to add them instead. I can’t say it changed much flavour wise, but it’s fun to utilize different grains in baking.

The cookies went over really well. Just sweet enough, studded with the hazelnuts and chocolate.  They were a touch drier than I would have liked, due to my temperamental oven. That just means they are perfect for dunking in a cool glass of your favourite milk.

Chocolate Chip Hazelnut Quinoa Cookies

makes 3 dozen

Nuts and chocolate are always a good combination, and these cookies prove it. Crunchy, sweet, and satisfying. Oh yeah, and they are whole grain!

• 1 cup butter (room temperature)
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 1/2 cup quinoa flakes
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup chopped hazelnuts

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Cream butter and brown sugar in a stand mixer (or by hand if you are hard core) until well combined.
3. Add egg and vanilla to butter/brown sugar mixture and mix until combined
4. In a separate bowl, combine flour, quinoa flakes, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add to butter mixture, and mix until just combined (it will be thick).
5. Add in chocolate chips and hazelnuts, and mix briefly so they are evenly distributed in dough. 
6. Drop dough by the tablespoon on cookie sheet, and press to flatten. Bake 10 – 12 minutes, or until just slightly golden brown. Cool, and enjoy!

Note: If you don’t have quinoa flakes, substitute oats.

Question for you – would you be interested in reading about my internship experience? I kind of like the idea of documenting it here, but if that’s going to be boring for my readers to read, let me know!

I had an appointment downtown this afternoon after class, but had some time to kill beforehand. Lunch was on my mind, and when I passed the Tacofino Blue Burrito Truck, I decided that would be my quick bite. You may remember when Jill and I went on a food truck tour this past summer and visited the Tacofino Orange Taco Truck. It was good, so it only made sense to stop in and give the other truck a go. 

Fish Burrito – Tempura lingcod with refried black beans, seasoned basmati rice, chipotle mayo, salsa fresca and shredded cabbage rolled in a warm 12” flour tortilla ($10)

I’m not sure if you can truly appreciate the size of this thing from the pictures. But let me tell you – it was huge and definitely worth the $10 price tag. Good thing my tummy was rumbling, because I did not want this to go to waste.

Sadly, photos of the inside of burritos never do them justice. Trust me though, this was packed with all sorts of good stuff. Nice chunks of perfectly cooked lingcod, not too heavy on the rice, creamy beans, thinly shredded crunchy cabbage, and just enough chipotle mayo and salsa to keep it moist and flavourful. It could use a kick of spice, but I guess that’s why they have hot sauce at the truck so you can add what you like. I was hard pressed to make it through the whole thing, but I persevered!

I sat for awhile, looking out over the water near the convention centre, reading my book, and just enjoying some downtime while my tummy digested. Because I also had this treat to look forward to.

Ah yes, the infamous Chocolate Diablo Cookie. Fudgy, spicy, sweet, and salty. The epitome of flavour explosion. So good. And the recipe is online, so you can even make them at home – which I have yet to get around doing. Add that to the ever growing list of things I need to get to.

My quick bite at the Tacofino Blue Burrito Truck was definitely a great idea. Not only did I get to enjoy some down time and eat a great meal, it kept me full all the way through dinner (and an online quiz). I’d call that winning.  

Beer, sweet potato, and chocolate. Say what?! It’s true.

But through the magic of food science, these ingredients were transformed into this:

This was not some crazy creation I dreamed up one night. It was a published recipe that told me to do it!

I had been browsing the March edition of Alive magazine, when my eyes became fixated on a recipe for Double Chocolate Stout Brownies. I may not enjoy drinking beer, but I quite enjoy cooking with it. I was determined to make these delights asap.

Side note – I’m sort of in love with this picture.

I made a special trip to the liquor store to peruse the vast selection of locally brewed options, and settled on Phillips Longboat Chocolate Porter. Because if double chocolate is good, then triple chocolate is better. Obviously.

I also made sure to break out the good chocolate – Callebaut Dark. Mmm hmm.

Anyways, after assembling the ingredients, I did the whole baking thing, and was left a double batch of delicious, gooey, chocolately goodness.

Now for the gratuitous brownie photos.

I may have undercooked the brownies a little, to ensure they were extra gooey and delicious. As all good brownies should be.

I only made slight tweaks to the recipe, simply due to what I had in my kitchen. I used coconut oil instead of butter, and half all purpose/half whole wheat flour instead of whole wheat pastry flour. I omitted the cinnamon, and used walnuts as my nut of choice. And I may have decreased the amount of sugar, but I don’t exactly remember.

The beer added a great depth of flavour to the brownies. I found it more prominent in the ones from the centre of the pan, probably because they were cooked less than the outside pieces.

If you are worried about the sweet potato being obvious, don’t be. As long as you mash it really well, it completely disappears into the batter.

My family, coworkers, and a friend tested them, and they all gave them the seal of approval. Good thing, seeing as I had made a double batch and all.

If you want to give these brownies a try (and I recommend you do), you can get the recipe here. Go forth and create delicious beer infused desserts!

Another lovely little swag bag filled with treats. Aside from tickets to the show, the highlight of the bag was the package of Holy Crap cereal.

Oh, and a little pedometer you can just barely see in the bottom of the picture. I’ve always wanted to try out a pedometer to find out how much I walk during the day. Perhaps I should try it out at work tomorrow!

Since Rebecca was so generous to send me tickets, and this was the 20th anniversary show, I had to attend. I invited my mom along this time, and we had a great time taking in all the vendor booths, sampling a vast array of products (including a fair amount of innovative chocolates), and taking in a cooking demo. As always, I wish I could have been in attendance each of the three days to take in all the events, but a girl has to work as well.

I decided to forgo the photo taking at the show (but you can check out a ton of great shots on The Wellness Show Facebook Page). However, I can share with you the items I came home with.

Everything in the above picture was handed out free. Lots of literature on various products, but some interesting samples as well.

I’m kinda excited to try out the instant coconut water from Blue Monkey. I had never seen this before, and I’m wondering how it tastes in comparison to the regular stuff (Confession – I’m completely addicted to their canned coconut water. I may purchase one almost every shift at work). 

Can you believe I’ve never tried out hemp protein powder in my smoothies? Good thing I have this sample from Manitoba Harvest.

I even picked up some cat food samples for Sienna. Wellness isn’t just for people! Perhaps she can write a guest post once she’s given them a go?

Of course, the event wasn’t just about freeloading and sampling. I did purchase a few items to take home with me.

Chocolate! I know, I’m so predictable. I decided upon these three bars from The Tea Room – White Chocolate with chamomile and honey; Dark Chocolate with almond, caramel, and sea salt; Dark Chocolate with green tea and bergamont.

Organic Traditions Maca Powder. I’ve always wanted to experiment with maca powder, and the price was good, so I decided to splurge.

More chocolate! This one is raw chocolate bar from Zimt – Salt of the Earth. Yes, more chocolate with sea salt. It’s good stuff. And the gal who makes these is local and very fun to chat with.

This was my find of the show. A smoothie shaker/to-go cup from Bremner Foods, with the little whisk ball inside for only $5. I have wanted a shaker cup like this for ages, so when I saw them at the show for that price, I didn’t have to think twice about pulling out my wallet.

Another highlight? Getting my brand new cookbook signed by the authors (who were doing a cooking demo at the show).

Wondering what cookbook I’m talking about? You’ll just have to come back and see – that will be for another blog post.

All in all, The 2012 Wellness Show was great. My mom enjoyed it, and said she would go again. It’s always great to get out there, interact with the vendors, see what products are coming into the market, and learn about new wellness innovations. I especially find it valuable as I get closer and closer to being a full-fledged RD (did I mention I have just over a month left of school, and internship starting in Sept? Can we say excited?!). It’s so important to keep yourself educated on what products are out there and what the new trends are to be able to counsel your clients effectively. It’s probably one of the more fun ways to continue your education!

If you live in Vancouver, and have never been to The Wellness Show, I highly recommend checking it out next year. Stay connected on their Facebook page and Twitter account so you don’t miss out on the dates for the next show. Trust me, you’ll have a great time. 

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And now, dear blog readers, I have a question for you:

Is there a particular product I picked up at the show you would like me to try out and review for the blog? I would love to hear what you want to know about – gives me incentive to get on trying them and something to post about! Let me know in the comments below!

Sure, it helps that it’s Christmas time and many stores are working extended hours to help you spend your hard earned dollars. But actually, every place I went would have still been open anyways. Take that Christmas consumerism!

So because I haven’t done a shopping post in ages, and I just so happened to buy food things, well…here we go!

First Stop – Chapters

Bookstores are great places to entertain yourself for hours on pretty much any subject you can think of! And luckily I have a Chapters virtually in my backyard, open late, so I can browse whenever the mood strikes me. I managed to keep myself from the cookbook section, because I need another cookbook like I need another hole in my head. I did, however, come home with a couple magazines – Vancouver Magazine’s 2012 Eating & Drinking Guide (I always consult here when I’m looking for a new restaurant to check out), and the December issue of Vegetarian Times, simply for their Chinese Buddhist cuisine feature (I haven’t had delicious Buddhist food since living in Victoria). These will be perfect when I’m avoiding studying for exams!

Next Stop – Whole Foods

Sure, it was a little out of the way, but I remembered I had bought their recent Living Social deal ($10 for $20 worth of products), and thought why not go splurge on fun items I don’t need? I may have dropped a little more than the $20, but it’s all good. I picked up some great treats!

Such as this delicious banana chocolate chip muffin from their bakery. It made for an excellent breakfast this morning with a glass full of green juice.

See all those chocolate chips? I think chocolate chips should be mandatory for Sunday breakfasts, don’t you?

I also got a little something to enjoy for lunch today.

I actually saw the yam, parsnip, and kale salad in their salad bar as I walked past, and wandered over to the deli to see if they also had it there. Sure, I could have packaged my own from the salad bar, but then I wouldn’t have the sticker with the ingredient list. Which is key – if you enjoy the salad, then you know what to use at home to make it yourself! Sneaky!

It’s a lovely combination of roasted yams, parsnips, red onion, and purple kale. Simple and to the point. I do think it would taste even better hot out of the oven though.

I ate it with chopsticks, because it seemed appropriate for the little take out box.

I also stocked up on some random grocery items.

I’ve been craving a good mug of hot chocolate like crazy lately. I did have an excellent one at The Juice Truck on the last day of classes (you have to check it out – it’s steaming hot almond milk with 63% dark chocolate from Beta 5 Chocolates. The chocolate comes on a stick, and you stir it in so it gets all melty and awesome). Unfortunately my favourite liquid food truck isn’t exactly close to my house, so having a package of Camino Dark Hot Chocolate on hand is probably the next best solution.

Speaking of chocolate…

Butter Baked Goods Chocolate Sandwich Cookie. I don’t need to say anymore.

I also grabbed some Food Should Taste Good chips since they were on sale. You never know when you’ll need a salty snack in the midst of a late night study session.

Another impulse buy (damn you end displays!) – The Naam Famous Miso Gravy. If you have ever been to The Naam restaurant in Vancouver, you will have enjoyed this delicious sauce with your meal. I’m pretty sure it’s a standard condiment there. What’s even better is that you can buy it to use at home. I see roasted potato wedges in my near future…

I also grabbed a few fridge items (all these things on sale!) – Liberté coconut yogurt, So Delicious Coconut Milk yogurt (in Canada!), and a GT’s Citrus Kombucha (to balance out the junky study food). I’m definitely interested in the So Delicious yogurt, as I have no idea what to expect. I honestly don’t think I’ve ever had a non-dairy yogurt, now that I think about it. Always good for us RD’s to be to stay on top of the products in the market.

Final Stop – Starbucks

What can I say? It was cold, and I wanted something warm and comforting. So I went with the Venti Tazo Joy Tea.

My Starbucks tea buying tip – it doesn’t matter which size tea you get, they are all the same price. Just make sure you ask for one tea bag when you get the Venti, otherwise they give you two and charge more. But you are all smart people and probably figured that out way before I ever did.

And that, my friends, was my Saturday night. Do I know how to live it up or what?!

Halloween activities! Such as pumpkin carving…

…candy eating…

…and of course pumpkin seed roasting.

I went and got my hair did…

…and took arty photos of my necklace.

There has been recipe testing for school…

…and chocolate consumed while doing school work.

One day I ate plantain chips for lunch…

…and one day I had a giant mango for breakfast.

Speaking of breakfast, I have found my love of oatmeal again.

Oh, and I have reignited my passion for art again – I even went out and bought a sketchbook.

I’ve discovered my new favourite muffin to obsess over at work.

And squealed with giddy glee when my concert tickets to City And Colour arrived in the mail.

I’ll be back with a proper post once I find more than 5 minutes to pull my head out from under my textbooks. Hopefully that’s sooner rather than later!