Meals of the week, Popchips + Lady Marmalade review

I’m so happy that this week is over.

As I said in my video post, this week has been pretty stressful for me, so I’m looking forward to just relaxing and enjoying myself this weekend!

Look what I found at Shoppers Drug Mart last weekend!

Last month, the lovely folks at Popchips sent me a bunch of small bags to try the various flavours of these little snacks and informed me that they would be in Canada very soon! This was the first time I had seen them in the store, and since they were on sale I picked them up!

Joey is a big chip eater and he really likes them. A lot. He said that of the samples he tried, he liked the Cheddar the best. Of the samples that I could try (due to whey content), I think I liked the Salt & Vinegar the best, but the plain went well when paired with soup. They are low in calories and fat, are really crunchy and have a lot of flavor making them a good choice for a snack once in awhile.

On Sunday we checked out a new breakfast place in Leslieville called Lady Marmalade. (Not to be confused with the remake by Pink and co)

Located at 898 Queen Street East (in Pulp Kitchen’s old home) I was excited to check it out because their menu looked great and I love that they offered scrambled tofu! The restaurant is fairly small (aren’t all breakfast places?) but really cute with retro details and quaint tables. I ordered “kung foo” tofu scramble, only to find out that soy sauce is used as one of the main flavourings in the dish, so the chef offered to cook me up a “Mediterranean” style scramble. Here’s what arrived at the table:

Yum!! Some amazing seasonings were used along with little bits of fresh tomato with a side of brown rice (love that option!) and a house salad. I enjoyed my meal with a glass of freshly squeezed grapefruit juice and not going to lie, the whole meal was amazing. It’s been awhile since I’ve walked away from a breakfast place feeling that way!!

Joey really enjoyed it as well so we will definitely be going back. If you’re looking to check it out, my suggestion would be to go early. We arrived around 10:00, waited less than 5 minutes for a table and received our food in about ten minutes. I saw someone I knew who arrived just after us and as we were leaving, they had yet to be served and a bigger line was beginning to form, so GO EARLY. I’m definitely looking forward to going back for delicious breakfast goodness.

On Sunday I made mass amounts of veggies, using up some zucchinis, peppers, and broccoli that were starting to look at little sad in the fridge. I put the veggies atop some brown rice pasta, topped everything with a bit of marinara and nutritional yeast.

Simple, delicious and incredibly filling thanks to all the veggies.

I try to make a couple of exciting breakfasts each week, so this week I made some buckwheat pancakes, topped with peanut butter and sliced banana.

This was a dream combination. Everything I could ever ask for in a breakfast on a plate. I think next time I would use cashew or almond butter to put it over the top!!

I grabbed some Fresh for lunch on Friday – macro greens with plain grilled tofu and sunflower seed dressing with a cashew cookie and a pear from home.

So delicious! It helped me get through a stressful afternoon. My body was pleased with all the iron from the greens!

Dinner was delightful and pulled together in a flash. I roasted some veggies in the oven (eggplant, cherry tomatoes, button mushrooms and zucchini) and once they were done, mixed in a little basil pesto. I also steamed some Brussels sprouts and made a reduction of balsamic vinegar.

So good. I wrapped the veggies in a brown rice wrap and had a field day with all the veggie goodness!! Filling foods really do make you feel full.

Not full enough to be without dessert though…

Oh crumble, how I adore thee. I found a variety of organic apples on sale for $1.49 (the reduced stand rocks) and thought they would be perfect for crumble. It was a great way to complete an already awesome meal. I may or may not have eaten crumble for breakfast today :)

If you were at my meetings today, thanks for an amazing discussion and I hope you’re feeling good about the week ahead. If you weren’t, here’s the quote I used to end off today:

“With every experience, you alone are painting your own canvas, thought by thought, choice by choice” (Oprah)

I’m now off to get ready for a special friend’s housewarming party and then heading downtown to see Joey’s band play! Check back on Monday for my summer reading list recap. (And I love that so many of you are intrigued about my “announcement” – that’ll be on Wednesday!! Hint – I’m not pregnant, if that’s what you were thinking!)