The Words That Dominated My Weekend

No, not absolutely, brilliant, incredible, amazing, fantastic and awesome because I use those way too much every weekend. I’m talkin’ superfoods, smoothies, raw, and cherry blossoms.

Last week I had the pleasure of taking part in Meghan’s 5 Days Superfoods and then following it up with the 3 Day Green Smoothie challenge. Maybe you’re asking yourself why I participated in these two events (aside from my adoration for all thing Meghan) Well to be honest, I’ve been struggling lately. Ever since January, I’ve been at odds with my weight, my body and eating. My weight has fluctuated (it went down significantly and then went back up again) and lately I’ve been trying to come to terms with how I feel in my skin. I try not to be ruled by the number on the scale, but often that is easier said than done. I’ve been falling into old habits and felt that participating in the two events would rejuvenate my relationship with food, give my system a bit of a break and fill my tummy up with lots of goodness.

Mission accomplished. Summer museli with a sliced banana, applesauce and lots of cinnamon
Kale pesto with brown rice pasta and a mixed salad with sprouts & beets 
Spinach salad with tamari & cider vinegar marinated mushrooms and sunflower seed pate

And lots of smoothies…

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Meghan’s smoothie recipes are pretty awesome and the tutorial is chock full of amazing information. I think my favourite was the green mojito – so delicious! I will definitely be enjoying smoothies as a part of my regular breakfast and/or lunch routine going forward as they left me feeling satisfied and energized without weighing me down. I guess haircut could have been one of the words too… My new bangs make me happy! And the money I paid for the cut went to the Parkinson’s Society as a part of the 2010 Cut-a-thon.

Rather than consume solely smoothies all weekend, I decided that I would just go raw with a smoothie focus. This led to a lovely excursion on Friday with Ashley. We started off by heading to High Park to see the cherry blossoms Why didn’t I know that this happens every year in High Park? We had such a nice walk and enjoyed the absolute beauty of the cherry blossoms in bloom. After a long walk, we made our way to Rawlicious Rawlicious is a raw, vegan cafe located in the heart of the Junction, which is a neighbourhood that I lived in from 2001-2006. When I lived there there was nothing like this! I loved the beautiful artwork, laid-back vibe (including super cozy chairs), and amazing food! Ash and I shared the taco wrap (Nut-loaf, guacamole, chopped tomatoes, red onion, shredded romaine, salsa and nut cheese in a collard wrap) and raw Pad Thai (Raw kelp noodles, shredded romaine, carrots, peppers, zucchini noodles mixed in a tangy cashew sesame Thai sauce topped with crumbled cashews & green onions) The wrap was great and really solidified my love for collards as a wrapping device. I also discovered that I have nothing to fear of kelp noodles! They were really nice mixed with the zucchini spirals and the Pad Thai as a whole was light and delicious. I can’t wait to head back to Rawlicious again!

Because clearly one raw restaurant in a weekend is not enough, I took a trip to Live on Saturday night. It was jam-packed! 

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Unfortunately my pictures came out pretty dark, but I can assure you that everything was delicious including my absolute favourite kale salad, hemp bruschetta and a few bites of delicious raw cacao cake for dessert.

So how do I feel now?

I feel great. Lindsay and I did some emailing over the weekend and helped to keep one another on track. It was great to have a supportive buddy who was facing similar challenges and to have someone to stay accountable to. I will be transitioning back to cooked food later today but plan to incorporate more smoothies and superfoods into my usual eating routine. I feel more in touch with good portion sizes and my body is thanking me for all the goodness I consumed over the last 8 days. I feel healthy, strong and comfortable in my body and I want to keep rocking this good good feeling going forward!

Coming up later this week – my thoughts on long term weight maintenance and another FIT CHICK Friday!

Did anyone else participate in the Superfood or Smoothie Challenge? Did anyone get to High Park to see the Cherry Blossoms? How was YOUR weekend?