Well, here we are friends, the first week of June. JUNE! Time really does just fly by! I feel like I say that around this time every year. Once after winter and those colder months of spring are behind us, and again in the fall when summer literally just flashes by us with the blink of an eye. Anywho... This time of year, particularly the last week of May, is when my heartmate and I pretty much round everything up around the house, give it a thorough spring cleaning, and get the backyard ...
Local Freshness Delivered | Toronto Online Grocery Shopping
When my heartmate and I first moved to Toronto five years ago, everyone told us we wouldn’t need a car as we would be living in the core of the city, and as such, would be able to walk anywhere we needed to go. So the time came where packed up all our belongings in Montreal, we sold our car, hired movers... and 2 plane tickets later we were living in a new city, (the big city), in our condo waiting for our belongings to arrive. ...
Warm & Toasted Homemade Cinnamon Spiced Granola (V, GF)
Sooooo, I know I’m completely off-season with this recipe because the flavours and profile just scream winter comfort food, BUT, I try not to think of homemade granola as a seasonal snack because it is literally one of my biggest weaknesses. And I embarrassingly consume it in amounts that stretch far beyond a normal portion size. But yolo. Many of you know, I’m sure, that my weakness is for foods that are both crunchy and savoury (i.e., I can make a bag of chips disappear in two seconds flat). ...
Vanilla-Orange Gluten Free Donuts | Easy Vegan Recipe
Sometimes you just wanna take a bite out of a warm, glazed doughnut. Ahhh, yum! A little indulgence from time to time, right? In moderation of course! The tough part about picking up doughnuts at coffee shops or dessert places is that it isn’t always easy to find “healthier” options. Gluten-free, vegan, allergen-free… Sometimes it can be a challenge. These doughnuts are both vegan and gluten-free, and I challenged myself to keep the sugar to a minimum. Half a cup of sugar for 12-13 ...
No Longer Vegan | What It’s Been Like
Let me start this off by saying, I’ve been trying to write this post for months now. Every time I’d sit down to try and gather my thoughts, I’d pick up literally anything around me to distract myself. My phone, a snack, my notepad… literally anything. I would realize that I had laundry to do, or dishes to clean... And before I knew it, the time I’d set aside to write this post was up, and I was on to the next thing. In hindsight, it’s clear to me that I was avoiding writing it because I ...
The Realizations We All Need to Come To | Personal Journey
This morning I felt like I wanted to get all of the thoughts that have been buzzing around in my head, down on paper. I needed a cathartic brain-dump experience. So here we are. And I couldn’t think of a better place than my blog to start. It is a personal blog after all, and an outlet for which I’m grateful has documented many of my life experiences over the years. In putting pen to paper (or finger to keys, in this case), I started realizing that I’ve been in transition these last ...
Eggplant Bolognese | The First Mess Cookbook Recipe [Vegan]
Last week my heartmate and I had a moment where we really (really) started to feel the brutal cold of the winter months. The temperatures had dropped below -20, the snow in our backyard was piling high, and our pup's desire to run out and chase the squirrels away in the mornings had run dry. Poor thing shivers even on the mildest of days. Despite the rain and slush that occurs this time of year, I love winter. Mostly because of comforting hearty recipes! ...
The Value of Having In-Home Medical Services
Last month I booked an appointment for a certified yoga instructor to come to my home and guide me through a new method of yoga. If you follow my journey over on Instagram @inspiredbynick, then you may already know that the yoga studio I’ve subscribed to here in Toronto follows the Bikram method. It’s not my preferred approach to yoga if I’m being perfectly honest, but it is effective. It provides the challenging workout I’m looking for, while also leaving me feeling more enlightened, more ...
Why There’s No Such Thing as a Healthy Tan
A few years ago, I was traveling across Portugal with a close friend. We went, we saw, we conquered. Being on vacation, beach bum status was in full swing, and our tanning competition was on like donkey kong. Whoever could come back from the trip looking dark AF would win. (Raise your hand if you're guilty). Every morning we would scout for the perfect spot: maximum sun exposure + proximity to water. On the flight home we compared shades of brown and olive skin tones, and even asked the flight ...