Smoothie Start to the Day

I love breakfast.

But when I wake up late at 7:30, have to be out of the house by 8:00 and barely have enough time to make sure my hair isn't a rats nest, it's hard to fit an entire meal into my morning routine.

This makes pre-made smoothies my perfect on-the-go breakfast.

Here are my three go-to 'Smoothie Start to the Day' recipes:

Bananaberry (strawberry, banana)

Ingredients:
1 small-medium sized banana
5 medium sized strawberries
Splash of Milk
1 spoonful of greek yogurt

Banaberry is what I grew up drinking when we made smoothies so it's extremely homey. Plus the banana and strawberries will help to fight depression, increase your fibre intake, and improve overall health (vitamin C).


Citrus Berry (orange, blueberries, raspberries)

Ingredients:

1/2 an orange
1/2 cup of blueberries
2/3 cup of raspberries (I used frozen)
Splash of orange juice

This smoothie is packed full of antioxidants and vitamin C to improve your heart health as well as ward off pesky infections and even diseases in later life. It's also a super refreshing drink if you need that morning kick.


Cast-Away (mango, pomegranate)

Ingredients:
2/3 cup of pomegranate seeds
1 mango
1/2 cup of water
2 fresh mint leaves

Sadly this smoothie is as close to an island getaway as I'm getting. Benefits include its ability to clear your skin of imperfections and strengthen your immune system (thanks to the loads of antioxidants you've packed in).

From left to right: Cast-Away, Bananaberry, Citrus Berry

Let me know what your favourite morning smoothies are!

Love, Milly

Guilt Free Ice Cream

Some people are able to eat whatever they want and not gain a pound. I, unfortunately, will never ever (add about 10 more 'ever's on to that) be one of those people.

But, instead of accepting my fate while I binge watch Grey's Anatomy with a tub of chocolate Häagen-Dazs in my lap, I've decided to make a lifestyle change.

To continue to get my sugar fix in this troubling time, I rely on delicious recipes like this guilt-free chocolate peanut butter ice cream.



It's sugar free, dairy free, and the flavour can be modified to whatever you feel like.

This recipe is enough to make either a normal amount for two people or a very large scoop for one. As per usual I chose to share with me, myself, and I.


What you need...

1.5 frozen bananas
2 tablespoons of peanut butter
1.5 tablespoons of cocoa powder

That's it. I know, I know, this is the mother of all diet dessert recipes, you can thank me later.

I will say that it tastes quite peanut buttery (technical term) like this so you could choose to add more cocoa powder or less peanut butter depending on your taste.


What you do...

Freeze the bananas overnight or at least for a few hours. I recommend peeling and chopping them beforehand.

Throw them into the blender and do your worst. It may look quite grainy at first, but just scrape down the sides every once in a while until you get a smooth, creamy texture like this...

Once the banana is smooth, add your chosen flavouring.

I chose to add a big scoop of natural peanut butter and a tablespoon of cocoa powder. If you'd like an extra kick of sweetness, add a spoon of honey to the mix.

Blend once more and voila!

You can freeze the mixture a little while longer or eat it on the spot....you can probably guess which one I chose (I'm only human!).

I topped it off with strawberries to add some freshness to the dessert, but I'm sure that crushed up peanuts or dark chocolate shavings would be equally delicious.

It looks naughty, tastes sweet, and is 100% healthy. Sold yet?

Love, Milly

Ice Beaches and Dim Sum

To celebrate the start of my spring break and the end of Sara's, we headed out for some good ol' Toronto exploring.

It was the first balmy (and by balmy I mean we were barely out of the negative temperature range) day we've had in a loonngg time, so we decided that a stroll through Yorkville was just what the doctor ordered. 

We started out at a restaurant I've been meaning to try for a long time, Dynasty. 

Dynasty is a Chinese restaurant right in the heart of Yorkville that has some of the best Dim Sum in the city. 

We ordered an absolute feast of BBQ pork buns, ginger chicken buns, sticky rice wrapped in lotus leaf with chicken, har gow dumplings, and golden sesame balls. 

Our eyes may have been a teensy weensy bit bigger than our stomachs. Whoops. 

 The har gow with the most delicious shrimp filling were my personal favourite!

                              

In a close second were the BBQ pork buns.

I could eat these all day...in fact I may have thought it was a good idea to shove a whole one in my mouth the minute they arrived. 

Gracefulness is apparently not one of my strengths.

We topped off the meal with the sesame balls and a last cup of green tea. 

In an attempt to not be filled with food guilt for the next week, we decided to wander through the Yorkville Icefest sculptures. 

Can I just say that whoever makes these is my new personal hero. They managed to make huge chunks of ice into such detailed sculptures...if that isn't art I don't know what is!

We drifted towards the beach themed sculptures to comfort ourselves over the fact that we won't be feeling the sand in our toes this spring break. 

   Oh well, at least we got an icey tiki bar!

Our good friend Jack (though you may know him as Mr. Frost) and his friend the giant sea turtle also consoled us in this troubling time. 

We even managed to set sail for the high seas!

It may not be the beach but all in all not too shabby of a start to this much needed holiday.

Love, Milly

Teppanyaki For Three

There are two types of foods I just can't resist: BBQ and Japanese.

Put the two together and you get one magical foodie experience: Teppanyaki

I went out to my favourite Teppanyaki restaurant this week with John and my Mum. I don't think I've talked about John before, but he's my mischievous little brother and the one who first introduced me to Yamato.

Yamato is another Yorkville treasure. When you first walk it seems like a downtown sushi cafe but as you continue on into the next room, you enter into a maze of grills and onion volcanoes (who doesn't love a good veg volcano?!)

The menu is very diverse, but I always turn immediately to the teppanyaki portion (the sushi is also excellent).

This time I went for the Ribeye Teriyaki which includes a miso soup, salad, grilled veggies, steamed or fried rice (is that even a question), and of course a perfectly cooked ribeye.

The miso and salad are quite standard so I'll skip right to the good stuff.

Up first is the fried rice...

I may or may not have just tried to grab that through the screen...

Next up is the veggies, including my favourite part...the volcano! (I really am a five year old...)

Such a yummy mix of onion, zucchini, peppers, carrots, mushrooms. The carrots are even cut up into little stars, talk about a dedication to perfection.

Now for the star of the meal, señor ribeye himself.

Mum and John got the New York Sirloin, but I think they were both secretly jealous of my plate of perfection...

Now, John being John claims that there are two separate stomach compartments: regular food and dessert. So while he may not have been able to come close to finishing his veggies, there was still plenty of room for green tea ice cream.

If that isn't solid reasoning I don't know what is.

If you haven't tried teppanyaki before, climb out from that rock you've been living under and light up your life with an onion volcano or two! 

Love, Milly

One For The Brits

You can probably tell by now that I am obsessed with all things British.

Doctor Who, Harry Potter, Albert and Victoria (greatest love story.ever.), Sherlock, the accents, the bands, the princes (Harry, I'm waiting...) you name it I love it.

But, my real love for Britain all started with tea.

My mum used to have people over for Sunday Tea all the time when we were little and it became by far my favourite meal of the day.

Nothing beats fresh berries, a pot of Yorkshire Gold, and of course scones.

I may have gone a little heavy on the whipped cream...

Here's how you can make your own delicious scones.

What you'll need...

2 cups of flour
1 tablespoon of baking powder
1/4 teaspoon of salt
1/4 cup of sugar
1/3 cup of butter (cool, cut up into very small pieces)
1 cup of cream

What you do....

Combine the flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar

Cut in the butter--you basically want to cut it up into small little pieces and then crumble it into the dry ingredients as if you were making any other kind of pastry dough

Add the cream in and stir (with a spoon and then mix with your hands until the dough is in a ball)

Take the dough out onto a lightly floured cutting board and kneed it five to six times

Roll out the dough until it's about 1/2 an inch thick and cut out two inch round circles

Bake the scones at 375ºF/190ºC/gas mark 5, on a greased baking sheet for about 15 minutes

Place the scones about two inches apart on the baking sheet and turn them over after about 10-12 minutes

Serve with lots of freshly whipped cream and raspberry jam to your closest ladies in their finest high tea atire

Now if only I could convince Kate Middleton to pop over for tea next time she's on this side of the pond...

Love, Milly