What Have You Done For Your Body Today?

Happy National Women’s Health & Fitness Day!

I do not normally blog about fitness because lets face it, these days everyone who lifts up a dumbbell occasionally feels the need to tweet, blog and Instagram their fitness exploits.

Honestly I try not to, it is just not me. If it keeps you in the gym and on the right track, right on! Keep it up! To each their own.

Today I celebrated National Women’s Health and Fitness Day by kicking it off with a big Canadian Protein order. It has been a long time coming and I am so excited for the Quest bars that I have treated myself to.

I woke up pretty sore and since we are being honest here I really did not want to go to the gym. Yesterday morning I worked back and biceps and then had my first ice time for hockey in well over a year so my body’s muscles were sore from all the skating.  I could have made excuses; my boyfriend stayed in bed (still sore from hockey) and I worked late last night and was on my feet until 9:30pm. But, I exercised my willpower and chugged my pre-workout and got in my car to head to the gym as quickly as possible. Sometimes as strong as our bodies are from working out our lazy minds can still win the battle to be active.

Today I pushed it. I trained legs and shoulders with intervals of intense cardio between supersets. To adjust to my soreness I cut my heavy lifts by one set and during my cardio intervals listened to my favourite gym tracks. I treated myself to half an infrared sauna session after to sweat a little more and relax with my book after my solid gym session.

Someone once told me that you will never regret getting up and going to the gym; you will regret not going. I really took that message to heart. It may sound silly buy my cookies and cream protein shake tastes better when I know I have had a successful workout.

I am now off to throw together a great reward lunch, a spicy chicken salad (you can see that below) with a FOLDit Chicken club sandwich.

Remember: Crap in, crap out! If you are expecting your body to perform physically fuel it properly! Just like at the gym you only get out what you put in!

Today marked my 28th week since I returned back to my training plan, today specifically was workout 156. 

Kicking Off My Calgary Trip to the Calgary Farmers' Market

I have had an amazing couple of days in Calgary so far! I have done a little bit of all of my favourite things. The trip started with amazing Crave cupcakes (as every trip to Calgary should). They were waiting for me on arrival with the new feature flavour of the month (it may have changed now that it is August), lemon meringue. It was perfectly light and flavourful, the perfect cupcake for summer! We have Crave cupcakes every week when are living in Calgary and every trip when we visit. My sister is such a big fan that I always have to bring some home to Nova Scotia with me when I am flying from Calgary. When I leave Wednesday morning I will be carrying Crave cupcakes on the flight with me by request for Kevin in Quebec and Beckie in Nova Scotia. We sure do crazy things for the people we love! Want more on Crave, do your sweet tooth a favour and visit their homepage by clicking here. 

After indulging in amazing Crave cupcakes for dessert I nestled into bed and met an early morning alarm for a trip to the Calgary Farmers' Market. I am of the opinion that visiting Farmers' Markets earlier rather than later is always the best call. This was my first trip to the Calgary Farmers' Market and it did not disappoint! I really enjoyed the Calgary Farmers' Market, it is right up there with my favourite market in Vancouver (Granville Island) and the Open Aire Market in La Jolla. 

I tried a little bit of everything and much like Kootenay Festival I started my day with a little breakfast gelato from Frank & Mabel’s Frozen Treats! I had a “cookie” flavoured gelato pop and it was amazing. It left me wanting an entire serving, but it was a little too early for the full serving for me.

I should note before I made it to the food court in the Calgary Farmers' Market I had already indulged in some almonds. As you can see Going Nuts has a wide range of almonds for your tasting perusal, I tried a little bit of everything. There were amazing flavours that everyone can love and then innovative new almond flavours that only Going Nuts makes. For example, they have two new summer flavours “Watermelon” and “Sour Patch Kids”. Yes, two very unique flavours of almonds. Honestly, I enjoyed them both. They are different and fruity, perfect conversation starters for your next gift or gathering! What did I end up choosing? Well, after three months away from almonds and our low-carb diet I picked Kevin up the most popular almonds Going Nuts sells “coconut almonds”. I am so excited for him to try them. You can visit their website here for a full look at the amazing nuts, trail mixes and everything they offer.

Another item I picked up for Kevin’s “welcome back to the real world” goodie bag is one of my favourite things to eat but not make, peanut brittle. I tired a wide range of Sweet’s peanut brittle and I was so impressed with each flavour. I had to pick up a bar and I immediately knew which flavour I needed as soon as I saw it, I had to give it a taste too and I was so impressed with the salty/sweet balance, of course I had to buy Sweet’s “Bacon Brittle”! I am equally as excited to open the brittle and give it a go! Sweet can be found on the web here... 

We finished our trip to the Calgary Farmers' Market with a coffee from the Fratello Analog Café. We are big fans of Fratello coffees but I had to try their special feature “Iced London Fog” which was Earl Grey tea with vanilla and milk. I’m not a fan of any type of tea (so to be honest with you I am not sure why I chose this) but I absolutely loved this creation. For more on Fratello Coffee click here.

On top of the many fun, tasty products I sampled and bought on my first trip to the Calgary Farmers' Market we also bought a great deal of healthy stuff too! 

-Flat iron steaks from Silver Sage Beef. Check them out here. 

-Basil, greens and rhu-berry pie from Innisfail Growers. Mare about Innisfail Growers here. 

-Lobster mac & cheese from Simple Simon Pies. Your path to indulgence starts with a click here. 

-Lots of fruit from Cherry Pit. Much, much more than cherries! For all the details on Cherry Pit click here.

On top of the amazing assortment of goods we walked out of the market with there were many other unique goods at The Calgary’s Farmers' Market everything from a wide range of bee’s wax products, dog treats, vinegars, oils, flowers, gluten-free foods (I am seriously excited to try the gluten-free bakery’s bread) and farm fresh eggs. I could list the amazing goods and services at the Calgary Farmers' Market for pages (if blogs had pages). 

More than just a market for your basic necessities, Calgary Farmers' Market is pretty much a mall that you can go to and feel good about blowing your budget at. How often can you say that? I love spending my money and meeting the people who it will be benefit, that is something that will never truly happen at a big-box store. I think sometimes in cities we take for granted how important buying local is, we think that someone else who has more money will do it or that the market is a place for stroller-pushing mums to meet up and hangout at. The Calgary Farmers' Market is definitely not like that at all. I saw business men meeting up for a quick bite of lunch, picking up a couple of groceries and then sitting down for a quick meeting. The Calgary Farmers' Market is designed to appeal to a wide range of people and I can guarantee you will enjoy it!

It was the perfect way to start my Friday! After the Market the day continued to be awesome with a quaint BBQ on the deck and then a Stamp’s game. They won 99% of the game, if only they would have won the 1% of the game that mattered…

Need all the details on the Calgary Farmers' Market you can visit their website here. The Calgary Farmers' Market is open all year long on Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from 9am until 5pm! 

Happy Moments: Idaylia's First Trip To The Element! :)

Extra special lobster tacos! 

I don’t want to start another blog trend for myself with a whole bunch of rules. I primarily started writing a blog a day about something that made me very happy lately to de-stress about moving across the country with less than two weeks’ notice and remember the little things in life that bring a smile to my face. Those happy moments often outweigh the crappy, stressful feelings and sometimes even distract me from my horrible nail beds that have been destroyed from scouring and cleaning an entire dusty old apartment. My heritage building has some dusty, messy flaws!

Today’s happy moment came when I took my lunch break and dined at the Element for Taco Tuesday. I love Taco Tuesday, without tacos Tuesday is my least favourite day of the week. Today for Taco Tuesday I got to take Miss. Idaylia Swanson from our GOAT/Juice Street Team to the Element for her first meal there! We dined on amazing lobster tacos. The food at the Element never fails to impress my taste buds, today was no different!

The Element’s Head Chef (who is absolutely amazing) Garnet Goode brought us out celebratory banana crème brûlée. It was amazing! I am a huge fan of the different spins he can put on such a classic dessert (click here to check out the Mexican Fiesta inspired edition)! Not only was it Idaylia’s first Element dining experience it was also her first taste of crème brûlée!

A big THANK YOU to Garnet and Idaylia for making one of my last meals here in the Koots special!

It is pretty early to be posting this happy moment, I’m really hoping when I get home my oven will have cleaned itself and saved me from boiling in my apartment in this 40 degree Interior BC heat. I’m not going to hold my breath on that and just be happy that I’m still so full that I will not need to cook supper! :)

Amazing banana creme brulee! 

The Best Salad I Have Ever Had at The Wooden Spoon Grand Forks

If you read my blog you know it is not a common occurrence for me to order a salad at restaurants. Today I am getting straight to the point of this blog and it is the Wooden Spoon in Grand Forks’ “Grand Chicken” salad. I had the “Grand Chicken” for the first time Family Day weekend when I was in town for the Chamber of Commerce’s big Family Day celebrations. Everyone in town raved to me about the amazing food at the Wooden Spoon so I drug my boyfriend to the hot spot for lunch.

As you can see the salad is huge. So my boyfriend had his panini and then helped me devour my salad. He instantly wanted to order a second one to have a full “Grand Chicken” to himself. The salad has a base of mixed greens with roasted pumpkin, candied chili, roasted almonds and topped off with chicken and feta.

I was finally back in Grand Forks for another great event and had to take our Street Teamer to the Wooden Spoon for another salad.  She picked the “Grand Chicken” salad as well and loved it too! Thank goodness they had not changed their menu; I had been thinking about the salad for months. When I mentioned to my boyfriend that I went back to the Wooden Spoon for the salad he was so jealous. They don’t make food like that at Basic Military Training!

He was also very jealous of the desserts that I brought home with me. I could not pick just one so I brought home a slice of the Ponderosa banana cake and a slice of the lemon yogurt berry cake.  Both of the desserts were amazing! You can see them pictured here in the display window. I would recommend splitting them both with a friend.

If I had to choose just one I would go with the Ponderosa banana cake. It was divine. The chocolate chips on the top of moist, dense banana cake were perfection. Both desserts were amazing! I imagine the lemon yogurt berry cake would be even more amazing with ice cream… yum!

The next time you drop by Grand Forks stop into the Wooden Spoon and enjoy an amazing lunch (or breakfast… yes they are open for breakfast too)!

The Wooden Spoon is open Tuesday through Sunday from 8am until 3pm for breakfast and lunch. You can visit the Wooden Spoon on 3^rd Street, Grand Forks. They also have a patio; it is the perfect spot to have a sunny lunch while in beautiful Grand Forks!

I hope to try the breakfast menu the next time I visit. The homemade cornbread with spinach, bacon, poached eggs and maple syrup sounds amazing; I am a sucker for cornbread!

You can "like" the Wooden Spoon on Facebook here.

Trying Crocodile For The First Time!

Quick foodie note here:

I tried crocodile last night for the first time at the Element Club Bar and Grill in Castlegar and it was absolutely amazing. It actually reminded me a lot of chicken. I had totally overlooked it on the feature menu during Mardi Gras and I am so happy that it was brought back!

Yes, mom I had crocodile sirloin (you read that right). It is a great light dinner or appetizer option with rice and banana pepper aioli! 

My Awesome Day in Nelson featuring Kootenay Insurance Services and Fresh Tracks Cafe Express from Whitewater

I had a kick ass day in Nelson yesterday!

Yes, my humpday was a little different than a normal day. I was on-location at Kootenay Insurance Services for their first annual Community Appreciation Day. On top of all amazing presentations to Nelson's hard working first responders I got to hang out with the AWESOME staff at the Nelson branch of Kootenay Insurance Services. We have worked with Kootenay Insurance Services in the past, they are a huge supporter of community initiatives--- last fall they actually ran a contest with us where they gave a $1000 to the Kinnaird Youth Indoor Skate Park. 

Here are John and I holding the big ole' check with Kootenay Insurance Services CEO John Sullivan. 

On top of an inspiring day with with local heroes from Nelson & Beasley Fire Department, Search & Rescue, the Nelson Police and RCMP I had a killer day food wise. 

Our awesome Account Executive Dustin picked up lunch for us from the new Fresh Tracks Cafe Express from Whitewater Ski Resort. Honestly I am getting hungry again right now at 9 am writing about my amazing burger. 

I absolutely love it when a restaurant (or in this case a food-truck) can find a way to disguise or add incentive to eat foods that I would normally not eat. With burgers it is so easy to pick off things that are outside of your comfort-zone. But, even though I don't eat wheat or onions I found myself downing every last bit of my burger. 

I had the handmade pork and BBQ duck burger. I absolutely love duck, but unfortunately rarely see it featured on menus so I was ecstatic to see it on the Fresh Tracks Cafe Express menu. Worth every carb this burger features pineapple peanut slaw, sesame caramelized onions, tomato, spinach and honey miso mayo! Yes, it was cheat day for me and I will happily admit to you that before I touched my burger I ate every last fry. I don't normally eat fries, but these fries were incredible. Perfectly crisp I did not share; I kept them all for myself. 

I absolutely loved my burger; it is how I imagine summer tastes as a flavour. Like I said, I normally do pick onions off my burgers but the caramelized onions really added to the mixture with the honey miso mayo and pineapple peanut slaw. It was the perfect combination of flavours; light and balanced. I can't wait to have this again and try it with the spelt bun!

I try to hold off mentioning things I have not tried myself. Usually whenever I eat out I am with others and we all kind of share tastes of everything, but Dustin and I had the same thing so I have only gathered taste bud feedback from the handmade pork and BBQ duck burger with fries. But, everyone at our office in Nelson has been raving about the Glory Bowl from the Wild Side of the Fresh tracks menu. Featuring roasted tofu, candied almonds, spinach, grated beets and carrots on a brown rice bed with house made dressing; it has sparked my interest and may be the first meal I have had without meat ever. Yes, I can honestly tell you I cannot remember ever eating a meal without any meat! 

I did hold off ordering the Filipino Tacos because of my recent tirade of Mexican meals from Confusion Taco and the Element, I can guarantee that I will explore this dish this summer as well. 

You can check out Fresh Tracks Cafe Express from Whitewater Ski Resort in Nelson outside of the Whitewater offices on Lake Street. Tuesdays they make an appearance in my neck of the woods in Castlegar outside the Sandman Hotel and on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays they are on Baker Street in Nelson around the 200 Block.

For the full menu from Fresh Tracks Cafe Express click here. They also have a page for you to 'like' on Facebook too! 

On top of that awesome meal I got to wash it all down with Riva water--- from Nelson! A pretty cool story, my new friends from the Okinshaw Water Company were hydrating everyone who stopped by the Kootenay Insurance Services event. With bottled water straight from the mountains near Nelson it really added to my ultra-Nelson day! 

I had such a great time with the entire crew of people who made this awesome day possible. I really hope Kootenay Insurance Services puts this event on again next year! 

Confusion Taco is Back for Summer 2014

There is no need at this point in my blogging career to tell you how much I love food. I absolutely love cooking and eating the things other people have cooked for me, I hold no bias towards my own creations; my mouth welcomes all foods all the time. 

From our first trip of the season to Confusion Taco!

I do not discriminate when it comes to food. I would rather go out for a nice supper than have a night on the town and I have no qualms about eating the cheapest street food on vacation. In fact, it is my staunch belief that some of the cheapest food I have ever consumed has been better than some of the meals I have had at swanky restaurants. Fish tacos in So-Cal are a prime example of this. 

One absolute treat living in the Kootenays is the extensive list of impressive food establishments. I've told you about my love for the Element and their monthly feature menus and I have even featured the subject of today's blog on a previous blog... today we are talking Confusion Taco!

I am a BIG fan of Confusion Taco. To be honest with you I have already visited twice this month in celebration of their return to Castlegar. Jenny Fines and I have established Taco Tuesday at the office; this Taco Tuesday the highlight meal of my workweek (not like the Taco Tuesday in the Lego Movie). I actually look forward to Tuesdays now; previously Tuesdays had been my least favourite day of the week. 

Anyways, check out Confusion Taco Tuesdays and Thursdays in Castlegar on Columbia Avenue and you can check them out Wednesdays and Thursdays in Trail on Bay Avenue. They can get you a late breakfast, lunch and supper as they are open from 11am until 6pm at those stops! 

"The Great Canadian Taquito"

Let me stop you for a second before you head to check them out. I am slowly working my way through the entire Confusion Taco menu and recommend the Baja Fish taco, fish tacos are one of my favourite food items that I don't even try to make at home because they deserve perfection and someone amazing making them. I trust my fish taco experiences to both the Element and Confusion taco. I am debating my next order; it is between the Dy-No-Mite prawn tempura taco that is Jenny Fine's jam and the Maui Beef taco (beef… yum!). Decisions; decisions.

Actually, I am seriously considering cheating on the tacos with Confusion Taco's "Sloppy Jalopy”. I know you are thinking, “Kate what in God’s name is that?” Let me tell you my friend. The “Sloppy Jalopy” is one of those food items that you work your butt off at the gym to be able to eat. It is the ultimate breakfast sandwich; two buttermilk waffles with two pieces of bacon, cheddar cheese and two over easy eggs with maple mayo for just a little more Canadian flavor. Yum!

I love fusion foods, so for my first Confusion Taco of the season I chose the Bombay Chicken. It was popular; three other people in the late-lunch crowd ordered the same thing after I did. The butter chicken mixed with crispy rice, spicy cashews and mango salsa is a tasty combo. I am not normally a fan of cilantro but I did not even notice it in the cilantro slaw, it was an impressive fusion of Indian and Mexican food!  

My latest order from Confusion Taco was the Great Canadian Taquito--- pulled pork in a fried crispy tortilla wrapped in bacon with chipotle salsa. It was the perfect take on a Canadian Taquito, and it was filling! It was the perfect size for my hungry self; it was a nice median meal between the small 7 inch tacos and the large 12 inch tacos. 

Dy-No-Mite prawn tempura taco

I think this week I may have to branch out into the tasty world of Confusion Taco sides, I'm thinking the super creamy Mac & Cheese or kettle chips will have to be an addition to this week's Taco Tuesday! 

For the full Confusion Taco menu click here.

Check them out on Facebook as well :)

And to revisit my first Confusion Taco experience from last summer click here!

June 2014 Update:
I can now recommend the pulled pork taco and Dy-No-Mite prawn tempura taco too! The pulled pork taco is perfectly crisp with the amazing crispy onions and the Dy-No-Mite prawn tempura taco (pictured above) mixes the most amazing flavours together impressively. 

The amazing pulled pork taco! 

Mexican Fiesta All May at the Element!

If you have read this blog you have noticed that I am a massive fan of food. I hate the foodie label, but it is pretty appropriate. I have been off the restaurant blogs lately because there has been so much going on lately, but I could not resist a trip the Element for Mexican Fiesta. All May the Element is celebrating one of the most fun ethnic cuisine's with an entire menu of Mexican treats.

The fish tacos are my go to on the Element's standard menu so I branched out and was a little more adventurous and had the handmade braised pork corn tamales. I had never had tamales before and this was the perfect first occasion. Two salsas topped the tamales, one red (roja) and the other was my favourite... salsa verde . So good! If you are wondering what the tamales are photo’d sitting in that is a steamed corn husk. The team at the Element really does pay attention to detail and go out of the way to make every meal an experience.

The legendary fish tacos

My friend had the fish tacos by my recommendation and was not disappointed. As I have said before on the blog, the Element's fish tacos rival the best fish tacos I have had in Southern California. Try the lobster option too, they are my absolute favourite! Every Tuesday I have to fight the urge to go to Taco Tuesday--- they are just $2.99 on Tuesdays!

Make it a Mexican date night with the fajita for two special and have it all served up in front of you hot and ready for you to customize yourself! Take your pick steak between certified angus steak, chicken or jumbo black tiger prawns and get ready to fight over the last fajita with whoever you are sharing with!

After we sipped our afternoon mojitos that were on special and then topped it all off with two amazing desserts including the feature Mexican crème brûlée with tequila and lime. It was divine; you have got to feed your sweet tooth if you are visiting the Element for the May-long Mexican Fiesta.

My amazing crème brûlée! 

I am excited to take Jenny Fines for her birthday girl date to the Element to try the feature Mexican drink the "Spicy Jalisco Heat" made with reposado tequila, lime, muddled cucumber and jalapeños! I tried a Caesar for the first time on my birthday at the Element so I think I will continue down the spicy path for her birthday! Maybe we will skip lunch and go for supper for the more appropriate tequila taster plank to drink that is right up our alley and sounds like a fun decision.

I can’t wait to go back and be faced with the dilemma of what to order from the Mexican May menu again! I’m already thinking about the Cabo Mussels from PEI with coconut milk, tequila, lime and garlic toast. Maybe some Mexican bacon chips and dip too!

Check it out this weekend and get a seat on the patio, it is the perfect way to celebrate May long weekend! Make your reservation now by visiting www.clubelement.ca! 

To check out our last trip to the Element for Lobsterfest click here.

Business After Business With the Castlegar Chamber of Commerce

As outgoing as I may seem in this blog or on the radio I am really a huge closet introvert. I like the comfort of being behind the microphone or my little nest of a desk. Seriously, going to the gym and spending an hour with headphones on is my daily socialization (okay kidding a little bit there… I don’t work out with headphones on). 

I had always wanted to go to a Business After Business event to meet business people we work with here in the Kootenays but I usually shy out once I get about a foot in the door. Seriously that happened once, I shied out once I got about two feet inside the door and then just went back to work.

Today I faced my socialization fears when Marcella one of our amazing Account Executives  (Senior Account Executive to be exact) invited me to go with her as a representative for our stations.

Tonight’s event was held right down the street from our Downtown Castlegar at Central City Shoes. The entire time I was ogling the amazing kicks at Central City Shoes, especially the crazy selection of awesome rubber boots.  

I am so happy I went to Business After Business, even though I still tried to quietly hide by the food. The food was amazing by the way! Catered by Twisted Thyme everything was delicious as I am sure you can see from the pictures.

I am so happy Twisted Thyme is open again; it truly means Spring 2014 is here! It makes me so happy that it is open for the season again, it is an instant morning cheer-me-up every time I pass it on my way to work.

If you haven’t tried Twisted Thyme treat yourself to lunch soon, it is amazing comfort food. The appies tonight were so tasty, definitely a good tide-over until supper.

I could have eaten the entire bowl of homemade potato chips and dip. I’m definitely going to have to convince someone to have Twisted Thyme with me for lunch next week.

I had a great time and it was so nice meeting everyone. I have a feeling it will lead to a new pair of shoes and food truck lunches in the near future.

I strongly encourage you to get involved with your local chamber of commerce, even though I was only on the scene for a short amount of time it was very evident how connected the group is with the town. They can also help you take part in amazing events like the Castlegar Chamber of Commerce’s “Taste of Castlegar”.

Thanks again to the Chamber of Commerce for letting me be part of your Business After Business event tonight, it was so nice to meet everyone!