New Years is always a bittersweet time for me. I get really excited about the idea of a new beginning but I also feel sad about leaving another year behind. Sometimes it feels like I didn't accomplish enough which I have to remember isn't true!

To celebrate this year let's take a look back at my top three most popular posts!




As you might know, earlier this year I made the resolution to eat vegan once a week. I am proud to say that I have stuck through that! I wasn't always vegan of Fridays, there might have been two weeks where I was vegan on Thursday. I learned a lot about the different types of animal products that go into foods and about how my own body responds to certain foods.

I will not become a full time vegan yet but I am going to try and avoid dairy and eat other animal products only occasionally. One thing that I am having difficulty with is  that sometimes I overindulge in things high in white flour, sugar, and fat. I'm not sure if this has to do with eating vegan or some other reason. My goal is to improve on this because sugar makes me tired!

I hope all of you had a great 2011 and will have an even better 2012!

Hi guys!
Sorry about the lack of content lately. I have been busy busy and my new house has yet to discover Internet. As things settle down, I promise to make it up to you with plenty of delicious recipes that I have been hiding!

Hooray for coconut!



I recently found some coconut flour at a new bulk store in my area. I have been intrigued by this interesting gluten free flour after seeing it on many other blogs. I knew that I had to try it!

Gluten free and vegan. Those words are the essence of health to me. It has been a goal of mine to make a special gluten free and vegan dish for a while.  I have also wanted to experiment with coconut milk. Today I finally got around to doing it! I must say the result were scrumptious.

The perfect winter morning breakfast has definitely got to be pancakes. Especially as the week upon me is going to be freezing. And what better way to dream of summer than with the tropical taste of coconut? I don't know about you but I love coconut. I love the taste, the smell, the texture, and even the shape. Right now I am imagining myself sipping the milk from a coconut on a warm sunny beach. Ahh...

Dear Train,

Please never leave me out in the freezing cold again. It was minus 30 degrees Celsius outside at seven in the morning. Yet somehow you collided with a car.
And you made me late for my lab.
Why is it that emergencies like this always happen in freezing weather?
This is the second time you have left me trapped downtown in the winter weather
And like the fourth or fifth time overall that I have been abandoned by you
The first time I was actually a passenger on you when you got into an accident.

Last weekend I went to a retreat that focused on the True Colors communications style personality test. This test focuses on what type of person you tend to be when working in a group. It also builds a model for understanding yourself and others. It is called True Colors because you can either be labelled as gold, blue, orange, or green.

Gold is responsible. This color represents a need to fulfill duties in order to organize and structure life. People who are gold are practical and sensible. They believe in hard work.

Blue is compassionate. It represents calm. Blue people are very emotional and caring. They tend to put others before themselves. Blue people are also sensitive and creative.

Green is conceptual. This type of person values intelligence. They are determined and practical.

Orange is spontaneous. They enjoy doing things and being active. Orange people are energetic and like doing things that are different.

I ended up having an equal score for orange and green. This helped me understand a lot more about my personality and I believe that I really am an orange and green type person. I can't stand sitting still and love moving. I consider myself a quirky person and I'll jump at the chance to do something different. I also value intelligence, doing well at school, and I am organized.

If you also happen to be two colors it probably means that you are dominant in a different color in different situations. For example you could be blue when with family but gold at work.

Of course I also realize that you can't always be just one color. For example I recognize that I also share traits from the other two categories as I'm sure all people do.

If you're curious about what color you are, you can take the True Colors test here. If you do be sure to comment back here and tell us what color you are!

And now for something even more exciting... pancakes!!
I made Katie's Banana Pancakes for One and they were absolutely delicious. I love pancakes and make them frequently but I have to say that these were some of the best I ever had.
For my pancakes:
I used lime juice (which I think put them over the top!)
I had to add more liquid to get the consistency of pancake batter I like.
I also left the banana a bit chunky so I had yummy, squishy, sweet pieces of banana in my pancakes.
Here is my recipe with the changes I made.

Three of my pancakes topped with banana slices and sprinkled with cinnamon

Banana Pancakes
Adapted from Chocolate-Covered Katie
I got 6 small pancakes

1/3 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
Pinch of salt
1 tsp fresh lime juice*
1/2 mashed banana
1/2 cup almond milk**

Mix whole wheat flour, baking powder, and salt in a small bowl. In another bowl, add the mashed banana, lime juice, and almond milk. Stir dry ingredients into the wet.
Now make your pancakes!

* You can try using lemon juice
** May substitute any other milk

These pancakes are honestly amazing by themselves. If you want to serve them with something, you can use the rest of your banana, peanut butter, and maple syrup. I'm thinking that some shredded coconut added into the batter would also make it wonderful.