Last Victoria Day long weekend, Eric and I were busy working on our house. He was trying to figure out how the heck to build his first deck and I was trying to figure out how the heck to plant my first vegetable garden and weed an acre of land.
One year later, we are at a completely different place in our lives, living in a new city that we adore. We have a fraction of the space, no yard for a garden, and are unable to renovate because it’s a rental. While this life change has taken time to get used to, we couldn’t be happier with our decision to move. Instead of spending all of our weekends (and money) on the house, we are now able to relax a bit more without feeling guilty for spending a couple days away on the weekend. We will buy another house at some point in the near future, but for now, we are content to be carefree renters for a little while. Eric wants to buy a fixer upper, so I might be in for it!
After a 3.5 hour drive in stop-and-go traffic on Friday, we finally arrived at my in laws eager to enjoy this beautiful weather. The forecast was calling for picture perfect long weekend weather, which I mentioned, is quite rare for Ontario in May!
Lake Ontario:
As always, I came with food in tote.
I made a spin-off of my Lightened Up Protein Power Goddess bowl. This has to be one of my all-time favourite recipes on the blog and I don’t think I’m alone – it’s one of the most popular salad recipes of 2011. I always forget how much I love it. Ok, not really, but I don’t make it enough!
Note: All this salad talk lately is foreshadowing a challenge coming up!
Here it is before the tahini lemon dressing is mixed in:
This time I subbed the green lentils for black beluga lentils and added sundried tomatoes and kale into the mix. I also omitted the tomato and cut the garlic in half. All finished off with a sprinkle of Herbamare and lots of pepper. The olive oil was reduced from 2 tbsp to 1.5 tbsp because I deemed it perfect as it was. The salad turned out incredible. You can eat it on its own, as a high-protein side, served over a bed of lettuce, or stuffed into a pita or wrap for lunch. It’s really versatile and makes perfect leftovers!
Let’s see, what else did I bring?
I had bananas to use up before we left on Friday so I decided to make mini banana blueberry muffins. I just winged this recipe and it turned out pretty good, but I still want to make a couple tweaks on the recipe before sharing.
Other foods I packed:
Lunch foods:
- Raw flax wraps
- hummus (do I even need to tell you this?)
- 1 large avocado
- Crackers
Breakfast:
- Vegan overnight oats: Before leaving, I added two servings of vegan overnight oats into a large mason jar. Then I shook it all up and threw it into the cooler. It’s a super easy “travel” breakfast that you can pump up with fruit, granola, crumbled muffins, etc.
- Mini muffins (above)
- Berries and apples
Ok, so these technically weren’t vegan overnight “oats” as we know it. For a change, I used quinoa flakes instead of rolled oats, and I must say, I really, really didn’t like it. The quinoa flakes virtually disappeared in the mixture, save for the tiny quinoa “tails” giving a gritty texture on the tongue. Next time, I will certainly stick to rolled oats! How should I use up my quinoa flakes? Cookies? Granola bars?
Other highlights of the weekend included lots of red wine, dairy-free strawberry basil gelato, walks and lounging instead of “workouts”, catching up with family, three cats brawling on our bed at 3am, and my skin feeling sun for the first time in months. And there is still a day to go. What more could a girl ask for?
For the rest of the pictures, see the photo gallery below.
What a perfect looking weekend. I loved looking at all of the photos! Hope the rest of your weekend is just as wonderful.
~Emily~
I have to agree on the ease of renting. Owning a house has some advantages and more freedom, but renting takes such a load off your mind! I’ll be doing it for the foreseeable future haha.
Looks like such a fun weekend! :)
What beautiful photos! I miss Lake Ontario! It’s so beautiful, my favorite part is Niagara on the Lake! Growing up in Buffalo, I didn’t appreciate it enough, now I live in California and I miss the Great lakes!
I know what you mean. I hope to get out to Niagara this summer
What a beauitful weekend..thanks for sharing all your gorgeous photos..I want to lounge by that beautiful lake!
Hey Angela,
I love your blog and recipes. I use Quinoa flakes as I would oatmeal. So I cook them in the microwave with berries and water or almond milk. Then I add all my usual oatmeal additions…..brown rice protein powder, cocoa, stevia, cinnamon etc. They are really good and have an oatmeal texture. Sometimes too I’ll blend spinach with my liquid and add it to the raw flakes then cook it. Once you add all the other stuff you can’t notice the spinach and my kids love it….and it’s a great way to get their greens into them..:) It’s super filling too..:)
Thanks, I will have to try it in cooked form, maybe with some rolled oats mixed in for texture.
I love the sweater you have in the first photo. It’s an Anthro sweater and I have it…just in the other color! LOVE it! :-)
Thanks Michele, I got it for a bday gift last week and Im in love with it. Eric makes fun of me b/c I wear it 24/7.
That’s awesome. I ordered the color you have after I had worn the oatmeal colored one every day as well. However, it looked red online and when I got it it was coral, which, being auburn haired and fair skin, is not the best color for me. My sister (who had your coloring) got the coral and looks great in it. Don’t you just love Anthropologie clothes? :-)
I have an idea for your quinoa flakes–you could make British Flapjacks (simply replacing the butter with EB or coconut oil) and use some quinoa flakes in place of the oats! I wouldn’t reccommend using only quinoa flakes because of their texture but adding 1/4-1/2 cup could add some wholesomeness to that sweet treat :) (and if you do happen to make, adding coconut and chocolate, as with all things in life, is a very, very good decision)
just googled British flapjacks…they sounds to die for!! I love that idea. :) How do you normally enjoy them?
They are SO amazing and simple! I’ve been using this recipe: http://www.bonappetit.com/recipes/2010/03/british_flapjacks, with the obvious butter switcheroo and adding shredded coconut and then dipping in chocolate but I think that dried fruit would be great too! Ooh–also I have used coconut sugar in place of the brown without any distinguishable issues. If you make them, be warned–they are incredibly addictive ;)
yum!!
I grew up with choc-covered flapjacks (I just called them flapjacks as I was in areas of the world that only knew the British ones as the real ones!). I still struggle to remember what American flapjacks are – are they pancakes? I was never sure :S. But yes, they’re fabulous, please make a healthy recipe for flapjacks (British ones!) and post it!! I’d loooove that :)
The bee is now my destktop background! lol
hahaha awesome!
I can’t believe how perfect the weather is this weekend – this almost never happens! I’m glad you’ve been enjoying it with your family. :)
Also I’m excited to make that recipe again – I made it last summer and LOVED it but I had an allergic reaction to the tahini I used, so I haven’t made it since. But now I’ve found a brand of tahini that I don’t react to, so I will definitely be making it again!
I’m not a huge fan of quinoa flakes by themselves but they do have their uses. If you want to eat them at breakfast I would recommend doing 1/2 quinoa flakes / 1/2 oatmeal. I find that I really need the oatmeal for texture. Also, I’d skip the overnight thing with them because they just get too soggy. I’ve used them in your protein bars and to make a snack mix. (Again – with the snack mix I also used oatmeal.) I also really like them as a binder in veggie burgers or falafel. And as someone already mentioned they work well in baking – cookies, muffins and breads. As an example last week I but almonds and quinoa flakes in my food processor and make a “flour” for cookies.
Great ideas, thank you!
What a gorgeous weekend, and great pics too Ange! I absolutely love your orange knit cardigan (I’m assuming it’s a cardigan but I can’t really tell from the back). Isn’t it amazing how different your life is now, one year later? I hope you enjoy the rest of the long weekend – soak up that sunshine!
Your in laws have such a gorgeous backdrop to their place. So peaceful! I’m glad the weather has been good for you. I remember many May long weekends that rained the whole time! What a nice change.
I remember that too…this weather has been so warm the past 6-9 months!
Looks like a fantastic weekend! Those mini muffins look incredible! Love the blueberry/banana flavor combo :)
Any recommendations for a good sub for tahini in the dressing? Whereas I am not a massive fan of tahini I LOVE everything else in the Goddess Bowl – what other dressing ingredients do you think would compliment the salad?
Hmm I am stumped with this question.
You might be able to get away with a very small amount of natural peanut butter, but Im really not sure. I will let you know if I think of anything else.
I have been wanting to try quinoa flakes for a while now, so it’s good to hear someone’s perspective on them! Those blueberry muffins look amazing – that one towards the bottom right with the ginormous blueberries on top? Yeah, I’d be all over that!!
The very first bee picture is one of my favorites out of that group – such a beautiful and simple moment in time that you captured :) And when I first saw the picture of the two bowls of gelato, I thought they were big cupcakes loaded with frosting! Ha!
I like how you think ;)
Thanks that was my fav pic too.
Sounds like a lovely weekend :) We had great weather here in Philadelphia but today it is back to rain and gloom. Unfortunately I was sick all weekend so couldn’t really enjoy the weather, but it will come back :)
Hope you feel better soon Alex!
Oh thank you Angela!
I saw my first roof top garden this weekend in NYC! It was amazing- hopefully one day I can afford to have something like that : )
xo
That sounds amazing! We have a rooftop deck…maybe I can do some potted plants?
Love the photos Ang! What great meals, snacks, and company, bee. :) You captured it all!
Your weekend looks like it was a ton of fun! :)
It’s nice to hear someone else enjoying renting. My boyfriend and I keep getting people telling us we’re throwing money away, but we enjoy the freedom that comes with renting (no maintenance). We’ll buy a house one day (when we can afford it), but until then we are living the renters life! :)
Everything has pros and cons right? We miss things about owning a house and we don’t. We like things about renting and we don’t like other things. I do think buying is better long term as an investment, but there’s nothing wrong with renting for a while until you are ready! :)
That salad looks so yummy! We are going camping this weekend and I’d love to bring it along – do you think it would last (undressed) for a day or two? Thanks!
Yes I do. I assume you will have a cooler? That’s what I did with mine too…I just mixed in the dressing as I needed it. :) As long as they can stay chilled I think you are good to go.