What I Ate Wednesday

Hiya and Good Morning to you!

Here we are at the beginning of yet another new month, which around these parts means a new What I Ate Wednesday theme. This month we're going to focus on setting goals and keeping/creating good habits as the seasons change.

Our weather has been absolutely beeea-uuutiful and my garden is still producing tons of produce, so even though it feels like we're heading into Fall, it's been really easy for me to load up each of my meals with lots of fresh produce.

My goal as the weather changes is to keep bulking up my meals with lots and lots of veggies. I absolutely adore rich, warm, carb-heavy casseroles as the weather turns chilly and this year I want to remain mindful of making sure each of those delicious dishes is packed full of veggie goodness.

Here's a little peek into what I munched on yesterday:

Breakfast

Okay, so the slow cooked steel cut oats obsessions continues, but I thought I'd change it up yesterday with an egg white scramble. This one had sweet onion, zucchini, mushrooms, sundried tomatoes and goat cheese! I really do love this breakfast!!

Lunch
On the weekend I made a spin off of Angela's Speedy Three Bean Salad and Courtney's Healthy Roasted Potato and Veggie Salad. I had leftovers of both, so I made myself a little salad plate for lunch yesterday. It was filling and delish!! Both had dijon-based dressings that were to die for!

Snackage
Derek loves to munch on raw veggies for snacks. That or pork rinds. {insert a great big "ew" here} He's been a good influence on me because I've been munching on veggies right along side him. There has definitely been a lot of raw zucchini, green beans and cherry tomatoes comsumed. He likes to eat his veggies naked, but being the dip lover that I am, I've been loving a little tzatziki with mine ~ haha, you didn't think he was naked while he ate his veggies did ya?! 

Dinner
I had absolutely NO idea what I was going to make for dinner last night when I got home from work. Derek had a baseball practice and wasn't going to be home until late, so all I had to worry about was myself.

This is what I ended up with:

~ Tortilla Pizza with caramelized onion, portabello mushrooms, zucchini, basil & goat cheese.

YUMMY!

Thank you as always to Miss Jenn for hosting this weekly foodie shindig and for continuing to encourage all of us to be healthy and stay healthy!

What do you pack for lunch on the go? Give me some new ideas; packable lunches just aren't for the kiddos you know :-D !!

What goals are you going to set as we enter the Fall season?

Have a great day!

Andrea
xoxo

See the Beauty in Your Own Backyard

Hiya! Happy Tuesday. I hope you had an awesome long weekend. Ours was really great, although I always wish it was a teensy weensy bit longer ~ don't we always?! We had the perfect balance of being out and about and enjoying the beautiful weather and spending some down time together at home. It really was perfect-o!

Derek and I love to travel. We love planning trips and heading somewhere new where we can meet the fascinating people and explore a new landscape. We've been to several places in the United States, Mexico and the Caribbean. We try to get away at least once a year, but we always head out of Canada to a foreign place. In fact, the only places that I've ever been to in Canada are in Ontario and Quebec. Derek and I have never been on a trip together to a new place in Canada. It really is a shame because our country has some really beautiful places ----- and I think we've been missing out.

You don't have to travel far to find beauty. All summer we've been talking about heading to the local parks and conservation areas to hike around and explore. Finally this weekend we made the time to do just that. We packed ourselves, the camera and some water in the car and took off to Rock Glen Conservation Area. It's only 20 minutes from home.

It was a really hot, humid  day, so we hiked the 3.5 km of trail and also explored a few of the less travelled paths.

Here are a few of the shots we were able to capture ~

Down, down, down we go....just remember what goes down must go up :-)

This was only about a third of the amount of stairs that we went down and then had to climb back up. We worked up quite the sweat climbing back up!

We were able to walk right down the river bed because it was really, really dry!

The conservation area is home to many varieties of trees.

It was a gorgeous, clear day. Not a cloud in the sky!

It was lovely, peaceful and serene....and right in our own backyard.

We really need to remember to open our eyes and appreciate the beauty right within our community. I think that we are very guilty of taking it all for granted and let me tell ya, it was so enjoyable (and a heck of a lot cheaper than going South!). We had a great day and it cost us about $10 (including gas to get there!!).

It was wonderful. 

I've now done a little searching around and I've found a couple of sites that list out all the trails that we can explore in Southern Ontario. I see many hiking day trips in our future and I can't wait!!

Do you take the time to explore your local community? What is your fave local spot?

Have a wonderful day,

Andrea
xoxo