One of the Greatest Smoothies Ever

I cannot take credit for this delicious smoothie, because the recipe was passed onto me by a friend. However, it is my duty to make sure everyone can enjoy this delicious healthy smoothie. It is actually quite simple to make, just mix orange juice, kale, some baby spinach, apples and mangoes in a blender and voila! You can also try adding apple juice or mango juice instead of the actual fruit, but it is better if you get the natural fruit. The orange juice is also preferably natural, none of that sugary stuff.

One of the best benefits of this smoothie, besides being delicious and a great snack or after-workout drink, is that it includes two of the best greens out there, kale and spinach. A lot of people don't like this taste, but the orange juice camouflages it quite well. The smoothie is actually more on the sweet side, and it can be a great way to get kids to drink it and take advantage of all the vitamins. You can also freeze it and make it into popsicles for the summer. It is a nice and healthy dessert. Also, if you are iron deficient like myself, this is a great drink for you. The high iron levels in the kale and spinach get absorbed better in the company of vitamin C, which there is plenty of because of the fruits, especially the orange juice.

Even this guy seems to like it!

DIY Stamps

Creating my own stamps has been a recent passion of mine, and in the last few months I have created over 300! I will post some photos of my stamp collection soon, but for now I want to show you how to make them. It is super easy, fun, and you can make whatever designs you dream of and use them in many MANY ways (I used mine in my wedding invitations - also an upcoming post).

You can make stamps out of different materials like linoleum, potatoes, styrofoam, etc, but my favourite materials are erasers and Speedy-Cut rubber blocks, which have a similar consistency to erasers. If my designs are small, I tend to use erasers bought at the dollar store (like the round ones shown in the third photo below - you can take advantage of these shapes and use them as part of your design!).

You will also need something to carve them. Speedball's linoleum cutters are very practical, they come with a variety of cutting sizes and are pretty easy to use. You can get these at your local art store, or online.

Finally, you will need pretty inks and surfaces in order to use your stamps. Inks come in a variety of colours and textures, and have different uses too. I have also used fabric paint to stamp my own designs on pillow cases and other fabrics. Your options are plenty!

Other optional materials include a pen, pencil, and tracing paper. These will make it easier to transfer your design onto your eraser before you start carving away. 

Once you have all your tools and materials ready, it is time to begin (I have posted a series of photos of all steps below for your convenience!). You can play around and create your own design on a clean paper or decide to use another design. I played around and came up with a simple fox design. Place the tracing paper on top of the design and trace it with your pencil. Then carefully place the paper, tracing face down, on the desired location on your eraser. With the back of your pen or your fingertips, gently press down on the paper, transferring the image on to the eraser. Make sure you hold the paper with your other hand so that it doesn't move around while you are transferring it!

Using your lino cutter start carving the design on the eraser, being careful not to cut yourself and making sure you are pointing the tool away from you. As you can see by the photos below, since I chose a circular eraser, I could choose to leave the stamp with the circular border around, or I can choose to carve the outside of the fox figure so that my stamp will only be the fox without the border. I think both are beautiful and will give you variety in your designs, so you can decide what looks best to you. After that, you are done, feel free to ink up and try out your beautiful stamp!

TIP: After you are done stamping, you can take good care of your creations by gently washing your stamps with warm water and liquid hand soap, that way they will last you longer. For really intricate stamps, I also use a soft toothbrush (you can get it at the dollar store), and rub softly in circular motions to get the ink out, specially in the corners.

Sick Day Blues

Barley and lentil soup with carrots and mushrooms to get better. Plus a cup of tea and books!

Reminiscing Fall

Snowy Day

Where does the roof end and the sky begin?

Little Garden - Part Two

It's been a week and our little garden has started to show some buds. The lavender is doing great, and the thyme and oregano are following along. There has been some slow development from the parsley and arugula, but the rosemary seems to be the shiest of them all. I will keep you posted!

 

 

Eating Vegan in Iceland

Eating vegan while traveling is already a challenging enough thing to do. Having snacks is a must, as you never know when your next meal might be. Add to the equation traveling to Iceland, known for it's seafood and cured shark (yup, that's a thing), and I was panicking before landing. However, my fears were in vain, as tourism is a significant part of Iceland's economy, and they definitely want to take care of us! 

Our hotel, the Icelandair Hotel Reykjavik Natura, had an all-you-can-eat breakfast buffet that included the usual staples, but also a variety of fruits, breads (including gluten-free - not that I am, but that's how much they appeal to travellers), and home-made jams. They also had soy milk to have with our cereals, and delicious vegetables.

We also discovered Cafe Babalu, a small cafe in the center of Reykjavik, which had a delicious vegan chilli and carrot cake for dessert, as well as an assortment of yummy teas!

We were also spoiled by Chef Baldur Öxdal Halldórsson, Head Chef and owner of the Lindin Restaurant in Laugarvatn. Since there was nothing vegan on the menu, he prepared a special dish and dessert for us, which included a sweet potato puree, barley with vegetables, salad, and a beet dressing. My mouth is watering just thinking about that meal. Add to it a good wine, and the fact that we were coming from the spa next door, and I can easily put this dinner in my top five... ever.

Besides the memorable vegan food that we got to enjoy on our trip, we also enjoyed the sights of over a dozen waterfalls, mountains surrounded by beaches, rainbows on top of glaciers, and the gentlest of Icelandic horses. Definitely a place I want to go back to!