"Meatless Balls" (vegan)

It's hard to find a good vegan meatball... wait, that sounds weird... meat-less ball!  I find that the store bought ones lack OUMFF!  They are bland and boring, NOT FOR ME!  I also hate when they are packed with crap, and lacking on the nutrients.  It took me a few tries to get these right, but I really feel like they're exactly what I was after, so ENJOY!

For the Meatless Balls:
1 cup cold (can be old) brown rice (can use half quinoa, half rice)
1 cup finely diced sweet potato (I cheat and wisk it around my food processor)
8 oz mushroom, chopped (again, food processor)
1 medium onion, chopped (yup, food processor - seeing a pattern here?)
2 cloves garlic
handfull of basil
2tsp cayenne (1 if you don't like heat)
salt + pepper
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
1/2 cup+ 2tbs flour (I use either spelt or whole wheat)
1tsp oil + more for frying

For spicy tomato cashew cream sauce:
1 cup cashews (soaked in warm water)
1 cup tomatoes (I use grape or cherry tomatoes)
1 cayenne or spicy pepper - finely chopped
5 leafs of basil
salt + pepper

Directions:
1. Heat 1tsp of oil in pan over med-low heat
2. Add sweet potato, mushroom and onion, cook until onion starts to turn translucent - add garlic, cook another 3 mins, stirring frequently.
3. remove from heat and place into food processor - don't turn on yet!
4. add your cold rice (or rice and quinoa mix) - now pulse the food processor gently, you don't want mush! Your aim is to mix it well, but not pulverize the rice! Be kind ;)
5. toss in your basil, cayenne and salt and pepper, pulse a few times to combine
6. add the breadcrumbs and flour, pulse again!  (to test, I take a small amount and form into a ball... does it stick? If yes, you're good-to-go! If no, add a touch more flour, pulse again, test again!)
7. Form all mixture into balls and place on a plate (or a cutting board)
8. Heat 2tsp of oil in a NON-STICK pan over medium heat - wait for it to be FULLY HEATED OR YOUR BALLS WILL BE SOGGY - EWWWWWWWWW
9. Gently place the balls into the oil, give them a little squish down with a fork or spatula
10. cook for about 5-7 mins, until golden brown, then flip! do the same on the other side!
11. Remove from pan and place on a paper towel for a few mins

While those are cooking:
1. toss cashews with 1 cup of the water into food processor (I use my smoothie cup blender)
2. ... wait for it...
3.  keep blending
4. BOOM - cashew cream! YOU WANT IT TO BE THICK!!!
5.  Add your tomatoes, basil, cayenne, salt and pepper
6. blend for a few mins, scrape down the sides as you go!
7. try not to eat it all before the balls are done!

* serve balls with sauce and top with some fresh arugula! YUMMMMMMMM!!!

Vegan Potato and Broccoli Fritters

So, every time I post a recipe on my Facebook or my Insta pages I get bombarded with people asking me for the recipe!!  I feel bad when they ask "can I get the recipe" and I have to respond "it's in my head".

See, herein lies the problem.  I NEVER write anything down, I wing all my meals!  I love cooking, I always have.  I never follow recipes, I always CREATE my own yummy little vegan dishes.

STARTING TODAY I WILL BE BLOGGING MY FOOD CREATIONS! (I will do my best)

Today's recipe started with Corey and I buying WAAAAAAY too many potatoes (is that even possible?!?!? YUP!)  So I decided to whip up some potato fritters... but then I got thinking "geesh, that's boring as heck..."  I wanted to up the health factor with some greens, and didn't want them to be bland or boring.  What's green and delicious, and makes Corey (my hubby) go "ewwwwwww"? - Broccoli!!  Yup, must add that.

Here is the recipe:

3 cups shredded white potato
1 cup shredded broccoli
1 small onion shredded or finely chopped
1/4 cup + 2 tbs spelt flour or whole wheat flour
1 tsp cayenne pepper
2 tbs nutritional yeast
salt + pepper to taste

1tsp oil (I used coconut)
arugula (garnish)


1.  place shredded white potato in a strainer and squeeze the CRAP OUT OF IT!  get the excess water out!
2. transfer to a bowl and combine with the broccoli and onion, mix well
3. add your flour - mix well
4. add all seasoning - taste it... yummmm raw potato ;)
5. Heat oil in non-stick pan and pre-heat oven to 425 degrees (I used pastry brush to spread the oil, cause you don't need a lot of oil!)
6. Form mix into patties, remember to squeeze out excess water as you form them!!
7. place patties into pan and press down with a spatula to ensure even cooking
8. after 3 mins or when golden brown - flip those puppies!!
9. transfer into oven when both sides are brown, give then about 8 mins in the oven :)
10. Top with fresh arugula... cause it's the bomb.com!!!  YUMMERS!!

EAT! And tell your spouse afterwards that they were loaded with broccoli goodness!!! Muahahaha!!

MEC 5k Trail Race: 1st place female

Run a 5k they said... it will be fun they said!! LOL!!  AND IT WAS FUN!!!

So, I don't really consider myself a short distance runner, I prefer races over 50km.  The idea of a 5km trail race scared me... terrified me actually.  I knew that I normally don't start to feel good until about 20km into a race!! What was I thinking?!?!

We arrived at the race site bright and early, as I had offered to volunteer and hand out race bibs the morning of the race.  What a blast that was!  I got to chat with other runners and answer their questions about the course and about what to expect.  Shortly before 9am I headed outside to line up with the other runners... all I could think was "man, some of these people look speedy, what the heck have I gotten myself into?!?!" UGH!

The RD had a volunteer lead us in a group warmup, which was really nice and fostered a really fun community feel to the race.  Everyone was laughing and having a great time!  We then lined up and the horn went off signaling the start!  Eeeeeeek!!! I tucked myself pretty far back, behind some other women, I wanted to get my legs rolling before starting to push.  As we rounded some technical trail I decided that the pace was a little to conservative for me, and I pushed past the women that were ahead of me.  I settled into a comfortable pace as we entered a long steady climb. The 9k race was coming back in the opposite direction, so I got to high-five friends and cheer others on as I headed out! AWESOME!

We turned a corner and entered into some awesome trails, I was moving and feeling great!  I emerged from the trails and headed back down that first out and back section.  I got to cheer on runners in my race and  high-fived some awesome kids who were KILLING IT!

The volunteers on the course were awesome and they definitely made me laugh a few times!!  There was a unique community feel to this race, I absolutely loved it.

After a brief jaunt on some flat-ish trails I entered a climb! YES!!! I FREAKING LOVE CLIMBING!! it was here that I was able to really hammer and pass some of the guys that were ahead of me.  There's something about that burning in my quads that makes me smile :)

Then a LONG technical downhill!!!! WOOOOOOHOOOOOO!!! #acceptthedownhill

My favourite part of the course was "Brian's Trail" which started with a wicked, technical climb! I loved it and felt right in my element.  I emerged to the final 300m stretch to the finish with one man, we battled hard to the finish - a full out sprint! (I beat him! Heee heee)

What an amazing race!!

1st place female, 5th overall!!  I was stoked!! SO happy that I jumped for joy off the podium!

A few notes about the race:

AMAZING COURSE!!! Beautiful trails: technical, hilly, varied terrain.

PERFECT COURSE MARKINGS! I never once questioned whether I was on-course! ;)

AWESOME VOLUNTEERS!!  They were so encouraging  :)

SUPPORTIVE RUNNERS!  Everyone cheered for each other, a real community event!

Huge thanks to Mountain Equipment Co-op (MEC) for the amazing race, and kudos to RD Chris Chapman for another successful event. 

As always, thank you to my amazing sponsors Salomon, Suunto, Bearded Brothers, GU Energy Labs, Julbo, Drymax and Bellefleur Physiotherapy.  

After the race Corey and I hit the trails with our wonder-pup for some extra miles.  My legs were toast! LOL!

New Horizons

So the "off-season" is over and done with! The snow is melting and the new race season is on the horizon!  With this new season comes a few changes for me as well!

For the past 2 years I have represented the Nike Trail Team in Canada.  I am thankful for the support that I received and was definitely proud to be represent such an amazing brand :)

With 2016 comes a new sponsorship, and truly an AMAZING opportunity for me!  I will now be representing Salomon and Suunto!!  The Salomon Team has been a dream of mine for so long and I'm so thrilled to be part of the team!  The Salomon brand represents everything that I believe in and truly speaks to my approach to trail running.  Their passion for the trails and for nature align so perfectly with my personal beliefs, it is such a perfect fit.

So what does 2016 have in store for me??  Well, HUGE THINGS!!  I will be representing  Salomon at Zugspitz Ultratrail in Germany AND at LEADVILLE 100!!!!  Yes, LEADVILLE!!  MY DREAM ULTRA!!!!  I couldn't be happier about this :) Seriously, sometimes dreams do come true!!  I can't thank Greg Vollet (Salomon Team Manager) enough for this CRAZY-AWESOME-DREAM opportunity.

Most of all, I am thankful to be able to explore trails around the world, and share my passion for nature with others.

#timetoplay

You can see the rest of my race calendar on the right side bar -------------->