Category Archives: 2013

A Summary of the Last Week

  By Crystal Clarke | January 31, 2014 - 8:48 am | , ,
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My foot I’ve been wearing a walking cast for one week. There are three possibilities that it could be: stress fracture, Morton’s neuroma, or soft tissue trigger point. People say that I should go to a doctor and get it diagnosed. What most people don’t realize is that doctors really can’t diagnose this. A stress fracture requires a bone scan or a MRI. Both of these require months of a waiting list. I have been through this before and wasted a lot of time and energy. Living where I live means that it will take even more time because going … Keep reading →

Unbelievable

  By Crystal Clarke | December 5, 2013 - 10:00 am | , , , , , , ,
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Swollen Foot Collage

Ever since my run on Tuesday my right foot has been bugging me. There has been a constant mild pain in the front pad of my foot. On Tuesday night I gave my foot a massage and thought it would be fine. Yesterday I did yoga in the morning and it was bugging me all day when I was walking. Last night I was giving my feet a massage and found the spot that was sore – between the big and second toe right at the base of the toes on the bottom of the foot. When I was done … Keep reading →

Starting Over Yet Again

  By Crystal Clarke | December 4, 2013 - 1:02 pm | ,
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For what feels like the millionth time in the last 6 months, I have begun training again. This time, though, it is for realz. Why wasn’t it realzie before? The biggest reason I didn’t stick to it before was that I wasn’t prepared emotionally, mentally or practically. Emotional preparedness One might ask why someone would need to be emotionally ready to train. As a seasoned triathlete, I know the time commitment, sacrifices, and physical pain that is endured to train. When one is fresh and innocent, she doesn’t know what is to come. She doesn’t know about blood blisters, injury, … Keep reading →

A Teenage Success Story!

  By Crystal Clarke | September 23, 2013 - 6:10 pm | , , ,
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All of Us

Last week I had one of my best culinary days! I told the younger teenager that I wanted to make chilli and asked if she was cool with that. The conversation went something like this: Me: “So… I’m going to make chilli tonight for supper. Is that cool?” Teenager thinks: “What’s all in it?” Me: “Usually I put onions, carrots, celery, veggie ground round, diced tomatoes, and beans in it. Plus chilli spices of course.” Teen: “Chilli doesn’t have carrots or celery in it.” Me: “My chilli does.” Teen: “I don’t like celery.” Me: “I can leave the celery out … Keep reading →

Not from Spain “Spanish” Rice

  By Crystal Clarke | September 13, 2013 - 3:15 pm | , , ,
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Not from Spain Spanish Rice

After my last post about the not-my-mom’s banana bread I got to thinking about food that my parents used to make when we were kids. One of our favourite meals was one that my parents called “Spanish rice.” I’ve never heard anyone speak of this dish before or since then and I haven’t had it in years. What sparked this memory is the fact that I attempt to cook for two teenagers who have never really eaten vegetarian food and have a bit of a bias against it. I’d be lying if I said that this didn’t hurt my feelings , … Keep reading →

Not as Good as my Mom’s Banana Bread

  By Crystal Clarke | September 9, 2013 - 7:58 pm | , , ,
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Banana Bread Collage

For many years, and my siblings and my entire childhood, my grandma and my mom co-existed in the same farm yard. Now that I’m an adult and have experiences with mothers-in-law and family dynamics, I have a serious appreciation and respect for both of these women for making it through those years without killing one another. And more than that, they are still very close! The joke in our house whenever my mom made one of my grandma’s recipes w  was that the secret ingredient is a mother’s love. No matter what my mom made, it was never as good … Keep reading →

Streusel-iscious muffins

  By Crystal Clarke | September 6, 2013 - 9:10 am | , , ,
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This whole Vegan MoFo thing has been a big learning experience for me. Today I learned what streusel is! From dictionary.com, it is: streusel [German stroi-zuhl; English stroo-zuhl noun a topping for coffeecake, consisting of crumbs of blended sugar, cinnamon, flour, butter, and chopped nutmeats. Origin: 1925-30; <German: literally, a sprinkling; I have no idea what a nutmeat is, but maybe I’ll look that up tomorrow! And, obviously, there is no butter in this vegan recipe. Today’s recipe is adapted from The Garden of Vegan (again). I used flax eggs for this one to add some good omega oil and because … Keep reading →

Tuscan FAIL!

  By Crystal Clarke | September 5, 2013 - 10:02 pm | ,
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Tuscan Shepherd's Pie

In my experience trying new recipes can go either inspiring or disappointing. Today’s recipe from Forks Over Knives is the Tuscan-Style Shepherd’s Pie was really disappointing. It started with the polenta, which was the top crust of the shepherd’s pie. Yesterday when we were shopping in the city I had both corn flour and corn meal in my hand. Written on my grocery list was “corn meal/flour.” I thought about getting both of them, but decided to get one. I could not remember which one was used in polenta. So I bought the corn flour. Of course, that was wrong. … Keep reading →

Look at those Steaming Buns

  By Crystal Clarke | September 4, 2013 - 9:26 pm | , ,
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This is what a steamed bun looks like.

My Vegan MoFo plan for today was to make a Shepherd’s Pie with polenta, but that was put on hold when our trip to the city went longer than expected (I should know better by now). By the time we got home, the kids and us were hungry to my honey made a fried rice that was pretty yummy. Today’s vegan culinary adventure consisted of a steamed bun from The Green Spot Cafe in Regina. I would have put up a post while I was sitting there, but there was no wireless internet creating chaos in my mind*. I went … Keep reading →

Healthy Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie

  By Crystal Clarke | September 3, 2013 - 3:48 pm | , ,
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Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie

In an earlier post today I said that I was going to focus on workout food. Today’s food post, however, is all about yummy and healthy! Before last spring I had never cooked for teenagers before. The two teenagers that I live with (my love’s kiddos, a 15-year-old boy and a 12-year-old girl) have not eaten a lot of vegan food. That being said, I’ve had very little experience cooking for other people. I mean, it wasn’t uncommon for me to eat rice and lentils with no seasoning at all other than some Braggs. One of the kiddos is super … Keep reading →