dishing up food, fashion & lifestyle in Toronto

Menu

Home
About Me
Travel
Food
Fashion
For Creators
Lifestyle
Contact

Contact Me

For all inquiries, drop me a note by filling out the form below!

Your Name (required)

Your Email (required)

Subject

Your Message

Get personal and follow me on

Instagram

I’m sure you’ve heard PCR Tests are no longer

I’m sure you’ve heard PCR Tests are no longer required to enter or return to Canada for fully vaccinated travelers ✈️ Instead, a negative professionally administered or observed rapid antigen test can be used. @fh.health has just launched an incredibly innovative Test from Anywhere Rapid Antigen Kit to make it easier and more convenient for travelers to satisfy the testing requirements in Canada, and they are Health Canada approved 👍🏽.

You buy the test kit before leaving Canada and then take it in the comfort of your hotel room or anywhere with an internet connection before returning. You’ll virtually connect with a registered nurse who oversees your COVID test, and when complete, FH Health will send you a copy of your results within 30 minutes. Using the FH Health Test from Anywhere Rapid Antigen Kit will be SO much better than having to find a place in your travel destination to get a professionally administered RAT. No stress, running around, or waiting in line, which means more time to spend enjoying your vacay! 🙌🏽🙌🏽

Do you have any travels on the horizon? Make sure to buy your Test from Anywhere Kit before you go! #sponsored #FHHealth #TestFromAnywhere

#rapidantigen #canadiantraveller #canadiantravel #canadatravel #travelbloggerlife #travelblogger #canadatravelrequirements #covidtesting #covidtest #covidtravel #rapidantigentest

Here’s a super fun idea for entertaining: a Fren

Here’s a super fun idea for entertaining: a French Fry Board, complete with 6 different types of @mccaincanada French fries and 5 different dipping sauces! 🍟 It’s guaranteed to please the French fry lovers in your household and bonus when you can get all the fries from the same source! 🙌🏽 McCain has some of the best French fry selections around, including crinkle cut, homefries, sweet potato fries, tater tots, wedges, smiles and so much more! Did you know McCain had so many varieties?

Which type of fry would you go for first on this board? #ad #mccaincanada

#frenchfries #friesbeforeguys #frenchfries🍟 #frenchfry #friesbeforeguys🍟 #fries #friesboard #frenchfryboard #fryboard #onmytable #feedfeed #food52 #onmyplate #torontofoodblog #torontofoodblogger #dineandfashrecipes #viralfood

I’m sure you’ve had penne alla vodka, but have

I’m sure you’ve had penne alla vodka, but have you ever tried gnocchi alla vodka 🍅? SAVE THIS POST because you’re gonna want to try this recipe that takes less than 30 mins to make!

I created this delicious twist on the classic penne alla vodka using @olivieripasta Tomato Mozzarella Skillet Gnocchi. Olivieri’s Skillet Gnocchi is ready in just 5 minutes and comes in 4 flavours, including Classic, Real Cheese, Cheddar Bacon, and Tomato Mozzarella. For this recipe, I added directly to the vodka sauce 5 minutes before it was done. The gnocchi were like soft, little heavenly pillows in my mouth, and had an added pop of flavour from the tomato and mozzarella stuffed inside.

And did you know that Olivieri Pasta is a Canadian 🇨🇦company? Even more reason to pick up some Skillet Gnocchi on your next trip to the grocery store!

Ingredients
2 x 280g bags of Olivieri Skillet Gnocchi of your choice
1/4 cup EVOO
1/2 medium onion, finely chopped
5 cloves garlic, finely minced
1 tbsp. tomato paste
1 tsp. red pepper flakes
796mL can crushed tomatoes
½ cup heavy cream
¼ cup vodka
2 tbsp. butter
½ cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
salt and pepper to taste
fresh basil for garnish

Instructions: Warm EVOO in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion & garlic and sauté for a few min, stirring occasionally, until translucent. Add pepper flakes, salt, pepper and cook about 1 min. Add crushed tomatoes and vodka. Bring to a boil, then reduce to simmer for 5 mins. Add cream, butter, and Parmigiano and whisk well. Simmer until sauce starts to thicken. Add gnocchi and simmer for another 5 mins. Remove from heat and serve hot. Add freshly grated Parmigiano and basil for garnish. Enjoy! #ad #Olivieri #OlivieriRecipes #SkilletGnocchiRecipes

#gnocchi #gnocchis #gnocchiallavodka #allavodka #nytcooking #torontofoodblog #torontofoodblogger #feedfeed #food52 #italianfood #onmytable #onmytable #foodphotography #foodstyling #dineandfashrecipes

They told me to follow a Mediterannean diet. I too

They told me to follow a Mediterannean diet. I took that advice very seriously 😏

I made this Mezze Board using ingredients I got from @marcheadonis. We heard the Scarborough store had been renovated, so we had to check it out! We were blown away by all of the fresh produce, prepared foods, cheeses, nuts, pickled veg, prepared salads, dips, spreads – you name it. For Mediterannean and Middle Eastern, there is no comparison for grocery in Toronto.

This Mezze Board has olives, tabule, fresh pita, feta cheese, pickled turnips, dolma, bulgur, hummus, figs, labneh, baba ghanoush and more. A colourful, healthier way to make a grazing board.

Have you been to Adonis yet? I recommend that you go hungry 😉 #ad #marcheadonis

#mezzeboard #mezzeplatter #mezze #dineandfashrecipes #torontofoodblog #torontofoodblogger #nytcooking #feedfeed #food52 #foodphotography #foodstyling #atmytable #onmytable #mezzelover #mediterraneandiet #mediterraneanfood #middleeasternfood #entertainingideas #entertainingathome

Nutrition and healthy lifestyle have been a huge f

Nutrition and healthy lifestyle have been a huge focus for me during this fertility journey, and my diet has changed considerably since a couple years ago. The great news 👍🏽: I’ve never felt better and more energized. The not-so-good news 👎🏽: meal planning, prep, and cooking can feel like a full-time job.

I’m no dietician or doctor, but there are a lot of great principles I’ve picked up and takeaways I’ve gotten to help refine my diet, thanks to working with wonderful people like @welsh_wellness, @drvonhagen, and @energytreeanne. So, I thought I’d share some things that have really worked for me (note: these may not apply to everyone, like people with intolerances):

👉🏽 Follow a Mediterranean diet. There are many studies supporting its benefits for fertility and general health.
👉🏽Focus on lean protein, healthy fats, fibre, and whole grains
👉🏽Eat more whole foods and less processed stuff
👉🏽Eat less refined sugars and refined grains
👉🏽Eat the rainbow and rotate through different fruits & veggies
👉🏽Don’t skip meals or be in a calorie deficit – this can cause your hormones to tank

Foods & drinks that are staples in my diet:
✨Alllllll the veggies 🥦🥕🫑🍠
✨Fruits & berries 🫐🍓🍌
✨Kale & other leafy greens 🥬🌱
✨Quinoa
✨Eggs 🥚🍳
✨Nuts & seeds 🌰🥜
✨Fish & seafood (need those omega-3s!) 🐟🍤
✨Meat & plant-based proteins
✨Full-fat dairy in moderation 🧀🧈
✨Healthy fats, like avocados & EVOO 🥑
✨Antioxidant-rich foods, like blueberries, blackberries, pomegranate seeds, and powders like goji powder & acai powder
✨Wheatgrass 🌱
✨Caffeine-free teas, like Rooibos, dandelion root, ginger & honey, peppermint

And perhaps most importantly, if you’re basing your diet on a lot of restrictions, you’re going to hate the process. The focus is on eating MORE of what’s good for you and LESS of what’s not. Be kind to yourself. Implement an 80/20 rule. And never feel like you have to give up the foods you love. For me that means things like 🍕🍟🍝🌮🍔, in moderation.

(pc: @lauraclarkephotos)

#healthylifestyle #healthyfood #healthyeating #ttc #ttccommunity #ttcjourney #ttctribe #eatingforfertility #eatingforhealth #foodblogger #torontofoodblog #wellness

SAVE THIS POST for a quick and healthy breakfast i

SAVE THIS POST for a quick and healthy breakfast idea you can try over the weekend! 📂

Shakshuka is always a good idea. But did you know there are many benefits to the dish outside of it tasting great?

For those who are TTC or expecting, shakshuka can be a great source of choline because of the eggs! 🍳Choline is a vital nutrient shown to lower the risk of neural tube defects, and to be important for placental health and the transfer of nutrients across the placenta. Some say it’s equally as important as folate! Our bodies produces a small amount of choline, but the rest has to be obtained through diet. So, a good reminder to eat those eggs – especially the yolks, my friends! 🥚

Here’s my tried, tested, and true recipe for shakshuka.

Ingredients
1-650mL jar of Arrabbiata sauce
1-14.5oz can of Diced Tomatoes
3-4 garlic cloves
½ jalapeño
½ onion, chopped coarsely
½ red bell pepper, chopped coarsely
½ green bell pepper, chopped coarsely
4 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
2 tsp. sea salt
2 tsp. cracked black pepper
½ tsp. ground cumin
½ tsp. ground cinnamon
2 tsp. za’atar
2 tsp. crushed chili flakes
5 eggs
Everything Bagel seasoning, for garnish
Crush chili flakes, for garnish
Fresh chopped parsley for garnish
Crumbled feta cheese for garnish

Instructions: Preheat oven to 375 F. Finely mince garlic in a food processor. Add jalapeño and mince. Add onion and bell peppers and pulse until all the onion and bell peppers are roughly the same size. Add olive oil to a cast iron skillet on medium heat. Once oil is heated, add chopped ingredients and cook until softened, stirring frequently. Add Arrabbiata sauce, canned tomatoes, salt, black pepper and spices, and continue cooking until sauce is reduced by 1/3. Use a spoon to make a small well in the sauce. Crack 1 egg into the well. Repeat for remaining eggs. Add cast iron skillet to oven and bake for between 8 minutes (for a runny yolk) to 12 minutes (for a firmer yolk). Garnish with chili flakes, Everything Bagel seasoning, parsley and feta cheese. Enjoy!

#dineandfashrecipes #shakshuka #easyshakshuka #shakshukarecipe #nytcooking #feedfeed #food52 #torontofoodblogger #torontofoodbloggers #foodblogfeed #nomnom

So, what’s next in our fertility journey? Well,

So, what’s next in our fertility journey? Well, right now our embryos are on ice ❄️ and *thankfully* 🙏🏽 we can move to frozen embryo transfer (FET) …But not before I cover my bases ⚠️

Retrieval is one humongous hurdle to jump over, but transfer (when you put the embryo back into your body hoping that it implants into your uterine wall) is another humongous one!

A host of other issues come into play when we’re talking about transfer:

👉🏽 Is your uterine cavity free of polyps and other obstructions?

👉🏽 Can your uterine lining get to the required thickness for transfer? This is at least 8 mm

👉🏽 Is your uterine lining free of any inflammation (which can cause implantation failure)?

👉🏽 When is the best time to transfer, so that your body is most receptive to the embryo?

👉🏽 Do you have to consider any immune factors?

👉🏽 Do you have to consider any blood clotting disorders? 🩸

Did you know that every person has natural killer cells, which are an important part of our immune system? But for some people, these natural killer cells and other antibodies in the blood can actually prevent implantation, cause miscarriage or cause infertility?! Imagine investing all that money, time, energy and emotions into getting embryos, only to have your own body turn around and reject them? 😖

I used to think transfers were either only medicated or natural. But there are actually many transfer protocols and treatment options, including those geared to immune issues.

So, before moving to the next step, my plan is first to be as informed as possible 🤓 and do any additional testing necessary. Then I want to ensure that my doctor and I select the most appropriate transfer protocol, in the hopes of increasing my odds for implantation.

Did you know that all these issues need to be considered for FET?

(pc: @lauraclarkephotos)

#ivf #ivfjourney #ivfwarrior #ivfcommunity #ttc #ttccommunity #ttcjourney #ttcsupport #tryingtoconceive #journeytobaby #journeytorainbowbaby #fertilitysupport #fertilitywarrior #infertility #infertilityawareness #liveauthentic #infertilitysucks #ttcsisters #thatauthenticfeeling #nestedmag #expectful #ivfgotthis #fertilitywinner

Follow on Instagram

Home
About Me
Contact

Facebook Twitter Instagram Pinterest YouTube

Close