I hope that you’re set up for a lovely Spring weekend! Ours is on the busier end, but hopefully we’ll have lots of time outside in the gorgeous weather. I’ve been finalizing my nut milk recipe that is ✨ specifically✨ for frothing/having as a latte, and it’s been pretty great! Lots of hot and lush beverages on repeat around here.

All garden progress has been on pause because the rain and cold has been nonstop! I had a contact high when I saw the sun this morning haha. I’m hoping to get some cold weather veg plants in pots/the ground by the end of the weekend and to dig up the unstoppable patches of periwinkle that we have out front and on our side patio. They’re cute, but they gotta go!

Here’s the usual assortment of reads, nice things, and some of your questions answered below. Have a good one! :)

5 Things I’m Reading:

1. Taylor Swift and the Sparkling Trap of Constant Reinvention
2. I Really Didn’t Want to Go On the Goop Cruise
3. The unspoken truth about gardening? It is a relentless, unwinnable war
4. The Benefits of TikTok’s Latest Really Good Idea, ‘Soft Hiking’
5. Why wellness guru Wim Hof loves cold plunges

5 Things I’m Enjoying:

1. This maple peanut butter is my current breakfast/snack fixation.
2. Five minutes playing tongue drum and a square of Zen Chocolate by Joyà is how I wind down into the evening these days. Joyà’s entire product line is incredible and filled with intention.
3. Girls with Stanley cups made me lol.
4. Appetite Randomhouse sent over a copy of Salad Pizza Wine, and it’s such a stunner! Lots of fun inspiration for vegetables here.
5. The Deceptive World of Ghost Kitchens

5 Questions:

1. Tips for simple meals when in a rut?
   When I’m in a cooking/creativity rut, I focus on getting a vegetable, a starch, and protein, and that’s it. Just breaking the meal down to the more “fuel”-like components is really helpful when I lack other motivation. Sometimes this looks like a baked sweet potato stuffed with chickpeas that I sautéed with spices and a little green salad on the side. Other times, it’s air fried cubes of tofu with spices, sautéed broccoli florets and some pre-cooked rice that I just need to heat up plus a quick little sauce. And my classic go-to!: pasta with sautéed broccoli rabe, veggie sausage plus my fave store bought marinara and a little sprinkle of nutritional yeast. Keep it simple :)
2. Any Canadian food brands that you’re into lately?
   So many! I love Flourist for dried beans, flours, and whole grains. Logan Petit Lot has amazing nut butters. Acid League for vinegars and other flavour boosters. Zing makes fun cooking shortcuts/condiments and spice blends. Yoggu makes the best vegan yogurt around–it has that tang and it’s also super fluffy! Lake & Oak Tea makes tasty blends with lots of superfood goodness. City Seltzer for the best flavoured seltzer (Cool Melon is my fave!). And of course Joyà for functional beverages and chocolate that actually taste amazing.
3. Morning routine?
   It’s all over the place lately because my ability to sleep through the night isn’t exactly consistent. Most mornings I drink a big glass of water, go for a walk, have coffee, plan out what I need to do that day, and then I clean up and have breakfast. I work a cold plunge in there 3-4 times a week. The constants are: coffee and getting outside haha.
4. Thoughts on the difference between saying plant-based or vegan?
   Plant-based refers to a strictly dietary choice and doesn’t even have to mean 100% vegan. From my understanding, being plant-based means that you choose plant-based foods more often, that most of your food intake is free of animal products. Vegan points to a lifestyle that is completely free of animal products in both food, clothing, home materials etc, and is rooted in compassion for animals. I like to use the term plant-based when describing my site and recipes because it feels a bit more inclusive I guess? I don’t want folks to think that the end goal is 100% veganism here–just eating more plants is great and I hope that folks find inspiration in that. For me, when I need to ask about something at a restaurant, I use the term “vegan” because I think that’s the quickest path to clear communication and understanding. Otherwise, I do swap the terms quite often.
5. Favourite music for meditation/yoga?
   I’m really into this playlist on Spotify lately: A Tranquil World