Between the Bridges – Part 3
September 6, 2010
Here is a nice 14km run route which takes you across the Champlain Bridge, down through the parks along the Hull side of the river to the Eddy St. bridge and back to the studio along the Ottawa side of the river.
Love the 40 Year-old Mean Girl
September 3, 2010
We have all met her. She is intelligent, beautiful, successful, and athletic. When you are introduced to her, she looks you up and down with a bit of attitude and barely acknowledges you. Depending on how you are feeling, you may be intimidated by the experience or frustrated and simply call her the “B” word in your mind. If you find yourself in her presence more then once, you may find yourself either trying to get her attention and approval or alternatively referring to her as the “B” woman when you speak about her. None of the above has value. We know this, but somehow get caught up in it.
What is valuable is loving the mean girl. Yes, love the mean girl. If you are happy (truly happy, not socially-conditioned fake happy), you have no need to be mean or judgmental of others. It’s that simple.
So, love the mean girl, even the mean girl you may encounter within yourself at times. Me???? I was telling Donna I wanted to write about the mean girl and Donna mentioned we should also look at ourselves. Good point! I am often reminded by the people I love that I have a very serious expression. It’s possible that I may pass as a mean girl at times. Who knows? Stranger things have happened.
Let’s make a promise to smile more, breathe more, and believe in the human potential, including the potential of the mean girl in all of us.
Free Yoga Day – Sep 16
September 2, 2010
Celebrate the elation of yoga with free classes all day on Thursday, September 16th. Here is the schedule:
| 5:45-6:45AM | Vinyasa Flow | Donna |
| 7:00-8:00AM | Vinyasa Flow | Nicki |
| 12:00-1:00PM | Core Flow | Andrienne |
| 4:15-5:15PM | Hips | Jane |
| 5:45-6:45PM | Vinyasa Flow | Martha |
| 7:15-8:15PM | Hips | Caroline |
| 8:30-9:30PM | Deep Stretch | Sylvie |
This will be your first opportunity to try one of our new fall classes: Core Flow and Deep Stretch. Click here for class descriptions. Bring a friend!
Campfire Cupcakes
September 2, 2010
These cupcakes are inspired by the original recipe in Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World by Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero, and made for a celebration evening with 8 of my closest girlfriends.
Thanks to Jenni for the initial inspiration to make seasonal cupcakes; these are totally girlfriend approved.
Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cupcakes with Maple Cream Cheese Frosting
Makes 12 cupcakes (yes they’re vegan)
Cupcake Ingredients:
- 1 cup canned pumpkin
- 1/3 cup sunflower oil
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup soy or almond milk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 1/4 cups spelt flour or all-purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup vegan chocolate chips (President’s Choice brand is vegan by default)
Cupcake Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line muffin pan with cupcake liners
- Ina medium bowl, stir together pumpkin, oil, sugar, soy or almond milk, and vanilla. Sift in teh flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, salt. Stir together with a fork – don’t use a handheld mixer, as it will make the batter gummy. Once well combined, fold in the chocolate chips.
- Fill liners two-thirds full. Bake for 22-24 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let fully cool before icing.
Frosting ingredients and directions:
- Take one container vegan cream cheese – Tofutti is a good brand .
- Mix in 1-2 tbsp pure maple syrup and very finely grated rind of 1/2 organic orange. Mix well.
- Wait until cupcakes are fully cool to frost them.
- Want to get fancy – top with finely grated dark chocolate
Lincoln Fields Route
September 2, 2010
Here is a 5km/10km/12km route along the Ottawa River Parkway west to Lincoln Fields.
Ooey-Gooey Chocolate Caramel Squares
September 2, 2010
Recipe from Deb Gleason and her WellnessWarrior blog. Deb brought these to our team potluck, YUM!
Caramel Center:
- 2 cups vanilla soy milk
- 1/2 cup unrefined sugar
- pinch sea salt
Bring these ingredients to a boil in a medium sized pot with no lid and then reduce to a simmer . It will take about 40 minutes to reduce this down to the caramel sauce and it is a good idea to stir occasionally. You will know it is ready when it is reduced to one cup. At this point remove from the stove and add 1 tsp vanilla extract.
Graham Cracker Bottom:
- 1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
- few pinches sea salt
- 2 1/2 TBSP agave syrup
- 2 TBSP melted coconut oil
mix together with fingers until well combined and then press into a lightly oiled 8″x8″ pan. I like to use parchment paper instead of oil so I can lift the squares out easily after baking.
Topping:
- 3/4 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
- 1 cup non-dairy chocolate chips
Pour caramel sauce onto graham cracker bottom and then sprinkle coconut and chocolate chips onto caramel sauce. Bake for 20 minutes at 350 degrees or until caramel is bubbling up in spots and coconut is golden.
It’s a good idea to let them cool before you cut them into squares (or not!).
Enjoy!