cold weather road biking rides

Fall is colder this year in Ottawa. But I'm not complaining! I'll take cozy sweaters and scarves over sweating while sitting any day. It's taking my new obsession of road biking to a whole new level though!

Riding in cold air is a bit harder than most other sports during this season because of the wind factor. On some hills I'm getting up to 50-60km/hour! That's a lot of cold air! Here's what I do to stay warm:

Waterproof and warm "booties" to go over my cleats. These are imperative! My toes actually go numb without them. 

There are full finger gloves available, but I find this works just as well. I use cheap gloves to fit under my protective biking glove and it keeps my fingers toasty!

Finally there's the head band (cold ears!), the base layer shirt and the leggings that go over the padded riding shorts.

Lastly, you need to have a hot meal planned for when you get back because you're going to be chilled to the bone! Last week we planned to have some roasted spaghetti squash and bolognese sauce waiting for us on the stove.

With garlic toast on the side!

What do you do for your cold weather workout?

Emilie

Banana Pancakes

A rainy Sunday morning means Pancakes. Period.

I used this recipe and added a few a few tasty tweaks.

Banana Pancakes

Serves One

1/3 cup whole wheat pastry flour 
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 mashed banana
1/4 cup skim milk 
dash salt

1/2 tbsp ground flax

2 tbsp oats

1/2 tbsp maple syrup

yogurt for serving

Mix dried ingredients and wet together until combined. Makes about three pancakes per batch. I used a spray instead of butter to cut the calories. 

I like to serve mine with yogurt as a topping instead of maple syrup.

Enjoy your pancakes!

Emilie

Photo a day challenge- week four (final week!)

Final week of the photo-a-day challenge!

Day Twenty-Four - Three Things
Have you ever gotten any Stella and Dot jewelry? I haven't, but my co-worker got a few pieces the other day. I love the jewelry, but I loved the boxes even more!

Day Twenty-Five - Frame
It's the small things. I love our white window frame and white curtains in our office. It's a touch of pretty in a corporate world. 

Day Twenty-Six - Near
I LOVED this fruit display at work all the colours beside each other really worked for me. 

Day Twenty-Seven - Love/Hate
Working from home! I love that we get to stop and make a home cooked meal for lunch- like these Tuna Melts. I hate that I have to work all day and I can't do "home" things. 

Day Twenty-Eight- A Good Thing
This only happens once a year so I jump at the chance to have mini pumpkins! Love this white one!

Day Twenty-Nine- Errand
Errands mean a stop in to Mucho Burrito! The BF got the Ghost Pepper one. Wow even my one bite was hot hot hot!

Day Thirty - You, Then 
This was taken in January of this year. Almost a year with the Nikon! 

That's that! I would do this challenge again.

Emilie

fluffy banana peanut butter oatmeal

It's Saturday and I'm up early for work. There's nothing like serving 700 people a home-made burger on a beautiful fall day! 

To fuel my day of running around I made myself a batch of these fluffy oats. I made a few adjustments of course!

Banana Peanut Butter Fluffy Oats

serves one

1/3 cup rolled oats

1/3 cup skim milk (or soy/almond beverage)

1/2 cup water

1/2 banana, sliced thickly

1/2 tbsp ground flax

pinch salt

1/2 tbsp Peanut Butter

small handful of Muesli and 1 spoonful of PB for end

Boil oats, milk, water, banana, flax, salt and 1/2 tbsp PB on medium heat. Once bubbling stir vigorously to create the "fluffy" texture until oats are cooked and liquid is absorbed. Served with your favourite toppings (nuts, cereal, nut/seed butters, dried fruit, fresh fruit- berries would be great!). Enjoy!

I loved the idea of keeping the PB on the spoon. It lasted until the last few bites. Yum!

Enjoy your day!

Emilie

Ribfest 2.0

What a Ribfest this year! Great ribs, awesome dips and a great time all-round. The weather even co-operated.

The winning dip!

The "men" at work!

Ribs!!!

SO much dessert! I made PB cups. 

Until next year!

Emilie

snippets of my workweek

Another week on the road!

Outfits for the week:

A big batch of moroccan stew with chicken, sweet potatoes, chick peas, kale and couscous. I used cinnamon, cloves and cayenne powder to spice it up!

Outfit shots in the bathroom mirror!

A pretty darn awesome Chicken Vindaloo Naan Wrap. LOVE this healthy Indian fast food place. I wish Ottawa had one!

Adding a scarf to my outfit mid-day because it was darn cold!

Loved this fruit display!

Emilie

things that make me smile on a rainy sunday

The BF and I took a secret road trip on Sunday.... perhaps I'll tell you the reason one day!

It was a long trip so we stopped a few times for sanity's sake.

These Tim Horton's cookies always make me way too happy! I love that all the proceeds go to a charitable organization. They should always sell them!

We, and all the other cars on the road, where lucky enough to enjoy a large (and full!) rainbow. You could see its twin sometimes too. We both agreed it was the most impressive rainbow we had ever seen.

You can't help but smile at this sight!

On the way home we made a short but sweet stop at my parents' house for this amazing dinner. What a spread!

Carrot soup made with carrots from their garden!

Roast pork, couscous and peas. Yes please!

I swear I'm still recovering from the weekend... my body always demands lots of sleep after I have too much fun and excitement in my life! Excitement you ask? Oh yes, I will blog about it tomorrow! Here's a hint: Three giant BBQ's and a whole lot of dipping!

Emilie