Five minute healthy dinner.

Yesterday was just one of those days where time ran away from me. I worked at 5:30pm so when I realized it was already 4:30 I had the choice to eat Tostitos chips and con queso or figure out something quick and healthy to make. Since I had gone to the gym and wanted to keep my day on a healthy path, I chose to raid the fridge to see what I could whip up. My first thought was salad but unfortunately I was out of spinach and lettuce. I took a peek in my pantry and saw gluten free millet and brown rice ramen noodles. The noodles cook in about five minutes, making them a perfect option. I chose tuna for protein and grape tomatoes. 

I sliced the grape tomatoes in half and threw them into a frying pan with some oil, garlic, and black pepper. I added the sodium free canned tuna to the pan, stirred it all up and let everything heat through. I cooked the ramen noodles how the package instructed. After draining my ramen I topped it with the tuna and tomatoes, splashed some Franks Red Hot Sauce on top and gobbled it all up in record speed. It was really delicious! All together my dinner was a mere 490 calories.

Including prep time, cooking, eating, and cleaning up my meal took a grand total of twenty eight minutes. The cooking itself only took six! This is a perfect meal option for when you’re rushed but need something warm and filling in your belly. 

Let me know if you try this recipe. What are your go to quick dinners? Let me know in a comment. 

Thanks for reading, 

Carrot Cake Breakfast Smoothie | January fourth.

When it comes to breakfast I think the easier and quicker the better, so smoothies are a great choice. A breakfast smoothie needs to be filling enough for me to get through until lunch. I created this carrot cake breakfast smoothie with some inspiration from various Pinterest posts. 

To make my carrot cake breakfast smoothie you will need:

- 1/2 cup oats

- 5 to 7 baby carrots

- 1 tbsp WowButter (or nut butter if you can have nuts)

- 1 tsp honey

- 1 tbsp Greek yogurt

- 1/3 cup milk of choice (more or less to preference)

- cinnamon to preference

I start off by grinding the oats in my blender until they are super finely milled. I then throw everything else into the blender and blend until the carrots are shredded and everything is incorporated. 

This smoothie is so delicious, high in protein thanks to the WowButter and Greek yogurt. The oats make it filling and keep me full throughout the morning and the honey gives the smoothie a nice sweetness. 

This is a go-to, staple breakfast smoothie for me. If you try it do let me know if you like it!

Run Baby Run.

I set a goal when I was eighteen to run a marathon by twenty-two. Unfortunately I ran into health problems that left me unable to exercise at all for over two years. Now that I'm able to exercise again with no worries, I have reset my marathon goal. At this moment I am already twenty-two. It's my goal to run a marathon by twenty-five.

I've started running with my friend Michelle at different locations around our city. So far we're still working on a five kilometre route. It's SO far away from the twenty-six miles that make up a full marathon. 

I got myself some new Nike running shoes- the 2017 edition of the Nike Flex shoe. I absolutely love them and would recommend them to anyone. They're very comfortable and contour to my foot while still providing great support. I also invested in some new running pants, a light weight jacket from The North Face, and some sports bras from Sportcheck. 

Before running I like to fuel up with food and water. I'll drink a bottle of water and eat a meal with complex, slow releasing carbs about an hour to two hours before my run. Usually I have oatmeal. After a run I load up on vegetables, protein and, of course, water. 

The five kilometre route we're trying to master at the moment is a little walk-on-to island in our downtown area. Running around the entire island is just over five kilometres. Our first time around the island took us forty minutes as we had to stop and walk a couple times (and of course take nature pictures). 

We decided that our first race will be a charity run in our city that raises money for our local palliative care centre. We're entering in the five kilometre race! 

I'm loving getting back into running. I love the way it feels when I finish a run and my breath comes back to me and my legs are a little shaky. Endorphins are the best drug.

I'm excited to get back into running and share this journey with you all. Thanks in advance for your support. Any tips for getting back into running would be great!

These Are a Few of My Favourite Things! | May Favourites

No joke guys... I legitimately typed March favourites whilst writing this. WHERE HAS THE TIME GONE???

Favourites

This month has been so busy between organizing my life being back home and getting into the swing of things work-wise.

Food

1. Barilla Gluten Free Pasta

Having been diagnosed with celiac disease, I have been trying to find gluten free options to try. I have found that a lot of gluten free pastas can be quite starchy and just not really the pasta eating experience I'm used to. I love that this gluten free pasta is a blend of rice and corn flours. I have found, when it comes to gluten free, flour blends make a better product than one chosen flour. Once I discovered Barilla's gluten free pasta, I stopped missing regular flour pastas- it's really no different!

2. Homemade Gluten Free Pizza

When the celiac disease diagnosis came about, the first thing I that crossed my mind was that I needed to find a good pizza recipe. I shared the recipe in a previous blog post so I won't go into detail about it again here. My favourite toppings for my pizza have been bacon, asparagus, broccoli, and sweet corn... yummy!! 

Beauty

3. e.l.f. Liquid Eyeliner

Again, I mentioned this product in a previous blog post so I'm not going to talk about it again. I really love this eyeliner so much! I've never found a liquid eyeliner that I really liked so when I bought this one on a whim my expectations were set quite low. However I absolutely love this product!

Technology/Entertainment
4. Ladies Who Lunch Podcast
I think these two ladies (and their occasional guests) have such amazing thoughts and I love listening to their opinions. They cover some really intense topics and have a beautiful way of discussing the hard parts of life.

5. Grey's Anatomy
There's nothing to say other than I started watching from Season 1... Again...

6. My YouTube Channel

I started daily vlogging and I LOVE it! It would mean the absolute world to me if you all would check it out.

Miscellaneous
7. My Brother's Birthday Cake
Back at the beginning of May, my little brother turned 16! He asked me if I would make him a birthday cake, which I excitedly agreed to. He then expressed to me that he wanted a Minion cake... oh boy haha. I hate to toot my own horn but, this is not a bad job by any means haha. Watching people cut into this cake and eat it broke my heart a little bit to be honest!

8. Lilacs
I'm not a huge fan of flowers, but there's something about lilacs that I absolutely love! They are so beautiful and fragrant. I love walking by lilac bushes and taking a deep breath. Lilacs are the ultimate proof to me that summer is on it's way!

9. This Shirt
Not much to say other than I got it at Urban Planet and I love it!

10. Colouring
I'm sure I mentioned adult colouring books in a favourites post before but I feel like I need to mention them again as May saw a fair few finished colouring pages.

11. Quotes Photos

I tend to find solace in quotes. I think they can change your mood if you let them so I always keep quite a bit of photo quotes saved on my phone. These are just a few of them!

Moments

12. Graduation Photoshoot

I was hired for my first paying, professional photography gig. It was such an amazing experience! The photos turned out amazing too. I'm so happy with how everything went!

13. Boardwalk Stroll

I was reunited with Paul and it felt so good! Paul is one of my best friends. Our life paths seem to be harmonious as he also moved to Ottawa and now back to the Sault. We took a lovely walk at sunset down the boardwalk for about an hour... there were no quiet moments! It's nice to have those friends where you can just pick up where you left off no matter how long it's been.

14. Motorcycle Rides

Dad bought a motorcycle and I'm sure I was just as excited as he was haha. There's something about a motorcycle ride that makes me so happy!! I can't wait for the next one.

15. Swimming at Sunset

This entire day- Papa's birthday party- is a favourite of mine for the month of May. It's so lovely to be home and be able to attend family parties in person- no more Skyping in for this girl! We ended the day by jumping into the freezing cold lake at sunset! What a way to welcome summer!

Goals

1. Strengthen My Faith: mindful meditation 15 min on Sundays

I began meditating this month and I really enjoy the way it makes me feel. I was having trouble controlling my mind and so I downloaded the guided mediation app called Calm. It has made a huge difference in the success of my mediation sessions. I highly recommend it.

2. Love My Body: start running again

Not only do I love running itself, but I also love being outside and finding new and beautiful places. I think running is making a huge difference in my day-to-do happiness and in my self love.

3. Explore New Mediums of Creativity: write something just for me

This was such a therapeutic experience. I actually wrote two things- a personal essay and a poem. 

4. Find More Joy: enjoy being home

I have enjoyed being home to no end! Spending time with the people I love in the place I love has been such an amazing blessing.

5. Have an Open Heart: reconnect

I've been able to spend time with all my favourite people- both friends and family. It's been amazing to reconnect with all the people that I've been away from for so long.

June

1. Strengthen my faith: find a comfortable way to pray

2. Love my body: start building muscle mass

3. Explore new creative mediums: build a photo frame

4. Find more joy: discover a new hobby

5. Have an open heart: recognize the needs of others

All in all, May was an amazing month and it is giving me nothing but positive vibes heading into June.

What have you loved this month? Do let me know!

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Thanks for reading & check back again to see what KatieDidd, xo

Disney Kid, Disney Adult! | The Disney Tag

I've been a HUGE fan of Disney for my entire life. As a 90's kid, I grew up watching Disney movies on VHS!

1. Favourite Disney Film?

When I was a kid it was The Lion King, but for the past five or so years it's been Alice in Wonderland. I also LOVED Walt Before Mickey.

2. Favourite Disney character?

Alice- I love her innocence and curiosity. I completely relate to her and her over-active imagination.

3. Favourite Disney Princess?

I really like Snow White and Mulan.

4. Favourite Disney sidekick?

Thumper from Bambi- my goodness he's so loyal and so cute! His little voice... gah <3

5. Favourite Disney song?

LET'S GET DOWN TO BUSINESS

TO DEFEAT THE HUNS......HUUUUUUH

6. Which Disney character would be your best friend?

I think Belle. Personality wise I think her and I would get a long very well.

7. Who would be your Disney pet?

Flower the Skunk from Bambi!

8. Have you ever been to Disneyland?

No :(

9. Who is your Disney alter ego?

I think probably the Genie from Aladdin. I like to be sarcastic and kind of a trickster.

10. Who is your favourite Disney villain?

Obviously Maleficent! 

11. Do you collect anything Disney wise?

Not consciously. We have all the VHS's in my basement though still. We can't seem to part with them even though we don't have a working VHS player.

12. What Disney film would you star in if you could?

Already made, Sleeping Beauty or The Chronicles of Narnia. Up and coming films, Alice Through the Looking Glass or Beauty and The Beast.

13. How old were you when you watched your first Disney film?

Oh jeez, less than a month.

14. What do you love about Disney?

I grew up with Disney. I like the fairytale side- the magic and the impossibleness of it all. But I also like the realistic side to Disney- every story has a beautiful and relatable message. It's such a feel good thing and I think it's so universal. No matter where you live, what colour skin you have, what language you speak, what religion you are, etc., odds are you've watched and loved a Disney film in your life.

15. Who is your favourite Disney couple?

Good ol' Mickey and Minnie. The original OTP.

What do you love about Disney? Let me know in a comment!

Thanks for reading & check back again to see what KatieDidd, xo