Choosing Happiness

A woman who played a crucial role in my not-so-distant past once told me about an interesting ending to a conversation she once had.  The person with whom she was speaking to, ended their discussion with the words we hear at least three times a day: "Have a nice day."

To which my mentor responded, "It's a choice, isn't it?"

Each morning, we wake up with the option of having a good or bad day and though we may not realize it at the time, it's a personal decision made at that very moment.  I'm not intending to say people should wake up with the sun shining out of their ass, because who really is a morning person anyways?  It's more of...a general outlook.  You can wake up and feel sorry for yourself.  You can count all of your problems on your fingers and toes.  You can bump elbows with a person and choose indecency and forget about any sort of apology.  You can whine and complain and participate in petty gossip.  These are all factors that aid in making up your mind as to the kind of day it will be.

When I start the day with the choice of it being a bad one, if I have the strength to turn it around, I will ask myself questions.

How can my life be worse?  Who can I think of that is having a harder time than I am right now?

But since misery can sometimes feel like the Burj Khalifa weighing over my shoulders, I need to go further:

Can I make a change?  If I am unhappy and have been for a long time, what can I do about it?

Making a change within one's life is something that requires a lot of courage.  We're creatures of habit.  And if suddenly we break the routine of our daily lives, it can be stressful too.  But stress is an inevitable part of life.  And so is unhappiness.  But while unhappiness often pokes it's head into the picture, it really shouldn't outweigh the presence of your happiness.  Cliché as it is, the best metaphor I can illustrate for life is comparing it to a roller coaster.  So yeah, maybe changing your life (changing your job, your home, your relationships, etc.) may disrupt the ultimate harmony that is your "schedule", and yeah it may take a few weeks of discomfort, but in the long run, that little step outside of your comfort zone, that little leap in a new direction, may be what you need to find your happiness.

In all honesty, I think the reason why I'm writing this is because I'm kind of going through this floating transition period.  I have just moved to Copenhagen and have started a new job.  I left behind people that were very important to me back home, but I also left behind a workspace that was making me unhappy.  I didn't even realize just how unhappy I was until I actually left.  I'm living in this new place now and surrounded by new people and it almost doesn't seem real.  It feels like I'm living inside a dream in my REM cycle.  I'm still adjusting.  And for a period of time, it was stressful (packed it all up in one suitcase, thank you very much.) But it's a fresh start and sometimes that can be bliss.

I was talking with my friends last weekend and I told them how happy I was, but that it frightened me.  Too often it has happened to me that in what has seemed to be a happy part of my life, something bad happens all too soon.  And perhaps that's why I'm constantly comparing life to this roller coaster.  Because just when you're up high, at the peak, you fall down faster than you can even breathe.  So yeah, I'm terrified that everything right now is too good to be true and that any second now, something awful and horrific will happen.

Thankfully, I have good friends.  They told me that I need to let myself be happy.  I need to accept and acknowledge this feeling that comes so softly and often is disguised by the bitterness in the world.  Human beings hardly ever let themselves be happy.  Either they are going through a tough time and are thinking "Man, I can't wait for this all to be over so that I can get a break" or they are in a tough time and remembering how easy they used to have it.  So often I look back on my previous years and think "If I had only known how hard my life was going to get."  I think that I used to have it so good.  But was I thinking that at the time? Hell no! At the time, I told myself "Your life is hard right now, but get through it and it will be fine."

So in summary, we believe happiness to be something either in the past or in the future and that makes it so far away and intangible.  The goal that I've given myself as of now, is to accept happiness in, not the past, nor the future, but in my present.  Right now.

I am happy.

The night I arrived, a rainbow came out.  I'm hoping it's a good omen :)

Pleasantly yours,
Bart

Coconut Milk Oatmeal

I had big plans for oatmeal last weekend.  So big that I made it my dinner.  Now don't act like you've never had breakfast for dinner before and admit it, wasn't it the greatest thing ever?  This idea spurred from some leftover coconut milk I had from a samoa bar recipe I tried.  I had never tried coconut milk before and naturally I was overwhelmed by the delicious-ness.  So my next thought was "hey...this would taste amazing in oatmeal!"  

Regular oatmeal cooking rules apply -

Instead of water, pour 1 cup coconut milk into a saucepan (add a pinch of salt while you're at it) and bring it to a boil.  Stir in the oats (heaping 1/2 cup, maybe a little more) and let cook for 5-10 minutes, depending on how you like the consistency of your oatmeal.  Voila! Done!

As for the toppings, that's left to your creativity.  In my bowl of oatmeal, I put in:

• pomegranate seeds (major YES)
• homemade almond butter I made in my food processor earlier that week
• medjool dates 
• macadamia nuts
• pieces of dark chocolate
• scoop of hemp hearts

Maybe I added a little too many different flavours of tasty foods.  I just got excited.  It was amazing though

Pleasantly yours,

Bart

Saturday night sillies and lemon coconut meltaways

Fact: I have four new gray hairs I've accumulated from the stress of my past week.

Auditions are tough.  If you're a dancer, singer, actor or performer, you'll know what I'm talking about. It's one thing to pursue a career in the arts but it's another thing to actually be successful in it.  You learn a lot from it, nevertheless.  The audition process can either go in your favour (very rare) or you can be left with a big fat NO (99% of the time).  You really build a thick skin and you have to tell yourself that it's not that you're bad at what you do (though it really seems like that at the time), it's just the personal preference of who you're auditioning for.  You could be too tall or too short, too thick or too thin.  You could have blonde hair and blue eyes and they'll be looking for someone with darker features.  These are all things you can't change about yourself so the only thing you can say to maintain optimism is that this wasn't the place you were meant to be.  Wouldn't you want to be somewhere where you can be appreciated for who you are anyways?

I have two auditions coming up this week, one of which I am lucky enough to travel to Oslo, Norway for!  I'm very excited because in what seems like less than a year, I've gone from having not been on a plane since I was thirteen, to having been on and off a plane four times.  I love travelling to new places and I love getting a feel for culture that is unlike what I am used to.  I also love Europe and am particularly fond of the Scandinavian countries, having been to Denmark earlier this year.  Oslo is neck and neck with Tokyo to be the world's most expensive cities (danger!!!!) but thankfully I'm only there for two days.

Joining me on my adventure is this one:

DAWGGG

Isabelle will be coming from Amsterdam and meeting me on Oslo.  We'll be going back to Toronto the same day but because I booked my flight after her, I wasn't able to get the same ticket as her without passing up on an extraordinary deal.  But fate is a funny thing.  My flight home leaves at 6:35 am (kill me now) and I have a 5 hour layover in Amsterdam (hey, at least it was cheap).  Isabelle leaves Oslo at 9:35 am and she has a layover in Amsterdam as well. It didn't even occur to me until yesterday as I was in line waiting to buy a lemon at Superfresh that there was a reason why I had to wait in the Amsterdam airport for 5 hours.  Lo and behold, we're flying on the same flight back to Toronto from Amsterdam and I could not be happier!  

So last night as we were booking a hostel in Oslo, we got distracted and made a delicious recipe I found on Pinterest for LEMON COCONUT MELTAWAYS from Addicted to Veggies. 

Here is some documentation of our baking:

This looked like we were cooking crystal meth.  Don't be alarmed. It's just sea salt.

The fact that there is an alligator sticker on this lemon makes me 99% suspicious.

Fun, fun and even more fun

Voila!

I must say, this was probably the most satisfying dessert I've had in a while.  Baking at the lowest temperature with the oven open a crack really does give it the crispy outer layer but instantaneous, melt-in-your-mouth bite.  We virtually ate the whole bowl that night.  Definitely will be repeating this recipe!  

And finally, a little film of the process and of us, just being goofballs.

Naturally, I put the alligator lemon sticker on my forehead. 

Pleasantly yours,

Bart

Welcoming 2015

I had a nice night.

My two best friends came into the city and we went to the most amazing restaurant called House-Maison.  We ordered copious amounts of incredible food.  If I was a food critic, I would give this place five stars, but I'm not a food critic so take my rating as you will.  

cute, right?

I'll enlighten you with the food we ordered so that you can salivate:  house baked brioche, roast pear and frisee, roast cauliflower with mint and lemon zest, roasted brussel sprouts, fish and chips, and bread and butter pudding for dessert.  

I tried to steal a balloon on my way out but I got caught.

After that, we made our way to a house party for the countdown.  Good food and good company. Couldn't have asked for a better night.

Earlier that day I made a list of goals for this upcoming year of 2015.  I'm not really a "New Years resolution" kind of person.  It's hard to pick just one thing that is usually kind of impossible to upkeep anyways.  I used to do resolutions like cut out sugar or avoid swearing, but in the long run, I wouldn't last.  So I like to think of little things that I can work on improving about myself.

The last one is kind of a joke.  But in all seriousness, I get eye infections like every other week. So yeah. They need to stop. 

#noeyeinfections2015

Pleasantly yours,

Bart

Carrot Tuna Avocado and Pear Salad

My morning was one of those mornings you might be able to relate to.  It was one of those mornings where I was just so busy that I kind of forgot to prioritize feeding myself.  So by the time I got around to food, glorious food, it was already lunch time.

I came up with this improvised salad using the minimal ingredients I had in my fridge and cupboards. 

I'm not exactly what you would call a seafood fan.  I don't like fancy fish, crab, lobster, oysters or octopus (gross).  However, I do like sushi and I really like salmon and tuna.  I usually refrain from eating things out of a can because of all the excess sodium, but there is this one brand of tuna soaked in olive oil that is probably one of my favourite foods.  I'm not a crazy carnivorous eater, but this stuff I could eat like chocolate.  

I started with the tuna (looks appetizing...), then I found a potato peeler and used it on a carrot to get these long and thin ribbons.  Then I cut half an avocado, mango-style, and sliced up some pear.  I then added aged cheddar because I'm of the belief that cheese makes the world go round.  (Another reason why I couldn't be vegan)

Ingredients: 

• 1 can Rio Mare Tuna in Olive Oil
• 1/2 to 1 carrot (I found that only a few shavings of the carrot was enough)
• 1/2 an avocado
• 1/2 a pear 
• 1 tbsn of shredded aged cheddar

Quick and easy - my kind of meal

Colourful too!

Pleasantly yours,
Bart

Guilt-free Cookie Dough Balls

This is a spin off my candy bar recipe.  I didn't have raw cashews nor did I have the urge to walk in the treacherous cold to the supermarket to pick some up.  I did however have a baggie full of my FAVOURITE NUT EVER - them macadamia nuts.  

I stuck them in my food processor till they became a paste, added dates to sweeten, some cinnamon and salt for flavour.  After I finished blending, I sprinkled in some cacao nibs for that choco chip crunch.  Très facile!

Ingredients:

• As many macadamia nuts as you can fit in your food processor 
• Medjool or honey dates, about 3 or 4, depending on how many nuts you use.
• 1 tspn of cinnamon 
• 1/2 tspn of sea salt or pink Himalayan salt
• As many cacao nibs to your liking 

*This mixture turned out a little more liquid than my cashew version so bars didn't seem practical, however, they made the most perfect ball shape.

Enjoy!

Pleasantly yours,

Bart

The quaintest of mornings

Yesterday, Isabelle and I very spontaneously went to Yorkville.  We started talking about how cool it would be if we could make our own face products and skin care things.  We realized how much we can get out of just using basic things, food even.  Maybe that's a post for another day and an experiment to come, but this topic of conversation lead me to wanting to go to Anthropologie and get fancy soap and handcream.  I also needed to find a birthday present for my 3 year old nephew.  And for a while, Isabelle and I have been wanting to go to a yarn store.  What better way to get into the spirit of Christmas than taking out the knitting needles (you must think I'm a grandmother but I swear I'm nineteen).  But alas, there was no signs of a knitting shop in Yorkville.

As we arrived, we passed by Free People and noticed gigantic plastic bags sitting outside the shop against the lamp post, filled with....yarn...(?)  This was very obviously their trash but the likelihood of that happening could not be more in our favour.  It was a gift from the heavens!  Or good karma or whatever.  But we couldn't just go through their trash... I'm not sure if you've ever been to Yorkville but it's not the sort of place for trash pickers.  So, the two of us wandered inside and asked the cashier if the bags of yarn were up for grabs and she explained that it was part of their decoration from last season and that we could take it.  We each took a bag and spent the rest of the day walking around with these massive plastic bags of yarn.  We got the most puzzling looks and inquisitive questions but, hey, free yarn!

Neat colours too!

We made our way to this fantastic cold-press juice bar called The Good Press.  I got a juice called Hawaii 5-0 and it had pineapple, spinach, romaine, arugula and jalapeño.  I really only got it because it said "healthy bones, brain and heart" on the front.  If you've ever had two stress fractures in your life, anything that says "healthy bones" on it is as good as a Willy Wonka chocolate bar with a golden ticket.  But I actually really liked it.  It had this nice spicy kick to it after the sweetness of the pineapple.  Isabelle got the chocolate milk which had cashews, maple syrup, dates, vanilla extract and cacao nibs.

Notice the plastic bags of yarn in the background

I finally got to Anthropologie and found some soap.  It smells like Christmas which equals pure joy in a bar of soap. Woohoo.

I want to live in this store.

I bought my nephew a white dress shirt because I think it's the cutest thing when babies dress like adults.  Especially Owen.

Then we went to Indigo and I got him a little 'story of Christmas' book.  It's a board book because if I got him a paperback, the pages would be ripped out in a matter of seconds.

I also found a little something for myself.  It's called 642 Things to Write About and that's exactly what it is.  Multiple writers from the San Francisco Writers' Grotto contributed ideas.  It's essentially a thought or question, like "what did you have for breakfast?" or "Write about the perfect crime and how you would get away with it".  It's the sort of book that really makes you use your imagination, which is something I find has been dormant inside me for the past year and a half that I've been out of school.  I love writing and this blog has helped me continue that passion while relating it to my daily life.  But with this book, I'm hoping to exercise my creativity the way I used to in 12th grade Writers' Craft class.

As we ended our shopping adventure, we noticed a homeless man bundled on the floor by the traffic light at an intersection.  This is a common sight for the city, as sad as that is, but this man was purple in the face and it was hard to just walk by him.  We watched as a girl left him her warm Starbucks drink, an act of kindness that inspired us to help in a similar way.  We went to the nearest Tim Hortons' where Isabelle suggested that we buy him actual food.  She got him a soup and I got him a bagel and a large hot tea.  If rationed correctly, those were two meals, so we gave them to the man, who was grateful, and went off.  

I'm not telling you this because I want to brag about being a good Samaritan.  I haven't told any of my friends or family about this because I'm not looking for appraisal.  I just think it's worthy of a mention because I'd like to highlight the importance of giving.  It is coming up to be the season of giving, with Christmas around the corner.  But really, it's the sort of thing that should be remembered all year round.  That being said, I'm guilty of noticing it the most around Christmastime because of all the shopping I do for other people.  Do you ever go shopping for your friends and family and you find the perfect gift for someone and it just puts you in the best mood?  You just can't wait to give it to them and to see their reaction.  Call me corny, but spreading happiness is what Christmas is all about.

Now this granny is off to knit a scarf!

Pleasantly yours,

Bart

The Detox Market with a side of cookies

Last Sunday, my girlfriends and I took a day trip to a few places around the city, all of which were recent discoveries of mine.  I had been dying to bring my friends because I had inklings they would have appreciated them.  

First we stopped into a shop that I literally salivate over.  It's called The Detox Market and it's on King St. and Blue Jays Way.  Immediately upon walking into the store, you're greeted by a wall of what I, until further tastings, believe is the world's best chocolate.  The brand is called Taza Chocolate and I was first introduced to this piece of heaven by my school's nutritionist this past June.  Now, she's from New York so my challenge was finding this in Canada and for a long time, I had no such luck.  In September I was in New York myself and found the chocolate instantly at the Whole Foods in Columbus Circle.  Naturally, I stocked up and brought a whole ton back to Canada.  It wasn't until a few weeks ago that I stumbled upon this magical chocolate wall in The Detox Market and my dreams had come true.  

What I like best about this chocolate is that you have some of the most basic ingredients and not too many either.  It rarely surpasses five ingredients.  They use stone ground cacao beans and a bit of cane sugar and depending on the flavour, it would usually contain one or two more ingredients.  But wait...no soy lecithin??! Is it true?  Yes, yes. There is none of that stuff and it's wonderful and I think that might be part of what gives it this unique texture.  I think the texture is what makes it stand out the most for me.  When you bite into the chocolate it almost dissolves in your mouth into a powdery, almost sugary substance.  It kind of sounds too good to be true but believe me, you need to try this chocolate.  

This one I just tried for the first time and it's everything 

right in the world, captured by a chocolate bar

This is my go-to, all-time-favourite flavour and

has the perfect powdery texture I mentioned

So I've just walked through the doors and went on a whole tangent about this miracle chocolate... but turn your head to the left and you'll see a cold-press juice bar from Greenhouse Juice Co.  Not only do they have beautifully delicious flavours of juices (and almond milk, coconut water, aloe water, shots) but they have the cutest names and glass bottle that you can return and collect on a card until you get a free juice!

My friends and I went a little overboard...

The rest of the store is filled with fascinating products - skin care, make up, hair care, body and bath products, fragrances - all free from the chemicals and toxic gunk that you find in most beauty products.  I still need to properly explore this part of the store but lock me in there for a few hours and I'd be in paradise.

And I was in paradise.  I think my friends had to drag me out of the store.  And really the only thing that got me out of the store was knowing that our next destination was cookies.  And not just any cookies...

Le Gourmand (on Spadina and Richmond) has the best chocolate chip cookie in Toronto, according to me and likely numerous Torontonian blogs.  Sidenote: it is also a café but that doesn't really matter to me because as soon as I walk through those doors all I can smell and see and feel (I have a sixth sense for cookies), is that chocolate chip cookie.  

 

This is a record of my first ever Gourmand Cookie reaction, as Instagrammed by my friend...

And here's a happy picture of me and my friends.  All smiles because, well, cookies.

Pleasantly yours,
Bart

Ode to Oatmeal

I was lucky enough to have had this past week off and the first thing I bought was a big old bag of Bob's Red Mill oats.  I was inspired by all of these fancy bowls that I've been seeing on basically every single blog.  It made oatmeal into more than just breakfast.  It was art.  

My first attempt was pretty sloppy.  I learned that as delicious as cinnamon is, it's not very photogenic.  So I had to flip the banana slices over one by one to save the picture.  I take my oatmeal very seriously.                

  

oatmeal with vanilla, plain yogurt, almond butter, 

raspberries, banana, blueberries, walnuts,

coconut and cinnamon

I posted that picture on Instagram and I was embarrassed at how messy it looked but also kind of proud because I went to a lot of work, not just for the photo but for the meal too.  The picture got a whopping 122 likes.  Not even my adorable niece can get that many likes on Instagram.  Shamefully, I'll admit that this superficially motivated me to make more oatmeal throughout the week.  My next mission was the infamous carrot cake oatmeal.

 

oatmeal with shredded carrots, cinnamon, ginger, 

cloves, nutmeg, vanilla, raisins, muesli, blueberries, 

almond butter and coconut

WOW!  It was probably the best oatmeal I had ever had.  To be fair, I've never really gone this fancy with my oats, but still.  I would make carrot cake oatmeal more often if it weren't for the fact that shredding carrots hurts my hand and sometimes extra labour frustrates me.  I'm a lazy chef, what can I say?

oatmeal with banana, almond butter, dates, 

lucuma powder, cacao nibs and coconut

After this bowl, I discovered how tasty dates can be in the mix.  This was also my first time trying lucuma powder but I didn't really taste it much so for my next bowl I was a little more generous.

But oh no!  I ran out of oats!  Thankfully I had a questionably old box of steel cut oats in my cupboard!  I'm still alive so I guess they were okay after all.  Worth it.  This bowl was delicious.

steel cut oatmeal with vanilla, carob powder, lucuma powder, 

cinnamon, cacao nibs, dark chocolate squares, 

almond butter, muesli, raisins, dates and coconut

My mom always tells me that Dr. Oz says that a bowl of oatmeal in the morning makes you happier.  If I had a penny for every time she told me nutritional advice from Dr. Oz, I'd be much richer and shopping at Whole Foods on a daily occasion.  That being said, I agree with her on this one.  Oatmeal is fabulous.

Pleasantly yours,

Bart

Homemade Vegan (I guess) Candy Bars/Cookie Dough - No More than Five Ingredients

Today I accidentally made something vegan.  Before I begin, I'll make one thing clear - I am not a vegan.  I don't have anything against veganism (I've been against animal cruelty since I first binge-watched Bambi at the innocent age of 4), it's just that I'm not in a place in my life right now where I can make that sort of commitment to a lifestyle.  I am, however, pretty passionate when it comes to eating healthy.  Mostly it comes with the fact that I'm a dancer and I rely on wholesome food as fuel and medicine for my body.  I've also been influenced by my older sister through my teenage years and I've always been fascinated with what she had to tell me.

That being said, I am also guilty of having an incurable sweet tooth.  Which is why, recently, I've been experimenting with finding ways of making snacks and desserts healthy, because the truth is this: sugar sucks.

Halloween was yesterday and while my trick-or-treating years are behind me (debatable), I couldn't help but feel cheated while I stayed in, watched movies and resentfully ate kale chips with my friend.  I probably was what children in my neighbourhood consider the "grumpy old witch".  So in brighter spirits this morning, I took out my handy dandy food processor and got creative.  I blended some raw cashews until they made a paste (it's pretty amazing how nuts do this) and then added some dates.  I used a mix of Medjool and honey dates because that's just what I had.  I processed the ingredients until they were properly combined and made something that looked just like cookie dough.  After this, I added cacao nibs and pressed the mixture out flat in a square tupperware.  Obviously, I sampled in between steps.

sorry for the snapchat documentation

This alone is dangerously delicious and am not even exaggerating when I say it tastes exactly like cookie dough.  So by all means, if anyone ever makes this, just leave it at that.  Eat it by the spoonful.  But I was feeling très experimental and melted some dark chocolate with coconut oil, put that on top of the cookie dough and stuck that baby in the freezer.  Fifteen or so minutes later I took it out and.....

Voila!  Candy bars!

um...still not vegan

Ingredients:

Base/Cookie Dough:
Raw cashews
Dates (really any kind. Medjool are tastiest)
Cacao nibs (or chocolate chips)

Chocolate Coating:
Dark chocolate
Coconut oil

Steps:

1. Toss the cashews into a food processor until it becomes cashew butter (yum).
2.  Add dates. Make sure there are no pits (not yum).
3. Press mixture flat into square pan or tupperware.
4. Melt dark chocolate and coconut oil in a cup in the microwave for a minute and drizzle on top of the cookie dough base.
5. Let it solidify in the freezer for fifteen minutes, then cut into squares and enjoy!

* As I just made this today (and will continue to make this) I'm going to experiment some more.  I bet you could add vanilla or cacao powder for some taste.  Or even coconut flakes, raisins, oats, etc.  Get fancy.

Pleasantly yours,

Bart