I love to eat and don't deny myself anything. I am also a person who likes her routine, so I tend to stick with what I like. Here are some examples of what I eat regularly:

 

Breakfast: I love cereal and I eat it everyday. I eat Shreddies and Kellogg's All-Bran Flakes with fresh raisins - this is far superior to Raisin Bran (trust me). I use soy or rice milk with my cereal.

Oatmeal is also another yummy option. I prefer this as a snack, but it is good anytime. Try it with apple juice instead of water for extra yumminess. Add cinnamon or fruit and you've got yourself a great breakfast.

 

Lunch: I usually eat a peanut butter & jelly sandwich on Dempster's Bran or Flaxseed bread or a bagel. I only eat bagels from Great Canadian Bagel because they make 'em the best. Their bagels are delicious and inexpensive if you buy them on Wednesdays. That day they're $4.75 for 13! I use Tofutti's Better Than Cream Cheese on my bagels. I sometimes will have a vegetable sandwich: tomato, lettuce and cucumber.

Although I dislike them, there is still the option of hot lunches. Anything goes!

 

Dinner: This may be my favourite meal. Here are some examples of my dinners:

 

Pasta - I usually buy Master Choice brand "Satori Mediterranei" from Dominion because it comes in many fun styles. Also good is Italpasta. I avoid pastas that say "may contain traces of egg" because there are many others (such as those mentioned above) that don't. For purity, try and find pastas that only have durum as an ingredient.

 My plate contains 10% pasta and 90% vegetables & beans. I mix them up with the sauce and pasta for a filling, tasty meal. For more on the sauce see Recipes.

 

Rice - I eat either white converted, basmatic or brown rice. All rice is good. If you want the instant, that's totally fine. I suggest saving money and buying the no name brands, because again: All rice is good.

Again the rice to vegetable ratio is about 40:60. I load it with mixed beans (my favourite Primo can) and veggies. I also love to add sauces to this dinner. I'm currently using A Taste of Thai's Garlic Chili Pepper Sauce.

 

Beans & Potato - This meal comprises of either roasted or baked potatoes, vegetables and baked beans in tomato sauce. The beans go very well with potatoes (I use only Yukon Gold - they're friggin' good) The trick here is to heat up the beans in a pot with fresh onions. This will seriously be the tastiest thing you've ever done

 

These are my main staple dinners because they're quick and easy. I do also make:

Panzerottis: using a simple dough recipe (flour, yeast, water) line the dough with pizza sauce (from the grocer) and dump a bunch of vegetables on it. Wrap it up and bake it in the oven.

Wraps: I use Dempster's Wraps, and will put a rice/veg mix into it, wrap it up and bake it. Super good.

I love French Fries and will dip roasted potatoes into lovely, fruit-juice sweetened, salt-free Ketchup. It's delicious (try Westbrae from the health store).

 

 

 

I prefer to cook my vegetables in a steamer. Mine is from Sunbeam (Thanks Dave!) Otherwise, I fry my veggies in a pan using olive oil with a covered lid to keep in the steam. As you can see, steam is key for yummy veggies. Boiling them is an option, but only works for some vegetables. Don't try to boil eggplant. Olive oil is also a good investment. Spices such as pepper, oregano, basil, and rosemary are also lovely additions to your meal.

 

 

 

 

I eat a variety of snacks for dessert. For extra special treats see the Recipes section.

 

I eat fruit; either fresh or canned (don't forget about the canned option, especially in winter).

 

Cookies: Dad's Oatmeal cookies are a tasty option (please don't buy the wasteful individually-packaged kind), as are my favourites the Marks & Spencer's Digestive Biscuits or their Rich Teas Biscuits. As M&S is now long gone here in Canada, I know of 2 places where they are sold: Valu-Mart and Zehrs. Don't buy the low-fat Digestive because it's gross, but the low-fat tea biscuit is fine.

 

Bars: My boyfriend eats Health Valley crunchy granola bars (in almond or banana nut) but I am wary of the refiner's syrup in them. I stick to the Nature's Choice cereal or granola bars (health stores only) but only when they're on clearance because they're expensive. Energy-To-Go Bars (the giant version of the Fruit-To-Go) is also super good. I get them in bulk from Costco, but some Loblaws sell them in bulk too.

 

President's Choice Dry Roasted Unsalted Peanuts are a delicious snack as are the unsalted mixed nuts from Bulk Barn. I love dried cranberries, and also stock up on frozen fruit (Our Compliments brand) from IGA. Just thaw and enjoy.