Kona Kase for athletes!

I was excited to receive my first Kona Kase box this month and I wanted to share!

Kona Kase is a subscription service geared towards athletes delivering premium endurance nutrition samples right to your doorstep. Each month, this cute little red box arrives filled with nutritional products, inspirational quotes, training tips and stories behind the brands. You don't know ahead of time exactly what you're gonna get - but isn't that half the fun?!


This was the first time I've received a Kona Kase but looking at the past Kases they are always chock full of great brands - some well known ones, and others that you might never have heard of but might just become your new favourites!

Awesome packaging and super quick shipping - even here in Canada!!

This month we got the complete range of GU Pure Performance products - brew, gels, chomps and electrolyte tabs plus a Luna Bar, Pop Corners and an Oh Yeah! bar.

The Oh Yeah! bar and Pop Corners barely saw daylight as the box opened....empty wrappers graced the trash-can within seconds!! And I'm saving the GU stuff for the next 2 weekends when I'm running back-to-back Half Marathons in my quest to become a Half Fanatic - talk about perfect timing eh?!

I signed up just for a month-by-month subscription to start - it cost me $15 which includes free shipping, but once I'd seen the box I went straight back and signed up for a full year which then works out at around $12 a box. I think that is decent value for the products I got - and I'm happy to pay for the 'FUN' factor of receiving a goodie box each month!

I have absolutely no affiliation to Kona Kase (and bought this box myself) but I'm truly excited about this great service - fabulous branding, packaging, attention to detail (I LOVED the postcard 'inspirational quote' - just a nice touch!), and customer service. From what I can gather they're still a fairly new company - looks like there's only been 7 or 8 monthly kases so far. So I want to BIG THEM UP!!

Since I'm now a BIG fan and customer I have a code you can use so you can try them too, PLUS if you use this code you'll get your first box for $7.50!

Get your first Kona Kase for just $7.50!!

Go check them out!

I'm linking this post to Jill's Fitness Friday!

Creamy BAT Pasta (Bacon, Avocado, Tomato)

Ingredients

• 1 ripe Avocado, pitted & skinned
• 2 cloves garlic finely chopped, and lightly browned in frying pan (I did this after frying my bacon so I used the leftover bacon fat to fry)
• 3 rashers of smoked streaky bacon
• ¼ cup sun-dried tomatoes
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• Salt & Pepper to taste
• 2 Servings of pasta, cooked & drained (I used wholewheat fusilli)

Directions

1. Fry the bacon until crispy, set aside on a sheet of kitchen towel to drain off excess oil
2. Take the avocado, garlic, lemon juice, olive oil, salt & pepper and blend in a food processor until creamy
3. Once the pasta is cooked and drained add the avocado mix and tomatoes and mix well to coat. Sprinkle with the crispy bacon to serve – maybe add some fresh grated parmesan too!

This was surprisingly easy to whip up, apart from the headache of cleaning my food processor - but hey - first world problems!! It is super-tasty though - kind of creamy like an Alfredo but without all the rich, fatty, indulgent cream. And perfect for those slightly over-ripe avocados (because I for one get a bit picky on them if they're a little on the soft side!)

I'm linking up to Jill & Laura's Menu Planning Challenge today, after a bit of a break! Things go a little haywire when Chris goes away and I normally revert to freezer left-over meals or invitations from friends when I'm on my own - so planning goes out the window!

However it's good to be back on it. As much as anything for the cost savings involved in planning out the week - we're still trying to reduce our monthly expenditure on groceries without much success.The rest of my menu plan for this week looks like this; 

You'll see LOTS of salad back on our menu - that's because we're in harvest in our little garden. I planted a tonne of arugula, kale, mesclun mix, bistro mix and good old plain lettuce heads and they're growing like crazy! I'm very happy about this - I much prefer my greens raw and cold (Whereas Chris does generally prefer cooked greens) We normally enjoy them with a light oil & balsamic dressing with toasted seeds and nuts on top, and oftentimes accompanied by something on the BBQ (this week sausages and homemade moose burgers)

The BAT pasta recipe above got traded out for the lemon zucchini pasta I had planned on my list, only because I had the avocado going over-ripe and I forgot the zucchini!

Kangaroos for Mother's Day!

We finally paid a visit to a local 'tourist attraction' right here in Lake Country. I pass the Kangaroo Creek Farm on my runs 3 times a week, and for the last 2 years have been 'meaning to go'. You know how it is?! So this Sunday, on Mothers day no less, we stopped by.

Kangaroo Creek Farm has been breeding kangaroos and wallabys for the last 20 years and is a delightful small operation nestled down off Main street, Lake Country right alongside the creek. There are 2 or 3 small buildings for the animals and a large fenced in pen where the roo's run/jump/bounce around freely. They are mostly pretty tame and familiar with humans, and are used to be handled. There were 2 babies that people were carefully passing around (under the discreet watchful eye of the operators) along with an emu, some pot-belled pigs, baby goats, chickens, a sugar-glider and capybara (the world's largest rodent - and surprisingly cute!) All were just wandering around happy to be petted and fed and photographed.

(L) Chris with the sugar-glider which was desperately trying to get up someone/anyone's sleeves!
(R) The mini goats and the emu - well fed by the time we were done!

I'm sure there's people out there that would complain about the conditions, and the humanization of these animals - but really, they looked happy, well fed, well kept and it's just lovely for us to get a little bit 'up close and personal'. And oh man, how soft was the hair on the kangaroos?! Adorable and extremely cuddly! I'd take one home tomorrow - I'm sure Meli would get along just fine with her! ;-)

Birthday celebrations!

My little baby turned one year old last weekend. It's hard to believe! This time last year we'd only just decided we wanted a dog! Since she came from so far away we never got to meet her in person until she landed on the tarmac at Kelowna Airport looking incredibly small! And in some ways I think that the day she came home with us is the day that we should celebrate. (So I guess we'll be celebrating again on 4th July ;-)

But who am I to argue with birthday traditions! Off I popped to the local doggie supply & bakery store* and found a cute pink doggie birthday cake and a lovely big juicy bone! She's not normally the sweet-taste type so I wasn't sure how popular the cake would be when pitched against the bone. But food is food I guess and she gobbled it up, making a fine mess of crumbs all over the floor in the process (actually the crumbs not so much the problem - it's the drool and saliva mess she leaves on the hardwood when licking up the crumbs!!) - Ahhhhh - the joys of puppy-parenthood! And of course the bone one week later is still going strong!

It may not have been the most exciting day for her. Mummy and Daddy weren't feeling on top form after the celebrations for Daddy's 50th Birthday the night before so we had lots of snuggle time on the sofa instead. And normally (and unusually for a Vizsla) she's not the greatest fan of sofa snuggling, but she was allowed on the human sofa with the special 'human blanket' aka the most giant coziest fleece throw in the history of the world that we try to keep dog hair free. But since it was her birthday we made exception to the rule and had a grand day cuddling and snuggling and just hanging out on a lazy Saturday.





She's so gorgeous! Happy Birthday Meli-mou!

*(When I was buying the cake at the pet store the woman there was asking if we were having a birthday party and inviting other doggies over for play time .......err....seriously do people DO that?! How to make a doggie-mummy feel bad or what....?!

Sweet & Spicy Potato & Kale Curry

After a week and a half of eating vegetarian I came up with this lil' beaut of a meal. It's meals like this that make me think I could skip the meat altogether on a longer term basis (but then I sniff bacon and remember that's never gonna happen!)

Anyway, it's awesome. Try it. I'm calling it my PPK Curry...

Ingredients (Serves 3-4)

• 1 medium yellow onion (finely chopped)
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1" piece fresh ginger (finely chopped)
• 1 jalapeño
• 2 Tbsp Curry powder
• 1 tsp Tumeric
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp cayenne (this is what makes it hot, so adjust for your heat tolerance!)
• 4-5 leaves kale (chopped and minus the coarse stems)
• 1 medium tomato (chopped)
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 large potatoes (chopped into bite sized chunks)
• 1 cup pineapple chunks (fresh is best)
• 1 cup coconut milk
• 1 tsp dried basil
• Coconut Oil

Directions

1. Heat coconut oil in pan, add onions and sauté until softened.
2. Add garlic, ginger, jalapeño and sauté for another couple of minutes until softened
3. Add spices (curry power, turmeric, cinnamon & cayenne) and stir in
4. Add kale and stir until wilted (you may want to add in batches)
5. Add tomato and water, stir in and reduce to low heat
6. Add potatoes, coconut milk, pineapple and dried basil, stir in and bring to a simmer on a medium heat
7. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for another 20-30 minutes until the potatoes are cooked
8. Stir, serve and enjoy!

Tips

• I added a cup of leftover roasted sweet potatoes chunks to mine which added to the sweet taste - I highly recommend it!
• Add extra water if your curry gets too dry - just a little at a time!

What's On....

Loved this list of “what’s on your…” that Ali Edwards posted this week. I have done my 'currently' list several times these last few months, but somehow I struggle with them. I thought this was a great twist on the same idea, and was so much easier to complete!

Here’s what’s on my…

VANITY | I don't have one - I keep everything beside the sink in the ensuite bathroom - I have Vaseline Intensive care body lotion, sure roll-on deodorant (that has to be brought to me by my UK visitors!), Bath & Body Works Body Mist, Clarins Hydra-Matte Face Moisturiser, and a Molton Brown hand soap & lotion, and my perfume

PERENNIAL TO DO LIST | Build bookshelves, Make a headboard for the spare room, Create some art for our bedroom, Update my website  

REFRIGERATOR SHELVES | Almond Milk, Bananas, Baby Spinach, Ginger, Dubliner Cheddar Cheese, Banana Peppers 

ITINERARY | 2 Half marathons on back-to-back weekends at the end of May and beginning of June. Plus Tough Mudder in Whistler in June, plus FitBloggin'13 in Portland also in June (June is a crazy month!)

FANTASY ITINERARY | Machu Picchu, Nepal (Everest Base Camp), Japan, Australia & New Zealand

PLAYLIST | Lots of random new / chart songs on the radio

NIGHTSTAND | Lots of books I'm planning on reading, BBW handcream, lip balm, alarm clock

WORKOUT PLAN | Mornings before work: 3 runs a week - double digits for my long run on the weekends. Plus Strength training with P90X videos 3-4 times per week.

IPHONE | Instagram, Feedly, Facebook, Pinterest

TOP 5 LIST | Watching Meli bounce ahead of me excitedly on our walks, Planning surprises, the arrival of spring, driving with the top down on the car, lululemon pants

BUCKET LIST | Travel & Adventures with the one I love

MIND | Food - always food! Running (and the events in Boston), improving my time management, my diet

BLOGROLL | Elise Blaha, Positively Positive, Shut Up and Run, InSpiral Coaching, Greatist

WALLS OF YOUR FAVOURITE ROOM IN YOUR HOUSE | A picture shelf in my craft room with photos of my family, plus a bunch of my own art creations; a mixed media art collage, a Yarn 'H', and a Mirror that I created in a Tim Holtz class at CKU

LIQUOR SHELF | Not a lot. We robbed all the half empty bottles to drain out to use for bottling our Kefir and Kombucha. But still got some Gold Rum and Tequila

LAST CREDIT CARD STATEMENT | Groceries, Flight to NY for Chris, Insurance for the street bike, Lift Tickets & ski rentals at Silver Star, Lululemon pants

TV EVERY NIGHT | Breaking Bad or Weeds

COMPUTER DESKTOP | our New Years Family Photo

'Wakey Wakey' Orange Juice

It was only a few months ago that I actually decided liked sweet potatoes. Now I love them, and realise just how versatile they can be! And with the added bonus of being better for you than regular white potatoes. We're subbing them more and more these days, for mash on the top of a shepherds pie, as chippy potatoes, and for our favourite 'can't think of anything else meal' - Baked potatoes. But none of those are really 'recipe' worthy....

So I came up with this.....a delicious orange juice! We're big fans of our new juicer which we got this past Christmas. And usually we just throw anything and everything into it and end up with a browny green sludgey  concoction. Which to be fair doesn't really look that appetising, but I love that I know how darn good it is for me! But I've been wanting to make an actual, real recipe for a while. And this is a perfect replacement to my trusty Tropicana OJ (which, as I learn more and more about eating well, isn't quite as perfect as I thought).....anyway, the recipe.....

Ingredients (makes 2 servings)

3 Oranges

1 medium sweet potato

4-5 carrots

1" cube ginger

That's it! - chuck it all in the juicer and BAM! An extremely delicious, refreshing juice, great for any time of day, but I loved it first thing - I think the orange colour just screams 'wakey wakey!!' And that zing of ginger - oh yes, you'll be awake!

I'm linking up again this month to the Healthy Recipes Blog Carnival over at InSpiral Coaching. This month's featured ingredient was Sweet Potatoes.