Summer's over... Time to start again!

So it's been quite awhile since I've updated!

A lot has changed. I moved in April and I'm now living in the beautiful province of Prince Edward Island, and pursuing my BSc with a major in Life Sciences Biology and a minor in Food and Nutrition.

It's a lot easier to get access to locally produced food in PEI.   I spent the summer working at a gourmet hot dog place that used fresh, organic meat.  I spent the summer shopping at farmers markets, this amazing farm called Balderston's that's about a 15 minute drive away from me that lets you pick your own herbs from their extensive gardens, as well as carries a huge variety of fresh produce.

It's been a great year here so far.  I've decided to restart up my blog and fill it with fun information about food and nutrition.   Ottawa gave me a lot to rant about... I don't really have a lot to rant about here (but time will tell!)

I'll market this post as a picture of food post.

University has been a change in food I eat.  There are days where I'm on campus for 10-12hrs, and this usually results in me eating at the dining hall.   On the plus side, there's always a vegetarian option (on the downside they've already made me sick by telling me something was vegetarian, and then I found meat in it).  The food is meh.  Lunch is worth the $9 (all you can eat).  Supper is not worth the $13+, in my opinion.  I ate there once for supper... will likely never do it again.

They also call things weird things.  I indulged in dessert once because they were advertising "Strawberry Shortcake" and apparently I have never had proper shortcake (it comes on a biscuit... not on angelfood or poundcake like you always seem to get in Ontario).

First of all.. those are blueberries, not strawberries.  It's the end of blueberry season, so if they had been fresh it should have been delicious.  They had been frozen though... there were chunks of something that may have been strawberries at one time in it.  The biscuit itself was decent, the "cream" may or may not have been a milk product.  It was quiet gross... thick and heavy. 

So food is hit or miss at the dining hall.   In my Nutrition Lab, food is delicious though :)  We made homemade chicken noodle soup, which I will likely make a vegetarian version of at home.  It was so simple and easy to make, and from what I hear, DELICIOUS.

Chicken noodle soup.  The basic recipe is:

250ml water
2.5ml chicken bouillon
15ml finely chopped carrots
5ml finely chopped celery
1/2 chicken breast
125ml/gr of noodles (we used german style egg noodles)

pour water into sauce pan, add checken boullion, stir until dissolved(will need to heat to dissolve)
chop carrots and celery, add to soup
add noodles
chop chicken into small slices
bring to a boil (100*C) for 5 minutes. Reduce heat to medium and simmer for 5 minutes.
Enjoy!
This recipe makes about 2 small bowls, so double/triple/quadruple it

I would sub the chicken bouillon for vegetable bouillon and the chicken for tofu slices. 

Use corn noodles instead of egg noodles for a gluten free version!

 Unfortunately Nutrition Lab is only once a week, so not a convenient place to eat ;) There's a lot of fast food places around campus (I'm not a huge fast food fan) but there is a food truck that I'm in love with. I eat there about once every 2 weeks.  I spent the summer addicted to their Tuscan Grilled Cheese, but I went back to the Veggie Burger (Their first vegetarian option) today and realized how much I miss a good, juicy, messy burger.   Vegetarians often lose out when it comes to burgers because there's something so satisfying, so primal about a messy burger... and one that's vegetarian is hard to find.

This delicious eggplant burger is from The Big Orange Lunchbox, located across the street from the University.  It was sloppy and messy and absolutely satisfying.  It's also healthy which gives it even more points!   Eggplant, blackberry balsamic dressing, arugula, goat cheese, tomatoes, caramelized onion apple jam on a fresh bun made by a local baker (Buns and Things).   They have an extensive menu, and are looking for a home for the winter. 

This isn't going to be a "food blog" in the sense that I'm going to spend all my time reviewing local places.  I do plan on posting awesome recipes from Nutrition lab, cool facts from Biology and Nutrition classes - For instance,  a huge Meta analysis was just done and showed that Omega 3 Supplementation has very little effect on heart health.  (so get your Omega's naturally!) 

ANY hopefully I'll still have the occasional healthy rant ;)

Stay Healthy!