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The best berries of the season and all thanks to a cool Spring and later than usual start to the summer here in BC which means I'm eating berries that I would normally be eating in June and July. Picked the strawberries and blueberries up from a local garden farm market and won't lie when I say I almost did a happy dance when I saw the pomegranate. I've never been a big fan of dessert so this is about as close as I'll get to it. Mind you this was my lunch so still not dessert. Those strawberries are as sweet as they look and I cannot believe how freaking full I am after eating this. You know before I delved into this whole "Paleo" diet thing I don't think I ever knowingly ate chia seeds and I certainly didn't mix them with coconut milk and vanilla extract to make the best pudding ever! I bought three varieties of beets and some little pattypan squash from the garden and am looking forward to poaching and roasting them up just as soon as it cools down here which can be late next month, for all I care. I'm already seeing talk of pumpkin lattes and other such nonsense. I love boots season as much as the next woman but come on the Autumnal Equinox is still 4 weeks away. Yeesh! #paleo #paleodiet #primal #chia #chiapudding #strawberries #blueberries #banana #pomegranate #coconutmilk #coconut #pecans #goodfats #vegetarian #jerf #wholefood #yvreats #vancouvereats #foodies #foodie #yvrfood #yvrfoodie #vaneats #foodphotography #foodgasm #604food #glutenfree #lowcarb #healthyfood

Is there anything, and I mean anything better than a big, thick, juicy burger? No, there is not and this particular burger was one of the best I have ever eaten. And, believe me I have been on the hunt for the "best" burger for many, many years. So you can imagine my utter elation when I finally found it!. Unfortunately my feel good moment was a bittersweet one because I found it in a little pub in an up and coming neighbourhood in Edinburgh called Leith. A quirky little pub/cafe/bar/gastropub/restaurant that has a menu as diverse and eclectic as the space itself. Back to the burger: I present to you the "Royale with Cheese". A mix of minced beef and pork belly with Scottish matured cheddar, tomato relish and a sweet gherkin. I added streaky bacon, a fried egg and pickled jalapenos. The ampunt of garlic would have easily kept a convention of vampires at bay. Yum!Despite the picture I did not eat the bun. I have found, over the years that when it comes to ordering a burger it's easier for the kitchen to put it all together on the bun and for me to deconstruct it. So that what I do. I wish I had a teleportation machine so I could just zip back to the Roseleaf pub whenever I wanted for one of these bad boys. This burger was so freaking good that my husband and I stopped by to get another one a few days after our first visit but the place was fully booked until 9:00pm! I blame Tripadvisor and the 800+ rave reviews other diners have written. Burgers. Is there anything better? #paleo #paleodiet #primal #burger #porkbelly #jerf #wholefood #hamburger #egg #cheddar #edinburghfood #yvrpaleo #yvreats #vancouvereats #omnivore #healthyeating #nutritiousanddelicious #nutritiousfood #food #jalapeno

Going back to last week when my girlfriend and I through together an impromptu charcuterie plate of sorts using the cheese, meat, tomatoes and Scottish strawberries we had bought from a charming little deli counter in a little seaside town called North Berwick (it's about 25 miles south of Edinburgh). Can you see the charcoal cheddar (hint: direct your gaze to the lower right-hand corner of the photo)? It has actual charcoal dust in it and it was delicious. The strawberries were a gift from the nice young man who helped us (for spending SO much money). We sat out on the rooftop garden of the Glasshouse hotel in downtown Edinburgh, which was a little oasis from the hustle and bustle of the thousands of people in town for the Fringe Festival and the Edinburgh Tattoo, and enjoyed our plate of protein (which was all from local sources). I wish I had some of that cheese right now... #paleo #primal #cheese #meat #strawberries #scotland #charcoal #jerf #healthyliving #nutritiousanddelicious #nutrientdense #nutritiousfood #food #yvreats #vancouvereats #tomatoes #glutenfree #eathealthyfood #wholefood #realfood

The last supper...in Scotland that is. And damn it was a good one. This might be the best sirloin steak I have had in years (my husband and our friend had rib eyes and said they were just as good). I can't confirm that the cow(s) were wholly grass fed but after touring around the country and seeing pastures full of cows and knowing that Marks & Spencer's sell Scottish beef, I'm going to hazard a guess that the majority of the feed was indeed grass. I wish I could have brought 20 or so pounds of it home with me (Canada customs frowns on that). My friend, who we stay with every time we visit Edinburgh, is a vegetarian so I always make sure to cook up a ton of vegetables (she had a nice filet of Scottish salmon) and because it's that time of year (vegetables right from the garden) I boiled some new potatoes, added a good amount of butter, a few grinds of salt and pepper and some fresh dill. My mouth is watering just thinking about them. I am now somewhat obsessed with roasting little cherry tomatoes thanks to my time in Scotland. Everybody seems to cook them that way. I threw these in with the rest of the veg during the last 10 minutes of roasting and they were perfect. That's what I love about travelling. You always come back with at least one good idea. Super, simple, supper. #paleo #paleodiet #primal #sirloin #steak #eattherainbow #eathealthyfood #healthyliving #homecooking #homecooked #nutritousanddelicious #nutritiousfood #wholefood #glutenfree #healthyeating #healthyeats #nutritiousfood #healthyfood #potatoes #dill #nutritious #edinburghfood #yvreats #vancouvereats (at Edinburgh, United Kingdom)

Our time in Scotland is winding down and as usual we've only now just discovered a few new favourite eateries. Case in point, Nobles in Leith. The husband found it on Zomato and within 30 minutes we were at a cozy table for four (even though we were two) on the stage in the window at the front of the restaurant. I had the green chili and chorizo scramble. Instead of toast I asked for tomatoes because almost everywhere I've been this trip they serve them with breakfast and they cook them in a pan until the skin just splits open. Delicious! The rocket salad was an unexpected surprise which had a little olive oil only. I asked for a wedge of lemon to brighten it up. I would eat here every weekend if I lived nearby. This is our fourth trip here and I think our best holiday to date. We've done and seen a lot, eaten fantastic food, met great people and made a million memories. And, of course we'll be back. #paleo #primal #glutenfree #eathealthy #jerf #healthyliving #edinburgh #edinburgheats #holidays #food #eggs #wholefood #wholefoods #breakfast #saladforbreakfast #tomatoes #tomato #nutrtiousanddelicious #nutritiousfood #nutritious (at Nobles Café Bar & Restaurant)

Welcome to my culinary adventures from Scotland. Specifically Portree on the Isle of Skye in a port town where the seafood is as fresh as and as they say while in Rome...so I had mussels as a starter and then this: grilled cod on a bed of braised greens with a side of mashed potatoes and a lemon butter cream sauce. Oh and the bacon? Never have I had bacon on cod but you know I will now. Travel pro trip: many restaurants here offer gluten free and dairy free meals. Stay tuned for more haggis. It saddens me that it took me, she who loves food, 6 years to try it because I LOVE it! #scotland #cod #bacon #greens #potatoes #paleo #palepdiet #primal #jerf #glutenfree #eathealthyfood #healthyeating #healthyliving #nutrtiousanddelicious #nutritious #food #realfood

Summertime, and the living is easy. Just like my dinner. A couple of Italian sausages, a little veg tossed in olive oil, salt & pepper, 10 minutes on the grill and dinner is served. Summer=simple. It has to because for many of us summer is here and literally gone in the blink of an eye so the last thing we want to do is spend too much time in front of a stove or standing inside. My husband and I are so fortunate that we have a huge rooftop patio at the top of our townhouse and this year we've really stepped it up by moving a TV out there (shout out to my Pops for coming up with that idea). It makes perfect sense considering the annual conundrum we face every summer: all the big golf tournaments are on TV but we don't want to sit inside while the sun is shining. Now we don't have to. Add a few patio lights, a patio heater, a few blankets, a grill, bar fridge and a Rubbermaid tote full of plates and utensils and you have the perfect summer outdoor living space. Life: keep it summertime simple and enjoy the moments in the moment. #paleo #primal #jerf #grilled #sausage #glutenfree #eatyourveggies #wholefood #eathealthyfood #healthyeating #nutritiousfood #nutritious #summernights #summer #outdoors #paleodiet

Some days you just need to take whatever you have in the refrigerator, throw all of it on top of some spinach and lettuce and call it a salad . Or maybe that's just me? I would like to state, for the record that I have a bit of a "thing" for pickled banana peppers and come Fall I am going to be making a bushel of my own. Back to basics producing my own food whenever I can. 10 more sleeps until I'm off to Scotland for a couple of weeks. Be prepared for many pictures of all the curries I'm going to eat. Be still my growling stomach. #nutritiousanddelicious #paleo #paleodiet #paleofood #primal #glutenfree #salad #food #eathealthy #nutritiousfood #nutritious #vancouvereats #yvreats #eattherainbow #jerf #wholefoods #wholefood#eatrealfood #healthyliving #healthyfood #healthyeating #healthyeats

I LOVE TRADER JOE'S (sorry for yelling but I can't help myself)! Can you blame me? Look at this salad. Arugula (Rocket greens for those of you who reside somewhere other than thr North American continent)with sweet potato ribbons (you thought those were carrots didn't you). I was not sure about eating them raw but they were great! And, those blueberries were literally picked from the bush THIS MORNING! They are really late this year because of the long, cold winter we had here on the west coast and apparently the crops are not going to be as abundant as alst year which means I'm going to be eating blueberries non-stop until I can't buy any more (I'm pretty sure there are some blueberry pancakes in my future). Without realizing it I made a seriously kick ass plate of antioxidants with all the Vitamin A (no other food has more of it than sweet potato) C, maganese and bioflavonoids I managed to get on there. Did you know that taking too much Vitamin A in a supplement form can be toxic and yet if you are getting it from your food your body will only use what it needs and get rid of the rest? That's why I'm not a big fan of supplements. Better to just eat well sourced food. Here ends today's nutrition lesson. #nutritiousanddelicious #paleo #paleo #paleodiet #primal #nutritious #salad #blueberries #jerf #wholefoods #wholefood #nutrition #eathealthy #healthyliving #sweetpotato #yvreats #vancouvereats #food #food52 #beautifulcuisines

Was feeling a little wild n' crazy today so I had meat, veggies AND potatoes. Completely out of control, right? Yesterday someone in an FB group in a member of said that she was having grilled salmon and zucchini for dinner because she had "cheated" the day before eating chips and candy. In the words of Robb Wolf "You can't cheat with food. You eat food." It's true. Every time you eat, what you eat is your choice which sounds easier than it is. I know this from first-hand experience. However I also know that if you arm yourself with a little knowledge and a good amount of conviction you will get really good at making really good decisions about what you eat and how you feel, which will be, well, good! #paleo #primal #jerf #wholefood #meatandpotatoes #chicken #eat #eatrealfood #eathealthy #nutritious #nutritiousanddelicious #glutenfree #food #cleaneating #eatclean #paleodiet #eathealthyfood #nutrition #vegetables #healthyliving

I love roasted Brussels sprouts so much that after eating one of them I pushed the rest to the side and savoured them once I was finished eating the rest of this salad. They were delicious like a dessert but even better because when I was finished eating them I was full and my brain knew it. Now, if I had had a more traditional dessert, like a piece of cake or a slice of pie I'm pretty sure that before I had even swallowed the last bite my brain would have been looking for more. Do you know what I mean? Its like when you eat one or two cookies and before you know it you've had a dozen! But yet if you were to eat a salad like this chances are you would be f-u-l-l. Why is that? Hyperpalatable foods (think muffins, cake, cookies, pies, ice cream, French fries, chips, pop, pizza, cheese burgers, chocolate bars...). The food manufacturers have actually created these multi ingredient foods in a way that when you eat them your brain's reward system gets thrown into a loop of sorts and leaves you wanting more and more even after you are full. It's a vicious cycle but one that can be broken. The food industry is a sneaky one but we can outsmart them by thinking about what we are eating. You can do it! #salad #paleo #primal #paleodiet #jerf #wholefood #tunasalad #diet #eathealthyfood #holistichealth #wellness #realfood #cleaneats #veggies #healthyeating #cleaneating #f52grams #nutritiousanddelicious #wholefoods #nutrition #eatclean #nourrish

I could eat this every, single, day. I am not kidding! If someone told me that all I could eat for the next year was stir fried vegetables and meat I would be h-a-p-p-y with that. And, before we get to carried away with this whole idea it would have to be a wide variety of vegetables. And all I would need on them would be some coconut aminos and a little sriracha sauce. I should have had more beef because it's about 4 hours later I was hungry which is not to be confused with hangry. Whats hangry you ask? Its when you are hungry and your glucose levels are crash and if you dont eat something PDQ you get very hungry/angry. Fortunately with a change to my diet and, surprisingly, decreasing the number of times I eat in a day (some call it intermittent fasting I call it waiting to eat until I am actually hungry) I don't get "hangry" any more. These days people in our western culture act like if they don't eat every 2 - 3 hours they might starve to death. The reality is that for most of us that will never happen. But that doesn't mean we should eat more than we need like a lot of people do. Think of it this way: if your agenda for the day is to get out of bed, go to the kitchen to make a coffee, walk to the bathroom to take a shower and get yourslef ready to go to work at the office (and you are going to drive there or take public transit) and when you get there you sit at your desk for the next 2 to 3 hours do you really need breakfast? By my estimation your caloric expenditure is going to be fairly low for the first 1/4 to 1/3 of your day. So why do you need to "fuel up"? I'll tell you why. You are a sugar burner and your body relies on you keeping your glucose stores at a certain level and if you don't you are going to get hangry and you won't be able to think straight and you'll be tired and cranky and unproductive. And, nobody wants that. It's a viscious circle but one that can be broken with a bit of conviction and a few changes to what (think less grains and sugar more meat and vegetables) and when you eat. You can do it. #paleo #primal #paleofood #hangry #glutenfree #vegetables #nutritious #nutritiousanddelicious #jerf #wholefood #whole30 #healthyliving

It's pretty damn warm here so the last thing I'm doing is turning on the stove or the oven. To be honest this is pretty much how it goes every summer; my cooking shifts from soups, stews, oven braised meats and roasted vegetables to everything grilled. Or salad. Now you might be thinking "but Cassie, you had tobha e used the stove to cook the eggs, right?" Not so fast Speedy Gonzales. Ever heard of an Istant Pot? Well it's not just for cooking soups, stews and meat. And it doesn't heat up your house. Grilling chicken and vegetables later because 🎵it's gettin' hot in here...🎵 #salad #paleo #primal #glutenfree #dairyfree #eggs #avocado #eathealthy #healthylifestyle #food #foodstagram #nutritiousanddelicious #nutritiousfood #jerf #whole30food #wholefood #plantbased

Have you ever had one of those days when all you want is bacon and eggs but your refrigerator is full of vegetables you just picked up from the local garden market so you feel obligated to have a salad? Me too! So naturally I made a bacon, egg, lettuce, tomato and avocado salad. Topped it off with my homemade Ranch style dressing and it was perfect. Oh, if you have access to Trader Joe's and you haven't tried the Everything But the Bagel seasoning, do. I'm diggin' it so much it's getting to the point where I'm putting that *hit on everything. You can find the recipe for the salad dressing over on my blog. Link in profile. #saladfordays #salad #bacon #baconandeggs #paleo #primal #paleodiet #wholefood #whole30 #eathealthyfood #jerf #vancouvereats #yvreats #healthyliving #dairyfree #glutenfree #ranchdressing #eatrealfood #avocado #radish #cucumber

You know how delicious that first sip of coffee tastes in the morning? That is exactly how good my first cherry of the year tasted. And all the ones after it tasted just as good because I know my time with them is finite. I wonder if we would appreciate certain foods more if we only had access to them for a certain amount of time each year. Think about it. What if you could only have lettuce or greens for the summer (OK the thought of that made me a little nauseous). I don't know if I could do it but it sounds like a challenge of sorts? I think we take too much for granted these days because everything is literally at our fingertips. We don't even have to leave the house to buy our groceries. I'm all for technological advances but when it comes to our food I think we need to go back to basics and think about where our food comes from, who grew it, what methods were used to produce it and how much energy (fossil fuels) it took to get to your table. It would be hypocritical of me to say that I check the boxes of all of those things every time I buy food but I do think about it and make the best choices I can more often than not. Could you? #cherries #eatlocal #paleo #paleofood #primal #eathealthyfood #nutritiousanddelicious #nutritious #jerf #wholefood #okanagan #food52 #food #healthyliving #vancouvereats #yvreats

When you love a good salad and the local salad bar is literally 100 feet from your office building this is going to happen every time. They've just recently expanded and updated their space and I have to say I'm liking the vibe they have going on there; one big long communal table for customers to sit and eat at and a little smooth jazz playing quietly in the background. Next time I'll have to plan to sit in and see who I might meet. I threw the blueberries on as an afterthought and every time one ended up in my forkful of greens it was like a little surprise even though I knew they were there. And the peas! If you are fortunate enough to live where you can get direct from the garden peas R-U-N and buy some. BUY ALL THE PEAS! I'm going to Mary's Garden tomorrow for those and the new nugget potatoes. Jacques Pépin's Mother's Garden Chicken is what's for dinner tomorrow. 😉 It's summer and salads, people. #salad #paleo #paleofood #primal #vancouvereats #yvreats #glutenfree #dairyfree #eathealthy #healthyliving #jerf #wholefood #whole30 #whole30food #nutritious #nutritiousanddelicious #chicken #snappeas #peas #gardenfresh #blueberries #saladsfordays

When I was little I remember my mom's friends stopping by our house unexpectedly. No phone call, no text (cellular phones didn't exist then; how old am I?) Just a knock on the door and a friendly "Hello. Are you home?" That doesn't seem to happen much any more. Unless you're best friends live on the golf course where you happen to be a member. Today I stopped by my girlfriends place. She wasn't home but I knew she was on her way and because her back garden is like a resort I just relaxed in the sun until she came home. After a few glasses of wine we decided we should eat. And then there was this: pork carnitas salad. We made this with only what was In her fridge (might have something to do with why I love her so much; with all this real food on there how could I not?). It was so delicious and exactly what I wanted without knowing that's what I wanted. Eat salad. It does a body good. #jerf #wholefood #paleo #primal #glutenfree #pork #salad #eathealthy #healthyliving #eatyourveggies #nutritiousanddelicious #nutritious #vancouvereats #yvreats #whole30food