Fresh Restaurants - Gourmet Vegetarian Dining in Toronto

I am crazy about these restaurants! There are 3 locations downtown Toronto: Queen St. W, Spadina, and Bloor. My favourite dish is the Super Protein Salad, which is filled with all kinds of goodness! Chick peas, goji berries, grilled tempeh, grape tomatoes, cucumber, puffed quinoa, currants, pistachios, and almonds on a bed of mixed greens, drizzled with your choice of fresh dressings. My personal fave is the tahini dressing. Fresh restaurants offer a variety of fresh and healthy options for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, each one of them either vegetarian or totally vegan. They have an awesome take-away menu as well. Don't even get me started on their fresh juices, smoothies, and shakes. If you're feeling brave, try a wheat grass shot! Surprisingly tasty.

Jessica Seinfeld's "Deceptively Delicious" and "Double Delicious" Cookbooks

Jessica Seinfeld has created two incredible cookbooks --"Deceptively Delicious: Simple Secrets to get your Kids Eating Good Food" and "Double Delicious: Good, Simple Food for Busy, Complicated Lives." Sure the first one is meant to get kids eating healthy, whole foods, but these recipes can help anyone to make healthy choices in the kitchen. Seinfeld sneaks vegetable purees into everything, even desserts! I thought pureeing all of the vegetables would be a pain, but it was so simple. You can even prepare a whole bunch of pureed portions and freeze them for another day. I decided to try and make the chicken cannelloni dish, which uses cauliflower puree, and whole wheat lasagna noodles (or any other healthy alternative; gluten-free will work as well). I have never successfully made anything from a cookbook. It was absolutely delicious and I didn't feel guilty grabbing seconds. Seinfeld's books include nutritional information, shopping lists, photos, and fun comments from her family about each recipe. Check out her website or head straight to Amazon for a sneak peek!

Hot Yoga

The key to staying fit is finding exercises that you actually enjoy! I used to think that yoga was just breathing and stretching, and couldn't really replace a work out. I had tried it a few times, and it felt great, invigorating, but I never felt like it was an effective way to shed pounds. Readers, if you haven't tried hot yoga, you are seriously missing out! There are many kinds of yoga and hot yoga, but I recommend Bikram hot yoga. It comprises 26 poses which were developed by Bikram Choudhury from Hatha Yoga. The poses are done in sequence, and each is repeated. These poses work every part of the body. The room is heated to 105F or 40C (which I think is relaxing all on its own). Why the heat? The warmth allows your muscles to loosen, and for you to push your body. The heat combined with the yoga purifies your body, eliminating toxins, waste, and other impurities. When I left that studio, I felt like a new person.

Edamame (soy beans)

Have you ever tried these? I first discovered them in sushi restaurants, served as an appetizer with salt sprinkled on top. I absolutely loved them, and have ordered them every time I go ever since! I stumbled upon a bag of edamame in my local grocery store recently and I couldn't believe what I was seeing. I had them for lunch today and they are just as tasty as they are in sushi restaurants! You can buy them in shells (like they serve in restaurants), or shelled. All you need to do is boil them up (or microwave apparently), and add a touch of salt! So good for you, full of protein, potassium, and fibre. Plus, who doesn't enjoy a salty snack every once in a while?