If I didn't love men, I would switch teams for this gal.
Seriously, I'm not shitting you. There isn't anything I don't absolutely love about Chrissy Teigen. I'm assuming you know of her, if you don't I might be concerned for your well being seeing you could have only been locked in a cave somewhere, FOREVER, if you haven't. Chrissy was first famous for her Sports Illustrated swim suit edition spreads, as a supermodel. She then married the very talented recording artist and handsome John Legend and they together became the poster pair for #couplegoals in an age where no one stays together. Just because that wasn't enough, the two of them spawned the most adorable children, are cool enough to have Chrissy's mom live with them and have branched out into the cooking universe. Let me just add, Chrissy is kicking ass. Her star rating in my books is off the charts. I READ her cookbooks. READ. Why? Because she is fricking hilarious, the girl should have been a comedian. She dishes it up as tantalizing as the recipes she whips up. Her quips, sarcasm and comedic stories, have me in stitches daily. My son asked me one day (he thought I was losing my mind) what the sam hell was so funny in that cookbook? It was valid question, have you ever laughed reading a cookbook? Like anywhere in the range of a giggle, to a chuckle to a full on belly laugh that may or may not have made me pee just a little because I was laughing so hard? Yup, that would be Chrissy. Chrissy Teigen ladies and gentlemen. (Chrissy take a bow here)
I love both of these cookbooks equally, I truthfully use them ALL THE TIME. The dishes are so, so, so damn delicious, and the recipes are easy to follow and I usually have the ingredients in my pantry. THAT'S what I look for in a good recipe, I hate having to traipse all over town to find ingredients. I'm all about the time management. I have some faves that I make all the time and have ditched my own favourite family recipes to replace them with Chrissy's version. I am listing my family's favourites that I make at least weekly because we can't get enough of them. My own recipes are right here, on the CharisOnRecipes blog for more tasty wonders and more giggles. Sweet and Salty Coconut Rice: I use this as a side for many a Chrissy dish and have become a worshipper of this rice in all ways. I eat it with savoury dishes and as Chrissy does, I make sure there are left overs so I can make rice pudding with it afterwards. (I add chopped dates to mine and if I'm feeling really decadent, I make a caramel sauce to pour on top. Cravings, page 83 Dump and Done Ramen Salad: I make a batch of this at the beginning of the week so that we all can help ourselves during the week. It gets better the longer it sits. I eat mine, morning, noon and night, not lying. I love it that much. Cravings, page 74,75 Actual Drunken Noodles: This is one of my comfort dishes, it fills my belly and gives me a zing of spice which I do love. I love a bit of heat. Cravings, page 86 Chicken Satay with Peanut Sauce: I've made peanut satay for my kids since they were little, it's one of the dishes they will always ask for. I use all the ingredients in Chrissy's recipe, but I don't always marinate the chicken. sometimes (more often than not) I add everything into one pot all at once. It still tastes ridiculously good and as the kids will say, it's better than my own recipe of years gone by. There aren't to many people I would give up my crown too, but I will to Chrissy. Cravings, page 122, 123 Carrot Coconut Soup: I can make a batch of this and not share it. Not a drop. It's to die for, and if you try to steal the said soup, you will vanquish my dear friend. Don't get between me and my Chrissy soup. The only thing I add to this divine bowl of goodness is a tablespoon of minced garlic and 1 tsp of turmeric. ( I just love, love, love garlic, so in it goes) Hungry For More, page 54,55 Egg-Mozzarella Ham Cups: I make this at least once a month for one of our Sunday family brunches. They get gobbled up almost as fast as my #AmmaC Viking Pancakes. (Pancake recipe here) Hungry For More, page 31
Be it known, that if I love you, I have given these books to you as a gift, from my foodie heart to yours, but only if I love you. If I haven't given you a set yet, you have some work to do. (LOL) But seriously folks, my daughter gave it to my other daughter, then my son gave them to me because I was drooling after the girls copies and I have given them to many others. If you are some of those people, please write a comment about your favourite Chrissy recipes so that we can also give them a go. I would love to hear from you!
#recipes #recipebooks #books #amazonprime #CharisOnFood #CharisOnLife #MamaC #AmmaC #foodnetwork #allrecipes #thaicooking #comfortfood #chrissyteigen #johnlegend #hungryformore #cravings #lifestyleblogging #blogging #blog #bloggingmom #enjoyfood #foodofinstagram #affiliatemarketing #adpost #amazonaffiliates #foodblog #bookreview #inspiration #marthastewart #pinterestfood #CharisOnRecipes
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We recently took a trip to Salt Spring Island, BC for a part of my son's spring break. Its a place I've always wanted to visit after hearing the intriguing stories about it. And...well... Salt Spring Cheese is made there, which is enough reason to go! As part of my travel tips in the Lifestyles blog, Salt Spring Island, I thought it would be fitting to tell you about the food as well. What's a holiday without the food experience? It was an experience to be sure. It was a bit hit and miss truthfully. We weren't there for too terribly long so I really had to pick and choose what I wanted to check out. It's a good thing my guys will eat virtually anything, and don't complain if I'm adamant about trying something out. (Well at least on Salt Spring they weren't) By the time we landed in Ganges Harbour on the ferry from Vancouver, we were famished. I was on the hunt, it had to be good and hearty, savoury and delectable all at the same time. I checked quickly for reviews and options on my handy dandy smart phone and came up with several options.  Our restaurant of choice for lunch was Auntie Pestos Cafe , the atmosphere and service was fantastic, in fact it was by far the best service of our whole trip. I seriously had the best chicken salad sandwich creation I have ever had! Raisins, pumpkin seeds, cranberries, fresh lettuce and homemade bread. The soup of the day was Borscht, which of course I ordered being from the Interlake in Manitoba where Borscht is a staple!My son had the Johnny B Meatball sandwich, which he said was tasty but not what he was expecting as it was more like a sloppy joe, but with meatballs. The hubby had the grilled chicken panini it both looked great and he said was delicious. If you would like to see their menu and pricing check out it our here. I would go back to this gem again and again, to try at least everything once.  Our second choice for our late evening dinner was the Oyster Catcher Restaurant right at Ganges Marina. It came highly recommended by our hostess Linda at the Gatehouse B&B. It was nice and quiet by the time we arrived at the restaurant and the gal that was serving us was pretty on the ball, as were the rest of the team there helped her bring out dishes, and the food all came out hot and steamy. They had a large menu so there definitely was something for everyone. We ordered a variety of dishes, I ordered the Roasted Cedar Plank Salmon: Line caught, wild sockeye salmon in a creme ginger sauce. My son ordered the Campfire BarBQ ribs, and the McMuscles (the hubby) ordered Mussels & Pomme Frites in the same ginger creme sauce. We also ordered calamari as an appetizer, which the guys loved, but I found too salty for my tastes. According to my guys, it was the best calamari we had the entire trip. You can see their menu here. I wouldn't order the salmon again, it was overcooked, and there is no better way to ruin salmon. Presentation was surprisingly inventive. It ended up being quite dry, even the ginger sauce (which was lovely) didn't help. The mashed potatoes were tasteless and were hidden under the plank, the salad (which I asked for as it was being served with brussels sprouts YUCK) was the right size, I loved the addition of the beets. Mussels were a hit, the ginger creme sauce that they were soaking in, was my hubby's favourite, he didn't have any issues with his dinner or mine, or my son's, he finished them all, dipped in the ginger creme sauce. The Campfire Ribs, by my son's estimation, didn't come close to mine, (and what a good son he is)...they definitely weren't slow baked long enough. It filled our tummies, I had a lovely glass of red wine, which I promptly knocked over onto my new purse and the boys finished off with the fried ice cream. I think the fried ice cream was their favourite. The prices were high in my estimation, but it sounds like they always have a packed house once tourist season starts or the weather warms up. If you want to check it out during that time, I was told to make sure you have reso's or you won't get in. At the end of the day, I would have gone back to Auntie Pesto's for dinner as well, as their menu appealed to my tastes the most. I thought I was being far to boring to go back to the same place twice, and you have to be adventurous while on holiday! The last place we ate on the island was in Fulford, our next ferry location. Seriously, this place looked like it fell out of a movie. I was definitely expecting more. The choices for restaurants were slim, and the Rock Salt Restaurant & Cafe was our only choice really. It was mediocre at best, cold, and the service was awful, truthfully the entire vibe of the place was just OFF. We had a really hard time putting out finger on it, but I guess it was that we really didn't feel comfortable, or welcome. It was quite odd, our waitress was more pissed off that she had to serve us than anything else, which inevitably will put me off the food. The hubby and I had the Gumboot Rancheros and well, if you have ever been to Manitoba and have eaten a Mexican Breakfast at Stella's, nothing can compare. I didn't even take pictures, it was just that bad. My son, I don't even remember what he had, that's how unimpressed we were. We actually had planned on eating at the restaurant at the Salt Spring Island Cheese Company only to find that it hadn't opened yet for the season. Much to our chagrin, but there's a lesson for you, make sure it's open before you head down to that end of the island and catch the ferry. Eat there, have a full tummy, then get on the ferry.  It's just about a month away from the BIG TRIP. I work out every day. Something I haven't done in 8 years. I wake up in the morning and look forward to getting moving ..getting the sweat on. Every day I wake up and look in the mirror once I put my workout gear on...I can't believe what's looking back at me...is me. I never thought I could get my body back into this... this new me. I am so grateful every single day. It hasn't seemed like work, it hasn't disrupted my life, it's only enhanced it. I surround myself with people that are like-minded and run on positive, fantastic energy. And why shouldn't I? I get to chose who I surround myself with and why would I chose less? My tribe...they uplift and support me...my squad...we try to do that for each other. The most important piece is me...what am I bringing to the table? My commitment. Commitment to myself, my goals, my team and those I coach...to be the best I can be...every single day. I encourage everyone to think about what they are bringing to the table. Your own table. Are you bringing your best to the table every single day? Post in the comments if you think you are...and we will celebrate together. If you're not, then ask yourself why not...and I that, I challenge you to make a change. 
Somewhere along the way we got lost. We’ve fed into this belief that there is one thing, one single food that will be the answer to our prayers. In our quest for health, longevity, sexiness and happiness, we look to other cultures and obsessively analyze them in attempt to find their secret to life. In doing so we’ve come to a lot of insane conclusions. Conclusions like, olive oil is without question the reason Italians have healthy hearts that keep pumping well into their nineties. We read this in a magazine and naturally, we start glugging olive oil thinking it is the one and only answer. Meanwhile we make no other positive changes to our diet, do nothing to reduce stress levels, and count our calories ‘till the cows come home. I wish it was that easy. But it isn’t. And that is why I take a holistic approach to food nutrition. In my view, healthy eating is not about binging on the latest superfood, getting in your daily servings of fruits and veggies, or cutting carbs. It is about balance. It is about building a healthy relationship with food. It is about putting your faith in real foods to bring your body and mind into a beautiful state of balance.  Courtney Schwegel, is a guest food blogger on CharisOnLife in the our Healthy Living umbrella. She will be a weekly contributor to both our blog and recipe additions! Courtney is a professional/personal chef, a Holistic Nutritionist and a FOOD ENTHUSIAST! Keep posted for more delicious and nutritious fodder from this extremely talented wonder!
 Hi there! I’m Courtney Schwegel, Personal Chef, Holistic Nutritionist and food enthusiast.
To me, food is about love. It’s about sharing, and it’s about nurturing. When I embarked on my path in the culinary arts, I had no idea where I would end up. What I did know from the beginning was that whatever I did, loving, sharing and nurturing would always be the driving force behind my cooking. I consider myself a chef first, and a holistic nutritionist second. This is very important in my approach to nutritional consultation, because I believe that all food should taste good. It shouldn’t be a fat-free, flavourless, low-calorie, lump on a plate. And it shouldn’t be a miracle meal-replacement shake with more ingredients in it than one can bear to read. Food should be tantalising and tasty. And I am here to show you that healthy food can be just that. For many years I’ve been learning how to make nutritious food taste, well, delicious. And this is something I can teach you. Whether it’s learning to make a decadent cheesecake out of cashews instead of cream cheese, or superfood smoothies that taste like milkshakes, I’ve got you covered. Nothing would make me happier than to be a part of your transformation by teaching you how to best nurture and nourish your body and mind with beautiful, nutritious foods. To learn more about what Courtney is offering to CharisOnLife, please check out our Healthy Living page. 
Well, thank you for reading my CharisOnLife recipe for today!
Layer Cake a la CharisOnLife ... the best recipe for a great life! Thanks to the Chocolate Zen Bakery in Winnipeg, Manitoba for what is possibly the BEST Red Velvet cake known to mankind. This was my birthday cake from last year, my request because I AM the Red Velvet Cake connoisseur, I know a fabulous Red Velvet cake when I consume one. Red Velvet cake is a tough recipe to get right, most times I find that the color is off, much too light, it is much too dry (and red velvet cake should NEVER be the least bit dry) and so it goes. It's a TOUGH one. Now of course, as per usual, I am comparing it to the Red Velvet Cake of old, the one my mom used to bake ages ago. That really was the best recipe around, I hadn't tasted another that matched it until discovering the Chocolate Zen bakery. It was outstanding on every level. The color was rich and red, not pink. The cake was super moist therefore not crumbly. The icing was creamy and full of cream cheese goodness. The went over and above to adapt to my requests. Requests you ask? Yes, my only issue with the original cake was that although it had the cream cheese icing still, they actually put coconut all over the cake after the icing. Not my thing. Although I love coconut, I don't want it mixed in and messing with my Red Velvet fabulousness. So ... I had asked them to please eliminate the coconut and just leave it at the cream cheese icing. I have had the same cake with the coconut and just found that it was just too much sweetness. The Red Velvet Cake itself with the cream cheese icing is enough sweetness for this gal. And yes well, I'm sweet enough! Ha! Some things are just better left alone, my only recommendation, order it without the coconut. What you see in the picture, is their result, it was spectacular in every way. The pricing was fair for the size of the cake and the time it took them to ice that masterpiece. I fed my entire family and left enough for all of us for breakfast ... yes, if we have special cake in the house, we have cake for breakfast in our family, it's a tradition. So ... about 12 people with cake leftovers. You don't want the pieces to be too big, and it's filling. I have been there many times since and everything I have taken home or to friends have been nothing less than amazing. My favourite part is that I can go there and buy gluten free baking for all of my friends out there that are gluten intolerant and not sacrifice on taste or presentation, it is equally delicious. I included this picture in my other recipe post for a couple of reasons. It was truly a work of art, it was beautiful and delicious, and it kind of represents what I was trying to relate to my readers. I'm calling about the "Flower Of Life" cake. Thanks Chocolate Zen Bakery for providing a wonderful subject for this photo, and an awesome birthday celebration. LOCATION 553 Osborne Street South (corner of Osborne and Morley) Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, R3L 2B3 Phone: 204.287.2253 (CAKE) www.charisonlife.com #ChocolateZenBakery #RedVelvetCake #RedVelvet #recipe #foodie #foodreview #CharisOnFood #CharisOnLife #baking #Manitoba #ThePegFood #ThePeg #Winnipeg #Love #coaching #life #birthdaycake That's one of many things that I will say about Cafe Carlo...is that for as long as it's been around, it never fails to disappoint. It's been with me through several past lives... husband number one... baby number two... contractions for baby number two...bad date number (not sure about this one)...and last but not least a wonderful quiet lunch on my own. Joel and his staff never disappoint. I was there the other day ... for a few of reasons: 1. I was starving. In fact I was either going to faint or bite my own arm off in hunger. 2. I had to add a tag to a piece of art that is hanging in the restaurant (Let me add, very talented artist, Cindy Davidson, has her collection there for another month or so) 3. I hadn't eaten there for some time so figured while I was there I would give it the old CharisOnFood review. 4. I also was meeting the Corydon Times founder for a coffee later to discuss doing some work together By the way, I will tell you right now, I did not take a picture of the most delicious food I ate because I inhaled it so fast, there just wasn't time to take a picture...at all. I kid you not...inhaled. I will just tell you that the presentation was amazing as per usual. Okay so back to my history with Cafe Carlo...Contractions...yes... Child number two. I, in fact ate the same meal the other day that I did twenty-four long years ago. The THAI SPRING ROLLS and the MANGO CHICKEN SALAD, I know what you're thinking...this sounds familiar. Okay... so I like spring rolls and mango salad...love them. I digress...So I'm sitting there in the very lovely atmosphere at Carlo realizing that all I can think about are the contractions and the impending birth (that made Maclean's magazine February 1991) from ages ago. In fact, I remember the taste of the spring rolls like it was yesterday. That's a good thing. There is a very distinctive flavor in the Cafe Carlo spring rolls, that you don't get anywhere else. SO.... delicious. Good thing the waitress was busy, she might have seen me wince a few times thinking back to those damn contractions... yup... right in the restaurant. The waitress... no, I don't know her name, was perfectly wonderful, service impeccable as always. Joel came out to say hi and I ate my mango salad in the quiet of 2 pm in the afternoon. Bless them, they still let me order although I was cutting it close. So... the mango salad. Why do I love it so? The same reasons why everyone else does and why it's a staple on the menu....It's FULL of chicken curry goodness, mango chutney, cashews, raisins and that honey-poppy seed yogurt dressing. My favorite thing is seriously mixing it all together so that the curry and mango and yogurt are everywhere... try it next time. I noticed something the other day that I seem to be paying more attention to nowadays...the size of the lettuce pieces. Yup... they were all pretty consistently bite size, love them for that! There's nothing worse than getting several large lettuce leaves on your plate and then try to cut them up elegantly. The atmosphere there as I mentioned always gets a good rating, as the CharisOnDesign guru; colour palette, fixtures, lighting and tableware are all really important. It's warm and inviting, the art as I mentioned is a beautiful addition and adds both charm and culture. Joel is pretty great at featuring local artists, kudos to him for that! The CharisOnDating rating is going to suffer just slightly as there will be no hanky-panky, googly eyes or footsie at Cafe Carlo, the tables, although a good distance apart are really meant for polite conversation and nothing to controversial, or steamy for that matter. Wouldn't want your neighbours gasping for air as you are trying to flirt with your date. (Although I never recommend having your phone out during a date, you might need to use it for the more steamy conversations ;) It is perfect for a date in many other ways, it's classy, unpretentious, remarkable food, and great service. If you are looking to impress your date, or mate...this one is always a winner. #cafeCarlo #restaurant #WinnipegRestaurant #PegGrub #foodie #foodreview #GoodEats #TastyTreats #SpringRolls #MangoSalad #Thai #corydon #Winnipeg #Manitoba #Canada #tripAdvisor #UrbanSpoon #WinnipegFreePress #WinnipegSun 204.477.5544 http://cafecarlo.com/ [email protected] 243 Lilac Street Winnipeg, MB  CharisOnFood Fabulousness  CharisOnService  CharisOnDecor  CharisOnDating Rating
This little gem is hidden in the St.Vital suburbia...although I've lived here in the area for the past ten years...I had never made it here. What an idiot I am ... I could have been a regular ages ago. It might have been just the basic fact it is located at the end of a strip mall, kind of obscure and out of the way...it just hadn't really caught my eye. I have been whizzing by their location on my way here or there, music lessons, Home Depot, who knows ... but I missed it. Let me just say that it's St.Vital's best kept secret for "Lip Delish" enjoyment. I can't say enough about what a great evening we had ... believe it or not, my 14 year old son was the one that told me I needed to go. He had been there previously and has been raving about the GREEN MANGO SALAD for years. I know...a child raving about vegetables...it's a shock. Now I know why ... it was a mixture of a yummy taste explosion and heaven all at once. The mixture of the lime, chili, peanuts and unripe mango is brilliant. If it were a man, I would marry it, not joking...pure enjoyment. He also recommended a great standby everyone likes to order and these babies are worth it! We ordered 10 pieces of mixed pork and chicken of deep fried SPRINGROLL perfection. The mouthwatering fillings a mixture of mungbean noodles, bean sprouts, shredded cabbage and carrots. I am a connoisseur of spring rolls, and these rank up there. We made sure we ordered enough to bring home so we can have them for breaky. We must have been hungry ... we ordered two more dishes! The CALAMARI AND SHRIMP in tempura, (very tasty but the calamari was cut a bit too large for my liking) and the GREEN CHICKEN CURRY with coconut rice. Green coconut curry is one of my faves and let me tell you it didn't disappoint. Flavourful, vegetables still slightly crunchy, not overcooked and perfect chunks of chicken. There seriously was enough food for an army, portion sizes were right on, we just ordered a swack of food...yes we were hungry... (Nothing up my sleeve...no cooking tomorrow...tee hee) The service there was impeccable, very friendly, seated immediately, orders taken right away and the food was delivered to the table in a masterful sequence that kept us dining at an even pace and never an empty plate. We didn't wait for ANYTHING. It was FABULOUS! Kudos to the cool dude, Angkul, for the most excellent service. The CharisOnDesign review for atmosphere would definitely knock up the romance factor, nice white linens and I would set the tables with wine glasses to start off with. Just so that it doesn't look too bare. I might add some track lighting along the walls just so that we could enjoy the artwork more...soft lighting but just accent lighting. Okay... the moment we all have been waiting for... the "CharisOnDating Rating": It's a big restaurant, but decorated nicely, dimly lit (perfect for footsie and hand holding or an occasional smooch). It's quiet so you can actually have a conversation which is rare in restaurants these days ... so if you happen to be with someone that actually want to get to know, ask them some questions and can hear the answers, this is a great spot. The tables are far enough apart that the other diners aren't breathing down your back or adding smart ass quips into your conversation. It does lend itself to being a great date spot... it just needs a little romance...candles in hurricane lanterns and a unique touch in flowers (nothing ordinary) would be a bonus. Yes... add candles. I would recommend Siam Thai Cuisine to anyone for whatever reason they might be looking to head out. I know that many of my friends also order and pick up. Please check them out and mention that I sent you over...don't tell them I said it was okay to go smooching all over the place though!!!  CharisOnFood Fabulousness  CharisOnService  CharisOnDesign  CharisOnDating Rating Siam Thai Cuisine www.siamthairestaurant.ca 587 St Anne's Rd, Winnipeg, MB R2M 2S3, Canada Phone:+1 204-254-7765  |
Charis Johannson
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