For the last couple months, we’ve been planning out our summer road trip around Saskatchewan and Alberta. Now after weeks of last minute change of plans and “where did that reservation email go?” discussions, we’re finally on our way to the airport! Wheee!

If you’ve read my blog, you’ll probably notice that August tends to be our “on the go” month. We were married in August, we bought and moved into our condo the following August and then a few weeks later, we flew to Manchester for a wedding and then traveled to Paris. Basically, it’s almost become a running gag that we save the majority of our vacation days until the end of summer.

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Like everyone else, the beginning of January is when I kick my healthy eating into high gear. Lately we’ve been eating a lot of salads with our supper (this kale one I posted on Instagram has been on high rotation in our kitchen) and we’ve been making a point to slowly get rid of the leftover candy and chocolate from the holidays. Baby steps is where it’s at, although I’m hoping that I can keep this up through February before the next wave of chocolate hits the shelves. (Although according to Twitter, most stores are ahead of the game!)

The hardest thing I find about eating healthy so quickly after the holidays is trying to get over my persistent chocolate craving. For a good two weeks, I had holiday parties, cookie exchanges, chocolate boxes in the break room at work, and candy in my stocking on Christmas morning. There is still chocolate in our freezer and it’s taking all my willpower not to eat it right this second. I can eat all the kale salad my heart desires, but nothing comes between me and my mint chocolate.

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Apple season is upon us! I’m so excited to share this recipe because the fall season is probably my favourite food season, especially with all the great produce available in Southern Ontario. We recently gave up our car so we’ve been braving the crowds and making use of the Saturday Farmer’s Market at the St. Lawrence Market every weekend. This was one of the many perks I was looking forward to when we were planning our move downtown and I couldn’t be happy that St. Lawrence and many other farmer’s markets are just a 10 minute streetcar ride away. Being carless may mean that we’re unable to make a trip up to the apple farm again this year, but at least we can still get our fill of locally grown apples.

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Back in the fall, I purchased some 100-calorie peanut butter chocolate bars from Costco as an easy, portable purse snack. These bars was especially handy because I take a zumba dance class on Wednesday nights and I’m always famished on my hour-long bus ride back to our apartment. Being only 100-calories though, the bars never satisfied me after my workout so I wasn’t really that sad once we finished the Costco-sized box a few weeks ago.

Or so I thought. Lately, I couldn’t stop thinking about them. The calorie content may have been pretty miniscule for a post-workout snack, but the taste and the texture was something I couldn’t get enough of. It reminded me of a soft peanut butter puff wheat square with a hint of chocolate. Growing up, I loved homemade puff wheat squares, but I stopped making them a couple years ago when I read about corn syrup being pretty much one of the worst things you can put in your body (thanks Jillian Michaels). Since then I’ve completely sworn off baking with corn syrup, even though I know that I can’t completely avoid eating it (like in the 100-calorie bars).

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I’ve been toying with the idea of making my own cereal for a couple weeks now. The amount of boxed cereal we go through is insane and as much as I want to believe it, the cereal we eat isn’t exactly considered healthy. We may not be stuffing our faces with Corn Pops or Lucky Charms, but most cereals on the market that are marketed as healthy are also loaded with less “whole grains” and more sugar and high fructose corn syrup than many people realize. HFCS is pretty must one of the worst things you can put in your body (thanks Jillian Michaels!). I stopped baking with corn syrup a few years ago and I even remember throwing out the giant bottle I had in my cupboard, which I probably only had so I could make puff wheat squares.

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Does anyone remember the last time I tried to make healthy bars? Yes, the photos were not the best, but the most embarrassing thing about that post was that the bars I made didn’t even fill up the whole pan. Who wants a recipe to make only half a pan of bars? Why, past Jessica, why did that even make it on the blog in the first place?

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Weather wise, January has been a very confusing month. For a while, we had really unnaturally warm weather and then by the next day, it would turn on you. Sticky, wet snow. Strong, blustery winds. After a braving this weather each day after work, I’ve taken to spending my first hour at home curling up on the couch with a hot mug of tea, a good book and a warm blanket.

After a few days of enjoying this new routine, I knew I would have to bake something to enjoy with my tea. A girl can only eat so many snacks of carrots and apples before she starts salivating at every bakery she passes by.

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January is the month that I always find that I eat the healthiest. I stock up on portable fresh fruit and vegetables to take to work and I avoid junk food like the plague. I feel really good for about three-ish weeks and then as February starts to inch closer, I slowly fall off the wagon.

But like every year that I can remember doing this, I am thinking not this year. This year is a big wedding year, and with being a bridesmaid in one of my best friend’s wedding in July and our wedding in August, I figure that this alone is enough motivation to keep on eating better.

This is one of the challenges I’ve faced since starting a food blog – trying to eat healthier. Since I bake something new at least once a week, its almost a guarantee that there will always be baked goods in our kitchen. That’s not a lot of willpower for someone who wants to keep fitting into both a bridesmaid dress and her wedding dress in less than 8 months.

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