THAI NOODLE BOWLS

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Kids are going back to school today and it's raining in my city...looks like summer is on its way out! I don't know about you, but there's something about this time of year that makes me want to get my butt in gear health wise. I guess I'm trying to make up for months of eating ice cream in the summer, ha. Any of you in the same boat??

I told James that after Labour Day I want to eat a lot better and figure out an exercise plan...slowly but surely. A good place to start is with these Thai Noodle bowls. The recipe is from Oh She Glows cookbook, which I highly recommend as everything I've made from it has been so yummy!

These bowls are healthy, filling AND delicious. A perfect recipe to kick my butt back into healthy gear.

THAI NOODLE BOWL

Serves 4

Ingredients:
 

For the sauce-

  • 1 large garlic clove minced
  • 2 tbsp sesame oil
  • 3 tbsp natural peanut butter
  • 2 tsp grated ginger
  • 3 tbsp lime juice
  • 2 tbsp + 1 tsp tamari
  • 2 tsp sugar

For the salad-

  • 4 oz soba noodles (found in the asian section of your grocer)
  • 1 bag frozen shelled edamame beans (I could not find shelled at Costco or superstore..I ended up buying shelled ones, defrosting them and then shelling them...not ideal because it takes a long time ha!)
  • 1 red bell pepper diced
  • 1/2 cucumber diced
  • 1/2 cup shredded carrots
  • 4 green onions chopped
  • 1/4 cup cilantro chopped

Directions:

  1. Combine sauce ingredients and mix well. You can use a food processor but I just whisked everything and it came together easily.
  2. Cook the soba noodles according to package. Once done, rinse immediately under cold water. Transfer to a large bowl.
  3. Add the vegetables in and then the sauce. Give it a good mix.

Enjoy!!!

 

Happy Tuesday,

XO,
laura

HELLO SEPTEMBER

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Oh, hey there September! I cannot believe it is S E P T E M B E R!!!! I know I say that every month but seriously...it's September and my baby will be THREE MONTHS OLD very soon! I'm sad to see summer go but we're getting to my favourite season...fall!

Bring on the pumpkin spice lattes (or these amazing pumpkin spice muffins...or these melt in your mouth pumpkin spice cookies), jacket weather, cozy blankets and leaves! James and I just started watching Stranger Things, and I'm so happy I waited because this time of year, I'm always craving a novel or show that's a little bit scary.

This month I'm also looking forward to going on some hikes with the Lion. We tried out our ergo in the August but it was waaaaay too hot so now that it's cooled down, I can't wait to get out and explore.

Another thing I'm looking forward to is the launch of our GT Westhills campus!! If you live out in the Westshore, be sure to check it out...we launch Sunday, September 11th at 10am in the new Belmont High School. 

Oh September, I have a feeling you're going to be a good one!

XO,
laura

ps. download the September calendar here!

PRINTABLE SEPTEMBER 2016 CALENDAR

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Oh wow, September is TOMORROW! I'm eagerly awaiting its arrival as I love all things September. Changing leaves, sweaters, pumpkin spice everything, a non-sweaty baby...HELLO!

So as per usual, I've made you a September calendar to help you with your fall planning! I don't know about you, but September always kicks my butt into full on planning mode and this year is no different. We have students right now, so meal planning is a must! Now that I'm 30, I want to get back on the exercise bandwagon because I'm not gonna say no to a Pumpkin Cream Cheese muffin..haha. Oh, and I'm also redesigning my blog this month and will be back helping with Dream Women at GT because it's fall time and I just can't not fill my calendar... :)

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD YOUR SEPTEMBER CALENDAR
(FOR PERSONAL USE ONLY)

Happy last day of August!

XO,
laura

HELLO WEEKEND

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TGIF. I'm particularly excited about this weekend because I'M TURNING 30 and we're celebrating ALL WEEKEND!!! Goodbye 20's, HELLO 30's!!!  It feels crazy to be entering a new decade but I have so much to be thankful for. Next week, I'll blog some of those thoughts but for now I'm going to spend some time with James & Luca. CYA MONDAY when I'll be a 30 YEAR OLD!!!!!!

XO,
laura

image via

HIGH CONTRAST BABY VISUAL STIMULATION PRINTABLE

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It's kind of an amazing thing that my sister and I had our babies exactly one month apart! We meet up often to go to the mall or for a walk or just hang at her house. It's the best that we can experience everything together. Earlier this week I discovered that Luca really likes to visit his cousin as that means he gets to play in her mamaroo. He was super content and absolutely loved the black and white mobile that hung over his head. It consisted of super cute black and white monsters.

I could not get over how much he loved it. He was smiling and cooing galore and he even cried when I took him off it! Babies love high contrast images because they can actually see them and they help them develop their vision...it's also key to developing their cognitive thinking (I got that from my teacher friend Renee...hope I wrote that correctly, ha!) So when we got home I searched the net and pinterest and didn't find the cutest images so I decided to make my own.

If follow me on snapchat (@lauraliira) you would see how Luca loved it. It was seriously the cutest thing to see him chatting away to the bear and puppy. I printed a couple for different spots around the house and as you can see above and below, it fits right into his nursery ;) I couldn't get a close up shot where he was in focus because we was so excited looking at it. The sweetest.

I edited the original to make the triangles higher contrast and he likes it even more! Scroll down to download :)

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD
(For Personal Use Only)

 

XO,
Laura

P.S. Luca's outfit is from Gap but I couldn't find it on the website (this one is similar) and change pad cover is from here!