Home for the holidays!

I’m home!

At 5:30am in Belgium – eager to start our journey to Toronto!

Safe and sound – and it feels great to be back. I arrived in Toronto, early Saturday evening, after a long and turbulence-filled flight. I know it is harmless, but who else is not a fan of crazay turbulence on places? I honestly felt like I was on a roller coaster for a good part of the flight due when we were passing through a windstorm. You can probably imagine how happy I was to be on ground again and to reunite with my family! It’s always such an emotional moment walking out of the arrival doors and seeing my family waiting for me at the airport. Words can’t explain what a magical moment that always is  😉

It’s so funny how once you’re reunited with loved ones (and your pets – that’s Mavi posing for the photo!) it always feels like no time has passed. The first few days home have been filled with pure awesome busyness – catching up with friends and family, celebrating, baking, cooking with family, family dinners, a bit of working out and just hanging out with people I’ve missed so much over the past few months! Soaking up every moment I have here during the holidays.

And in, Ceara’s Kitchen fashion, I’m trying my best to maintain balance over the holiday season. Guilt-free, Eat Happy, Live Happy,  Balance! From years past, I know that it’s easy to cave into the slippery slope of “guilt” over the holiday season – but there’s no guilt, whatsoever, in this kitchen this year! Because, who has time for guilt, during all the Christmas cheer anyways? Not this girl!

Breakfast: Tofu Bruschetta Scramble, Salsa, fresh multigrain bread, pink beet juice and a side of blueberries – delicious.

I’ve been baking up a storm since I got here and been enjoying the Christmas treats that only come around once a year (like my mama’s shortbread!) but I’m making sure to balance it out with some green smoothies and juices plus some awesome, enjoyable activity as well. I find after a couple sweets my body craves the instant nutrition in fresh, homemade smoothies and juices anwyways – so it’s an easy fix!

This juice is made with spinach, kale, apple and carrots – talk about a powerhouse of a green juice! And, like always, it’s #boyfriendapproved! 😉

And of course, the holidays always call for cookies. This morning I baked Vegan Chocolate Chunk Cookies with my little brother (haha, yes we do have a couple years between us!) and he told me that he can’t wait till he’s old enough to have his very own food blog! He’s an absolute natural in the kitchen.

Chopping up the Dark Chocolate Christmas bark for the cookies!

And as for the activity – let’s be honest, it’s cold here, so I haven’t run outside just yet (I always need to work up the courage to face the Canadian cold in spandex lol!) but I’ve been enjoying the treadmill more than ever before! (Any tips from experienced runners in the cold are appreciated!). It’s actually kind of nice to switch up my workout from my usual jog outside anyways. My goal is to do 30-60 minutes of enjoyable activity everyday over the holidays. Not just to “stay in shape” but to maintain balance as well – there’s nothing like 30 minutes to yourself to reflect on the day, take some time to breathe, and soak in the Christmas craziness! 😉

We start celebrating Christmas this evening in my family and the celebration is non stop until the evening of the 25th so I better go and continue helping!

Wishing you a wonderful holiday filled with happiness, a bit of craziness and lots of good eats surrounded by lots of love! A very Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from my kitchen to yours <3