The days are slipping away on me! It’s been awhile since my last post, and it’s already December! This weekend I tagged along with a hyper-organized friend of mine, while she finished her holiday shopping. To my relief, the stores were not as busy with shoppers as I thought it would be.

We are having some extraordinary weather in Nanaimo for the past few weeks. This is completely unlike some of my past visits, where the weather has always been grey and rainy. I even packed two rain coats with me for this extended stint in Nanaimo. No need apparently, as the weather has been warm and sunny everyday...so far.
Tonight,I’m here at Extraordinary Organics Restaurant.

Have you been gorging on berries like I have lately? For the past couple of weeks all I’ve been eating are blueberries and raspberries. I even took a pint of blueberries with me on the ferry for snacking. My tasks, appointments and meetings are expected to eat up all of my day in Nanaimo, so I grab a quick bite beforehand.

It’s colder than I thought it would be on this particular afternoon. I forego wearing a coat, since I will be inside all afternoon for a workshop. Such a mistake. I’m freezing while walking down Victoria Street; I forage for a hot beverage.

I love good muesli. I am picking up some dish detergent today, and I happen to spy on the shelves, Dorset Cereals. It is muesli with no added sugar. This is actually not that easy to come by. Most of the muesli I’ve come across has some sort of additional sweetener in it. Sometimes the makers add honey to the oats, or other times it’s a sugary coating on the raisins or the other bits of fruit. I don’t really like sweet cereals, and I find the fruit element in muesli to be sweet enough for the morning munchies.

Quick coffee and snack grab at Bocca, which is located in Nanaimo’s Old City Quarter.
Bocca is busy. I sit through three waves of line-ups before I decide to get in the queue for my coffee today.

Large Coffee ($2.50)

I must share this recipe with you. It’s not really a “recipe” since it only has two base ingredients, and it’s not really mine. I got it from an acquaintance who is trying to eat healthier. I have no idea where this person got the idea from, but I'm going to guess somewhere online.

**UPDATE September 2012: Fresh Cafe is now closed.

I found breakfast this morning at Fresh Café. I wasn’t sure what I wanted from a "healthy café" for breakfast. I'm not feeling a granola craving today. Hey, I figure that if Pure Cuisine can bang out tasty, inventive, healthy raw meals, then Fresh can surely provide some brekkie. Truth be told, I wasn’t searching for anything healthy this morning. I wanted some bacon.

**UPDATE 2012: Pure Cuisine is now closed.

Before heading down to the Contruction Sites Identity and Space exhibition at the Kamloops Art Gallery, we headed to Pure Cuisine for a light lunch. This particular exhibit runs until the end of the year if you're interested. Pure Cuisine specializes in raw food.