On a Side Note: Health & Feminism

As school gets busier and busier I am having trouble trying to balance physical activity and staying on top of all my school work.

I truly believe that happiness goes hand-in-hand with a balanced life--too much of one thing is never good. For me, the hardest thing about being a student isn't the late night cramming or reading material, it's not being able to get a time for myself to keep my mind clear.

In addition to finding great student deals in our local restaurants, I want to start using this blog to track my personal progress in terms of healthy lifestyle management.

If I make physical activity a priority, I am hoping that my energy level will increase and I will be able to accomplish more in my day. So please, wish me luck!

and ON A SIDE NOTE:

I would like to share a link to a friend's blog. It is called Paula vs Patriarchy, and yesterday she shared her thoughts on the University of Manitoba's Student Association President Al Turnbull. Recently, while trying to promote the use of the U of M library, Turnbull Instagramed a picture of a woman and accompanied it with the caption, "Yup that's right, I'll tutor you and check out your cleavage free of charge."

You'd think that in light of the recent events at St. Mary's and UBC, that student officials across Canada would be making smart choices when it comes to public messages and use of social media--especially when it involves controversial content. Instead, Turnbull is just another example of how our hyper-sexualized world is making it more and more common to see ignorant and sexist comments like these.

Not to say that every man is like Turnbull--we all know that is not the case.

Many justify the comment by saying that it's just a joke, but let's keep in mind that Turnbull's job as an elected student leader is to represent the values and goals of ALL students at the U of M.

Unless sexism, the objectification of woman, and an embarrassing lack of professionalism is a value that U of M students share, I urge everyone to think twice about what kind of "man" has been elected to lead the UMSU.

Paula does a great job of explaining the situation in more detail here. So please check it out!

This change of blog-pace was nice, but next week I promise to get back in action and continue to search for the restaurants for poor students.

Hopefully I will also go on a run or two.

AM

Naru (not so cheap) Sushi

I had a crazy craving for sushi this week. It really doesn't happen to me often but when it does, I go as quickly as possible. This time, I went to Naru Sushi on Osborne with my two brunette babes, Riel and Chelsea. After writing and doing school work all day, we decided that we deserved a huge treat.

I had only been to Naru once many years ago back when I didn't eat fish. I would order something silly like yam tempura and rice. All I remembered about it was that the large windows that looked over Osborne were absolutely perfect for people watching. It is located at 150 Osborne RIGHT across from Osborne Village Cafe, where I went last week. The location is perfect and the comfy-casual atmosphere is perfect for business meetings, first dates, dinner with parents, or just catching up with friends.

It is a two floor restaurant with an open kitchen at the top of the stairs looking down on all of us. It was packed when we came in and packed when we left. The colour scheme was dark red, purple, and blue

We were absolutely starving when we arrived and just about ordered everything on the menu. Thank god we didn't...I was stuffed when I left.

Sushi Pizza

 We started with Spicy Sushi Pizza as an appetizer. I have tried this before at other sushi places, but never as good as here--(SPOILER ALERT: it was the best part of the experience for sure). I wouldn't suggest if you are sensitive to spice, it has a kick!

Riel and Chelsea, both pescetarians, also shared the tofu salad to start. Not my kind of thing.

For a main course, I ordered a Dynamite Roll and shared the Shrek Roll with Riel.

Both rolls were OK, but nothing special whatsoever.

Shrek Roll (top) and Dynamite Roll

Riel ordered the Yam Tempura Roll, and Chelsea ordered both the Naru House Roll and Unagi.

After stuffing our faces without taking a second to breath, all of us agreed that the top items were the Sushi Pizza and the House Roll.

We had good service and really did enjoy our time eating there but all-in-all I know that I will be able to find a much better Sushi place for cheaper.

My bill came to $16 excluding tip. It is much pricier than I like to spend and I wouldn't suggest heading there for a cheap deal.

I did see on the table a sign that said 8.75 lunch special. Maybe I came at the wrong time of day.



I would suggest coming here to eat if you just got paid and are looking for a nice time in a great atmosphere overlooking Osborne. But, if you are looking for a student deal (as we all are) I would scratch out Naru and head somewhere else.

Until next time,

AM

Osborne Village Café—Your urban diner.

Well, it’s week one and I have already found my new Sunday morning brunch spot.

On Sunday, with the wonderful company of my boyfriend Cort and our friend Ari, I went to visit Ozzy’s to eat at Osborne Village Café. To be frank, I was kind of terrified to go see what it looked like with fresh/sober eyes in the daytime. I have spent countless nights partying in the hotel’s basement with friends, Dj’s, musicians, and whoever else likes to come down and spend hours on the VLT’s. Regardless of its dirt and grunge, Ozzy’s has drawn large crowds year after year and hosted popular Winnipeg events like Grippin' Grain, Rdy-mix, Big Dancing, just to name a few.

To me, the zoo was strictly an after dark type place and I wanted to keep it that way.

That being said, for the past few months I’d been hearing great things about the little restaurant hidden behind the hotel reception desk. I needed to try it out.

It was 2:00, none of us had eaten, and none of us had bothered to change out of sweat pants. (It was quite liberating actually). Sluggish in our attire and movement, we walked in and sat ourselves.

The place looks like it hasn’t been touched since 1978, there is a waft of blues music every time a server opened the swinging door to the kitchen, the floor is lime green laminate with octagon patterns, the seat cushions are ripped and stained, and there are 10-15 hanging flower pots around the small dining area.

We squished into the small booth and were seen right away by a soft-spoken gentleman who made us feel like we came over to his house for a bite to eat.

The café is similarly priced with locally loved Stella’s Café but offers a non-traditional and humorous approach to its menu.It is clear the café knows its clientèle—conforming to typical “hip” ingredients, the menu featured quinoa pancakes, avocado infused omelettes, chick pea dishes and very creative names.

I ordered “The Hipster” which was an omelet made up of egg whites, cheddar cheese, avocado, tomato, red wine mushrooms, curried chickpeas, and red peppers.

For 10$, it was more than I could've eaten in two settings. It came with toast, fresh fruit, and hashbrowns—which I substituted (free of charge) for quinoa pancakes to feel better about my excessively large calorie intake. Not that it made ANY difference to how full I felt when leaving.

The food tasted fresh and it came out hot within 10-15 minutes.

Cort and Ari both got an omelet named “The Blue Collar”—it included all meats (ham, sausage, pulled pork), onions, and cheddar cheese with extra potatoes.

The atmosphere was exciting and the place was filled with young teens, old men, families, couples, and one awkward first date.

The food was affordable, the atmosphere was very casual and low maintenance, and all-in-all it was a great experience. I can't wait to go back!

Check out more about Osborne Village Café here on their Facebook page.

https://www.facebook.com/theosbornevillagecafe

Next week I will visit NARU SUSHI on Osborne.

Changing the world, one meal at a time.

I'm always broke, I'm always hungry, and I'm always busy. Not ideal, right?

Definitely not ideal, but very telling of an average student's life.

My mornings consist of running around the house and cursing myself for not being a morning person. Just as I finish putting my face on and pouring my coffee I realize I have only eight minutes before I need to leave and I have no food packed for my 13 hour day. 

So, given that this has been a huge problem of mine for some time, I figured that I could either change this pattern OR use my inability to wake up early for good and eat my way around the city and find the best prices perfect for a student budget.

I think I'll go with the second one.

I enjoy food. I enjoy seeing my boyfriend, friends, and family. I enjoy (for the most part) keeping busy with school and work. As a course requirement I need to blog at least once a week and so I will use this as an opportunity to have some fun and spend quality time with loved ones all while completing my requirement. 

Brilliant, I know.

I can't wait to see what Winnipeg has to offer when it comes to quality food for a fair price. I will share my overall experience at the restaurant, some pictures, and some tips on what to/ what not to order. 

I'd love to hear some suggestions of what places to check out and I'm going to do my best to branch out to all the different city neighbourhoods.

Us broke students have to stick together.

So what's on the menu first? 

OSBORNE VILLAGE CAFE, located in the ever so famous Osborne Village Motor Hotel.