The Best Smoothie Ever!!

As you know from my last post, I have an abundant amount of fresh blueberries after picking them with my little girl and some friends just over a week ago. Just writing that makes me smile :) I love blueberries, especially the ones I picked with my little lady. As I said last week, I love eating them by the fistfuls! My second favourite way of enjoying them is in smoothies of course.

I made a smoothie the other morning that was just so delicious and easy to make that I had to share with you all.
Have you ever bought a young coconut?? Please share with me below if you have and what you did with it!!! I love to hear from you!
I just started buying them for the 1st time this summer. I must say, I am a little addicted to them. They are so tasty and make one heck of a smoothie. At first I wasn't sure what to do with them or even how to open them. Once I got my first one I realized that it is super easy to do and worth any work it takes to get it open.
If you need some help CLICK HERE! That is the video from Eat Naked that I watched to learn how to open a young coconut.
Do you ever buy coconut water?? Well for the same $$$ you can get the same amount of coconut water + the meat of the coconut. And it tastes way better! Try it, I dare you to :O) And please let me know about your experience!!


Here is my new favourite smoothie recipe!

1 cup of fresh blueberries
1 cup of ice
The juice and pulp of 1 fresh young coconut
2 tbsp of hemp seeds
Honey, maple syrup or stevia - sweeten to taste - I used 1 heaping tsp of honey and a touch of stevia

Blend and enjoy the best smoothie ever!

Adventures of the Blueberry

Hello Everyone!! I hope you are all enjoying this last little bit of summer! I know I sure am. I love this time of year!! The local produce is so abundant, it has me bursting at the seams with excitement. Yes, I know I am a bit of a nutritionist geek! One of my favorite things to do is go to local farmers markets and pick my produce straight from the source. I find it so relaxing and exciting to know exactly how fresh my food is. It has become a little more hectic with my one year old but still so much fun!

Sophie couldn't get enough blueberries

I truly believe that now more than ever, it is critical to teach our children where our food comes from. Many little ones think that most food comes out of a box from the grocery store and seem to have little connection with our earth and how food is grown. 

I grow some produce in my garden and also go picking to whatever local organic farm I can get to. 

Sophie loves it!!! She has so much fun picking the fruit off the tree and munching away. She actually eats a lot more fruit than she normally would. 

Please!!! Take your kids to your local farms and teach them the importance of eating local and where food actually comes from. 

Why eat local you ask?? Because you are getting the best nutrition for your buck. After a fruit or vegetable is picked it starts to lose its valuable nutrients becoming less and less nutrient dense with every day. It is also a lot cheaper to buy directly from the source. I also think it is important to support our local growers. And most importantly, it tastes so much better!

Blueberries are bursting with flavor and nutrition! I just love them. So when my friend from Appreciating Health told me about a place by her house to go picking, I hopped in the car with Sophie and we went with her and her little man Henry. She lives in Bowmanville. Anyone looking for more information please feel free to email me. 

Mr Cutie Pie Henry loves his blueberries!

Here are some of the beautiful health benefits of the almighty blueberry 

• Blueberries are phytonutrient superstars. These fruits contain significant amounts of anthocyanadins, which are powerful antioxidants
• Blueberries are an excellent source of bone-nourishing vitamin K. Yes, you read that right. Blueberries for your bones...who would have thought.
• Recent research on the powerful antioxidants in blueberries is showing that they have a positive impact on memory and brain health. 
• Your heart loves blueberries. The antioxidants in blueberries are known to protect the heart 
• Blueberries are a good source of vitamin C 
• Blood sugar problems or diabetic?? Blueberries are a great fruit for you, known for their positive affect on blood sugar metabolism

While I love eating blueberries by the fist full, I also love adding them to my smoothies. 

Here is one of my favorite recipes

1 cup of fresh of frozen blueberries 

1 cup of ice 

1 cup of sesame milk (or other milk of choice)

2 tbsp of hemp seeds

2 tsp of raw honey or maple syrup or to taste

Optional superfoods

2 tbsp of yogi berries

1 tsp spirulina

4 swiss chard leaves 

1 tsp of nutrasea fish oil or flax oil 

Blend and enjoy!

Loving Leftovers!

Hello Everyone!!! I know it has been a long time since I have posted. I have been spending my precious time with my little angel who will be 13 months on the 14th. Can you believe it?? I sure can't. This time has flown by. I am truly grateful for my little Sophie everyday. She has brought so much love and light to this world and to my life. I am blessed everyday!

Look at that face!! It melts my heart every time :)

This was me and my little lady in June picking some organic strawberries. So much fun :)

I am officially back to work and excited to share with you all of my new recipe creations from the past year. I have a lot to share :) It feels good to be back at work and sharing what I know best and feel most passionate about!

Over the years I have seen hundreds of momma's in my nutrition practise. I can't tell you how many times I heard  the common stumbling block of not having enough time to prepare healthy meals for their family and/or fit exercise in. Well to all of the super momma's out there, I truly hear you now. I totally understand what all of my momma clients were talking about. Life is busy!!! And I only have the one! I kinda feel like I am part of the club now and I can truly understand how time can be an obstacle sometimes. Something that I know for sure is that we make time for that which is most important to us. If healthy eating and exercise is of high value to you, somehow, some way you will make it happen.

This is what it looks like in my kitchen when I am cooking :)

I choose to make healthy eating and exercise (more on that in another post) a priority in my household no matter how crazy things get. Sometimes my house isn't as clean as I would like it to be......well pretty much all the time! In my world I would rather have a messy house and eat truly healthy and delicious homemade food! 

I know many of you reading this are also very busy, many much busier than I am. I am going to make it my mission to show you that you can do it to!!! Whether you are a mama or a daddy or just a busy person, I know that you to can find more time to prepare the best most amazing food for you and your family! You can make healthy food fast and delicious!!

The following recipe is a great way to use up leftovers. I made this for lunch today and it took me all of 15 minutes...that was with my little girl at my legs, then wanting up to see what I was doing, then needing a diaper change.....it went on and on, as usual. 

I made this and shared this with my little girl today and we both just loved it!!! This time of year the local produce is so abundant! So many beautiful fruits and veggies to choose from!! It is my favourite time of year.  

Loving Leftovers!

1/2 cup cooked brown rice or quinoa or other whole grain 

1 tsp coconut oil or sesame oil

handful chopped chicken (can also use beans here for a veg option)

a sprinkle of organic tamari

1 cup or more of leftover veggies (or freshly steamed) - here I have cauliflower, yellow zucchini, sweet potato, asparagus and broccoli, all roasted and local

1-2 tbsp of sauerkraut*

1 tbsp of hemp, sesame or sunflower seeds

chopped fresh herbs - i used cilantro here 

Preheat oven to 300F. Put veggies in a oven safe dish, sprinkle with some olive oil and place in the preheated oven. Only takes about 15 minutes to warm through.

While the veggies are warming sauté brown rice and chicken is coconut oil to warm. Add tamari

Place the rice mixture in  bowl. Top with veggies, then sauerkraut, seeds and fresh herbs. 

Enjoy!!! And get creative. The possibilities are endless with this dish. Use whatever you have on hand!

*I make my own sauerkraut. If you don't want to (I totally understand) make your own than I encourage you to get the high quality stuff from your local health food store. I like Eden Organic. The ingredients are cabbage and salt. Pure, simple, delicious and oh so good for you!