Mango and Goji Berry Smoothie

I first would like to thank you all for your kind words through email, facebook and my blog. I have the best clients and blog followers ever. I look forward to keeping you updated through one of the most important times of my life. As I said in my previous post, I am truly thrilled (and truthfully a bit nervous....but more excited) about being a Mom.

My partner Todd and I felt the baby kicking for the 1st time on Friday night. What an amazing experience!

Now back to food;


This smoothie has it all; it is a great source of antioxidants, protein and tastes good too. Mangos, goji berries and acai berries are full of antioxidants that keep our bodies healthy.

Goji berries in particular are nutritional powerhouses; containing 21 or more trace minerals (including zinc, iron, copper, calcium, geranium and selenium to name a few) as well as vitamins B1, B2, B6, and vitamin E. Many of us know blueberries are a great source of antioxidants and they are, however goji berries contain 2-4 times the antioxidants as blueberries. Enjoy this amazingly tasty smoothie and your cells will thank you!

 Ingredients

• 1 cup mango (I used frozen)
• 2 tbsp dried goji berries
• 1 tsp acai berry powder (totally optional)
• 1 tsp of chia seeds
• 1 cup almond milk (homemade or Blue Diamond Vanilla Unsweetened)
• 1 serving of high quality vanilla protein powder


Place mango, goji berries, acai powder, chia seeds and almond milk in a blender and blend until smooth. Stop blender and add protein powder and pulse to combine! Enjoy!

SHARE WITH ME!

What are your favorite smoothie ingredients that  are not that common??

EXCITING NEWS!

Good morning to all of my amazing blog followers. I am writing this post to share some exciting news with all of you! I AM PREGNANT!! I will be 19 weeks tomorrow. My partner Todd and I are super excited!

This is from my 1st ultrasound at about 11 weeks. I will be going for my 2nd one this Friday. Am very excited to see my growing baby again :O)

Seeing the heartbeat was probably the most exciting moment so far!

Has anyone had any experience with Hypnobirthing?? I am thinking about signing up for the course and would love feedback from anyone who has experience with it.

Raw sushi

I love sushi. However, not just any sushi. I love my homemade sushi. I often boil up some short grain rice (that becomes sticky when cooked; like sushi rice) and season it with some rice vinegar, a touch of honey or agave syrup and some tamari, then roll it up with some of my favorite veggies and a slice of avocado of course. I love the fact that I can be so creative with it and add whatever I have on hand. I also like that I can adjust the seasoning to how I like it.
This sushi recipe is a much different take on traditional sushi but still a personal favorite. It has such great flavour and interesting textures. Enjoy!

All ingredients are optional, use what you have on hand;
Carrots, julienne sliced
Red peppers, julienne sliced
Cucumber, julienne sliced
Green onions, julienne sliced
2 nori wraps
½ cup or so of the veggie pate or hummus or any other bean (although it would not longer be raw) or nut dip
Other ideas include; grated beets, avocados, asparagus, etc.

1. Spread a couple spoonfuls of the pate on the nori sheet, leaving about ¾ inch at the edges closest and furthest from you.

2. Place a small amount of the veggies in a line close to the bottom of the sheet.
3. Using a sushi mat, or by hand, roll the sushi from the bottom edge. Try to keep it as tight as even as possible. Moisten the edge of the nori to seal, if needed
4. Cut each roll about 2cm think with a serrated knife (or a sushi knife if you have one....what a great tool).
5. Enjoy! Serve with all the fixens you normally like with sushi such as soy sauce, wasabi, pickled ginger, etc.

Veggie Pate

Slightly adapted from Caroline Duponts, Enlightened Eating

1 cup of sunflower seeds, soaked overnight and then rinsed

1 medium carrot
1 medium celery stalk
½ lemon, juiced + zest
1 tbsp mellow miso
1 garlic clove
Handful of fresh basil

Place ingredients in a food processor and pulse until smooth. You will need to stop a few times and scrape down sides with a spatula.
This pate is great for raw sushi, served with whole grain crackers or raw veggies.

Share with me!

What are your favorite sushi ingredients or toppings???

Winging it Soup Style

Well, it is Thursday afternoon and let me tell ya, I have been cooking up a storm today. I have many recipes to come, so stay tuned :O) Since the weather is pretty chilly out there I will share my warming soup today.

First I have to fill you in on what inspired this lovely soup. Last week I headed off to St Lucia on a yoga/wellness retreat hosted by the lovely Meghan Telpner. It was a trip I will never forget. I went by myself knowing that there would be 10 other like minded people there to meet. It was wonderful. The host Meghan, is a delightful and passionate colleague of mine, the guests were a bunch of strong dynamic women, the place was beautiful, the weather was hot and the food was amazing......and healthy too. Having food allergies it can make eating a bit of a challenge on vacation. This was the first vacation that I have been on where food was a non-issue and I enjoyed every bite of everything that past my lips. For more information on the retreat go to www.meghantelpner.com. If you are looking to nourish yourself in every way, you might was to consider this for next year.

Beautful picture of one of the many beaches we went to.
Now back to the soup.....

Here is what I started out with. I didn't end up putting the shittake mushrooms in the soup.

There are really only 2 vegetables that I can say I don’t enjoy that much. I will still eat them but they are just not my favourite. They are mustard greens and okra. While enjoying a beautiful dinner with the amazing ladies in St Lucia, we were served a soup with the main star being okra and guess what....It was delicious. I loved it. And I was not the only lady around the table who was not in love with this nourishing vegetable to begin with but loved the soup.

So now I have been back in town for a few days now and I decided I had to take a stab at making a soup with okra. Not having a recipe, I was winging it soup style this morning. So here is what I came up with;


1 onion
2 tbsp olive oil
2 carrots
3 celery stalks
1 cup of chopped okra
½ large or 1 small sweet potato, peeled and chopped
6 garlic cloves
1-2 tbsp of tamari
1 tsp sage
1 cup of green lentils
8 cups of H2O
3-4 handfuls of spinach
½ cup coconut milk (optional)
1 tsp fish sauce (optional)
1-2 tbsp of fresh lemon juice (optional)


Sauté onion in olive oil over medium heat for 5 minutes until softened. Add in carrots, celery, okra, sweet potato, garlic, tamari green lentils and sage. Sauté for another 5 minutes. Then add H2O.
Bring to a boil, and then reduce heat to a simmer. Simmer for 40 minutes or so. Until lentils and vegetables are softened.
Before serving add spinach, coconut milk, fish sauce and lemon juice. Turn heat off and cover for about 5 minutes. Enjoy!

NOTE: the coconut milk, fish sauce and lemon juice are 100% optional. The soup tasted great before the additions. These ingredients just add a bit more depth to the broth.


Here are a few of the amazing health benefits of okra:


• Great source of vitamin C, a well known antioxidant. Critical for a healthy immune system.


• The fiber in okra aids in blood sugar regulation by slowing down sugar absorption. Keeping your energy levels high and consistent.


• If you have ever cooked with okra you see how slimy it is. Well guess what?? That slimy part is great for the digestive system. It promotes healthy bowel movements.


• Okra is a superstar vegetable for those who need to reduce cholesterol levels. The fiber in okra binds to cholesterol and pulls it out your body via your stools.

• The unique fiber in okra promotes healthy bacteria in your gut. The healthy bacteria in your gut is important for a healthy immune system, is responsible for the production of important vitamins and keeps our digestive system happy.
 

P.S. Still working on the mustard greens. Any ideas??

Share with me....

What are your least favourite veggies?? And have you found ways to prepare them that makes you like them??

The coconut milk gives the broth a slightly odd color but it sure does make it taste great.

Super Easy Chocolate Chunk Peanut Butter Cookies

So, last post I promised to share my delicious cookie recipe that I made with my nephew on the weekend. Chocolate Chunk Peanut Butter (organic of course) Cookies. Let me be the first to tell ya, they were delish and super easy to make. My nephew was a huge fan.
I don't often have my nephew over for sleepovers, so when I do I like to get cooking with him. It is so much fun to get his little hands involved. And the best part is that he really enjoys it.
These cookies are the easiest cookies I have ever made. Here is the super easy recipe;

1 cup of Maranatha Organic Peanut Butter
1 cup of organic coconut sugar (can now be found at the Bulk Barn, I purchased mine from the health food store)
1 organic or free range omega 3 egg 
1 tsp of pure vanilla extract
1 dark chocolate bar with 80% cacao

Preheat oven to 350F.
Place first four ingredients into a bowl. Mix well......or get your 5 year old nephew to mix well :O)
Then mix in the chopped up chocolate
Line baking sheet with parchment paper.
Using a tbsp measurement, place the cookie dough on the cookie sheet. I used a fork to press down...totally optional, just makes them look the way I always remember peanut butter cookies. 
Bake in the oven for about 12-15 minutes until done. 
Let cool and enjoy with a nice cup of tea, almond milk or any other milk you like to enjoy!

Sneaky tomato sauce with organic chicken meatballs

This weekend I had my five year old nephew over. It was supposed to be only Friday night but we were having so much fun that it ended up being 2 nights.

My first nights dinner was not much of a hit for the little guy. I made shish kebabs with a homemade teriyaki sauce served with roasted sweet potato. He was not a big fan but still eat it....it just took a really long time.

Before I knew it we were getting close to dinner #2 and I wanted it to be something that he enjoyed but was also packed full of good nutrition. So I made homemade organic meatballs in a veggie rich tomato sauce with kamut pasta. As we were eating he let me know that he like this meal better than the night before :O)

When we were finished dinner we decided to bake some cookies (something we do together almost every time he stays over). Our baking that we do is always made with the healthiest ingredients of course. One of his favourites is my Flourless Brownies but I decided to try something a bit different this time so we made super easy chocolate chunk peanut butter cookies made with 80% chocolate.


Sneaky tomato sauce

2 grated broccoli stalks (remove the fibrous outer part before grating)
1 large grated carrot
1 zucchini, chopped finely
½ red onion, finely diced
1 tbsp of olive oil
2 garlic cloves, mashed
1 bottle of high quality organic tomato sauce (or homemade is always great….just had some time restraints as we were really busy playing :)

Saute all the vegetables in olive oil over medium-low heat, except garlic (I always add in the last minute to avoid burning it) for 5 minutes or until softened.
Add garlic for another minute.
Place vegetables in a blender and add tomato sauce. Blend until you cannot tell that the sauce is so veggielicious!
Pour back into the pot and simmer for about 20-30 minutes on low heat!

Organic Chicken Meatballs

2 tsp olive oil
½ red onion, finely diced
2 celery stalks, finely diced
1 carrot grated
2-3 garlic cloves
½ cup of crushed brown rice crackers (or any other whole grain cracker)
1 package of organic ground chicken

Saute onions, celery and carrots in olive oil on medium-low heat for about 5 minutes until softened. Add garlic and sauté for another minute or two
Let this mixture cool.
Place ground crackers and chicken in a large bowl. Add vegetable mixture and mix together with your hands.
Line cookie sheet with parchment paper. Roll meat mixture into balls.

Bake in the oven at 350 for about 20 minutes or until done. It will depend on the size of your meatballs.

Kamut (or other whole grain) Pasta
Cook according to package directions.

Place the cooked kamut pasta in a bowl, top with tomato sauce and add a few meatballs.
Enjoy!!
I served this with some cut up red peppers on the side!

Please stay tuned for the Chunky Chocolate Peanut butter Cookies!

SHARE WITH ME!! Do you have any tips or tricks to get more veggies into your kids or grandchildren or nieces and nephews?? Or just any ol’ kid in your life.

Would love to hear from you!

Cleansing Greens...

Happy New Year to all of my lovely blog readers! Hope you all enjoyed a lovely holiday season with your friends and family!! I know I did. I am looking forward to getting back on track with my blog and bringing you a wealth of healthy information!!


I don’t know about you...but I might have had a few indulgences over the holidays. Yes, nutritionists indulge sometimes. I think the difference between my indulgences now and before I became a nutritionist is that now my treats tend to be on the healthy side. For example, my holiday treat is 80% dark chocolate which is jam packed full of antioxidants and a great source of magnesium. I love it. It is a staple in my diet but I have to say that this holiday season I might have had a few extra pieces and maybe an extra helping of sweet potatoes ;O)

So now that the holidays are past I am looking for lighter food that are cleansing. Greens are a great way to go. I made this recipe for my family over the holidays and I made them lovers of dark leafy greens when they thought they didn’t like greens. I can’t get enough of this recipe I have been making it at least a couple times per week.

Dark leafy greens are nutritional powerhouses. These low calorie vegetables are jam packed with an assortment of nutrients including vitamin A, C, E, K, folate (really important for women of child bearing years), calcium, magnesium and antioxidants, to name a few. Add them to your diet and you will reap the health benefits. Trust me! Types of leafy green vegetables include watercress, arugula, dandelion greens, kale, spinach, collard greens, beet greens, mustard greens, broccoli raab, bok choy, and swiss chard. My favorites are dinosaur kale, beet greens and swiss chard.

Here is the simple and tasty way to get those dark green veggies into your diet

2 shallots, diced
1 tbsp Olive oil
1 bunch of kale or collards or beet greens or chard
1 garlic clove, diced finely as possible
½ juice of 1 lemon
Sea salt to taste

Sauté shallots in olive oil for about 5 minutes on medium/low heat until slightly caramelized.
Add garlic and greens to the pan. Cover and let cook for about 2-3 minutes until greens are softened.
Finish with ½ juice of 1 lemon, freshly squeezed and sea salt to taste.
Enjoy!!

These greens are so yummy; I am known to eat the whole batch. I dare you to try!

Share with me....What did you indulge in this holiday season??