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??

Lemony Lemon Soup

Hi there,
Sorry it has been so long since I have posted. I have been busy cooking up a storm, holiday parties and I still have to work with all of that going on :). Life gets busy as we get closer and closer to the holidays. I am sure many of you are in the same boat right about now!
Anyhoo, today I came home and felt like some warming lentil soup. It is chilly outside here in the GTA and I thought what better time to whip up a fresh batch of wholesome lentil soup. I love cooking without a recipe. It is so much fun and you never know what you are going to come up with!
I felt like having something with a lemon zing to it, so here is what I came up with.

LEMONY LENTIL SOUP
1 onion, chopped
2 tsp butter
Saute onions over medium low in butter until translucent. For about 5 minutes.
2 carrots, chopped
3 celery stalks
3 cloves of garlic
Add the carrots, celery and garlic. Saute for another 3 minutes.
Then add;
1/2 cup red lentils
1 container of low sodium organic vegetable broth
Season with sea salt and pepper
Bring to a simmer and cover for 15 minutes.
2 cups of chopped swiss chard
1/2 juice of 1 lemon
The zest of 1 lemon
Add chard, lemon juice and zest. Stir until chard is slightly wilted.
ENJOY~
This soup is absolutely delish....if i do say so myself :)

Creamy Miso Dressing

Here is another way to get the nourishing benefits of miso into your diet. See my previous post to learn some of the health benefits of miso and get my miso soup recipe.

This recipe is slightly adapted from Get It Ripe, By Jae Steele. Jae Steele is a local nutritionist who is also a vegan. Her two cookbooks are great learning tools on how to do vegan RIGHT! There is a big difference between being vegan and being a healthy vegan.

Even if you are not vegan (which i am not) it is important for the health of our bodies and the health of the environment to enjoy vegan or vegetarian meals on a regular basis. Jae Steele's recipes show us that we can eat vegan foods that are healthy and taste great....with a focus on eating locally and sustainably!

Check out her blog here; http://domesticaffair.blogspot.com/

I am sure once you try this amazing dressing you will no longer want to buy the stuff off the shelf. It is creamy, tangy, and delicious! ENJOY!

1 tbsp traditionally fermented miso (find at your local health food store)
1 tbsp cashew or almond butter
1 tbsp agave syrup or honey (honey would not be vegan)
1 tbsp tamari soy sauce
1 garlic clove
1/4 cup flax or hemp oil
1/2 cup olive oil
1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
Place all ingredients in a blender and blend until well combined. Store the extras in a glass jar!

Veggielicious Miso Soup

Miso is a true superfood in my eyes. What the heck is it, you might ask? Miso is a fermented soy bean paste that is delightfully delicious and super healthy for you. Move over chicken soup when you are feeling under the weather..... and say hello to miso soup. I still am a huge fan of good 'ol chicken soup anytime especially when you are feeling under the weather but miso soup is also a great alternative for vegetarians or those who want to shake things up and add some variety. The best part = it is much easier to make!

Here are some of miso's nutritional highlights;

• Antiviral -- miso is very alkalizing and strengthening to the immune system helping to combat a viral infection.
• Natural source of healthy bacteria which is essential for a healthy digestive and immune system
• Great source of Zinc; important for immune health, prostate health, etc.
• High in many health supporting nutrients; protein, vitamin B12, vitamin B2, vitamin E, vitamin K, tryptophan, choline, dietary fiber, linoleic acid and lecithin.
• Can help ease menopausal symptoms due to the natural phytoestrogens

The important thing when purchasing miso is to look for a organic and naturally fermented variety. I recommend going to your local health food store to buy miso. Also, the darker the miso paste the more intense the flavour. I have a very dark miso paste at home but if you are just trying it for the 1st time you might want to get a lighter variety.

Veggielicious Miso Soup
1 1/2 cups of veggie broth (use homemade or low sodium Imagine Soup Vegetable Broth)

1/2 cup of veggies of choice ( I use carrots and cabbage, julienne sliced)
2 shiitake mushrooms, diced
2 green onions, chopped
1 tsp of coconut oil or sesame oil
1 tbsp of high quality organic miso


Bring broth to a soft boil. Turn down to a simmer. Place your veggies in the broth. Allow to simmer for about 5 minutes or so until veggies are soft. Take off heat. Add 1 tsp of oil and miso. Stir well until miso is dissolved. Enjoy!

SHARE WITH ME ~ What is your favorite warming soup during these cooler months of the year???

Last of the pumpkin craze....

First of all I would like to clear something up. Remember in my previous post, I had said that pumpkins do not taste good on their own?? I went on to say that they need some sweetness to be palatable. Well, I am here to tell you that I take it back!! I roasted my own pumpkin (yes, and it is really not that hard), pureed it, tried it on its own and it was delicious!! I enjoyed a big 'ol bowl of it this week and am going to get some more pumpkin to enjoy it again! The only pumpkin I had tried on its own in the past was canned pumpkin and while canned pumpkin is okay to use in recipes...it is not the same as freshly roasted pumpkins. Learn how easy it is to roast your own pumpkin here!!! I highly recommend trying it! And with Halloween being this weekend, what better time to try roasting your own pumpkin with the family?? And don't forget about the nourishing and tasty pumpkin seeds.

Okay, for all of you crazy pumpkin 'like minded' people like me out there.......I have my final pumpkin recipe coming but first I want to share with you a few of my fellow Blogger's amazing pumpkin ideas;

1.Pumpkin Porrage from the creative Meghan Telpner

2. Roasted Pumpkin Medley...another one from Meghan Telpner
3.Pumpkin Pie Ice Cream from the gluten free goddess @ Elana's Pantry
4.Chocolate Pumpkin Pots (yes chocolate and pumpkin..Mmmm) by the lovely Ricki Heller

Okay now for my recipe. I was looking for a pumpkin pie type dessert without all of the added sugar and calories and here is what I came up with.

Crustless Pumpkin Pie



1/2 cup of pumpkin puree (you can make you own or purchase)
1 heaping tsp of pumpkin pie spice (check out Meghan Telpners Pumpkin porrage recipe to get the recipe for pumpkin pie spice...see above)
1 egg
1 tbsp of pure maple syrup or 10 drops of stevia (or 2 tbsp of maple syrup)
1 tsp vanilla extract
½ cup of light or full fat coconut milk ( I used light this time because I wanted something light....but go ahead and use the full fat)

Pre-heat oven to 350F.

Set a pot of water on the stove to bring to a boil.

Combine pumpkin and spices in one bowl. In a separate bowl, beat eggs and add the rest of the ingredients and mix.
Whisk the egg mixture with the pumpkin mixture.
Pour custard into 3 ramekins (1/2 cup). Place ramekins in a deep baking pan. Add water to cover ½ of the ramekins. Carefully place in the oven and bake for 1 hour + 10 minutes or until firm.
Serve warm or chilled.

Share with me!!! What are you doing to make this Halloween weekend just a touch healthier for you and your family???

Pumpkin Loving Smoothie

I promised another amazing pumpkin recipe and here it is.....
If you are a fan of pumpkin pie, this smoothie is sure to please. It is sweet, fragrant, creamy and delicious all in one cup! Pumpkins are low in calories, high in fiber and beta carotene. This is a great way to enjoy pumpkin without all of the added sugar and calories that is in pumpkin pie, custards and cheesecakes. With this smoothie you are getting all of that pumpkin goodness without affecting your waist line!

½ banana
1 tsp pumpkin spice (or mixture of ginger, cinnamon and nutmeg)
¼ cup pumpkin puree
1 cup almond milk
1 serving of vanilla protein powder


Blend all ingredients; expect protein powder until well blended. Add the protein powder, pulse until mixed in. Enjoy!


One more amazing pumpkin recipe to come! Stay tuned!!!!

Share with me in the comments section below! What is your favorite thing to do at this time of year??? It could be about food (like enjoying amazing pumpkin recipes), something you like to do outdoors, halloween related, etc.

Always enjoy hearing your comments and feedback!