Archive: March 2012

Start Your Day Right: High Energy Breakfast Ideas

Stop skipping breakfast once and for all! Make yourself up one of these fantastic breakfasts and go forth and conquer your day.

A Green Smoothie will perk you up so much you won’t even need your morning java. This ultra nutritious Easy Green Smoothie will fill you right up.

Make your own healthy Granola and you control what goes into it. Namely, considerably less sweetener than store-bought options – and hold the refined sugar please! Try this tasty Almond Ginger Granola with berries to charge you up.

Super-Powered Porridge – here’s one made with Millet, but feel free to use any grain you like (oats, quinoa, buckwheat, amaranth, rice) and add any or all of the following for extra energy: soaked goji berries, walnuts, pecans, hemp seeds, chia seeds, raw cacao, maca, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, sunflower seeds, ground flaxseed, a dash of bee pollen, cinnamon, or cardamom.

Beans and Rice for breakfast is about as hearty as it gets. A bowl of these energy powerhouses will keep you going til lunch for sure. Add some greens or steamed veggies and you’ve got a breakfast of champions.

Pancakes of the regular, food-coma inducing variety aren’t gonna cut it here. But these Cinnamon Chocolate Banana Pancakes are about as good as it gets. The banana makes them so sweet that you’ll need to resist the urge to drench them in maple syrup.

+ Erin
P 03/30/2012
t Blog, Breakfast
9 No Comments

Green Smoothie Breakdown

That little jar of bright-green goodness will zing you wide-awake better than a coffee. I used to require coffee every morning to deactivate zombie-mode. Now I drink these delicious smoothies and I’m good to go! Tons of energy! Tons of green!

So good.

And to me, it’s a huge added bonus that I’m getting LOADS of raw, live, veggie nutrients and goodness first thing in the morning. Mmmm.

It’s fun to see how much of this you can squeeze in your blender. Sometimes I drink a half litre smoothie. Sometimes I’m hardcore and I take down a whole litre.

That’s a lotta green!

I like to tell people to start with spinach cause it’s milder tasting than say, kale or chard. Romaine is another heavy hitter on rotation in our fridge. And when I say rotation, I mean rotation. Rotate your greens every week or so because each different green has trace amounts of alkaloids. Varying your selection of greens helps make it easier for your body to detoxify the alkaloids.

The “green” flavour is easy to mask with a pear, or a banana. Sometimes I toss in an apple, or some blueberries (that’ll turn your smoothie brown though, but still delicious and nutritious).

I always add some lemon (with the skin and the seeds, they won’t hurt you – don’t do this with orange or grapefruit though, no skin for those badboys) cause I like things tart. Also, sour helps mask the taste of bitter greens better than sweet does, so instead of adding more fruit or sweetener, a squeeze of lemon goes a long way.

Then I toss in some extras. Because variety is the spice of life… and I like to see how much I can get into my $10 garage sale blender.

Give your belly a warning of what’s to come and chew your smoothies for ultimate digestion. Sounds ridiculous, but it gets your body ready to break up and assimilate all that nutritious goodness.

Wide Awake Green Smoothie (makes 1 litre)

1-2 large handfuls greens (spinach, chard, kale, romaine)
1/2 banana
1 pear or apple, cored
1/2 lemon (start with 1/4 if you want it sweeter)
1 cup Almond Milk (more depending on how thick you like your smoothies, you can also use water)

Extras:
1/2 an avocado or some flax oil will make your smoothie creamy!
1 tbsp Hemp seeds
1 tbsp Chia seeds
1 tbsp ground flaxseed
1 tsp Bee pollen
2 tbsp rehydrated Goji berries
1 tsp Maca powder
1 tsp spirulina
1 tsp Raw Cacao powder
2-3 drops stevia
1/4-1/2 cup oatmeal
plums, peaches, berries

+ Erin
P 03/20/2012
t Blog, Breakfast, Gluten-Free, How-to, Vegan
9 No Comments

lentil bean squash sweet pepper stew (9)b

Lentil and Black Bean Stew with Squash and Sweet Peppers

I wish you could smell this right now.

But then I might have to fight you off… Cause it’s just that good. Promise.

It all started with a lonely delicata squash. It was calling my name, begging me to roast it with some thyme, nutmeg and olive oil. It urged me to toss it in a pot with some black beans.

I obliged.

What started out as squash and beans quickly met lentils and sweet red bell peppers. I tossed in some carrots and celery for good stew-ey measure. And lots of onions. Mmm. This is a versatile dish. You could use whatever beans and squash you have on hand, and I imagine it would taste delicious with just about any veggies you have in your fridge. I used French green lentils, but regular green lentils would work just fine, though the red ones will turn into mush if you stew them.

And how could I forget the can of coconut milk I threw in?! I feel like that is my go-to addition of late. Just toss in some coconut milk. Together with the squash, it gives the stew a delightfully sweet flavour, just right for a chilly autumn evening.

Leave those squash skins on! They contain lots of fiber and nutrients and Delicata has a delicata skin. Ha. Sorry. But really, roast it for about 25 minutes at 350F or just until you can poke through the skin easily and it’s done!

LENTIL AND BLACK BEAN STEW WITH SQUASH AND SWEET PEPPERS
Makes 10 Servings

2 tbsp olive oil
2 onions, chopped
6 cloves of garlic, chopped
3 tbsp chili powder
1 tbsp coriander
1 tbsp oregano (Mexican if you have it)
1 tsp nutmeg
1 (24oz) large can tomato sauce (if I had fresh or canned tomatoes, I would have used them in an equivalent amount and added 1 heaping tbsp of tomato paste for more tomatoey flavour)
4 medium carrots, chopped
4 stalks celery, chopped
2 red sweet pointed peppers (or regular red bell peppers), chopped
1 large delicata squash, chopped (optional: sprinkle with thyme, nutmeg, and olive oil and bake for 25 mins at 350F)
2 cups french green lentils (more if you want a thicker stew)
1 can black beans, rinsed
salt and pepper to taste
cilantro, chopped for garnish

Heat oil in a big pot. Add onions and cook 5 mins. Add garlic and cook 2 mins.

Stir in chili powder, coriander, and nutmeg and cook for another 2 mins.

Add tomato sauce, lentils, carrots, celery, squash (if not roasted) and 10 cups of water. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to simmer for 25 mins.

Add black beans, squash (if roasted), and red peppers. Adjust to desired thickness by adding more water, if needed. Simmer for 15 more mins or until the lentils and veggies are tender.

Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve with cilantro and lime wedges.

+ Erin
P 03/12/2012
t Blog, Dinner, Gluten-Free, Vegan
9 No Comments

Superpowered Kale Salad

Hail kale, the king of vegetables! This dark, leafy green is packed full of nutrients, including vitamins A, C, and K, minerals manganese and calcium, and antioxidants beta carotene and lutein. You can steam it, blanch it, saute it, or bake it (kale chips!)… OR you can massage it with some lemon and oil and have a delicious and nutritious raw kale salad. The lemon will help break down its tough, chewy fibers making it easier to digest.

SUPERPOWERED KALE SALAD

2 bunches kale de-stemmed and cut into ribbons (I prefer flat-leaved dinosaur kale, but you can also use curly-leaved varieties)
Juice of 1/2-1 lemon, freshly squeezed (depending on how tart you want the dressing)
1/4 cup olive oil
1-2 cloves garlic, minced
Pinch of salt

Massage above ingredients together. Really get in there with your hands and give it a good squeeze-down. You should be able to work it down to about half its original size. Let it sit for 20-30 minutes, give it a good toss, and add any salad toppings you like.

Here are some super-salad extras, toss them in at the end once the salad has marinated:

Soaked goji berries, blueberries, shredded carrot, shredded raw beets, shredded raw turnips, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, hemp seeds, slivered almonds, sprouts, peppers, tomatoes, broccoli florets, shaved fennel, the possibilities are endless!!!

This salad will keep overnight, but it’s best to eat fresh or the next day.