Author Archives: elaine

Real Food in the City…the Saga Continues

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Soup & Salad Combo at Hibiscus in Kensington Market.

For the second time this week!

Today the soup was butternut squash with parsnip, and I ordered the “works” for my salad. Hold the tofu and bean medley though please!

Those translucent looking things on my salad are kelp noodles, in case you were wondering. Yum! I actually just picked up a bag earlier from the health food store to sprinkle on my salads at home.

Perfect late lunch/early dinner for this cool Fall afternoon.

Happy Friday!

xo Elaine

Blueberry & Greens Avocado Smoothie

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Have you ever made a smoothie with an avocado?

It makes it so rich and creamy that is negates the need for any type of milk to thicken things up.

Here’s my favourite smoothie as of late…

I drank (or ate might be a better description) this glass of deliciousness all throughout the summer when fresh blueberries were in season, and now that we’re well into the Fall I’ve been using the local blueberries that I stored away in my freezer.

I entered the below recipe in the Organic Week Breakfast Challenge over at www.organicweek.ca. This week is organic week all across Canada (in case you didn’t know)!

*Blueberry and Greens Avocado Smoothie (Recipe)
*All ingredients are organic and/or local
1 cup of frozen blueberries
2 handfuls of baby spinach
1/2 an avocado
1 cup of filtered water
Cinnamon and a touch of raw honey to taste (or stevia)

Blend and serve.

If greens aren’t your thing you won’t even taste them. This recipe is kid approved too!

Slurp’s Up!

Comforting Sweet Potato and Carrot Soup (Raw Recipe)

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I love this soup.

Brimming with vitality, this soup is chock-full of enzymes, vitamins and minerals in their most useable forms. It’s the perfect addition to a meal or enjoyed out of a mug for a light and energizing snack.

Despite the fact that it’s a raw (non-cooked) soup it is actually still quite comforting and perfect for cool autumn weather. The addition of ginger and cinnamon spice it up and give it a warming effect in the body.

Comforting Sweet Potato and Carrot Soup (Raw Recipe)

4 cups of fresh carrot juice

1 large sweet potato peeled and cut into chunks

1 small avocado (or half a large one)

½ tsp of grated ginger

½ tsp of cinnamon

Stevia to taste (4-5 drops) – optional

Blend all ingredients in a high-speed blender. Serve immediately or store in the fridge in an airtight container for later. Do not heat.

Note: This recipe was inspired and adapted from Natalia Rose’s Pumpkin Pie in a Bowl Recipe from her book Detox for Women.

Hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I do.

 

Love,

Elaine

Pssst…Exciting News (This just in!)

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Hello Everyone!

I’m super excited to announce that starting this week I officially have clinic hours at Cantadora Naturopathic Health Centre located on Ossington Avenue here in Toronto. I’m thrilled to be part of an all-star team of female health practitioners – 2 naturopathic doctors, 2 registered massage therapists, an osteopath and an aromatherapist. I’ll be joining as the resident nutritionist. If you’re ever in the area, pop your head in and say hi! I’m just getting set-up so I don’t have a set schedule as of yet but there’s a good chance I may be inside:) For more info on the clinic and the services you can check out the clinic website. We’re having our annual open house on Saturday October 1st from 4pm until 8pm as an opportunity for people to come in and meet the team and enjoy complimentary mini-treatments and consultations. It’s going to be a bit of a pre Nuit Blanche affair. For those of you who are familiar with it, Nuit Blanche is an annual all-night celebration of contemporary art here in Toronto. We might even have a friend of the clinic come in and do a mini art installation during the open house. How fun! More details to come but mark the date in your calendar.

Just as a side note, I’ll still be seeing clients outside the clinic for those who are unable to make it in, along with skyping for those who live far away!

Here are a few pics of the clinic that I snapped with my camera yesterday. I’ll take some more of the inside later.

View from outside

Did I mention that the clinic is also across the street from one of my favorite restos? This could be dangerous;)

Hope you come visit me!

Elaine

Garlic Roasted Cauliflower (3 in 1 Recipe)

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Cauliflower.

Not the most popular of vegetables, and definitely not at the top of most grocery lists. People either seem to like it or they don’t. It’s never one of the first crudités to get gobbled up on the veggie tray at a party, nor does it often get packed in the school lunch among the carrot and celery sticks.

Strangely enough, when I was a kid it was one of my favourite veggies. And it wasn’t because I knew it came from the family of cancer-fighting cruciferous veggies, or that it was rich in Vitamins C & K, Folic Acid, Potassium and phytonutrients such as indole-3-carbinol and quercetin among others. If only I knew then what I know now I may have convinced all my little kiddo friends to reevaluate their feelings about cauliflower and give it the chance it truly deserved.

Although cauliflower can be enjoyed raw, especially when paired with a really delicious dip such as hummus, I find most people are won over by its taste when they try it in one of its many cooked forms.

Here’s a classic recipe that is super-duper easy to prepare. It can be eaten in its basic form or taken a step further in a few different directions to create two additional tasty dishes that can be added to your weekly arsenal of recipes!

Garlic Roasted Cauliflower

1 head of cauliflower

1 ½ tbsps of Extra Virgin Olive Oil

2-3 cloves of garlic minced

*Pecorino Romano grated (optional)

(*A hard cheese made from sheep’s milk that is often used interchangeably with parmesan)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375 F

Cut the cauliflower into florets and toss it with the olive oil and minced garlic in a casserole dish.

Place in oven for approx 20 minutes.

Remove from oven and top with grated Pecorino Romano (approx 2 tbsps)

Place back in oven under broiler for 3-5 minutes so cheese melts.

Serve up!

Garlic Roasted Cauliflower

Or…take the recipe one step further and create a delicious and healthier substitute for mashed potatoes (same same but different…and better!!!)

Garlic Roasted Cauliflower Mash

Repeat the same steps as above but place the final product into a blender omitting the Pecorino Romano.

Add ¼ cup liquid of your choice for a creamy texture. For a really creamy texture reminiscent of mashed potatoes I suggest adding 100% pure organic cream, or you can add your own dairy substitute of choice.

Add 1 tbsp of chopped chives or thyme.

Blend all ingredients in a high-speed blender or food processor until it is the consistency of mashed potatoes.

Serve and enjoy!

Or, if you’re craving a warming bowl of soup…

Garlic Roasted Cauliflower Soup

Make the original recipe but omit the second step where you top with grated cheese.

Put the final product in the blender (as with the “mash” recipe) with the addition of 3-4 cups of veggie broth (more or less depending on the consistency of soup you desire).

Blend until smooth.

Pour into serving bowls and top with grated Pecorino Romano and/or chopped herbs of choice (both optional).

Here’s to cancer-fighting cauliflower in all its delicious forms!

Elaine

Embracing your inner Beach Babe (A recipe for the locks!)

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Bettie Page

I realize that the end of summer is fast approaching and our days of lying around on the beach are unfortunately limited. However, it never occurred to me until just the other day when a few of my lady friends asked me how I pulled off my “wavy beach” hair that I even considered writing a post about it or sharing my DIY recipe.

This goes out to all my sisters, the ones who want to rock the beach babe look all year round regardless of ever stepping foot on a beach. Perhaps you have dead-straight hair and wanna give it a little added oomph, or maybe you have that “in-between” type hair, not quite straight but not quite perfectly wavy either and you need a little “somethin somethin” to help it along. I fit into this latter category.

For the summertime I am much of a “wash and go” type of girl, for two reasons mainly. One – I basically boycott my hairdryer as it is waaayyy too hot in my non air-conditioned apartment to turn the thing on, and two – I can’t be bothered to put in the time or energy to blow-dry it out nicely. I’d much rather be out in the sunshine.

A few months ago when I saw a “beach-wave” hair spray in the beauty section of one of my favourite health-food stores, I have to say I got a little excited. I had my eye out for one for a while, but most of the sprays I had seen previously contained other questionable ingredients that I didn’t feel comfortable spraying on my hair. I flipped it over to see what the ingredients were in this more natural brand…water, sea salt and lavender oil - that’s it!! I knew I could replicate it at home without paying the $20 price tag so that’s exactly what I did.

After doing a little research on the web here’s the recipe I came up with.

I should also mention that this spray works better if you already have a little natural wave in your hair.

DIY: Beach Babe Hair Mist

1 cup of filtered water (room temp or warm)

1 tbsp of sea salt

10 drops of lavender essential oil*

A spray bottle that holds at least 8 fl oz

If you have a larger spray bottle feel free to double the recipe

* The oil helps to add softness and shine to your hair while minimizing the drying effects of the sea salt. It also makes your hair smell perty! You can add other essential oils if you don’t dig the smell of lavender.

Instructions:

Pour all ingredients into the bottle using a funnel to avoid spills. Give it a shake and spritz over damp hair. Create more defined waves by scrunching your hair and twisting sections into ropes with your fingers.

I also use this spray on dry hair in between washes. Seeing as I only like to wash my hair a few days a week, a few spritzes of this helps to freshen it up with the smell of natural lavender and re-texturize loose waves.

Here’s to being a beach babe all year round!

Elaine

Cranberry Seed Hippy Granola for Kids and Life Lessons Learned in the Kitchen

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I always like getting adventurous in the kitchen, and yesterday Sunday afternoon I set out to do just that! My mission was to create a healthy nut-free granola bar for school lunches, chock full of nutritious goodness that children would love. A recipe that even the busiest parent could muster up the time and energy to pull off – and best part, no baking required!

See I’m giving a corporate talk tomorrow today on the topic of meal planning for busy parents and I wanted to give them a healthy replacement option for all the garbage granola bars out there on grocery store shelves. You know the ones…laden with hydrogenated oils and rancid fats, artificial this and that, refined sugar and grain? Yeah, those ones! So I was going to make them, refrigerate them, and then bring them in tomorrow today for all the parents to try. I wanted to impress them with my mad skills in the kitchen and hopefully sway them from ever buying another mainstream granola bar again!

Here they are! They look pretty tasty and granola bar-like, eh?

Don’t be deceived. No-bake granola bar attempt #1 = FAIL!!

See in the pic above they look really great because they just came out of the freezer after being in there for about 30 minutes. As soon as they sat out on the counter for a little while (after cutting them), these little babies started to crumble. Big time! How could I bring these into my corporate talk on Tuesday today? My granola bars would be the laughing-stock of the boardroom. Furthermore, what parent in their right mind would want to put a granola bar in their child’s lunchbox if it crumbled before they even packed it. “Might as well have just bought the store-bought ones” I could imagine them exclaiming. And more so, what kid wants to be “the kid” with the crumbly granola bar on the first day of school. Not cool! No kid wants sticky granola crumble stuck in their pony-tail or to the front of their shirt.

Not being one to give up very easily I started to ponder how I could turn this crumbling situation around.

Voila!

Here we have Cranberry Seed Hippy Granola for Kiddos (I basically just pulled the bars apart)! For all of you granola lovers out there this is for you. Toss it in your yogurt if that’s your thing, or sprinkle it over top of your “healthier” cereal for a little added sweetness. My method of choice?  Sprinkled over a sliced banana with a splash of almond milk (pictured below).

(Actually, I think I may have added that splash of almond milk after I snapped the picture.)

Now, remember this is more like a treat than an everyday staple, it’s sweet, granted using natural raw honey. If you are transitioning your child away from their “Fruit Loops” or other sugary breakfast cereal, a few tbsps of this mixed in with a lower sugar alternative would a nice option, or half a cup of this mixed in with some sliced up fruit would be another. They could even eat it straight up! It can also still be a replacement for a granola bar (my original intention), you’ll just need to include a reusable container and spoon to go along with! And remember, it’s still way better than all those mainstream granola bars.

Recipe: Organic Cranberry Seed Hippy Granola (Nut-free)

2 cups of organic rolled oats

½ cup of raw sunflower seeds

½ cup of raw sesame seeds

½ cup of raw pumpkin seeds (not pictured above bc I didn’t have any on hand)

1 cup of dried organic cranberries (or other dried fruit of choice)

1 tbsp of ground cinnamon

½ cup of organic chocolate chips (optional)

¾ cup of raw honey (you can try tapering it back to ½ cup to start) – honey must be liquid consistency for blending purposes. You might also try mixing 1/2 cup of raw honey with 1/4 cup of black strap molasses for a different flavour.

Instructions:

Combine all ingredients except the honey in a large bowl and mix well.

Next slowly drizzle the honey over the mixture and mix well so that all dry ingredients are covered. I suppose you could just omit the honey, however, seeing as this was made with the kiddos in mind as a “treat” or alternative to all those sweet granola bars, the sweetness is key here.

* Store in the refrigerator in an airtight container

 

Life Lesson Learned?

Don’t assume a recipe is going to work out if you’ve never tried it before and better yet, don’t wait until the last-minute to attempt a first-time trial when you need the goods in a pinch. Procrastinating never gets you ahead of the game. That’s just the way the cookie (er, granola bar?) crumbles.

Be back soon!!

Elaine

Quinoa Salad – A Crowd Pleaser

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Here’s one of my favourite “go-to” dishes when attending dinner parties, potlucks and the like. It’s super simple to make and takes almost no time at all to prepare. Secrets out! Most importantly though, people always love it!

This is what I brought last night to a “healthy foodie” potluck hosted by a fellow nutritionist. At these types of gatherings there are usually always at least a couple of people in attendance who have one food restriction or another. Vegan? Intolerant to gluten? Bring it!!

Quinoa Salad Recipe

2 cups of quinoa cooked on the stove top per instructions. (Use 2 cups of water per 1 cup of quinoa. If the you didn’t buy the quinoa pre-rinsed ensure you rinse it in a strainer prior to cooking to wash off the *saponins.)

*soap-like chemicals that interfere with digestion

5 radishes chopped

1 bunch of Italian parsley chopped

2 celery stalks sliced finely

2 spring onions sliced finely

Dressing: Juice of 1 lemon + a drizzle of Extra Virgin Olive Oil + sea salt to taste

After the quinoa has cooled, mix in all veggies and drizzle with the dressing and mix again.

 

Easy Peasy.

xo Elaine

Summertime Sipping

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Photo via weheartit

I don’t have to remind you how crucially important it is to ensure you’re staying hydrated during these hot and sweaty summer months or why you need to drink plenty of water. Instead, let’s share our favourite cool and refreshing summer bevvy recipes!

I know sipping on water all day long can get a little boring sometimes. While I don’t endorse the usage of those heavily marketed “powders” laden with artificial sweeteners and colours (that only lead to further dehydration), I do recommend jazzing up your water to make it more enjoyable so you’ll be inspired to drink more of this life-generating liquid!

It might be as simple as cutting up some fresh fruit and soaking it in your water overnight, or brewing up some herbal iced tea or homemade lemonade.

Here’s what I’m sipping on right now:

Lemon/Ginger Iced Tea with a Kick

2 x lemon ginger herbal tea bags brewed in my large tea-pot

I’ll let this brew anywhere from 10-30 minutes (or longer) depending on how much time I have. Sometimes I’ll just let it brew all day long while I’m out and about doing my thing!

Next I fill a glass jug with ice and pour the brewed tea over top.

I then add in a few slices of fresh ginger and a few shakes of red chili flakes or cayenne plus a few drops of stevia for added sweetness.

I usually let this sit in the fridge for a few hours so it gets nice and cool before   getting my sip-on!

Alternatively you can make this before you go to bed so it’s ready to go in the morning.

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Please share your favourite summer bevvies below!

Elaine

The Simple Life (Part Three)

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“Only in quiet water do things mirror themselves undistorted. Only in a quiet mind is there an adequate perception of the world” ~ Hans Margolius

It’s all too easy to get caught up in the hustle and bustle of our daily lives. Demanding jobs, endless to-do lists, media over load, personal dramas, and so on, can really make people crazy – literally!

Now that we’ve simplified our diets and decluttered our living spaces, it’s time to address one of the most often overlooked factors for enjoying “the simple life” – our head space. It’s not uncommon for people to live their lives on auto-pilot, giving very little thought to what’s going on upstairs in their noggin! When we clear our minds of incessant thinking, worrying, and other emotional stressors, we naturally allow space for new creativity and inspiration to emerge. Sound good? Onward we march!

Photo via weheartit
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3. Find your Inner Calm

Here are a few simple tried-and-true tips that can go a long way in helping to reclaim your mind (and spirit)!

Make your mornings sacred. It’s helpful having certain rituals first thing in the morning that enable us to start the day off with a clear head. It’s not uncommon for people to go straight from their beds to their desks for eight hours; not to mention the morning commute which can leave people feeling frazzled before they even start their work day! Commencing your day with a clear mind will allow you to find focus, make clearer decisions and increase your productivity.

This could be as simple as throwing down a mat in your living space and doing some simple stretches, deep breathing or a guided mediation. You might even try doing a morning yoga routine. A great resource that I recently discovered is yogatoday.com. They offer a free weekly class that you can do from the comfort of your own home right from your computer. No studio membership or DVD required! All you have to do is sign-up (create a username) and then you’ll have access to the free class. The free class remains posted for a week so this means you can access it every day for a week until they post a new one!

Another great morning ritual is lacing up your sneakers and getting outside in the fresh air for an energizing walk. It doesn’t have to be a long walk per se, even a stroll around the block will do. Alternatively if you live relatively close to your work you might leave a little earlier and walk, avoiding the craziness of morning rush-hour!  Now that summer is upon us in the northern hemisphere, it’s the perfect time to implement this morning ritual. It seems almost a sin NOT to get outside and enjoy a little bit of the sunny weather before going to an office all day!

Separate your workday from your evening meal. You know the feeling after a long and stressful day at work? You feel mentally drained and physically exhausted and perhaps you just want to come home and crash on the couch or self-medicate with food? It’s really important to unplug yourself from all the crazy energies you’ve been soaking up all day-long before you start mindlessly eating. I’m mentioning this here because people usually find it easy to eat healthy during the day because they’re preoccupied with work, but when they return home all their best efforts are thrown out the window. For many, this is a natural time for emotional eating to rear its ugly head.

I suggest choosing one of the activities mentioned as per the morning ritual recommendations. If you didn’t get any form of physical activity in the morning this is a great time to fit it in. Again, it can be as simple as going for a brisk walk. Perhaps you walk home from work if that’s reasonable for you. Alternatively, you might decide to soak in the tub for 20 minutes and imagining all the negative energy go down the drain with the water!

When you’re ready to sit down for your evening meal you’ll be in a much better head space and more mindful of what you’re putting in your mouth. When you’re anxious or stressed you’ll be more inclined to overeat AND experience digestive upset!

Try a Media Fast. In this day and age we seldom give second thought to the pervasive influence of the media on our emotional state. Television, radio, magazines, newspapers, social media, etc, all fight for our mind space. Furthermore, being connected all day long is now a reality with the invention of the “smart phone”. We have the world at our fingertips! Whereas before for example, you may have checked your personal email once per day, now you are conveniently notified of every new message allowing you to access it the minute you receive it! This has many benefits of course but at the same time you become a slave to your phone – incessantly checking.

A media fast entails limiting exposure to all forms of media including television, internet, radio, newspapers, magazines, emailing, texting, etc, for a designated time period. It might be as short as a weekend or as long as a month. All areas aren’t a problem for everyone, so choose your poison! You don’t have to go cold-turkey either. If you’re one of those people who incessantly checks their email or Facebook account, try allotting 30 minutes in the morning or evening to catching up, engaging, etc. If you’re the type of person who comes home from work and watches television for the entire night, you might try limiting it to one hour.

The summer is a great time to try a media fast. Being outside is much more desirable as result of the beautiful weather and longer days. Go for a walk, play in the park, or connect with your friends in person!

Keep in mind, these are all simple tips that anybody can apply. You might implement one new change per week rather than trying everything all at once. For example, tomorrow you might wake up a little bit early and go for a walk, on the weekend you might ban yourself from the internet and television, and the following week you might come home from work and try the online yoga resource (mentioned above) followed by a soak in the tub before dinner!

It’s these modern times that require us to be extra vigilant if we want to experience any sense of peace or inner calm in our lives.

This brings us to the end of our three-part series. I hope you’ll join me in living the Simple Life!

Elaine