What a beautiful weekend it was! Hope you all had the opportunity to soak up some of the lovely sunshine and breathe in the fresh (well, as fresh as you can get living in the city) crisp air. I have to say it was the perfect weekend for putting on the walking shoes and spending the afternoon out and about perusing the city streets.

I love how a little sunny 8 degree Celsius weather in March brings even the most homebound Canadian out of hibernation.  

This kind of weather wets our palate and gives us a little taste of what lies ahead. Spring! However, before you get too excited and start buying all those imported strawberries that are cropping up at many grocers, let’s just remember that local and in-season is still our best option when it comes to fresh flavour. Furthermore, it’s best to buy organic when you can. Read my post here on when you should buy organic and when you can be a bit more frugal.

So here we are at the beginning of March and you may be wondering… what is available locally right now? Well the answer to that is still the same (in many cases) as it was back in autumn and the dead of winter. Root vegetables!! It’s inevitably difficult to avoid spotting these guys occupying much of the shelf space at your local grocer this time of year. On a sidenote, just a friendly reminder that I’m writing from Toronto, Ontario so depending on where you are living this may not apply to you.

For those of you though who have an ample supply of root veggies at your finger tips, here’s an easy peasy recipe that you can put in your back pocket and pull out time and time again. It’s the kind of dish that is sure to be a crowd pleaser when entertaining guests.

This recipe isn’t anything new, but in case you haven’t already jumped on the root veggie train, here you go!

Recipe – Roasted Root Vegetables with Rosemary

Ingredients

3 cups of carrots

2 cups of parsnips

1 large turnip

1 celeriac root

2 sweet potatoes

1 red onion

10 cloves of garlic peeled

1/3 cup of olive oil

Sea salt (to taste)

Fresh or dried rosemary

Note: In most cases you should be able to get all of these ingredients locally, however garlic may be a bit harder to come by in March. In which case you’ll have to opt for imported. Also – feel free to use whatever root veggies your little heart desires. You may opt to use larger amounts of one root and/or omit others. Make it your own!

Instructions

1. Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Peel and wash all root vegetables and cut into chunks. The key is to have similar size chunks so that they cook evenly and at the same rate. Onions are the exception, and can be cut into quartered or halved (larger) chunks because they cook faster than the other vegetables.
3. Place all cut root veggies into a roasting pan and add the whole cloves of garlic.
4. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with chopped fresh (or dried) rosemary and sea salt.
5. Make sure all root veggies are covered with oil.
6. Place in oven uncovered and leave approx 45 -60 minutes until veggies are softened and slightly browned on the edges.

The dry heat of the oven caramelizes the sugars of the root vegetables so that you are left with a deliciously sweet and flavourful dish.  Even those individuals who don’t like vegetables usually love this one.

Enjoy!

Hey everyone,

Just wanted to wish you all a Happy Valentine’s Day!

I’m heading out for lunch to a little vegetarian café in the city that I have yet to visit.

Stay tuned for my review later!

In the meantime, I want to share with you a delicious smoothie recipe that is not only healthy, but also a tasty treat.

 Recipe – Valentine’s Day Chocolate Strawberry Banana Smoothie

3/4 cup of unsweetened almond milk

1/2 cup of frozen strawberries

1/2 of a ripened banana (fresh or frozen)

1 tbsp of raw cocoa powder

Blend together until smooth and enjoy.

Note: Recipe was updated since original post to make it even better!

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Hope everyone has a lovely day!

Didn’t your mama always tell you to eat your greens? Well it turns out she was right!

Leafy greens are one of the richest sources of nutrients of any foods in the vegetable kingdom, and kale is no exception. In fact, when it comes to green leafy veggies - kale is king.

Deliciously packed full of good stuff like Vitamins A, C, E, K; minerals such as calcium, iron and manganese; along with fibre, it would be a shame not to include this green in your diet.

Phyllis A. Balch, points out in her book Prescription for Dietary Wellness (Second Edition), that kale is one of the best known cancer-fighting veggies on the planet! It is the richest of all leafy greens in carotenoids and is abundant in lutein, a phytochemical known for its ability to help protect your peepers.  Furthermore, the calcium in kale is more easily absorbed and assimilated by the body than the calcium in milk, making it a super food when it comes to protecting against osteoporosis and bone-loss.

A lot of people believe that kale needs to be cooked before eating, since it’s pretty tough (fibrous) and a little bitter. Not true though! Kale can be enjoyed in its raw state as well. In fact, this is the way I prefer to eat it. You just need to know how to prepare it properly.

If you’re new to kale or have never tried it raw, below is a delicious recipe to get you started.

Recipe: Massaged Kale Salad

Ingredients

1 bunch of kale (I used curly but you can use any variety)

1 carrot grated

2 spring onions chopped

2 tbsp + 1 tsp of olive oil

Juice of 1 lemon (or 2 tbsp of apple cider vinegar)

¼ tsp of sea salt

1 tsp of honey

1 tbsp of sesame seeds (optional)

 Instructions

1. After rinsing the kale, rip the leaves off the large, tough part of the stem and chop into bite-size pieces (or just rip into smaller pieces).
2. Place kale in bowl and drizzle with 2 tbsp of olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt.
3. Now the fun part! Roll up your sleeves and take off any rings. This is where the “love” part comes into the equation. Give the kale a 2-3 minute massage. That’s right, massage your kale! Make sure all the leaves are covered by the oil. You’ll notice that the kale will start to break-down and wilt, making it more tender. 
4. Set the kale aside for 5 minutes and give it a rest.
5. When it’s time, add veggies and drizzle with dressing (lemon juice, honey and remaining 1 tsp of olive oil). Give it a toss and sprinkle with sesame seeds (optional).
6. Refrigerate for 10 minutes.
7. Serve and enjoy!

If you love simple, healthy and delicious recipes that can be made in a pinch, this is certain to become one of your favourites!

I mentioned in an earlier post that hummus is one of my favourite snacks. It’s just one of those things that makes eating raw veggies that much more enjoyable. And it’s so ridiculously easy to make, it’s almost a sin to buy store-bought.

Here’s a quick and easy recipe for your snacking pleasure.

Recipe: Simple Hummus

Ingredients

1 can of organic chickpeas (drained and rinsed)

1-2 cloves of garlic crushed

½ cup of freshly squeezed lemon juice

¼ cup of Tahini (include some of the oil that rises to the top)

1 tbsp of olive oil

½ tsp sea salt (I’m currently using Himalayan)

½ tsp of cumin

Optional: small piece of diced jalapeño pepper (if you’re not afraid of a little fire!)

Instructions

Throw all ingredients in a food processor or Vita-Mix (or other strong blender) and blend until you’ve reached a somewhat smooth and creamy consistency.

Garnish with parsley or cilantro.

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Ah, sweet simplicity.

Hope your Sunday was as relaxing as mine:)

I’ve always had a love for the avocado.  Lately though, I’ve been gobbling them down as if they were going out of style. Over the last few weeks or so, it’s safe to say that I’ve eaten avocado everyday in some form or another.  I can’t get enough of them!

Avocados are the perfect complement to almost any dish or a satisfying snack eaten all on their own. Best of all though, they are delicious and packed full of health-promoting nutrients.  It’s no wonder that every nutritionist raves about them.

And for great reason.

Avocados are a good source of potassium, B vitamins (particularly folic acid), Vitamins C, E, and K, fibre and healthy fats. They also contain more protein than any other fruit (about 5 grams) and are rich in carotenoids, particularly lutein which helps to protect against eye disease. Furthermore, avocados are rich in beta-sitosterol, a natural substance shown to significantly reduce blood cholesterol levels.

With all these nutrients, it’s a shame that some people actually avoid them because they believe the high fat content makes them an unhealthy choice. This is a misconception. Most of the fat comes from monounsaturated fat in the form of oleic acid, like that found in olives. This type of fat is actually found to be good for your heart by lowering total cholesterol levels and improving HDL and LDL ratios. And remember, every one of our cells need healthy fat for metabolic processes that happen inside our bodies each second of everyday. That includes the burning of fat! As an added bonus, these healthy fats are also great for keeping hair shiny and skin smooth and supple.  

How do you eat them?

I’m sure one of the first things that come to mind when people think about eating avocados is the ever so famous guacamole. And while I do enjoy this myself from time to time, below I’ve listed the three most common ways I include avocados in my diet.

1) On top of salads. Did you know that avocados actually increase the absorption of carotenoids in vegetables when eaten at the same time? A study published in the March 2005 issue of the Journal of Nutrition proved this to be true. Adding avocado to salad increased absorption of alpha-carotene, beta-carotene and lutein 7.2, 15.3, and 5.1 times higher, respectively, than the average amount of these nutrients absorbed when avocado-less salad was eaten.

2) With rice-dishes. I’m a big fan of the rice bowl. It’s like eating a salad but with rice instead of lettuce. Start with rice as your base and then add all the toppings you would normally add to your salad. For instance, this below recipe is something that made an appearance in my lunch twice last week.

Elaine’s Rice Bowl with Tahini dressing

Rice Bowl

½ cup of brown rice

½ an avocado sliced

¼ cup of raw sunflower seeds

½ cup of fennel chopped

Handful of parsley (or cilantro) chopped

Combine all ingredients in a bowl.

Tahini dressing

Mix together: ¼ cup of lemon juice, 1 Tbsp of olive oil, 1 Tbsp of Tahini and a pinch of sea salt.

Drizzle over rice bowl and enjoy!

3) All by themselves. Give me half an avocado and a spoon and I’m one happy girl. A little drizzle of my Acropolis balsamic vinegar and I’m good to go! Sometimes I’ll even fill the little hole in the middle with raw sunflower seeds for some added sustenance.

Another, more creative way is to blend them into smoothies. Adding half an avocado to a smoothie will give it the same creamy consistency as adding a banana. If you have a picky little eater at home, this is a great way to “sneak” in some added nutrition without compromising on taste.

There you have it!

What’s your favourite avocado recipe? I would love to hear from you!