Meet Merlin, the newest addition to our life, house, hearts, and kitchen! He especially likes to sit on our toes while we cook and eat. 

Due to this new addition and learning the ropes of having a cute new un-housetrained soul running around, I have had a bit less time to chop and prep and blog this week. So luckily I came home to a delicious Curried Coconut Carrot Soup today! 



Tony found this recipe on thekitchn.com. We had a mountain of carrots in our fridge and this was just the recipe to make a dent in it. It was quick and easy enough to make with a pup running around 

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons coconut oil (or grape seed oil)
1 onion, peeled and roughly chopped
6 cups carrots, unpeeled and roughly chopped (this required about 8 medium-sized carrots)
3 1/2 cups vegetable stock
One 15-ounce can full-fat coconut milk
1 1/2 tablespoons freshly chopped ginger root
1 tablespoon curry powder
1/2 teaspoon chili flakes
Salt and pepper to taste

Heat the coconut oil in a large soup pot and add the onions. Cook the onions on medium heat for about 7 minutes. Add the carrots and cook for another 5 minutes. Pour in the stock and coconut milk. Add the ginger, curry powder and chili flakes. Put a lid on the pot and cook until the carrots are softened, about 10 or 15 minutes.

When carrots are soft, blend the soup in batches in a blender or use an immersion hand blender and puree until smooth. Season with salt and pepper.

A delicious surprise for lunch!

Oh how I love efficiency. As I was standing in front our Taproot Farm foodshare box I was pondering what I would do with the abundance of root veggies I had in front of me and at the same time I remembered our left over feta cheese. Utilizing left overs and maximizing oven space = efficient = happy.

So we turned on the oven to 400F and Tony started trimming and cutting the brussels sprouts while I started washing and chopping the potatoes and preparing the beets.

Our root veggie dinner was not only delicious, but nutritious as well! Beets are a great food for our livers and gallbladders, and brussels sprouts are a part of the cruciferous vegetable family which are high in indole-3-carbinols (I-3-C). These antioxidant molecules are beneficial for our livers. Other members of the cruciferous vegetable family, and also high in I-3-C, are broccoli, cauliflower, kale, and cabbage. So dig up some of your own root and cruciferous veggies and give your liver a treat too!

Ingredients for the Brussels Sprouts:

• Brussels sprouts: trimmed and cut in half
• Olive oil
• Salt and pepper
• Thick balsamic vinegar (or regular balsamic)

Directions:

1. Toss sprouts, oil, salt and pepper together.
2. Bake at 400F for 20-30 minutes tossing once.
3. Drizzle balsamic over them and serve hot.

Ingredients for the Roasted Potatoes:

• 5-6 potatoes, washed and cut into wedges
• Olive oil
• salt and pepper
• 1 tsp oregano
• 1 tsp thyme
• 3 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 chunk of feta cheese
• Parsley for sprinkling

Directions:

1. Toss oil, salt and pepper, thyme, oregano, and potatoes together.
2. Bake at 400F for 30-35 minutes.
3. Marinate the feta cheese in lemon juice while the potatoes are cooking.
4. Toss potatoes, feta, and parsley together and serve hot.

Ingredients for Roasted Beets with Feta:

• 3 medium beets
• Olive oil
• Feta
• Tinfoil

Directions:

1. Trim beets, add a dash of olive oil and wrap in tinfoil.
2. Bake at 400F for 30-45 minutes.
3. Peel off skin, cut into slices and sprinkle with feta and serve!

Because he should be! Spinach was the theme of the night and man, we ate like spinach kings and queens.

I was craving a spinach soup after having a taste at The Lavender Pumpkin Cafe here in Windsor, NS, where conveniently enough, my younger brother manages and cooks. If you live in town you should definitely check out this cute little cafe for some great gluten free, vegetarian food and good company! 
I came home and googled around until I found a recipe from the BBC Good Food website. Super easy and it used basic ingredients so we gave it a go. Spinach is full of antioxidants, vitamin A, and calcium (especially when cooked) and I knew some nutritious and delicious food would do us some good on a cold night. I do admit that I mixed a bit of cream in with the rice milk. I choose not to eat too much diary but I was really craving a creamy soup! You could easily use coconut milk to achieve this though.
We topped our soup with feta cheese at the end, but you could use sour cream, double cream, or just leave it as is.

I also whipped up the Thai Sesame salad from a previous post as a side, and it was just as delicious as before. Between the soup and the salad, this meal doesn't have a very high protein amount, so adding steamed edemame beans to the salad is a great way to boost the protein power.

Who's up for some amazing gluten free, dairy free chocolate pudding?!?

I found this recipe on The Blender Girl's site, and we thoroughly enjoyed it. Easy and delicious and healthy. Who needs more than that?
Don't shy away from this because of the avocados; the cocoa, maple, and cinnamon are the main flavours. And for those of you who worry about the fat content in avocados - don't. Avocados are full of healthy fats that can actually help lower "bad" cholesterol and may reduce your risk for stroke, heart disease and diabetes. They are also full of fiber, have high amounts of potassium and vitamins B5, B6, B9, C, E, and K.
So, if you're feeling indulgent why not try out this healthy dessert?

Ingredients: this is a perfect amount for 2 servings

• 1 ripe avocado, peeled and pitted
• 2 1/2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/3 cup pure maple syrup
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 - 1/2 cup of water (the recipe called for rice milk/almond milk/coconut milk but we were all out and the pudding turned out fine!)
• Pinch of sea salt

Directions:
1. Put the avocado, cocoa powder, maple syrup, vanilla extract, cinnamon, and salt into your blender and puree on high for 30 to 60 seconds, until smooth and creamy. Add in a bit of water at a time so you can find the right consistency.

2. Transfer the pudding to glasses or jars and chill in the fridge for a couple of hours (the recipe says at least 3 but we couldn't wait that long and devoured them after about 1 hour).

*Use avocados that are ripe without any brown spots, and eat the same day... any longer and the avocado will change the flavours.

Because I just made the best salad of all time.

It was hearty. Easy. Nutritious. Gluten free. Vegan. And delicious. 

I adapted the recipe from "A Pinch of Yum", a site that I came across when I googled my last night's food craving. This is what I do in my evenings, I get a hankering for something, then google until I find the best and easiest recipe. Then I usually add my own touch of something. And then we devour it. And now my routine will include posting it here and passing it on to all of you! 

The inspiration came from the napa cabbage sitting on my counter from our CSA foodshare box. I knew I wanted something crunchy, nutty, and delicious and so I came up with a Thai Salad with Sesame Garlic Dressing.

Now, don't be immediately scared off by the napa cabbage. These are carried on a regular basis at the local Superstore and you don't have to do anything fancy to prep them. Just cut into shreds.

Thai Salad with Sesame Garlic Dressing
INGREDIENTS
For the dressing:

• ⅓ cup grapeseed oil
• 3 cloves garlic, peeled
• 3 tablespoons soy sauce (or wheat-free tamari or Braggs sauce)
• 2 tablespoons water
• 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1 tablespoon sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon ginger paste or shredded ginger

For the salad: 

• A bed of anything green... spinach, kale, chard, beet greens, lettuce
• Shredded napa cabbage
• 2 carrots shredded
• 2 bell peppers (1 red, 1 yellow)
• 1 cup cilantro leaves
• 1/2 cup toasted sesame seeds
• You can add in other veggies too! Green onions and purple cabbage would both be great. And if you don't have the cilantro, don't worry. We actually skipped this last night and the salad still tasted great.

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Puree all the dressing ingredients in a food processor/Magic bullet/Ninja blender until smooth.
2. Toast sesame seeds in toaster oven.
3. Cut up the greens, cabbage, carrots, peppers, and cilantro leaves into thin strips or shreds.
4. Toss the greens, cabbage, carrots, peppers, cilantro, and sesame seeds together until well combined. Drizzle with the dressing, toss gently a few times, and serve immediately.

We also made a quick potato leek soup as a side... a stormy night called for a warming, comforting soup. It was super easy, quick, and delicious too! Get your kids to help you peel the potatoes and the process will be much faster!

Potato Leek Soup
INGREDIENTS

• 2 lb white potatoes peeled and diced
• 3 leeks cut in half and diced
• 4 cups vegetable broth (you could use chicken broth if you're not concerned about the meat)
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/2 tsp thyme
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tbsp grapeseed oil (or butter if you aren't a vegan)
• Add in a pinch of marjoram too if you would like.

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Fry leeks in oil on medium heat for 10 minutes, try not to let them brown too much.
   
2. Add potatoes, broth, bay leaf, thyme, and salt
3. Bring to boil and then simmer for about 20 minutes until the potatoes are tender.
4. Remove the bay leaf and use a hand blender if you want to quickly puree some of it for a smoother soup.
5. Sprinkle with some pepper (and if you were my brother, some Red Rooster hot sauce) and enjoy!

 

What's in my kitchen? Good food!

Let’s consider what I consider “good food”. Simply, I regard organic whole foods, fresh vegetables, beans and legumes, local organic meat and eggs, organic full fat diary products, herbs and spices, as a good starting point. I avoid processed food in boxes. I avoid refined sugars and grains. You see that I say “avoid”, because I also believe in “moderation”. Most of the time my plate is mostly vegetables. Most of the time everything I make is chopped and cooked myself. Occasionally I open a box of gluten free macaroni & cheese. Occasionally we have nachos for dinner. The key word is “occasional”. We all have days where we resort to some comfort food, or those busy days when we can't imagine spending even 10 minutes preparing something fresh. Those days are ok, as long as they are in moderation.

So let’s talk about what’s in my kitchen! Over time we have stocked our kitchen with pretty much everything we need for our gluten free, vegetarian recipes. We re-stock every Sunday and then have pretty much everything we need for the week. Everything that is in my kitchen is purchased from the health food store Mosaic Market here in Windsor, NS, Sobeys, Superstore, local farmers markets, and our CSA food share from Taproot farm. If you ever have a hard time finding ingredients, I recommend speaking with Michelle at Mosaic Market. She is a wealth of knowledge and if she doesn’t have it in her store she can tell you where to find it!

What’s always in my cupboard:
We always have a plethora of canned chick peas, kidney beans, black beans, and lentils in our cupboard. We go through a lot of beans because as a vegetarian I use legumes as a major source of my protein. We also have cans of diced tomatoes and tomato paste.

We also have jars of walnuts, cashews, pecans, chia seeds, sesame seeds, sunflower seeds, and pumpkin seeds at all times.

In terms of grains and carbohydrates I have oats, quinoa, rice, organic cane sugar, brown sugar, chocolate chips, buckwheat flour (which is gluten free), rice flour, thai rice noodles, and gluten free pastas stocked.

... We also have coffee. Lots of free trade locally roasted coffee.

What’s always in my pantry:
Onions, garlic, sweet potatoes, butternut squash, spaghetti squash, ginger root

Fruit: bananas, apples, berries, and whatever is fresh and delicious in season!

Herbs and spices: basil, bay leaves, black pepper, cayenne, chili powder, cinnamon, cloves, cumin, coriander, curry powder, garlic, garam masala, nutmeg, onion powder, oregano, paprika, thyme, rosemary, sage, pure vanilla extract, and Himalayan salt.

I’ve started up this blog to share with my friends, family, patients, and community. My goals are to share how important food is to our overall health, and how easy it can be to put nutritious, delicious food into our bodies. One of my favourite quotes is from Ann Wigmore: “The food you eat can either be the safest and most powerful form of medicine or the slowest form of poison”. The food we put into our body is literally fuel to our cells and there are more and more studies being done in the scientific community proving that diet changes can help resolve many illnesses from autoimmune disease, high blood pressure, Type II diabetes, and more. In my experience as a clinician, I’ve seen dietary changes contribute to decreasing autoimmune responses, eliminating eczema and psoriasis, abdominal pain, and gallbladder disorders among many others.

In my own life, I grew up mostly vegetarian and completely eliminated meat in 2008 and I felt lighter and healthier. While I was in Naturopathic Medical school I eliminated wheat and gluten from my diet and found that my body felt the best it ever had. My mysterious abdominal pain disappeared, my skin became more vibrant and healthy, and my thyroid and blood sugar levels started operating optimally. I started looking at food differently; I was eating to live rather than living to eat.

My food is now my fuel and I make sure that with each meal I have a good portion of protein, vegetables, and carbohydrates. Now, this doesn’t mean I don’t enjoy my fuel. I love and appreciate food now more than I ever did. By understanding what my food is doing for my body, and what bad food was doing to my health, it was an easy transition for me.

My partner and I enjoy diverse, delicious meals, and dinner time is quality time for us. We prepare our food together and use that time to communicate with each other and listen to the radio or music or podcasts. (And by the way, my Acadian “meat and potatoes” partner loves the food that we make together!).

I know that there is more to health than just food; from emotional health, stress, movement, exercise, and connections with others, but this is a great place to start.