Back when I was younger and before I started liking vegetables I loved this dish. It actually got me excited to eat them, the combination of rich butter (or olive oil) and smoky dried thyme transforms the vegetables to become a medley much better than the sum of its parts. I made it recently for a family dinner and not only were my brothers visibly stoked for it but our parents showed some enthusiasm too. All four of them are generally against vegetables unless they are completely drenched in creamy or cheesy dressing, so any dish that gets them to eat vegetables that are visibly vegetables is a near miracle. I didn’t make this recipe up, it came from my Aunt Karen, a lovely lady and fabulous cook. Continue Reading →
Lemon Pasta
Shellfish, in this case prawns and scallops, provide high concentrations of some minerals that can be hard to find amply in other sources, like selenium. It acts as an antioxidant, meaning that it is part of a defense network for the body that helps prevent or combat oxidation and cell membrane damage, issues that can lead to a whole host of diseases. Selenium is also important for healthy immune function and it is a component needed for several different proteins and enzymes in the body. Continue Reading →
Rainbow Roast Chicken Meal
Traditional meals with my family are centered around the meat, and there is always lots of it. Then, in keeping with a strict shades of white and beige theme, there are piles of white flour buns, ground meat stuffing and mashed potatoes with a very small side of rather lackluster vegetables that get drowned in gravy. I know better than to mess with this formula on special holidays, but when I am putting on a family meal otherwise I like to transfer the emphasis to a rainbow of fruits and vegetables, with the meat as more of a side dish, and include some nuts and/or seeds any maybe whole grains like brown rice or quinoa. Continue Reading →
Chocolate Raspberry Baked Oatmeal
Is chocolate healthy or not healthy? Well, that all depends on your definition of healthy… this is why nutrition can be so confusing. Processed chocolate, like all processed food, does not contain the nutrients that made the original ingredients so health benefitting, or healthy, and it often has some questionable additives like refined sugar and sketchy GMO oils. Many different processing techniques that are required by law to make a food stable enough to sit on the shelf for a long period of time greatly diminish the amount and quality of nutrients once present, and chemicals, flavorings and refined food items are added in to make a desirable color, taste and texture. Raw cacao however, the very base of chocolate, has some pretty potent antioxidants and a decent share of vitamins and minerals, making it beneficial to the body and therefore healthy. Continue Reading →
Green Carrot Cake Smoothie
Some people scoff at the idea of eating rabbit food, clearly they have not tried putting carrots in smoothies. With enough fruit, cashew butter and a vanilla flavored protein powder they are a nutrient dense way to get a carrot cake flavor without the low quality oils and refined flour and sugars that are normally used in the actual cake. Plus the whole food ingredients contribute fiber, healthy fats, potassium, calcium and vitamins A, C and E. Continue Reading →