Cranberry Chai Overnight Oats

Overnight oats are a wonderful option for an on-the-go breakfast. Technically, our bodies work best at digesting, absorbing and utilizing food when we are in a calm environment with little distraction from the process of eating. However, sometimes we are just too busy to take that much time to focus on every meal. When that happens, simple and easy to digest meals made from whole foods and not too many ingredients can be a way to get nourished without giving the body too much work. Continue Reading →

Spring Rice Bowl

Rice bowls are a grounding, nutritious meal that can be a good way to use up leftover odds and ends from the crisper. Here I went for a seasonal version with lots of detoxifying greens, a couple fortifying root vegetables, some cleansing radishes, a refreshing zucchini and a sprinkle of fragrant edible flowers. Tofu, grilled meat or seafood, avocado and creamy dressings are good add-ons to make it extra filling. Continue Reading →

Coconut Curry Butternut Squash Soup

Butternut soup is nourishing, cozy, dense and lightly sweet. It’s great on its own or it can be used as a base for more flavours. Here I used curry powder to add a big dose of exotic flavour (plus many of the spices are warming and help with digestion) and some coconut oil and coconut yogurt for a tropical touch. Pretty much any kind of Indian, Middle Eastern or Northern African spice mix will work nicely with butternut squash but my favourite is a homemade curry powder Continue Reading →

Coconut Mango Lassi

Lassi is a cooling drink from Punjab, Northern India used as a nice contrast to both the weather and spicy food. It is yogurt based and is blended with water and often fruit, honey and/or spices like cardamom. It is believed that the Lassi originated around 1000 BC, making it a kind of ancient smoothie. According to Ayurveda, an ancient Indian system that categorized foods according to different external climates and internal temperance, Lassis are very calming to the stomach and can aid in digestion. Continue Reading →

Japanese Sweet Potato Fries

Japanese Sweet Potato FriesJapanese sweet potatoes are the newest addition to my list of vegetables that actually taste really good. I always assumed that their pale coloured flesh was indicative of less flavour than vibrantly orange yams but if anything they are a bit sweeter. They are also a bit drier, which is a nice attribute for baking or roasting and they taste very, very similar to roasted chestnuts. Continue Reading →

Digestive Tea

Digestive TeaLong before we had modern medicine we discovered how different plants could alleviate certain ailments. Many of these folk remedies’ power to cure may simply be a placebo effect- studies have shown that when people take something they think will cure them, it surprisingly can, even if it is just a simple substance without any curative properties. However, there are some items in nature that have been proven to have positive effects that come from their vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients. The spices used in this tea- cumin, coriander and fennel- are spices we have used for thousands of years to strengthen digestion  Continue Reading →

Gingerbread Steel Cut Oats

Gingerbread Steel Cut OatsGingerbread can be the ultimate in sweet comfort food. It has warming, fragrant spices and a deep caramel-like sweetness that can easily be imparted on a healthy bowl of oatmeal, making it more enticing on frosty, cold mornings. Steel cut oats cooked with almond milk thicken up into a dense, gooey and warm nutty-flavoured oatmeal full of fiber and protein to keep your belly satisfied and feeling full. Continue Reading →

Vanilla Pumpkin Steel Cut Oats with Ginger Orange Poached Pears

Vanilla Pumpkin Steel Cut Oats with Ginger Orange Poached PearsSteel cut oats are the culinary version of a warm cozy sweater. They are nourishing, warm and grounding and will keep one comfortably satiated for hours. This type of oats takes longer to cook than rolled oats so they are not ideal when things are rushed, but for lazy mornings spent lingering around the house, perhaps with the rain pounding or wind howling outside, they are a perfect breakfast. Once cooked they are still slightly firm, form a thick consistency and have a nutty taste that goes nicely with fruit, nuts and/or yogurt.  Continue Reading →

Moroccan Spiced Cauliflower Couscous

Moroccan Spiced Cauliflower Couscous The days are still hot but they are ending earlier and earlier and the nights have a cold edge and the early morning light reflects through dense morning fog before the sun gets high enough to burn it off. The market stands are still abound with fresh and fragrant summer fruits and vegetables but I am starting to long for some of the tastes of autumn. A dish like this combines the lightness of summer with the grounding side of autumn. Continue Reading →

Sesame Honey Chickpeas

IMG_3962Roasted chickpeas are usually paired with salt and savory spices to create a healthy snack full of fiber and protein, but they work well with some sweetness too. Honey, legumes (the lentil and bean family, including chickpeas a.k.a garbanzo beans) and sesame seeds are foods widely used in Ayurveda, a five thousand year old wellness system derived in India meaning “the science of life”. Continue Reading →