Baba Ganoush is a Middle Eastern dip with very similar flavors to hummus, except that it features roasted eggplant instead of chickpeas. Eggplant is an interesting vegetable, with a deep purple skin and soft pale flesh which sucks up liquid like a sponge. In its raw state it is very bitter but once it is cooked for long enough the flavor becomes much deeper, rich and earthy and in this state it is often used as a meat substitute for vegetarians. Continue Reading →
Ginger Yam Butternut Soup
I never ate ginger much growing up, except for in gingerbread cookies at Christmas time. Since learning about its health properties I have been experimenting with it more and more and a trip to the market grocery store is no longer complete for me without grabbing some fresh ginger from the produce section. Even just throwing a couple small pieces in a cup with hot water makes a nourishing tea that helps with digestion and is very soothing for sore tummies. This soup is very simple but it features some of the best foods for fending off and recovering from colds and flus Continue Reading →
PB&J Bites
One of the easiest ways to make food more nourishing is to bypass as much processing as possible. Nutritional advice will often dictate to eat the whole fruit rather than their juice or the whole seeds rather than their oil. Several nutrients in fruits and vegetables start to decrease in amount and potency the moment that the food they are in is removed from the plant, this loss is further sped up through different processing techniques like cooking and drying. Moreover, all the nutrients work together- for example the fiber in fruits lessens the impact that the sugars they contain have on the body, slowing down the digestion process and keeping blood sugar levels more stable. Continue Reading →
Ginger Spiced Almond Cookies
Almond flour is a good substitute for refined white flour in creating dense and chewy cookies with a lightly crispy crust. Almonds provide a significant source of vitamin E, along with several B vitamins and the minerals manganese, magnesium and phosphorus. They are high in fats, but they are primarily monounsaturated, one of the types of unsaturated fats we should choose more regularly than saturated fats (as found more concentrated in palm oils, red meat and dairy). Research has shown that eating almonds alongside simple carbohydrates, such as fruit, sugars and syrups reduces the overall glycemic index (GI) of the meal, meaning that it causes less of a rise in blood sugar than the simple carbohydrates would have on their own… making them an ideal ingredient for healthy desserts. Continue Reading →
Candied Almonds on Roasted Pears
Making a dessert healthy doesn’t mean making it completely sugar and fat free, instead using fresh and nutrient dense ingredients guarantees that your body will benefit from it. I really like to make baked pears or apples and top them with granola or candied nuts and finish it off with some full fat plain Greek yogurt (it is so thick and creamy that it looks like ice cream in the photos). Here I roasted some pears in the oven and toasted almonds on the stove with a mixture of honey, butter , spices and palm sugar (it is lower GI than most sugars and a deep brown color with lots of flavor), which come together to taste like rich caramel sauce. Continue Reading →
Pirate Chicken
Jerk sauce is about as flavorful as you can get, it has lots of spice and warming herbs like allspice and mace, along with coconuts and rum it is a hallmark of the Caribbean. It hails from Jamaica and compliments any type of poultry or meat very well, my favorite brand is Auntie Bev’s because it is delicious and has only good quality and real ingredients. Plus it is made by a local Vancouverite and it’s widely available. For more embarassingly Caucasian palates like myself it is best to start with a little bit so that the spicyness isn’t too overwhelming. I like to add some coconut milk in because it makes a really creamy sauce and helps to cool down the spice a little. I also add in broth to the sauce and cook it for awhile so that it boils down and thickens up to a rich gravy. Continue Reading →
Kombucha Winter Sangria
Kombucha is a slightly effervescent fermented tea. Here in North America those of us who follow modern diets tend to miss out on anything fermented. The fermenting process changes the components of a food or drink, leading to an item high in probiotics and other nutrients. From a digestive and nutritional point of view we can all benefit from consuming probiotic rich food because the good bacteria helps to balance out the bacteria in our large intestines (colons), a.k.a. our gut flora, so that the potentially bad guys (like Candida) don’t go on a rampage and start causing health issues. The proper balance of this intestinal flora has a great effect on our health in many areas, ranging from our energy levels to the strength of our immune systems. Continue Reading →
Roasted Chestnuts
Chestnuts are soft, dense and sweet, tasting kind of like yams but a bit more mild. Warm, fresh out of the oven they are a really delicious and hearty snack all on their own, with no seasoning or dips required. They are lower in fats and higher in complex carbohydrates than other nuts, as well as high in fiber, vitamin C, several B vitamins and the essential minerals manganese, copper and potassium. All of these nutrients play different roles in the body from stabilizing energy levels to improving digestion to helping red blood cell formation to boosting the immune system to acting as antioxidants. Continue Reading →
Cranberry Maple Pecan Yam Rounds
Many fruits and vegetables can provide a base to eat off of, as a replacement for crackers but roasted yams are one of my favorites. When cut thin enough and roasted they start to crisp up around the edges and the inside becomes soft but still sturdy enough to hold its shape and keep the toppings from toppling off. Many yams are thin and long but for something like this the best ones are almost spherical, being nearly as thick in diameter as they are long. Continue Reading →
Cranberry Pecan Meatballs
My pickiest brother was hovering around the kitchen watching me as I made these. He said there was no way that they could compare with Ikea meatballs and he wasn’t loving the idea of diluting beef with fruit and nuts, though I could tell he was intrigued. Once they were made he inhaled a plate of them and then had more with dinner so they were a win after all. I used ground beef but ground turkey would work well in its place for a lighter option and more traditional flavor combination. All berries are highly renowned for their high concentrations of antioxidants and of them cranberries top the charts. Continue Reading →