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When I imagine typical summer food I think potato salad, pasta salad, hot dogs, hamburgers, wrinkly chips and dip, and ice cream cones. Eating healthy doesn’t mean you have to avoid typical summer foods, it just means getting crafty and altering those traditional recipes. For us tonight it was: project pasta salad!
What’s wrong with the typical pasta salad? It’s made with intestine clogging wheat pasta, mucus forming dairy, and lacks in fibre and antioxidant rich vegetables. I came across a recipe in Moosewood Restaurant Daily Special cookbook which I further altered to suite my taste buds and nutritional requirements.
 Brown Rice Pasta and Bean Salad
Salad
- 2 cups brown rice pasta (I used macaroni noodles)
- 1.5 cups diced snap peas
- 1/2 cup diced celery
- 1/2 cup diagonally cut green onions
- 2 tbsp freshly grated radish
- 1 bpa-free can chickpeas, rinsed
- 1 bpa-free can small kidney beans, rinsed
- 1/2 cup chopped Bubbies Dill Pickles
Dressing
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 1.5 tbsp dijon mustard
- 2 tbsp organic apricot or orange marmalade
- 1/4 tsp dried oregano
- 2 tsp dried dill
- 1.5 tsp sea salt
- black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Bring a pot of water to boil, add pasta and allow to cook for 7-10 minutes. Rinse in cold water and set aside
- In a large bowl mix snap peas, celery, green onions, radish, chick peas, kidney beans, and pickles
- Add cooled pasta and stir
- Combine all dressing ingredients and blend or shake in a glass jar until thoroughly mixed.
- Stir dressing into salad and serve
Feel free to add any other vegetables you have in your fridge. I might add something red next time to enhance the color of this salad; perhaps some diced red pepper or cherry tomatoes….
Tonight my husband and I enjoyed this salad on our back deck with a glass of Sauvignon Blanc. Perfect way to celebrate him being done school, I love summer!
Living so far east (upper upper Beaches), most days I take the train into Riverdale, or down to the Beach, or over to Leslieville, sometimes I even venture to the Annex to visit my bud Ali and her son Grant. Here he is with Tavius: If I had it my way though, I’d spend more time in my hood….granted it does need some work but there are many gems that I’ve discovered since the sun started to shine this year. Also keeping me in the loop, I recently met a lovely neighbor who writes a blog all about our little Main and Danforth pocket.
Yesterday I was able to take advantage of the hood and hit the East Lynn Farmer’s Market which runs every Thursday from 3pm-7pm competing with the popular Dufferin Grove Farmer’s Market. It’s small but well attended. Even yesterday with the rain there were lots a peeps milling around.
Strawberries were in abundance yesterday and I noticed that the produce is becoming more plentiful as well. Up until last week it was slim pickings due to the rainy spring, but things are looking up!
These guys were where I spent my money. Organic strawberries for Tavius and organic lamb for an upcoming dinner for Fitz and I. I don’t cook meat very often so now I’ve just got to figure out how I want to prepare it!
My market experience was enhanced because we got to spend it with this little character…Lila another east ender. Find out when you’re nearest Farmer\’s Market takes place and shop local; it’s the right thing to do!
I love sprouts! You know why? Because if my meal is just ok nutrition-wise, I can simply add sprouts and the meal becomes superb nutrition-wise. Sprouts are bursting with bio-available nutrients that are ready to be digested and absorbed into the system; sprouts are richer in protein, fibre, essential fatty acids, vitamins, and minerals than their un-sprouted counterparts. Most of us know of the famous sandwich filling alfalfa sprout but there are plenty of plant seeds that can be sprouted.
You can find broccoli sprouts, bean sprouts, onion sprouts, clover sprouts, sunflower sprouts, chick pea sprouts, mung bean sprouts, nut sprouts, and many more.
Sprouts come in handy for a raw food diet because you can have a grain that’s been soaked that you’d otherwise have to cook in order to eat, for example: wild rice. Sprouts are also an amazing addition to a good whole foods diet just to give it a boost.
As for sprouting at home, it can be done. I sprout chick peas to make raw humus and wild rice to make raw rice salad on a semi-regular basis. Simply soak the bean or grain in water in a glass container, change the water and rinse the grain both morning and night. The sprouting process should take about 3-4 days. Once the sprouting process is complete these foods can be consumed just as if they were cooked.
I, however, buy all of my other sprouts. Many Farmer\’s Markets have a sprouts booth, the The Big Carrot has a great sprouts selection, as does Fiesta Farms. This week I bought my sprouts from Kind Organics at the Farmer’s Market.
 Best way to incorporate them into your diet? Throw them over your eggs on toast or “the classic” into a sandwich, toss them into your morning smoothie (you won’t even taste them), or incorporate them into a salad. Certain sprouts are great as an edible garnish if you’re trying to impress your guests, I especially love using sunflower sprouts for this.
Are a sprout eater? If not, get on it. If so, nice work.
Summer’s officially here, it’s like we completely skipped over spring and landed in a hot moist fog that is the Toronto summer. I’m not complaining though, promise.
When morning comes I’m ravenous first thing. Usually I’ll start with a glass of water with a squeeze of lemon to give my gut a kick-start, sometimes I’ll add a sprinkle of sea salt or cayenne…sometimes not. Then it’s onto puree preparing for Tavius and smoothie making for me. I love our little morning routine; Tavius will sit in his high chair and patiently watch me do our breakfast prep letting out the odd “Dot” or “gedaw, gedaw” sounds. Weird, I know, these are not typical baby noises but that’s how he sounds; pretty awesome kid!
With the weather being so hot I can’t imagine busting out the cast iron pan to cook up some eggs or even eating room temperature meusli. I’m interested only in cold smoothies.
Smoothies are delicious, easy to make, digestible, absorbable, and can be very nutrient dense. In order to make them nutrient dense you have to add a little super food magic. There are plenty of super food options but for simplicity’s sake we’re going to talk only about one today and that’s MACA.
Maca is a root vegetable from Peru that is rich in minerals and has powerful effect on the endocrine system. It has been shown to reduce stress, improve mood, increase libido, and decrease anxiety by modulating the endocrine system in a positive way. It has a wonderful nutty flavor. I add 1 tsp to my daily morning smoothie.
 Other super food ideas: try adding a sprinkle of cinnamon, a tsp of raw cacao, a handful of spinach, or goji berry powder to your smoothie.
Although they can be delicious and quite satisfying, I don’t recommend white potatoes on the regular. White potatoes are high glycemic having a negative effect on blood sugar balance. On the plus side though, they’re loaded with potassium which is an important mineral for fluid balance. Once in awhile, if purchased organically, they make a great addition to a meal.
When Mama Earth did her delivery this week I received potatoes and fiddleheads which I though would make a beautiful warming meal in this rainy weather. So Fitz picked up some wild caught salmon and did it up on the bbq (so delicious and tender) and I cooked up the starch and veg.
Only available for a short time this time of year, I try to take advantage of fiddlehead season. Fiddleheads are a decent source of omega 3 and 6 and they’re a great source of fibre and iron. When preparing fiddleheads, wash thoroughly and cut off the “spremy” tail. Toss them into boiling sea salted water for 7 minutes, strain and dry them then sautee in organic butter for a couple minutes…what a treat!
I tossed my scrubbed but not peeled quartered new potatoes (mineral content is just under the skin so it’s important not to peel them) in olive oil, seal salt, fresh diced basil, fresh diced thyme, and fresh diced rosemary. I them baked then at 350 for about 30-45 minutes until the edges were slightly brown.
With Fitz’s salmon, that was dinner. It was one of the nicer dinners we’ve had lately although I will say we could’ve done with way more greens.
Here’s a picture that doesn’t do the meal justice:
 What have you been cooking up these days? Care to share?
Hummus is the best; it’s delicious, easy to make, easy to buy, and a healthy snack, but aren’t you SO bored of it? Hummus is at every party, in every lunch box, and commonly on the menu when groceries are running low. We love hummus but it’s time to change it up right?
Try a new favorite of mine:
Raw Green Herb Pesto
- 1 large garlic clove
- 1 bunch of basil
- 4 Sprigs Parsley
- 1 lemon, juiced
- ¼ cup Brasil nuts
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 1 tbsp tamari or shoyu
- 1 inch ginger, grated
- Pinch sea salt
Put garlic in a food processor until finely chopped
Add all other ingredients and blend
Use an alternative to your usual dip, add to gluten-free pasta, or stir into a warm bowl of brown rice.
 What’s your favorite dip? Care to share?
This weather is ballz!
I was having a real easy time eating raw before the weather became wet, windy, and freezing. When I come in from crappy weather all I want is hearty soup, not salad sprinkled with nuts and sprouts…come on!
On Sunday after two long days of rain I hit a breaking point and declared to Fitz that “tonight, dinner will be cooked and you can’t do anything to stop me”. Enough said, a cooked meal it was!
Monday morning, after our slight detour from the plan we were back on our horses feeling more motivated than ever.
So, speaking of ballz, I made some. Great raw dessert option or good to pack in your bag for a snack on the go. Super high in fibre, nutrient dense, and satisfying.
Cashew Lime Balls
- 1 cup raw cashews
- 1/2 cup raisins
- pinch sea salt
- zest from 1 organic lime
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- Coarsely chop cashews in a food processor
- Add raisins until ingredients congeal
- Add lime zest, salt, and lemon juice. Mix thoroughly
- Roll into balls and enjoy. I especially like these cooled down in the fridge.
The next set of balls I made are stolen from a blog that I just started following called Real Sustenance who got the balls from a guest blog from Almost Vegan. I found them to be quite sweet but the bitter cacao coating helped to balance out the flavors.
Almond Truffles
- 1/2 cup coconut flour. I bought unsweetened dried coconut and ground it in my coffee grinder
- 1/4 cup raw almond butter
- 2-3 tbsp raw honey
- 1 tbsp ground flax seeds
- 1 tbsp raw cacao powder for coating
- In a medium bowl mix coconut flour, almond butter, honey, and flax seeds. You can use a spoon but I got my hands in there and gave it a good mixing.
- Form balls out of batter and roll through cocao powder.
- Chill and serve.
 Like my parsley garnish?
My hubby works really hard, he holds down 2 jobs and is taking his Masters at the same time. He’s gone all day and out of the house 3-4 nights as well. This is hard on both of us; he gets exhausted and misses his son and I get lonely and sometimes resentful. We both know it won’t be like this forever, thankfully there’s an end in sight…hopefully Fitzroy’s work ethic will rub off on Tavius. This week’s been different and due to some schedule shuffling, he’s been home every night except for tonight.
When I’m home alone (being on this raw food diet) I’m happy to eat simply. A big green salad loaded with vegetables, sprouts, seeds, and some dried fruit. I’ll usually have a sweet something-or-other to finish (I’ll post some raw dessert recipes later). Since Fitz was around I wanted to try out some new recipes that would excite him and keep him on track. Last night’s dinner was a hit, here’s the recipe:
The Raw Mexican Burrito
- 1 1/2 avacado, mashed
- 2 celery sticks
- 1/2 yellow pepper, diced
- 1 tomato, diced
- 2 oil packed sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
- 1 shallot, diced
- 1 sprig of parsley, finely chopped
- 1 tsp tamari
- pinch dried chili flakes
- juice from 1/2 a lime
- 2 tbsp sunflower seeds
- 1/2 cup sprouts of choice
- sea salt and garlic salt, to taste
- Stir celery, pepper, tomato, sun-dried tomato, shallot, and parsley into the mashed avacado
- Season with tamari, lime juice, chili flakes, and salts
- Stir sunflower seeds and sprouts into the mixture
- Serve mixture in a romaine lettuce leaf, or like me, serve it over a raw tortilla. I like the one from Live Food Bar . They sell their products at most local health food stores.
 Why not make this delicious raw filling and add it to your favorite tortilla whether it be raw or cooked? Makes for a delicious burrito that everyone can enjoy.
So we’re a third the way into April and Fitz and I are still going strong on out Raw Food Challenge. At this point it no longer feels like much of a challenge (except for today when we were on Harbord St and saw all the brunch places rammed with people enjoying poached eggs on rustic toast with mimosa’s in hand), just a much more conscious way of eating. Being that I’m a nutritionist you wouldn’t think it would be a big deal for me to eat 100% raw, but it’s actually a big change. I was always aware of ensuring there was a raw aspect to most of my meals but definitely took advantage of the convenience of cooked foods. Almost everything we consume in North American is cooked, therefore, the nutrients are altered and oftentimes killed.
One of the best reasons to take on a new way of eating; whether it be cleansing, fasting, or just adopting a limited diet is that it highlights bad habits that have crept into our lives over time without us really even noticing. Think about it, what do you indulge in on a daily basis that isn’t considered healthy? One of my indulgences had become cheese. I don’t say to clients “no cheese ever again” what I do tell them though is that cheese is a treat food and should be consumed in moderation if tolerated.
k, I’m kind of getting off track and maybe sounding a bit preachy….I really just wanted to share this amazing recipe with you. It’s an oldie but a goodie, perfect for the spring weather, flavourful, satisfying, and of course… raw. It’s a take on spaghetti and meat balls.
Zucchini Pasta
Take 1 zucchini, wash it and remove the green outer peel. Using a vegetable peeler, create long ribbons by drawing the peeler down all sides until you reach the core. It should resemble fettucine. I recently purchased a spiralizer that makes noodles out of almost any vegetable…you can use this as well.
 you’ll notice I left on the green peel which is an option with the spiralizer.
“Meat Balls”
- 1 cup soaked raw walnuts (soak for 4 hours and discard soaking water)
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp olive oil
- 1 tsp tamari
- 1 small garlic clove
- pinch sea salt
- 1 tbsp finely chopped parsley
- 1 tbsp finely chopped onion
- Place garlic in a food processor and process until finely chopped
- Add walnuts, lemon juice, olive oil, tamari, sea salt, and process into a paste
- Transfer to a small bowl and stir in parsley and onion. Mix well.
- Shape mixture into small balls
 Marinara Sauce
- 1 clove garlic
- 11 sun-dried tomatoes (oil packed or soaked)
- 3 medium tomatoes
- 1 red pepper
- 1/4 cup chopped parsley
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tsp dried basil
- 2 tsp dried oregano
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- dash cayenne
- Place garlic in a food processor and process until finely chopped
- Add the sun-dried tomatoes and process until well chopped
- Add the fresh tomatoes, red pepper, and remaining ingredients and process until smooth
- Serve over zucchini pasta and “meat balls”
So far this has been Fitz’s favorite meal, although I’ve been surprised at how much he’s enjoyed my meal preparation, very open minded guy I’ve got.
I encourage you to challenge yourself in a big or small way this spring. What winter habit could you cut out? Perhaps it’s that second cup of coffee or that sweet treat everyday at 3pm or that bag of chips at night in front of the TV. Would you miss it that much? Never know until you give it a try!
I’ve officially hit my wall.
My sister Brooke warned me about this, she told me that I’d do o.k for the first few months with the sleep deprivation, the early wake-ups EVERYDAY, and constantly being “on”. I was o.k , in fact, I felt like I was riding on a bit of a high, but I’ve finally hit the wall. I’m zonked and just want to sleep for a week straight. Then I see this face:
 and I know I can go on another day. I just wish he would take a nap every so often like every other baby I know What’s that line “sleep like a baby”? Liars!
I decided I needed something to put a little pep back in my step so why not cleanse? Spring is a great time to kick-start your liver, shake-off the extra winter (baby) weight, and start fresh. I’m still nursing and not able to do a herbal cleanse or any kind of fast, so instead I decided to eat raw for the month of April. A Raw Food Diet isn’t considered a cleanse, however it is cleansing in nature. The idea is to consume foods that are uncooked, unprocessed, vegan, and organic. These foods are nutrient dense and because they’ve not been exposed to heat, they contain enzymes that take the work off of the digestive system giving it a well deserved break.
The best part about this plan is that my meat-loving husband decided he would join me on this journey! I was a little surprised and very pleased to have him as my partner. As many of us know, making dietary changes is a strain physically, but emotionally it can really take a toll, especially for food-focused people like myself. Having his support and him having mine will make this all the more possible.
Today is day 3 and here’s what I have to say:
- Day 1 didn’t count for me because I was in bed all day with the stomach flu and didn’t consume a thing. Fitzroy went at it guns a blazin’ without me…once again I was surprised and pleased. At one point he asked “is whey protein raw?” and I realized I may need to explain a little more clearly the commitment he’d made. No whey protein powder, no hummus, no cheese, no milks of any kind, etc…unless they’re made from scratch and not touched by heat. I think making almond milk from scratch was ambitious for him so he snacked on beet sticks, carrot sticks, and soaked almonds. Not a good representation of the month to come!
- Day 2 I still felt a little queasy but was hungry enough to get on it. First thoughts: lots of prep work, not enough calories, what was I thinking, I want a muffin! I ate a huge salad with spinach, bitter greens, radishes, carrots, cashews, sunflower seeds, avacado, and clover sprouts. For dessert I had an apple with raw almond butter. I went to bed early and woke up feeling like a million bucks! Motivation for today.
- Day 3 I went to the Big Carrot and stocked up on some goodies that will make this whole process more enjoyable and probably a little less cleansing. Things like raw cashew ice cream that my friend Lara introduced to me, and other raw desserts found in the fridge section.
All in all, lots of veggies, fruit, soaked nuts, sprouted beans, soaked grains, condiments, and them some treats 
When I come across some fantastic recipes I’ll most definitely share them, so far I’ve been keeping it pretty simple. Trying to balance feeding the baby his new set of solids, sending Fitz with at least 1-2 meals for his day (usually he fends for himself), and then making my own meals.
What are your plans for the spring? Anyone planning to make an interesting dietary change? Please share!
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Brown Rice Pasta and Bean Salad
