Sweet Shepherd’s Pie

August 17, 2014August 19, 2014Leave a comment

Anyone with kids will tell you that dinnertime is usually a massive battle. It’s so hard to get them to eat anything some nights that I wonder why I even bother making dinner! This is the dinner dish that my kids most consistently eat. I feel like I’m sitting on a goldmine so I won’t keep this recipe to myself any longer! Oscar polished off TWO bowls of it tonight. Shocking, and completely awesome!

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Sweet Shepherd’s Pie

2 large sweet potatoes
1/2 cup coconut cream (solid top part of canned coconut milk)
1/2 tsp sea salt

2 tbsp coconut oil
1 medium red onion, chopped
4 medium carrots, chopped
3/4 cup sweet peas (fresh or frozen work)
4 cloves garlic
2 tbsp gluten free flour
3 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
3 tbsp tomato paste
2 lbs ground lamb
1 tsp rosemary
1 tsp thyme

Peel and cut up the sweet potatoes. Place in a pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil and then simmer until soft. Drain water and mash with a potato masher. Add coconut cream and salt and set aside.

Preheat oven to 400 F.

While potatoes are boiling, cut up red onion and carrots and place in a large pot with the coconut oil over medium heat. Cook 5 minutes. Add garlic, lamb, rosemary, and thyme and cook until lamb is no longer pink.

Mix in flour and cook for another minute.

Add Worcestershire sauce, tomato paste, and peas and stir.

Transfer meat mixture into a large oven safe baking dish and top with sweet potato mixture.

Bake at 400 F for 25 minutes.

The Simple Salad

August 14, 2014August 10, 2014Leave a comment

Think you don’t have time to make a salad? Think again. And before you balk at how simple this salad is, I urge you to give it a go. It just may be your new favourite side dish. I’ve been eating a salad every single night since I remembered how much I love flax oil. It tastes amazing, and it’s full of good fats, containing both omega-3 EFAs (essential fatty acids) and omega-6 fatty acids. Keep it simple, and you too can enjoy delicious greens every evening 😉

The Simple Salad

Organic mixed greens
Flax oil
Sea salt

Toss some greens in a bowl, splash some flax oil on top, and dash with a large pinch of sea salt. Mix and enjoy!

Homemade Infant Formula

August 4, 2014Leave a comment

I always wanted to make my own formula but my first 2 boys refused to take a bottle. This time around, we forced the pacifier over and over, an endeavor that made the introduction of a bottle much, much easier. This combination of soother and bottle has made my fitness journey much more feasible, because it means I can have some time alone!

I found the base of this recipe on Capramilk’s website 3 years ago and was re-introduced to it by some friends recently, so I took it as a sign that both Arlo and I were ready for it. My milk supply was decreasing and I had a feeling Arlo was starving half the time but couldn’t bring myself to give him formula. Thank you Divine timing. Capramilk is a powdered goat’s milk, a go-to base for those seeking alternatives to shelved baby formula. For the rest of the recipe I worked with our Naturopath. We used the carrots for the beta carotene, spinach for the folate, flax oil for the GLA, and nutritional yeast for the B vitamins. Arlo is getting about half formula and half breast milk at the moment, which means I can relax knowing that he’s not going to starve if I leave him for any length of time!

Homemade Infant Formula (for an 8oz bottle)

1 tbsp Capramilk goat’s milk powder
1 tsp coconut oil
1 tsp flax oil
1 tsp olive oil
200 mg DHA
1/8 tsp blackstrap molasses
100 iu vitamin D
1 tsp nutritional yeast
1 tbsp maple syrup
2 tbsp carrot juice
1 tbsp spinach juice
1 scoop HMF Natogen by Genestra
pinch of sea salt
filtered water to get 8 oz of formula.

I usually multiply this recipe by 4 and mix everything but the coconut oil in a litre Mason jar, adding water until the jar is full. Since the coconut oil is solid I put it in the individual bottles and pour the rest of the formulation in. When I heat the bottles, the coconut oil melts and he drinks everything as long as I don’t give him too much at a time. 5 oz seems to be his maximum at 5 months old. If I give him more, he throws everything up Poltergeist-style which is no good for anyone involved!

It is a bit labour intensive because I juice the spinach and carrots myself, but it also ensures that I make fresh juice for the family every 2 days. Once the juicer is dirty I may as well make more juice!

Cinnamon Cookie Cereal

July 23, 2014March 11, 2015Leave a comment

These little cookie bites are the perfect accompaniment to our fresh Ontario strawberries! We keep a stock pile of berries in the fridge, so this cereal is loaded with organic blueberries, raspberries, and strawberries and topped with cookie bites.

I’m already planning on topping my vanilla coconut ice cream with them later 🙂 Good thing I went to the gym this morning! I’m pretty sure the kids are going to ask for this cereal every single day from here on in. It’s delicious, and will destroy your favourite boxed cereal in both the quality and flavour departments. We top this cereal with unsweetened almond milk and it is perfect. There’s enough sugar in the berries and cereal that sugar in the milk would have been overkill.

Although it may look like these took forever to make, I had half of the little balls formed before the oven had even heated up, so it’s not too bad. Totally worth it.

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Cinnamon Cookie Cereal

2 1/2 cups almond flour
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
1/4 cup maple syrup
1 tbsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350° F.

In a bowl, mix almond flour, salt, cinnamon, and baking soda.

Add melted coconut oil, maple syrup, and vanilla extract and mix well.

Pull apart with your hands into little rustic balls. Hint: make a little dough snake and you can easily pull small cookie balls off the end. You can either grease the sheet with coconut oil, or use a silpat sheet – my personal favourite.

Cook at 350° for 8 minutes. Let cookies cool on the pan and they will harden.

Fill a bowl with your favourite berries, and top with cookie cereal and your favourite milk for a nutritious and energy sustaining breakfast.

Enjoy!

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Healthy Chocolate Mousse

July 12, 2014June 1, 2015Leave a comment

This was inspired by the not-so healthy chocolate mousse debauchery that went on at the cottage this summer. In an attempt to lessen withdrawal symptoms, this healthy version was born. I’ve always loved avocado in chocolate mousse form, but it’s not for everyone so I toned it down in hopes of appeasing you avocado/chocolate haters (namely the hubby). The results were A.M.A.Z.I.N.G.

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Healthy Chocolate Mousse

1 cup coconut milk (canned)(coconut water works well too!)
1 avocado
1/4 cup peanut butter (or more…delicious)
1/4 cup cocoa powder
6 medjool dates, pitted (or 1/4 cup honey)
1/4 tsp sea salt
1 tbsp vanilla extract

Place all ingredients in a blender, and blend well, using the tamper as needed to move the ingredients around. Eat immediately (and why wouldn’t you?) or refrigerate for later! Just be sure to place cling wrap right on top of the pudding to avoid as much oxidation as possible due to the avocado content.

You can also add a tsp of maca if you love it. It will make your pudding taste like maca, but it’s a nice change if you’re a maca lover!

Healing Turmeric Latte

July 8, 2014July 12, 20145 Comments

The turmeric latte is a game changer. I had been wanting to banish soy milk from my diet for a long time, and it was made possible the instant I tasted this drink!

Not only is it delicious, but turmeric is an anti-inflammatory gem. It may reduce tumors and decrease the severity of Alzheimer’s disease, stimulates digestion, may lower LDL cholesterol, and fight colds and flu among other things.

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Healing Turmeric Latte

1 1/2 cups almond milk (or coconut milk, or coconut/almond milk…you get the idea)
1 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp cinnamon
pinch cloves
pinch black pepper
pinch salt
1 tbsp honey (if your milk is already sweetened you may want to start with less honey)

Place all ingredients into a saucepan and heat until desired temperature is reached. Whisk occasionally to ensure it is mixed well. Enjoy.

The reason black pepper is added to recipes with turmeric is because pepper contains piperine, thought to increase the effects of curcumin in turmeric by 1,000 times. This maximizes the health benefits of the latte and you can’t even taste the pepper!

Sesame Protein Balls

June 28, 2014June 25, 2014Leave a comment

sesame

Sesame Protein Balls

2/3 cup sesame seeds
2/3 cup shredded coconut
2 scoops ultimate vegan energy protein powder
1/4 cup almond milk
1/3 cup almond butter
3 tbsp coconut oil, melted
2 tbsp honey
1/4 tsp sea salt

Add all ingredients to a bowl and mix thoroughly. Roll into golf ball shaped balls or flatten between parchment paper to create bars. Refrigerate. Enjoy!

Makes 15 balls. 3.5g of protein and 3g of sugar each.

Lentil Fusilli Salad with Chicken

June 19, 2014June 12, 2014Leave a comment

pasta

Lentil Fusilli Salad with Chicken

225g red lentil fusilli pasta (approx. half a package)
1 head broccoli
1 orange pepper
1/2 cup olives, pitted and halved
1/4 cup chopped red onion
1/4 cup sundried tomatoes, diced
1 pint mini tomatoes, halved
3 cooked chicken thighs
olive oil
salt and pepper

Boil water and turn flame down to low/medium. Stir in pasta and cook for 8 minutes. Drain.

Meanwhile chop up broccoli into bite size pieces, put into a pot with an inch of water and boil/steam with lid on until tender but firm, roughly 8 minutes.

Chop up remaining ingredients and place in a large bowl. Add pasta and broccoli when they are finished cooking.

Add oil, salt and pepper to taste. Add more as desired.

Red Lentil Pasta vs. Brown Rice Pasta

We were a brown rice pasta type of family until I discovered red lentil pasta. Now it is my go-to pasta. Both are gluten-free. Win-win.

Per 100g, here is how they measure up:

Protein: 13g vs 7g
Fibre: 6g vs 3.5g
Calories: 350 vs. 350
Fat: 1g vs 2.7g

But, don’t lentils have lectins? Yes lentils have lectins. Lectins bind to your intestines, block absorption, and damage the gut lining, causing the body to battle the dreaded leaky gut and then have to divert proteins from other tasks in order to repair it. But, once lentils are cooked, their lectin levels drop dramatically.

It all comes down to this, and this is our philosophy where all food is concerned: how do you personally feel after you eat them? Good – great. Not so good – it’s your call if you want to eat them or not!

Chocolate, Peanut Butter, and Coconut Protein Balls

June 14, 2014June 13, 2014Leave a comment

Meet my new favourite obsession: protein bar creation. I used to live off of protein bars so it’s high time I make my own. These balls will come in super handy when the kiddos come home from school and want food ASAP. Though I would like to get the sugar content down even more for that same reason!

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Chocolate, Peanut Butter, and Coconut Protein Balls

3/4 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
2 scoops ultimate vegan energy protein powder
1/4 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup mini chocolate chips
1/3 cup almond milk
6 drops liquid stevia

Mix all ingredients together, and roll into TBSP size balls. Serve.

Using the above recipe yields 16 balls with 2.5g of sugar and just over 2.5g of protein each. The protein powder is comprised of sprouted brown rice protein, maca, and vanilla. I highly recommend Brad King’s brand not only because it tastes great, but because it is a highly bioavailable form of protein. Our bodies can use it easily unlike other vegan forms such as pea protein which are largely cheap fillers.

My favourite brand of stevia is Now’s better stevia, french vanilla flavour. It’s still got the bitterness characteristic of stevia, but is way better than sweet leaf in my opinion.

balls Note that sweet little hand trying to get into the chocolate chips!

Mini Paleo Frittatas

June 10, 2014June 13, 2014Leave a comment

I have attempted frittatas many times in the past and none of them have been delicious as this! There is so much goodness packed into these little gems and the kiddos ate them up despite all of the green! I’ll admit it was difficult to get them to take that first bite, but once I got big brother to partake, little brother happily complied!

These are also good reheated the next day, so feel free to make a big batch!

Mini Paleo Fritattas

1 tbsp coconut oil, plus more for greasing pan
5 eggs
1 cup broccoli florets, diced
1 cup chopped baby spinach
1/2 red pepper, diced
1/4 cup coconut cream (solid top in a can of coconut milk)
5 strips bacon, chopped

Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease a muffin pan well, or use silicon muffin cups.

Place coconut oil, broccoli, bacon, and red pepper into a skillet over medium heat and cook until broccoli is bright green and bacon is cooked. Cool 10 minutes.

In separate bowl, whisk eggs and coconut cream. It will be chunky. Add spinach and stir.

Empty the broccoli mixture into the egg mixture and stir immediately.

Drop 1/4 cup of egg batter into each prepared muffin cup. Bake 20 minutes. Cool 10 minutes in pan, run a knife along the edge and carefully remove.

Makes 7 mini fritattas.

* You may also use frozen broccoli and/or previously cooked bacon. You can substitute another protein if you don’t do bacon!