Healthy Life Lessons

Happy Good Friday!  I have a delicious discovery to share with you today. I wanted to make Angela's No-Bake Double Chocolate Torte for Passover last year but never got around to it.  After all, she claims, "I’m often asked what my favourite vegan dessert is, the dessert that is a dazzler, crowd pleaser, and would fool even the toughest vegan dessert skeptic." And skeptics there are in Adam's family, so I was eager to test it out at a seder.  It also contains avocados which everyone, except Adam's sister and I, claim to hate.  I suspected this would be one dish with the little green fruit that would win everyone over. So I made it this year.  I made a few adjustments, but kept the recipe pretty similar overall.  I swapped out maple syrup for agave because I think it's a waste to use maple syrup when you are not showcasing the flavour and for this dessert, it's the chocolate you want shining through.  I also swapped the peanut butter for almond ...

Macaroons are such a classic Passover treat.  Although what I remember from my childhood are those yucky store-bought Manachevitz ones: These are so much better. Better for you and way, way better tasting.  Oh, and honestly they're simple to make.  No reason to reserve them for Passover either.  Gluten-free and perfect for Easter too! Chocobanana Macaroons 2 egg whites 1/2 tsp salt 1/4 cup agave syrup 2 heaping tbls cocoa powder 1 ripe banana, mashed 1 tsp vanilla extract 3 tbls coconut oil, melted 250g bag unsweetened coconut Whip eggs with salt until stiff peaks form.  Add remaining ingredients and mix until it all comes together.  Pack mixture firmly into ice cream scoop and drop balls onto parchment paper lined baking sheet.  Bake at 350F for 20-22 minutes.  Let cool completely and then remove from pan.  Store in air tight container in the fridge for up to 1 week.

I'm currently obsessed with sweet potatoes.  I've always liked them, but for some reason I just wasn't making them very often.  That's changed my friends.  Any way you roast them, they are guaranteed to be candy-sweet and delicious.  You can tinker with the seasoning, but garam masala goes perfectly with them.  This was one of the side-dishes I brought to our sedar last night. Orange Spiced Sweet Potatoes 6 medium sweet potatoes, cut into thin wedges Zest and juice of 1 large or 2 small navel oranges 1 tsp garam masala 1/4 tsp kosher salt Toss sweet potatoes with juice and seasonings.  Place in single layer on parchment-lined baking sheets.  Bake at 400F for 35 minutes, rotating sheets and switching from top to bottom rack half way through. This recipe has been submitted to Diet, Dessert & Dogs' Wellness Weekend .

This is so yummy it doesn't need to be just for Passover. Or for individuals who avoid gluten.  Or for people who like healthy food.  It's good for anyone, anytime. When it was baking, Big A ran into the kitchen to find out what I was making because it smelled so good. Even picky-pants Little A liked it and had a tantrum when I told her we were waiting until Passover to start eating it.  Well, Passover's now here, so dig in! Enjoy a handful as a snack or serve with milk or yogurt. Vanilla Cherry Almond Quinola 180g bag puffed quinoa 1 cup chopped almonds 1-2/3 cups unsweetened dried cherries 1/4 cup almond butter 1/4 cup agave or coconut nectar 2 tsp vanilla extract 1/4 cup apple sauce 1/4 tsp sea salt Place quinoa and almonds in a large bowl.  Whisk together almond butter, agave and vanilla in a small sauce pan over medium heat until smooth.  Remove from heat and pour over quinoa and almonds.  Add apple sauce and salt and toss...

Since Adam usually eats oatmeal for breakfast, I thought I would create a quinoa porridge for him this year for Passover.  After all, it's still freakin' cold here, so I know he will appreciate something hot to eat in the morning. A few years ago I bought him quinoa flakes to make porridge with and it was a big failure.  The smell made both of us gag, and he thought the texture was awful too.  In contrast, using the quinoa intact produces an absolutely delicious hot cereal.  If apple cinnamon isn't your thing, you could do orange zest and cranberry, cherry and almond extract, apricot and ginger.  The options are endless! What's nice, is you can make this ahead of time and reheat as needed for a quick, satisfying breakfast. Apple Cinnamon Quinoa Breakfast Porridge 1-946 ml carton of unsweetened, plain or vanilla almond or coconut milk 1/2 cup xylitol, coconut sugar or liquid stevia, to taste 1/2 vanilla bean, split, seeds scraped out 1/4 tsp ground ...

  It's hard to believe, but Passover starts Monday night!  So here begins this year's collection of recipes and I'm starting with an oldie but goodie. I haven't made these in a few years because each Passover I end up experimenting with new recipes, but this one is Adam's favorite and he's been disappointed when I didn't whip them up the last couple of Pesachs.  So I decided to indulge him.  And you will want to indulge too.  Sweet, chewy and chocolatey.  This recipe isn't so healthy because of all the sugar, but my attempts to healthify them have failed.  At least they are a once a year treat.  These really do taste like ooey, gooey, chewy chocolate chip cookies, but are made with only matzo meal (100% whole wheat, of course).  Hey, even if you don't celebrate Passover you might want to give them a try because they are so darn easy to make and yummy.  Just note that the ones in the photo above were still hot when I took the...

This is a complete meal in one bowl, full of nutrition and yumminess.  It can be made ahead and packed up for lunch since the kale is hearty and doesn't get limp and soggy like lettuce does.  This salad is sweet, satisfying and flavourful.  I think this is definitely going to be added to my roster of rotating workday lunch options! Roasted Sweet Potato, Kale and White Bean Salad 1 large or 2 small heads kale, washed and torn into pieces 2 large sweet potatos, roasted and diced (remove skin if desired, but I kept it on), still warm or reheated 1 can white kidney beans or romano beans, drained and rinsed Orange-Balsamic Dressing Juice of 2 oranges 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar 4 tbls red wine vinegar 1 heaping tbls dijon mustard 1/4 tsp konjac root flour or guar gum or xantham gum Salt and pepper, to taste For the dressing, place all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth and creamy (will thicken as it sits).  Pour half ...

Living a sedentary life? Didn't you know that sitting is the new smoking? What the heck does that mean?  It means we are starting to realize just how many chronic illnesses and deaths could be prevented if people would get up and move more. Unfortunately, the majority of North Americans are still not getting enough physical activity. There are, of course, many contributing factors.  Where you live can determine your fitness levels.  People who live in rural or suburban areas that require cars to get around tend to get less exercise.  Individuals in underpriviledged communities may have access to fewer recreational resources and/or may need to avoid public areas for personal safety reasons.  But some people just say they lack time.  Honestly, this isn't a decent excuse.  To me, this is another way to say, "I am unwilling to make it a priority". But it should be a priority.  Why?  Long-term physical and mental health is very much ...

Here in North America, as in many industrialized areas of the world, we are obsessed with weight.   The diet, fitness and weight-loss industries are worth billions of dollars, however, regardless of what new 'miracle' weight loss products or diets hit the market, our obesity epidemic continues to worsen. The unfortunate reality is that most of us care more about our weight for aesthetic reasons than for health reasons.  This is certainly not surprising since our culture is fat-phobic and literally obsessed with thinness.  A higher BMI can mean social exclusion and system discrimination.  If you are lucky enough to be able to buck the pressures to obtain a particular body shape or appearance, than you may still wonder, are there any benefits to being 'thin' over being 'fat'? For the most part it's been accepted that being overweight correlates with a greater risk of many chronic illnesses such as Type II diabetes, heart disease and certain cancers...

It's a cold, cold Monday.  Spring officially starts Thursday but the weather report is calling for crappy weather all week.  Sigh!  See, this is why I hate March!  We'll have yucky, winter-like weather, about 2 minutes of spring, and then go right into the extreme heat and humidity of summer.  Hmmph! At least the cold is a good excuse to cook up some yummy comfort food. Rice ranks up there as one of my favorite foods.  So I've been trying to ignore reports about high levels of naturally occurring arsenic in rice for a while, but the piece about it in the most recent Nutrition Action Healthletter scared me enough to try to cut back.  They recommend no more than 2 cups of any kind of rice per week.  Gasp!  I can easy shovel down that much in a single sitting! Source So I grabbed some millet at the health food store the other day.  I've been meaning to try it for a while, and this gave me the perfect push.  Like quino...

During the Raisin Exercise we did during my first mindfulness session, I had an epiphany: Perhaps mindfulness can be used to help kids overcome picky eating habits! You see, mindfulness is growing in popularity as a means of improving people's relationship with food.  In most cases, however, it's ultimate goal is to get people to eat less by, perhaps, realizing that they can be satisfied by smaller portions, or that a donut is not worth the calories, because when they eat one mindfully they realize it doesn't actually taste that good, etc. But during our exercise, something else happened.  One woman in the group admitted that she was dreading it because she hated raisins.  As we did the exercise, however, she realized that she simply finds them ugly.  When she took the time to really focus her attention on the experience of eating one, however, she discovered that she actually finds they have a pleasant taste.  This got my mind going... If you are a par...

Don't ask me what inspired me to make a pizza with anchovies!  Okay, since you asked: I had a tube of anchovy paste in the fridge and couldn't figure out what to do with it.  Why I decided on pizza, however, I don't know since the only time I ever had anchovies on pizza I found it as distasteful as the ex-boyfriend who suggested it. But boy I'm glad I did.  This was AMAZING! If you don't like anchovies, don't worry, this pizza really doesn't taste fishy.  The proof is in the pudding.  Adam doesn't like fishy fish and he LOVED this pizza.  In fact, until he reads this, he has no idea that there were anchovies on it.  Believe me, the man gobbled this down at lightening speed and declared it amazing. For plant eaters, I did a bit of research and discovered that you can sub umeboshi plum paste for anchovy paste to get that umame/salty quality.  Both are quite high in sodium, as are olives, so make sure you don't add any additional sal...

I love Loblaws.  I know, it's a big chain store.  But it makes me nostalgic.  My parents used to take us there to food shop since I was a little kid.  I have always loved grocery shopping and would happily accompany them.  Admittedly, part of the draw may have been the riding horse at the front of the store near our house.  Even if my parents wouldn't give me a quarter to make it gallop, I loved sitting on top and pretending to ride. Loblaws is a Canadian company, at least, and they do have some genuinely healthy products that they offer at competitive prices.  Let's face it, while it would be ideal if we could all shop exclusively at farmer's markets and health food stores, most Canadians simply cannot afford that.  I took Big A to a local market last weekend, and the prices almost made me fall over.  Like $8 for a loaf of bread?  Seriously?  I am not saying organic, artisanal breads don't offer more than conventional, facto...

Toronto is a mecca for ethnic food and Caribbean food is no exception.  I fell in love with roti shortly after moving here and my love affair continues to this day.  A rich, savoury curry stuffed into a dhal puri (lentil, split pea or chickpea) roti skin?  Yes please! Around here you can find them in almost every variety, from the traditional (goat, chicken, beef, shrimp or chickpea) to the not-so-traditional (tofu, spinach and squash, etc.).  Some are super spicy, some not at all.  But that's what's so awesome, they are pretty easy to make, AND can be customized to your liking. Now, if you are super ambitious, you can make your own roti skin, or, if you live in Toronto, you can purchase some authentic ones at any of the Caribbean grocery stores around town.  Or, if you are lazy, like me, just use a whole grain wrap or tortilla as your skin. This recipe does not have to be followed to the letter.  Sub your own favorite protein and veggie ...

Although the two Little Divas in this house have given some award winning performances lately, we still had a pretty good week, and a great weekend. The girls had a great check up at the dentist: No cavities!  Also, we had arranged for a free musical assessment offered by the Ontario Conservatory of Music for Big A.  Our wanna-be rock star wants voice lessons.  We were a bit nervous she'd have her heart broken because, um, she doesn't really show much natural talent in that department.  In fact, when she sings, Little A generally starts whining and complaining and begs her to stop.  To our surprise, however, the tester concluded that she has good enough range and pitch to start lessons. Her unusually deep voice (alto/soprano) for a 6-year-old female, is also apparently a good thing. Who knew?  So we signed her up! The weekend was a blast.  Big A had a playdate Friday night.  Little A had 2 birthday parties on Saturday.  Unfortunately,...

I would love to tell you all about week one of my Mindfulness course, but the first rule about Mindfulness Club is: You don't talk about Mindfulness Club! I can, however, share a few things with you.  First, if you want to read a bit about the practice of mindfulness, I recommend the 'text book' we are using: Full Catastrophe Living by Jon Kabat-Zinn, who is really one of the pioneers of bringing Mindfulness into the mainstream and into the field of medicine. I am finding meditation just as difficult as I knew I would.  I am hard-wired to be goal-oriented, so the concept of doing something without a goal is hard for me to wrap my brain around.  My thoughts also run a mile a minute and getting them to slow down is tough.  But I am told that this is true for most people. I found this passage in Kabat-Zinn's book and I thought it was really powerful: "Many people are greatly relieved when they come back after practicing meditation on their own during their ...

This time round, to re-stock Adam's almond snack supply for his office, I decided to experiment with a sweet, rather than savoury/salty option.  These make a perfect, healthy snack that can satisfy those sneaky chocolate cravings... Dark Cocoa Almonds 4 cups almonds 1 tbls almond oil (I poured it off the top of our almond butter), or melted coconut oil 2 tbls cocoa powder 1/4 cup xylitol, erythritol or powdered stevia 1/2 tsp vanilla extract 1/4 tsp sea salt A few drops chocolate, vanilla or plain liquid stevia, to taste (optional) Put all ingredients into a large bowl and toss until almonds are evenly coated.  Spread nuts on a single layer on a large baking sheet.  Place in a 350F oven for about 8 minutes.  Let cool and store in an air tight container. This recipe was submitted to Vegetarian Mamma's Gluten-Free Friday .

I'll admit right up front that I am not a big fan of breakfast cereal.  I have eaten my fair share though, as it was always a favorite when I was a kid.  My mom says if you stacked all the Shreddies I've eaten over my lifetime, they'd likely reach the moon. But the honest truth is that I really don't think cereals do a body good.  Oh, and I don't really enjoy them anymore anyways. It wasn't until after my mother's cancer diagnosis, in 1998, when I really go serious about nutrition, that I kicked the cereal habit.  Up until then, I thought cereal was a healthy choice.  After all, I never ate Fruit Loops or Frosted Flakes, only Mini Wheats, Shreddies and Low-Fat Harvest Crunch.  Good grief, I look back and realize that while these may not have been the worst choices out there, they are - like most cereals on the market - all completely full of sugar!  Cookies in a bowl, I say. The only time since then I've eaten cold cereal was during my pregnanc...

After bitching about the weather yesterday, it turned out to be a sunny, pretty lovely day.  The sun is out this morning too, and according to the weather forecast, it is going to be in the plus teens (celcius) by the weekend.  Is there anything sweeter than true spring weather? How about deep, dark chocolatey fudge that's vegan and refined sugar free? This is a delectable way to use my Vegan Sweetened Condensed Milk/Dulce de Leche recipe.  Super simple and devine.  Really ya gotta try it.  Now!  A perfect treat for Passover or Easter. If you like bitter dark chocolate, you may not need to add any additional sweetener beyond what's in the sweetened condensed milk, sweeten to taste. Decadent Dark Chocolate Fudge 1 recipe Vegan Sweetened Condensed Milk/Dulce de Leche (made with 2/3 cup boiling water) 225g unsweetened chocolate 1/2 tsp fine grain sea salt Clear stevia liquid (plain, vanilla or chocolate flavour), to taste (optional) Me...

Happy cold, dreary Monday.  Yep, I knew March would suck, just like very other March.  You THINK it's going to be spring, but it never really is. I'm also not thrilled about starting another week after we had a pretty great weekend.  At least I start my meditation program this afternoon.  I'm excited about that.  I really need to slow down my mind.  There is way too much clutter in there!  I feel like I've developed ADHD half the time because my mind skips from one thing to another, distracting me from tasks and making me feel scattered and disorganized.  Anyways, on to other things... I have a confession: I'm addicted to having April-Fresh clothes!  I can tell you why too: As a child I was deprived of this pleasure.  Yes, please get out your tissues and weep for me. You see, even though I have very sensitive skin, I have never had problems with scents or fragrances, however, my mother and eczema-prone brother do.  So we ...

February gets a bad rap around here for being a crappy month, but frankly I think March is worse.  I am only beginning to get winter fatigue in February and its the shortest month of the year.  By March, I am definitely sick of winter and often the weather still sucks and the month is 31 days long!  Unfortunately, as I often complain, Toronto really only has two seasons: winter and summer, and I hate them both.  Our beautiful 'transition' weather in spring and fall is more like a blip in what is our usual temperature extremes.  Oh well, looking on the bright side, I am grateful that we rarely have natural disasters in this area, so hallelujah for that. It was an interesting week around here.  For the first time in as long as I can remember, I made a meal intended for Adam and I (a vegetarian pasta with roasted zucchini and peppers and sauteed kale in a tomato sauce) that the girls were BOTH willing to eat!  Big A even ate the vegetables!!  I'm...