Healthy Life Lessons

Hello and welcome to a new week! I hope you had a stellar weekend. Ours was...eventful.  I worked Friday night and Saturday.  Saturday afternoon I took Big A to get her ears pierced, something she has been wanting for years.  She is so pleased.  I can't believe how fast the girls are growing up.  Big A turns 10 in May! Unfortunately, Big A woke up Saturday night with a tummy bug that's been going around the school.    She is staying home today and my mother-in-law is watching her while I see clients this morning. In other news, I squatted with the barbell for the first time in years at the gym yesterday.  I've been using dumbbells instead more due to not wanting to waste time setting up the bar than anything else.  Now due to my new goal of really pumping my legs, I decided it is time to get back on the barbell wagon.  I am pleased to say I easily squatted 135 lbs...not bad for such a little person!  Yeah, I am to...

Welcome to a new week!  Here in Toronto it's starting off well with relatively mild temperatures. But I know many of you down south are experiencing a one heck of a winter storm right now, so you are probably in the mood for some comfort food.  Indian food is just that. Indian food is absolutely scrumptious, but it often is very heavy and calorie-dense.  Although full of good-for-you spices and veggies, many dishes are also full of oil, butter and cream.  Probably one of the most popular dishes in North America, Butter Chicken, is usually just that. We never order it when we get Indian food, not just for that reason, but also because Adam doesn't eat dairy and meat together.  I created this recipe for Adam - so, in fact, I did use chicken as vegan food makes Adam grumpy.  But the sauce is vegan and you can use chickpeas or tofu for your protein instead. I kept the calories lower by using coconut creamer ( this one ) instead of cashews, which a...

This delicious curry can be rolled into a roti shell (or whole grain tortilla), or served over rice or quinoa (or cauliflower rice!).  Its so yummy, you may just want to eat it alone.  No matter how you serve it, it is as healthy as it is tasty.  Win win!! Sweet Potato Chickpea Roti 1 cup lentils, cooked 1 sweet potato, cooked, peeled and mashed 1 tsp coconut oil 1 onion, diced Fresh ginger, chopped, to taste 2-3 cloves garlic, minced 1 tbls garam masala 1 tsp turmeric 1 tsp salt Cayenne pepper, to taste (optional) 1/4 cup cider vinegar 1 can light coconut milk 1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed (or 1.5 cups, cooked) 1/2 green cabbage, sliced Saute onion, ginger, garlic and spices in oil in large skillet or pot over medium heat.  Once onion has softened, add vinegar, coconut milk chickpeas and cabbage.  Simmer until cabbage is cooked.  Stir in cooked lentils and sweet potato and continue cooking over medium low heat until liquid redu...

Whenever Adam expresses delight over a vegetarian recipe, I know its one I need to share.  Generally, its hard to get him excited about savoury dishes that have no meat in them.  This one's a sure winner though.  Hearty enough for even the biggest, carnivorous appetite! Chickpea Sweet Potato Roti 1 tsp coconut or olive oil 1 onion, diced Large chunk ginger, minced 2-3 cloves garlic, minced 2 tbls madras curry powder (hot or mild) 1 tsp garam masala 1/2 tsp turmeric 1/4 tsp ground allspice 1 tsp salt (or to taste) 1/4 cup cider vinegar 1 cabbage, sliced 1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed (or 1.5 cups cooked chickpeas) 1 can light coconut milk 1 large sweet potato, cooked, peeled and mashed Caribbean hot sauce, to taste (optional) Roti skins or whole grain tortillas Heat oil in large skillet, pot or fry pan.  Add onion, garlic, ginger and spices.  Cook for several minutes over medium heat.  Add in vinegar, cabbage, chickpeas and coco...

When making my last batch of almonds for Adam, I realized I hadn't made curried ones before.  Even though Adam is pretty happy with repetition (he eats the same breakfast and lunch EVERY day during the week), I always like to change things up.  These are very yummy and you can make them spicy or mild, depending on the curry powder you use. Curried Almonds 2 lb almonds 1 tbls olive oil 1 tsp salt 2 tsp curry powder (mild or hot) 1/2 tsp turmeric Toss almonds together with oil and seasonings and spread in a single layer on 2 baking sheets.  Bake at 350F for 10-12 minutes, rotating position of pans half way through.  Be careful not to burn.  Let cool completely and then transfer to airtight container. This recipe has been shared with Urban Naturale's Happy Green Healthy Blog Hop .

This soup is so amazing, and also amazingly simple to make.  Really it is good hot and cold so you can make this recipe any time of year.  I made it spicy, since we like our food hot, but go ahead and make it mild if you prefer. Chilled Curried Carrot Soup (Vegan & Gluten-Free) 1 lb carrots, peeled and chopped into chunks 1 onion, sliced 2 cloves of garlic, sliced 1 tsp olive oil 1 + 1 tsp curry powder 1/4 tsp kosher salt 1 chunk fresh ginger, peeled 900 ml vegetable stock Toss carrots, onion and garlic with oil, 1 tsp curry powder and salt.  Place on a foil-lined baking sheet and roast at 400F for about 40 minutes.  Let cool. Place veggies into food processor or blender with additional curry powder, ginger and stock.  Puree until smooth.  Season to taste.  Keep refrigerated up to 4 days or freeze. This recipe has been submitted to Urban Naturale's Plant-Based Pot Luck Link-Up  and this week's Gluten-Free Friday .

Why hello!  How was your weekend?  Ours was stellar thanks.  Big A had her performances on Sunday and she had a blast.  I don't know if I would say the same for Adam and I and my in-laws.  Don't get me wrong, the kids were all great, but Big A was the first act and then we had to sit through 2 more hours of performances from other people's kids.  And the theatre was stuffy. But I am really proud of her.  I am in awe of her confidence and I hope and prey she is able to maintain it always. Okay, now for a recipe.  I made this for lunch last week and it was delicious.  But what I'm really proud of, is that I knocked the socks off of someone I work with at the fertility clinic who is from India.  He came in while I was eating and he absolutely could not believe I'd made it myself because it was so authentic.  Ha, see I've always said I was Indian in another life!  I purposely made this very thick and rich to serve with ...

I loved the Chinese Style Not-Fried, Not-Rice recipe I made a few weeks ago, using cauliflower 'rice', that I decided to replicate it using Indian flavours.  It doesn't disappoint!    A little sweetness from the garam masala and mango, creaminess from the yogurt, heat from the cayenne, and richness from the chicken and this made an awesome couple of lunches for me.  If you want to go veggie, just use chickpeas or crumbled tempeh instead of the chicken. Full of fibre, protein and vitamins, this meal is guaranteed to power you through the day! Grain-Free Chicken Biryani 1 lb lean ground chicken (or crumbled tempeh) 1 large onion, diced 1/4 cup finely diced fresh ginger 2-3 cloves garlic, minced 1/4 cup cider vinegar 1 tbls garam masala 1 tsp salt 1/2 tsp turmeric Cayenne pepper, to taste (optional) 2 cups peas and diced carrots 1/2 cup plain, gelatin free yogurt (dairy or non-dairy) 2 cauliflowers, pulsed in food processor until consisten...

I really love the complex flavours of Thai food, so I don't know why I don't make it more often.  It's actually quite simple.  If you have the time, you can add your meat raw and simmer in the sauce, or you can just use leftover meat or tofu and throw it in later, whatever.  As long as you don't overcook the meat or seafood, it's really quite hard to screw this up. This could even be a Passover dish if you serve it over cauliflower rice!  If you want to thicken up the sauce a bit (which you definitely would want to do if using cauliflower rice), add a tablespoon or two of coconut flour. Red Thai Curry (Vegan Option) 1 lb boneless cooked chicken, pork, beef, seafood or tofu 2 cloves garlic, minced 2 inch chunk of fresh ginger, minced 2-4 tbls red curry paste* 2 tbls fish sauce (or Ume plum vinegar for vegan) 1 can light coconut milk 1 broccoli, cut into florets 4 cups mushrooms, cut in half 2 red or yellow bell peppers, cut into strips...

Woe is me! It's hard to live with 2 picky kids and a husband who much prefers meat and chocolate chip cookies to much else.  Adam claims its me who is the weird one for loving fruit, veggies, whole grains and legumes as much as I do.  But I think he's the weird one. When he saw this meal he said, "That looks very full of fibre."  Yes, well it is, but it is also incredibly delicious.  And after trying it, my dear husband admitted this one is super tasty. Hearty dishes like this full of veggies and legumes in a rich, flavourful sauce are total comfort food for me.  And right now, thanks to this brutal winter, I need some comfort!  After a gorgeous spring-like day yesterday, we're apparently in for a big snow storm today.  Enough already!! This makes a large amount so feel free to half the recipe, or freeze leftovers for future meals.  If you like your beans on the softer side, start soaking them the night before.  As you can see fr...

Cooking yummy things doesn't have to take a long time.  Really!  And cooked from scratch foods tastes so much better than what you buy premade.  Usually, it's also way healthier. Want an amazingly delicious dish in 20 minutes?  This has just 3 major ingredients, and all you do is stick it in the microwave.  Forget about French fries, this dish made with healthy fats and seasonings blows em' out of the water!! This can be a side dish, or, if you add a can of chickpeas and some chopped kale, it can be an entire, superfast meal. Amazing 20-Minute Coconut Curried Potatoes 4 large potatoes (white waxy or yellow-fleshed baking potatoes both work fine), cubed 1 can coconut milk (full fat works best) 1 tbls curry powder (mild or spicy) 1/2 tsp sea salt, or to taste Toss all ingredients together in microwave-save baking dish and cover.  Cook on high for 10 minutes and then stir.  Cook for another 10 minutes and serve.

After having unseasonably warm weather all fall it very suddenly turned cold.  All of a sudden we've had to dig out the winter jackets and the mittens. It seems like I've gone from slathering on sunscreen to prevent burns, to skin cream to prevent dryness overnight.   But I don't mind. It means gorgeous fall foliage, cosy afternoons with steaming cups of tea, deep sleeps cuddled up under the comforter, and hot, hearty meals...including lots of stews, pastas and curries. This kind of came together just by throwing together what I had in the house but it turned out so amazingly delicious, I had to share it.  You can sub different veggies based on whatever you have lying around and I am sure it will still me fabulous.  Adam really loved this one too, which given his carnivorous preferences, means it's got to be pretty awesome. My curry turned out pretty green and white because I used a purple sweet potato that was white fleshed....

It's kinda nice to have just a 4 day week ahead.  After a very full and active day running around Downey's Farm and then bouncing on trampolines at Skyzone , all 4 of us were exhausted and starving last night.  I thought the extra long weekend might make it even more difficult than usual to get the girls out the door to school this morning, but things went relatively smoothly. This year we didn't do a traditional Thanksgiving meal.  But believe me, I didn't miss the turkey, stuffing thing at all.  I cooked up some pretty yummy things this weekend, if I do say so myself! I dreamed up this recipe, like I usually do, at some random moment.  Actually, I was trying to think of a new way to use pumpkin.  If you like sweet, savoury dishes, you will absolutely love this.  If not...well then you're weird. If you don't want it spicy, you can omit the chili. No matter what, you'll end up with a delicious, comforting curry to warm you up on...

  I didn't get around to making myself a cake for my birthday this year, or any sort of sweet treat for that matter.  I think it's because it was a Wednesday and it's been super busy around here, or maybe because I just haven't really been in the mood.  But when I started to think about what I was in the mood for, one of the things that jumped into my head was sweet potato chickpea roti.  I never said I have a normal head! I might be a weirdo (or so my family tells me all the time) but sometimes I do come up with some pretty stellar recipes and this one is definitely a winner.  Sweet, tangy, savoury and - if you want - spicy.  Even my meat-and-potato-loving husband loved this dish.  And really, what is there not to love?? If you don't want roti, you can serve this as a curry as is or over a grain such as brown rice, quinoa or millet. Sweet Potato Chickpea Roti 2 large sweet potatoes, roasted and peeled 1 onion, diced 1/2 head of green...

Good Monday morning!  I am going to be a total grumpasauras this week because it's going to be super hot and humid.  Blech! I will have a few posts about the CAN FIT PRO conference to share with you the latest and greatest and not so great fitness products and trends, but today I'll share a recipe.  One of the things that came up in several different contexts was the health benefits of turmeric (among other things its a potent anti-carcinogen).  It's not a spicy spice, so it's safe for folks who like their foods mild. The bright yellow colour, actually, is a lot stronger than it's flavour.  It's traditional in Indian cuisine, but you could add it to all sorts of things for a little health boost. Okra is another frequently overlooked nutrition superstar.  Okra is one of those things you either love or hate.  Haters tell me it's a texture thing - that it's slimy.  Okra contains a substance that naturally thickens your dish, which is...

We usually think of curry as being part of Indian cuisine, but there are lots of other cuisines that have curries that play a prominent role: Thai, Chinese, Cambodian, Vietnamese, various African cuisines, and Caribbean.  I like them all. This is a really yummy, satisfying comfort-food type meal.  If it doesn't seem like a typical summer dish, well come on, it's always hot in the Caribbean! It is also incredibly cost-efficient: the main ingredients (rice, beans and cabbage) are inexpensive and this makes a massive amount.  If you aren't feeding a crowd, leftovers can easily be frozen. Caribbean Curried Rice and Beans (Gluten-Free & Vegan) 1.5 cups brown rice 1 onion, diced 1 head cabbage, thinly sliced 3 tbls fresh ginger, finely chopped 2-3 cloves garlic, finely chopped 1 can black eyed peas, or 1.5 cooked black eyed peas (or sub chickpeas or pigeon peas) 1/4 cup cider vinegar 1 can light coconut milk 1 tbls Madras (yellow) curry powder)...

I have recently developed a love affair with mung beans.  I got them at House of Spice last time we were in Kensington Market.  They are one of the few legumes I hadn't tried cooking with at home yet. Like lentils, they cook up pretty quick.  Just soak them overnight and then cook them up for about 40 minutes and they are ready to go.  Like all legumes, they are a super healthy, high fibre form of protein.  Combined with all of these sweet and savoury flavours, they are absolutely fabulous.  This dish was a hit, even with Adam! Apricot Coconut Curried Mung Beans, Cauliflower and Rice 1 cup dried mung beans, soaked overnight, drained and rinsed 1.5 cups brown basmati rice 1 large cauliflower, cut into florets 2 cloves garlic, minced 1/2 tsp olive oil 1/2 tsp garam masala Onion, diced 1 cup fresh cilantro, chopped Sauce 1 cup light coconut milk 1/2 cup no-sugar apricot (or mango) jam or spread (or you could soak and puree unsweetened, dr...

Okay, yes this was a Passover meal for us last weekend, but honestly it's so good, I won't be waiting until next year to make it again.  You could use chickpeas or lentils to make it vegan if you wish, but since it was Passover I was restricted from making any legumes. Creamy Curried Chicken and Quinoa 1 head cauliflower, cut into florets 1 bunch broccoli, cut into florets 1/2 tsp olive oil Salt and pepper 1 onion, diced 3 tbls fresh ginger, chopped 3 cloves garlic, minced 1/2 tsp kosher salt 2 tbls madras curry powder (hot or mild) 1 tsp garam masala 1/2 teaspoon asafetida seeds 1/2 cup cider vinegar 1.5 cups unsweetened plain almond (or other non-dairy) milk 1 lb ground chicken (or 1 can/1.5 cups cooked chickpeas or lentils, drained and rinsed) 1 can tomato paste 1.5 cups quinoa Season cauliflower and broccoli and toss with olive oil.  Lay on foil or parchment lined baking sheet and roast at 350F for about 30 minutes. Cook quinoa according to packa...

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 ...

Adam went nuts for this dish.  You know when he loves a vegan dish, it's GOOD.  I should also add that my foodie mother loved it as well.  She tried some last weekend as she passed through town on route to England to meet up with my dad.  You'll love it too! On top of being super yummy and nutritious, it is also inexpensive and makes a lot, so you  can either freeze leftovers, or serve it to a crowd. You can serve this over the rice, but I prefer to mix the rice right into the curry before serving so it soaks up all of the delicious sauce. 1 onion, diced 2-3 cloves garlic, minced 2-3 tbls fresh ginger, minced 2 tbls madras curry powder (hot or mild) 1/4 tsp turmeric 1/2-1 tsp salt 1/4 cup cider vinegar Caribbean scotch bonnet hot sauce, to taste (optional) 1 can crushed pineapple, with juice 1 can light coconut milk 1 can chickpeas, rinsed and drained (or 1.5 cups cooked chickpeas) 1 cabbage, cored and thinly sliced 1.5 cups long grain brow...