Healthy Life Lessons

We are enjoying Family Day here in Ontario, ending what has been a lovely long weekend. I meant to post this recipe Friday, but the day was so busy I completely forgot. Salad might sound like a strange thing to post in February, but the weather here has been gorgeous and unseasonably warm. In any case, I eat salad all year long, they just tend to be heartier in winter, like this one. I love my fatty fish, and since discovering I can't digest flax or chia seeds, I am trying to eat more of it to get in my Omega 3s. The most inexpensive fatty fish are canned, like salmon, tuna, herring and sardines. I know not everyone is a fan, but fortunately, I am. Though I refuse to buy salmon with bones, blech! Only boneless thanks. The dressing contains no oil or mayo, just yogurt. You can use Greek yogurt to bump up the protein content further, and non-dairy yogurt if you can't eat dairy. You can also use greens instead of coleslaw mix or shredded cabbage, but I adore the extra c...

I love fish and seafood and love knowing its good for me.  I am particularly fond of pink fish like trout and salmon, but I am a bit picky about white fish.  I just don't like the texture of some (wild cod, catfish), and find others too dry and bland (sole).  Recently I decided to try President's Choice sustainably sourced wild hoki.  I had never had it before but was very impressed.  Its meaty and flaky, but not dry or rubbery.  I simply broiled it with lime juice and seasonings and threw it into fish tacos with a red onion, tomato and avocado relish.  Yum!  This is definitely going to be something I do again!! I am off for a short vacation and will be back Tuesday, May 5th.  Stay well until then.

  Bacon still seems to be all the rage these days, turning up in everything from cocktails to cupcakes. Of course I think this is disgusting and ridiculous.  Probably one of the worst things for your health that you can eat is cured and processed meats.  Why?  The nitrites they are preserved with.  And don't let 'cultured celery extract' on the ingredient list fool you, that's just a 'naturally' derived nitrite that experts say may be just as harmful. That being said, I do think bacon is tasty.  Not tasty enough to eat often, if at all, but I love the idea of a healthier substitution.  Unfortunately, all the supposedly healthier options I've found still have nitrites in them.  Until now. I recently found Mclean brand turkey bacon at Fiesta Farms  and was impressed by the ingredient list: Short, readable, with no nitrites!  I picked up a pack and threw a few slices into some wraps I made Adam and I for dinner the other...

    Here is another simple fish recipe that is easy, delicious and kid-friendly.  I almost had a pretty picture of it, but, of course, broke the fillet in half when moving it into the serving dish. Clearly not only am I not meant to be a food photographer, I'm not meant to be a food stylist either.  Ah well, I only care about the taste anyways. Honey Garlic Roasted Trout 1 lb rainbow trout fillet 2-3 cloves garlic, minced 1 tsp toasted sesame oil 2 tbls  honey 2 tbls soy sauce (or tamari, or coconut aminos) Crushed red chili flakes, to taste (optional) Season with salt, to taste Whisk together garlic, oil, honey, soy and seasonings.  Spoon evenly over trout.  Roast at 425F for 8-14 minutes (depending on thickness). 

Good Monday! How was your weekend?  Ours was really quiet.  Saturday Adam and his parents took the girls to Centreville while I spent the morning cleaning up our back yard.  I think I did more gardening than I've ever done in my whole life this weekend!  I'm pretty proud of myself.  Then we had our neighbours over in the afternoon for drinks and a playdate for the kiddies.  Yesterday the girls had their swim lessons at the JCC while I taught my spinning class and then we went to Christie Pits pool in the afternoon.  It was just too freakin' hot to do much but be in the water. Speaking of which, it's going to be 30 celcius and humid all week.  My least favorite weather.  I'll try not to complain to much, but holy cow, even first thing this morning it's oppressive and unpleasant.  Yuck! So, shall we talk food now? From the time I got pregnant with Big A until about 2 years ago, I went from adoring fish to just eating it from ti...

So Adam is coming home tomorrow, assuming his flight gets in, and I'm still standing!  Barely.  Man, the weekends are the hardest, and with Family Day yesterday, this was a long weekend.  Honestly, I'm never a big fan of Family Day: an extra day with the kids in the dead of winter with half the city closed down and any open attractions and venues crowded with families trying to entertain their own rugrats.  Yeah, thanks, not really a holiday.  With Adam away this year, I was especially underwhelmed.  Fortunately, his cousin offered to take the girls for the day.  Oh halleluhah! The weekend was really up-and-down.  Saturday morning, Little A had one of her major screaming fits before 8am.  My crime?  I dared give Big A the mug she wanted.  Once she calmed down, 45 minutes later, she became sweet, happy Little A, and the girls surprised me by playing together nicely for about 90 minutes while I had a quiet breakfast with the news...

I nagged Adam several times before he left to remember to eat carefully because of his cholesterol.  I know he'll be careful, but I also know he won't be eating lentils and rice either.  Nonetheless, since chicken is one of his favorites, I decided to indulge him with this dish for the last supper we ate together.  Yes, the last supper! Marinating the chicken overnight is a must, don't skip this step!  I served this with an amazing rice pilaf and some roasted veggies (recipes to come). 2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts 1/2 cup red wine vinegar Zest and juice of 2 navel oranges 1/2 cup Spanish olives, pitted and sliced 3-4 cloves garlic 2 tsp paprika 1 tsp dried oregano Salt and pepper, to taste

If you're Jewish, particularly if you're a Jew from New York, than you probably enjoy indulging once in a while (or often!) in a chewy bagel slathered in cream cheese, covered with a few slices of salty, buttery lox...and maybe garnished with a sprig of fresh dill, red onion, capers, cucumber and/or tomato slices.  Jewish deli food at its finest! Cream cheese is found in a lot of Jewish dishes, and honestly, I love the stuff.  But it's not exactly a nutritional superstar.  High in fat and salt, low in protein and calcium, it doesn't really do the body good.  If you're looking for a better alternative, try quark!  What the heck is quark? It's a fresh cheese with the same consistency as cream cheese, but is low in sodium, low in fat, and high in calcium and protein.  It's an amazing versatile product that can be used as a base for spreads, like this one, or used in cooking and baking for both sweet or savoury recipes.  If you are not a big fan ...

I adore shiritake noodles.  They are a wonderful replacement for rice noodles, particularly in Asian-style dishes.  Rice noodles can easily get gummy and sticky, but shiritake's maintain their texture no matter what.  Because they do not absorb liquid, however, you have to be careful to prepare them properly, using the drying method, and make sure you start with a fairly thick sauce.  This dish is so yummy and flavourful and so quick to prepare!  Perfect for lunch or dinner.  For a vegan option, add cubed tofu in place of the tuna. Salad 1lb bag shiritake noodles (not the tofu kind), drained and rinsed 1 can tuna, undrained 1 bag rainbow slaw 1 bunch green onions, sliced 2 tbls fresh ginger, finely chopped 1-2 cloves garlic, minced Dressing 1/4 cup low-fat mayo (regular or vegan) 3-4 tbls light miso paste 2 tbls rice vinegar (unseasoned, sugar-free kind) 1 tbls low sodium soy/tamari or aminos 1/8 tsp toasted sesame oil Sira...

If you love fennel like I do, than you'll love this recipe.  If you are not a meat eater, you could easily make this vegetarian by using crumbled tempeh instead of turkey.  Yummy over pasta or spaghetti squash, this makes a great comfort food meal. 1/2 tsp olive oil 1 large fennel bulb 3-4 cloves garlic 2 cups creamy milk (I used unsweetened, plain soy) or cream 2 tsp fennel seed Fresh grated nutmeg, to taste Salt and pepper, to taste 1 lb ground turkey or chicken (or 350g package tempeh, crumbled) 700ml jar pasta sauce (or 28oz can ground tomatoes) 2 tsp dried basil (or 2-3 tbls fresh basil, chiffonaded) Crushed red chili flakes, to taste (optional) 1 lb whole grain pasta (gluten-free, if desired), cooked al dente Remove fronds (green, leafy parts) from the fennel and finely chop in food processor.  Set aside.  Take fennel bulb, remove core, and thinly slice.  Place oil, sliced fennel and garlic in a large pan or skillet.  Coo...

This was the perfect way to prepare those spicy jerk chicken sausages I bought, but since I am not likely to drive out to Medium Rare again any time soon to buy more of these pricey babies, I think I may make Dreena Burton's amazing looking recipe for jerk chickpeas in place of the sausage next time.  Whether you choose meat or vegan protein, you will love this delicious dish!  It may not be traditional to add kale to Caribbean rice & peas, but it certainly boosts the nutrition and is really yummy. 1.5 lbs jerk chicken or other spicy sausage, sliced (or 1 recipe jerk chickeas )* 1 onion, diced 2-3 cloves garlic, minced 1 tsp dried thyme leaves 1/2 tsp salt 1/4 cup cider vinegar 1 cup fresh or frozen green peas 1 large bunch kale, leaves torn into bite sized pieces, tough stems removed 1 can light coconut milk 1.5 cups long grain brown rice, cooked Saute sausage in a large pan or skillet over medium heat until partially cooked.  Add onion, garli...

Make this vegan by subbing chickpeas for the meatballs, but if you're a carnivore like my husband is, you'll like this... Meatball Curry 1 lb ground chicken or turkey 2-3 cloves garlic, minced 2 tbls minced fresh ginger 1 tsp garam masala 1/2 tsp salt Pinch cayenne, to taste (optional) 1 onion, minced 2 tbls fresh ginger, minced 2-3 cloves garlic, minced 2 large tomatoes, diced 1 tbls garam masala 1 tsp chili powder 1/2 tsp turmeric 1/2 tsp salt Cayenne pepper, to taste (optional) 1/4 cup cider vinegar (or juice of  1 lemon) 1 can light coconut milk 1 cup frozen or fresh green peas A few handfuls fresh cilantro, chopped Place all the ingredients for the meatballs in a bowl and mix by hand.  Roll into small balls and place in a large skillet or pot over medium heat.  Brown on both sides.  Add onion, garlic, ginger, tomatoes and seasonings to skillet, along with vinegar or lemon juice.  Cook until liquid is absorbed.  Pour...

I rarely cook with white fish because I tend to find it boring.  I am a much bigger fan of pink fish, like salmon and trout.  But white fish is also healthy, and it tends to be much less expensive.  So I figured there had to be a way to make it exciting.  Indian flavours are my favorite, so tandoori style seemed to be a good idea.  Also, I can never marinate meat in yogurt because of Adam's kosher-style diet, so using fish instead gets around this problem. This meal turned out amazing.  Even Big A - not one to salivate over the aroma of Indian food - commented on how good this food smelled, and it tasted just as good.  The marinade actually makes the outside of the fish a beautiful bright pink! Don't be intimidated by all  the 'minced' ingredients...I just throw it all in my food processor. Tandoori Fish 1.5-2 lb white fish fillets (I had 4 massive basa fillets) 1 tbls tandoori masala spice blend  (purchased or made yourself) ...

Unlike my two princess-, sparkle- and tutu-loving girls' I never liked pink, not even as a kid.  Nope, my favorite colour was always green. Nothing makes me feel happier than a big plot of really green grass.  You know, the kind that you can tell is watered and manicured on a regular basis.  Of course, this, like many other good things, has now been deemed "bad".  Caring for grass this way is not environmentally friendly. Don't fret, we have no grass in back, and our front lawn is the size of a postage stamp and we NEVER water it.  Perhaps that's why it's more brown than green. I think green reminds me of happy cartoon kid's shows and children's books that are brightly coloured and portray idealistic worlds where nothing really bad happens? I don't know. But perhaps its my love of the colour green that is responsible for my adoration of leafy greens.  To eat, I mean.  Although, really, I also just find them delicious. So when I came acr...

For our anniverary dinner I wanted to make something a little special for Adam and I.  I think Moroccan food definitely fits the bill.  How can you NOT like Moroccan food?  I always wished Adam and I came from Sephardic backgrounds instead of Ashkanazi, because the Jews from North Africa eat WAY better food than what is traditionally eaten by us folks from Eastern Europe. A tajine is actually an earthenware pot in which stews in Morocco are often cooked. I don't have one, but I promise you it is not necessary in order to create an incredibly mouth-watering stew.  I couldn't believe how easy this dish was, especially given how fabulous it turned out.  You really just dump all the ingredients into a large stew pot and let it simmer until the meat is cooked.  I roasted my veggies in the oven and then added them in towards the end because my stew pot wasn't large enough to cook everything down.  But this worked out amazingly because the veggies got...

Growing up in a small city, we always had a big back yard.  Unlike me, my mom is quite the green-thumb, so along with a variety of beautiful flower, trees and shrubs, she always grew herbs and a a few vegetables, including rhubarb (apparently it is considered a vegetable by some folks, and a fruit by others).  Each spring, as soon as it was ready, all I had to do was pluck it from the garden and start chomping on it.  Yes, I kid you not, I would even eat it raw, sometimes with sugar, sometimes without.  I have always enjoyed its tartness. Now that we live in a large urban centre, and a small house with very little available garden space, I have much less access to rhubarb.  Once in a while I'll find it at a farmer's market or, even more seldom, a grocery store, but it's really not something I see too often.  So a few weeks ago, when I noticed that Fiesta Farms carries Stahlbush's frozen organic rhubarb and I couldn't resist picking up a few bags. Inste...

Even as a kid I didn't really like pie, because as I've mentioned many times before, I hate pastry crust. I just can't think of a bigger waste of stomach space or empty calories.  The one exception was chicken pot pie.  I loved the filling, so I would mash the crust into the filling so that it was unidentifiable. As a healthier alternative, I came up with  this recipe.  Rich, creamy and comforting, yet low in fat and packed full of veggies.  It's dairy-free for Adam since he is lactose intolerant and doesn't eat dairy and meat together.  You could easily veganize it by replacing the chicken with chickpeas, the chicken stock with veggie stock, and using vegan worcestershire sauce.  Make it gluten-free by replacing the flour with whatever gluten-free flour or thickener you have on hand.  You can also sub in whatever veggies you have on hand.  Leeks would go nicely in this, and any root veggies would make a nice addition too. In terms of s...

Why is it on any given school day the girls will happily sleep past 7am, but on a holiday like today, they are both up early?  In particular, Big A was up at 6:15am!!  Oh well, such is the life of parents of young kids, huh? Now, this isn't a strictly Passover recipe, but can easily be Passoverized (is that an actual verb?).  I just had to share because it turned out so tasty. I often bake with bananas but I've never cooked with them until now. I got thinking about how frequently I use tropical fruits, such as pineapple and mango, to naturally sweeten curries and stir-fries, so why not try bananas? A Google search led me this recipe: http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/steamed-fish-with-banana-curry-sauce-10000000665375/, which peaked my interest. Of course, I modified it significantly, but the central flavours are the same. At first I was worried the banana flavour would be too sweet or overpowering, but the sourness of the lime, the saltiness of the fish sauce,...

This recipe was inspired by my mom's friend Lucille's famous mock crab.  It makes a delicious appetizer, snack or lunch.  Serve with whole grain crackers, or use in place of tuna salad on a sandwich, wrap or on top of fresh greens. I am not calling it mock crab because I think it is cruel to mock crabs.  Really, what did crabs ever do to you? Okay, that's not the real reason.  Actually, I think this is delicious in it's own right, regardless of whether or not it tastes anything like crab salad. White Fish Salad 1 lb light textured white fish (I used wild cod) 2 celery stalks, finely diced 1 onion, finely diced 2 cloves garlic, minced Pinch of paprika Salt & pepper, to taste 1/4 cup ketchup (preferably sugar-free) 1/4 cup low-fat mayo/Veganaise, etc.* Pinch of cayenne, to taste (optional) Place fish on foil-lined baking sheet.  Scatter diced celery, onions and garlic over top.  Season to taste.  Roast in oven at 425F for a...

This is my new favorite lunch. Feel free to use corn tortillas, but personally I'm not a big fan, so I used some of my Flatout wraps (this made 4 large tacos, which for me made 2 lunches). 4 fillets firm white fish (halibut, haddock, pollock, etc.), about 1 lb 2 tsp chili powder 2 cloves garlic, minced Juice and zest of 1 lime 1 red onion, thinly sliced 4 tbls cider vinegar About 7oz/200g cole slaw mix, or 3 cups finely shredded cabbage 1/4 cup of your favorite salsa 1/4 cup low-fat mayo/Veganaise, etc. 1 chipotle pepper in adobo sauce (optional) Optional garnishes: fresh cilantro, avocado chunks, fresh chopped tomatos 4 corn tortillas or whole grain flour tortillas Lay fish fillets on top of a foil lined baking sheet. Sprinkle with lime juice and zest, garlic and chili powder. Bake at 400F for 6-10 minutes (depending on thickness) until cooked through. Saute onions with cider vinegar in a skillet over low/medium heat for about 20 minutes, until softened. ...