* * * *

I have a 2 year-old who could live off crackers.

Since we try to keep it healthy in our household, I don’t buy the refined flour type, I try to keep it gluten free and organic.  Brown.

Well, if you’re into organic crackers, you know you can go through boxes and bags of them easily and the cost adds up!  (Especially if you have little munchkins who like to much them)

So rather than wasting plastic and cardboard, why not make your own big batch.  It’s a win-win-win in my eyes – save on money, packaging, and gain on flavour and freshness.

I’ve been meaning to make my own crackers for a long time, fresh homemade crackers with seeds and whole grains …mmm so wholesome.  The last gluten-free cracker recipe I tried was too complicated, so I decided to create my own, something a little more simple – and I was inspired…

We love Mary’s Organic Crackers, also Mary’s “sticks and twigs”.  It’s a great but slightly pricy brand.  If you haven’t had them, they’re great because they’ve got lots of texture, just the right amount of salt and a super-satisfying crunch.  Looking at the back of the box, the ingredients were simple – surely I could whip them up myself!  Quinoa, brown rice, sesame seeds, flax, chia and tamari (don’t quote me exactly) sounds simple enough.

The result – chunky, crunchy, whole grain and seed crackers are born.  They are perfect in their imperfection.  It may not look beautiful – but don’t judge it until you try it!!  Prepare to be impressed.  It was my first time making them, so they look less than perfect – but were a very happy and tasty experiment!

Combined with a fresh organic veggie plate, dip, or avocado, it’s a simple item to take to a potluck or for kids to pick at lunch.  I hope this easy recipe inspires you to play around and perfect your own.

Use different combinations of grains (whatever you have on hand), use different shapes, textures, etc.  By the way, the recipe makes a big batch (3-4 baking sheets, if you bake it all at once), so store the uneaten ones in a re-used bag, box or bottle.  Or you can store the unbaked dough in an airtight container in the fridge (wouldn’t leave it more than a week).

Ingredients

• 1 cup quinoa
• 1 cup brown rice
• 1 cup grain of choice (optional, I used kamut)
• 1/4 cup sesame seeds
• 1/4 cup chia seeds
• 1/4 cup flax seeds
• Sea salt or rock salt to taste, or use about 1/4 cup organic tamari or Bragg’s soy seasoning (taste test until you get the right level of salt)
• 1/3 cup grapeseed oil (use sesame oil, avocado oil or coconut oil if you prefer, olive oil is not good to cook with at high temperatures)

Procedure

• Cook the quinoa, brown rice and grains in 5-6 cups of water, according to package directions.
• While it is cooking, soak the flax and chia seeds in 1 cup of water.  Add more water, as needed (at least 20 minutes of soaking time).  I used a lot more flax and chia in this picture, but the mixture can also be used for cereals and in baking.
• Take 1/2 or 3/4 of the cooked grains, and blend them with water until they are a smooth mushy consistency.   This leaves a bit of whole grain in the texture of the cracker.
• In a large bowl, combine this blended mixture with the rest of the grains, the soaked chia and flax seeds, the sesame seeds, the salt/tamari, and the oil.
• Preheat the oven to 350°F  (also experiment with lower temperatures, it will take longer to bake)
• Take a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper, and scoop out about 2 1/2 cups of the mixture onto it.  Spread it out as well as you can with a spatula.  Cover with another sheet of parchment paper and roll it out, using a rolling pin or bottle to create a smooth surface.
• Now score the crackers to your desired size, but gently cutting with a knife.  This way they break apart into even shapes when they are cooked.  You can even score the edges so that they are perfectly even.  However I like mine rough around the edges…it’s artistic right?
• Bake for about 10-15 minutes, until one side is golden brown and crispy.  Take them out, flip over and take the parchment sheet off to bake the other side through (about 5 more minutes).  If you bake them on a lower temperature for longer, you might be able to skip this step.

Break them off when cooled, and enjoy!  Let me know how your experiments go, love your feedback in the comments section.  :)

Who isn’t?!  I bet you’ve made a lot of smoothies, some of them awesome, some of them not so much.  They’re the perfect “fast” food, before work or even on the go.  A good blender can be your best friend, and I probably have a bit of an attachment to my awesome blender!

I’m on the quest for the perfect smoothie.

When I’m sipping the perfect smoothie, the one that’s been tailored to my nutritional needs and the flavour is just right, nothing hits the spot better.  I’m going to share with you my super antioxidant rich smoothie recipe, that’s also packed with protein.

Yes, vegan protein.

Many vegans or vegetarians struggle with the idea that they’re not getting enough protein.  Where always told by conventional nutrition that we should have more protein and fewer carbs, good fats and low sugar.

Well, I can tell you that the vegan version of protein is going to be so dense you wouldn’t believe it.  Because healthy, whole vegan protein is literally the most nutrient dense protein you can consume, per calorie.   It’s not watered down, fatty or otherwise, it is pure nutrition at it’s finest.  I’m talking about super foods like spirulina, bee pollen, chia seeds, acai and so on.

All that good stuff is in my smoothie, and don’t worry, I have ways to make it taste amazing too!

When your body gets what it needs, your mouth responds in joy.  Hope this smoothie makes your taste buds happy

I included alternatives, because if you just follow the “formula”, you’ll get a great smoothie even if you use the alternative ingredients, and it’ll be suited to your own taste.  Use your own judgement when it comes to proportions, you may like it sweeter or more fatty (add more coconut oil or almond milk), etc.  If you blend it up, dip your finger in and its not super amazing, add something and blend it up again until you get it perfect!

Acai Smoothie

• 1 cup almond milk, coconut milk, coconut water, or pure water
• 1 banana or 1/2 avocado
• 1 kale leaf or beet green (be generous, if you feel you need more greens, add more, but don’t overdo it!)
• 1 tsp – 1 tbsp coconut oil
• 1/2 tsp – 1 tsp spirulina
• 1/2 tsp – 1 tsp bee pollen (available at health food stores or a local bee keeper)
• 1 tsp – 1 tbsp raw honey, agave or other sweetener
• 1/2 cup fresh or frozen berries (optional)
• 1 tbsp chia seeds (optional, this gives it a thicker, jelly texture, and ups the protein count, making it more filling)
• 1 tsp – tbsp acai powder

Yeah, my blender doesn’t look it’s finest in these pics, but I had to post them because you deserve this smoothie recipe!  Have it in the morning (on its own) for a powerful breakfast detox.

Okay, now that you have all those ingredients in, press the button and blend to a smooth consistency.  I definitely recommend  a Blendtec or Vitamix blender if you are going to get into smoothies – the consistency is perfect every time.

Now, I warn you, this smoothie has A LOT of protein.  So you might feel very full drinking it all by yourself.  Share it with your partner or kids in the morning, or have 1 small glass and take the rest with you in a to-go bottle.  It might even get you through lunch!  Otherwise, if you are into working out it might be the perfect size for an apres-exercise snack.  Glass straws, by the way are a great eco-friendly way to sip your smoothie.

Love your comments, so let me know how it goes when you try it out.  :)

Yep, that’s me in the mornings!

On to the pumpkin recipe.  This is a perfect compliment to a Thanksgiving dinner or potluck.

I hope you still have left over pumpkin, somewhere, growing or otherwise!  You can use canned pumpkin in this recipe.

I also like to use the soft stringy insides of the pumpkin, after I’ve separated the seeds.

These pumpkin seed bars are made with sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds (just use whatever seeds you have on hand) and chia seeds.

Chia seeds are so high in protein and omega 3s and they also make a wonderful egg replacement.

If you’re not familiar with these tiny black or white seeds (sometimes called Salba seeds), I highly recommend picking up a pack.   A little goes a long way with these little guys because they quadruple in size when you soak them in water.   This makes the bars gluten-free and vegan, and I like to keep it low sugar too.  The spice topping ups the value of antioxidants.

Despite their humble appearance, they are delicious and totally satisfying!

Pumpkin Seed Bars with Spice Topping

In a blender, combine:

• 1  1/2 cup pumpkin (or more)
• 3 tbsp chia seeds or meal (these “eggs” work better if pre-soaked in 1/2 cup of water and then added to the recipe)
• 3 tbsp coconut oil
• 1/2 cup date-soak-water (leave a cup of dates soaking for 30 min and use the water, use the soft pitted dates in other recipes or add them to this one)  If you prefer, use  a combination of organic brown sugar and stevia to achieve a desired sweetness
• 1 cup almond flour

Blend thoroughly, then add tons of pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds to your mixture, as many as you like!  I add a lot as I like a seedy bar.   Now grease  a ceramic baking dish with coconut oil.  Pour in your batter and add cinnamon swirls, just for fun and because you love cinnamon.  The batter in the dish shouldn’t be too thick – about an inch or so.

Bake at 350 F in a preheated oven for 20 minutes or so, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Cool and cut into squares.  Spread the spice spread on each square as you go along, or spread it on all the squares before you cut.

Spice Spread:

• 3 tbsp raw honey
• 1/2 – 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• pinch of clove powder

One of the purest and highest antioxidant green teas is matcha tea.  With matcha, the whole leaf is consumed which makes it more potent.  It tops this list in antioxidants called polyphenols, but it is also rich in chlorophyll and minerals – which help our bones grow strong.

So forget Starbucks and make your own uber-healthy version!

The same applies with matcha as with chia, a little goes a long way.  I just loved the creamy minty green of this latte so I had to share it.  Love your latte.

Matcha Tea Latte

• 1 tsp matcha tea powder
• 3/4 – 1 cup warm water or almond milk
• 1 tsp coconut oil
• 1 tsp – 1 tbsp raw honey, agave, or preferred sweetener

Blend in a blender, or use a special wooden matcha tea whisk.  Double and triple this recipe to share with your family and friends!  Although in Canada we had our Thanksgiving last month, I am still giving thanks to all the wonderful healthful plants available to us.  :)

~  Happy Thanksgiving!  ~

if it feels good - do it.

Now, there are some guidelines to that motto. It definitely does not apply to blood sugar cravings (or anything harmful)!

However, if it’s truly healthy and you love it or it tastes like ambrosia to you, then it might just be what your body needs.

When it’s cold and damp outside, my body definitely gravitates to warming, hot and spicy foods. The good news is that many warming, hot and comforting foods are precisely what we need to boost our immunity and fight off viruses.

Hot tea, homemade soup, anti-inflammatory spices such as turmeric, cayenne and cumin, spicy chilly peppers, ginger, garlic and onions all help to fight infection and relieve cold and flu-like symptoms. So load up on your favourite warming foods!

Traditionally chicken soup has been used as a home remedy. With all the chemicals in regular store-bought meat many people are steering clear of chicken. So here is my version of healthy chicken-less soup. Shiitake mushrooms replace the meaty bits, give the soup a great rich flavour, and are also a great immune boosting longevity food.

Shiitake Noodle Soup

• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 1 carrot, chopped
• 1/2 cup chopped vegetables (I used cauliflower and broccoli)
• 1/4 cup chopped shiitake mushrooms (use any mushrooms in place of this)
• 1/4 cup lentils, sprouted or dried
• 1/4 cup small whole grain pasta (I used Eden Organic’s Vegetable Alphabets)
• Oil and sea salt to taste, fresh sprouts to garnish

Bring 2 cups of water to boil in a pot, cook the dried lentils on high for 5 mins.   Add the shiitake mushrooms, onion and carrots.  Chop the broccoli and other vegetables while cooking, then add those, the pasta, and add the lentil sprouts if using sprouted lentils.   Simmer until the pasta is cooked and the vegetables are soft.  Add olive oil and sea salt to taste.  Serve and garnish with fresh sprouts if you like.  Then enjoy your perfect comforting soup that hits the spot.

Flu Shot? I Think Not

Now about a topic that is slightly controversial. Ever year at around this time our doctors urge us that we should be getting the flu shot. It seems so natural and so routine every year, that millions of people “just do it.” Maybe it’s time to start re-thinking that mentality.

The reality is that yes we are more susceptible to bugs this time of year. But can we tough it out, face what our body is trying to tell us and fight it naturally? We certainly can. Strengthen your immunity naturally all winter long, it’s easy and there is nothing to fear.

When you really weigh the pro’s and con’s of getting a flu shot or not – it’s a no-brainer!  Have you ever wondered what’s in a flu shot?

“Millions voluntarily take annual flu shots not knowing their harmful ingredients. With variations by producer, they contain numerous stabilizers, neutralizers, carrying agents, and preservatives, including:

- 25 micrograms of mercury (thimerosal), a known neurotoxin; one microgram is considered toxic; according to the NIH, “mercury and all of its compounds are toxic;

- aluminum hydroxide and phosphate, known to be linked to some neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer’s disease;

 - formaldehyde, a known carcinogen according to the National Cancer Institute; it’s also linked to upper respiratory tract problems and effects on lymphatic and hematopoietic systems;

 - gelatin, polysorbate 80 and resin – ingredients causing severe allergic reactions;

 - ammonium sulfate, a suspected gastrointestinal, liver, and respiratory toxicant and neurotoxicant;

 - sorbitol, a suspected gastrointestinal and liver toxicant;

 - phenoxyethanol (antifreeze), a suspected developmental and reproductive toxicant;

 - beta-propiolactone, a known carcinogen and  suspected gastrointestinal, liver, respiratory, skin and sense organ toxicant;

 - gentamycin, an antibiotic;

 - triton X100, a strong detergent;

 - animal tissues and fluids, including potentially contaminated horse blood, rabbit brain, dog kidney, monkey kidney, chick embryo, chicken egg, duck egg, pig blood, and porcine (pig) protein/tissue;

 - calf and fetal bovine serum;

 - macerated cancer cells;

 - diploid cells from aborted fetal tissue; and/or - other ingredients varying by producer.”

- Source: “Ineffectiveness and Dangers of Flu Shots” Global Research (read more…) 

Consider this – what does your doctor have to gain by recommending it?  What does someone like me have to gain from it…. ?

Tips to Fight off Colds and Sickness Naturally

• On the onset of a runny nose, sneezing, headaches or any cold-like symptoms, start taking care of yourself.
• Get to sleep when you need to.  You are much more productive when you’r healthy, so don’t even try to plough through it or it only gets worse.
• Keep your intake of sugars to a minimum, and try not to consume any refined sugar products.
• Drink hot tea with lemon, hot herbal tea, hot tea with lemon and ginger, Meredith’s Ginger Elixir, or the throat soother recipe posted below.
• 

  Our cold and flu medication: garden fresh melons

  As always, try to eat more fresh fruits and vegetables to keep those antioxidant levels high.  Berries, mushrooms, pumpkin seeds, squash, melons, lemons, ginger, garlic, raw honey and raw apple cider vinegar are all antioxidant power house foods that boost the immune system.

Throat Soother

• 1 tsp raw honey
• 1 tsp raw apple cider vinegar
• 1 cup warm-hot water

Or maybe you love ice cream so much that you could care less how cold it is as long as that creamy chocolate goodness is going into your mouth.

Non-dairy (and sugar-free!) ice cream is so easy to whip up and so delicious that you might not even crave the yucky calorie-laden plastic tub kind anymore.

Add some raw cacao for a super antioxidant boost and tons of ripe organic berries or fruits.  Sprinkle some shredded coconut or chopped nuts on top, get creative.  Mix in some probiotics if you want to get really fancy!  Drizzle on chocolate syrup for extra chocolatey-chocolatness.

All you need is a food processor with the S-blade attachment.  If you have an ice-cream machine just combine all the ingredients and run it through.  Even a high-powered blender will do the trick, it might be a bit more liquid but still delicious!

Chocolate Banana Ice-Cream

•  4 bananas, chopped up and frozen for at least 3 hours (it’s easy to do it overnight)
• 1 tbsp virgin coconut oil
• 2-3 tbsp raw cacao powder or cacao nibs
• 1 tbsp raw honey, agave or other sweetener (optional)
• 1/2 tsp vanilla (optional)

Blend all ingredients in a food processor with the S-blade until whipped and ice-cream like.  Serve in bowls and garnish with berries and fruit.  Enjoy immediately or store in the freezer.

I took the left over sweet potato fries from last night’s dinner and combined it with my usual breakfast staple – millet.

Turned out to be a great match!  Simple, hot, sweet and savoury.   The perfect comfort breakfast for chilly mornings as you watch that October sun rise.

In case you’re wondering what millet is, it’s an ancient grain.  It almost looks a bit like quinoa, but with a milder and creamier flavour and a soft and fluffy consistency when cooked.  It’s a good source of mineral manganese, magnesium and phosphorus.  It’s high in protein and can help lower cholesterol, lower blood sugar and improve cardiovascular health.

Millet is great on it’s own, or in muffins and breads.  The cooked cereal makes a simple and nourishing breakfast.

Cooked Millet with Sweet Potato Fries

Millet:

• 1 part millet to 3 parts water

Why do I call it happy juice?  After drinking a green juice your body will start to flush toxins out almost automatically.  Your head becomes clear and your cells are perfectly nourished.  Because the body doesn’t have to work hard at separating the fiber and absorbing it (this takes a lot of energy), the nutrients “flood” into you and give you pure, happy energy.  

Sometimes we also need a tonic to completely calm our digestive system.  This is especially helpful if feeling a hangover, morning sickness, motion sickness, or general nausea and digestive upsets.  Ginger is a wonder tonic, and because I’m prone to motion sickness (according to the Ayurveda system of healing I am mainly “vata” constitution) it makes it one of my favourite “foods”.  I think I’ve built up my tolerance to it, because it is very strong especially raw.

Ginger boosts your immunity, it is also recognized as a potent anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, and anti-cancer agent, not to mention it is one of the most potent antioxidants and has been used in Eastern medicine for millenia.

It is best when taken raw, although it’s also common to make a tea with it simply by slicing the ginger into chunks and steeping it in hot water for 10 minutes or so.

My Recipe (Ginger Tonic)

• 3 inch chunk of fresh ginger
• Juice of one whole organic lemon
• 1 heaping tablespoon of raw honey

Blend the ingredients in a high speed blender, adding some pure water if your lemon isn’t juicy enough.  Strain this mixture and the result is your tonic, which you can bottle and store in the fridge.  Adjust the honey or lemon amount to your preference.  Take it out as needed and dilute a shot glass amount in a glass of water.  Spicy Goodness!!

Did I mention this is also good to warm cold feet that don’t get adequate circulation?

Green Juice Recipe

You can juice anything of course, but I find ceratin combinations taste best.  Because you might not want a bitter drink, consider adding carrots, beets, apples grapes, or other fruits for sweetness (bananas should not be juiced).

• 1 cup (loosely packed) preferred greens (spinach, lettuce, kale, celery, beet and carrot tops, etc…)
• 1 apple
• 2 carrots
• 1/2 – 1 whole beet
• 1/2 ounce ginger tonic (optional)

Run the vegetables through your juicer and sip.  If you have a Blendtec blender or Vitamix, you can blend everything with a bit of water on the “whole juice” cycle, then strain through a nut milk bag and drink.

We’ve been living off berries for a few weeks now – that’s what I love about August.  Most of the berries grow here in our backyard, but we also love to frequent pick-your-own farms.  There’s something meditative about berry picking…I’ve become quite an expert over the years, I think.

Mostly its currants that grow in the backyard, they are easy to grow (up here in Ontario, Canada) and don’t mind cold, shade and lack of water.  The bushes are over five years old and produced a plentiful harvest.  It’s quite a chore to pick them all!

Currants, black and red, are definitely an acquired taste – they seem sour at first. But a perfectly ripe berry should be bright red or deep black, big, and soft.  Some of them get so full they start to literally burst, still on the branch.  A ripe black currant has thin skin and a slightly tart but sweet, almost kiwi like-like flavour and texture.

Backyard berry harvest

The benefits of these berries haven’t been overly studied, and are not too popular here in the west, maybe because of their sourness.  However they are rich in antioxidants called anthocyanins, which possess potent anticarcinogenic properties.  Black currants are also high in antioxidant vitamin C, omega-6 and surprisingly high in calcium among other minerals.

The other berry that was plentiful this year was gooseberry.  A ripe gooseberry should be purple and not green, with a sweet, plum like flavour.  Gooseberries are also extremely high in vitamin C, and a good source of vitamin A and B vitamins.  Both currants and gooseberries are in the same family, and are helpful in lowering blood sugar.

You don’t have to use black currants or gooseberries in your pie, actually this pie is delicious with any fruit – just raspberries or just blueberries.  Even peaches or strawberries will be delicious.  A raw pie is a whole lot easier to make, more nutritious and brimming with enzymes.

Jumbleberry Pie

Crust:

• 1 cup walnuts (can also use other nuts such as almonds)
• 1 tbsp unpasteurized, unfiltered honey (or preferred sweetener)

The mixture will be runny, so this makes for a pie that doesn’t cut well – but still unbeatably delicious!  Otherwise you can try thickening it with a bit of tapioca starch (though it won’t be raw).  If using sliced fruit or strawberries, don’t mash, just place in your pie crust and serve.  Top the finished pie with more fresh berries.

It’s been an incredibly hot summer here…every day is another excuse to go to the beach.  Especially when you don’t have air conditioning!

And when it gets hot like this no one wants greasy or heavy food – it only weighs you down and makes you hotter and groggy.

I’ve been makng a lot of these raw wraps lately.  Instead of using a traditional wrap with unecessary amounts of refined carbs and preseravtives, I use a fresh leaf from the garden for a California style wrap.

Doesn’t matter really what kind of leafy green you use, as long as it’s big.  I like using a collard green, beet leaf, or romaine lettuce leaf.  The bigger the leaf you use, the easier it is to wrap up lots of juicy filling.

A bonus of using these leaves is that it makes a lighter wrap, and you can use more nuts and seeds as your filling, while still following proper rules of food combining.  Big dark green leaves are a great source of chlorophyll, protein, vitamin C and vitamin K.  They aid in your body’s anti-inflammatory response, and detox.

Raw Summer Wraps

• 4 collard greens, or any other large leaf such as beet green, turnip green, lettuce, spinach or even broccoli and cauliflower leaf.

Filling:

• 1 cup raw sunflower seeds (yummy substitutes include raw walnuts or almonds)
• juice of one lemon
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 tsp rock or sea salt
• 1 1/2 cups mixed fresh herbs (parsley, dill, basil, chives, cilantro…)
• 1 cup mixed chopped veggies (red onion, tomato, cucumber, radish, sweet pepper…)

Comine all the filling ingredients except the mixed chopped veggies in a food processor, and blend until smooth.

Lay your collard leaves flat, and gently slice off the stalk that sticks out, for easier wrapping.  Fill with the green pate you just blended, about 2 or 3 tbsps on each wrap.  Sprinkle on some chopped vegies and roll up, tucking the sides in or leaving them open.  The filling should be sticky enough that they stay wrapped.

The options for this kind of wrap is endless.  Instead of the pate, wrap your favourite slaw or salad.  Add avocado for creaminess.  Use your favourite combination of pate and veggies, or even just veggies and a thick dressing.

Enjoy!

Not that I’m complaining.

At least there’s no flooding here… juicy berries are getting a thorough watering.

But I won’t let a dampening day dampen my spirits – not when I can have chocolate pudding for breakfast.

This morning we made the effort to have an outdoor breakfast – despite the downpour.  Something about that fresh clean rainy air was enticing.  All bundled up, we (my daughter and I) sat under the canopy having our chocolate pudding with raspberries.

Does it get any more divine than that?    Watching the rain splatter onto the pool cover, onto the little boys carved into the stone fountain, as the crows swoop majestically to their nests in the spruce trees…

…This rainy day is not so depressing after all.  It’s become poetic, inspiring!  What a good time to practice my photography skills.

I hope you enjoy this healthy chocolate pudding as much as we did.  I guarantee it’s a fantastic way to start the day – both nutirionally and pleasurefully speaking. 

Not only is it super yummy, but super nutritious, chock full of omega fatty acids, amino acids and antioxidants.  It’s also really simple and quick to make, just as easy as pouring a bowl of cereal.  What I call a win-win.

Chocolate Cinnamon Chia Pudding

• 2 tbsp chia seeds (soak these in 1/3 cup pure water overnight)
• 1 tbsp raw cacao powder
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1-2 tsp raw honey or agave nectar
• (Organic) raspberries for garnish

Let the chia seeds soak overnight in the water.  This chia “gel” doesn’t go bad, so you can make a bigger batch of it to scoop from whenever you want to use it.  I keep mine on the counter, and just keep adding water to moisten it every so often.  The 2 tbsp soaked really expands in size to make a good bowlful.

Mix the rest of the ingredients in and top with raspberries.  Dig in.  Savour the flavour.