Posted in Recipes

Warm fall salad

You guys have been going nuts over this one on my Instagram stories, so I thought it deserved its own blog post as well.

What I loved most about this salad were the beautiful colours and the fact that all the ingredients were local and in season, making this such a nutritious meal.

Here’s how to make it:

You’ll need:

⁃ a pumpkin of your choice, I used acorn squash from Wheelbarrow farm

⁃ Greens of your choice, I used arugula and mixed greens from my Wheelbarrow farm CSA veggie basket and beautiful purple radicchio from Nithvalley organics

⁃ Home made Dressing to your liking – mine was a splash of lemon juice, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, rice wine vinegar and maple syrup (I winged this part so I don’t have measurements for you 😃) I found it needed a little bit of sweetness and acidity to balance the bitterness

⁃ Quinoa

⁃ Some sprouts for garnish, I used radish green sprouts 🌱

⁃ Optional: roast your pumpkin seeds in the oven for a crunchy topping and balsamic drizzle on top is also optional

The method is quite simple. Preheat your oven to 425.

Cut up your pumpkin, carve out the pumpkin seeds and place them onto a separate baking sheet.

Slice the rest of the pumpkin into wedges, toss in olive oil and maple syrup, add some salt and pepper and into the oven it goes for about 15-20 minutes per side (flipping halfway). This might be less or more time for you depending on how thick your pumpkin slices are.

I also stuck the pumpkin seeds into the oven just with some sea salt – these won’t need long at all, so check on them frequently until they’re nice and roasted 🙌🏼

While the pumpkin bakes, wash your greens, toss them in dressing and arrange them nicely on a serving platter.

Also cook your quinoa (takes about 15 mins)

Once the pumpkin comes out of the oven and your quinoa is cooked, start with the quinoa on top of the greens, then add the pumpkin, top with roasted pumpkin seeds and sprouts, drizzle that balsamic drizzle on top and you’re ready for a taste explosion 💥🙌🏼🥗😍🫶🏼🤤

Posted in Holistic nutrition school, Recipes

GRAIN PANCAKES TOPPED WITH CASHEW CREAM & EASIEST APPLESAUCE EVER


Save this for next weekend’s indulgent brekki that also happens to be vegan and clean 🌱 🤗

This feast starts Friday night by soaking these ingredients for the Grain pancakes:

  • 1/4 cup brown rice
  • 1/4 cup quinoa (I used red)
    in
  • 2/3 cup filtered water

If you want to make the cashew cream as well, soak 1 cup of cashews in 2 cups of water (or any 1:2 ratio that works for you) overnight.

Saturday Morning, add grains with their soaking water into a blender together with 1/4 of a 🍐 or 1/2 a 🍌, 2 TBSP shredded 🥥 and a pinch of salt. Blend and start frying them up in your favorite non toxic pan with some coconut oil.

For the cashew cream, you just throw the rinsed cashews in a blender and add water until your desired “cream” thickness.

And now for the easiest apple sauce in the world: cut and core a couple of apples and stew them with a cinnamon stick and some water in a small pot. Leave chunky or blend smooth if you like.
Tada!
Who’s making this next weekend?🙋🏻‍♀️🥞

Posted in Holistic nutrition school, Recipes

VEGAN SCALLOPED POTATOES


I’ve already made this recipe twice and haven’t shared it with you guys yet so I thought it’s time!
No sauce making required, no cheese on top and yet these turn out moist inside and crispy on top. Definitely becoming a staple in this household!
You’ll need:

  • 4 medium 🥔or 2 🥔, 1 🍠
  • 2 cups of cabbage (1/4-1/2 head)
  • 1 leek
  • 1 medium apple
  • spices: 1 tsp Himalayan pink salt, 2 tsp oregano, 1/2 tsp turmeric, 1/2 tsp paprika, some black pepper to taste

Step 1: grease a large ceramic (or whichever you have) dish (one with a lid, ideally) with olive oil or ghee.
Step 2: Slice up those potatoes thinly, toss them with 2 TBSP of olive oil and 1/2 tsp salt.
Step 3: Chop the cabbage and leeks, mix in another Bowl with oregano and 1/2 tsp salt. You have to put in the work here – you need to massage the cabbage until it starts having juices come out of it (the salt will help with that). Important step since this will keep everything moist.
Step 4: Cut up the apple into thin slices.
Step 5: Layer it all up. Start with the potatoes, then a layer of cabbage/leek mixture, a layer of apple slices. Sprinkle with turmeric.
Another layer of potatoes & cabbage/leeks and apple, then top it off with the last third of your potato slices (ideally the pretty ones 😊) and sprinkle Paprika on top & black pepper & I also added some rosemary.
Bake at 400 covered for 45 mins, then another 15 until top is nicely browned. These times can vary depending on what type of oven you have – the toothpick test always helps you make sure they’re ready 😊
Tag me if you make these – they’re delicious!

Posted in Recipes

STUFFED SWEET POTATO WITH CHEEZE SAUCE


Today marks day 21 of the super life camp with @darinolien @121tribe – hard to believe it’s already over!🥺 What an amazing three weeks it has been.
I wanted to share one of my favorite recipes from the program that was such a surprise hit for me.
This is a major feel good meal and I highly recommend you try it.🤩
You’ll need:

  • 1 sweet potato, cut evenly into halves and rubbed with coconut oil prior to baking
  • 1/2 cup cherry tomatoes
  • 1/2 cup kidney or black beans
  • for the “cheeze” sauce:
  • 2 tbsps of cashews, soaked in hot water for at least 15 mins
  • 2 tbsps of nutritional yeast
  • 1 small clove of garlic
  • 1 tbsp of lemon juice
  • 1 tbsp water
  • 1 tbsp EVOO
  • 1/4 tsp Himalayan pink salt & a few dashes of black pepper

Preheat the oven to 350. Place the sweet potato flesh down onto the cookie sheet. Bake for about 45 mins.

While it’s baking, add the cherry tomatoes with some water in a pan until it gets to a sauce like consistency. Then add your beans and you have your filling ready.

Last step is preparing the “cheeze” sauce. Drain the cashews and put them into a blender along with the nutritional yeast, lemon juice, garlic, EVOO and water. Blend until smooth consistency is reached.

Hot tip here: when I first started making vegan cashew sauces I would get frustrated because my consistency even when following the exact recipe wouldn’t be as smooth.
I’ve found that water is the magic ingredient! If you make this and your cheeze sauce isn’t saucy enough just add some more water 😊

To serve, scoop out some sweet potato flesh from the mid section so you can get your beans and tomatoes stuffed in there. Drizzle with the cheeze sauce and enjoy!
If you try this please let me know how you feel after 😍🥰 I’ve really been watching how foods make me feel lately and trying to only choose those meals that give me a boost. Happy Sunday, friends!

Posted in Recipes

HIGH VITAMIN C SMOOTHIE

You’re going to need:

  • 1 🍊
  • 1 🍌
  • 1 🍋
  • 1 🥝
  • 1 🥕
  • tsp of both turmeric and ginger
  • 1 tbsp of hemp seeds
  • 1/2 cup of coconut water
    Peel and chop it all up and blend in your high speed blender!
    This smoothie is a bit high carb (but not the point of this smoothie – it’s all about getting that good boost of vitamin c).
    Originally you’d have 71% carbs (70g), 18% fat (8g), 10% protein (10g).
    If you’d like to boost your protein more, just add a scoop of protein powder. I added @genuinehealth vegan fermented vanilla protein powder which got me to 58% carbs (72g), still 18% fat (10g) and now 24% protein (30g).
    I first came across this great recipe through the @121tribe wellness camp – they have another one starting March 13, I just booked it for myself, I highly recommend you check it out to learn more functional recipes like this.
Posted in Recipes

BEET CITRUS SALAD ON A BED OF KALE

This is another fan favorite from the @121tribe reset.
The beets are great to make ahead/makes this a lot easier to throw together when you have the beets already cooked. If not, you can slice the raw beet, rub it with olive oil and roast it for 30 mins at 350.
Start the rest of the process by soaking 2 tbsp of cashews in hot water.
Massage about a cup of kale for your salad base with olive oil, some sea salt and some lemon juice until soft. I do this at the base of my salad dish because: easy.
Then I slice about 1/2 a grapefruit and 1/2 an orange and start arranging them as prettily as possible on top of the kale – add beet slices when they’re ready as well.
For the dressing, blend the rinsed cashews, 1/3 cup of water, 2 tbsp nutritional yeast, 1 clove of garlic, 1 tbsp lemon juice and a pinch of salt and black pepper until smooth.
Top it off with some pecans and additional nutritional yeast. Enjoy!
This salad has excellent vitamin C from the kale and citrus fruit, B12 from the nutritional yeast and powerful detox properties from the beets, citrus and greens!💪🏻✨

Posted in Recipes

WARM CHOPPED SALAD WITH SOBA NOODLES


The magic to this recipe lies in making the soba noodles fresh and having the almond butter in the dressing melt over it 🤤

  • Chop up your favorite veg for this (great “clean out the fridge”
    Salad) – I used carrots, cucumber and red cabbage for this one.
  • cook your soba noodles – for one person I use 1/3 of the package (I buy the @kingsobanoodleculture )
  • throw together 2 Tbsps of tamari, 1 tbsp of almond butter and 1 tbsp of lemon juice for the dressing.
    Drain the noodles, place them on your veggie bed, pour the dressing, sprinkle some green onions and enjoy this creamy bowl of goodness 💗
Posted in Holistic nutrition school, Recipes

Raw apple pie

This is one of the great recipes we learned throughout our holistic food preparation course at the institute of holistic nutrition. It is raw, vegan, dairy free and gluten-free. This recipe is for a 7’-9’ size pie.

You’ll need:

For the crust:

⁃ 1/2 cup each of coconut shreds, sunflower seeds, almonds

⁃ 1 tsp of vanilla extract

For the filling:

⁃ 4 medium apples, cored and sliced thinly on a mandolin (keep the “odds and ends”

⁃ 1/2 cup dates soaked in water

⁃ 2 tsp cinnamon

⁃ 1 pinch of salt

⁃ Juice of 1 🍋

Start by making your crust – place all ingredients in a high speed blender (add a bit of water if you can’t get it to a consistency where it can be pressed down) and press crust mixture into your pie dish, creating a raised edge.

For the filling, after you’ve sliced your apples on a mandolin, keep the “odds and ends” for blending into the sauce for your pie. Place them in a blender together with the dates, lemon juice, cinnamon and salt. Process until smooth.

Combine the apple slices and the sauce in a bowl, then spread them out on the pie shell in a pretty pattern (or not, like me 😁). You can also decorate with pecan or walnut halves lined around the perimeter if you like.

Chill for 1-2 hours then slice and enjoy!

Posted in Recipes

MANDY’S MOCK CHICKEN

I’m so proud of myself – this is already the second recipe I’m making from my new cookbook from the Montreal based Gourmet salad bar that just opened in Toronto!😄👩🏻‍🍳

I was blown away by the texture of this when I went to Mandy’s the other day so had to try it for myself at home! HIGHLY RECOMMEND, friends!!

You’ll need:

⁃ A pack of tofu (about 400g) – the trick is it has to have been frozen for 24 hours or longer and then defrosted for 3 hours before cooking

⁃ 2 tbsps nutritional yeast, I used Bob’s red mill

⁃ 2 tbsps tamari

⁃ Tsp of sea salt

⁃ 1/2 tsp of black pepper

⁃ 2 tbsps of coconut oil for frying

Tear defrosted tofu into small

Chunks. Add nutritional yeast, tamari, salt and pepper and stir well.

Fry it up until your desired consistency/browning – I think I did about 15-20 mins!

Enjoy your new favorite protein topping!✨💗