Today was a left over day- finishing off lentil soup, korma and quinoa-lentil salad. So instead of sharing a lunch/dinner meal, I am going to share the protein shake I have for breakfast every day. I mix it in the Magic Bullet cup every day, so I use the cup for measurements, but I will give an estimate of amounts. Raspberry Protein Shake 1/2 cup frozen raspberries 1 cup water 1 scoop VegaLite Protein Powder 1 tbsp chia seeds 2 tbsp ground flaxseeds 1 tbsp coconut oil Splash of orange juice I will also throw in a handful of fresh spinach when I have it on hand. Protein shakes are very flexible, so if you don't like raspberries, you can use blueberries or peaches or strawberries. There are also many different flavour combinations on the internet, so you can get creative. This is also very toddler/child friendly- my daughter asks for some 'hot pink protein shake' every morning! Disclaimer: Naturopathic Doctors strive to provide individualized health care. The information contained in these topics is not intended nor implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, it is provided for educational purposes only. This information shouldn’t take the place of seeing an ND for individualized health recommendations.
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Today's dinner was a veggie based one and very quick to make: Marinated chicken with grilled veggies, steamed broccoli and coleslaw. There isn't much to write for the recipe- we did use our favourite jarred Jerk Marinade blend- which contains no dairy, gluten or preservatives. Did a mix of peppers and onion on skewers and bbq'd both the skewers and chicken. Steamed the veggies and mixed the coleslaw with a simple oil and vinegar dressing. This is a perfect example of how easy a healthy detox friendly dinner can be! Simple marinated chicken with steamed veggies does the trick and makes a delicious dinner! Disclaimer: Naturopathic Doctors strive to provide individualized health care. The information contained in these topics is not intended nor implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, it is provided for educational purposes only. This information shouldn’t take the place of seeing an ND for individualized health recommendations. I love Indian food. While I was pregnant, anything with strong spices (even basil) made me sick. So as soon as the nausea was gone, I couldn't wait to indulge again! This recipe comes from another Williams Sonoma Cookbook- The World Kitchen. Side note, I am a bit of a cookbook addict...Anyways, to make this recipe 'detox acceptable,' it did have to be adjusted a bit. This is a great example of how you can take a favourite recipe and adjust it to make it a healthier version or at least to exclude foods that give you issues! Chicken Korma 3 tbsp coconut oil 1 yellow onion, finely chopped 2 inch piece of ginger, grated 2 inch cinnamon stick 2 bay leaves 1 tbsp EACH ground coriander and ground turmeric 1/2 tsp EACH cayenne pepper and ground cumin 1 1/2 cup stock 1 cup passata/strained tomatoes 1 tbsp honey salt 2 lbs skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut into strips 1/2 cup coconut milk 1/2 cup unsalted, raw cashews In a dutch oven warm oil over medium-high heat. Add onions and saute until it begins to soften, about 3 min. Add the garlic, ginger, cinnamon stick, bay leaves, coriander, turmeric, cayenne and cumin and saute until spices are fragrant and evenly coat the onion, about 1 min. Stir in the stock, passata, honey and 1 tsp salt, bring to a boil and deglaze pot. Add the chicken strips and stir to coat evenly. Partially cover pot and cook over low heat until chicken is very tender and sauce is thickened, about an hour. About 15 min before the chicken is done, combine coconut milk and cashews in a blender and process until nuts are finely pureed and combined with the coconut milk (I let this sit for a few minutes to thicken). Add the nut mixture to the chicken mixture and stir to blend with the sauce. Continue cooking until the sauce is completely heated through and thick, about 5 min. Remove and discard bay leaves and cinnamon stick. The original recipe used canola oil, buttermilk, tomato sauce and sugar. Canola oil is a highly processed oil which can have many health implications many of which are becoming more and more well known and mainstream, you can read more here. Buttermilk is exchanged for coconut milk to make it dairy free. Passata is exchanged for tomato sauce mainly to avoid any additives and avoid cans since passata comes in a glass jar. It is also considered to be a superior product to canned tomatoes. Sugar is exchanged for raw, unpasteurized honey. Regular white sugar is one of the most common GMO foods and is highly processed. Again, this is a hit with the whole family. I serve it up with a mix of brown rice and quinoa to increase the nutritional value and protein. Add a side of steamed veggies and salad and you have a delicious gluten, dairy and refined sugar free meal! Disclaimer: Naturopathic Doctors strive to provide individualized health care. The information contained in these topics is not intended nor implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, it is provided for educational purposes only. This information shouldn’t take the place of seeing an ND for individualized health recommendations. Today's recipe is a simple quinoa and lentil salad. This is a great salad to keep on hand for easy lunches, snacks or dinners. I also mixed up a quick dressing to place on it. You can use any dressing you like, however, the downside of pre-made dressings is that they usually contain added preservatives and extras that aren't great. Newman's Own does make a great oil and vinegar dressing that tastes great and only contains oil, vinegar, onion and spices with no unnecessary additions. The only drawback is that even this very clean dressing still contains vegetable oils. The benefit of making your own is that you can use only heart healthy olive oil. Straight olive oil and lemon can work well with this salad as well and helps keep it very simple! Quinoa and Lentil Salad with Herb Vinaigrette 1 cup dry quinoa prepared as directed (check the package to be sure but general preparation instructions are mixing 1 part quinoa with 2 parts water/stock, bring to a boil and simmer for about 15min until all the liquid is absorbed, let sit for a few minutes, fluff with a fork). 1 cup dried lentils prepared as directed (again, check package, general rule is the same as the quinoa: 1 part lentil to 2 parts water/stock, bring stock to a boil, add quinoa, simmer for about 30 min until liquid is absorbed. However, the lentils I used required a 1:3 ratio of lentil to liquid, so again, check the individual directions!) Chopped Vegetables: use whatever veggies you'd like- tomatoes, peppers, broccoli, asparagus, onion, cucumber, cauliflower, asparagus, etc. Herb Vinaigrette (from The Whole Life Nutrition Cookbook) 1 small lemon, juiced 1/3 cup olive oil 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar 2 tsp Dijon mustard 1 tbsp maple syrup 3 tbsp chopped fresh basil 2 tbsp chopped fresh chives 1 tbsp chopped fresh oregano 1/2 tsp salt The grocery store didn't have any fresh oregano so I substituted some dried oregano. This is a very versatile dressing recipe however, so if you love another herb/spice, give it a try! This dinner turned out great, both my husband and daughter devoured it, with my husband stating we need to eat it more often! Disclaimer: Naturopathic Doctors strive to provide individualized health care. The information contained in these topics is not intended nor implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, it is provided for educational purposes only. This information shouldn’t take the place of seeing an ND for individualized health recommendations. Today's dinner was a simple one- baked salmon with terriyaki marinade, steamed broccoli and corn on the cob. A couple of notes however, for the marinade I did use tamari (wheat free soy sauce). Most soy sauces aren't actually made from soy beans but wheat and therefore are not gluten free. If you don't have an issue with soy, you can use tamari which is essentially soy sauce that is actually made from soy beans. However, if you are also soy intolerant, there is another option, coconut aminos, which can be found at most health food stores. The other side note is about corn. Corn is one of the most genetically modified foods available. However, corn on the cob and eating corn is NOT genetically modified, while any of your corn byproducts (corn syrup, high fructose corn syrup, corn starch, corn flour, vegetable oil, etc) will more than likely be a GMO product unless otherwise stated. These products are mostly found in your processed foods which should be avoided anyways. Corn can be a common allergen, however, I find that most people are reacting because of the over consumption (processed foods) and likely the fact that the overconsumption is from GMO sources (corn, along with wheat/gluten and soy, is pretty much added to EVERYTHING processed and/or premade). A regular ear of corn will likely not bother most people which is why I haven't eliminated it from our diet. Everyone is different, however, so it is something that would need to be evaluated on a case by case basis. Baked Teriyaki Salmon- Teriyaki Marinade This Marinade is made by eye, so all of the amounts are an estimation and should be adjusted to taste. 1/4 cup tamari 2 tsp honey 1 tbsp sesame oil 1 inch grated ginger 2 small garlic cloves Mix all ingredients together, adjust for taste. This simple marinade can be used for anything- meats, veggies or stir-frys! Disclaimer: Naturopathic Doctors strive to provide individualized health care. The information contained in these topics is not intended nor implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, it is provided for educational purposes only. This information shouldn’t take the place of seeing an ND for individualized health recommendations. Today's recipe comes from one of my favourite cookbooks- The William-Sonoma Cookbook. I actually haven't found a William Sonoma cookbook I didn't love! Their cookbooks contain recipes that are simple, fresh and delicious! This soup recipe isn't specific for a detox but with it's simple ingredients it definitely fits the bill! Pair it with a simple spinach salad (red wine vinegar and olive oil) and you have dinner hit! Lentil Soup 2 tsp coconut oil (olive oil is called for but isn't great heated) 1 yellow onion, chopped 1 celery stalk, chopped 1 carrot, peeled and chopped 1 bay leaf 2 tsp curry powder 1 cup canned diced tomatoes with juice 1 1/2 cup dried lentils (brown or pink, picked over, rinsed and drained) 6 cups chicken (or vegetable) stock 1 lemon, sliced 1 cup coarsely chopped spinach leaves In a large saucepan over medium-high heat, heat oil. Add onion, celery, carrot, garlic and bay leaf and saute until vegetables are softened, about 5 min. Stir in curry powder and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the tomatoes, lentils, stock and lemon slices. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low, partially cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until the lentils are tender (about 30 min). Discard lemon slices and bay leaf. Add spinach just before serving. This recipe is a hit with my family (including my toddler). I do skip the spinach, I have a thing with wilted greens and opt for a side spinach and mushroom salad instead. A side note, no one in my family has an issue with nightshades (tomatoes, peppers, potatoes, eggplant) so we aren't excluding them from our detox diet, however, these can be a common allergen. This soup is likely flavourful enough to omit the tomatoes for anyone who does have an issue, though I haven't tried it personally. Disclaimer: Naturopathic Doctors strive to provide individualized health care. The information contained in these topics is not intended nor implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, it is provided for educational purposes only. This information shouldn’t take the place of seeing an ND for individualized health recommendations. With temperatures finally rising, spring is officially here and it's the perfect time for a detox! I've said it many times before but the way I like to recommend doing a detox is as a way to reset the diet and get back on track. Holidays, vacations and life can have us slowly sliding off the healthy path we have for ourselves and a detox can be a great way to refocus. This is also the time I like to add a good supplement to give the body a boost depending on an individual's health goals- Skin issues? Liver need a boost? Just want a general nutrient support? For myself this is an even better time to do a detox! After 9 months of pregnancy nausea and a diet that focused on anything that didn't make me want to get sick, I am ready to get things back on track. However, since I am currently breastfeeding, I will be skipping the supplement this time and just focusing on diet. Again, even by just cleaning up diet and focusing on fresh, whole foods will boost your health! My husband will be adding a supplement and my 2-year old will be eating the same foods as well! Tomorrow is my family's official start day, so today is my prep day. By making a plan and having snacks and foods on hand it can make the diet changes much easier to follow and stick to! So what am I prepping today? Chicken Stock I made sure to make a roasted chicken for dinner last night so that I could make stock today! Just add the left over chicken bones, carrots, celery, onions and any spices you like to a stock pot of water. Bring to a boil, then simmer for at least an hour. The longer you simmer, the more flavour you'll have. For anyone who is vegan/vegetarian, you can prep a vegetable stock by omitting the chicken bones. Grain Free Granola One of my favourite cookbooks is Nourishing Meals by Alissa Segersten and Tom Malterre. This is the second cookbook they have released and over the next two weeks, you will see many meals made from their recipes (both their cookbook and blog). They have also just released another book (though I don't have it yet), the two I do are well worth the investment! In this book, Nourishing Meals, they have a wonderful grain free, nut based granola. I use this recipe as a base and add to it to make my own. Ingredients: 3 cups chopped nuts (walnuts, almonds, pecans but you can use whatever you'd like), 1/2 cup raw pumpkin seeds, 1/2 cup raw sunflower seeds, 3 tbsp chia seeds, 1/4 cup hemp hearts, 1/4 cup ground flaxseeds, 2 tsp of cinnamon, 1/4 tsp nutmeg, 1/4 tsp sea salt, 1/4 cup (generous) maple syrup, 1/4 cup (generous) melted coconut oil. Mix together, spread on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet and bake at 300F for 35-40 min. Remove from oven and mix in any add ins you'd like (dried cranberries/fruit, raisins, coconut, chocolate chips, etc.) and let cool! Raisin Seed Cookies These raisin seed cookies are amazing and egg and nut free (for anyone who can't have nuts or teachers in a nut free school). However, if you don't have to avoid nuts and don't have sunflower seed butter on hand you can easily use almond butter instead (which is what I do). Find the recipe here at The Paleo Mom. I will even let me daughter have these for breakfast since they are so low in sugar and so high in healthy proteins and fats! Disclaimer: Naturopathic Doctors strive to provide individualized health care. The information contained in these topics is not intended nor implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, it is provided for educational purposes only. This information shouldn’t take the place of seeing an ND for individualized health recommendations. Popsicles are a staple summer treat, but have you ever looked at the ingredients list? Not so yummy. As a momma who doesn't want my child missing out on the joys of summer treats, but also wants to keep her as 'artificial' free as possible, it can be a challenge. A friend of mine just told me the other day, that all my cooking/homemade striving isn't the norm, I am not in the majority. The truth is, I understand making these switches can be daunting. There are days I feel I haven't even had a moment to breath, and the last thing I want to do is start 'home-making' anything. But I find the trick is to find things that make it easier to be homemade. I want to shift to more and more gluten free, so I found gluten-free all purpose flour mixes that I can mix up in a few minutes in bulk and just keep on hand to use a cup at a time. I like almond milk, keep it on hand and use it as a simple substitute for dairy milk. It all comes down to finding the simple things that make the more daunting tasks a little easier. This long weekend I decided we would have popsicles. I perused Pinterest and Google and got some ideas. On our trip to Dutchie's (probably my favourite local produce store), they were handing out samples of fresh local cherries, YUM. So we grabbed some cherries and a container of local natural yogurt and we were good to go! Creamy Cherry Popsicles All the ingredients you'll need: Fresh Cherries (frozen will work as well) Yogourt (Dairy if you aren't sensitive but coconut or almond yogourt will work as well, or coconut milk) Honey (optional) The most time consuming part of this recipe was pitting the cherries, if you use frozen, that step is avoided. (I didn't measure anything for this recipe just mixed, but it was a full magic bullet mug of unblended cherries so probably about 2 cups). Give the cherries a quick spin in a blender or food processor (my magic bullet is my bff). Mix in your yogourt or coconut milk (again, I didn't measure, just added but it was probably about a cup or so) and honey to taste (about a tbsp or so). Fill your popsicle moulds (second most time consuming step since I was trying to not make a mess for photo sake, lol!) Freeze for about 5 hours minimum. A quick note about the popsicle moulds: plastic popsicle moulds are everywhere and super inexpensive, I opted to go with a stainless steel mould by Onyx (I got it at Fenigo for anyone in the KW area). I decided to go with stainless steel because with the thawing and freezing of plastics, they will leach endocrine disrupting chemicals (like any plastic storage) and have some pretty scary health effects. You can read more about why we are a 'plastic-free' house here. Plus, they will last forever and since I will forever be a popsicle making momma, it was worth the investment! The entire process did not take long at all, pitting the cherries probably took about 10 minutes max (again if you use frozen or already pitted, this step is skipped) and blending and mixing all the ingredients took less than 5 minutes. And the best part, the popsicles were VERY toddler approved! Disclaimer: Naturopathic Doctors strive to provide individualized health care. The information contained in these topics is not intended nor implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, it is provided for educational purposes only. This information shouldn’t take the place of seeing an ND for individualized health recommendations.
I am a sucker for bran muffins. I know bran usually has this 'healthy' connotation to it, but the unfortunate truth is that most muffins are chock full of sugar. Most of the time you might as well be eating a cupcake! Take a Tim Horton's Raisin Bran muffin for example (nutritional info from the Tim Horton's website)
69 grams of Carbohydrates and 40G OF SUGAR!!! Just to give you an idea of how much this actually is, the donut on their menu with the highest amount of sugar is their sour cream glazed and it only has 29g of sugar! Plus, remember that's only 40g of added sugar, there is another 24g of carbohydrates (starch) which the body recognizes as the same as sugar. This is the exact reason I am all about homemade! With a 17-month old who seems to be constantly eating it's important for me to have healthy snacks on hand. It's easier than you may think to re-make an everyday recipe into a healthier one. I found this recipe for oat bran muffins at the Joy of Baking (http://www.joyofbaking.com/muffins/OatBranMuffins.html). It's not a bad recipe, and it's not too horribly full of sugar (although there is more than enough!) and it does contain wheat and dairy. So the first batch I started by just substituting gluten and dairy free ingredients and cutting down on the sugar. It worked very well, but I still wanted to go healthier. So, the second batch I cut out all the brown sugar, subbed agave nectar for the honey and upped the fiber. It worked alright, but this batch came out pretty dense and somewhat lost the 'enjoyability' factor. I went back to adding a reduced amount of sugar and then it dawned on me: Applesauce! So after a few final adjustments and add ins here is my final recipe: Gluten-Free, Diary-Free, Sugar-Free Oat Bran Muffins 1 cup oat flour 3/4 cup oat bran 1/4 cup hemp hearts 1/3 cup ground flaxseeds 1 1/2 tsp baking powder 1/2 tsp baking soda 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon 1 egg 1/2 cup unsweetened organic apple sauce 1 tsp vanilla extract 2 tbsp grapeseed oil 1 1/4 cup unsweetened original almond milk 1/2 cup raisins Mix all the dry ingredients together in a bowl. In another bowl, whisk the egg and add the rest of the wet ingredients (applesauce, vanilla, grapeseed oil, almond milk). Mix the egg mixture into the dry ingredients just until moist. Add the raisins. Bake at 400F for 16-20 min and enjoy! So how much better is this new version compared to the original? Well here is the nutritional breakdown (thanks to caloriecount.about.com- although it doesn't show the vitamin and mineral changes).
The sugars were reduced by almost 10g, the fiber almost doubled, total carbs almost in half, protein increased by over a gram and calories reduced! You will see the fat has increased, this is because of the added seeds (flaxseeds and hemp hearts) but it's not a concern since its healthy fats we increased! And that's not even considering the vitamin and mineral differences between the two! The verdict.....mmmmmmmmm! Notes about the changes:
Oat flour: gluten-free naturally, any gluten is due to contamination so if you do have a sensitivity to gluten, make sure you get Certified Gluten Free Oat Flour/Oats. Oat flour can easily be made by processing oats into flour. It bakes very well and isn't crumbly or gritty like rice flour can be. Hemp Hearts: An overall amazingly healthy food! High in fiber, protein and healthy polyunsaturates fats (including omega-3s)! Not to mention packed full of vitamins and minerals (3 tbsp gives you 30% of your daily iron!). It's an easy addition to almost anything, like the flaxseeds you don't really even notice them there! Ground Flaxseeds: I like adding this to anything I can! It has no real taste and is pretty much just pure fiber! The fiber will help to slow digestion of the carbohydrates and keep blood sugars more level. Plus, most of us in North America don't get enough throughout the day at all! Applesauce: A great natural sweetener to use as a sugar substitute. Because it's just blended apples, you are avoiding added sugars and still getting the fiber! Grapeseed oil: This is a more stable oil and has a higher smoking point, making it much better for cooking at high temperatures than less stable oils like olive. Disclaimer: Naturopathic Doctors strive to provide individualized health care. The information contained in these topics is not intended nor implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, it is provided for educational purposes only. This information shouldn’t take the place of seeing an ND for individualized health recommendations. These kale chips are so delicious that sometimes my husband and I actually fight over them. Sad but true. Instead of grabbing those nutrient lacking potato chips the next time you are craving that salty snack, try these instead, they are delish, trust me! How to make: Wash kale leaves and rip leaves into bite sized pieces. Lightly toss in oil (grapeseed is a great choice because of it's high smoking temperature), I will use my fingers to mix the leaves to make sure they are lightly coated so that less oil needs to be used. Spread the kale pieces on a baking sheet in a single layer, sprinkle with sea salt and bake at 350F for about 10 minutes. Don't crowd the kale or it can go a bit soggy. You can also toss them mid way through to help ensure they get crisp. Keep an eye on them so they don't burn, browning a little is ok! When they are done to your liking, remove them from the oven and enjoy!!!
Disclaimer: Naturopathic Doctors strive to provide individualized health care. The information contained in these topics is not intended nor implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, it is provided for educational purposes only. This information shouldn’t take the place of seeing an ND for individualized health recommendations. |
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