Homemade Larabars

Medjool dates are delicious all on their own as a healthy snack, but why not incorporate them into a healthy bar recipe, which is refined sugar free, dairy free and gluten free? There are many commercial date based bars available, though many are expensive, and others contain preservatives or for some strange reason added sweeteners. Dates are more than sweet enough on their own, and they certainly do not need any added sugar!

There are many different bars flavours to make, but they all start with a base of dates, nuts and a little bit of water.

Date Bar Base:
2 cups of dried dates (make sure they have the pits removed and are sugar free)
1/8 - 1/2 c water
1 c nuts - I often use almonds as a starter, but any kind will do. Peanuts have a very strong flavour so will alter the bars' taste significantly.

1) In a food processor with "S" blades add in all nuts and blend until coarse
2) Add in all dates to the nut mixture and puree until a paste forms. You may need to scrape the sides of the food processor during the mixing process.
3) Add water slowly as necessary so that dates form a paste (you may not need any water depending on how soft the dates are). The paste should not be overly wet, so add water very slowly
4) Line a Pyrex pan with waxed paper and spray with non-stick cooking spray
5) Press mixture into lined pan and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
6) Remove from pan using liner and transfer to cutting board.
7) Cut into pieces and wrap individually in plastic wrap, or store in a container with waxed paper between layers.

Alternatively these can be formed into balls rather than into bars, and can be rolled in oats, coconut, cocoa powder or anything else to help prevent them from sticking to one another. Store in a container in fridge, with waxed paper between layers.

Mix Ins:
Start with base, and add or omit the following:

Cherry Pie
- add 1 c dried cherries
- add in 1/2 c cashews
- omit 1/2 c dates

Chocolate Coconut Brownie
- add 1/2 c dried coconut
- add 2 tbsp cocoa powder
- add 3 tbsp dark chocolate chips (optional)

Apple Pie Delight
- add 1 c dried apples
- omit 1/2 c dates from original base
- add 2 tsp cinnamon
- use pecans as the nut for the base

Gingerbread Men - I recommend pecans and almonds
- add 1/2 tsp ground ginger
- add 1 tsp cinnamon
- add 1/2 tsp nutmeg
- add 1/8 tsp ground clove
- add 1/2 c nuts
- add 2 tbsp molasses (optional)

Mocha Madness
- add 2 tbsp ground roasted coffee beans
- add 2 tbsp cocoa powder
- add 1 tsp vanilla extract

PB & J
- omit 1/2 c dates
- use peanuts as the base nut
- add 3/4 c dried cherries or other dried berry

Black Forest Cake - I recommend almonds
- omit 1/2 c dates
- add 3/4 c dried cherries
- add 2 tbsp cocoa powder

Tropical Paradise
- omit 1/2 c dates
- add 1/2 c dried pineapple
- add 1/4 c dried coconut
- add 1-2 tbsp lemon or lime zest
- use 1/4 c (or more) macadamia nuts as part of the nut base

Old Fashioned Oatmeal-Raisin Cookies
- add 3/4 c steel cut oats or old-fashioned oats
- omit 1/4 c nuts
- add 1/2 c raisins
- add 1 tsp cinnamon

Carrot Cake
- omit 1/2 dates
- add 1/4 c raisins
- add 1/4 c dried unsweetened pineapple
- add 1/2 c pecans
- add 1/4 c fresh grated carrots
- add 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- add 1/4 tsp ground ginger
- add 1/4 tsp nutmeg

Apricot - I recommend cashews
- omit 1/2 c dates
- add 3/4 c dried apricots

Lemon Pie - I recommend almonds
- add 2 tbsp lemon juice
- add 2 tbsp lemon zest
- add 1/4 c dried coconut

Berry Cobbler - I recommend pecans or walnuts
- omit 1/2 c dates
- add 3/4 dried berries (blueberry is delicious!)
- omit 1/4 c nuts
- add 1/2 c steel cut or old fashioned oats

Pumpkin Apple Zucchini Muffins

Fall is such a great season, crisp air, crunchy leaves and the return of pumpkins, squash and the scent of cinnamon everywhere. I happen to like fall because it's when my husband and I celebrate our birthdays, but also more importantly because of the food! I love root vegetables, especially squashes, and also the excuse to drink my own weight in fresh apple cider! While getting coffee the other day I noticed some delicious looking pumpkin muffins, donuts and cakes at several coffee shops, but when I looked up the nutritional information I saw just how much butter and sugar went into them! Since I have somewhat of a disdain for sugar, it prompted me to put my apron back on and get some kitchen chemistry rolling! Today's feature is a muffin filled with nutritious elements, that actually tastes delicious! I used some alternative ingredients to come up with a healthy and tasty pumpkin treat!

The base of this recipe is pumpkin, which is a great vegetable! Pumpkin, like carrots is full of carotenoids, which give these vegetables their classic orange colour. Carotenoids are important for eye health, and the body uses them by converting them to vitamin A. A specific carotenoid, beta-carotene has also been linked to reducing cancer risk by helping to destroy free radicals in the system. Imagine, battling cancer while enjoying a delicious muffin! Beta-carotene is also a proven wrinkle fighter, so pumpkin helps keep you looking young too! Pumpkins, as well as other squashes are extremely high in fibre, which can help with healthy weight maintenance, by keeping you full longer and keeping a healthy digestive tract. Since pumpkin is very filling, and low in calories (only 50 calories in a cup of mashed pumpkin) it's a great way to stay full longer. Pumpkin is also a great post-workout food, because it's super high in potassium (about 560mg in a cup), which is even higher than bananas (which are also an excellent source of potassium). Potassium is an important electrolyte for your heart and body muscles, which is lost in sweat. Instead of grabbing an energy drink after exercise, consider something with pumpkin! 

This recipe is also refined sugar free, as it is sweetened with honey, and I used homemade flours to keep it even healthier. This recipe can be easily made with regular flours too if you're intimidated by using homemade flour, but it recommend checking my post on homemade flours and see just how easy it is to make them! 

In this recipe I also used diced apples, I even used the cores! Yuck you say? When they are copped small and cooked you won't even notice the texture. Be sure to remove the seeds however, they are difficult to chew & digest and there is some truth to them being poisonous (although 150lb person woud need to eat about 150 of them in one sitting for them to be toxic). The cores are high in pectin, which is great for digestive tract health, and warding off cancers like colon or rectal cancer, as well as is high in fibre, which again is great for weight loss!

1 & 3/4 c pumpkin purée (not to be confused with pumpkin pie filling if you're using store bought, which is full of sugar, spices and additives. Be sure to get pure pumpkin, or make your own!)

2 eggs

2 c grated zucchini

2 c finely diced apples (~2 med apples)

1/3 - 1/2 c honey or agave nectar

2 tbsp lemon juice or white vinegar (acid reacts with baking soda & baking powder to make muffins rise)

1/4 tsp clove

1/4 tsp nutmeg

2 tsp cinnamon 

3/4 c quinoa flour

2/3 c almonds - puréed

1/4 c flax seeds

1/2 c bran

1 c oat flour

2 tsp baking soda

2 tsp baking powder

1) preheat oven to 350 degree

2) In a large bowl, mix together all wet ingredients (including apples & zucchini),except lemon juice.

3) Add puréed almonds (don't just use almond flour, because you need the fats and oils in the almonds for this recipe too. If you don't want to purée almonds, add 1/3 c coconut oil, nut butter or butter to the recipe). Mix well. 

4) Add baking soda & baking powder, spices & lemon juice, mix well.

5) Add remaining ingredients to bowl and mix well. 

6) Add batter to greased muffin tins, or loaf pans, filling to 3/4 full. These muffins won't rise much, but they need a bit of space to expand. 

7) Bake at 350 for 30 mins (muffins) or 45 mins (loaves) or until a tooth pick comes out clean. 

Quinoa Breakfast Bake & Alternative Flour

In my recent attempts to eat cleaner and less processed I've started making my own flour. What!!?! If you're starting to think that's crazy and way too high maintenance, hold on for a second and keep reading. Not so long ago I felt the same way, and tried to continue baking with healthier flour (such as a whole wheat variety), but what I found is that most flours labeled as multigrain and whole wheat actually have a whole lot of bleached white flour in them too! Part of the reason behind this is gluten, which helps make breads and cakes so fluffy and light. I thought about buying some fancy flours, but found that 1) they were incredibly expensive and 2) many of them were highly processed and bleached as well (I'm guessing in an attempt to make them look like regular flour?). In any case I decided to do some research and start making my own flour. Turns out all it really takes is some grain or nuts or beans... (pick your favourite!) and either a coffee bean grinder or a food processor.

Making flour from grains is insanely easy. I've thus far made flour from rice (both white and brown), nuts (almonds, cashews and coconut - is that even a nut?), quinoa, oats, bran, dried chickpeas...the possibilities are endless!

My tips for making flours:

• Start small! There is no need to empty and entire 10lb bag of rice into your food processor and see how things go! Start with slightly less than the equivalent 
• When making flour use slightly more base than you need in flour. I used 3/4c of quinoa to make just over 1/2 c of quinoa flour. 
• When blending nuts (including coconut), don't over blend, otherwise you will end up with nut butter because of thenhighbfatbcontent of nuts. 
• Since wheat contains gluten using alternative flours means you'll probably need extra baking powder or yeast to help make things rise (if you're substituting in alternative flours for wheat flour in other recipes).

Quinoa Breakfast Bake (makes 1-2 servings)

This recipe can also easily be used as pancakes if cooked in a pan!

1/2c quinoa flour

2 tsp baking powder

1 egg

2 tsp vanilla

1 tbsp coconut oil

1/2 c apple sauce

1 tbsp agave nectar or honey (optional)

Milk/Soy Milk (more as needed for batter consistency)

1) Preheat oven to 400 degrees. 

2) Mix all dry ingredients together in a medium bowl. 

3) In a small bowl whisk eggs and vanilla until frothy.

4) Pour egg mixture into dry ingredients, add remaining ingredients and mix well. If necessary add milk to make batter more watery (batter should be more liquid than cookie dough, but slightly stickier than traditional pancake batter).

5) Pour batter into a small pan or metal bowl, lightly greased with coconut oil. Bake for 12-18 minutes or until the top becomes golden brown and a tooth pick comes out clean when inserted. 

6) Top with fruit or another favourite topping (like Fruit Compote) and enjoy! 

I mixed and baked mine in a metal bowl, which I often do in the mornings to save time and make it an easy and quick breakfast. These can also be made in muffin cups (though they don't really rise so fill the cups quite full). They store in the fridge for about a week and freeze/thaw really well!

Summer Quinoa Salad

I A month or so ago we splurged and picked up a quinoa salad from a local organic deli. It was the most amazing quinoa salad I had ever tasted. Since then, I've been trying to replicate it, and this is as close as I have come.

Quinoa is a wonderful grain to have in a diet, its hearty, healthy and very high in protein. Because it is high in protein it will help keep you full a lot longer than other grains such as white rice and corn. The protein content also contains all 9 essential amino acids important for our bones and muscles and brains to stay happy and healthy. Its also a low glycemic index grain, meaning it won't spike blood sugar after eating it, another way it helps to keep you full longer. Complex carbohydrates take longer for the body to break down, so you can have energy longer and not feel sluggish (like you might after eating a giant bowl of pasta!). Some other perks of quinoa are it is high in iron, which is great for helping our red blood cells rejuvenate. Red blood cells are important for oxygenation as well as metabolism maintenance (if we don't get enough oxygen to our tissues our metabolism can slow down) as well as increased brain function (it sure needs a lot of oxygen to work at its best!), as well as high in other essential minerals like lysine (important for tissue growth and repair, and as a bonus there is some studies that show that lysine helps to stave off the virus that causes cold sores as well!), manganese (a natural antioxidant which helps detoxify the body of carcinogens, namely free radicals), Riboflavin (also known as vitamin B2, which helps regulate metabolism and blood pressure), and Magnesium (also good for helping with blood sugar control, which is how quinoa helps keep you full longer, and responsible for strong bones and teeth).

Quinoa Salad

1 c raw quinoa (cook according to package instructions)

3/4 cup red pepper, diced fine

1/4 c craisins, chopped (or use 1/3 c fresh cranberries, quartered)
1/2 of a medium red onion, diced fine

1/2 cup walnuts or cashews, chopped

3-4 stalks green onion, diced

1/3 cup red wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
2-3 sprigs of fresh dill, finely chopped
2 tbsp honey or agave nectar
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
1/8 tsp cardamom (optional)
freshly ground pepper - to taste
1-2 tsp fresh grated ginger

1. In small bowl, mix together, vinegar, oil, honey, dill, cayenne, pepper and cardamom and let sit for flavours to infuse.
2. Cook quinoa according to package instructions, transfer to a large bowl and let cool. (You can always speed up this process by placing the bowl into another bowl filled with ice and stir the quinoa every few minutes).
3. While quinoa is cooling, chop peppers, onions, craisins, nuts and green onions.

4. When quinoa is cooled, add in vegetables and dressing. Mix well. 

5. It can be served right away, however I find the flavours meld much better when it has been refrigerated for a couple of hours. 

This is a great make ahead salad, and it only gets better as the dressing infuses into the salad! You can always make a but if extra dressing, so you can add more to the salad if needed before serving. Salad is good if refrigerate for about a week! 

Homemade Yogurt

Yogurt is one of those foods that is great in so many ways. It is great as a dessert, as a breakfast, as a snack or as part of a meal. My sister-in-law is Indian, as thus has introduced me to adding yogurt to so many meals! Its a great palate cleanser and can help temper spicy dishes or help go between courses. I also like to use it in "cream" sauces, making them thicker and lower in fat than using actual cream, and its a great way to add protein to smoothies and breakfasts! Another excellent thing about yogurt is its probiotic quality (probiotic by the way is Latin for "For Life" or "In the aid of Life", and scientifically the term is used to describe bacteria that are beneficial to the host - A.K.A. humans). Probiotics are great for digestion, and help to regulate the bowels, adding natural and essential bacteria into our systems (which can be depleted by alcohol use, illness, laxatives and antibiotics which are used to cure other conditions). Probiotics also help to stave off thrush and yeast infections, which are important things to note for anyone using inhalers for asthma as well as breastfeeding moms!

The best part about making yogourt is that its super easy, and also you can know that there are no preservatives or chemicals going into it. A lot of commercial yogurts have gelatin in them to make them the right texture, or other stabilizers to keep them thick (here is an extra special tidbit on keeping yogurt thick: pour the liquid off, but keep the liquid, because the liquid part of yogurt called whey and  is extra high in protein, calcium and potassium). I yogurt pour the liquid off and add it to smoothies, or use it as a substitute for milk in baking. But absolutely do not just dump it down the sink!! Its the healthiest part of yogourt and the richest in vitamins and minerals! the other option is to just mix it back into the yogurt!

And now onto the actual recipe! This one is very simple and consists only of two ingredients...

Ingredients:
Milk (2% or homo, lower fat doesn't work, commercially these all have gelatin and stabilizers to stay solid)

• (as much as you want to make in yogurt, I suggest starting with ~1-2 cups)

2-3 tbsp Yogurt (it needs to be preservative and stabilizer/gelatin free)

Directions:
1) In a large saucepan heat milk on medium heat, stirring frequently until milk comes to a boil and wants to overflow the pot. Turn oven on to 200F for ~10 mins, and then turn off.
2) Remove milk from heat and cool to 50C/120F (mixture must be at this temperature before adding yogurt or the probiotic bacteria will be denatured from the heat).
3) Once milk is cooled add in yogurt and stir to mix.
4) Cover saucepan with lid and place milk & yogurt mixture into over (should be off now), and leave in oven for several hours to overnight; until liquid layer forms on top of mixture. (I left mine for about 4 hours)
5) Refrigerate and enjoy! 

Chickpea Chocolate Trail Mix Cookies

I realize it has been AGES since I have posted. My biggest excuse is that nursing school has been absolutely crazy and I've been spending most of my time cooking and baking with tried and tested recipes as opposed to experimenting in the kitchen. I've tried a few new recipes, but not all of them have been super healthy, and not all of them have been great successes either. This week however I took the time to try out a few new recipes. One of them being something I've been meaning to do for a while; chickpea based cookies!! The ones I made this week ended up being a bit wetter than expected, so I did have to add a bit of bulk to it to try things out, but there are many options to help make wet cookies dryer! These cookies (after a few attempts) were even husband approved (and he hardly ever eat desserts, so I always call that a success!)

Here is my take on chickpea cookies!!

Ingredients:
2 cups cooked chickpeas (fresh or from a can is fine)
1/4 c unsweetened apple sauce
2 tsp vanilla
1 egg
1 cup trail mix (I used mixed nuts, craisins, raisins, chocolate chips, pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds)
4 tsp unsweetened coconut flakes'
4 tsp flax seeds
1/3 cup honey (or 5-6 tsp stevia, which is equivalent to 1/2 c sugar)
2-3 tbsp cocoa powder
1/3 cup bran
1/3 cup oats or whole wheat flower

Directions:
1) Preheat over to 375F.
2) In food processor blend chickpeas, applesauce, egg and vanilla until pureed.
3) In a large bowl mix pureed blend with all dry ingredients, adding flour last as required (batter should be slightly wetter than normal cookie dough)
4) Roll batter into balls and flatten on a lightly greased, or non-stick cookie sheet
5) Bake for 13-16 minutes or until tops crisp and bottoms brown. 

Egg Bake

I've recently been trying to rekindle my love for eggs. They're super healthy for you (despite the claims that the yolks are riddled with cholesterol). An egg contains a whopping 6 grams of protein, as well as lutein, a natural carotenoid (one of the elements that helps make carrots orange and egg yolks yellow), which is important to vision and eye as well as staying off cataracts and macular degeneration , as well as choline, which has been linked in numerous studies to improving memory and brain development. Although eggs do contain about 200 milligrams of cholesterol, not all of this cholesterol directly goes into clogging arteries. The majority doesn't and the major artery cloggers aren't the small doses of cholesterol from eggs, but rather the large doses of saturated and trans fats that come from eating fast food burgers and fries. Eggs are an absolutely wonderful addition to any healthy diet; don't cut the eggs out of your diet, cut the chips and burgers and hot dogs instead.

This recipe is one of my absolute favourite egg dishes. I've made it for breakfast, lunch and supper. Its delicious, and one of the best parts is, its super easy. You can do so many variations, with different spices, different vegetables and different cheeses!

Egg Bake;

1/3 c peppers, diced
2-3 mushrooms, diced
1/4 c onion, diced
1 c fresh spinach, chopped
1/2 small zucchini, chopped
1/3 c broccoli, chopped
1/3 c meat, chopped (I usuaully use whatever we have leftover, but have put in a strip or two of turkey bacon if we had nothing else)
1/4c cheese, grated
2 eggs
spices as desired (I often use chili powder, pepper, dill, garlic, curry...although not all together)
balsamic vinegar (optional)

1) Preheat oven to 350.
2) In an oven safe frying pan or shallow skillet saute on medium onions, peppers and meat until they begin to soften. Add balsamic vinegar (if using)
3) To peppers, onions and meat, add mushrooms, zucchini and broccoli, saute until soft.
4) Add chopped spinach and spices and cover and saute for an additional ~2 minutes until spinach starts to shrink and soften.
5) Remove pan from heat and immediately crack two eggs over tops. Sprinkle with cheese & black pepper. Put into oven and let bake for 5-10 minutes (depending how soft you want your yolks). Usually 5 minutes is adequate if you like runny yolks, but make sure the egg white is cooked through.
6) Enjoy! You can either transfer to a plate (although I find the eggs often break) or serve in the skillet for a rustic look! And by eating out of the skillet, you save on cleanup because now you have a one dish meal! Caution the handle is hot, but I have a nifty quilted gadget that covers my handle for me!

Healthy Alfredo

I love carbs. And I would probably eat pasta every single day if I could; however I know that I should probably vary my diet a little bit more than only eating pasta. As far as foods go, pasta can only be so healthy, since its often processed, but you can make healthier pasta choices. Try whole wheat pasta instead of white pastas, try fresh made pasta, or make your own. The less processed, and the more natural ingredients the better. For this recipe any kind of pasta will do, whether its wheat flour or rice flour pasta, they're all delicious!

As for the Alfredo sauce, again it can only be so healthy. This recipe is toned down from traditional recipes, in that it doesn't use butter or cream, but the variety of spices I use really don't make you feel like you're missing anything. This recipe also has no added salt, and tons of vegetables, so its at least got some nutritional elements!

Alfredo Sauce:
1/3 c onion, minced
1/2 c red pepper, chopped
4-6 mushrooms, chopped
1/3 cup ham (or shrimp or any other kind of meat you want)
1/8 c flour or corn starch (for thickening)
1/2 - 3/4 c skim milk
2 tbsp low fat or fat free cream cheese
1/4 c white wine (optional)
1/8 tsp nutmeg
4 cloves garlic
1/2 tsp paprika
pepper to taste
1 tsp dried oregano or 2-3 fresh leaves chopped fine
1 c loosely packed spinach, chopped
4-5 basil leaves, minced
1 tbsp parmesean cheese (optional)
3-4 stalks green onion, diced
2/3 small tomato, diced


1) In a large saucepan, heat a small amount of olive oil. Add onions and red pepper. Cook on medium to high heat until onions begin to become translucent. Add ham and mushrooms and cook for 2-3 minutes until ham has started to brown.
2) Reduce heat to medium-low and add flour. Quickly mix to ensure vegetables and meat are thoroughly coated. Add garlic, nutmeg, paprika and pepper.
3) Add milk, wine, cream cheese & parmesean and cook until thickened. If it does not thicken up, you made need to add a bit more flour (do so tiny bits at a time)
4) Add basil, oregano and spinach, and cook until spinach is soft.
5) Cook pasta as per directions on package.
6) Serve pasta with raw green onions and raw tomatoes as garnish with pepper and additional parmesean.

No Bake Energy Bars

I love having easy food to snack on, and am a bit of a sucker for granola bars. So many commercial granola bars are full of sugar hard to pronounce ingredients, so I scoured the internet for recipes, and then expanded on many of them in order to make something delicious & nutritious for myself. Healthy doesn't have to mean bland and tasteless, and everyone (no matter what diet you are on!) deserves a bit of a treat sometimes, so this recipe does include chocolate, but it can easily be omitted if you feel the need (although there is tons of research out there suggesting a bit of chocolate is actually good for the heart) and I strongly believe that if nothing else, chocolate is good for the soul.

No Bake Energy Bars
1/3 cup honey
2/3 cup nut butter
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup oats
1/3 cup unsweetened coconut flakes
1/3 cup flax seed
1/3 cup bran flakes or wheat germ
1/2 cup chopped nuts (I like almonds, macadamias and pecans)
2 tbsp chia seeds

1/4 cup hemp hearts

1/8 - 1/4 cup hemp protein powder 
1/3 cup dark chocolate chips (optional)

2 tbsp cocoa powder (optional)


1) In large bowl mix  honey, nut butter and vanilla (I suggest using a silicone spatula)
2) Add in all dry ingredients and mix well. Pour into a large baking dish and flatten.
3) Refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving.
4) Cut into squares and enjoy!

The other option is to shape the batter into balls and roll in coconut or cocoa powder for bite sized energy to go! 

This recipe lasts well for upwards of two weeks if covered in the refrigerator. (That is if you don't eat them all right away!)

Caprese Zucchini Boats

Zucchini is a wonderful vegetable. The peel is high in dietary fiber, which is great for keeping you regular. Its also handy at helping to moderately lower cholesterol and since its very low in calories (only about 15 cals per 100g!!), its a great food to eat to help promote weight loss. Zucchini is also high in folate, which is great for pregnant women, since folate is very important for the brain and spine of growing babies. Its also contains lots of Vitamin A, and Vitamin C, which is an excellent anti-oxidant. Vitamin C is also great at helping to boost the immune system. Now you might say that zucchini is bland, and squishy and boring, but that'e one of the best parts about it! Since its so bland, it will take on the flavour of whatever you put on it! We love to make zucchini "boats" by hollowing out the middle, chopping it up, adding some other delicious elements and voila! You have a fancy-shmancy side dish to any meal! Between my husband and I we usually split one zucchini, but you can easily cut it in half once cooked! We do many variations, and you can certainly try adding different spice combinations or other vegetables, but our all time favourite is a 'Caprese Zucchini Boat', we call it that because its modeled after a Caprese salad.

Caprese Zucchini Boat
This recipe is good for 2-4 people

1 whole zucchini
1 small mushroom
1/2 small tomato, chopped into small pieces
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
2 fresh basil leaves (or about 1/2 - 1 tsp dried basil)
pepper to taste

Cheese - grated (my favourite is goat cheese, but if you want to stay true to Caprese salads, you should use fresh mozzarella, my husband however prefers smoked Gouda, but whatever cheese you like will be wonderful)

1) Cut the ends off of the zucchini, then cut the zucchini in half lengthwise
2) Using a small spoon, hollow out the centre of the zucchini
3) Finely chop the insides of the zucchini, the mushroom, the tomato and the basil, mince garlic and mix all together, with pepper as desired.
4) Stuff mixed vegetables and spices into hollowed out zucchinis.
5) Top each zucchini boat with cheese as desired
6) Bake at 350F for 15-20 minutes, or until zucchini is soft and cheese has fully melted. (NB: I sometimes nuke my zucchinis for about 2-3 minutes before stuffing them to cut down on my cook time if I`m in a rush, - which lets be honest happens to the best of us! I then bake for only about 10 minutes)

These are our zucchini boats, mine is inside the tinfoil only because my wonderful husband has an issue with goat cheese and doesn't want it anywhere near his dinner.

Swicky Ribs

"Swicky" is a term that one of my younger brothers coined many years ago. It stands for sweet and sticky, which is an adolescents way of saying delicious.

I had a question the other day if ribs could be considered "clean eating", and my answer was why not! When we get ribs we make sure to get back ribs instead of side ribs, since they tend to have a lower fat content. The other trick is to boil them before broiling them, this helps to break down any connective tissue, gets most of the fat out of them and most importantly makes them fall off the bone tender. The other part of keeping them "clean" is not dousing them with boat loads of fats, salts and sugars. We make a (delicious in my mind!!) Homemade BBQ Sauce to put on them, don't add any extra oils or salt, and serve it with vegetables (my faves the pair with ribs are steamed green beans, asparagus, broccoli and sweet potato, but you can do whatever you want. I mostly steam my veggies to keep as many nutrients in them as possible, and don't add butter or oil to them. I add a dash of nutmeg and cayenne pepper to my sweet potatoes instead of butter and brown sugar like I see in so many recipes).

Ribs
1 rack back ribs
1 tsp yellow curry powder
1 tsp dill seed
1/2 tsp red chili flakes
1/2 tsp chili powder
pepper (to taste)

BBQ Sauce

1) Take the back ribs and trip of any large fat visible on the outside of the rack.
2) In a large, deep pot add the ribs, spices and enough water to cover the ribs completely. Cover with a lid.
3) Bring pot to a boil and turn down the heat to low (but maintaining a boil). Let the ribs boil for ~2-3 hours.
4) Preheat oven to 425 (when the ribs are almost done boiling)
5) Once the ribs are cooked, carefully take them out of the pot and lay them in casserole dish. Cover with BBQ sauce, starting with the bottom (less meaty side) first, flip and cover top with remaining sauce. Cover dish and bake for 15 minutes
6) Reduce heat to 350, uncover and broil for 5-10 minutes or until tops start to brown and crisp.
7) Serve with your favourite healthy veggies!

Homemade BBQ Sauce

This recipe tastes a lot like commercial barbecue sauce (better in my opinion) but without a long list of ingredients you can't pronounce. I know this recipe isn't perfect, and certainly there are better cleaner versions, but I'm pretty content to splurge a little bit on my sauce for the two times a month that I have it! 

2 tbsp liquid honey 

2 tbsp apple cider vinegar

1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce

1 tsp prepared yellow mustard

2 tbsp tomato paste or tomato ketchup

2-3 cloves garlic, minced

2-3 tbsp onion, chopped very fine

1/2 tsp chili powder

1/2 tsp dill seed

1/4 tsp dill weed

1/2 tsp paprika

pepper (to taste)

1 dash cayenne pepper (if you like it spicy)

1/4 tsp red chili flakes (less if you don't like it spicy)

Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl. Add the cayenne pepper and chili flakes last unless you know you like spice. This recipe covers a full rack of ribs, but if you want to make more and store it in the fridge, it stores very well. Omit the garlic and onion until serving if you want to store it for longer than a couple of days, or try garlic powder and onion powder. It won't taste quite as good, but it will store for much longer. 

Chicken Caesar Salad

Firstly, to all those that follow my blog, I apologize for the hiatus! This semester at school has been incredibly busy and hectic and I sometimes find that I have barely enough time to cook and feed myself let alone experiment with recipes and come up with new healthy ideas. We've been eating a lot of the same old recipes in my house lately!

If you love delicious Cesar salad, and crispy chicken tenders, then this is the recipe for you! I love Cesar salad, but hate what it does to my waistline, and also happen to think chicken fingers are delightful, but the pre-packaged ones are full of chemicals and preservatives that I don't want to put in my body. This recipe is delicious, tastes like the real thing, and yet has very little of the real guilt associated with Cesar salads. The chicken/turkey is baked, and the salad dressing does contain some bad things (like Parmesan cheese), but in pretty minimal doses, and you can't take everything delicious out without completely losing the flavour! My husband is currently obsessed with this meal, and we have made it several times in the last couple of weeks. We often make it with spinach, since there is more protein there than in plain lettuce, but this recipe works well with any salad greens. Feel free to add in whatever salad veggies you love, we often mix it up just to keep it interesting!

Chicken*
*This recipe has enough for 2-4 servings.

300g boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/4 c flour
1 tsp chili powder
2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper (optional)
1-2 dried basil leaves, crushed
3/4 c bread crumbs (if making your own, let them dry out for a day or so first so you get extra crispy chicken. You can also use crackers, cornflakes, rice cakes or whatever else you have on hand, we often make out own with stale bread or crusts, just let the bread dry out, and pop it in the food processor)
2 eggs whites + 1 egg yolk (reserve remaining egg yolks for dressing)
pepper to taste

1) Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2) Trim chicken of fat and slice into strips.
3) In one container mix flour and all spices, in another contain put breadcrumbs and pepper. In a third container whisk egg & egg whites, adding a tiny bit of milk if necessary to thin out.
4) One piece at a time, dredge chicken strips in egg --> flour --> egg --> breadcrumbs.
5) Place chicken on a non-stick cookie sheet & bake for 12-14 mins or until tops are golden brow,, flipping halfway through.


Cesar Dressing

1-2 egg yolks
2-3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 tsp red wine vingear
1 tbsp white wine

1 tbsp lemon juice
2 tsp dijon mustard

1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp fish sauce (optional)

3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp ground pepper (freshly ground is best!)
1 tbsp Parmesan cheese


1) Whisk eggs yolks with oil, vinegar & wine until creamy**.
2) Add lemon juice, Worcestershire & mustard and whisk vigorously for 1-2 minutes**
3) Add remaining ingredients and mix.
4) Store in fridge and eat within about 7 days.

Conversely, you can skip the egg yolks, oil and half the vinegar and use mayonnaise instead. I recommend the Olive Oil Mayonnaise that Hellman's makes.

** I make my dressing in a glass jar with a lid that seals well. After gently whisking all ingredients I put on the lid and shake it like crazy for a couple of minutes. I find this is just as effective as whisking, and it seems a lot easier to me!


Salad

Like I said we usually use spinach, but have done it with lettuce and mixed greens as well. Although normal Cesar salad is just veggies and dressing, we usually get bored with that so always include several other veggies. Our favourites for this salad are mushrooms, red pepper and avocado, although grated carrot and diced celery are nice as well.

Sometimes we put bacon on our salads as well, to cook bacon we put two strips between paper towel and microwave it for 1-2 minutes on high or until its very crispy. We then roll the bacon between more paper towel to get as much of the grease off as possible. This way you get the deliciously salty-smokey flavour of bacon without your salad dropping with grease!

Getting Healthy Lifestyle: I Work Out!

Although there are a thousand health and wellness articles that say that "fitness starts in the kitchen", I strongly believe that there is an important element of a healthy lifestyle that is involved too. You can strip your eating habits down to rabbit food (and likely be completely miserable) all you want, but without adding the element of working your heart and muscles, there will be no real progress. Don't get me wrong, eating healthy is incredibly important, and I certainly don't condone eating several burgers followed with a super-sized fries and cola, but that's not the only thing that constitutes a diet. A lot of people (falsely) assume that if they cut their calories and eat nothing but lettuce and grilled chicken breast they will lose weight and are healthy, this is a false reality. The important thing about weight loss is not the calories, its the being healthy part. No one, even those trying to drop a lot of weight should ever focus solely on the pounds. The most important part is health and so many so called "diets" can be incredibly harmful to actual health. What I'm trying to get at here is for people to learn about their bodies, their food and their exercise. You can cut your calories to next to nothing, and still not lose weight if you aren't being healthy. The more I learn about the body the more I understand that we were designed to move, to be active and to enjoy these aspects of our lives. Our bodies naturally produce endorphens (the hormone that is release that gives us that happy feeling) when we are physically active. Intense activity produces enough of these endorphens to simulate the ecstasy that is felt by cocaine users. (Now please, please, please don't go out and become cocaine addicts...this is just based on research and not personal experience). My personal experience means that I sleep better, am happier and do better at school on days where I hit the gym or the pavement. Surely you can ask my husband, and he would tell you I am a much nicer person when I get home from a run than if I didn't go!

When I decided I wanted to lose some weight I barely modified my diet (because I honestly was eating fairly healthy to begin with), and mostly increased my overall activity. The Canadian Heart & Stroke Foundation recommends that adults get AT LEAST 150 minutes of moderate to vigorous exercise per week (now ask yourself, do you hit that target?) to help prevent heart disease and risk of stroke. I challenge everyone to hit 150 minutes of exercise per week. You can start off slowly, walk to work or school instead of driving (I make a point of walking 20 minutes to school with a heavy backpack 5 days a week), try taking the stairs instead of the elevator, and go for a 20 minute walk after dinner (the walk not only helps to increase activity, but activity immediately after eating helps to boost metabolism too!). Once you're good at walking try increasing your activity level. Like I have said before, if you are serious about being healthy you will find time to hit the gym, or go for a walk or workout. A lot of people say "oh I have kids", or "I work too much"...   Everyone has time for those things they prioritize (trust me, I'm a full time student, taking an extra course by correspondence  I work 20-30 hours a week, volunteer a bit and still find the time to go for a run or hit the gym 4 times a week). If health is important you make time for it. A lovely woman I have come to know had a toddler, two jobs and a husband that works shifts away from her most of the time, and over the last 18 months she has found time to eat healthy, to exercise and to lose over 30 pounds. She changed her lifestyle, not just her diet and has been incredibly successful. The point is, either you make the time to be healthy, or it isn't in your personal important list.

My advice on getting healthy is:

• Move it! Get yourself walking for at least 10 minutes at a time twice a day (or once for 20 minutes). Try getting off the bus a few stops early, or walking to work/school. 
• Take the stairs always. Imagine how much extra your heart will be pumping (and will be thanking you!) if it gets to go up the stairs a few times every day. 
• Work out. Whether you hit a yoga class, go running or just walk around the block 10 more times than you normally do, 20 minutes of vigorous exercise 5 times a week can increase your overall heart health, muscle health, lung healthy and mental health. Exercise and physical activity are strongly linked with mental health and curing depression.
• Monitor your eating (post coming soon!)
• Make time (this is SO important). Find the time to be active. Fit it into your normal routine, or modify what you do to make it happen! Heart disease and strokes caused by obesity and obesity related diseases are the leading cause of death in North America. Protect yourself! 

Judy's Hearty Healthy Breakfast Muffins

I'm horrible at eating breakfast. I think part of it is because I am not a morning person, and I want the absolute minimum amount of time between getting out of bed and being where I need to be (because that means I get to sleep longer!). I usually get out of bed about 30 minutes before I need to leave the house, which leaves me just enough time to dress, brush my teeth and grab something for lunch before I rush out the door. The other part is I feel awful if I eat right after waking up. I know that breakfast has been coined the "most important meal of the day", but I also think that listening to one's body is important too. 

I think I might be better at eating breakfast if there was something delicious to spark my appetite. As I was pondering this point I began craving a muffin I used to have from a local coffee shop in my hometown of Canmore. These muffins were huge, healthy and packed full of flavour. It would usually take me at least two days to finish one, and I always felt full afterwards. And thus, my latest idea of inventing a muffin based on a 10-year-old memory was formed. I've spent a lot of time modifying recipes to make them healthier, but I've never come up with my own recipe from scratch before, but I figure there is always a new opportunity waiting. 

This recipe also gave me a great opportunity to use up some bananas I had frozen, some blackberries that were nearly at the end of their useful life, cranberries I have frozen which were leftover from thanksgiving and an apple that fell out of the fruit basket one too many times. I think plenty of other fruits would go wonderfully in this recipe, and baking is a great way to use up fruit that doesn't really seem to appealing to eat on its own. This recipe is also devoid of any refined sugar as well as oils or butters! Since its full of fruit (and a veggie too!) that helps to keep it moist without the added fats!

2 mashed bananas (from frozen works best, they squish better)

1/2 an avocado, peeled and mashed

2 eggs

1/2 cup apple sauce (sugar free)

2 tsp vanilla

4 tbsp honey or agave nectar

4 tbsp apple juice (or other fruit juice)

2 tsp baking soda

2 tsp baking powder

2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1 1/2 cup multigrain flour

1 cup rolled oats

1/2 c wheat bran

1/4 cup almonds, diced

2 tbsp flax seeds

1 cup cranberries (frozen or fresh)

1 apple, cored and diced fine (or grated)

1 cup blackberries (or raspberries) cut in half

1. Mash bananas and avocado together in a large bowl. Mix in eggs, beating thoroughly. Add in apple sauce, vanilla, honey and apple juice. Mix well. 

2. To wet ingredients, add baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon and nutmeg. Mix well to make sure everything is well incorporated. 

3. Add flour, oats and bran, almonds, flax seeds, cranberries and apple to wet mixture, stirring well until all ingredients are well mixed.

4. Add blackberries and gently stir once or twice. They are very soft berries and will get squished if you mix too much. 

5. Bake at 350 for 21-25 minutes or until tops start to brown. 

Eating for Weight Loss

There is a bit of a misnomer out there about eating and losing weight. I come across so many people who are constantly cut calories, trying to exercise more, and yet are struggling to shed pounds. The truth is, your body needs a certain number of calories (discussed below) to function, and eating anything less than that will slow your metabolism and make weight loss a huge struggle in the long term. Sure you may very quickly shed a few pounds while your body adjusts, but once it hits "starvation mode" the pounds will come off less quickly and you will struggle to build muscle and maintain energy to focus on fitness and workouts.

Think of your body like a car. If you refuse to put oil, windshield washer fluid and gas in it, it certainly won't go very far. Now thing of oil, windshield washer fluid and gas as the nutrients, gas and minerals that your body needs. Sure you can survive a bit without vitamins, it will take your body a little while to notice that you are leeching calcium out of your bones to make sure your heart keeps beating (and this might take months, but its true), and as for the gas, your body will start to use up fat reserves, but the truth is, after about 3 days of extreme calorie deprivation your body will turn to your muscle tissue as an energy source. The reason being that per kilogram of muscle there is a lot more energy and nutrients than a kilogram of fat. Lastly we come to the windshield washer fluid, or that extra our bodies don't need every single day, but are certainly nice to have when there is a storm, or something abnormal. These are the extras we get from foods, like minerals, omega-3's and so on. These are not quite as critical as essential vitamins, but are substantial contributors to muscle and cartilage building, brain development, and maintenance of systems like our eye sight and hearing. Now imagine for a minute that you never put oil, gas or windshield washer fluid in your beloved car. How would it look? Dirty? Stalled on the side of a road? Engine seized up? Now our bodies are a heck of a lot better at adapting to adverse situations than a car, but that doesn't mean that they don't suffer.

When trying to lose weight you need to fuel your body so that your metabolism can be working at 100%, and also so that your energy level is high enough to make a difference when you are being active. No matter your size the body needs nutrients on a continual basis in order to provide enough energy to survive. In terms of what to eat and how to eat, here are a few guidelines:

• You need to eat 1200 calories a day PLUS exercise. 1200 calories is already a diminished amount, and for the majority of people, 1200 calories a day as a bare minimum. If you are exercising you need to make up those calories as well to ensure you have enough energy to function. Operating on less than 1200 calories a day will result in a slowed metabolism and slower overall weight loss.
• Eat foods low in sodium: the majority of people have diets high in salt. Anything processed already has salt in it, and since salt is a staple table condiment in North America incredibly high levels make it into our systems. Limit your salt intake (unless you eat only organic, you get more than enough salt from normal foods, even when exercising)
• Limit foods that come in a package. Even if you know little about nutrition, or food value, this is a simple rule to follow: The Less Packaging The Better. Think about processed cookies, they come in a bag in a package in a box, compare that with a head of lettuce, it comes inside of nothing. Think of each layer of packaging as a step away from healthy foods. The less packaging the better. 
• Add more variety to your life. Try to mix up the foods that you eat. Incorporate fruits and vegetables of many colours into your diet, and make sure they encompass at least half your plate at every meal. 
• Don't obsess. This doesn't mean eat a bag of chips a day, it just means don't restrict yourself so much that when you cheat you eat a whole cake (and a pie, and 17 donuts). It means eat healthy, eat clean, but don't kill yourself. We're only human, and even the very best of us can only have SO MUCH will power. Treat yourself every now and then, and let yourself enjoy your food. There are tons of recipes for foods that have full flavour and are still healthy.
• Train your taste buds. You might be surprised to find that if you stop eating chips for a while, you no longer crave them; the same is true with many so called "bad" foods. If you eat healthy for long enough, you will stop craving the bad things. For me at this point bad food includes cinnamon-raisin bagels, flavoured rice cakes and a small slice of homemade cake. I don't crave store-bought cookies or treats; I crave homemade banana bread and a medium-rare steak. The cleaner you eat, the less your body wants the bad foods, since it is no longer used to them. 

In terms of eating for weight loss, I don't recommend completely cutting out any single legitimate food group (fats and sugars don't make my list of "food groups"). Eat 1200 calories a day PLUS exercise,and make those calories good foods. Add multicoloured vegetables to your diet (the simple explanation is that different coloured vegetables contain different and essential nutrients). Make sure you are getting enough protein in your diet every day (about 1g for ever 1kg of body weight - this means for a 150lb person you should be eating about 65g of protein per day), especially if you are trying to build muscle. Try to think of your diet as what you eat, not what you restrict. Your diet should be everything that you consume (including water, which should be at a bare minimum 8 cups a day - more is better), and what you consume is important. I can easily stay on a 1200 calorie a day diet by eat only 6 Oreo cookies and drinking two glasses of wine, but I doubt that anyone would be able to maintain that diet because of the severe lack of nutrients, so eat real food, your body needs (and deserves) that to keep yourself in shape. Remember that losing weight should be about health and not pounds, the healthier you are, the easier it will be to both shed pounds and keep it off. 

What a Difference a Year Makes! 

Pictures of myself at the start of my new healthy lifestyle, and today! No fads or gimmicks here, just clean eating and good old exercise! 

New Years Resolutions & S.M.A.R.T Goals

Its a brand new year, and the gym this past week has been quite a bit fuller (as it always is for the first few weeks in January), as so many people have a New Years resolution along the lines of shedding a few pounds or getting in shape. The further it gets from Jan 1, the empty the gym gets until February rolls around and its just the normal gym crowd, with maybe one or two new additions. While I prefer the gym emptier (its much easier for me to get MY workout in) I certainly don't want to discourage anyone from setting goals and achieving them; simply put, I think New Years resolutions are a bit of a farce. If you really really wanted to set a goal and achieve it, why wait for a new year? Why not start today? Why not make it realistic, and worthy of your time, rather than a generic, "I want to not be fat this year". What does "fat" mean? What do want to do about it? What are YOU going to DO about it?

The solution to to set S.M.A.R.T Goals, which makes goals achievable. No one woke up and was magically smarter, or thinner or completely successful, but by making a plan, all of those things can happen! S.M.A.R.T Goals are behind so many successful motivational speakers and books, as well as many weight loss programs, they are just marketed differently. So, now that the secret is out, what is a  S.M.A.R.T Goal you ask?

S - Specific
Make your goal something specific that you want to achieve. They best way to create a specific goals is to use the 5 Ws

• What I want to accomplish
• Why I want to accomplish this
• Who is involved
• Where I will accomplish this
• Which things do I need to achieve this

The 5 Ws help, because they bring the goal down to something that is tangible. Rather than saying simply "I want to lose weight", think about how much specifically, why is it that you are wanting to lose weight, is it simply shedding pounds, or is it more about a healthier lifestyle? Can you do this on your own, or do you need some help (trainer, nutritionist, spouse eating healthy too), the possibilities are endless. 

M - Measurable 
This is a very important part of any goal. Saying "I want to lose weight" doesn't let us know when we will be satisfied, or help us to see when we have made progress and when we have completed our goal. Break the goal down into several smaller and measurable segments. Say "I want to lose 20 lbs, and to do this I want to lose 1 lb per week". This is something you can see and track, which helps to make the goal more realistic (which we come to shortly).

A - Attainable/Achievable
Not that all goals are not achievable, but sometimes we get a bit ahead of ourselves. If you struggle to walk to the mailbox, maybe your immediate goal shouldn't be to run a marathon (not that that goal cannot ever be a reality, just that today's goal should be an intermediary step). Make a goal that will be a challenge to yourself, but not one that will constantly seem unattainable. The idea of goal setting is to help us, not discourage us so far that we give up. This is a common mistake of people making goals about lifestyle and fitness. The goal is so unrealistic and unattainable that people give up long before they reach that goal. By setting a goal that is achievable, you are more likely to keep it, because you can see the success of accomplishing your goal. And the good part is, when you reach one achievable milestone, whats to stop your from making another one? (Please don't wait until NEXT New Years to make another resolution).

R - Relevant & Realistic
Make the goal relevant and meaningful to YOU. Although the goal "I want stack 500 red cups into a pyramid before lunch today" is a very specific, measurable, achievable and time bound, what is the point? Set a goal for yourself that has meaning behind it for you. Ask yourself, is this worthwhile, and why? If you cannot answer those questions, then maybe your goal needs a bit of revamping.

T - Timely
Set a time limit on your goals. Having no set time limit is another reason why people often do not follow their goals through. If you say I want to lose weight, you've left your goal unbounded, and then there is no reason to see progress, because there is no end in sight. By setting limits it is easier to achieve smaller goals, and then have them add up to a bigger goal. A goal such a losing 30 lbs might seem completely unattainable, whereas losing 3 lbs, is something that can be seen. Set your goal to lose 3 lbs in 2 weeks, and then, do that 10 times and you've achieved your true goal. It a lot easier to run a marathon when you start out walking around the block first. Set limits, and hold yourself accountable.


Setting goals is incredibly important to achieving them. So many people say "I want to be thin", when really they should be setting goals to live a healthier lifestyle. I like goals that involve all of self, not just the pounds we don't like. Just over a year ago I set a goal for myself to "Be healthier". I broke this down into several smaller steps in order to make it feasible.

Here are some of the steps involved in my goals from Nov 2011

- I want to be healthier because living healthy is important to me. I want to treat my body properly, and by putting garbage in, I will get garbage out.
- I will walk to and from school every single day, rain or shine.
- I will exercise for at least 30 minutes at least 3 times a week.
- I will be able to run 10 km by April 2012.
- I will drink at least 2 litres of water every single day.
- I will pack a healthy lunch so I am not tempted to buy unhealthy things to fill me up.
- I will put vegetables on my plate first, and they will fill half my plate.

I had a lot more mini steps, and sometimes added things as I saw fit. I wrote down my goals somewhere that I would see them every single day. This allowed me to make them more tangible. When I got to a point where my goal became habit, I cross it off the list, since it was something I didn't need to work towards anymore (a good example was upping my water intake, as now I can't not drink more than 2L a day, so its no longer a goal, just something I do). When I accomplish my smaller goals, I can set bigger ones, and add to the list.

Another important part of goal setting is reevaluating. If something isn't working, or isn't realistic, change it. That doesn't mean give up after 3 days because its a little bit hard, it means alter things, make them more realistic and keep going. Your goals should be challenging, but not so hard that you give up exasperated. Remember the steps, keep them SMART and enjoy!

Healthy Eggs Benny & Deconstructed Omelettes

Although I'm not (and never have been) a huge breakfast person (as pointed out by one of my fellow "Internet Wedding Planning Girls"), and most of my posts reflect this, I do in fact sometimes eat breakfast, and when I do, I really love eggs! They're packed full of protein and healthy fats, and at only 70 calories apiece, they are a great breakfast (ignore the taunts about cholesterol that is presented in the media, they're not a problem unless you have cholesterol problems AND eat more than 6 a day)! During the week I can rarely choke down much more than a smoothie within an hour of waking up, but on the weekends I usually have more time between waking and actually eating, and since we have more time we're usually a bit more creative. I love incorporating eggs into what we eat, because they help to keep me full, and are also full of nutrients* (check out below for the details!)

Healthy Eggs Benedict 
Serves 4 - anout 230 calories per serving (1 egg with 1/2 English muffin)

• Hollandaise Sauce
• 2 egg yolks
• 1/2 c fat free plain yogourt
• 1 tsp dijon mustard
• 1/2 tsp vinegar
• 2 tsp finely diced chives or green onions
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• pepper to taste
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (optional) - will make quite spicy
1. In heat proof bowl (I use a stainless steel one) mix together egg yolk, yogourt, mustard and vinegar
2. Put over a saucepan of boiling water and cook for about 10 minutes, constantly stirring (I use a whisk and whisk slowly). The sauce will thin first and then thicken. 
3. When the sauce thickens add chives/onion, paprika and pepper

• Sandwich
• 4 eggs (2 per person)
• 2 tsp vinegar
• 2 whole wheat English muffins cut in half
• 4 strips turkey bacon or fat free ham
• pepper to taste
• paprika to taste
• chives/green onions to garnish

1. Poach eggs - Half fill a deep frying pan with water and add vinegar. Bring pan of water to boil, and crack eggs into pan, careful not to break the yolks. Poach eggs for 3-4 minutes, scooping water over eggs for the last 2 minutes. 
2. Meanwhile, cook bacon/ham in microwave. Place between two pieces of paper towel and heat on high for 2 minutes or until cooked. (The paper towel helps to absorb any extra fat!)
3. Toast English muffins.
4. Place bacon/ham on English muffin, and using a slotted spoon scoop egg out of water onto muffin. Cover with warm Hollandaise sauce and sprinkle with remaining chives/onions and paprika. 

Deconstructed Omelettes - A.K.A Scrambled Eggs with Stuff in it

About 230 calories per serving

I love omelettes, but I find that to form them properly I need to add so much oil to the pan so they don't stick. My solution is to make eggs with all of the omelette things, but without the added oil and omelette shape. 

Ingredients:

• 2 eggs per person
• Vegetables you like (examples below - per 2 eggs)
• 1 tbsp mushrooms diced
• 1-2 tbsp peppers diced
• 1 tsp onions finely diced
• 1 tbsp green onion diced
• 1-2 tbsp tomato diced
• 2 tbsp carrot grated
• 2 tbsp zucchini grated
• 10 leaves diced spinach
• Meat
• Turkey-Pork Sausage - Recipe Here
• Turkey bacon (one strip per person) diced
• Low fat sausage (I like Eating Right sausage) diced
• Low fat ham diced
• Cheese (about 1-2 tbsp per person, grated)
• low fat cheeses like swiss, cheddar or mozzarella
• goat cheese
• pepper to taste
• 1/4 tsp finely diced basil
• 1/2 tsp dijon mustard (per person)
• garlic to taste (optional)

Directions

1. In a non-stick frying pan add vegetables and meat (with harder vegetables like onions, peppers and carrots first), pepper, mustard and garlic. Cook on medium 3-4 minutes until vegetables are softening. 
2. In tall cup or bowl mix eggs. 
3. Add eggs and with a spatula, stir to mix eggs into vegetables & meat
4. When eggs are completely cooked, turn heat to low, sprinkle cheese on top and cover with a lid for 1-2 minutes, until cheese has melted. 
5. Serve immediately. 

Whats Your Secret?

I'm often asked what my secret to being fit is, or what diet plan I'm on. Here's the biggest secret of all; I'm not on a diet.

When I first decided to slim down, I was very careful about what I ate. Despite all that I know about nutrition, I was trying to lose weight so I went fat free, carb free, sugar free (and taste-free and fun free). Dieting made me grouchy, irritable, listless and constantly hungry. I found that when I dieted, I cheated more, binging more on sweets and constantly craving things that were on the "no" list, which in turn made me feel guilty if I gave into my cravings. The day I decided to stop dieting and get healthy was the day I made the best decision of my life (other than saying "yes" to my wonderful husband that is). When I made the conscious decision to stop dieting and to change my lifestyle I no longer craved fatty and sugary things, and I no longer felt guilty about food. I found I had more energy to workout, to be active and to be happy with. I found that my days no longer revolved around the scantly meals that I was allowing myself to have, and that I could actually focus on myself, rather than on counting calories. I lost weight more effectively, and have been able to keep the pounds off. More than these small feats, I love myself more, and embrace the new me (I know, I know that sounds cheesy and cliche).

I think for anyone trying to lose weight, you need to focus on being healthy first, rather than just trying to shed pounds. Learn about your body, learn about food and learn about exercise. You can't expect to run a marathon the first day you lace up your shoes, nor can you expect to drop 5 pant sizes in a week. Bring healthy should be a long term goal, with short term changes. You don't have to make huge leaps and bounds, start small, and make changes that are manageable, rational and something that you are capable of following. Make changes that make sense for health, not for shedding weight. If you can learn to be healthy, you will lose weight; end of story.

Here are my secrets to being healthy:

1) Eat real food. The less processed, the less salt, and preservatives and bad things there will be. I've never done a shake diet, or meal replacements or anything like that. I eat fruit and vegetables and whole grains. The less packaging the better, because it means real food. I always put vegetables on my plate first, and try to make sure they take up half the plate.

• Some of the added bonuses of real food
• Its WAY cheaper than pre-packaged food (see what your grocery bill looks like if you buy everything fresh; compare the price of canned goods to produce)
• Its low in sodium, refined sugars and chemicals
• Its better for the environment (in many ways, no packaging = less garbage in landfills, and fresh foods also take less energy to produce than packaged ones)

2) Drink water. And lots of it. I think the only thing I drink is water (with the exception of herbal tea or decaf coffee some mornings). We shower to clean our outsides, but what do we do for our insides? I drink about 3-4L of water a day - which is twice the recommended 8 cups, and more if I'm exercising. I constantly have my water bottle with me, and find that if its there, I'll drink, you can train yourself to get in the habit too. And although it makes you have to pee more (hey heres a chance to get away from your desk and stretch your legs for a few minutes!!) it is definitely worth it!

• Bonuses of drinking water
• Its a lot cheaper than buying soda, juice, crystal light etc, most of which are either empty calories, high in sugar or full of artificial chemicals to make them calorie free. If you want some taste in your water, squeeze some lemon or lime in, or add mint leaves and cucumber for a refreshing drink.
• It helps you lose weight. Cold water helps you to digest food, boosts your metabolism and burns calories. Your body can digest things more efficiently when it is hydrated and it doesn't have to pull water away from other pertinent processes. If you're hydrated your body digests food more efficiently. Cold water needs to be warmed up by your body before it can be absorbed, which means you expend energy to heat it! 
• Its like a shower for all your cells. Think about it like taking a shower on the inside! It helps to wash away dead cells, rejuvenate blood flow and keep your body going! It helps to keep your kidneys working properly, and staying hydrated lowers your risk of bladder cancer! 

3) Be aware of what you eat. Its very very easy to snack idly, and not remember what you put in to your body. As much as our society is about efficiency, and go, go,go, take time to either plan your meals ahead of time (if you plan on eating while doing another activity, like working, studying, driving, etc) so that you don't over eat without thinking about it, or sit down and make eating your only activity. A lot of us over eat simply because we aren't paying enough attention to eating.

4) Be active. I spend about 40-60 minutes every day walking. I walk to and from school every single day, so even on days when I don't make it to the gym, I've been active. Take the stairs, so what if it takes 5 minutes to get to the 10th floor, did you really need to rush there? I sure didn't! Many people say I take transit to work/school, well how about getting off a stop or two early? Then you get a good walk in, get some exercise and I find walking gives me time to just be by myself. I look at the walk as enjoyable, time to think rather than an inconvenience. I certainly could take the bus every day, and I'd get there faster too, but then I wouldn't have that precious time to myself either!

 5) Hit the gym, and work it! If you really (really!) want to be fit and healthy, you'll have to work for it. I workout 3-4 times a week, and I don't resent it! So many people day they don't have time, or are too tired or whatever, but those are excuses. If you care about it, you will MAKE time for it. Rome wasn't built in a day, but one day, someone laid the corner stone, and it grew. I always think of my mom when thinking about  people being healthy and making time for the gym. She is such an inspiration. She lost over 60lbs, going from someone who got winded walking up the stairs to running a marathon just after her 50th birthday. If she can find the time and inner strength, so can you.

6) Don't limit yourself (too much). Healthy eating doesn't mean you can't ever eat dessert, or have a glass of wine, or go out for wing night. The trick is to learn to not want those things. I find that the healthier I eat, the less I want to put bad things into my body. My biggest craving at the moment is a fruit & veggie smoothie. I also let myself have bad foods when I want them, because I find its not all that often. I think that is the difference between dieting and being healthy, I no longer crave junk food, and I no longer have to "cheat" on my diet. I mostly eat good things, and then when I want, I have a cookie (because now I only feel like I want one, not the whole bag). And party my perspective on junk food had shifted, I don't want it or need it in my body, and would much rather eat a delicious meal than binge on a bag of chips.

And that is my secret.