Chicken Satay

It's been a long time both since I've blogged and since I've had time to experiment in the kitchen. I'm hoping that now that I'm done university and starting a new career I'll have a bit more time to do one of the things I love most, which is cook healthy foods. (I've been fortunate enough to come up with TWO new recipes this week!)

Now, normally Tuesday's at our house are "Pasta Tuesday", because my husband volunteers Tuesday evenings. We normally make a huge pot of bolognaise sauce every 4-6 weeks and freeze portions, which makes it super easy to cook some pasta and get him home from work and out the door in under an hour. I however had pasta for dinner last night after a grueling self imposed 2hr workout at Blitz Conditioning, so I wasn't in the mood for another meal high in  processed carbs (we try to limit pasta to once a week tops)

A few weeks ago I went for lunch with a friend to a Vietnamese Sandwich shop, I had a fairly tasty chicken satay sub, but there was nothing healthy about it. A huge white sub bun, tons of mayo (I actually hate mayo and attempted to scrape most of it off), lots of salt, buttered bread, very sweet, and hardly any veggies. As I was considering what to have for dinner, I don't thought maybe I could make a healthier and tastier version of that sub, because it was both something spicy (which I love), and a chance to break out the kitchen note book and make a new recipe! I also had a couple of amazing chicken breasts in my fridge from my favourite local butcher, Acme Meat Market that were calling my name.

As a result, a healthy chicken satay sandwich emerged! It was so satisfying; sweet & spicy but with tons of fresh elements so I still felt like I was eating a healthy supper. The best part? It only took me about 15 minutes to prepare, which is exactly what I needed because I was ravenous after my evening yoga class! Sometimes that's the biggest battle, we're so busy that it's easy to fall into quick & bad food, because it's convenient. In any case, I'm sure I'm rambling because it's been ages since I've had the time to sit down and write, so here's the recipe! 

Chicken Satay (for two)

6-8oz chicken breast (in bite size pieces)

1-2 tsp coconut oil

1/4 c white wine (or 1/4 c apple juice & 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar)

1/3 c diced onion 

1 tsp soya sauce

1 clove garlic

1 tbsp lemon juice 

2 tbsp natural peanut butter

1-2 tbsp red curry paste (depending on spice level)

chili flakes, to taste (optional)

1 tbsp honey/brown sugar (or 1/2tbsp agave nectar)

water (for sauce consistency)

3-4 mushrooms, diced

1 c bean sprouts 

Sandwich

1-2 carrots, grated

Bread/Pita per person

Tomato diced, per taste 
Diced red onion

Fresh cilantro 

Spinach/kale/greens 
Other veggies!

1) In frying pan melt coconut oil on medium, add all above ingredients except brown sugar, water, mushrooms & bean sprouts. Sauté on medium until chicken is cooked & onions are soft. 

2) Add sugar & mushrooms (water if needed to thin sauce - I used all natural peanut butter and needed to slowly add about 1/4 c water to keep the sauce thin enough) and cook until mushrooms are soft on medium-low, stirring frequently. 

3) Remove from heat, add bean sprouts and cover for 2-3 mins.

4) In bread (I did mine on whole wheat pita), layer grated carrot, cilantro, tomato, red onion & greens

5) Top bread & fresh vegetables with chicken & bean sprout mixture (smother with hot sauce if so desired)

To be perfectly fair to the picture below: the chicken was amazing, the fresh carrot and greens (I added spinach, baby kale & baby arugula, mostly because I'm on an arugula kick and I've been adding it to everything for the past month) were so delicious. The pita itself lasted very minimally, probably because I spent too long trying to get a perfect picture, and the pita was a few days old, so the pita fell to the wayside, I added more greens and basically had a chicken satay salad. It was amazing. I added some baked yams that I had in the fridge! 

Energy Bits

Firstly, be warned that this post comes from an over tired, nursing student, training for a marathon, coaching and working . I basically exist on homemade shakes, decaf coffee (I quit caffeine 2 years ago - for better or worse?), homemade sourdough bread (from my amazing bread guy & friend Owen) and lots of butter.

With that as a preface, I have spent the last month trying out Energy Bits during my various workouts. I am the worst marathon athlete in training. I don't have time to give my training plan the time it really deserves, but few things make me happier than running. It's the real reason I coach biathlon and do dry-land training and drive my husband crazy with the amount of running shoes I buy. It's my therapy, and for that everyone needs fuel. 

I digress; I spent the last month testing out Energy Bits. They are an awesome company, based out of Boston, and were wonderful enough to offer me a some of samples in exchange for feedback on their product. As someone who has tried every type of gel and block and training supplement, I was overall mostly happy with the Bits. 

I have to say as someone with a background in science I was initially very skeptical over a zero carb option for running energy. Normally I take gels, which consists mainly of easily broken down sugars and caffeine. The downside of gels are the havoc they wreak on my GI system (you try downing 20 to 40mg of caffeine and 25g of carbs every 45 mins!!). Gels are definitely high in energy, but they certainly don't come without side effects. The lack of side effects was my favourite part of Energy Bits! I used them on speed workouts, hill workouts and three distance runs (25+km) and definitely didn't feel any of the exhaustion that comes with improper fueling! I also didn't have any of the typical GI discomfort I frequently get with many gels. After a ton of research in scientific journals (I learned a lot too!) I found that although Spirulina (the only ingredient in Energy Bits) doesn't actually provide energy directly, it allows for energy in your body to be available for use, which is why you don't get the sugar spikes and crashes associated with many sugar based supplements. They also boast being full of protein & tons of other essential nutrients which makes them a great nutritional supplement even if you don't find them effective as a training tool. One thing I found about Energy Bits was that if I was lacking energy it took a long time for them to kick in (so for those long end of the week workouts I definitely needed a carb kick too). I assume this is because my body was on a micro-scale at a nutritional deficit. 

The biggest drawback of Energy Bits was actually swallowing them. I had no problem taking them pre-run and pre-race, but taking them, on the fly, while running at race pace would be a huge challenge for me. I'm someone who is super sensitive to tastes and smells (which is usually heightened when I'm running flat out) and I gagged an awful lot trying to down 30+ tablets during a workout or race. To be completely fair, I also gag when trying to take gels on course as well. Part of the problem with Bits was the amount of water I take during a race, which is quite minimal. I don't normally slow enough to take enough water needed to swallow the equivalent number of Bits required to keep me going. In the case of a race I felt like a gel that would give me later GI discomfort was well worth the time I would save over trying to swallow Bits. At the advice of Catharine Arston, the delightful founder and CEO of Energy Bits, I tried chewing them as well. They taste awful, but it did cut down on the amount of water needed to swallow 30 tabs. 

Overall, my Eval is that I loved the Energy Bits for training, but struggled to use them in a race. I found they provided me with great energy for shorter workouts, but I think to gain full benefit during long training or racing runs I'd need to be taking them more frequently in order to ensure that I maintained a bioavailable energy level. I would hesitate to use them in a race because I don't know how I would actually be able to take the required number of Bits to keep me going, but will certainly continue to use them as one of my sources of energy for training! Maybe I'll try them out on some shorter races this fall, I plan on running a 5-8km trail series, which would probably be the perfect distance to pre-fuel with Bits! 

Finding My Jam - November Project

When I started this blog two and a half years ago, I was in search of developing healthier eating habits, and trying to get back into shape after gaining a bunch of weight during my first degree. I was preparing to have surgery for torn ligaments in my leg, and running 5km made me feel exhausted. The idea of running a marathon to me was laughable. After surgery I decided to try and get serious about running. I didn't have any friends that were into running, so I spent a lot of time trying to motivate myself to go running. I ran my first half marathon 1 year exactly after having leg surgery, and to my delight, finished in 2 hours and 7 minutes. After that race I couldn't walk for about a week, and contemplated if I actually was crazy for undertaking something as crazy as running 21.1km for fun.

Fast forward to August 2013. I was still trying very hard to keep running, but school was busy, work was busy and I still hadn't found any friends that were into running. I was worried that I wouldn't be able to keep myself motivated for another winter of running alone. Almost as if on cue I found the perfect solution; November Project (NP). The idea behind NP is simple. Two guys from Boston struggled to stay motivated to keep active over the winter, decided to form an exercise support group and force one another to exercise (you can read the full story here). The beautiful part was that a Canadian Tribe had just been formed, thanks to the recent trade of Andrew Ference (who had been involved with the Boston tribe) from the Boston Bruins to the Edmonton Oilers. So one Friday morning, I got up at 5am, laced up my Asics and stepped way outside my comfort zone and jogged solo over to my very first November Project Canada workout.

At the time I had no idea that I would find so much more than just some people to help keep me active through the winter. Over the last 11 months I've developed amazing running habits, found pleasure in pushing myself running hundreds of sets of stairs, and also become part of an amazing community. November Project is more than the #FreeFitness it touts on Twitter it is a group of like minded people who are crazy and funny and wonderful. It takes that to wake yourself up and be at a workout by 6am three days a week.

If I had never found the courage to lace up my runners and trudge (solo!!) over to run hills with a bunch of people I had never met I really don't know where I would be right now. I certainly never would have trained for or run my first marathon, I definitely would not have signed up for a second marathon and I absolutely would not have Boston Marathon firmly tacked on my bucket list. I also would not have amazing friends to share sweaty hugs with, or to eat oversized bowls of ice cream with (we just went running after all!).

Over the past year that I've spent with November Project Canada I've had the opportunity to meet amazing people, find wonderful training partners, taste the most delicious bread and continue to work on overhauling my lifestyle. My husband thinks I'm a bit crazy, but at the same time says he impressed that some random running thing I heard about on Twitter could change me from a stay-up-late-night-owl-kind-of-person to a wake-up-early-basically-every-morning-to-workout-kind-of-person. I have to say, I'm a bit surprised myself! The first few weeks were definitely a struggle, but a November Project Lifestyle has become my new lifestyle, one which I am incredibly thankful for! 

Eating for Fitness: Key Nutrition & Recovery Smoothie

I recently ran my first marathon, and training for that taught me an awful lot about food and eating! I originally started this blog as a way to share recipes I was using when trying to get back into shape and lose some weight. In the almost two years since I launched my blog my priorities have definitely changed! I was hoping to get in good enough shape to have a decent 5k time, and here I am a year and a half later running what my husband calls crazy-person distances.

One thing I had to begin to adapt to when running longer distances was actually eating a lot more food. Initially I continued tracking my daily intakes, just to make sure I still wasn't over eating, but the more I ran the more I realized I still needed to track what I was eating, but for a completely different reason. I found I wasn't eating enough food on days where I put in 2 or more workouts, or was out running for 3 to 4 hours.

Any time you're exercising nutrition is incredibly important, especially when you're pushing your body to extremes such as with running a marathon or training for one. I often found when I would get home from a really long run I had very little appetite, despite the fact that I know I've burned upwards of 2000 calories. It becomes a bit of a battle with myself, the logic part of the brain saying "EAT!!!" and the other part wanting nothing to do with it. What I've found to be helpful is having a recovery smoothie. This way I can help replenish electrolytes, and fluids as well as get in some calories quickly. It almost like tricking yourself into eating.

There are a ton of commercial "recovery drinks" available, many are full of artificial sugar, artificial colours, flavours and ingredients no one can pronounce. Why not go natural and fill your body with natural replenishers instead? It might take a bit more prep work, but in the end its worth it in my mind!

A few things to consider about your post-workout replenishing:

1) You need salt (aka electrolytes)! So many health conscious people avoid salt and try to do low sodium products (I know I'm one of them!) but this is one time not to skip. Salt doesn't just mean table salt (sodium), but other essential minerals like potassium, calcium and magnesium. All of these electrolytes work together in your body and are all lost through sweat.

• bananas
• kiwi
• cherries
• beans

2) You need sugar! Maybe skip the refined white sugar, but there are plenty of ways to get good sugars in! Fruit is high in natural unrefined sugars, like fructose, which is easy for your body to absorb and gives your body relatively quick energy. Sugar is stored in our muscles as glycogen, but when exercise is lengthy or strenuous, our bodies use up our glycogen stores. Eating some sugars (the healthy kind!) right after a workout helps our bodies to replenish these stores so our muscles don't fatigue as much and so we're ready to go for next time!

• berries
• citrus
• pineapple
• sweet potato/pumpkin
• fruits with pits (apricot, peach, plum, mango)

3) You need protein! Protein is a great way to get in some longer term energy and to help our muscles build. Sore muscles are actually a sign of teeny-tiny micro damage to our muscles (don't worry, this is how they grow!) and they need proteins (and amino acids) to repair themselves. Protein doesn't mean you have to go out and buy whey protein powder or puree a steak, it just means being creative about where you find your sources of protein! Your body also uses minerals like iron to help absorb protein & make muscles grow.

• greens (spinach, kale)
• yogourt & whey (the liquid part on top of yogourt)
• nuts (or almond milk)
• chickpeas

4) You need fluid! Right after a workout your body is probably dehydrated. Very few people actually drink enough fluid during exercise to account for what is lost. But don't dismay, you don't have to stay dehydrated! Sugar & electrolytes will help your body absorb fluid more readily, so make sure your smoothie has some ice or juice or liquid too!

• coconut 
• milk (chocolate, soy, almond)
• whey (from homemade yogourt)

Diet Foods

It's the new year, which makes it the time if year that people are trying their hearts out to keep to their New Years resolutions. I too am working in getting back to healthy (I'm fairly certain I are my own weight in gingerbread cookies over the holidays). I know that over the holidays I didn't run as much as I should have, and I definitely are too much on several occasions and I also had wine way more often than I normally do. 

A super common "trick" that first time dieters, or people who are unfamiliar with nutrition tend to do is eat a lot of "diet food". The 100 calorie snack packs, fat free yogourt, tons if products marked "light". Some of those products are okay, some are terrible. The problem with simply trying to switch to diet food, is that it doesn't really involve changing how you feel about food and health, it's simply a crutch. 

One of the biggest problems with diet food is that despite being sugar free, they actually precipitate our desire for more. Diet foods (like yogourt, granola bars, juices, soda) are full of artificial sweeteners, which actually make us crave sugar more. Artificial sweeteners simply fool our taste buds, not our brains into satisfying a sugar craving. When the body naturally has sugar, dopamine (the reward hormone) gets released from the pleasure centre in the brain. When people stick to diet foods, the body continues to build up a craving for sugars, which makes the craving more intense and makes people more likely to succumb to a larger craving. A happy medium is the have natural sugars (like fresh fruits) in moderation. Top plain yogourt with fresh fruit instead of opting for diet yogourt and you'll be better off! 

Happy New Year!

Happy New Years! I hope that this coming year brings health and most of all happiness to everyone! 2013 has been an incredible year for me! I went back to school, started running more seriously, and managed to find time to eat even healthier this year! 2013 was a year about maintaining lifestyle changes and focusing on what was important to me and my family! I'm excited for what 2014 will bring, including a bunch of running races (including my very first FULL marathon), graduating from school and continuing to focus on a healthy, happy me!

New Years often brings a slew of resolutions, many of which people fail to stick with. I found a few studies that said less than 10% of people actually stick with their resolutions! And to be honest, it isn't surprising. Waiting until the new year to put into action plans you've been meaning to get around to is a terrible way to do things. Why not just start the day you decide you want to make a change? I've been trying to convince a few friends of mine to join November Project  (which I'll explain shortly) with me, and they have all said "I'll think about it in the new year, that's when I'm going to focus on losing weight". Well, why not just start today?

The problem with waiting until you make a New Years Resolution is two fold. Firstly, you're putting something off until an arbitrary date, hoping it will bring you more success, and secondly you're wasting valuable time waiting until the next year to begin. What I like to do rather than wait, and create a resolution, is keep an ongoing bucket list

All of that being said, if you made New Years Resolutions this year, stick with them! Be part of that 8% that keeps their goals! See my post from last year about setting SMART Goals to help get you started and keep you on track! Figure out what works for you and what keeps you motivated. A goal should be about yourself, not about others, and not about comparing yourself to others.

One more tidbit...rather than setting a New Years Resolution, consider a 2014 "Bucket List". I usually keep one each year, and add to it when I find a new goal I want to achieve. I find this to be a more fluid way of keeping track of my goals!

Lets see what an amazing year 2014 can be! 

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!