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.