MAKE A PESTO TODAY!

If you have something green, seeds,

garlic and a chopper you have pesto.

It goes on almost anything, needs no heating or cooking.

This is the beginning of the season where you will find so many fresh and even local greens for your pesto.  The traditional pesto calls for basil, garlic, pine nuts and parmesan cheese.  Use this only as your guide, in fact I substitute everything except for garlic - that and olive oil are the only constant ingredients.

Consider a bunch (handful or a 2 cup measure) of parsley, basil, cilantro, kale or spinach. Depending on your taste any one of these will do wonderfully!

My family loves garlic, so when I make a pesto I add at least one to two heads of garlic. 

Instead of pine nuts I add what I have in the cupboard.  I have used sunflower seeds, almonds or pumpkin seeds.  The combinations are delightful and the tastes are surprisingly delicious!!

The basics

one head of garlic

one tablespoon of salt

1/4 - 1/2 cup of olive oil

a bunch of green herb

1/4 - 1/2 cup of seeds or nuts

In a food processor mince garlic and salt to taste, add  1/4 cup of your choice of seeds.  

Chop until just blended.  Now add a the parsley (or basil or kale or ...) and while chopping slowly drizzle the olive oil in.  Depending on how thin you like your pesto you may add more oil.  

As well,  you may chop the seeds less depending on your taste. 

A coarse grind with less oil will make a thicker pesto.

The combination of seeds, green and yes, even oil (as long as you do not heat the pesto you can use flax oil instead) make for over 20 pesto variations.

Pesto is tasty on pasta, rice, baked potatoes, salad greens, chicken, roasted vegetables ... the list is limited only by your imagination.

Pesto is a nutritional power pack of essential fats, iron, zinc, protein, fibre, calcium and other vitamins and minerals.

A complete power house food indeed!

Easy, Fast and Delicious!!

Enjoy

 

One Dish Dinner

Finally, spring is here and the warm weather is upon us.  

In the kitchen this means more fresh vegetables and fruits.  Gone are the crock pots and oven meals that create even more heat in the already warm kitchen.  Warmer weather usually means easy light meals.  This is a perfect time to move away from heavier winter foods to lighter fare like salads with added easy protein like beans, tuna, chicken or egg.  

A fast and excellent way to satisfy your taste buds, time restrictions, waist line and nutritional needs all in one quick easy delicious meal is The Salad.

Think of your salad as your main course.

The salad box is an assortment of washed ready to use mesculin mix ( a variety of salad greens).  Start with a very generous handful of pre washed mesculin mix.  To the salad add shredded or sliced carrots, beets and diced cucumber.

Now you add the protein.  This could be last night's bbq'd chicken cut up in pieces or a boiled and chopped egg or maybe a can of tuna.  My tried and true salad dressing is equal amounts of lemon juice and flax seed oil to which i add crushed garlic and sea salt.

The salad is that simple and hugely satisfying!!

Remember - Greens + protein + dressing = great meal

TAKE A DEEP BREATH

We all breath.  

most of us do it unconsciously and although that works well enough,  

there is so much more to breathing!

With your breath you can create heat,

increase your energy and as a bonus

you burn calories as well! 

You can use your breath to relax and calm your mind and body,

Try it right now.

Sit upright.

Place one hand on your heart and the other on your belly.

Now take a slow and steady deep breath in through your nose.

Notice your hands rising.

Can you make one hand rise and then the other?

Exhale through your nose and reverse the inhale pattern.

If you filled your belly before your chest then exhale from your chest first.

Practice slowing down the inhale and exhale then speeding it up.

What differences do you feel?

To relax exhale longer than you inhale.

Next try breathing through your belly only.

Use your abdominal muscles to push the breath out,

let the inhale come naturally.

Notice the increase in energy.

 

HAVE YOU HAD A DRINK TODAY?

It is all around us, inside us and in everything we take in.

Water is an essential nutrient - we can not live without it.

Want a fresh start to your morning?

Drink a glass of water (not chilled) upon rising.

This could be the beginning of a great habit!

Rise!

Breath deeply!

Smile!

Drink a glass of delicious water!

Want to up it a notch? Squeeze a touch of lemon in your glass.

Love the water.

Love the day!

Be Well!

Healthy Habits for a New Year

Winter is a time of going inward and also a time of new beginnings.

Think new years resolutions! 

And spring, coming up next, is a time of new beginnings.

A perfect time (and lots of it) to plan and incorporate healthy habits: 

Create new ones, 

Renew old ones,

Reinforce current ones.

So I started a list of feel good, good for you habits.

Breath

sit when you eat

chew your food well 27 times (yes, that's each bite)

add lemon to your water

eat one raw meal a day 

sleep on an empty stomach

go to bed before 10

stretch upon rising

walk

be in nature as much as possible (garden, walk in the park)

choose your food consciously (no guilt)

put your fork down between bites

drink water daily

pause - before eating

take a list when shopping

only food shop on a full stomach

shop the outside aisles only/mostly

smile

laugh at least three times a day (at least!)

hug to say hello/goodbye

ENERGY BARS

Tired of processed food and looking for a quick fix?  

Most energy bars are loaded with simple sugars and additives so why not make your own?

The following recipes are quick, easy and fun to make.  All you need is a food processor.

POWER BAR  I

7 prunes

6 medjool dates

1/8 cup goji berries

1/8 cup sunflower seeds

1 Tbsp walnuts

POWER BAR  II

1/4 cup 7 grain cereal

1/2 cup rolled oats

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp cardamom

1/8 cup goji berries

1/8 cup slivered almonds

1/8 cup pumpkin seeds

1 tsp cocoa powder

1 tsp agave syrup

To make either power bar:

Combine the  ingredients in a food processor and chop until mixed and the contents clump.

With damp hands mold the paste into balls or press and flatten the mix in a baking dish, then cut into squares.

Wrap the power bars in a sealed container and refrigerate.

Makes 10 bars

THE RIGHT WAY TO EAT

The right way to eat ...

Is there a right and wrong way?

At some point we have all had the experience of eating with guilt.
For some of us it is rare, for others it can be constant.
Yet we all share that experience with food.

How about some guidelines?

We use them in all aspects of our lives although not always consciously from how clean our living spaces 'should' be to how much we spend. So how about some guidelines for one of our most basic relationship? What we eat!

Love the food you eat! That's right! What good is your favourite ice cream if guilt is involved?

What is the sense of eating if you do not enjoy it? Certainly do not over do it, but appreciate the food you eat.