Cold Summer Treat

I know it's been awhile since my last post. I just needed to get out of the winter blues and find some inspiration. All it took was going to a Farmer's Market.
I went to the market at Art Scape Wychwood Barns. I had been to Evergreen Brickworks before and a few smaller markets around the city but never to Wychwood. It had all the essentials, and then some. Fresh produce, breads, meats, fish, baked goods and more. It was just what I needed to find some inspiration. There's something about the atmosphere at a Farmer's Market that is calm and blissful.
I know Farmer's Markets can get pricey so I try to limit what I get. I just pick up a few fresh items that aren't always that great at the grocery store like berries or peaches. Although, this was my first market of the year so between that and my grocery trip afterward, I definitely splurged. Whoops! But it was all worth it.
I came home with all my goodies and cooked up a storm. I made raspberry chocolate chip muffins, crustless mini quiches, vegetable stir fry, pad thai (to go with the veggie stir fry), cherry crisp, and peach yogurt popsicles.

What I really want to write about are the popsicles. There are so many great homemade popsicle recipes out there. I found this particular recipe site from Real Food Real Deals on Facebook. There are some great options on there but naturally, I combined a couple and made my own.
My popsicle holders are quite small and this made 7 for me.
I cut up two peaches and put them in the Magic Bullet (blender should work too). Then, in a bowl I mixed a cup and a half of vanilla yogurt, the blended peaches, and a table spoon of lime/lemon juice.
I spooned a small amount of the mixture into the bottom of the popsicle holders then dropped in a couple pieces of raspberries and blueberries. I did 3 layers of fruit in mine. But you can make as many layers as you want!
Place them in the freezer for a couple of hours then enjoy!
Feel free to mix up the fruit. The options are endless! You can also make these with plain yogurt and add in your own sweetener. I'd recommend some honey.
I had one yesterday for a snack and then today I had one as part of my breakfast. They can be enjoyed anytime of the day. They are such a yummy summer treat and take no time at all to make!

Recipe Recap - Peach Yogurt Pops

2 peaches - washed and cut
Berries or other fruit
1 1/2 cups yogurt
1 tbsp lemon and/or lime juice
Honey (optional)
Blender
Popsicle holders

Place the peaches in the blender and blend until smooth. In a bowl, mix the yogurt, citrus juice, honey (if adding), and stir in the blended peaches.
Drop a spoonful of the mixture into the popsicle holder and drop in a layer of fruit. Make as many or as few layers as you want. Put in the popsicle sticks and freeze for a couple of hours.

Here is the link to the original website. Feel free to test out any of the other recipes or if you're like me, you'll just make your own!
http://realfoodrealdeals.com/2014/07/16/10-real-food-popsicle-recipes/

Happy summer everyone!

Enjoy!


~Hannah

Remember, a healthy mind and body equals a happy and healthy dancer.

Cookies can be healthy

This post is going out to a group of my friends who, for the month of March, have completely cut out all junk food. This includes candy, sweets, pop, highly processed foods, etc.
Wouldn't it be nice though, if you could still eat some sweets and not feel guilty or get that sugar high/crash afterward? Well, you can. With the proper ingredients you can make desserts that your body will love as well as your taste buds!

I found a chewy oatmeal cookie recipe online and, as per usual, tweaked it a bit. I added in other ingredients like flaxseed and sesame seeds. Flaxseed contains fiber and omega-3, and sesame seeds contain nutrients like calcium, fiber, magnesium, vitamin B-1, and iron. These two seeds are great to throw in to any baking to give it a boost of nutrition.

I tend to cook with coconut oil but I know it can get expensive. With this recipe, you have a couple of options. You can use all coconut oil, all a different kind of cooking oil, or you can substitute half the oil for unsweetened applesauce.
Also, for those who don't normally have honey in the cupboard or would like to save it, because it too can be expensive, you can substitute it for 1/3 cup brown sugar. However, this would be unacceptable for my friends who are cutting out sugar ;)

Oatmeal Cookies
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 1/4 cup oats (Quick is okay. Just not instant)
1/4 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 salt
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg (optional)
1/4 cup ground flaxseed
1/8 cup sesame seeds
1/2 cup honey
1/2 oil (or 1/4 oil, 1/4 applesauce)
1 egg + 1 tbsp water
1 tbsp molasses (optional)
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 raisins
1/2 chopped walnuts (optional)

Mix dry ingredients in large mixing bowl.
In separate bowl, mix egg with water then add remaining wet ingredients.
Mix wet and dry ingredients. Fold in raisins.
Cool mixture in fridge for 10 minutes. Preheat oven to 335F.
Drop rounded spoonfuls on to parchment lined baking sheets. Flatten slightly with fork to ensure even cooking.
Bake for 10 minutes or until light golden on bottom.
Cool for 5 minutes before transferring to cooling rack.
Makes 25-35 depending on how big you like your cookies!

Original recipe from wholegraingourmet.com

Enjoy!

~Hannah

Remember, a healthy mind and body equals a happy and healthy dancer.

Muffin Top

For about two years in my high school days, every Saturday morning on my way to teach I would stop and get a fruit explosion muffin. It's full of fruit, right? I also used to really like low fat raspberry and blueberry muffins. Low fat is a good option, right? While they tasted so delicious at the time, I've learned there are other muffin options out there.

Muffins seem to have a lot of mixed reviews. Are they healthy or not?
Well, it depends. They can be full of sugar and fat or they can be packed with lots of healthy goodness. The ones you buy in the grocery store or a coffee shop chain are basically like cake with nuts and fruit in them. The ones I make are healthy and delicious.

They can be a great snack when you're on the go. And they really don't take very much time considering you will get 12 muffins out of one batch. They can also be stored in the freezer for longer lasting time.

I used some ingredients that not everyone will have in their cupboards. But the great thing about these, is that you can use substitutions or omit certain things. They're all listed at the bottom :)

First I would like to give credit to the Muffin Mania cookbook for giving me a basic recipe. Over the past couple of years I've been able to develop my own recipe and the last muffins I made really hit the jackpot.

Hannah's Banana Muffins
Preheat oven 350-375 (If you have an oven on the hotter side, go with 350)  
Serves 12

3 ripe bananas
1/2 cup honey
1 egg
1/3 cup coconut oil
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/3 coconut
3 tbsp ground flax seed
2 handfuls of chocolate chips (I used white chocolate and it give them a really nice flavour. But milk or dark will work just the same)

Mash bananas. Stir in honey, egg and oil. Mix in dry ingredients. Fold in chocolate chips.

Spoon into muffin pan. I like to use the paper cups so they don't stick to the pan. If you aren't using paper cups then make sure you grease the pan well.

Bake for 15 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

For substitutions, you can substitute the honey for regular sugar, coconut oil for vegetable oil (or melted butter but that will definitely add some fat), and whole wheat flour for all purpose flour. You can also omit the coconut, flax seed and/or chocolate chips. Or you can substitute the chocolate chips for walnuts for a banana nut muffin. Using nuts will add a bit of protein.

Mmm these delicious muffins are great any time of the day! For breakfast, snack, or part of lunch. And definitely great on the go.

Enjoy!

~Hannah

Remember, a healthy mind and body equals a happy and healthy dancer.

Merry Christmas!

It's the holiday season and hopefully everyone is able to be with friends and family at this time of year. Most people are running around today and tomorrow finishing up last minute preparations for Christmas. Especially after this weekends ice storm! Not sure about you, but we weren't able to leave the house yesterday so last minute shopping and groceries had to happen today. Amongst all of your preparations, remember to take a moment for yourself and eat! When you're on the go it can be easy to forget to eat. But if you want to keep your energy levels up over the holidays, you still have to eat nourishing foods. Especially, because you are going to eat so many treats and big heavy meals. So throughout the day, take a moment to make yourself some healthy food.

My Dad and I were out and about this morning. When we got back, we were STARVING! So I whipped up a quick toasted sandwich. It's easy to make and you can use whatever ingredients you have in your fridge. I grilled a slice of whole grain bread with cheddar cheese and the other slice plain. Once the cheese was melted I added arugula and tomato and placed the plain slice on top and voila! Easy, quick and cheap. It's a good way to add in those veggies when you are surrounded by treats.

Speaking of treats, I have to post a yummy sweet recipe! Every year, for years, I have made chocolate covered pretzels. I love the sweet and salty combination. But since I've started cooking so much this year, I really wanted to actually make something. So I found caramel chocolate pretzel bark, or as my aunt calls it "Christmas crack." It's so addictive! It's pretty easy to make and doesn't take long at all. The time consuming part it letting it cool. But you can just leave it in the fridge until you are ready to break it up. And no, there is nothing healthy about this recipe.

1 cup of butter (I used margarine)
half bag of pretzel twists
1 cup brown sugar
1 bag of chocolate chips (I used milk but dark would be delicious too!)

Preheat oven to 375F. In a small pot on medium heat, melt the butter. In the meantime, on a large cookie sheet lined with parchment paper, cover it with a layer of pretzels. Once the butter is melted, stir in sugar. Allow to simmer and bubble slightly but NOT boil. Stirring frequently, the browning process should take about 3 minutes. Pour quickly over the pretzels (it will harden quickly!). Bake in the oven for 5 minutes. Then sprinkle chocolate chips and set for about 30 seconds. Once the chips are melted use a spatula to spread evenly. Place in the fridge for at least an hour to harden. Break it up into desired sized pieces when you are ready!

It's SOOOO yummy!!! And makes great gifts too.

This is the original recipe but as per usual, I changed things up a bit.
http://legumeloyalist.com/2011/03/07/salted-chocolate-caramel-pretzel-bark/

Merry Christmas to all!!! If you're without power, please stay safe and stay together. Don't let your kids play outside. I just witnessed half a tree falling into a driveway and young kids live next-door. Thank goodness they weren't outside today!

Enjoy!


~Hannah

Remember, a healthy mind and body equals a happy and healthy dancer.

Snack Time!

I was just cooking up a storm and it inspired a new blog entry! Although I wasn't making granola bars, I thought it was time to post this recipe :)

When you're on the go a lot, it's hard to eat complete meals all the time. In result, snacks happen frequently throughout the day. It's not easy to find snacks in the grocery store that aren't highly processed like crackers, granola bars, vegetable dips, etc. I also enjoy snacks in general but I want to put good things into my body and not things extremely high in sugar and salt. That's why I make my own granola bars. I know exactly what's in them and, for the most part, they're actually good for you.

I make mine with peanut butter but you could totally make them with almond butter. I know peanut butter is not the best for you, but it's one of those things I just haven't been able to give up. I love my peanut butter!
I find these are best to make before going to bed because then they can sit and harden over night and then you can wake up to homemade granola bars!

Here is the recipe:

1 ¾ cups oats

1 ¾ cups rice krispies

½ cup shredded coconut

1/8 cup ground flax seed (optional)

1/3 cup honey

1/3 cup brown sugar

pinch of salt

½ cup peanut butter (or other nut/seed butter)

1 tsp Vanilla extract

1 handful chopped nuts

2 handfuls chopped dried fruit (raisins, apricots, cranberries, etc.)

Place parchment in bottom of 9x9 pan.

Combine oats, cereal, coconut, almonds, fruit and flaxseed in a large bowl.

In small saucepan, over medium heat, mix honey, brown sugar, and salt. Stir and bring to a boil.

Remove from heat, stir in peanut butter and vanilla until smooth.

Pour warm mixture into dry mixture and mix until well combined.

Place in pan and press down to even out the surface. Let sit, covered with cloth, for a few hours until hardened.

Cut and serve!

To add more goodness into them, I like to add sesame seeds and sunflower seeds as well. You can totally add what you, just make sure not to skimp on the 'glue' (honey, sugar and PB) or they won't stick together very well. A little extra won't hurt either!

Enjoy!

~Hannah

Remember, a healthy mind and body equals a happy and healthy dancer.

Mmm Salad

I was 17 years old at the time and was just finishing a show - a fundraiser variety show that my mom and I had put together. By the end of the night, after all the running around, dancing in countless pieces,  making sure everyone was where they were suppose to be, and so on, I was STARVING. We all were. So naturally I blurted out, "I just want a GREAT BIG SALAD!" My dad turned his head and looked at me as if I was nuts. He thought I was going to say steak or something. That would have been a normal answer. Guess I don't take after him in my eating habits. haha

I grew up eating 'healthy' or what was labeled healthy at the time. We always ate vegetables with dinner, I never really ate fast food, and didn't eat a lot of sweets. Now, the hot food topics are about allergies and if something is actually organic or what products are all natural, etc. 

The point to all of this? Salad. You can't go wrong with salad. Leafy green vegetables are the best possible things for you.

I've never liked store bought dressings. So I make my own with ingredients most people have in their kitchen. It's light and delicious. What's the point of salad if you're just going to douce it in some salty, creamy, heavy dressing? Using a light, homemade dressing will ensure that 'natural' part and you will actually taste all the vibrant flavours of each of those veggies.

I start with a leafy green base. I like to use different combinations of red and green leaf, arugula, romaine, spring mix, and spinach. Then I add one or two other fruits or veggies like apple or pear, and cucumber. I prefer to use minimal ingredients to really enjoy the flavours of each ingredient. Then I might add walnuts or almonds for protein.
For the dressing, I drizzle olive oil, lemon juice, and honey, and just a sprinkle of salt and pepper. When I have them, I also like to add fresh herbs like basil. Then I do a quick hand toss to coat all of the greens. Top with some fresh parmesan (or another cheese) and BAM! Quick, easy, and delicious salad.

I use lemon juice AND honey to counter balance each other. If you don't have honey, that's okay, you're salad will just be a little more tart.

Another great thing about this salad? It's hard to get tired of it. With this simple recipe, you can switch it up as many times as you like. Using only a few ingredients makes the possibilities endless.

In this photo, my salad is paired with one of my chic pea burgers and homemade potato chips. But the chips will have to be for another time.


Enjoy!

~Hannah

Remember, a healthy mind and body equals a happy and healthy dancer.

Happy Thanksgiving!

I'd love to know what everyone is cooking this weekend, traditional and non. We made a pretty traditional dinner, except with chicken - roasted carrots, mashed potatoes, stuffing, and of course the gravy. mmm mmm I'm going non-traditional for dessert though. I made a Pumpkin streusel coffee cake!

I guess roasting carrots isn't very traditional for a Thanksgiving dinner (at least not for me) but I really don't like boiled carrots. Growing up, I always thought I didn't like cooked carrots because they'd be boiled until all of the flavour is gone. (Sorry ma and pa ;)) It wasn't until very recently I discovered roasting them. I don't know why I didn't think of this sooner since I roast other root vegetables. Vegetables already have such great flavour so we only want to add to that. Boiling just takes the flavour away.
I like to cut my carrots into circles for this but you can totally cut them into sticks. So cut up your carrots, toss in a bit of olive oil, salt, and pepper. I also like to add a bit of paprika but it's not necessary. Place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment and bake at 400F for 20 minutes or until desired tenderness. I like mine to still have a bit of crunch. If you've cut your carrots into sticks then they may take a little longer. And done! Delicious and tasty carrots! Easy peasy.

Now for the dessert, apple pie is my all time absolute favourite dessert ever. There are two people in my life that make a delicious mouth watering apple pie. I swear I could eat the whole pie sometimes. haha But I know I can't make a pie like either of theirs. I haven't mastered a crust yet... or at all really. So I decided I didn't want to go through all that fuss and it not turn out. I'm all for trial and error but not for this occasion. I'd be that girl who failed Thanksgiving dessert miserably. So, I went with a cake. Who can go wrong with a cake? I snuck a bite fresh out of the oven and mmm mmm so yummy!! I mostly followed the recipe but I did simplify a couple of things. NOTE: This is a dessert recipe, full of sugar and not "healthy" but hey, it's Thanksgiving!

PUMPKIN COFFE CAKE WITH BROWN SUGAR STREUSEL

For the Streusel:
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
pinch of salt
5 tablespoons butter (or margarine)
1 cup chopped, lightly toasted pecans or walnuts (optional) Directions on toasting at the bottom

For the Cake:
1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter or margarine
1 cup light brown sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
1/2 cup plain yogurt or sour cream

For the Glaze: (Optional)
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1-1/2 tsp milk
1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions
Preheat oven to 350F. Line 8X8 pan or 9" cake pan lined with parchment and greased sides.

For the streusel:
In a small bowl, combine the flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Cut (or cream) in the butter until coarse crumbs form. Mix in the toasted nuts if using.

For the cake
In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and salt.
In a separate bowl, mix the butter and brown sugar until well combined. Then mix in eggs. Add in the pumpkin and sour cream and mix just until combined. Fold in the flour mixture. Batter will be thick.
Evenly spread half of the cake batter in the pan, and then top with 1/3 of the streusel. Evenly spread the remaining cake batter, then top with the remaining streusel.
Bake for about 50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool in pan on a cooling rack for 15 minutes, then remove from pan and cool.

For the glaze:
In a small bowl whisk together the powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla. Whisk until smooth. Drizzle over cooled cake.

To toast the nuts, preheat oven at 350F, spread nuts even on baking sheet and bake for 5 minutes.

Here is the original recipe:
http://www.portuguesegirlcooks.com/2012/09/pumpkin-coffee-cake-with-brown-sugar-streusel/

Side note, not everyone has ginger or nutmeg. If you have two of the three - ginger, nutmeg, or cinnamon, you can add a little extra of two to make up for the one you're missing.
I actually didn't add the glaze this time. Instead, I served it with vanilla ice cream for dessert. But it's just so good on it's own that it really doesn't need anything added to it.

Happy Thanksgiving to all!! My next post will be more on track but it's Thanksgiving so I just had to post this dessert!!

Enjoy!

~Hannah