Flowfit

We haven’t seen much of the sun lately, but on this particular afternoon a couple of days ago, it popped out to say hello.  And what perfect timing!  It felt so good to sit in the sunshine and eat my mushroom omelette for lunch.  Add in some fresh spinach to naturally wilt under the heat of the omelette, and it’s a lovely luncheon for one!

Mushroom Omelette:

• 2 organic eggs
• butter (I used Earth Balance)
• handful mushrooms of choice
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• tamari sauce
• sea salt and cracked black pepper
• spinach (optional)

Crack eggs into bowl, and gently beat with fork.  Set aside.

Heat non stick skillet on medium high heat.  Melt enough butter to coat bottom of pan thoroughly.  Add in mushrooms and garlic and saute for about 2 minutes. Add in Tamari sauce and pepper, cook for another minute.  Remove from pan.  Add in more butter, again to thoroughly coat bottom of pan.  Pour in eggs and swirl around to coat entire surface of pan.  Let sit for two  minutes – do not touch!!  When you can reach spatula under one side, it is ready to fold.  Add half the mushroom mixture on one side of omlette and fold the other side to cover.  Cook one minute, flip and cook for another 30 seconds to a minute.

To serve, place omelette atop fresh baby spinach and top with the remainder of the mushrooms.

YUM!

As I sit here eating my lunch, I am in awe of how beautiful all that green looks.  Something about green makes me think spring, life, energy and health.  All that would explain why spring is one of my favorite seasons.

This salad will take you less than 2 minutes to throw together – perfect healthful lunch!  Grab a plate and add a good handful of washed baby spinach, a whole avocado (TIP – cut avocado in half lenghtwise, remove pit and make cuts into flesh going both directions – so you’ve made little diamond shapes – now squeeze the avocado in the palm of your hand facing down.  All those little diamonds will spill out and you’ll be left holding nothing but the rind – COOL!).  Squeeze a quarter lemon onto entire thing, add a table spoon of hummus on the side, sea salt and fresh cracked black pepper and you’re done!  I added some left over roasted organic chicken breast as well.  A can of tuna or some garbanzo or cannelli beans would also be great.

Try it!  Time yourself… betcha it’s 2 minutes!

The Hummus on this plate is from Sunflower Kitchens.  As I’ve mentioned before, I have a bit of a love affair with their products.  This Wednesday April 20th, Marilou’s Market in Burlington will be carrying a new selection of all of their wonderful products.  They will have pestos, hummus, soups and dips.  I highly recommend the Oregano and Kale Pesto, the Cilantro pesto and of course all of the hummus!  Hurry in, they won’t last long!

To read about Sunflower Kitchens, go here:

http://www.sunflowerkitchen.com/about.html

Yesterday was snack day at John T. Tuck school.  We served (surprise!) – Hummus with french green beans, organic baby carrots and Mary’s Rice Crackers.  A hit overall, especially with the younger students.  What was interesting to me is that a couple of the moms commented that they considered raw green beans to be an “odd” choice for a snack.  Surprising?  No, but it still a little discouraging to see such old fashioned thinking.  In all honesty, the green beans were a bigger hit than the all too familiar baby carrots.

I so didn’t see that rant coming….but I feel a little more on it’s way….

For me, there really isn’t anything “odd” about eating a raw vegetable – even one that is typically eaten cooked.  But that’s me.  From where I’m standing (on my apparent high horse at the moment), this is the proverbial miss in why there are so many picky eaters out there.  Well intended parents feeding their children only a handful of choices (albeit healthy ones) because “it’s what they like”.  Sadly, what they are creating is a limited pallet reluctant to trying new things.  What they are missing is introducing their children to so many more wonderful flavours, textures and nutrients.  A shame really.

Rant complete.

I guess that’s one of the GREAT things about the healthy snack program.  Not only does it offer nutrition, healthful education and sustenance but it also gives some students the opportunity to try something they may have never been introduced to before – like raw green beans.  I can’t tell you the high I get when one of the students approaches me and says, “what were those green things called?  I love them and want my mom to buy them“.  BIG SMILES. Or when a parent writes to me asking what I served at snack because their son or daughter is raving about the new vegetable or fruit they’ve tried.  Awesome, isn’t it?!  I think so.

Lastly, something so important to remember, especially when introducing new foods… everyone EATS WITH THEIR EYES FIRST.  I put it in caps and bold because I think it is so important.  A little more effort, yes, but I really do believe that if it looks good, kids especially, are more apt to try new things.

Go ahead, make it pretty…. have fun with it!

Peace.

One of the questions I am frequently asked is, “how can I get more protein into my vegetarian or vegan diet”?  Although lentils and legumes/beans are a great choice, it can get a little tiring.  Quinoa on the other hand can be used in so many forms!  They even make a quinoa pasta!!

I love quinoa and how nutty it tastes.  The added bonus for many, especially vegetarians and vegans is quinoa’s high protein value!  This product has an added benefit of four other natural good for you grains including another protein power house – lentils.

And they are all gluten free!

GoGo Quinoa Granissimo 5 Grain has only 5 ingredients on the label – Organic black quinoa royal, organic millet, organic amaranth, organic red lentils and organic long grain brown rice.  Each 100g serving has 15g of protein!  Not too shabby for a plant based protein source eh?!

Quinoa Pilaf:

• 1 cup GoGo Quinoa Granissimo 5 grain quinoa mix
• 2 3/4 cups water or broth (use boullion if using water)
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 2 carrots, finely chopped
• 1/2 red onion, chopped
• 2 ribs celery, finely chopped
• extra virgin olive oil
• 2 cups spinach
• Sea salt and fresh cracked black pepper

Saute garlic, carrots, onion and celery in olive oil in saute pan on medium for about 2 minutes.  Add broth or water and the cup of quinoa mix.  Bring to a boil, stir, reduce heat and simmer for 20-25 minutes (most of liquid should be absorbed).  Add spinach, remove from heat and let stand, covered for 5-10 minutes.

Serve with Fish and Parsnip chips or use as a side to your favorite main.

YUM!

GoGo Quinoa products are available at Marilou’s Market in Burlington.

Ah the smell of fresh dill… you either love it or hate it.  For me, dill embodies freshness, clean, summery and tangy .  Basil is probably the more sought after summer herb, but don’t leave this dilly dandy herb out!  I had no idea what I was going to make for dinner the other night, and in my fridge I found a wonderful bunch of fresh dill.  Add some veggies to my counter, a frozen bag of tortellini and corn from the freezer…. and a new soup was born!  Don’t worry yourself with precise chopping or exact ingredients for this soup.  Big uneven chunks go great with the casualness of this soup, plus make sense with the size of the tortellini.  If you don’t have something, use something else.  Be creative and surprise yourself with an amazing new soup you can call your own.

Summer Tortellini Soup

• 1/2 package frozen Tortellini
• 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 3 carrots, peeled and rough chopped
• 2 stalks of celery, rough chopped
• 4 green onions, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, finely chopped
• 6 cups of water
• Vegetable bullion seasonings (I use 2 tbsp Vegeta)
• 1 sweet potato
• 2 large hand fulls spinach (or more – it shrinks alot)
• 1 handful fresh dill, chopped
• 1 red pepper, chopped
• 1 cup frozen corn
• Sea salt and fresh cracked black pepper

Heat olive oil in a large soup pot, add onions, celery and carrots.  Season with salt and pepper.  Saute for 3-5 minutes to sweat out vegetables.  Add garlic, saute for another minute and add water and vegeta seasonings.

Bring to a boil, reduce heat to simmer and add sweet potatoes and tortellini.  Cover and cook for 10 minutes.  Add red peppers and corn.  Cook for another 5 minutes.  Check potatoes  - when potatoes are cooked, add spinach and dill.  Cook for 2 -3 minutes or until spinach is wilted but still bright green.

Serve with crusty whole grain bread and big salad.  YUM!

GINGER ASIAN GREENS:
Serves 4-6

No real recipe here – get a bunch of greens of your choice – I like a mixture of whole spinach (stems intact), snow peas or sugar snap peas and bok choy. You can use any greens you like – green beans, asparagus, brussel sprouts, broccoli, etc. Just a couple good handfuls of each. Add some red pepper for colour.

Mixed asian greens in a wok

Wash veggies well under cold running water. Rough chop into bite sized pieces. Set veggies aside in bowl of cold water.

Heat wok or large fry pan and add:

• 2 tbsp peanut oil
• 1 tsp dark sesame oil
• 1 tbsp grated ginger
• 2 cloves of garlic – grated
• 1 tbsp soy sauce

Strain water from veggies and add to wok. Stir fry on med/high heat for approx 2-3 minutes. Serve immediately. Veggies will be crisp tender and BRIGHT green.

YUM!