Archive | March, 2016

Oven-Braised Fennel with Saffron & Chickpeas

Published on in Freeze-able, Legumes, Main course By |
2 Comments

Braised Fennel with Saffron and Chickpeas

I have always known that fennel was great for digestion, but it wasn’t until the last few years that I learned it was anti-carcinogenic (anticancer) too. This is mostly due to its high levels of quercetin, a flavonoid (plant pigment) that is also useful in seasonal allergy relief.

Braised Fennel with Saffron and Chickpeas

If anyone else shares a home/bed with someone with sneeze-heavy seasonal allergies that you respond to with polite ‘bless you’ s in February that escalate to less polite ‘OMG, you need to shut up!’ s in March and April, you’ll understand that this isn’t as important as fighting cancer but it’s certainly not not important either. With fennel, we don’t have to choose, we can fight cancer and allergies at the same time.

(more…)

Muesli with Easy Homemade Coconut Milk

Published on in Breakfast, Drink, Freeze-able, Fruit, Grains, Main course, Nightshade-free, Nuts, Seeds, Snack, Sweet-ish By |
6 Comments

Homemade Muesli

My husband makes the world’s best oatmeal. He makes it about once a year, and I’ve never paid attention to or asked how he makes it. I’m not sure if it’s because I’m afraid if I look too closely it will disappear (like a rainbow?) or if I’m just into mysteries. Maybe both.

Homemade Muesli

Usually, I’m not really an oatmeal person. I know that it is a good option at the greasy spoon and that oats are good at keeping us warm and are high in protein and fiber, but has anything ever been more boring than oatmeal? If it takes brown sugar or maple syrup to make you go ‘mmmmmmm’, I don’t think that oatmeal can really take the credit.

(more…)

Spinach, Roasted Squash Salad & Lentil Salad with Sundried Tomato & Tahini Dressing

Published on in Greens, Legumes, Main course, Salad, Salad dressing, Seeds By |
2 Comments

Spinach, Roasted Squash and Lentil Salad with Sundried Tomato and Tahini Dressing

Every once in a while, there is nothing like a big leafy green salad. Kale is usually my go-to green (original, I know) but it is a nutrient-dense crucifer and also tastes good on day two and three, it’s hard to argue with that. But every once in a while I need something juicier.

Spinach, Roasted Squash and Lentil Salad with Sundried Tomato and Tahini Dressing

I always forget about spinach (the kale of the 90’s). It is also a dark, leafy green (big nutrients), it still tastes good after an overnight fridge-wilt (because we commonly eat it cooked too, unlike most lettuces), and it tastes relatively mild. I’m not talking about boxes of pre-washed by a stranger baby spinach, I’m talking about full-grown heads of spinach that you have to chop and clean yourself. It’s so worth it, trust me, it’s far juicier and more flavourful. Save the boxed spinach for recipes like our Spinach and Artichoke Dip, or a convenient smoothie boost.

(more…)

Breakfast Hot Chocolate

Published on in Breakfast, Drink, Freeze-able, Fruit, Grains, Nightshade-free, Nuts, Snack, Sweet-ish By |
4 Comments

This is meant to warm you up, down to your toes, but a side effect is happiness, it’s made of chocolate, after all.

Millet Pecan Hot Chocolate

I was reading about ‘Champurrado’ in Lucky Peach magazine the other day. I had never heard of it before, but it is a chocolate version of ‘Atole’, a masa (corn)-based drink that they drink in Mexico to warm up ). Because apparently it gets cold there. As it turns out, this will warm you up whether you are Mexico-cold or Canada-cold.

The recipe in the article was created by Rick Bayless, and whenever I see his name I pay attention because his specialty is traditional Mexican cuisine, a cuisine I don’t know very much about, but find really interesting.

Millet Pecan Hot Chocolate

I would have pictured a warm chocolate drink from Mexico more like warm chocolate drinks that I’ve had in Europe, basically melted chocolate ganache (not that I’m complaining), but this is more like a mixture between hot porridge and a smoothie. That’s why I’ve called it breakfast hot chocolate, because it doesn’t resemble the hot chocolate that comes in the rip open packages with little dried marshmallows that you may or may not have enjoyed beside a roaring fire after a chilly summer night time swim. It’s actually pretty healthy, even if it leans towards the sweet side (chocolate without the sweet would taste more like black coffee).

(more…)