Katie’s Sweet Potato Chilli (Vegetarian)

Thank you thank you thank you to my good friend Katie for this suuuuper simple, but incredibly delicious sweet potato chilli recipe! I seriously have no idea how she has time to even eat, let alone cook up an amazing chilli. Katie, you’re such a gem…mwah!

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Prep Time – 15 min       Cooking Time – 20-30 min

Ingredients

1. 2 cups onions, sliced
2. 2 sweet potato, peeled and cut into cubes
3. 2/3 cup zucchini, diced
4. 1 can black beans
5. 1 can (28oz) diced tomatoes
6. 1 tsp cumin
7. 1 tsp salt
8. 2 tsp orange zest
9. 1 cup chicken broth or water

Directions

1. Combine all the ingredients in a big soup pot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and let simmer until the sweet potatoes are soft.
2. Remove from heat, serve it up and enjoy!

Original Recipe: http://chocolatecoveredkatie.com/2012/01/05/sweet-potato-chili/

Chocolate Monkey Power Bars

Soooo I know I haven’t been cooking anything lately!! Now that I have some time, I made these AMAZING energy bars.  They taste EXACTLY like Lara Bars :) Deliciousness mixed with heaven!! <3 Great for a pre workout snack or even a sweet craving. Let me know what you think!

Makes 16 bars         Prep Time – 10 min       Baking Time – 20 min

Ingredients

• 1 cup dried pitted prunes (or dates)
• 1 ripe banana
• 1/4 cup coconut oil
• 1 tbsp honey
• 1 cup coconut flour
• 2 tbsp arrowroot powder
• 3 tbsp chia seeds
• 3 tbsp cocoa powder

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
2. In a food processor, add in prunes, banana, coconut oil and honey.  Pulse until combined.
3. Next throw in the remaining ingredients (except the dark chocolate). Pulse until well combined.
4. Spread out batter evenly in a 9×9 pan covered in parchment paper.  I used a spatula and wooden spoon to make sure the batter was even :)
5. Pop in the oven and bake for 20 minutes. Remove and let cool.
6. Melt the chocolate chips in the microwave or over a double boiler. Pour over the bars and spread out evenly.  Let cool completely (more than 30 min) before cutting into bars.  ENJOY!

Original Recipe: http://www.beyondthepeel.net/2012/03/chocolate-banana-power-bars.html

Power Goddess Bowl

Heaven on Hornby Island :) Having the absolute best time relaxing at my cabin this weekend. After the craziness of exams and spring semester is over, this is a much needed break. I only have a week before I go back for summer semester (yuck) so I’m making the most of it. Dad and I left early yesterday morning and got up here just in time for a nice long walk with the dog around Helliwell.

This morning I headed out for a run :) My legs just felt heavy the whole time! What the hell! I couldn’t get into a groove and was just slow lol oh well i guess you can’t win them all!! I had a route all planned out and thought it would be around 16km but no dice lol. So in an attempt to add in some extra kilometres, I took a different trail which ended up on a rocky beach. I tried so hard but the beach just wasn’t made for running :( ugh! So my total run was 14km with a half km walk back to the cabin along the beach at the end. Dammit!! I wanted so badly to run over 15km. I guess I’ll have to try again tomorrow ;) Today was just not my day. At least the scenery was gorgeous :)

I made this yummy power bowl from the Oh She Glows cookbook a couple weeks ago, but never had a chance to write up the recipe since I was CRAZY busy studying for exams. So finally here it is :) This was a great, easy dinner that made lots of leftovers to have for lunches the rest of the week. Another absolute gem from Oh She Glows <3 I changed up the recipe a bit from the book to fit what I already had in the house, but it still tasted aMaZiNg :)

Makes 3 servings         Prep Time – 10 minutes      Cooking Time – 30 minutes 

Ingredients for Lemon-Tahini Dressing

1. 1/4 cup tahini
2. 2 garlic cloves
3. 1/2 cup lemon juice
4. 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
5. 3 tbsp sesame oil
6. pinch of salt and pepper

Ingredients for Lentil Bowl

1. 1 cup dried lentils
2. 1/2 cup cooked quinoa
3. 1 tsp coconut oil
4. 1/2 small onion
5. 3 garlic cloves
6. 2 ribs celery
7. 1 bell pepper (i used orange)
8. 2 cups kale or spinach, chopped
9. 2 tbsp sunflower seeds

Directions

1. Cook lentils according to package directions.  Set aside.
2. Next, chop up all your veggies and get them ready for cooking.
3. In a large pan over medium heat, melt the coconut oil.  Add in the onion, garlic and celery. Sauté for a few minutes until soft.  Next add in your bell pepper. Let cook, stirring occasionally for about 5 minutes.
4. While the veggies are cooking, you can make the dressing! In a food processor or blender, add in all your dressing ingredients.  Give it a good blend until combined.
5. When the bell peppers are soft, add in your chopped spinach or kale. Stir it around until wilted.
6. Then, you can add in your lentils, quinoa, and dressing.  Reduce the heat to low and stir around until combined and heated through.
7. Serve it up and top with sunflower seeds :) YUM!

Pink Detox Juice

AMAZING JUICE COMBO!!! This was sooooo refreshing after a sweaty spin :)

Ingredients

1. 3 beets
2. 2 large carrots
3. 2 apples
4. 1 inch piece of ginger

Directions

1. Wash all the veggies and cut into juice-able pieces. Throw everything into a juicer.
2. Yum!

Cranberry Sauce

Who doesn’t love some cranberry sauce to go along with yummy roast turkey! But I never eat it because of all the sugar and crap that’s in most store-bought cranberry sauces.  So last Sunday night I decided to make my own and OMG…it was SO good! Not only could I control how sweet it turned out, but I knew how healthy it was so, of course, it tasted just that much better! Not one ounce of guilt enjoying my turkey dinner :) With only 3 ingredients, there’s no excuse to buy cranberry sauce in a jar (or can lol) from the store anymore!

Makes about 1.5 cups of sauce          Prep Time – 5 minutes        Cooking Time – 15-20 minutes

Ingredients

1. 2 cups frozen (or fresh) cranberries
2. 1 orange
3. 2-4 tbsp honey

Directions

1. In a saucepan over medium-low heat, add in your cranberries.  Let them thaw and start to turn saucy, about 5 or 10 minutes.  Make you sure keep stirring so they don’t burn or stick to the bottom.
2. While the magic is happening on the stove, zest and juice your orange.  Add the juice and zest, along with your honey, into the pot and stir occasionally.  The cranberries should start to pop and it should turn more into a sauce.  Add more honey if you want it sweeter.
3. Once the sauce has reached desired consistency, remove from the heat and let cool before serving.

Almond Raw Energy Bars

Um yum.  I think these are BY FAR the best energy bars I’ve ever had.  And I’m totally obsessed with dates now.  I was afraid to use them in recipes before but I found my new favourite ingredient now :)

I got this recipe off Instagram and I’m so sorry I can’t remember where I got it! So, sorry to the person who actually created this recipe! You’re a genius whoever you are!

Ingredients

1. 1 cup raw almonds
2. 1 1/2 cups pitted dates
3. 1 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
4. 1/4 tsp pure vanilla extract
5. 1/8 tsp pure almond extract
6. pinch of salt
7. 3 tbsp unsweetened coconut flakes
8. 2 tbsp cocoa nibs (or dark chocolate chips)

Directions

1. In a food processor, combine the almonds, dates, cocoa powder, vanilla extract, almond extract and salt.  Pulse until finely ground scraping down the sides as needed.
2. Pour mixture into a bowl and stir in the coconut flakes and cocoa nibs.
3. Transfer to a medium sized square container and press mixture down until firmly packed.  Put in the fridge for a couple hours until set. Cut into squares and enjoy!

Note – you can keep these bars in the fridge for a good week to grab for a fast on-the-go snack :)

Honey Quinoa Granola

Well I’m on day 9 of my 21-day Dr. Joshi detox.  The teatox didn’t work for me :S so I’m stopped doing it.  But it’s working well for Amanda so I think it was just me! Loving Dr. Joshi though and I’m feeling AMMMAAAZZZIIINNNGG!

I was missing my granola though, so I modified the quinoa granola in Gwyneth Paltrow’s “It’s All Good” cookbook in order to be detox friendly! I’ve eaten almost the entire big batch I made in about 4 days….pretty sad lol It was so freaking tasty!! I’m in love <3

Note – this recipe makes quite a big batch, so unless you’re constantly snacking on it all day like it did, it should last a couple weeks :)

Ingredients

1. 4 cups quinoa flakes
2. 1/2 cup olive oil (or coconut oil melted)
3. 1/3 cup honey (melted)
4. 1/2 cup pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds
5. 1/4 cup flax seeds
6. 1/2 cup pine nuts

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Throw all the dry ingredients in a bowl and mix around.  In a bowl, whisk together the honey and olive oil.  Pour over the quinoa mixture and stir until combined.
3. Spread out the granola evenly on a baking sheet lined with tin foil.  Bake for approx 35 min or until the granola is golden brown.  Let cool and enjoy!

Roasted Cauliflower, Chickpea and Kale Salad

This recipe originally comes from the Gwyneth Paltrow cookbook “It’s All Good.”  Right now, it is BY FAR my favourite place to find healthy, delicious recipes.  Everyone needs to run out and grab this cookbook ASAP!  I switch up the recipes a bit to suit my own taste, but I haven’t seen a single thing in the book that doesn’t sound delightful.  The few things that I’ve made so far have been heaven :)

Makes 4 side servings        Prep Time: 15 min        Cooking Time: 45 min

Ingredients

1. 1 can organic chickpeas
2. 1 head of cauliflower, cut into bite-sized pieces
3. 2 cups kale
4. Olive oil
5. Unrefined sea salt, a few pinches
6. 1 tbsp dijon mustard
7. 1 tbsp white wine vinegar
8. Black pepper
9. 1/4 cup chopped parsley

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Rince the chickpeas and pat them dry with a paper towel.  On a large roasting pan or baking sheet, toss the chickpeas, cauliflower, a few tablespoons of olive oil and a pinch of salt.  Roast for about 45 min or until everything is dark brown.
3. To make the dressing, whisk together the mustard, vinegar, 1/4 cup olive oil, pinch of salt, and freshly ground black pepper.
4. Next, rinse, de-stem and dry the kale.  Massage with a paper towel to soften it up.  Place in a serving bowl along with the parsley and dressing.  Toss to coat the kale evenly.
5. Once the cauliflower and chickpeas are done, let cool a few minutes then add to the bowl and give it a good mix. Serve and enjoy!

Kale Caesar Salad

I saw this recipe on Instagram and was instantly in love! I made it that night for dinner along with some baked chicken and was AMAZED! Even Cale said it tasted almost exactly like regular, unhealthy caesar salad dressing.  Woohoo – that’s definitely a win in my books.

I used to absolutely LOVE caesar salad but gave up eating it because it’s just soooo unhealthy.  It’s amazing that there are healthy substitutes for almost all the comfort foods out there.  It just takes some time to experiment and be creative in the kitchen with clean recipes :)

Note – Don’t skip out the nutritional yeast in this dressing – it’s really what gives it that classic caesar salad parmesan taste.  Nutritional yeast is found in the bulk section of pretty much any grocery store.

Ingredients for Dressing

• 1 ripe avocado
• 4 cloves minced garlic or 1 head of roasted garlic
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 tbsp dijon mustard
• 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
• 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 1/4 cup water
• pinch of unrefined salt and black pepper

Ingredients for Salad

• Spinach or any type of lettuce
• Kale
• Asparagus, steamed (optional)
• Green onions, chopped

Directions

1. Throw all the dressing ingredients in a blender and pulse until just combined.  The more you blend it, the fluffier it will get because of the avocado.
2. To make the salad, wash the kale and dry it with a paper towel.  Massage the kale until it becomes soft.  Throw it into a large bowl.  Add some caesar dressing in and give it a good mix and press the dressing into the leaves.  I let this sit for about 10 minutes while I was chopping up the other veggies to let the kale absorb the flavours from the dressing (and really so it tastes less bitter and well…like kale).
3. Throw in the remaining salad ingredients into the bowl and toss. Add more dressing if needed.

Cale and Shasta on our hike up Quarry Rock in North Van 

Cinnamon Roasted Chickpeas

I was finding myself snacking on almond and cashews farrrrr too often! There’s something about sitting in class for 3 hours that just makes me constantly hungry….eating because I’m bored maybe??? lol not so shocking.  So these little gems are a GREAT substitute.  Less fat and lots of protein!! Crunchy and satisfying :)

Ingredients

1. 1 can organic chickpeas
2. 1 tbsp coconut oil
3. 2 tsp honey
4. 1 tbsp cinnamon

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Rinse the chickpeas under cold water.  Lay out on a paper towel and dry them off. Place in a bowl.
2. Melt the coconut oil and the honey together.  Pour over the chickpeas and stir until coated.  Sprinkle on the cinnamon and stir around until evenly coated.
3. Place on a parchment paper lined baking sheet and bake for around 40 minutes until golden and crunchy.
4. Let cool and enjoy!