Greek Seven Layer Dip

Merry merry Christmas!!! The Smart family Christmas this year was a big success! Lots of laughs, walks, workouts, presents, amazing food and delicious drinks! I was in charge of an appie (clearly lol), my big bro made dinner, and my sister made an apple pie crumble for dessert…mmmm heaven :)

Ok recipe time! This healthy, delicious appetizer is such a perfect way to kick off a big meal! It’s quite light, filled with lots of veggies, and ridiculously easy to make. I highly recommend it!

Makes 8 servings    Total Time: 20-30 min (including time to chop the veggies)

Ingredients

1. 1 cup hummus
2. 2 tomatoes, diced
3. 1 cucumber, diced
4. 3/4 cup Greek yogurt
5. 1/2 tsp paprika
6. salt and pepper to taste
7. 1 cup canned artichoke hearts, chopped
8. 2 roasted red peppers, diced
9. 1/4 cup feta cheese
10. 2 tbsp parsley, chopped
11. 2 tbsp sliced black olives (for garnish)

Directions

1. In a 8×8 dish, spread the hummus evenly on the bottom. Layer the diced cucumber and tomatoes on top.
2. Next, evenly spread the yogurt over top. Sprinkle with paprika, salt and pepper.
3. Over the yogurt, layer the chopped artichoke hearts and the roasted red peppers. Crumble the feta cheese over top. Sprinkle on the parsley and garnish with the black olives :)
4. Serve immediately or chill for an hour then serve! I laid out pita chips and cut up veggies for dipping. Enjoy!

Original Recipe: http://www.cookincanuck.com/2014/01/healthy-mediterranean-7-layer-dip-recipe/

Summer Rainbow Coleslaw

What a weekend!!! So so so proud of Kari for KICKING ASS at the INBF Fitness Competition on Saturday.  She scooped up second place in her Figure Tall division. Woohoo congrats Kari!!!

 

 

 

Makes 6 servings     Prep Time – 20 minutes

This delicious Rainbow Coleslaw is the perfect addition to any BBQ!! It was a nice change from the usual mixed greens or caesar salad that usually goes along with a yummy Turkey Burger – check out Kari’s Turkey Mushroom Burgers for a great healthy burger recipe!!

Ingredients for Salad

1. 3 cups shredded cabbage
2. 1 cup grated carrot
3. 1/2 cup green onions, sliced
4. 1 1/2 cups sugar snap peas, chopped on diagonal
5. 1 of each red and orange pepper, sliced into thick matchsticks
6. 1 cup cilantro, chopped

Ingredients for Dressing

1. 1/3 cup olive oil
2. 1/4 cup lime juice
3. 2 tbsp white balsamic vinegar
4. 1 tbsp honey
5. 1 tbsp ground cumin
6. 1/4 tsp pepper
7. pinch of unrefined salt

Directions

1. To make the dressing, whisk together all dressing ingredients and set aside.
2. Throw all your chopped up salad ingredients into a large bowl.  Pour the dressing over the veggies and give it a good mix. Serve and ENJOY!

NOTE – Make sure you dress the salad at least 20 min ahead of time so the veggies have a chance to absorb the flavour of the dressing.

Original Recipe – http://www.tablespoon.com/recipes/rainbow-slaw-salad/cb5b88d0-b382-4f29-94c8-33b7890e095c

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!

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!

Roasted Vegetable Soup

I’m pretty shocked I’ve never made actual soup before.  I always thought it was such a challenging thing to make.  But clearly now I know that’s just ridiculous, this was one of the easiest dinners I’ve ever cooked!! And holy crap delicious!! I’m definitely going to start making a big batch of soup on Sundays to have for quick meals during the week.  With all the leftovers from this soup, I added steamed spinach or kale and added a cut up chicken breast for more protein.  AMAZING!

This recipe is great because it’s so basic.  You can add any other veggies you like to it, as well as take out the ones you’re not such a fan of.

Ingredients

1. 1 head cauliflower, cut up
2. 2 large carrots, peeled and cut into half 1/2 inch chunks
3. 1 large sweet potato, cut into 1/2 inch chunks
4. 1 large zucchini, sliced
5. 5 cloves garlic
6. 1.5 tsp cumin
7. 2 ribs celery, sliced
8. 1/2 onion, diced
9. 1 can chickpeas
10. 1 can corn
11. 2 cups chicken stock
12. 1 cup water
13. Unrefined salt and pepper, to taste
14. olive oil
15. avocado slices (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  Place the cauliflower, carrots, yam, and 3 cloves of garlic into a large bowl and toss with some olive oil, 1/2 tsp cumin, salt and pepper.
2. Roast in the oven for about 30-35 minutes.
3. While the veggies are roasting, heat up a big pot to medium heat.  Throw in some olive oil, minced garlic, onions and celery.  Season with the remaining cumin, salt and pepper.  Sauté for about 5 minutes.
4. Add in the chickpeas and corn and give it a good stir.  Next, add in the chicken stock and water.  Let simmer on low until your other veggies are done.
5. When the roasted vegetables are nice and roasty, add them into the pot.  Stir around and let simmer for about 5 or 10 minutes.
6. Take about 2 cups of the soup out of the pot and either using a hand blender or regular bender, pulse until nice and smooth.  Add back into the pot and stir around until the soup is nice and hot.
7. Serve up with some avocado and that’s it!!

DETOX DAY 1 – Classic Hummus

It’s DAY 1 of my 21 day detox! My lovely friend Amanda and I decided we were going a little crazy this summer already…oooops! So we’re trying to get back on track and away from the booze with Dr. Joshi’s Holistic Detox.  Amanda’s done it quite a few times before, but this is my first.  So we’ll see how it goes! The whole point of the detox is to create a slightly alkaline environment in the body by cutting out acid forming foods from your diet.  Seems simple enough! The diet is fairly close to my diet already so I’m not too concerned.  The only foods I’m going miss and have a tough time not eating are: fruit, berries, and coffee! It’s making me nervous just thinking about it…

So it’s the end of day 1 and I would KILL for a strawberry right now! I was doing a detox shop at Whole Foods earlier today and was practically drooling walking by all the juicy, delicious blueberries, strawberries and raspberries! I had to leave the produce section and take a break lol it got too much. I’m sure it will get much easier soon!

After my workout, I obviously couldn’t have one of my regular smoothies.  So this is what I put in my detox-friendly shake – rice milk, half a banana, ground flax seed, honey, hemp protein, lots of kale, chia seeds, sesame seeds, and tons of cinnamon! It was actually pretty good :)

So far, I haven’t found too many sauces or dressings that I can eat while on this detox.  But hummus is definitely one! I quickly made this homemade hummus today so I would have something to make my food somewhat exciting.  I’ll try a different hummus recipe next time, as this one was pretty plain. Good for now though. Here’s the recipe for my hummus.

CLASSIC HUMMUS

Ingredients

• 1 can chickpeas
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 3 tbsp tahini
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1/4 tsp paprika
• 1/4 tsp salt
• Parsley for garnish

Directions

• Drain the chickpeas, leaving half the liquid, and add to the food processor or blender.  Then add remaining ingredients, except for the parsley. Pulse mixture until well combined and a smooth texture.
• Scoop into a serving bowl and sprinkle some chopped parsley and paprika over top.