Strawberry Fondue Smoothie

I got this inspiration for this smoothie at a local coffee shop. They were advertising a strawberry fondue latte and I thought wow that would make a really tasty smoothie. So, later that day I went to work in the kitchen to create this Strawberry Fondue Smoothie!



If you love strawberry fondue then this smoothie is for you. It combines the chocolate and strawberry flavours beautifully while really letting each flavour shine on its own as well.



Not only does this smoothie taste great and feel like your are eating a treat but it's healthy! All that is in it is fruit, waters and some natural sweeteners like coconut sugar and dates, making this a great "treat" for when you are feeling like you need to stop a sweet tooth. I hope you try out this creation and let me know what you think.

Ingredients:

Chocolate Fondue Layer:

1 frozen banana

1 tbsp. cocoa

1/4 cup ice

approx. 1/2 cup water

1-2 tbsp. coconut sugar

Strawberry Layer:

1/4 cup fresh strawberries + 1/2 cup frozen strawberries

1/4 cup coconut water + 1/4 cup water

1/4 cup ice

2 medjool dates

1. Blend all chocolate fondue ingredients together. Pour into 3/4 of a mason jar.

2. Blend all strawberry ingredients together, pour into the remaining space of the mason jar. Enjoy!

Grocery Haul: July 2014

Grocery shopping is one of my favourite things to do. I love seeing all the different products, reading food labels and most importantly gathering inspiration for future recipes and creations. Grocery shopping is also the first step to a healthy, clean life, full of fresh food and colourful meals.

With this being said I thought I would share with you guys my typical grocery haul. This collection of food is a pretty standard haul for me, minus a few things that I already had plenty of in my home.

Let's start with fruit. On this trip to the grocery store I picked up some berries (blueberries and strawberries), frozen fruit ( mangos and blueberries) which are great in smoothies, oranges, two kinds of apples and of course bananas.





Next we have the vegetables. I am a huge vegetable eater, I eat salads at least 4 times a week and most of my dinners are plant based. This week for veggies I picked up, romaine lettuce, ice burg lettuce, avocado, peppers (red,orange,yellow), beets ( which are one of my favourite vegetables), onions, spinach, spring mix and finally cherry tomatoes.



 



Continuing on we have the grains category, in which I picked up some rice crackers ( which I love eating with peanut butter or hummus), bread (this is for my family as I eat UDI's gluten free bread), and finally coconut water, which I know is not a grain but it fit nicely in the picture.



Lastly, I have the miscellaneous groceries which includes, black and mixed beans, garlic, hummus and of course a big jar of coconut oil as this is an essential ingredient in a large amount of my baking.



 

What you keep in your fridge/ pantry is so important. Healthy food is the first step to leading a healthy lifestyle, so enjoy your trips to the grocery store and choose health concious that your body will love.

 

Pea Shoot and Mixed Green Salad

Over the weekend my mom and I headed over to our local farmers market. Along with a dozen farm fresh eggs we picked up a bag of fresh pea shoots and sunflower shoots... I was so excited!



At that moment I decided we would be having salad for dinner, this way I had an excuse to use my fresh new ingredients. So this is the salad I created, it is just a simple combination of mixed greens, spinach, peas (one of my favourite salad toppings), red pepper, chickpeas and of course the star ingredient pea shoots! The combination was simple, clean and delicious, great for a quick dinner on a warm summer night. I hope everyone is enjoying their summer... what is your favourite summer salad combination?

 

Ingredients:

1 cup mixed greens
1 cup spinach
1/2 cup of peas
handful of red pepper, chopped
approx. 1/4 cup chickpeas
a small handful of pea shoots

1. Combine all ingredients, top with your favourite dressing ( I used my Garlic Oregano Salad Dressing) and enjoy!

Gluten Free Chicken Stir Fry

What You'll Need:

Veggies: red peppers, broccoli, carrot, purple cabbage, soya beans

Cook chicken breast

2 cloves garlic

Gluten Free Rice Noodles

Sauce: Black Bean

1 cup chicken stock

3 tbsp. black bean sauce

1 tbsp. corn starch

1 tbsp. rice vinegar

( Combine all ingredients and mix well) 

- Cook your noodles, put to the side, prepare your veggies and chicken , place them to the side as well.

- Add a drizzle of peanut oil to your wok, cook chicken & garlic for 3-5 mins

- Remove chicken from wok, place to the side. Add hardest veggies to wok first, as they will need more time to cook ( carrots, purple cabbage,broccoli). Cook for 10- 12 mins, then add softer veggies ( red peppers, soya beans).

- Add half a cup of your black bean sauce, allow to cook and thicken for 7-10 mins. 

- Pour remaining 1/2 sauce into a pot, bring to a boil, then simmer on low for 2 mins. 

- On a plate place, rice noodles, topped with veggies & chicken, drizzle with desired amount of sauce. 

Chicken Salad w/ Walnuts & Pumpkin Seeds

My lovely dinner from lastnight. I always enjoy a healthy, clean salad, it is fast and obviously easy to put together. 

For my salad I seasoned my chicken breast with some spices and garlic, then grilled it on the BBQ until tender. I then combined it with romaine lettuce, spinach, arugula, cucumbers, red peppers, cherry tomato’s, broccoli, red onion and shredded carrots. 

I topped it with walnuts, pumpkin seeds, alfalfa sprouts, feta cheese and finally a drizzle of Kraft huile d’ olive oil greek feta salad dressing. 

Raw Vegan Tiramisu

Vegan desserts are my favourite desserts to make. I find them to be the most creative and beautiful form of "baking".

This is a new raw vegan dessert recipe I decided to try and it turned out great! I'v been wanting to do a raw vegan tiramisu for a while now so I'm glad I finally got the opportunity and I'm even more glad that they turned out so well.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with raw vegan "baking",  it just means that the dessert at hand is not cooked and is free of all animal by products. I myself am not vegan, nor am I vegetarian but raw vegan baking is honestly my favourite form of dessert. My family and boyfriend also love these desserts and none of them are vegan either... so they must be really good.

This creation in particular was a lovely balance of sweetness, mixed with a flavour punch which was the coffee. These are gluten free, dairy free, lactose free and refined sugar free... so nothing to feel guilty about! These also have very limit oil, only 1 tbsp of coconut oil in the whole dessert. Try these out and let me know what you think !

Crust:

1/2 c. almond flour

1/2 c. oatmeal

2 tbsp. pure maple syrup

1 tbsp. instant coffee + 1 tbsp. boiling water, combine

1/2 tbsp. cocoa

1/2 tsp. vanilla

"Cream" Layer:

1/2 c. raw cashews, soaked for at least 4 hours

1/4 c. coconut flour

1/2 a ripe banana

2 tsp. unsweetened apple sauce

2 tbsp. water

1/2 tsp. vanilla

1 tsp. pure maple syrup

Chocolate Mousse:

1/2 c. raw cashews, soaked for at least 4 hours

1/2 a ripe banana

2 tsp. unsweetened apple sauce

2 tbsp. coconut cream

1/2 tbsp. cocoa

2 tbsp. maple syrup

1 tsp. stevia

Espresso Topping:

1/3 tbsp. cocoa

1 tbsp. coconut oil

1 tsp. instant coffee + 1 tsp. boiling water,combine

2 tsp. stevia

1-2 tsp. pure maple syrup

1. Combine all crust ingredients in a bowl, mix well. Press firmly into the bottom of 6 cup cake moulds.

2. Combine all "cream layer" ingredients together in a food processor, process until a cream like texture has formed. Disperse evenly on top of crust layer.

3. Combine all chocolate mousse ingredients together in a food processor, process until a mousse like texture has formed. Disperse evenly on top of cream layer.

4. Combine all espresso topping ingredients in a bowl, mix well and pour evenly on top of chocolate mousse layer. Place in the freezer for at least 4 hours, then enjoy!