Author avisha Categories Blog, Food & Nutrition, Recipes Posted on 0 Comments

Fermented Quinoa Breakfast Bowl

I love this recipe!  It is a whole-food power pack and is so versatile it may soon become a breakfast staple in your home.

Quinoa, a seed not a grain as is often thought,  is high in protein, gluten-free and just 1/4 cup of it contains approximately 3 grams of fiber.

But the real star in this recipe is the fermented cashew milk.  Cashew milk on its own is a tasty non-dairy milk but by fermenting the nuts beforehand you boost the nutrient availability and add a gut friendly component to the dish.

The notion of fermenting food may seem daunting but the process is really a piece of cake as you will see from the recipe below.  You do need to plan ahead a bit as the fermenting process does take about a day. But the planning ahead is truly the hardest part of the whole deal.

Give it a try and if you get a second I would love to hear what you think of the recipe.

Fermented Quinoa Breakfast Bowl

Ingredients

2 cups cooked quinoa

1-2 cups fermented cashew milk* (recipe below)

1 grapefruit peeled and chopped

¾ cup cherries, blueberries or fruit of your choice

¼ cup chopped fresh mint

1 TBSP Maple syrup (or to taste)

 

Combine all ingredients pressing the grapefruit to release juices and let stand 15 minutes before serving

 

*Fermented cashew milk

In a mason jar cover 1 cup of raw cashews with fresh water leaving at least one inch of room from top.

Add 1 TBSP sea salt.

Seal tightly with lid and shake the jar to combine. Leave this on counter at least 24 hours.

After 24 hours drain and rinse the nuts. Put nuts into blender and add 1-2 cups of water depending upon your desired milk thickness.

Add 2 teaspoons of vanilla. Blend mixture to liquid.

Drain the milk through a nut back.

Refrigerate.

 

Brussels Sprouts
Author avisha Categories Blog, Food & Nutrition, Recipes Posted on 0 Comments

Brussels Sprouts Salad

I clearly remember as a child holding my nose while I struggled through my serving of Brussels Sprouts. Boiled and served I used to cover them with vinegar and salt just to make them bearable.

I have come a long way in my appreciation of this mighty veggie.  And I have been successful in finding preparation and flavour matchings that truly make these little gems a pleasure to eat.

Health Benefits of Brussels Sprouts

I have persevered because their health benefits are many.  Brussels Sprouts belong to the cruciferous family, and along with fellow members such as broccoli, kale, cabbage and spinach, this group of vegetables contain glucosinolates, indole-3-carbinol and isothiocyanates, nutrients that have been shown to among other things, decrease cancer risks.

A snapshot of the Brussels Sprouts’ nutrient profile looks like this:

  • One cup contains almost 3 grams of protein
  • One cup contains approximately 4 grams of fiber
  • One cup contains almost 2.5 times of the daily recommended intake of vitamin K and 1.5 times that of vitamin C

I particularly like this salad.  The flavour of the dressing holds up very well against the hearty flavour of the brussels sprouts.  And it is a raw preparation which preserves the important nutrients that the sprouts contain.  Over cooking brussels sprouts can deplete them of their nutrients.

So give this salad a try and let me know your thoughts.  I am curious to know if it can convert the sprout haters!

Enjoy!

Brussels Sprouts Salad

6 Cups of Shredded Brussels Sprouts

Dressing

4 TBSP Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1 TBSP Lemon Juice

1 TBSP Apple Cider Vinegar

1 TBSP Grainy Dijon Mustard

2 tsp Maple Syrup

½ tsp each salt & pepper

Directions

  • Place shredded sprouts in to your serving bowl.
  • Place all of the salad dressing ingredients in to a small bowl and mix together well.
  • 1/2 hour before serving spread dressing over sprouts and toss well

 

brusselsproutssalad

References:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11139137

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4354933/

Home made trail mix
Author avisha Categories Blog, Food & Nutrition, Recipes Posted on 0 Comments

Homemade Trail Mix

Snacks are by far the number one “food group” that I get asked for help with.  As it goes we are ready to put in the time for the three main meal preps but when it comes to snacking we are still in the grab and go mindset.

So with that in mind I offer up to you the Homemade Trail Mix.  No fixed recipe to follow and virtually no preparation time.  Mix and match your favourite nuts, seeds and berries.  You can make a large batch and dip in to it as needed.

Have this on hand all of the time.  The good fats, protein and fiber in your trail mix will satisfy you when hunger pangs begin and will help to stabilize your blood sugar as it begins to dip between meals.  In doing so you will avoid the need for a mid afternoon nap or the urge to tear a strip off of a bad driver on your way home.

Just to give you a glimpse of the healthy benefits of the trail mix that I made, here is today’s creation (I use raw, unsalted nuts and seeds):

Brazil Nuts

Most notably brazil nuts are a good source of selenium.  As with most nuts they contain healthy fats, vitamins, minerals, protein and fiber.

Cashews

Cashews are a source of monounsaturated fats, antioxidants, vitamins, minerals, fiber and protein.

Almonds

Almonds are a source of vitamins, notably vitamin E, minerals, monounstaturated fats, fiber and protein.

Goji Berries

Goji berries are a power packed little berry.  They contain fiber, vitamins, notably A & C, minerals and are great antioxidants.

Manuka Raisins

I LOVE Manuka raisins.  My favourite trail mix sweetener.  They are good source of fiber, contain calcium, antioxidants and they contain oleanolic acid.

Dried Aronia Berries

A nice counterbalance to Manuka raisins,  these berries are a little bit on the bitter side.  Their benefits include being high in antioxidants, high in anthocyanin concentration and high in proanthocyanidins.

Dried Pomegranate berries

These are a treat.  Really tasty and high in antioxidants and fiber.

Sunflower seeds

Sunflower seeds are a good source of vitamin E, selenium and magnesium.

So be creative.  You can used pumpkin seeds, dark chocolate chips, puffed quinoa.  The sky is the limit and changing things up means you won’t get tired of it.

 

Author avisha Categories Blog, Food & Nutrition, Recipes Posted on 0 Comments

Food meeting Function: Jerusalem Artichoke Soup

When foods are consumed that have a positive effect on health and go beyond basic nutrition they are called “functional foods”.  As I am sure you can imagine there are many but today I would like to introduce you to a relatively obscure one.

Meet the Jerusalem Artichoke.  These little fellas may not be the prettiest of vegetables but as a functional food they are beautiful!

Jerusalem Artichoke

Jerusalem artichokes, sometimes referred to as sunchokes, are root vegetables.  They can be eaten either cooked or raw.  When cooked they have a creamy texture similar to potatoes. Eaten raw their taste is comparable to the taste of a water chestnut.

So let’s take a look at some of their health benefits.  Jerusalem artichokes are a very good source of minerals and electrolytes, especially potassium, iron, and copper.  They contain small amounts of anti-oxidant vitamins C, A and E.  And 100 g contain approximately 3.4 mg of iron.

But perhaps the greatest health benefit of Jerusalem artichokes lies in their prebiotic function. These root vegetables contain a non-digestible soluble fiber called inulin.  Inulin belongs to a class of compounds called fructans. And inulin feeds our good gut bacteria greatly enhancing our intestinal health.  And when cancer is considered, or any disease for that matter,  the gut must always be addressed.

This is a super tasty soup, that is easy to make and full of function!

 

Jerusalem Artichoke Soup

Ingredients

3 TBSP butter

4 cloves of garlic, minced

1 small yellow onion, chopped

½ tsp. salt & pepper

500 grams Jerusalem Artichokes, peeled and halved

Pinch of chili pepper (optional)

1 liter of chicken broth

5 fresh sage leaves

Directions

  1. Melt butter in a soup pot
  2. Add garlic, onion, salt and pepper. Cook until softened.
  3. Add Jerusalem Artichokes, chili pepper (if using), chicken broth and sage leaves.
  4. Bring to a boil
  5. Reduce heat and simmer 20-25 minutes until artichokes have softened.
  6. With a hand or stand up blender, puree soup and serve.

Serves 4

 

sweet potato muffins
Author avisha Categories Blog, Recipes Posted on 0 Comments

Sweet Potato Protein Muffins

Last night social media and left over sweet potatoes came together and we enjoyed delicious sweet potato protein muffins thanks to a timely posting by Joy McCarthy of Joyous Health.  I followed her recipe in every way except for the type protein powder used. I used NaturePro Grass-Fed Australian Vanilla Whey protein and it definitely worked out just fine!

These muffins contain complex carbohydrates and fiber from the sweet potatoes, good fats from the coconut oil and protein, vitamins and minerals from the eggs and protein powder.  Even the sweetener, maple syrup, offers a host of naturally occurring minerals. Not your everyday sweet treat!

I do recommend making your own almond milk to use in this recipe.  Store bought almond milk, in most cases, contains added ingredients that you just don’t want to be consuming.  And making your own almond milk is easy and extremely cost effective. You can find the recipe for almond milk right here.

Here is Joy’s recipe.  You can enjoy these muffins for breakfast, as a mid-day snack, quite honestly whenever you get a hankering for a little sweet treat.

I got 12 muffins from this mixture.

Sweet Potato Protein Muffins

by

Joy McCarthy of Joyous Health

Ingredients
  1. 1/2 cup coconut flour
  2. ¼ cup Vanilla protein powder
  3. 2 tsp baking powder
  4. 2 tsp ground cinnamon
  5. 1/4 tsp fine sea salt
  6. 2/3 cup sweet potato puree
  7. 1/3 cup maple syrup
  8. 1/2 cup coconut oil, melted
  9. 5 eggs, whisked
  10. 3/4 cup almond milk
Instructions
  1. Combine all the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients.
  2. Then add the wet to the dry ingredients.
  3. Place batter into muffin tin cups.
  4. Bake at 180 degrees C for 30-35 minutes or until a fork inserted into the middle of the muffin comes out clean.

 

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