Never Underestimate the Power of Green…

If you’ve been following me for awhile, you know I am a great promoter of buying local. However it’s often darkest before the dawn, and at this time of year, when fresh local produce is just barely trickling into our stores, I have been known to give in to a moment of weakness. I had just such a moment yesterday, when I bought kale that had been trucked in, all the way from Texas. This entire smoothie is as un-local as it gets, with the kale, avocado, almond milk, frozen peach-mango-strawberry mix, cinnamon, and turmeric. 

Despite all this, and the perhaps unappealing colour, it’s delicious. In fact, it has already transformed my day. I could have been grumpy at the freezing temperature, but instead, I’m starting with a spring in my step and a smile in my tummy.

A Regal Breakfast

Who could resist this gorgeous royal purple colour!?! And no, despite the coaster, no wine was involved. What you might not know, is that it packs a nutritional punch. For two, I blended:

2 c (500ml) chopped red cabbage

1 chopped carrot

1/3 c (80ml) raw cashews

1.5c (375ml) frozen strawberries

1t (5ml) pure vanilla extract

With enough unsweetened almond milk to fill the blender to the 4c (1L) mark.

Process until very smooth and creamy, and enjoy. I know I am, as I reflect on how grateful I am to have this special day with both my kids and their delightful partners.

Happy Mother’s Day, everyone!

Pudding for breakfast!

Sometimes a sweet treat for breakfast hits the spot. This breakfast pudding, or smoothie bowl, in common parlance, is fast and delicious.

In a blender, combine two ripe bananas, a small avocado, 2 T (30 ml) good-quality cocoa, 1/2 c (125 ml) silken tofu, and 1/4 c (60 ml) unsweetened almond milk. Using ripe bananas gives lots of natural sweetness. 

Blend until smooth, and top with chopped walnuts and grated coconut. Pumpkin seeds would look and taste fabulous as well!

Serves two.

  

Tart and Tasty

Holiday weekends always result in us pulling out the old family recipes. But this one, slightly adapted, hardly needs a recipe. It’s easy to make and delicious. If you want some protein, eat it along with a handful of nuts. Great for breakfast, or as a side with lunch, or dessert. Grammy Gladys would never have used the blood oranges, and sometimes added a spoonful of sugar, but truly, you don’t need it.

Use one orange, one grapefruit, and one blood orange per person.

Cut off the peel – use for  something else if you like, or compost.

Cut the fruit into bite-sized pieces, removing white pith. You’ll probably need to dump some juice from the cutting board into the bowl during this process. No one said family recipes weren’t messy.

Stir in, at most, a tablespoon (15ml) of sugar or maple syrup, depending on how sweet you like your citrus.

We ate ours with some peanuts – a slice of almond butter or peanut butter toast is lovely as well.

Saturday, and the Living is Easy

Weekends are a great time for a relaxing breakfast – but this easy oatmeal recipe takes so little effort, we often have it on weekdays, too.

  
For two:

Put in a microwaveable glass  or ceramic casserole:

1 diced Apple

3/4 c large flake or steel cut oats 

A sprinkle of cinnamon 

1/2 c chopped nuts or seeds (we used hazelnuts and black sesame seeds for this version)

1-1/2 c water

No need to stir!

Microwave uncovered on high for 3 minutes, and on 50% power for 5 more minutes.

Stir and serve with maple syrup and some milk or nut milk.

Delicious!

Speedy Sunday Pancakes

  
It’s Sunday morning and we are rushing around to get out the door (again). No excuse not to have a delicious breakfast in our bellies! 

For two:

In a blender, whirr 

2T / 30ml flaxseed to grind (always keeps better if you grind as needed)

Add

3/4 c  180ml buckwheat flour 

2 t / 10ml baking powder

1T / 15 ml brown sugar

Pulse to mix

Then add

1 c / 250 ml almond milk 

1 large egg or egg substitute 

1 T / 15 ml butter or oil or coconut oil

Mix just to combine (you might need a spatula to help).

If needed just enough milk to make a thick but pourable batter.

Pour pancakes into  a nonstick pan buttered or sprayed with cooking oil on medium high heat, about the size of your palm. They will spread and puff a little.

When bubbles appear and the edges start to look dry, time to flip. My frypan does four at a time. 

They can be kept warm in a 150F oven as additional batches are made. Recipe can be doubled. Finished pancakes can be frozen with parchment in between for reheating in the toaster.

Serve with fruit and maple syrup.

Fresh Winter Flavours

It’s easy to get on a soup kick in the wintertime, but there are still lots of seasonal salad options, even as the cold weather has taken hold. We are fortunate to be able to get local, greenhouse-grown lettuce until spring returns, but cabbage or kale or other winter-hardy greens would work just as well.

Fill your plate with…

2c / 500ml lettuce, washed and torn

Top with

1 pear, sliced

Drizzle with a mixture of 1/2 T or 7ml each 

Dijon mustard 

Crunchy mustard

Olive oil

Cider vinegar

Then grate or crumble 1 oz aged cheddar or other cheese you need to use up since the holidays

And sprinkle with 1T / 15ml chopped walnuts or spiced nuts – (thanks for these @dickiedanger @icfplanetweird) and 1T / 15ml raisins.

Switch out the greens, the pears for apples or citrus, different nuts (or even cooked pulses) and cheese – and your winter salad repertoire will be infinite.

Enjoy!

  

Squeezing in some Summer Salads

The nights are cooling and everyone’s talking about back to school…so we are making it a priority to enjoy the harvest, and especially salads! Today’s included lots of homegrown veg, supplemented by other not so local favourites.

For two: 

4-6c chopped mixed greens

2 diced peaches

1 diced avocado

4 cherry tomatoes, halved

1 small cucumber, diced

Dress with (shaken):

2 T Dijon

Zest and juice of half a lemon

1 T olive oil

Top with:

1 oz feta

1 T toasted no salt shelled sunflower seeds

Enjoy!

  

Smooth move!

  We had an amazing weekend, including dinner with some good friends from Montreal. Of course the weekend hi jinks take their toll, so Monday’s a great opportunity to get back on track with healthier choices. That included an early morning workout and this fabulous smoothie (for 2):
1 stalk celery

2 nectarines

1 Clementine

2 small bananas 

500 ml/2c almond milk, unsweetened

125ml/1/2c plain fat free yogurt

15ml/1T sunflower seeds, unsalted 

30ml/2T peanut butter 

Blend until smooth and enjoy!

A Berry Good Breakfast

We have been travelling for more than a week now, so it was lovely to wake up and pick these beauties for breakfast. They are marvelously juicy, which reminds me just how much water, nutrients and freshness are lost in berries that are transported to the store. More than anything, that’s why local is important. Local = life.

These are the things for which we are grateful. It could only be better if our boys and girls were here to share.