Food Friday: Shrimp "Bruschetta"

www.jamieoliver.com (I ate mine too quickly to take a picture!)

What a great summer meal that is a little different than the usual burger and salad on the BBQ. I was inspired by Jamie Oliver for this one. I really enjoy his style of cooking because he uses fresh ingredients, the meals are a little rustic and he doesn’t need things to be too pretty, just taste delicious! I very rarely cook shrimp at home but I wanted to try something different. It has also been way too hot to put the stove on for even a short period of time. Lastly, this meal comes together very quickly making it a great weeknight meal for the summer months. What took the longest was peeling the shrimp. This is spicy with the green chilis so if you do not like spicy decrease the quality of peppers or omit completely.

Ingredients:

• 3-4 green onions, diced

• 1 red chili/2 green chilis, finely diced

• 1 bag easy to peel frozen shrimp

• 2 slices of bread

• 1 clove garlic - 1/2 minced, 1/2 to rub on toasted bread

• 1 large can cannelloni beans, drained and rinsed

• 2 large tomatoes, diced

• snow peas, 2 large handfuls

• lemon, zest and juice

• parsley

• salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

1. Thaw shrimp under cold water in a colander and peel.

2. Heat 1-2 tbsp olive oil in a wok (but any pan will do) on medium-high heat. Add shrimp and cook until the colour starts to change then add chilis and green onion. Add snow peas and a very small splash of water to help steam. Mix and let steam for a few minutes.

3. Meanwhile lightly toast bread and rub with garlic for flavour.

4. Add drained butter beans and steam and stir for 5 minutes. add tomatoes now (or mix in fresh tomatoes at the end which is what I did!), minced garlic, some lemon zest, lemon juice, sea salt and pepper to taste. Finally garnish with some chopped parsley to taste. *Mix in tomatoes now if you prefer them fresh.

5. Place garlicky toast on a plate and top with shrimp, bean and veggie mixture. Enjoy! Leftovers are great for lunch as well even without the toast.

Let me know what you think in the comments below :)

In health & happiness,

Dr. Karen

Food Friday: Fresh Salad Rolls with Peanut Sauce

These are not mine - We ate ours too fast to get a good pictures :)

If you are looking for a fresh and delicious meal this summer that requires minimal stove time look no further! These do take a little longer to make than the average meal but I find it a little meditative and you can make a big batch all at once to last you a couple meals. So perhaps choose a night you aren’t in a rush, or prep things ahead of time. You can get creative with these salad rolls depending on what vegetables you like. You can swap out chicken as well for marinated and sautéed tofu or shrimp.

What you can prep ahead of time - marinated chicken, peanut sauce, julienned veggies.

Ingredients:

Chicken:

• 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut in half horizontally to make 4 cutlets

• zest and juice of 1 lime

• 1/4 cup fish sauce or 1 tbsp soy sauce

• 2 tsp coconut sugar

• 2 slices red/green jalapeño - optional

• 1.5 inch piece fresh ginger, sliced

Peanut Sauce:

• 1-2 garlic cloves, minced

• 1/2 cup peanut butter or almond butter

• 2-3 tbsp lime juice

• 1/4 cup soy sauce/tamari

• 2 tbsp maple syrup

• 1 tbsp sesame oil

• 1 tbsp ginger, diced

• 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar

• 4-6 tbsp water (more if needed)

• hot sauce or Sriracha to taste - for a kick if you want

Wraps:

• 1/4 cup thinly sliced red cabbage

• 2 carrots, peeled and julienned

• 1/2 red pepper, julienned

• 1/4 cup basil leaves

• about 1.5 cups vermicelli noodles

• rice paper wraps

Directions:

1. Chicken: Add all ingredients including the chicken to a bowl or ziplock bag and marinate for 10 minutes to overnight. Heat 1-2 tbsp olive oil in a pan over medium heat. Add chicken to pan and cook until evenly cooked and browned on each side, about 5 minutes/side. Alternatively BBQ the chicken. Set chicken aside on a wood cutting board and slice thinly.

2. Peanut sauce: Add all peanut sauce ingredients to a food processor and process until smooth adding water by tbsp as needed. Add more water as needed to get the consistently you want. This peanut sauce will keep in the fridge up to a week.

3. Noodles: Cook noodles accordingly to package, drain and rinse in cold water and place in a bowl.

4. Wraps: Set all salad roll ingredients up so to easily grab. Fill a shallow bowl, that is slightly bigger than the rice paper wraps with warm water. Soak a rice paper wrap in the water just until pliable, 30-45 seconds (depending on thickness of rice papers); remove and lay flat on a tea towel lined cutting board (the towel will absorb excess water and help to keep it not sticking). Layer vegetables, chicken, a few basil leaves and noodles across the bottom third of wrap. Fold bottom end up, both sides in then roll up tightly. Be careful not to overstuff the wrap or it will be harder to roll. You quickly learn how much to fill. Repeat for remaining ingredients.

5. Eat! Dip in or drizzle peanut sauce over the wraps while you enjoy!

These are always a hit at my house and the peanut sauce is always a treat. Any leftover peanut sauce can you used in a stir-fry.

In health & happiness.

Dr. Karen

Food Friday: My Favourite Granola

Granola and yogurt never gets old for me! At least not these days. I have made variations of granola over the years but I keep coming back to this recipe adapted from Oh She Glows. It is crunchy from both the large coconut flakes and the liquid used, and a little sweet. You can make it all nut-free if you use sunflower seed butter but I usually switch between creamy cashew butter (if I have some) or almond butter for a little nutty flavour. It smells delicious also!

If you are dairy free there are a few options for dairy free yogurt you can find in Nova Scotia, I like the Silk brand the best. There are more options elsewhere I’m sure! For added protein in the morning I suggest plain greek yogurt, either 2% or for extra creamy 5%! Otherwise Costco has great plain 2% yogurt. Please don’t shy away from the fat in yogurt. It is the sugar we want to avoid in flavoured yogurt. My recommendations when buying yogurt are: 1 - make sure you aren’t sensitive to dairy. 2 - buy plain yogurt and then just add a little bit of sweetness if needed from either your granola, a little pure honey/maple syrup, or 1 tsp of jam. That way you know how much sugar you are eating. 3 - Buy at least 2% instead of steering clear of fat, as this will keep you full for longer. Recent studies have shown that full-fat dairy lowered the risk of being overweight or obese by 8 percent (1), it does not increase your risk of stroke and cardiovascular disease (2), it also reduces the risk of diabetes. That said, dairy has been eliminated from the Canada Food Guide as a food category so please only eat it if you are not sensitive to it, otherwise it causes inflammation in your body, and in limited amounts.

*this post should be sponsored by Costco as you’ll see :)

My Favourite Granola:

Ingredients:

• 2.5 cups unsweetened coconut flakes (I use Bob’s Red Mill brand from Organic Earth Market)

• 2 cups rolled oats

• 3/4 cups raw pumpkin seeds

• 1/4 cup raw sunflower seeds

• 1/2 cup hemp hearts (I get mine at Costco)

• 1 tbsp coconut/cane sugar

• 1.5 tsp cinnamon (again I get mine at Costco since I use cinnamon a lot)

• 1/2 tsp sea salt (Costco)

• 1/3 cup coconut oil (Costco!)

• 1/3 cup pure maple syrup (Costco!)

• 2 tbsp almond/cashew butter (almond butter from Costco)

• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract (Costco…you get the idea now!)

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 300F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.

2. In a large bowl, combine the coconut flakes, oats, hemp hearts, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, cinnamon, sugar and salt. Change up any of the seeds to your favourite nuts if you like.

3. In a small pot, melt the coconut oil, and add maple syrup and almond butter. Stir to combine. Remove from the stove and mix in the vanilla extract.

4. Pour the liquid mixture onto the dry mixture and stir to combine. Spread the granola over the prepared baking sheet evenly.

5. Bake for 15 minutes then remove and stir. Bake for another 13 minutes, or until the granola is just starting to turn a bit golden. Remove and let sit to cool for about 1 hour. This will allow the granola to harden in crunchy chunks, which I love!

6. Store the granola in a glass jar (I got mine from the dollar store I believe). Serve with a little plain or greek yogurt, sliced banana or fresh berries. Delicious!

   *Hint - I mix in my Cultured Coconut Kefir and 1 scoop of Sproos collagen to my yogurt before adding the granola to ensure I get my supplements for gut and skin health. :)

Do you have a favourite granola recipe? I’d love to hear!

In health & happiness,

Dr. Karen

Food Friday - Spiced Lamb Meatballs

When meal planning one of my go-tos (since I am not vegetarian/vegan/keto…or anything really) are meatballs. Is it just me but there is something about ground meat that I love. It is hard to screw up, easy to prep, and you can add so much flavour to it! Ground turkey and ground lamb are common purchases in our household, but I make sure it comes from good sources (i.e. local meat found at the Saturday market or local grocery markets).

Have you tried ground lamb? It is so flavourful and very nutrient dense. Not only is it a great source of protein, it is a great source of B12, iron and zinc among others vitamins and minerals. This recipe calls for 1/2 lamb and 1/2 beef, which makes the flavours a little more mild for those that are new to lamb. This recipe is often requested by my husband and it makes enough that we can put some in the freezer for later. I usually pair these with rice and any green vegetable on the side but they would go with a salad and roasted spiced sweet potato as well. If you are feeding less people opt for only 1 lb of each meat and decrease the other ingredients slightly as well.

Ingredients:

• 1.5 lb ground lamb

• 1.5 lb lean ground beef

• 2 small onions, finely chopped (or grated)

• 1 (2-3 in) piece fresh ginger root, peeled and finely grated

• 5 garlic cloves, crushed

• 3 tsp salt

• 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper

• 1 tsp chile powder

• 2 tbsp garam masala (delicious spice I use often!)

• 2 tbsp finely chopped cilantro

• 3 tbsp ground almonds

• 2 eggs, beaten

• 1/2 cup flour (I usually use Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 Gluten Free Flour)

Directions:

1. Heat the oven to 450°F.

2. Mix together the beef and lamb until they are well combined. Using your hands stir in the onion, ginger, garlic, salt, pepper, chile powder, garam masala, cilantro, almonds, eggs, and flour.

3. Roll of the meat mixture into evenly-shaped meatballs approximately the size of golf balls. Roast the meatballs for 20 minutes or until just barely pink in the middle.

4.  Serve and enjoy! Freeze the remaining meatballs for up to 1 month.

   In health & happiness,

   Dr. Karen