Food Friday: Colourful Broccoli Salad

Why buy pre-made "salads" coated in calories when you can made your own with delicious ingredients that are oh so good for you and that is very easy to make! I love this salad for lunch as a side dish with salmon salad, roast chicken or really anything. I aim to get at least one serving of greens a day and this easily covers me. Try mixing up the recipe to your liking with different nuts like roasted cashews, shallots instead of red onion or even a little shredded cheese if your stomach permits. However, even my broccoli hating guy was pleasantly surprised how good this version was. 

Broccoli is chalk full of nutrients with so many health benefits! This is a powerful cruciferous vegetable, meaning it contains I3C which aids in liver detoxification. It is anti-inflammatory from its sulphoraphanes and omega 3s and has shown in studies to decrease the blood inflammatory market CRP. It is an antioxidant with the plethora of vitamins, nutrients and phytonutrients. With all that in mind, broccoli is a unique food in terms of cancer prevention, with a recommendation of 1/2 cup a day. Finally, with a high fibre content broccoli is helpful for most digestive concerns. What's not to love! So what are you waiting for? Get mixing :)

Ingredients:

• 1 Head broccoli, chopped in bite sized pieces 
• Handful of shredded carrots (I prefer pre-shredded in this recipe as they can be thicker strands)
• 1-2 tbsp raisins
• 1/4 or so diced red onion 
• 1/4 cup toasted walnuts, chopped
• 1.5 tbsp avocado mayo (more if needed for desired consistency) 
• Drizzle of olive oil
• 1/2 tsp or so of honey (optional)
• Salt to taste

Directions:

Pretty simple! Just mix all ingredients together in a bowl. Add more mayo or olive oil to create consistency you like. Enjoy!

In health & happiness, 

Dr. Karen

Food Friday: Falafel Buddha Bowl

Yum...buddha bowls! There is something about the name buddha bowl that just oozes warmth and joy for me. That is what this meal feels like, especially during a busy week when a little prep goes a long way. On cold winter days the last thing I want is a cold smoothie or raw veggies in a salad, so adding some roasted veggies with a delicious dressing is just right. 

This recipe is adapted from www.pinchofyum.com but the great thing about buddha bowls is that they can be changed around to your liking. I recommend sticking to this dressing from Oh She Glows though if you are adding the falafels as the flavours match so well. I love falafels as well since they have so much flavour and so easy to make. The other benefit of this meal is that each step could be made on a different day depending on your schedule. For example, I made the falafels ahead one evening, then roasted the veggies and made the dressing on the weeknight I had planned the meal for. Finally, this meal is gluten free and grain free depending on what flour you use for the falafels :) So enjoy and let me know if you come up with other delicious adaptations. 

Ingredients:

Servings - 3-4 bowls 

For the Falafels:

• 2 cups cooked lentils - barely cooked for better falafel texture (or chickpeas for alternative)
• 1 huge handful (a cup or so) fresh cilantro leaves and stems
• 1 huge handful (a cup or so) fresh parsley leaves and stems
• half a jalapeño 
• 1 1/2 tbsp olive oil
• 1-2 cloves garlic
• a squeeze of lemon juice
• 1 tsp salt
• 2-4 tbsp gluten free flour - eg. Bob's 1:1 flour (or almond flour)

For the Roasted Veggies:

No room for brussels sprouts on this pan. 

• 3 carrots. peeled and cut into strips 
• 1 head cauliflower, cup into bit size pieces 
• large handful brussels sprouts, cleaned and halved  
• 1/2 sweet potato, peeled and cut into strips
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 4 teaspoons cumin
• salt and pepper to taste

 

 

 

For the Dressing: (makes 1 cup)

• 1 large or 2 small garlic cloves
• 1/4 cup tahini
• 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice (2.5-3 lemons)
• 3 tbsp nutritional yeast
• 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/2 sea salt
• freshly ground pepper

For the Buddha Bowls:

• 1/4-1/2 head red cabbage, sliced/chopped
• arugula or spinach 
• roasted nuts and seeds - I did cashews, pumpkin and sunflower seeds
• sprouts - optional 

Directions:

Then the dressing...the missing piece!

1. For the falafels - Preheat the oven to 350F. Pulse all ingredients except flour in a food processor until combined. The mixture should form semi-dry crumbles that stick together when you press them. Stir in the flour – just one tablespoon at a time, until it’s just dry enough to handle. Form into 7-9 patties and bake for 18 minutes, flipped half way. Remove from oven. Refrigerate for a few days or freeze.
2. For the dressing - In a mini/small food processor, process all ingredients until smooth. Taste seasoning and adjust nutritional yeast, olive oil and salt and pepper if needed. The dressing can be kept in the fridge for up to a week but will thicken in the fridge. 
3. For the roast veggies - Preheat the oven to 400F. Place all the veggies on a roasting pan prepped with parchment paper. Drizzle all veggies except brussels sprouts with oil and sprinkle with cumin, salt, and pepper. Toss around on the pan to combine. Bake for 30 minutes – stir occasionally, but not too often otherwise you’ll disrupt the browning process. To get more browning, bake for an additional 10-15 minutes. When the veggies are done, remove from oven and set aside to cool.
4. To assemble buddha bowl - Add arugula/spinach, cabbage to a bowl then top with roast veggies, nuts/seeds, falafel and drizzle with dressing. Take a bite! Or...Add all to a container for lunches and keep dressing separate until lunch time. I like to warm up the roasted veggies and falafels at work if I can and then mix all together, or even toast the falafel in a toaster oven if possible. 

In health & happiness,

Dr. Karen 

Food Friday: Gingerbread Spelt Muffins

I was in the mood for something a little more festive this past weekend and decided to make these easy gingerbread muffins. It was either these or buying a whole gingerbread house, decorating it, then throwing it out in the end once it got stale ;) Indulging in a little treat here and there over the festive month is perfectly fine as long as you don't go overboard. These muffins are just the thing to give you a bit of a treat but keeping within a balanced diet. Bonus - these are wheat free (not gluten free), vegan and super easy to make. This recipe is adapted from OhSheGlows. They would be extra delicious as a dessert with a cream cheese frosting, a little butter or coconut whip cream (ok now I am drooling.)

Gingerbread Spelt Muffins

Wet ingredients:

• 1 tbsp ground chia seeds/ground flax seed
• 3 tbsp water
• 1 cup unsweetened pumpkin purée
• 1/3 cup grapeseed oil or canola oil (coconut oil is great as well just make sure it is melted and everything else is room temperature)
• 3 tbsp pure maple syrup
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/4 cup blackstrap molasses - great blood builder :)

Dry ingredients:

• 1 2/3 cups spelt flour
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp ground allspice
• 1/4 tsp ground cloves
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp fine sea salt
• Heaping 1/2 cup toasted chopped walnuts (optional)

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.. Line a muffin pan with large paper liners. 
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the chia/ground flax seeds and water. Set aside for a few minutes to thicken.
3. In a large bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients (spelt flour, spices, baking soda, baking powder, and salt).
4. In the same bowl as the flax mixture, whisk together the wet ingredients (flax mixture, pumpkin purée, oil, maple syrup, brown sugar, and molasses) until smooth.
5. Add the wet mixture to the dry ingredients and stir until just combined. No patches of flour should remain. Be sure not to overmix the batter as spelt is a delicate flour. The batter will be quite thick.
6. If using, stir in the chopped walnuts. You can also reserve some for garnish on top.
7. Divide the batter equally between the 12 muffin liners. They should be about 3/4 full. Add any reserved walnuts on top and gently push down (optional).
8. Bake the muffins for 20 to 24 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean.
9. Cool the muffins in the pan for 5 to 10 minutes, and then transfer each muffin onto a cooling rack until completely cool. Serve with butter, coconut oil, or cream frosting!

Enjoy!

Dr. Karen 

Food Friday: Quick & Easy One Pan Meals!

On busy days when you get home later than expected or have little time to spend in the kitchen cooking AND doing dishes, one pan meals come in very handy! I usually reserve more complex meals to the weekend when I have more time to cook and can indulge a little more. During the week I focus on pretty simple meals making sure I have protein, a little fat and lots of veggies, unless I am having leftovers from what I cooked on the weekend (see below for some decadent inspiration!). You don't have to slave away in the kitchen to come out with something delicious and nutritious. 

For one pan meals, I think about 2 things - what protein do I want and what veggies go with that, including a green veggie of course. It is that simple! It helps to have a variety of spices in the cupboard to change things up, such as rosemary, thyme, cinnamon, basic chicken spice, curry. Below are two examples of one pan meals that I have been known to whip up. Honestly the best things about this are the few dishes you dirty and how easy it is to make leftovers. This is also a great grain free or paleo meal. 

One game changer in making a delicious meal is roasted veggies. If you haven't roasted brussels sprouts, broccoli or beets before you are in for a treat! Beets would take the longest to roast but they are great with carrots and sweet potatoes. Check out this recipe to try that. 

One Pan Meal #1: Chicken, Sweet potato, Brussel Sprouts

Ingredients:

• 2 chicken breast, skinless, boneless
• chicken spice of your choice
• 2 handfuls brussel sprouts, cleaned and cut in halves 
• 1 medium sweet potato, peeled and cut into wedges 
• 1-2 tbsp cornstarch 
• 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• salt and pepper, to taste
• sweet potato spice options - cumin, cinnamon, cardamom, nutmeg, curry powder, paprika

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400F. Line a large baking pan with parchment paper or nothing if you have a good non-stick pan. In one bowl, toss brussels sprouts with a little olive oil, salt & pepper to coat. In a second bowl, toss sweet potato wedges with cornstarch to lightly coat, salt then olive oil and spices of your choice. Spread veggies evenly on the pan and put in the oven. Depending on the size of your chicken breast, you may want to add chicken 5-10 minutes into cooking, it should take 18-20 minutes per 1.5in. Sprinkle chicken with chosen spice. After 15 minutes, flip veggies. They should be lightly browned on one side. Roast for another 10-15 minutes until tender and crispy and chicken in cooked through. Voila! 

One Pan Meal #2: Salmon, Carrots, Asparagus 

Ingredients:

• 2 salmon fillet, skin on or off
• 2 large carrots, peeled and cut into large rounds 
• 1 bunch asparagus 
• salt and pepper
• 1-2 tbsp olive oil 
• 1-2 tbsp balsamic reduction (homemade or store-bought) OR dried/fresh rosemary for salmon

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400F. Line a large baking pan with parchment paper or nothing if you have a good non-stick pan. In one bowl, toss carrots with a little olive oil, salt & pepper to coat. Evenly spread asparagus on the pan and roll with a little olive oil, salt and pepper. Add carrots and salmon to pan and drizzle a little olive oil over salmon and season with salt and pepper. Roast for 15-20 minutes depending on thickness of salmon. Asparagus should be slightly browned but not faded in colour, carrots should be slightly softened and salmon should be flaky. Add to plate and drizzle asparagus and salmon with balsamic reduction. Voila! 

In health & happiness,

Dr. Karen