Saturday, October 31, 2015

Easy Healthy Halloween treat



This was the easiest treat I've ever made!
It's delicious, healthy and also very affordable (tip: leave your Halloween shopping to the last minute and you can get some really good deals at Michael's)

What you will need:
- Small plastic treat bags
- Colour bands
- Halloween themed silicone baking moulds
- Ingredients listed here

Instructions:
1) Make the brownies as explained here
2) Put them on the silicone moulds and place in the fridge for several hours, overnight is better
3) When done, remove from the fridge and pop the brownies from the mould over a plate.
Pop the stem first so that it doesn't brake off from the pumpkin. If it does, just gently push it back onto it.
4) Place each pumpkin in a treat bag, making sure they are upright.
5) Finish with the colour band (I would recommend orange to contrast with the dark colour of the brownies). Just 3-4 twists is fine. Twist it just a bit above the pumpkin stem so that it doesn't look squished inside the bag.

Saturday, July 4, 2015

Review of Nakd Raw Fruit & Nut Bar - Orange



This bar is awesome!

Before looking at the ingredients, I saw the words "no added sugar". Bingo!

It took me a few seconds to understand that the list of ingredients was just the 5 words on the back of the package. As soon as I read them (dates, cashews, raisins, cocoa and natural flavouring), I knew it was the kind of bar I look for (basically anything without refined sugar).

When I took the first bite - oh my God! - it tastes amazing! I love it when I find something that tastes awesome and has no refined sugar.

The Nakd bar is a winner!

Saturday, April 11, 2015

You Will Never Eat Hellmann's Again

http://thehealthyfoodie.com/fail-proof-home-made-paleo-mayo-whole30-compliant/
Image from Healthy Foodie


I found this Healthy Mayo recipe online and I just loved it!
I had stopped eating mayo years ago because the industrialized one (Hellmann's) is so fat and full of chemical products that my body couldn't take it. So I tried this recipe and fell in love with mayo again.

I have made a few changes to the original recipe, to make it lighter (in terms of oil and salt):

  • 1 large egg
  • 1 tsp of lemon juice (I just use the bottled one)
  • 2/3 cup extra light tasting olive oil
Put the olive oil in the hand blender's jar, then the egg. Wait until the egg settles in the bottom. Add the lemon juice and blend until it has the consistency of mayo.

You can keep this in the fridge for about a week.

IMPORTANT: as explained on the Healthy Foodie's website, you must use a jar that is very narrow. I have tried with a wider jar and it comes out too runny.

Sunday, March 29, 2015

Healthy Spring Pancake Breakfast



For the pancakes:
(This is a variation of Mark Bittman's "Every day pancakes" from the book "How to Cook Everything")
  • 2 cups whole wheat flour
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 1 1/2 tsp salt
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 1/2 cups of almond milk
  • 2 tbsp of melted coconut oil

For the frying pan:
  • 2-4 tsp grape seed oil (you might need more depending on how unsticky your pan is)


To eat with the pancakes:
  • 2 tsp of 100% pure maple syrup
  • 1 cup strawberries


Instructions:
  1. Mix dry ingredients and wet ingredients separately, then combine. Because we are using whole wheat flour, the mixture will be thicker than regular pancakes. It's OK if there are lumps, just make sure the batter is completely moist.
  2. Put about 1-2 tsp grape seed oil in the frying pan and keep it in medium low heat.  
  3. Wait until you can feel it warm by putting your hand 5cm (2 in) over the frying pan - unless the oil is already splattering. If it is, don't put your hand anywhere close to the pan! The oil is warm enough already, and you might get burned. Turn the heat down before pouring the pancake.
  4. Pour enough batter to make a circle as wide as the palm of your hand.
  5. When the bottom is hard enough that you can grab it with a spatula, quickly flip the pancake.
  6. The top (now bottom) will be done much faster than the other one. 
  7. Repat steps 2-6 to make the second pancake.
  8.  Save the leftover batter for another day (I usually freeze it without any problem).
  9. Serve the pancakes with the maple syrup and the strawberries.

This recipe yields:
(not counting the frozen batter)
  • 2 servings of carbs
  • 2 servings of fruit

Saturday, February 28, 2015

Colourful multi-grain rice



- 4 tbsp of multi grain rice (previously cooked)
- 6 tbsp of red kidney beans (previously cooked or canned)
- 1/2 cup of green beans (raw)
- 1/2 cup of corn (canned or frozen)

1) Put the green beans in a small microwavable dish with lid and microwave for 1min (or however long it takes to make them look cooked)
2) If using frozen corn, use another microwavable dish with lid to steam them until done (same method as in 1)
3) Add the rice and beans in a bowl (the corn too if it's canned), and heat in the microwave for 1 min (or however long it takes to warm it in your microwave)
4) Add the green beans and mix.

This contains:
1 portion of carbs
1 portion of proteins
2 portions of vegetables

Thursday, February 12, 2015

Review of Whole O's Cereal




One of they key components of my diet is the complete lack of refined sugar.
My experience has taught me that finding regular cereal without sugar is almost impossible.
So I was glad to find this cereal for more or less the same price as regular cereal (such as multi grain cheerios).

The multi-grain cheerios doesn't have refined sugar either, but other reason why I avoid it is because it has canola oil (more in that on another post).
Also when I look at the ingredient list for Whole O's, it is simple and without chemical words.

This Whole O's has become my "go to" cold cereal. I buy it whenever it is on sale. I love it because it's sweet but not too much (I think its because of the natural sugar).
I highly recommend it.

Update on January 2016: since I wrote this review (in February of 2015), this product has changed the ingredients list and now contains refined sugar. So I do not recommend it anymore. See the full re-review here.

Wednesday, February 11, 2015

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