Simmer and Glimmer

The Spiralizer- You can't help achieving your healthy lifestyle goals when you have cool tools

2016-07-05T09:26:00.000-04:00

It's been a while- you know- busy with work, school, kids, celebrating and living the healthy life!

June was filled with celebrations for birthdays, staff lunches, Father's days... you know, I counted 16 meals this month that were 'out of the norm' for me. I am very grateful for the love, the celebration and the social fun times this month brought. I reconnected with old friends and made healthy choices and 'celebratory choices' living 'The Month of Celebration'.

I visited the Wharton Clinic this past weekend and was pleased with my progress living my healthy lifestyle despite all my celebrations. I lost an additional 3.4 lbs and 2 inches. Yeah me!!! A total of 75lbs lost since the beginning of my journey, now that's a great milestone!

I credit the reason for my success being that I continued with my valiant effort at being a 'Workout Warrior' and making fresh food fun! Check it out my new toy, the Spiralizer!

Thanks to my sister and her family for this wonderful new gift that I have wanted to try for months! I got a spiralizer and wanted to try and make fresh veggies fun for my family.

Check out my spiralized cucumbers! I got my daughter involved and she had so much fun...' I wanna do it, I wanna do it!" she yelled.

Here's what I made with those spiralized cucumbers:

Cucumber Cilantro Salad

Ingredients:

2 cucumbers
1 red pepper
1 cup shredded carrots
1 bunch cilantro

Dressing

Juice of 1 lime
1 Tbsp sugar
1 Tbsp canola oil
1 Tbsp rice wine vinegar
S&P to taste

Prep all your veg, mix your dressing and assemble! You can add your favourite veg or fruits... both my daughter and I immediately mentioned that mango would be awesome in this salad.

So after a delicious meal, a night of aquafitness and pool dancing with my daughter, I showed up to the office before 7am the following day and totally owned the day, the short new hair, the hippie blouse and the honest truth about living life in a balanced and healthy way.

Healthy Lifestyle Update- Power on with Protein Balls

2016-05-30T13:18:00.001-04:00

I'm happy to share with you that I went to the Wharton Clinic over the weekend and was down 3lbs and 2 inches since last month! This is a total loss of 72 lbs since I started my journey/blog!

It's definitively progress.... but slower than I would like. My goal is to lose about 1.5lbs a week... so I ran through the past month to see what some of the issues that may have slowed my progress down a bit:

Stress (makes you hold on to fat for some reason)
Less sweat inducing exercise this month. For various reasons, I missed about half of my 1 hour zumba/aerobics classes this month.
Eating close to 1700 calories, rather than the 1600 calorie range I like to stick to
Eating more simple carbs and less protein than I would like

Thanks to myfitnesspal.com,, I was able to analyze that the quality of my food choices, on a nutrient, clean eating scale value, was not where I wanted to be. The amazing BR I met with at the clinic suggested ensuring that I meet my protein goals at every meal and snack to help me achieve my weight loss goals and suggested making these Protein Balls for quick energy snacking after working out.

Here's the breakdown she suggested:

10-15g protein for breakfast
minimum of 20g of protein with lunch and dinner
always have protein with every snack

So, I went on a search for a good recipe for these illusive protein balls and found this really easy to make recipe.

The recipe suggests that it makes 20-24 balls, but I ended making 28 smaller balls, at about 70 calories and 4g of protein per ball.

Protein Energy Balls
(adapted from http://www.thehealthymaven.com/2015/08/no-bake-oatmeal-protein-energy-balls.html)

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup vanilla whey protein powder (about 2 scoops)
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 T chia seeds
1/2 cup smooth natural peanut butter (or any nut butter)*
3 T natural honey
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/3 cup raisins, chocolate chips, craisins or preferred add-in
2-4 T liquid (almond milk, milk, water etc...)

Instructions

Add oats, protein powder, cinnamon and chia seeds to a large bowl.

Add in peanut butter, honey and vanilla extract. Stir to combine.

Add in raisins (or preferred add-in). Mixture should be slightly sticky but still crumbly.

Slowly add in liquid 1 tablespoon at a time and using hands (get dirty!) combine until it comes together in a sticky ball that holds together. If mixture is too dry, add in more liquid but not so much that it won't hold shape.

Roll into balls using hands.

Place in a container to set in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.

Store in fridge until ready to eat.

Time for Tex Mex Burgers

2016-05-25T09:13:00.001-04:00

Well BBQ time is upon us in full force! With the thermometer rising, it’s a perfect time for me to share my take on a ‘healthified’ Tex Mex Burger.

Here’s what I do. Take some lean ground beef, add in some Tex Mex seasoning, Worcestershire sauce and form patties, cut some colourful peppers into strips now you are ready for the grill.

Now get your BBQ Chef (Brent) to grill the burgers and peppers while you prepare the sides- homemade oven fries and a fresh vegetable salad and there you have it! A wonderfully yummy, colourful and nutritious meal. We added salsa to our burgers to go with our Mexican theme and they were delicious! You could add some guacamole and jalapeno- which the BBQ Chef did!

Curvy Expo- The Embodiment of the Body Positivity Movement

2016-05-16T17:00:00.003-04:00

I wanted to share with you a wonderful event I attended over the weekend. The first ever Canadian Curvy Expo (http://curvyexpo.com/). I brought my beautiful curvy daughter who was so excited to participate in this incredible body positive event.

I am SO pleased to live in a decade where this body positive movement is now part of the vocabulary, where super models like Ashley Graham grace the cover of Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue and People’s most beautiful women. Where actresses like Melissa McCarthy and Rebel Wilson are so busy making movie after movie and in such high demand. We need more of this!!!!

This is so different from the way I grew up in the 80's. I used to hide the stores my clothes came from for fear of being embarrassed and shy away from any body discussions with friends or family. As I was mentioning to Meghan Bradley, the show director and former model (pictured below), in my day there was nothing like this. No celebration of who we were but just body shame really. I mentioned that I was so happy that my little girl could be part of this amazingly positive shift in our society – the body positive movement- and I how I was so grateful for this show, this venue and the community of support that is around us curvy girls because of people like her.

The energy was positively electric! It was a sisterhood of love and support for the curvy woman.

Seminars and an amazing fashion show kept us interested all day. Curvy Bloggers everywhere, from my daughter meeting some amazing younger bloggers who totally reflect the cool, urban vibe in their shirt designs, Flaws of Couture (http://focapparel.storenvy.com/), to me meeting my own curvy fashion superstar, Assa Cisse of My Curves and Curls, (http://www.mycurvesandcurls.com/).

How awesome is it that my daughter feels so confident in celebrating her curves? Just look at her shirt…. Thanks Addition Elle for your cool fashion-forward clothes. #iamsizesexy , she got so many great compliments about it all day. Perfect shirt to reflect the perfection of this event!

The entire tone of the event was just so supportive and celebratory. From the seminars on loving yourself inside and out, body positivity, fashion and makeup tips from curvy TV personalities. Oh and not to mention…. the great coupons and free bras. Thanks Penningtons!

The loving your curves and body positivity movement does not mean I'm giving up on my healthy living focus. It is in fact loving who you are now, with your curves, with your amazing heart, mind and soul. A remarkable ‘a-ha’ moment for me was when one of the seminar leaders, Liis Windischmann (http://www.liisonlife.com/) mentioned that we need to focus on LOVE, and I know that… I just forgot about it for a while… If you negative body thoughts in your mind like – I hate my flabby arms (sounds like me), you need to refocus that hate into love. Instead, think of a way to love your arms. Instead, say to yourself, 'I love my arms because they allow me to hug the ones I love and make delicious meals for my family'… now THAT’S LOVE!

Liis was displaying a page from an online adult colouring book (so popular these days), it really caught my attention as I saw a plus size woman on the front of the cover running. I later went home and checked out this totally mind-shifting, body loving website.

Bold Strokes, a colouring book for plus size athletes can be found at the Born to Reign Atheltics website (http://www.borntoreignathletics.com/)
I immediately logged on and subscribed to receive the link to the printable pages. Krista Henderson, the website’s creator, is a plus size athlete in triathlon who “…started to train like an athlete in response to her commitment of living an active and healthy lifestyle’. This part is amazing and resonates so much with me- “…she constantly felt the need to ‘fix’ herself by solely focusing on losing weight”. “…the foundation of the athletic lifestyle is rooted in properly fueling your body, working out with a purpose and getting plenty of rest”. Ok sign me up!

So you ask me, am I giving up on my journey….Oh no, I am still a healthy living warrior, in fact, it's completely motivated me to be a super athlete, a super fashionista and continue being a delicious food creator and blogger. I just now see that I need to love myself and my curves every step of the way.

I can’t wait to go back next year and get even more involved in the Curvy Expo! Thank you to Meghan Bradley and all the amazing curvy women who helped make this day so memorable.

Lemon Blueberry Ricotta Scone -it's time to celebrate!

2016-05-02T09:23:00.000-04:00

Celebrate what, you say?

Well it's been a great few weeks of triumph and discovery. First off, I went to the Wharton Clinic to check on my progress and I have lost another 6 lbs and I measured myself and lost another 4 1/2 inches.

Awesome, I'd say! It's a slow steady pace, but this is what is needed when you plan to live like this for LIFE. Changing the way I eat, plan and prepare meals and live with activity. This is the way I live now, it's never about a diet. I hate that word- 'starting a diet' implies that you will 'end a diet'. Well guess what? This is not something I will ever 'end', I will continue to eat healthy, well-balanced meals, I will continue to strive to get activity every day.... for the rest of my life!

For the rest of my life I will also constantly re-evaluate what I am doing, where I want to be in my career. After some soul-searching moments, I have decided to take a post-graduate course in Human Resource Management through McMaster University. Yep, I'm going back to school! Online of course, so I can continue working and living my healthy life!

So part of being a successful, healthy living being is to prepare some food in advance for the week. Most of my recipes include whole grains and healthy fats, but sometimes..... I just need to enjoy a little spark of something homemade, fresh and delicious. I head to Pinterest and search... I needed to use some part-skim ricotta cheese and below is the final product.

Taste testers living and visiting my home over the weekend mentioned it was the best scone they have ever tasted. I would say it was the moistness of the ricotta, but also I doubled the lemon rind and lemon juice required and barely used any sugar for the glaze- mostly all lemon juice

Here's the recipe. I used skim milk ricotta and milk and it was still divine!

Lemon Blueberry Ricotta Scones (adapted from http://bakerbynature.com/blueberry-ricotta-scones/)

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1 stick (4 ounces) unsalted butter, VERY cold and cut into tiny pieces
1 large egg, beaten
1/2 cup (Whole Milk) Ricotta Cheese
3 tablespoons Whole Milk
8 ounces blueberries, fresh or frozen (If using frozen, do not thaw first)

For the egg wash:
1 large egg, beaten
1 teaspoon milk or water
2 tablespoons sugar, for sprinkling

For the (optional) lemon glaze:
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
3/4 cup confectioners sugar

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400°(F). Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside.
In a large bowl mix together flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, sugar, and lemon zest.
Cut the butter into small cubes then quickly work it into the mixture (using your fingers) until lit resembles a coarse meal.
In a small bowl, whisk together the egg, ricotta cheese, and milk, then add to flour and butter mixture. Use a fork to stir everything together until just moistened.
Add in the blueberries and gently fold them into dough with a spatula - don’t worry if some of the berries break up a bit.
Pour the shaggy dough out onto a clean, floured work surface and shape the dough into an 8-inch circle. Cut the dough into 8 wedges and carefully transfer to the prepared sheet.
Lightly brush each scones with the egg wash, then sprinkle the top of each scone with sugar.
Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until the tops are lightly golden brown.
Cool for about 10 minutes, then make your glaze.
For the glaze:
In a small bowl whisk together the lemon juice and confectioners sugar. Drizzle over warm scones and serve at once.

Bright and Sunny California Quinoa Salad

2016-04-18T08:21:00.001-04:00

Let me share with you a delicious recipe for an awesome and nutritiously dense way to get your protein. With 11g of protein and 8g of fibre per serving, you know it's going to be satisfying... and it's so good for you.

Quinoa is a great grain alternative. The protein in quinoa is complete, meaning that it contains all the essential protein building blocks that our bodies need. The addition of edemame and almonds just adds even more protein, but what I think makes this salad so delicious is the lime zest, it makes it bright and sunny.... just like California!

My source calls it a 'copy cat' recipe to the Whole Foods version of this salad, so here's the recipe.

California Quinoa Salad

(adapted from http://damndelicious.net/2014/06/07/whole-foods-california-quinoa-salad/)

Ingredients

1 cup quinoa
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
Zest of 2 limes
1 mango, peeled and diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
1/2 cup shelled edamame
1/3 cup chopped red onion
1/4 cup unsweetened coconut flakes
1/4 cup sliced almonds
1/4 cup raisins
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro leaves

Instructions

In a large saucepan of 2 cups water, cook quinoa according to package instructions; set aside.

In a small bowl, whisk together balsamic vinegar and lime zest; set aside.

In a large bowl, combine quinoa, mango, bell pepper, edamame, red onion, coconut flakes, almonds, raisins and cilantro. Pour the balsamic vinegar mixture on top of the salad and gently toss to combine.

Serve immediately.

Fruit & Veggie Fun Snacks - A Healthy Way to Enjoy Peanut Butter

2016-04-11T10:21:00.001-04:00

I want to share with you some great fruit and veggie snacks that are healthy and look so FUN, you're gonna think, hey, this stuff can't be good for me? But it is!

It's important for me to have protein with every snack and I like to turn to peanut butter to fill that roll. And what better way to enjoy it then part of some creative fruit & veggie snack ideas.

Some of you may have grown up with these: Ants on a Log. I introduced them to my family last week and now they are hooked!

Celery- the wonderful food that contains less calories than you can expend by chewing it- 1 TBSP of peanut butter, or any nut butter or your choice and some raisins, you could substitute with cranberries or even chopped nuts. It's crunchy, smooth, sweet and salty all at once. Oh, yeah, don't forget- FUN too!

This is another one of my favourite healthy treats to make. I call them Apple Nachos. Gorgeous right?

All you need to do is thinly slice an apple, melt 1 TBSP of peanut butter, drizzle it on top of your apples with whatever else you like, some melted dark chocolate and dark chocolate chips, chopped nuts, granola.... Whatever you do, you know it will be a hit with that melted peanut butter.

I've said it before... we eat with our eyes.... so when your food looks fun, whimsical and inviting, you can't help but enjoy it, and when it's packed with nutritious ingredients, well, then you are WINNING!

Chicken Parmesan - Spaghetti Squash Style

2016-04-03T16:43:00.001-04:00

Well, it looks like Winter's back... in Spring no less!! ! Perfect time to make a new recipe filled with heart-warming flavours using my new favourite veg... the Spaghetti Squash!

It's a version of the Chicken Parmesan stuffed Spaghetti Squash you see on social media... you know.... the movies. I decided to give it a try, and I was not disappointed. It was delicious- and no pasta involved, just the squash that looks like pasta.

You just need to bake your squash in the oven (see recipe below) and in the meantime, cook your chicken in a pan. You'll be amazed at how little ingredients you'll need.

Then you just assemble it- marinara sauce, chicken, more marinara sauce and then a little cheese on top.

Here's how you do it:

Chicken Parmesan stuffed Spaghetti Sauce (adapted from http://goddessinthehouse.com/2015/02/chicken-parmesan-stuffed-spaghetti-squash/)

Ingredients

Spaghetti Squash
1 jar Marinara Sauce
Mozzarella cheese
2 Breaded Chicken Breast, cooked (I hand breaded with the trio flour/egg/breadcrumbs)
Salt
Pepper
Garlic Powder
1/2 tsp Olive Oil

Directions

Preheat your oven to 375°. Prepare a baking sheet with foil.
Cut your spaghetti squash in half, lengthwise. Take the 1/2 tsp of olive oil and put 1/4 tsp on each half of the spaghetti squash.
Using your salt, pepper and garlic powder, sprinkle all over each half of the spaghetti squash.
Place the spaghetti squash face down on the baking sheet and bake for 50 minutes.
Using a fork, gently pull the strands of squash away from the sides of the squash.
Cut up your cooked chicken breast and place the chicken breast on top of the spaghetti squash.
Either make your own marinara sauce or use your favorite jarred sauce. Spoon the sauce over top of the chicken and spaghetti squash.
Sprinkle your desired amount of Mozzarella cheese on each half and bake in the oven for about 15 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and bubbly!

There you have it! So delicious served with a side of broccoli- that's right- more nutrient filled veggies! It's really a new family favourite!

Chocolaty Bird Nest Treats

2016-03-28T12:37:00.000-04:00

With a lot of hard work at the gym, following healthy eating goals 98% of the time, comes a time for a special little Easter treat, so here's something for that 2% special occasion- dark and chocolaty, crunchy, sweet and salty... a little bit of every taste sensation fulfilled!

Chocolaty Bird Nest Treats

Ingredients:

2 cups dark chocolate chips (or semi sweet, butterscotch or peanut butter chips)
3 cups crunchy chow mein noodles
30-50 small egg-shaped candies

Directions:

Melt your chocolate in a microwave, 1 minute at a time and stir until all is melted. Add your crunchy chow mein noodles to the bowl and stir to combine. Drop teaspoon full on a wax paper lined cookie sheet and place a small dent in the middle of the treat.
Fill with whatever egg-shaped candies you like- I used almond M&M's- but Cadbury mini eggs would be great, as would jelly beans. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour. Best served cold.

Healthy lifestyle update - in 'Egg'cellent condition

2016-03-28T11:34:00.002-04:00

Oh, pardon the funny pun, but seeing as how we just celebrated Easter... I just had to!

I wanted to share with you some more exciting updates on my Healthy Lifestyle progress.

This picture really explains it all. Since my last visit, I have lost an additional 6.2 lbs, but the best news is that I have also lost 6 1/2 inches in total across my neck, chest, waist and hips! Hip, Hip Hooray!

With my healthy eating, and 4 days-a-week gym habit- 2 of those being 'muscle building' days, my body is shrinking faster than the 'scale' is admitting to. As I have explained before, I am building muscle and loosing fat at the same time- so my great piece of advice for you is don't be angry like the green egg- be happy and confident in the knowledge that there are different ways to measure your success. If you do muscle building workouts, eat well-balanced meals and take your measurements once a month you will see how awesome the difference will be every time. The blue egg knows!

Success comes in many forms my friends- loose pants and tops, needing to wear that belt one notch tighter... just look in the mirror and be proud of your effort. When you work hard, the rewards come showering down from a variety of ways!

Delicious and Healthy Party Food

2016-03-21T09:45:00.002-04:00

I am about to blast you with some delicious recipes for some nutritious and heart-healthy party food ideas. We recently celebrated my husband's birthday, and with our focus on eating and living well, I wanted to create options that were fresh, healthy and colourful- so we came up with a Mexican themed menu.

I prepared some shredded Mexican chicken breast, some taco seasoned lean ground beef, some Mexican beans and had hard tacos, soft tortilla shells and loads of veggies and 'fixins' for everyone to build their own Mexican Masterpiece.

No Mexican fiesta would be complete without some salsa and guacamole. With parents, and children joining us for the party, I didn't want to make anything too spicy, so here is my homemade version of these 2 'spiced down' favourites.

Pineapple Salsa

Ingredients

1 fresh pineapple cut into tidbits
1 plum tomato diced
1/3 green pepper diced
1/3 red pepper diced
2 green onions diced
1/4 cup cilantro finely chopped
Juice of 1 lime
1 tsp sea salt

Directions

Chop all ingredients and mix in bowl. Juice lime over salsa and add salt. Stir and taste for seasoning. To add a bit of spice you can add some fresh chopped jalapeno. Place in fridge for flavours to marinate. Serve cold with some tortilla chips. This would also be delicious served over a grilled chicken breast or fish.

Guacamole

Ingredients

4 avocados
1/2 red pepper diced
1/3 cup cilantro finely chopped
Juice of 1 lime
1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 Tbsp olive oil
Sea salt to taste

Directions

Scoop flesh out of avocados, mash them to desired 'chunkiness' consistency. Add remaining ingredients and stir to combine. Cover and refrigerate. Serve with your Mexican favourites!

We love the Organic Neal Brothers Blue Tortilla chips. It's also delicious on your Mexican tacos, tortillas, nachos, quesadillas or even on your burgers!

BIRTHDAY TREAT TIME!!!!

Ok, ok, so I kept a little treat for the end. It was, after all, my husbands birthday party and when I asked him what special desert I could make for him he said 'trifle'. Different, right? So I thought of a way to add a bit of 'nutrition' into this and decided to make a Banana Trifle.

Here's the recipe I loosely followed to make his creamy, dreamy whipped banana pudding trifle dreams come true!

Birthday Banana Trifle

Ingredients

3 bananas, diced
2 packages of banana instant pudding
4 cups 1% milk
1 container of light cool whip
1 Pound cake, diced
1/2 pack of Nilla wafers

Directions

Make the banana pudding according to package directions. Cool in refrigerator until ready to assemble. In your trifle bowl, layer half of the ingredients at a time. Start with the pound cake, banana pudding, bananas, crumbled Nilla wafers, place some around the perimeter of the bowl to create a nice pattern, then the cool whip. Repeat step with remaining half and reserve some chunks of cake, cookies or bananas.

Brent loved his Birthday Banana Trifle! It looked so beautiful and was a little different than the usual cake. It's OK to have a little treat on your birthday... especially when you go to the gym the next morning and work it off!

Thanks to all our family who came to celebrate and to my beautiful daughter for hosting some great party games!

Amazing Adventure- Rattlesnake Point and Soupy Sunday Finish

2016-03-07T09:07:00.004-05:00

Today I want to share how awesome my Sunday was. It was actually much more than our hiking adventure and delicious soup. It started with a great power workout in the morning, followed by a delicious brunch with my parents. Love them so! Then the 'serious' stuff started.

Before my daughter and I left for our hike, I put all the ingredients for this incredibly delicious Stuffed Pepper soup in my crockpot and ran to the hills. (recipe at bottom).

My daughter wanted to go for a hike to a place she'd never been...in the snow... in winter, Sigh!

So I say, 'anything to support my daughter's healthy living efforts', and we headed off to Milton to Rattlesnake Point. I remember this place way back in high school when my friend Janice and I would hike through the hills with our headbands, lip smackers and leg warmers... this time though, my daughter and I had the right equipment and spirit.

See, there was lots of snow, but it was patted down and fairly easy to hike on.

Look below this incredible selfie (LOL), we are up high on the mountain (ok, escarpment).

We read that this park was established in 1964 and the proof is carved into the rock.

Look at the gorgeous Melanie just looking out over the escarpment. The sun was amazing with just a little wind blowing. I captured the essence of her joy and excitement at trying something new and exploring the world around her. I LOVE this picture!

Interesting wooden tee pees.

Looking over the escarpment...

... and looking up at the cliffs, we saw some people climbing with their mountain climbing gear- just like my brother used to do. I am so grateful for my beautiful daughter. I would not have gone out again after a big, sweaty gym workout in the morning, but she pushed me to try something new and it was amazing!

And now the Soupy Sunday part of this post.

Crockpot cooking is the best! After our hike, we came home and our dinner was ready!

I love sharing my Soupy Sunday recipes with you - especially when it's so effortless and really delicious.

Here's the recipe.

Stuffed Pepper Soup (adapted from www.recipesthatcrock.com/slow-cooker-stuffed-pepper-soup/)

INGREDIENTS

1lb lean ground beef

1 diced onion

1 diced clove garlic

28 oz can diced tomatoes with juice

2 chopped green peppers

1 chopped red pepper

4 cups low-sodium beef broth

½ T dried basil

½ T dried oregano

½ t paprika

½ t dried chili flakes

Salt and Pepper

2 cups cooked rice

INSTRUCTIONS

Brown beef with onion and garlic in a skillet over medium heat. Drain fat from beef and place in crockpot. Add all the rest of the ingredients. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours.

Meanwhile cook some rice. When ready to serve, put some cooked rice at the bottom of the bowl and spoon soup over.

Love and Hearts revisited

2016-03-01T08:28:00.005-05:00

It's been a very busy couple of weeks, but I wanted to share with you our Halliday Valentine's Day Love and Hearts Brunch and Dinner Extravaganza. While it's a few weeks late, I think you will still find the dishes inspiring, easy to make and healthy (ok maybe not the last one).

One of the best parts of this Valentine's Day Sunday was that all of us went to our respective gyms and worked out hard for a 1 hour class of sweating, cardio and heart-healthy strength and muscle building- what better love to give your real heart than the gift of exercise. I am so proud of my family- my husband recently joining a gym for the first time in his life and my teenage daughter for getting up at 7:30am on a Sunday morning to go to the gym and workout with me- this is truly the best love and hearts gift ever!

Here's the LOVE

Here's the HEARTS

For Valentine's Day Brunch I decided to make these delightful little heart-shaped French toast

All I did was use my heart-shaped cookie cutter on some Wonder White bread with Fibre and cut out the love shapes! You ask, 'Chantal, what did you do with those crusts though, isn't that a waste?' Well, of course I wouldn't be so wasteful, I cut them up, seasoned them with spices and a bit of olive oil, baked them and made croutons with them!!!

Next, I thawed some frozen berries- those juicy and anti-oxidant filled plump jewels...

And then plated the heart-shaped French toast with some of those luscious berries on top. Gorgeous visually and good for you too!

So you might wonder what a woman who is on a healthy living journey might want for Valentine's day? The finest of course-- Purdys!

As a commitment to my healthy living focus, I suggested to my dear husband that all I wanted was one piece of the best chocolate I have ever tasted. That is the Dark Chocolate Salted Caramel that you see here. It was beautiful, dark, rich, chewy, sweet and salty and worth all of it's 53 calories (which by the way I already 'burned' of at the gym that morning)!

Now for our dinner I wanted to make one of my daughter's favourites - Thai Cold Rolls. A time consuming, but totally healthy and nutritious appetizer. (recipe posted before)

And for my husband, I decided to make one of his favourite- SHRIMP!

But this time, I tried a spicy Asian twist. This was my take on a spicy coconut shrimp curry.

I served it over rice and a side of bok choi.

It was very flavourful and not too rich.... that would be saved for the 'over the top' decadent desert served later.

Coconut Curry Shrimp (adapted from jocooks.com)

INGREDIENTS

For Shrimp Marinade

¼ tsp salt
¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/7 tsp cayenne pepper
2 tbsp lemon juice
1 lb extra-large shrimp, peeled and deveined

For the sauce

1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 medium onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tbsp minced fresh ginger
½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp salt or to taste
½ tsp turmeric
2 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp curry powder
1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes, undrained
1 can (5.5 oz) unsweetened coconut milk
fresh cilantro or parsley for garnish
cooked rice for serving

INSTRUCTIONS

In a small bowl toss the shrimp with the marinade ingredients. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 15 minutes.
While the shrimp is marinating, heat the oil in a medium size pot. To it add the onion, and cook for 2 or 3 minutes. Stir in the ginger, garlic, pepper, salt, coriander, turmeric and curry powder.
Continue to cook over medium heat until the onion is translucent, another 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes with juices and all, stir well and cook for about a minute after which add the coconut milk, stir and bring to a boil. Cook for 5 minutes. Add shrimp with the accumulated juices from the marinade and cook for another 5 minutes or until the shrimp is pink and cooked through.
Serve over hot rice and garnish with cilantro or parsley.

Ok, so here it is....

This is what I prepared as our 'over the top' Valentine's Dinner treat. Individual Peanut Butter Molten Dark Chocolate cakes. My husband's favourite is peanut butter, mine is dark chocolate- marriage made in heaven right?

Well, I can't even tell you how rich this was. Although it was a small ramekin portion, I couldn't finish it all because it was so rich (a testament to my healthy eating transformation). It was a treat, it was incredibly decadent, it was great fun to make... but that's all folks. No sharing recipes of this little piece of heaven (but if you really want to see it, check out my Pinterest board).

After all this sharing, cooking, baking, working out, I want you to remember one thing: Focus on health, have the occasional treat and 'Keep Calm and Hug On'.

I hold success in the palm of my hands - Healthy lifestyle update

2016-02-20T11:01:00.001-05:00

Yes folks, I hold success in the palm of my hands! What you see below is 1 pound of fat. Nice, eh?

Well, imagine holding 6 of those- that's how much weight/fat I have lost over the past month. Time to celebrate!

Celebrate, how? By going for a big walk! Buying some new running shoes because I've worn out my other ones. Yup!

I went for a visit to my Wharton clinic today and that's what the scale said. But I know what has happened as well as loosing this weight, is that my muscle mass is much greater. I have been working at the gym like a dedicated student of body transformation for the past month. Taking classes like Zumba, Body Jam, New Body and Awesome Abs and using the weight resistence machine- I have become stronger and 'tighter'. Just ask my loose yoga pants. So what I'm saying is that the scale -although positive- doesn't show all my efforts. So I have taken measurements of my shrinking body parts and will keep track of my progress in a variety of ways.

It feels so wonderful to be on the right track, to be focused, to be dedicated to me and my health. I can't wait to see what next month will bring!

Amazing Adventure - Family Day

2016-02-16T08:38:00.002-05:00

I hope you all had an amazing Valentine's Day/Family Day weekend! Today I want to share with you some of the Amazing Adventures my daughter and I had on Family Day (Valentine's Day recap to come soon).

If you recall, when I started my healthy journey a few year's back, I would go on these fun outdoor treks with my daughter. I called them Amazing Adventures. Well, it is with great pleasure that I share with you the latest installment in this series. This time- Frozen Lake Edition.

We were meeting my sister for a Family Day Café a little later, so we thought we would take advantage of the fact that it wasn't -35 with the windchill and go for a walk by the lake before our date.

We went downtown Oakville, 'the bottom of Navy' park we call it, but it turns out it has a name- The 'Homecoming' Trail.

We were totally frozen, but had so much fun feeling the wind on our face, the air in our lungs, the frigid cold on our legs... we were giddy with excitement! Couldn't believe the Canada Geese, mallards and loons all bathing in the water as if it was nothing!

Just check out Melanie's broadcast debut, Australian Outback accent and all, reporting on the Frozen Canadian waters and the fowl that inhabit it without any issue!

Well enough of the cold Canadian wildlife, this bunch of Canadian girls- warm toques and all- was ready for another Canadian favourite....

That's right! Warm coffee with lots of milk and hearts on top.... aka- latte time!

Hope you were all able to spend the weekend with the special people in your life and share amazing adventures or quiet times with the ones you love!

Spaghetti Squash- Asian Style

2016-02-12T09:09:00.002-05:00

It's soooooo cold outside- forecast for the weekend is -30 with the windchill, so what better way to warm up than with a steamy bowl of Asian inspired, nutritious and tasty Spaghetti Squash Stir Fry.

As you know, I have been trying to add more vegetables to our dinner table, and let me tell you... I think I finally found a way to enjoy this stringy squash!

You start off by cutting your squash in half, removing the seeds and baking it at 400F for about 45 minutes.

Now, this is the most fun... flip them over and using a fork, scrape the inside and see the magic happen! It all comes out like stringy spaghetti- hence the name!

Look at this amazing pile of golden nutrition! Now put aside and gather your other ingredients and ask Siri about the nutritional content of this delicious squash.

Seriously, that's what I did!

And look at the proof, Siri knows!

1 cup of spaghetti 491 calories

1 cup of Spaghetti Summer Squash, as she calls it, is 14 calories. unbelievable!!!!

Now don't even start comparing the vitamin C content (15 times more)!

Now off to the Stir Fry pan.

I assembled my choice ingredients. The original recipe this was inspired from had mushrooms (yuk for me), so I substituted with some sweet peppers and added some chicken breast for added protein.

So here's how I did it.

Asian Inspired Spaghetti Squash

(inspired by http://www.pickledplum.com/yakisoba-spaghetti-squash-recipe)

Ingredients:

1 small spaghetti squash

1 sweet pepper chopped in strips
2 cooked chicken breasts, sliced

2 scallions, finely chopped

2 cup coleslaw mix of carrots and cabbage
1 cup bean sprouts

1 tbsp vegetable oil

1 tsp dried red chili, chopped (optional)

1 tbsp chopped peanuts
1 tbsp cilantro

For the sauce:

2 tbsp soy sauce

2 tbsp hoisin sauce

½ tbsp hot thai chili garlic sauce

Salt and white pepper to taste

Instructions:

Cut spaghetti squash in half, scrape off the seeds with a spoon, place open side down and bake in the oven at 400Fº for 40-50 minutes.
Use a fork and scrape the flesh into strings.
In a large pan over high heat, add vegetable oil and cook the peppers, add coleslaw mix and red chile and cook for two minutes.
Add chicken and cook for another two minutes.
Add spaghetti squash, bean sprouts, scallions and sauce, and mix well until the sauce has evenly coated all the vegetables. Cook for two minutes and turn the heat off.
Transfer to a bowl, top with cilantro, peanuts and serve.

Healthy Zucchini Sticks

2016-02-08T08:02:00.001-05:00

Yesterday was Super Bowl Sunday and I wanted to make my family a healthy snack that looked like a decadent Super Bowl worthy snack. I had always wanted to try making these Zucchini Sticks from one of my favourite sites, skinnytaste.com, and were we ever impressed!

Served with a side of Marinara sauce, these 'crispy on the outside- tender on the inside' snacks definitively go into the 'don't tell them it's good for them' file!

It's a pretty simple setup really, zucchinis, eggs, seasoned bread crumbs.

Dip each zucchini stick in the egg, then your seasoned breadcrumbs, lay them on your sheet pan and bake.

Here's the recipe I used as a guide. I used a few eggs and opted not to put the breadcrumbs in the ziplock and just use 2 bowls to dredge them in.

Baked Zucchini Sticks (adapted from http://www.skinnytaste.com/2009/01/baked-zucchini-sticks-13-pts.html)

Ingredients:

2 medium (7 oz each) zucchinis sliced into 3" x 1/2" sticks

2 large eggs

2/3 cup seasoned whole wheat bread crumbs

2 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese

cooking spray

1/4 tsp garlic powder

salt

fresh pepper

1/2 cups marinara sauce

Directions
In a small bowl, beat egg whites and season with salt and pepper. In a ziplock bag, place breadcrumbs, garlic powder and cheese and shake well. Spray cookie sheet with cooking spray and set aside.
Dip zucchini sticks into eggs then into bread crumb and cheese mixture, a few at a time and shake to coat. Place the breaded zucchini in a single layer and spray more cooking spray on top. Bake at 425° for about 20-25 minutes, or until golden brown. Serve with 1/2 cup marinara sauce for dipping.

I altered the recipe a bit, sprayed the sticks with cooking spray before they went into the oven and baked for 10 minutes then flipped them and baked for another 15 minutes. Et Voila! They come out crispy, crunchy and full of flavour. I urge you to try them the next time you need a healthy alternative that is fun and flavourful!

Chili on a boat

2016-02-01T08:56:00.000-05:00

This is one of my new favourite ways to eat chili. On a boat- a sweet potato boat that is.... Packed full of vitamins and nutrients, it's a perfect vehicle to promote the goodness of this veggie-filled chili.

There's something about making your chili so fancy and pilled high with 'fixins' that makes this dish look like it wants to compete in the 'taste' Olympics.

It all starts with a giant batch of crockpot chili. Perfect for those cold/mild winter days we've been having. Here's how I make mine.

Veggie-filled Crockpot Chili

Ingredients:

1lb ground meat (I chose beef, but turkey or chicken would be great)
1 onion, finally chopped
1 red pepper chopped
1 can of tomato paste
2 28 oz cans of chopped tomatoes
1 can/jar of tomato sauce
1 can of green chilis
1 can of corn
1 can of black beans
2 TBSP of chili powder
1 TBSP of Tex Mex spice
Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions:
Brown ground beef and onions in a pan, adding some of the Tex Mex spice, salt and pepper too. Drain and add to crockpot with all other ingredients. Cook on low for about 6-8 hours.

Note: You could add your favourite veggies, change out the beans, add more spice with some jalapenos, it's all up to you and your taste.

Some people eat the chili in a bowl by itself. But no, not me, I love to mix the flavours and textures up. I take a sweet potato and microwave it for about 15 minutes (don't forget to pierce it with a fork, so that it doesn't explode). Once you can stick a knife through the middle, it's done. Simply cut it in half, Place in your serving dish, add your chili....

..,, and anything else you love. Here's my favourite combination. Shredded cheddar cheese, light sour cream, green onions, cilantro and a tortilla chip crushed on top for texture. Amazing taste and texture! The amount of vitamin A and potassium this will add to your meal is incredible, not to mention the fibre boost too.

Living a healthy lifestyle is all about tweaking what you do to make it healthier and wholesome. I used to eat chili with tons of nachos- loaded with salt, fat and empty calories. Now I choose nutrient dense calories that fill me up and fuel me with good energy!

The Makings of an Incredibly Delicious Detox Salad Meal - Tools of the 'Veggie' Trade

2016-01-27T08:00:00.000-05:00

Let me share with you a meal I recently made for my family, filled with healthy veggies, fruits and tons of nutrients. Turkey, ham and pineapple burger with Detox salad and homemade oven roasted fries- prepared with some great little kitchen tools.

Looks gorgeous right? You eat with your eyes, so here is a great way to make your meals exciting, ADD COLOUR and TEXTURE. In this meal, we have all the colours of the rainbow, crunchy, zingy, crispy, soft and juicy. And the flavours.... bright, tangy salad, crispy outside, tender inside oven roasted fries and smokey turkey burger with slightly salty ham and crunchy, sweet, roasted pineapple. Let me tell you, it was a huge hit with my family!

Here's how I did it. Started with the washed veggies...

Brussel Sprouts and Potatoes.

Now here is a sweet little tool of the veggie trade that we just love. It's a little 'french fry' maker.

See what it does. You just need to apply a bit, no- a lot- of pressure. Use those big muscles- and voila! Some gorgeous French Fries ready to be created.

This is how I prep them... Put oven to 430 degrees, spray a sheet pan with Pam, put your cut potatoes (yukon golds are good) on the pan, drizzle some olive oil, salt, pepper and paprika on them and then toss them with your hands until they are all coated. Make sure there is space between them, if the pan is too crowded, they will not crisp up. Bake for about 20 minutes, then flip them and bake for another 10-15 minutes.

Now here's another neat tool (by the way, thanks to my Mom for these two lovely gadgets). It's a shredder, but it stands up, and the bottom has a little receptacle basket that holds the food you just shredded.

It comes with different blade attachments that you snap into place.

I used it to shred these baby brussel sprouts and shred some carrots too.

Here's the awesome detox salad created using my nifty kitchen gadgets. It's incredibly refreshing, bright and real good for you. I absolutely love the lemon juice!!!

Detox Salad (adapted from http://www.tastebook.com/recipes/3540122-Fall-Detox-Salad)

Ingredients:

18-20 brussels sprouts, washed and stems removed
2 large carrots carrots, peeled
1 apple, diced (I used Honeycrisp)
1 large celery stalk, diced
1/2 cup sunflower seeds
4-6 tbsp raisins
2-4 tbsp fresh lemon juice, to taste
1/4 tsp fine grain sea salt
1 tsp fresh parsley
Pure liquid honey, to taste

Directions

1. Add the grate/shred blade to food processor. Turn machine on and drop in the brussels sprouts to shred. Now drop in the carrots to shred. Alternatively, you can finely chop brussels and shred carrots with a hand-held grater. Transfer to a large mixing bowl.

2. Stir in the diced apple, celery, sunflower seeds, and raisins into the carrot and brussels sprout mixture.

3. Add lemon juice, salt, pepper, and parsley to taste. Add a small amount of honey (about 1 Tbsp) to take the edge off the lemon juice. Sprinkle with cinnamon if desired.

Oatmeal Cups a Healthy Breakfast Muffin reinvented

2016-01-23T16:59:00.000-05:00

Let me share with you a wonderful recipe I stumbled upon on Facebook for some healthy, NO SUGAR, NO FAT muffins. These are great for your quick on the go mornings.

These are my little version with walnuts, dark chocolate chips, craisins and raisins. The best is there is no flour, no added sugar and no fat.

Oatmeal Cups (adapted from www.fb.com/FitfabulousLife)

Ingredients:
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cups applesauce, unsweetened
• 1 banana, mashed
• 1/4 cup honey
• 2 1/2 cups, Old Fashioned rolled oats
• 1/8 cup chai seeds (optional)
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/4 cups milk
• Optional toppings: blueberries, raisins, walnuts, chocolate chips, pomegranate seeds.

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Mix eggs, vanilla, applesauce, banana and honey together in a bowl. Add in oats, cinnamon, baking powder, salt and mix well with wet ingredients. Finally pour in milk and combine. Line a 12 cup muffin tin with paper liners.
Divide mixture evenly into muffin tin cups. I used a 1/4 measuring cup, measure just a tad under 1/4 cup to make 12 servings. Add the toppings.

Bake 25-30 minutes until a toothpick in center comes out clean. Cool and enjoy or freeze them in gallon freezer bags

Zucchini Boats - Healthified 'No Pasta' Italian Dinner

2016-01-18T20:43:00.003-05:00

Get ready for a fresh and 'healthified' way to enjoy a delicious Italian meal. Still on my 'half your plate should be vegetables' kick, I was looking for a healthy alternative, yet flavourful substitute. Well, I think I found it. Zucchini Boats and Roasted Parmesan Cauliflower - no pasta invited to this dinner.

I found this great recipe through one of my favourite healthy websites skinnytaste.com. I wanted to create an Italian meal so I adapted the recipe with Italian flavours. Added tomato sauce, oregano, garlic and basil instead of the Mexican ingredients listed below

Italian Stuffed Zucchini Boats
(adapted from http://www.skinnytaste.com/2013/07/taco-stuffed-zucchini-boats.html)
Ingredients:

4 medium (32 ounces) zucchinis, cut in half lengthwise

1 lb ground turkey

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp oregano

1 tsp kosher salt, or to taste

1 tsp basil

1/2 small onion, minced

2 tbsp bell pepper, minced

8 oz can tomato sauce

1/4 cup water

1/2 cup reduced fat Mozzarella shredded cheese

1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley for topping

Directions:
Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Preheat oven to 400°F. Place 1/4 cup of tomato sauce in the bottom of a large baking dish. Using a small spoon or melon baller, hollow out the center of the zucchini halves, leaving 1/4-inch thick shell on each half. Chop the scooped out flesh of the zucchini in small pieces and set aside 3/4 of a cup to add to the turkey filling. Drop zucchini halves in boiling water and cook 1 minute. Remove from water.
Brown turkey in a large skillet, breaking up while it cooks. When no longer pink add the spices and mix well. Add the onion, bell pepper, reserved zucchini, tomato sauce and water. Stir and cover, simmer on low for about 20 minutes.

Using a spoon, fill the hollowed zucchini boats dividing the taco meat equally, about 1/3 cup in each, pressing firmly. Top each with 1 tablespoon of shredded cheese. Cover with foil and bake 35 minutes until cheese is melted and zucchini is cooked through. Top with scallions and serve with salsa on the side.

Next, I decided to roast some cauliflower, adding more veggies to our dinner again! I'm on a mission.

Here's what I did,

Roasted Parmesan Cauliflower

Ingredients:

1 head of cauliflower
2 Tbsp of extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese

Heat oven to 400 degrees. In a large bowl, combine the oil and spices. Chop the cauliflower into florets and add to the bowl. Place your coated cauliflower on a sheet pan and spread evenly in one layer. Bake for about 30 minutes. Take the cauliflower out of the oven, flip the pieces over and sprinkle the Parmesan cheese on top. Bake for an additional 5-10 minutes until the cheese has melted.

Here you have them. They are soooooo good, just like eating candy... well, veggie candy!

Here are the Zuchinni boats out of the oven. Made the house smell so good!

Here's the best thing, 3/4 of our dinner was vegetables- no pasta needed- it was so delicious and flavourful and my family absolutely loved it. It's a new 5 Star family favourite and so good for you!

Let's Eat More Veggies!

2016-01-15T08:17:00.002-05:00

That's right!!!! We all need to eat more veggies. According to healthy living experts, half of our plates should be made up of veggies- and the darker the better! So that is my mission right now. Fill my family up with veggies. Funny enough (but not really, as everything happens for a reason), last night I watched a new show I PVR'd by one of my favourite 'healthy eating' Chefs- Jamie Oliver. His new show is called 'Jamie's Super Food' and he was saying just that! We need to eat more veggies, in fact, he was touring the world to explore the diets of the healthiest, longest-living individuals in the world (Costa Rica and Greece, if I recall) and their diets were filled with vegetables, whole grains, legumes, fish etc.... You know where I am going with this....

Well, before I even saw this show, I prepared my own version of 'half your plate should be veggies dinner' this week.

So here it is.

Taco Sweet Potato

Very simple really, all you need is to prepare your 'Taco meat'- it could be beef, chicken, turkey.... In the meantime, place sweet potatoes that you have pricked with a fork many times in the microwave for about 10-15 minutes (careful, very hot!!!!!)

Cut the sweet potato in half, place a couple of Tbsp of 'taco meat', add shredded cheddar cheese, place in microwave for another 30 secs to melt the cheese, then add your favourite toppings- salsa, low fat sour cream - CILANTRO ( my fave!).

To complete the dinner, I added some fresh cut veggies on the plate- and there you go....half - if not 3/4 of a plate filled with veggies. Enjoy making your own version!

Hello 2016, I'm back and ready for battle with my bottles

2016-01-11T22:01:00.002-05:00

That's right, after a long pause in my healthy living journey, I am back and ready for battle. I have updated the look of my blog, some pictures and captions 'Healthy Living Warrior' to reflect the way I feel right now!

It is a Journey, it is a daily Battle, and you have to be a committed 'Warrior' to succeed day after day. So I have committed to myself that 2016 is the year where I return to traveling along my healthy living journey. Key to success is planning and dedication, so I started with some fantastic ideas I took from Pinterest for Meal Prep Sunday.

Here's the final result....

So quite a bit of planning went into this undertaking. I purchased 12x1 Litre Mason Jars from my local Canadian Tire and I made a list of some of ideas I had for my Salad Jars.

Jar Salad Pointers:

Start with dressing, then hard vegetables that can soak in dressing for a few days, then softer veggies, then protein, nuts, then lettuce on top.

Jar Salad Ideas:

Asian salad dressing, edemame, peppers, chicken, shredded carrots, peanuts, romaine lettuce

Greek salad dressing, little tomatoes, peppers, quinoa, olives, cucumbers, feta, chicken, romaine lettuce

Italian dressing, broccoli, carrots, peppers, diced ham, romaine lettuce, hard boiled eggs

Raspberry vinaigrette, grapes, chicken, cranberries, apples, pecans, spinach

Balsamic dressing, apple, celery, radish, walnut, lettuce

Fig balsamic dressing, blackberries, strawberries or blueberries, celery, cucumber, feta, almonds, spinach

Italian dressing, grape tomatoes, basil, baby bocconcini, romaine lettuce

Here was step one, getting all the ingredients needed. Nutrition, protein, colour and taste.

Now that everything was chopped, I did some assembly line work and packed the jars, but little labels on them so that my family could select the jars to bring to work and school this week. They should last about 4 days in the fridge... we shall see!

Pumpkin Waffle Sunday Brunch

2014-07-31T04:00:00.000-04:00

Sometimes you just want to make something nice for your sweet husband. Keeping in mind that his favourite thing on earth is pumpkin pie, I thought I would take a stab at making some Pumpkin Waffles.

Well, let me tell you, it was a hit! Served alongside some turkey sausage and fresh fruit... part of a complete breakfast!

I love my waffle maker, it's like magic... just take about a 1/2 cup of batter....

...and just like magic- about 5 minutes later- you have a crispy waffle on the outside and a tasty, soft waffle on the inside.

Served with some delicious fruits... all orange- just a coincidence- and you have a real delicious brunch filled with whole, grain, fibre and packed with vitamins and a punch of colour.

Here's the recipe:

Pumpkin Waffles

(adapted from http://smittenkitchen.com/blog/2007/11/pumpkin-waffles/)

·         2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour ( I used whole wheat flour)
·         1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
·         2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
·         1 teaspoon baking soda
·         1/2 teaspoon salt
·         2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
·         1 teaspoon ground ginger
·         1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
·         4 large eggs, separated
·         2 cups well-shaken buttermilk
·         1 cup canned solid-pack pumpkin
·         3/4 stick (6 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted
·         Vegetable oil for brushing waffle iron or cooking spray

Preheat oven to 250°F and preheat waffle iron. Sift together flour, brown sugar, baking powder and soda, salt, and spices. Whisk egg yolks in a large bowl with buttermilk, pumpkin, and butter until smooth. Whisk in dry ingredients just until combined.

In a mixing bowl with a whisk attachment, whisk the egg whites until they hold soft peaks (as in, far softer than the over-beaten whites you’ll see in my picture above). Folk them gently into the waffle batter, until just combined.

Brush waffle iron lightly with oil and spoon batter (about 2 cups for four 4-inch Belgian waffles) into waffle iron, spreading quickly. Cook according to manufacturer’s instructions.

Transfer waffles to rack in oven to keep warm and crisp. Make more waffles in same manner.

Smile and warm melting butter approved!

A special kind of Veggie

2014-07-28T04:00:00.000-04:00

This is one of our new family favourites... always on the go, looking for a healthy alternative to chips, I present to you Garden Veggie Chips.

Brent found these during one of his trips to Costco. This box comes with 3 varieties that are fun and a 'cleaner' alternative to potato chips. Melanie loves the round, rippled ones, I like the straws myself.

Each bag contains 130 calories with a but of fibre, protein and fat. The ingredients are pretty clean as you can see and they are gluten free.

What I love though, is this Top 10 Reasons you will love sensible veggie snacks on the back of the box. Fantastic!