Cooking with Cauliflower-Part 1

One of many current trends is to use cauliflower in place of things like rice, mashed potatoes and even pizza crust. So, over the next week, I am going to try using cauliflower in these different ways and let you know how it works out. Tonight, I'll start simple and use cauliflower in place of rice in a stir fry.

Here's the recipe (from www.damyhealth.com) I'll be trying:

Ingredients:

• 2 Tbsp Olive Oil
• 1/2 Medium Onion, Diced
• 1 Head Cauliflower, trimmed and coarsely chopped
• ¼ Tsp Sea Salt

Directions:

1. In a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat.
2. Sauté onion over medium heat for 10 minutes, until soft.
3. Meanwhile, place cauliflower in a food processor with the “S” blade and process until the texture of rice. (TIP: if you do not have a food processor do not fret, you can simply use a cheese grater to grate the cauliflower into rice. Works awesome!!
4. Add cauliflower to skillet, cover and cook 5-10 minutes, until soft, then add salt.
5. Enjoy this “rice” in soups, as a side for supper in place of rice, or in a casserole. Serve as your “rice” side dish with chicken, or fish, veggies and a side salad for a complete meal!

I'm most interested in trying the pizza crust recipe, as pizza is my favourite guilty pleasure. What do you use for a crust replacement?

Homemade Donairs

Yesterday, after a week of extremely clean eating, my husband and I were craving pizza or a donair. Nova Scotia happens to produce the best donairs and we live around the corner from a great little pizza/donair restaurant called J3. It seemed to be calling our name, but in an effort to stay strong, we decided to compromise. What if we made it all from scratch? That way we would have control over all of the ingredients.

So, after a little research I found a recipe (mmmisformommy.com) to make donair meat, which I altered, of course.

Donair Meat

• 3.5 to 4 lbs pounds lean ground beef
• 2 tsp spelt flour
• 2 tsp dried oregano
• 1.5 tsp cayenne pepper
• 4 tsp paprika
• 2 tsp onion powder
• 4.5 tsp garlic powder
• 1.5 tsp black pepper
• 1 tsp sea salt

Combine all ingredients, either in a food processor or by kneading and smashing it on a clean surface. Separate mixture in half and form two chunky logs of meat. Bake on a cooling rack (this works great because all of the fat drains off), on top of a foil-covered cookie sheet at 325F for 1.5 hours. Once cooked, you can either slice and eat it as is (slices will be thicker) or let it cool completely first. This will make it significantly easier to have thin slices. Note: This recipes yields roughly 12 medium donairs.

For a first effort, the meat turned out really great! I should have let it cool longer, but it tasted perfect! To improve some of the other components of the meal, I replaced doughy, white pitas with thin whole wheat pita. I also replaced cow cheese with a sprinkling of goat cheese and used lots of cut up tomatoes and onions. You could also add a variety of lettuce, mushrooms or peppers. The one part, and actually the worst, where I stayed true to a "real" donair was the sauce. It is incredibly high in sugar, but the donair seemed dry without it. If you use the sauce, use it sparingly. The recipe I used was simply to combine a 300 ml can of condensed milk, 1.3 cup white vinegar and a tsp of garlic powder and refrigerate while the meat cooks. The sauce should be enough for all of the meat in the above recipe.

Sometimes it's better to give in to a craving. If you're anything like me, you'll end up eating all kinds of things while trying to avoid the craving, which usually ends up being worse than the thing you actually wanted. 

Best of luck turning your unhealthy cravings into something a little healthier. I encourage you to share your ideas below!

Chia Pudding-Tastes like Rice Pudding!

Every now and then, it's nice to feel like you can have a treat. Who says it needs to be an unhealthy one? If you like rice pudding, you will LOVE this!

Chia Pudding:

2 cups unsweetened almond milk
4 tbsp chia seeds
1 healthy shake of cinnamon

Pour almond milk into a jar, add chia seeds and cinnamon. Cover jar and shake well. Place in fridge overnight and the next morning.....TA DA! You have chia pudding. It's simple, quick and delicious...not to mention significantly healthier than traditional rice pudding.

Enjoy!

Healthy Living One Day at a TIme

Why is it that I am far more inspired to lead a healthy life in Nova Scotia than I ever was in New Brunswick? I guess in a way, I always looked at New Brunswick as a pit stop, on the way back to Nova Scotia...but somehow that stop turned into seven years.

Not only am I eating healthy at every meal, I'm planning ahead to make sure I do. Last night, my husband mixed chia seeds and almond milk to have for our smoothy this morning and I cooked down spinach and froze it into ice cubes, also for our smoothy.

Smoothy Recipe: (I'm not one for recipe following...so these measurements are approximate) 

1 tbsp chia seeds in 1/3 c unsweetened almond milk (left covered in fridge overnight)
2 ice cubes of cooked spinach
1/2c frozen berries
1 banana

*add additional almond milk for desired consistency

During the day today, while my kids are at school and my husband is teaching, my baby girl and I will walk to the post office, walk to the local grocery store and plan a healthy supper for our family. We'll take time to smell the roses and appreciate the simple things in life. Life felt so chaotic and uncertain before, but now everything seems clear. All of the struggles lead us to this better quality of life.

So, for now, I'm keeping it simple and working on becoming a  healthier, happier version of myself. I`m not doing this because I want to be a better mom or better wife, but because I`m finally doing something for me. This is 7.5 years in the making and if I`m happier with myself, everyone around me will be happier too.

Life in Lunenburg

Good morning, world! This will be my first official post from Lunenburg, NS. Before I get into the nutrition portion of this post, I want to give you a little background on my new home.

Lunenburg is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The downtown centre is full of character and old wooden buildings that have remained virtually unchanged since the 18th century. What is of  even more interest, in the world of health and wellness, is that Lunenburg is almost considered a "Blue Zone", due to the high number of centenarians (a person who lives to be over 100 years) in the area. The exact scientific explanation for this is unknown, but I'm sure it is a combination of things, such as the inclines on the streets walked, the year round access to fresh fish, less stressful environment, strong sense of community and most importantly the fresh air. It also doesn't hurt, with the exception of Subway, that there aren't any fast food restaurants in a 20 km radius.

Despite having full-time employment, the towns people come out in great number to attend the Thursday morning market,where you become acutely aware of  the high number of health conscious people in the area. Fresh sprouts, farm-fresh vegetables, homemade granola, fresh-pressed apple cider, beeswax candles, organic teas and hearty baked breads are among the many tempting items available. Knit items are a plenty, both on the shoppers and for purchase. Babies, as new as one week old, are worn in slings by the market vendors. The importance of family is clear at the market.

Since moving here, almost three weeks ago, the desire to get back into shape, both mentally and physically, has been strong. I start my day by walking our family dog along the beautiful waterfront. I return home and make a healthy breakfast (this morning I had an omelette of two eggs, spinach, mushrooms, sprouts and a sprinkle of goat cheese). I then unpack, or yesterday I shoveled snow for an hour, and make lunch (arugula salad with apple, almonds, sprouts, a sprinkle of goat cheese, a few dried cranberries and homemade dressing of olive oil, balsamic and garlic). I sometimes have another walk, either with our dog, or with my kids to the one of many great little shops. For supper, we might have lentil soup or salmon, veggies and a delicious treat of baked potato. It's a much more simple life here, but it's a great one.

Someday, I will return to the workforce, but for now, I am lucky enough to spend the mornings with my baby girl and the afternoon and evenings with my two older children and my husband. For those of you who have read my posts in the past, you will know that my husband moved here four months before us, while we waited for our home to sell in New Brunswick. I stayed behind with our three kids and really let go of my eating and physical activity, partly by unconscious choice and partly because I was raising my kids alone and simply had limited time to myself.

So here's to new beginnings! May 2014 bring your peace, health and happiness!

Thursday's Rant

Have you ever had a moment, or many moments, when you thought, "This isn't my life" or "How did I end up here?" I've been stuck on that moment for three straight months now.

My husband moved out of province for work, since there wasn't anything here in his field. This is a very common occurrence nowadays in the Maritime provinces. I stayed behind, with our three young children, to try and sell our house, during a borderline market crash. We can no longer tough out the expense of our mortgage and his rent, so now our house is advertised "for rent". I would like to think this is a decent option, although no one who has applied thus far was truly a candidate.

I have looked into working, but for the jobs that I am qualified for, I wouldn't make enough to even pay the daycare expense for my kids. On top of that, there are limited spaces in the area for one year olds...so really, I would have had to have her on a waiting list months ago. What a mess.

It feels like society sets us up to fail financially, forcing us into more and more debt. My generation is plagued with student loan payments that are, in many cases, as big as a mortgage payment. We all have lines of credit, overdraft and credit cards...and many of us don't use them for "fun" things, we use them to pay the bills and buy our family's groceries.

I'm a decent person, raising three incredible kids and organizing charitable events in my "spare" time, but none of this matters to the bank. None of this matters to the power company, phone company, etc. Being a good person doesn't pay the bills.

So this year, there won't be any Christmas gifts, except for my kids. There won't be an annual family picture. There won't be anything "extra"...but how can I even complain about the "extras" in life when there are horrific natural disasters that seem to be happening all to frequently now? How can I complain when there is war and famine? How can I complain when at the end of the day, I have three great and healthy kids and a roof over our heads? Life is too short and too fragile to complain so much.

I'm on a mission to turn things around!! One step at a time...

2nd Annual Santa's Gift Shop

I am so amazed by the generosity of the individuals and businesses in the Greater Moncton Area. The love and support shown for Santa’s Gift Shop is absolutely incredible. I could have never dreamed that so many people would want to be a part of this wonderful event.

Santa’s Gift Shop is a shopping event where children can come to purchase, from new and used items, gifts for their family members. All gifts are under $2 each and gift wrapped for free. In addition to the sale, we will also be holding one amazing silent auction, with hotel stays, theatre tickets, date nights, rounds of golf, massage certificates, gym memberships, oil changes and so much more! This truly is an event for the whole family.  

We will also run a canteen (still looking for a refreshment donation), have entertainment and a few special guests will be making appearances. Rumor has it the big guy in red will be dropping by and one “Wild” hockey loving cat. You never know who else you might see!

To make the actual event a success, we still need the people of the Greater Moncton area to donate new and used household items (please no clothing or food items), as well as gift wrapping materials, on November 22^nd, at the Kinsmen Community Centre in Riverview, from 12pm-2pm and 6pm-8pm. I have faith that donations will come pouring in for this great event, in support of Riverview PRO Kids. Suggested items are coffee mugs, travel mugs, money clips, ornaments, costume jewelry, golf balls, children’s toys and more!

Thank you to everyone who has already contributed. Because of you, there will be smiles on hundreds of kids faces on November 23^rd (10am-2pm at the Kinsmen Community Centre) as well as Christmas morning when the children give their gifts to their loved ones. The look of pride on a child’s face when they pass you the gift they chose themselves is something you won’t soon forget.

To check out the facebook event page, click here.