Delicious Quinoa Chocolate Cake

This weekend we were all craving something a little chocolatey, and I came across a great recipe from the Planet Organic cookbook. This turned out to be a really moist chocolate cake and was a hit with the kids.
Chocolate Quinoa Cake

This healthy cake brings together the chocolate of the Mayan empire with the protein-rich Quinoa of the Aztecs to create a rich, yet delicate treat.
Ingredients:

1 cup Quinoa, rinsed
2 cups Apple cider or juice
3/4 cup Butter
2/3 cup Fair trade cocoa powder
3/4 cup Rice syrup
3/4 cup Pure honey
1 tsp Pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups soy milk
3 Eggs
2 cups Quinoa flour
1 cup Unbleached white flour
1 tsp Baking powder
1 tsp Sea salt
1/3 cup Hazelnuts, toasted and ground fine

*I substituted the rice syrup/honey with ½ cup brown sugar, ¼ cup honey and ¼ cup agave syrup. I also used 3 cups dark rye flour instead of the quinoa flour and white flour. You could use any variation of flours (spelt, kamut, rice etc). I also used pecans instead of hazelnuts.
Method

Preheat oven to 325°F. Prepare quinoa by rinsing under water for one minute. Drain. In a medium-sized sauce pan, bring the apple juice to a boil and add quinoa. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook, covered for 20 minutes or until all juice is absorbed and quinoa is soft. Remove from heat, fluff with a fork and set aside.

In a mixer, cream butter, cocoa, rice syrup, honey and vanilla. Add eggs and mix until combined. Combine flours, baking powder, salt and nuts and add alternately with milk, stirring by hand until well combined. Fold in cooled quinoa and spread batter into a greased or lined baking pan.

Bake 40 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean. Remove from oven and cool completely before icing. Use the Chocolate Glaze recipe on page 21 for an added touch of flavour.

Yields 10 servings.

Enjoy!

Dr. Anna Falkowski HBSc, ND
Naturopathic Doctor & Clinic Director
Vitality for Life Health Center
www.vitalityforlife.ca

Dr. Anna Falkowski HBSc, ND
Naturopathic Doctor, Clinic Director
info@vitalityforlife.ca
www.vitalityforlife.ca
Twitter: @NaturoDoctor
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Discounted Cloth Diapers in Barrie & Chickaboo!

Yesterday while shopping at Lotus Natural Living Boutique on Dunlop st. in Barrie I noticed that
all of the Happy Heinys Cloth diapers were 40% off! This is a great deal - Denise (the owner) wants them all gone to make shelf space. There is a great selection of prints and colors. They're fabulous for any mom of young children or as a gift for someone expecting.
While you're in the store, check out the Chickaboo line of organic baby clothes - they were created by another friend and colleague of mine, and the 'yoga baby' prints are especially adorable.
Happy shopping!

Dr. Anna Falkowski HBSc, ND
Naturopathic Doctor & Clinic Director
Vitality for Life Health Center
www.vitalityforlife.ca

Dr. Anna Falkowski HBSc, ND
Naturopathic Doctor, Clinic Director
info@vitalityforlife.ca
www.vitalityforlife.ca
Twitter: @NaturoDoctor
We're On Facebook!

Grilled Veggie & Chickpea salad

The other day I made a fantastic and easy grilled veggie meal. I used my panini maked (a grill with 2 pieces that 'sandwich' whatever you're grilling). I sliced sweet potato, red pepper, portabello mushrooms and red onion and brushed with olive oil. I grilled these until tender. When you pull the veggies off the grill, slice into bite sized pieces.
In a bowl I mixed a generous amount of olive oil, balsamic vinegar and 2 cloves of crushed garlic, salt and pepper. Add 1 can of chickpeas (rinsed). Add the veggies and mix to coat. Serve on its own of over a salad of baby spinach. The longer it sits, the better the marinated veggies taste.
Enjoy!

Dr. Anna Falkowski HBSc, ND
Naturopathic Doctor & Clinic Director
Vitality for Life Health Center
www.vitalityforlife.ca

Dr. Anna Falkowski HBSc, ND
Naturopathic Doctor, Clinic Director
info@vitalityforlife.ca
www.vitalityforlife.ca
Twitter: @NaturoDoctor
We're On Facebook!

'Cheesy' Popcorn

The other day I made some popcorn as a snack for my kids. They asked if I could make it 'cheesy' (they've tried smartfood brand in the past and loved it, but of course it's really not that healthy for you). My naturopathic solution was to add 2 Tbsp of nutritional yeast sprinkled overtop of the popcorn. This is a trick I learned from a nutrition professor several years back, and it's really a tasty treat. Nutritional yeast (not the leavening yeast you use in baking) has a nutty/cheesy flavor and is packed full of vitamin B12, minerals and protein. This makes for a great supplement for individuals on a vegan diet which can be low on B12.
Anyway, my kids loved it, and I was happy that they had a healthy boost from their snack!
Nutritional yeast can be found in the health food section of your grocery store.

Dr. Anna Falkowski, HBSc, ND
Naturopathic Doctor & Clinic Director
Vitality for Life Health Center
www.vitalityforlife.ca

Dr. Anna Falkowski HBSc, ND
Naturopathic Doctor, Clinic Director
info@vitalityforlife.ca
www.vitalityforlife.ca
Twitter: @NaturoDoctor
We're On Facebook!

Onion Poultice for Earaches!

This weekend my 4 year old got his first earache. He was complaining of the pain, and it was coming at intense intervals every few minutes. I didn't have my otoscope at home but assumed it was an ear infection. I started to give him a botanical tincture that I keep at home, but I also wanted to get at the pain quickly. An onion poultice is something I commonly recommend, but had never had to use on my own kids! I was amazed at the results. After one treatment, the pain in his left ear never returned. Later that evening the right ear started to hurt. My son was in tears. I did the poultice over that ear right before bed, and again, it never returned and he slept through the night. I was reminded about the healing power of nature. Normally, antibiotics would have been advised, and anytime you can avoid them, it's best to do so!

This is a simple traditional remedy for earaches due to inner ear infections or even swimmer’s ear. The onion can help kill the infection while the heat is soothing an provides instant relief for children complaining of an earache.

Instructions:

Cut an onion in half. Heat a little olive oil in a pan and place the onion (cut side down) on the olive oil. Cover with a lid. Heat over medium heat for a few minutes until the onion is heated through and becomes softer. Place the onion in a clean dishcloth, and cool for just a minute so that it will not burn the skin. Have your child lay down and place the onion over their ear firmly for 10 minutes. Some of the oil will seep through. The oil is healing. The onion fumes will enter the ear and soothe the ear drum.


Dr. Anna Falkowski, HBSc, ND

Naturopathic Doctor & Clinic Director

Vitality for Life Health Center
www.vitalityforlife.ca

Dr. Anna Falkowski HBSc, ND
Naturopathic Doctor, Clinic Director
info@vitalityforlife.ca
www.vitalityforlife.ca
Twitter: @NaturoDoctor
We're On Facebook!

Olive Baby for After-Sun Care

On our recent trip to Cuba I was sure to pack a jar of Olive Baby Body Butter. It came in handy for the whole family. We used to for the chaffing my son got after wearing wet shorts all day at the beach, to help soothe red skin after too much sun, and to help stop the itching of the bug bites we all got on our legs. I also used it for the dry skin we got after too much exposure to sand and ocean water!
I had read somewhere that moisturizing your hands stops the transmission of bacteria that you may come into contact with (they prefer dry skin), so I was sure to moisturize during our travelling days where the airplane air is particulary drying.
Now that we're back, our tans are becoming dry and itchy, and I'm finding that a little bit of Body Butter after showering helps stop the skin from peeling.
I've had patients take it on holidays as well and said it worked as a multi-purpose skin soother.

Dr. Anna Falkowski, HBSc, ND
Naturopathic Doctor & Clinic Director
Vitality for Life Health Center
www.vitalityforlife.ca

Dr. Anna Falkowski HBSc, ND
Naturopathic Doctor, Clinic Director
info@vitalityforlife.ca
www.vitalityforlife.ca
Twitter: @NaturoDoctor
We're On Facebook!

From Cuba to Winterfest!

We recently came back from a week in Varadero Cuba - our first family vacation somewhere warm since the kids were born. I was SO apprehensive about the entire experience, and nearly made myself sick with worry leading up to it. I must say it turned out to be a fabulous experience! No one got sick thankfully (I was sure to give probiotics and Allimax garlic pills daily), and the weather was fabulous. I can't believe the difference in mood and health from a good dose of vitamin D!! As Canadians i'm convinced that we are all at alarmingly low levels, which of course affects our moods and immunity.
Travelling with kids is certainly a different experience - you give up the fancy dinners and lazy cocktails on the beach, but you replace it with fun in the sun, swimming, dancing, and kids shows! The best part was the un-interupted family time (no emails to answer, no telephone calls, no distractions). It was the best family bonding experience. I watched my kids bloom - Jordi tackled some of his fears of trying new things, and Lucian started to communicate much better stringing several words together at a time. My other concern was how we would all sleep in the same room for the week. This was one of the most amazing revelations to me. We pushed two of the beds together (I think they were slightly bigger than twins, but not quite doubles), and I slept with Jordi on one side and Lucian on the other (he was on the wall side so that he wouldn't fall off - at home was still sleeping in a crib). Carlos slept on a cot. Anyway, it took one night for everyone to find their groove, but the rest of the week I was amazed at how peacefully I slept with my kids. Normally at home we have such different schedules that we wouldn't be going to bed at the same time, making co-sleeping difficult. Surprisingly, neither of them woke up at night the entire week!! Maybe that's the answer for kids who don't sleep the whole night through - they just need the security of having their parent with them, which is a natural instinct. Anyway, it was a great learning experience for all of us.
We got home just before the Barrie Winterfest, so this morning we dressed up and ventured out into the cold to enjoy some more family time. It was really great this year, and once again the kids had fun (minus the cold hands).

Dr. Anna Falkowski HBSc, ND
Naturopathic Doctor & Clinic Director
Vitality for Life Health Center
www.vitalityforlife.ca

Dr. Anna Falkowski HBSc, ND
Naturopathic Doctor, Clinic Director
info@vitalityforlife.ca
www.vitalityforlife.ca
Twitter: @NaturoDoctor
We're On Facebook!