Fun Kitchen Tools!

Ok I'll admit I'm a bit of a kitchen gadget geek. I like to try different things when preparing food - some I consider 'essentials' but some I'll admit are just 'fun'. When you spend a lot of time meal-planning or preparing food for the family I think it's important to do whatever it takes to stay motivated or to make food prep easier. So my new tool is something I've been eyeing for a while now, and I finally got to try it . It's a 'spiralizer'. This tool turns vegetables such as sweet potato, zucchini, cucumber, carrot, beet and turnips into long strands OR ribbons (depending on your blade). You can enjoy a grain-free pasta this way, or eat the food raw in a beautiful salad. This picture is one of the first things I tried - a simple carrot and apple salad. The kids loved how long and 'slinky' the carrots were, which made them more motivated to eat them (another bonus). I also make fantastic curly sweet potato fries using this tool. It's day 1 owning this new gadget and it's definitely a hit.

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

Peanut Flour Goodies! High protein cookie and smoothies.

I have been having a lot of fun in the kitchen with some of the goodies I recently ordered online (I will post my source in an upcoming blog). I love playing around with new naturopathic ingredients! To start, I want to share with you my recipes with High Protein Peanut Flour. This product is basically peanuts that had the fat content roasted off and therefore is a high protein nutrient boost that can be used in the place of flour (cookies, bars), to make your own peanut butter (just add 1-2 Tbsp water to 1 Tbsp peanut flour) or into smoothies (1/4 cup has 16g of protein!!). This stuff tastes great, and I love that it is a great alternative for grains in paleo recipes!
This weekend I made the kids a smoothie:
1 banana
2 Tbsp Cocoa Cardio (More info on this in my next post!)
4 Tbsp Peanut Flour
2 cups Coconut Almond Milk (I love this stuff - comes in a 2 pack at costco, just the right sweetness for smoothies and baking!)

Blend it all up and drink! Tasted a lot like chocolate milk to be honest, and it wasn't overly peanut-y

Next I made these amazing high protein Peanut Butter cookies - great for an afternoon snack or post-workout. Paleo approved and kid approved!

Mix the following in a bowl:
3/4 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup peanut flour
1/4 cup ground flax
1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 cup honey or agave or maple syrup (sweeten to your preference)
1 egg (this is optional - the flax will bind it if you add a little water or milk alternative)

the dough is pretty firm. Roll into 1 inch balls and flatten on a baking sheet. Bake at 350 for 10-12 min.

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

A New Take on Romaine!

Back when we had cable television I used to watch a LOT of Food Network. I remember seeing chef Michael Smith throwing a head of romaine onto the BBQ for a new spin on caesar salad, but I had never tried it until recently. This technique is AMAZING at bringing out the flavor of an otherwise bland leafy green! Here's how:

Rub your entire head of romaine in olive oil (just the outside) and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place it on the BBQ just for under a minute per side - you don't want to 'steam' the lettuce, but rather give it nice grill marks. When it's done, slice it in half lengthwise and drizzle with home-made dressing (naturopathic take on ceasar)!
Dressing:
1 Tbsp Dijon
3 cloves garlic
juice of 1/2 lemon
salt and pepper
Blend with an immersion blender while slowly adding about 1/3 cup olive oil to emulsify the dressing (this makes it thick).

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

Throwing together a (CLEAN) meal!

My next few posts will be mostly food related with pictures and recipes of meals we've made recently that have been great enough to share! Sometimes I wonder why i'm grabbing my camera every time I put a dish together, but I'm realizing that I'm inspired by food, cooking and clean eating. This should be a cornerstone for good health for everyone, and that is why my Naturopathic blog sometimes feels like a food blog - it's THAT important!! Food create a hormonal and chemical cascade in out bodies, and when the diet is off, so is everything else! Your best assurance at good health is eating simple, REAL foods at least 80% of the time! Find out what will motivate you to get back into the kitchen, try new recipes, and challenge yourself to make it healthier! For me, I surround myself by people and resources that have the same passion about Clean Eating as I do - a simple strategy is to follow those people on Facebook or Blogs - each day when I open my page I'm flooded with great new ideas and recipes that I'm excited to try.

Ok, so the last week or so we've been really diligent with cleaning up our diets and incorporating a little 'detox' as spring arrives! One of the wonderful benefits of tackling a cleanse is that you are forced to explore new foods and create new recipes with ingredients you may otherwise not have tried. Here's one sample dinner that we made earlier in the week:

Brown and Wild Rice with a little coconut oil and peas

A simple avocado and tomato salad topped with chopped onion, lemon juice and salt and pepper - Delicious!

Stirfry - saute a diced onion and red pepper in Olive Oil until soft and translucent. Add baby bok choy and white navy beans, salt and pepper. Saute until bok choy wilts (3-4 min). Grate 2-3 cloves garlic into the pan and heat through. Serve with the rice and side of avocado/tomato salad.

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

Sweet Potato Hummus

Made this awesome Sweet Potato Hummus this past weekend to take as an appetizer to a friends house - it was a hit! This is a nice lighter variation on traditional hummus. Here is the recipe:
-Peel and dice 2 medium sweet potatoes. Drizzle in olive oil , toss and bake at 400 for 25-30 min (until tender).
-Cut the tops off 3 garlic bulbs. Drizzle the cut side with olive oil. Wrap in aluminum foil and bake with the sweet potato, but leave in an extra 10 min.
-Place sweet potato, one can rinsed chickpeas, juice of one lemon, 3-4 Tbsp of olive oil, 1 tsp cumin, and the roasted garlic (squeeze cloves out of the bulb) into medium bowl.
-Puree with hand blender (or food processor). Salt and pepper to taste. Adjust flavor as needed.
-Toast raw sunflower and pumpkin seeds. Sprinkle onto hummus and top with dried cranberries (optional). Serve with corn chips, pita or crackers!

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

Recipe for My Delish Vegetarian Dinner!

As requested from my Facebook page, here is the recipe for my dinner the other night. I've tried several bean burger recipes and they're either too time consuming or don't taste so good, so I was happy to see this recipe from 'The Happy Herbivore' which I have tweaked slightly: Bean Burgers: 1 can black beans, rinsed 1 can white kidney beans, rinsed 2 tsp garlic powder 2 tsp onion powder 1/3 cup ground flax seeds 1/2 cup oats 3-5 TBSP mustard (whatever kind you like...this is for flavor and moistness). Put everything into a bowl and mash it up. Shape into burger patties, put on baking sheet lines with parchment and bake at 400F for 15-20 min. You can serve these on a bun, but I didn't. I served them as a side, so they were a little messy, but who needs all that bread!! My sides were: Smashed Potatoes: Bake as many potatoes as your family will eat. Wash them well, bake in the oven at 450F until fork tender (about 35-45 min), then use a mug to 'smash' the potato down a little (roughly an inch thick) - the skin will crack open. Then drizzle with a good amount of olive oil and put back in the oven until slightly golden brown (about 10 min). sprinkle with sea salt. These are DELICIOUS and the kids love them. You can serve with a side of plain/greek yogurt. Simple Grated Carrot salad: Grate 4-5 large carrots (I use my food processor). Add 2 Tbsp olive oil, 1 Tbsp grated ginger, drizzle of lemon juice and salt and pepper to taste. Toss and serve. This meal combo has everything you need - protein, health fats, fiber and antioxidants! everyone is happy! Enjoy! Dr. Anna Falkowski HBSc, ND. Naturopathic Doctor & Clinic Director Vitality for Life Health Center www.vitalityforlife.ca Vitality for Life is an integrative health clinic in Barrie, Ontario. We offer the services of a Naturopathic Doctor, Chiropractor and massage therapists. Follow us on facebook Follow us on Twitter: @NaturoDoctor

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