Tuesday 21 August 2012

Carrot with a citrus twist Juice

Sometimes you just need an extra kick in the morning - whether it's to wake up, feel more energized or just some sugar to get your blood sugar back on track!

Although I do love love love green juice, this juice is one of my favourite combinations - it is sweet, but not too sweet and SOOOO refreshing - plus I double-up on the ginger because it's my favourite!

Carrot with a citrus twist Juice:

1 pink grapefruit
3 large carrots
1 large chunk of ginger - I love ginger so I always add a lot but you don't have to
1/2 lemon

Juice and drink!



See I already had 1/4 of it gone before I left the driveway this morning!

The grapefruit, lemon and ginger are very beneficial for your digestion and metabolism, and the carrots add a great flavour to the spicy ginger and citrus grapefruit and lemon - plus they are full of vitamin A and beta carotenes - as well as detoxing for your liver, great for your eyesight and a good source of antioxidants.

To read more about carrots visit this link: http://www.naturalnews.com/034511_carrots_juicing_health_benefits.html

Friday 17 August 2012

TGIF Smoothie

Fridays used to be my day to indulge on the way to work - usually with an americano and croissant from this amazing place on King West....then to the Portuguese bakery out in Ajax. But now, being the good healthy girl that I am - I'm still indulging, but just in a much healthier and natural way!

TGIF Smoothie:

1 scoop of hemp protein powder (or your powder of choice)
1 cup of vanilla almond milk (unsweetened)
1/2 banana or full - your choice
1 big tbsp of cacao
1 tbsp of ground flax meal
I tbsp of coconut oil
1 big tbsp of almond butter
1 tsp of maca powder
Sprinkle of cinnamon (it's my favourite so I use a lot & it's very beneficial for balancing blood sugars)
1 cup of filtered water

Blend and enjoy.

Honestly, when I'm drinking this I'm shocked it's not full of sugar and bad things for me because it literally tastes like the best chocolate shake you'll ever have. Ok, maybe not....but bananas taste very sweet to me, they have quite a bit of sugar that's why I only use 1/2. If you want to add more honey or some stevia go for it - but this TGIF smoothie will knock your socks off!

Again, I apologize for my lack of a better camera - iPhone this weekend possibly!

And no...this is not an ad for Sears :P

TGIF!

xoxo

Wednesday 15 August 2012

Creative Cravings

Sometimes lunch cravings can get the best of you - especially if you work near a variety of amazing restaurants - which fortunately, I do not (until Whole Foods Markham opens in the fall).

Anyway, I was craving Greek food today, but brought a light lunch so I just decided to add to it and came up with this delicious salad!

Salmon Greek Salad with a twist

2 generous pieces of salmon (mine was from Longo's, not homemade unfortunately)
2 large handfuls of spinach (bed of the salad)
1/2 cup of cooked quinoa
Kalamata Olives
Cucumber sliced
Red Pepper sliced
Red Onion sliced
Sunflower seeds
Pumpkin seeds
1 avocado
Dried oregano seasoning or whatever spice you would like to add

Drizzle with EVOO, apple cider vinegar, 1/2 a lemon and some black pepper



I apologize for the photo as you can't see half of the ingredients but trust me this is filling, delicious and totally healthy! The quinoa and salmon fill you up while the olives and lemon dressing give it a nice zesty taste!!! If you're a die-hard cheese fan you could always add some feta to make it a REAL greek salad ;)

OPA!

Tuesday 7 August 2012

Kale Italian Bowl

Tuesday back from a long weekend can always make for difficult food preparation. So, I grabbed everything I could out of my fridge to make an amazing tasting Italian lunch - I've been craving cheesy pasta so what better to fill that void than a healthy salad?

Kale Italian Bowl

2 large handfuls of raw kale
1/2 cup of cooked quinoa
10 grape tomatoes sliced in half
3 tbsp of kalamata olive pieces
1/2 an avocado
1 zucchini sliced thinly
Small handful of pumpkin seeds
Small handful of sunflower seeds

Dressing:
Basil-infused olive oil
Apple Cider Vinegar
Black Pepper
1/2 lemon squeezed

Garnish with parsley and mix through for a fresh taste

I apologize in advance for the photos - the first one you can't see half of the ingredients and the second is the bowl half finished!


My insulin ration for this isn't much - the few tomatoes, 1/2 avocado and 1/2 cup of quinoa amount to about 20g of carbs (there was probably less quinoa than 1/2 cup) so I would give myself 1 unit as I was sitting at a blood sugar level of 5.0 before lunch.

Happy Tuesday - Forget about it!

Gracie.


Thursday 2 August 2012

Afternoon Tea & Snack

Here is a quick and easy recipe that I found on Melissa Ramos' website Sexy Food Therapy - great website, great blog so visit it today!

The link to her recipe is: http://www.sexyfoodtherapy.com/i-suck-at-this/ 

I altered it a little bit, but still turned out delicious - her photos are much nicer than mine ;)


CACAO BREAKFAST MUFFINS - my version (original recipe above)

1 cup large oat flakes
4 heaping tbsp. cacao powder
4 tbsp almond hazelnut butter
1 cup unsweetened almond milk
1 tbsp of Chia Seeds
1 tbsp Flaxmeal
1 tbsp honey
½ tsp sea salt
Preheat oven to 350.
Mix all ingredients together and pour into greased muffin tins. Bake for 25 minutes and remove from oven and top with nut butter before eating.

They are nutritious, delicious and make a GREAT breakfast or snack - especially with some spicy ginger, cinnamon, cardamom tea!


Wednesday 1 August 2012

Pizza Pretty Please

Sometimes no matter how healthy you eat you still want some type of comfort food - introducing, my healthy GF Pretty Pizza.

Gluten-Free Pretty Pizza

1 brown rice tortilla wrap (brand: Food for Life)
Spread homemade tomato sauce on top (recipe below)
Toppings: sliced zucchini, red and yellow peppers, kalamata olives and goat cheese

Pop in the oven for 5 min on 425°F and then broil for 1 min to cook the top a tiny bit more!

Tomato Sauce: (idea originated from a recipe I read on The Healthy Apple http://thehealthyapple.com but gave it my own twist)

3 Tomatoes diced
1/2 cup of chopped fresh basil
3 cloves of garlic
3 tbsp EVOO or grapeseed oil
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
Pinch of sea salt and black pepper
1/3 cup of chopped onion

Cook in a sauce pan covered for 10 minutes. Let sit and cool, puree in a blender to desired smoothness. Add 1/2 cup of brown rice flour to thicken. Stir and serve.


Fresh veggie toppings: yellow and red pepper, zucchini and olives



Tomato sauce/pizza base cooking on stovetop




Fresh sauce from above used as base of pizza on brown rice tortilla wrap (and my shadow)




The finished product - can you tell it was taken with an iPhone? Need to get me one of those!


Just a SLICE for lunch

My lunch today was quick with not too many ingredients and a great balance to lunchtime hunger pains!

The Slice:
Slice of toasted Dimpflmeier Rye bread with sunflower seeds (organic/GT - picture below)
Garlic pine nut hummus spread on top
Top with sliced tomatoes, 1/2 an avocado, pepper and a small squeeze of lemon

(adding sprouts or lettuce would make this a delicious sandwich!)

The Salad: 
Kale chopped
Chopped tomatoes
1/2 an avocado
Chopped cucumber
Sprinkle of pumpkin seeds, olive oil and lemon




The bread is GT (gluten-free), thin but delicious. One slice counts for 23g of carbohydrate so for this meal I would give myself 3 units depending on what my blood sugar was at lunch (today 6.2) as the avocado and tomato counts in there as well.

It's just a slice, but it's balanced and very tasty!

Green Good Morning Smoothie

Sometimes mornings rush by...like, really rush by, and so getting a good substantial and HEALTHY breakfast can be difficult.

So, this morning I made a Green Smoothie - not my first, but this blend of goodness definitely was new and it was delicious!

Green Good Morning Smoothie

1 scoop of Vega One Powder
1 tbsp of Organic Spirulina
2 handfuls of spinach
1 small handful of dandelion greens (I usually prefer kale)
1 avocado
1/2 pear
2 inch chunk of fresh ginger
2 cups of water (coconut water would be great too)

Blend and enjoy!


This smoothie is fast and easy, you get MORE than enough nutrients and it tastes delicious. I'm partial to ginger because I find it's flavour divine - but if you don't prefer it maybe substitute with an entire pear, some stevia or an apple. For me, this didn't effect my blood sugar too substantially - the avocado and 1/2 the pear would be approximately 20 carbohydrates, but because of all the fiber in the smoothie I gave myself 1.5 units.

Happy Wednesday!
xoxo