Spaghetti squash is NOT spaghetti lol!

It’s a winter squash that resembles spaghetti when cooked, but it’s not the same taste as real pasta;) I don’t make this to replace pasta, (mainly because it’s not super filling) so I make this as a side-dish. My background is Italian and so spaghetti is spaghetti and squash is squash;) This is tasty way to enjoy this variety of squash along with garlic and olive oil.

Ingredients:

• 1 spagetti squash
• 4-5 cloves garlic
•  1 cup minced kale (any variety)
•  olive oil
• sea salt
• 1 tsp organic butter
• grated parmesan cheese

Directions:

1. slice squash vertically, remove seeds and bake faced down for 40 min. at 400f
2. place aside and let cool
3. in a pan over your stovetop, sauté 4-5 cloves of minced garlic in 2 tbs olive oil
4. add 1 cup minced kale and all spaghetti squash into your pan of garlic
5. top with salt and pepper (to taste)
6. add 1 tsp butter and sauté well for a few minutes (add more olive oil if you wish)
7. place everything in your dish and top with grated parmesan cheese

Farro is an amazing ancient grain from the wheat family thats high in fiber, protein and trace minerals. It has an awesome taste and is absolutely delicious for any salad base. It’s pretty simple to make, and I sort of feel like it’s a cross between rice and wheat berries (although not gluten-free).

If you haven’t tried it, I highly recommend you do because it’s THAT delicious!!

Ingredients:

• farro
• arugula
•  cheese of choice
•  olive oil
• salt and pepper
• balsamic vinegar (optional)

Directions:

1. add one to two cups farro, 1-2 tbs salt and cover with water and bring to a heavy boil
2. lower to medium heat and let boil for a minimum of 30 min. or until it reaches your preferred texture
3. add cheese of choice
4. salt/pepper and olive oil/balsamic vinegar to taste

Delicata squash is my new fav squash to make! Ever since I tried it, I was hooked! It’s soooo delicious and super simple to prep.

The interesting thing about this type of winter squash is that it has a delicate rind unlike the other varieties which means you can eat it!! This makes life a lot easier because you literally just have to slice it, remove the seeds and place it on your baking tray. This squash can be seasoned with either sweet or savoury toppings (all depends what you’re in the mood for).  Squash in general is naturally on the sweeter side so it’s nice to contrast it with some salty flavours.

Squash is a great source of Vitamins A & C so it’s essential to your immunity to load up on coloured veggies like these during cold and flu season. I used protein and antioxidant-rich nutritional yeast and Vitamin E rich wheat-germ (think healthy hair and skin during these dry Winter months) to make this dish even more nutritionally dense. While I am not a vegan, nutritional yeast can be used as a great substitute for parmesan cheese. If you’ve never tried nutritional yeast before, I promise you’ll enjoy it in this dish!

Here’s my super simple recipe below and there is no way you can mess this up! Add a little more or a little less of any of these ingredients and it will still taste so good!!

Ingredients:

• 1 delicata squash
• dried thyme
• wheat germ (about 4 tbs)
• nutritional yeast OR (parmesan cheese) (4 tbs)
•  olive oil
• sea salt & pepper

Directions:

1. wash and slice squash (remove seeds)
2. place on baking tray
3. drizzle olive oil over all slices
4. add salt & pepper to taste
5. sprinkle wheat germ (about 4 tbs)
6. sprinkle nutritional yeast OR parmesan cheese (being sure to sprinkle over each slice)
7. add thyme throughout
8. bake at @400f for 35-40min.

This all-natural smoothie bowl is high in vitamins and minerals, rich in antioxidants and tastes delicious! This is a great way to boost your immunity without having to sacrifice on taste. My kids love this smoothie-bowl for breakfast or snack! If you prefer having it as a smoothie just add more liquid and blend a bit longer. Enjoy:)

Ingredients:

• 1 cup wild frozen blueberries
• 1 ripe banana (frozen or not)
• 2 cups frozen kale
• 1/2 cup organic vanilla rice milk  or milk of choice
• 1 handful natural sunflower seeds
• 1 handful natural raw pumpkin seeds
• 1-2 tbs all natural peanut butter
• 1 tbs chia seeds
• 1 tbs wheat germ
• unsweetened coconut flakes
• 1 tbs cacao nibs

Directions:

• blend the first 6 ingredients in your high-speed blender and pour into your bowl
• add peanut butter
• add chia seeds
• add wheat germ
• sprinkle coconut flakes
• top with cacao nibs

Whether most women want to admit this or not,  they have probably had a horrible relationship with food at least once in their lives,  if not on-going in their life.  Whether it’s abused to numb pain, fill a void or restricted in some way in order to gain control, it’s self-destructive behaviour nonetheless. When these very emotional behaviours become chronic, it can get dangerous and eventually this obsession or addiction can take over ones life.

Unfortunately, I too was a victim of this at one point in my life. I had spent my entire life extremely active in dance and ate whatever I wanted to without ever worrying about my weight. Yet, in my very early and confused 20’s I figured maybe I wouldn’t get away with that anymore. I thought if I ever stopped dancing I wouldn’t be able to eat whatever I wanted and so I should probably “get healthy” and start watching everything I ate.  Sadly, I spent an entire year of my life completely obsessed with calories (not nutrition).  The only thing on my mind was what I was going to eat that day and if I could stay within my unrealistic low-caloric range. This extreme way of living made me ill pretty quickly.  Apart from losing unnecessary weight, I felt completely depressed because I began detaching myself from social gatherings and wasn’t enjoying much of anything, let alone food anymore.

When I finally consulted with a Nutritionist, she made me understand that I was really only hurting myself, not making myself healthier.  She also made me realize that my obsession had absolutely nothing to do with food or my weight, but more so with wanting control of my life at the time!  Like most young people, I found what path to take in life pretty daunting and overwhelming and so that was my way of being in control.  I now look back in awe of what I put myself through. Even though it was so long ago, it’s a time in my life I’ll never forget.  I regret not having spoken to a professional sooner, and wasting so much of my energy and time into something I should have never been focusing on whatsoever! I’m both lucky and thankful I got to the root of it and got myself back to normalcy.

Any type of eating disorder comes from the mind. I place eating disorders in the mental illness category as they usually coincide. The can either derive from or often bring on depression and anxiety.  Some are more severe than others for sure, but people can carry this with them for a lifetime.  Regardless, disorders of any kind always stem from something deeper.  Once that’s figured out, there’s a better understanding as to why so many women have the habits that they do.  In some individuals there are obvious physical signs, while in others they are so well hidden. Whether you’re restricting, bingeing, counting calories or over-exercising etc, it’s a bad place to be in and not a healthy way to live.

It saddens me to see both young people who suffer with this as well as mature women who continue to go through life in this negative state of self. In order to change your habits, you must change your thoughts. Coming to terms with something you’ve deemed as normal for so long can feel scary, but realize that you are the only person responsible and in charge of your life. Admitting you need help is always the first step.

Overcoming that difficult phase of my life was truly life altering. It tested my strength in ways I never imagined and it helped me grow as a person. It also sparked a keen interest in studying and understanding nutrition. Realizing that too much control can be damaging, made me see how much opportunity for happiness I was denying myself of.  Sometimes the only thing we think we CAN control is what we eat, but while eating healthy is good, obsession is most definitely not. There is so much more to life than putting all your energy into tormenting yourself with guilt over every bite!

What I learned most from my experience was finally understanding the meaning of balance and following my own version of it. It has taken me years to become confident in that alone.  I LOVE food, my culture celebrates it, but I really had to learn how to nourish myself properly and how to indulge without guilt. Since then, I’ve actually never looked at the calorie content of any food. I’ve focused on the ingredients and that’s made the most sense for me. I really began to listen to my body, and feed it what it wants.  I eat intuitively and don’t have a smoothie because everyone says it’s healthy, or skip the dessert (if I really want to indulge in it) because who knows how many calories it may be….In the moment, I eat what’s best for me, my body, my palette and my lifestyle. Most of all I eat guilt-free!

My heart goes out to any person suffering from minor disordered eating or a very serious eating disorder. For me, it’s important to use this social platform as a way to help, teach or inspire others to live healthier lives. My background and experiences has helped me to understand and access my clients one-on-one much easier.  My goal is really to help people change their perception of themselves so that a real lifestyle switch is made and the better food choices simply follow.  It’s impossible to truly love your body without having a healthy mind or having any true love and appreciation for yourself.  I hope that if anyone reading this is suffering, they have the strength and courage to make the decison to get help and begin change.  Everyone deserves to live life happily and enjoy every bite!

This is the perfect “I don’t know what to make kinda meal.” It’s fast, easy and everyone likes it. I think it’s important to use organic eggs because like anything that comes from an animal source, we are essentially eating what they’ve been fed. There are so many health benefits to eggs from B-vitamins to good fats and protein and a lot of it is in the yolk. I used to think having only egg-whites was better/healthier, but I really was depriving myself of all the nutrients the yolk has to offer.

In this recipe I used Nutritional Yeast to make this dish even more nutritionally dense. This is a deactivated yeast which is completely different than the baking yeast most people are allergic to. This yeast is grown on molasses and dried which deactivates it. It looks like yellow flakes and has a cheesy/nutty smell. You can find it at Health Food Stores or Bulk Food stores. Most vegans (people who choose to solely eat a plant-based diet) turn to Nutritional Yeast as a way to get an ample amount of B-vitamins, more specifically B12. Since no plant food contains B12, it’s important to have foods fortified with it.

I love adding it to soups, eggs or pasta. Although I am not a vegan and this is not a vegan recipe, I still like to add Nutritional Yeast in recipes where I can.  In this recipe you can switch the cheese for Nutritional Yeast.

• 4-6 organic eggs
• 1/2 cup organic milk or non-dairy milk and or veggie broth
• 2-3 tbs of Nutritional Yeast and or 1/3 cup grated aged cheddar
• 2 tbs of olive oil and salt/pepper to taste
• 1/4 cup chopped red or white onions
• 3 mushrooms thinly sliced
• handful of spinach overtop

Directions

1. beat eggs and add all above ingredients and place into an medium size (8″ round x 2″ deep) oven-safe ceramic or glass cookware.
2. add spinach overtop
3. place in your oven @350f for 20 min.

You may not love brussels sprouts because they have a distinct sulfur smell like their cabbage siblings, but anything smelly is actually really good for you!  Cruciferous veggies are high in sulfur and contain antioxidants, (think broccoli/kale/cauliflower/bok choy) which helps to promote collagen, as well as reduce risks of cancer and heart-disease.  They are an excellent source Vitamin C which we all need more of during the long Winter months, and although they can taste a bit bitter, adding some sweetness makes them easier to eat. Most people enjoy them stir-fried or deep-fried and extra crispy, but they are just as delicious and much better for your health if they are baked.  For this recipe they aren’t fully baked, but I promise they will be delicious!

• 2 cups whole brussels sprouts
• dried cranberries
• 1/2 cup hazelnuts (roasted in oven 20min @400f)
• coarse sea-salt/ground pepper
• olive oil
• half a lemon
• pure maple syrup

Directions

1. wash, dry and thinly slice brussels sprouts and place them on your baking tray
2. drizzle olive oil and coarse sea-salt and broil on high for no more than 5-7 minutes
3. place in your serving platter and add previously roasted hazelnuts
4. squeeze the juice of half a lemon, drizzle more olive olive/salt/pepper plus 2 tbs of pure maple syrup
5. top with a desired amount of dried cranberries and enjoy!

Chickpeas are an excellent source of plant-protein. They are very high in fiber which is important for gut and heart-health and they also help to control blood-sugar levels. You may find it odd to use chickpeas in a treat, however, since they are naturally sweet tasting with a potato-like texture once blended they are really delicious when used in baking.

I like using dried chickpeas which I then soak for at least 12hrs to get rid of the undigestible sugars that often cause gas or bloating in some people. Once my chickpeas are cooked (boiled) I can use them in various dishes all week long. You can also use canned chickpeas for this recipe.

• 2 cups cooked chickpeas
• 4 tbs (generous) natural peanut-butter
• 1/4 cup (or more if you prefer) pure maple-syrup
•  pinch of Himalayan fine sea salt and cinnamon (optional)
• 3 drops natural vanilla extract
• handful of chocolate chips (I prefer Enjoy Life or Camino brands)

Directions

1. place all the above (except chocolate-chips) in your blender
2. blend until everything is well mixed
3. stir in chocolate chips
4. place a tsp amount size cookie on your baking tray
5. bake @350f for 20min. (should make appox. 20 or more cookies)

Squash is one of my favourite warming and tasting veggies. I slice it in half, remove the seeds and bake it faced down at 400f and it usually takes at least 40min. to cook or more depending on size.  If you can easily poke it with a fork, you know it’s ready.  You can pretty much stuff squash with anything you want or puree it into a soup. Stuff it with rice, quinoa or wheat-berry salad, or enjoy it with greek yogurt and honey.   Whether you go the sweet or savoury route, it’s delicious tasting nonetheless. For this recipe, I filled it with a wheat-berry salad (that I usually make in the spring and summer months), but I thought the nutty flavour wheat-berries have really compliment the squash well for this time of year.

Wheat-berries consist of the full wheat kernel (the bran, the germ and the endosperm) which makes them highly nutritious because they haven’t undergone any processing. High in protein, fiber and iron, they have a real nutty texture and flavour that I gravitate to.  They do take particularly long to cook (at least 50 min.), so be prepared for that.  You have to bring them to a boil and reduce to medium heat and let them simmer for about an hour.  This salad is great on its own, and it can really be enjoyed all year round.

• 2 cups cooked wheat berries
• handful (or more) of dried cranberries
• handful chopped natural walnuts
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• salt/pepper to taste
• 1 thinly chopped celery stalk
• 1/4 cup chopped red or green onions
• 1 tbs of liquid honey
• 1 tsp honey-mustard (optional)

Directions

1. mix all ingredients and keep refrigerated
2. fill (already baked) acorn squash with wheat-berry salad or enjoy on its own
3. squash can be eaten warmed (with added organic butter or ghee) or at room temperature, while the wheat-berry is best served at room-temperature or cold on it’s own