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Energy Balls

July 30, 2014

I try not to snack unless I really need to. Over the past year I’ve been experimenting with my meal sizes in an effort to figure out just how much food I need at breakfast, lunch, and dinner to avoid getting hungry in between. That being said, sometimes there is no avoiding it. When dinner gets delayed by cranky kids or extra long outings, I like to have something available to quickly grab and tide me over until my next meal. That’s what these energy balls are for. I can also grab a couple on the way to a work out, or take them with me on a hike. There are so many different variations of these that you can make, and I’ve included a few of our favourites. Charley loves making these and I’m happy to have something to offer her instead of a store bought granola bar! Bonus: these are Whole30 approved! Here’s what we created today.

Ingredients

12 dates, pitted and chopped

10 figs, chopped

1 cup hazelnuts, chopped

1/4 cup almonds, chopped

2 tbsp raw cacao nibs

1 cup freeze dried strawberries and bananas

1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut

Raw Cacao Nibs

Directions

1) Mix all ingredients in a large bowl except for the coconut.

2) Working in batches (approximately 2 cups at a time), blend in a Vitamix (or similar food processor) on low speed until the mixture starts to stick together. Scrape the sides and blend for a few more seconds until it becomes it mouldable.

3) Scrape the sticky mixture out (I use a knife to work around the blade. It’s a sticky mess!) into a separate bowl and repeat with the remaining mixture until all of the mixture is combined. You may need to add a tablespoon of water, depending on how moist your dates and figs are.

4) Scrub your hands and remove any jewellery. Leave your hands wet and roll the sticky mixture into balls, approximately 1 inch in size. Press them pretty tightly to ensure they stay together. Keeping your hands wet will allow you to roll them easily without everything sticking to your fingers.

5) Roll the energy balls in the shredded coconut. You should have approximately 15 energy balls, depending on the size. Enjoy!

Variations

Replace the hazelnuts and almonds with cashews or macadamia nuts.

Use fresh fruit. This makes the process messier but is absolutely delicious! One of my favourite combinations is fresh chopped cherries and 1 tbsp fresh lime juice.

Add spices like cinnamon, nutmeg or cloves. Add 1 tbsp fresh squeezed orange juice.

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Lemon Pepper Spaghetti Squash with Scallops and Kale

July 29, 2014

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I absolutely love scallops! They are a quick and easy source of protein and completely versatile when it comes to flavour. This is one of my favourite lunches to eat post workout.

Ingredients

1 spaghetti squash, cooked and threaded into ‘noodles’

8-10 scallops, ocean wise

1 bunch of kale, washed and chopped, stems removed

1 red bell pepper, chopped

1/8 cup of Tessemae’s Lemon Pepper sauce, approximately

Directions

1) Heat a large sauce pan over medium heat.

2) Pour into the pan about half of the Tessemae’s Lemon Pepper sauce

3) Place your scallops in the pan, leaving lots of wiggle room between them. Leave them to cook for 3-5 minutes.

4) Flip over your scallops and allow them to cook for another few minutes.

5) Add your red pepper and stir to combine with the scallops. Let cook for a minute.

6) Add your kale and the rest of your Tessemae’s sauce. Mix everything and fry until kale is softened and scallops are completely cooked through.

7) Remove from pan and serve over spaghetti squash noodles. Enjoy!

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Italian Sausage and Zoodles

July 22, 2014

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If you don’t have a vegetable spiralizer yet, you need to go get yourself one. Right now we are squeezing our little family into a basement suite and my kitchen is tiny, so I was thrilled when I found this little hand held one for $10 at Ross last week.

However, someday when we are living in a bigger space with a bigger kitchen, I’m going to order this bad boy. But for right now I’m happy with my little one and it’s doing the job just fine. Look at these beautiful zoodles!

Zoodles are quick, easy, delicious, and a great substitute for pasta, which is what I used them for last night. This recipe makes enough for about 3 people. Enjoy!

Ingredients

5-6 large zucchini, spiralized into zoodles

1-2 tbsp olive oil

1 lb Italian sausage (pastured pork and sugar free)

1 red bell pepper, diced

1 carrot, diced

2 garlic scapes, diced

1/2 yellow onion, diced

1-2 tbsp fresh Italian parsley, chopped

1 jar of your favourite sugar free pasta sauce (I usually just blend fresh tomatoes with some Italian herbs rather than buying pasta sauce)

Directions

1) Heat a large pan over medium heat and pour approximately 1 tbsp of olive oil into it. Once heated, crumble the Italian sausage into the pan and add the bell pepper, carrot, onion and garlic scapes. Fry until the meat is cooked through and no longer pink.

2) Add the jar of pasta sauce and mix to combine. Lower the heat, put the lid on, and allow to simmer while you make your zoodles.

3) Heat another large pan over medium heat and pour approximately 1 tbsp of olive oil into it. Working in batches, fry your zoodles in the olive oil for 3-5 minutes or until softened.

4) Once all of your zoodles are softened, serve them with the sauce on top and sprinkled with fresh parsley. Enjoy!

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Spaghetti Pie with Charley

July 21, 2014

Our Journey to Whole Foods with Charley – Her Story

June 26, 2014

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Meet Charley Marie, my precious little firecracker. She was born three weeks early and spent two weeks in the NICU. While she was there, multiple nurses laughed and warned us that she already showed a strong will, screaming loudly whenever she wanted or needed something. We took her home and the screaming didn’t stop for four months. Every time she nursed, she screamed in pain after, twisting up her torso and pulling her knees in. No matter what I ate to try and make my breast milk easier for her to digest, she reacted that way.

We switched to formula, but got the same result. After about three and a half months of almost non stop screaming and only sleeping in twenty minute increments, we took her to a specialist. He recommended a specific formula for colicky babies that is much easier for them to digest because the proteins are broken down for them. We tried it, and it worked! The screaming lessened and she began to sleep for longer periods of time.

But then came time to introduce solid foods. As a first time mom, I was so excited. I shouldn’t have been…she refused EVERYTHING. People say their child is picky, but really they mean that their child just doesn’t like broccoli or spinach, but will eat more common kid friendly food. My Charley was simply not interested in any food at all. We put everything in front of her and she wouldn’t take any of it. I was so disappointed! I had spent weeks making homemade organic purees and freezing them in anticipation, but she wouldn’t touch them. I researched all kinds of ways to get picky babies interested in food and tried all the methods, but nothing worked. She had the strongest will of any baby I had ever seen. Well meaning friends suggested starving her of milk or formula so that she would eventually eat when hungry enough, but it didn’t work for her. Eventually we gave up, and decided to not force her to eat anything. She drank only formula until she was one, and then when she turned one she switched to milk with small amounts of highly processed, packaged food-the kind you find in the baby aisle at Walmart with the ingredient list so long they can barely fit it on the packaging. It seemed to be the only thing we could get her to swallow. I had given up at this point and was desperate for her to eat, no matter what it was.

It got worse from there on. As we got more desperate to fill her stomach, we offered her more packaged garbage and she developed a like for it. This bothered me so much and I was so concerned for her health, but felt helpless. I have always been interested in nutrition and so I knew the stuff she was eating was terrible for her and contributing to her poor sleeping habits, mood swings, temper tantrums, attention span, and energy levels. I kept telling myself that we would deal with the battle of her eating habits when she was older and could understand.

Now, that time has come. She’s older. She turned three this past March (2014), and she can understand the general idea that healthy food equals a happier, more energetic, and well balanced life. She’s beautiful and feisty and intelligent and SO STRONG WILLED. We are gearing up for a slow but full time battle. Our goal is no packaged foods by age five. At home, she will have only whole, unprocessed foods. I don’t want her to miss out on some of the wonderful parts of childhood; ice cream on hot days, treats at her grandparents house, or cake at birthday parties. We won’t restrict things like that which are outside of the home. But her food in our house will be real.

I’ve got about a year and a half to change her life. Follow our journey here on my blog and feel free to leave comments with suggestions and ideas. I would love to hear what you think!