Admitting you have a problem is the first step, right?! lol I am just lovin chickpeas these days. I mean I have always liked them and i liked hummus, but i LOVE them now. In all different ways. So far I have introduced you to hummus (pureed chickpeas), roasted chickpeas, and now grilled chickpeas!! I saw a photo on KathEats blog last week and even though she wasn't able to give out the recipe, I decided to try and figure it out by seeing the photo. It is somewhat of a Hawaiian stir fry and it is truly one of my favorites these days. Do I say that about all of them?! lol [Hawaiin] Chickpea Stirfry - 1 cup brown rice - 1 can of organic chickpeas, drained and rinsed - 1 red pepper, chopped - 1/2 a sweet potato, cubed (Microwave in a paper bag for 2 minutes first) - 4 slices of pineapple, chopped into bite size pieces - 1 Tbsp hemp hearts - 1 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil - 1 tsp balsamic vinegar - 1/2 tsp turmeric - dash of curry - dash of cilantro - drizzle of honey or pure maple syrup - sea salt and pepper to taste 1) Cook the brown rice and set it aside. 2) In a large pan on medium heat, add the oil and balsamic vinegar. In the meantime, microwave the sweet potato in a paper bag for 2 minutes. 3) Then, once your pan is heated up, add the chickpeas, pineapple, sweet potato, pineapple, red pepper and hemp hearts. Stir occasionally and let everything incorporate for about 7-10 minutes. 4) Once everything is nicely grilled up, add your spices and drizzle a tad bit of honey or maple syrup. Let it sit for another few minutes. Once everything is all done, spoon the stirfry on top of a dish of brown rice. It looks sooo pretty. I hope everyone had a romantic Valentine's Day. Did anyone try the clean lava cakes? Let me know what you thought.
I was one lucky girl and got flowers from Sean and he took me out for dinner. Wowzas! We went to Thandi's uptown Saint John and I got the Atlantic seafood dish with Salmon and Haddock braided together!! Yup! With sweet potato and veggies. I was proud of myself for staying on a clean routine even though we went out for dinner. Do you find it hard to stay on track when you eat out at a restaurant? Well, the Bachelor is almost on so I think that is it for tonight. Happy Tuesday!! If I disappear for a day it only means that I have become an Aunt agaiN!!! Yes, my brother and sister in law are very close to having their second child... this time it is ganna be a boy! I'm so happy. OH one more thing... I am attending a workshop Tuesday night (Feb 15th) at Naturally For Life called "How to Cut Through the Maze of Natural Health." It sounds very interesting... for those of your who are interested in attending, you can contact Terri Ann at 848-0044 to see if there are any tickets left ($10). I love learning new things about natural health so I will be sure to share my new learnings with you guys tomorrow! Have a great day! Lots of love <3
0 Comments
HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!! I racked my brain trying to think of the best recipe to share with you guys and then it dawned on me... Clean Lava cakes! Yes you heard me right. The photos speak for themselves ;) During the holidays it almost seems unfair because as you see everyone else with boxes of chocolates and other unclean "love" treats, you feel like it is almost impossible not to crack under the pressure. But the point to this whole journey, is trying to enjoy anything but with a clean twist to it. Now, the important thing with Valentine's Day is just making whatever you do as special as possible! As a girl, I could care less if I got a gift or anything expensive. I just want to know that they put effort into it! Whatever it is! So, I think this recipe is an amazing idea for an girl or guy out there trying to make their love feel extra special. What is the saying... "The way into a man's heart is through his stomach" ;) Well you want him to stick around for awhile and be happy right?! So you may as well fill that stomach with healthy and clean foods. This recipe originally came from Clean Eating Magazine with only a few tiny modifications. Clean [Ooooohy Gooooooey] Lava Cakes - 1/4 cup plus 1 tbsp organic unsweetened cocoa powder - 1/3 cup Sucanat (organic brown sugar) - 3 Tbsp organic unsweetened Applesauce - 3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil - 1 free range egg - 1 free range egg white - 1/2 cup whole wheat flour (i use speerville) - 1 Tbsp ground flax - 1 tsp pure vanilla extract - Olive oil spray - Garnish: Strawberry slices, yogurt 1) Preheat oven to 400F. Lightly spray 4 (4 ounce) custard cups with the cooking spray. 2) In a medium bowl, mix the cocoa powder, ground flax and sucanat together and then whisk in the applesauce and oil. 3) In a small bowl, lightly whisk the egg and egg white and then add it to the cocoa mix. Whisk until smooth. Stir in the flour and vanilla until everything is incorporated well. 4) Pour the mixture evenly into the 4 custard cups and place into a cooking sheet. Bake for 9-10 minutes. 5) Centers should be soft but sides should be firm. Turn the cups upside down onto your serving plate, let stand a couple minutes before removing cups. Garnish with yogurt and fruit slices (strawberries or whatever you prefer). NOW these photos look great BUT I forgot to spray the cups before pouring the batter in so they were a bit sticky. Sorry :( At least it shows how true this blog is and it is all trial and error just like you guys. No professionals here! :)
This clean dessert can be served at the table for dessert, as a snack, or maybe even in the bedroom with a little extra yogurt and strawberries. LOL Whatever you prefer.. just promise me you will make it special :) My weekend was insanely relaxed but I think I needed it. Since I got my workouts in all 5 days last week I took the weekend off and enjoyed some active rest time. I also did a lot of extra cooking and baking to share with you this week including a homemade loaf of bread. mmmmmmmm Well guys... I hope you have a very Happy Valentine's Day. Cherish your loved ones close to you and treat them with the love they deserve. Lots of love! "Touch is a powerful healing tool; use it lovingly and often." - unknown Happy Friday! This week has been... just another week. It's been busy at work and we got more snow, so I have just been having fun going home at nights and cuddling on the couch. The good thing about working out in the morning is that I can do that without feeling guilty. How have you guys been doing with your workouts? When is the best time you feel it is the most effective for you? So, let's get started. This hummus recipe is one I have been making for awhile. Actually I make it at least once a week because Sean is now addicted to it :) It is such an amazing snack to partner with fresh cut veggies, crackers or pita/veggie chips. As I have mentioned before, chickpeas are high in both soluble and insoluble fiber with a low glycaemic index, chickpeas can help you to feel fuller for longer, thereby helping to control appetite and manage weight. They are also an excellent low-fat source of protein. (http://www.suite101.com/content/the-chickpea-a135622) Not everyone is as brave though to eat them straight up like the Roasted Chickpeas we introduced last week. Sooo that's why hummus is so great! I always make regular garlic hummus, but today I have decided to try roasted red pepper hummus... [Roasted Red Pepper] Hummus - 1 can of Organic Chickpeas, drained and rinsed - 1/3 cup of organic Tahini - 2 gloves of garlic - 1 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil - 3 tbsp Water - 3 tbsp Lemon juice - 1/4 tsp sea salt - Half - a full red pepper, roasted in the oven for 15 minutes - 1/4 dried Basil 1) Preheat your oven to 350. Placed sliced red pepper onto a sheet with a tiny bit of oil and roast for 15 minutes. 2) In your food processor, put the garlic gloves and oil and pulse until incorporated. 3) Add the chickpeas, tahini, water, lemon juice, sea salt, red pepper and basil. Then blend until smooth consistency. It usually takes 30-60 seconds. (If you wish to just make a regular garlic hummus, DO NOT add the red pepper and basil.) 4) After blended, spoon into your desired dish and serve. Enjoy! Next week I will show you how to make whole wheat pita chips because who can have hummus without homemade pita chips?! lol
Tonight for supper I really had fun with a Hawaiian style Stir fry that I was VERY happy with. I documented the whole thing so i will definitely be posting that early next week. This is one you are ganna want to try. Is there any healthy recipe you guys want to see? Let me know. Monday I will be showing you the perfect Valentine's day dessert!! Delicious, beautiful and romantic ;) Have a happy friday and stay healthy! Lots of love Beans. People love them. People hate them. We all know they are healthy for us and packed full of protein and amazing nutrients. I can't express to you enough how much you should at least try to venture into the "bean world". Come join us. Right now a lot of people are going through the withdrawal from meat since our everyday sources are so questionable. If you have watched movies like Food Inc. you will realize that the meat you buy in the grocery stores aren't exactly up to our standards. There are great companies out there like Farmers Bundle located in Saint John, NB that give us hope! Another way to make sure you get all your daily protein is from beans! Let's give it a try... [13] Bean Soup - 2 cups of 13 bean soup mix, soaked overnight, rinsed. (Bob's red Mill) - 2 liters of water - 1 can of organic crushed tomato's, no salt added - 1 cup of brown wild rice - 5 organic grown carrots, peeled and chopped - kale, chopped - 1 onion, chopped - 1 tsbp chili powder - 2 tsp garlic powder - 1 tsp sea salt - 1 tbsp hemp hearts - 2 tbsp ground flax 1) Soak the beans overnight in a bowl of water. In the morning, drain and rinse the beans. 2) In a large pot, bring the 2 liters of water and beans to a boil. Reduce heat. 3) Add all your rice, beautiful vegetables, herbs and spices. 4) Let simmer for 3-3.5 hours, stirring occasionally. 5) Serve warm. It's nice with a dollop of plain yogurt. Enjoy! This was the dish I made on Sunday for my week of lunches. I don't get tired of eating the same thing every day for lunch so this method works for me. I also save alot of money by making sure I have a lunch packed everyday for my work day. As I have said before, it is very important to pack a day's worth of snacks as well. As we all know, eating goes hand and hand with exercise to maintain a healthy figure. I wanted to share with you another Bodyrock workout since these are the workouts I follow every day. Also, I thought I would share with you a video of me announcing the nominees for The Salty's Social Media Awards (Vote Today!). I was asked to do this video about 5 minutes prior to filming and was very nervous.. but ever since I started my healthy clean eating and active lifestyle, I have adopted a new confidence that allows me to just go with whatever comes me way. So.. it was fun! And now i get to share it with you. Have a great day and stay healthy. Lots of love It was Saturday night and we had just gotten home from a day of shopping. Sean and I were both very hungry and we didn't want to wait too long before we could eat. I had been meaning to try a new recipe i found on OhSheGlows so this seemed like the perfect night. It really was quick.. I am famous for quick easy healthy meals.. so believe me when I saw it was easy. Creamy Avocado Pasta - 1 medium sized avocado, pitted - 1/2 lemon juiced. Lemon zest to garnish - 2 cloves of garlic - 1/2 tsp sea salt - 1/4 cup fresh basil - 2 tsbp extra virgin olive oil - 2 servings of whole wheat spaghetti pasta - 1 package of fresh mushrooms, chopped - Fresh ground pepper 1) Cook your pasta as per directions. This is a new 100% Organic spaghetti I tried out. I found it at the bulk barn. 2) While the pasta is cooking, start to saute the mushrooms in a small saucepan with a touch of extra virgin olive oil. 3) Meanwhile, make the sauce by putting the garlic, olive oil and lemon juice into a food processor and blend until smooth. Now add in the avocado, basil and salt and process until creamy. 4) When your pasta is done cooking, drain it and put into a large bowl. Add your sautéed mushrooms as well. Then pour the sauce over top and toss until fully incorporated. Garnish with lemon zest and black pepper and serve immediately. As you can see, the sauce is very GREEN. As I was making it I caught Sean peeking over and giving it a weird look. I ignored it and then called him in for supper a few moments later. He walked in.. slowly. He usually gives everything a try at least once. He. took. the. first. bite. and he was hooked. I don't even think he looked up once and after he cleaned his plate, he glanced up and asked me when I can make it again LOL. Soooo don't judge a book by its color :) These photos do not even do it justice. This is one of my favorite new recipes I've tried. The mix of the lemon, avocado and basil gave it such an amazingly zesty taste! Yum! *SNACK TIP - While I was cooking, I was very hungry and wanted a quick snack. I recently found these Wasa crackers at the Bulk barn and wanted to share my find with you. They are made with all natural ingredients, nothing scary and the nutritional info is great. For 3 crackers the calories are very low and high in fiber. I had one cracker with some of my homemade roasted maple cinnamon almond butter with it. Great little snack. *TIP - If you just don't have the time to make your own almond butter, you can buy the all natural variety in the organic aisle at the superstore. BUT it is quite pricey. I think for a small container it is $5.99. Well as we know, Costco does have better deals in some products. This is one of them! You can buy the exact same brand, same everything double the size and it is only $7.99. This is an amazing deal and I just wanted to share this with you :) Have an amazing day! This week has been going great and so far I have gotten up early every morning for my workouts. I will post the new routines I have been trying soon. Lots of love! Happy Tuesday! I am having a much busier week than expected :( I didn't want to leave you guys without anything today so I wanted to pass along this amazingly interesting video I found from Dr. Weil.
I hope you guys are all having an amazing day. I woke up this morning and got my workout in!! yahhhh. Tomorrow's post will be much better I promise! Below is a very interesting video article on Dr. Weil speaking on How to Eat: The Anti‐Inflammatory Diet. A Must Watch! My weekend was great. Friday night, Sean and I had an amazing date night and went out to Opera Bistro. Sean had never been there before so we thought we would give it a try. Little did we know, it was going to be one of the best meals we ever had! Seriously amazing food and all of her produce is local and the meats are all grass fed. So it made us feel that much better knowing we were eating quality. Saturday morning I woke up early but it was still nice to sleep in a bit. Sean had a few errands to run so I figured a new recipe was in order! I had some pumpkin leftover that I wanted to use it up... a Chocolate Pumpkin Loaf was the result. I found a recipe from Carrots N Cake that I modified quite a bit and it turned out... well see for yourself! There is very little left because we all loved it so much! [Chocolate] Pumpkin Loaf - 1/2 cup Whole Wheat flour (I used Speerville) - 3/4 cup unbleached All Purpose flour (I used Speerville) - 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (Fair trade - organic aisle) - 3/4 cup Sucanat (an organic brown sugar) - 2 free range eggs - 1 tsp baking powder - 1/2 tsp baking soda - 1/4 tsp sea salt - 2 tsp cinnamon - 1/2 tsp nutmeg - 2 tbsp ground flax - 1 tsp organic vanilla extract - 1/2 can (7.5 ounces) pumpkin (make sure it is just pure pumpkin and not "pie filling") - 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips 1) Preheat the oven to 325F. Grease your loaf pan. 2) Combine all your ingredients in a large mixing bowl and blend well. 3) Once mixed, pour batter into loaf pan. 4) Bake for 45-60 minutes, until top is firm and a toothpick comes out clean. Mine took the 60 mins.. all depends on your oven. 5) All for the loaf to cool for about 15 minutes before cutting into it. This is the perfect example of a nice healthy homemade treat that is good to snack on in moderation. You would think you are eating something bad, but all of the ingredients are healthy and great quality. Sunday I had my mom over and we spent the day cooking. We cooked a whole chicken (I will post all about this, it was a local free range chicken) and she colored my hair for me. Another interesting adventure because I tried out a new product... I usually get my hair done at a salon but i dont LOVE highlights... and I used to use a box dye but it was killing my hair and drying it out. So, I tried a new product I found in the organic aisle at the Superstore and it is an all natural herbal hair color. It contains aloe vera and echinacea and wow, it turned out very well!!!! I loved it and i think it put moisture into my hair instead of drying it out. :) And the color was perfect! When we were out shopping before going back to my house.. I picked up some tulips :) They just made me happy and they are so beautiful. Gata love fresh flowers. I have an amazing week ahead of new recipes!! I can't wait to share them with you.
Have a great day!! Lots of love Tonight will be a quick post.. it has been a busy night but I wanted to share with you a new recipe I tried this evening. Kale Chips! I have been hearing more and more about them these days and have been wanting to try them, so I figure what better time than a quiet Thursday night :) They were a lot easier to prepare than I thought. Quick and easy and a healthy snack for any time of the day. Kale Chips 1) Preheat your oven to 350. 2) Take the desired amount of kale leaves and rip the greens off the stem into bite size pieces. 3) Then put all of your greens into a bowl with cold water and use your hand to wash them. (yes, that is a band aid on my finger) 4) Drain the water out of the bowl and either use a salad spinner or paper towel to dry the greens VERY well! Make sure they are dry or else you will end up steaming them instead of crisping them. 5) Once the kale is dry, place it onto a cookie sheet that is lined with parchment paper (or sprayed), 6) Drizzle with 2tsp of extra virgin olive oil and then sprinkle with sea salt and parmesan. OR whatever seasoning of your choice. 7) Bake for 15 minutes until edges are brown and kale is crispy. Enjoy! These were good but not my favorite. I might not have seasoned them as much as I should have since I skimped on some of the salt. But overall def something i will try again. Let me know what you guys think!
It's been a busy week and I am glad tomorrow is Friday. Sean and I have planned a date night tomorrow night... just a quiet dinner out to spend some quality time together and reflect on the week. This week my goal has been to really focus on my posture. Back straight and Core tight! Very important when working at a desk job all day long! The night before we spent some time organizing our kitchen and pantry. Our space is pretty limited so we have to make the most of it. I even found some great stainless steal containers for all my little ingredients I use daily. Take a look! OH and our baby girl helped too! She supervised ;) Have a great weekend. Be active and stay healthy! Lot of love Metaxia I LOVE oatmeal. I used to have it every morning for breakfast before I started with my new yogurt dish just recently. When I say oatmeal, I don't mean the little flavored oatmeal packets filled with refined sugars you buy at the grocery store. I am talking about the old fashion oats (I use Speerville Organic oats) that you cook the old fashion way. They are plain, yes.. but it gives you so much room to flavor them naturally and top off with beautifully colored fresh fruit! Are you as excited as I am?! lol Most of the time I stick to my regular recipe for oatmeal (which I will post soon), but I came across a bit of a different oatmeal recipe latley that I tried and WOW!! (Thanks Amanda for the suggestion) It is simple but oh. so. good. It kinda speaks for itself so let me just go ahead and show you the recipe and my method. This recipe came from Kath Eats. Whipped Banana Oatmeal [yes! whipped] - 1/3 cup organic old fashion oats - 1/3 cup water - 1/3 cup almond milk (or skim milk) - 1/2 banana sliced up (or a full one if it is small) - 1 tbsp chia seeds - pinch of sea salt - 1/2 tsp pure vanilla 1) Start off by putting the milk, water and oats into a small sauce pan on medium. Also, cut the banana up into small slices and add to the pan as well. 2) Let that heat for about 3 minutes or so until you start to see it bubble a little bit. This is your cue!! Take your spatula or wooden spoon and start to really stir! Almost whip it so the bananas start to turn to mush and become a fluffy consistency. 3) After you have whipped the banana/oatmeal you will notice there will only be a few chunks of banana left, which is fine. Add the 1 tbsp of chia seeds and pinch of sea salt and stir. (Usually I would add ground flax and hemp hearts to my oatmeal but I stuck to the recipe on this one) Then at the very end at the splash of vanilla and stir one last time. The vanilla adds an amazing aroma. Yum! At this point you can transfer the oatmeal into your bowl. As you can see below, it looks a bit different than most oatmeals but that is what makes it such a unique dish. Here comes the fun part! 4) Just have fun with the toppings. I added some goodies.. strawberry slices, fresh granola, dark choc chips, and a drizzle of my homemade almond butter! Doesn't it look beautiful :) I didn't even want to eat it because it looked so pretty. I used my cute square dish with my little baby spoon and savored every bite. Enjoy! As you can see I enjoyed every. last. bite. Oatmeal is a wonderful breakfast that is very wholesome and filling (especially with the chia seeds). This recipe is quite over the top but usually just having oatmeal alone isn't enough. It is important to add your protein with maybe some free range scrambled egg whites on the side.
Have a great day guys! Lots of love Metaxia Time: 2.5 Years ago Location: Shoppers Drug Mart East side SJ Picture it. It was a random Sunday afternoon and I was out and about just doing some afternoon shopping. I had two books in my hand near the magazine racks. One was the Clean Eating Magazine and the other was "The Eat Clean Diet" book written by Tosca Reno. I kept going back and forth and then realized that for only a couple dollars more I could get a whole "book" rather than just a magazine. So.. I bought it. I didn't know what to expect but it just felt right. Now.. you have to realize I am not a reader. I find it very boring and I usually dont find many (if any) books that keep my attention. WELL, I went home that day, and truth be told, I couldn't put this book down (cliché I know, but it's true!). It was everything I felt I knew but couldn't understand up until that point. Tosca explains everything in such amazing everyday terms and really maps out how and what you should be eating. "Every diet does that though" is what you are probably thinking. But the difference is that she actually explain WHY you should be eating a clean diet and not just telling you to do it. She explains what processed foods are actually doing to your body and it was an amazingly huge wake up call for me.
I believe in fate. I think everything happens for a reason and happens when it should. So.. I think I found this book at the perfect time for when I was going to be able to embrace it for what it truly was. Years before that, my mom had jumped on the "organic band wagon" and I remember thinking she was crazy LOL in the nicest way possible. I didnt "understand" what organic was and why she was making those choices. So, it just had to be the right time for me to be able to read this book and understand it for what it was and how I could incorporate it into my real everyday life. I am blessed to have a boyfriend who supports this change I have made in "our" lifestyle. Because that is exactly what it is.. A Lifestyle. It isn't a diet. It isn't something you should do during a fad diet or until you loose weight, it is a Lifestyle! Losing a few pounds is just a bonus to this amazing feeling you experience on the inside.. and it can't help but shine through to your outer appearance. I can't say enough about my experience with clean eating. And believe me.. I used to think eating healthy was cooking a "healthy" boxed meal or eating those "100 calorie cookies". The biggest thing I learnt, is how those kind of things just isn't real food. I don't even mind having a treat like a pizza or whatever floats your boat, but I make it at home from scratch. I use all of the best quality ingredients I can find and I know exactly what is in my food. That way, you don't put any of those hidden chemicals or preservatives into your body by mistake. Well that is it for today. I completely recommend this book if you are just starting out. The first one in the series of Tosca's books is the best.. it really started from "the beginning". I dont make any commission off this LOL I just wanted to pass along my find that really changed my way of thinking... :) Have a great day and be careful out in that storm... if it does show up. ;) Lots of love! |