hot and healthy quinoa breakfast bowl

that's right. quinoa. for breakfast. why had i never thought of this before? when it cooks it fluffs up like mad, so it would clearly just be an awesome alternative for your joe shmoe oatmeal or cream of wheat. quinoa is just so much cooler. gluten free and jam packed with nutrition (complete protein, iron, niacin and fibre), quinoa is pretty much just the best way to start your day! it was thick, creamy, filling and ridiculously satisfying! this meal is something i like to call a superfood. it has so many vitamins and minerals its basically a big, delicious dose of health! pecans and almonds added healthy fats, extra protein, tons of antioxidants, 18 essential nutrients and of course, the crunch factor. the ground flax added your daily dose of omega-3 fatty acids, fibre and phytochemicals. cinnamon and nutmeg provide all the manganese you need, blood sugar control and all that nice stuff.

i added quite a bit of cinnamon to my quinoa cause it makes it so much more comforting for those cold, early mornings! also, i used soy because i invited a not-so-milk-loving-but-quinoa-loving friend to taste my little experiment. plus i like that it has all sorts of vitamins, minerals and goodness in it as well. basically, i would add a bit, taste, and adjust to your liking. so, without further ado, here's the recipe!

oh. yeah. my little bowl of comfort, right there!

what you need:
1 cup quinoa
1.5 cups vanilla soy milk (or whatever milk you like)
1/2 cup water
handful chopped pecans
handful chopped almonds
handful of fresh berries (blackberries were the best!)
3 tbsp crushed flax seed
2-3 tsp cinnamon
2 pinches of nutmeg
* if you use regular milk, add 2 tbsp brown sugar to make it sweeter

step 1:
pre-heat oven to 350. put a large pot onto medium high heat. add your water and milk, and wait for it to boil. if your quinoa isn't pre-washed, place it in a sieve under water until it runs clear. once boiling, add your quinoa and cook for ~15 minutes or until big and fluffy or until all the liquid is gone.

bubble bubble bubble

step 2:
chop up your pecans and almonds and toast in the oven for a few minutes. be careful not to burn them! once your quinoa is cooked, stir in your flax, cinnamon, nutmeg and nuts. serve and plop on the berries of your choice!

doesn't that just look glorious?!

this batch made enough to last me the entire week, plus give some to a friend! to reheat, simply scoop in a bowl, add a bit of milk and heat for ~1.5 minutes or until milk starts to bubble. you can use other fruit as well, such as pears, apples, bananas or nectarines! i looooved it with blackberries though. so delicious!

license to snack

here's a quick post that i thought was very necessary seeing as i love, love, love snacks. i am a very guilty snacker. i try to stick to healthy things, like fruit or smoothies, but that definitely doesn't work all the time (hellooo, jalapeno pringles!) one of the main reasons that i don't actually mind snacking is that i never feel deprived of anything - a huge reason why many diets fail. if you say to yourself, you can't eat this or that, or can only eat at this time, you'll end up craving those specific foods and eating all day. the trick to snacking is to think about what you're eating, how much you're eating and why you're eating it.

here are some simple rules about how to make snacking healthy.
-   eat slowly! i am naturally a slow eater, sometimes i get self-conscious about it. but in the end, it's the best way to eat. it allows your body time to send signals to your brain that you're full, and you eat just what you need. 
-   keep portions small. don't eat out of a bag! biggest mistake you can make, and of course i speak from experience! take a single serving of the snack item and put it into a container.
-   have an indulge day. sometimes you just need that sugary bit of goodness. pick one day (mine are usually fridays) and let yourself have that bit of chocolate. as long as you don't eat the whole bar, you're fine.
-   snack smart. if you're a snacker like me, have healthy options available at all times. i always have frozen fruit in the freezer for a smoothie, almonds, multigrain crackers for hummous and fresh fruit in my kitchen.

here are a few of my favourite foods to nibble on!

pita - yumminess, calcium and monosaturated fats (aka the good stuff)
what you need:
1 pita bread
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil (my grandparents gave me some they imported from greece.. it's amazing)
2 tsp greek oregano or zaatar
hunk of crumbled feta cheese
step 1: 
stick pita bread in the oven to toast, or if you're just too hungry to wait you can cut it in half stick it in the toaster until crispy.
step 2:
drizzle on the olive oil, oregano and the feta cheese. yumm.

peanut butter two ways - protein, potassium, and some more protein!
what you need:
2 tbsp organic natural peanut butter (cashew and almond butter are really good too)
1 apple or 1 banana
step 1:
peel banana and cut into rounds. cut the apple into little wedges. take the peanut butter and spread onto each piece of fruit.

edamame - protein, essential fatty acids and fibre!
what you need:
handful of frozen edamame (shells on or off are both fine)
spices - i like cayenne, cumin or just sea salt
step 1:
put the edamame in a bowl, and put in the microwave until thawed. sprinkle on your spices and toss until evenly coated.

welcome back, sunshine

hello everybody, sorry for my hiatus on posting. exams were not so fun, profs can be mean some times! christmas break was also pretty crazy, but i got to hang out with my sisters quite a bit so that was good. but now i'm back at UBC and i've got to to really well this term. there's been some crazy stuff going on at home, so i decided to only take 4 courses this semester. more time to study, stay calm and hopefully get better grades! unfortunately this means i will have to do summer school, but only for the very first semester (may to june).

anyways, the days of 7AM alarms are over! no more 8AM classes for me  : )  so today i don't have class till 3 so i was able to sleep in, and oh my god it was glorious! i woke up and the sun was shining and i could actually see vancouver island from my flat! in honour of the sun, i decided to have a smoothie for breakfast. it's been the first in a while because it got really cold and tea and hot chocolate took over my life. well, hot chocolate still is haha. anyways, here's my nommy breakfast smoothie!

bright and tangy smooooothie  : )

what you need:

organic apple juice (i used some out of a juice box)

1 large frozen banana

2 big handfuls of strawberries

1 big handful of mango

if you have it, a scoop of whey or soy protein

step 1:

combine all ingredients into blender, and pulse until smooth! drink up  : )

smoothielicious

smoothies have really saved my life this week, with the whole no-fresh-veggies-or-fruit-in-the-fridge thing. they definitely helped me get the nutrients that i was missing! it may seem weird, but frozen veggies and fruit contain the same essential nutrients and health benefits compared to fresh, so don't be afraid to buy them. they are basically just fresh fruit or veggies that have been blanched and frozen within hours of being picked. sounds good to me! anyways, here are a couple smoothie recipes what i really liked from the last week or so.

best breakfast smoothie

what you will need:
~ 1 cup apple juice
4 frozen strawberries
4 frozen pieces of peach
1 big handful of frozen blueberries
2-3 ice cubes
* 1 scoop whey or soy protein
step 1:
blend all ingredients in blender until smooth. add extra juice if needed. i had the smoothie along with some oatmeal with milk and fresh banana for breakfast!

* to have a smoothie as a meal replacement, i suggest adding soy or whey protein no matter if it's for breakfast or lunch. also interesting would be adding in some ground flax seed to the smoothie. it's important to note that flax seeds must be ground for your body to fully absorb the omega-3 fatty acids.

blueberry binge

what you will need:

1 cup milk

1 cut up frozen banana

1-2 big handfuls of frozen blueberries

step 1:
add all ingredients to blender and blend until smooth. add extra milk if needed.

this smoothie was really creamy and rich - and the milk provided protein and calcium to keep my bones strong. as a complete side note - i have a history of osteoporosis and early arthritis in my famjam. plus i've already got some sort of rheumatism thing - i can tell you when it's going to rain or when the pressure changes.

davinci's anatomical drawings - keep them bones strong

even though you can get calcium from milk, yogurt, cheese and green, leafy veggies, some days you just don't get enough which is why i take a calcium supplement. any extra just gets peed out! dr oz says to take ~1,000 mg of calcium a day, broken up into two 500 mg doses (your body can only absorb 600mg at a time). it's also important to take vitamin D and vitamin K along with calcium, as it increases the amount of calcium your body is able to absorb. vitamin D is also shown to slow the progression of arthritis. i take a chewable calcium supplement that contains 500 mg of calcium, 100 IU of vitamin D and 40 mcg of vitamin K. i take one in the morning with breakfast, and one at night after dinner. yaaay for calcium!

breakfast of champions

i love smoothies. i always have... the meal-in-a-glass concept just rocks my world! anyways, my love for them was intensified this summer, when i was lucky enough to get a job at one of my favourite smoothie and juice bars. dangerous. not only did i get a free smoothie per shift, i accidentally added extra juice to the blender so that i could drink the little bit of leftover smoothie. all day, every day i would drink smoothies. i became addicted. it was bad.

anyways, since i no longer work there, i do suffer from smoothie withdrawal. everytime i go to cambie skytrain station i have to stop in and get a smoothie. so, my fix? make some at home. while it is almost impossible to replicate the smoothies exactly (do you have 'tropical nectar' sitting in your fridge? didn't think so) but you can get pretty darn close.

here was my first attempt!

my smoothie   :)

here's what you need:
a blender
3 - 4 ice cubes
3 handfulls of frozen blueberries
1 frozen banana
2 handfuls of frozen mango
1/4 cup milk
1/2 cup juice (i used mango pineapple cause that's all i had)

step 1:
add ice cubes, juice, milk, banana, blueberries and mango into blender.
step 2:
blend until desired consistency if achieved.  
j
hint: if your blender keeps going but the contents are not moving, add more liquid. you want the perfect "smoothie tornado". you'll know what i mean if you see it.
note: to make this a proper meal-in-a-cup, i'm going to go out and buy some soy protein and some sweet coconut tofu to add to my smoothies. this way, not only am i getting vitamins B6, C, E, A, vital minerals such as potassium, manganese, calcium, loads of fibre and TONS of antioxidants from the fruit, i'm also getting the protein my muscles and body need to stay strong throughout the day.

TA DA!

so, here's some quick nutrition facts on the fruit i put in my smoothie!
bananas:
- the average banana contains ~470 mg of potassium and only 1 mg of sodium; this means a banana a day will keep high blood pressure and atherosclerosis (build up of plaque along artery walls) away
- very rich in prebiotics, which nourish the probiotics (healthy bacteria) in our colon. the probiotics produce substances which increase our ability to absorb nutrients - especially calcium

blueberries:
- contain huge amounts of antioxidants phytonutrients called anthocyanidins, which help neutralize free radical damage. these enhance effects of vitaminn C, improve capillaries, stabalize collagen matrix (protein blocks for bone, cartilage, tendons and all other connective tissue)
- studies have shown that blueberries and their antioxidants can reduce the effects of conditions such as alzheimer's disease and dementia (dad! just kidding, haha)

mangos:
- very rich in dietary fibre which not only helps the digestive system, but has been shown to reduce the risk of some gastrointestinal cancers
- contain beta-carotene which can slow the aging process, reduce the risk of some cancers, improve lung function and reduce complications of diabetes

so, go now and make yourself a smoothie.
it will be awesome.