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clean eating : kale + chickpea pick-me-up salad

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Hello dear friends. January is almost over… my posts have been sporadic – for a while – a complete no-show. (sorry). I know it’s not the best way to introduce the new year on a wellness mission with me myself not stepping up to be there for you.

There’s a reason. There’s always a reason. Times are busy ~ very busy with work and life. It’s a huge crunch time every year around this time because of the tradeshow season. Things are piling up and consuming so much of my time. Hence, blogging takes a back seat while I’m in the driver’s seat and getting things done! ;)

Busy is good, right? In fact, it’s too-good-to-be-true good ;)

One thing you may or may not know about me is that I’m a very dedicated person to whatever I set myself to do. (ahem, let’s brush this blog aside for a minute and forget about my absence for a week, ok? ;))

When I make commitments, I keep to my commitments and put in 100%! I don’t do mediocre (in fact I had to look up how to spell mediocre – that’s how badly I don’t do “it”! ;) ha

With commitments and dedication there’s work. When there’s work, there’s drainage. Drainage is intense concentration with strains of stress pulling us in different directions. With drainage come distractions and distractions make us loose focus. Poor focus leads to bad decisions. (hang in there…. I’m getting to my point soon… ;)) Bad decisions contribute to bad food choices. (am I right?)

It’s a complete spiralling effect… you see yourself going down but you just can’t help it… you overlook the veggies, fill up on sadder food choices! Perhaps you skip breakfast or another meal… your energy gets drained. You crave more sugar, you grab a cookie and before you know it you’re on the 6th! Junk food starts to take you down…. You’re toast! You’re a burned sad toast!

You need to be bright and vibrant and colourful again. You need to eat happy again. Happiness, energy and awesomeness are found right here… in this Pick-Me-Up Salad!

 

Our emotions, stress influence how we eat. And sometimes you can’t trust your own self! Do you know what I mean? Did you ever surprise yourself with a difficult to control craving for sugar or *crap* food?

We’ve all been there. Excuses will not cut it. You’re only doing this to yourself.

What needs to happen is you need some love from good nutrition. This Kale + Chickpea Salad is a healthy recipe that has the amazing nutrition from kale, protein from the chickpeas, organic tomatoes, avocado and homemade dressing with mustard seeds.

Kale + Chickpea Pick-Me-Up Salad

(vegan, gluten-free, organic, unprocessed, all natural)

Serves 2

Ingredients:

handful of kale

handful of spinach or romain lettuce

can of organic chickpeas, rinsed and drained

1 organic tomato, chopped

1 avocado, peeled and sliced

a few slices of red onion

fresh basil leaves (optional)

Dressing :

4 Tbsp. olive oil, 2 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar, a sprinkle of dried basil or oregano, fresh cracked black pepper, sprinkle of himalayan salt + sprinkle of mustard seeds

 Directions: 

Toss everything together onto two plates. Drizzle over with dressing.

Enjoy the pick-me-up!

 

So there you go. My secret to bouncing right back up! I eat a big salad!

It works, trust me ;)

I was thinking before writing this post that… why would I post “just a salad” here. But then I realized that it’s simple inspirations like this that could encourage someone to fix themselves a big salad also. So for even one person who feels the crunch of high stress or is feeling the lure of bad health choices – this is how you can bounce back!

Make and serve immediately. Repeat daily. Variations on the ingredients are open! ;)

Sending big hugs to everyone! I do miss contributing more regularly here but I do my best. This is my best. The crazy times are almost over ~ see you around ;)

 ♥ Ella

 ps. Please do share what works for you… How do you pick yourself up?

 


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wild rice no-meat loaf : vegan & gluten free

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Today I have for you a beautiful Wild Rice No-Meat Loaf ~ all vegan all gluten free. Beautiful, tasty and satisfying. Loaded with vegan protein, Holiday season’s flavours and the additional beauty and great taste of Naosap Harvest wild rice.

 

I must be honest and admit that I get completely excited about food! I love great fabulous REAL food. Food that is crafted by Mother Nature with the helping hand of great dedicated people. Organic, wild, non-gmo – that’s the REAL I’m talking about. It’s exactly why I was so excited when I discovered and tasted the realness of this delicious wild rice – harvested from the organic and non-gmo farms of Naosap Harvest, a family owned and operated operation in Manitoba, Canada.

I haven’t had wild rice before, and having finally tried Naosap Harvest organic wild rice I was amazed by the versatility, heartiness, great nutrition and great taste of it. My husband doesn’t always love vegan foods – but even he exclaimed “Wow, this is great”. And we all agreed, including the little one, that this rice is fantastic.

This rice is also a great buy because only 1/2 cup uncooked rice – triples in size and makes 1 1/2 cups of cooked rice! So this whole No-Meat Loaf uses only 1/2 cup of wild rice. It pops when cooked, kind of like popcorn would and you get great rustic texture in each grain. I like that, I like when food has a little imperfection to it and has a hearty rustic ‘real’ look and feel…

I wanted to make a Vegan version of a Meat Loaf for a long time. And I was really excited to bring in the wild rice into this. It adds a great robust taste and texture to the recipe. It turned out great and I can’t wait to make it again ~ for the Holidays for sure ;)

WILD RICE NO-MEAT LOAF
WITH NAOSAP HARVEST ORGANIC WILD RICE

(vegan, gluten free – egg free, dairy free)

1/2 cup uncooked wild rice
1 can red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
2/3 cup walnuts, chopped
1/4 cup raisins, chopped
1/4 cup dried cranberries, chopped
1 medium onion, diced fine
2 tbsp milled flax seeds (with 3 tbsp hot water)
1/2 cup gluten-free bread crumbs
2 springs of fresh oregano
1/2 tsp ground pepper or more to taste
1 tsp sea salt or more to taste
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
extra warm water

Directions: Cook the rice as per directions (the cooking time is about 45 minutes – I like to do this the night before or in the morning so the rice is cooked and ready before putting it together) The actual assembly of the loaf is very quick – about 20 minutes).

Grease and line a loaf pan with parchment paper and set aside. Preheat the oven to 350F.

Chop the onion very fine, and in small skillet, sautee on olive oil until golden, not burned – set aside. Separately in a small bowl, add the milled flax seeds and hot water, mix and set aside. Chop all raisins, dried cranberries, walnuts into small pieces.

:: Larger pieces will give you a rougher texture of the loaf but expect it to be more crumbly also.
:: Smaller pieces will give you a smoother texture in the loaf, and if that’s what you’re after, take 2/3 of the cooked wild rice, and give it a bit of a chopping also.

In a food processor, grind all the red kidney beans into a paste.

In a large bowl, combine the bean paste, sauteed onion, all the dried fruit, nuts, 2/3 of the wild rice (reserve 1/3 for top), and 1/2 of the flax seed mixture, gluten-free breadcrumbs, spices, salt and pepper plus fresh oregano – mix well. If the mixture is too dry, add a few tablespoons of warm water, mix and add more until it sticks together and isn’t crumbly, but it’s not runny.  Taste it and add more seasoning if needed. Tasting it is a very important step to make sure it doesn’t come out bland at the end.

In another small bowl, add 1/3 of the wild rice remaining with 1/2 of the flax seed mixture, season with salt and pepper and mix well to incorporate. This is the wild rice topping.

Assemble in the lined loaf pan by adding the rice topping first. Be sure to spread it out evenly. Then add in the other loaf mixture. Press down firmly so it forms well in the pan, smooth out the top.

Bake for 35-45 minutes. Let cool for about 10 minutes before serving. Great dish to make a day before serving. Serve with a salad for everyday dinner. Or, since the Holidays are coming up so soon, this is a great Vegan and Gluten-Free protein rich dish that would be great as part of  a delicious healthy Christmas dinner. Enjoy.

 

This is a great dish for those on a Vegan and Gluten-free diet ~ but not only. I encourage everyone to eat healthier by incorporating more plant-based dishes into their daily food intake. With the addition of the Naosap Harvest wild rice, it’s hearty and healthy – with great organic and nutritious goodness. Yum! I can’t wait to make this again ;)

Naosap Harvest Wild Rice Nutrition Info

7g of protein in a 1/4 cup
3 grams of fibre
6% of your daily iron
rich in B vitamins
gluten-free
certified Non-GMO
and certified organic

I love how nutritious this rice is! I often say, if you’re going to eat anyway, eat healthy food that’s actually good for you. This wild rice gets my seal of approval! ;)
This is a sponsored post ~ my opinions are 100% my own.

You can visit Naosap Harvest on their website, facebook page, and you can order online through their online store – a bag of these would be great for Christmas gifts! ;)

 

 


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the good green super-smoothie

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What’s something good and something green with special super-powers and tasty and just oh-so-wonderful for you and I’ll just throw in quick-to-make so you don’t think it’s impossible to pull off??? … why, it’s The Good Green Super-Smoothie, of course!

I’ll be honest, I’m not a big smoothie/juicing girl for one big reason – I don’t like to haul out my big equipment – with its set up and clean up. Ughhh… I do not like! (Ok, sometimes I don’t mind and I do do IT. But not as often as I would like… and when I skip out on my smoothie making my body really feels it. I don’t have the same energy and focus ~ it’s a true fact that you really do get amazing nutrition with just one glass of this goodness!

So on those lazier days… or busier days… this good green baby doesn’t need my mood to strike and deal with all that equipment – because it’s super quick and super easy to make and it’s amazing nutrition in one convenient single or double serving size…. best of all it holds powerful superfood ingredients that makes this little green gem hold very special super-powers!

THE GOOD GREEN SUPER-SMOOTHIE

{vegan & gluten-free Superfood Smoothie recipe}

2 cups almond milk

1 large ripe banana (with black spots is best)

1 loosely filled cup of organic spinach

1 tablespoon of hemp hearts

1 tablespoons chia seeds

1 capsule of probiotic (acidophilus + bifidus mix)

Quick method : Place all ingredients in a large glass bowl, wide-mouthed glass or mug or a measuring cup (I love using my measuring cup the most). Blend all ingredients well with an immersion blender. Serve and enjoy.

You can mix all ingredients in a blender well. The one banana should provide enough sweetness for the whole smoothie. (We find it sweet enough but we have been sugar-detoxed! ;) If you must have it sweeter – you can add 1/2 a banana more or add 2 tablespoons of a natural liquid sweetener of your choice. But honestly, you don’t need it! ;)

If this recipe sounds a little too close to my Good Green Goblin? Well that’s because it kind of is the same recipe – it’s that good I had to share it twice, I just changed the milk to almond.. and this time it’s without the Halloween theme ;)

So what makes this Super Smoothie a super-smoothie?

Well, simply put it is loaded with amazing nutrition from being a complete protein with all 9 essential amino acids, to a great source of calcium, omega 3 & 6 essential fatty acids, a great antioxidant, rich in vitamin A, vitamin C and vitamin K as well as many others but loaded in these top 3, iron, folate, manganese and high in fibre and if that’s not all it’s also ‘good’ for good reasons. It has probiotics in it which is good bacteria; acidophilus + bifidus, which helps to repair and maintain the good health of your digestive tract. Yes, it’s GOOD for many reasons!

Now you know why it’s good, why it’s green (that’s easy), and why it’s a Super-Smoothie!

And now you also know just how quickly it is to mix up and serve even in a rush. Because this essentially has everything your body needs in one serving – this does get a stamp of approval for being a great meal replacement. In fact it’s encouraged as part of your daily food intake. You probably get more nutrition and you feel fuller longer from this one glass of The Good Green Super-Smoothie than you would from a sandwich.

So whether you’re rushing or want to look great (and maybe loose a little weight before the holidays) or want to get the right nutrition in one simple convenient serving ~ or all of the above ;) Yes, this one’s for you! Cheers to Super-Smoothies – Cheers to great health!

 ♥ Ella

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potluck party roundup

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Hello my friends! Happy Friday!
I hope that everyone who celebrated Thanksgiving yesterday had a lovely day with good food, good company and great conversation.

Things are a little quiet over here for today… there’s no link-up today because I thought it would be a great time to compile all our seasonal Parties and take time and visit those great recipe posts.

Here is a healthy recipe roundup with awesome mostly Gluten-Free and Vegan meals!

So let’s do some party hopping today and revisit the best food in town in blog land.

Cheers! Have a great weekend everyone.
See you next week and next Friday for a continuation of our Potluck Parties!

Healthy Holidays

E-Book launch Party with great Thanksgiving Recipes
(mostly gluten-free & vegan)

Gluten-Free Potluck Party

20 amazing all gluten free  recipes from smoothies, meals to desserts!
(focusing only on gluten-free recipes – mostly vegan also)

Healthy Comfort Food

8 delicious healthy gluten free and vegan comfort food recipes.
(mostly gluten-free & vegan)

Cold Season Remedies & Recipes

11  great recipes to help you feel better, get natural relief for your cold or flu or just great recipes to make you feel good with lots of nutrition (even with desserts ;))
(mostly gluten-free & vegan)

Soup Party

14 Delish Soup recipes that are oh-so-good while being healthy gluten free & vegan.

Ella’s Birthday!

Yummy treats from the whole community to celebrate my birthday in September.

17 delicious, healthy and fabulous Healthy desserts & other scrumptious foods!
(mostly gluten-free & vegan)

and there’s so many more… but these are only for the Fall/ Winter season.

These great parties would not be successful of course without the amazing support of all the food bloggers that come and join the fun. Thank you friends for coming by and sharing your lovely creations.

If you are hopping around and visiting the recipe posts, do say hello from me, Ella and let’s all mingle and have fun! Cheers!

♥ Ella

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the good green goblin : a super-smoothie

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Halloween brought in so much excitement, adorable costumes, frightening experiences, too much sugar (that now daddy is in charge of) (bad idea) and the best thing ~ The Good Green Goblins!

Yum! Seriously! I made these just for fun one morning when we were in the Halloween spirit. Then made them pretty much every morning since… even when we were going out to trick-or-treat – to give us lots of energy, vitamins and protein to keep the kids happy and fulfilled during all that hard work when trick-or-treating ;)

These are quick to mix up – I like to use a hand held blender and do it up in a measuring cup – but a blender would do, especially for a larger batch. (I just like the minimal clean up with using the hand held blenders ;)

THE GOOD GREEN GOBLIN
A SUPER-SMOOTHIE RECIPE

2 cups coconut milk (or other non-dairy milk)

1 large banana

1 loosely filled cup of organic spinach

1 tablespoon of hemp hearts

1 tablespoons chia seeds

1 capsule of probiotic (acidophilus + bifidus mix)

Mix all ingredients in a blender well. The one banana should provide enough sweetness for the whole smoothie. (We find it sweet enough but we have been sugar-detoxed! ;) If you must have it sweeter – you can add 1/2 a banana more or add 2 tablespoons of a natural liquid sweetener of your choice; such as agave nectar, maple syrup, raw honey or coconut sugar or stevia. But honestly, you don’t need it! ;)

I could not be happier with my Green Smoothie routine… it’s so quick to put together and I’m getting a real vitamin boost, loads of fibre because I didn’t juice the spinach but blended it, a good protein intake + the superfood power of Chia seeds and Hemp Hearts and even a good dose of good bacteria to aid in digestion and help with intestinal health – the core of good health!

And because it went well with Halloween ~ my 5 year old had a good introduction to green smoothies (it worked when I said it was goblin’s brains! LOL!) (we did do green smoothies before but she just wasn’t as excited as this time ;)

I encourage everyone to give this recipe a try. It’s easy, quick, tasty – really. With this in the morning or at lunch, it’s really a great meal replacement – great for weight loss and a detoxing diet.

Let me know how you like The Good Green Goblin ~ another amazing Super-Smoothie ~ loaded with Superpowers! ;D

 

 

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