Healthy Eating | iheartwellness.com

Tag Archives: healthy eating

Eat Your Avocado, Missy!

Posted on 23. Apr, 2010 by kris.

Happy Friday!!

Woot Woot! Friday’s are the best freakin day ever!

Are you enjoying your day? Mine is very Good!

Ryan and I hit up the S’Bucks this morning for a little relaxation session and then did our drive through our favourite neighbourhood to keep our visions and dreams alive Make sure to take the time to be in areas that make you feel good and surround yourself with things, people, etc. that keep your vision and dreams going. This neighbourhood we walk through is where we eventually want to live and we have pictures of homes for sale in this ‘hood on our vision boards.

After that morning outing, I hit the gym! I am already on Week 3 of my sexy Fitnessista workout! I can’t believe it! Wow, time flies when you are having fun

FOOD!

Last nights dinner was something super tasty! Sometimes I really surprise myself you know….

I threw together some Black Beans, veggies, salsa and guac to make a healthy, super easy, Mexican din din. I placed all this Mexican goodness on top of a bed of mixed greens and called it a dinner. FAB!

I also made some “dipping chips” with oat flour!

Oat Flour Dipping Chips

2 cups oat (ground into flour)
1/2 tsp sea salt (or more if you like saltier chips!)
1/2 cup water

Mix all ingredients into a bowl. You might need a tad more water if the dough gets hard to mix.

Break dough into 4 ball and roll each into a circle. Cut into wedges and bake @ 350 for 20 – 25 min. Keep an eye on them!

These were ok…..they are NO corn chip, but I wanted something crunchy and the ingredients were simple

Speaking of guac we all know the wonderful main ingredient in this mexican dip is the gorgeous Avocado! I am a lover of DianaStobo.com and was send this amazing post she has done on the wonders of eating avocados!

You have to check out the post!

The post explains that avocados are wonderful to eat and leave you with glowing skin, shiny hair and WEIGHT LOSS? YES! Oh my goodness, I am so excited that I read this. I love avocados and was always questioning the fat content. Well my friends, avocados are safe and healthy.

avocado

{source}

You will also find in this Post how you can use avocado’s externally for enhancing your already beautiful bodies!

What are your plans for the weekend? Do you LOVE Avocado’s? How do you normally eat them?

I love my avocado plain, or with a tad bit of sea salt….ahhh heaven!

XXOO
Kris

Continue Reading

A Mexican Millet Dinner

Posted on 04. Apr, 2010 by kris.

Happy Saturday Everyone!!

Are you having a wonderful Easter weekend??

Mine is MUCHO good! Today I went with Ryan’s sister and Mom to a seminar, hit costco, and had a wonderful dinner!

I made this super simple, majorly delicious dish found on FancyThatFancyThis.com! Thank you Ameena for this wonderful Black Bean Millet recipe!

I made enough for Ryan and I to have dinner and for Ryan to have leftovers for lunch. I did add the avocado last, so the left overs are sans avocado, but can be added just before eating. I also added some yummy cilantro to mine, and NO I did not get “stung” by my cilantro today!

Delicious!

Here is the recipe from FancyThatFancyThis.com

Black Bean Millet (1 serving)

1/4 cup of millet
1/2 cup of black beans, rinsed and drained
1/4 cup of salsa
1/2 avocado
1 cup of spinach
1 tablespoon olive oil

Rinse and drain the millet, follow the cooking instructions on the package (it cooks just like rice). Mix all of the remaining ingredients and enjoy.

Tomorrow is the big Breakfast at my ‘rents house, and then tomorrow night is dinner with Ryan’s family. A full day of Easter goodness happening over here

It is such a beautiful night here in Vancouver so I think we will head to starbucks or maybe to the beach!

Have a wonderful night everyone!

XXOO

Kris

Continue Reading

Ouch! A thorn in my cilantro?!

Posted on 01. Apr, 2010 by kris.

Howdy Everyone!

It is Thur-Friday!!! An extra long weekend for most people and I am so excited to have Ryan home for 4 whole days straight!

I love Easter time because of the colours, the chocolate, the food and the egg hunt…..yes you heard right. My sister and I still hunt for chocolate. Its not extreme like it was when we were little, it is usually a basket my mom will hide in the house and we have to find it. Oh goodness, am I too old for this?! I hope not because I LOVE it!

This year my family is having an Easter Breakfast and Ryan and I are going to make Averie’s Vegan Pancakes when the rest of the fam has some good ol waffles! I love breakfast at the parents house, the smell of coffee fills the air and the sizzling of food is so pleasant!

Thank you all for the comments on my last crazy starbucks visit! I am glad other have came across a similar situation in a local starbucks as I have!

Soooo yesterday I got injured while making my salad

I put my hand into the bag of cilantro to rip a bunch off and I felt this HUGE poke and sting! What the heck was it?! I looked in my cilantro bunch and found this sucker staring at me!

It has spikes on the stem!

My finger had a bump the swelled up like a mosquito bite! I can’t tell if a tiny thorn is still in there!

So everyone that uses cilantro, please Beware!

Other BIG news in our house – We got a new TV!!! We really needed a new tv that we can transport around to presentations and such, it was on sale and we purchased!

The funny thing is, we don’t have cable. Remember I have said that before? Ryan is really big into using his time wisely and if cable was here he would watch tv. I think I am actually making progress though

So last night to test out the new tube we played some Wii! Old school Mario Bros, baby!

What are your plans for the weekend? Do you have any Easter traditions, or dinners?

XXOO

Kris

Continue Reading

Tropical Island Eats

Posted on 17. Mar, 2010 by kris.

Happy St. Paddy’s day everyone!!

What a beautiful day we are having here today! I don’t know about you, but these sunny, longer days keep me super excited for the hot weather that is on its way! To keep my ’sunny’ feeling alive throughout my day I have been indulging in some tropical snacks

This has been my most favourite snack or treat right now:

Fresh organic pineapple, 1 banana, shredded coconut and a sprinkle of vanilla chia vega powder – Hello Hawaii!!

My tropical passion has also blessed my smoothies in the mornings. I have replaced the usual organic apple I use in my smoothies for fresh pineapple and 1 frozen banana, unsweetened almond milk (my fave!) and a heaping scoop of vega. Woohoo this is paradise first thing in the morning! Sometimes I even get a little crazier and add a tsp of fresh ginger to my smoothies.

greens

On my quest for more ‘vacation feeling’ eats, I came across these wonderful looking tropical muffins on OhSheGlows.com – I have yet to bake these puppies up, but I will be greasing my muffin tins for these bad boys very soon!

Here is a tid bit of info on Pineapple – It is full of vitamins and minerals and is a wonderful source of Calcium, Potassium, fibre and Vitamin C. Pineapple is also know for its bone strengthening abilities. It is super rich in manganese, which is a trace mineral needed to build bone and connective tissue. Just 1 lovely cup of pineapple gives you 73% of your daily amount of manganese.

Although we all wish we could be eating fresh picked pineapple from the sunny sands of Maui today, for those of us who are not there just yet, good ol Whole Foods can provide your tropical cravings today!

Do you love pineapple? What is your favourite way to enjoy it? Do you add it baking?

XXOO
Kris

Continue Reading

Day 2 and Extra Healthy Cookies

Posted on 11. Mar, 2010 by kris.

Howdy Everyone!

It is Wednesday night and I am finally sitting after a very busy! My feet are up, my tea is on my table and I am enjoying some quiet music

Day 2 of my Vega 7 day challenge was a success! I didn’t snack in between my plan and I felt wonderful!

My day looked like this:

Breakfast – 1/2 serving of vanilla chia vega powder, with 1/2 apple. 1/2 banana and a tad of almond milk and filtered water.

Lunch – Mondo Salad with 1/2 an avocado, some sprouts, broccoli and my minimal dressing (1/2 tbsp evoo and 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar)

Snack - 1 apple

Dinner - I did not follow my dinner meal plan as we went out for dinner for my sis birthday. I had a rice and beans dish YUM! Happy Vegan eats out.

Snack – 1/2 serving vega in water

I felt steady and fuelled again all day

Dinner out was so nice and a great relaxation time for me. I had a glass of red wine and chilled….

Today on the other hand has been quite busy. I baked some Extra healthy cookies for Ryan and he loved them!

Kris’ Extra Healthy Cookies:

2 cups oats
1 mashed banana
1/2 cup almond butter
2 tbsp coconut oil
1/2 cup shredded coconut
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup raisins
a few vegan chocolate chips

Mix the oats, coconut, cinnamon, raisins and chocolate chips together

In a separate bowl mash the banana and add the nut butter, vanilla and coconut oil

Add the wet bowl to the dry – Mix and place spoonfuls of batter on a parchment lined cookie sheet.

Bake at 350 for 13 minutes

No added sugar and extra healthy = Perfect morning, afternoon or evening snack!

I am just looking at my arms and realizing I am super pasty so I am off to go self tan. I am looking for a good, natural self tanner. Do you know of a good one? Have you ever got spray tanned?

I think my sister and I will go hop in the mystic tan booth one of these days

XXOO
Kris

Continue Reading

Weekend Eating

Posted on 08. Mar, 2010 by kris.

Howdy Everyone!

How was your weekend? I can’t believe it is Sunday evening already and the weekend is all over.

Our weekend was full of beach visits, meetings, shopping and eating When we go out on our weekend treks we always bring a whack of snacks with us to keep us fuelled and fresh. I made a total of 3 batches of these orange-cocoa cookies! I didn’t eat all of them myself, I did share and handed some out as our days went on

Today was a tad rainy and when we came home we decided it was a perfect night to make some soup….well it turned out more like stew – Hearty, Beefy, Good. Minus the Beef of course! Lentils were the mean protein source of this soup!

Instead of my usual bouillon cubes I went a little more high class today and used this Pacific Natural Foods brand Vegetable Broth – Amazing!

Here is the red soup:

Easy Red Soup:

2 large beets
3 carrots
1 onion
2 broccoli heads
1 large sweet potato
1 1/2 cups lentils
1 tbsp evoo
1 500 ml vegetable broth
2 cups water
sea salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

In your soup pot, heat oil over medium heat and add onion

Cook onion until tender, add chopped carrots and beets

Pour in the broth and water, add lentils, broccoli and sweet potatoes

Cover and simmer for 30 minutes, season with salt and pepper and serve!

This is such an easy and nutritious soup!

Since last week I have been drowning myself in organic pineapples from Whole Foods. I can’t stop eating them. On Saturday night we made a special trip to whole foods just for my pineapples….I am that crazy in love with them right now! I don’t know about you, but my favourite treat is pineapple and chocolate so tonight after my coffee meet up with my good friend Melissa I ate some of this:

Tasty, Sweet, Chocolaty Goodness!

Take some good (It has to be GOOD pineapple) and add some delicious dark, vegan chocolate chips! I usually melt some chocolate and drizzle it over my pineapple chunks, but I didn’t have the time for that tonight. Just straight to the goods for me!

Tomorrow I will be sharing something I am starting with you all!

OH! I almost forgot – Hudson got a new harness today! Isn’t it spiffy? Thanks mom and dad, you are the best grand doggie parents ever! I tell ya, this guy is so spoiled. Last week my sister bought him a bag of all natural peanut butter and parsley treats, and my nana treats him to some good ol’ german sausage whenever he stops by. He thanks you all

What is your Favourite fruit to drizzle with chocolate or pour chocolate chips over?

XXOO
Kris

Continue Reading

Pecan Caramel Clusters

Posted on 01. Mar, 2010 by kris.

Howdy Everyone!

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend?

I did! It was full and fun! Here is my weekend re-cap

Saturday was jammed packed helping a friend move quickly out of there place and then it was off to the grocery store and home to make some treats before we headed to my aunt and uncles for dinner.

I made the best version of Turtles I have ever had. I think they are actually way more tasty than the real ones and they are healthy and vegan! I found the recipe on my favourite site to find desserts – Elanaspantry.com

Elana uses macadamia nuts to make the original. All I had was pecans, so they turned into Turtles!

I am a chocoholic…..I admit it. I do not eat it daily, but when I do eat it I savour it…..and love ever second of the lingering taste

Pecan Caramel Clusters:

½ cup roasted almond butter
½ cup agave
1 tablespoon vanilla
½ tsp sea salt
1 cup pecans
1 cup dark chocolate 73%

Directions:

Combine almond butter and agave in a medium saucepan over low heat
Stir in vanilla and salt, then add pecans
Allow mixture to cool a few minutes
Drop mixture by the tablespoonful onto a parchment lined dish
Place dish in freezer for 10 minutes
Melt chocolate in a medium saucepan over lowest heat possible, stirring continuously to avoid scorching
Remove dish from freezer and drop chocolate over each caramel cluster, spreading gently to coat
Store macadamia caramel clusters in freezer
Remove from freezer just before serving (if left out for long they become quite messy)

Please go to ElanasPantry.com to find the original recipe

Of course yesterday the city with Buzzing with Hockey Fever and it was so amazing to watch and feel the energy here! When Canada won the game the streets were going nuts and people were screaming and yelling and letting off fireworks, it was such a wonderful experience to be a part of. It warmed my heart to be the host to this years Olympics and I can honestly say I am sad they are gone!

Today I went over and met my friend Sandi’s new baby girl – Anna- Sofia! She is the cutest little thing, with the most perfect shaped head and big eyes! Holding a baby feels so good and makes your heart warm

I purchased her the cutest spring outfit from The Gap!

Healthy Leggings!

The Cutest Spring Coat!

A few of my friends are now having there own little families and I think it is so cute!

After my visit I cam home and made a Caffeine, dairy free latte……well not really, but it tasted good. It was Teeccino, with warmed Rice milk and cinnamon = Delish!

When did you have your first baby? Or when do you want your first? Do you have a set age?

I look forward to the comments!! Now I am off to get some work done and eat a turtle

XXOO
Kris

Continue Reading

Vegan Italian Quinoa Dinner

Posted on 02. Feb, 2010 by kris.

Hello Everyone!

Thank you ALL for the wonderful comments on yesterday’s post on How to Deal with Negative People in your life. It was topic I figured we all could use a little “refresher” on You all had so many wonderful tips for as well, thank you!

Well Monday has now gone and we are moving further along in this beautiful week!

Today was full of a ton of water, tea, and protein bars! I don’t know why, but when my throat is sore, I need something sweet.

Now, I don’t want you to think that is ALL I had for eats today. I did have 2 ghetto greens, a large salad for lunch, a grapefruit, lots of protein bars and beautiful Italian Quinoa dish for dinner.

Sun dried Tomatoes are a fave food of mine. I always purchase them organic, and without sodium. Some brands out there try to kill you with sodium, read your label next time, its insane.

I find sun dried tomatoes add such a wonderful flavor to pasta, quinoa dishes, pesto, and even crackers. I added some to these bad boys over the weekend – WHOLY wowza were they amazing!!

Ryan and I ate the whole cookie sheet of crackers I baked in one sitting……while watching the movie “This is it”.

Italian Quinoa

*Please note this dish makes a lot with the measurements I am providing.

2 cups quinoa
5 cups water
2 vegan bouillon’s
2 medium zucchini’s
1 large red pepper
1 – 2 cups mushrooms
2 cups spinach
1/2 cup fresh basil, chopped
1/4 cup sun dried tomatoes, chopped
1/2 onion
2 tbsp evoo

Cook quinoa with 4 cups water and 1 bouillon

Heat olive oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add the onions and sun dried tomatoes. Cook for about 3-4 minutes.

In a small sauce pan bring 1 cup of water with the bouillon to a boil. Turn heat down and let simmer.

Add the rest of the vegetables (except basil) to the frying pan and cook for 2 – 3 minutes while stirring. Add the small boiling vegetable broth to the vegetables and let cook until veg are done.

Add the vegetable sauce to the quinoa and toss. Add the chopped basil to the dish and serve.

I am looking forward to leftovers from this dish tomorrow for lunch!!

What do you crave when your throat is sore? How do you prepare quinoa? Is it a breakfast food for you, or dinner?

XXOO
Kris

Continue Reading

Vegan Eats: Big Pizza Pie and Crunchy Sweet Potato Fries

Posted on 15. Jan, 2010 by kris.

Happy Thursday Friends!

I am currently snuggled up drinking tea and watching The Real Housewives of OC. I don’t know why but I am always drawn to reality shows where there is lots of money, beautiful people and no thinking that needs to be involved while watching them.

Today was a mondo busy day for me and I barely left my little office except to try some new recipes and take the dog out

After lunch I started craving chips, and well because I don’t have chips in the house I needed something natural to fill my craving. I decided to make some crunchy sweet potato fries. These are to die for! The “crunch” is from pecans that I food processed with a bit of olive oil and sea salt.

Crunchy Sweet Potato Fries:

2 medium sweet potatoes sliced into fries
3/4 cup pecan meal (food process pecans)
2 tbsp evoo
dash of sea salt

Preheat oven to 350

1. peel and slice sweet potatoes
2. place pecans in the food processor and process into a meal
3. mix all ingredients together in a bowl and evenly coat
4. lay fries on a baking sheet (greased or use parchment paper)
5. bake for 35 – 40 minutes

sweet fries

Enjoy!

These taters are so sweet and crunchy I almost could eat the whole plate! They are really good cold as well I might have grazed a bit on them all day as I passed the fridge.

Dinner was something new again, just like last night (I still think last nights was the best!). I put my thinking cap on and put together an easy pizza recipe.

pizza

Gluten Free Pizza:

Crust:

2 cups buckwheat groats, cooked
4 cups water
3 tbsp evoo
spices
sea salt
pepper

1. place buckwheat in a pot and add the water, bring to a boil and cook for 15 minutes
2. place cooked buckwheat and the rest of the ingredients in a food processor. mix well.
3. preheat oven to 300
4. spread mixture onto a baking sheet and spread it 1/4″ thick
5. add toppings of your choice and bake for 45 minutes

Toppings:

This is what I added:

onions
spinach
cauliflower
grated beets

pizza 2

I think this pizza would be great with some fresh pesto, vegan cheese, or even a homemade nut cheese with nutritional yeast. I will try this next time!

I might also try this crust with another grain next time, buckwheat has a very distinct flavor.

My early morning intentions have been working so far. I got up said everything I am grateful for and set my intentions for the day! What a difference it makes

Well I am off to finish my show and my tea and get back to getting some things done! I might even possibly eat some more sweet potatos! Enjoy your evening!

What do you bake or flavor your sweet potatos with?? What is your favorite mindless reality show?

XXOO
Kris

Continue Reading

It’s a Wrap! Easy Wheat Free Wraps

Posted on 14. Jan, 2010 by kris.

Humpday, how we love you!

How was every one’s day?? Mine was all sorts of busy and wonderful. I absolutely love being online and connecting with people and I am blessed where I have the ability to do this throughout the day. It just makes a girl so happy connecting and meeting new people. Isn’t facebook the best thing since sliced gluten-free bread?!
I wanted to discuss a bit about my empowering meeting yesterday with Ann, my life coach. This girl is the bestest and she knows how to get inside of me and I have no idea how she does it.

I went there wanting assistance on focus and keeping my “eye on the prize” as they say, well the whole topic seemed to have turned a smidge and we chatted about childhood, family members, how I view myself, and yes, a few tears were shed – happy tears of course

We talked a lot about the fear I used to have about Change. I find it absolutely amazing that I can now embrace change and actually be excited about it. Before doing work with Ann and understanding self growth, I would run as fast away from any form or change as I could. Not now baby, bring it on! I love it as I know I can not grow without change – period.

After my visit with Ann I was chatting with my mom on the way home and I decided that my alone time is really important to me right now. The more alone time I have the more connected to myself and the source I can be. I decided to wake up earlier and workout and then either meditate or just set my intentions for the day with myself. Have a little chat with the inner me, and embrace what the day will bring. My mom does this in the morning (she is a very early riser! 4:30 am early) and I admire this about her.

Here I go friends, early morning connections!

Food!

Today I was really craving bread. I don’t eat bread, so I needed to think of something easy I could put together that would give me the same satisfaction that fluffy, chewy bread would. I figured it out – I made wraps!

Wheat-free wraps!!

dinner wraps

Easy Wheat Free Wraps:

2 cups oats – ground in a food processor
3/4 cups water (I used warm water from the kettle)
1/2 tsp sea salt
2-3 tbsp Evoo (I used 2)
Dash of spices (optional)

1. ground the oats in the food processor
2. place all ingredients in a bowl and mix together.
3. place a tea towel over the dough and let sit for 30 min
4. make 4 separate balls out of the dough and roll them into 4 wraps.
5. heat the frying pan to medium and add a bit of evoo
6. when the pan is hot, add one wrap at a time and cook for about 40 – 60 seconds a side or until edges turn brown.
7. remove wrap from heat and place in between tinfoil to keep warm and soft.

Filling:

1 green pepper
1 zucchini
1 carrot
1 tomato
1/2 onion
2 cups spinach
1/2 can black beans
sea salt and pepper to taste

I placed all the above in a frying pan and cooked.

Fill the wraps and enjoy!

dough