Category: Gratitude

Inspired DIY for Breakfast

  
You might look at this bowl and see fruit, or delicious walnuts, or cinnamon. I, however, see yogurt. It’s yogurt I made myself. 

I’ve been contemplating making my own yogurt for ages. The time was never right. I wasn’t organized, or finished off the yogurt, or didn’t have enough milk when the urge struck. But finally, I found my moment. Inspired by my friend from the Interwebs, The Zero Waste Chef, I decided to give it a go. I read lots of different recipes and methodologies. Most involved some convoluted method for keeping the yogurt warm without using a yogurt-maker. The beginning part was similar for most, but here’s what I did:

Heat milk to 180 degrees, stirring all the while. (I used about 3/4 of a 1L jar that I planned to used to store it in). Each expert differed on milk. Some wanted whole milk only. We drink 1% when we drink milk. I used that.

Now, cool it down to 110.

As I understand it, this helps break down the casein and makes the milk more “fermentation friendly”.

I poured it into an overnight-rated Thermos – the kind that is supposed to keep your food hot for a very long time. To this I added about 1/3 cup or 75ml of yogurt with active cultures – the kind we usually buy. Plain. No additives or preservatives. Then I called it, gave it a shake, and let it sit all day. 

At dinner time I peeked in, with some trepidation. It looked yogurt-y. It was thick enough that it was hard to pour from the Thermos. It wasn’t as smooth as a commercial variety, but it definitely tasted like yogurt. This morning, some of it was breakfast. No sugar added, just fruit that was frozen in season, a sprinkling of cinnamon, and some chopped walnuts. Probably this was the most chemistry fun I’ve had since learning the orange juice volcano.

Like this, but with a local twist…

One of the most important ways to contain your food costs is to never waste. This week, we bought local produce. Yes, the cheese is imported, but we could just have easily used a local variety, if we hadn’t had to use this kind up.

Here’s a link to the original recipe – although practically every ingredient is changed. For the turnip, we used its larger purple and yellow cousin, the rutabaga. We also swapped out the beans for kidney beans we had on hand – in our case cooked without salt and a little chili powder. Red cabbage was swapped for green, and pecorino for Manchego. Even the vinegar was subbed with our homemade wine vinegar.

The result? Every bit as delicious. Vegans can easily use soy cheese,  and although the recipe suggested this as a side, it’s so good, full of fibre and colour that the two of us split it as a main.

  
Stay tuned as we find more ways to make our limited supply of local produce look fresh and exciting!

Healthy Made Simple

  
Healthy choices are made out by some to be complicated. They are all about giving up things we love. Instead, let’s think about how we can simplify what we eat.

We have half a leftover roast chicken in the fridge. (Learn to roast it yourself to avoid the excessive salt of the store’s rotisserie version). More on that another day. We also have some beef ragu, some chickpeas, and a selection of seasonal, local veg. This week I’ll post as we work through healthy easy ways to use it all up, and save money, too.

Although we aren’t vegetarians or vegans, I might add that a plant based diet is definitely healthier, IF WE MAKE GOOD CHOICES. So you’ll also see lots of meatless options.

Let’s start with lunch. Frozen whole wheat roti are warmed in the  oven for 5 minutes, and stuffed with this mixture (for two):

1 diced tomato

1 chicken breast, diced, skin removed

1 T/15ml light mayo (not salad dressing, avoid added sugar)

1 T/15ml Dijon mustard

Serve with a glass of milk or nut milk.

Speedy Sunday Pancakes

  
It’s Sunday morning and we are rushing around to get out the door (again). No excuse not to have a delicious breakfast in our bellies! 

For two:

In a blender, whirr 

2T / 30ml flaxseed to grind (always keeps better if you grind as needed)

Add

3/4 c  180ml buckwheat flour 

2 t / 10ml baking powder

1T / 15 ml brown sugar

Pulse to mix

Then add

1 c / 250 ml almond milk 

1 large egg or egg substitute 

1 T / 15 ml butter or oil or coconut oil

Mix just to combine (you might need a spatula to help).

If needed just enough milk to make a thick but pourable batter.

Pour pancakes into  a nonstick pan buttered or sprayed with cooking oil on medium high heat, about the size of your palm. They will spread and puff a little.

When bubbles appear and the edges start to look dry, time to flip. My frypan does four at a time. 

They can be kept warm in a 150F oven as additional batches are made. Recipe can be doubled. Finished pancakes can be frozen with parchment in between for reheating in the toaster.

Serve with fruit and maple syrup.

Never underestimate the power of a healthy start…

  Right out of the gate most mornings, we walk or go to the gym. Not a leisurely stroll, but a brisk pace, almost a run. Himself having longer legs, I have to work a little harder to keep pace. Then, back home, we have breakfast before setting to work on the day’s tasks. Once in a while our schedule means we don’t get the walk in until later in the day, and when that happens, we notice a difference. Keeping fit and eating good food, prepared from scratch gives us energy and we feel sharper and better able to cope with the day – however it turns out. We’re grateful we can afford good food, but we have also found that eliminating processed food from our diets isn’t any more expensive, especially if we plan our meals and avoid waste by using what’s on hand and buying just what we need to round out the menu. 
This tasty oatmeal is made in less than ten minutes using large flake or steel cut oats.

For two, in a microwave-safe bowl:

3/4c oats

1-1/2 c water

1 large Apple, diced

2 T chopped nuts or seeds

Sprinkle of cinnamon

Cook on the oatmeal setting, or alternately, 3 minutes on full power plus 5 minutes on 50% power. Enjoy with milk or nut milk if you prefer, and a little maple syrup.

Turnaround Time!

  
Those of you who follow me on Twitter @WalkEatLive know that I’ve been moving over the past couple of weeks. It’s been a change, for sure. A few years ago my husband and I took an opportunity to relocate to Nova Scotia. We had a great time, and made some very good friends. We embarked on the grow-your-own food lifestyle we had imagined. But a funny thing happened. Even though we had returned to the province where we were born missed the city we had called “home” for more than 30 years. We missed our kids and big family dinners. And all the pounds we had shed during our weight loss journey started creeping back on, and we started getting fat. It turns out we were a textbook example of why communities with a high walk score are a good thing. Our motto is to that it’s always better to take action than to complain. So here we are, back in Toronto. 

We’re walking like crazy and eating healthy food. Already we are seeing a difference. And we’re not so far away from the new friends we’ve made. We’ll continue to visit for the sights and sounds of the sea, and they know our door is always open. After a couple of weeks on the road, we are thrilled to be back in our own kitchen, making tasty meals like this one.
I hope you’ll keep reading as I bring some stories, some recipes, and some meal ideas to show how homemade can be fast, healthy, and delicious.

Take 5!

   Today’s lunch is a new twist on an old favourite: rice and beans. Veggie bowls like these are a cheap and cheerful way to get your five to ten servings of fruit and vegetables, too. We started with reheated leftover brown rice and cooked beans. Then we topped this with grilled pattypan and orange bell pepper, and some diced avocado. Finally, a dressing (for two) with 1 T (15ml) each lemon juice, soy sauce, maple syrup, sesame oil and 1 t (5ml) wasabi paste for just the right fusion of flavour.

DIY Delicious…

It’s everywhere! Messages touting packaged foods that will make my life easier and, it’s suggested, better. Truly, I can’t imagine how. Cooking delicious food is absolutely satisfying. Fortunately, there are lots of counter-messages out there, including those from Michael Pollan (“Eat real food. Not too much. Mostly plants.”) And I credit my fellow blogger and Twitter sister, Anne-Marie Bonneau, aka the Zero Waste Chef, with an inspiring house rule,  which I’ll paraphrase as “Sure, you can have that treat, but you have to find a recipe and make a homemade version”.

In our family we are very fortunate to have raised kids who can both cook and bake. They experiment with their own recipes. Adults now, we are provided with delicious things to eat whenever we visit their homes. Do yourself and your family a favour, and make something from scratch this weekend. Your health will thank you.

  

Squeezing in some Summer Salads

The nights are cooling and everyone’s talking about back to school…so we are making it a priority to enjoy the harvest, and especially salads! Today’s included lots of homegrown veg, supplemented by other not so local favourites.

For two: 

4-6c chopped mixed greens

2 diced peaches

1 diced avocado

4 cherry tomatoes, halved

1 small cucumber, diced

Dress with (shaken):

2 T Dijon

Zest and juice of half a lemon

1 T olive oil

Top with:

1 oz feta

1 T toasted no salt shelled sunflower seeds

Enjoy!

  

Smooth move!

  We had an amazing weekend, including dinner with some good friends from Montreal. Of course the weekend hi jinks take their toll, so Monday’s a great opportunity to get back on track with healthier choices. That included an early morning workout and this fabulous smoothie (for 2):
1 stalk celery

2 nectarines

1 Clementine

2 small bananas 

500 ml/2c almond milk, unsweetened

125ml/1/2c plain fat free yogurt

15ml/1T sunflower seeds, unsalted 

30ml/2T peanut butter 

Blend until smooth and enjoy!