ThanksGiving Weekend 2012

October 9, 2012February 22, 2013Leave a comment

Happy ThanksGiving Canada!!!!

This year was to be our 2nd Vegan Thanksgiving. Last year was my first & I had so much fun preparing it. See here for my recipes & more!

This time around I found myself scheduled to work all weekend. Whaaat? That has NEVER happened!!!! I was extremely upset.😦 It took me a while to get over the fact that I wouldn’t be able to hangout with my boys all weekend! In fact, this was going to make everything seemed rushed…. I hate being rushed……

But Sunday Morning I was able to get in my 8k race with Callym. It was amazing to say the LEAST. We booted it to the starting line (only half a dozen blocks from home) & sipped on our Pumpkin Spice Latte’s while waking & warming up.

7:15 start is brutal! (But Beautiful)!

We enjoyed the run a lot. So many great & amazing people running & cheering. The energy on Race day is something else!

We made it in under 45 minutes. That little man didn’t stop once!

And for that (& a Million other reasons) He deserved this medal!

Now…. Back to the ThanksGiving Feast!

Seeing as I had to work at all the moments made for cooking. I enlisted the help of my Beautiful, Sexy Husband. I made a small list of things that we could have & let him loose!

I must say, as upset as I was about not being the one to make all the food, I was also a bit excited to have such a wonderful dinner made for me!

The boys did a fantastic job of setting the table

including individual place settings (with Sugar Cookies as the APPETIZERS!!!)🙂

And the Food was AMAZING!

(here I have Mashed Potatoes, Asparagus, Roasted Veggies, Roasted Squash, Tofurky & Gravy). YUM

Chris even made home~made Pumpkin~Turtle Pie with Vegan Whip~Cream. (don’t you wish you were here with us!)

All in all I would have to say that this Thanksgiving was amazing. There are so SO many reasons that we are Tremendously Thankful (& we shared a bunch of them during dinner). I hope that you had a chance to spend time with Family & Friends this weekend! And thank you for being a part of the You.Naturally Family!

Eating to Live or Living to Eat. Why can’t you have Both?

October 2, 2012February 22, 20131 Comment

Food. Eating. Balance. Treats. Healthy. Indulge. Binge. Diet. Starve. Raw. 80~20. Oil. Low Fat. Carbs. Plants. Protein. Animals. Paleo. Obesity. Skinny Fat.

Many people find this to be a constant struggle. It’s OK to love food, but do you

Live to Eat ~ or Eat to Live.

Many of you know that I have a love affair with Dr.J Fuhrman’s Eat to Live book, it’s truly one of the most amazing~must~read~health~conscious books of forever! This saying above (care of Socrates) is also October’s Monthly Mantra….

So do you Eat to Live or Live to Eat?

If you haven’t already read (& re~read this book). Stop what you’re doing & go get a copy. Come back to this post when you are done. My book is dog~eared to death, underlined everywhere, highlighted in yellow & pink, & has stars all over the place. This is THE book to read if you are Over~Weight, have an Illness (Diabetes, Inflammation, Heart~Burn, etc). As you should know, any serious illness needs a serious book!

Some insights from the book are:

They should move Refined Grains like White Bread, up to the Sweets Category because Metabolically they’re basically the same.

Keep in mind that most of the calories in meat come from fat, green veggies are mostly protein.

Trying is definitely not good enough

When the fats you consume are from whole foods rather than oils, you gain nature’s protective package; a balance of vitamins, minerals, fiber & phytonutrients.

He shows us the truth about many things we thought we knew….

And surprising ways to get sufficient Nutrients (like Calcium & Protein) from Whole Foods.

I even found this Incredible “Quote” in his book (a few times actually). & you know I had to share!!!🙂

I’m assuming that you are on your way out the door to pick up this book. So I’m keeping this post short & sweet. If you want to be healthy, pick up this book. It’s like a Bible for Great Health & a Better Life.

Something important to keep in mind. The Eat to Live book doesn’t teach you yet another ‘Die~T’ that may fail. It teaches you a sustainable way to live, eat & be healthy.

Here is Dr. Fuhrman in his own words sharing some of his incredible wisdom!

Now. Have you changed your mind about the way you Live to Eat & Eat to Live?

Warm & Fuzzy Feeling Autumn Stew

September 25, 2012February 22, 2013Leave a comment

Fall is here, it’s finally here!🙂

I love summer don’t get me wrong, but there is something so comforting & cozy about fall that you just have to fall in love! When the weather gets cooler & the wind starts blowing the leaves around, I suprise my family with their favorite stew to warm them up from head to toe & keep them super happy & healthy.

Filled with delish & healthy seasonal Root Veggies, the amazing Anti~Inflammatory & Anti~Microbal; Garlic, Your Digestive systems best friend; Miso & one of my Top Ten Protein’s; Lentils you really can’t go wrong.

**I will warn you all in advance, Please Please Please make a double Recipe. I 100% Guarentte there will be no left~overs, & you will want some for lunch the next day.**

Start with Cutting everything up, the Veggies are up to you. Some Wonderful Ideas are:

2 Large Carrots

2 Medium Potatoes (Red, Blue, Sweet or Yams)

3-5 Large Garlic Cloves

1/2 Medium Squash Organic with the skin (Any type but Spaghetti will work)

2 Large Celery Sticks

1 Medium Onion

And anything else you love!

Once everything is Chopped. Start to slowly saute the Garlic & Onions in some Coconut Oil. When they are done beautifully throw in all your Root Veggies (Squash, Carrots, Potatoes, Celery, Yams, etc). Toss them around together & coat them with

1 TBsp of Tamarin or Soy Sauce &

1Tsp of both Cumin & Paprika (or Cayenne if you can handle it)!

Once coated thru, & you smell the gorgeous aroma’s you need to add in your Vegan (or Vegetarian) Broth.

Put this on to Boil for about 15~20 minutes.

Now add in 1 cup of Red Lentils (if adding Green Lentils, add them in before the boil).

Also add in another 1TBsp of Tamarin or Soy Sauce & 1Tsp of both Cumin & Paprika (again🙂 )

Once it’s simmered for around 20~30 minutes & the Root Veggies are soft. (or you just can’t handle the incredible scents any longer) Grab your bowl, add a heaping TBsp of Miso to it & pour a small spoonful of Broth over top to mix. Once done add in your soup/stew!

Top off with Fresh Basil & some Healthy 3~6~9 oil & you’re totally good to go!

Like I mentioned, this is a Family Fav in our house. The kids (& hubby) can smell it out in the hall when I’m cooking & usually run to the table with Hands washed & ready to go. Try it out next time the wind is blowing the leaves around & you feel a chill in the air. Heck, try it out today & let me know in the comments how you liked it! (& what you’r choice ingredients were!)

*to give credit where credit is due, the orignal recipe is from the ever beautiful Alicia Silverstone & her book ‘The Kind Diet’. Find her here on FaceBook & tell her where you found it🙂

Roll into Lunch with these 2 new Rolls!

May 30, 2012May 30, 20123 Comments

Getting bored of the same old Sandwiches & Salads? My kids sure are! Here’s an easy & yummy way of getting unstuck & still keep it Healthy!

ROLL #1.

This works best if you make extra Brown Rice the night before & have it cold & ready in the Fridge. I know most people say you need ‘sushi’ rice to make sushi, but it’s just not the case! When you’re ready grab your Nori sheet & Roller & add a bunch of Brown Rice. (mines a little yellow because I cooked it with Turmeric)

Make sure you get it all the way to the end or it won’t stay closed when you roll it.

Now there are a million ways to fill your Sushi. Cucumbers, Salsa, Lettuce, Hummus, Chard, Olives, Beans,Carrots, ANYTHING! Today I really wanted to just keep it SUPER SIMPLE! All I added was a bunch of Roasted RedPepper Miso.

I rolled this baby up, cut & ate it faster then a bat~outta~hell!!!🙂

Because this Brown Rice wasn’t ‘sushi’ rice, it wasn’t as sticky. But that didn’t bother me one bit. These babies are SO fast & easy to make, plus they taste delish & are healthy (depending on what you put in them).

ROLL #2

These Rolls were inspired by my Aunt who brought over some really cool Wraps (& some delish Trader Joe’s Almond Butter over on a trip here a few weeks ago)

These wraps are even simpler then the Sushi ones above.

Simply take your favorite Sandwich fillings (here we have Almond butter & Raspberry Jam). And….

You guessed it🙂

ROLL!!!

Pop these babies into your lunch (or your kids lunch). And away you go! Easy, Simple, Healthy! Add a Banana in there if you’re keen. Or make a salad wrap, Bean wrap, Hummus & Salsa wrap, the possiblilites are Endless!

What are your favorite Rolls to make? Have I inspired you to make anything yummy today?

Remember, It’s still May, & May’s Mantra is:

Everytime u eat it’s an opportunity to make yourself healthier or more ill. What will you Choose?

Yummy Beet Craving turns into Salad over Rice!

April 17, 2012April 9, 2012Leave a comment

Hey all You.Naturally Healthy Peeps!!! How are you? Have you been eating well? I’ve been craving Beets. Do you get cravings? I must admit that Craving Beets is much better then craving chips or other ‘junky’ foods.

I finally gave into my craving, but I didn’t want just a regular ‘beet~ish’ dinner~ so after checking out a few of my Fav Recipe Sites, I decided to make something similar to Angela’s Citrus Beet Salad. I had everything but a Grapefruit so this was great! As I was picking up the GrapeFruit, I thought that I would make this meal over Rice. We are on a rice kick right now & just can’t get enough of this Sprouted Rice I bought at Costco. Anyways, I pretty much made this the way Angela says, only I put some lettuce on a plate then topped it with Rice & the Citrus & Beet Salad. The Avocado Lime (I only had Lemons) Dressing was AMAZING!!!! I could have eaten it by itself (in fact, Chris & I did it a lot of it with our fingers😉 )

This totally hit the spot for us. It was light enough for the warmer weather but filling enough with the rice to be an entire meal. I hope you try it, & I hope you enjoy it!

What kind of cravings do you get? Do you indulge in them?

2 New Yummy Bite~Sized Vegan Healthy Amazing Treats

April 10, 2012April 9, 20122 Comments

Since we have made the family decision to stop eating products with eggs in them, I thought that I should stock our fridge with some Yummy Bite~Sized Vegan Healthy Amazing Treats. So far I’ve made 2 different Yummy Bite~Sized Vegan Healthy Amazing Treats, but I’ll keep them coming if you find them a good addition to your fridge.
Black~Bean Brownie Bites

1 can Black Beans

3/4 Cup Vegan Chocolate Chips

2Tbsp Maple Syrup

Blend the ingredients together in your Ninja (or blender) & then scoop into mini~cupcake holders!

*the Chocolate chips stayed a little crunchy which was a really nice surprise!