Inside…(not) Out!

What do I mean by this – well we need to make a habit to eat in and not out!

We all get too comfortable and too reliant with meals on the go, on the run or just plain old out for dinner at a restaurant…with leftovers! Well it may seem like there is nothing wrong with this, but when it occurs more than three times every week, there is!

It is important to take your control back – get in your kitchen and dine in! How you ask – well you can start by cooking your own meals at home. For the record this doesn’t include ordering in! That is officially cheating. I am talking about home-made meals in the comfort of your own home. Cook, prepare, and create delicious healthy meals with your family. It will not only save you money, but save your health and maybe even time. If you cook a little extra you’ve got meals for the next day. Pack em’ in some glassware, a laptop lunch box, stainless steel containers – and they are ready to go. This also saves the morning headache of scrounging around for meals for the kids or the spouse.

You will not only feel better about yourself if you take this on, but you will also be avoiding takeout packaging. Not to mention sparing yourself from feeling lousy and bloated and paying more than necessary for a bowl of pasta. I am not saying to never dine out – we all have our favourite restaurants and pick up spots -  I definitely have mine (check out Marni’s Faves). Just leave it to less than three times a week.  This may be a challenge, but we all need to start somewhere. Start tonight by getting into your kitchen… and dine in!

Simple Steps to start the process:

-       Go the to the grocery store/ health food store/farmer’s market and start shopping!

-       Makeover your kitchen and fill them with organic/fresh and wholesome ingredients

-       Take a Cooking Class

-       Invite friends over and cook together

-       Have a private cooking lesson in your home with your family

-       Grow your own garden (season pending)

-       Use reusable containers and glassware – even if you are picking up!

-       Try to order less at restaurants to prevent the occurrence of leftovers and packaging

-       When it comes to eating out – try to eat at local, sustainable, organic and vegetarian restaurants (see veg.ca)

Join the Take OUT With OUT Campaign and make a difference!

The Full Package

We all go out to eat and are often coming home with leftovers in a take-out package. Or we devote our daily lunch to a pick up spot on the go – which again creates another package. Then we pack our kids and spouses with a meal for school or work, again more packaging. What do these all have in common other than crinkly paper, cardboard boxes, and plastic? Garbage! Lots and lots of garbage – which doesn’t just magically disappear when it goes into a trash can or when it is picked up weekly. It goes to landfills emitting toxic gases and then seep into our lakes, sewers and rivers and most likely will end right back up into your food. (I will save that for another time) in the meantime check out Garbage Revolution.

Why not get the full package? Become eco-friendly, consciousness about the environment and your health all in one? You have a choice to make everyday when it comes to food. Where you want to get it from, how you take it home, pack it and store it.  You can buy re-usable bags like RuMe, use Pyrex glass dishes and Greentainers for storage, or pack lunch up in a Laptop Lunchbox (these aren’t just for kids!). This also goes for beverages too – get yourself equipped with a Kleen Kanteen (for hot or cold) and you will be set. It is important for everyone to learn how to “Eat Outside of the Box” (please read this resource for more information, tips and a great ECO product guide).

The other part of the plan is to take the initiative and avoid eating out all together.  This is where preparing meals at home becomes the most important thing that you can do for your health and the environment. If you want to broaden your cooking skills, get new ideas, recipes or tips…then come to one of my  Fully Nourished Cooking Class or take a workshop with me and learn how to pack a litter-less lunch or plan for weekday meals and how to store them properly. There are many solutions to these common problems and it is much simpler than you think.

I also want to add that Michael Pollan has just introduced a new book called Food Rules which will also give you some vital tips on how to get reconnected with your food choices. These tips will not only benefit your health, but also your wallet, the environment and the planet – some of my favourites are:

#16 Buy your snacks at the farmer’s market. (you are less likely to get packaging there or you can bring your own to put them in!)

# 39 Eat all the junk food you want as long as your cook it yourself. (You will save yourself calories, money and packaging!)

# 20 It’s not food if it arrived through the window of your car (no comment required)

Once you put all of these ideas together you will get the full package for health and wellness – while keeping the packaging off of your food!

Be proactive become part of the Campaign to Take OUT With OUT and make a difference!

What’s In the Box (above): Lunch can be as simple as this!

Kamut bread with almond butter, organic (no sugar added) raspberry jam

Goji, raisin, almond, cacao, pumpkin seed trail mix

Oranges, carrots and cucumbers.

Wholesome, Simple & Delicious

Now you tell me… what is your favourite litter-less lunch to pack? Or give my readers some tips on how YOU can reduce  excess take-out packaging.

Thanks for your support!

Thanksgiving in Ottawa – Veggie Style!

I hope you all had a fantastic Thanksgiving weekend! It was such a perfect weekend for me to get away. My boyfriend decided to take me to Ottawa for the weekend. I had never seen Parliament, and it was about time! I also knew that Ottawa had some other amazing things to offer – so we took off and had a fun filled, veggie eating weekend.

I was also actually surprised to find out that Ottawa had quite a bit to offer in the way of vegetarian, healthy living and local fair. It was so nice be completely accommodated for in a new city. We frequented a delicious restaurant called The Table. It is buffet style, and I am normally not one for a buffet – but this was the freshest and tastiest buffet I have ever been too. I don’t even really want to call it a buffet, but it was more like a table topped with organic, local and vegetarian goodies – and mostly gluten free too! The first night we were there, I was in heaven, I just filled up my plate with quinoa, squash, cabbage, broccoli, tempeh, spinach and seaweed, lentil dhal. I love when I can pick and choose everything what I want on my plate (especially when I am not home). I also love when all the ingredients are listed for me on a little card, so I know exactly what is in it!

So being more than satisfied the first night – we made sure to come back on our way back to Toronto – here is what my take out dish looked like! Can you say YUM!!!

We were also so lucky to find an amazing Farmer’s Market on Sunday morning. It had such a nice community feel and was loaded with some goodies. We went there on an empty stomach – which is never a good idea but we found some local pears and carrots to munch on. There was so much amazing produce, but I didn’t have a kitchen to cook in or else I would have gone wild! Cabbage, Brussels sprouts, squashes, greens – all of the ingredients for the perfect fall harvest vegetarian warming meal! I had to hold back and now I will have to wait until next weekend at the Brickworks market to stock up.

After we left the market, I was still hungry of course – and we were lucky enough to find this cozy little bakery called The Wild Oat – which featured an amazing menu like toasted spelt veggie sandwiches, salads and soups. So we sat down to a chai latte and a toasted spelt sandwich with tahini and roasted veggies. It was fantastic!

We spent the rest of the day perusing through Ottawa, the Byward Market, Parliament Hill, The Rideau Canal and other little nooks. So I have to say, for a first trip to Ottawa, I was not only impressed with the city itself and all of it’s history but the amazing culture and organic veggie food that it had to offer!

BY the WAY: For those of your with your FAVOURITE VEGGIE MEAL posted on my blog – tomorrow is the day where I am going to list the top three picks (so you still have today to GET POSTING!) and then YOU my readers will vote which ones (out of the three) are your favourite posts and why! Then the lucky winner will be selected, contacted and will attend any one of my classes for FREE!

StreEats of New York!

I have to admit, the variety of amazing healthy, organic and vegan food in new york it out of this world. Whether you want to dine in style or dine casually, are there a number of options (especially for vegetarians, vegans and raw foodies!).
So I was in New York for a fabulously beautiful 4th of July weekend. The weather was perfect and I got to visit and stay with a great friend from the culinary school I went to last year – The Natural Gourmet. I literally took advantage of the weekend and lived it up with some really good food.
It all started with an amazing lunch at One Lucky Duck- an incredible little vegan cafe that has the best salads, smoothies, juices and tasty desserts. It is the takeout and more casually version of the restaurant Pure Food and Wine which I will get to later in this post. I had the most amazing salad, filled with greens, hemp seeds, avocado and their amazing rosemary almond crackers and sweet miso dressing. I also ordered their amazing lemonade (ginger+lemon+agave and sea salt)

Then we took a walk down to the east village for some much anticipating vegan “ice cream”. This little place called STOGO has it all! A variety of different flavours and toppings- all vegan – Yup that means no dairy, sugar or other hidden junk like artificial binders, food colouring and hydrogenated fats!
I ordered simple for my first trip there, as I really just wanted to taste the pureness of the ice cream – so I landed with coconut- chocolate and my friend has coconut vanilla bean! They were both amazing! If you live in NY or are going there soon, please drop by and have a treat!

We were a little unsure of what to have for dinner that night because we saw an off-Broadway show around dinner time Fuerza Bruta (crazy!). So we opted for late meal.Which generally I don’t like to do, but when on vacation in New York – you’ve got to give somewhere! We landed at this little place called Hummus Kitchen – where they make hummus from organic chickpeas. It really was the best Hummus in NYC!! Now because I don’t eat wheat – that means no white or whole wheat pita bread – I went to Whole Foods beforehand and grabbed a bag of spelt wraps. (Yes I bring my own food into restaurants!) That way I can enjoy the whole meal!!

So on Saturday July 4th – we headed to Brooklyn. Didn’t really spend too much time there back when I lived in New York – so it was nice to go back. It is like Manhatten but simpler, more spread out and there is some green there- meaning lots of trees! (Actually they are also very GREEN as well, lots of amazing little eco shops!)
So we went to this little veg place in Brooklyn called the V Spot – and I had the most delicious open faced corn tortilla with black beans, kale and avocado! It was soo good and so simple! I have got to make these more often at home!

For dinner, I had the extreme pleasure of being invited over to one of my chef teachers from the natural gourmet’s home. I have to say that we cooked up a meal (more like a feast) that was better than anything you would find at any vegetarian restaurant! Herb infused red quinoa, roasted yams, braised tempeh, sauteed rainbow chard and asparagus and a local greens salad with a homemade lemon vanilla vinaigrette and a peach berry crumble for dessert with coconut “ice cream“! Again, so simple and so delicious!

The next morning we were still so full – from the meal that all we could handle for breakfast was a giant green juice! Lunch, we ate in central park – just packed up a couple of spelt wraps filled with hummus, veggies and sprouts and we were good to go!
Now dinner was the absolute highlight of the trip. We dined at Pure Food and Wine where I not only did a one month internship following the chef training progam at NGI, but it is also the sexiest, most delicious raw vegan food you will ever eat. The plates are gorgeous, the portions are good and they are extremely creative! For an appetizer we had king oyster mushrooms topped with cashew cheese and black garlic with baby greens. The main cou
rses looked so good at first glance-that I only noticed after the meal, that I forgot to take pictures!
One always knows to save room at Pure Food as their desserts are truly like no other. They have the absolute best “ice cream” made from cashew milk. It is so creamy and rich, that I promise you wouldn’t notice a difference. The only difference you would notice is that your stomach isn’t gurgling and that there isn’t a sugary/milky coating left in your mouth!
I had my all time favourite – the chocolate chip mint sundae and my friend had an Indian spiced sampler plate!

As you can see, I ate very well in New York. It is hard not to with so many amazing restaurants. Even on my last day there, I spoiled myself all over again and went to Quintessence, back to Stogo, back to One Lucky Duck and then to the Union Square green market to take home some goodies!
So if you haven’t been to New York yet, I encourage you to go, get some culinary inspiration or at least just infuse your palate with some originality and unique tastes. For me it is a treat, it just makes me that much more eager to create some new innovative dishes!
So get out there and hit those streEATS of New York and treat yourself!!

Improve Peach Berry Crisp!

1 1/2 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup spelt flour
1/4 cup maple syrup
2 tbsp melted coconut oil
cinnamon
pinch of sea salt

2 peaches
2 nectarines
1/2 cup each blueberries, strawberries, blackberries, raspberries
2 tbsp lemon juice
cinnamon

1. mix topping ingredients in a bowl, set aside
2. slice up the peaches and nectarines and toss in a bowl with berries, lemon juice and cinnamon
3. place the fruit in a large baking dish, top with oat crumble – until evenly distributed
4. bake at 350 F for about an hour

Serve with vanilla coconut ice cream!