My Favourite Vegetarian Meal!

This is a tough one for me, but I assure you – I do have a favourite vegetarian meal and so do you!

But first let me tell you about my favourite meal and then read on to find out why yours is important too.

Okay, so my favourite vegetarian meal is one that I like to create when I want something nourishing, warming and revitalizing. In which case I pretty much go for the foods that connect with this energy and make me feel amazing. My go to grain is usually quinoa, this is the best foundation for a wholesome dish. It is nutty, light, high in protein and digests immediately. Then I like to add in all of my favourites – starting with some baked marinated tempeh for it’s juicy and hearty texture, roasted sweet potatoes for some natural sweetness, steamed kale – a meal isn’t a meal without some greens, avocado – for it’s creamy and smooth consistency and then some chopped almonds for some raw crunch. Then to top this dish off I like to add in some tamari – natural salty flavour and tahini for a rich boost of calcium. This is my absolute favourite meal!

Now why am I telling you this, because I want to make it apparent that everyone has a favourite food or a favourite meal, maybe it’s a snack or a drink. Whatever it may be there is something that you have eaten that has made you feel amazing – and I want to know what that is – especially if it is plant-based!

So if you tell me, this is going to work out for you because I am having a contest in which you will have a chance to win a FREE Fully Nourished Cooking Class!

Yes you heard me, you can attend any one of my cooking classes for free!

Well… there are some conditions that this contest is based on.

The premise: Tell me your favourite plant based/vegetarian meal, snack or drink. It can be raw, cooked, gluten free, sweet, savoury – anything you like! Just nothing that comes from an animal (this means NO fish, chicken, meat, eggs, cheese).

The reason: I want to know WHAT about this plant based or vegetarian food item that made you feel happy, excited, proud, energized, nourished, balanced etc…You don’t have to be vegetarian or vegan to do this or have had this experience!

There is significance and purpose to this contest. Not only will I highlight the winning answer on my blog, but the winner will also get to come to any on of my vegetarian Fully Nourished Cooking Classes absolutely free of charge (value over $100). This contest will also demonstrate to people that plant based foods not only taste amazing but have an incredible impact on your health and I want as many people as possible to exploit and share their experiences!

So there are many factors that this veggie experience can be based on. It can be the taste, texture, smell, colour, flavour of the meal – it doesn’t matter to me. I just want you describe what it was and what it did to you that made you excited about healthy plants based food. This can be anything from a simple salad with pumpkin seeds to a coconut banana smoothie. Please share your story, your experience – the more detail you give me, the better chance you have to win.

I am giving you (my readers) one week to post your foodie delight in my comment section – share it on twitter, share it on facebook. And then after that week, I am going to pick my three favourite ones and post them and then you (my readers) will be the judge and pick your favourite one. Then I will contact the winner personally and invite them to come to any vegetarian cooking class of choice to have more amazing experiences eating delicious plant based foods.

I have one more question…are you ready?

Get posting!

This could be you!

Revived and Alive!

So it’s after 10 pm…and I should be settling down, getting ready for bed – but I can’t. Not because I am stressed, not because I have so much to do, but because I am fueled full of living and raw foods – as I just finished (not more than a half hour ago) my Raw and Ripe Cooking Class (although no “cooking” actually took place).
Since it was a Raw class, we just prepared all the meals. Delicious meals created from recipes that are based on sprouted nuts, seeds, fruits, vegetables, spices, fresh herbs, sea vegetables, pressed oils and a few other little goodies like dates, sea salt, tamari, cider vinegar etc…
But the reason why I am so awake and feeling so alive right now…is because these foods are living. Living means they are full of enzymes. When you soak and sprout nuts and seeds, beans etc.. you are activating all of it’s nutritive potential – so in your body it can’t help but do the same thing! Also when you eat raw fruits and veggies which are also full of enzymes -your body has to do less work to break them down, leaving bundles of energy readily available. I have to admit, I also get a bit of an adrenaline rush after all of my classes – they are so much fun and there is always such great energy throughout my kitchen that I can’t help but feel energized at the end of the night!

Okay enough rambling and back to raw foods…I am by no means ” a raw foodie” or “100 % raw” in fact, I believe in a very balanced approach to food and raw food being a huge component! Especially this time of year, it is very easy to “prepare” most of my foods as opposed to cooking them. Eating a “gourmet” raw meal like we did tonight in the class – takes a bit more thought and planning than just a salad or smoothie but still easy enough that anyone can do it (even without fancy equipment).
However, once it’s complete and you have created a whole raw meal from zucchini noodles, fennel, carrot and beet slaw, cold avocado cucumber-coconut soup, almond basil pesto and the list goes on you will be feeling really proud of yourself and not to mention revived and alive!

It is common for most people to feel intimidated when it comes to raw food, and raw food prep. But the focus of tonight’s class was on how to make raw foods simple and a apart of your everyday life without too much time and effort. You can make anything from “pasta” made from zucchini noodles (in your food processor) with an almond pesto, to “pizza” made from sprouted (Ezekiel) crust with sun dried tomato paste and cashew ricotta cheese to, nori rolls to an apple pie that wasn’t even baked!

Have a look!

Yes, this may require a tad of planning. But all in all, preparing raw food can be simple, delicious and energizing!

Try this for starters….

Sun Seed Nori Rolls

Ingredients

1 cup sunflower seeds soaked 10-12 hours
1 cup almonds soaked 10-12 hours
1 ½ tablespoons dill, fresh and minced
1 tablespoon oregano fresh and minced
1 teaspoon sage, fresh and minced
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon tamari
1 tablespoon kelp or dulse granules
½ tablespoon Celtic sea salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
1/3 cup celery minced
1/3 cup red onion minced

Procedure:

Mix almonds and sunflower seeds, hand mix in remaining ingredients, mixing thoroughly. Serve by itself or wrapped in nori with veggies (cucumber, lettuce, carrots, sprouts) or with flatbread, raw crackers or on top of a salad!

Also have a look at some of these resources to read more about the benefits of Raw Food.
Raw Food Life
Raw Food Diet
Raw Food Research
Raw Food and Energy Gains
Raw Food vs. Cooked Food

Sensational Summer Cooking Class – A True Success

I really do love to cook – but I love teaching people how to cook even more!

My new series of cooking classes have started off great!
A wonderful group of five lively and lovely ladies joined me for a wonderful evening of delicious summer recipes.

Everyone was greeted with a fresh glass of ginger-goji berry lemonade and then sat down to watch a demo of a creamy guacomole being prepared with fresh green garden peas, to be dipped in by organic blue corn chips. This is a delicious and nutritious twist to a traditional guacamole recipe. The peas add some depth, flavour and some good quality protein as well! The bowl was empty within seconds.

We then got into a discussion of the natural and fresh ingredients that were going to be used in the class. Everyone had questions to be answered.

Most questions were stemmed around what the difference is between some conventional ingredients such as soy sauce and sugar and what the natural alternatives were that we would be using in this class.

So I did my fair share of explaining that Tamari is a naturally fermented source of Soy Sauce that does not contain any wheat or additives. The sources of sugar we used in the class were either brown rice syrup, maple syrup or agave nectar, which are all from natural plant or food sources. Which means they contain some vitamins and minerals that would not be found in traditional white sugar. It was also pertinent to mention that brown rice syrup and agave nectar do not spike blood sugar levels as rapidly as processed sugar does.

It is always so great and rewarding to educate people on basic things that they can take home and bring into thier own cooking and daily eating. There are so many questions around food, and I am always more than happy to bridge this gap, and make clear what is confusing.

So the evening carried on with everyone making one of the many recipes that were to be prepared in the class. Everyone got to choose between making either: Tangy Thai Lettuce Wraps, Apple-Fennel salad with a Lemon-Thyme Vinaigrette, Quinoa Tabule, Green Beans with Hazelnuts, White Bean Dip with Dill, Citrus Tempeh Skewers or Creamy Lemon Tarts. A tough decision to make, I know!

But everyone chose the recipe that made them eager and excited to prepare .
The recipes turned out fantastic and everyone learned a new technique or two to make things easier for them in the kitchen, whethter it was how slice fennel on a mandoline, processing quick dressings in a blender or vitamix or blanching broccoli to get crisp and tender floret, everyone got something helpful and useful out of the class.

Then after two hours of fun in the kitchen, we all sat down to enjoy the wonderful sampling of all the recipes together, plus there was plenty of leftovers to take home!

After such a great experience, I am really looking forward to my next upcoming summer classes and I hope you can make it to one of them!