Afternoon BBQ in Orleans!

Another successful fundraiser pulled off this weekend… (along with a wickedass sunburn).

This time I owe thanks to the wonderful people of Orleans.  Some who saw the BBQ advertisement via Twitter/Facebook/Word-of-Mouth and those who fell prey to my awesome charity pitch while going to get their water tested. (it was at a pool store).

All in all the event raised a little bit over $400 and I would like to highlight the following people who really helped make this event a success.

The Manager on Duty at Loblaws Isabella, the only one I approached under short notice that was able to supply me with a modest contribution that helped cover some of the costs.  THANK YOU.

Gina from Club Piscine for letting me take “advantage” of their clients.

Mike and his Son our cook from Romantic Fireplaces for bringing out the wicked “Pink Pig” for us to BBQ on.

These local Businesses went out of their way to help me out, which in my eyes really sets them apart from the competition!   Now go check them out!

I would also like to thank my friends Leslie – Supporter/Photographer of the event. Yannick who spent the day roasting in the sun with me spreading the message of my cycle around and lastly Darren who organized the contacts to make this happen.

Thanks to everyone, now onto the next one!

My Healthy~ish take on Poutine

Yes, I said healthy~ISH take…  I would not call this diet foods by any means, but overall I think it’s an acceptable source of fuel!  I recently picked up on twitter that there was a World Poutine Championship (why not in Quebec, beats me) and it inspired me to put up this recipe.  Quite a few folks have been served my signature dish and loved it!

Here goes you will need:

• Julienne Fries (recommend you use oven type and not deep fried)
• Filet Minion
• Shredded Gouda (1.3cup per person)
• Shaved roast beef (2-3tbs per person)
• 1 envelope of brown sauce
• 1 bottle of Lyon Sauce (secret ingredient)
• 1 bottle of cab sauvignon

The Sauce:

The key is in the sauce, mix your envelope of brown gravy, add 2/3 cup of Lyon sauce and 1.5cups of cab sauvignon, mix it all together and voila! Remember this sauce is wine based and should be more liquid than your average poutine sauce~

The Assembly:

1. Make a nest at the bottom of the plate with your Julienne Fries
2. Top with a portion of filet mignon (I like to cut it lengthwise a few times still attached at one end)
3. Add your shaved roast beef
4. Top with Gouda
5. Add enough sauce to cover the piece of art!

The Super Charger Breakfast Smoothie

I love Smoothies, they are a nice break from my usual breakfast and a great way to get a bunch of important nutrients and as long as I include some protein, it keeps me satisfied until lunch.

The best thing about smoothies is that they’re infinitely changeable. Run out of banana? No problem – sub in pineapple. And because you’re using whole fruits and vegetables, you’re getting all the fibre naturally present in the produce, so you don’t have to worry about overdoing it on the fruit sugars. Nonetheless, I find it’s easy to get carried away with the sweet flavours and end up with a drink that’s really more of a treat than a healthy breakfast. I always try for a good balance between sweet fruits and nutrient-dense veggies.

 

 

 

Super Breakfast Smoothie

A few chunks of pineapple (you can get fresh cut pineapple at many grocery stores in the produce section)
1 kiwi ( I skip this step since I am deadly allergic but original recipe calls for it)
5 or 6 baby carrots
1 stalk of celery
1 handful of spinach
2 stalks of fennel (or a good chunk of the bulb)
1 organic egg yolk (this is optional. I put it in for the added protein, lutein, sulphur and lecithin. Remember that you should always use organic eggs when eating them raw. Also, don’t eat the white part of the egg raw as a compound called avidin that is present in raw egg whites binds to biotin in your body and can lead to a biotin deficiency)
1 tsp. chlorella (this is also optional. I use this blue-green algae as a greens supplement for its added protein, chlorophyll and cleansing abilities. You can use your favourite green supplements)
1 cup carrot juice (more if thinner consistency desired)
1 cup water

Put all ingredients in a high-powered blender and blend for several minutes to ensure all pieces are pulverized. This should make enough for 2 adults.

Finally!! Guilt Free Cookies!

I have a sweet tooth,  as much as I hate to admit it.  Give me a cup of coffee and leave 4 cookies around me and well… Trouble.  My friend @madyricottone gave me some of these today and I had to go hunting for a light version…  TA~ DAAAAA!

Now, get cracking, make a batch and drop a few off for me

Splenda Meringue Cookies

Low cal cookies…can replace vanilla with lemon, almond, orange extract for different flavours….each serving is 1/6 of recipe or about 4 cookies

Ingredients

1/2	cup egg whites
1/4	teaspoon cream of tartar
1/2	cup Splenda no calorie
1/8	teaspoon salt
1	teaspoon vanilla

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 250°. Arrange the oven racks so one is in the upper third and the other is in the bottom third of the oven.
2. Beat egg whites on medium speed of electric mixer until foamy. Add cream of tartar; continue beating until the egg whites hold soft peaks. Gradually beat in Splenda and continue to beat until the meringue holds very stiff peaks. Beat in vanilla extract. The meringue should be very smooth and have no sugar grittiness.
3. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. A tiny dot of meringue under the parchment paper at each corner will keep it from moving while you work.
4. Spoon small mounds of meringue on the parchment paper.
5. Bake for 1 hour, rotating the baking sheets after 30 minutes. Take a meringue out to test. Break in half; it should be dry in the center. Turn the oven off and leave the door partially open. Leave meringues in the oven for 1 hour longer.
6. Makes about 24 meringue cookies.

Now for the beauty of it all, check this out!

Lazy but delish Spaghetti Squash Dinner!

What an exhausting but fun weekend!  Yesterday I took part in a 12hr spin-o-thon for the heart and stroke foundation in honor of my father and today,  silly silly me thought hot yoga would be a good idea.  I won’t lie, the stretching felt good, but the dehydration still there from yesterday caused a havoc.  Can you believe I actually had goodbumbs in a room of 108 degrees!

Anyway, here is where I am going with this.  Once I got home and finished hydrating I was hungry but lazy..  Zipped together a very nice meal in a few minutes! (and I have Lunch-overs for the week)

You will need:

- 1lb ground turkey (or other lean meat; chicken, veal, angus)

-1 Spaghetti Squash

-1 bottle of Healthy Choice Chunky Lovers Spaghetti Sauce

Easy as 1-2-3

1- Split Squash and cook in microwave for 10 minutes then fork it out in strands:

2- While that is cooking, brown your meat in a pan, drain the fat if any and then pour a bottle of the healthy choice sauce on it, from there you may want to add a few spices, I like a little bit of cayenne pepper and hot sauce!

3-  Pour the sauce over your squash and eat!!!

The beauty of this dish is the comfort food flavour it brings without busting the calorie bank…  Just off the top of my head;

Serving of squash (2cups) about 80 calories / Serving of Turkey roughly about 160 calories / 1.5 serving of healthy choice sauce about 80 calories .

In comparison for similar size, my dinner was 320 calories where a comparable size of regular spaghetti would run you at almost 800 calories and that is being conservative.

Enjoy!!  and follow it with a nice bowl of grapes for desert!

One Minute Muffins!

I love these, so easy to make and you don’t need to make (and eat) 12!

One Minute Muffin

In a coffee mug
Combine:
2 TBS ground flaxseed
2 TBS wheat bran (NOT whole wheat)–this is basically fiber only
[optional) Small scoop chocolate whey protein powder
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1 packet Splenda
Cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, allspice–whatever, to taste
Mix with:
1 egg
2 tablespoon of unsweetened apple sauce
A little water if needed to mix
Microwave for ONE minute. Dump on a plate, and slice, I often eat it with either a little more apple sauce or spread a little dollup of fat free cream cheese on top!

Cucumber Slices with Goat Cheese and smoked Salmon!

This is my go-to dish for appetizers!  Something that is spiffy enough that I can serve to friends and yet much better than eating half a baguette dipped in oil or with a fatty pate spread!

Cucumber Slices with Goat Cheese and smoked Salmon!

With its low-fat dairy products and smoked salmon, this appetizer gives you a tasty dose of omega-3s and protein. Salmon, cheese, and yogourt also contain the amino acid tryptophan, which helps your body produce serotonin, the feel-good hormone.

This is a great light appetizer at a dinner party. Try smoked trout for an alternative.

3 oz (85 g) smoked salmon
1/2 cup (125 mL) goat cheese
3 Tbsp (45 mL) low-fat yogourt
1 tsp (5 mL) freshly squeezed lemon juice
4 tsp (20 mL) chopped fresh dill
24 slices cucumber, 1/4 in (0.5 cm) thick

1. Combine the goat cheese, yogourt, and lemon juice until smooth, using a food processor or by hand.

2. Dice the smoked salmon and set aside 24 small bits for garnish. Add the remaining salmon and the dill to the yogourt-cheese mixture.

3. Divide the mixture evenly among the cucumber slices. Garnish with the reserved salmon bits.

Make ahead: Prepare filling the day before, cover and refrigerate.

Serves 6.

The dish that started it all…

So I have been thinking about doing this for a little while, even spoke to some of my foodie friends about it last week.  Tonight my training allowed me to be home around dinner time (something rare these days) and I thought crap, I have nothing to eat and went reaching for the good old plain oatmeal.

Then I thought well let’s have a look at what I can throw in the pan (considering I haven’t done grocery in about 3 weeks) and VOILA!!  This was actually very very yummy, lean yet nutritious!

Are you leaning in closer to see what is in there?  Okay here goes…  For this one I am not going to specify quantities because I just threw in what was in the fridge/pantry.

Here is how I navigated through this dish!

1)     Spray large non stick pan with PAM or EEVO Spray

2)     Add sliced beef and frozen shrimp, cook just a tad

3)     Add the following vegetables (fresh or frozen)

• Carrots
• Mushrooms
• broccoli
• Sweet onion
• spinach
• Corn
• Peppers

4)    Open your pantry and find a can of yellow beans and a can of water chestnuts, open and throw in pan (fresh could also work but I wanted to point out can was acceptable!)

5)    Once everything is cooked add a whole package of Shiritaki Noodles (available at asian food stores, 40 cals for 8oz)

6)     Now to undry this thing, add the following:

• Lemon juice
• Rice vinegar
• cayenne pepper
• hot sauce
• oyster sauce (just a tad)
• And a bitty bit of sweet chili thai sauce.

All in all this took me less than 15 minutes to make and I have a few frozen portions to grab on the run when I have trouble making those 15 minutes fit between training, work and volleyball!