Author Archives: Sherry

Maple Cinnamon Buckwheat Crispies

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This recipe is adapted from the cookbook Raw Food, Real World. The original recipe uses too much salt and (is yucky with the stevia packets that are recommended in the original). It became the family favourite after I changed up the proportions. This recipe tastes great with Hemp Milk and is great snacking food for the kids too!

Maple Cinnamon Buckwheat Crispies

What you will need:

2 cups buckwheat groats soaked overnight
3/4 cup maple syrup
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp unrefined sea salt
parchment paper

How to do it:

Step 1: Drain the soaking buckwheat and rinse to remove extra starchiness.

Step 2: Pulse buckwheat with the other ingredients (should look like a soupy oatmeal).

Step 3: Divide batter on two cookie sheets lined with parchment paper.

Step 4: Dehydrate in your oven at the lowest temp (until the top is dry to the touch).

Step 5: Flip over (it is ok if it comes apart) and continue dehydrating until completely dry and crunchy (a few more hours).

Step 6: Break into pieces and store in an airtight container at room temp.

Variation: Replace cinnamon with 2 heaping Tbsp of cocoa or carob powder.

 

Cranberry Zinger Instant Breakfast Porridge

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This instant breakfast is rocking my world (I even feel a little guilty for taking soooo long to publish it- I feel like I`ve been holding out-but really I was waiting for the perfect photo!).

I have never really enjoyed cold cereal and I can take or leave oatmeal, BUT this hot cereal is so good, I could eat it every day and in between meals for snacks (and I do!).

I got the idea from Ruth’s Cereal which I thoroughly enjoyed (but the kids’ didn’t). I started wondering if I could make a grain free version (Ruth`s has buckwheat and while I know it isn`t a grain per say, I work with people with digestive issues for whom even the seed grains are not tolerable).

What I love about this is that it is pleasantly sweet with the greenleaf stevia, dried fruit and fresh fruit on top, but has no need at all for honey or unrefined sugar. I really don`t enjoy any kind of concentrated sweet flavour at breakfast so this recipe is just perfect being that it is naturally sweet, yet not in that yucky way that leaves you hungry an hour later!

This cereal is raw but way easier to digest because it is soaked in hot water for just a few minutes.

I have to say that this recipe is my absolute favourite of all the recipes that I have ever developed! It is totally kid tested and approved!

I am super excited to share this with you not only because it is nutritious and delicious, but because of the difference it could make in your mornings when you are in a hurry and need a quick healthy breakfast that is as easy as `just add boiling water`! Hooray!

Cranberry Zinger Instant Breakfast Porridge

What you will need:
1 cup unsweetened cocononut or shredded coconut
1/2 cup raw pumpkin seeds
1 1/2 cup cranberries (unsulphured)
1 cup chia seeds
1 cup raw walnuts
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ginger powder
1 tsp greenleaf stevia (optional)

How to do it:
Pulse ingredients for 10-20 seconds in a food processor or coffee grinder and store in a glass jar in the fridge.

How to use it for 1 adult serving:

4 Tbsp cereal
½ cup very hot water

Let sit for a few minutes to thicken.

(Child-size serving: 2 Tbsp cereal and 3 Tbsp hot water)

Then add (all optional-the recipe is great on its own too!):

hemp milk or cream to your taste

1/2 cup fresh fruit chopped into bite sized pieces

I also want to share with you how one of my lovely clients (who is also our lovely designer) came up with a fun recipe developing activity with her kids based on this recipe (hopefully it will inspire you to do this with your kids too)!!

She took this base recipe and let the kids decide what kind of fruit and nuts they wanted to add to theirs!

Here is a shot of some of their creations:

When you are making your own versions, the most important thing to do is include chia seeds (I also recommend keeping the proportions for the best texture).

Please share your favorite versions with us so that we can all have the benefit of a variety of nutrient dense fast food breakfasts!!

Sweet Yam Curry

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This recipe was inspired because I ran out of curry powder and had to make up my own!

Sweet Yam Curry
(makes 4 small servings)

What you will need:
1 small yellow onion
3 Tbsp coconut oil
3 cloves pressed garlic
1 tsp tumeric
1/4 tsp each of dill, fennel, fenugreek and smoked paprika
3/4 tsp unrefined salt
pinch of cinnamon
pinch of hing
1/2 large pepper
2 small yams
1 large beet or turnip
1/3 cup of raisins
1 cup water
1/3 cup of nutritional yeast

How to do it:

Step 1: Saute spices in the coconut oil.

Step 2: Add onions and garlic and saute until onions are translucent.

Step 3: Add chopped red pepper, beet (turnip) and yams and then saute for a few minutes.

Step 4: Add remaining ingredients, bring to a boil and then simmer until the vegetables are soft.

Serve with a dallop of creme fraiche or yogurt on top!

Homemade Naam Sauce (miso gravy)

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This recipe gets it’s name from The Naam Restaurant- a 24 hour vegetarian restaurant in Vancouver, BC that is famous for it’s miso gravy served with potatoe wedges.

While I haven’t been there for a few years, this homemade version tastes just like it if my taste buds remember correctly!

 

Homemade Naam Sauce

What you will need:

2 cups water
1/2 cup nutritional yeast
1/4 cup coconut oil
2 Tbsp toasted sesame oil
2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
2 Tbsp unrefined sweetener
2 large cloves garlic pressed
1 Tbsp shredded ginger
1/2 cup spelt flour

4 Tbsp barley miso paste (add at the end to preserve the beneficial bacteria)

How to do it:

Step 1: Bring all ingredient except for the miso to a boil.

Step 2: Take off the stove.

Step 3: Add miso and process in a food processor or blender.

Serve over roasted veggies, grains or homemade fries!

* will update with almond flour and coconut flour alternatives to spelt ASAP so watch for that if you are gluten free

Homemade Chocolate Chunks

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Have a chocolate craving, but want to do without the dairy, wax and white sugar?

These are soooo easy that you can make them faster than you can run to the corner store and buy commercial chocolate chips!

I have to laugh because I have been meaning to make my own chocolate chips for literally about 5 years since I saw the recipe for carob chips in the Nourishing Traditions cookbook! For some reason, I kept putting it off thinking that it would be way to time consuming than it was worth. Isn’t it funny how we sometimes assume that cooking from scratch will just be too hard?

I guarantee you will be pleasantly surprised by the simplicity of making your own chocolate chips at home.

Homemade Chocolate Chunks
(makes 2-3 cups)

What you will need:
1 cup coconut oil
1 cup cocoa powder
1 Tbsp vanilla extract
1/2-3/4 cup honey, maple syrup or unrefined cane sugar

How to do it:
Step 1: Put everything in a small saucepan and melt.
Step 2: Line a baking tray with wax or parchment paper.
Step 3: Pour chocolate in tray and freeze for about 10 min.
Step 4: Cut or break into chocolate chunks.
Step 5: Store in the fridge in an air tight container.

Note: If you use unrefined sugar I have to warn you that it doesn’t melt easily. Once your ingredients are all melted and you taste the chocolate it will taste like there is no sweetener at all and that is because the sugar has sunk to the bottom. You will want to blend in a vitamix or prepare for crunchy choc (which I actually adore)!

Coconut Macaroons

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Ever wonder what to do with the egg whites when a recipe calls for just egg yolks. Here is a yummy way to use those leftover egg whites. Your kids will thank you!

Coconut Macaroon Mounds
(makes 22 cookies)

What you will need:
4 egg whites
1/2 cup unrefined sugar or honey
1/2 tsp unrefined salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup almond flour
3 cups shredded coconut

How to do it:
Step 1: Beat egg whites until stiff.
Step 2: Stir in all remaining ingredients.
Step 3: Line a baking tray with parchment paper or grease generously.
Step 4: Form batter into little cookie balls and place on tray.
Step 5: Bake at 325 degrees F for 25 minutes (or until lightly browned).

Let cool completely before serving (otherwise they will seem a bit mushy inside when still warm). Enjoy!

Want to get off sugar? (but not really)

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You know this about sugar right?:

1) Sugar makes you fat.
2) Sugar wreaks havoc on your hormones.
3) Sugar makes you moody.
4) Sugar ages you.
5) Sugar increases inflammation
6) Sugar elevates your risk for developing cancer, diabetes and heart disease

While we know that all of this is true, it doesn’t make a bit of difference does it, when you feel the urge to reach for a candy bar or bag of chips (I know, you thought you were a salt person- but the truth is, potato chips metabolize just like sugar anyways. Busted!).

You see, the thing is that most of us are motivated by instant gratification.

The pleasure of sugar in the moment, outweighs the future health risks, right? And that’s why sheer willpower, diet plans and the very best intentions don’t work when it comes to sugar.

The truth is, when you eat sugar, it stimulates the release of dopamine, which makes you feel pleasure- essentially making your brain crave more.

Did you know that heroine, morphine and sugar all stimulate the same receptors in your brain?

That gives it some perspective, huh? Makes it a whole lot easier to see why it is so hard to get off sugar and why so many people are in denial.

If you are willing to admit that you are addicted to sugar, there is a part of you that WANTS TO get off sugar, and there is a part of you that DOESN’T WANT TO.

You feel conflicted, right?

You probably don’t trust yourself to even try, but there is also a part of you that is gently whispering ‘you can do it’, no?

I hear that and that is why we’ve developed a sugar detox that doesn’t force you to rely on your willpower (details below).

“Yeah but”, I bet you are wondering, “Will this just be another one of those things that I’ll try ‘half ass’ but never really get into”?

If you are nodding your head, you’ve hit the point of futility.

But, here is the Truth. In every decision you make, you are either moving toward better health or away from it. Don’t ever give up on you!!

Believe in yourself and that you are worth taking a chance on!

The thing is, even if you only implement 1/4 of what we share with you, you will still make significant gains toward your best health.

I don’t know any mom who wouldn’t welcome more energy and an increased sense of well-being. That’s a priceless commodity!

Here’s the solution we provide:

1) Move toward your goal of getting off sugar as fast or as slow as you want (yes, slow is good too -remember, slow and steady wins the race).

2) Follow our 3-step method that shows you how to replace, reduce and relax about sugar (this is not about becoming a militant sugar ‘avoider’).

3) Learn to feed your body, brain and spirit to ‘purge the urge’ for sugar-we will show you how!

4) Listen to what your body is trying to tell you (we will help you discover your unique craving complex so that you can eat your way to normalizing your desire for sugar).

5) Knowledge, motivation and inspiration to get started and stay on the horse (including a private Facebook group with the other participants so that you have all of us to support you and help you stay accountable to the goals that you set for yourself).

6) What you will learn in this program will not only get you off the sugar roller coaster, but you will learn extremely important distinctions about food that medical/educational institutions and the media are NOT telling you (crucial stuff you’ll want to know).

7) Plus, everything we share (and the order in which we deliver it) is designed to get you off sugar without trying (you see, there is no reason to feel futility in this program- you can’t fail because you won’t be trying!)

Finally, this isn’t just about getting off of sugar, it is about a paradigm shift. Let us elevate you to a new and exciting way of relating to yourself and the world.

Alright - are you ready? Click here. Registration ends soon.

 

Think you’re not addicted to sugar? Think again.

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Do you think that sugar isn’t an issue for you just because you don’t have a ‘sweet tooth’?

If you can easily say ‘no’ to cake, cookies, chocolate bars and the like, you might be under the assumption that you couldn’t possibly be addicted to sugar.

BUT, if you can’t say ‘no’ to any or all of the following (or if you can’t imagine enjoying life without them) then I hate to break you the news, you ARE a sugar addict.

  • Bread
  • Juice
  • Crackers
  • Wine/Alcohol
  • Chips
  • Cereal
  • Processed foods
  • Ketchup etc.

While the aforementioned foods may not actually be ‘white sugar’ they either contain it or are metabolized just like it (hence why you can’t imagine enjoying food without them).

The truth is, you CAN get off the sugar addiction cycle without giving up your favourite foods, simply by pressing reset on what your body craves through simple dietary shifts that will help you stop craving ‘the crap’ (without willpower).

In our 28 day Sugar Detox system we walk you step by step through what you need to do, so that you actually do it (just knowing it, isn’t doing it).

Here’s how you get off sugar (without having to use willpower or deprivation):

  • Step 1: Swap your artificial sweeteners with the 4 (non-toxic) ones.
  • Step 2: Upgrade the quality of the sugar in your kitchen from white sugar to the best natural sugars available (and no agave syrup is not in that category).
  • Step 3: Transform your baking into nutrient dense delights (instead of eating nutrient and energy depleting ones) using our 3 simple ingredient upgrades.
  • Step 4: Learn to adopt the simple Chinese medicine principles and watch your cravings disappear.
  • Step 5: Eat the right fats- the ones that will actually satiate you (so that you forget about sugar).
  • Step 6: Discover your unique craving complex (what’s really driving those cravings and how to meet your nutritional deficiencies).
  • Step 7: Take our 7 day sugar detox challenge (it is a nutrient infusion, body reset and rejuvenation of your taste buds) so that you can experience what it is like to be fully nourished into freedom from sugar cravings and enjoy the natural flavour of real food. *When you eat sugar, table salt and processed food, your taste buds become so numbed out, that real nutritious food tastes boring and bland - but don’t worry, we are going to help you change that in a jiffy-well 28 days to be exact)!

So why 28 days anyway?

We are about sustainable changes. We could rile you all up to get off sugar tomorrow, but then you’d be back on it next week.

Our program is actually less about detoxing from sugar and more about what to add to your diet to allow your sugar cravings to drop away.

When it happens that way, you are not simply changing your behavior, but you are transforming your physiology.

What we do is use nourishment to get you there, not deprivation or willpower.

People who crave sugar in any or all of its many of guises have a physiological craving. If that is you, your body is literally driving you to eat sugar- and it is not your fault. You can get off the track and best of all, it is not even hard if you know how to do it.

If you are ready to learn how to detox the hidden sources of sugar in your life, decode your cravings and add more nourishment to your life, then you are invited to join us on our 28 day sugar detox program where we not only give you the insight you need to step into a craving-free version of yourself, but we will also help you implement what you have learned along the way.

To register or learn more, click here.

Why you should put that detox kit back on the shelf and do this instead.

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Have you ever bought one of those health food store detox kits?

If you know me well, you know that for many years I worked in the health food store industry. You might be surprised to learn that in all that time, I never once went on a ‘cleanse in a box’.

One thing that I know about detox (with a lot of experience customizing my own food based cleanses) is that you can add as many herbs and supplements as you want to a cleansing regime, but if you don’t make specific fundamental shifts in your diet and lifestyle at the same time, any benefits you get from the program will be short lived at best.

I am serious. You are wasting your money.

The thing is, you can spend your money on a short lived product or invest in a life changing experience.

It’s true. When you expect results in a bottle you end up spending money (yip, you can put that in the expenses category), whereas when you invest in a sustainable lifestyle and paradigm shifting experience, the return on your investment is priceless.

Anyone who is serious about getting off sugar, junk food, cleansing or healing their body is much better off investing in a health program (or healing retreat) where you can get the support, feedback and accountability of a group or mentor.

Most of us know what to do to help ourselves, but the fact is we just don’t do it. The best laid intentions and plans soon crumble when essential pieces are missing from the equation.

Plus, getting ‘unstuck’ in the places that we are stuck, often requires good coaching and a multifaceted approach that includes other aspects of our lives (beyond the kitchen) that need to be addressed, before we can shift and transform our way of being with food.

There are also the simple sustainable changes that we often overlook. If we saw them, it would take ‘hard’ out of the picture for us (an objective coach is essential in helping us uncover the things that we don’t know, we don’t know).

And there are certain structures and systems that we must put in place and become immersed in, for lasting transformation (yes, there are systematic and structured ways of getting organized around food that make eating healthy effortless)!

One thing that is typical of people who overcome their ‘processed food addictions’ (bet you can’t think of one person addicted to raw broccoli!) and heal from disease is that they often have a paradigm shift in the process that elevates and evolves literally every aspect of their lives.

Now you can’t get that from a pill or in a box, but you sure can from real caring people who can hold your hand and show you the way- but only if you are ready for the journey of course- what you put in, you get out.

So if you were thinking of just doing one of those cleansing kits, do you REALLY want to ‘just pop pills’ or do you want to make craving junk and sugar a thing of the past, so that you can take it or leave it (no issue)?

Now like I said, put that detox box, back on the shelf and git yer self in a program : )

How to get off bread & sugar….and by the way, it’s not your fault!

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If you are like most people, you`ve probably sworn off bread or sugar at least once in your lifetime. The trouble is though, that at the best of times willpower often cowers in the face of a true physiological or bacterial craving.

The truth is, if you can`t stop yourself from bingeing on bread or overdoing sugar, it is not your fault.

Here is why:

1) From a physiological perspective- if you have blatant or subtle nutrient deficiencies, your body is driving you to consume sugar and refined carbs to feel good (although only momentarily). Unfortunately, sugar itself keeps you both on a roller coaster and a hamster wheel! The dips and spikes of sugar ensure that you crave just one thing- more sugar!! And as far as the hamster wheel is concerned, sugar isn`t an empty calorie, it actually puts us in a nutrient defecit, thus perpetuating mineral deficiency and subsequent cravings!

2) From a bacterial perspective- if you have sugar cravings, there is a very high chance that you also have a bacterial imbalance in your gut…sugar feeds pathogenic bacteria. These bacteria beasties actually send chemical messages to your brain that will cause you to crave sugar and refined carbohydrates!

So as you can see, people crave sugar, because they have to -in the age of nutrient deficient food!

While there are many ways to nourish ourselves to make cravings a thing of the past, I bet you would love to know about the single most potent food to permantly eliminate sugar cravings altogether, am I right?

How about discovering one food that can address both the body`s physiological craving for food AND the bacterial one?

The food most ideally suited to stop your sugar and refined carb cravings is cultured foods!!

Culturing a food, means that you are infusing it with beneficial probiotic bacteria (you know, that good stuff inherently found in yogurt!).So just how DO cultured foods address the root causes of sugar and refined carb cravings?

1) Culturing your food increases the nutritional value of that food. For example, sauerkraut has 100 times the Vitamin C as its unfermented counterpart, cabbage. Eating some probiotic condiments with each meal also promotes better digestion and the assimilation of nutrients. That in itself is a 3 in 1 benefit of cultured foods in terms of meeting nutrient deficiencies!

2) Cultured food also feeds beneficial bacteria in your gut, therefore helping to crowd out the more harmful or pathogenic flora. In addition, cultured foods do not JUST add good probiotic bacteria to your gut, but they also provide lactic acid which is not only food for the GOOD bacteria, but it makes your digestive tract inhospitable to pathogenic bacteria! That is a 4 in 1 benefit!

and if that is not remarkable enough…..

1) Ancient chinese medicine has taken note that the unique flavour of cultured foods actually has a balancing effect that neutralizes or cancels out our cravings for sugar!2) Finally, one Ka-RAZY Kool effect of eating fermented foods with your meals is that if you give into a sugar craving and immediately eat a cultured food, the beneficial bacteria will immediately begin eating up the sugar you just consumed, therefore minimizing the amount that you end up digesting and assimilating! Now if my math is correct, that is at least 9 reasons why cultured foods alone, can curb your sugar cravings!So if cravings, are driving you crazy, and you want to immediately take action- you can purchase the following fermented foods and bubbly beverages at your local health food store:

1) Bubbies Pickles
2) Sauerkraut
3) Kombucha

Just make sure they say unpasteurized, because otherwise they will be devoid of probiotics from the heat.

However, if you have a sneaking suspicion that you will eventually get bored of eating only 3 kinds of cultured foods, day in and day out, then you are going to want to get the skills you need, to learn to make them at home (which is way yummier, simple and more affordable anyway)!!

Finally, if you want the knowledge, support, tools, accountability and community to wean yourself off sugar, click here to learn about our 28 Day Sugar Detox challenge where we help you nourish yourself from the sugar habit!

* This post is part of the Probiotic Food Challenge Linky at Real Food Forager.