GOING GREEK!

WE'RE QUINOA-ING GREEK!

A yummy Quinoa Greek Salad is on the books this week! Quinoa is a great source of nutrients such as magnesium, iron, 9 amino acids, and fiber on its own, then mix it with some other great ingredients and you have an amazingly healthy meal! Just a note - I rinse my quinoa still, just to eliminate any chance of the bitter or mineral taste that can be associated with quinoa. Also, to help raw quinoa last a bit longer then on your pantry shelf, try putting it in an airtight container and storing it in the fridge! This is a great side dish with grilled chicken breast...or even better...souvlaki :)

Ingredients:

2 Cups Vegetable or Chicken Stock (you can use water if you wish, but the stock gives the quinoa more flavour)
1 Cup Quinoa, rinsed in cold water and drained
2 Cups Cherry Tomatoes, cut in half
1 Cup Kalamata Olives, pitted and cut in half
1 Cup Seedless Cucumber, diced into similar sized pieces as the olives
1/4 Cup Red Onion, diced small
1 Lemon, juiced, no seeds
3 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 Tbsp Red Wine Vinegar (white or balsamic vinegar works too)
1 Garlic Clove, minced
1/2 Tsp Fresh Oregano (or 1/4 Tsp Dried Oregano)
Sea Salt and Freshly Ground Pepper to Taste
Feta Cheese (optional if you don't do any dairy)

1. In a small pot, bring the quinoa and the stock/water to a boil, then lower to a simmer and cover for approximately 15-20 minutes. It is done when the liquid is absorbed - be careful not to let it go too long and it burns!!
2. Remove the quinoa from the heat and pour into a bowl, fluffing it with a fork. Set aside to cool.
3. To make the dressing, whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, vinegar, garlic clove, oregano, and season with salt and pepper to your liking. Set aside to build your salad.
4. In the bowl of quinoa, add in your tomatoes, cucumber, olives, and red onion. Drizzle the dressing in the bowl, mixing at the same time to ensure even coverage. Then mix in your feta and eat up! 
5. If you made more than you can enjoy in one seating, I suggest you only add in the feta when you are going to eat the salad. It stores a bit better with the feta separated out.

COOOOOKIIIEEEES!!

COOOOOKIIIEEEES!

Easy, chewy, chocolate chip cookies. These simple to make and quick to bake ... and are even faster to disappear!

Ingredients:

3 1/4 Cups of Ground Almonds (aka Almond Flour)
1 1/2-2 Cups of Good Chocolate Chips or Cacao Nibs (depends on how much chocolate you want in them!)
1 Tsp Baking Soda
1 Tsp Flaked Sea Salt, crumbled
1 Tsp Pure Vanilla 
1/2 Cup Maple Syrup
1/2 Cup Butter, melted
2 Eggs

1. In a bowl add in the ground almonds, baking soda, and sea salt. Give it a stir to combine. In a separate bowl, add in the eggs,butter, maple syrup, and vanilla - whisk until completely mixed.
2. Stir in the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Then add in the chocolate chips and/or cacao nibs. The result should be a very wet cookie dough. Place this bowl in the fridge for approximately 15-20 minutes for the dough to become solid.
3. Preheat the oven to 375F. Line your baking trays with parchment paper and remove the dough from the fridge. Use a small 1oz ice cream scoop to shape the cookies. Make sure you leave space between each cookie scoop. If you do not have a cookie scoop, shape the cookie dough into 1" in diametre balls.
4. Place tray in oven and bake for about 8-10 minutes - be cautious that you do not over-bake the cookies!! At the 8 minute mark, take a peak to see if the bottom of the cookie is golden and the top of the cookie is golden. If it is, then remove from oven; if not, cook for another minute or two. 
5. The cookies will be soft to the touch when they first come out of the oven. Allow to cool, then eat up or store in an air tight container in the fridge...but you will more than likely not need to do that :)

Soup for You!

Tomato & Meatballish Stew

You don't usually think of downing a bowl of soup in the summer, but you can always prep for the fall! Make batches of soup with fresh seasonal ingredients and freeze them in portions for later on. This one is one of my favs, because it is super easy to make and you can even replace the tomatoes with good quality canned ones to make it even easier!

Ingredients:

4 Cups Organic Tomatoes, diced (or you can use good quality canned crushed tomatoes, about a 24-30oz size can should do it)
1 Cup Coconut Milk - full fat!
1 Cup Chicken or Beef Broth (Chicken tastes better for some reason?!)
1 lb Ground Beef, good quality is best, and lean
3 Garlic Cloves, minced
Fresh Basil Leaves
Coconut Oil or Avocado Oil
Sea Salt & Freshly Ground Pepper to taste

1. Take your tomatoes and coconut oil and blend until smooth in a blender or using a hand blender. If you are using canned crushed tomatoes, just go to the next step.
2. In a pot over medium heat, saute the onions in some coconut or avocado oil. Cook them out until they are soft, but not mush. Add in the ground beef - I like to make them into little tiny meatballs, but you can just break it up into chunks. Once beef is cooked through, drain off any excess fat, you shouldn't have too much if you use an extra lean ground beef.
3. Add in the garlic and season with salt and pepper, stir for about a minute, then add in your tomatoes, coconut milk and chicken broth.
4. Bring your soup to a boil and then reduce to a simmer for about 15 minutes. Add in julienne cut basil leaves or if the leaves are small, you can add them whole!
5. Remove from stove and eat right away, or you can cool it off and portion them into freezer bags and save for later!

Las-egg-na?!

Eggplant Lasagna

Sometimes when you've made the choice to eat paleo,you think of all the things that you miss...like lasagna! This version will never be compared to a true, traditional lasagna,but it makes for a solid stand in! One of the key kitchen tools that can make this easier is a mandolin - it will get the eggplant slices nice and thin for layering...if not, a very sharp knife is your eggplant 'noodle' friend. The filling is something you can experiment with - adding in your favourite veg, or switching out the meat you are using to turkey or even chicken. This is also a perfect dish to make now and freeze for future, just make sure you pack it properly before popping it into your freezer.

Ingredients:

1 Large Eggplant, trim the top stem off, cut lengthwise thinly
1lb Grass-fed Ground Beef (or ground chicken or turkey if you wish)
1 Medium-size Onion, diced small
1 Cup Mushrooms, diced (use your favourite kinds)
4 Cloves Garlic, minced
30oz (approximately) Diced Tomatoes (if you can your own tomatoes, use them!)
6oz Tomato Paste
1 Tbsp Each Oregano and Basil
1 Tsp Thyme
Olive Oil
Sea Salt & Freshly Ground Pepper to taste

1. To help the speed of cooking the lasagna when built, you want to pre-cook the eggplant slices. Line a 1 or 2 baking sheets with parchment paper, or as many trays required to cook all the eggplant slices at the same time.
2. Pre-heat the oven to 375F and brush both sides of the eggplant slices with olive oil and place on the tray without stacking them on each other so they cook evenly.
3. Place eggplant in the oven and bake for approximately 3-5 minutes each side, and remove any slices that are cooking faster than the others.
4. Remove the eggplant from the oven and allow to cool.
5. To make the sauce, brown the meat over medium-high heat and drain off any excess fat that accumulates. Add in the garlic, onions, and mushrooms. Cook out for about 8-10 minutes.
6. Add in the tomatoes, tomato paste and herbs. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Continue to cook filling on a simmer for a further 8-10 minutes, stirring frequently.
7. Layer out your lasagna starting with meat sauce on the bottom, followed by eggplant slices, and continue to until the eggplant slices are done and you cover the top with sauce to finish. If you are okay to eat dairy, as an option you can layer in mozzarella cheese if you wish.
8. Cover lasagna and refrigerate until you are ready to cook or cook immediately at 350 for approximately 20-30 minutes.
9. Remove from oven and serve immediately, or you can allow to cool, portion and freeze servings for future meals!

Sweet Nuts!

Sweet Nutty Goodness

Snacks you depend on to get you through those between meal periods can get repetitive and put you into an eating slump. They just get boring sometimes! Almonds, or nuts in general are one of those snacks - they are great for you, do wonders, give you that nutrition you need to keep you going, but they just get plain and boring. Try out these sweet roasted nuts that have a little kick to them next time! Oh... and they kinda taste nice with a nice cold beverage in the summer :)

Ingredients

4 Cups Almonds (or you can have a mixture of different ones!)

1/2 Cup Raw Honey

3/4 Tsp Cayenne Pepper

3/4 Tsp Kosher Salt

1. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, and lightly grease it with coconut oil, or other oil you may have. Since you are working with honey, you don't want it to stick and rip the paper.
2. Pre-heat the oven to 325 degrees.
3. In a saucepan, melt the honey over medium-low heat - ensure it doesn't boil. Add in the nuts and the cayenne pepper and completely coat all the nuts with the melted honey.
4. Pour honey-nut mixture onto the baking sheet and spread out evenly into a single layer.
5. Bake for approximately 10 minutes and remove from the oven. Immediately place the nuts in a large bowl and toss with the salt. Place it back down on the baking sheet and allow to cool.
6. Occasionally stir them around to prevent clumping. Once cooled - eat up or store into snack packs!

The Bounty of the Sea

Seafood Medley!

Seafood is best when it is simply prepared, especially if you have a reliable fishmonger or marketplace to get the freshest ingredients! A great local place to shop at is Diana's Seafood right on Lawrence Ave., near Warden. Stop by and check out the great selection they have and the staff are so helpful when you need some advice on what to get. This recipe is open to any seafood or shellfish you enjoy. I prefer using shrimp and squid for this recipe, but you may like to use it with salmon, mussels, or clams - there is plenty of fish (or shellfish) in the sea to try!

Ingredients For Sauce Antiboise

1/2 Cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 Shallot, finely diced
1/2 Garlic Clove, crushed
6 Basil Leaves, cut into fine strips
12 Coriander Leaves, cut into fine strips
2 Large Plum Tomatoes, seeded, diced small
10 Kalamata Olives, pitted and roughly chopped
Juice of 1/2 Lemon
Sea Salt & Pepper

Selection of your favourite seafood/shellfish items

1. In a skillet, gently warm the olive oil and add in the shallots and garlic. Heat for about 4-5 minutes, ensuring that the shallots and garlic don't change colour.
2. Add in the basil and coriander leaves allowing them to infuse for 1-2 minutes. Continue to gently warm with adding the tomatoes, and then the olives. Season with salt, pepper and add the lemon juice.
3. Remove from the heat.
4. Prep your seafood as required.
5. On your BBQ, grill up your seafood until cooked through. Avoid overcooking seafood, as it can dry out quickly, or some shellfish can become rubbery.
6. Remove from grill and place on a bed of lettuce, or quinoa and drizzle the tomato dressing over the seafood.
7. Enjoy!