HealthBean - The Okanagan's Dietitian

Frosty banana chia pops

15 Apr

Crunch, crunch, nomnom, another please. This will be your gut reaction to these tasty little banana pops. Although, if you dislike bananas, then we may have a problem on our hands. In fact, I’m not so sure if we’ll even be able to be friends if that’s the case….seriously. Ha gotcha! I would never do that to you. All joking aside though, bananas and I are, truly, best friends. We ride along in the car together, go to work together, and bake with each other. It’s the best friendship ever.

Tags: chia seeds, Frozen banana, healthy frozen fruit snacks, kid friendly healthy snacks, omega 3 snacks

Healthy Lunch Challenge: Dunk-a-Lunch!

7 Apr

When it comes to making lunches, either for your children or yourself, let’s face it, sometimes it’s a lost cause. Do you find your mornings consistently rushed leaving you with about 5 minutes to throw together some sort of lunch? If so, then this healthy, on-the-run lunchbox is for you.

Tags: crunch-a-color, greek yogurt recipe, healthy lunch challenge, healthy lunchbox ideas, tzatziki

52 New Foods Challenge – Rutabaga Fries

1 Apr

You walk into the store, see a massive root vegetable with interlocking stems wrapping around each other at the bottom and think, “what the heck would I ever do with that?” Well, that pretty much sums up the reaction when people see rutabaga. It can be difficult to know what to do with new foods. But, almost any vegetable can be made into some sort of chip or fry and it doesn’t need to be fried to tast good!

Rutabaga is a large root vegetable that represents the flavour that you’d expect if a turnip and cabbage got married. It tastes fresh, light and mildly sweet and they make the perfect french fry. If you don’t eat all of these french fries and have leftovers, I have one word for you – hashbrowns. They were unbelievable mixed in with onion and peppers, topped off with some over easy eggs and a dollop of salsa. A delightful wake up call for your tastebuds.

Tags: 52 new foods challenge, french fries, Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution, Recipes, rutabaga

Moroccan lamb and buckwheat stuffed peppers

12 Mar

The first time I made this, Jer and I gobbled them up so quickly that there was no way a camera could make its way in there to get even one shot. It was like a blast of bold, deep flavours that kept us shovelling in the food with little words spoken at the dinner table. You know those dinners I’m talking about right? When all you’re thinking about is the next bite? That was the dinner we had. So after those peppers disappeared, I knew I had to remake them to share with all of you!

Tags: buckwheat, lamb, Moroccan, recipe, stuffed peppers

Rutabaga, purple carrot and chickpea gratin {and my kitchen mishap}

5 Mar

This is a perfect one pot meal that will fill your house with heavenly aromas and fill your belly with hearty and wholesome ingredients. I was at the farmer’s market last week and I picked up a couple of my favourite root vegetables – rutabaga and purple carrots. Locally grown carrots in comparison to supermarket carrot’s would kick their butt in taste if there was a competition. Hands down. They are bursting with flavour and your tastebuds will be itchin’ for more. Rutabaga is quite similar to a butternut squash but with a firmer texture that tastes slightly sweet accompanied with a light freshness that would resemble something of a turnip.

Tags: kelowna farmers market, purple carrots, rutabaga, winter recipe

#4 – things that make me smile: passionate local farmers

23 Feb

When I meet farmers that are so passionate about producing healthy, nourishing foods, it makes my day. A lot of it, of course, is about the food. But, the conversations with the farmers and the expressions on their face when they talk about their food is probably one of the best things to see. It’s so great to see people come together to support our farmers so they can keep producing food that we can be proud to serve our families. Knowing where our food comes from and what is in our food, is a great way to lead your body to a healthy and happy place. Check out the Kelowna Farmers Market to find the next date that works best for you!

My loot:

From left to right: sprouted beans, ambrosia apples, sunflower seed sprouts, purple carrots, rutabaga, gouda cheese with basil, thyme and sundried tomato

My stuffed sandwich:

whole grain sprouted bread, hummus, gouda cheese, tomato (smoked salt and pepper on top of tomato), sprouted beans, sunflower seed sprouts

Tags: BC, green city acres, kelowna farmers market, Local food, things that make me smile, triple island cheese farm, winter

Carrotlines – a healthy living iphone app

15 Feb

Is it vegetarian? Is it GMO free? It is grown in Canada? Is it organic? If you’re grocery shopping for certain lifestyles, then you may know what I’m referring to. I like to call it the label reading syndrome where you spend half your time scanning the ingredient list or the label itself to make sure it gets the thumbs up approval. Well, I may make your day here because there is now an app for that! It’s called Carrotlines and I think you’ll love it just as much as I do.

Tags: BC, carrotlines, healthy living, iphone app, tommy europe

Kamut dark chocolate energy bars

6 Feb

So, I really like prunes. I can just grab a handful out of the bag and I’m a happy camper to munch away on them. I know, I know…it’s a definite stereotypical dietitian thing, bring on the jokes. But, I bet, I can make you like them too.

I’ve been hearing a lot about dates as sugar substitutes lately – date sugar, date paste, date syrup. And, I wanted to try it, but I was too lazy to run off to the store for one ingredient so I decided to rummage through my cupboards to see what kind of dried fruit I could use as a sugar substitute and low and behold, prunes made their appearance! Prunes are dried plums which happen to be a great source of fiber and help to keep things moving along…if you know what I mean.

Tags: chocolate, energy bar, healthy grains institute, kamut, prune paste, selenium

Warm winter wheat berry salad

26 Jan

I know I’m lucky to live in the interior of BC where the temperatures don’t really get that low. But, I’m a wimp and -5 celsius, to me, is freaking cold! Going outside is quite the task because I, literally, have to bundle up. I’m talking long johns here folks and scarves that reach up and cover my little nose so you can only see my eyes poking out from the top. I can only imagine what people are saying right now reading this from up North. I know, I know. Full out wimp. But, I’m ok with it. I take pride in plopping myself in the kitchen and setting the stove to 350F with the oven door open. This may or may not come to a surprise to my boyfriend….I was caught the other day setting the bedroom thermostat to 30 degrees. Slightly as a joke, slightly not. I’m not sure how funny he found it.

Tags: healthy grains institute, kale, pomegranate, pumpkin seeds, salad, wheat berries, winter

Stone ground whole wheat english muffins

16 Jan

Whole grains = love. Yes, I’m in love with whole grains. I can’t get enough of something that is tasty, filling and provides me with sustained energy throughout the day. I especially love them when I’m running out the door like a mad woman. You think I would eventually learn not to press the snooze button 10 times every morning, but I don’t. It’s a usual morning of me franticly searching for my books, holding my puppy back from jumping on the counter to try and steal my toast, finding my car keys, and repeating “Coba stay, Coba staaaay” as I sneak through the smallest sliver of my doorway so little Coba doesn’t escape.

Tags: breakfast muffin, english muffins, healthy grain institute, kelowna grains, okanagan grain, recipe, stone ground whole wheat, whole grain