Category Archives: healthy recipe

Recipe: Root Vegetable Soup

Posted on December 10, 2012 | Leave a comment

This is a hearty soup recipe that provides an interesting way to eat a variety of veggies all in one bowl. Add any spicing that you think would enhance the flavour.

1 onion, diced

1 carrot, diced

1 stalk celery, diced

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 celeriac root, cut into cubes

1 rutabaga, cut into cubes

1 parsnip, chopped

2 tomatoes, chopped

6 cups vegetable broth

1/2 cup barley

1 bay leaf

1 teaspoon thyme

1 bunch rapini, chopped

Salt, pepper and lemon juice

In a large soup pot, saute onion, carrot and celery. Add root vegetables cook until slightly softened and browned. Add chopped tomatoes, vegetable broth, barley, bay leaf and thyme. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer for 35 minutes. Add chopped rapini. Season with salt, pepper and lemon juice to taste.

Leave a comment

Posted in Healthy food, healthy recipe, Recipe, Vegan

Recipe: Sweet Potato Soup

Posted on November 29, 2012 | Leave a comment

This is a recipe I put together yesterday after having sweet potato soup recently suggested to me as a soup idea. Sweet potatoes contain vitamins B, C, D, magnesium, potassium and beta carotene. I looked through a few recipes and came up with this version. The red lentils add an extra nutritional boost as well. I quite enjoyed the thick texture and rich taste of the coconut along with the spices, which have a slight curry flavour.

Sweet Potato Soup 

4-5 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and diced

1 onion, chopped finely

1 clove garlic, minced

1 apple, peeled and chopped

1 tablespoon coconut oil

4-5 cups of vegetable stock

1/2 cup of red lentils, rinsed

1 tablespoon creamed coconut (concentrated coconut, available at health food stores) (optional)

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp ground tumeric

1 stalk lemongrass

8-10 cilantro stems

salt, pepper and lemon juice to taste

In a large pot, saute onion, garlic, apple and sweet potato until softened. Add vegetable stock and red lentils, bring to a boil. Add creamed coconut, cumin and tumeric, stir. Add lemongrass and cilantro stems. Simmer until sweet potatoes are very soft. Remove lemongrass and cilantro stems. Use a handheld immersion blender to puree the soup. Season with salt, pepper and lemon juice to your taste.  Enjoy!

 

 

Leave a comment

Posted in gluten free, Healthy food, healthy recipe, Recipe, Vegan, Vivian Law

Tagged , ,

Recipe: Tanzanian Hot Sauce

Posted on November 19, 2012 | Leave a comment

I learned of this recipe while sharing lunch with a generous young lady from Tanzania a couple weeks ago. This is a homemade hot sauce that is also known as pilli pilli. It can be served with grilled meats or anything else you enjoy with hot sauce.  Here is my version of the free form recipe with scotch bonnet pepper and tomato being the key base ingredients, then you add other ingredients to your taste. It is important to use scotch bonnet or habanero pepper for their flavour. Lime and sugar are nice additions to round out the heat.

2 tomatoes, diced

2 scotch bonnet peppers, seeded (leave the seeds in if you like it really hot)

1 shallot, minced

juice of 1 lime

1-2 teaspoons sugar

1/4 cup chopped cilantro

salt to taste

In a food processor, puree all ingredients. Adjust seasonings to your taste or add any other variation you enjoy, such as, garlic, onion, ginger, lemon, etc.

 

 

 

Leave a comment

Posted in healthy recipe, Recipe, Vegan, Vivian Law

Tagged , ,

Recipe: Guacamole

Posted on November 3, 2012 | Leave a comment

Avocados are a healthy super food with their high monounsaturated (healthy) fat content, fiber content, vitamin A, vitamin E, vitamin B, vitamin C, copper, and lutein for the prevention of macular degeneration. My favourite way to have avocado is in guacamole. Here is my take on guacamole, everyone has their own, so make it your own with your own additions. I use shallot as a cross between onion and garlic. I feel cilantro and jalapeno are required for zip and spice.

2 ripe avocados

Lime juice to taste (1/2 lime)

1 plum tomato finely chopped

1 shallot finely chopped

1/2 jalapeno pepper finely chopped

2 tablespoons chopped cilantro

Salt and pepper to taste

In a medium bowl, scoop out avocado, mash with a spoon and mix in lime juice. Add tomato, shallot, jalapeno and cilantro, mix well. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Place the avocado seed in the guacamole if you are not serving it immediately to help prevent browning. Enjoy with tortilla chips, crackers or with tacos.

 

Leave a comment

Posted in gluten free, Healthy food, healthy recipe, Healthy snack, plant food, Recipe, Vegan, Vivian Law

Tagged , , ,

Recipe: Butternut Squash Soup

Posted on October 15, 2012 | Leave a comment

Locally grown butternut squash is available at this time of year and the colder weather makes this soup a natural choice. Butternut squash contains beta carotene, vitamin C, manganese, calcium, magnesium and potassium. This is a simple recipe that was told to me verbally by another foodie who highly recommended fried sage as a secret ingredient. The soup is still good even when you cannot get your hands on fresh sage.

1 butternut squash, peeled and seeded, cut into cubes (bake the squash at 350 for 10 minutes if is hard to peel or cut)

1 onion, finely diced

1-2 apples or 1 pear and 1 apple, peeled and coarsely chopped

1 tablespoon butter or coconut oil (if you prefer a vegan version)

4 cups vegetable broth or stock

salt, pepper, cardamom, to taste

In a large pot, heat butter or oil over medium heat. Saute onion, apple and pear until softened. Add cubed squash and saute briefly. Add vegetable stock. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer for 15-20 minutes or until squash is soft. Let soup cool slightly and puree with an immersion blender until smooth. Season with salt, pepper, cardamom or any other spices to your taste. Enjoy!

Leave a comment

Posted in gluten free, healthy recipe, plant food, Vegan

Tagged ,

Recipe: Fall Fruit Crisp

Posted on October 6, 2012 | Leave a comment

This is a rather loose recipe to inspire you to make a healthy dessert anytime. I consulted with Chef Melissa Saunders to ascertain the appropriate amount of fruit per person. For example, if making apple crisp, allow for about 1-1.5 apples per person you are making crisp for. Or about 1 cup of fruit per person. I tend to leave the fruit plain to let the natural flavour come out through the cooking process. You can always squeeze a little lemon or add a sprinkle of sugar or honey if desired.

For the crisp topping. I prefer a simple version with just oats, butter, and brown sugar, because it has more crisp. It is also easy to create a gluten free version by using gluten free oats. Oats on their own are gluten free, it is in processing that they may come into contact with gluten. The formula for the crisp topping would be 1/4 cup oats, 1 tablespoon of butter, 1 tablespoon brown sugar per person. You could use coconut oil instead of butter to make this a vegan recipe.

Crisp Topping

(Serves 4 as an example)

1 cup quick oats

1/4 cup butter at room temperature

1/4 cup brown sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Arrange sliced fruit in an even layer in a glass baking dish.

In a medium bowl, mix together oats, butter and brown sugar with your hands until well combined.

Spread over prepared fruit in glass baking dish.

Bake for 30-45 minutes or until topping is browned as desired. Enjoy warm on its   own or with a little whipped cream or icecream.

Leave a comment

Posted in healthy recipe, healthy treat, Recipe, Vivian Law

Tagged , , ,

Recipe: Pear and Arugula Salad

Posted on September 25, 2012 | Leave a comment

This is a recipe that was inspired after I got my hands on the best honey ever

http://www.vivianlaw.ca/the-best-honey-ever/ 

this summer and was also given a sample of sunflower oil from my friends at La Societe Orignal. This was what I came up with as a way to use honey and sunflower oil in the same dish, because those were the exciting new ingredients I procured that day. I’m still not sure where this idea came from, perhaps from ordering a pear, arugula and walnut salad on a Montreal patio and having the pear replaced with canned lychee(?). This is a really simple, and delicious salad to put together. The sauteed pears also pair very well with waffles and/or icecream (salted caramel was my pick).

Sauteed Pears:

Core and slice 1-2 medium ripe pears. Heat 1/2 tbsp butter in a small skillet. Add 1/2 tbsp of Classe Ouvriere honey (ordinary honey is alright too). Stir pear slices in butter and honey mixture and saute until lightly browned and softened.

Pear and Arugula Salad:

Organic baby arugula

1-2 sliced, sauteed pears,

drizzle of cold pressed sunflower oil

Place the desired amount of arugula (at least 2 large handfuls) onto a plate. Drizzle with sunflower oil. Top with sauteed pear slices and enjoy.

Leave a comment

Posted in Healthy food, healthy recipe, Recipe, Vivian Law

Tagged ,

Recipe: Three Lentil Soup

Posted on September 20, 2012 | Leave a comment

This is a recipe I adapted from the Canadian Living Slow Cooker Collection. I found it worked just as well on the stove top. I use 3 types of lentils for the nutritional and texture variety. This is a brownish coloured soup that packs a lot of nutrition as a source of fibre, magnesium and folate on a cold day.

1/3 cup brown lentils

1/3 cup green lentils

1/3 cup black lentils

1 onion, finely chopped

1 clove garlic, finely chopped

1 plum tomato, finely diced

1 stalk celery, finely chopped

2 tablespoons olive oil

4-5 cups vegetable stock

1 bay leaf

1/2 tsp dried thyme

Salt, pepper and lemon juice to taste

In a large pot, heat olive oil over medium heat. Saute onion, garlic, tomato and celery until softened. In a strainer, rinse lentils thoroughly. Add lentils, bay leaf, thyme and vegetable stock to the pot. Bring to a boil, simmer over medium low heat for 30 minutes. Season with salt, pepper and lemon juice to your taste. Enjoy piping hot topped with finely chopped greens such as watercress or chard (the greens will wilt and cook lightly in the hot soup).

 

Leave a comment

Posted in gluten free, Greens, healthy recipe, plant food, Recipe, Vegan, Vivian Law

Healthy Drink Recipe: Mango Lime Soda with Minisyrup

Posted on September 19, 2012 | 2 comments

This is a delicious, natural, calorie free beverage recipe that has a great story behind its origin. I was introduced to Minisyrup through a chance encounter at the Chicago airport earlier this year. Minisyrup is best described as a burst of flavour or a flavour enhancer, similar in concept to vanilla extract. Minisyrup flavours beverages with natural, concentrated flavour without any sugar or sweetener.

The recipe inspiration starts with the discovery of the summer drink of choice-grey goose orange and soda with lime…

http://www.vivianlaw.ca/summer-drink-grey-goose-orange-and-soda-with-lime/

With fresh lime juice as the key ingredient, I recalled how I learned about the incredible flavour this drink ingredient adds many years ago in my classic Mr Boston guide to cocktails.  This concept was brought back to me in the creation of the grey goose orange and soda with lime. Lime was the secret ingredient again, when a guest and I added Mango minisyrup to a vodka soda with lime, and created another great new drink . Vodka soda with lime and mango minisyrup was an outstanding cocktail, on par with the grey goose orange and soda with lime.  However, as much I as enjoy a cocktail, I saw great inspiration in the mango minisyrup as it packs so much flavour, and I saw many healthy applications for the product…

Club soda or sparkling water is a non alcoholic beverage that I tend to prefer over plain water at home or in restaurants. It seems like more fun than water with the bubbles.  A good friend and I had some club soda with lime and mango minisyrup with our final outdoor lunch of the season last week and found it to be a superb non alcoholic beverage. We felt this was a great discovery, as she is always looking for an enticing drink to serve her teen children when she is pouring wine or cocktails for the adults. We tested the mango lime soda on her teens and they loved it!

Here is the recipe, complete with photo inspiration from my young friend Francesca.

Fill a tall glass with club soda and ice. Add a squeeze of fresh lime and 2 pumps of Mango minisyrup. Enjoy!

Find and order Mango minisyrup at https://www.zavida.com/minisyrup/mango-minisyrup

 

 

 

 

2 Comments

Posted in Healthy Beverage, healthy recipe, product review

Tagged , , , , , , ,

Recipe: Spicy Noodle Salad

Posted on September 14, 2012 | 1 comment


After perfecting the spicy mango lime dressing this summer, I worked on a gluten free noodle salad that would include lots of veggies to create more of a meal with the salad. Napa cabbage delivers a light crunch with a milder flavour and the sugar snap peas add a touch of sweetness with their crunchy texture. I quite enjoyed the blend of flavours and textures, and so did my testers.

1 250g package buckwheat and sweet potato noodles (or 250g rice noodles)

8-10 leaves of napa cabbage, chopped finely

1 cup sugar snap peas, cut thinly crosswise

2 sprigs of fresh mint, leaves chopped

1/4 cup-1/2 chopped cilantro

1/2 fresh mango, cut into thin match sticks

Spicy Mango Lime Dressing –  http://www.vivianlaw.ca/recipe-spicy-mango-lime-dressing/

Cook noodles according to package instructions, drain and rinse with cold water.

In a large bowl, toss together noodles, cabbage, sugar snap peas with the dressing, mix well. Top with mint, cilantro, and mango, mix again gently. Serve and enjoy at room temperature.

Make this salad a meal by topping it with some lean protein of your choice. Try tofu cubes, shrimp, fish, grilled chicken or pork.

 

 

1 Comment

Posted in gluten free, healthy recipe, Recipe, Veggies

Tagged , , ,