Veg Comfortably This Holiday

This is the time of year when all you want is a hearty, warming meal that is rich and flavourful. Whether it’s pasta, lasagna, stews, mashed potatoes or a cheesy macaroni – your body knows what it needs (or wants?). There is noting wrong with this, as long you make them healthy!  By healthy, I don’t mean tasteless! When the craving sets in for these types of meals, you have some choices to make that can benefit your whole family.
Here are some alternative options that will satisfy your desires and allow you to indulge without guilt!

Balanced Holiday Eating !

Squash-Carrot Soup

Are you hosting the Holidays at your home this year? Having everyone over in the comfort of your home will ensure that you know exactly what is on the menu! This way you can plan a diverse menu that is hearty, healthy and delicious! Tell people what to bring, prepare the meal together or make it all yourself! Whatever works for you, make it happen and enjoy the perfect balanced holiday meal!

1.     Variety –You want to make sure you have a little bit of everything so you are not left craving anything after the meal or feel like something is missing from you plate. A whole plate full of mashed potatoes, a piece of bread and turkey is not very appetizing, colourful or creative!

2.     Texture – It’s always nice to experience a different sensation in your mouth with each bite – strive for a dish that is Crunchy (steamed green veggies), Chewy (cooked grains), Soft (mashed sweet potatoes) and Crispy (baked apple crisp). Those are just some ideas!

3.     Colour – Choose lots of vibrant fresh colours from squash, yams, parsnips, carrots, and beets – with that alone you can create an amazing roasted root vegetable dish or a creamy soup. Always include some dark leafy greens like kale, broccoli, or spinach. Have fun with splashes of yellow from peppers or whole grains like quinoa and millet. The more colourful your plate is, the more exciting it will be to eat!

4.     Shape – Every food has its own unique shape. You can choose the natural shapes you like from different foods or you can get creative by cutting your sweet potatoes and carrots a particular way. Alternatively, choose brussel sprouts, cauliflower or green beans for some variety. This makes each bite unique.

5.     Flavour – It is important to balance all six of the major flavours in each meal. This means making sure you choose recipes that include Salty from sea salt, sea vegetables and tamari; Sweet from fruits, root vegetables and maple syrup; Pungent from cinnamon, ginger, cayenne cumin and garlic; Sour from lemon, lime and oranges; Astringent from legumes, fruits and vegetables and Bitter from dark leafy greens, herbs and spices.

By incorporating the suggestions above into your holiday meal, you’re sure to achieve the perfect balance and leave your palette, as well as your guests’, satisfied!

Squash-Carrot Soup

Makes 4-6 servings

Ingredients:

1 medium onion, chopped

1 tbsp olive oil

4 cups vegetable stock or filtered water

2 cups carrots chopped

1-2 cups butternut or kabocha squash or sweet potatoes, peeled and diced

2 medium apples, cored and diced

1/2 tsp sea salt

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp nutmeg

(2 tbsp fresh ginger root)

*** For added nutrition and a balanced meal, serve with some brown rice and steamed green vegetables such as swiss chard, kale, or broccoli and top with pumpkin seeds or parsley for added texture and colour!

1. In a large soup pot, sauté the onions in oil on medium heat until they become translucent.
2. Add the stock, carrots, squash or sweet potatoes, apples and salt, pepper, nutmeg and ginger. Bring to a boil.
3. Turn down heat and simmer for 30 minutes. Take 2 ladles’ worth of vegetables and 1 ladle of stock and blend in a blender or food processor until smooth or you can puree the entire pot. Return to soup pot and stir together before serving.

How are you going to bring balance to your meals this holiday?

Squash – sational Minestrone Soup!

A bowl of minestrone soup – done “right” can provide your body full of nutrients, not to mention a hearty and healthy meal. What makes a minestrone soup new age…well a typical minestrone soup is based in a tomato/beef broth. A tomato broth may taste good to some, but for most people – tomatoes are too hard on their stomach due to their acid content.  Using beef broth… well I am not even going to get into the reasons why to avoid this. You should know me by now – and if you don’t then you will catch on very quickly to the fact that I am not an advocate for beef. You can get just as much flavour, if not more using root vegetables as the base of your soup.

This particular recipe is made with butternut squash and sweet potatoes as the base. These two combined provide a sweet, delicate broth that is alkalizing and delicious. Butternut squash is warming and extremely medicinal to many organs of the body (spleen, pancreas) and stomach. It can improve energy and circulation. This winter squash is also a great source of natural sugars, carbohydrates and beta carotene. The natural sugars in squash are great for people with diabetes and people with other digestive problems. It provides vitamin A and C, potassium iron, riboflavin and magnesium and very low in sodium.

So as you can see, a bowl of this squashy soup is very nourishing and of course delicious. Just like traditional minestrone this soup is chalked full of veggies, bulked up with kidney beans and brown rice macaroni noodles. At this particular time of the year, there is nothing better than a hearty bowl of soup. Squashes are also in season now. Take advantage and make yourself a bowl of yummy minestrone soup!

New Age Minestrone

Ingredients:

1 Spanish onion, cut into large dice

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

1-2 cloves of fresh garlic, minced

1 ½ teaspoon, sea salt

1 tablespoon dried oregano

4-6 cups filtered water or stock

1 bay leaf

1 butternut squash, peeled and cut into medium dice (or roast half squash in oven on 350F for 45 minutes) – then peel flesh away from skin and place in pot

1 sweet potato cut into large dice

3 ribs celery cut into large dice

1 large zucchini or two small zucchini, cut into small chunks

1 bunch of chard, cut into bit size pieces

1 cup soaked and cooked kidney beans (optional)

½ cup cooked macaroni brown rice noodles (optional)

1. In a small pot, sweat onion in oil with garlic and salt until soft.
2. Add oregano and sweat a few more minutes
3. Add water and bay leaf
4. Add vegetables in order given (squash, sweet potatoes, celery, zucchini)
5. Turn up heat until water bubbles, then lower and simmer covered for 40-45 minutes.
6. Stir vegetables until squash falls apart.
7. Add in chopped chard and pre cooked kidney beans and macaroni noodles.
8. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes.
9. Stir a few more times and serve.

*** For a smoother texture, simmer squash separately until soft (in 1-2 cups of water), and puree in food processor. Add squash to the soup for the last 10 minutes of cooking.

Birthday Potluck Fiesta

Roasted-Spiced Squash Soup with Asian Pear

There could not have been a better way to celebrate my 27th birthday, then to have my closest friends over for a potluck dinner. Everyone brought over something delicious to contribute to a collection of different dishes which made up our fantastic and unforgettable dinner!

Whole Grain Goodness

Grain goodness!