In our household, we take nutrition and health very seriously. We do not eat dairy products, or meat and we try to keep our sugar consumption to a minimum. We love to eat raw veggies and fruits, anything that is “living food” which means that you can place it in water and it will essential grow (i.e. chickpeas, beans, lentils, nuts, etc) I will admit that it is hard work to be creative and holistic, especially for the kids but somehow I manage to do it! Hopefully some of these recipes help you as well!

Also I find it really fun to include the kids in the food preparation, Judah loves adding the ingredient in the bowls or pressing the start button on the blender. It is important to impart a desire for healthy living into our children so we are not just telling them they need to eat what we prepare but showing them that it can be a fun and involved process!

Some helpful kitchen tools are:

BLENDTEC

 

 

CHAMPION JUICER

BREAKFASTS

Orange, Carrot and Apple Juice

Juice together one large carrot, 2 oranges and 1 apple. Chill in the fridge for 1/2 hour and enjoy!

Banana Oatmeal Muffins

Combine dry ingredients; 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour, 1 cup whole oats,  1/2 cup of granulated maple sugar, 2 tsp baking powder, 1 tsp baking soda, a pinch of sea salt, (you can also add carob chipits if you want). Combine wet ingredients in a seperate bowl; egg replacer for 2 eggs, 1/2 rice milk, 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil, 3 medium mashed bananas. Mix all ingredients together put in muffin tins. Bake at 400F for 12-14 mins, let cool and enjoy!

Green Smoothies 

In the blender combine, a handful of spinach, pineapple wedges, one banana, a 1/2 cup of OJ, flax seeds and ice. Blend until completely mixed and serve immediately!

Strawberry Banana Smoothies

Blend one banana, a handful of fresh or frozen strawberries, flax seeds, a couple ice cubes and 1 cup of rice milk. Blend until completely mixed and serve immediately.

Yummy Granola

Combine in a large bowl, 4 cups of rolled oats, 1 cup crushed almods, 1/2 cup whole grain flour, 1 tsp cinnamon, 1/4 cup shredded coconut, 1 cup sunflower seeds, 1/2 wheat germ, 1 cup of natural unpasturized honey, 1tsp vanilla and 1 cup pumpkin seeds, once completely mixed, spread on a cookie sheet and bake for 20 minutes at 250F.

Banana Almond Butter Smoothie

Blend 2 cups enriched chocolate Rice Dream, 3 frozen bananas, 2 tbsp raw almond butter and 2 tbsp of maple syrup. Serve immediately, this is so goooooood! (Perfect for a mid morning snack, lots of protein)

SNACKS

Peanut Butter Smoothie 

Blend together a tbsp of natural peanut butter, a cup of rice milk and a banana, serve immediately, if you prefer it to be more cool just add a handful of ice!

Trail Mix

Combine raisins, cranberries, almonds, cashews, pisachios, sunflower seeds, kashi crunch cereal in a small plastic bag, shake and serve. (you can add a small bit of honey, maple syrup or peanut butter for more flavor and sweetness)

Fruit Bowl

Combine cut up strawberries, grapes, blueberries, raspberries and bananas in a bowl, mix around and serve!

Healthy Juice

In a juicer combine 2 carrots, 1 celery stalk and two apples. Add water to dilute it if you wish and serve fresh!

Almond, Sunflower Seed Sauce

This is a dip that is great for fruit but we also use it over cooked asparagus or beans. Soak 1/2c almonds and 1/2c sunflower seeds over night. The next morning, drain, saving some of the soaking water. Juice 1/2 lemon, pit 1/2 cup of dates and add to the blender with the almonds, sunflower seeds and a pinch of sea salt. Blend until mixture is smooth. Serve with fruits or veggies, can leave in a glass jar in the fridge for up to 3 months! 

Guacamole

Mash three ripe avacados in a bowl, add 1 cup chopped tomato, 1tbsp lemon juice,  1/4tsp sea salt and 1/2cup of fresh cilantro chopped. Mix together and serve immediately. Great with cut up veggies or pita chips!

LUNCHES

Veggies Wraps

In a soft grain torilla wrap, spread hummus over it, then cut up tomatoes, green peppers, cucumbers and avacado

Toasted Tomato Sandwiches

 Toast two pieces of grain bread, spread with hummus, spinach leaves, slices of tomato and avocado

Smilie Face Plates

Boil some curlie pasta for the hair, two cucumbers for the eyes, a raw carrot for the nose, chickpeas for the smile and green peppers for the ears, stick all of the veggies to the plate by putting hummus down before the veggies. You can add fruits as well to make it more colourful!

Peanut Butter and Banana Wraps

Place one grain tortilla on the counter, spread natural peanut butter and natural honey on the tortilla, cut a banada lenghtwise and place in the center, wrap the tortilla around it and serve. If you want to can cut it into wedges and let the eat it in pieces if they prefer.

DINNERS

Sweet Potato Fries 

Cut sweet potatos lenghtwise and lay out on a greased cookie sheet (use extra virgin olive oil), you can also sprinkle sea salt on the potatoes for extra flavor, bake at 410F for 10-15 mins until golden brown!

Peanuty Stir Fry

Fry, in grapeseed oil, sliced – green pepper, red pepper, onion, carrot, celery and water chesnuts. In a seperate bowl make sauce, 1tbsp soya sauce, 1 cup peanut butter or almond butter, 1/2 barbeque sauce, a handful of cashews. Serve over brown rice or whole wheat pasta.

Couscous Salad 

Prepare two cups of whole wheat couscous. Combine couscous with the juice from one lemon and 1 clove of fresh garlic. In a seperate bowl cut up in small pieces green pepper, red pepper, cucumber, and 1 apple. Add chick peas, lentils, and any kind of beans.Also add cranberries, raisins, pine nuts, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds. Mix this bowl and then add in couscous. Once it is all mixed pour about 1/2 a cup of orange juice over the salad. 

Curried Lentils 

Sautee 2 cloves or garlic and 1 medium onion in 4tbsp of olive oil until they become soft. Add 4tsp of curry powder, 570ml of veggie stock and 1 cup of brown lentils. Bring to a boil and then simmer for 45 minutes until lentils become soft. Serve immediately over basmati rice with fresh cilantro!

Veggie Pizza

Make a whole wheat crust in a bread maker or purchase a whole wheat crust from the grocery store. Be careful to read the labels as most crusts have loads of sugar in them. In a small bowl combine extra virgin olive oil with two minced cloves of garlic. Spread over the crust. If you are making your own crust place the crust with oil sauce in the oven for 10 minutes before topping with veggies. Top with any kinds of veggies; peppers (red, green, yellow), tomatoes, onions, mushrooms, zuchini, egg plant (soak egg plant in water for 1/2 hour prior to cutting it up)and sun dried tomatoes (in oil). Place veggies in this order from bottom to top; sundried tomatoes, mushrooms, onions, zuchinni, peppers, eggplant and tomatoes. Bake at 350F for about 10 minutes. Serve fresh! If there is left over sauce you can pour a small amount on top of the pizza.

Sweet Potato Casserole

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place 2 sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 inch chunks in a large baking dish. Top with 1 large green apple peeled and diced, 1/4 raw cranberries, 2 tbsp raw honey, 1/2 cup raisins and 1/2 cup fresh orange juice. Cover and bake for one house or until the sweet potatoes are tender.

DESSERTS

One Ingredient Ice Cream

That mystery ingredient, of course, is banana! The smidgen of fat in bananas makes a magic trick when they are frozen and blended up. They turn creamy instead of crumbly, with a smooth texture any home ice cream chef would love to have in their frozen treats. Here are the step by step instructions as found on thekitchn.com

• Peel your bananas first.
• Cut them into small pieces.
• Freeze for just 1-2 hours on a plate.
• Blend, blend, blend – scraping down the bowl when they stick.
• Enjoy the magic moment when they turn into ice cream!

Baked Apples

Core Apples, 1/3 way down the apple, fill with maples sugar or maple syrup, raisins, dates and currants. Place in a glass dish with about 1/4 inch of water in the bottom. Sprinkle with cinnamon and bake for 40 minutes at 350F. Allow to cool, and serve warm

SALAD DRESSINGS

Poppy Seed Dressing

2/cup raw honey

1/3 tsp dry mustard

1/8 tsp sea salt

1/8 cup raw apple cidar vinegar

1/4 red onion, chopped

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

1/2 tbsp poppy seeds

Put all the ingredients into the blendtec or another high powered blender and blend until the onion has disappeared. Serve with salad of any kind!

Raspberry Vinaigrette

Raspberry syrup base: 12 oz frozen raspberries and 1/2 cup raw honey

Place raspberries in a sacepan and heat until warm and thawed, stir in honey and increase heat until mixture comes to a rolling boil. boil for 5 minutes stirring constantly. Remove from heat and strain through a cheesecloth, set aside the raspberry leftovers and save for muffins or smoothies. When the syrup has cooled, pour into a bottle and refrigerate.

3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1/2 cup raw apple cidar vinegar

5 tbsp raspberry syrup from above recipe

1-2 garlic cloves minced

One pinch of sea salt to taste

Place all ingrediebt in a bowl and whisk until they are well mixed. Refrigerate in a glass bottle until cold. This dressing is really good on quiona or couscous salads!

Orange-Lemon Dressing

1 tbsp arrowroot powder

1 tbsp water or orange juice

2 cups freshly squeezed orange juice

1-2 tsp freshly squeesed lemon juice

1/4 maple syrup or honey

Dissolve arrowroot powder in 1 tbsp water or OJ. Set aside and allow to dissolve. Simmer remaining orange juice and other liquids on low heat for 5 minutes or until heated, do not boil. Add arrowroot powder and simmer until thick, stir continually. Cool in a glass jar and use on salads. This is also really good for cooking over salmon.