Classic Potato Fries

Potatoes are great. I don't think I've ever met someone who doesn't like potatoes... Don't get me wrong, I like sweet potatoes as well, but fries made from white potatoes cannot be replaced. Today I made some for my lunch and decided to photograph the experience.

Classic Potato Fries (serves ~ 2 - 4)

4 medium sized white potatoes - I used yellow-fleshed, but use whatever you have on hand!
1/2 tsp olive oil
1.5 tsp dried basil
2 tsp garlic powder
Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat your oven to 425F. Chop the potatoes in half lengthways, and then again on either side (as if cutting into quarters lengthways). Cut each of these pieces into your desired fry thickness and place in a medium bowl. Add the remaining ingredients and mix well.

Line a baking pan with parchment paper and spread out the fries evenly and bake for about 25 - 30 minutes, flipping halfway through.

Serve with ketchup and enjoy!

Vegetable Curry Rice Dish

For some reason, having seen a lot of rice around the internet these past couple weeks, I had a hankering for a warm vegetable curry dish. I was particularly after the thick curry sauce that accompanies these dishes which I had only been able to replicate with coconut milk previously. However, I was looking to make a dish free of any oils or fat so I did some research (ok, it was very minimal...) and discovered a great fix.

This dish would definitely be good on a cold night in the middle of winter but who says you can't enjoy it in the middle of summer too?!

Vegetable Curry Rice Dish (serves ~ 4)

1.5 cups basmati rice
1.5 cups water or vegetable stock (low sodium)

1 medium onion (red or white)
2 medium carrots
1 zucchini
1 bell pepper
2 cloves of garlic
2 tsp minced ginger
1 cup water
1 tbsp cornstarch
1 tbsp curry
1 tsp coriander
1 tsp cumin
Salt and pepper to taste

Begin by adding the rice and water/broth to a pot and bring to a boil. Reduce to low heat and cook for approximately 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, chop your vegetables into bite sized pieces (as seen in the first picture). Add the onion and garlic into a pan on medium heat, along with a few tablespoons of water, and cook until the onion starts to become transparent. Add the other vegetables, along with the ginger, curry, coriander and cumin and continue to cook for 3 - 5 minutes (adding additional water if the vegetables start to stick to the pan).

Once the vegetables have softened, add the cup of water and cornstarch (dissolved previously or not, it doesn't really matter) into the pan and mix well. Turn the heat to medium-low and let the mixture simmer for about 8 - 10 minutes. The liquid should thicken as it reduces, making for a great sauce over rice.

Serve over rice and enjoy!

DIY Coconut Butter

While I was in the midst of making my almond butter recipe I decided it was also the right time to try blending something else for a prolonged period of time: coconut.

We do have a bottle of coconut oil and usually always have a bag of unsweetened shredded coconut, but we never have any coconut butter on hand. I've never actually looked for a bottle of it myself, but I can imagine it wouldn't be the easiest thing to find - or cheapest.

I took probably about 2 cups of unsweetened shredded coconut and popped it in the food processor with an S-shaped blade. I kept on blending and blending, smooshing and smooshing and voila. Coconut butter... or what looked like a thick coconut milk, was born.

I poured it into a mason jar and let it set in the fridge. Since it's winter here, I could probably leave it out of the fridge the soften slightly, but overall it does look very similar to coconut oil. Just more opaque.

Winter Roasted Vegetables

I was going to a friend's Christmas dinner and was asked to bring a vegetable or starch. To this I answered BOTH! I really wanted to make a roasted potato wedge recipe, as well as something else. I realized I had never roasted broccoli before and decided today was the day to change that.

Garlic Roasted Potato Wedges (serves ~ 6 - 8)

4 - 6 white potatoes
3 - 4 tbsp olive oil
4 cloves garlic
1/2 tsp dried rosemary
1/2 tsp thyme
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried oregano
Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 425F. Cut the potatoes into wedges and place in a mixing bowl.

Add all listed ingredients and mix well until all slices are coated evenly.

Lay the wedges evenly on a foil lined cookie sheet.

Roast for 35 - 45 minutes or until just browned. Serve immediately!


The next recipe was surprisingly delicious and the flavours complimented each other quite well. This will not be the last time I roast broccoli!

Lemon Garlic Roasted Broccoli (serves ~ 8)

2 large heads of broccoli, chopped into bite sized pieces
5 tbsp olive oil
5 cloves garlic
3 tsp dried basil
2 tbsp lemon juice
2 tsp lemon zest
1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 425F. Combine broccoli, oil, basil and garlic in a bowl and toss. Lay on a cookie sheet (lined with parchment paper or foil). Roast for 20 - 25 minutes. After removing from oven sprinkle or toss in the lemon juice, zest and parmesan cheese. Serve immediately!

Classic Green Smoothie

In the past I have tried several green smoothie recipes (most of which were developed in my head) and none of them really blew me away.  I was always trying to just add greens into a smoothie I already knew I'd enjoy, and something about that just wasn't right.

Last night I YouTubed "Best Green Smoothie" and learned quite a bit.  Of course there are greens, but the fruit you choose is quite important.  A very ripe banana or pineapple will add enough sweetness to counteract the bitterness of the greens -  making it more palatable! 

I decided it was time to finally master a green smoothie. 

And it turned out GREAT! Way better than I had expected.  It tastes sweet, with a hint of greens, and the aftertaste is not bitter because of the banana.  I have a feeling this has changed the way I will think about smoothies.  YUM.

Classic Green Smoothie (serves ~ 1-2)

1 cup spinach

1 cup kale

1 ripe banana

1.5 cups chopped pineapple

2 tbsp. unsweetened coconut

2 cups water (feel free to use coconut water instead)

1/2 - 1 cup of ice

Blend away until completely smooth and serve in a mason jar :)  Enjoy!



Purple Velvet Beet Tart

We receive this monthly (I think?) magazine from the people at Presidents Choice called Fresh Juice, and within this magazine are scrumptious recipes.  I laid eyes on this particular picture of a beet pie or tart.  It look so vibrantly purple and delicious.  How could I not make it?

The lighting wasn't great, but the food WAS.  This is my version of the Purple Velvet Beet Tart :)

The crust was gluten free (part of the recipe) and the filling used agave nectar, which I've never actually tried but heard so much about.  My Nana was in town, so we set off to the grocery store, list in hand, and made it back with all the necessary ingredients.

Purple Velvet Beet Tart (serves ~12)

Gluten Free Crust
1.5 cups almond meal/flour
1/4 cup ground flaxseed
1/4 cup potato starch
1 tbsp organic coconut oil
2 tbsp liquid honey
1 tsp vanilla extract

Beet Filling
2.5 cups roughly chopped, cooked, peeled beets
1 cup agave nectar
4 eggs
1/2 cup canola oil
1 tbsp vanilla
1 tsp almond extract
1 tbsp orange zest (mmmmmm)
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/2 tsp sea salt

Preheat oven to 350F.

Begin by mixing together the almond meal, flaxseed and potato starch in a large bowl.  Add the remaining ingredients and slowly add in 1/4 cup of water (I think I used the whole 1/4 cup) until it forms a slighly moist, malleable dough.  Press into the bottom of a lightly greased 9 inch pie pan.  Bake for about 12 minutes until lightly browned.

Now onto the filling!  Cook the beets however works best for you - just make sure you are left with skinned, cooked beets. Place the beets into a food processor and puree with the agave until smooth.  Add everything else in and blend until smooth.

Pour the batter into the shell and bake on the center rack for about 45 minutes, or until it no longer jiggles when you shake it in the oven (gently....). Wait for it to cool (about 1 hour) and then serve with whatever toppings you'd like!  We whipped some cream (a rare occasion in our house!), blueberries and sliced strawberries.  It was delish!

Oh and don't forget to artfully sift some cocoa powder over your creation ;)

Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookie Pie

This recipe has been made countless times over the past couple of years.  Not only is it super delicious, it has no flour, eggs, butter and is high in fiber!  I can almost guarantee that whoever you serve this to will have no idea what the main ingredient is.  Can you guess?

CHICKPEAS!  This bean is incredibly versatile.  You can roast them, toss them in a salad, blend them into hummus and now into a chocolate chip cookie pie!  I don't think you'll ever go back to regular chocolate chip cookies after this recipe.  Trust me :)

Chocolate Chip Cookie Pie (serves ~24, depending on how you slice it ;)

1 can chickpeas
1 cup oats
2 cups pitted dates
8 drops liquid stevia
1 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup applesauce
2/3 cup unsweetened almond milk (or water)
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350F. Blend all of the ingredients (except chocolate chips) in a food processor, starting with the chickpeas, until smooth.  Transfer into a bowl and mix in the chocolate chips.  Pour into a baking pan (preferably 9 x 13, or a circular pan around 10" wide) and bake for ~35 minutes or until browned.

Tart Fruity Smoothie

Today is the day I start my raw adventure.  I'm going to take it day by day, but I'm truly interested to see what this way of eating does for my energy, my skin and essentially my body!  I will be making my best effort to eat as many raw fruits and vegetables as possible.

Breakfast this morning was an apple with this beautifully coloured smoothie.  I knew it was going to be tart (somehow I forgot as I took my first sip..) but it was also very refreshing after my 11km bike ride.

Tart Fruity Smoothie (serves 1)

1 orange peeled
4 frozen strawberries
2/3 cup frozen raspberries
2 - 3 cups cold water

Blend all ingredients in a high speed blender and serve immediately :)

Fresh Salmon Avocado Noodle Bowl

Ah yes, zucchini and salmon.  I went to my Mum's office today to get a new pair of glasses.  I ended up choosing a rather bold frame (in black too!) which happens to be the same frame my sister has.  Even cooler.

While I was there, I told my Mum I wanted to make dinner for everyone (all four of us) and we chose a zucchini noodle, salmon dish.  On the way home I thought about somehow incorporating avocado into the recipe.  I didn't want to make the all-to-familiar salmon-mayo salad, so I decided to opt for avocado as a creamy substitute! OH BOY, was it a good decision.

This bowl was light, fresh and very tasty.  I also used bell pepper since I wanted to add in a bit of extra colour.  You can make it as spicy as your heart desires and feel free to play around with different herbs and toppings!

Fresh Salmon Avocado Noodle Bowl (serves 4)

2 large zucchinis
1 bell pepper (orange, yellow or red work best for colour!)
1 can salmon
1 avocado (mashed)
1/4 cup salsa (I used medium)
1 tbsp dijon mustard
2 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp minced garlic (or 1 clove)
1/2 tsp onion powder/salt
Salt and pepper to taste

Possible Toppings
Feta cheese
Slivered almonds
Green onion
Diced bell pepper
Diced tomato

Use a spiralizer to create your zucchini noodles using the two large zucchinis.  You can also do this with the bell pepper, or finely chop it to mix in with the noodles or use as a topping.  Combine all other ingredients in a bowl and mash until smooth (or leave chunky for added texture).  No matter how you combine these ingredients, it will still be delicious!!

Evenly divide the noodles into 4 bowls and top with the salmon/guacamole mixture (1/4 each).  Top with anything you feel is appropriate and dive in!  I always enjoy eating my veggie noodle bowls with chopsticks for some reason :)

Tip: to make this raw AND vegan, omit the salmon and feta!

Citrus Kick Juice

About a week ago I went on a small juicing spree.  My family doesn't own an actual juicer, but this doesn't mean I still can't juice.  I used our trusty Vitamix blender and a sieve.  I wasn't able to get ALL of the moisture out of the residual pulp, but it was enough for a tasty juice :)

The first one I made (which was by far my favourite) was an orange, lemon, maple syrup and cayenne juice.  It was the perfect mix of sweet, sour and spicy.  I think I chugged the whole thing in a matter of minutes.... :)

Citrus Kick Juice (serves 1 - 2)

1 navel orange
2 lemons
2 tbsp maple syrup
Dash of cayenne
1 cup cold water

Juice the lemons and orange with a citrus juicer and pour into a mason jar.  Add the maple syrup and cayenne to the jar and fill the remaining space with cold water.  Shake or stir and serve chilled. Enjoy :)