Alright, call it curiosity, research for budding business or just plain fun. We launched Health Food Junkies on Twitter today. You know just to see how it works and all that <smirk>. See the Tweets on the bottom right, cool right?
While I am here, this is my kind of girl. Maybe I should get a cupcake pasted on my calf? Kidding mom 
Be well, Nat
My friend Lisa is part owner of Moksha Yoga in Calgary and one of her partners is a Naturopathic Doctor. Lisa and I were talking about girl things, fertility etc while on the beach in Sayulita. She mentioned they were thinking of doing a workshop on this very topic. Perfect! Since I am in the business of understanding fertility and um getting pregnant, I told her I’d go for sure. Low and behold, she set it up and sent me the info. Looks interesting and not only for women wanting to understand fertility but those interested in overall health. Like the quote in the pamphlet: “The menstrual cycle remains one of the purest barometers of our health”. A link to the workshop information is below. Give it some thought.
Be Well, Nat
When I took that raw food ‘cooking’ class last year we learned about a great raw food distributor out of BC, Real Raw Food. I recently did another order and in 48 hours had a box full of raw organic nuts, raisins, coconut butter and cocao nibs at my door. The shipping costs are low ($12 this time) and there is a minimum $100 order, but that is easy to reach if you use these ingredients a lot. Compared to buying them bulk at organic markets, it is worth it.
By the way the company that we did the raw food class with was Feel Alive. Tammy was a real raw foodie, the real deal. She made raw food approachable and doable. Even though totally raw herself, she encourages ways to incorporate raw eating into parts of your life, there is goodness all around.
Want raw food inspiration? I got Ani’s Raw Food Kitchen recipe book as a gift. It was my introduction to raw food and raw food movements a few years ago. Ani Phyo is very well known. I like her simplicity and style. She is not the only one out there, if you google raw food there is lots, a bit overwhelming actually. I have loved everything I have tried out of Ani’s book. As well, she gives an overview of raw food basics and techniques. I am not advocating a raw diet, I don’t subscribe to one diet but I do eat more raw fruits and veggies in the summer than winter that’s for sure. There is a lot of goodness to raw eating so do what makes sense to you. If you just eat 8-12 servings of fruits and veggies a day your health will change (and there won’t be room for as much crap, right).
Be Well, Eat Well, Nat
Friday night was our first night back and we were craving fast and comforting food. I love Mexican but unless you are buying and cutting up veggies like we did, plentiful veggies are hard to come by eating out. We were foggy headed on Friday – got home at 2AM, into bed by 3AM and gone by 9AM and dealing with daylight savings, that happens April 4 in Sayulita. I made it to Planet Organic for groceries and looked in the freezer and fridge to sort out dinner. Before Mexico I threw leftover cooked quinoa and brown rice in the freezer. Along with the veggies I picked up I made this healthful bowl for dinner, it was great and hit the spot.
2 cups cooked Quinoa and Brown Rice
3-4 Sun Dried Tomatos in oil, finely diced + tsp or so of the oil
3 Yellow Beets, cubed
3 small Sweet Potatoes, cubed
1/2 Red Onion, chopped
1 Red Pepper, chopped
1 Zucchini, chopped
3 Tbsp Olive Oil, salt & pepper and various spices like oregano, dried basil, thyme and rosemary
Crumbled Feta Cheese
Heat oven to 425F. Place beets, sweet potatoes and onion in a roasting dish, toss with olive oil and spices and roast for 45 to 60 min, stir occasionally. Roast until veggies start to soften, add the red pepper and zucchini, roast a bit longer, say 15-30 min, depends on the dish you use and how cooked the veggies are. Just aim to have them all about the same texture, soft not mushy. When they are ready, in a heated saute pan add the rice, quinoa and sun dried tomatoes with oil and stir-fry till hot. In a big bowl add the rice, spoon over the veggies and top with feta, as much as you like. Garnish with fresh cracked pepper. Dinner is served.
Eat well, Nat
Home from Mexico and drying up like a prune. The wedding was amazing (happy couple Bryce and Tara) 
and the town of Sayulita the perfect Mexican get away. Small surfer village, no big resorts, nothing over three stories tall, families and surfers vacationing together and locals living and loving the surf along with sun seekers. The food was incredible. Yoga in the morning sun. Fruit salads daily, fish tacos, veggie burritos for lunch and out to one of the many quaint and very good restaurants each night. Day of expense, the boys headed out for some ocean fishing and the girls headed to the Four Seasons in Punta Mita for a lunch by the pool (which we later learned moved a village to build, grrr). Love to hear your comments about Sayulita if you’ve been.
The tequila research was easy. After the wedding at Villa Amor, a quaint character complex on the beach, the wedding party walked down the cobbled streets to the main plaza (the intersection of the four roads in Sayulita) and stopped at Sayulita Fish Taco for a shot of Tequila. 
Here the owner gave us the Tequila 101. There are three forms of the agave elixir; Blanco (silver, unaged tequila), Reposado (golden, lightly aged tequila) and Anejo (darker, longer aged tequila). The difference between the tequila can be told mostly in the blanco varieties. When they are aged, they are aged in wood barrels and casks which masks the original flavour of the agave and the region it comes from. There are thousands of Tequila varieties and at any time SFT has 350+ on hand. You can try a flight of Tequila like you do with wine, which Tony and I went back to do. 
They served sliced orange sprinkled with cinnamon to cleanse the palate. Like wine, this is a really good way to taste the difference between tequilas. There is a technique to tasting tequila. Take a sip, inhale through your nose, swallow and exhale through your mouth (for the yogis, doesn’t that make for a fun pranayama, kidding). We learned that tequila has a low sugar content and after doing some research the carbohydrate content of tequila is unique to each brand, some brands have sugar added to them during processing. El Jimador is very low in sugars while Jose Cuervo is higher. If you are keen, look here.
I happen to like tequila*, so learning more about it was interesting. The lime or fresa (strawberry) margaritas were a daily additive. To the chagrin of my travelling companions I created a way to drink tequila with no added sugar. In my self proclaimed genius I poured a shot of Reposado El Jimador over ice in a tumbler, squeezed two small ‘limons’ over it and added soda water. Voila a refreshing drink we named the Agave Azul (after the name of the residence we were living in). I asked about this at dinner one night to learn it is called a Charro Blancho or ‘white cowboy’. Really? That’s not sexy and we stuck to our naming convention. At the Four Seasons they introduced us to a version called the Poloma made with grapefruit soda (aka Squirt, again not sexy). It was good too.
We enjoyed guacamole every day, there is nothing like fresh avocados in Mexico. We bought Queso Fresco (fresh cheese) and made bean and cheese quesadillas with fresh maize tortillas. There is a wonderful bakery we tried late in our trip which was too bad but probably a good thing. I love grocery shopping in other places and I bought cumin, cinnamon, vanilla beans, whole nutmeg and turmeric to bring home.
I learned to make guacamole in Mexico many years ago, here is the recipe to enjoy for yourself.
2 Ripe Avocados
1 Tomato, diced
2-3 Tbsp of Red Onion, diced (this is optional, I usually leave it out)
2-3 Tbsp chopped Cilantro
1 tsp Ground Cumin
2-3 Tbsp Queso Fresco (or 1-2 Tbsp plain yogurt, again optional)
1-2 Tbsp of fresh Lime Juice
Pinch of Salt
I learned to half the avocado, remove the pit. Scoop the flesh out and mush with a spoon (this was really important for some reason). Mix in the rest of the ingredients, enjoy.
*Tequila is obviously not a health food (although I tried to figure out how it could be, I am sure there is an ancient wisdom in it somewhere). I am not dogmatic about not drinking, over doing it isn’t healthy. Just drink responsibly and enjoy the flavours of other cultures.
Eat well and be well, Nat
Back from Sayulita, Sayulita Life Part III coming soon. In the meantime, I wanted to get this out to the two people following this blog. My friends in Calgary made this Doritos ad for a contest. I finally got to watch it today and love it. Those of you that know me well, both of you, might know that I have had a love affair with Doritos Zesty Cheese in the past, not often, once a month. I’ve kicked that habit and no not because I’m pregnant <eye roll> but for healthful reasons, but once in awhile, like on car trips, they’re okay
Anyhow, this commercial is for a Doritos ad competition, you have to watch this URL and if you watch the other videos you are giving them votes so don’t. I know the makers of this little film and I can assure you it is the best one so don’t be watching the other ones. Promise. Go eat Doritos instead, doh, not suppose to endorse them, this is a health food blog.
(eat well) and be well, Nat
The tequila research continues, stay tuned on that front. We did find the most glorious hot weather treat, home made popsicles. Now these are no ordinary popsicles they are made from real fruit juice with chunks of fruit. She also makes ice cream and again full of fruit, nuts or Oreos if you like. We have tried blackberry and pineapple (pic below), coffee, jack fruit and coconut water with pieces of coconut! She has mango, mango with chillies, lime, melon, mixed fruit and the list goes on. Coconut is a group fav and I think I’ll try the coconut ice cream before we leave – it’s made from coconut cream.
Adios and eat well
We are in Sayulita, Mexico for our dear friends wedding. It is tonight on the beach followed by what I’m sure will be a lovely evening. We have been checking out the town the last few days and there are a lot of healthy eats (research under way to find out if tequila is healthy). We ate at Burrito Revolution yesterday. Jessica and I had big yummy veggie burritos made to order with three fresh salsa’s to try with it.
This morning I made us a big fruit salad with mango, pineapple and banana with fresh lime juice. Then we strolled into town and went to Choco Banana a well known breakfast place. Tony got a much needed latte (tequila research from last night was tiring) and I was excited to see a Green Goddess smoothy on the menu. Spinach, celery, cucumber, parsley, tofu, pineapple and cactus. Yum! Ready for the beach or um the pool.
Ciao and eat well,
Nat
This month’s recipe for the Shala’s ‘Just Eat It’ column is a real simple, hearty and healthful Moroccan stew. Winter is coming to an end, give the winter veggies one last hurrah before the change in seasons – the veggies here are definitely negotiable and I love that this recipe can change with the seasons. The sweetness of the dried fruit and the warming of the coconut milk and curry make for a comfort food in our home.
Both cumin and turmeric are considered medicinal herbs. Cumin has long been used all over the world as a digestive aid and is a source of iron. Turmeric a popular ingredient in salves and an aid to injuries throughout Asia. It is an antioxidant, antiseptic, antibacterial and anti-inflammatory. Curry powder is mix of spices and can include these spices but can also includes coriander, fenugreek, ginger, cardamom and mustard seeds to name a few. Curry powders are prominent across Asia, are full of goodness so choose your favourite to use in this recipe.
1 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 Red Onion (small onion or skip if you are anti-onion), chopped up
2 large Carrots chopped up
2 cups Vegetable Stock (homemade is best or use a low sodium, organic veggie cube in 2 cups warm water)
1 400 ml can Coconut Milk
1 tsp Cinnamon
1/2 tsp Cayenne
1-2 Tbsp Curry Powder (depending on how strong your curry powder is and what you like)
4 Tbsp ground Cumin
1/2 tsp Turmeric
Veggies to pick from, add at least 4-5 items, cut them into chunks, skin and all: 2 Potatoes, 1 Sweet Potato, 1 Yam, 1 Eggplant, 2 Green Pepper, 2 Red Peppers, 1 Zucchini, 1 cup Cauliflower, 1 Rutabaga, 1 Turnip – sky’s the limit!
1 400 ml can Chick Peas (or 2 cups cooked from dried)
1/4 cup raisins or chopped unsulphured dried apricots
1/8 cup dried grated Coconut (unsweetened)
Sea Salt to taste
- Add the onion and carrots to a large pot with 1/2 cup of stock and olive oil. Cook over medium heat until onion softens
- Add the spices, stirring for a minute, add the coconut milk
- Add the veggies that take a bit longer to cook like potatoes, sweet potatoes or yams and the rest of the stock, cover and cook for 5 minutes
- Add the rest of the veggies, chickpeas, raisins/apricots and coconut, cover and cook until veggies are soft but not over cooked, about 15-20 minutes. Flavour with sea salt
Serve over quinoa, brown basmati rice or on it’s own. Garnish with a few sprinkles of coconut and eat it!
Eat well, Nat
My friend Daniella ‘the pastry chef’ and Super Mom in Arizona (whose pastries you might have heard me boast about) gave me an Egg Salad recipe years ago. It’s been awhile since I made it, but we are going to Mexico and I wanted to use up the eggs in the fridge and a few other things, de-licious.
Dani’s Egg Salad:
6 hard boiled eggs, diced
1 small onion, diced and sautéed in a bit of olive oil. Cool off and mix with the rest of the ingredients
3 Tbsp Mayo
Salt and Pepper
Mix and mash all the ingredients together.
What I added/changed looking in the fridge:
2 Tbsp Mayo instead of 3 (I use this organic ‘real mayo’ that doesn’t have much zip and can seem eggy)
1/2 Tbsp Prepared mustard (bit of a kick to compensate for the eggy organic mayo)
I used scallions instead of onion (left over from Wagamama night, see earlier post), sautéed them
1/2 Tbsp of chopped cilantro also left from Wagamama night
Mix and mash the ingredients all together, serve on toasted grainy bread with sliced tomatoes on the side. Lunch is served!
Thanks Dani
Eat well,
Nat
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