Balsamic Oil Vinaigrette Dressing

By Nela McHugh ~ Simply for Life Cooking Expert

Use this dressing with green salads
 
½ cup of extra virgin olive oil
¼ cup balsamic vinegar
1 small garlic clove, minced
1 tsp mustard
2 tsp maple syrup
 
Mix all ingredients in a container such as a mason jar and shake. 
 
Creamy vinaigrette
Use this dressing with potato, coleslaw or pasta salads.
 
Same as above, just add about ½ to ¾ cup of plain yogurt. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed. It may need a bit more sweet (maple syrup) or a pinch of salt and pepper. 

Tim's Kale Smoothie

Based on a recipe from Keith and Nela at Simply for Life

1 to 2 fresh organic kale stalks
2 cups of Cochran's fresh apple cider
1 cup of frozen NB blueberries
2/3 cup of  Liberte Greek yogurt (plain or vanilla)
4 tablespoons of Hemp chocolate protein 

In a blender add the kale (pull off the soft kale leaf - discard the coarse stem) and shred a bit by hand and add cider.  Blend for 30 seconds.Add the blueberries-blend for 20 seconds.Add the yogurt and blend for 10 seconds.Add the hemp protein and blend for 10 seconds.
Enjoy!

Butternut Cream Soup

Blueberry Pudding

 This recipe is from the August 2012 SFL eletter

• 1 cup frozen blueberries  
(You can use fresh blueberries too, but you may have to add more almond milk)
• 1 tbsp pure maple syrup
• 1 tbsp chia seeds
• 1 mashed ripe banana
• 1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk
• 2 tbsp rolled oats
• 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
To garnish: unsweetened coconut or Crunch This! Granola (if desired)

In a medium-sized pot, add the frozen blueberries and syrup. Heat over medium until mostly melted through. Stir in the chia seeds and heat for another few minutes.

Stir in the mashed banana and almond milk. Now stir in rolled oats and cook over low-medium heat for another 6-7 minutes, until thickened. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Pour into a bowl and garnish with coconut or Crunch This! Granola.

Tim's Squash Soup

½ Tbsp olive oil

1 cup chopped onion

1 chopped apple

2 cups low sodium chicken broth

2 cups squash, cooked and mashed (roasted or microwaved)

1 tsp ginger

Pinch salt and pepper 

Heat oil in a saucepan. Sauté onion until soft and clear and add remaining ingredients. Cook for about 10 minutes. Run through blender and return to saucepan to heat through. Makes about 5 cups. Freezes well.

Tim's Fresh Veggie Pasta

1 Avocado
1 Tomato
1/2 English Cucumber
Pine Nuts (or your favorite Nut)
1-1 1/2 tbsp Cochran's Fresh Pesto
Grated Parmesan cheese
Organic Whole Wheat Pasta
Sea Salt
Fresh Pepper
Fresh Lime

Put your pasta on...while it is boiling, chop up your tomato, cucumber and avocado and place in 2 bowls.  Sprinkle with fresh ground pepper, a pinch of sea salt and a squeeze of lime juice. In a stainless steel frying pan add a teaspoon of virgin olive oil and 1 tablespoon of pine nuts and lightly brown (keep a close eye on this...it only takes a few minutes on med heat). When pasta is ready, place in bowls over your fresh veggies.  Put  1 to 1 1/2 tablespoons of fresh pesto on top, mix into the pasta, sprinkle on some parmesan cheese, fresh ground pepper and pour on the toasted pine nuts. Enjoy!

Omega Breakfast Burrito

(serves 2)

 Recipe by Kelly (more Omega Crunch recipes)

Omega 3 - an essential nutrient that our bodies need but cannot produce. So how do we get enough? We have to eat the right food. This gluten free burrito, topped with Omega Crunch Roasted Garlic Shelled Flax is a great place to start!

Tortilla:-2Tbsp organic coconut flour-4 egg whites with omega 3 added (save yolks for burrito filling)-¼ tsp baking powder-¼ tsp xanthan gum-2 Tbsp water-Olive oil (for pan cooking)

Filling:-150g ground chicken breast (or extra lean ground beef)-½ yellow onion (diced)-4 egg yolks (from above)-1 medium tomato (diced)-2 tsp paprika-1 tsp Omega Crunch Roasted Garlic Shelled Flax -A pinch of crushed red pepper flakes (more if you like it spicy!)-Sea salt & cracked black pepper to taste.

Tortilla Method:Combine all ingredients (except the olive oil) in a food processor and pulse until well blended and there are no lumps. Heat about 2 tsp olive oil over medium heat in a pan. Add approx. 5 Tbsp of mixture to the pan and tilt the pan to spread the batter to get a thin tortilla. Or use the flat edge of a spatula to gently spread the batter out on the pan. Cook until edge begin to brown, then flip. Be careful not flip too soon as the tortilla will tear.

Filling Method:Cook chicken or ground beef in a medium pan. Add onion. Once the onion becomes transparent, add the egg yolks, tomato, paprika, flax and crushed red pepper flakes. Sea salt and pepper to taste. Filling is done once the egg is cooked. Top with Omega Crunch Roasted Garlic Shelled Flax for added nutrients, texture and flavour.

Nutritional Info per serving (one burrito):330 cals, 15 carbs, 19g fat, 33g protein, 5g sugar, 7g fiber

Scape Pesto

1lb Scapes

1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1 cup olive oil

1 tablespoon lemon juice

Fresh ground pepper to taste 

Blend all ingredients in a food processor until smooth. 

Megan's Roasted Parmesan Asparagus with Lemon and Garlic

Toss 1 bunch of asparagus with olive oil, a couple of dashes of a quality hot sauce, fresh lemon juice, 2 minced garlic cloves (or more if you're loco for garlic like me) and salt pepper.  Let the flavours absorb for 15 minutes or so. 

Preheat the oven to 425. Lay the asparagus in a single layer on a baking sheet, making sure to pour some of the marinade over top. Not too much, you'll end up with an oily mess. 

Roast for 12-14 minutes, topping with freshly grated parmesean cheese about half way through. Keep an eye on it, it can crisp up on you pretty quickly.

Remove from oven and squeeze some more fresh lemon juice over top. Enjoy!

Kale Salad

Recipe from Jason MacLean / Yoga Haus

4-5 bunches of kale
1 large pink grapefruit
1 tbsp olive oil
kosher salt
20 g sunflower seeds
20 g of dried cranberries


Pull the leaves off the stems of the kale and chop into thin strips or pieces and place them in a large bowl. Add the olive oil and a pinch of kosher salt then toss and rub the kale with your hands making sure to distribute the juice and olive oil evenly. Add the sunflower seeds and cranberries and toss again.

Kale Chips

Recipe from Jason MacLean / Yoga Haus

1 bunch kale

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 teaspoon seasoned salt

Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). 
Line a non-insulated cookie sheet with parchment paper. With a knife or kitchen shears carefully remove the leaves from the thick stems and tear into bite size pieces. Wash and thoroughly dry kale with a salad spinner. Mix kale with olive oil and sprinkle with seasoning salt. 

Bake until the edges brown but are not burnt, 10 to 15 minutes.

Breakfast Pancakes

From the Speerville Flour Mill website

Place in bowl: 

1 c Whole Wheat Flour or Spelt Flour
½ c Buckwheat Flour or Rye Flour
1 ½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
2 eggs
1 ½ - 2 c milk to desired consistency
Stir together until lumps disappear. Cook on hot greased griddle.

Variation: to add extra nutrition add 2 Tbsp Soy flour and adjust liquid if necessary

Green & Yellow Bean Recipes

Looking for some great ways to serve Green & Yellow Beans?

Check out these recipes in Canadian Living!

Green Bean Pasta Salad with Sun-Dried Tomato Vinaigrette

Green Beans with Toasted Sesame Sauce

Green and Yellow Bean Salad

Green Bean Salad With Nicoise Vinaigrette

Green Beans with Prosciutto and Garlic

Spicy Dilled BeansLime Green Beans

Potato and Green Bean Salad

Two-Tone Bean Packet

Best Bean Toss

Marinated Yellow Beans and Mushrooms

Green Beans with Lemon and Hazelnuts

Herbed Green Beans

New Potato Salad with Buttermilk Dressing

Simple Mexican Salsa

This recipe is from the February 2012 SFL eletter

Ingredients 
     4 ripe fresh tomatoes
    1 onion
    1 lime
    1 ripe jalapeno pepper (2 if you like it HOT!)
    1 bunch fresh cilantro
    ½ teaspoon salt

Directions:
Chop up the tomatoes to your preferred size. Dice the onion (if it is a large onion you may only want to use half). Chop up the cilantro and the pepper.  Put it all into a bowl and squeeze all of the juice from the lime on top. Add a bit of salt.  Stir it up.  Enjoy!

Serve with eggs, wraps, salads….experiment with adding black beans & avocado.

Ashley's Creamy Peanut Butter Dip

1  5.3oz container Greek Vanilla Yogurt

Mix in:

2  tbsp Peanut Butter

1/2  tbsp honey

1/8  tsp cinnamon

Serve with apple slices, pear slices or bananas!!
Refrigerate any unused portion.
Enjoy!!!