Chocolate Pudding – Low Calorie Treat!

Healthy, vegan style! As warned, this is going to be Almond Milk 101!

Vegan Pudding
2 Cups Unsweetened Almond Milk
(I use Almond Breeze)
1tsp. Corn Starch
1tsp. Vanilla Extract (play around with whatever flavours you like!)
1tbls stevia (or any sweetner and modify based on your sweetness level)

Optional: cocoa powder and chocolate chips for chocolate pudding

Serves: 3-4

On low heat simmer your Almond Milk. In a seperate bowl put your corn starch and stir in a few teaspoons of warm almond milk. Make sure the corn starch doesn’t have any lumps, then add that mixture to the rest of your almond milk. Add in your sweetner (and chocolate if you want to!) and increase the heat stirring constantly (2-3 mins). Finally, add in your extract. If it is a little lumpy and you prefer and smooth consistency strain it with a sieve.

You can top it off with nuts, berries or eat it plain! Enjoy! 😋❤️

Confession

I’m a steadfast vegetarian, I don’t eat eggs or egg whites (which usually means no store bought baked goods). The past 2 years I’ve been trying to transition into a Vegan lifestyle.

As a medical student I can agree that dairy products have countless health benefits. Women, especially in their 20s need calcium since we reach our Peak Bone Mass Index between 20-30 years. After that, our bone mass slowly declines placing you at a greater risk of fractures and Osteoporosis as you get older.

That being said, as an animal lover and an advocate of energies and frequencies I’m keen on dairy alternatives (Tofutti Cream Cheese is divine!). Besides the obvious ill treatment of animals (growth hormones, poor living conditions), I believe the negative energies (anxiousness, fear, sadness) emitted by the cows and sheep transcends into their milk and inevitably byproducts of milk.

I recognize that not all dairy farms treat animals badly which is why I’m not rigid when it comes to a Vegan lifestyle.

Almond Milk is my hands down favourite milk alternative AND a single serving has 45% of your recommended daily calcium intake!

Stay tuned for my Almond Milk recipes which I’ll be posting! 😋💃

Healthy Vegan “Egg” Nog!

As a child I remember the distinctive and delicious taste of egg nog. Creamy, nutty and infused with the flavour of Christmas into a cup!

Christmas comes once a year so it’s okay to indulge in seasonal treats, but if you’d like a healthy Vegan option try out my “Egg” Nog knock off!

4 Cups Unsweetened Almond Milk
1/2 A package sugar free vanilla pudding
1/2 tsp. Nutmeg
1/2 tsp. Cinnamon
Pinch of salt
2 tsp. Rum Extract
1 tsp. Vanilla Extract
Additional sweetner to taste

Mix the Almond Milk, pudding mix, nutmeg cinnamon, salt and sweetener on a medium heat until it becomes a thicker consistency. As you take it off the stove mix in the Vanilla and Rum Extracts.

Tastes great both warm and cold, enjoy! ❄🎄⛄🎅❄️

Sooth your mind and body

Cold days bring hot drinks. There’s nothing quite like the comfort of sipping on a warm drink when you’re freezing cold!
The holiday season brings lots of fancy hot drinks; peppermint hot chocolate, chocolate dream latte, gingerbread cappuccino. They sound and taste delicious but you might find yourself sipping on hundreds of empty calories.

Instead, turn to the ancient classic, tea. There are hundreds of varieties, fruity, herbal, green, etc. Green teas provide antioxidants and can help fight off cancerous cells and may even slow down the process of ageing! Warm teas can help with digestion and will keep your hunger at bay between meals.

I’m going to share my favourite holiday (actually, all year long) tea recipe!

Cranberry Spice

Cranberry or Berry Tea (loose or packaged)
A cinnamon stick
Pinch of Nutmeg
Agave or honey
Sliced orange and lemon

Steep all the ingredients together and enjoy this healthy hot drink! Bundle up! ❄️⛄️🍵

Ever lasting garden

It’s always nice to get flowers (I’m a sucker for flowers!) but after a few days the flowers fade away. What’s better is to nourish your own garden.

The garden is like our life. Instead of waiting for someone else to bring happiness into your life take action and plant the seed of happiness within yourself. Nourish it with love, good food, exercise and water. Soon, flowers will blossom and they will continue to blossom as long as you provide a good environment for it to grow.

Take action and plant your seeds today – watch and see the flowers blossom! 🌷💐🌸

Tofu Stir Fry

Tofu is a great low fat, plant based source of protein. Its somewhat bland unfortunately gives this great food a bad rep!

It’s subtle flavour profile and numerous textures allows it to be very versatile and enable you to mask the taste with flavours you enjoy!

Silken/soft tofu is perfect for smoothies and puddings.

Medium firm is a little high in protein and can be added to soups and pastas.

Firm tofu had the highest protein and can hold it’s form under high heat.

Tofu Stir Fry
1 package Firm Tofu – chopped into cubes
1/2 tsp turmeric
1 tblsp minced ginger
1 jalapeño (modify to taste)
1/2 lime – squeezed
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp chilli powder
1tsp oil
Salt to taste

Heat the oil in a non-stick pan. In a separate bowl mix the tofu with all the ingredients (make sure it is coated evenly). Once the oil is hot add the tofu mixture into the pan and cool until it is golden brown.

I recommend having this with some miracle cauliflower rice! Enjoy!

Pumpkin-mania!

It’s post Halloween, you’ve probably been indulging in a little too many sweets and might be stuck with a few extra pumpkins.

Don’t even think about throwing your pumpkins away! Pumpkins are loaded in fiber and Vitamin A, a powerful antioxidant which is great for eye sight and fighting off harmful toxins. Pumpkins are really versatile and have a rich, creamy consistency without all the calories!

Although using fresh pumpkins (chopped and streamed/boiled) is the best option, canned pumpkin is quick, cheap and readily available. Pumpkins can be used in both savoury and sweet dishes since the flavour is quite subtle.

My favourite guilt free treat is

Pumpkin Pie For One
Ingredients:
1/2 cup mashed pumpkin
1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp agave or maple syrup (add some stevia if you prefer it sweeter)
1/2tsp vanilla extract

Mix all ingredients together in a microwave safe bowl. Heat on high for 1.5 mins, and voila a delicious, healthy and quick dessert! Add some fat free Greek yogurt if you’re not vegan for a creamy version with added protein!

🎃🎃🎃

Superfood Staple! Part 1 – Cauliflower Rice

Go out and grab some cauliflower! This is the first of many posts I will be writing about this incredible vegetable.

Cauliflower might not seem too appeal but it can be transformed into many of your favourite foods without the fat or calories! Cauliflower is a great source of Vitamin C, Folic Acid and is loaded in fiber which will keep you feeling full for longer.

Today, I’m going to share Cauliflower Rice and Risotto!
Wash and chop your cauliflower into florets and pop it in the food processor. Keep pulsing until it reaches a granular texture (you may need to scrap down the edges). Put your grated cauliflower into a microwave safe dish, sprinkle a bit of water and heat it for 1-2 mins (dependent on how much cauliflower you have and how cooked you like it). Presto, cauliflower rice! A great, healthy low cal, low carb alternative to rice.

To make risotto, simply put your Cauliflower Rice in a non-stick pan, dice up some vegetables and add some low-sodium vegetable broth and seasonings.

Enjoy! Next Cauliflower recipe will be Alfredo Sauce 😋!

Limitless Low Cal Pasta

Nothing says “comfort food” like a big bowl of pasta. The perfect vehicle for sauce, cheese and excessive calories – pasta can be one of the most difficult foods to moderate.

I’ll let you in on a little secret, you can have a huge bowl (or 2) of “pasta” without giving up your skinny jeans!

Zucchini. This rather bland vegetable is filled with fiber, water and vitamins but low in calories. It’s a great source of Vit A and C which can boost your immune system, as well as Potassium which helps your overall system function.

All you need is a zucchini and a spiralizer. You can buy vegetable spiralizers at Wal-Mart, Target, and even most grocery stores, some can be as cheap as $10! If you don’t feel like buying a spiralizer you can grab your grater or vegetable peeler instead! Simple spiral/grate/peel your zucchini and dress it up with your favourite pasta sauce (if your watching your calories stick to a low sodium marinara rather than a creamy Alfredo or rose sauce). Keep your zucchini raw and heat your sauce separately (cooking the zucchini will give it a mushy consistency).

Bon Appetite! 🍝🍝

Best Vegan Cake!

I’m sure most people wouldn’t expect Vegan Cake to taste anything like cake (or good for that matter), but hold that thought.

Sweets From the Earth is a Toronto based company which hands down makes the most delicious vegan baked goods I’ve ever tried!

They have a wide variety of treats: cheesecake, chocolate fudge cake, carrot cake (with “cream cheese” frosting), cupcakes and cookies to name a few! You can find their products at Whole Foods, Sobeys, Metro and most Organic stores. Even if you’re not vegan give these sweet treats a try – you won’t be disappointed! 🍰👌😋