The Prairie Chick Kitchen

A great new cookbook

I can’t believe it’s been so long since my last post. I’ve had a crazy summer. Lots of company and I changed jobs. All in all it was pretty stressful. But now it’s September, Sam is back in school - finally. Life is getting back to normal.

At the beginning of September I left my government job to work as a nutritional coach at the fitness centre I go to. It’s such a huge change from government life.  Definitely a more relaxed environment and all day long I get to talk about food. Well, not just food but eating the right food and when to eat it. So far the clients I’ve met with are achieving great results now that they’ve starting to fuel their body healthfully. It’s definitely motivation for me. So far my clients have ranged in all ages. From men and woman in their early twenties to people in their seventies. It’s nice to see people thinking about feeling good and being healthy no matter what stage of life they are in.

Well, enough about that for now, I want to talk about Colleen Patrick-Goudreau’s new cookbook, The Vegan Table. It has 200 recipes for entertaining guest at every occassion. Recipes range from tofu scrambles to harvest-stuffed acron squash. Each chapter has menu selections that can be easily mixed and matched. Colleen has been very creative with her new book, even naming some of the menu titles after her farvourite songs, books and movies. And, the photos in the cookbook are great. Oh, and there is a very personal reason why I really love this book. In the very back, on page 297 to be exact, under the acknowledgements you can find my name. I was so excited to be mentioned. I do some volunteer work for Colleen. Just a bit of design work for her website, Compassionate Cooks.

Well, that’s it for now. Have a great weekend!

Great find

This is a quick post to let you all know of the great cookbook I discovered while I was in Vancouver a couple weeks ago.

It’s called Little Sprout Organic Raw Vegan Cuisine. I came across it at the restaurant I mentioned in my last post, Gorilla Food.

This is the most creative cookbook I have seen. The whole book has been beautifully hand drawn by the author Tanya Krahn.

It includes intimate thoughts to inspire your raw vegan journey. Flipping through the many recipes in the book and reading Tanya’s inspirational notes you can feel how passionate she is towards eating and preparing raw foods.

Some of the many recipes you’ll find in the book include how to make almond mylk, many soup recipes, zuchinni noodles, corn tortillas and desserts like black forest cake and baklava.

I encourage you to check out the Little Sprout website and you’ll see what I mean.

I’m home from my trip to the big city

Traveling is always fun. Getting to explore new places, hotels and of course restaurants. In my case thought, I didn’t explore many new restaurants. I ended up finding one and wanted to try everything off the menu. Being in Vancouver for only five days doesn’t give a girl a lot of time.

Here’s the run down on my week.

Sunday
I asked the hotel what veg restaurants were in the area. They came up with one – only one. I thought for sure downtown Vancouver would have many more and I guess any restaurant has veg items but I was looking exclusively for veg. Luck for me the place I did find was close to my hotel. It’s called Gorilla Food and get this they serve raw vegan food. I swear I just about fell over. How lucky could I be?

Well, it gets better.

Monday
After my session I went on a search for this raw joint and found it located on Richards Street. Thankfully they had a sandwich board outside with a very cute gorilla on it that caught my eye. Down a few steps I walked into this quaint, dimly lit smallish joint. It felt very warm, cozy and welcoming. To order you walk up to the front counter where they have their menus. You can either eat in or take out. I just wanted to pick up supper and take it back to my hotel.

Raw Veg Burger

All the good stuff inside.

My first menu item selection was the veggie burger with side salad. Check out the picture. Two veggie burger patties made from walnuts, sunflower seeds, hemp seeds and veggies served on a lettuce leaf bun with guacamole, ginger tomato sauce, sliced tomatoes cucumbers and shredded seasonal veggies (I took this right from the menu).  Served with an optional side salad. It was so good and I was so full after.

Tuesday
My second day at Gorilla Food, I sat in the restaurant and enjoyed a smoothie along with some granola pieces. I’m not too sure what they call them because there was no label on the package but damn they were good. The smoothie called BC Blue Green is made with bananas, blueberries, hemp seeds, orange juice and kale.

In the evening my cousin picked me up and made delicious somas with basmati rice and chickpea sauce, which I can’t for the life of me, remember the name.

Wednesday
Today for lunch I had the Choco-Gorilla made with cacao, bananas, date, coconut oil and hemp seeds. I got it to go so I could roam the streets of Vancouver while sipping my delicious lunch.

Raw Green Taco

Decadent Raw Dessert.

After my session I headed back and order the Green Taco. A romaine lettuce leaf taco wrap filled with a spicy chili walnut pate, fresh guacamole and salsa. I also ordered a piece of pie. I can’t remember what they called it and I don’t see it on the menu but it was similar to a cheesecake. I think it was made with cashews with a nut crust. It was very decadent.

"Newdles"

Thursday
I had full intentions on ordering a different smoothie but I enjoyed the Choco-Gorilla from the previous day I ordered it again. Yes, it was that good. In the evening I had the Cashew Alfredo Zucchini “Newdles” which was smothered in a rich white cashew cream and came with a green leaf salad – delightful! I really need to buy a spiralizer so I can make my own angel hair pasta out of veggies. Honestly, you would never know it was zucchini I was eating.

Raw Pizza.

Friday
My last day. I was so happy to be going home. I missed the guys and the dogs very much. Only able to eat one last time I decided on the pizza. The crust is made with sprouted sunflower and buckwheat, flax and carrot and topped with sun-dried tomato and fresh tomato herb sauce topped with a mix of tenderized kale and seasonal greens then topped with a crumbly walnut “cheez”. Again, it was delicious.

I also bought their fudge and some cookies. Now, I need to find recipes so I can make all this for myself.

If you’re ever in Vancouver, visiting Gorilla Food is a must. For the veg or non-veg the food was delicious and a real treat.

I’m in Vancouver

I can’t believe it’s been over two weeks since my last post. It’s been pretty busy - a good busy. I’ve been studying quite a bit lately. I’m almost ready to write my final exam in anatomy. It’s been a tough course but really interesting. So much is happening in our bodies whether we are exercising or at rest. Once I write and pass the exam I’ll only have three courses left until I have my diploma in Nutritional Consulting - YAHOO!!!!

So what else has been happening? Well, I started a kick boxing class. This isn’t just an aerobics fitness class, it’s one full hour of punching and kicking on a heavy bag, sparing with a partner and a lot of heavy cardio. Each class I walk out of there totally exhausted, sweating and it feels great. I haven’t worked out like this in a few years. A few of the participants actually fight - the school trains you to fight. It’s crazy! The school is called Avator Kickboxing.

In other news, I had the opportunity to hear Brendan Brazier speak at his book signing in Kelowna. The hotel conference room was totally backed full of eager Brendan followers like me. It was great to hear him speak about his Thrive books and he also answered questions from the crowd. It was a great evening.

Right now I’m in Vancouver, work sent me here for training. I have a nice view from my room - my hotel is along the ocean. As soon as I arrived, I headed over to the aquarium. Last week a new bulga was born so I wanted to see her. Now, I’m not one for zoos or facilities that confines animals. Looking at the dolphins today in their pool made me sad. It seems like such a small area for them to live and play. I don’t think it’s right but yes I went anyway. Part of the entrance fee goes to saving the seals so I’m justifying it by saying the money is going to an excellent cause. Here are a few photos I took today.

View from my hotel room.

These Jelly Fish are amazing to watch.

Do you remember these sea otters from a certain YouTube video?

And for my son Sam who loves turtles. This guy was very big.

I’ll be back home in a week. Hopefully I’ll be able to share a lot more pictures and food experiences.

My favourite Smoothie

Happy Sunday! It’s a gorgeous day today. The sun is shining and there is a gentle breeze blowing. A perfect day to be outside. Today we plan on going for a hike with the dogs. But first lets have a smoothie.

My favourite smoothie

Smoothies are a great way to start off your day. Here’s how I make mine:

1. Banana - I usually use a fresh banana but if you plan ahead and freeze them they can add a bit of thickness to your smoothie. I also like adding either an orange, apple or strawberries or all of these depending on how much I want to make.

2. Ground Flax (1 tsp)  and a packet of Whole Food Smoothie Fusion from Vega. This adds protein, fiber and omega 3.

3. Some type of greens. I will add kale or spinach, depending what I have in my fridge. You won’t even notice the greens in your smoothie once it’s blended and the great thing is you’re still getting all the nutrients from them.

4. I then top it all off with frozen berries. I usually buy a mix of strawberries, blueberries and raspberries. This gives your smoothie great colour.

5. Once I’ve got all the above ingredients in my blender I let the blender do its thing for a minute or two. I like my smoothie, well, very smooth and creamy.

6. Pour into into a tall glass and enjoy. This is a nutritionally complete meal in a glass and it’s very filling. Make yourself one of these a day and you’ll be doing your body good.

Honestly making your own concoction that you enjoy can become very addicting. I’ve been drinking this everyday for a few years making small changes every now and then. I look forward to it everyday because it’s so darn good.

Do you have a favourite smoothie recipe you would like to share? I would love to hear it.

p.s. Make sure you head over to Thrive in 30 and check out Lesson 6 and Lesson 7. Brendan talks about Superfoods and Food Sensitivities.

I’ve been a bad blogger…

… these past couple of weeks have been kind of crazy with work, studying, spending time with the guys and trying to get outside to enjoy the great spring weather. I’ve got lots of pictures to share and food to talk about. I also want to talk about how I’ve been doing following the Thrive program but I’ll have to share it all next post.

I would love to hear from you all on how you schedule your time. How do you juggle work, family and fun?

For now, I’ll leave you with a couple of pictures. The first, an exellenct raw dessert and a photo from a hike we took on the weekend.

Raw Strawberry Shortcake

Me and Sam with our two best friends

Happy Mother’s Day

The sun is shining, the flowers are budding on the trees, all in all it’s a beautiful day. Of all the Mother’s Day gifts I could have received I think being able to spend the day outside with the guys is the best. We’re going to start the day helping my son deliver the newspapers and this afternoon we’re going to go on a hike.

Last night I got inspired to try a couple new Raw vegan desserts and whipped up brownies and almond cookies.

Raw Brownies

The first, pictured here are the brownies. Okay, these couldn’t be easier to make and the ingredient list is short - walnuts, dates, cocoa or carob powder and vanilla extract. Basically, you just throw everything into your food processor and mix until it all sticks together then pack the mixture into a square serving dish and chill for a couple hours. Actually, I couldn’t wait the two hours for it to chill and had a piece right away. It was delicious and way better for you than a traditional type brownie made with flour. And, it’s so quick to make and I’ll say it again, you don’t have to bake it. This is perfect when you’re really needing a chocolate fix fast. This literally took only minutes to make.

Raw Almond Cookies

So, since the brownies were so fast to make I decided to make raw almond cookeis. Again, super simple to make. The ingredients are almonds, walnuts, dates, almond extract and raisins or chocolate (carob) chips. The nice thing about these cookies are the different variations you can try. Adding raisins, cherries, craisins, lemon or orange rind are great different flavours to try. Just add all the ingredients to the food processor and mix to combine. Then using your hands roll and flatten out the mixture to form a cookie. No flour, no baking and not a lot of work. These are my kind of treats. I got the recipes from the cookbook Raw Food Made Easy by Jennifer Cornbellet. A great book with simple, easy to follow recipes.

I hope you all enjoy this beautiful day!

Quick News Flash

Happy Wednesday!

This is a very fast post to let you know that Gena from the fabulous Choosing Raw blog is having her first ever giveaway and it’s a spiralizer from Paderno World Cuisine. You must head over to her blog and check it out. I’ve been wanting one of these magical kitchen tools for awhile now and was very excited to see her post about the giveaway. Just imagine being able to create angel hair pasta from a zucchini? And that’s just one of many great uses of this neat appliance.

Head on over and check it out.

What I had for dinner and Thrive Lesson 5

Happy Monday! I’m writing this after I enjoyed a wonderful soup for dinner. I got the recipe from The Complete Book of Raw Food. In the the book the call it Avo Soup but that name doesn’t do much for me I’d like to rename it as Amazing Avocado Soup. I know, it’s not that original but it really is a good fill your tummy up kind of soup and extremely easy to make. Throw all in the ingredients in a blender and your ready to go.

Avocado Soup

It’s probably hard to tell from the picture but it’s a creamy soup thanks to the avocado - smooth and delicious. So, what’s in it besides the avocado? Well, cucumber, tomato, cilantro, zucchini and corn. The recipe did call for green onion but I totally forgot to add it and I didn’t miss it.

One nice thing about trying out raw food recipes is well, I guess this is pretty obvious but you don’t have to cook them. Other than chopping and cutting up the ingredients, so far for me experimenting with raw food has been pretty easy. Not only easy in preparation but also easier on my stomach as far as digesting the food.

This brings me to Lesson 5 of the Thrive Diet - it’s all about digestion, prebiotics, enzymes and fiber. Brendan Brazier talks about how these affect your body and why you need to eat prebiotics like chicory root, jerusalem artichoke, jicama and green tea; sprouts as a rich enzyme; and getting lots of fiber to not only reduce your cholestrol but also helpful in losing weight.

There is a lot of information packed into this 6 minute video. I had to watch it a few times to get all the information. That could be because it’s Monday and it’s been a long day - ha ha.

I’ll be back in a few days with Lesson 6 and a really good raw strawberry shortcake dessert I made on the weekend. Until then take care.

Happy to be home & Thrive Lesson 4

I’m finally home after being gone for over a week. I know I said I would do a blog post from Regina but with the crazy schedule we had I just couldn’t make it happen. This was our first time going home since we moved away last summer so we were all pretty excited to see our friends and family. But can I just say it was exhausting? From the moment our plane touched down we were busy, busy, busy. Thankfully, we were able to visit friends, celebrated my dad’s 70th birthday and watch my niece get married.

Now, you may be asking how did I manage following the Thrive Diet? Honestly, I did the best I could considering we stayed in a hotel room with no fridge, we ate at a lot of restaurants and like I mentioned above we were at a wedding which has it’s temptations.

I ate quite a few of the Vega bars - they were a lifesaver. I ate my whole stash and on the last day I even ran out to buy more but wasn’t able to find any at the GNC store in the mall we were at. I really recommend these when traveling or actually anytime - they are perfect to keep with you in case you need a quick meal or snack.

I think it’s great timing that Lesson 4 from the Thrive Diet landed in my mailbox. In it Brendan Brazier talks about Alkaline vs. Acid forming foods. In his book he writes that the balance of acid and alkaline within the body is referred to as pH (potential of hydrogen). One on the pH scale would be considered very acidic and 14 would be alkaline. A neutral pH is 7.35. Eating a lot of acidic foods can leave your body feeling puffy and fatigued. Overtime this can lead to serious health problems including excessive weight gain, kidney stones and loss of bone mass and more.

So what are acid forming foods? Basically, foods that have been highly processed like white flour, margarine, soft drinks, cheese, cream, white rice and list goes on and on.

Alkaline foods are those with little to no processing like fruits, veggies and pseudograins (amaranth, buckwheat, millet, quinoa, wild rice). Eating more of these types of foods has many great benefits to your body including weight reduction and having more energy.

While I was away I ate more acid forming foods than I usually do and I feel my body is retaining more water and feels sluggish. Now that I’m back home I’ll get back on track and reduce the acid forming foods from my diet and add more alkaline. I should notice a difference in the next couple of days.

My small recap of Lesson 4 barely skims the surface of what Brendan discusses. I recommend you watch it for yourself, he does a great job of explaining the benefits of creating a good pH balance within your body.

Until next time take care and whatch out for those acid forming foods.