Oatmeal Superfood Muffins for Baby, or Mommy!

Oatmeal rocks. I love it, Lennon loves it, and we both eat it regularly. This recipe is from my cook book, I just adjusted it a bit for Lennon, but its not that much different and just as good I think. Easy to take on the go, packed with my fav superfoods and pretty easy to make. The hubbs loves these too. I play around with the add ons, and you can be creative: nuts, seeds, berries, choc chips, whatever!

Baby Oatmeal Superfood Muffins:

2 Organic eggs
1/3 cup organic unsweetened applesauce (1 of the applesauce containers)
1 ripe organic banana, mashed
1/4 cup grapeseed oil
3/4 cup almond milk (or milk of choice, I use my homemade almond milk, but any is fine)
2 cups wheat free oats
1/4 chia seeds
2 tbs golden flaxmeal
1/4 cup organic hemp hearts
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp organic cinnamon
handful of frozen organic blueberries

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix eggs, applesauce, banana, oil and milk. In a separate bowl combine oats, flax, chia, hemp hearts, baking powder and cinnamon. Mix wet into dry and blend well. Add blueberries, then scoop into lined muffin tins.

Bake for 20 mins- check, you might need a few more mins. Move to the top rack after 20 mins if you need a few more, just check with toothpick, if it comes out clean you are coolio. Enjoy. Freeze or store in the fridge.

The original version of this recipe can be found hww.blurb.ca/ebooks/461962-healthy-eating-never-tasted-so-good

A Week of Healthy Dinner Ideas

Eating healthy doesn't have to be boring. I LOVE to cook, and now being home more I have the opportunity to do so, so I like to be creative and have fun with our dinners. There are a few days I get home later and I don't have too much time, but that's when I get my pre-made stuff out of the freezer and we're all good. Whenever I have time on a night I'm not working, or the weekends, I make stuff to freeze so its all ready to go when I need it. I'll even make extra of the weekday dinners to freeze or for hubbs to take to lunch the next day.

This is a week of my meals.

Not crazy complicated or time consuming to make, but super yum and healthy for you and your family. I actually plan my week of meals on the Friday before, and that's the day I go grocery shopping. I also get inspired when I'm shopping, but I like to have an idea so I know what to shop for. I generally buy all organic, but do whatever works for you and your family. Some of these dishes I make regularly. I get asked a lot about my eating habits from my clients, so this post will hopefully give some ideas and inspiration.

Monday: Grilled Chicken and Thai Mango Salad

Just a little paprika and salt and pepper on the chicken, browned on the stove in a cast iron pan and then baked in the oven. The salad is organic mango, red pepper and carrot with a peanut Thai dressing - organic natural peanut butter, siracha sauce, organic lime juice, a little agave, and grapeseed oil, topped with a little crushed peanuts.

Tuesday: Arctic Char and Green beans with a balsamic Dijon maple glaze

Fish was topped with olive oil and fresh lemon juice, then a homemade spice mix- paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, oregano, rosemary, thyme, cumin, salt and pepper, baked. Green beans sauteed with a mix of balsamic vinegar, maple syrup and Dijon mustard. 

Wednesday: Vegetable Stirfry with Black Quinoa

Organic red pepper, kale, broccoli, and zucchini sauteed with a mix of soy sauce, hoisin sauce and siracha, mixed with black quinoa. 

Thursday: Rainbow Trout with Kale & Cauliflower Mash

Fish prepared with fresh lemon juice, rosemary, black pepper and paprika, baked in the oven, Cauliflower and kale steamed then pureed with a bit of olive oil, salt and pepper. 

Friday: Gluten free Pizza

The crust is an organic pre-made gluten free crust, it's very thin and really good. I do make my own crust occasionally but this is a fast easy dinner for a busy night. I used my home made spinach basil pesto, then added fresh organic spinach, sun dried tomatoes, fresh organic tomatoes, Italian cacciatore sausage, and green olives. Once it came out of the oven I sprinkled with a bit of grated Parmesan cheese.

Saturday: Butternut Squash Risotto

We indulge on the weekends, and that's ok. Roasted the butternut squash in the oven with a bit of olive oil and then pureed it. Risotto was actually made by hubby- pretty standard risotto cooking method except we used earth balance instead of butter, organic chicken broth, and added fresh rosemary and lemon juice. Sprinkled with Parmesan cheese, home made hot pepper oil and a bit of maple syrup. yup, maple syrup. I found the recipe on pinterest, it calls for a sprinkle of bacon as a garnish as well, left that out but I will def add that in if I serve this to guests. It was divine. We smashed a fab bottle of red wine with this, it was a perfect Saturday dinner.

Sunday: A day off from cooking for me, we ate at our folks place.

My band UNDADOGG was featured on the Rogers TV program "Toronto Sessions" This past Wed Nov 4!! Check it out online at rogerstv.com and they will be re-airing the episode in the next coming weeks. Wednesday nights at 10:30pm

Roasted Chickpeas- My Fav Mommy Snack!

Things have been getting super busy for me lately. I'm always pretty busy but since not returning to my day job and doing fitness full time, my schedule has gotten, well, kinda nuts. I still get more time with Lennon then I would if I worked a 9-5, 40 hour a week job, and I make my own schedule but I am running around a bit more than before, and always on the go. I have always been one to have small snacks throughout the day to keep me going, so I make sure to always pack a bunch of things with me on the road. This is key to avoid grabbing unhealthy snacks when you are hungry!! I fill up with a good breakfast, have my 3-5 small snacks during the day, and then a good healthy dinner.

This is one of my snacks.

Love these. Crunchy, spicy and delicious.

Pretty simple to make and you can customize to your tastes.

Roasted Chickpeas:

1 can organic, unsalted chickpeas
1 Tbs cumin
salt to taste
cayenne pepper to taste (optional)
1 Tbs olive oil

Preheat oven to 400. Rinse the chickpeas and place in a medium bowl. Stir in the olive oil and evenly coat. Add the cumin and stir. Then add the salt and cayenne. Spread evenly on a parchment lined baking sheet and sprinkle with a bit more salt. Place in the oven for 25 min on the bottom rack. Move to the top rack once the cooking time is done, and leave in the oven until the oven has cooled. This is key for crunchy chickpeas!!! turn the oven back on at 200 degrees, and cook for another hour and 20 min or so, this makes them nice and crunchy. I keep these in the fridge once done and take a little container of them with me for a snack.

I also make a version of these for Lennon. When I make a batch for me, I just take a quarter of the can of chickpeas aside and make them exactly the same way as above- except I use a smaller amount of cumin (probably only a teaspoon or less) and no salt or cayenne. For the baby version you also need to remove the chickpeas after the 25 min first round cooking time. They are roasted but not crunchy so easy for baby to eat, Lennon loves these too and they are a great add on to any meal, also easy to take with you in a little container.