Foodie turned Holistic Nutritionist
The temperatures are up over here in Toronto and that means the AC is blasting and the ice cream is melting. At least that is what happened when I attempted to photograph this matcha coconut ice cream. But it was well worth it in the end. I loved making this dairy free, no-churn ice cream because not only is it minimal in terms of ingredients, it could not be easier to make.
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Are you familiar with adaptogens? These powerful plants and herbs can have a pretty important impact on your health. Although I am a food first type of Holistic Nutritionist, I do find it helpful to incorporate adaptogens into my routine. But what are adaptogens exactly? In this post, I am sharing the benefits, risks and the adaptogens I use the most.
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For some strange reason, I’ve never made my own PB cups. Growing up though, I loved the classic cup combo so I am surprised that I never got around to making my own. I think it’s because somehow I was convinced that they would be too much trouble to make. Well that couldn’t be further from the truth. These protein peanut butter cups are SO EASY! Plus they are made with one of my new favourite plant based protein powders and I snuck a little jam in there as well. You are going to LOVE them so much, promise!
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There are combos in life that just go together, like avocado and toast (or tbh- avocado with anything) or a burger and fries. But is there anything quite as classic as pb & j? Growing up, I had this combo all the time (yup, we were allowed to bring nut butters to school). And this was a classic for a reason. The sticky nature of the peanut butter combined with sweet jam makes perfect sense. I wanted to create all those same nostalgic feelings, so I created these PB & J energy bites. Ready to make them yourself, let’s get to it….
As someone who doesn’t like coffee, matcha has always been my go-to in times of a caffeine hit. I have always loved tea, especially green tea and whenever I go to a Japanese restaurant, I always want a matcha dessert at the end. There is something so delicious about a creamy matcha creme brûlée, my personal favourite dessert at a local sushi spot in Toronto. I wanted to create my own type of dessert using matcha, so this vegan matcha cheesecake was born. I also knew that I wanted to add in a little something extra, so I used some of the cheesecake to also make a raspberry version too. The addition of the sour from the raspberry complements this vegan matcha cheesecake quite nicely….
I’ve got two new recipes this week, who am I?! Sometimes, the recipe ideas just come in waves and I am riding it this week. I created these no bake pumpkin bars with a couple ideas in mind. First I wanted some layers in there to make it look pretty, but I also wanted each layer to serve a purpose and taste amazing. I used my previous no bake peanut chocolate bars as an idea when I created these, but changed the ingredients to reflect a more fall inspired approach. And since they are no bake, they are relatively easy and pretty foolproof if I do say so myself. …
Funny thing, I never used to like donuts. Does that make me weird? I hope we can still be friends. Well, either way, they just weren’t my thing. From a young age, everyone here (in Canada) loves to get these little donuts called timbits (from Tim Hortons) and I would always turn my nose up at them. It actually wasn’t until Krsipy Kreme made its way to Canada that I actually liked donuts. At the time, in high school when it first came to Canada, it was all the rage. So my friends and I would head over, eat the donuts while we waited for our order and then go home with a dozen or so. There was something about a Krsipy Kreme that made me actually like donuts. Does that make me more American than Canadian?! I don’t know. But I haven’t had a Krispy Kreme in years and probably won’t anytime soon because they are super sweet and I don’t have much of a sweet tooth. So that’s why I created these gluten free baked pumpkin donuts. I wanted something that wasn’t overbearingly sweet and not fried. So I put my baking hat on (I don’t actually have a baking hat) and got to work. …
This whole week has been an up and down rollercoaster, but one of the things that went really well was baking this grain free pumpkin granola. It sounds silly when you think about it, but for me, baking and cooking and being in my kitchen is my happy place and when everything feels like it’s going to shit, it picks me back up. What works for you? When things just don’t seem to be going right and it is out of your direct control, how do you cope? I know I have written about different ways to deal with stress and anxiety before and I find all of those very useful. But nothing beats having some comforting food around, even better when you spent some time making it yourself. …
Curious about collagen, or what about gelatin? In this blog post I am sharing with you my favourite paleo chocolate pudding made with gelatin and coconut milk. As much as I love my chocolate chia avocado pudding, I wanted to create something a bit different. I tasted a very similar version of this pudding at one of my favourite healthy restaurants in Toronto and knew that I wanted to recreate this at home. It took a couple of tries, but I figured out a way to make it that I think you will absolutely love too. …
These paleo chocolate cookies with sea salt hold up on their own as is, without a “paleo” or “healthy” label. I truly became obsessed with a version of these cookies at my fave local spot, Impact Kitchen. I am actually sitting here right now writing this blog post. Once they opened up a new location right by my house (literally in my backyard) I knew it was GAME OVER. I’ve been known to walk over and pick up some paleo chocolate cookies whenever the mood struck and let’s just say it was striking more and more. So I knew I wanted to try making my own at home to save on money and just to see if I could. I am not a paleo baker at all, so using the flours were a little new to me. But once I tasted them I knew they were solid and making them into ice cream sandwiches might just be the best thing I’ve EVER done. …