Homemade Granola

Homemade granola is super easy, quick and delicious. Making your own allows you to control the amount of sugar and quality of ingredients, while also changing things up and adding in the flavours that you love. It’s packed with healthy fats, protein and fibre from the whole oats, nuts and seeds. This granola makes a great topping for smoothie bowls, yogurt, oatmeal, or just on top of fruit.

INGREDIENTS

• 2 cups whole rolled oats
• ½ cup sesame seeds
• ½ cup flax seeds
• ½ cup pumpkin seeds
• 1/3 cup crushed almonds/walnuts
• 1/3 cup of dried cranberries, raisins or dates
• 2 tablespoons of coconut oil (melted)
• 1 teaspoon of honey or maple syrup
• 1 teaspoon of cinnamon
• A pinch of sea salt

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl and stir well until everything is coated in the oil, spices and sweetener. Lay the granola out on a large baking sheet and bake for 5-10 minutes or until slightly golden.

Note: you can omit the nuts for a nut-free version.

Chocolate Chip Zucchini Protein Muffins

Prep Time: 10 mins
Cook Time: 20 mins
Total Time: 30 mins

INGREDIENTS 

• ¾ cups Gluten-Free Old Fashion Rolled Oats, processed into flour
• 1½ cups Almond Flour (or meal)
• ½ cup chocolate protein powder 
• 1 Tbsp cacao powder
• ½ tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• ½ tsp salt
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 eggs
• 2 egg whites, or 6 Tbsp liquid egg whites
• 1 medium ripe banana, mashed well
• 6 TBS coconut sugar (or 4 TBS of maple syrup)
• 2 cups grated zucchini, about 2 medium
• 4 TBS semi-sweet chocolate chips

INSTRUCTIONS

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit and line muffin tin with paper liners.
• In a food processor, grind the oats into a flour.
• Add oat flour, almond flour, protein powder, cacao, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon to a large bowl. Stir until well combined.
• In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs and egg whites together. Add in your mashed banana and coconut sugar (or maple syrup), stir until combined.
• Add the wet ingredients to your bowl of dry ingredients. Stir until the batter combined.
• Slightly press some liquid out of the grated zucchini, either using your hands or soaking with a paper towel. Add the zucchini to the rest of the batter and stir until evenly distributed.
• Add the chocolate chips.
• Evenly distribute batter among the muffin tins, filling about ¾ of the way full. 
• Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until edges have lightly browned and inserted toothpick comes out clean. 

Recipe yields 12-15 muffins.

Store in airtight container in fridge up to 7 days, or in the freezer up to 1 month.
The batter may seem very wet, if you didn't press out all of your liquid from the zucchini. The zucchini helps keep them super moist since there is no added oils.

Vegetable Stock

Since winter decided to come back, I used up leftover veges for a soup.

This vegetable stock was so easy and I can save the rest of the broth for homemade soup recipes. Although the store-bought version is convenient, it is often really high in sodium, so you might be better off making your own at home. The key is to use garlic, onion and herbs like thyme and parsley to boost flavour.

Bonus: the vegetables add phytonutrients and minerals to the stock. Garlic and turmeric have anti-inflammatory and immune-boosting properties as well.

Ingredients:

• 3 Large carrots
• 2 Stalks of celery
• Handful of mushrooms
• 4 Cloves of garlic
• 2 Onions
• 2 Stalks of green onion, chopped
• 3 Litres of water
• ½ Teaspoon sea salt + more as needed
• ¼ Teaspoon pepper
• ½ Teaspoon turmeric
• 3-4 Sprigs of thyme
• Handful of parsley
• 2 Bay leaves
• 1 Tablespoon of olive oil

Instructions:

1. Wash your vegetables well
2. Roughly chop the carrots, celery and onions into equal size pieces (about 1.5 inches thick)
3. Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat
4. Add the carrots, celery, onions, garlic and season with the sea salt, pepper and turmeric
5. Saute the veges, stirring often for about 8 minutes until they have some colour on them
6. Add the mushrooms and green onions and sauté for another 2-3 minutes
7. Add the water, parsley, thyme, bay leaves 
8. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium low and simmer uncovered for 30-40 minutes
9. Taste and season with salt as needed
10. Remove from the heat and let cool slightly
11. Strain the stock if you want just the broth, or keep the vegetables in for a heartier soup

Pear & Walnut Overnight Oats

 Ingredients:

• 1 cup Gluten free rolled oats
• 1.5 cups unsweetened almond milk
• 3 tbsps Chia seeds
• ½ to 1 tsp cinnamon, to taste
• ½ tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1 tbsp pure maple syrup
• Pinch of sea salt or Himalayan pink salt
• 1 pear- ½ grated and ½ chopped
• Chopped Walnuts for topping
• 1 tsp Hemp hearts for topping
• 1 tsp ground flax seeds

Instructions:

1. In a medium bowl stir together the oats, milk, maple syrup, cinnamon, vanilla, salt, grated pear, and chia seeds until thoroughly combined. Taste an season as needed.
2. Portion into jars or containers.
3. Cover and refrigerate for a minimum of 1-2 hours or overnight. The mixture will thicken and the oats will soften. 
4. Add a splash of almond milk to the mixture as needed if it’s too thick. 
5. Add the toppings: chopped walnuts, chopped pear, hemp hearts and flax seeds. 

Root Vegetable Medley

 This root vegetable medley is the perfect side dish for a cold winter day.

Ingredients: 

• 1 Sweet potato
• 1 Large Yukon gold potato or 2 small ones
• 2 Carrots
• ½ Yellow onion thinly sliced
• 4 cloves of garlic smashed
• Couple sprigs of fresh thyme
• Olive oil
• Salt & pepper to taste 

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 400F
2. Chop all root vegetables into equivalent sized pieces (about 1 inch). 
3. Mix all together with garlic, onion, oil, salt, pepper, and thyme in a large pan or roasting dish. 
4. Cook in oven set to 400F for 30-40 minutes or until the edges start to get golden and crispy. Let it cool and enjoy!

Note: You can also add turnip, yams, or squash to the mix depending on what you’ve got in your kitchen. Root vegetables like those used in this recipe are in season during the fall and winter, and are rich in nutrients like Vitamin A, C and beta-carotene. 

Fall Vegetable Soup Recipe

 Cook time: 40 mins
Total time: 40 mins
Serves: 6-8 servings

Ingredients: 

• 1 T olive oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2 carrots, peeled and chopped
• 2 celery stalks, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 large sweet potato (about 2 cups), chopped
• 2 cups peeled butternut squash, chopped
• 2 cups cauliflower florets, chopped
• 2 cups sliced cabbage
• 1 28 oz can diced tomatoes
• 8 cups vegetable stock
• 2 tsp Italian seasoning (or a mixture of dried parsley, basil, oregano etc..)
• 1/2 tsp cracked black pepper
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 2 T freshly chopped parsley

Instructions:

1. Heat up a large pot over med-high heat and add olive oil.
2. Toss in onion, carrot, and celery and simmer (about 3-5 minutes) until onions are translucent. 
3. Add in garlic and cook for 1 minute.
4. Add in the chopped sweet potato, butternut squash, and cauliflower and cook for 5 minutes.
5. Add the cabbage, diced tomatoes, vegetable stock and spices and give it a stir.
6. Bring to a boil and then turn the heat down to medium-low and let simmer for at least 30 minutes.
7. Top with fresh parsley and serve.
8. Will keep for a week in refrigerator and freezes well for several months.