Ingredients
Method
- In a blender, add banana, cashew butter, oat milk, strawberries, and protein powder, if using.
- Blend at high speed until the mixture is smooth and creamy. Pour smoothie into a glass and enjoy.
Category: Food & Farms
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Strawberry Banana Smoothie
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Detox Salad
Ingredients
Method
- Thinly slice cabbage and broccoli. Remove kale from stems and roughly chop. Peel and grate carrots. Add vegetables to a mixing bowl.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together dressing ingredients until smooth and creamy. Adjust seasoning to taste.
- Pour 1/3 of the dressing over the salad and toss to combine, adding more dressing as needed.
- Roughly chop the roasted almonds. Top salad with almonds and sunflower seeds.
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Cottage Cheese Cheesecake
Cottage Cheese Cheesecake
This take on a creamy, crustless cheesecake satisfies your chocolate cravings without derailing your health goals. Cottage cheese has been having a moment lately, and for great reason. Its mild flavour lends itself to so many culinary preparations, and the protein found in cottage cheese has been shown to help build muscle.
Ingredients
Method
- Preheat oven to 350 F°. Line 6 inch round cake pan or springform pan with parchment paper. It’s easiest to cut a large square of parchment paper, scrunch it up tightly, smooth out again, place over cake pan, and press down; smooth into corners as best you can. No need to trim any overhanging paper from pan; this will assist in removing the cake from the pan once cooked and cooled. Set prepared cake pan aside.
- To bowl of food processor, add cottage cheese, maple syrup, vanilla extract, cocoa powder, cornstarch, and eggs. Blend until smooth, stopping to scrape down sides of bowl, as needed, with rubber spatula. Pour mixture into prepared pan.
- Bake cheesecake in preheated oven until sides of cheesecake are set, top of cake is puffed, and centre has a slight wobble, about 30 to 35 minutes. Remove from oven to a wire rack and allow cheesecake to set in the pan for 20 minutes. The top of the cheesecake will deflate a little. Remove from pan with the aid of any overhanging parchment paper and place on serving plate, leaving parchment paper on cheesecake. Refrigerate cheesecake at least 2 hours and up to overnight.
- When ready to serve, garnish with red berries and a drizzle of chocolate, if desired. Slice and serve.
by Lawren Moneta
Recipe Courtesy of Alive Magazine
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Red Velvet Fudge
Red Velvet Fudge
This little indulgence is the perfect high-protein treat to share with someone special. Packed with protein and fibre, gluten free, and naturally coloured, this sweet treat may become your favourite all year long. This fudge also freezes wonderfully for times when the urge for a little something sweet hits.
Ingredients
Method
- Preheat oven to 400 F°.
- With fork, pierce each beet several times. Wrap each in parchment paper, making sure to fold over the edges to seal each beet. Place parchment-wrapped beets on rimmed baking tray or in small baking dish. Roast beets in preheated oven until easily pierced with a fork, about 50 to 60 minutes. Set aside until cool enough to handle, about 30 minutes. Carefully unwrap and, with spoon, scrape off and discard beet skins (they should come off very easily). Roughly chop skinned beets and place in food processor or blender; purée, scraping down sides of container with rubber spatula as needed, until very smooth.
- Transfer beet purée to bowl of stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment or a mixing bowl, if using an electric hand mixer. Add almond butter, almond milk, vanilla extract, protein powder, oat flour, and salt. Mix on low speed until everything is very well combined. Mixture should resemble thick cookie dough. Line 8 inch square baking pan with parchment paper. Firmly press mixture in one layer into prepared baking pan. Refrigerate fudge for at least 4 hours and up to overnight.
- Line a baking tray with parchment paper and place a wire cooling rack on top of parchment paper.
- Lift fudge out of pan with help of parchment paper and cut into 1 1/2 inch squares. Place squares of fudge on wire rack before drizzling with melted chocolate. Place baking tray with fudge in refrigerator for 10 minutes. Transfer red velvet fudge to a serving plate and enjoy.
- Any extra fudge may be stored in an airtight container in refrigerator for up to 1 week or freezer for up to 2 months. Let thaw slightly before enjoying.
by Lawren Moneta
Recipe Courtesy of Alive Magazine
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Mocha Orange Tiramisu
Mocha Orange Tiramisu
Indulge your loved ones this Valentine’s Day with a delightful plant-based twist on a beloved classic. This innovative recipe swaps the traditional dairy cream filling for a tofu-based one and uses rye crispbread instead of the traditional cookies. Rye crackers have been shown to help benefit heart and digestive health and are a great low-sugar alternative in this tiramisu preparation.
Ingredients
Method
- In medium heatproof bowl, whisk together hot coffee and dark chocolate until chocolate is melted. Set aside to cool at room temperature.
- Meanwhile, make creamy tofu filling. To blender, add tofu, sugar, cocoa powder, vinegar, vanilla, and orange zest. Blend until smooth and creamy with no more tofu chunks, stopping to scrape down sides of blender container as needed. Add coconut cream to blender and mix until just combined, about 1 minute. Take care: if mixture is blended too long it may split. If this happens, simply continue blending; the mixture will warm up and emulsify again. This process could take up to 5 minutes.
- To assemble, set an 8 inch square baking dish in front of you. Have cooled mocha mixture, crispbread or cookies, and tofu filling all close at hand. Dip crispbread in coffee mixture for 6 to 10 seconds, then quickly transfer to bottom of baking dish. Repeat until you have an even layer of dipped crispbread covering bottom of dish. Pour half of tofu filling over soaked crispbread and smooth out into an even layer completely covering crispbread. Dip more crispbread into mocha mixture and lay another layer of dipped crispbread on top of filling layer, covering completely. Pour remaining tofu filling overtop and smooth out into an even layer, again covering crispbread completely. Cover baking dish with lid or beeswax wrap and chill in refrigerator at least 4 hours or overnight.
- Just before serving, dust top of tiramisu with some cocoa powder and additional finely grated orange zest. For some textural contrast, a sprinkling of cocoa nibs would be lovely here, but is optional. Spoon into bowls and serve. Any leftovers will keep, covered, in refrigerator for up to 3 days.
by Lawren Moneta
Recipe Courtesy of Alive Magazine
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Bug Love
Bug Love
Biome to the rescue
These days, we’re learning that a healthy gut microbiome, one that is richer in helpful bacteria and lower in unamiable ones, is a harbinger of good health: research has shown that it improves digestive, heart, and brain health. When it comes to what we eat, the microbiome lends an assist in digesting, processing, and excreting for better overall nutritional status. In other words, consider the microbiome as an important component of detoxifying our bodies for lasting health.
Here are some ways that the most beneficial microbes that reside in our intestines can be best supported.
Go plant crazy
As part of the American Gut Project, University of California San Diego School of Medicine researchers discovered that people who ate more than 30 different types of plant-based foods per week had a greater diversity of beneficial gut microbiota than those who ate 10 or fewer types of plant foods.
Work up a sweat
A recent study review in Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise found enough evidence to suggest that regular bouts of exercise are associated with a positive shift in gut microbial composition (higher levels of bugs that produce the beneficial compound butyrate).
Go easy on meat
Some research suggests that a meat-heavy diet, especially at the expense of plant-based foods, can shuffle around the types of microbes thriving in the gut to favour less beneficial types.
Shop for inulin
Inulin (a prebiotic) belongs to a class of carbohydrates called fructans, which are plant carbohydrates that, because of their unique structure, resist digestion in the upper gastrointestinal tract but are quantitatively fermented in the colon by the microorganisms that reside there. This helps the beneficial microbes flourish and produce postbiotics. You can source this prebiotic fibre from Jerusalem artichokes; chicory root; alliums, including onions, leeks, and garlic; asparagus; soybeans (which includes edamame); oats; and whole wheat.
Manage stress
It’s thought that periods of stress can reshape the human microbiome in a way that’s less favourable to health. Measures such as going for walks and practising meditation that help downgrade stress are important.
Try supplementation
A probiotic supplement can help optimize the microbiome, especially during periods of travel, illness, antibiotic use, or stress, when your microbiome can take a hit.
Don’t overdo the sweet stuff
Research published in the journal iScience found that people who consumed more foods and drinks with aspartame, sucralose, saccharin, and stevia leaf extract had less diverse beneficial colonies of gut bacteria and higher concentrations of harmful toxins in their intestines when compared to those study participants who didn’t use non-nutritive sweeteners.
Grab more shut-eye
It appears that both sleep fragmentation and short sleep duration are associated with gut dysbiosis, an imbalance in the different types of microscopic organisms living in your body. Make it a habit to practise good sleep hygiene, such as reducing bright light exposure before bedtime and keeping that phone far away from the bed.
By Matthew Kadey, MSc, RD
Article Courtesy of Alive Magazine
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The upside of food upcycling
The upside of food upcycling
Saving food waste while saving the planet and boosting your health
WA whopping 58 percent of all food produced in Canada is lost or wasted every year. A third of those 35.5 million metric tonnes of wasted food could be rescued. Innovative Canadians are making a difference, working to eliminate food waste, protect the environment, and feed our communities—all through the power of upcycling.
What’s up with upcycling?
Unnecessary food wastage happens every step of the way between the farm and your fridge.
At the farm, surplus fruits and vegetables, as well as those that may be misshapen or “ugly,” are discarded or left to rot. Then, during manufacturing and processing, 20 percent of food is lost or wasted. A lot of that is due to discarded byproducts or parts of the raw ingredient that are not needed in the final manufactured product.
Upcycling aims to change that, transforming unwanted food or food manufacturing byproducts into something useful.
“The concept of upcycling is really about extracting every last bit of value that you can from a natural resource,” explains Shelley King, CEO of Natural Products Canada, an organization that works to identify and invest in innovative solutions in the natural products industry.
“When we upcycle any material, we’re reducing the number of resources needed to create a new item,” King adds. “In the case of upcycling food, we’re addressing the huge challenge of feeding the world without putting more strain on the planet.”
How upcycling works
From coast to coast to coast, Canadian farmers and food manufacturers are finding creative ways to transform previously unwanted food ingredients into nourishing, high-quality foods and supplements.
It’s all about looking at where food wastage is happening and then applying out-of-the-box creativity.
Take potatoes, for instance. Spuds are the most widely grown vegetable crop in Canada, making up nearly a third of all farm sales last year.
“When you’re processing potatoes to make French fries or other potato products, you use water, and the water becomes super concentrated in starch,” says Cara Kennedy at Solnul, a supplement company based out of Carberry, Manitoba. If you’ve ever cut a potato and noticed the white powder on your cutting board after the potato water evaporates, that’s what she’s referring to.
Solnul’s shareholders were originally potato farmers who now own a starch plant. “They had the foresight to do microbiome research on the starch,” says King, and multiple clinical studies showed how this potato starch was an effective prebiotic (helping to feed the healthy bacteria in your gut).
They’ve turned that starch—which would otherwise have been discarded—into a research-backed prebiotic ingredient that you can now find in protein powders, protein bars, and other health foods.
“Canada is the bread basket of the world, and there are a lot of opportunities for upcycled ingredients,” adds Kennedy, who is quick to point out that we shouldn’t be worried that upcycled foods are somehow inferior. “It’s all about how to use every part of an ingredient to its highest and best value.”
By Joshua Duvauchelle
Article Courtesy of Alive Magazine
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Strawberry Banana Smoothie
Ingredients
Method
- In a blender, add banana, cashew butter, oat milk, strawberries, and protein powder, if using.
- Blend at high speed until the mixture is smooth and creamy. Pour smoothie into a glass and enjoy!
-
Detox Salad
Ingredients
Method
- Thinly slice cabbage and broccoli. Remove kale from stems and roughly chop. Peel and grate carrots. Add vegetables to a mixing bowl.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together dressing ingredients until smooth and creamy. Adjust seasoning to taste.
- Pour ⅓ of the dressing over the salad and toss to combine, adding more dressing as needed.
- Roughly chop the roasted almonds. Top salad with almonds and sunflower seeds. Enjoy!
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Chimichurri Sauce
Ingredients
Method
- Finely mince parsley, garlic, and jalapeño pepper and place in a small mixing bowl.
- Stir in olive oil, red wine vinegar, oregano, salt and pepper.
- Allow sauce to rest for 1 hour to allow flavors to develop before using. Enjoy!
