What I Eat

I am asked a lot about what I eat.
To some the things in my lunch basket are incredibly different.
My goal is always to find a balance.  Food that supports the hard work and time I spend in the gym.
Food that fuels me so I can build and maintain muscle.
Food that keeps me happy and full of energy for the rest of the things life throws at me.
I want to be fit and healthy now.  AND I want to be the same way like 50 years from now.
Tall order???
It takes some effort for sure.  But the payoff is huge.
IT means more time in the kitchen.  THis is key.
Maybe the way I eat would not suit just everyone.  But it works for me.  Sometimes it is boring.
But for me it makes me happy.
Days are full of organic eggs..oatmeal..homemade soups, yams, brown rice, salads, veggies, lean protein, Rooibos tea, yummy smoothies.  YUM
So I thought I would post some of the things that I eat.  They seem much too simple to post as a recipe. But I think worthy of a post at any rate since it shows what a typical meal looks like for me.
I eat about 6-7 small meals a day.  Getting portions right is always a trick.
Eating enough to fuel my body ....but not too much so that I am hungry (not starved) in three hours time when it is time to re fuel.  Of course this is always changing depending on the demands of life.
Key thing is to have lots of prepared healthy food on hand.
Pictures are what I will post.  Meals should be so basic you can just see what it is and be able to make it too just by checking out the photos.

Salmon egg white veggie sushi

Rocket Salad with Green dressing 

sprouted Mung beans 

Rice flour pancakes 

Egg white Hummus Avocado Collard Green Wrap

Salmon brown Rice, spiral zucchini Collard Wrap with Cilantro Parsley Cashew Sauce

Breakfast!

DOn't forget the Sups!

Raw 'Pasta' Salad

Wondering how to get more veggies in your diet?
Make a Big Bowl of this and Munch!

YOu can use whatever Veggies you have on hand really
I have a mandolin that I cut my zucchini and carrots up with to cut down on some of the chopping
What I used

Zucchini
Purple Cabbage 
Carrot
Green Onions 
Bean Sprouts 
Red Pepper 
Cilantro 

crushed up Almonds as Garnish

Dressing (my ultimate fav dressing/sauce...I use this stuff as dipping sauce for sushi too)

1 small shallot (or 1/2 small onion)
3 Tbsp Tamari or soy sauce
3 Tbsp Lime Juice
3 Tbsp water
2 Tbsp Tahini
1 clove Garlic
1 inch Ginger Root 
& a tiny bit of cayenne (careful with this a little makes a lot of heat)

Pop all the ingredients in your blender Wiz it up

Chop your Veggies
Make your dressing
sprinkle with crushed nuts

Crunch your yummy salad and be super happy

xoxo
Ashie Girl

Chai Tea from Starbucks...we have to talk...It's not you its me...we can still be Friends though!

Chai is so wonderful
who WHO WHO!!!! would ever break up with Chai!
well...although Chai is warm, comforting, spicy, and sweet
It secretly is being bad to you
and your friends know
and they aren't even telling you
Sorry
I am the sort of friend that is going to tell you
things like...
Dude you have spinach between your teeth
and
Man..... I am really sorry buddy but...
Chai is a jerk
you need to break up with it
ahhhhhheemmm
Lets be specific
Starbucks uses a syrup to make this spicy treat
Primary ingredients include cane sugar, honey, and citric Acid
so like we are talking ball park...220 - 300 calories
yup
if you want to go there you might as well go here

I mean I DO go there ...not the doughnut...its not my thing ...but starbucks chai I sometimes cannot resist this yummy treat
but it is a treat
and I know it

BUT wait!  There's more!!!
You can have Chai at home.!!!
It is Cheaper
You can make it stronger or weaker with the spices you like best.
You can have it with black tea...or caffeine free so you can even share it with your kids.
IT IS LOW FAT AND LOW CALORIE
Now that is a Tea you can fall in love with!

My kindergarten teacher would always steep a pot of Chai tea during quiet time/nap time.
I remember lying on my blanket on the floor staring at a tall ceiling with rows of long tulip shaped red and yellow hanging lights
The strong smell of fresh ginger and cinnamon simmering in warm milk and honey
Followed by the sound of fresh popcorn coming to life in a Big Pot on the classroom kitchen stove
waiting to be drenched in soy sauce and nutritional yeast
Did she make us this same snack every day???
It is the only one I remember.  Still to this day Chai is complete comfort, warmth, and calm.
*sigh*
Ok back to Chai
So there are two ways you can make Chai at home.  Many Tea stores sell amazing loose leaf Chai tea mixes.  My total fav is Silk Road Herbal Chai.  Silk Road is in Victoria...but I have found that Fairway market in Nanaimo sells this tea too!
SO you can buy a loose Chai tea or you can make your own with just a few spices.
THIS recipe makes about 5 Cups worth.

In a medium sized pot bring 4 Cups of water to a boil.  Once boiling turn down to a simmer.  Add about a Tablespoon or two of you Chai tea loose tea mix OR

12 Whole Cardamom pods
12 whole peppercorns
2 cinnamon sticks
4 Slices of Fresh Ginger
5 whole Cloves (I omit this ingredient...it isn't my fav I sub star anise instead)
1 Cup unsweetened Almond Milk
1 TBSP raw honey (I use Stevia ...about one good squirt of the liquid version)

Let this simmer for at least half an hour....the longer it simmers the yummier it gets
If you want your Chai to have black tea in it add two tea bags just before you are ready to drink
steep for two minutes then pull the bags out
You can cool this and store in a large mason jar in your fridge ready and waiting for you whenever you want comfort

A Lighter Kale Pesto Magic for your salad or grains pasta

Pesto is great stuff
Hot or Cold
I love a good dollop of Pesto on a green salad mixed up with some yummy grain like Brown rice or Quinoa
YUM YUM!
But Most Pesto is pretty high on the fat profile
NOW
We all know that fat is not our enemy
Good fat that is
Fat is actually essential to our physical and emotional health

Despite what you may have been told, fat isn’t always the bad guy in the waistline wars. Bad fats, such as saturated fats and trans fats, are guilty of the unhealthy things all fats have been blamed for—weight gain, clogged arteries, and so forth. But good fats such as the monounsaturated fats, polyunsaturated fats, and omega-3s have the opposite effect. In fact, healthy fats play a huge role in helping you manage your moods, stay on top of your mental game, fight fatigue, and even control your weight.

ALL GOOD STUFF RIGHT!

But I think it is also important to keep in mind fat as well as other food should be portion sized 
We should aim to keep total fat intake between 25-35% of calories 
Eating a big jar of almonds for a snack is just not going to be help you...too much of a good thing 
heartbreaker I know
The only thing you have to do is controle your portion.  Which is actually super easy
Just measure our 1/4 cup and for almonds you will get:  
163 calories, 14.0 g fat, 6.1 g carbohydrates, 6.0 g protein, 3.5 g fiber, 5 Points (if you are a WW)
OKAY I know that looks like a lot of fat but remember remember remember fat is NOT your enemy 

Portion is the Key :)

So enter this Pesto recipe

 It is a lighter version of most of the recipes I have come across

It has a zip from the lemon juice, salty yum from the miso, and creaminess from the yam, oh yeah and of course the lovely deep green colour from the Nutritious glorious Kale

You will love this stuff 

LIGHTER KALE PESTO

you will need:

3 cups of coarsely torn or chopped kale
1 heaping tablespoon Hemp Hearts
1-2 tablespoons of fresh lemon juice 
1 teaspoon of miso
2 garlic cloves
4 tablespoon of peeled cooked sweet potato

Tear the kale off the stems and tear leaves into pieces.  Heat a small amount of water, about 3 tablespoons, in a non-stick skillet. When the water is bubbling, stir in the kale pieces and sauté  stirring until just wilted. Add the cooked kale and the rest of the ingredients and process until blended.  If needed, add an extra tbs of water or two, a little at a time, (or a bit more lemon juice) to make a smooth paste.  To serve, place a handful of baby greens in a bowl. Top with warm quinoa or rice.  Add some pesto and mix it all together, wilting the baby greens as you go. Dig in. YUM

Enjoy

xoxo Ashie Girl

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

I like Cookies
But as most people I have a standards that I think a cookie should be
Some people want a soft chewy cookie
But when I think about an oatmeal raisin cookie I think it should have a crunch
I think it should not be too sweet
Something that could be eaten for breakfast or in between meals when you need something to dunk in tea.
I am constantly on the hunt for this cookie
I think that is why you will see many cookie recipes on my site
So here is another
This cookie is Gluten free (ensuring you have gluten free oatmeal)
This cookie is sugar free ...well it uses fruit for sugar ...still sugar but I guess what I mean is no processed sugar
aaaaand no this cookie does not have butter in it....Almond butter instead
This is a wholesome cookie
I guess I feel like I need to warn you or something
This cookie is going to be crunchy, yummy and crumbly, and not really sweet
But in my books this is exactly the cookie I want mid afternoon with my tea
I hope you like them and give them a try
always open to putting your own spin on the ingredients

Gluten Free Oatmeal Cookies

1 Cup toasted Walnuts
1 Cup Oats
2 Cups Oat Flour (you can use spelt, rice or any of your favourite type of gluten free flour)
1 Cup dates & 1/2 Cup water
2 Tbsp almond milk
2 Tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
3 Tbsp almond butter
2 tsp vanilla extract
2/3 Cup raisins

Pre Heat Oven to 350 degrees

Toast your walnuts in oven or on stove top careful not to burn!  Watch them closely as soon as the oils start coming out and they smell fragrant they are pretty much done.
After toasted cool then pulse in your food processor until they resemble a fine chop

In a large Bowl mix Flour, oats, baking powder, cinnamon, and your lovely toasted walnuts.

Back to your food processor.  Add dates, almond butter, vanilla, almond milk, and water.  Process until it becomes a syrup like consistency.
Next add to dry ingredients.  you might need to use your hands to really combine this.  The mixture may seem crumbly so add a bit more water if needed.  Lastly fold in your raisins.
Again using your hands shape your cookies into a relatively thin cookie
Place onto parchment lined (or using silicone mat) cookie sheet
Bake 10-15 minutes
Cool on wire rack

Enjoy

xoxo
Ashie Girl

Love Yourself

Feed Yourself Something Nutritious AND Make It Beautiful

Does this sound basic?

It is...but it isn't !  
But actually this is a really big deal.
You may look at me or my blog and really see my passion for healthy eating/training and think it is easy for me or that I have always eaten this way.  
But you know what?  Although I think I have always eaten somewhat healthily, since my parents raising my sisters and I worked hard to always create nutritious meals for us often with food that they grew in their own garden, I think my diet has been evolving for years and honestly wasn't always great.
A big part of that evolution was creating this blog.
Once upon a time I found myself at a point where I was creating meals for my son and just forgetting about myself. Really mostly because it seemed easier.
Less work
On top of everything I did in a day doing less sounded good to me.
Straight up....I found myself eating tuna out of a tin can over the kitchen sink for dinner while my kiddo munched on a snack plate of colourful nutritious favourites in the other room.  SO many things wrong with this picture.
  
I don't think I was loving myself much.  I knew it wasn't what I wanted for myself and I wanted a change.
I decided I would start a food blog and share the things I knew where great about nutrition and food.  It was sorta like tricking myself.  Like if you were to tell yourself you were making a meal for someone you had a crush on...or someone you really love.  Make it amazing and make it beautiful.  Turns out this meal is for YOU.
Whoa...
yeah I know.
Love yourself
your crush is on you!
Nourish your mind your body and your spirit.  

We are what we eat.  You hear this a lot.  But it is true true true! 
What we eat makes up our cells, it gives us energy and fuel to live.
It powers our brains, has the ability to change our genes, change our emotions and our thoughts.  This is SO powerful.
I am obsessed with learning about all of this.  Not just about the beauty of food but what it does for us at the cellular level.  From how the acidity in our food effects our bodies and effects our health
How taking deep breathes bringing more oxygen into our cells can be a game changer....
like do you ever consider oxygen SERIOUSLY google it or look at THIS

If you believe as I do that we are what we eat then what better way to love ourselves than through making beautiful food!
Your meals do not have to be fancy or keep you slaving in your kitchen for hours
Make something simple
Like a Rice Bowl with chopped colourful veggies, or roasted squash 
include with your meal fresh berries 
interesting nuts or seeds roasted perfectly 
create a healthy dressing full of flavour 
put care into how you arrange it in a big beautiful bowl 
Sit with the people you love
always eat together if you can 
OR set a beautiful table for one 
put a single dandelion in a vase 
light a candle 
simple
BUT
make it special
Love yourself 
you will be amazed at how this feels

xoxo

Ashie Girl 



  

Healthy Cookies

Healthy cookies.

I suppose if you want a cookie...you should just have a cookie

But sometimes I think it is nice to have a treat that isn't a cheat

In this case these cookies are a nice option 

It is also pretty quick and easy to make a small batch of apple sauce in your blender to make these 

It seems like an extra step I suppose 

But since the recipe only calls for 1/3 Cup applesauce it is just a matter of peeling an apple sticking it in your blender with a Tbsp of lemon juice and voila!  Fresh tasty Apple Sauce!  

Healthy Cookies:

1 Ripe Banana, mashed

1/3 Cup Apple Sauce

1/2 Cup Liquid Egg White

1/4 Cup Almond Milk 

1 tsp Vanilla extract

1 tsp Cinnamon 

2 Cups Quick Oats

Mix everything together 

Spoon onto parchment lined cookie sheet with teaspoons

Bake 20 mins @ 350 degrees