Andrew caught the most delicious trout at Coffee Creek, BC, and everyone (Whitney, Tanner, and me) combined their snacks to produce the most delicious and beautiful lunch on a rock by the campfire by the lake.

On the menu: fresh trout roasted in Alder leaves, nuts, cucumber spears, roasted celery, roasted carrots with butter, and a hard boiled egg with sea salt and pepper.

What a beautiful and yummy day!

Feed the Eye as well as the Tummy

Andrew and I have been making some delicious, simple suppers lately. Well, yes, we always do, but these suppers have been especially photographic and blog worthy.

Grilled organic chicken kabobs on a bed of grilled zucchini halves with tzatziki with cubed mango, sliced avocado (for deliciousness, nutrients, texture, and colour) with some wheat-free Fanny Farmer cornbread.

Good Old Fanny Farmer Cornbread (wheat-free version):

1/2 C. cornmeal
1/2 C. cornflour
3/4 C. spelt flour
1/3 C. sugar
1 Tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 C. milk
1 egg
2 Tbsp melted butter

~combine dry ingredients
~stire together wet ingredients
~mix set and dry ingredients and pour into pan
~bake at 400-425 degrees C for 20 mins

Incredible Kale Chips! (You can thank me later).

Prepare yourself for the best thing since potato chips were invented! Crispy and satisfying beyond belief, easy and inexpensive to make, yum yum yum!

Everyone I've shown this recipe to has become a instant kale lover!

Kale "Chips":
tear kale into bite sized pieces off stem, toss stems in the compost
mix together in a bowl with a little olive oil and salt (easy on the oil)
lay out on a pan and stick in the oven at 350 degrees Celcius
stir while they're baking as the kale on the edge gets crispy fast
once the pan of kale is crispy, take out of the oven and cool for a minute or immediately poor into a bowl.
Enjoy the tastiest vegetable treat of your life. I guarantee you'll love them! Enjoy!

Here is a kale pic before they go in the oven, I'll add an after pic soon!

Natural AHA Fruit Facial

Here is a natural facial idea inspired by my friend Trista who also comes up with her own natural and edible creations. The skin is incredibly absorptive and as a rule of thumb, we should not be putting products on our faces that we would not eat. This may sound unusual in our synthetic product laden society, but for health and the pursuit of natural beauty, this concept is good to have in mind.

This little recipe makes an excellent addition to a spa treatment at home.

The berries can be a little messy, drain a little water from the mixture or add milk powder for the right consistency.

Fresh Strawberry AHA Facial:

mash together:
1 large strawberry,
a squeeze of lemon juice, and
a dollop of cream or milk powder

Strawberries, lemon juice, and milk all contain alpha-hydroxy acid, which act as an exfolient to help dissolve dead cells revealing newer, more youthful skin cells. Sloughing dead skin alson helps keep pores clean and both prevents and removes blackheads.

Smoosh the mask thinly over your face, carefully keeping the fruit liquid away from the eyes, which may cause stinging.

Don't worry! This mask won't make your face red! I tested it on myself! After washing away the mask with clean cool water, use a natural scrub to massage the skin and promote circulation. This step will also remove old skin cells that have been loosened by the mask. After cleansing, massage in a moisturizer with circular motion and your face will feel invigorated and wonderful!

Enjoy this completely natural (and delicious) mask; don't be afraid to take a little lick!!

Low-Carbohydrate Nutrition

An experiment is taking place in Alert Bay, BC, where Dr. Jay Wortman a Metis physician is making a point of acting out and speaking out against the epidemic obesity and diabetes of aboriginal people. Check out the article on CBC http://www.cbc.ca/thelens/bigfatdiet/ .

The Namgis First Nation is giving up sugar and junk food for a year to return to a traditional style of eating to fight obesity and diabetes.

The epidemic is affecting not only aboriginal people in Canada, but many many Canadians. Could our high-carbohydrate, high-processed, highly-refined diets be to blame?

Many people are familiar with the Atkins nutritional approach and similar ketogenic diets restricting white flour, white sugar, and refined and simple carbohydrates. The explanation as to why health authorities don't fully accept this approach can be a little complicated. Dr. Jay's blog explains,

"In short, the current recommendation to eat a majority
of our calories as carbohydrates reflects the conventional
wisdom that dietary fat is the cause of heart disease.
Since there is a limit to how much of our daily energy needs can be
obtained from protein, we are left to chose between carbs and fat.
If you believe fat is harmful, then you are left with carbs as the main source of energy.
Gary Taubes documents in his book, "Good Calories, Bad Calories,
the science implicating fat in heart disease is not particularly sound.
It may, in fact, be that carbs are the dietary villain, not fat.
There have been a number of recent studies that have shown
that people on a very low carb diet can eat lots of fat,
including saturated fat, and achieve a better lipid profile than people eating
the American Heart Association recommended low-fat diet.
In a recent editorial, Dr. Frank Hu, a well-respected Harvard nutritional researcher,
argued that, based on the evidence, public health programs
to reduce cardiovascular disease need to shift
from targeting dietary fat to targeting carbohydrates.
He states that the original programs to discourage fat consumption may have backfired and inadvertently increased obesity and cardiovascular disease by encouraging a shift towards carbohydrate consumption."

Keen-wah! Keen-wah! Keen-wah!

Brand new grain available on the market... that is, if you don't count the last 5000 years. At one time Quinoa was known as 'the mother grain.' It is higher in protein than any other grain, its a source of essential fats, ITS DELICIOUS, and its quick to cook!

Check out www.quinoa.net for more info on this amazing grain.

Here is a delicious Quinoa salad recipe sent to me from my darling mother-in-law, Debra:

2 c. quinoa, rinsed and drained well
3 c. water with 1 tsp salt
Boil the quinoa, water and salt, then cover and reduce heat.
Simmer for 15 min.
Remove from heat and fluff with fork.
Cool to room temperature.

Mix or whisk together vinegarette:
1/4 c. fresh lemon juice
1/2 c. olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1 1/2 tsp. dried oregano
salt and pepper

Mix together:
1/2 c. crumbled feta
1/2 c. marinated artichoke hearts, chopped
1/4 c. sun dried tomatoes in oil, chopped
1/2 cup minced red onion
1/2 cup chopped parsley
Toasted pine nuts for garnish

Put quinoa in a large bowl, toss in vegies and stir.
Add the vinaigrette, toss to combine.
Garnish with nuts or tomatoe and extra feta.
May be served cold or at room temp.

*Quinoa plant photograph from www.quinoa.net

"Salads can be a healthy way to include potato chips in the diet!"

I said this to my lovely housemate Julie this morning while crushing chips onto my breakfast salad. But seriously, I think it is important to acknowledge that including little treats that we like in a healthy diet creates a sense of balance and keeps you from feeling deprived. It certainly does for me! And it adds a little crunch too!

Here is my breakfast salad that I dreamed up while running this morning:

Fill your bowl with greens and sprouts,
add turkey, olives, a little bocconcini, hemp hearts, a few cilantro leaves,
and drizzle with lemon juice.
For the dressing I combined a little hummus and yogurt (yum!).
Then I crushed a few chips (grinning wickedly) and
added a slice of apple for colour.

Delish!