Saturday, December 31, 2011

Organic Garage - Health Food Store for less

Well thanks to my friend Robin who gave me the details about this place in Oakville, we actually went over and were completely impressed. Like the sign says. Healthier Food for Less. Robin's claim was that the items in this store were probably about 30 - 40% less than Whole Foods.  So Happy New Year... this is my new year's present for you. A new discovery for Healthier Shopping.


Check it out Organic Garage  - not as pretty inside (no designer looking vegetable displays) but a lot more affordable.


See what we found. Delicious pomegranate.


Squashes.


Green Beavers.


Lucy's gluten free cookies.


Lady Gaga's gluten free cookies too.



These new products. Amazing Good for you granola bars. Made in Waterloo by a Gramma I think? So they had a taste test and Mella and I tried all 3 kinds and loved them all.



Good for you 'clean' ingredients.



Low in calories and loaded with Fibre.





Friday, December 30, 2011

Turkey Meatballs with Cranberry-Orange BBQ Sauce


Over the holidays I discovered this recipe and made it a few times for my family and friends. I didn't quite follow the recipe though because I bought these Blue Menu Chicken Meatballs for a little shortcut. 

Turkey Meatballs with Cranberry-Orange BBQ Sauce (adapted from www.vancouversun.com)



Meatballs:

1 1/2 pounds (680 g) ground turkey or chicken

½ cup (125 mL) unseasoned dry bread crumbs

1/3 cup (80 mL) finely minced or grated onions

¼ cup (60 mL) chopped fresh parsley

1 egg

½ teaspoon (2 mL) each garlic powder and dried marjoram

¼ teaspoon (1 mL) each salt and freshly ground black pepper

Sauce:

1 can (19 ounce/540 mL) jellied cranberry sauce

¼ cup (60 mL) hickory or chipotle barbecue sauce (smoky)

2 tablespoons (30 mL) freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 teaspoon (5 mL) reduced-sodium soy sauce

1 teaspoon (5 mL) grated orange zest

In a large bowl, mix together ground turkey, bread crumbs, onions, parsley, egg, garlic powder, marjoram, salt and pepper (using your hands works best). Form mixture into bite-sized meatballs, about 1 to 1½ inches (2-3 cm) in diameter. You should end up with about 45 meatballs.

Place meatballs on a baking sheet that has been lightly coated with cooking spray. Bake at 400 F for 12 to 15 minutes or until cooked through. Stir meatballs once, halfway through cooking time, to brown sides. Remove from oven and transfer to a large pot.

If you are using the frozen meatballs cook them in the oven using directions.

In a small saucepan, combine cranberry sauce, barbecue sauce, lemon juice, soy sauce and orange zest. Cook over medium heat until cranberry sauce is melted and mixture is bubbly, about 5 minutes.

Put meatballs in saucepan until meatballs are coated with sauce. Cover and simmer over low heat for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Makes 45 meatballs or 60 if you use the frozen chicken meatballs 



Nutritional Information using 8 Blue Menu Chicken Meatballs:

300 calories
33g carbs
10g fat
16g fat
3g fibre
23g sugar



Thursday, December 29, 2011

Lunch Date- Lemon Leaf

My daughter and I enjoyed a nice lunch at a new place in Oakville called the Lemon Leaf.



It took over where our favourite Suko Thai was. It was still quite good. Try it out!


We shared some Cold Rolls with Chicken inside.



Some Chicken Pad Thai and a smile!



Mella Loves Pad Thai! Especially the Tofu in it. I know right?



So I give her all my Tofu, I just like the chicken!









Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Warm Winter Desert- Pear Blueberry Crisp


Pear Blueberry Crisp

This recipe is an adaptation of many 'crisp' recipes. Made a with a little less sugar, a little less butter and whole wheat flour. I used the fruits I had in my kitchen to make a delicious treat.




Ingredients: 

Filling:
4 pears, peeled and sliced
2 cups of fresh bluberries
1 Tbsp cornstarch
2 tsp lemon zest
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger

Topping:
1 cup quick cooking rolled oats
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
3 Tbsp melted butter
1/4 cup chopped walnuts

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 F. Spray a 9 x 13 baking dish with cooking spray. place cut fruit in the bottom and sprinkle with sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, ginger and lemon zest.  Mix well and set aside.

Combine oats, flour sugar and cinnamon in a bowl, add melted butter and mix it all up. Sprinkle the topping over the fruits and cover evenly.

Bake for about 30 minutes, until the fruit is cooked through.

Makes 8 servings:

210 calories
4g fat
3g protein
48g carbs
5g fibre




Tuesday, December 27, 2011

Scrapbooking Evening

There's is nothing more relaxing and enjoyable than a scrapbooking evening with my friend Nancy. We try to scrapbook together once a month. We take turns hosting each other and preparing a little drink and snack for the other. It used to be alcoholic concoctions- like Fancy Nancy's and dips. But now Nancy supports my new healthy lifestyle and so we are doing 'healthier' snacks and drinks. It's really all about the scrapbooking anyways.



Teas, Berries, Homemade Healthy Christmas cookies- Orange Ginger cookies and Almond, Cranberry and dark chocolate bites.

We love papers..
stickers...   

See, Nancy loves stickers, doubles in fact... she is making double scrapbooks ... one for each son.



I am making one for my little Melanie. Title page that took me about 4 hours to make.



Cutting, punching....



Journaling...



Et voila, Nancy's finished page.



And mine... Melanie's first Niagara Falls trip.



... and her 5th Birthday... oh the memories!!!





Monday, December 26, 2011

Celebration!

My dad turned 70 something (who knows, it might be private) this December so we celebrated with him at his favourite Steak joint- Montana's. He's had a tough year- health-wise- he's on the mend, so this brithday was a blessing.... so much to be grateful for!

First to my parents home for a little gift unwrapping...


Big hugs from Julie (my pregnant sister).


The Chief Moose with his Birthday Beer!


 Two other crazy moose from the Halliday family.


3 civilized ladies without any antlers on their ears!!!


We all did some pretty drawings, writing our fake names and age on them so that we could be entered into the colouring contest. 


This was my dad's crayon drawing on the table. I don't think I have ever seen him draw anything. So this was his ode to Christmas, a pine tree and a bunny???


Ok finally, you wonder what I had for dinner. Well, so often in restaurants you don't know how things are prepared, sauces, fried, etc... So I decided to have a delicious steak- which was so good- baked potato with butter on the side (only ate half) and a salad with baslamic dressing on the side. Pretty sensible meal I would say.  Thanks Mom and Dad!



Sunday, December 25, 2011

Crafty Christmas- Merry Christmas Trees

Merry Christmas to all and may all futures be calm and bright!

I thought I would share with you an entry about Crafts instead of food. You might all be sick of food at this point.  But wait until I share my mother and I's Healthier Christmas Eve and Christmas Dinner Fair.

This is an idea I got from another blogger. http://mylifeandkids.com/2011/11/ho-ho-holidays-mod-podge-christmas-trees.html . You use scrapbooking paper, mod podge and a blank canvas (we got ours at Dollarama).

So Melanie and I gave it a try and really liked how they turned out. We made 3 for our home and a few as gifts too!


Here's my first try. I stuck with red  for Christmas.



Here's Melanie's try, she used lighter brighter papers and it turned out beautiful.



And then I loved them so much I made 3 more for my other wall, 1 tree per canvas...

Saturday, December 24, 2011

Amazing Adventure- Christmas Lights

Well it's Christmas Eve, so I thought I would share with you some festive lights. Last weekend my daughter, mother and I all went to see the pretty lights at the Burlington Waterfront. We went on an Amazing Adventure to the Lakeside Festival of Lights.


It was a night time adventure, and it was COLD!!!! -14 degrees with the windchill. We froze our legs/fingers and toes off! We suffered from the 'Redess', a term my sister and I coined when we used to downhill ski back in the day. It's when the 'fat' on your legs or any other part of your body gets really cold and then doesn't thaw for a real long time. Fat freezes and stays cold for a real long time. Well let me tell you... so do your fingers when you try and take so many pictures for our blog! It's all worth it!



Melanie and I in front of the Eiffel Tower.


Frozen Melanie and mom in front of a lamp post.


Melanie and the giraffes.


In front of a pretty tree.


Here's the full view of the tree.


And a close up of Melanie and I.


We finished up the evening with a nice 'WARM' dinner. We went to Kelsey's where I had several cups of hot coffee (I wished I could have poured it over my really cold legs)  and then a warm sizzling Chicken Fajita....  A healthier choice at this type of restaurant. I loaded each tortilla with tons of veggies and chicken and made 3 of them.



Friday, December 23, 2011

Christmas Baking- Deep Dark Chocolate Cookies



Deep Dark Chocolate Cookies (divine-baking.com)
Holy Cow! These are the most deep, rich, dark tasting chocolate cookies I have ever made. I bought a large organic bitter sweet chocolate bar and chopped it up and boy, let me tell you, it was absolutely decadent. Dark chocolate virgins, beware!!!


Ingredients:
Nonstick vegetable oil spray
1 1/2 cups bittersweet chocolate chips (about 9 ounces), divided
3 large egg whites, room temperature
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar, divided (I used 2 cups)
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt
Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray 2 large baking sheets with nonstick spray. Melt 1 cup chocolate chips in glass bowl in microwave, stirring twice, about 2 minutes. Cool slightly.
Using electric mixer, beat whites in large bowl to soft peaks. Gradually beat in 1 (I halved the sugar here) cup sugar. Continue beating until mixture resembles soft marshmallow creme. Whisk 1 cup sugar, cocoa, cornstarch, and salt in medium bowl to blend. On low speed, beat dry ingredients into meringue. Stir in lukewarm chocolate and 1/2 cup chocolate chips (dough will become very stiff).
Place 1/2 cup sugar in bowl. Roll 1 rounded tablespoon dough into ball; roll in sugar, coating thickly. Place on prepared sheet. Repeat with remaining dough, spacing 2 inches apart. Bake until puffed and tops crack, about 10 minutes. Cool on sheets on rack 10 minutes. Transfer to rack; cool.
Yield: Makes about 24
Nutrional Information:
83 calories
15g carbs
3g fat
 1g protein
 2g fibre
12g sugar (look laila, I added the sugar content for you)


Thursday, December 22, 2011

Christmas Baking- Low Fat Gingerbread Cookies

Low Fat Gingerbread Cookies (http://www.skinnytaste.com/)
This recipe makes soft gingerbreads. Not the kind that break your teeth.

Here's the final picture. I call them Gingerbread Freaks because my icing piping skills kind of 'suck' and they all look a little freaky!


I made the dough the night before, so the next morning Mella and I had to pick a shape... what to choose....



She was such a helpful little elf with these cookies. Rolling the dough...



Cutting out the cookies... we chose the tradtional gingerbread man shape and a little teddy bear too.



After I had a piping nightmare, Mella tried to make them a little prettier with a few little sprinkles.

  
Ingredients:
3 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 egg
1/3 cup dark molasses
3 cups all-purpose flour plus more for dusting
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp allspice
1/4 tsp ground cloves
For the Icing:
1 1/2 tbsp egg whites
1/4 tsp fresh lemon juice
1 cup powdered sugar
pinch of cream of tartar
Directions:
For the cookies:
In a large mixing bowl, Beat the butter, sugar and applesauce until smooth.  Add the egg and molasses, mix well. In another large bowl, combine flour, baking soda and spices. Add to sugar and molasses mixture, stirring well. Divide the dough into two flat balls; cover with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours.
Preheat oven to 350°F. Generously dust the surface of your working area with flour before rolling out the dough. Work with one ball of dough at a time, keep the other refrigerated while you do so.
 Roll the dough out to 1/4 or 1/8-inch thickness, sprinkle a little flour on top of the dough if it's a little sticky. Cut the gingerbread with a cookie cutter shape of your choice. Place cookies 1 or 2 inches apart on a silpat-lined baking sheet.  Bake 10-12 minutes.
For the icing:
Mix the egg whites with lemon juice.  Combine with powdered sugar, mixing well. If the icing is too thin, add more powdered sugar, if it's too thick add a drop of lemon juice.  Add to a piping bag to decorate cookies when cookies are cooled.
Servings:48
Calories: 66.2 , Fat:0.8 g, Carb: 14.9 g , Fiber:0.1 g , Protein:0.9 g , Sugar: 8.5 g 
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