The Makings of an Incredibly Delicious Detox Salad Meal - Tools of the 'Veggie' Trade

Let me share with you a meal I recently made for my family, filled with healthy veggies, fruits and tons of nutrients. Turkey, ham and pineapple burger with Detox salad and homemade oven roasted fries- prepared with some great little kitchen tools.

Looks gorgeous right? You eat with your eyes, so here is a great way to make your meals exciting, ADD COLOUR and TEXTURE. In this meal, we have all the colours of the rainbow, crunchy, zingy, crispy, soft and juicy. And the flavours.... bright, tangy salad, crispy outside, tender inside oven roasted fries and smokey turkey burger with slightly salty ham and crunchy, sweet, roasted pineapple. Let me tell you, it was a huge hit with my family!

Here's how I did it.  Started with the washed veggies...

Brussel Sprouts and Potatoes.

Now here is a sweet little tool of the veggie trade that we just love. It's a little 'french fry' maker.

See what it does. You just need to apply a bit, no- a lot-  of pressure. Use those big muscles- and voila! Some gorgeous French Fries ready to be created.

This is how I prep them... Put oven to 430 degrees, spray a sheet pan with Pam, put your cut potatoes (yukon golds are good) on the pan, drizzle some olive oil, salt, pepper and paprika on them and then toss them with your hands until they are all coated. Make sure there is space between them, if the pan is too crowded, they will not crisp up.  Bake for about 20 minutes, then flip them and bake for another 10-15 minutes.

Now here's another neat tool (by the way, thanks to my Mom for these two lovely gadgets). It's a shredder, but it stands up, and the bottom has a little receptacle basket that holds the food you just shredded.

It comes with different blade attachments that you snap into place.

I used it to shred these baby brussel sprouts and shred some carrots too.

Here's the awesome detox salad created using my nifty kitchen gadgets. It's incredibly refreshing, bright and real good for you. I absolutely love the lemon juice!!!

Detox Salad (adapted from http://www.tastebook.com/recipes/3540122-Fall-Detox-Salad)

Ingredients:

• 18-20  brussels sprouts, washed and stems removed
• 2 large carrots carrots, peeled
• 1 apple, diced (I used Honeycrisp)
• 1 large celery stalk, diced
• 1/2 cup sunflower seeds
• 4-6 tbsp raisins
• 2-4 tbsp fresh lemon juice, to taste
• 1/4 tsp fine grain sea salt
• 1 tsp fresh parsley
• Pure liquid honey, to taste

Directions

1. Add the grate/shred blade to food processor. Turn machine on and drop in the brussels sprouts to shred. Now drop in the carrots to shred. Alternatively, you can finely chop brussels and shred carrots with a hand-held grater. Transfer to a large mixing bowl.

2. Stir in the diced apple, celery, sunflower seeds, and raisins into the carrot and brussels sprout mixture.

3. Add lemon juice, salt, pepper, and parsley to taste. Add a small amount of honey (about 1 Tbsp) to take the edge off the lemon juice. Sprinkle with cinnamon if desired. 

Zucchini Boats - Healthified 'No Pasta' Italian Dinner

Get ready for a fresh and 'healthified' way to enjoy a delicious Italian meal. Still on my 'half your plate should be vegetables' kick, I was looking for a healthy alternative, yet flavourful substitute. Well, I think I found it. Zucchini Boats and Roasted Parmesan Cauliflower - no pasta invited to this dinner.

I found this great recipe through one of my favourite healthy websites skinnytaste.com.  I wanted to create an Italian meal so I adapted the recipe with Italian flavours. Added tomato sauce, oregano, garlic and basil instead of the Mexican ingredients listed below

Italian Stuffed Zucchini Boats 
(adapted from http://www.skinnytaste.com/2013/07/taco-stuffed-zucchini-boats.html)
Ingredients: 

• 4 medium (32 ounces) zucchinis, cut in half lengthwise

• 1 lb ground turkey

• 1 tsp garlic powder

• 1 tsp oregano

• 1 tsp kosher salt, or to taste

• 1 tsp basil

• 1/2 small onion, minced

• 2 tbsp bell pepper, minced

• 8 oz can tomato sauce

• 1/4 cup water

• 1/2 cup reduced fat Mozzarella shredded cheese

• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley for topping

Directions: 
Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Preheat oven to 400°F. Place 1/4 cup of tomato sauce in the bottom of a large baking dish. Using a small spoon or melon baller, hollow out the center of the zucchini halves, leaving 1/4-inch thick shell on each half. Chop the scooped out flesh of the zucchini in small pieces and set aside 3/4 of a cup to add to the turkey filling. Drop zucchini halves in boiling water and cook 1 minute. Remove from water.
Brown turkey in a large skillet, breaking up while it cooks. When no longer pink add the spices and mix well. Add the onion, bell pepper, reserved zucchini, tomato sauce and water. Stir and cover, simmer on low for about 20 minutes.

Using a spoon, fill the hollowed zucchini boats dividing the taco meat equally, about 1/3 cup in each, pressing firmly. Top each with 1 tablespoon of shredded cheese. Cover with foil and bake 35 minutes until cheese is melted and zucchini is cooked through. Top with scallions and serve with salsa on the side.

Next, I decided to roast some cauliflower, adding more veggies to our dinner again! I'm on a mission.



Here's what I did,

Roasted Parmesan Cauliflower

Ingredients:

• 1 head of cauliflower
• 2 Tbsp of extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese

Heat oven to 400 degrees. In a large bowl, combine the oil and spices. Chop the cauliflower into florets and add to the bowl. Place your coated cauliflower on a sheet pan and spread evenly in one layer. Bake for about 30 minutes.  Take the cauliflower out of the oven, flip the pieces over and sprinkle the Parmesan cheese on top. Bake for an additional 5-10 minutes until the cheese has melted.


Here you have them. They are soooooo good, just like eating candy... well, veggie candy!

Here are the Zuchinni boats out of the oven. Made the house smell so good!

Here's the best thing, 3/4 of our dinner was vegetables- no pasta needed- it was so delicious and flavourful and my family absolutely loved it. It's a new 5 Star family favourite and so good for you!

Thanksgiving- Giving thanks for Family and Fall

Finally, I have caught up with posting some photos of weeks past... It's OK to talk about Thanksgiving - the Americans still haven't had there's!
Let me share with you some moments of love, celebration, thankfulness and turkey!

A few weeks ago, we celebrated this special day at my parents' home. Their home was filled with turkey smells, spice and love. One lovely addition was this gorgeous and festive flower arrangement that adorned the center of our table. I just love the feeling fresh cut flowers give the room.

We had Grand-maman and grand-daughter love...(and some sleepy blank stares)

and sisterly love. What you see here is Julie and I sitting on the floor and me giving her a special sisterly back massage... we absolutely know exactly where to massage, how much pressure etc... this is a bit of heaven for us as we have realized over the years that our husbands may have a lot of great qualities, but massaging is NOT one of them. My sister-in-law Rebecca must be so happy! Just look at one of Julie's husband's many talents... photo bombing with his arm!

Here is the golden and juicy star of the show. I love turkey, and the best part is that after the meal, my dad and I roll up our sleeves and pretend we are surgeons and crack the bones and remove all the delicious left over meat. It's our 'thing'!

 

Here's my lovely protein rich plate with tons of turkey, green beans with cashews and red peppers, a little potato and a taste of stuffing. I am so thankful for the amazing family I have and the love and turkey we get to share!

Christmas Day- A review of love, celebration and food!

Christmas... Happy Birthday Jesus! At our home we celebrate real early (like I heard Melanie get up at 5:40am) with pyjamas, love and lots of coffee (for me)!!!!

 

Our one and only pride and joy- Melanie- gets spoiled rotten every year! We just can't help it. But she's all grown up now... no more 'toys' - it was board games, clothes and beauty stuff this year... my little girl is growing up! 

Showing off her Fuzzy hat with her fuzzy cat right behind her.

 

Brent showing off his Maple Leaf fuzzy dice... Melanie bought him that and bought me a candle with her own money this year... I tell you, she is growing up!

Mother-daughter pyjama wear. My new Old Navy pyjamas- I am so excited to have taken part in the exciting black Friday online shopping sales... the clothes fit me perfectly...oh, and thanks Brent for buying them for me. Yes, we are at the stage where I buy my own gifts and he, his and pretend they are from each other... well at least you get exactly what you want!

I love this Love frame that I got from Brent. I love LOVE! I can't wait to fing the perfect photos to full this lovely frame up!

Brent got a Patriots insulated beverage cup, just like he heavily hinted at.

This year we hosted his family for a casual Christmas Brunch. I set the table, Brent cooked lots of bacon and sausage and I had blueberry french toast soaking in the fridge overnight just waiting to bake for about 1 hour, when they arrived I just had to make 18 scrambled eggs!

Here we all are celebrating, Brent's mom, sister Helen and her boyfriend, niece Kiki and us. A Halliday Holiday Brunch. 

I love this fresh and bright picture of us on Christmas morn. We are at peace and in love.

The cousins and the gramma... they need to finish those eggs though!

 

OMG, can you believe how absolutely gorgeous this photo is? Stephanie the little Santa baby! Christmas afternoon we always get invited back to my parents for Christmas dinner. So we all put on our party wear and headed back. Stephanie was definitely the best dressed.

She's was trying to get familiar with the new traditions. Like this overflowing Christmas stocking that was all for her!!!!

 

It took some time, but she eventually reached out and wanted to unwrap her own presents.

She got real comfortable... and I mean, take off your pants real! She didn't even have any turkey yet and had to take off her pants. She just loves walking around too... just not with pants I guess.

Ok, I had to share my cheesy sweater with you. I got this sweater way back in 1998. It was cool then. and I have kept, hoping one day it would fit again. Well this year it did. Actually, it was too big! Dont' you just love how it matches my parents Christmas tree? Next year, it will be too big and will be gladly donated to Goodwill where a lucky person will find the deal of their life on this awesome creation. Did I mention that I got in Arizona at Marshalls?

Look at the cute mommy and baby playing with the creche and the characters. How sweet that the little baby decided to hold the little baby Jesus. Well, we all started sharing about how when we were kids we used to play with the characters too and someone's head would always break off and my Dad would get mad because he always had to re-glue them.

 

Well, scan to the next scene... Stephanie starts to pick other characters and starts to bang them together. Like mother like child... she broke Joseph's head off. What a proud family tradition moment. Look at Julie so happy and smily holding poor Joseph's head in her hand.

Next comes Turkey time! My mother always cooks a perfect turkey!

This year, Brent's mom joined us... yes, mom, you do have to wear the goofy hats through the whole dinner.

Here's my little plate. I was still suffering from the tail end of the flu so I was staying away from the vegetables and fruits- so this is why my plate was turkey and potato heavy! Brent's mom brought everyone a nice little box of Lindor. Sweet!

Warning, this is not a healthy recipe. But a celebration Pecan Pie. My mother made this most delicious pie with love. So I tried a very small piece- even eating just 1/16th of it, I couldn't believe how sweet it was. Just proving that I am so not used to it anymore- that's great, really!

Ok, last warning... another celebration desert- these are called Pet de Soeurs- you may ask... what does that mean? Nun's farts... nice, eh! These French Canadians come up with the weirdest stuff! It's leftover pie crust that you brush with butter and brown sugar and then cut in strips and roll and bake and  voila! Christmas comes only once a year folks, so enjoy the Nun Farts!



Mexican Turkey Soup

Try this on a cold wintery day. Mexican Turkey Soup!

I love cilantro, so I would put it on a shoe and eat it. So when I saw this recipe I just had to try it.

This was in a Glow magazine - I think it's a Shopper's Drug Mart publication. I was being lazy and just took a picture of the recipe. But it's real simple to do and delicious! Try it with other veggies if you want! Delish!

Comfort food 101- Lightened up baked pasta

This is one of my favourite go to meals... especially perfect on these colder Fall days. I call it Baked Pasta!

... but this version uses lighter ingredients and more vegetables, yummo!

This recipe is off the top of my head, so here goes....

Chantal's Baked Pasta Dish

1 box of whole grain pasta (penne or macaroni)

1 jar of organic pasta sauce

1 zucchini (shredded)

1 carrot (shredded)

1 tomato (chopped)

1 onion (chopped)

1 lb of ground turkey meat

1 cup of shredded mozzarella

Olive oil and Italian herbs

Directions:

Cook the onions in olive oil in a large pan, add the ground turkey and some oregano and basil and even some garlic powder. Once it's all browned up, add the vegetables and cook for another couple of minutes. Add the jar of pasta sauce and simmer for a couple of minutes.

In the meantime, boil the water for the pasta and cook it al dente.

In a 9x13 oven-proof dish, place the noodles and the meat sauce all in one and mix it around. Spread the shredded cheese on top and bake in a 350 degrees oven until the cheese bubbles- about 20 minutes.

Enjoy with a green salad for a nicely balanced meal.



BBQ Turkey Mini Meatloafs

A twist on a little old-time classic. BBQ petite turkey meatloafs.   They look pretty and when I saw the picture of the little meatloafs on Pinterest, I thought... hey maybe I'll get over the bad childhood memories of meatloaf.... I tried, I really did, it tasted good, but the consistency was still 'mushy'. Melanie couldn't handle the mushy, but Brent liked it and I had them and a few leftovers- that's what you do when you are a mom!

Here's the recipe. I found it on one of my favourite websites. Skinnytaste.com. So those of you who like the consistency of meatloaf, will like this for sure. The BBQ sauce and bacon make it taste real good- and the use of turkey really brings the calorie count down.

Bacon topped petite turkey meatloafs

(adapted from http://www.skinnytaste.com/2012/07/bacon-topped-petite-turkey-meatloaf.html)

3/4 cup grated zucchini, all moisture squeezed dry with paper towel

2 tbsp onion, minced

2 tbsp diced red pepper

1/2 cup seasoned breadcrumbs

1/4 cup BBQ Sauce

1 large egg

1 tsp smoked paprika

1 tsp kosher salt

1.3 lb raw 93% lean ground turkey

5 slices center cut bacon, cut in half

2 1/2 tbsp BBQ Sauce

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350°. Lightly spray a petite loaf pan with oil (if you don't have a petite loaf pan you could use a muffin tin).

In a large bowl, mix the zucchini, onion, red pepper, breadcrumbs, BBQ sauce, egg, paprika and salt. Add the turkey and combine until mixed through.

Create 5 equal loafs and place them into the loaf pan.

Place the 2 bacon halves over each loaf and top each with 1/2 tbsp additional BBQ sauce.

Bake about 25 minutes or until cooked through.

Servings: 5  Serving Size: 1 loaf

Calories: 259 • Fat: 10 g • Carbs: 17 g • Fiber: 1.2 g • Protein: 25 g • Sugar: 7.6 g

As you can see, I used my square brownie pan.

... et voila!