Pot Luck Lunch... My luck, everyone's a healthy eater

Recently we had a poluck lunch at our office to say farewell to one of our colleagues. My luck, everyone (well almost) brought healhty food for us to share.

I brought some deviled eggs  (recipe coming soon). You like my retro '60s Egg Holder Plate? Thanks to my mother-in-law's hand me down....they were the talk of the town...I think it made them taste even better.

Here's my colleague Iain standing above his sweet contribution (Italian bake shop cookies)- he can't wait to dig in! I also bought some of my Oatmeal Raspberry Almond Bars- they were a hit!

We had a Mediteranean Pasta Salad and Quinoa Salad.

Some Asian green beans and Pear, Almond and Walnut Salad.

I think most impressive goes to my colleague Susie who rolled her own Sushi. These are all vegetarian and really fresh and delicious.

So when faced with so many choices at the Potluck lunch table, I had to make smart choices. I knew my favourites were the deviled eggs and the vegetarian sushi rolls- so I had to allow for those. Then I made lots of room for veggies- salad, quinoa salad and green beans, and out of the Meditaraneon salad I picked mostly the veggies out. I wanted to try these delicious proteins too... BBQ meatballs and Asian stewed beef. That's my plate... I didn't go back for more- I had tasted everything I wanted to. What a delicious lunch to share with my colleagues!

Hawaiian Pizza Night

As you may know, Friday night is homemade pizza night at my house. Well, lately, I have wanted to shake it up (you know that it has been almost 7 months of Friday Night Pizza!). So let me introduce you to my newest creation. Hawaiian Naan Pizza!

That's right, I said Naan. What a great substitute for whole wheat pita bread. It may not be as nutritious as the pita, but it's a nice change up.

Hawaiian Naan Pizza (serves 3 people)

Ingredients:

2 Naan bread ( I used the Blue Menu variety)

3-4 Tbsp of pizza sauce

3-4 slices of sliced ham cut into little cubes

1 cup of chopped pineapple - fresh or canned

1 1/2 cup of part skim mozzarella

Place the Naan on a cookie sheet, spread the pizza sauce over the Naan, then add the ham (keep a bit for the top). Add the cheese, then pineapple and remaining ham.

Bake at 425 for about 15 minutes, until the cheese is melted and gooey.

That's it! Of course you could add whatever you like, I might try chicken and hot peppers with the pineapple next time... nice, eh?

Bronte Cafe and Amazing Adventure

I had the extreme pleasure of having a little breakfast date with my dear friend Robin and her little man. He is such a big boy now. Check out below and see for yourself!

She introduced me to this lovely Cafe in Bronte. It's hidden away in a little strip mall with other little restaurants and delis and it really was such a great find. It's called CJ's Cafe and you really must try it! http://www.cjscafeinbronte.com/

This litte Cafe is the Creative Heart of Bronte Coffee – Music – Art – Food as their website and their door advertises. I just loved the food, the atmosphere and the art! What a great concept. As the website mentions “Not Just a Pretty Place…” CJ’s Café in Bronte is Helping the Planet and Your Body to Be Healthier". They focus on sustainability and healthy, wholesome, 'real' ingredients. I dig it!

Here's my little friend, smiling his big boy smurk. He has a lot fire in him and his eyes just show it!

Standing on the chairs and showing me his little 'Rascal' shirt- so appropriate! And look at the nice artwork hanging behind him on the wall.

Helping mommy stir her Cafe Latte.

Don't you love Robin's shirt, Jama on the front and ica on the back!

Mella had a nice egg, bacon, cheddar, lettuce wrap. She quite liked it!

I had the fluffiest scrambled egg on a whole wheat bagel. Really delicious and fresh.

Yup, we liked it!

Here was the adventure part- braving the elements- we went for a walk along the water... it was really windy, so we were slightly under dressed.

We found a great park where Mella and our little boyfriend had so much fun, he sure was a busy boy... I don't know how Robin does it!

Yes I do.... she just smiles and thanks the Universe for such an amazing blessing!

Oatmeal Raspberry Almond Bars ... shared with many

I made a big batch of these squares and loved everyone's comments. I brought them to work (more details on that), brought them to my sister's and shared them on Scrapbooking Night. They were a hit! It's not a 'low fat' recipe, but I cut the squares small enough that you could enjoy one as a snack.

Raspberry Almond Bars (adapted from http://www.robinhood.ca/Recipe-details.aspx?rid=2716)

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups (375 mL) ROBIN HOOD® or OLD MILL® Oats

1 1/2 cups (375 mL) ROBIN HOOD® All Purpose Whole Wheat Flour

1 tsp (5 mL) baking powder

1/4 tsp (1 mL) salt

1 cup (250 mL) brown sugar, packed

3/4 cup (175 mL) butter, melted

3/4 cup Raspberry Jam ( I used the Triple Fruit, no sugar added)

1/2 cup (125 mL) sliced almonds

 Directions:

1. COMBINE flour, baking powder, salt and brown sugar in mixing bowl. Stir well to blend. Stir in oats. Stir in melted butter.

2. PRESS about 2/3 of crumb mixture into lightly greased 9" x 9" (3.5 L) cake pan. Spread with raspberry jam.

3. ADD almonds to remaining crumb mixture and sprinkle over jam. Pat down lightly.

4. BAKE at 350 F for 25-30 minutes or until golden. Cool. Cut into bars. Just before serving, sprinkle with icing sugar, if desired.

I cut them into 49 little squares (7 x 7) because these are not low fat, but filled with whole wheat and oats.

Nutritional Information per square: 76 calories, 10g carbs, 4g fat, 1g protein, 1g fibre, 1 g sugar

3 weeks after giving birth, my incredible sister invited me for lunch- impressive, right?  I am so grateful that I work only 5 minutes from her home. She had made this little spread for us, so I brought some of these yummy squares to say thank you!

Stephanie wasn't in the mood for lunch, so she just napped.

Well, I couldn't go visit without hugging and kissing her... it was so hard to leave and go back to work after lunch. The only form of comfort was that I had her little baby smell (a combination diaper wipes and Ivory Snow) all over me when I was back at work.

Turkey BBQ Sloppy Joes- Champion dinner

This is a Champion dinner because 1- Brent can make it quick on those busy weeknights when I get home from work late and 2- Everyone loves it!!!!I asked Brent to take some ground turkey and BBQ sauce and cook it all with a bit of chopped pepper for crunch. We just serve it with a salad for a delicious dinner without any leftovers.

Turkey BBQ Sloppy Joes (serves 4)

Ingredients:

1lb ground turkey

1/2 cup of your favourite BBQ sauce

1/2 sweet pepper chopped fine

4 whole wheat hamburger buns

Directions:

Brown your turkey meat, add salt and pepper to taste, once it is no longer pink, add the chopped peppers and the BBQ sauce to the pan and cook for a few more minutes until the sauce has warmed through.

Warm your buns and then spoon 1/4 of the mixture onto the bun. That's all!

Nutritional information: (1 sandwich with turkey and bun)

261 calories

30g carbs

10g fat

17g protein

4g fibre

5g sugar

Best Easter Ever with a new baby- Part 3

Wow, after yesterday's amazing Easter Egg Hunt/Disney Vacation Surprise, how could I possibly have any better stories to share about Easter? Well, I do! This is the first Easter for my little niece Stephanie. What an awesome blessed event! We got to share and afternoon and dinner with all my family (minus my brother's ... hoping to do that this summer) on Easter Sunday.

We brought my folks some sweet Easter Flowers.

I made Melanie a little bag of Easter funnies... these Easter Bunny masks were part of it... so like the festive person that I am, I made everyone wear them and captured their Easter Joy!

Barrie and Julie.

Daddy and Mommy bunny.

and little Stephanie... she still has to grow into them though!

We gave Stepanie a little pink Easter bunny- how cute that it's almost as big as her!

Uncle Brent holding her wearing her First Easter Bunny bib.

Julie thought it would be nice to take photos with this sweet little dress one of our American cousins sent for her. So we dressed her up.... all girly and proper- all that's missin is the little matching headband with a bow on it.  

Stephanie seemed to like the photo shoot.... she just might be a 'girly-girl' one day!

We quickly put her back into her pj's and I think that made her Daddy happy... he likes the casual look! And here is my Daddy carving the delicious Easter Ham.

Pretty Spring Colours.

Here's my Easter Dinner plate. Some great ham, a bit of corn, mashed potato and delicious green beans and red pepper stirfry with cashews. My mother did such a nice job... as usual!

My sister and I think alike, we both brought pretty flowers for my mom. I made 2 'light' deserts. Lemon-Scented Blueberry cupcakes and those Birds Nests I blogged about a few days ago.

These cupcakes were delicious, the light cream cheese icing was delicious and tangy- I doubled the amount of lemon rind and lemon juice. Next time, I would add lemon juice in the cupcakes for more of a lemony taste.  I used festive Easter cupcake holders and little chick toothpicks too! These are a treat dessert at 236 calories each- but it's made with good wholesome ingredients and blueberries which are full of antioxidants.

Lemon-Scented Blueberry Cupcakes (cookinglight.com)

YIELD: 1 dozen (serving size: 1 cupcake)

Ingredients:

Cupcakes:

1 1/2 cups (about 6 3/4 ounces) plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour, divided

10 tablespoons granulated sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 cup butter, melted

1 large egg

1/2 cup low-fat buttermilk

1/2 cup 2% reduced-fat milk

1 teaspoon grated lemon rind

3/4 cup fresh or frozen blueberries, thawed

Frosting:

1/4 cup (2 ounces) 1/3-less-fat cream cheese, softened

2 tablespoons butter, softened

1 teaspoon grated lemon rind

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/8 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar, sifted

2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

Fresh blueberries (optional)

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350°.

Place 12 decorative paper muffin cup liners into muffin cups.

To prepare cupcakes, lightly spoon 1 1/2 cups flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Measure 1 tablespoon flour; level with a knife. Sift together 1 1/2 cups flour plus 1 tablespoon flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and baking soda in a large bowl. Combine melted butter and egg in another large bowl; stir with a whisk. Add buttermilk, milk, and 1 teaspoon rind to butter mixture; stir with a whisk. Add buttermilk mixture to flour mixture, stirring just until moist. Toss blueberries with remaining 1 tablespoon flour. Fold blueberries into batter. Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups. Bake at 350° for 25 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan 5 minutes on a wire rack; remove from pan. Cool completely on wire rack.

To prepare frosting, place cream cheese, 2 tablespoons butter, 1 teaspoon rind, vanilla, and 1/8 teaspoon salt in a bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed just until blended. Gradually add powdered sugar (do not overbeat). Stir in juice. Spread frosting evenly over cupcakes; garnish with blueberries, if desired. Store, covered, in refrigerator.

Nutritional Information (for one cupcake):

Calories: 236, Fat: 7.7g, Protein: 3.7g, Carbohydrate: 38.7g, Fiber: 0.7g



Best Easter Weekend Ever- Part 2

Even though Melanie told me she doesn't believe in the Easter Bunny anymore, she told me that she wanted to have an Easter Egg hunt, little did she know what we had planned for her. The best hunt of her young life.We were planning a summer vacation - maybe Quebec we were thinking, then I worked out the financial details and found that we could go to Disney World for just a few couple hundred dollars more.... We would drive down in the summertime for a week. Melanie had no clue... so when I got wind of a sale on the Meal Plan at Disney World and with the advice of friends who had already been there, I booked a Disney World Resort all-inclusive vacation for the last week of August which happens to be Melanie's birthday week.  I was dying to tell her, and when would be the best time... well, on one of my shopping trips to Walmart I found a beautiful Minnie Mouse watch- I decided I would hide it in a big egg and that she would figure it out and then freak out... Well I never expected to see such love!

Brent hid a series of eggs with clues.

Each clue had a Disney hint... but Melanie had no idea.

Clue 1 and 2 about Adventure and Aristocats.

Clue 1- basement.

Clue 2- in the cat bed.

Clue 3 and 4 about a Mouse and Mighty Ducks.

Clue 3- under the sink.

Clue 4- on the bench.

Clue 5 and 6 about Yoda and the Wicked Witch.

Clue 5- on top of the Star Wars Movies.

Clue 6- in front of the mirror.

Here is Clue 7... the watch in the big egg... making all her wishes come true.

But the best thing ever was when Melanie found the egg and the watch.... opened the special package and her reaction made all of us cry, including herself. Watch for yourself and see if you can keep a dry eye.

It was the best reaction of absolute love and appreciation. Melanie's wish has come true. She is going to Disney World.