st. paddy’s day green monster dip

Posted on March 6, 2013 by Gabby @ the veggie nook

It’s almost that time of year again! When the entire world is Irish for a day, when drinking at 11 am becomes acceptable and green becomes the new black (or whatever colour is in style). St. Paddy’s Day!!

I was never a huge fan of the holiday until living in Ireland for a while. Now this day fills me with nostalgia for the beautiful country, amazing people and life-changing experiences I had while I was there. I can’t help but celebrate, even if all that means is eating some green food.

This is also a nutritionist’s dream holiday! One day of the year when everyone endeavours to get more green on their plate- what an amazing opportunity to get people to choose green whole foods like spinach, kale, avocados and spirulina! I know many people often end up simply adding green food dye to their dishes, but let’s kick things up a notch this year shall we? Let’s infuse real nutrition AND a fun green colour to our food!

I have a couple green dishes planned, but I’ll kick-off with this super green dip that also doubles as a delicious pasta sauce or sandwich/wrap filling.

I used avocado and parsley to help give it a greenish tinge, but also upped the ante with the addition of a greens powder. The greens powder is totally optional though and you will still have a green dip without it!

This dip has tons of flavour from the lemon, parsley and dill and is packed with fiber and healthy fats from the chickpeas and avocado. It’s creamy and delicious and would be a welcome addition to any packed lunch or even as a snack on a St. Paddy’s Day party table. I mean, you need some nutrition and fuel to keep that all day drinking going right?

And while we’re on the subject of drinking, make sure to check out the site barnivore.com to help you source vegan, cruelty-free brews, wines and cocktails to help make your St. Patrick’s day ever more wonderful! There are also apps for your pub-crawling convenience!

St. Paddy’s Day Green Monster Dip (Vegan, Gluten-free, Sugar-free)

Ingredients (~ 2 cups)

1 avocado, pitted and peeled
1 1/2-2 cups chickpeas
1/4 cup fresh parsley
2 tbsp olive oil (or hemp oil for an even greener dip!)
juice and zest of 1 lemon
1-2 tsp dill (I love dill so I added 2)
1 scoop greens powder, optional (I used Oriya Organics)
sea salt and pepper to taste
water if needed for blending

Instructions

Process all ingredients in a food processor until smooth. Taste and add salt and pepper to taste. Feel free to add a little water to help it get smooth if needed.

Garnish with fresh parsley and serve.

In other news, I have become OBSESSED with Instagram lately! It's such a fun way to share beautiful images, inspiration and delicious eats with friends and followers! I have had it for ages, but only recently really started using it.

one of my favourite pics I've instragrammed lately! chickpea flour pancakes with pineapple sauce. YUM!

I'd love it if you'd all follow me @gabbyouimet and if you have an account I'd love to follow you back! Leave me a comment with your username and I will!

Does anyone else get as excited for St. Patrick’s Day as I do?

Does anyone else get as much amusement from apps and social media sites becoming verbs as I do? Instagrammed, facebooked, tweeted, pinned…our own modern language ;)

Have a wonderful Wednesday everyone!

healthy in a hurry: sunflower date bites

Posted on December 3, 2012 by Gabby @ the veggie nook

happy monday everyone!

did you all have nice weekends? my weekend was a mix of busy work and stress as well as lovely times spent with friends. sometimes amidst life’s hectic pace you have to force it to stop by taking time out to breathe, take a break and just enjoy what’s around you. this weekend’s adventures included going to the distillery district’s christmas market to get in the spirit (which i conveniently live 5 minutes from- you can bet i will be going a few more times before it’s over) and heading to a jazz club (the rex) for some wine and good conversation. i really needed the time to just tune out from school and all the stress. it’s a good thing i did too because this week is going to be busy!

christmas market courtesy of my roommate, corrine. isn’t it adorable? the distillery is this great little historic corner of toronto with specialty stores and great coffee. for the christmas market loads of stalls selling christmas-y wares are set up with a merry-go-round, beer tents, pony-rides and a huge christmas tree. i love it!

when life gets crazy, you can never have too many snacks lying around. since starting back up in school i have been a raw “bites” fanatic. seriously, i always have something like this in the fridge/freezer, sometimes multiple types and no combination is ever the same. they are just so portable, tasty and filling that you really can’t go wrong!

these are actually bites i made ages ago. my one’s lately have been date-free versions since the no sugar challenge i’ve been embarking on doesn’t allow for fruit, including dates. i will post a recipe for one of those ones soon. but for now, i will give you this super simple, nut-free date bite that is so simple and delicious, you’ll wonder why you ever buy store bought bars!

when choosing ingredients for these sunflower date bites, i wanted to keep them simple to all the individual ingredients would shine. sometimes i find i throw so many ingredients in, it’s kind of hard to distinguish what’s in them. don’t get me wrong, they always taste good, but i was craving a simpler, fuss-free free bite and these delivered.

plus bonus for those people who are allergic to nuts, these use sunflower seeds and sunflower butter for a delicious nut-free snack. if you are ok with nuts though, feel free to replace the seeds and/or butter with the nut of your choice. they will still be delicious!

these only take a few minutes to make so they are great for people in a rush. they travel easily and can be stored in the fridge or freezer, so you’ll always have a snack handy!

sunflower date bites (vegan, gluten-free, sugar-free, raw)

ingredients

1 cup sunflower seeds
1/2 cup dates
3 tbsp sunflower seed butter
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp cinnamon
pinch sea salt
2 tbsp water

instructions

first process the seeds in a food processor until in small pieces, then add everything except the water and process until the dates are broken down. then add the water and process until you have a sticky dough. roll into balls and store in the fridge!

and speaking of needing to remember to take a break, i wanted to share this great graphic on the importance of doing just that. part of being a student means spending a lot more time than i'd like sitting- sitting in class then sitting studying at home. people with office jobs face the same problem. but we’d all be much happier, healthier and more successful if we just took time to breathe every once in a while and got up from our chairs. i have trouble doing this, but i’m always striving to find the balance that will let me!

Take A Break

thanks for this amazing graphic kayla!

have a lovely week everyone!

sweet potato pecan granola

Posted on November 19, 2012 by Gabby @ the veggie nook

in my non-foodie world, my favourite colours are kind of bland. i am always a little embarrassed to admit to people that my favourite colour is charcoal. i mean really, charcoal? how dull can you get? followed by deep forest green and deep blue, there’s not too much excitement there. sereneness, peacefulness and calmness, yes. but excitement? no way.

but something changes in the autumn. i become completely enamoured by the colour orange. loud and in your face, yet warm and comforting orange. the colour of the leaves as they fall of the trees, the faces of the pumpkins carved into jackolanterns, and the insides of my favourite fall produce- squash and sweet potatoes. when you see the colour orange in these foods, it holds the promise of rich sweet flavour, warming you inside out, providing a satisfying, hearty meal or snack. in short, in my foodie world, it promises bliss :)

i don’t think this is a coincidence either. sweet potatoes are rich in fiber helping to fill you up and keep you full. loaded with antioxidants like vitamin C and beta-carotene, they help keep our skin, hair and bones healthy and protect our eyesight. beta-carotene is also really important for growth and helps reduce inflammation. rich it vitamin b6 and folate, sweet potatoes and squash contribute to your body’s production of serotonin, helping to elevate your mood. so not only do these orange beauties keep your body feeling good, they keep you happy too!

i know i’ve been posting a lot of recipes with squash lately, but i hope you’re not sick of that flavour profile yet. because this sweet potato pecan granola is seriously out of this world! i ate almost the entire batch in 2 days and literally had to force myself to not eat the last bowl so i could snap pictures of it in good daylight. it’s one of those recipes that makes you wonder how any commercially produced granola ever sells. why would anyone buy something in a box that is so amazing when made at home?

i paired the earthy sweetness of the sweet potato with decadently sweet pecans and dates and a little maple syrup to tie the whole thing together. this granola is amazing just eaten on its own or sprinkled on vegan ice cream, smoothies or with some apple and milk. no matter how you eat your granola, this one will be a winner, and it’s so seasonally appropriate!

sweet potato pecan granola (vegan, gluten-free, refined sugar-free)

ingredients (~4 1/2 cups)

dry

3 cups rolled oats
1 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup chopped dates (i used california dates, sweeter and not as soft as medjool)
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp sea salt

wet

2/3 cup mashed sweet potato (bake it to get a caramelized, deep sweet flavour instead of steaming/boiling)
1/4 cup maple syrup (coconut nectar or brown rice syrup could work)
1/4 cup coconut sugar (or sucanat or date sugar)
1 tbsp coconut oil, melted

instructions

preheat oven to 250f*.

combine all dry ingredients in a large bowl.

combine the wet ingredients in a separate bowl and mix into the dry.

bake for about 1 1/2 hours, until desired crunchiness.

*i like to bake my granolas at low temperature to protect the fats in the nuts. but if in a hurry, try 350f for 30 min or so!

and in case orange deliciousness for breakfast wasn’t enough, why not try some kabocha almond patties for lunch, pumpkin chocolate chip muffins for a snack and some sweet and savoury acorn squash for dessert?

i'm sharing this recipe on allergy-free wednesdays and wellness weekends!

hope you all have wonderful weeks bursting with bright colours and delicious flavours :)

pumpkin oatmeal chocolate chip muffins

Posted on October 29, 2012 by Gabby @ the veggie nook

happy monday everyone! i hope you all had lovely weekends and are feeling ready to take on the week. i worked all weekend but somehow managed to be productive and have some fun, so it was definitely solid.

i’ve been resisting posting too many pumpkin recipes, or even making too many. that’s why this year i limited myself to one can of pumpkin. one can means fewer pumpkin creations and less pumpkin goodness, yes, but it also means i have to eat less of them which is a good thing. i swear sometimes having a blog makes me eat so much more than i should! i make full-sized recipes, which only i end up eating, leading to so much food! needless to say i eat more sweets than i should ;)

so when faced with 1/2 a can of pumpkin left after making my no-bake pumpkin mousse cake on thanksgiving, i decided muffins would be the perfect treat to make. not only are pumpkin muffins one of my favourites, but muffins freeze so well! meaning i could freeze most of the batch and not feel obligated to eat the entire batch within a week.

i made these at my parent’s house so the ingredients were made up of things i had left there after moving and wanted to use up. using what’s available forces you to get a little creative and these turned out so well, you would never be able to tell i was just trying to “clear pantry space” for my parents.

that being said, they have significantly more pantry space now than when i lived there. i guess not having to stock gluten-free flours and pasta in addition to their gluten-filled versions as well as ridiculous quantities of sunwarrior protein powders, chia seeds and various other superfoods helps too. there was space, something i’m seriously lacking in my new place. not that i’m complaining- can one really have too many superfoods ;)

holy side-tracked. back to the muffins- these muffins are delicious, healthy and sweet, everything you would want in a muffin. they aren’t gluten-free since i used some of my favourite kingston-local whole grain spelt flour to make them, but i bet you could substitute your favourite gluten-free blend with good results!

if you can have some gluten though, there are lots of reasons why spelt flour is a delicious and healthful alternative to wheat flour:

deep nutty flavour that works really well in baked goods
low in gluten
has a broader spectrum of nutrients compared to more inbred grains
excellent source of vitamin b2 manganese, copper and zinc

higher in protein then wheat
easier to digest than wheat- the gluten in spelt is water-soluble unlike wheat gluten which does not break down in water. this means it is degraded by heat and easily broken down by mixing action- this means chewing easily breaks down the gluten which allows your digestive enzymes and juices to work on the surface of the food. wheat forms a bolus in the digestive system, making it difficult to digest
the water-solubleness also makes spelt nice to bake with- no danger of over-mixing!
fewer digestive and inflammatory issues than with what- easier to digest and doesn’t contain some of the enzyme inhibitors wheat does which prevent complete digestion

so give spelt flour a try! you many find you feel better when eating it for many reasons above. plus it’s pretty darn delicious. bonus points for fresh-ground local spelt!

these make a great breakfast on-the-go or snack. especially tasty warm and spread with coconut oil/butter!

pumpkin oatmeal chocolate chip muffins (vegan, wheat-free, refined sugar-free)

inspired by these cinnamon pumpkin muffins from healthy happy life.

ingredients (12 muffins)

dry

1 3/4 cup whole spelt flour
3/4 cup rolled oats
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp salt

wet

1 1/2 cups + 2 tbsp pumpkin puree
2 tbsp water
1/3 cup maple syrup
3 tbsp coconut oil, melted
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 flax egg (1 tbsp ground flax + 3 tbsp water, mixed well and set aside to gel)
1 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup chocolate chips

instructions

preheat the over to 350f. grease a 12 muffin tin, or use muffin liners.

mix all the dry ingredients in a large bowl and all the wet ingredients in a medium bowl. add the wet to the dry and mix until combined. fold in the chocolate chips.

spoon into prepared muffin tins and bake for 22 minutes, until golden brown and knife inserted comes out clean!