Caeser Salad

Ok. Another week has passed and people are still isolated inside keeping their distance from others. I made dinner yesterday. We had mini pizzas (they are super easy to make just grab some pitas, pizza sauce, your favorite toppings, and cheese and bake at 375 degrees for 12-15 minutes) and Caesar salad which was made with homemade fish free dressing. Today I will share with you that recipe so you can give it a try while you’re at home.

Fish Free Caesar Salad Dressing (for those with allergies)

You will need...

3-5 cloves of garlic

1 cup of mayonnaise

½ cup of shredded parmesan cheese

4 tbsp. of olive oil

1 tsp. of salt and 1 tsp. of pepper

2 tbsp. of lemon juice

Put all of the ingredients into the food processor and process for 1-2 minutes.

Put into an air tight container and refrigerate for at least an hour.

Toss it with Romaine lettuce, more parmesan cheese, and if you’d like, top with croutons. Add grilled chicken breast slices if you want more of a meal salad. 

Use the leftover dressing to dip fresh veggies in for a snack.

Green Smoothie

Only a couple of days before St. Patrick’s Day and we’re kind of sticking to our holiday theme and we’re going to look at healthy green smoothie recipes for this week’s post. As you remember, we did a heart healthy food list for Valentine’s Day.

Green smoothies are an ever popular trend. Some are very simple and some have lots of ingredients in them but they all are super healthy. Take a look and see our green smoothie guide that can help you create a drink to feel healthy and to help celebrate St. Patrick’s Day!

Simple Green Smoothie:

So a green smoothie has a basic outline. You want to add milk/liquid, greens, fruit, protein, and seeds. If you’re making a big batch of green smoothie, follow this rule, 2 cups of greens, 2 cups of liquids, 3 cups of fruit plus whatever add ons you want.

First of all, a green smoothie wouldn’t be green without the greens so some possible greens that you can use are...spinach, kale, lettuce, Swiss chard, bok choy, collards, dandelion, carrot top, celery, or beet greens. Feel free to use just one kind of green or mix it up and use a couple different types.

Next you’ll need to choose a liquid to add to the smoothie. You can use water, but for an extra bit of flavour try... dairy milk (1%, 2%, skim), soy milk, almond milk, coconut water, cashew milk, rice milk, oat milk, coconut milk, or cold brewed green tea.

Now add some fruit. Frozen bananas are always good to use but also try adding in some other fruit as well. Good fruit to add to your smoothie are mangos, pineapple, berries, peaches avocados, oranges, grapefruits, pears, apples, and grapes.

Finally add in some extras if you want. Some examples of extras are... your favourite protein powder, matcha green tea powder, flax, quinoa, chia seeds, honey, and other seeds.

Here is a recipe for a small batch of green smoothie...

1 ½ cups of milk (you choose what kind)

2 cups of frozen spinach

1 frozen banana

1 cup of fruit, your choice (good ideas are...mango, pineapple, berries, peaches, citrus fruit, green apple)

A scoop of your favourite protein powder

Blend all the ingredients together and drink. You can freeze this smoothie in individual containers so if you’re in a hurry you can pull it out and let it defrost in the morning.

Heart Healthy Food

Valentine’s Day is a day away. Such a happy week and day! We’re doing our last Valentine’s post and we’re taking a little different approach. We’re looking at heart healthy foods. Oh, and we haven’t forgotten or left out our Oscar Dress card, we’re gonna do up a card and our top 10 list of dresses next week so hold tight!

We usually do the typical Valentine post, heart crafts and sweet treats but today we’re going to delve into some foods that support heart health. Literal hearts!

Top Heart Heathy Foods:

1.      Leafy Greens – They a great source of vitamin k which helps with promoting proper blood clotting and to help with good artery function. Some include, spinach, kale, and collard greens which are full of minerals and vitamins and antioxidants.

2.      Whole Grains – They are high in fiber which can help reduce bad cholesterol. Common whole grains are quinoa, oats, rye, brown rice, and barley.

3.      Berries – Are also high in antioxidants and help with controlling the bad cholesterol. Blueberries in particular help improve cells that promote blood clotting. Berries that are good to have are strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, and raspberries.

4.      Avocados – Are high in monounsaturated fats which help lower cholesterol levels and lower the risk of heart disease. They are considered a healthy fat and are also high in potassium.

5.      Beans- Beans can reduce the levels of blood triglycerides and bad LDL cholesterol. They can also help reduce blood pressure and inflammation which are linked to heart disease.

6.      Dark Chocolate – Yum! It is rich in antioxidants and flavonoids and can help lower the risk of heart disease. Make sure to have a high quality of dark chocolate though with at least 70% of cocoa.

7.      Tomatoes – They have lots and lots of lycopene that has powerful antioxidant properties which can neutralize harmful free radicals that can lead to inflammation and heart disease.

8.      Garlic – It contains allicin which has therapeutic effects. It can help reduce platelet buildup that can lead to strokes and blood clots.

9.      Olive Oil – Again it is loaded with antioxidants that can relieve inflammation and decrease the risk of chronic disease. The monounsaturated fats in it helps with heart health.

10.  Green Tea – It has a lot of polyphenols catechins which can prevent cell damage and improve heart health. It can also decrease blood pressure and lower cholesterol.