These are both nutritious and an easy way to get rid of fridge leftovers.  You can make the dough ahead of time and make a batch of these on the weekend and freeze them.  Yummy!!

Dough:

1 pkg Quick Rise yeast

1 cup lukewarm water

3 tbsp cold-pressed olive oil

2 tsp honey

3 cups spelt flour

1 pinch of sea salt

Filling:

1 tbsp cold-pressed olive oil

2 garlic cloves

1 medium onion

1/2 cup chopped mushrooms

1 chopped green pepper

1 sliced zucchini

2 cups organic tomato sauce

2 tsp dried basil

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese or cheddar, mozzarella etc.

sea salt and pepper to taste

In a large bowl, combine the yeast, water oil and honey.  Using a wooden spoon, mix in the sea salt and flour.  Once it becomes too thick to mix with a spoon, turn the batter over onto a floured surface and knead until dough is smooth.

Thoroughly grease a mixing bowl with some olive oil and place the dough in it.  Cover with a clean cloth and let it rise in a warm area until double in size, about 30-60min.

Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and set it aside.

In a large skillet, saute the onion, garlic, and mushrooms until soft.  Add the peppers and zucchini; cook until softened.  Add the tomato sauce, basil, salt and pepper.  Simmer for 5-10min then take off burner and cool before putting into dough.

Punch down the dough to deflate it and turn it onto a lightly floured surface.  Divide the dough into 8 pieces and roll each piece into approx. 1/8″ thick circles.  Place the filling on one side, top it with cheese and fold the other half over to make a half moon shape.  Press edges together with a fork to ensure that they are sealed.

Bake at 350 F for 25-30min until the bottoms are golden.

Pack these into a lunchbox with some apple slices and yogurt-honey dip.  Delicious!!

In one of my previous blogs last year, I had posted some information about butter vs margarine and which was better.  Since those blogs have been deleted, I am re posting some basic information and including the ever popular Better Butter recipe.  So many people have requested this, that it is definitely worth re posting.  I hope you try it!

Butter vs Margarine

To make a long story short, butter is natural and a short-chain fatty acid that remains liquid at the temperature of your body.  Consuming boat-loads of butter will give you problems, to be sure.  But when you think about the nutritional and natural benefits of butter, you really can’t beat it!

Margarine companies have now launched new marketing campaigns about using “natural” ingredients and olive oil in their margarine production.  But the reality is, these margarine’s are still made, by in large, using hydrogenated “natural” oils.  That is how they get away with saying that the margarine is “natural” or non-hydrogenated.  In addition to this, margarine is a man-made product that is composed of chemicals and ingredients that the body can digest, but not process. 

The bottom line is…if you’re not a vegan, choose butter and use it in moderation.

Here is a recipe for butter that I like to use when I need a spread on my sandwiches or morning bagel.  DO NOT cook with this butter, as flax seed oil nutrients are destroyed with heat.

Better Butter

1 stick of organic softened butter

2 Tbsp flax seed oil

Whip the softened butter and flax seed oil in a bowl until blended together.  Store it in a butter crock, such as the one pictured, or in a dark container in the fridge.  Should not be stored longer than a week.

This recipe is a family favorite in my house.  It’s excellent as a snack food or for a late breakfast.  I like to use the left over carrot fiber from my juicer in this recipe, but shredded carrots work nicely as well.  Enjoy!

It’s better to use organic ingredients in this recipe, for optimal health benefits.

Melted butter for greasing

3 large eggs

½ cup cold pressed,  canola or sunflower oil

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup spelt flour

1 cup bran with psyllium fibre

½ cup freshly ground flax seeds

¾ cups of honey

2 tsps  cinnamon

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

¼ tsp salt

3 cups shredded carrots

¾ cups raisins or dried cranberries

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Grease the muffin pan with the melted butter and set aside.

In a large bowl, mix together the eggs, honey, oil and vanilla.  Beat vigorously until smooth and slightly thickened.  In another bowl, combine the flour, bran, flax, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda and salt.  Then, gradually stir the flour mixture into the egg mixture until smooth. (About 20 strokes)  Fold in the shredded carrots and raisins and stir just until blended.

Spoon the batter into the cups and bake until the centre is springy to the touch, 20-25 minutes.

Let stand for 10 minutes and remove from cups.  Serve warm.

If I had a buck for every individual that has asked me what cleanse they should be on after every major holiday, I’d be writing this on a beach right now!  After a couple of weeks of low activity and Christmasturkey, everyone’s New Years resolution is to emerge from the winter season looking like a GQ or Vogue model.  Those of us who are health conscious seem to think this dream can be attained by adopting a cleanse program, usually in the form of a pre-packaged capsule or powder from your local health food store.  After you’ve paid upwards of fifty dollars, you run home hoping that the herbal magic in a box will melt off the pounds you gained, while you achieve optimal health and detox for the entire body.  Here comes the wake up call!

Firstly, while a cleanse can be beneficial to your body on a ‘seasonal” basis, you must remember that a real cleanse is not designed to cause dramatic weight loss.  There are some brands out there marketed for that purpose, and realistically, you must ask yourself what exactly it is you are looking for.  These cleanses are often full of herbs that will help your body ‘purge”, but sadly lacking in the nutritional support your body needs during the critical “breakdown” stage. 

A cleanse should be taken up in the spring/summer season.  We do this to purify our body of toxins and “excess” deposits in the colon. (Usually the primary site for toxicity).  Eliminating these makes us feel lighter and our bodies usually feel cooler as a result of fasting.  This is why it is better we do this in the warmer months.  You should also know that there is no reason to spend a lot of money on a packaged cleanse.  You can, if you really want to, but I’d rather spend the fifty dollars on new yoga wear.  Wouldn’t you?

If you want to do a spring cleanse to help “reset” your body for the new season and eliminate your winter toxins, here’s a fast and easy way to achieve that goal:

Spring Master Cleanse (Take for 3-10 days)

2 Tbsp fresh lemon or lime juice

1-2tsp pure maple syrup

1/10 tsp cayenne pepper

8 oz spring/filtered water

Mix and drink 8-12 glasses throughout the day.  Eat or drink nothing else except filtered water, laxative herb tea (available at health food stores), and peppermint or chamomile tea.  Keep the lemonade in a glass container (not plastic) or make it fresh each time.  Rinse your mouth with water every time to prevent the lemon juice from damaging the enamel on your teeth.

(Source: Dr. Elson M. Haas)

When my daughter was a toddler, I couldn’t seem to get her to drink cow’s milk.  Every time I would show up at the pediatrician’s office for a check up, he would ask me how much milk she was drinking, and I would have to look at him sheepishly and say-”None”.  Then, I would go home and try to invent creative ways for her to be “tricked” into drinking milk.

It wasn’t until I started to do a little research that I discovered what I like to term as “The Milk Misconception”.  That is, the popular misconception that all children need calcium in the form of cow’s milk.  While it is true that cow’s milk is a very readily available source of calcium for the human body, it is also true that it is often not digested and absorbed properly for the human body.  Fact:  Milk is the number one allergic food.  Fact:  Milk loses 50% of its available calcium during pasteurization.  Low fat and skim milk make calcium virtually unavailable because fat is necessary for the proper transportation and absorption of calcium.  (From Allergies:  Disease in Disguise, Dr. Carolee Bateson-Koch DC, ND)

So why then are we still believing that if our children don’t want  to drink milk, they won’t be healthy?  Because we are told that calcium builds strong bones and is a necessary component in the prevention of  osteoporosis.  Well, research shows that countries that consume the most dairy, such as Canada and the U.S, have the highest rate of  osteoporosis.  Nutritionists agree that the best diet to prevent osteoporosis is a low protein, low fat, high complex carbohydrate diet that includes fruit and fresh vegetables, whole grains and fresh raw raw seeds and nuts.  Another study suggests that getting adequate amounts of exercise increases bone density and helps to prevent osteoporosis.

My conclusion is this:  If you have a child that is refusing to drink milk, you must ask yourself why?  Is the child old enough to communicate discomfort they may be feeling after consuming milk?  They may have difficulty with milk but not other dairy products such as cheese and yogurt.  Don’t force the issue.  Take comfort in the fact that there are plenty of other good sources of readily absorbable calcium such as:  seeds and rice, sardines and salmon.  And if your child doesn’t prove to have any known milk allergies or lactose intolerances, just be patient.  Variety is the spice of life!  The more variety you provide in their meals, the more likely they are to show willingness to accept new foods in their diet.

In the end, I managed to convince my toddler to start drinking milk by encouraging her to help me make milkshakes.  She is 3 years old and had a wonderful time peeling the banana and sorting her favorite berries and adding them to the blender.  These simple tasks proved to be the little encouragement she needed to try something new, that just happened to include milk!

Here is her favorite milkshake recipe:

1-1/2 cp organic whole milk (try almond or soy if lactose intolerant)

1 peeled organic banana

5 organic strawberries, fresh or frozen

1/4cp wild blueberries and/or raspberries, fresh or frozen

1 Tbsp maple syrup

Blend together in a blender until smooth.  Add more milk if too thick, and enjoy!