Vitae Nutrition and Doula Services – Saskatoon

Over the past year I have started cooking with beans and lentils more. The more I use them the more I love them. I often replace ground beef with lentils in spaghetti sauce, nachos and quesadillas.

Info: Lentils are packed with protein and fibre. They contain many vitamins and minerals, most notably folate (take note if you are pregnant!), magnesium, and potassium. Lentils can be a great way to decrease meat protein in your diet. Vegetarian or not, the low fat, high fibre lentil is good for your body and your heart.

Lentil Quesadillas

Inspiration: a mad hankering for quesadillas

Ingredients: tortillas, shredded mozzarella cheese, red and yellow bell peppers, lentils, oil, stock (chicken or vegetable), 2 cloves garlic, 1/2 large diced onion, chili powder, chipotle pepper powder, ground mustard, pepper, fresh cilantro salsa and sour cream.

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350.

2. Rinse green lentils. Boil in water until soft but not mushy. Approximately 30 minutes.

2. Heat up oil in a different pan. Once oil is hot, toss in minced garlic followed by diced onion. Cook until onions are translucent.

3. Drain lentils and toss in the pan with garlic and onions.  Pour in about 1/2 cup stock (I used chicken). Add spices: chili powder, chipotle pepper, mustard and pepper to taste.  I would give you measurements but it changes every time! Apparently I am turning into my grandma!

4. Cook the mixture until the liquid is gone. I like to toss my chopped peppers into the pan so they lose water before I put them into the quesadilla. I cook them for about 3 minutes.

5. Lay out tortillas on a pan. Layer shredded cheese then filling and peppers then a light layer of cheese on top. Cover with another tortilla.

6. Bake in oven until you see melty cheese and brown edges on the tortilla.

7. Serve with salsa and sour cream. Option to add chopped fresh cilantro on top.

The lentils took on all the flavours well. The quesadillas tasted great! I used my leftover lentils as nacho topping the next night!

This week I did much better! I only had one lunch out. Week one of my three week smart goal acheived. I did use my snacking plan. I did not however, utilize homemade granola bars as planned. I ended up with granola that did not keep its bar shape.

Info: This recipe set out to achieve a high fibre, protien rich bar with healthy fats. It has all of those with the added flax, rolled oats and walnuts. Walnuts are the nut that has the highest about of omega three fat. If you use almond butter or almonds in the mix, you are adding calcium to this nutritious bunch.

Inspiration: My late afternoon tummy grumbles

Ingredients: Check out this link: http://www.thebettercrumb.com/2012/10/healthy-granola-bars.html. I substututed the puffed rice with puffed wheat and brown rice syrup with maple syrup.

Instructions: I followed the instructions on the link. I have a couple notes.

1. Maybe my oven is hot but I burnt my first batch of nuts and oatmeal while toasting it in the oven. I would say only about 5 minutes in the oven to toast. I also hightly recommended to toast them. It added a warm nutty  flavour to the mix.

2. I ended up with crumbly crunchy granola. Here are my theories of what went wrong:

• I baked it for too long (maybe I need to measure my hot oven’s temp)
• maple syrup does not make as good of a binder as brown rice syrup
• I flattened the mixture too much on the pan

Results: I ended up with a crispy and delicous snack that is great in yogurt and really does help curb the before supper munchies! No bars but success none the less. I will let you know when (if!) I succeed with a really great homemade granola bar.

One of my news year’s goals was to eat out less. This goal is for health as well as financial reasons. It’s not going so well.

In the last two weeks my fiancé and I have eaten out five times. Although once we did use a pretty awesome gift card from Christmas (Thank you!). Now, “eating out less” is not a great goal. As you can see I don’t always follow my own advice (see earlier blog). What is less? A smart goals setter will define less. Ok so, my new goal is: “I will eat out no more than one meal per week for three weeks.” Also, I am not going to count ‘out for coffee’ as a meal. After this timeline I will see how it went and see if I need to make changes.

Where might I run into barriers with this goal?  I find I am often very hungry right when work is done. I can often make poor decisions about what to do for supper around this time. I am tired and hungry, ‘let’s just eat out.’ My plan to deal with this option is to have a good snack to tide me over. My theory is, after a snack, I can then make a more rational decision on what to make for supper. For more snack tips check out my earlier post.

This week I am going to try homemade granola bars. I am not a huge fan of store bought because they are often too sweet for me. They also often have an ingredients list that is long and very hard to pronounce. I like knowing exactly what is in my food, hence homemade granola bar. I went searching for a recipe that looked pretty easy. Following is a link to the one I chose. I picked this one because the cooking time was less than most and I like the title of the blog. I plan to bake these on Sunday so stay tuned for my notes on this recipe!

http://www.thebettercrumb.com/2012/10/healthy-granola-bars.html

To be continued…

It’s almost the middle of January. Which means you may have had some successes and are feeling motivated to see your resolutions through. Or perhaps you have hit some setbacks and have thrown most of your good intentioned goals out the window. Here’s hoping for success!

One worthwhile nutrition goal, especially when trying to lose weight, is eating breakfast. Instead of running out of the house, coffee in hand, with no food other than lunch in mind; try eating. You don’t have to sit down to a full meal, just eat something, anything within two hours of getting up.

Ideally, you should aim for 3-4 food groups. But even an apple or a banana as you get ready for work helps. One of my favorite quick breakfast items is a smoothie. It is infinitely changeable and you can pour it into a travel mug and take it to work, or on your way to your kid’s play date. Following is my fav recipe, it has 3 out of 4 food groups!

Super Smoothie

Inspiration: quick and easy breakfast

Ingredients:  ½ cup frozen fruit, 1 ripe banana, ½ cup yogurt, ½  cup milk, ¼ cup orange juice, 1 pkg dessert tofu (optional – use extra yogurt if no tofu) Extras: 1 tbsp ground flax, ½ tbsp bran  (all measures approximate)

Instructions:

1. Throw all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.
2. Pour into a mug and go!

Results: A drink that will satisfy and saves my breakfast when I hit the snooze button one too many times.

If you would like more information on setting and achieving your nutrition goals call or email Chelsea.

January at Vitae Nurtition is all about easy tips to help you meet your health goals. The types of snacks you choose can make or break your resolutions.

If you are like me, you can’t go more than 3-4 hours without eating. The standard work day gives you lunch at noon. With

tradional “3 meals a day” thinking you may not eat again until 6-7pm by the time you are home and have a meal prepared. If I don’t have an afternoon snack my poor fiance often gets the sharp end of my tongue. I also tend to make very poor nutrition choices when I am ‘starving.’

So how do I keep my relationship and my meal plan on track? Healthy snacking! Following are my tips to great snacking.

1. Drink water throughout the day. Often the end of the day craving comes because we are a little dehydrated. If you a

re feeling fatigued and wanting to grab the chocolate out of your coworker’s hand, have a glass of water then check the next tips.

2. Aim for protien and carbohydrate. Eating a bunch of empty carbohydrates, for example jellybeans, you will get a rush of energy but soon crash. If you fill your belly full of fat laden snacks like chips and chocolate bars, you will feel sluggish for the remainder of your day. Examples of good combos are:

• Trail mix with dried fruit (maybe some chocolate chips)
• Crackers and cheese
• Fruit and yogurt (greek yogurt is my fav)

3. Planning is key. Having snacks ready in your purse for those days you don’t get a second to sit can save you from doing drive thru on your way home. I keep snacks in my desk, purse and in the car.

Try planning snacks like you would lunch over the next week. Having a bag of trail mix (pending nut allergies) is one of my favorite ways to get my crunchy craving and sweet craving kicked at the same time. Let me know what your snack saviours are!

Feeling overwhelmed? Need a diet tune up? Contact me and we can work together on a plan that will have you exceeding your hopes for 2013.

New Year’s Eve is a time of reflection of the year past and a time of renewal and motivation for the year ahead.

I have had many changes over the past year, new homeowner, new engagement, new business, new job…I am getting a little tired of new. With all of the changes in my life over the last twelve months, most of my resolutions hinge on time management. As you may or may not have noticed I have be fairly absent in the blogging and social media scene. This is one of my resolutions is to be more active as a blogger.  Organization is going to be my key to hitting my resolutions this year. Anyone have any hints?

The goals I set for myself last year were largely missed. I think for me, I need to be evaluating my goals more frequently. Perhaps I set some unrealistic goals, but I think also I didn’t re-evaluate when things in my life changed. As you can see, I have had a lot of changes. This year, I am going to set more short term goals and look at them often. I am not going to see missing a goal as a failure, but learn from it.

What I learned this year,  is to not ignore the things that seem to get left behind each day, they pile up. I learned being more structured in scheduling is important for me, even though I value flexibility. I discovered that even when organization is not your strongest ‘personality trait’ that you still have to do it. I also realized creating an organization system takes time and many ‘re-evaluations.’

Here’s a toast to everyone and their resolutions this year. I hope we can all celebrate our small successes and not allow our disappointments stop our forward momentum.

If you have health goals on your mind this year, let me know. I can help you set short, achievable goals. Change doesn’t happen in a day (especially New Year’s Day). Change come slowly, step by little step.

Happy New Year

Chelsea Harris

Pinterest has become the newest way to share your culinary experiments. Unique dishes abound and each new pin is something tasty to try with your family. Ideas for kids lunches, family suppers and more get pinned and repined through friends until you have more recipes to try than time to try them. Good bye cookbooks, hello Pinterest.

I think Pinterest recipes have an advantage over other recipes because they have been tried by our friends and families and shared. Trying something new with our families is not always an easy prospect. Different likes and dislikes make trying something new a challenging task. Often, I talk with women who are hesitant to try a recipe until they know it is good. Pinterest gives a stamp of approval a new recipe book can never have. I think another benefit of pinning recipes is you have a collection of new recipes and nothing gets lots when you close the window to answer a toddler’s cries.

I am relatively new to pinning and am behind a lot of my mommy friends. A great idea I learned about recently is a Pinterest Potluck! Try a new recipe and taste others as well! Who really has the time to try the 100s of recipes on their own?

What are your fav new family recipes (Pinterest or not)?

In May, my partner (now fiancée) and I took the leap into home ownership. This very big step forward was a whirlwind of emotion and activity. Once the dust had settled, our mortgage broker, Elise Hildebrandt, dropped off a lovely herb basket from Countryside Greenhouse and Garden. I have had plans for years to start an herb garden and I got one readymade! As my plants have grown I have become quite accustomed to stepping outside my door for the freshest herbs to add to my meals. The biggest benefit of growing your own herbs is they don’t go bad. Just pick what you need and the rest of the bunch stays healthy and fresh on the plant.

Info: Fresh herbs are a fantastic way to boost nutrition. Compounds in herbs have been found to help prevent inflammation, sooth digestion, and prevent certain types of cancers. Fresh herbs are packed full of antioxidants and offer a variety of nutrients; Vitamin A, folate, and vitamin K, just to name a few. Fresh herbs also offer a great way to spice up your food without resorting to the salt shaker.

Fresh Herb Pasta

Inspiration: Fresh basil from my plant

Ingredients: pasta, fresh tomatoes, fresh picked basil, feta cheese, olive oil, fresh ground pepper, garlic

Instructions:

1. Cook pasta according to package directions

2. Chop up tomatoes and fresh basil

Note: How to chop basil without losing flavour

3. Crumble feta

4. Drain pasta

5. Mix together pasta, olive oil, tomatoes, basil and feta

6. Season to taste with pepper and fresh garlic

Results: A quick and easy meal where the star of the show are the fresh ingredients. This is one of my favorite fall back supper in a hurry recipes. You can add in any number of veggies from your fridge. A variation is to put garlic, onion and veggies in a pan then toss with the pasta.

I am not a coffee drinker. Perhaps I should amend that, I wasn’t a coffee drinker. In the past I would have an occasional coffee, usually packed with sugar, and ride the jitters until it left my system. Over the past year I have discovered how fresh, quality beans prepared with an intensity bordering on obsession can be fanastic.  My knowledge of coffee beans is still in the novice stage but as I grow to enjoy the complex flavours, I want to learn more.

Info: Coffee beans are grown in many countries around the world. They can only be grown in certain conditions and those conditions greatly affect the flavour of the bean and consequently the coffee. Coffee beans have some great antioxiants. Scientists are finding the plant compounds in coffee may be beneficial to health.

Inspiration: my new found love of coffee

Today is less a recipe, just some great info I wanted to share: How to make coffee using a french press. Incidently, it is the only way I have to make coffee at my house. I have been struggling to get my coffee at home to taste as good as at the coffee shop.

Epicurious: How to make coffee with a French Press

Results: It tastes pretty great, but still not quite as good. I think I need a better grinder. Time to do some more research!

Hope you all enjoyed your last day of work before the long weekend! Many of you have big plans, camping, jazz fest, chilling at the cabin…and many more. Many Canada Day celebrations often include a Canada day cocktail. To those of you who can enjoy, I thought I would share with you one of my favorite Canada Day inspired cocktails.

Classic Caesar

Info: Caesars were actually invented in Calgary as a hangover cure. Perhaps this is why Caesars are often the drink of Sunday mornings, or afternoons. Clamato juice retains a little vitamin A and vitamin C but watch out for the salt content, it can add up quickly!

Inspiration: Impending Canada day!

Ingredients: Clamato juice, vodka, Worcestershire sauce, Tobaso sauce, pepper, pickled asparagus, lime wedge

Instructions:

1. Put ice in the glass.

2. Pour in 1 oz. vodka.

3. Splash in Worcestershire sauce, Tobasco sauce and a pinch of fresh ground pepper.

4. Fill glass with Clamato juice.

5. Garnish with pickled asparagus and lime wedge.

Results: A never fail Caesar recipe.  For more fun, check out some interesting twists on regionally inspired Caesars http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2012/06/27/caesar-recipes_n_1628699.html.