Healthy Yet Fiery Start To Autumn

I made this delicious vegetable dish today that I wanted to share with my readers.

It has chopped kale, broccoli, zucchini, roasted sweet potatoes, onions and peppers. I sauteed everything in a pan with a few squeezes of fresh lemon (i'm kind of on a lemon kick right now), and then topped with some sunflower seeds. I also added a bit of balsamic dressing afterwards and it was really tasty!

I was ready to snap a photo when I started to hear loud bangs, followed by people screaming outside. THIS was actually what was going on about a block away. A shed caught on fire somehow and it just escalated from there. Thankfully it seems like the fire department has things under control, so i'm back in the house, safe and sound. *breathe*

Saturday fire on Balfour St.

Back to my veggie bowl...

What are your favourite veggies for this season? :)

Nature's Path: My prize-winning entry!

Here is my winning entry from Nature's Path Organic Foods and all the yummy products I won! They just arrived at my door step!

What does "Eating Clean" mean to me? *Note that I made no mention about avoiding all GMO-labelled food, eating chemical-free (everything IS a chemical, which is not necessarily bad! Check out the long list of what makes up an organic apple!), processed food, natural, or any term like that. I wrote from my heart and how I choose to live.

Personally, "eating clean" means making healthier choices. Adding more vegetables and whole grains, substituting french fries for a salad, reducing the amount of sodium, sugar and saturated fat intake, and nourishing the body with food that helps to prevent illness and keeps my mental health in good shape.

My lovely gift basket, courtesy of Nature's Path Organic Foods.

Superfood: Kale it up!

Kale is pretty popular right now and it's readily available in most grocery stores, so I bought a nice fresh bunch. After the kale chip experiment didn't work out, I thought that steaming kale was the right route to go. So I created a really healthy and simple meal that everyone enjoyed.

Steamed kale with a drizzle of olive oil
topped with mixed nuts and raisins
butter and Epicure seasoning (herb and garlic!) spread over 12 Grain bread and topped with tomatoes.

Bake the bread in the oven until crispy and then serve. :)

Cooking: Quinoa Patties

So I finally tried out this Quinoa Patty recipe since it was brewing in the back of my mind for the last few weeks.

So what is quinoa? Take a read here to learn more about this nutritional powerhouse: Quinoa

Overall preparation was a little on the messy side, since you need to really get your hands in there to mix. Now if you have a gadget that makes perfectly round patties or you have another tried-and-true way (let me know please!), there's no need to use your hands. Getting the consistency right without everything falling apart was a bit of a challenge as well. I think for next time, maybe a bit more cheese needs to be added. However, even with some of it crumbling, once they were crispy with a nice golden brown colour, oh so tasty! I'm sure with practice, it will get easier. So despite a few bumps, these quinoa patties tasted wonderful and definitely will make them again!

Quinoa patties! (i tweeked some of the ingredients - mainly the filling)

2 cups cooked quinoa
2 eggs
chop any veggies you like
add herbs/spices of your choice (*love Epicure's herb and garlic for this!)
1/2 cup grated cheese (*we like marble cheese best)
1/2 cup bread crumbs

Combine everything but the quinoa in a large bowl and mix well. Fold in the cooked quinoa until it’s fully incorporated and the mixture is even.

Heat a large frying pan, with a drizzle of oil to coat, place on medium high.

Using a spoon and/or your hands, form patties with the quinoa mix and place them into the hot frying pan.

Cook each side for approx 3 minutes, or until golden brown. Don’t touch them for the first minute or two to prevent them from falling apart!

Flip, and cook the other side for an additional 3 minutes, or until both sides are golden brown.

Serve! =)