Shrimp Lettuce Boats

Balancing working full time (with my school practical rotations), working out, hanging out with friends and completing assignments can be really difficult, especially when you enjoy eating healthy and preparing most of your meals from scratch. This is one recipe I like to make when I'm in a rush, and it gives me a good balance of vegetables, protein and a high-fibre carbohydrate.

Ingredients:
1/2 tsp red chili flakes
1 tsp hot paprika
1 tsp chili powder
1 tbsp olive oil
~12 prawns
1/2 cup frozen corn
1/2 of an avocado, cut into cubes
1 medium tomato, diced
3-4 large romaine lettuce leaves
1/2 cup of cooked quinoa (I used red but it doesn't really matter what type you use)

Steps:
1. Mix the olive oil and spices in a small bowl and set aside
2. Fry the prawns with a bit of cooking oil until they turn pink
3. Add the frozen corn and once it has almost completely cooked add the tomato, avocado, and top with the olive oil and spices.
4. On a plate lay out the washed romaine lettuce and fill evenly with the cooked quinoa. Top with the shrimp mixture.

Enjoy!
-A

Vegan Beet Cake with Avocado Frosting

In honour of Melissa's, as well as my dear friend Krysta's birthday, which we celebrated this weekend, I am going to post a healthy birthday cake option. Unfortunately, they live out of town so my family and I had ate it all before they had gotten a chance to try any, oops :).
This recipe is extremely rich and only for devoted chocolate lovers. Besides the higher sugar content, which is typical for any sweet treat, it is relatively healthy alternative to classic chocolate cake and even sneaks in some vitamins and minerals with the beets and avocados. It can even be made gluten free by substituting out the wheat germ for an extra half cup of gluten-free oat flour.

Ingredients:
Batter:
1 cup oat flour
1/2 cup wheat germ
1/2 cup cane sugar
1/2 cup coconut sugar
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/2 tsp ground coffee
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 salt
1/4 cup canola oil
1/2 cup of packed beet
3/4 cup almond milk
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
1 tsp vanilla

Icing:
2 avocados
1/2 cup cocoa powder
~7 tablespoons of maple syrup or more depending on sweetness preference

Steps:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees celsius. Mix all of the dry ingredients in a bowl. Add the oil to the wet ingredients.
2. Blend a cooked beet in the food processor and add to the wet ingredients. Mix well and then add the dry ingredients to the wet.

3. Line an 8 inch cake pan with parchment paper and oil the edges. Add the batter. And enjoy licking the bowl, since it's egg free! The batter was actually so delicious, I think I even liked the batter more than the cake (even though that was still good). I realized after I had stuck the cake in the oven that I had gotten a little out of control licking the bowl....

Cook the cake for 35 minutes until the toothpick comes out clean.

4. Make the frosting by using a hand blender to combine all of the ingredients. Add more maple syrup as desired.

5. Once the cake is done, let it cool and then frost the cake. Use toothpicks to keep up saran wrap, and cover the cake. Keep in the fridge overnight or make it in the morning and keep it in the fridge until night and then serve.

-A

Zucchini Pasta with a Creamy Avocado Sauce

Mel and I have both been wanting to make zucchini pasta for the longest time but since we don't have a spiralizer we never attempted it. Since we have so many zucchini's from the garden and I had a bit of time on my hands I decided to make it using just my vegetable peeler.

 The Pasta:
I used a medium sized zucchini and once it was peeled fried in about a tsp of olive oil for a few minutes, then added 1/4 cup of water and let it simmer. Once it was cooked (which only took about 5 minutes) I strained it and it was ready.

The Sauce:
-one avocado
-2 cloves of garlic
-squeezed the juice from 1/2 of a lemon
-1/4 cup of fresh basil
-salt and pepper to taste

Puree all the ingredients until it's smooth and then add it to the pasta and you are done!

I topped mine with a bit of freshly grated parmesan and one small tomato. I was surprised at how delicious this was, especially since I am a carb queen I thought I would really miss not having this sauce on pasta but I didn't at all and plan to make this often!

-A

Guacamole

While I was in Arizona last week I indulged in all kinds of delicious treats, some healthier than others, but that's ok, I was on holiday's...right? One snack I ate a lot of was homemade fresh guacamole, for one because I love it, and two, because my mom had like 20 avocados that had to be eaten! Not only were the avocados delicious, but my mom bought them from a road-side stand for $5! By the time I got around to making this guacamole I think I counted 17 avocados - let's just say, we ate a lot of guacamole. Avocados are a great source of healthy monounsaturated fats, and are surprisingly high in protein, and just for fun- they are actually a fruit, and a single seeded berry at that! 

Here are the ingredients - I don't follow a strict recipe as I taste test it as I make it ;) 

2-3 avocados 

1 lime (a lemon will work too) 

Onion - white, yellow or red will work, and add as much or as little as you like 

Handful of cilantro 

Jalapeno or habanero pepper 

Garlic 

Salt and pepper 

Olive oil - this is optional, depending how thick you want your guacomole 

Directions: 

Halve the avocados, slice them (while the flesh is stil in the peel) and use a spoon to scoop out the flesh, then squish it with a fork until it reaches your desired consistency, dice your onion very finely, chop your cilantro, and either finely dice the garlic or you can use a microplane (a tiny grater for things like garlic and ginger), and dice your hot pepper (seeds removed) and combine all ingredients. Add the lime juice, olive oil,  salt and pepper to your desired taste and consistency. Serve with veggies for a really healthy snack or tortilla chips (if I know I am going to eat my guacamole with salted tortilla chips I omit the salt in the recipe because the chips are usually so salty there is no need to add anymore). 

Ways to spice up your guacamole: 

-I often add tomatoes to my guacamole - this makes it like a guacamole and pico de gallo (chunky fresh salsa) dip in one 

-I have tried a guacamole with pomagranate - and it was delicious! 

-Black beans would be great to add

-I often add corn to my fresh salsa, and I think it would taste great in guacamole too 

The options really are endless- this is a great base recipe to use, don't be scared to be creative! 

-M 

Prawn Wraps

This is a simple recipe that is a change from the usual chicken, beef or fish that people often serve for lunch or dinner. It provides protein from the prawn and healthy fats from the avocado. Although many people cut all fats completely out when they are on a diet, this isn’t necessarily the best thing for you. Fats do have the most calories per gram compared to protein or carbohydrates, but this means they help you feel full and you need less to get that full feeling. Healthy fats, such as the monounsaturated fats in avocados, may also moderately lower bad cholesterol levels, which can decrease your risk of cardiovascular disease.

Ingredients to Serve 4:

Two Avocados (each person gets ~ ½ of an avocado)

Red Onion

8 small tomatoes

24 prawns (6 per person)

Cilantro

4 whole wheat pita breads

Cumin, Chili powder, a dash of salt or anything else you would like to season the prawns

Step 1: Cut the tomatoes into quarters and the avocados into cubes. Chop up the cilantro, and cut slices of red onion

Step 2: Heat 1 tsp of grapeseed oil and fry up the prawns with the spices you choose. I used cumin, chili powder, a dash of salt and paprika. This recipe works best with tailless prawns, but you can make it with tailed prawns if that is all you have. As you will see, I used tailed prawns because that is what I had available.

Step 3 (optional): You can use the pita’s as is, or for a bit of crunch you can broil them in the oven for 45 seconds. Monitor carefully because they will burn quickly and easily.

Step 4: Put it all together. Put as much red onion you desire on the pitas, around 6 shrimps, 2 of the tomatoes (or 8 of the quarters) and around half of an avocado per pita. Top with the cilantro, fold in half and serve.

-A