This is delicious...

So this is my first time blogging from my phone and that fact was completely irrelevant to my post, but I thought you should all know.

I just made a super fast sandwich that was quite tasty and I wanted to share! 

It was on olive ciabatta, with pesto, goat cheese, tomatoes, and arugula; toasted for about 3 minutes! 

Fast, super easy, fresh and a lot of flavour - what's not to love?

But it's all chunky and stuff...

...yes that may be true, however I promise it makes a tasty, healthy and filling snack!

COTTAGE CHEESE

Some facts you should know about it:

1. It is a cheese, however it is not fermented. This is great for people who have a sensitivity towards fermented foods.

2. It is a low fat, protein filled food making it a good choice to keep you full for a while. Half a cup is only 100 calories, but has 15 grams of protein.

3. There are many different ways you can enjoy it. Have it savory or sweet- add some diced veggies or sliced fruit. Make it more interesting with spices or honey!

One thing to watch out for is that it can have a high sodium content as seen on the label here. You can get cottage cheese in  non-fat, 1% or 2%.  

Fruit wise I think cottage cheese tastes awesome with berries. If you're looking to make a veggie snack my personal favourite is with diced cucumber. 

TIP: Try replacing your toast at breakfast with cottage cheese! Cut out some carbs and add some protein.

Greek Yogurt: Buyer Beware!

GREEK YOGURT!

It is all over the place, you can't seem to get away from it! Is it really better than regular, old yogurt? The answer is yes, but there are certain things to watch out for when you are picking up your Greek yogurt. 

Greek yogurt is made by straining goat's milk (traditionally) or cow's milk (what we get at the grocery store) extensively to remove much of the whey giving it a thick and creamy texture.

Both are great and comparable sources of calcium (Greek can be slightly lower due to the way it is strained). However, Greek has less sodium, less carbs, and almost double the protein than regular yogurt (woohoo!). One thing to watch out for is Greek yogurt's fat.  It can get quite high and sticking to the low or non-fat versions would be a better choice health-wise.

Now, WHAT YOU NEED TO LOOK OUT FOR! Many brands selling Greek yogurt are simply adding thickening agents, and even cream (not so healthy anymore) to their yogurts to give it that texture and calling it "Greek" but aren't actually. These include gelatin, starches, gums, and condensed milk. Look for labels with the shortest ingredient list and none of these additives. Essentially all it should have is milk, and the active bacterial cultures. My favourite brand is Skotidakis...they have single serving size containers perfect for a snack.

References:
http://health.usnews.com/health-news/diet-fitness/diet/articles/2011/09/30/greek-yogurt-vs-regular-yogurt-which-is-more-healthful
http://www.acefitness.org/certifiednewsarticle/1550
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/20/dining/to-many-yogurt-fans-its-all-greek.html?_r=0
http://www.skotidakis.com/en/products/product-yogurt-plain-500g-0-percent.php

Gimme Healthy Pancakes!

Hey peeps! 

I want to tell you about this spelt and khorasan (brand name Kamut) blend pancake mix. It is a fantastic alternative to other pancake mixes and tastes great. 

So what are spelt and Kamut? They are both types of ancient grains that are slightly better than our modern day wheat. 

Spelt has a greater number of nutrients than regular wheat including a wider range and availability of minerals like manganese, zinc and copper. It is also very high in fibre, and fibre has endless health benefits. For more info on spelt visit this website.

Kamut also has a greater selection of minerals in comparison to modern day wheat. It is also one of the grain's that is fairly high in protein. One of the most beneficial things about Kamut is that it is high in selenium. Selenium is excellent in strengthening immune health and has high antioxidant properties. It also contains considerable levels of zinc and magnesium. Furthermore, Kamut is referred to as a high energy grain since it has a higher lipid content compared to other grains. This is great for athletes, busy people on the go, or anyone looking for a little more energy. This website and this one have some more info on Kamut. 

Both spelt and Kamut have slightly nutty flavours, but nothing too strong. Making the pancakes were super easy- all you need to add to Anita's Mix are eggs and milk (or water, soy milk, almond milk...you get it). I also added a dash of cinnamon and some vanilla. 

They turned out even fluffier than regular pancakes, and were SUPER filling. They were absolutely delicious as well! Next time I'm making chocolate chip and blueberry.

Recipe Review: Apple Chips

Hey guys!

So I ended up making the apple chips I had mentioned in my previous post...and they were delicious!

Here are some pics:

This was one HUGE honeycrisp apple, sprinkled with the teeniest amount of sugar and cinnamon.

Some of my slices were a bit thicker since I was in a crazy rush trying to slice the apple so I wouldn't be late to pick my sister up from school.
 
They were in the oven for about an hour and a half and the majority came out super crispy...like real chips :')

The thin ones were very crunchy and pretty sweet, while the slightly thicker ones were chewier and had a tangier/more apple-y taste to them, but both were super yummy.  

Next time I wouldn't include any sugar since they were more than sweet enough.

PS- The one apple made about a cereal bowl sized serving. The bottom picture is only showing about a third of the total.

Squash and Salad

Hey everyone,

I wanted to share some of the recipes I've made recently: a stuffed butternut squash, and an awesome apple salad. 

So let me start with the squash...I wanted something delicious and something that would make me feel warm when I looked at it to battle the winter blues. We had a lot of fresh cranberries left over from over the holidays so I thought that would be a yummy ingredient. I ended up googling (good old google!) squash with cranberries and I found this recipe and I used it as my guide! I'm pretty bad at following recipes and there is always a lot of estimations when I cook. Anyways, here are the ingredients:

- 1 butternut squash, cut in half lengthwise
- 2 handfuls of fresh cranberries
- 1/4 c of chopped walnuts
- 4 spoons of brown sugar (2 for each half)
- butter

Preheat the oven to 375 then prepare the squash. Just remove the seeds and layer the cranberries, walnuts, and sugar in each of the halves. I pressed butter into the surface of the squash, and covered my baking tray with foil. I baked it for 1 hour and 20 minutes at 375, and for the last 5 minutes I uncovered the tray and turned up the heat to 425 to make the cranberries all juicy and bubbly, and the squash more golden. It was super tasty and my family loved it!

By the time I was done the squash and it was baking away I was hungry for lunch. I hadn't made a big salad in a while and we had lots of brie cheese left (cheese= my love, my life, my everything) and I thought it would taste good with apples. I ended up mixing baby spinach, brie cheese, a cubed royal gala apple, sliced walnuts, dried cranberries, red onion, and a poppy seed dressing for a delicious and filling salad.