Tofu and Vegetable Stir Fry + Easy Almond Butter Sauce

Posted on April 4, 2017 by ilona (Soundbites Nutrition)

I promise to get to the stir fry in a second, but first a little bit of self-reflection never hurt anyone 😉

Let’s talk friends, i.e. the family that you choose for yourself, the tribe you willingly associate yourself with, the group of people who serendipitously come into your life (and sometimes back into your life), a network of people that grows roots and supports you through thick and thin. I’ve been compelled to reflect on my friendships these past few weeks – for a variety of reasons, some incredibly good and some quite unsettling. Luckily for me the unsettling bits did not originate from within my circle, but nevertheless I have been one of the affected bystanders hit with a storm of betrayal and lies. All I can say is that I am one fortunate woman to have the friends that I have. More than fortunate. Blessed, in fact, if I may use this clichéd and worn-out, hashtagged to death remark. But it hasn’t always been like this.

About five years ago I ended a very long term, depleted relationship; and even though its conclusion was far overdue and inevitable, it still left me reeling and feeling lost. At that time I had a couple of genuine friendships and a handful of tenuous ones. As I recovered and adjusted to the aftermath, I engaged in new hobbies, rediscovered forgotten ones and started making connections with people from all walks of life. In the midst of this flurry of new faces, I found those that have now solidified into friendships that I deeply treasure. I’m not gonna lie, it wasn’t easy for me at first. Over a decade since high school graduation (where I was a shy and reserved creature) I wasn’t sure HOW to make friends. Sounds ridiculous, right? But I wager that many adults just aren’t sure how to navigate the friend-making landscape. It gets a bit more complicated once you’re past the point of playing in the school yard, where a short recess spent kicking a ball around or playing hopscotch leads into the best-friends-forever realm. In any case, I guess somehow I figured it out. Five years later I am surrounded by people that make me a better person. And that’s the ultimate jackpot right there. The friendships that I have made over the last few years, as well as those that have endured the growing up years, have shown me how to be a more caring, empathetic, authentic, giving, loving, generous person. I am still learning and VERY much a work in progress. But as I reflect on the me pre-big-life-changing-breakup to the current me, it still astonishes me how much I have changed. And entirely (mostly) for the better. And all because of my tribe. I mean these people who willingly spend time with me are selflessly taking care of sick family members, raising smart and kind children, organizing care packages for those in need of a pick-me-up or some extra TLC, volunteering in their communities, reaching out to those who are isolated, and tirelessly setting an example of what a good human being should look like. It is impossible for some of that not to rub off on me. Like glitter off a princess Barbie, that stuff really sticks! And so I am grateful, and thankful, and blessed, and indebted to the universe for my friends. How did I ever get so lucky.

And now for a clever segue to this stir fry. Well, I guess just like my friendships, this dish is uncomplicated, nourishing, deeply satisfying and rich in flavour. Kind of proud of what I just did there. Okay, please don’t leave. I promise I’m done now.

This recipe is a more formalized version of something that I have been cooking for years – except that in the past I would just throw a bunch of dashes of this and that straight into the pan and somehow it would turn out. But people want numbers and proportions and so I nailed it down for you!

It really is a pretty simple and versatile recipe. Sub in whatever veggies you like – mushrooms, peppers and baby corn would work beautifully. But I am partial to the sponge-like quality of broccoli which tends to hoard the tasty sauce within its abundant tendrils. Whatever veggies you choose, add the ones that cook longer first, a few minutes ahead of the others. You can easily make the almond butter sauce nut-free by subbing in tahini. If you like garlic, add some of that in along with the ginger – I’m not a garlic-hater, but I choose to do the least amount of chopping per any recipe I make. I am chopping averse. Or maybe I just like quick recipes.

Please let me know if you make this!! You could even just make the sauce and slather it onto whatever food you please. Like friendships, this sauce makes life better…okay, here’s the recipe finally. Who lets me write anyway?

Simple Veggie and Tofu Stir Fry + Almond Butter Sauce

Serves 3-4

Prep Time 15-20 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Ingredients for Stir Fry:

1 block of extra firm tofu, cubed

1 Tablespoon coconut oil, or other neutral tasting oil

1-2 Tablespoons minced fresh ginger, to taste

2 Tablespoons water

2 Tablespoons tamari

1 bunch of broccoli or cauliflower, trimmed and cut into bite-sized florets

3 carrots, peeled and sliced into desired shape

2 zucchini, sliced into desired shape

Ingredients for Almond Butter Sauce:

4 Tablespoons roasted almond butter (may be substitutes with natural peanut butter, or tahini for a nut-free version)

4 Tablespoons freshly boiled water

2 Tablespoons tamari sauce

3 Tablespoons natural rice vinegar

1 teaspoon maple or agave syrup

1 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)

Directions:

1. In a large non-stick sauté pan or wok, heat coconut oil over medium-high heat. Add cubed tofu and cook, stirring often, until golden brown on most sides, about 10 minutes. Remove from pan onto a plate.

2. Reduce heat to medium and to the same pan add minced ginger, 2 Tablespoons tamari sauce, 2 Tablespoons water and broccoli or cauliflower. Stir well and cook 3-5 minutes. Add carrots and zucchini and cook 5 more minutes.

3. While vegetables are cooking, in a medium bowl whisk almond butter and freshly boiled water with a fork until smooth, add the rest of the ingredients and whisk until combined. Adjust to taste.

4. Add almond butter sauce to the vegetables and stir to combine. Add tofu back to the pan, stir and cook 1-2 more minutes until flavours meld together. Enjoy!

Waging A War On Women’s Bodies: The Battle Continues

Posted on March 5, 2017 by ilona (Soundbites Nutrition)

Let me cut to the chase. Despite some strides made in recent years, ultimately, we are still battling a deep seated idea that only certain female bodies are desirable and desired. I know what you’re thinking, “No! Not me! I love all bodies.” But if we really delve into our behaviours we’d be able to identify plenty that refute this belief. But who’s to blame, really? From a very young age we are force fed images in magazines, ads, social media and in our social circles that constantly remind us how we should look. And if we can’t achieve this specific look than clearly we are not good enough, we lack willpower and we need to work really hard to change. It’s come to the point that lamenting about your looks and ceaselessly working on changing your body has become part of the female identity. It’s so uncommon that it’s almost jarring to hear a woman proclaim that she is 100% satisfied with her body. While men also face body issues, women are disproportionately affected by body shaming and so I direct my focus there. Also, I am a woman. How’s that for stating the obvious.

Because of this relentless message that our bodies take up too much space in this world, we resort to diets. Diets that punish, and bully, and make us believe that IF ONLY we possessed self control we could attain perfection. That simply, the only thing standing between us and flat abs is the resolve to resist a cupcake. But most of us can’t. And that doesn’t make us weak, it just makes us human. Our bodies don’t like dieting. We are essentially programmed to like whatever the opposite of dieting is. But the answer isn’t to find a solution to this inborn encoding, to discover new ways to trick our physiology. The answer is to make peace.

Here is the question that I have been pondering for some time now: at what point in history did we decide that criticizing, disparaging, judging, censoring, praising, assessing and condemning women’s bodies was okay? When did we decide what the ideal woman should look like? And I know some will point to the fact that curvy women were venerated in the past, but isn’t that just another form of what is happening today? I imagine that during the heyday of plump bodies, there were still “the right type of plump” and the “not plump enough” or “too plump” and undoubtedly the “too skinny” bodies. Ultimately our attitude remains the same but the image of the ideal body changes. Most recently I have seen the problematic trend of eschewing skinny and worshipping strong bodies. Strong is good! Strong means healthy! Strong is noble! Our new found worship of strong emblazoned on shirts and bumper stickers everywhere! Let me tell you something, strong is just a thinly veiled attempt to identify the current idea of an ideal body. Because if you’re not strong, then you are “other”, the not strong body, the body that needs to work harder to become strong. And so we find ourselves at square one, making women feel like they need to fit into a mold. I challenge you to Google images of “strong is the new skinny”. I did. Out of the first one hundred images, only about 8 (and I am being generous here) portrayed a body that wasn’t rippled with well defined muscle and glistening with sweat. Don’t tell me that we are past the point of idolizing slim. Body acceptance (acceptance of ALL bodies) is still a very, very long away.

Now please understand me. I don’t believe that body acceptance should come at the expense of rejecting those with muscles, or skinny bodies or slender frames. I don’t think that is the approach at all. In my utopian view of the world, ideally we come to a point where bodies are just bodies, the vehicles for our minds and hearts, the instruments that carry out our actions and dreams. Where size does not matter and people (women) aren’t constantly battling with themselves to change.

I do wonder if before all of this there truly was an era where body shape, size, fat percentage, dimensions really did not matter. I have to imagine that prehistoric societies did not trouble themselves with such trivialities as they tried to outrun predators and directed their energies at survival. Perhaps even for several generations after that bodies were just simply bodies. Then things went haywire. And specifically for women. I oscillate between rage and sadness when I see or hear of situations where women are forced into believing bogus diets, mislead by so-called experts, bullied by unrealistic ad campaigns, disparaged by healthcare professionals, disregarded, overlooked, shamed. And what is frightening is that attempts to wage war on women’s bodies are becoming far more ambiguous, so that even the most offensive enterprises seem benign. Like with the aforementioned strong body movement.

I don’t want to end this diatribe on a sour note. It’s not all hopelessness and doom. While a global shift in paradigm will require far more bold and drastic solutions and a great deal of time to undo the damage of generations, we can all start to chip away at the current norm. It starts with you. Stop criticizing yourself. Throw away the scale. Look in the that mirror and see yourself for your qualities and NOT your body shape. You are one fine human being and I don’t need to know your jean size or your hip measurements to see that! This sounds clichéd, but if you wouldn’t say it to a friend, don’t say it to yourself. Protect children from hearing body shaming in conversation, songs, on social media and TV. And it’s tricky. You know that song, the one about that bass? That’s not an anthem for body acceptance. Listen to those lyrics a little closer: the message is accept big bodies and reject ‘skinny bitches’, the song’s words, not mine. (This is what I mean when I say it’s a lot more ambiguous these days.) Stop greeting friends with “You look great! Did you lose weight?” This is problematic on many levels, and so ingrained in our psyche as normal dialogue, but continues to reinforce that weigh loss equates with greatness. Chose activities based on your likes and not on their calorie burning potential. Pick a variety of foods based on what you enjoy, not on a long list of ‘shoulds’. Those ‘shoulds’ are ever changing and often not based on any actual merit. So forget strict food rules and trust yourself. Trust your beautiful, wonderful, vibrant, capable, competent, flawed, perfect SELF.

We need to win this war, one battle at a time, so that we don’t waste another second of our precious, short lives on this ongoing conflict. Imagine, just really imagine, what we could accomplish if even just a fraction of energy wasted on altering our size was diverted to something more positive. I am not going to pretend like I have the solution. It hasn’t been an easy journey for me to arrive at this place and perhaps one day I will share my experiences. But I definitely know how I have changed my words and continue to adopt behaviours to promote body acceptance for myself and those around me. Will you join me?

As always, share your comments and thoughts below!

With much love and gratitude,

ilona xo

Indian Spiced Chickpea Skillet Cake

Posted on February 22, 2017 by ilona (Soundbites Nutrition)

Here in Southern Ontario, the Greater Toronto Area to be exact, we experienced what is akin to a heat wave in winter this past weekend. Temperatures in the (low) double digits (Celsius that is) warmed our bodies and our souls and an abundance of sunshine made everything seemed brighter. Sigh, we collectively needed this! Or at least I needed this. Days like this weekend remind me that everything is going to be okay. Life will be okay. More than okay! Spring is around the corner, we just have to hang in there for a few more weeks.

You know what else warms the body and soul? Spicy, flavourful, easy dishes made with nourishing ingredients. You might have noticed that I love spice. A lot of spice. Like, all the spice in the world. And by spice I mean spices AND heat. In my world, the hotter the better. It’s like an addiction and I often crave spicy foods. My sister gets me. She’s just the same.

In this spiced chickpea skillet cake the spice comes from some wonderfully robust Indian inspired spices like cumin seeds and fresh ginger, as well as from green chilies which you can dial up or down based on your preferences. You can guess which direction I went! This skillet cake is modelled after an Indian dish called dhokla, if only in flavours and ingredients, not actual execution. Traditional dhokla requires a pressure cooker to make and yields a spongy, super light savoury cake. Like a cloud in your mouth! I rely on baking powder to help achieve a bit of this airiness, though my recipe creates something much more dense and filling. In any case, it’s taste is reminiscent of dhokla and that is all I can wish for. To make it a bit more traditional you could drizzle the finished skillet cake in black mustard seeds and chopped green chilies fried in oil. Alas, no mustard seeds in my cupboard and the stores were closed due to a holiday. I decided to go for it anyway!

I love using chickpea flour as it is super cheap (I buy it at a bulk store) and packed with fibre, protein and a host of micronutrients. One 1/2 cup serving of chickpea flour (also known as garbanzo flour or besan) provides you with 10 grams of protein and 5 grams of fibre, as well as about half of your daily folate and a quarter of your daily iron requirements. ~~Please ask me where I get my protein from the next time you see me~~. It’s also naturally gluten-free (though if you have Celiac disease please buy it in sealed packages!)

Please excuse the seemingly long instructions but I get chatty. And also I needed to explain how I MacGyvered my skillet to have a snug lid to fit over top of it. Yup, using skills in the kitchen!

Indian Spiced Chickpea Skillet Cake

Serves 4-6

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 10-13 minutes

Ingredients:

2 cups chickpea flour

1 Tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric

3/4 teaspoon sea salt

Freshly ground black pepper

2 cups water

2 Tablespoons fresh lime juice (from 1 small lime)

1/4 cup roughly chopped fresh cilantro, packed

1 Tablespoon neutral-tasting oil (avocado, canola, grapeseed, refined coconut)

1 Tablespoon cumin seeds

1 teaspoon coriander seeds (optional)

1 Tablespoon finely minced fresh ginger

1-2 chopped green chilies, leave seeds in

Garnish: chopped fresh cilantro, sliced green chilies, lime

Directions:

1. In a medium mixing bowl, whisk chickpea flour, baking powder, salt and pepper to combine. Add water and lime juice and whisk well, ensuring batter is smooth and lump free. Set aside.

2. Choose an oven-proof, non-stick frying pan or well seasoned cast iron skillet, for which you have a tight fitting lid (I used a lid from a large stock pot and used a couple of pieces of tin foil to plug the gaps along the rim of the skillet). Heat oil over medium-high, then add cumin seeds, coriander seeds, ginger and chilies. Fry, stirring often, until fragrant and seeds begin to pop, about 1-2 minutes.

3. Add fried spices, ginger and chilies to chickpea batter and whisk in. Don’t worry if you don’t get every seed and bit from skillet. Place skillet back on the stove and turn heat down to low. Carefully pour chickpea batter into the skillet and cover with the lid (no peeking – the key is to allow steam to build up and help in cooking the cake.) Cook over low heat for 6-8 minutes, until bubbles appear on surface and mixture starts to set (you will notice the top of the cake will start to dry out and become less jiggly.) Be careful not to burn the skillet cake! Low heat is key here. While cake is cooking on the stove top, set oven on to broil.

4. Once batter is mostly set, remove from heat, remove lid and place skillet on middle rack and broil for 2-3 minutes. Watch carefully to ensure skillet cake does not burn! This is not the time to walk away and start a new task. Carefully remove skillet from the oven (it’s hot!) and allow to cool. Once cool enough to handle, you can flip the skillet cake out of the pan onto a serving plate, or serve straight form the skillet. Top with desired garnishes. It tastes best when warm, so eat right away! Or store leftovers in the fridge and reheat before eating.

And now for a PSA: Let me know if you make this recipe! Share with your friends! Like and comment below!

Enjoy life and good food and sunshine,

ilona

Double Dark Chocolate Truffles (Vegan)

Posted on February 13, 2017 by ilona (Soundbites Nutrition)

Keeping it short and sweet today. Just like this recipe. A sweet, simple treat for Valentine’s Day. Or any day. Maybe every day? These decadent truffles taste like they came from a fancy chocolate shop but in fact require only four main ingredients and a bit of chilling time to make. Insanely rich, smooth and satisfyingly chocolaty, they will surely impress your sweetheart or whoever the lucky recipient may be.

I can’t say I always liked celebrating V Day. Totally jaded and turned off by the artificially manufactured saccharin sweetness of the whole thing made me indifferent at best. But I suppose over the years I have realized that celebrating anything in life is a good foil for the negativity and wretchedness of what goes on around us. The world needs more love. So why not honour it, even if it is with tacky cards and overpriced flowers. Better yet, with truffles. Double dark chocolate truffles. Vegan and easy at that. Make them and share them or hoard them for yourself. Love yourself. Love those around you. Love your family. Love life. And hey, love carnations too! They are in fact beautiful but for some reason have been relegated to the bottom of the barrel for far too long. I love you carnations. You complete me.

Don’t be scared of the long instructions, I’ve just included tips that that I have found helpful along the way. And here are some pictures to help you out as well…

Chilled bowl of ganache:

Scooped ganache chillin’:

Rolled and ready for some cocoa lovin’:

Sprinkled with cocoa:

Rock and roll time:

Double Dark Chocolate Truffles

Makes 16-18 truffles

Prep Time 30 minutes (total)

Chill Time 2 hours

Ingredients:

200g dairy-free dark chocolate chips (1 cup + 2 Tablespoons chocolate chips)*

125ml light coconut milk

1 Tablespoon (15ml) virgin coconut oil

pinch of sea salt

2 Tablespoons (30ml) cocoa powder

Directions:

1. Place chocolate chips in medium-sized bowl; find a plate that will fit over bowl to cover.

2. In a small saucepan combine coconut milk and coconut oil and heat over medium heat until just starting to bubble. Pour the hot liquid over the chocolate chips (don’t mix yet!) and cover with the plate. After about 2 minutes, remove plate add the pinch of sea salt and stir chocolate mixture. The chocolate chips should have melted in the hot liquid, but if there is still some unmelted chocolate, microwave in 15 second intervals until fully melted. You have now made ganache! Cover bowl with the plate again and refrigerate for about 2 hours, until mixture has firmed up.

3. Once mixture is cooled and firm, but still moldable, remove from fridge. Using a small ice cream scoop (a great tool for this part, mine holds just a little bit more than 1 Tablespoon), scoop out ganache, level off and turn out onto the plate that was covering the bowl. Repeat until you’ve used up all the ganache. The chilled plate helps to prevent the truffles from melting or becoming too soft. If you don’t have a small ice cream scoop, use a Tablespoon measuring spoon for this.

4. Now roll each ganache mound with your hands into an evenly shaped, smooth ball and place on a small rimmed cookie sheet or a shallow glass dish; line the cookie sheet or dish with parchment paper if you like. It helps to cool your hands under running cold water, then drying them thoroughly before rolling – this prevents the ganache from sticking to your hands. You may have to wash your hands once or twice during the rolling process if they become sticky.

5. Once all the truffles are rolled, scoop the cocoa powder into a small fine-meshed sieve and sift over the truffles. Next, roll the truffles around by shaking the cookie sheet or dish gently until the truffles are entirely coated. I’ve found this to be the most efficient way to coat the truffles in the cocoa powder.

6. Transfer the truffles into an airtight container and keep at room temperature for a few days or in the fridge for up to a week (if they last that long). Enjoy!

* I used Enjoy Life Dark Chocolate Morsels; you can also use 200g of your favourite bar chocolate finely chopped. Choose good-quality chocolate as it’s the star ingredient!

If you do end up making these, share your creations on social media and tag with #soundbitesnutrition.

Have a lovely Valentine’s Day and eat lots of chocolate!

ilona

Almond Butter Cup Smoothie Bowl + Magic Chocolate Sauce

Posted on February 10, 2017 by ilona (Soundbites Nutrition)

Permission to eat chocolate covered strawberries for breakfast granted! You’re welcome. Very, very welcome. Because in the depths of this Southern Ontario sun deprived deep freeze kind of a winter some joy is needed. And chocolate brings joy. Especially in the form of a chocolatey smoothie bowl made up of high vibe ingredients to delight the body and soul. Though I have to say, while chocolate does its magic, for anyone reading this who hails from some warm and sunshiney corner of the world – can I come live with you?? I think I make a decent roommate. I can guarantee good food, witty banter and a willingness to clean. Ok, so only one of those is true.

In the meantime, back to chocolate. For now. Until someone from California sends for me.

So this smoothie bowl is the first smoothie bowl I have ever made. For real. I feel like I’m so late to the party that the party is almost over…they’ve started playing this. I know smoothie bowls have been around for forever but for some reason I’ve never been compelled to make one. Probably for a few reasons: A) A smoothie bowls seem like breakfast food to me B) I’d much rather eat something savoury for breakfast and C) I pretty much always eat breakfast in my car on the way to work. Smoothie bowls are not conducive to these pursuits. But one day this past week I woke up with this exact smoothie bowl idea in my head. I imagine that’s what song writers or artists or novelists mean when they say that ideas come to them fully formed. Except in my case it’s always food. Sometimes a half-baked concept that collapses when put into action (ahem, shortbread cookies) and sometimes a successful recipe that strikes gold upon first try. This bowl was of the latter sort. A vision appeared in my head, I created it and then praise was heaped upon it by those who tasted the magnificent results. Or something like that.

This recipe makes a pretty good sized smoothie bowl so it’s perfect for sharing. Though with about 24 grams of fibre (!!) and 13 grams of protein, it makes a mighty satisfying meal for one. There’s virtually no added sugar in this recipe, except for the maple syrup in the chocolate sauce, which you can skip. Though the chocolate sauce is my favourite thing about this bowl! It is super easy to make and it hardens when poured onto the icy smoothie and cold fruit, creating a shell of chocolate drizzle that breaks up into chocolate chunks as you crack it with your spoon (that’s the magic!) Umm are we talking decadent dessert or breakfast still? To be quite honest I don’t think anyone would complain if you finished off a meal with this and called it dessert. I certainly wouldn’t. Perhaps a Valentine’s Day treat?

The other ingredients are essentially fruits, seeds and nuts. These do a body good! And all the chocolate goodness comes from good quality organic cocoa powder as opposed to processed chocolate. I can live with that.

Almond Butter Cup Smoothie Bowl With Magic Chocolate Sauce

Makes 1-2 Servings

Prep Time 10 minutes

Ingredients for the Smoothie Bowl:

2 frozen bananas, broken up into chunks

1-2 medjool dates

3/4 cup unsweetened almond milk (or other plant-based milk)

2 Tablespoons cocoa powder

1 1/2 Tablespoons chia seeds

1 1/2 Tablespoons smooth almond butter

Ingredients for the Chocolate Sauce:

2 teaspoons virgin coconut oil, melted

2 teaspoons maple syrup

2 teaspoons cocoa powder

Toppings: strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, sliced banana, chopped raw almonds; other fruit or nuts may be used, as desired

1. Blend all smoothie bowl ingredients in a blender until smooth. Depending on your blender, you may need to stop it a few times and use a spoon to move the ingredients around, or use more almond milk to get it to a smooth consistency. If you have a Vitamix, use the tamper to move the ingredients around.

2. Use a fork to whisk all chocolate sauce ingredients until smooth.

3. Pour smoothie into a bowl, top with desired toppings and drizzle with the chocolate sauce. Enjoy!

Red Kidney Bean Curry (Rajma)

Posted on January 30, 2017 by ilona (Soundbites Nutrition)

Sometimes life hands you lemons. Kernels of sourness. Little moments or truths or revelations that just make you pucker up and shake your head in disbelief. Like really universe? This is what you’re going to throw my way? You want to laugh and cry at the same time, on one hand feeling frustrated with the parade of disappointments, but on the other cherishing these moments for the inevitable memoir that will surely entertain the masses. In any case, I’ve learned that it’s best to take the Buddhist path in these instances – let go, live in the here and now and don’t sweat the future. Call up a good friend, shed a few tears, eat a cupcake, then laugh at the audacity of life. Good food helps. Especially a dish that warms from within to chase away the winter chill and nourishes your body with plant-based goodness that pairs plenty of exotic (but easy to find) spices with otherwise simple ingredients. This red kidney bean curry is known as rajma and hails from Northern India. Now let me qualify that a Polish-born Canadian girl making a very traditional Indian curry might take some liberties with the recipe so this may or may not actually resemble what a real rajma looks or tastes like, but nevertheless I love (LOVE) the results. In fact, now that I think of it, I’m not sure if I’ve ever actually eaten authentic rajma. I’ve heard lots about it from friends and the families of South Asian decent that I counsel in my role as a dietitian (apparently rajma is a beloved dish for many children.) I’ve read and researched plenty of recipes when I decided to make my own many years ago – I can only guess at how close mine is to the real thing. In any case, as I said, the recipe that follows creates a beautiful, spiced dish that satisfies.

Red kidney beans are part of the pulse family (which includes beans, peas and lentils) and Canada is the world’s second largest grower of this nutrient-packed bunch (right after India). Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario and Quebec grow hundreds of varieties and exports are a billion dollar industry! Talk about home-grown gold. Pulse Canada does an amazing job curating recipes, factsheets and lots of great information about pulses – please check out their website. While 2016 was the Year of Pulses, they are not going anywhere. In fact, pulses are gaining popularity and a larger share of the real estate on our plates. And this is no surprise really, they are incredibly cheap, versatile, brimming with protein and nutrients and hailed as a sustainable crop. The future is pulses! Did I mention the nutrients??

I used canned kidney beans for this recipe but give dried beans a chance too. They just require soaking overnight, then a quick rinse and boiling the next day. Mostly idle work. I make big batches at a time then store in zip top bags in the freezer. Check out cooking guidelines for various pulses here. I should also say give (dried) peas a chance as well. Hehe.

Red Kidney Bean Curry (Rajma)

Serves 4

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 30-35 minutes

Ingredients:

3 Tablespoons avocado oil, or other neutral tasting oil (grapeseed, canola)

1 medium/large sweet onion, roughly chopped

4-5 cloves of garlic

2 inch chunk of ginger, peeled

1 Tablespoon cumin seeds

1 teaspoon red pepper flakes or 1 Tablespoon finely chopped fresh red chile, or to taste

1 teaspoon garam masala

1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric

1/2 teaspoon ground coriander

1 teaspoon salt, or to taste

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, or to taste

4 medium tomatoes, chopped

2 (19oz/540ml) cans of red kidney beans, drained and rinsed

1 1/2 cups water

Cooked grain of your choice (rice, quinoa, sorghum, millet) or flatbread, for serving

Chopped fresh cilantro, lime wedges and chopped red chile to garnish (optional)

Directions:

1. Add ginger and garlic cloves to bowl of food processor and process until finely chopped (about 30 seconds). Add onion to the minced ginger and garlic and pulse until chopped. Alternatively, if you don’t have a food processor, mince ginger and garlic, and finely chop onion with a knife.

2. Heat oil in a large saucepan on medium heat, add ginger, garlic and onion and cook until soft and translucent, about 3-5 minutes.

3. Add in cumin seeds, red pepper flakes or red chile, garam masala, turmeric, coriander, salt and pepper, stir to combine and cook until fragrant, about 1-2 minutes.

4. Add in chopped tomatoes, including any juices, stir to combine, and simmer uncovered for about 15 minutes, stirring often, until liquid has mostly evaporated and the oil starts to release from the mixture. Reduce heat to medium-low if mixture starts to bubble too fast and sticks to the pan.

5. Add in kidney beans and water, stir to combine, cover with lid slightly askew (to allow steam to escape) and cook for about 8-10 minutes until curry thickens, stir from time to time to make sure curry does not stick to the bottom of the pot. Take off the heat. If desired, using a potato masher, mash some of the kidney beans in one corner of the pot; this will thicken the sauce a little bit while keeping most of the kidney beans whole.

6. Serve with cooked grains or flatbread and garnish with toppings as desired.

Tips:

You can add more water to the curry after the last step if you prefer a thinner consistency.

You can buy all the spices at a bulk store if you prefer to buy smaller amounts.

Restorative Sesame Golden Milk

Posted on January 23, 2017 by ilona (Soundbites Nutrition)

Anyone else feeling the cold-weather slump? Silly question, really. I think it’s inevitable living in the ever changing climate of Southern Ontario. Unless you live in a part of the world where each season is marked by date alone, there is a unique collection of weather events, shifting temperatures and a transformation of the flora and fauna that marks the passing of time. Along with this there is a shifting of mood and feelings, an ebb and flow of emotions and thoughts. The summer months echo a lightness and carefree attitude, whereas as the daylight grows scarce and the thermometer gauge plummets, there is an inherent introspectiveness and sharpening of emotions as winter settles in for the long haul.

And by this point in the year it definitely feels like the long haul. With the holiday season now a distant memory, the bright twinkle light displays being turned off one by one, we hunker down to endure the rest of winter. I know that sounds like I hate winter. I don’t really, I appreciate living in a part of the world that has seasons with each possessing its own beauty and charm. But winter just seems to last sooooo long! At some point I’m just over it, and judging by conversations with others, that moment where we just want to shake off the chill and ease into the promise of warmth and brightness that spring heralds starts to germinate in January, grows in February and explodes in March. We are all just weary by March. And then somehow spring arrives, at first with a whisper and then unfurling with ever growing momentum. And before we know it we are basking in the breeze of the first warm-weather day in our short sleeves, soaking up the sweetness of a sun-drenched day, breathing in deeply as the first blooms release their heady aromas and the melody of chirping birds matches the soaring elation we feel deep in our souls. Ahhhh, we shall be there soon my friends. For now we make do with the mesmerizing sun glinting off snow blanketed fields and ice covered tree branches, cozy sweaters and thick cable-knit socks, hearty meals and soothing tonics.

Enter this brightly-hued, restorative drink. It is a creation borne of my seemingly unending obsession with turmeric – a vibrant, orange-yellow spice known as much for its earthy flavour as for its health benefits, and my love of sesame. Turmeric contains a well-studied, powerful anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant compound called curcumin – the claims of its health benefits backed up by good science. Now I don’t want anyone thinking that we are all in a constant state of inflammation – that’s just not the case. But if you suffer from arthritis, joint aches, allergies, general pain, well then curcumin can only help! And it has well established anti-cancer properties too, beneficial for both prevention and treatment (though always consult with your doctor about that.) Curcumin is activated by piperin, a compound in black pepper, otherwise curcumin is not well absorbed by our bodies, hence the addition of a grind of black pepper in this drink (you only need a tiny bit and it doesn’t affect the taste). And now you know! Science is amazing. If you’re not sure if you like turmeric in your drinks, start off with a small amount then build from there. Turmeric is also a great addition to curries, soups, roasted veggies and ginger tea; I often cook my grains with a few dashes too, waking up pale rice, quinoa and millet with a golden glow. Warming cinnamon and protein and omega 3 rich hemp hearts round out this soothing drink to nourish from within. You can drink it cold or slightly warmed.

Sesame Golden Milk

Makes 1-2 servings

Prep Time 5 minutes

Ingredients:

2 cups (500ml) unsweetened almond milk (or other non-dairy beverage)

2 medjool dates*

2 Tablespoons (30ml) hemp hearts

2 Tablespoons (30ml) raw sesame seeds**

1/2-1 1/2 teaspoons (2.5-7.5ml) ground turmeric

1/2 teaspoon (2.5ml) ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon (5ml) virgin coconut oil

a small pinch freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

1. Place all ingredients in a high-powered blender and blend until completely smooth. Store in an airtight container or jar for up to 2 days.

*soften in boiling water for a few minutes if firm

**soak overnight if you’re blender is not powerful enough to break them down completely

PS Listening to this tune while writing about my longing for warmth and sunshine surely helps. I’m in love with this guys music. All of it. Didgeridoos, harmonicas, guitars, drums and bird sounds.

Smokey Chickpea Potato Soup

Posted on January 16, 2017 by ilona (Soundbites Nutrition)

I’m on a mission. A mission to get people to spend more time in their kitchens. Please don’t run away screaming just yet! Hear me out. We demand a lot from our bodies – vitality, energy, a healthy weight. We likely invest time and money in insuring our bodies against illness and ageing – gym memberships, anti-aging products, yoga, meditation. Yet we are afraid of spending time in the kitchen. Think about it – we are constantly hearing messages about time-saving recipes, convenience foods, short cuts, prepared meals and so on. So much so that we have become averse to our appliances and all that equipment languishing in our cupboards. We drag our feet and protest against cooking, citing long lists of priorities. But preparing food is at the basic level of self-care. We should, in fact, be running towards our kitchens instead of away from them. Cooking more is one of the ways, perhaps the most important way, we will be able to resolve so many of our food and health issues. When we prioritize cooking for ourselves and our families, we declare that taking care of our bodies through whole, nourishing meals consumed at our dining tables in the company of our loved ones matters.

Now I get that spending more time in the kitchen doesn’t mean spending ALL of our time in the kitchen. We still want easy to prepare recipes that aren’t going to send us on a wild goose chase trying to track down unusual spices. There is a time and place for that, and I do admit that I enjoy spending my time unearthing exotic foods and perusing aisles of newly discovered markets. But recognizing that’s not everyone’s cup of tea and with the mission to get people to cook more in mind, I decided to create a recipe that is made with simple ingredients and requires only fundamental cooking skills. In fact I challenged myself to create a recipe with items I already had on hand!

Soups are really at the very centre of convenience cooking. One pot, a bunch of familiar ingredients and a few spices to add flavour and flair, and a bit of idle time. That’s it. This soup contains potatoes, an often vilified vegetable (probably for its incarnations as chips and fries) but actually delivers a bunch of nutrients in a pretty convenient package. One medium potato with the skin on provides a third of your B6 and a quarter of your potassium and vitamin C needs as well as 15%of your daily fibre requirement. Carrots add colour and beta carotene and chickpeas stand in as the filling, fibre-rich protein source. Despite usually being relegated to decoration, I added parsley as much for its flavour as for its surprising nutritional punch: a quarter cup of chopped parsley provides a quarter of your vitamin C and almost 300% (yes you read that right) of your vitamin K needs. Vitamin K is a powerful fat-soluble vitamin that is involved in the blood clotting process, so you know, you don’t bleed to death!! Thank you vitamin K *gives high five*.

As always, this recipe is plant-based but can be enjoyed by everyone. As with many soups and stews, this one tastes even better the next day – so perfect for leftovers! What is your favourite quick and easy to prepare meal that you often cook for yourself and your families?

Smokey Potato Chickpea Soup

Makes 6 servings

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Ingredients:

2 Tablespoons avocado or extra virgin olive oil

1 medium onion, diced (about 1 cup)

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 Tablespoon smoked paprika, hot or mild

1 teaspoon sweet paprika

1 teaspoon ground cumin

2 teaspoons Italian seasoning*

3 medium potatoes, skin left on, cut into 1/2-inch cubes (about 5 cups)

3 carrots, peeled, sliced into rounds or half moons (about 3 cups)**

6-7 cups water

1 (19oz/540ml) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed

1/2-3/4 cup finely chopped parsley

1-2 teaspoons sea salt, to taste

1/2-3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Directions:

1. In a large pot, heat oil over medium heat. Add onion and garlic and sauté until soft and translucent, about 3-5 minutes.

2. Add the smoked paprika, sweet paprika, cumin, Italian seasoning and half of the salt and pepper to the pot and stir for about a minute until fragrant.

3. Add the potato, carrot and water, stir to combine. Increase heat to high, bring soup to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low and simmer uncovered for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until potatoes and carrots are just fork-tender (be careful not to overcook!)

4. Finally stir in the chickpeas and parsley, and adjust salt, pepper and seasonings to your taste.

*If you don’t have Italian seasoning on hand, just use any combination of thyme, oregano, basil, dried sage and rosemary.

**This soup will thicken as it stands (especially overnight), add extra water to thin it or just enjoy as is. I used 6 cups of water.

Tips:

-I add the onion and garlic to the pot off the heat as I chop them. Once I have all the other ingredients prepared, I add the oil and turn on the heat.

-I chop the parsley and rinse the chickpeas while the soup is simmering, to cut down on prep time.

-If this recipe leaves you with a bunch of leftover parsley, use it in salads, pasta and rice dishes, smoothies and sprinkle extra on the soup before serving.

Cooking Up A Revolution

Posted on January 14, 2017 by ilona (Soundbites Nutrition)

In a recent article in the National Post, Claudia McNeilly explores why despite a growing obsession with food, we are in fact spending less time in the kitchen. She writes: “Cooking is largely viewed as extra work that we are eager to pawn off to other people.”

I am not surprised to read a line like this as our ever busier, jam packed lives leave little leftover time to spend in our kitchens. But perhaps it is time to rethink this whole cooking thing. What if cooking nourishing meals for ourselves and our families became the first thing we scheduled in our calendars? What if sitting down to a meal at an actual table became more important than activities, errands and binge watching the latest and greatest? I for one, along with a quickly growing body of health professionals, strongly feel that reclaiming time and redirecting it to shopping for food, cooking and family meals would result in a vastly healthier society – positively influencing not only our physical health, but our mental health as well (read more here, here and here.) It’s not just what is available at the grocery but how we eat and how much time we spend in the kitchen that has drastically changed in the last few decades. Perhaps it’s those factors that are largely shaping our health today – food for thought?

In any case, forget celebrity chefs with their promise of “30 minute meals”…umm maybe 30 minutes of actual cooking but no time factored in to shop for new ingredients, food prep and clean up (oh the clean up!)

Dig out your old, simple favourites and start creating your own meals! No need to be fancy or pricy. Choose seasonal or frozen produce, dried or canned legumes, nutritious but cheap grains like millet, brown rice or whole grain pasta and get those pots on the stove.

I love this line from the last paragraph of the article, quoted from the book Cooked by Michael Pollan: “To cook for the pleasure of it, to devote a portion of our leisure to it, is to declare our independence from the corporations seeking to organize our every waking moment into yet another occasion for consumption.”

Turn off the cooking shows, leave the takeout menu in its drawer, skip the drive through. Rummage through your pantry for ingredients and stage a quiet revolution in your kitchens, taking away dollars and power from influential fast food chains and ultra-processed food manufacturers. Admire the slick and tempting dishes created on TV from time to time, but make your own (perhaps not as Instagram-worthy) meals far more often.

When I create recipes, I try to think about the amount of time spent on prep and finding unusual ingredients. Check out my blog and Facebook page, where I share either my personally crafted recipes or ones I have gleaned from others and loved for their simplicity and nutritional punch. Case in point: the colourful picture featuring raspberries at the top of this post is nothing more than whole grain toast, natural peanut butter, fresh fruit and a drizzle of maple syrup. Doesn’t get easier than that!

While I love cooking, I too am thrilled when I can use less dishes, chop less veggies and use more ingredients I already have on hand. Now doesn’t that sound tempting?

2017 Resolutions: Patterns for Change

Posted on January 10, 2017 by ilona (Soundbites Nutrition)

Picture from the Chihuly exhibit at the ROM; this piece is entitled Tumbleweeds, but for me elicited lightening, or a spark. An inspiration to spark change for 2017.

Congratulations on making it through the first week of 2017 (and a bit)! Nearly 51 of them left to accomplish your goals, get stuff done, screw it up, reinvent yourself, get lost, find your way again, make mistakes, get it right, find success, experience loss, travel, end relationships and start new ones, ignite new passions, flip the page. It’s all a bit exciting, isn’t it? Maybe a bit scary. Not knowing what lies ahead, where you will be at this time next year? All the while hoping that life doesn’t throw you a giant curveball. Bracing yourself for potential disaster or pain. But that fear hangs in the background for now – because January is for aspirations and renewal. As pretty much everyone else (whether they admit it or not), I too love January for its capacity to instill reflection and inspire purpose. I don’t arrive on January first with a list of resolutions, instead I form them over the first few weeks of the New Year. Emerging from a holiday induced stupor, I need a bit of time to get my bearings and spend some time thinking about how I want to shape the days, weeks and months ahead. This is a luxury granted to us living amidst material comfort, good health and relative affluence. I don’t want to squander it.

So how are you making out so far? Are you feeling panicked or energized? Hopeless or motivated? Astray or purposeful? It’s so easy to get overwhelmed under the barrage of resolutions flying at you every which way. Everywhere you turn, there they are – in conversations with friends, scrolling through social media, in every magazine and news outlet. And one common theme is health. Specifically the attainment of a healthy weight, a healthy diet, a healthy everything. I have to fully confess, as a dietitian I sometimes want to go into hibernation during this time, and perhaps I would if it weren’t for my own desires for a fresh start. But the seemingly endless posts about diets, detoxes and nutrition have me wondering when the collective paranoia of what we put on our plates reached this frenzied fever pitch. Everyone from doctors, to TV personalities to self proclaimed experts and celebrities are claiming that their diet is the one that will change your life around. You just need to avoid this, give up that, try this, banish that. Each nutrient or food coming under attack in turn, with grains and sugar getting the brunt of the scorn at the moment it seems. And if it’s not a food that’s getting publicly flogged, then it’s how we eat. Forget the advice to eat small meals throughout the day – oh so last millennium! If the hordes of (start air quotes) nutrition gurus (end air quotes) are to be believed, fasting is where it’s at. And the longer the better it seems; a study in willpower. Perhaps the biggest test of it being how long you can withstand a juice fast, because you know, detox. Forget a weekend, a week even, let’s go for a month! Umm, no thanks, I like to chew.

I know I am sounding incredibly disdainful and perhaps a touch irritable. But the thing is, all of this makes me sad. Sad that people shilling this ever-changing and increasingly more outrageous diet advice are preying on people’s vulnerabilities, all the while making A. Lot. Of. Money. Your buy-in buys them a very comfortable life. The weight loss industry in the US, including everything from diet soft drinks to supplements, diet books, apps and more is worth $60 billion. Let that sink in: $60,000,000,000 in one country alone. That is a lot of zeros.

It makes me even more distressed knowing that the majority of those who consume this advice are women. My comrades, my soul sisters. Strong, smart, amazing, beautiful humans. And not their fault – women have been spoon fed smoke and mirrors about what they should look like for far too long, inciting a quest to change what they see in the mirror. But that is a rant for another day. For now, let’s focus on this: there is no ideal, perfect diet. No ultimate way of eating. No supreme regime. In my books, there are only healthy eating patterns. That’s right patterns is the operative word. Patterns that change and mold and flex. They are not meant to be rigid and static. Your pattern will differ from mine and will suit your life.

Pulling from the dictionary, where a few definitions of what a pattern is reside, the one that I like in this instance is this: a combination of qualities, acts, tendencies, etc., forming a consistent or characteristic arrangement; anything fashioned or designed to serve as a model or guide for something to be made. In essence, a consistent model that allows for variety.

It’s a tough sell because this concept is not wrapped in a sexy, glossy package. No promises of enlightenment through discipline. But perhaps the promise of tamed anxiety and realization that you have the knowledge and skills within. So let’s take a collective, deep, steadying, cleansing breath and look at what healthy eating patterns might look like.

For starters, let’s just accept that there is no need for a punishing regimen for our bodies to detox. We have livers and kidneys who do the job just fine. Now onwards. Here are some healthy eating patterns to get you started, my Top Ten if you will:

Eating more whole fruits and vegetables IS in fact a good thing – the more the better. If possible, at every meal and making up the majority of your plate. No argument from me here. Besides adding a whack load of vitamins and minerals, they add to our fibre intake which we are severely lacking in. Fibre is the nerdy, undervalued, introverted but quietly powerful superhero of the nutrient world – balancing blood sugar, keeping our gastrointestinal systems in tip top shape, taming cholesterol levels and more.
Legumes like beans, peas, lentils and chickpeas as well us nuts, seeds and tofu are excellent sources of plant based protein that I encourage people to eat more of – supported by lots of evidence that reducing our intake of animal based protein is better for our health, our budget and the environment. Oh and again, hello fibre, our multitalented superhero friend!
Skip the processed white grains for the most part. There are so many awesome whole grains waiting to grace your plate! Brown/red/black/wild rice, quinoa, millet, sorghum, farro, wheat berries, oatmeal, buckwheat, pot barley, amaranth, teff, spelt, kamut – it’s a whole new world opening up before you! And you guessed it – more fibre.
Dispense with sugary and artificially sweetened drinks like pop and juice, sports drinks, sweetened lattes, diet soft drinks. Choose herbal teas and water – whether plain, carbonated or fruit infused. Go ahead and add lemon juice – it isn’t a magical cure for anything but it does taste good and might make you drink more.
The grocery store is a minefield of ultra processed foods masquerading as healthy choices. Be wary of what food manufacturers claim on the front of the package. Read the ingredient list (its length not necessarily an indication of quality – my favourite brand of crackers has a super long list of ingredients but they are mostly whole grains and seeds) – look out for added sugars, artificial anything, food colouring, refined starches and so on. I often post reviews on my Facebook page of packaged foods that I think are great…and maybe ones that aren’t.
Speaking of sugar – it’s not an all or nothing deal. It’s true that we consume too much. But instead of trying to banish it completely (umm can you really say you will never have birthday cake or ice cream with your kids??), look for sources of added sugar in your kitchens and replace with better options gradually – start with cereals, yogurt, granola bars, snacks marketed to children, drinks and so on.
Take the time to feed yourself and your family well. Be consistent and reliable. This means taking the time to plan, shop and cook and making space and time for meals and snacks that you eat together at the table(whenever possible) without distractions. Be prepared so that you don’t skip meals or forget to feed yourself. It might mean giving up some things in order to make this a priority (yes I know Netflix tempts with endless opportunities for binge watching…but someone has to get dinner started!)
Pay attention when you eat. Avoid TV, devices, toys or books during eating times. Make conversation with those around you. If you eat mostly on your own, it means having to adapt to being with yourself and your thoughts during mealtime. This is the only way to truly start getting to know your body and your hunger and fullness cues. We’ve been conditioned to ignore our inner voice on so many fronts. Distractions in our lives abound and so we are terrible at this (myself included) and often override our bodies – skipping meals when hungry or eating beyond fullness. Start listening.
Enjoy your favourite foods at regular intervals. Denying yourself chocolate or restricting chips will only lead to preoccupation with those foods. We all know how that goes… Instead, have them every now and them, enjoy thoroughly and watch how they lose their power to control your food choices.
Take pleasure in moving your body in ways that are appealing and enjoyable to you. If you have kids, move with them. If running is drudgery and the treadmill your nemesis, why the heck are you signing up for a 10km race? Find a yoga challenge or a hiking trek if that’s your thing instead. As with food, there is no perfect or ideal exercise.

Now these may be a good place to begin, but there are plenty of other things that you could do, or maybe are already doing, to start you off on good footing as you welcome 2017. The ULTIMATE goal is living a life that you can embrace for 365 days of the year and not just 7 or 30. In fact that’s the litmus test for any diet out there – if you can’t live it for a year it’s not worth starting in the first place. My happiest, most vibrant life includes a boat load of vegetables as well as homemade chocolate peanut butter pie – just in different proportions. It includes long hikes with friends, solitary yoga and punishing obstacle course races. Cupcakes, kale, hummus, wine by the bottle and Netflix too.

For 2017 my hope is that you make peace with food and permanently exile restrictive, demanding diets that zap your confidence, diminish your self-worth and wreak havoc on your health. Embrace vitality and give yourself permission to enjoy eating. Invest time in cooking for yourself or your families and relish new ingredients, recipes and cuisines. Happy New Year!