Happy Holiday Baking!

It's the holidays and I have set aside a day to bake up some goodies for the holidays. I have a few stand-bys that I make and I also try to incorporate some new treats every year. Some of my treats are healthy, but some aren't. This is the only time of the year when I have white flour and white sugar on hand. Perhaps I should make all healthy and wholesome goodies, but it is the holidays after all! Besides, I do have a few tricks I use to increase the health factor of some favourites.

This year I made these Apple Gingerbread Squares! I took two recipes from an old 'Christmas Baking' magazine and made a few changes to make the recipe my own. I encourage you to try the same. Click here for the recipe!

The basics ingredients for baking are flour, sugar and fat. Eggs, milk, spices and others will be added to change the consistency and flavour.

Flour - White flour is one of the worst things you can eat. It contains no nutrition; but it does make pastries and breads light and flaky. Both whole wheat and whole spelt flour is more nutritious than their lighter counterparts as all of the grain is intact. When I am substituting flour, I often use spelt flour. I use light spelt flour and whole spelt. Light spelt flour is refined like white flour, however it does dissolve in the body better as it is water-soluble, so you are more likely to get the little nutrition that is left in the flour. If you want to replace white flour you can use 1/2 whole wheat and 1/2 whole spelt or 1/2 light spelt and 1/2 whole spelt. Increase the baking powder content by half if you are using spelt to ensure there is a bit more rise, as spelt does not rise as well as wheat.

Sugar - Sugar has no substitute! Actually we all love our sweets and there are alternatives to using sugar. Maple syrup, Stevia and agave nectar are all sweeteners found in nature and are good substitutes. Some amazing cooks have done terrific things with these sweeteners. If I am not willing to experiment, I will often decrease the amount of sugar by 1/3, or I will use Sucanat. Sucanat is dehydrated cane sugar and you can find it in your natural health store. All other sugars are the same; brown sugar, cane sugar, golden sugar. All sugar, no nutritional difference.

Fat - Oh the dreaded fat. Absolutely necessary for making pastries light and flaky and cookies mouth watering. I do not use shortening or margarine ever. Both are trans fat in a box, no matter what the label says. I recommend using butter or coconut oil. Butter is a natural source of dairy fat and, while it is fat, your body knows what to do with that natural source of fat. Coconut Oil has also gotten a bad name in the past. Research is showing that this all-natural fat, used in warm climates around the world, is actually a fat-burner and makes great pastry!

I wish you the best this holiday season. Eat good food (in moderation!) and enjoy the holidays with your family and friends. May 2010 bring you further happiness and health!

Portion Control!

As we are approaching the Holidays, everyone starts to worry about their waistlines. I believe that it is important during the holidays to enjoy yourself. I became a nutritionist because I love food! I have found that by choosing whole foods and watching my portion sizes I can feel good, eat well and enjoy the holidays. I hope these tricks work well for you too!

Here are some tricks for watching your portion sizes...

1) Divide your plate in 4. One quarter is for protein, one quarter is for a starch and the final half is for vegetables.

2) Protein - your serving of protein should be the size and thickness of your palm, without your fingers. Choose lean meats or legumes



3) Starch - This could be a whole grain like brown rice, whole grain pasta or quinoa. It can also be a starchy vegetable; this includes potatoes, sweet potatoes, carrots or squash. Choose an amount that is equal to one fist.


4) Vegetables - Eat lots of vegetables and try to get lots of dark green veggies. You can eat as many vegetables as you can hold in two hands



5) Fat - A portion of butter, oil or salad dressing should be equal to the tip of your thumb



6) Fruit - A piece of fruit should be the size of your fist.



I really like the hand-method when it comes to determining portion sizes. Everyone is different and if you use your hand it will make sure you are getting the right portion for your body type.

Thanks to Diabetes Canada for these great graphics

I Want Candy!

Halloween will arrive shortly and with it the beginning of the end of many healthy eating plans. Candy begins showing up on office desks around the end of October. November signifies the secret raiding of kids Halloween bags. Baked goodies and treats start a steady trickle throughout December.

Treats are an important part of life, however it is important to monitor your 'treat consumption'. How often do you deserve a treat? Is it everyday? Once it becomes frequent, it is no longer a treat, but a part of your diet. There are lots of reasons to limit candy consumption, but here are the biggies:

• Excess sugar is stored as fat
• Sugar decreases the immune system making your body more susceptible to colds and flu
• Sugar causes hyperactivity, anxiety, crankiness and can contribute to osteoporosis, gallstones, obesity and many other diseases and illnesses

So what about the office?
It is hard when the office is littered with welcoming bowls of mini chocolate bars. Walking from your desk to the printer can be dangerous! I would suggest giving yourself a limit and a day. For example on Friday allow yourself one treat after lunch and one late afternoon. And that's it. No more. The rest of the week. Have fresh fruit, vegetable sticks and homemade baked goods to satisfy your sweet tooth. A bowl of raw almonds is a better offering for your desk.

And how about the kids?
There are many philosophies when it comes to managing the large amounts of collected Halloween candy. You can let your kids gorge themselvs over a day or two and be done with it. You can also institute a limit, and throw out the rest. My favourite is the Halloween Witch. Allow your child to pick out a set amount of candy (10 pieces, 20 pieces, you decide). The remaining candy is put in a bag and left on the windowsill inthe kitchen for the Halloween Witch. In the morning the bag of candy will be gone and in it's place a toy. I think this is a great compromise; just make sure to throw out the remaining candy, not take it with you to work!!!

Make sure you and your kids have a great Halloween, one that teaches your kids moderation and enjoyment!

Back to school... work...normal

September is a time of renewal for many people. Even if you are no longer in school, or do not have kids, once Labour Day is over it is time to get back to a routine and get settled before winter arrives. This is a common time for people to call me looking for a detox or a new meal plan. With summer BBQs dwindling to a close and winter holidays on the horizon, now is the time to implement a few small changes that will get that waistline back in check and your diet back on track. One of the best ways to do both is by snacking.

Get my great recipe for Blueberry-Almond Oat Bars by clicking here!

People often dislike snacking because it is inconvenient and they feel like they are eating too much; however if you keep your snacks small and healthy they will keep your metabolism going and they will help keep you from making bad decisions in the throes of hunger. Here are my tips and ideas for healthy snacks.

::: Get in the habit of eating a small meal or snack every 3 hours. This keeps your metabolism going which helps with weight loss

::: Carry a healthy snack with you at all times. This will prevent you from making a poor food choice when you are out.

::: Whole Food Energy bars are great to have in a purse or bag. Make your own or buy brands like Lara Bars, The Rebar or The Simply Bar. When you read the label, look for bars that contain real food; if you can't pronounce the ingredient, you shouldn't eat it.

::: Pair a protein with a carbohydrate. This will keep you full longer. Great pairings are a small apple with almond butter, an orange with 1/2 C plain yogurt, 1/2 of a whole grain pita or bagel with hummus, 5 - 7 whole grain crackers with cheese, 1/2 C dried fruit and nuts, 1/4 C roasted chickpeas and vegetable sticks.

::: Wait until you are a little hungry, but not starving, to have a snack

::: Increase your vegetable content by making your snacks primarily vegetables. Carrots, celery, mini cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, green beans, slices of bell peppers, pieces of broccoli or cauliflower are all easy to pack and carry with you. They taste great alone or with a bit of bean dip.

::: Watch your portion sizes... meat should be the size and thickness of your palm (not including fingers), salad dressing or butter should equal the tip of your thumb, a piece of fruit should be the size of your fist, the starch on your plate should not exceed the size of your fist. Eat lots of vegetables!

::: Have a snack as you are leaving work or on your way home. This will prevent you from raiding the fridge when you get home.

::: Homemade muffins freeze well and are easy to take with you. Making them with whole grains and nuts makes them healthier. Try these homemade cookies, they are low in sugar, high in nutrition and they taste great!

Initially you might find it a little difficult to get into the habit of snacking. In order for healthy snacking to work you need to have smaller breakfast, lunch and dinner meals and small snacks. Set a calendar reminder at work to remember to eat frequently. Once you start getting hungry at those times you will know that your metabolism is running again.

Preserving Summer

Up here in Ontario it has been a cool summer. It's been nice for me being in Toronto, because it's been comfortable, but out of the city it has been very cool and that has resulted in a later season for the fruit and vegetables I look forward to all year. Now that August has arrived and with it the heat, more local fruit and vegetables are finally showing up at the Farmer's Market. So other than eating those juicy peaches right away there are ways that you can preserve fresh food to enjoy it for a little longer.

Freezing Fruit - This is by far the easiest method, if you have the freezer space. For fruit; clean, cut and peel your fruit as you would like to eat it. Spread the fruit on a baking sheet covered in parchment paper. Put as much fruit on the tray that you can without any pieces touching. Put it in the freezer for approximately 4 hours, until they are frozen solid. Once all of the fruit is frozen, place it in a freezer bag, remove the air, seal it tight and put it back in the freezer. This method prevents you from having a lump of frozen fruit that you need to chip away at to get anything.

Freezing Vegetables - Depending on the vegetable, you may have to blanch your vegetables before freezing them. Clean and cut up your vegetables as you would like to have them prepared. Bring a large pot of water to a boil on the stove. In your sink have a large bowl of really cold water with ice on standby. Also have a colander ready. When the water comes to a boil put your vegeatbles in the boiling water. Keep the water at a boil nd boil them for a short amount of time unti lthe colour deepens slightly and ifyou taste the vegetable it is still crisp, but with a slight tenderness to it. Barely cooked. Drain the vegetables through the colander and then put them into the ice bath. Once the vegetables are cool spred them on the baking sheet as you did for the fruit and put them into the freezer until frozen. Move them into a well sealed freezer bag and you have some great vegetables for later.

You can find a chart on how long to blanch certain vegetables for freezing in the Joy of Cooking or on this website: http://www.ochef.com/617.htm. Vegetables that do not need to be blanched are zucchini, onions, garlic, herbs and sweet peppers. You can cut these up and freeze them as you would fruit. Vegetables that are considered squash (other than zucchini) should be cooked completely before freezing.

Dehydrating - Dehydrated fruit is nice to have on your shelf to add to muffins, cookies and other treats. Dehydrated herbs and vegetables are great to have for soups, stews and casseroles. You can dehydrate anything by letting it sit out in the sun for hours, by baking it in an oven - low and slow, or with a dehydrator. I personally prefer the dehydrator. While they may be a costly addition to your kitchen equipment list, it is cheaper than the hydro costs for running your oven all day and night and there is less chance of the squirrels getting your dehydrating delights off of the porch! Clean and cut up your food as you would eat it and make sure it is dry. Place it in the dehydrator and let it sit for the length of time recommended by your dehydrator. Keeping the pieces of food small will ensure there is less time required for dehydrating.

Italian Seasoning Chop one onion into small thin slices Chop one clove of garlic into thin slices Wash and dry two cups each of basil leaves, oregano leaves, sage leaves and marjoran leaves Place each item on a tray in your dehydrator and leave over night. Ensuring that the herbs are dry, remove them from the dehydrator if the onion & garlic are not yet dehydrated, leave them until they have no moistness, can break easily with your fingers Place the dried garlic in a coffee grinder and grind to sesame seed sized pieces Put all of the dried herbs, onion and garlic pieces into a small bag. Crush the bag until the herbs and onion are broken up into smaller pieces Place them all in a jar that is well sealed. This is great to add to yogurt for a dip, soup stock to season it, to sprinkle on potatoes, add to a vegetable stir fry. It is so versatile you will use it for everything, so make up a lot! Feel free to experiment with other herbs and vegetables to make your own custom seasoning!

Canning - The lost art of canning... Our grandmothers used to do it, what happened to us? Canning can be daunting and to be honest it does scare me a little! It is important when you are canning that you make sure that the seal is good and that the fruit or vegetables do not have any mold on them to ensure safe food preservation. I am not going to go into the 'hows', but I am going to say that the Honey Peaches my sister and I canned last summer were delicious in the winter and it was so handy to just grab a can of home-canned tomatoes off the shelf when I was making spaghetti, lasagna or cacciatore. You can find direction on canning on the web of course and in the Joy of Cooking. My only tidbit is to this: if you want to can tomatoes, make them into a puree first, you can fill the jars higher and it is easier to use in cooking.

Here is a recipe for 'All-in-a-Day' BarB-Q Relish, Sweet and Sour Sauce and Chutney

So as summer ends and fall approaches, take advantage of the delicious local fruit and vegetables and stock your pantry for some great homemade meals in the winter.

Stay Cool & Win Big!

Win a cookbook &

Make up some refreshing poolside drinks this summer

I am so excited about my Cookbook giveaway!
This summer I am giving away a copy of RickiHeller's amazing cookbook Sweet Freedom. Ricki is a colleague of mine who has recently published an amazing cookbook full of sweet treats baked without any refined sugar! Using ingredients like maple syrup, agave nectar or pureed fruit, Ricki has compiled a great cookbook with gluten-free, soy-free, nut-free treats. To find out how to get ballots to win a copy click here!

Poolside drinks for the summer
Even though it has been a relatively cool summer, it is still important to stay hydrated in the summer. Click here to read my newsletter post from last summer where I covered to gamut of summer drinks; from iced caps to gatorade and everything in between...

Do you remember Freshie? According to Wikipedia it was the all-Canadian alternative to Kool-Aid. Well now that I am all grown up and a nutritionist, my summer drink menu has changed a little. My mom always made our Freshie and Kool-Aid with 1/2 the sugar required so I never really developed a taste for the super sweet drinks and have since preferred a tarty drink for summer (peanut gallery can pipe down!). Of course soft drinks, bottled iced tea and lemonade from concentrate are no match for real refreshing lemonade with it's tarty bite - and it's really easy to make. Just make up a batch of simple syrup to keep in your fridge so you can whip up a fresh lemonade in no time. In my constant effort to stay away from refined sugars, I have found it is easy to make a simple syrup from Agave Nectar or Honey.

Agave Nectar has a low glycemic index, which means that it does not cause your blood sugar to peak and crash, but it's still nice and sweet. It comes from the Agave Cactus, which is actually the same plant that produces tequila. I find that it has a fresher taste than honey. It can be found at most health food stores. To make a simple syrup combine equal parts of agave nectar and water (start with 1/2 C) and bring to a boil. Boil for 5 minutes and then let cool. Keep it in a closed container in the fridge and use it to sweeten your beverages.

Honey is another alternative to refined sugar. We all know where honey comes from and it has nutritonal benefits. Honey contains riboflavin, vitman B6, iron and manganese. It also has antioxidants, it enhances energy and can heal wounds! To make a simple syrup combine 4 parts honey to 1 part water (try 1 C honey with 1/4 C water) and bring to a boil. Boil for 5 mintues and then let cool. Keep it in a closed container in the fridge and use it to sweeten your beverages. Note: Honey should not be given to children under 1 year of age.

Here are some recipes to try by the pool or lake this summer

Orange Lemonade
1 large navel orange
4 medium lemons
4 Cups of filtered water
1/4 - 1/2 C Agave Simple Syrup (directions above)
Ice or mineral water
Squeeze the juice from the orange and lemons into a pitcher. Add filtered water. Add 1/4 C agave simple syrup. Taste. You may want/need to add more agave syrup. Add it until you get the right sweetness. Serve with ice and/or add some mineral water to make it sparkly!

Blueberry Cucumber Cooler
1 C English Cucumber cut into large chunks (you don't have to peel it)
2 C filtered water
1 C fresh or frozen blueberries (frozen blueberries should be thawed)
1/4 - 1/2 C simple syrup (honey or agave)
2 C filtered or mineral water
Combine cucumber and 2 C water in a blender. Blend until well combined. Strain into a pitcher. Put blueberries in the bottom of a pitcher and 'muddle' them; smash with a spoon. Pour cucumber drink over blueberries and add simple syrup and 2 more cups of water. Add still water if you are putting it in the fridge, add mineral water if serving right away. Add more simple syrup if you think it needs to be sweeter

Agua Fresca - This is a classic Mexican drink and is the most simple of drinks to make. You can customize it depending on the freshness of the fruit available. Try any number of fresh summer fruit, peaches, blueberries, strawberries, cherries... enjoy!
4 C filtered water
2 C fresh fruit (mix different fruits or stick with just one)
1/4 C simple syrup (or more to taste)
Juice from 1/2 lemon or 1 lime
In a blender combine the water and fruit; puree until it is smooth. Strain into a pitcher. Stir in lemon or lime juice and the simple syrup. Garnish with a slice of fruit and serve!

Cool Summer Drinks

I sent this newsletter out last summer. I thought I would post it here so that it could be read again. There is lots of great information about what drinks to choose to keep you cool in the summer...

Cool Summer Drinks
It’s summer and we all know how important it is to drink plenty of fluids to stay cool. The important thing is to choose drinks that are healthy, tasty, nutritious and are not going to be an empty addition to our daily calorie intake. Many of the drinks advertised today are advertised as healthy (“It has antioxidants!”) when really they have more sugar than nutrition.

Coffee Drinks – I hope people are aware that the cool and creamy coffee drinks available at coffee shops are to be treated as a treat, not as a daily drink. Full of sugar, cream and flavouring these drinks have the same amount of fat and calories as a piece of cake and have no nutritional value. If you must, choose an Iced Americano – this is brewed espresso served over ice. You add the milk & sugar if you want, controlling your sugar intake. Remember Swiss-water processed decaf is best!

Iced Tea – Bottled Iced Tea and Iced Tea Mix drinks are full of sugar – read the label – if corn syrup, sugar, glucose or any other word ending in ‘ose’ are in the Top 5 ingredients there is more sugar than anything else, let alone antioxidants. This includes all bottled teas that are being promoted as healthier, such as Green Tea, White Tea, Raspberry Tea. Brew up your favourite flavour of tea, sweeten with a little honey and let it cool in the refrigerator. Carrying this in your own bottle also helps reduce the need to recycle one more bottle.

TIP! Look at the label: Find the grams of sugar – divide that number by four & you will get how many teaspoons of sugar are in that one drink. For example, one bottle of Lipton Green Tea with Citrus (20 oz.) has 52.5g of sugar. Divide by four: there are 13 teaspoons of sugar in that one bottle!

Soft Drinks - In addition to the mounds of sugar in one can of pop - 8 tsps of sugar in one can of Ginger Ale - soft drinks are really detrimental to your health. The high levels of phosphates in soft drinks create a chemical imbalance which results in a loss of calcium from bones. Even a ‘natural’ soft drink from the health food store, may not have the phosphate level, but still contains lots of sugar. Mix mineral water with juice to get a refreshing and fizzy drink for a hot summer day.

Electrolyte Drinks – Gatorade and it’s cousins are great for athletes, but are not necessary for the average individual. These drinks are targeted at athletes who need a high level of carbohydrates (sugar) for energy and electrolytes (salt) to counter-balance perspiration. Individuals who are not marathon runners will find they gain weight and retain water from the high levels of sugar and the salt in these drinks.

Diet Anything – Aspartame, sucralose, splenda are all used to sweeten drinks without adding calories. As a holistic nutritionist I cannot recommend a drink that contains these chemicals. I would rather see you drink a sugary drink than something containing any of these sweeteners. The animal studies conducted with these sweeteners show increased levels of cancer and other health problems. Using these sweeteners also does not help people get beyond their addiction to sugar.

Juice – So tasty and sweet, but so high in sugar. While most people think juice is healthy because of the vitamin content, it is missing the fibre that you find in fruit. The fibre is important for sugar absorption and is what makes the sugar in fruit good for you. Without this important element, juice causes increases in blood sugar which can contribute to weight gain and the development of Type 2 Diabetes. Make yourself a smoothie – blending fruit with ice ensures you get all the goodness of the fruit in a drink on a hot summer day – add plain yogurt for a creamier version.

Water – Liquid of the Gods? Personally I love water, but many people find it boring. You can add a squeeze of lemon or lime to your glass of water to flavour it or, as mentioned above, mix mineral water with juice, just remember you do need to drink water straight up. Many ‘studies’ today are saying that we do not need as much water as previously thought, because we get water in our coffee and tea. What these studies neglect to mention is that the caffeine in many drinks (coffee, tea, pop) are diuretics which cause a loss of water. For every cup of these drinks you should have one glass of water to ensure your body is getting the water it needs.