Seasonal

Cold Beet Salad with Goat Cheese and Green Beans

A simple cold beet salad to welcome in the warmer months. I love the simplicity of this dish – only 5 ingredients and lightly seasoned with quality olive oil and salt and pepper. Serve this dish alongside any BBQ, or have it on its own for a light and nutritious lunch.

This dish was introduced to me by one of my good friends Sage. She made it over a summer weekend when we rented a house on the beach for a beautiful fun and friend-filled weekend in Tofino. The dish allows for the ingredients to speak for themselves. I love steaming my vegetables for maximum nutrient availability, but the beets and green beans can also be boiled for ease. Seasoned lightly with some fresh lemon, olive oil and salt this is a delicious cold beet salad is a must for any recipe repertoire.
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Baked Asparagus Pearled Barley Risotto with Lemon and Hazelnuts

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This simple baked asparagus pearled barley risotto helps save on time in the kitchen, and the resulting risotto is higher in fibre, more filling and more nutritious than the classic risotto. Using seasonal asparagus is a great way to celebrate this high prebiotic vegetable. One serving of this dish provides 15 grams of fibre – more than half of our daily requirement!

Learning different ways to make familiar things can help keep our brains sharp. NPR posted an article titled “Learning A New Skill Works Best To Keep Your Brain Sharp.” While the rest of us are busy buying into expensive supplements and “superfoods” to increase brain power, these seniors took up new skills to prevent dementia and the results of the study were impressive – significant memory gains after 3 months! This asparagus pearled barley risotto is a new way to prepare a traditional favourite – and turns out it is higher in fibre and easier to make!

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Easy Vegetarian Bean Soup – Budget Friendly

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This easy vegetarian bean soup costs less than $1 per serving and is so simple to make! I love using seasonal vegetables and enjoying this soup all throughout the year. Try starchy potato and parsnips in the colder months, and zucchini and mushroom in the warmer months. I have also included some of my top tips on how to prepare beans to maximize their nutrition!

Beans and lentils are a Dietitian’s best friend. Not only are they a great source of plant-based protein, iron and zinc, they are also inexpensive and incredibly versatile. I also love sharing how sustainable this protein source is (see my post How To Cook Lentils + 5 Reasons Why We Should Eat Lentils). If you haven’t cooked much with beans and other legumes before this Easy Vegetarian Bean Soup is a simple introduction into cooking with legumes. For bean connoisseurs, I’ve included a few of my favourite variations to this classic and simple mixed bean soup recipe – miso anyone?
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So Simple Pumpkin Spiced Latte Recipe

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This simple pumpkin spiced latte recipe will get you excited to get out of bed in the morning, and it is a great low-sugar alternative to what’s available in coffee shops. It is dairy-free, gluten-free, and packed full of nutrition. Make your own creamy cashew milk by blending cashews in a blender, no straining required!

It’s hard to not get caught up in all the pumpkin spiced hype. Coffee shops have been on the band-wagon even before the leaves started to turn. I used to love enjoying a Pumpkin Spiced Latte at a coffee shop, but I now know that they are so loaded with sugar and so not worth the post-latte crash. This healthier alternative to the sugar-loaded versions will have you surprisingly pleased, and all from the comfort of your cozy couch. I’m sure that this Simple Pumpkin Spiced Latte Recipe will turn out to be a regular in your autumn morning routine, just like it has in mine.
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Butternut Squash Curry Lentil Soup with Turmeric

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A simple and delicious Butternut Squash Curry Lentil Soup that is as easy to make as it is delicious. The creaminess of the butternut squash is emphasized by the thickness of the red lentils. Red lentils are amazing in soups as they break apart upon cooking, adding a hearty texture. This recipe is packed full of plant-based protein with 20 grams of protein, and only 280 calories per serving.

Legumes are one of the best foods we can feed our body, but often one of the foods we don’t eat enough of. They have a complex nutrient profile and offer plant-based protein, iron and zinc. They are also one of the most sustainable sources of protein we have access to (see my post Five Reasons Why You Should Eat Lentils). Clients tell me the main reason they don’t eat lentils is that they lack the confidence in preparing them. This is one of my favourite recipes for introducing clients to cooking with dried lentils, as red lentils are the easiest to cook with. This Butternut Squash Curry Lentil Soup with Turmeric really is fail-safe and will take only 35 minutes to cook!
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Healthy Coleslaw Recipe with Toasted Almonds [Mayo-Free ]

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Looking for the best Healthy Coleslaw Recipe? Well, look no further. Not only is this coleslaw recipe packed full of antioxidants from the red cabbage and fresh herbs, the creamy dressing is naturally mayo-free. Turn this salad into a main meal by adding some baked tofu or a few eggs.

The summer markets are bursting with berries, stone fruit, and fresh tomatoes. With the overload of delicious blueberries and wild blackberries, we sometimes forget about the more humble harvests. Cabbage springs into season in summer and has a lengthy season, lasting over 6 months depending on the climate. Cabbage is also packed full of antioxidants and is an easy addition to summer salads, BBQs and stir-fries.
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Lebanese Wild Fennel Pesto Recipe

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This Lebanese Wild Fennel Pesto recipe is not your typical pesto. The addition of dates and hazelnuts makes a delicious spread that pairs amazingly with goat cheese and seedy crackers.

Eat your weeds with this simple wild fennel pesto recipe! So many of our invasive weeds are edible including the beloved Blackberry Bush and the familiar Dandelion weed (see Wild Edibles – Dandelions, How To Harvest and Women’s Health). Wild Fennel is a common weed originating from the Mediterranean, and while it resembles dill, it offers a distinct anise, or licorice, aroma and flavour. This Lebanese Wild Fennel Pesto Recipe uses freely available weeds, combined with local Vancouver Island hazelnuts for a truly local dish.
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Beetroot Dip with Cream Cheese [5 Ingredients]

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This simple and delicious Beetroot Dip with Cream Cheese is only five ingredients! It is a great way to explore this versatile vegetable which seems to always be in season. Serve it with some Homemade Seed Crackers for a nourishing snack or light meal.

One thing I have learned from having a weekly vegetable box is this – beets are always in season. From June, straight through to November, they haven’t missed a beet, and even the winter edition is set to include more of this tasty vegetable. I love enjoying beets in this Beet Apple and Kale Salad with Walnuts and Dill and this Beet and Goat Cheese Salad with Green Beans. Now, I am sharing a delicious and simple Beetroot Dip with Cream Cheese… and the best part? It’s only five ingredients!

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Low Carb Smoothie Bowl with Cauliflower and Greens [Vegan]

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Looking for a recipe for a low carb smoothie bowl without banana? Look no further. The secret to making a creamy smoothie bowl that is low in sugar is to use frozen cauliflower as the base. The berries add a low glycemic index sweetness that allows for the addition of some sneaky greens.

I’ve been really into making banana-free smoothie bowls lately (or any smoothie bowl really, like this Turmeric Golden Milk Smoothie Bowl). The omission of banana is only possible with the inclusion of frozen cauliflower for texture, as well as berries for natural sweetness. When combined with some healthy fats from nut butter, and some greens from zucchini and spinach we have ourselves a nutrient-dense breakfast that won’t send our blood sugar levels soaring. Try starting your day with this Low Carb Smoothie Bowl with Cauliflower and Greens – having veggies for breakfast has never been so easy!

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Easy Curry Lentil Soup with Kale

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A simple mid-week meal that can be easily adapted for the seasons, or for whatever produce is lurking in your fridge crisper. Lentils offer the balance of low glycemic index carbohydrate with a good amount of protein to help sustain you.

These smokey August days have got me thinking about the end of summer, and nothing symbolises the end of summer more than a steaming bowl of hearty soup. Lentil soup, for me, is the silver lining to the end of the long days and warm weather and as the days get shorter the compromise of warming lentil soup makes the transition into autumn that much easier. This easy curry lentil soup is my go-to soup, and really can be adapted for any season. For a summer soup, use up your zucchini, kale and carrots and come winter think about substituting the zucchini for butternut squash, yam or sweet potato.

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Pumpkin Spice Trail Mix + Oatmeal Topper

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This is the best way to get into the festive season, making a big batch of pumpkin spice trail mix to use as you please. I love adding it to my morning oatmeal, but it is also great as a snack on it’s own, or tossed in a roasted squash salad. This Pumpkin Spice Trail Mix recipe is sponsored by iHerb

In autumn we all take a deep breath out, our memory box filled with summer adventures and good times, as we slowly make the transition into winter. For me, autumn is time to turn the oven back on to prepare meals for family and friends, and also start trialling holiday recipes and edible gifts. In our busy lives, we can all appreciate a versatile dish, something that can be used in multiple ways. That’s why I created this Pumpkin Spice Trail Mix and Oatmeal Topper because that’s exactly what it is. As a trail mix, it can be enjoyed as a quick and filling afternoon snack, or perhaps given to friends or coworkers as a holiday gift. As a meal, it tastes great added to your warming bowl of oatmeal or sprinkled on your next roasted winter squash salad. I’ve included more ideas below on how to enjoy this tasty holiday essential pumpkin spice trail mix and some tips on how to maximise the nutritional quality.
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High Protein Zucchini Lasagna with Cottage Cheese

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I came up with this recipe with my roommate at the time was experimenting with cutting out lentils. With no members of the legume family in our diets, vegetarian sources of protein were limited. We had more than our fair share of Summer Tofu Salad Bowl and Vegetable Packed Crustless Quiche with Feta but there are only so many egg and tofu dishes you can stomach in a week. So I turned to protein-rich cottage cheese to help square out our vegetarian dinners. Using our high supply of zucchini from our weekly veggie box and my motivation to get some protein versatility into our diets, I came up with this High Protein Zucchini Lasagna with Cottage Cheese. Not only is this vegetarian dish high in protein, it is also great for those looking for a low carbohydrate meal and I have told that it complies with those that are following a keto vegetarian diet, or paleo vegetarian diet. And the best part is… it’s easy!
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