Just made the best, warmy warm meal for my family. And it took no time at all. My clients know that kale is full of calcium, but they never know how to use it. Here’s a great way!

Ingredients:

8 organic chicken sausage links

1 bunch kale, deveined

1 lb baby red potatoes

1 leek

1 head garlic, minced

organic butter or flax oil

Sea salt

Method:

Pour 1/4 inch water and 2 tsps Olive Oil in deep pan, bring to boil.

Add the sausages, and turn down to medium heat.

Allow to simmer until all the water disappears. When water is gone, brown sausages on both sides. Set aside.

Drain fat out of pan, but leave drippings.

Add chopped kale, garlic, leek and potatoes to pan, and cook until kale wilts, and leeks caramelize. Remove from heat.

Toss with butter or flax oil and sea salt.

Serve along side the sausages. YUM!

Little daylight, sloppy roads, no more fun holidays in the near future… the February Dolldrums are here. This time of year always makes me crave carbohydrates. Carbs release seratonin, which is one of the brain chemicals that help us feel relaxed and happy. We can get in trouble with our carbs- the non-nutritious ones can mess with our blood sugar and our energy levels, and make us feel even more sluggish. They can be hard to digest, too, which saps our energy even further. But OH, there is something to be said for a decadent baked good, just coming out of the oven. Comforting, melty, decadent…. so where’s the balance?

Well, here’s a recipe that I just took out of my own oven. My kids love it, and we all feel better for it. Give it a try, and enjoy!

OMG Gluten Free Banana Bread

1 and 1/2 cups of gluten free flour mix (available at the better whole foods grocery stores, these blends usually contain rice, potato and sorghum flours)

1 and 1/2 cups gluten free oat bran (Processed in a gluten free facility, the bran provides the fibre you need to help metabolize carbs in a healthy way)

1 and 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 cup best quality dark chocolate chips

pinch sea salt

1 cup (or less) of Sucanat, a natural, better for you sweetener

2 over ripe bananas, mashed

1/4 cup coconut or grapeseed oil, organic, extra virgin, cold pressed

2 large free range eggs. beaten

dash of almond mylk or organic milk to moisten

Method:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Lightly coat a glass or ceramic loaf pan in organic butter or coconut oil. Set aside.

Mix dry ingredients together and set aside.

Mix wet ingredients together in a larger bowl, and then mix in dry ingredients. Stir gently until combined, pour into loaf pan.

Pop into oven for about 65-80 minutes. Cook until lightly browned, and until a toothpick comes out clean.

Let cool…. a bit…. and enjoy!!!

A while ago, my heart broke.

Shortly after that, my big toe turned an eerie shade of purply black. It scared me so much that I actually went to a medical doctor. “My toe is black”, I said to him.

“I know the cure,” he said, “Keep your feet warm”.

That’s it? Really? My blood is not pumping and all he could say was “Keep your feet warm”? Hmph. I don’t know what I was expecting him to say, but I guess the lack of drama had me a little mystified. So I went and did what any one would do in this harrowing, numb toed situation. I went and bought socks. Not that I didn’t have socks, of course, but clearly they were not doing their job. So I bought warmer socks- diabetic socks, to be exact, and four pairs of big workin-man wool socks, too. For the next few days (I promise this engaging sock story is going somewhere) I took very good care of my feet. I soaked them and wrapped them in fuzzy things, and suffered through a few very hot nights in wool socks and flannel jammies, just to keep the blood, from that broken heart of mine, pumping and heading down towards my toes. And the blackness went away. And the socks- the big, blue wooly ones, have become part of a very important ritual for me now. They act as a symbol, and a reminder. They represent me, taking the time to take care of myself. Every morning, I warm up my feet, and put on my socks. And every night, after hard, busy days, I do the same. And every time I do, my socks remind me that the simple act of wrapping myself- my feet or my heart- in warmth and comfort and love- is important. That putting myself first, and not neglecting the importance of my basic needs like circulation and comfort and love, matters. So much. My feet are warm now, most days. And when they are not, I know I have lost sight of what is important. So I stop, put on my socks, and take better care to take care of me. The blood flows, and the heart heals. And I do, too.

So, you want to try your hand at eating more locally and understanding how it benefits you and the land you live on? Well, there is absolutely no better time than Saturday, March 13th. The best local eating event of the year is back! Check out the information below and start your journey towards eating with a local conscience!

Here is a clip from founder and organizer,Wade Sirois’ website. You can click here to go directly to his page, www.foragefoods.com. This is a truly innovative and important event for any Albertan who wants to keep eating carrots that aren’t washed in bleach or tomatoes that don’t come from the other side of the world. I know I won’t miss it. See you there!

Michael Pollan’s new little book, called “Food Rules” is such a great idea, I am putting a link to it right here for you so you can buy it right this second. Here’s the deal. I get asked all the time, by all kinds of people, the dubious question that seems to have everyone stumped: What do I eat? I think no one so far has answered this question as well as Pollan. His manifesto? Eat food, not too much, mostly plants. His reason? Food confuses people, and he wants that to stop. “Food Rules” makes eating simple- like so simple it’s kinda like maybe that’s how it has always been…

The way I see it, it’s not food that make your choices confusing, it’s the companies that stand to profit from your confusion that have messed it all up for you. So, the food producers tell you one thing, the diet companies tell you something else, and the stores where you buy your ingredients feed you with even more illusions. Then there’s the media, the ‘experts’, your mother, your religion…. wow. That’s TMI for sure, and not enough real food on your table.

In “Food Rules”, Pollan has distilled years of investigation and research down into a few basic ideas, and they are so simple that my seven year old (although brilliant for seven) can understand them. “Don’t eat food from the same place you get your gas….that makes sense,  Mommy. Gas station food must have lots of junk in it to keep it fresh” she says to me one day after reading a page out of the book. “And you can’t get fruit or veggies at a gas station. Gross!” Yah. So if she gets, you, grown up that you are,  can too.

So here’s MY bold advice (because you had to know it was coming). Allow simplicity around your idea of food. Stop counting out your “daily allotment” of Pringles and start eating food that comes from the earth.  Throw away the ‘inconvenient’ shiny boxes and your identity around food along with them- vegetarian, carnivore, too busy, on a diet, emotional eater- doesn’t matter. Eat real food, that comes from the earth. If you don’t know what to do with it, find out. Call me, or check out www.whfoods.com or other great whole food recipe sites. Eating real food makes life simple and joyous. Just eat food- the really good stuff- and allow it to nourish you and bring harmony to your body.  Food is powerful, and majestic. Believe it that.
Here’s a simple, seasonal recipe to get you started, from World’s Healthiest Foods.

Super Energy Kale Soup

This quick and easy version of potato kale soup has extra vegetables for more flavor and nutrition and takes little time to prepare.

Prep and Cook Time: Prep and cooking time: 40 minutes Ingredients: 1 medium onion, chopped 4 cloves garlic, chopped 5 cups chicken or vegetable broth 1 medium carrot, diced into ¼-inch cubes (about 1 cup) 1 cup diced celery 2 red potatoes, diced into ½-inch cubes 3 cups kale, rinsed, stems removed and chopped very fine 2 tsp dried thyme 2 tsp dried sage salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Chop garlic and onions and let sit for 5 minutes to bring out their hidden health benefits.
2. Heat 1 TBS broth in a medium soup pot.
3. Healthy Sauté onion in broth over medium heat for about 5 minutes stirring frequently.
4. Add garlic and continue to sauté for another minute.
5. Add broth, carrots, and celery and bring to a boil on high heat.
6. Once it comes to a boil reduce heat to a simmer and continue to cook for another 5 minutes. Add potatoes and kale and cook until potatoes are tender, about 15 more minutes.
7. Add rest of ingredients and cook another 5 minutes. If you want to simmer for a longer time for extra flavor and richness, you may need to add a little more broth.

Serves 4

So now that you are here, check out my friend Gigi Foodie’s blog (see the left side of this screen). She and I go back and forth- she loves food but struggles with her weight, I love food and want to help her. She’s really honest and funny and it’s totally worth a look. You might even learn something. Here is my latest comment to her last post:

Gigi honey. Bend your Elbows for goddess sake. You look like a plastic freakshow. No one wants to really be a Barbie- her boobs are size 44 DDD and her waist is 10″ or something unholy like that. Eat the darn brie. And the cake. But here’s the thing: start listening to your Inner Goddess- the one that KNOWS, deep in her heart, that three pieces of cake are going to send her pancreas running up and down the aisle like Marge Simpson on a jet plane (read: let me off! let me off! let me off!). Your Inner Goddess knows that a lovely, creamy wedge of brie may not be great for your hips, but it may just be what your soul needs. So eat it. And yes, then go for a walk. Why? Not because you need to counteract a certain amount of calories by walking a certain amount of steps, but because, again, that Goddess inside that respects you and loves you WANTS your body to walk, to swing your arms, to breathe fresh air, to detoxify a little. Joyful movement, all the time. Oh, and one more thing. There’s nothing wrong with loving your cake, I think I already said that. BUT. There is a chance that your body is overrun with bad bacteria that feed on sugar. This is very common, and very hard to control. You might consider a cleanse, if you are really finding that sugar obsession is totally taking over your life. NEVER cleanse without guidance from someone like me. There is a chance you can totally do it wrong.  Anyway it’s just a thought. Oh- and one more thing. Entertain the idea that perhaps you don’t know how amazing you could feel if you DIDN’T eat that kind of food every day- refined flour and sugar are energy sappers. Once you get off that stuff, and start to feel how REAL energy serves your body, you don’t have such a desire to have it all the time.

This is life, though, and this is Canada, and what would a Canadian girl do without her cheese? I myself just had some fresh chevre that was made by a chef friend of mine. It was so amazing I just about replaced my husband with it. But I didn’t feel the need to eat the whole shabang, because I knew that my gut would be unhappy with me after. Balance.

So eat your brie, once, this week. And eat your salmon (wild, pacific) more than once, if ya can. Fill up on veggies first, and go for a little walk after. A good start. Simple. xo

Hey world. Finally, with the blogging. Sheesh it has seemed so daunting, but now that I am here… well, it’s really quite a lovely place to be. So much to talk about in the world of real food – where to start?

Well, I think that you are only going to read this if I offer food and health related advice that will benefit your crazy, busy lives. So that’s where this will go. We can talk about nutrition (that’s my job), we can talk about delicious food (that’s my passion) or we can talk about where your food comes from and how it got to your plate (that’s my cause). Whatever we do, let’s just make sure we are really talking about it joyfully.

There needs to be more joy in relation to our food! Could we BE more stressed out about it, already? We count our calories, we count our points, we count our pennies. But who’s just LOVING food and feeling good about what they are putting in their bodies? Me, dammit, that’s who. And hopefully you.

So let’s talk food.
Your turn