Archive for the ‘Discover’ category
Eating Raw + Chocolate avocado mousse + Orange fennel salad
Hello my lovely readers! I wanted to start off with a big thank you to all of you who left such heartfelt comments on my last post. I’m really glad to be back to blogging and trust me, I’ve got more ideas than ever that I want to share with everyone!
Today, I wanted to share my love of eating “raw”. No, no – I’m not a raw foodist, but I do enjoy learning about new ways of eating healthy and eating raw foods is one of the easiest ways to do that. In this post, I’ll share my experience, a few of my own raw recipes and some of my favourite online resources and guides to incorporating raw foods into your diet with ease. Read on..
For the love of chili peppers…
Hello my lovely readers! Today’s post is a bit of a random one, but I figured that since you see enough recipes on the site, it might be interesting to do an “ingredient” post. I actually haven’t done one in a really long time…
A few weeks ago, a friend came over to my place and since she loves cooking as much as I do, I had to show her around my kitchen. Not that there’s much to show since I have a closet-sized kitchen, but there is one thing I’m proud of – my spice cabinet. I’ve got almost every spice under the sun and it’s all organized and “documented” on a piece of paper that’s taped on the inside of the cabinet door. Before I had that list, it was a nightmare to find what I was looking for. Now, it takes just seconds. Anyways, I digress. So, I was showing my friend the insane number of spices I have and it dawned on me that I have almost a dozen types of chili peppers/powders and I haven’t been using them lately. They somehow managed to get pushed to the back of the cabinet this summer and I completely forgot about them. They looked so lonely and unappreciated…. Usually, I’ll just use Kashmiri chili powder (the mild stuff you can find at the local Indian store) or Sriracha sauce to add some heat to my meals, but sometimes I like to experiment with different chili peppers. It’s a great way to add a unique flavour to a dish and shake things up a bit. Now that I’ve rediscovered my chili peppers, I’m on a mission to find new ways to use them. Want to take a peek into what I have in store? Read on….
Gluten-free baking with coconut flour-blueberry chocolate muffins
As you may already know, I’ve been on on a gluten-free diet for the past two months (click here if you want to read more about why), and it can be a challenge at times. One of the hardest meals to figure out is breakfast! After years of being using to eating cereal or toast in the morning, it’s somewhat of a struggle getting used to just having fruit smoothies and eggs in the morning. Sometimes, I’ll have quinoa or amaranth pudding, but I miss biting into a muffin once in a while. That’s where these blueberry and dark chocolate breakfast muffins come in. They are made with coconut flour, coconut milk, blueberries, dark chocolate and other good-for-you ingredients. Read on for the recipe and more about coconut flour…
Avocado, fennel and kefir soup with mint
Hello my lovely readers!
Today I wanted to take some time and talk about one of the things most of us love to hate – FATS! There was a time when I was on the low-fat bandwagon and everything I bought from the grocery store had to be low-fat. After all, isn’t that what every magazine and dietitian was telling us to do? I was all about the low-fat dairy, the low-fat cereals and everything else you could imagine. I actually thought I was doing myself a favour by eating that way. But, I really didn’t feel any better following that dietary advice, nor did I lose any weight. The worst effect of the so called low-fat diet was the poor state of my skin. It felt parched and dull! So obviously, I left the low-fat bandwagon and I haven’t turned back.
Read on for more about my experience with fats (good and bad) and for a chilled soup recipe made with avocado, fennel and kefir with lots of mint for an unbelievably refreshing flavour!
Amaranth and chia breakfast “pudding” with cocoa and cinnamon
Hello my lovely readers! It’s been a long time, hasn’t it? I’m so glad to finally get back to blogging and I’m excited to share all the new recipes I’ve been testing the past few weeks.
As you may or may not know, my mother unexpectedly passed away three months ago at a very young age (she was just 51) due to a massive heart attack which was then followed by several cardiac arrests. Since she had no prior history of any heart problems, this came as quite the shock and I really needed some time to let it sink in, heal and return to my usual self. This experience has taught me that life is very unpredictable and we should really cherish each day that we have with our loved ones. You never know what’s around the corner…
Are you hungry for change?
Hello my lovely readers! Sorry about being away for so long – it’s been over a week! But, I really needed to take some time to refresh and rejuvenate after completing the magazine. Now that I got my much needed “vacation”, I’m ready for lots more interesting posts and recipes. In the spirit of rejuvenation and change, I’ve been thinking about making a few changes to my current lifestyle in order to live healthier. Today, I randomly stumbled upon a new documentary ‘Hungry for Change’ and I just had to share it! It’s available online for free for another two days, so watch it soon. It’s one of the best food-related documentaries since Food Inc. If you loved Food Inc., I’m sure you’ll enjoy this one too!
Part 4-Create your own magazine- Photography
Happy Tuesday! Today, I’m going to talk about my favourite resources for tips on food photography as part 4 of the “Create Your Own Magazine” series. When I first started the blog last year in late March, I had no clue what it took to take a good photograph of food. It wasn’t until August that I took a serious interest in improving my skills, especially for my magazine. I found many useful resources online, but it was hard to filter through all of it. So…I’ve compiled a list of sites and tips I found the most helpful in my journey. I hope this can help you too in your creative endeavours.
If you happened to miss the introductory post of this series, you can find it here. I have received a number of questions on how to create an online magazine and I’ll be addressing a few topics in a six-part series.
Quinoa Pudding with strawberries, pomegranate and pistachios
Today’s Beauty Eats recipe is a layered quinoa pudding with strawberries, a pomegranate-cardamom reduction and a generous sprinkle of pistachios. How’s that for a healthy Valentine’s treat?
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I’ve had a bag of pistachios and a bottle of pomegranate juice sitting in my kitchen for quite some time, but it wasn’t until Connie (from Chronicles of a Beauty Nerd) gave me some inspiration that I came up with this pudding. It’s a scrumptious way to start your morning, especially if you’re like me and need a little sweetness to start your day. Or it can be a great accompaniment to a healthy dinner. You pick!
Part 3-Create your own magazine-Design
Hello my lovely readers! Today, I’m going to discuss how to complete the design framework of an online magazine as part 3 of the “Create Your Own Magazine” series. Completing the design was one of the most intimidating things about creating my magazine, at least in my opinion. I had no clue where to start and where I could find fonts, shapes and other things to enhance to layout of the document. I’ll cover everything related to design and a list of the best resources for inspiration and free commercial fonts.
If you happened to miss the introductory post of this series, you can find it here. I have received a number of questions on how to create an online magazine and I’ll be addressing a few topics in a six-part series.
DIY Chocolate Mask
Today’s Beauty Eats recipe is for all those ladies that need a BREAK. We’ve done a number of skin-friendly recipes on this series, but to make things interesting, today we’re making a DIY mask. So ladies, kick back and take some “me” time this week…
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Connie (from Chronicles of a Beauty Nerd) and I have been busy preparing for our first Beauty Eats live event for the last few days. We’re really excited about it and hope to see a few of you there! And for those of you who can’t make it, we are going to try posting a video soon after. Now with all the preparation, I’ve been a little lax with my regular skincare routine. So, I wanted to take some time out today and just relax. One of my favourite ways to pamper myself at home is with a DIY face mask. But, this isn’t just any face mask. It’s rich, it’s luxurious and it’s oh so chocolatey…and best of all, you can eat it too! Well…..only if you really want to…
Tuna cakes made with Creole flavours
Today’s Beauty Eats recipe is about healthy food that’s also bursting with flavour. If you’re a new reader, you might be wondering what the Beauty Eats series is all about. The image on the left sums it up perfectly – it’s all about eating skin-friendly ingredients in delicious ways. You can view more recipes from this series here.
Beauty Eats-Roasted carrot and cauliflower soup
January can be a rather dull month since the holiday festivities are over and it’s the dead of winter. The best way to brighten things up on a cold, dreary day is with some colourful comfort food. Personally, I love the thought of warming up with some vegetable soup on a weeknight since it doesn’t require much work and you’ll get a few servings of veggies too. We all know how hard that is! This bright orange soup is made with roasted carrots and cauliflower, but since plain vegetable soup can get a little boring sometimes, I took some inspiration from the East. The soup also includes fresh ginger and coconut milk! How’s that for some fusion food? And to top it off, this soup is chock full of skin-friendly ingredients.
