Trying to Eat Healthy? But want to Save Money Too? Go to Bulk Barn!

Eating healthy doesn't have to be expensive. There are so many ways to reduce the cost of food when eliminating traditional processed foods from your diet.


One of my favorite stores (when I'm not visiting my farms/markets) is Bulk Barn. My pantry has been filled with so many foods that I have purchased there; from nuts to dried fruits, to rice and beans. Bulk Barn isn't just a candy store! These stores have so much more to offer than candy actually--such as:

• soup bases, beans, rice, pasta
• coffee/tea
• sugar, flour, baking supplies
• spices
• dried fruit
• cereals/granola

My typical shopping trip normally includes oatmeal, lentils, split-peas, baking powder/soda, a variety of spices, raisins, dates, cranberries, etc... My favorite purchase, by far, has to be their Organic Natural Peanut Butter. It is sooooo yummy! It's only peanuts and evaporated sea salt and nothing else.

That's another thing that I love about their stores--All of their foods include the ingredients and nutritional information. I like to know what is in my foods and if I can compare similar foods by their ingredients then I feel like I've made the better choice. Tonight, I felt like I needed a chocolate 'treat' and ultimately chose the dark chocolate-covered almonds. The ingredients for this item were the healthiest of all the other 'treats' that were available.

Anyways...getting back to my initial discussion about cost, I will say that Bulk Barn is very inexpensive. Because you are able to buy only the quantity that you need and there is no additional packaging costs the final of your bill is significantly lower than it would be at the grocery store; especially when it comes to their spices. I don't even look at the spice section of the grocery store anymore. They have cinnamon, allspice, bay leaves, poultry seasoning, garlic powder,...the list goes on!

However, before making your trip to Bulk Barn, be sure to check your flyers. They often offer a $3.00 off coupon!

I watched Food, Inc. and so should you!

Wow! I finally had a chance to see Food, Inc. tonight! It's definitely a documentary that everyone should watch. Eric Schlosser, the author of "Fast Food Nation", co-produced the film and Michael Pollan, author of "The Omnivore's Dilemma, in Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto", was interviewed extensively throughout as well. I have read both of their books and was excited that they had produced this film together.

The documentary discusses what has happened to our food supply over the last few decades. They talk about how our food has become controlled by only a handful of corporations that put profit ahead of health, the livelihood of the farmer and the safety of the workers. To summarize the film they state that "we have bigger-breasted chickens, the perfect pork chop, herbicide-resistant soybean seeds, even tomatoes that won't go bad, but we also have new strains of E. coli—the harmful bacteria that causes illness for an estimated 73,000 Americans annually. We are riddled with widespread obesity, particularly among children, and an epidemic level of diabetes among adults."

Here are links to the movie trailers (one is a link the other has been embedded). Watch both!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5eKYyD14d_0



Every word that was said in this film is something that I completely and fully agree with. As consumers we have the power to decide what to buy or not to buy. It's totally up to us. This film has definitely solidified my belief that processed and packaged foods are not fit for human consumption and that buying foods in season and direct from a farmer is the best thing that we can do to encourage a change in the industry.

Have you watched the film? What are your thoughts?

Happy Birthday to Me!

It was my birthday earlier this week...the big 3-1. I liked being 30 but 31 means that I'm officially in my 30's now. Yikes! I sometimes forget how old I am and still think I'm 28 or so. Apparently the last few years have just flown by!

To mark the occasion I bought myself a birthday gift. I have been looking forward to the release of Tosca Reno's new cookbook - "Tosca Reno's Eat Clean Cookbook". I already have a couple of her books and have a subscription to the "Clean-Eating" magazine so I was very excited to see that the book was now available (and at 25% off from Shopper's Drug Mart)

I couldn't wait to get home to take a peek at the recipes. Even more, I couldn't wait to try out some of those recipes. I made 3 of them today; one from the new cookbook and the others from the magazine.

I made a Chicken Cordon Bleu, a Baked Deep-Dish Butternut Squash with Pears, and for dessert, Pumpkin Bread with Dates. Here are the recipes:

Chicken Cordon Bleu:

Preheat oven to 400F. Pound chicken with a mallet to 1/4-inch thickness or so. Lay one spinach leaf one top of each breast then spread cream cheese to cover spinach (I used light vegetable cream cheese). Top with a slice of ham. Roll the breast and secure with a toothpick. Sprinkle the outer side of the breast with paprika. Bake in oven for 20 minutes.

Baked Deep-Dish Butternut Squash with Pears

Preheat oven to 375F.

1. In a bowl combine cubed squash (from 1 medium squash), chopped celery (2 stalks), and chopped onion (1). Add 3 tbsp of olive oil with 1 tsp dried thyme and toss to mix.
2. Put mixture on a baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes.
3. Remove from oven and add one chopped apple and pear and bake for another 12 minutes.
4. Place the squash and fruit mixture in a food processor and process until smooth. Let cool.
5. Once cooled transfer puree to a mixing bowl and add 1 egg white and 1 egg. Mix well. Set aside.
6. In a small bowl, combine 3 tbsp spelt or whole wheat flour, 2 tbsp brown sugar, 1 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 1/4 tsp nutmeg, 1/2 tsp salt, and a pinch of freshly ground black pepper. Add to squash mixture. Mix well and pour into a casserole dish. Set aside.
7. In another small bowl combine 2-3 tbsp apple butter, 1/4 cup ground pecans, and 2 cups whole-grain breadcrumbs (about 2 slices of bread put through food processor). Mix well until mixture resembles coarse meal. Sprinkle the mixture over the casserole.
8. Bake for 30 minutes.

**This is a lenghty meal to make. It's definitely a dish to make on a weekend rather than a weekday after work!**

Pumpkin Bread:

• 3/4 cup whole wheat flour
• 3/4 cup spelt flour
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 3/4 cup chopped dates
• 4 egg whites and 1 yolk
• 1/4 cup oil / 1/4 cup applesauce (recipe asks for 1/2 cup oil)
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp cardamom
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 1/8 tsp black pepper
• 1/8 tsp ground cloves
• 1 cup pumpkin puree
• 1/4 cup agave nectar

Sift dry ingredients in one bowl. In another bowl mix wet ingredients. Combine the two and pour into a regular loaf pan or 3 mini loaf pans. Bake at 375F for 50 minutes.

Another Processed vs. Homemade Treat

Most people who know the true Dallas they'll tell you that I rarely buy any type of processed food. I would just rather take the time to take the idea from the grocery store shelf and make my own version of it at home using the whole food version. This belief translates to my daughters school lunches as well.

For instance, although store-bought applesauce is relatively healthy and I know that there are many unsweetened varieties available, I still think that the nutritional value is likely much higher when made at home--especially when the apples were picked fresh off the tree!

And, like I said before, it's easy to mimick what the food processors have made by getting creative in the kitchen. When most people make applesauce they usually just make the regular recipe and add the plain old sugar and cinnamon. Why not make different varieties when it's so easy to mix and match different flavours?

My daughters favorite flavours are strawberry applesauce and concord grape applesauce. To make these I defrosted some of my frozen strawberries and grapes on the stove and pureed them. Then, all you need to do is add some regular applesauce (lightly cooked/softened apples pureed in a blender) to the fruit mixture and voila! No sugar required!

Another flavour I'd like to try is pear/apple. Yum...!

Apple-Cranberry Crisp

I think my favorite dessert would have to be the Apple Crisp. To me, that's my comfort food. I usually make this one at least once a month or so...whether it's an apple crisp, a peach/strawberry crisp, a blueberry crisp, etc.. Any season of the year will provide a fruit made to baked into a crisp.

By far, my favorite version of the crisp is the Apple-Cranberry Crisp:

• 6 or 7 medium sized apples coarsely chopped (I leave the skins on)
• 1 cup of frozen cranberries
• 1/3 cup flour
• 1 cup oatmeal
• 1/2 cup brown sugar (or 1/4 cup maple syrup)
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1tsp cinnamon
• 1/3 cup melted butter

Preheat the oven at 375F. Put the apples and cranberries at the bottom of a 9"x 9" pan. Mix all of the other ingredients together. Sprinkle the mixture over the fruit and pat it down. Bake for 20 minutes. Serve warm or cold. (I like to drizzle some maple syrup on top)

Flu Season Mealtime

All of this talk about the flu this year has really got me turning on the heat in the kitchen with some immune system boosting foods. Here is a good list to get you started as well:

1. Drink your lemons--I've been drinking a ton of water but at least one or two of those glasses contain slices of lemon with a drizzle of honey. Lemons maintain a body's internal climate at a PH that supports healthy bacteria instead of the viruses and bacteria that thrive in more acidic environments.

2. Stop drinking coffee--Caffeine is one of the worst things for your immune system. Caffeine robs your body of vitamins and minerals and also dehydrates you.

3. Eliminate refined sugar and artificial sweeteners--sugar seriously suppresses the immune system. By eliminating these types of triggers immune cells are strengthened and can combat other invaders such as influenza. Use natural sweeteners such as honey, maple syrup, or agave nectar instead.

4. Avoid processed foods--anything that comes in a box, can, or package that has been pre-made contains very few nutrients (no matter what the box says). Most of these foods also contain a lot of added sugars, such as high-frutose corn syrup (see #3), and also have a lot of additives that don't do your immune system any favours.

5. Stock up on your fruits and vegetables--especially garlic, onions, mushrooms, bell peppers, broccoli, sweet potatoes, and citrus. And, if possible, eat them raw! Raw fruits and vegetables provide the best kinds of nutrients.

Here are a couple of meals I've made in the last week or so using foods known for their immune-boosting powers:

The first meal was a yummy tomato and roasted garlic soup. It contained a diced tomatoes, chicken broth, diced carrots and parsnips, cabbage, onion, celery, and to finish it off, 4 bulbs of roasted garlic -- I pureed two bulbs into the soup and simply added the remaining cloves in the soup whole. It was soooo good.

One of the other meals I made included chicken steamed in the oven with salt, pepper, and some garlic cloves. While that was in the oven I fried some onions and green/yellow peppers top the chicken afterwards.

The side dishes to my chicken were mashed potatoes and broccoli. My mashed potatoes aren't just ordinary mashed potatoes, however... Whenever I make mashed potatoes I like to keep the skin on my potatoes for the additional fiber benefit. And, when I mash them I use plain yogurt instead of milk and often add uncooked spinach for even more of a nutritional punch. I also decided to add some honey mustard to it today and it actually ended up being quite tasty.

Whenever I make a meal I always try to make it as nutritious as I possibly can. Why skimp on the nutrients when I can boost it up even higher? If it's going to strengthen my immune system at the same time, then even more reason for me to do it!

To end my post, I'd like to remind everyone to get a good night's rest and to not sweat the small things in life! I didn't get enough sleep last week and was stressed about an exam I had to complete and I ended up catching a cold! Luckily it only lasted 3 days though! Must have been the garlic :-)

Pumpkin Pie Brownies

I came across the greatest recipe last year. I was trying to find something to do with a can of pumpkin pie filling that I had in my pantry and came across this recipe. I had found it on a vegan website originally but have since made my own modifications.

For instance, instead of using cocoa powder I use carob powder. Carob powder is a legume but has a very similar taste to chocolate It does not not contain any caffeine and it is actually high in fiber. In addition, it also contains several nutrients like Vitamins A, B, B2, B3, and D and has a much lower fat content than cocoa powder. The only downside is that carob powder does have a higher sugar content. But again...this just means that you can easily reduce the sugar content in your recipe to account for this--they say that you should reduce the sugar by 25% or so...(I'd rather have the natural sugars from the carob powder anyways).

Another alteration to the recipe that I made was replacing the oil with applesauce and pureeing my own fresh pumpkin rather than using canned pie filling. I'd like to think that by making these changes I've added several nutrients to this dessert.

So....after all that, here's the recipe to my 'healthy' pumpkin pie brownies!

For the brownie layer:

• 5 oz melted bittersweet chocolate
• 1 cup pureed pumpkin (I prefer using fresh pumpkin over canned filling)
• 1/2 cup cane sugar (if using cocoa powder increase to 3/4 cup)
• 1/4 cup applesauce (or oil)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup spelt or whole wheat flour
• 1/4 cup carob powder
• 1 tbsp tapioca flour (or 1 egg)
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt

For the Pumpkin Pie Topping:

• 1 cup pureed pumpkin
• 2 tbsp tapioca flour
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1/3 cup cane sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp ginger
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• pinch nutmeg
• pinch all spice

Preheat the oven to 350F. Grease a 9-inch square pan.

To make the brownie layer mix all of the ingredients while you are melting the chocolate. Add the melted chocolate at the end. Press the mixture into the pan with a spatula.

Combine all of the ingredients for the pumpkin pie topping. Pour the mixture on top of the brownies. It will be quite runny but will thicken up during the baking process.

Bake for 30-40 minutes until the pumpkin layer looks fairly firm (a little jiggling is okay though). Let it cool for 30 minutes or so and then sprinkle some dark chocolate chip cookies on the top.