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How to Make Labneh

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Thick spreadable strained yogurt is topped with extra virgin olive oil and some spices to create Labneh, a delightful any time dish.

Labneh
Labneh

Labneh is all the rage these days and so it should be. It’s healthy, simple to make and a tasty addition to any potluck or afternoon snack arrangement.

In the 90’s my mom used to strain yogurt. I would fly in from Vancouver for a visit only to find a strainer full of yogurt in a cheese cloth hanging out in the fridge for the sole purpose of making it thicker to consume.

In those days you could not buy Greek Yogurt and my mom was on a healthy kick.

Labneh in it's cheese cloth
Labneh in it’s cheese cloth

I flew home to Vancouver and tried straining yogurt a few times myself using it on bagels and for dips. Then I forgot about it.

An experience with mezze, cookbook club cookbooks, a local cafe selling labneh (that has since closed) and restaurant outings reunited me with labneh reminding me how much I loved strained yogurt.

Labneh
Labneh added to a serving dish

I often wonder if my mom knew she was making labneh but didn’t really know it was labneh? She’s no longer around to ask so one will never know.

PRO TIPS:
  • You can use whole fat plain yogurt or 2 % plain yogurt, they both work
  • Use any combination of herbs and spices to top the labneh with or try sliced scallion, pistou, shallots chopped fine, chopped roasted garlic
  • Instead of cheese cloth I have used unbleached muslin fabric that I use to sew with
  • You can blend labneh, like cream cheese, with olives, sundried tomatoes, roasted red peppers to make it more flavourful
  • The cafe near our house sold labneh balls. Take small spoonfuls of your labneh and roll into small balls. Then marinate/store in olive oil before serving or roll in a variety of fresh chopped herbs and spices.

 

 

Plum Elderberry Syrup Hand Pies

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Our Plum Elderberry Syrup Hand Pies are made using prune plums that are available usually the end of summer and as Autumn begins.

Fall has always been my favourite time of the year. From the colours, to the crisp air, to the rustic baking and home cooked meals, it makes me have all the feels.

Plum Elderberry Syrup Hand Pies
Plum Elderberry Syrup Hand Pies

This is also the time of year the fresh local prune plums are available. We grew up with a prune plum tree or two in our yard and one of my fondest memory every Fall was the Plum Pierogi’s my mom would make. Sometimes I’d try to eat twenty of them in one serving (it’s true). Of course she made other pierogi’s too, but these were and remain my all time favourite.

If you can’t find prune plums, use whatever plums are in season in your local grocery store. Plums are an excellent stone fruit to have around. They are full of antioxidants giving them their colour, they become prunes aka dried plums and are heart healthy and low in calories!

Feel Good Elderberry Syrup
Feel Good Elderberry Syrup

We are in the kitchen working with Feel Good Syrup this month to create another delicious recipe using their Elderberry Syrup. Last month we made No Bake Elderberry Syrup Power Balls just in time for back to school lunches.

You can bake and cook with the Feel Good Syrup or you can take it by the spoonful to help with colds and the flu. We always keep a bottle on hand for those moments well feel the sick coming on as a preventative maintenance!

Plum Hand Pie Preparation
Plum Hand Pie Preparation

I’ve had hand pies in my thoughts lately plus a basket of prune plums in the fridge meant for pierogi. Thinking about the plum flavours inspired me to create these plum hand pies. Our typical hand pie recipe calls for pie dough however these plum hand pies are made using puff pastry, an easier way to go.

Plum Hand Pies
Plum Hand Pies fresh out of the oven

Frozen puff pastry is a kitchen lifesaver and ingredient you can be thaw and use in many recipes making you look like a rock star. It’s buttery, flaky and crispy when baked and an easy solution when you do not want to make pie dough. There are two sheets of puff pastry in a package which will make a total of six decent sized hand pies.

Plum Hand Pies made using Elderberry Syrup
Plum Hand Pies made using Feel Good Elderberry Syrup
In Calgary watch for Feel Good Syrup to be launching at all Blush Lane Organic Market locations. If you are not in Alberta, you can buy it online through their website.

We are working in collaboration with Feel Good Syrup on this post. All opinions, views expressed and recipe development are, as always, my own.

 

Plum Hand Pies
Plum Hand Pies

 

No Bake Elderberry Syrup Power Balls

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No Bake Elderberry Syrup Power Balls are full of antioxidants to help you boost your immune system while you enjoy a sweet treat.

No Bake Elderberry Syrup Power Balls
No Bake Elderberry Syrup Power Balls

Back to school shopping is in full swing for supplies, clothes, backpacks and school snacks. It’s amazing how much less my kids eat during summer holidays compared to when they are in school and needing fuel throughout the day. Baking snacks in advance, like these power balls, and freezing is one way to get ready for back to school before it arrives.

No Bake Elderberry Syrup Power Balls
No Bake Elderberry Syrup Power Balls

Elderberries are full of antioxidants, vitamins A, B and C plus are anti-inflammatory, anti-viral and are the most commonly used medicinal plants in the world. When it comes to antioxidant power, elderberry is higher in flavonoids than blueberries, cranberries, goji berries and blackberries.

Known as a treatment for cold and flu symptoms, Feel Good Elderberry Syrup can also be used when cooking or baking as a food flavouring.

No Bake Elderberry Syrup Power Balls
No Bake Elderberry Syrup Power Balls

No Bake Elderberry Syrup Power Balls are a protein packed recipe you can freeze and pull out for breakfasts, pop into lunches or enjoy while out hiking or camping.

Using only 7 ingredients, they are loaded with nutritional foods like elderberry syrup, chia seeds, nut butter, hazelnuts (also called filberts) and dried cherries. This combination of super foods offer immune boosting antioxidants, protein, fiber and healthy fats.

Ingredients for the no bake Elderberry Syrup Power Balls
Ingredients for the no bake Elderberry Syrup Power Balls

Teaching our kids to make healthy choices is easy when you have great ingredients to work with. For more inspiring healthy recipes or back to school snacks check out our Date Energy Balls, or Pepperoni Pizza Muffin recipes.

No Bake Elderberry Syrup Power Balls
No Bake Elderberry Syrup Power Balls

We are working in collaboration with Feel Good Syrup on this post. All opinions, views expressed and recipe development are, as always, my own.

Cinnamon Heart Popcorn Crunch

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Our Cinnamon Heart Popcorn Crunch is a made with white chocolate and cinnamon hearts!

Through my 12 year journey of food blogging, I have learned a lot about food, about people, people and food, unusual food allergies, foods I’ve never heard about or would never cook myself, cooking techniques and tips, and that there are actually people out there that do not like chocolate. Yes it’s true, some people do not like chocolate. Hard to believe right?!

Perhaps those non chocolate lovers like white chocolate?! This treat is made with white chocolate making it more appealing to those who do not like milk or dark chocolate variations. For this treat the white chocolate gets mixed in with the popcorn and cinnamon hearts fusing everything together for the perfect crunchy Valentine’s Day treat.

Cinnamon Heart Popcorn Crunch
Cinnamon Heart Popcorn Crunch

 

Several years ago we made this Peppermint Popcorn Crunch, which continues to be a very popular recipe on the blog during the months of November and December. For this recipe we have swapped the crushed candy canes for cinnamon hearts. I like to keep the cinnamon hearts whole as they are small enough and it gives you a good chew.

Cinnamon Hearts Popcorn Crunch
Cinnamon Hearts Popcorn Crunch

This treat is perfect for taking to school for classroom treats. Making for your sweetheart and hiding in his lunch. You can break it up and put it into cute heart bags you can find at the Dollar Store. Here’s how you make this nut free and tasty Valentine’s Day snack.

 

 

 

 

 

Classic Bits and Bites

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Bits and Bites are one of those classic and tasty snacks many of us remember munching on as kids. My family did not make them when we were littles, however I do recall grabbing handfuls while visiting with friends all throughout my youth and thinking they were the best snacks ever!

In my twenties I bought the boxed bits and bites as I’ve never been much of a cereal eater and didn’t want boxes of extra cereal hanging around only to go stale. As a single twenty something things can go stale quite quickly I learned. The hard way.

Fast forward to adulting and kids, I started making my own bits and bites to cut back on the salt. And list of other ingredients I couldn’t pronounce. This classic bits and bites recipe is fairly simple however we have added fennel seeds into the mix as we love the taste of fennel seed and thought it would be a nice touch. Additionally there are no nuts in this recipe. Having nut free snacks allows us to send them in school lunches without worrying about kids who have nut allergies.

Our family likes bugles so I tossed some of those in and went with loopy pretzels vs straight ones. Seriously almost anything goes when you make bits and bites!

What’s your favourite piece to munch on in bits and bites?!

Classic Bits and Bites
Classic Bits and Bites

 

 

Classic Bits and Bites
Classic Bits and Bites

Blueberry Crostini with Thyme & Fresh Ricotta

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B.C. Blueberries are one of my most favourite things about summer. While there are many things to get excited about as summer approaches, being a B.C. girl transplanted in Calgary, I have to say B.C. fruit tops the list for me. My mom had fruit trees, several varieties of berries including a Saskatoon berry bush, currents and gooseberries, not to mention a full garden making me very fortunate to be surrounded by all kinds of fresh fruit and vegetables.

Orange berry sauce is a sauce always requested by my daughter whenever I make crepes. The blueberry crostini with thyme & fresh ricotta inspiration came from the orange berry sauce as I wanted to make something for out of town family with all the pints of blueberries in the refrigerator. Fresh thyme from the garden was an after thought but it worked out perfectly and is not over powering since I added thyme sprigs at the end of the blueberry sauce cooking process.

Fresh thyme sprinkled on top makes it look pretty and taste fresh.

Serve this sauce with crepes, pancakes, waffles, on crostini, ice cream or even baked brie.

blueberry-sauce-on-brie

Fresh Ricotta

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One of the best thing about being in a cookbook club with those who love to cook from all over the world, is you share the same passion. Cooking is universal and it’s the one thing we can all agree on, discuss and bring our own families and heritage into without worry.

I’ve been part of an online cookbook club for I’d say a year and a half already and been fortunate enough to make all these new friends that bring so many interesting things to the conversation. We chatter offline quite a bit about lives, families, recipes and more. Through this process I’ve learned about so many great cookbooks I would have never heard about otherwise. My mom started buying cookbooks for me back in the late 70s, 80s so my collection is rather eclectic and addictive.

With the help of The Food Lab, by J. Kenji Lopez-Alt, our April cookbook, I discovered ricotta is both easy to make and easy to consume when home made. I had high hopes of making this ricotta to add to pancakes, but there was no chance of that happening for after just one bite, I may or may not have devoured it all.

Try it, don’t be shy and if the recipe doesn’t work, Mark McEwan also has a phenomenal ricotta recipe he shared with us at Christmas in November in 2016.

 

homemade-ricotta-v2

Broken Glass

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A popular potluck item for decades, Broken Glass is an easy, pretty and show stopping jello dessert to make for your guests or with your kids.

Broken Glass
Broken Glass

We’ve taken this treat to potluck gatherings, class activities and enjoyed them as snacks at home. You can colour code it to a birthday party theme, bridal showers, picnics, or any kind of holiday celebration. Simply pick your favourite jello colours and follow the instructions.

One of my closest friends mom’s made it once for our little girls 2nd birthday party. She made it rainbow coloured and it was such a special treat for us I had to recreate what she did and make it for Valentine’s Day.

Broken Glass
Broken Glass

Plan in advance of your event as you will need two days to let the jello set up. I have little cookie cutters that I like to use to cut smaller shapes and a few in the shapes of hearts.

I used the heart shaped cutters instead of cutting cubes to make jello hearts. When adding them to the casserole dish they went in just before the milk and were selectively placed. To ensure I had an equal mix of red to white I used only 2 small boxes of jello. You could use more however I like the white to show through.

Broken Glass
Broken Glass

The instructions are fairly straight forward to make this dessert. Give yourself time and have fun! Do you have a favourite Valentine’s Day treat you like to make for your family?!

 

Honey Cranberry Cookies

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A new year means healthier eating right? But what about the cookies?

With resolutions of healthier eating it’s hard to give up snacks. So let’s talk oatmeal cookies, which come in all shapes and sizes. They really do. Soft and chewy, with ginger, chocolate chips, raisins, cinnamon and more. Everyone has a favourite and/or a favourite recipe they love. When I was a kid, my mom would make us papaya oatmeal cookies. I haven’t had one of those in years. But I found her recipe so it’s coming. To satisfy our sweet tooth and help get us through the first month of the year, we whipped up these Honey Cranberry Cookies.

Honey Cranberrey Cookies
Top view of the cookies

We’ve added cranberries, honey and sunflower seeds into this cookie to make us feel better about eating it. It works! And is the perfect January, get back to healthy, cookie treat to allow yourself on cheat days. Or in between.

Ras el Hanout Hummus

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Ras el Hanout is an aromatic spice blend common in Moroccan cooking. The name in Arabic means “head of the shop,” and literally refers to the best spices a store has to offer.

It’s a spice blend gaining popularity and becoming more mainstream in kitchen pantries. One interesting fact about this spice is no two Ras el Hanout spice blends are the same. What does this mean? Many will include cardamom, nutmeg, anise, mace, cinnamon, ginger, various peppers, and turmeric. But every company that creates this blend has their own secret combination. In fact they could use up to 30 of their own best spices to create their own blend. To add to the mystique, the list of traditional ingredients has been said to even include hashish and Spanish Fly.

 

Ras el Hanout Hummus
Ras el Hanout Hummus

 

I’ve had this little spice gem in my spice pantry for the last couple of years. It still carries a strong and lovely smell and tastes equally delicious when added to any food. I started adding it to roasted chick peas and that’s what brought us to making this recipe.

The flavour of this hummus enhances as it sits in the fridge. Eat it with with pita, in wraps, with fresh vegetables, even on crispy crackers. Start your kids young eating hummus with their fresh veggies, a healthier option instead of ranch dressing. If you are into trying some new hummus recipes do check out my Cilantro & Black Pepper Hummus and Roasted Jalapeno Hummus.

What’s you favourite flavour of hummus and how do you like to eat it?!

 

 

Jalapeno Tex Mex Dip

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An upgrade on a classic, this Jalapeno Tex Mex Dip is full of flavour and sure to please at your next potluck, event or even on Game Day.

Found in many homes during gatherings and events back in the day, the 7 Layer Dip is really a North Americanized version of Mexican food, a mash up of Tex Mex cuisine if you will. This dish became so popular when we were kids, you would find it at every gathering you attended whether it was a potluck, shower, office luncheon or holiday gathering. Then it seemed to disappear for awhile only popping up on a rare occasion. Since it was one of my favourite things to eat, I snagged the recipe from a friend and I typed it out. Oh yes I did. Typed it out and taped it to a recipe card. Because that was what you did back in the day before the Internet.

Jalapeno Tex Mex Dip
Jalapeno Tex Mex Dip

Recently we visited with family and enjoyed a table full of potluck items, goodies and a similar variation of the 7 layer dip. Only with 2 layers. Got me thinking about the 7 layer dip and that it was time to find this recipe I had typed out so many years ago and make it again. Only with a twist.

Jalapeno Tex Mex Dip
Jalapeno Tex Mex Dip

I’m not a fan of canned black olives so we always use sliced Kalamatas which my girl loves. Jalapenos can be fresh or pickled and if you do not like them, keep them off and replace with chopped up bell peppers instead.

We’ve upgraded the classic 7 Layer Dip with this simple Jalapeno Tex Mex Dip featuring Greek yogurt, to make us feel better about eating it.

Jalapeno Tex Mex Dip
Jalapeno Tex Mex Dip

 

Googly Eye Halloween Treats

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The last three years we’ve had an International Student living with us. First Germany, China and now Spain. You learn a lot about yourself and sometimes the student when you allow them into your home to share their culture and learn about yours. Of the 3 students, we’ve had two good experiences so far, 1 not so great.

Did you know Halloween is not something celebrated by those who live outside of North America? We North Americans tend to do holidays BIG, HUGE in fact. It humbles me every time a student comes to live with us and I quickly realize bigger is not always better. You soon realize you really don’t need all the things. Except well maybe the food (food blogger, what can I say).

We love to have fun with our food and what’s more fun than putting edible Googly Eyes on snacks and sending them to school with your kids lunches? As I prepared the fruit and juice boxes my kids were chomping at the bit to bring them to school. Keeping their lunches interesting ensures they will continue eating well.

Recently we were in the kitchen with Deb Matejicka from The Weather Network talking about googly eyes and fun Halloween treats for the kids.

Tip: Pick up googly eyes at your local craft store, Bulk Barn or buy them online.

This is how we make these fun treats for the kids!

1. Remove straws from juice boxes. Poke a hole in a strip of white tape and place over drink spout for straw. Wrap juice boxes up in white duct tape, white electrical tape or medicine tape. Add googly eyes and secure with a mummy bandage (piece of tape). Tape straw to back of box.

Googly Eyed Mummies
Googly Eyed Mummies

2. Using a tube of white icing as your glue, glue two eyes to pears, apples, bananas or oranges. Completely edible minus the peels.

Googly Eyed Fruit
Googly Eyed Fruit

3. Make your favourite rice krispie recipe and lay out on a rimmed baking sheet. Chill until firm. Cut into rectangle shapes. Pick up some candy melts and carefully melt the chocolate. Dip one corner of your rectangle rice krispie into the chocolate. Add 2 googly eyes to the chocolate part and lay on baking sheet. Chill to set.

Googly Eyed Rice Krispies
Googly Eyed Rice Krispies

4. Add googly eyes to granola bars, cookies, brownies and squares, chocolate bark, caramel popcorn, cupcakes, vegetables (why not), and using icing glue them on to straws for your smoothies or milkshakes.

Fun for kids Googly Eye Halloween Treats
Fun for kids Googly Eye Halloween Treats

Here’s the Youtube link with Deb Matejicka.

Have you used edible googly eyes before? What’s your favourite way to use them?!

Healthy Road Trip Snacks for Kids

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It’s no secret we camp frequently in the summer and road trip or travel all year round. There are many great day trips to take from Calgary, in fact I wrote about it here 10 Day Trips from Calgary. With families in BC, Manitoba and Saskatchewan it’s fair to say we’ve traveled the four Western Provinces up and down and back again. From the time our kids were babies we were strapping them into their car seats and hitting the road ready to experience the next big adventure.

When the littles were babies I made my own baby food. It made sense to pack a small cooler full of healthy snacks for them. Washroom breaks or gas stops make it easy to purchase something on impulse and that’s why we always try to have a cooler packed with snacks ready to go.

In your cooler include a zip up plastic bag filled with wet wipes or napkins, plastic cutlery, a travel safe knife and old grocery bags for garbage.

1. Fresh fruit. Cut up and/or washed fruit and berries in a plastic container

2. High fiber and low sugar cereal like Cheerios

3. Terra or other brand Veggie Chips

4. Cheese sticks

5. Rice crackers or other healthy crackers

6. Rice Cakes in plastic bags with Nut Butter

7. Home made popcorn (I also put this in the kids lunches)

8. Pretzels mixed with dried fruit or nuts

9. Granola bars or Energy Bites

10. Yogurt tubes

11. Fresh veggies

12. Mini homemade muffins or Pizza Muffins

13. Applesauce cups (don’t forget spoons)

14. Preservative free healthy sausage with cut up cheese and crackers

15. Juice boxes, bottled water or infused bottled water

16. Hummus with crackers, pita or veggies

 

 

 

Cinnamon Butter Cake

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Lately I’ve been going through old small town cookbooks where my mom inspired myself and so many of her family members to submit recipes to the annual cookbook collaboration. I have two of them dating back to the 90’s and as I go through these books carefully page by page, I can’t help but smile when I see an Aunt or a friend with a recipe I so fondly remember. I also have several recipes posted from my Vancouver days where I dabbled with cooking constantly.

Who also has these kinds of books? Please share in the comments!

I often wonder the history of some of these retro recipes. So many of them where taken from early early cookbooks and changed up a bit to become Grandma’s or Mom’s recipe. I recall being at a food blogger conference once where a representative from Random House Publishing said exactly the same thing. Every recipe starts from a book somewhere. While I don’t believe “every” recipe does starts from a book since I’ve whipped up my own from scratch, I’m sure there are many that had a helping hand.

This is one of those retro recipes I took from the book and changed up to suit my tastes. I’ve never heard of it before so I was excited to give it a go. It’s a butter cake but I added a ton of cinnamon into the glaze because why not? Cinnamon has health benefits so I needed something to make me feel better after all the, well, butter!

 

Cinnamon Butter Cake
Cinnamon Butter Cake

It’s moist and perfect with tea or coffee.

 

 

Cinnamon Butter Cake
Cinnamon Butter Cake

 

Watermelon Berry Popsicles

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Stay hydrated and cool off on a hot summer day with homemade popsicles. With just a few ingredients and a little time, you can have healthy popsicles any day of the week!

I’ve been making these popsicles, minus the coconut milk, since the kids were toddlers. For a new spin I added coconut milk.

Popsicles, like smoothies, can be made using a variety of ingredients. Add in fresh herbs, dairy free milk or yogurt, fruit slices, cold brewed tea, chia seeds, nut butters and more. Make them as simple or complex as you like but be sure to make extra as they won’t last long.

These Watermelon Berry Popsicles have only 5 ingredients and a small pinch of salt as an added flavour enhancer. Best made the day before you plan on eating them.

Watermelon Strawberry Popsicles
Watermelon Strawberry Popsicles

 

Spinach Artichoke Dip

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With so many variations of Spinach Artichoke Dip out there, how do you find just one to love?!

This recipe was inspired by Liz of OMA’s Gourmet Garlic. We started bantering back and forth on this thing called twitter, maybe you’ve heard of it, and I learned she sells garlic grown in her garden in Aldersyde, Alberta.

Growing garlic runs in the family Liz explains, her dad received some garlic from a Russian friend in the mid ’80’s and grew it for years in his backyard garden. Her mom carried on with the growing of the garlic after her father passed away. In 2003 Liz received some garlic from her mom and decided to plant some of the cloves in her own garden. They started to sprout and 9 cloves produced 9 bulbs of garlic. This is where Liz’s story begins.

 

OMA's Gourmet Garlic
OMA’s Gourmet Garlic

 

Garlic is planted in the Spring over 6-8 weeks as this offers the best harvest, Liz says. The garlic cures for four – six weeks before selling the fresh begins in October and November.

Today this naturally grown garlic is sold to several local Chefs, restaurants and stores in fresh or dehydrated forms. And if she’s not busy enough tending her garden and weeds, Liz writes a column affectionately called the ‘Tales of the Stinking Rose, in the Wild Rose Country’ in ‘The Garlic News’, a quarterly Canadian publication.

I recently met Liz for the first time when I picked up some garlic granules and dehydrated garlic. She had me taste just 1 or 2 itty bitty specks of the granules before I left. That’s all you need Liz said and by golly she was right. I was my own sweet stinking rose for the rest of the day from those two little itty bittys samples.

OMA’s Gourmet Garlic is available fresh and dehydrated (powder, granules or spice mill grade). You can find her on Facebook: OMA’s Gourmet Garlic.

I used a light sprinkling of the garlic granules in this Spinach Artichoke Dip. This is a small recipes and serves two nicely. Or one who doesn’t want to share.

 

 

Roasted Jalapeno Hummus

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Chick peas, also known as garbanzo beans, are a good source of protein, iron and several other vitamins and minerals. Hummus is a staple in our house and this Roasted Jalapeno Hummus is the latest flavour addition to our weekly rotation.

Roasted Jalapeno Hummus
Roasted Jalapeno Hummus

Hummus is a popular Middle Eastern Dip and spread. A dish we did not grow up with and only learned about later in life through our many food adventures. It’s the perfect healthy dip for fresh vegetables. In fact it is so good for you, here are 8 Great Reasons to Eat More Hummus.

Roasted Jalapeno Hummus
Roasted Jalapeno Hummus

Adding roasted jalapenos was a no brainer for me as I love spice just not too spicy. Roasting jalapenos breaks down the capsaicin in the skin, reducing the pepper’s heat while giving it a sweet and smoky flavour. It is important to note some jalapenos can be hotter than others. Just like some oranges or grapes taste better than others, or onions can make you cry worse than the previous one. Using jalapenos in any dish may result in a mild experience or wild adventure depending on how spicy they are. Therefore you may want to start with just 1 jalapeno depending on your heat level tolerance.

Roasted Jalapeno Hummus
Roasted Jalapeno Hummus

I also love roasted garlic and roast up to 4 bulbs at a time keeping them in the refrigerator to use as needed. Once roasted squish out the entire contents of one roasted garlic bulb into this hummus for added flavour.

 

Cherry Bomb Smoothie

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Here’s a quick smoothie so simple you’ll read the recipe and say geesh why didn’t I think of that. Or maybe you already have. It’s these simple recipes that require very little thought or prep that are so enjoyable.

Why is this smoothie called cherry bomb you ask? Well cayenne. If you like heat then you can add more affer your first sprinkle. Keep adding until you get the buzz in the back of your throat. Omit all together if you would like to avoid heat. It’s delicious with or without but the cayenne is essentially what gives this smoothie it’s name: Cherry Bomb. Plus cayenne is good for you.

 

Cherry Bomb Smoothie
Cherry Bomb Smoothie

Tropical Salsa Smoothie Bowl

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Smoothies are a quick, easy way to start your day. This Tropical Salsa Smoothie Bowl combines mango, pineapple and coconut making you feel like you are enjoying this beverage on a tropical beach.

Tropical Salsa Smoothie Bowl
Tropical Salsa Smoothie Bowl

The smoothie bowl trend has been an interesting one. I’ve made a few, played with ingredients and while it’s fun, I almost prefer my smoothies in a glass or tall beverage holder. Anyone else feel this way?!

Tropical Salsa Smoothie Bowl
Tropical Salsa Smoothie Bowl

This recipe was created for a local print magazine featuring healthy recipes. We topped our tropical smoothie bowl with a quick fruit salsa, making it pretty and simple plus added some chia seeds.

Tropical Salsa Smoothie Bowl
Tropical Salsa Smoothie Bowl

The second recipe we made for the magazine, another tasty smoothie bowl: Berry Orange Smoothie Bowl.

Both smoothies are delicious and worthy of two straws to share with friends.-

Enter To Win Sweet Treats From Ganong & Calgary Zoo Lights Passes

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Who remembers Chicken Bones growing up?! When I was a child they were a candy we looked forward to every year with their chocolately goodness inside and a hard outer candy shell. I haven’t had them for years and was so excited when Ganong asked me to do a giveaway of their Chicken Bones, Chocolates and a couple passes to the Calgary Zoo Lights. Memories of these candies came flooding back!

Ganong Chicken Bones
Ganong Chicken Bones

Chicken Bones have been around since 1885 when Ganong candy maker Frank Sparhawk first invented the Chicken Bones. These spicy cinnamon flavoured hard candy shell filled with bittersweet chocolate soon became a family holiday favourite. Ganong Bros are one of Canada’s oldest independently family owned candy and chocolate maker, originally founded in 1873 in St Stephen, New Brunswick and you can find their products in many retailers across Canada. Run today by fifth generation family members they are still one of the most popular Canadian chocolates on the market.

Ganong Collage

The Calgary Zoo Lights run from November 27th – January 2nd, 2016. Dress warm and experience over 1.5 million lights, 200 displays, crackling fire pits, steamy hot chocolate, in four fun-filled activity zones. This magical winter wonderland is a fun activity for family and friends this holiday season and one we’ve attended many times over!

Now for the fun part, the giveaway! This contest is only open to Calgary, Canada and surrounding areas. The package contains 2 passes to the Calgary Zoo Lights and must be used by January 2, 2016. 2 boxes of Ganong Chocolates, 1 bag of Chicken Bones and 1 box of Ganong Fruitful Jellies!

Winner will be notified and asked to respond within 24 hours. Will also be required to meet in Calgary for pick up to ensure delivery before Christmas! The perfect snack for taking in the lights at the Calgary Zoo.

Thank-you Ganong Bros for providing samples, product and Calgary Zoo Lights Passes for this amazing holiday giveaway, and for sponsoring this post. As always, all opinions remain my own. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Espresso Cookies

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Espresso Cookies
Espresso Cookies

I like coffee and I love the smell of coffee. But I typically can only drink about half a cup of coffee before I’ve had enough. I even like it cold so the new nitro cold coffee fad was made for me. Unless of course my coffee comes with baileys or some other delectable enhancer.

While I may not drink a lot of coffee, I do like to eat my coffee. In baking and rubs and whatever else might work.

For this recipe I whipped up a batch of cookie dough and dropped in some of my ground espresso. What happened next was this insanely delicious cookie dough. In fact it was hard to stop eating it. The ground espresso showed beautiful flakes in the dough. It’s easy to roll out and doesn’t need to be refrigerated to firm up before baking.

The cookie dough displays a strong coffee flavour. The baked cookie just a hint. In fact my kids love this cookie (they are to young to drink coffee so they don’t really recognize the coffee flavour). You can add some sprinkles or not. Cut out any shape you like, re-roll and start over. These cookies were so good I’m going to go espresso & cookie crazy I think since the combinations could be endless.

Espresso Cookies
Espresso Cookies

 

Halloween Bark

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A great way to use up that extra Halloween Candy, and chocolate is to make bark. You can use dark or milk chocolate in place of the white, and the variations of bark are endless. This year I hit the bulk bins early to pick up some candy for my sons Birthday Monster Cupcakes. I always tend to overshoot the moon and buy more than what I need giving me….leftover candy!

I always find if I don’t get rid of the candy/chocolate, I will eat it. Just a piece here there…but eventually it disappears. So to avoid this temptation, I decided to toss it all into some bark. The kids love it and it goes pretty fast.

Make sure you have chocolate wafers or melting chocolate. Mix everything right in reserving a few pieces to dot on top just to pretty it up. It all tastes the same whether you mix the candy all in, or perfectly drop the pieces on top.

 

Mango Ginger Smoothie

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Smoothies in our house happen fast & furious. Never a lot of thought goes into making smoothies, but more searching through the freezer and fridge for fruit or veggies needing to be used up. That’s what so great about smoothies is anything goes. My kids now know how to make them and are totally ok with spinach going in, cause they can’t taste it.

This time we were under the weather so I added fresh ginger. You need to puree it really well to break up that ginger, and it’s never so strong it takes over the taste. Just a hint. Pomegranates never last long in this house. The kids are totally addicted. So this last tablespoon full is all I got out of two pomegranates. They both inhaled them. Not a bad thing since they are full of antioxidants. I just need to teach them how to clean them. This is a fun smoothie to make.

 

Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

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Some recipes just start with a memory don’t they?! Roasted Pumpkin Seeds is one of those memories for me that followed pumpkin carving and one we always looked forward to. Recreating those memories with my own kids brings me so much joy!

My mom would roast the seeds with salt – plain and simple (which is sometimes best)! I like to branch out and explore other flavours. One spice I adore is Ras el Hanout so I use this one often. I’ve tried cinnamon sugar, maple syrup, taco seasoning, old bay, salt and pepper, hot sauce seeds, chili or cumin with fresh rosemary. Any spice you would add to roasted nuts will also work on roasted pumpkin seeds. Since we usually end up carving four pumpkins, we can some times have lots of seeds. I separate into three bowls and experiment.

The first thing you need to do is gut your pumpkin. Pull out all the seeds and the gunky strings and then try your best to separate the seeds from the gunk (you won’t get it all, trust me). Place the seeds in a large bowl and add water. Swish the seeds around with your hands to remove any additional gunk. Do the best you can – a little on the seeds never hurt anyone! Remove from water and lay on paper towels or a clean dish towel.

Let them dry a little. You don’t need them completely dry, but your seasonings will stick better if mostly dry. Do you like my terminology here?! “A little”, “completely”, “mostly dry” ha ha ha! Once at this point you are ready to follow the recipe below.

Have you experimented with pumpkin seed flavours? What is your favourite flavour?!