On our first full day here in paradise and we got up bright and early to check out our neighbourhood and pick up groceries. We stocked up on fresh local papaya, bananas, pineapple, grapefruit, lemons, and greens. We also came across this locally harvested sea asparagus. It's quite salty, so a little bit goes a long way. So far we've used it as a salad garnish/alternative to salt.
Stay tuned for more updates from Maui! Happy New Year!
A shot from our walk home at dusk in Kihei, Maui.
Sofie's take on Grant Achatz's vegetable farrow stew.
There's nothing I love more than receiving photos from friends, family, or clients of healthy dishes they've made at home. The photos in this post are compliments of my friend Sofie and my mom, both of whom made recipes that I recently posted on my blog.
It makes me so happy to see others investing in their own health by preparing wholesome meals at home. Home cooking is one of the most important things you can do to take control of your health and wellbeing. As Michael Pollan says, "The best marker of a healthy diet was whether the food was cooked by a human being." According to Pollan, healthy people - in all socio-economic ranks - are those who eat primarily home cooked meals, rather than fast food or prepared foods.
As we all know, food prepared by restaurants and packaged foods are loaded with salt, fats and sugar. All of those things are okay in moderation (particularly salt and fat), but regularly consuming them in excess can quickly lead to weight gain, poor digestion, mood imbalances, reduced immunity, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, poor cardiovascular health, and the list goes on.
Every week, regardless of how busy I am, I plan out at least two days where I commit a few hours to cooking. This is a non-negotiable date I set with myself to ensure that cooking and meal prep doesn't fall by the wayside. Cooking at home takes work, but if you make it a priority, it will happen.
Cooking at home also presents a great opportunity to spend time with your partner, family or friends. Whether it's a dinner for two, four or a big dinner party, there's a primal sense of accomplishment and satisfaction that comes from preparing, cooking and eating with others. Relish in that!
My mom's take on the chickpea vegetable stew.
People often tell me they'd happily eat at home if they could make the foods that I make. Since I've launched my Facebook page and blog, I'm sure you've noticed that I'm not shy about sharing the recipes I've tried. Most of the recipes I post will be easy (often "one pot" easy) or will contain basic, whole foods, and lots of veggies. I will throw in a few healthy desserts from time to time as well. I will keep sharing recipes as I hope this will inspire you to cook at home!
A few weeks ago, before it was really cold, I was working on some food photography with CY-IWANDER. I made a bunch of food for the shoot, including a variation of this crockpot stew concocted by chef Grant Achatz, owner of the famous Alinea Restaurant in Chicago. It had an unbelievable flavour complexity thanks to a mix of veggies, dried fruits and the acidity of the tomato juice and lemons. The farrow also added nice texture. It's perfect for fall/winter and can be easily modified based on whatever ingredients you have on hand. Adding beans or chickpeas will give it a protein boost. If you try it, let me know what you think!
Photo by CY-iwander.
Have you heard of the Dirty Dozen and the Clean Fifteen? It's a list of fruits and vegetables that are the most and least contaminated by pesticide use, according to the Environmental Working Group. Pesticides have been linked to a variety of health problems, including hormone disruption, cancer and brain toxicity. With that in mind, I try my best to buy organic (and local) foods when I can, but if that's not possible, I always think back to this list. I found a handy little infographic that includes the entire list of clean and dirty produce. I hope it's as useful to you as it is to me.
Hummus and veggies is one of my favourite snacks and my photographer friend CY-IWANDER captured it so beautifully. Some protein and lots of fibre, it's perfect for in between meals. I make hummus weekly and I usually start with the same base recipe, and add in roasted garlic, roasted red pepper, or fresh herbs, and/or I'll switch the chickpeas to white beans or lentils. This hummus recipe by Inspired Taste is excellent and is definitely better than store bought. Give it a try, and let me know what you think!
Roasted red pepper hummus garnished with a dollop of olive oil and a sprinkling of paprika, with a side of kalamata olives, romanesco, yellow peppers, celery, carrots and broccoli.
Just last week the Environmental Working Group released its NEW Dirty Dozen Guide to Food Additives. The EWG is an American environmental organization but this helpful guide is still very applicable to us Canadians. The guide highlights food additives associated with serious health concerns, ingredients banned or restricted in some countries, and other substances that shouldn’t be in food. Find out which foods contain them and what you can do to avoid them! Check it out here.
It's cold here in Ottawa today. After spending a few hours outside walking my dog, I had my heart set on making this healing, warming chickpea veggie stew. I did a quick pantry scan and realized I fell short of a few ingredients, but there was no way I was going back out in the cold! I was missing broth; I only had red onions and sweet potatoes (not pearl onions and fingerling potatoes); nor did I have harissa.
Image via www.foodandwine.com
After a few years of cooking regularly, I've learned some kitchen hacks that make life easier. First off, here's a great tip: No broth? No problem! When adding the onions in the first steps of this recipe,
I also added chopped carrots and celery. A great base for any broth is 50% chopped onions to 25% chopped carrots and 25% celery (or 2:1:1 if you like ratios). This combo is called mirepoix and is used to add flavor and aroma to stocks, sauces, soups and other foods. Since I wasn't using broth, I simply added 3 cups of water instead.
I also swapped in red onion and sweet potato. I'm a big fan of sweet potatoes as they are super high in beta carotene (the precursor to Vitamin A), which is a key antioxidant.
I didn't have harissa either, but I knew I probably had most of the key ingredients. I googled "harissa spice blend" and came across a great recipe. I didn't have the exact spices required, but made a modified version using small amounts of cayenne, cumin, coriander, smokey paprika, and caraway. If you don't have those particular spices, I think garam masala, chili powder, or cumin and cinnamon would pair nicely with this stew.
I absolutely love how it turned out. Give it a try and let me know if you made any of your own modifications!
This is my very first blog post on AmyLongard.com. It's hard to believe this day has come. I've spent the last few years studying food and nutrition and I have so much information in my head that I can't wait to share with all of you. In this blog, I plan on posting nutrition tips, recipes, interviews, food reviews, and keep you up to date on all my adventures! I hope you'll be back to visit me again.
All my best,
Amy