Giveaway and nope I'm not kidding:)

Happy April to you all!

Can you believe we are already into the 4 month of the year?...Wowzers! Hope you didn't get tricked too badly today. Maybe you snuck something into your post like Katie did lol! I'm not going to throw any tricks at you but I am going to offer a wicked giveaway prize!

I've been reading Meghan Telpner's blog Making Love In The Kitchen for some time now and it wows me everytime I read. Maybe its her spunky attitude, maybe its her amazing recipes, or maybe its her cool adventures, whatever the attraction may be, I love reading her blog and I always learn something new. Remeber I talked about turmeric tea? Yep, that was Meghan's creation. I think I'm going to be making her Superfood Bon Bons for a little easter treat!





So, when she posted about her new e-tutorial 5 Days Healing With Everyday Superfoods I knew it would be awesome. Then she stepped it up another notch by allowing other bloggers to hold a contest to win a copy. How cool is that? She even allows you to make the rules on the contest! Told you she was awesome:) So, as I'm probably the only blogger left who hasn't had a giveaway, so I jumped on the opportunity!


Here's a little bit more info on Meghan and her new e-tutorial 5 Days Healing With Everyday Superfoods.



This newest tutorial by nutritionist Meghan Telpner of Making Love In The Kitchen, has the potential to change the way you look at food- and not in a bad way. The equation seems simple enough. Even Hippocrates, oodles and oodles of years new this truth. We are what we eat so why not let our food be our medicine. If food and lifestyle are the greatest contributors to ill health, why not turn that right on around and make the awesome choices that allow our food to heal us? If we give our body what it needs nutritionally, it will have all the tools necessary to build and repair itself.

This new tutorial, Healing with Everyday Superfoods by Meghan, makes this a very easy switch to make. She provides lists of everyday powerful healing foods, as well as some that may be a little more unusual like raw cacao and sea vegetables. She doesn’t leave you there of course. She outlines why we should get these goodies into the diet, provides many tips for eating them, offers a complete 5 day meal plan and all the recipes. She makes eating this way delicious and easy. The best bit, these tutorials are fun to read to. The information is presented in a concise manner and with humour thrown in.
For just $12 to instantly download your own copy, there is really not much to loose. Even if you read through it and make just one adjustment to start building health, that in and of itself is massive. Have a peak here for more information.


What Is A Guide To Health? And what is this e-tutorial series you speak of?

The guide to health is my answer to all the questions, comments and really freaking long emails I get from people who are feeling challenged in their endeavors to make a transition to a healthier way of living but don’t know where to begin. All of the e-tutorials and audio guides work well on their own and also support each other in helping make this transition easy and effortless. I have parred down my years of nutrition education, kitchen experience, teaching experience, client/consultation experience, and a massive book shelf into the vital information you need to know. The guides are concise, to the point and entertaining to read. I have done my best to make the educational component of them to be inspiring and interesting to read and the meal plan/ recipe component to be easy, achievable and sustainable. I am in no way working to convert anyone to any single way of eating, only to explore new and healthy foods, and new and healthy practices so my readers can decide what works for them and what doesn’t on an individual basis. Check out the full line-up of guides to health here: http://www.meghantelpner.com/shop/

What is the Group Challenge component?

Every month, I host a different group challenge. In January we did a Green Smoothie Cleanse, February we went Vegan and in March we did Low GI eating. April 18th we will be kicking off the first 5 Days Healing with Everyday Superfoods Challenge followed by a Green Smoothie Cleanse. I offer Twitter coaching through the duration of the challenge, respond to as many emails and comments as I can and help to facilitate a supprtive and encouraging environment on this blog for people to post questions, comments and support each other. Having the group support- whether real in person or online has proven massively beneficial with all kinds of transitional programs.

And now, tell me a little more about 5 Days Healing with Everyday Superfoods?

If food is what is making us sick in our society, what if we amp up our diets and use food to resolve the problem too. What if we looked at food as our fuel, as our medicine and made it easy, delicious, and so uber powerful that our body had no choice but to heal and repair itself? That is what this tutorial is about.
The more I began to learn about the healing properties of these superfoods, the more of them I wanted in my diet. What was missing for me, in everything I was reading, was the inherent lack of practicality. Some might argue that being able to throw everything into a blender, stir it together, and drink your meal down is the ultimate in practical. True, it might be for some people. But what about the people who have families to feed, who want to sit down to a meal with others, who get genuine pleasure from being in the kitchen and finding creative ways to blend raw superfoods, cooked superfoods and plain old whole, unprocessed foods into delicious meals? That is where this tutorial comes in.
I will show you how to incorporate these superfoods into your everyday eating.
The guide contains 60 + pages of info including (but of course not limited to):

• The Definition of a Superfood
• Benefits of Whole Foods
• Food as Fuel
• Food as Medicine
• Challenges with Food Guides and Diets
• Calories Versus Nutrition
• Benefits of Raw

Everyday Superfoods

• Cruciferous Vegetables
• Leafy Greens
• Sprouts
• Seeds + Seed Oils (Sesame, Pumpkin, Flax, and Hemp)and more

The Super-Powered Superfoods

• Chia•
• Cacao•
• Super Berries (Goji Berries, Goldenberries and Mulberries)•
• Bee Products (Raw Honey, Bee Pollen, Propolis, Royal Jelly)and more!

Super Healing Herbs

Time to Get Super-Powered

• 5-Day Meal Plan•
• Super-Powered Recipesand more!

Additional Resources

• Conscious Eating•
• Sprouting 101•
• Food and Mood Journal•
• Whole Foods Shopping List•
• Blank Meal Plan Template

Plus Additional References and Resources

Even if this is not a program you want to follow full on right now, or even in the near future, the information I have included will definitely enlighten many of your food decisions and help you to understand how easily you can super-power your eating everyday!These tutorials use humour and simplicity making them enjoyable to read and approachable to incorporate into everyday eating. Cost is $12.00.

Testimonials on Past Programs

I really enjoy your writing. These ebooks must take so much of your time to prepare. Thank you for putting so much information into such an absorbable form. You aren’t just a fashionista/nutritionist you are most importantly a teacher. Which is great. There are teachers out there who don’t get information across to their students as effectively as you do. Dori

I received my tutorial last night. Wow! What an excellent resource. The time and thought you put into this is certainly worth the money, and as hubby is peeking at the tutorial, I have the feeling we’re going to have another participant. Didn’t feel right letting him tag along for the ride without you getting something for your effort. Laurie

Meghan – your tutorial was WONDERFUL!! Wow, it was definitely worth every penny and MORE! I hope you have plans on writing a book!! Carrie

This tutorial package you provided is amazing! It took me awhile to get through it, but it’s so helpful–especially because you provided a shopping list!! Thank you so much. Liz

YOU, my dear, are the start of my healing and I know that I can do this together with your help! As nutritionists we may already know what to do but sometimes motivation and someone who cares is what is needed! My heart and soul thanks you, not to mention my belly will too soon! Im so excited!!!! JZ

Intrigued? Well, here is how you can win a copy!

My one and only requirement for entry into the contest is : Tell me your favorite superfood!

Leave a comment below and you have until April 6th at midnight to enter.

Good luck everyone!

My favorite spice+ Ch-ch-ch Chia seed giveaway:)

Happy Monday everyone,


Welcome to March:) Ahh..one of my favorite months. Now I'm being a bit selfish here as my birthday is only 14 days away but I do have other reasons as well (albeit not as exciting as celebrating being one more year older). March is that month I look forward to because I can start hiking again, spring clothes are showing up in store windows, and I can start to buy seeds. I'm definitely a spring lover, even if it means nothing but rain for a month or two...its better than snow and ice. Are you seeing signs of spring in your hood? I saw tulips coming up in a garden bed the other day and the birds are chirping like crazy:) Loving it!!


I grew up with a mom who loved to use all kinds of spices! She is a great cook and rarely needs a recipe to make flavors pop! I am very jealous of her talents and hope that one day I will know which herbs go well together and which don't. I have a good teacher to help me with that one:) One spice that she introduced me to was turmeric. That bright orange/yellow spice that gives curry its glorious color and your hands if you don't watch out..lol! As we know with many whole foods, their color can be associated with powerful molecules that is usually good for us. For example, beta-carotene which is the red-orange pigment found in fruits and veggies. Beta-carotene is converted in the body to vitamin A which is an antioxidant and is very important for maintenance of your eyes (plus many other uses). When it comes to turmeric, the active ingredient that gives it that stunning color is curcumin. According to Natural News, curcumin brings order to the cell membrane which makes the cell more resistant to infection. That's right, turmeric "organizes" your cell membrane. How cool is that? I recently listened to an audio between David Wolf and Dr. Mercola and the doc said that curcumin is going to be one of the most talked about molecules in 2010. This must be powerful stuff. Turmeric has so many health benefits that it would take more than one post to write about them all. So, if you want to know a bunch of health benefits to this yellow powder check out Meghan's blog or this article by the National Post. My mom swears by this stuff if she is not feeling well. She adds it to her homemade broths.


I love adding turmeric to almost everything. Salads, soups, dressings, casseroles, curries, stir-fry, and dips all benefit from this beautiful spice. One reason I love it is because it is so versatile and its flavor is not overpowering. I add a lot and I don't taste it as other herbs I add are more potent in the taste department. It basically gives everything a yellow tinge...like the sun! I just picked up a half of a jar of organic turmeric for less than $2. It's so easy to find and cheap! So the next time you are down the spice isle pick up some and start sprinkling!

PS Meghan has this awesome recipe for turmeric tea that sounds so amazing. I'm definitely going to give it a try.

PPS Bitt is having a giveaway of 2lbs of chia seeds from Chia Seeds Direct! Yumm...chia seeds are da bomb (lol) and so jam packed with nutrients, especially omega 3's! So get on over to her blog and enter.



Have a great rest of the week and don't forget to pass the turmeric on your dinner table!

Big Win +The urge to change + rewarding myself (and another giveaway)

Hey all,

How was your Sunday? I worked all day but I had a really fun time. As you know the BIG GAME took place today. I was disappointed that I could not join friends for the afternoon but I knew I couldn't miss the game. So, I brought my laptop in to work and watched it online! It was a good thing that all the staff are hard core hockey fans or I may not have been able to have it with me...lol. Let's just say that my day flew by and the spirit and pride was over-flowing through out the whole day. I loved it!!! Canada Vs. USA is always a great match-up as both teams are fabulous and the rivalry between them allows for some healthy competition. I did say it would be a nail biter and holy it was a little beyond that..lol. But our boys pulled it off in the end (sorry USA) and won in overtime...WAHOO!!! See that young fella in the middle? His name is Sidney Crosby and he is an amazing hockey player and now Canada's hero ( he scored the final goal).

Can you believe the Olympic Games are over and the Paralympics is starting? What a rush these past two weeks have been. Canada actually crushed the record for most gold medals won at the Winter Olympics with 14 gold. I'm very proud of my nation and hope your country did well too:)

Now on to something a bit more serious...life!! LOL! Ever since I started adding more raw foods into my diet, I noticed a big shift in my mental clarity and focus. I have more confidence in myself and the direction I want to take my life. I am continuing to learn about what's important to me and what isn't. This has become even more evident as I think about my job. I have a really great job but its not for me. It is in a field that I'm not passionate about and therefore, I find myself dreaming of working in a health-related field . Of course, this makes life a lot harder as my motivation for my current job is dropping exponentially. I feel sometimes like I should stay there as its a "comfortable" job. I will be going back to school soon and so I would only have to stick it out for another year and a half. Yet, there some part of me that says I should go out on a limb and try something new that would bring me closer to my dream of becoming an ND. It's so hard to take that risk as the responsibilities in my life require that I bring in my part of the household income. But what's life without some risks?...and possible big rewards? I will be doing some searching and networking when I move back to the coast and if an opportunity shows itself, hopefully I'll have the courage to take it! Have you ever felt in the crossroads? Did you take a different job that you were more passionate about even if it meant less pay or less of something that your previous job offered?


I am feeling the need to reward myself with a small treat for all the work I've been doing. How selfish of myself lol!! The hubby has been treating himself these past couple months so its my turn now. I've decided to add a new cookbook to my collection. I'm thinking a dessert book would be awesome, but a great all-around raw food recipe book would also be tempting. Here a few that I'm thinking about:

Just Desserts by Heathy- I follow her blog and love all her creations. They are simply gorgeous and my mouth is always watering after I read her posts. Shannonmarie did a cute post about Heathy and her book which got me even more interested in buying it!

Sweet Gratitude: A New World of Raw Desserts - I have heard great things about this recipe book via Nikki's and Bitt's blogs. According to their pictures, it looks like a real winner. MMmmmm!!

After this I'm stuck on something by Kristen Suzanne or maybe Sarma or maybe Matthew Kenney.


Do you have a favorite raw food recipe books? Let me know if you you have had any personal experiences with any of these authors or books. Your likes, dislikes etc!


And last but not least, the lovely Averie is having another giveaway. Yes, she totally rocks! This time its for Naturally Nutty nut butters!! They sound so awesome. My favorite that I saw on their site was the cinnamon vanilla sunflower butter. Doesn't that just sound so good? Mmmm. So get on over to Love Veggies and Yoga and enter her contest. As usual, she has a ton of ways to enter.


Have a great Monday everybody! Reward yourself this week..in a healthy way! Take an epsom salt bath, buy a new cook book, make a healthy dessert, or read a new book. Whatever makes you happy!

Weekend Re-cap + My Earthlings experience

Hello all,

I know this post is a bit late as it is already Tuesday but better late than never, right? The weekend was beautiful and it got off to a wonderful start. I was fostering a shy cat named Lola from Nelson SPCA and she found her forever home on Friday. Ry and I are so happy she found a quiet home as she was not treated kindly by her previous owners and so she was scared of a lot of things. She greatly improved while she stayed with us and I know she will be a great companion for the lovely lady who adopted her. She will be missed:) As I have been lucky enough to find homes for all three of the cats I fostered, the SPCA wants to give us another cat who needs some extra love. I meet him/her today and I'm so excited (and I know Nemo is too!). On Saturday Ry and I went for a little walk up the hill. I was tired and grumpy and didn't want to go but I forced myself and I got out of my bad mood pretty darn quickly! I mean with the sun hitting my face the way it did, I couldn't help but smile and feel good. We love checking out people's homes and their design ideas. The houses here vary from Victorian style to 70's ranchers to modern box-looking homes. Of course, what's a hippy town without a pink and purple house lol! After the walk I was feeling pumped so I made two dishes for dinner. The first was the the Crispy Cajun Chickpea Cakes from Vegan Dad. These are so easy and quick (and delish too!). I adapt them to whatever veggies I have kicking around. I also bake them instead of frying. It is going to be my mission to make these bad boys in the raw!

Sorry for the bad pict! It really doesn't show off their greatness! We had them with ketchup but salsa is my favorite way to eat them. I have a new tradition of making salsa with my mom but the stuff is so good we are already out! And its so hard to eat the store bought stuff as it tastes like pure salt.

The other dish I made was Snobby Joes from The PPK site. I love lentils cooked and in their sprouted form (I've got my mom hooked on the sprouted lentils now too!). They are so easy to work with and so if you are new to the area of your house that contains the fridge (AKA kitchen), give these little gems a try. I modified it to what ingredients I had and it still turned out great. I left out the bell pepper and maple syrup (used a small bit of honey instead). I was out of chili powder so I searched around for a recipe to make my own. It was actually pretty close but I would love to make it with some ancho chiles in it next time. I love this dish even without the bun. Yummm!

Ry headed to the Co-op to pick up a little treat for each of us. He picked up some BBQ Kettle Chips. Have you ever tried Kettle Chips? They are awesome and they have nothing artificial, no trans fats, no artificial colors or flavors, no preservatives, non-GMO ingredients, and they are gluten free. They have so many flavors and varities that you will love, I'm sure of it. Now, I don't each chips all the time, they are a treat. For me, I received some of our new obsession- organic medjoool dates. Oh how I love thee, dear date! Eating these makes me want to live in Cali or other places where they are grown. And stuffing these with almond butter? I believe the word to explain that would be simply... orgasmic lol! That night we watched Fried Green Tomatoes. I am embarassed to say I have never seen it before. Beautiful movie and I will watch it again for sure!

Sunday I worked all day and then I went to watched "The Big Game." That game being the Canada vs USA Olympic match up. I was so bummed that we lost ( these games are really for bragging rights) but we play against Germany tonight and this is a vital game as we need a win in order to qualify for the quarter finals. It will be a nail-biter for sure:) I'm so Canadian, eh? LOL!

After the game we went home and made banana softserve with coconut and berries. So good! watched The Count of Monte Cristo but I couldn't stay awake and I missed the ending. I really liked it (from what I saw) and if you are thinking about which movie to rent, try this one out! Then after the movie was over Ryan was searching around and found Earthlings. Ever since getting Nemo and going veg, I feel this greater connection to the animal world. The documentary starts off looking at the industry that is companion animals. It came to the part where over-crowded shelters "dispose" of the animals they cannot care for due to aggression, lack of space, health issues etc. I totally lost it and the tears would just not stop. I couldn't watch past this point that night. I will watch the rest eventually but I think I need to do it in stages. Ryan watched the rest of it while I was away and he said that I probably shouldn't watch the rest. I could see it really had a resonating affect on him and he talked openly about how sick it made him feel and how he didn't know how badly factory animals were really treated (especially piggies). His quote on the workers of the factory farms "I bet you those guys are going to become or already are serial killers as abusing animals is where it starts" and "The workers there are truly sick, something has to be wrong with them." I'm near tears again just thinking about it. I told Ryan that when we move to a place in the country its going to be a little hobby farm as I'm going to bring as many farm animals as I can so they can have a good life. I also gave Nemo a big hug that night as I couldn't imagine him not being around.

Have you watched Earthlings? Let me know what your experience was!

On a much lighter note now...Heidi is having a giveaway! WOW the freebies are so awesome this week. Check my previous post to enter other giveaways! She is giving away a Deni Automatic Ice Cream Maker. Raw ice cream...yum! Summer IS almost here:) So head on over to her site and enter.

Lovely Lunch + Great Giveaway!

Hello all!


Hope you are having a fun humpday Wednesday! I haven't had much time to make extra goodies this week as we have been hitting the gym pretty late and afterwards I'm pretty beat. Today I decided to make a greater energy packed lunch as I found I was was getting hungry only an hour or so after I ate my simple salad. So to add some PUNCH to my salad I placed an avocado in there. All those healthy omega 3 and omega 6 fatty acids really made a difference to my satiety. I also made some lovely pate that was so good with my Ryvita crackers.

Here's the breakdown..

Greeny Salad

1 bunch of organic spinach, washed thoroughly, cut into bite sized pieces including stem

handful of parsley

1 avocado, cut into chunks

2 tablespoons Nomi Shannon's Miso Mayo ( I made it into a dressing by just adding more water)

Yep, that's it! You can add more veggies if you want. I just took what I had left in my fridge.

Of course you could add whatever dressing you want, I just wanted to give the miso dressing another shout out as it is so fabulous!

I was in heaven eating this, I really didn't want it to end!

Lovely Pate - Love is in the air ...and in the pate!

1 Cup sunflower seeds, soaked overnight

1/2 Cup sundried tomatoes, soaked for 1/2 hour, keep the soaking water

1 small onion, chopped

1 large garlic clove

juice from half a small lemon

pinch sea salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1/4 teaspoon paprika

1/8 teaspoon cumin

Place the sunflower seeds in your food processor and grind until you get the texture that you like. Add the sundried tomatoes and blend until they are all encorporated. I add some of the sundried tomato soaking water as I prefer the pate pretty smooth (this also helps my small processor blend easier). Add the onion and garlic and blend until you cannot see any big pieces of onion. Add the lemon juice and remaining ingredients. Adjust the spices as needed.

You can eat this with crackers, lettuce leafs, veggies. It is so yummy and easy!

I have been eyeing all the amazing chocolate recipes that are around the blogosphere, here, here, and here. I'm so looking forward to trying some of these out, my mouth is watering just thinking about it. Making my own raw chocolate, how cool is that? So, to get me geared up on my chocolate journey I decided to make the Chocolate-dipped Date Truffles featured on Carmella's blog The Sunny Raw Kitchen. They are actually just about ready as I type this. Hold on, I've got to try one right now.........WOW!! definite winner. They have this chewy center with an almond butter-stuffed date and a chocolaty coating. I'm telling you its pure heaven. What a great treat. This was made with all raw ingredients except the almond butter (roasted) and cocoa powder.

Chocolate-Dipped Date Truffles

Chocolate Dip:

1/4 Cup raw honey (original recipe called for agave)

1/4 Cup coconut oil (can also use coconut butter)

3 Tablespoons Cocoa (original recipe used raw Cocao or carob)

1/4 teaspoon vanilla

pinch sea salt

Truffle:

8 dates ( I used Deglet Noor dates, would be best to use medjool)

cold almond butter

I took off the stems (hard part at one end of the date) and cut a small slit to take out the seed. I wasn't too successful at keeping the slit from spreading. Yet, once I got the almond butter in there it acted as a glue and so you couldn't tell if they were a bit more split. Once you have done this with all the dates set them on a plate that has some wax paper on it. Move on to the chocolate dip. Heat the coconut oil so that it is completely melted. I placed a bowl over some hot water and that seemed to do the trick. Add the cocoa powder then the honey, vanilla, and sea salt. Mix until smooth. Now dip the dates in the chocolate and roll them around to get all sides. Place back on the wax paper. Repeat with remaining dates. Place in the freezer 5-10 minutes.

Now, I had some leftover chocolate dip and decided to try something out. I cut a banana into small chunks and rolled it in the chocolate. Placed them in the freezer with the dates. Do you see where I'm going with this? Yep, I want to see what kind of softserve this will make. I'm sure its going to be awesome!

Last , but definitely not least, Gena from Choosing Raw is having a great giveaway! She is giving away 2 Tribest blenders. These are really cool as you can use glass jars to blend in. I looked into these a couple of months back, and there are lot great reviews out there. Looking at the amount of comments she has received, 475 to be exact, and soon to be 476, this is a hot item! So, head on over to her site and shoot her a comment. Good luck!

Ps sorry for the crappy pictures. I took this with my blackberry as I'm still waiting for my laptop parts to arrive....

Have a great rest of the week and enjoy a piece of chocolate today!