No Dough Pizza

Pizza, to me, is essential in life/considered a food group. In the summertime, my family and I (fine- just my mom) make homemade pizzas every Sunday and it is my favorite part of the summer. Paired with a glass of Merlot or Malbec, that my friends, is my definition of bliss. 

As much as I would love to eat Pizza everyday, I am not one of those girls that can eat whatever she wants and not feel/see the consequences. When I saw all the hype surrounding Cauliflower Pizza, I decided I HAD to try it out!

WHAT YOU WILL NEED:

-2 heads of cauliflower

-A few dahes of Oregano

-1 few dashes of Parmesan Cheese

-Slices of Cheese ( I used mozzarella) 

-1 cup of Tomato Sauce ( I made fresh tomato sauce!)

-2 Eggs

-1 tablespoon of Quinoa Flour

-2 Tomatoes

-Cut up Chorizio

-1/4 of an Onion

-1 tablespoon of Garlic Powder

-A few dashes of Salt & Pepper

-1 tablespoon of Chia Seeds

*You can use any toppings you want, I just decided on Tomatoes, Cheese and Chorizio

      

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Chop up your cauliflower into small pieces and place it in a blender! I used a magic bullet so had to do little bits at a time. I also added a few drops of water to get things moving. Blend until it is pureed. 

3. Place the pureed cauliflower mixture onto a plate and place paper towels over it to get rid of the excess water from the cauliflower. THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT PART! ( I went through a lot of paper towels!)

4. Let the cauliflower sit with the paper towels over it for about a half hour

5. Discard any left over cauliflower liquid by turning the plate upside down with the paper towel on top of it

6. Move the purree mix into a large bowl, add the eggs, a few dashes of oregano, salt and pepper, garlic powder, some Parmesan  the Quinoa flour and the Chia seeds ( the Chia seeds are necessary but I found that they helped to thicken the dough) 

7. Mix together until it is blended in

8. Spread the “dough” into either 1 large pizza shape or 2 small pizza rounds on a lightly greased (coconut oil) pizza pan 

9. Do not spread the  “dough” too thin as the moisture will cause it the crack. 

10. Put in the oven for 15-20 minutes. Once you see the top turning a bit of a golden colour, you can take it out!

11. Remove the crust from the oven and let it sit for about 10 minutes. 

12. Add all of your favourite toppings! In my case, tomatoes, mozzarella, chorizio!

13. Place the pizzas back into the oven for another 15 minutes! During the last few minutes, change your oven settings to BROIL to make sure the top is thoroughly cooked. 

14. EAT UP!!!!

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Cauliflower Rice

You know how Frank's Hot Sauce has the tag line "I put that shit on everything". Well Tamari Sauce is my version of Frank's. I seriously put it on EVERYTHING and this Sushi Cauliflower Bowl is no exemption.  I came across "cauliflower sushi" in LA (obviously) and decided to try out a version of it that was a little less complicated. 

What you will need (Serves 2):

•1 head of Cauliflower

•1 Avocado

•1 onion

•2 carrots

•4 tablespoons of Tamari Sauce

•Nori Krinkles

•Salt to taste

Instructions:

1.  Start with the "rice"- Shred your cauliflower as fine as possible...so small that it looks like "rice". I could have done this much better but I was in a rush.You can use a food processor if you have one which would definitely help speed things up.

2. Lather up your pan with Coconut Oil and place your stove on Low Heat

3. Chop up your onion and carrots into tiny, little pieces and place it into the frying pan along with the cauliflower "rice". 

4. Let everything blend together and cook until it looks ready

5. Remove from the heat and let it sit until it's mild

6. Add in chopped Avocado, Tamari sauce and some salt. 

7. Lastly, add in your crushed Nori Flakes (a handful)

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Hearty Breakfast

One of the things I miss most about LA is the overwhelming amount of smoothie and juice bars on every corner. While Toronto is definitely stepping up it's game, there are no acai bowls within walking distance to me. Due to this I decided to take matters into my own hands and create my own and I have to say, I am pretty happy. It is the perfect breakfast for a weekend and soo filling!

What you will need to make ONE acai bowl:

☻ 2 Frozen Sambazon Acai Packs 

( I prefer the ones WITHOUT Guarana but they only had this kind at the moment). You can purchase from Whole foods, Goodness Me or The Big Carrot

☻ 1/2 Banana (Half for the mix and the other half for Garnish

☻A heavy spoonful of Almond Butter

☻A tablespoons of Bee Pollen

☻2 tablespoons of Raw Cacao Bits

☻Handful of Ice

☻2 tablespoons of shaved unsweetened coconut flakes

☻1/4 cup of Almond Milk

Garnish:

☻Shaved Almonds 

☻Raw Honey 

☻Handful of Carob Chips

☻1/2 a Banana

Blend all the ingredients into a Magic Bullet or Blender (minus the honey, carob chips, almonds and left over banana)  and blend until all ingredients are mixed well. Garnish with Banana slices, Honey, Shaved Almonds & Carob Chips

**I also sometimes put this creation into a smoothie cup and drink it with a straw during the week ( and when I do this, I ditch all of the garnishes obviously)

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Healthy Summer Salad

When I lived in LA, I was obsessed with this macrobiotic eatery just around the corner from me called M Cafe. Whenever I was feeling yucky (especially after a weekend of taco eating and wine), I would treat myself to a meal from here and would always leave feeling so much better. Every bite made my insides feel happy. This raw zucchini salad is one of the recipes I snagged from there and I am so happy I did.  Not only is this salad super healthy but it actually fills you up!

What you will need

Serves 2

For Pesto Dressing:

☻1 1/2 cups of Basil 

☻1 cup of Arugula 

☻ 1 tablespoon of Almonds, chopped

☻1/4 cup of Olive Oil
☻1 large garlic clove, roughly chopped
☻1 tablespoon of flaxseeds

☻2 tablespoons of Yellow or Red Miso
☻1 tablespoon of Lemon Juice

For Salad:

☻ 7-8 pieces of Sun-dried Tomatoes

☻4 Medium Sized Zucchini's

☻2 tablespoons of sliced Almonds 

☻1/4 of Olive of  Oil

☻A handful of Italian Parsley

Instructions for the Pesto Dressing:
Mix all of the ingredients together and blend together in a food processor. If you do not have a food processor, you can use a magic bullet- just add some water to help get things moving.

Instructions for the Salad:
1. Cut up all the Zucchini. Cut each Zucchini in half and then in halves again. Chop each of the pieces into thin Spaghetti like strips and place them in a large bowl. This is the "hardest" part as it takes some time...especially if you are an unexperienced cook like myself.

2. Finely chop up all the sun dried tomatoes and toss them into the bowl with the "noodles".
2. Slice the almonds up ( I use pre-sliced almonds as it is easier!).
3. Add in the olive oil
4. Add in the Pesto sauce

5. Mix the sauce into the bowl until it is well blended.
6. Add in Salt and Pepper to taste
7.. Chop the Italian Parsley into tiny pieces and sprinkle it on top as garnish and voila!

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Kale Edamame Salad

For anyone that knows me, knows that I love me some good solid Kale. I AM SO TRENDY!

No seriously, I did hop on the bandwagon with little to zero expectations and I was pleasantly surprised at how much I loved it- in all forms- even in it's darkest hour (raw). 

This is an EASY salad to toss together, especially great for lunches. 

What you need for the Salad:

•Cup of Edamame

•2 Bunches of Kale

•A few Baby Tomatoes 

•Handful of Sweetened Dried Cranberries 

•Handful of Almonds

•Handful of Scallions

What you need for the Dressing: 

•1 tsbp of Agave

•1 tbsp of Olive Oil

•1 tbsp of Balsamnic

•One squeeze of a lemon

Mix all this together and voila! 

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no bake energy balls

I am by no means a cook or baker. Frankly, I suck at cooking. Grilled cheeses and cupcakes are my "specialities" and I once lit my kitchen on fire (TRUE STORY). I am slowly trying to change that though and I think if I blog about some of the meals I try to create, it will help the process.


This is a recipe that basically requires zero skills and is not only a good snack but a great item to pair with a breakfast smoothie in the morning. I make these every Sunday and have them through the week!


Ingredients:
☻1 cup of dry oatmeal
☻2/3 cup of toasted coconut flakes
☻1/2 of almond butter ( or PB)
☻1/2 of chocolate chips ( not required but I mean...why not)
☻1/3 honey
☻1 tsp vanilla
☻ a scoop of coconut oil

Method:
Stir all the ingredients together in a medium bowl until thoroughly mixed. Let the bowl chill in the refrigerator for a half hour. Once chilled, wet your hands and roll the mix into balls of whatever size you wish ( I make mine about an inch and a half tall). A friend and I did the math and I think there are about 130 calories in each ball ( don't quote me on this though). I normally get about 15-20 balls out of a batch!

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