Cardamom Honey Coconut Milk (it's an Aphrodisiac!)

A few weeks ago I was asked to put together an aphrodisiac platter for a Valentines dinner. The goal was to enlighten guests on how food can affect us while tantalizing their taste buds. Sure we had the essential oysters, but this was an opportunity go beyond and have fun with it.

Coconut milk is a lesser known aphrodisiac. Aside from being delicious, coconut milk enhances sexual desire. But plain milk is a bit dull so we took it a step further and added cardamom and honey to really boost the power.

Cardamom is a warming spice that heats up our sex drive and honey is one of the best re-generators of sexual energy.

Drink this lovely elixir as a warm tea, add it to your coffee or use it as a base for your smoothie. It's good for your and your libido!

Super Tasty and Yummy Acai Bowl

This recipe has moved to the Happy Eats Healthy website:

Yummy Acai Bowl 

Finger-licking, Stupidly Yummy Chocolate Pudding with Whipped Coconut Cream...and it's good for you!

Sitting at my computer with a belly so full from this pudding it's hard to breath, but so worth it. I wondered what to call this. I thought about how I licked the spoon two, three, eight-hundred times, then dug my whole fist into the blender to scrape out every last little drop. The whipped coconut beaters got licked before they were even off the blender (luckily I still had enough wits about me to unplug it before my tongue met the wrath that my morning eggs do). I thought I was in heaven at this point, but then, my spoon of chocolate fell into the whipped coconut cream and it was like I stepped into the VIP cloud.

Yes, it's that good. And the best part is that I don't even feel guilty- it's all good, clean food! We are talking avocado, raw cacao powder and coconut milk. No refined sugar, no funny chemicals or preservatives, no gluten, not even any dairy. Disclaimer- this should still be considered a treat and not eaten every day because we are still adding in natural sweeteners, and even those need to be kept in check. Plus if you eat anything every day it's will lose its appeal.

Yummy Walnut Butter and Banana Toast

Seems 99% of know what peanut butter is, in fact many of us grew up with it in our cupboards. It's a simple formula, grind nuts to a smooth, spreadable paste. Maybe add a touch of salt, but nothing more is needed. A pretty simple concept really. But have you looked at the ingredients in PB lately?

Take a look and you'll find sugar and hydrogenated oil, both are terrible for our health. Hydrogenated oils are chemically altered, containing unsaturated fats that have had hydrogen atoms added to their structure, making them more solid and turning them into trans fats which are linked to heart disease, obesity and diabetes. Our bodies don't recognize this as food, all it can do is try to fight the free radicals clogging your bloodstream and damaging your cells.

So, what to do instead? Make your own nut butters in minutes. The benefits of making your own nut butters far outweigh a jarred variety. You can control the ingredients and what goes into your butter. For instance, how much salt and sugar, if any. But even better, you can make nut butter from any nut. AND you can add additional flavorings - like cinnamon and raw cacao! Genius.

Today we are making a simple walnut butter and then slathering it on warm toast with touch of honey, cinnamon and a few banana slices. So good and nourishing- it's great as a snack or breakfast.
Blend up a walnut nut butter today, it's one small step to healthier and giant step to yummy!

Spicy Tomato Peach Jam

Tomato season- it's the time of summer we wait patiently all year for. Maybe patiently isn't exactly true. Buying those off-season tomatoes and then complaining about the lackluster flavor happens all too often, yet we rinse and repeat.

But now, now is the time to yank that fresh tomato off the vine (or off your farmers market table) and directly insert into mouth. Ah, a mouthful of heaven.

However, sometimes we are a tad overzealous in our planting (and purchasing) and find we have more tomatoes than we can chow on. This is an important time to decide what to do with your deliciously colourful bounty.

Two words: tomato jam. A lovely mixture of tomatoes and peaches with a hint of honey and spice. Earthy with just the right mix of sweet; super fantastic on grilled meats, sandwiches, crackers or on a simple piece of bread.

Save some of your next tomato haul for this delicious tomato jam, it's a happy and healthy addition to any meal!

Strawberry Walnut Milk

I've never really been a milk fan. I can't even remember drinking a glass of milk as a kid. But there are great uses of milk, such as in a smoothie.

Dairy is a controversial things these days and I'm not about to tell you whether you should or shouldn't be eating dairy or if it's right for your body; that is something you need to use your intuition for. (As a Health Coach, I can help guide you in this area.)  But, this Strawberry Walnut Milk is dairy free - so you can set the controversy aside on this one.

Raw walnuts blended with fresh berries and a touch of almond, it's creamy and delicious. Walnut milk is rich with omega 3's which lowers cholesterol, reduces high blood pressure and improves arthritis symptoms. So blend up and drink up!

Quick and Easy Quinoa Breakfast Porridge

Every Sunday I make a huge batch of grains to use for the week. Usually it's quinoa, sometimes it's brown rice or lentils and often it's a mixture of all three. Whatever it is, it's stored in the fridge and becomes a base for lunches and dinners...and yes, even breakfast!

Think of the quinoa as oatmeal- it's kind of a vessel for the cinnamon, nuts and maple syrup.  And just like oatmeal it's completely versatile- add what you like. Raw honey instead of maple syrup, bananas and almonds in place of the walnuts and goji berries. Just have fun with it!

This is a great breakfast to toss together in a glass jar on your way out of the house and then enjoy when you get to work! Easy healthy fat and happy breakfast, it's the most important meal of the day!

Quick Honey Spiced Pickles

I love vinegar, from balsamic to apple cider to champagne. It's a taste I developed as a child and has stuck with me ever since. So it's no surprise I love anything pickled. Too bad I didn't develop patience too.

This quick pickle recipe is perfect if you are like me. It's quick, about as simple as it can get and (most important) crunchy and tasty! 

Using raw honey is so much healthier than a refined sugar. Refined sugar is a "negative" nutrient, this means it literally does not have any nutritional value and eating it actually makes your body use up stored nutrients to process it. Honey on the other hand has many beneficial nutrients, enzymes, and antioxidants; raw honey is best as typical honey processing (the kind of honey you'll find at your grocery store, often shaped like a bear) destroys many of the enzymes and antioxidants that give the benefits of raw honey. Save a bear, use the raw honey.

Next time you have an extra cucumber or two, slice them into these delicious honey pickles for a super Fat and Happy addition to any meal.