Lunch, Dinner – Curried Apple Pumpkin Soup

Fall’s first cool breeze, and leaves that float lazily to the ground. These are the first signs of a season’s change, and with that a craving for the basic comfort of soup.

This soup is like a perfect fall vitamin – full of the good stuff to help prepare your body for the coming cold. It is perfect for a meal to go in a cup. Equally delish as a main, with some toasted pumpkin seeds as croutons and perhaps a little shaved cheese or brewer’s yeast to top.

Ingredients

• 4 Macintosh apples* – peeled, cored and chopped
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 tablespoon medium curry powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin or toasted cumin seeds
• 1 (15 ounce) can organic pumpkin puree
• 4 cups chicken or vegetable broth
• 1 cup water
• 1 teaspoon organic maple syrup

*you can substitute one or two Mac’s for Grannie Smith – it will give it a tarter flavour – we prefer this, but most people prefer the sweetness of the Mac.

The photo to the left – is a good size to cut the apples to.Continue reading→

Recipe: General Tso Chicken – Performance Edition

Athletes understand that nutrition is the cornerstone to the building of their physique and peak performance. However, like the rest of us, they crave the same fast, tasty, not so healthy indulgences, and often while they can afford the calories, are also left with hampered performances due to nutrient lacking food.

Here is a sample of how you can have your favorite meal and know you are doing your body some good. The chicken can be made in advance, as can the sauce – and you can throw it in a stir fry pan or wok with fresh veggies of your choice, as your brown rice cooks and have an incredible meal at home. Great for last minute guests, or to keep on hand frozen for quick preparation during a busy week.

Everyone loves General Tso Chicken. Eating it with brown rice, does not negate the bad found within the tasty morsels and savoury spicy sauce.

Here is our performance version which is not only healthier, but pretty damn tasty too!

This dish happens to be gluten, nut, soy, egg, and dairy free!Continue reading→

Recipe: Faux Soy Sauce

Soy Sauce, or liquid salt (street name) is a popular, heavily used condiment with a long and ugly rap sheet. To focus on the negative aspects of soy sauce, would negate the purpose of this recipe. Instead, let’s take the main reasons people use it:

-flavour enhancer
-colour enhancer
-as a marinade
-balance flavours
-dipping sauce
-base for salad dressings

And the list goes on…

What is not so good about soy sauce:

-high in sodium
-possible traces of msg despite labelling otherwise
– high levels of 3-MCPD, a chemical which has the potential to cause cancer
-hidden wheat source
-soy itself which is not without its own controversies

After much tweaking and testing, we feel we have come up with a delicious and easy to make alternative to soy sauce. It is extremely popular with our performance nutrition patients, who always keep some on hand, even when they are travelling.Continue reading→