Free radicals are highly unstable molecules that damage your cells by scavenging your body looking to pick up or donate electrons. While free radicals are impossible to avoid, we can take preventative measures to make sure our bodies have the defenses they need.

Eating foods that are antioxidant-rich, like raspberries and blueberries, are the best way to combat these damaging free radicals. I am not a professional nutritionist but I find the best way to get in my vitamins and minerals is to make a smoothie. Smoothies are my little insurance policies to my health and now have become a part of my daily life. Before giving up meat and dairy, I only had  sugary food court smoothies but making your own tastes way better and are easy to make! 

I am so pleased to share these recipes from my e-Book! I have made these two smoothies more than a dozen times, usually in the afternoons before heading to work. I find the natural sugars give me a boost without the crash like coffee. Easy, quick to make, and nutritional dense, make a smoothie when you are feeling a little sluggish. These two smoothies were my go-to when I was developing the e-Book, it helped me feel alert on days where all I did was stare at my computer screen. While I don’t entirely skip my morning coffee, because of smoothies I no longer need the whole coffee pot to stay alert. Hooray for smoothies! 

Food is the best way to get the nutrients you need, so drink up! 

Since I am not a nutritionist, I got my antioxidant information from this source. 

11 recipes down, 19 more to go! See you tomorrow for Day 12: Favourite Cookbook. Missed Day 10? Check it out here.

Stay connected on the daily by following me on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest.  Made this recipe? I would love to see it! Use the hashtag #screcipe on your social media. 

P.S. You can get your copy of my free e-Book, Sprouts & Chocolate: Uncooked, by subscribing to my site. It contains 15 vegan and gluten-free recipes that do not an oven or stove!

Antioxidant Power Smoothie, Pink & Purple

 

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Prep time

5 mins

Total time

5 mins

 

This antioxidant-packed smoothies are full of nutrients, fibre, and vitamins. They are quick, easy, and nutrient-dense to keep your energy up for the day. I like the addition of hulled hemp hearts to add a little bit of plant based fat. This recipe is vegan, raw, gluten-free, soy-free, grain-free, and serves 1 large or 2 smaller smoothies.

Author: Jessica DeMarra

Recipe type: Drinks

Cuisine: Vegan, Raw, Gluten Free

Serves: 1-2

Ingredients

• 1 frozen banana
• 1 peeled orange
• 1 cup frozen raspberries OR blueberries (depending on whether you want a pink or purple smoothie)
• 1 cup unsweetened almond milk
• 3 tablespoons hulled hemp hearts
• 2 tablespoons goji berries, soaked in warm water for 5 minutes

Instructions

1. Add all ingredients to a high power blender and blender until smooth. Transfer to glasses and enjoy!

Nutrition Information

Serving size: 2

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I should have called this salad, “Clinging onto Summer for Dear Life Salad,” but that is a bit too long yet it is accurate. I find myself going outside in the brutal summer heat just to get some sunshine before the days turn grey. This summer has been hot and more blissful than other summers before it and I am sad to see it go.

Fall brings out delicious things and cooler weather, I can’t say I am craving the famous PSL quite yet. Nothing beats berry season, especially when paired with other seasonal produce. 

I haven’t been eating enough corn or peaches this summer so I wanted to get my fill with this salad and lots of blueberry vinaigrette. The vibrant colours, fresh taste, and antioxidant-packed dressing will have me missing the summer season. Cheers to summer, you have been good to me. 

10 recipes down, 20 more to go! See you tomorrow for Day 11: Nutrient Focused Recipe. Missed Day 9? Check it out here.

Stay connected on the daily by following me on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest.  Made this recipe? I would love to see it! Use the hashtag #screcipe on your social media. 

Peach Millet Salad with Blueberry Vinaigrette

 

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Prep time

10 mins

Cook time

15 mins

Total time

25 mins

 

This salad is burst with summer flavour! Ripe peaches, fresh corn, and blueberries on greens with lots of flavourful blueberry vinaigrette. The millet is optional but pairs well with this salad and makes it a little bit more of a meal than just a plain salad. You can use any grain you like! 1 cup of uncooked millet makes about 3½ cup of cooked millet. Use the leftovers in big vegan bowls, salad, or morning grain bowls. The dressing will keep for about a week in the fridge.

Author: Jessica DeMarra

Recipe type: Salad, Dressing

Cuisine: Vegan

Ingredients

• For The Blueberry Vinaigrette:
• ½ cup fresh blueberries, rinsed
• ¼ cup fresh lemon juice
• 1-2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
• 2 teaspoons cracked mustard
• ¼ teaspoon fine grain sea salt
• 5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 
  
• For the Salad:
• 1 cup cooked millet (or grain of choice)
• 4 cups of greens, I used baby spinach
• 1 cup fresh corn, raw or lightly cooked
• 2 ripe peaches, cut into slices
• ¼ cup fresh blueberries

Instructions

1. To cook the millet:Rinse 1 cup uncooked millet in a fine mesh strainer. Add millet to 2½ cups of water (or stock) in a medium pot. Bring to boil over high heat, turn down heat, and simmer for 10-15 minutes or until tender. Drain, fluff, and let cool. It will make more than 1 cup of cooked grains so you will have leftovers.
2. For the Dressing:
3. Add all the ingredients for the dressing except the olive oil. While the blender is running, steam the oil slowly into the top. Blend until very smooth. Set aside until you are ready to dress the salad.
4. For the salad: Add greens to a large serving bowl or two smaller bowls. Add all the ingredients to the dish or divided amongst the dishes, dress to your liking, and serve.

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The post Day 10 Vegan MoFo: Peach Millet Salad with Blueberry Vinaigrette appeared first on Sprouts & Chocolate.

My bad habit is binge watching TV so to break this habit, I committed to not turn on my television for the entire month of August. This is a challenge for me but it is possible. A few articles I have researched on breaking bad habits were informative and I want to apply them right away.

One good tip I saw was replacing your bad habit with a good habit. What is your one of your bad habits? What is one good habit you want to get into? Is it reading more, working out, or taking on a new project? Is your bad habit distracting you from these mindful activities to better yourself and get closer to your goal? If yes, how can we change it?

The next step identifying your trigger. When do you do this bad habit? How are you feeling before doing this activity? Stressed? Bored? For me, whenever I am stressed or bored I want to zone out of my state of being and watch someone else’s life for a little bit. This is my band-aid from dealing with these feelings myself. By not watching television to distract myself, I am able to address these feelings head on and deal with them as they come up.

So what to do instead of your bad habit? Ask yourself what else you like to do and write it down on a Post-It. I wrote down five activities I could do for free so whenever I feel like turning on the TV, I could do these things instead. I stuck the Post-It on the television so it is in my sight when I am in the living room. I also deleted the Netflix app on my phone. Whenever I feel the urge to turn on my television, I can look at the list, and pick an activity to do instead. With this method, I hope to change my behaviour when I am bored or stressed. Over the month, I will give you some updates on how this challenge is going, any advice I can give, and what I decided to do with my free time. I hope you can join me. Whatever your bad habit is, you can change it! If you have any tips or tricks for breaking a bad habit, please leave them in the comments section below. I will be delighted to hear from you!

This challenge is inspired by this Sarah’s Scribble comic. I am pretty sure the artist, Sarah Andersen, is depicting my entire life through these comics. I turn into a monster when my wifi goes down, Mark can attest to that. 

Happy Saturday! 

Stay connected on the daily by following me on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest.  Made this recipe? I would love to see it! Use the hashtag #screcipe on your social media. 

Crispy Cornmeal Pancakes w/ Blueberry Sauce

 

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Prep time

10 mins

Cook time

20 mins

Total time

30 mins

 

These pancakes aren't your typical diner pancakes since they are vegan, gluten free, lightly sweetened, and crispy from the addition of cornmeal. They are, what I imagine, a Southern grandma makes on a Sunday morning. The blueberry sauce is simple, quick, and pairs well with the corn-flavour of the pancakes. I added 2 tablespoons of maple syrup to the sauce but if you want it sweeter, add more to taste. I used frozen blueberries for this recipe and if you are using fresh ones, you may have to add an extra splash of water to the sauce. Frozen berries release more liquid when cooked. This recipe serves 10- 5" pancakes and ¾ cup of blueberry sauce.

Author: Jessica DeMarra

Ingredients

For the Pancakes

• 1 tablespoon ground golden flax
• 3 tablespoons warm water
• 1 very ripe banana, peeled
• 1 cup + 2 tablespoons unsweetened almond milk*
• 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
• 2 tablespoons melted coconut oil + more for greasing the pan
• 1 tablespoon baking powder (yes, a tablespoon)
• ¾ cup gluten free prepared flour (I used Bob Mill’s 1:1 GF flour)
• ¾ cup fine cornmeal
• Pinch of fine grain sea salt

For the Blueberry Sauce

• 1 ¼ cups frozen blueberries, divided
• 2-3 tablespoons pure maple syrup
• 4 tablespoons water
• 1 teaspoon arrowroot powder
• 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

Instructions

For the Blueberry Sauce

1. In a small saucepot over medium heat, add 1 cup of blueberries, maple syrup, and water and bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally. Once most of the berries have thawed, mash the mixture with a potato masher or the back of a wooden spoon.
2. Add the arrowroot powder and stir consistently until thicken slightly. Add the lemon juice and remaining blueberries and stir until the additional berries have thawed. Take off heat until you are about to serve the pancakes.

For the Cornmeal Pancakes

1. While you are making your sauce, preheat oven to 200 degrees and set a wire baking rack over a baking sheet. The pancakes will stay crispier if they are kept warm on a wire rack.
2. In a large bowl, mix the flax and water to create a flax egg; let sit to gel up. Once the flax egg is ready, add the banana and mash with a potato masher or fork until smooth and no large lumps remain.
3. Add the milk, maple syrup and coconut oil. At this time, heat and oil your griddle or skillet over medium heat to cook the pancakes. You want it to be hot before the batter hits it.
4. Add baking powder and whisk until foamy and mixed thoroughly.
5. Add the remaining ingredients and whisk until no large lumps remain but a few streaks of flour are ok.
6. Measure out ¼ cup of batter and pour onto the hot skillet; smoothing out the batter with the back of a spoon. Cook for 2-3 minutes or until you see bubbles on the top of the pancake; flip and continue to cook for 1-2 minutes.
7. Transfer pancake to the wire rack in the oven and continue with the rest of the batter, regressing the pan as needed.
8. Once all the pancakes are cooked, reheat the blueberry sauce until warm. Stack the pancakes up and pour on the blueberry sauce. Best served with a large cup of coffee. Enjoy!

Notes

*Measure the milk and let sit out of the refrigerator while you prepare the sauce. Refridgerator cold milk will solidify the melted coconut oil.

Nutrition Information

Serving size: 10 Calories: 155 Fat: 4g Saturated fat: 2g Unsaturated fat: 1g Carbohydrates: 29g Sugar: 9g Sodium: 19mg Fiber: 2g Protein: 2g

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Sammy just turned 7 and though I missed his birthday party (I am still so sad about this) I had offered my sister to bring him to Toronto for a few days over the March break. Both my sister and my nephew whole heartedly agreed and I could hear his anticipation over the phone telling me he had only a couple more sleeps until I was going to pick him on the GO train.

I was feeling great! Cool Auntie Jess was taking her small town nephew out into the big city, exploring the different neighbourhoods, taking him to the movies (that part was mostly for me, I really wanted to see the Lego Movie), watching Pokémon on Netflix while eating stove top popcorn and staying up waaay past his bedtime. I was so pumped! However as soon as I picked him up from my sister, the first question out of his mouth: “Where is Mark?”

Whaaat? My sister told me that he had asked about Mark the whole way to the train station. Was Cool Auntie Jess not so cool anymore? I knew that Mark and Sammy had bonded over Christmas since Mark is just a big kid himself. They played Pokémon cards together and both love video games, you know, boy stuff.

 Yes, that is a Super Nintendo and Sammy tried to wipe the outside of the video game with his shirt when it didn’t work the first time. I showed him that you have to blow into it to get all the dust out. He finds it a little dated and prefers the PS3. Perhaps it is because I kicked his butt in Mortal Combat? Why am I so proud of myself for beating a 7 year old in a game? Sammy is also enjoying a kale and berry smoothie. I just forgot to mention all the kale I put in it.

I may treat Sammy a little too baby-ish when I see him, which is apparently a huge mistake when around other people. At Christmas I oohed and awed over him a little too much and when I kissed him on the cheek in front of his cousin who is the same age as him, I had crossed the line. Even my sister whispered to me, “Jess you are embarrassing him in front of his friends.” Oh no. What had I done? I pulled a “Mom Move”. I always told myself as a kid that I would never embarrass my (or sister’s) kids in front of their friends but then I went and did it. I was mortified.

I decided to lay off a bit and though it is hard, I try to act a little less like a public embarrassment around him. He still grabs my hand while crossing the street and thinks my activity planning is still cool and fun. Small victories and I will take them!

Sammy is not a vegan at his house but when he comes to my house he eats whatever I give him. He is a pretty good eater when it comes to healthy food. He really loves cucumbers, carrots and all the fruit he has ever tried. Last time he stayed with Mark and I, he ate an entire watermelon and its black seeds in a matter of 2 days. I told him that a watermelon would grow in his stomach but he called me out. Sigh. I bet he doesn’t think that chocolate milk comes from brown cows either. Kids these days…

Thankfully, there is one thing Sammy enjoys that I do better than Mark does and that is pancake making, especially this recipe. He doesn’t know they are vegan or whole wheat, he just knows that he likes them a lot.

 Notes:

• Patience is key while making pancakes. Wait for the pan to be hot enough and wait until you see some bubbles come up through the pancake. You won’t regret it.
• Transfer pancakes to a wire rack over a baking sheet while cooking the others. The wire rack helps air ventilation keeps the crispiness in tact on each side of the pancake but do not stack pancakes on top of each other while in the oven.
• DO NOT OVERMIX! Over mixing causes the pancakes to become rubbery. A few lumps of flour is ok.

• Do not overload each pancake with berries. The blueberries release a lot of liquid when they are cooked so if you add too many it will result in a mushy pancake. Stick to about 5-6 berries per pancake depending on how large your berries are. You can use frozen berries but it will result in a blue-grey hue in the batter. I don’t mix the blueberries in the batter; I just push them into the pancake while it is cooking on the pan.
• Wtf is a chia egg? It is 1 tablespoon white chia seeds+ 3 tablespoons warm water mixed and let sit until the seeds have expanded. I used white seeds but black seeds would work just fine. I know some kids can be picky and might not want to see black little seeds in their meal but the white ones blend right in.

Whole Wheat Blueberry Pancakes: Kid Approved

Makes approx. 14 pancakes

•  2 cups unsweetened almond milk
• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar or fresh lemon juice
• 2 cups whole-wheat pastry flour (sometimes called “soft” whole wheat flour)
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon fine grain sea salt
• 1 chia egg (see note)
• 3 tablespoons Earth Balance or coconut oil, melted and cooled (with the oil, it will taste a little coconut-y)
• 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup + more for serving
• 1 cup fresh or frozen (see notes) blueberries, rinsed and dried. Some will be left over to serve with your pancakes.
• 3-4 teaspoons oil, any neutral flavoured oil will do (I don’t recommend olive oil)

Adjust the oven rack to the middle position and heat oven to 200 degrees. Set a wire rack on top of a baking sheet and place on the oven rack. Whisk milk and vinegar (or lemon juice) together in a medium bowl; set aside to thicken the milk.I n a large bowl, whisk together the flour, powder, soda and salt until combined. Form a well in the middle of the mixture.

In the medium bowl with the milk, add the chia seeds, syrup and melted butter or oil and whisk until combined. Pour the wet mixture into the well of the dry ingredients and whisk gently until just combined. I repeat myself in saying please do not over mix!

Heat 1 teaspoon in a 12-inch non-stick skillet over medium heat until shimmering. Using a ¼-cup measure, portion the batter into the pan, creating 4 pancakes, smooth the pancake batter out with a spatula. Add 5-6 berries per pancake, gently pushing them down into the pancake. Cook pancakes until bubbles on its surface appear, about 1-2 minutes. Flip the pancakes with a wide spatula and cook the second side for another minute or 1-½ minutes. Transfer pancakes to wire rack and repeat with remaining batter, adding more oil with each new batch.

Stack with fresh blueberries, strawberries, bananas (whatever you like!) and serve with pure maple syrup.

While you dine on these berry-full pancakes dream of warmer days. Is anyone else tired of seeing this? I know I am done with the bundling and unbundling of coat, hat, mitts, boots, scarves etc. Springtime needs to hurry up!

There is a park under all that blowing snow. 9 more days until Spring?

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