Fun Food Friday - Roasted Ratatouille

We've been having a glorious week of late summer weather.  I've been outside on my kayak a few times and running soaking up the last of the heat before fall officially makes its mark.  Another week of my crop share and another load of vegetables. I have really been enjoying all of the wonderful veggies that are making their appearance in my pick up each week.  This week I received a ton of tomatoes along with some onion, peppers and a cute little eggplant.  I thought what a perfect combination to throw together and let roast slowly so all of their yummy flavours can combine.  The eggplant melted into that soft caramel like texture that offset the softness of the tomatoes perfectly.  I served this on top of some zucchini noodles along side some turkey meatballs.

Tomatoes are high in lycopene at powerful antioxidant.  Lycopene is a carotenoid which gives many fruits and vegetables - especially tomatoes - their red colour.  Cooking tomatoes concentrates the amount of lycopene being consumed, increase the amount of antioxidants ingested.  Antioxidants are key to helping our bodies offset damage caused by  free radicals.  

Roasted Ratatouille

by Denise Boyd Dunlop

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour

6074906

Ingredients (Serves 4)

• 1 quart tomatoes
• 1 onion
• 1 medium eggplant
• 2 peppers
• 1 cup mushrooms
• 2-3 cloves garlic
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 2 tablespoons fresh basil or 1 tsp dried
• juice from 1/2 lemon

Instructions

Chop all of the vegetables and mince garlic. Toss with olive oil and salt and pepper. If using fresh basil, wait until the end of cooking to add to dish.

Roast vegetables in oven preheated to 325 for one hour or until vegetables are soft and beginning to caramelize. Season with fresh basil and lemon juice at the end of cooking.

Serve as is or over noodles of your choice.

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Workout Wednesday - Plank It Up

Planks - I know nothing too exciting in the workout world.  Workouts include planks all the time, tons of variations - elbows, knees, reaching out with hands or feet.  Planks are a fantastic whole body exercise.  This summer I was focussing on strengthening my core in preparation for my paddle board workshop and to help my kayaking.  But we all know a strong core helps our bodies function much more effectively through all of our daily activities so it can always use some extra attention.

While I was working my core I found a way to modify my move ever so slightly but I achieved an amazing integration of those deep core muscles that often take a number of reps in order to feel some results.  What was really cool about this slight adjustment to my plank was I felt the work being done immediately and I have notice both increased strength and definition through my core.  And the biggest bonus is that I'm not holding this plank for  more than 30-45 seconds.

So here is how you achieve that deep abdominal engagement?

1. Come up into a high plank position, on hands and feet.
2. Bring feet hip width apart, heels pushing back and a micro bend in the knees.
3. Ensure wrists are below your shoulders, the fingers spread out and elbows slightly bent.
4. Think about creating space between the shoulder blades, opening the back, using the muscles of the upper back to help support you.
5. Bring your hips into line with the rest of your body, check in a mirror or have someone spot you.
6. Here is the engagement part - without moving them, pull your hands toward your feet and your feet toward your hands.  Hold for up to a minute.

Thats it.  If you do that one simple adjustment to your plank it puts a whole new spin on it!

Turning it Around

Have you ever been in a bad mood for no apparent reason?  Everything is fine, the weather,  your plans for the day but you are just in a funk.  And then it spreads.  The next thing you know you are short with your husband, children, person at the coffee shop.  Or it happens to you.  You're in a fine mood and then - boom -  someone for no reason is rude.  Cuts you off in traffic, snaps at you when you ask a simple question.  

Of course you have.  It happens to all of us and no one is perfect with their interactions with others.  It is human nature.  My husband and I have tried really hard though to make our home neutral territory.  Naturally we have disagreements and get frustrated with each other.  But we do our best to resolve things civilly and quickly.  What we have really tried to do though in our home is to create a space for us and the kids to come to and decompress from the outside world.  

We have a saying when tension builds in our house - Let's turn it around.  

That statement gives all of us pause in my family to refocus.  No single situation is going to last forever.  And our attitude is what makes it seem pleasant or unpleasant.  If my kids are getting short with each other or with me while we are getting ready for school or to head out I will quickly say - Let's turn it around and 99% of the time the overall mood improves.  It is as though we are wiping away the feelings from the previous few minutes and starting again with a clean slate.

What is interesting to me is that my kids will say it to my husband and I when we seem frustrated.  That is a moment that causes me to pause.  First because I can see how my mood affects them and secondly those four words have made a difference to them.  They now apply the idea of hitting reset and starting the day from that point and share it with others.  We can have bad moments in a day, but the idea of turning things around prevents the feeling of one bad moment leading to a series of bad moments creating an entire bad day.  

I'm not saying that it will guarantee that you will always have sunshine and roses if you try the turn around concept.  But it may give you temporary pause to reconsider how your current mood affects your overall outlook.

Fun Food Friday - Swiss Chard Salad

Ok, so swiss chard salad may not exactly sound fun but I think this recipe makes it pretty lively.  I've received yet another bunch of swiss chard in my veggie box this week and wanted to try something different.  Swiss chard is one of those greens that can transform itself into many different flavours and textures.  It can be steamed similar to spinach, the stems cut out and used as a wrap, added to soups and stews.  

Nutrient wise swiss chard is an excellent source of vitamin C, vitamin E, vitamin A (in the form of beta-carotene) and the mineral manganese, and a good source of the mineral zinc. Swiss chard is also high in antioxidants including phytonutrient antioxidants,  phytonutrient antioxidants in chard also act as anti-inflammatory agents. Inflammation is important to help offset because chronic low level inflammation (especially when coupled with excessive oxidative stress) has repeatedly been shown to increase our risk of obesity, atherosclerosis, type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, and several forms of arthritis.  So foods such as swiss chard with antioxidant enzymes are beneficial to incorporate into your diet regularly.

I wanted to try chard as the all star and raw in this recipe. I thought I'd also add a few other ingredients to brighten up the flavour.  Because no matter how good for you something is nutritionally, if it doesn't taste good you won't enjoy eating it.

Swiss Chard Salad

by Denise Boyd Dunlop

Prep Time: 30 min

6074818

Ingredients (Serves 4)

For the Salad

• 1 bunch swiss chard trimmed,washed and finely chopped
• 3-4 green onions finely chopped
• 1/4 cup artichoke hearts roughly chopped
• 1/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

For the Dressing

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons sun dried tomatoes chopped
• 2 teaspoons honey
• 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
• 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
• 1 teaspoon dried orgegano
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh ground pepper

Instructions

Add dressing ingredients to a jar, shake until well combined. Let sit for 20 minutes to allow flavours to combine. Mix salad ingredients together. Shake dressing again to mix ingredients. Pour over salad and toss.

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Wednesday Workout - Quick and Dirty Cardio

Sometimes, like everyone else, I am pressed for time.  But it is important to still get in a workout.  On ideal days, I try to exercise for a minimum of an hour - usually more. But there are days were that amount of time to dedicate to a workout is an absolute luxury.  Time that I don't have.  On those days, I have my go-to cardio workout that combines plyometrics with  some body weight exercises.  In total this workout depending on how intense I feel like working out takes about 7-8 minutes.  That's it, but it is intense so pacing is key as is taking breaks when needed.

I also like to use this segment in between weight lifting or trx sets for a bit of additional cardio and to add some variety to my workout.  And the great thing about this combination is that it requires no equipment and can be done anywhere - your basement gym, hotel room, back yard (you get the idea).

So here is the breakdown.  After a warm up such as this....

1 squat
1 jumping jack
1 burpee
1 push up

2 squats
2 jumping jacks
2 burpees
2 push ups

and so on all the way to 10 of each exercise

If I'm feeling really up to pushing myself, I will count back down.  But that rarely happens as I'm pretty tired by the end of this.  

New Thing September - SUP Yoga

This has been my view for the past two days...

Lucky me, I've been in Muskoka at a three day yoga retreat doing (or attempting stand up paddle boarding yoga) with Muskoka Yoga Studio.  This is a huge first for me; probably the biggest new 'thing' that I've attempted since taking on one new thing a month.  This retreat was actually three firsts in one.  First I've never done stand up paddle boarding - ever.  Second obviously I've never done yoga on a stand up paddle board.  And third and probably the biggest, I've never gone to a yoga retreat; I've never left my husband and kids for more than one night in a row for anything non-work related.  So this was huge.

How'd things go?  When I arrived I was told that there was only one other person besides me who had come on their own, everyone else was with a friend.  Nice, only one loner besides me... but truthfully it really didn't matter to me about being on my own, I get along well with others and can make friends so I really wasn't worried about that.  And more importantly the introvert in me was looking forward to some time alone.  I was however, terrified about getting on and moving around on that paddle board.  Would I fall, get my hair wet, look like and idiot?  All of the above?  And I knew the answer was an infinite 'Yes'.

The first evening, after everyone attending the retreat finished getting settled we went out for our first paddle.  We were instructed on safety - pfds, ankle straps, how to hold the paddle, how to paddle, how to get on. And then we were off. I have never felt so wobbly in my life.  I literally was shaking from the knees up.  My quads were killing me in the first five minutes, then I remembered to engage my core.  Tara, our fearless leader told us that once we got out on the water, everything would change for us because there would be nothing besides the water.  The minute we let our attention shift to something else was when we'd struggle for control.  That coaching sunk in for me, I focussed on the horizon and just simply what my body was doing.  While we were out on the water the first night a heron flew overhead and loons were calling a perfect setting for the last weekend of the summer holidays.  More importantly, I stayed on my board.

The next morning when we headed out the feel on the water was completely different.  We were all much more stable and confident.  That feeling wasn't going to last long, today we were attempting yoga.  I love yoga but have never done it on a moving surface.  This practice was like no yoga I've ever done before.  The most basic poses felt intimidating and unstable.  But I found my focus and did my best.  I wasn't the first person to fall in the water but I think I fell in the most.  It wasn't bad after the first fall, in fact as it was getting quite warm practising yoga and the water felt great once you submitting to the fact that you were going to get wet.  It was almost a relief to laugh at yourself and cheer as others fell off their boards and got back on.  There was no expectation of perfect in the poses.  We were just trying to find our focus and our balance.  And truly in falling off, it meant that your had actually put yourself out there and tried.

This weekend was amazing.  There was such a wonderful group of women at this retreat and such fantastic energy.  Tara lead a super chilled retreat while teaching us so much about movement on the water and in our practise.  We paddled out later on in second the evening for a sunset paddle and mediation on our boards and I haven't felt that peaceful in a long time.  The last morning we did another yoga session and I was amazed again at how much more confident I felt after a second time of a SUP yoga practice.

Paddle boarding for me was a lot of fun.  I did also get out on a kayak and swam with a mermaid flipper tail thing.  As a result I have worked A LOT of core this weekend which is awesome for a weekend away.  I would definitely paddle board again it is a complete body workout and a great way to explore the water.  As for the yoga bit, I would do that again too if I could find an instructor close by and the guarantee of warm water.  

I'm really happy I attended the yoga retreat and took some time for myself.  I met some amazing people and learned some fun skills.  I also realized that all of us are strong and powerful in so many ways that we never truly give ourselves credit for.  If you open yourself up to the opportunity, things like paddle boarding and yoga make perfect sense when you aren't trying to do anything besides be in the moment.  I am truly thankful for the opportunity to have participated in this weekend on so many levels and feel a great deal stronger for it.

Fun Food Friday - Roasted Salsa

We signed up for a crop share or CSA (community supported agriculture) this summer.  I had been doing the crop share for a few years and then took a break because my summer holidays didn't jive with the pick up dates.  But this year I decided to try it again.  I'm at week 13 and now that we're into September, there is quite bit of variety.  Toward mid and the end of July there was quite a bit of kale, chard and other leafy greens.  Normally I'm very fond of leafy greens, but it was a bit daunting looking for ways to include greens into breakfast lunch and dinner.  So this week's range of colour has been very exciting.

I decided to make a salsa out of the tomatillos, but there wasn't quite enough for a full batch so I included the tomatoes that were in the share as well.  I decided that it would be fun to roast everything over the grill in my barbecue to give the mix a smokey flavour and I added some smoked paprika to enhance the smokiness.  This turned out to be a pretty liquidy salsa but I served it over rice so it worked out.  The level of liquid depends on the tomatoes used, but any excess can be drained off. Also if tomatillos aren't available another tomato may be added.

Roasted Salsa

by Denise Boyd Dunlop

Prep Time: 15 min

Cook Time: 45 min

6074700

Ingredients (2 cups)

• 1/2 cup tomatillos
• 3/4 medium sized tomatoes
• 1 onion
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 pepper (red, orange, or green)
• 1 banana pepper or 1/2 jalapeno pepper
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
•  juice of 1 lemon
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 teaspoon honey (or to taste)

Instructions

Preheat oven or barbecue to 375. Chop tomatillos, tomatoes, peppers, onion and garlic. Toss with olive oil and spread evenly in a pan. Either roast on grill or in oven for 45 minutes or until tomatoes and peppers are soft and onions are beginning to caramelize. Remove from heat and let cool for 10 minutes. Pour into blender or food processor and process until the desired level or smoothness or chunkiness is achieved. Stir in lemon juice and paprika. Add salt and honey to taste.

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