August 08, 2020

Carrot-Strawberry-Mango Homemade Popsicles

August 08, 2020/ Kristen Yarker Nutrition/ Kristen Yarker

Call them ice pops, popsicles, or paletas, these are a delicious, cool way to eat your veggies and fruits. And, they’re perfect for picky kiddos who don’t like to eat their veggies.

Makes 6 popsicles (will vary with size of moulds)

Carrot-Strawberry-Mango Homemade Popsicles Ingredients:

2 carrots, chopped
1 1/2 cup strawberries, fresh or frozen
1 cup mango, fresh or frozen
1/2 cup water

Carrot-Strawberry-Mango Homemade Popsicles Directions:

Peel and chop carrots. Put carrots into boiling water for 5 minutes, until fork tender.
Remove carrots from water and set aside.
Combine ingredients in a blender. Blend until smooth.
Pour mixture into popsicle moulds. Freeze until solidified.
Enjoy!

Get more home-made ice pops (with hidden veggies) HERE.

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July 10, 2020

Peaches and Cream Popsicles

July 10, 2020/ Kristen Yarker Nutrition/ Kristen Yarker

PEACHES AND CREAM POPSICLES

Makes 6 Popsicles (will vary with size of moulds)

INGREDIENTS:

8 cherry tomatoes, orange or red
2 cups peaches, fresh or frozen
2 tbsp honey (or maple syrup or agave syrup) *optional
1/4 cup coconut milk
1/2 cup water

DIRECTIONS:

Combine all ingredients in a blender. Blend until smooth.
Pour mixture into popsicle moulds. Freeze until solidified.
Enjoy!

Recipe and photo by the amazing dietetics student Alyssa Chai. Thank you Alyssa!

Click here for more homemade ice popsicles.

February 10, 2020

Chocolate-Banana-Peanut Butter Macaroon Sandwich Cookies

February 10, 2020/ Kristen Yarker Nutrition/ Kristen Yarker

CHOCOLATE-BANANA-PEANUT BUTTER MACAROON SANDWICH COOKIES INGREDIENTS:

4 bananas
1 1/2 cup desiccated coconut
3/4 cup flour
Filling:
1/4 cup smooth peanut butter, natural (no added sugars)
1 tbsp. coconut oil, melted
1 tsp icing sugar (optional; for thickening the filling if it becomes too runny)
Topping:
100g dark baking chocolate, melted

CHOCOLATE-BANANA-PEANUT BUTTER MACAROON SANDWICH COOKIES DIRECTIONS:

Preheat the oven at 375F (190°C).
Peel and mash the bananas. Overripened bananas may be best to use, but bananas that are just ripe will also work just fine.
Mix in the coconut to the mashed bananas. Then, add the flour.
Roll the mixture into bite-sized balls and put on a baking sheet. Slightly flatten the balls.
Bake for 15 minutes, until they start to turn golden.
Take them out of the oven to cool.
Combine the melted coconut oil and peanut butter. Stir until evenly distributed.
Spread a spoonful of peanut butter mixture onto a banana cookie, then sandwich with another banana cookie.
Melt the chocolate in the microwave for 30 seconds on HIGH. The mixture should be mostly liquid with some chunks of chocolate. If it needs further melting, continue to heat for 10 or 15 second intervals and check between each.
Dip each macaroon into the melted chocolate, or drizzle the chocolate on top.
Set aside for the chocolate to set.
Enjoy!

August 30, 2017

Lentil Coconut Energy Bites

August 30, 2017/ Kristen Yarker

Looking for a healthy snack?
Need something kid-friendly?

This recipe is nut-free, dairy-free, vegan, gluten-free, and no-sugar-added.
It contains fibre-packed, protein-packed lentils and pumpkin seeds.
Oh, and it's delicious!

They're perfect for packed-lunches for kids. And, as an afternoon snack for us adults too.

Need a finger-food version for your baby? Simply cut them into smaller pieces. Easy.

Enjoy!

Lentil Coconut Energy Bites Ingredients:

½ cup cooked green lentils (or lentils from a can)
½ cup of pureed pumpkin seeds
⅓ cup of dry oats
½ tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp vanilla extract
4 dates
¼ cup of chocolate chips (optional)
¼ cup of coconut flakes unsweetened (to roll in)

Lentil Coconut Energy Bites Steps:

If using canned/ pre-cooked lentils, skip to step 2. If using dry lentils, cook the lentils in a pot with water for ~25-30 minutes on medium heat.
Puree ½ cup of pumpkin seeds in a food processor until smooth.
Add in fresh dates and continue to puree.
Once you reach a paste-like consistency, add in dry oats, cinnamon, vanilla extract and cooked lentils.
Transfer into a bowl and add chocolate chips.
Roll into small balls (should make about 9-10).
On some parchment paper, sprinkle ¼ cup of coconut flakes and roll in the lentil coconut bites.
Enjoy!

Looking for more healthy, kid-friendly snack ideas? Check out our most popular recipe ever - banana lentil muffins

Recipe and photo by Hanna Kim, student (Thanks Hanna!)

February 09, 2017

Chocolate Chia Pudding

February 09, 2017/ Kristen Yarker

All I can say is chocolate chia pudding ... yum!

Healthy eating is all about eating good fuel for your body AND eating for pleasure. This delicious treat fits both categories. It's chocolatey goodness that's made with chia seeds. Chia seeds are rich in protein, iron and fibre. The result is a gelatinous or pudding-like consistency similar to tapioca pudding. It's also quite low in sugar.

Feel free to play with the recipe. The richest version is made with the canned coconut milk (coconut and chocolate - awesome!). I love orange chocolate and mint chocolate so sometimes I add a drop or two of mint extract or orange blossom water.

Chocolate Chia Pudding Ingredients

3 TBSP chia seeds

1 cup milk (dairy, plant-based alternative, canned coconut milk is especially delicious)

1 TBSP cocoa powder

1.5 tsp sugar

Chocolate Chia Pudding Directions

Combine all ingredients in a container with a lid.
Stir well to thoroughly combine.
Leave at room temperature for 30 minutes to allow gel to start.
Refrigerate overnight.
Enjoy!

Check out more delicious, healthy chocolate recipes:

March 10, 2016

2 Easy Matcha Desserts

March 10, 2016/ Kristen Yarker

First, I want to let you know that I am not a baker. Second, I love sweets. So, you know that if I'm sharing a dessert recipe it’s going to be delicious and super easy. The two recipes that I’m sharing today certainly fit this bill. With very few ingredients and steps, they really couldn’t get any easier. They also are healthy choices. And, they’re green – perfect ideas for celebrating St. Patrick’s Day next week. If you’re looking for more green ideas, check out the two green smoothies that I shared for last year’s St. Patty’s Day. I was inspired by a local Matcha café that I’ve been visiting lately. I saw that they had “cooking grade” matcha and decided to give it a try. I added it to two (simple) dessert ideas that I enjoy all the time. And they were really successful. Voila - matcha desserts. Enjoy! P.S. You can find matcha powder in many specialty tea shops or grocery stores with good Japanese food sections.

Matcha Banana ‘Ice Cream’

You’ve got to love a recipe with only 2 ingredients! Prepare 1 banana per person. The ½ teaspoon gives a definite matcha taste to the ice cream. If you have a picky eater, you may want to decrease it to 1/4 teaspoon so there’s basically no matcha taste, just some green colour.

Ingredients

1 banana (frozen)
½ teaspoon matcha powder

Directions

Take the banana out of the freezer 20-30 minutes before you plan to prepare the ice cream.
Break banana into several pieces and place in the blender.
Add the matcha powder.
Blend until smooth. I use the “ice crush” setting on my blender.
Enjoy!

Matcha-Coconut Chia Pudding

Serves 4

Feel free to reduce the sugar to zero in this recipe. I enjoyed the balance at 1 teaspoon. Choose a regular fat (i.e. not low-fat), canned coconut milk to get the creamy texture and rounded flavour.