Healthy Eating Starts Here

Dreena Burton's Romesc-oat Sauce And GIVEAWAY

heather@healthyveganrecipes.net (Heather Nauta) — Fri, 02 Nov 2012 12:00:00 +0000

Photo Credit: Hannah Kaminsky

Dreena Burton's Romesc-oat Sauce is a fantastically simple and delicious pasta sauce - or you can make it thick like a dip.

The recipe is from her newest cookbook, Let Them Eat Vegan!, which is full of healthy vegan recipes for the whole family.

Seeing as she has three little girls at home, she's the master of healthy cookies, veggie burgers, soups, salads, sauces and dips, and yummy (but also pretty darn healthy) desserts.

Sweet Potato And Beet Soup Recipe

heather@healthyveganrecipes.net (Heather Nauta) — Fri, 26 Oct 2012 12:00:00 +0000

This sweet potato and beet soup recipe is really easy to make, and tastes totally amazing.

I love both sweet potatoes and beets (you see them pretty often in my healthy vegan recipes), and one day I decided to put them together in a soup.

I was so happy with the results that I wanted to share with you.

I find the combo of beets and sweet potato give a rich flavor and a thick, creamy texture to this soup.

Vegan Meatball Recipe

heather@healthyveganrecipes.net (Heather Nauta) — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 12:00:00 +0000

This vegan meatball recipe is great with spaghetti and tomato sauce, in a hearty vegetable soup or even made into burgers.

These meatballs are made with buckwheat, and lots of yummy seasonings. Good flavors are key to making tasty and healthy vegan recipes.

Buckwheat is in the group called pseudograins - foods that cook like grains but are technically seeds or fruits.

Parsley Pesto Recipe

heather@healthyveganrecipes.net (Heather Nauta) — Fri, 05 Oct 2012 12:00:00 +0000

This parsley pesto recipe is a tasty way to use some of this super-healthy fresh herb.

Parsley is loaded with nutrients - especially vitamin K, folate, iron, vitamin C and vitamin A - so I love using it to make super-healthy vegan recipes.

I wrote a whole article this week on Healthy Eating Starts Here about parsley health benefits that you can check out if you're interested.

Protein Cookie Recipe

heather@healthyveganrecipes.net (Heather Nauta) — Fri, 28 Sep 2012 12:00:00 +0000

This protein cookie recipe is a fantastic afternoon snack, giving you a nice little boost of protein rather than the oil and sugar in most cookies.

I mostly stick to whole foods in my healthy vegan recipes, but protein powder is a bit of an exception.

I don't see it in the same category as refined foods, like white flour or white sugar.

Healthy Brownie Recipe

heather@healthyveganrecipes.net (Heather Nauta) — Fri, 21 Sep 2012 12:00:00 +0000

What is a healthy brownie recipe, you ask? Well, it's one that's made with less sugar and fat than most, and (like most of my healthy vegan recipes) highlights the natural deliciousness of whole foods.

These brownies are sweetened with banana and fresh dates, although I do have an option to make them with unrefined sugar if you prefer.

The rich, fudgy base comes from a combo of kidney beans, peanut butter and cocoa powder, so you don't need any oil to make these.

Easy Gazpacho Recipe

heather@healthyveganrecipes.net (Heather Nauta) — Fri, 14 Sep 2012 12:00:00 +0000

This is an easy gazpacho recipe that makes for a refreshing bowl of raw soup - perfect for when the tomatoes are ripening in the hot late summer sun.

I added a hot pepper (something I don't often do in my healthy vegan recipes because I'm a spice wimp) that didn't taste too spicy when I tasted the tip, but wound up making a very spicy pot.

I gave some tips on dealing with hot peppers in the video, but I mentioned it to my sister-in-law after, who eat lots of hot peppers, and she gave me a couple more.

FREE Online Cooking Class - Chickpea Salad Sandwich Recipe

heather@healthyveganrecipes.net (Heather Nauta) — Thu, 06 Sep 2012 12:00:00 +0000

This chickpea salad sandwich recipe is a perfect way for me to show you how to make healthy vegan recipes for lunch in a FREE online cooking class I did on Thursday, September 6th.

You can take this recipe to an ocean-y flavor with mineral-dense sea vegetables, or to a sweet flavor with a handful of raisins.

Kale Salad With Cashew-Parsley Dressing

heather@healthyveganrecipes.net (Heather Nauta) — Sat, 01 Sep 2012 12:00:00 +0000

This kale salad could just make you fall in love with kale. Plus, it has three healthy vegan recipes in one: a salad, a dressing and a hummus.

The dressing is really tasty and creamy, thanks to the cashew butter I used. You can grind up your own cashews, or use another nut/seed butter if you can't find cashew.

I am very lucky to have a company called Nuts To You here in Canada. They don't have a website, and they don't sell outside of Canada as far as I know.

Healthy Granola Recipe

heather@healthyveganrecipes.net (Heather Nauta) — Fri, 10 Aug 2012 12:00:00 +0000

'Healthy granola recipe' might sound redundant to some people, but it's actually really hard to find healthy vegan recipes for granola that aren't loaded with sugar and oil.

This granola is only sweetened with pure fruit juice. If you want something a bit sweeter, you can replace part of the juice with maple syrup, or add some unrefined sugar.

I like it with this light sweetness, though, and the flavor of the juice will add its own character to your granola.

Spiced Cranberry Sunflower Tryptophan Balls

heather@healthyeatingstartshere.com (Heather Nauta) — Fri, 17 May 2013 04:07:00 +0000

These tryptophan balls were inspired by my friend's pregnancy book. We've been reading it every morning, and last week it was talking about getting more sleep.

The book said it can be helpful to have a bedtime snack of some food with tryptophan to help get to sleep, and the suggestion of turkey made us laugh.

I decided it would be fun to try to make a treat using plant foods that have tryptophan, and came up with these little balls that I started calling Tryptophan Balls, and the name kind of stuck.

Ricki Heller's Breakfast Sausage Patties

heather@healthyeatingstartshere.com (Heather Nauta) — Fri, 10 May 2013 04:07:00 +0000

These breakfast sausage patties are a recipe from the lovely and talented Ricki Heller (click for her original recipe plus almond gravy).

Although they're called 'breakfast' patties, I had them for lunch topped with avocado and a homemade tomato chutney mixed with tahini, along with a fresh salad.

They're incredibly delicious and really easy to make. The texture of the rice with the toasted walnuts is amazing, and the flavors of sage and smoked paprika go so nicely together.

Eggplant Chickpea Curry (Plus Variation For Leftovers)

heather@healthyeatingstartshere.com (Heather Nauta) — Fri, 03 May 2013 04:07:00 +0000

This eggplant chickpea curry was inspired by a recipe that didn't seem to have enough spice, and not nearly enough vegetables. Then I added chickpeas. And coconut milk. And cardamom.

I love adding different spices to a dish when I use a mild curry powder. It makes it easy to put together, but also gives a distinctive flavor to make your dishes taste new and fresh.

So really, the recipe just served as a reminder that eggplant tastes nice with Indian spices. I'm not sure where the recipe came from, a friend had printed it from an email sent by another friend.

Packing Lunch - Ideas For Variety While Saving Time

philnauta@hotmail.com (Phil Nauta) — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 04:07:00 +0000

Packing lunch ideas can be super helpful when you're trying to save time and keep things interesting on a healthy eating plan.

I wanted to share something I do sometimes, when I have more beans than I would eat in a meal, and split them with different vegetables and flavors to make 3 different lunches.

I also wanted to let you know that I'll be doing another free live webinar this coming Tuesday at 7pm ET. Just go here to join me: www.anymeeting.com/hesh1

Lunch To Go On The Train And Skating In Ottawa

heather@healthyeatingstartshere.com (Heather Nauta) — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 04:07:00 +0000

I put together a lunch to go for a train ride in about 5 minutes, and thought it might be helpful to show just how easy it is to make a healthy meal.

I had made the peanut dressing the day before. It's always helpful when you make a sauce or dressing to make some extra, and then it can be used to quickly make different meals.

I also love to take my travel mug with me when I'm going somewhere - not only because it saves a disposable mug being used, but because it keeps my tea hot for so much longer!

Tryptophan Rich Foods For Getting To Sleep

heather@healthyeatingstartshere.com (Heather Nauta) — Tue, 14 May 2013 04:07:00 +0000

Tryptophan rich foods can be helpful as a bedtime snack if you're having trouble getting to sleep because it triggers the neurotransmitters that help your brain's sleep cycle.

Tryptophan is a precursor to serotonin, which in turn is a precursor to melatonin.

Serotonin helps regulate mood and sleep.

It seems to be helpful for people who have mild trouble sleeping (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/6764927), although not for people with no trouble sleeping or more severe insomnia.

Benefit Of Flaxseed And Online Meal Plan Discount Ending

heather@healthyeatingstartshere.com (Heather Nauta) — Mon, 06 May 2013 04:07:00 +0000

The benefit of flaxseed comes mostly from its high omega-3 and fiber content, which are both things that are underrepresented in a standard diet.

Flax also has lots of minerals, like phosphorus and magnesium, and vitamins, especially folic acid thiamin.

Not only does flaxseed have a lot of nutrition, it works fantastically as a binder so I use it a lot in baking and veggie burgers to replace eggs.

One of my favorite things is to blend flax with cocoa powder, banana and water or almond milk to make a chocolate pudding.

Heather's Peruvian Fruit-A-Thon

heather@healthyeatingstartshere.com (Heather Nauta) — Fri, 19 Apr 2013 04:07:00 +0000

I love all the wonderful fruit they have in South America. So many varieties, and it's all so fresh and ripe. I think I may have been born on the wrong continent...

My favorite fruit is mango, and I ate lots while we were in Peru, but I also got to try lots of new ones and wanted to share the experience with you.

So this video is a compilation of clips from the three months we spent in various parts of southern Peru.

I had many happy days heading to the markets to visit my fruit ladies and pick out the best mangoes, and see what other goodness they had to show me.

Being Honest With Myself - And Sharing With You

heather@healthyeatingstartshere.com (Heather Nauta) — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 04:07:00 +0000

Well, today I have some serious news to share. It’s difficult for me to talk about, and difficult for me to share, but because you've all become such a big part of my life I want to try to explain.

You've all heard me talk about my husband Phil a lot, and he has his own site about organic gardening. We've had a wonderful 10 years together, but it’s time for us to go our separate ways.

It’s been a really difficult decision, and one that neither of us took lightly. It can be hard to be honest with yourself when you don't really want to admit something. In the end we've managed to both feel good about it and confident that it’s the right path.

Meal Planning - FREE Webinar This Saturday!

heather@healthyeatingstartshere.com (Heather Nauta) — Thu, 11 Apr 2013 04:07:00 +0000

This Saturday, April 13th at 2pm ET I'll be doing a FREE LIVE webinar going through what you need to know to plan healthy balanced meals, and answering your questions!

In an ideal world, meal planning would be easy and intuitive. We do tend to make a bigger deal of planning meals than we need to sometimes.

Sometimes I get caught up in thinking more about what I should eat rather than what I want to eat. You don't want to force yourself to eat a big meal if you just don't want it, even if it's healthy.

Although for some people, it can be dangerous to only think about what you want to eat because cravings can cause misleading messages.

Cooking Without Oil - And Knowing When It's Useful

heather@healthyeatingstartshere.com (Heather Nauta) — Tue, 02 Apr 2013 04:07:00 +0000

When I was getting into healthy eating, I started reducing the amount of oil I used in cooking as I realized that I really didn't need as much as what most recipes called for.

Then when Phil and I were traveling in Europe a couple of years ago, we spent 3 months moving from place to place every week and I started cooking without oil because I didn't want to carry a jar around with me.

I started to experiment with oil-free cooking techniques like water sauteeing, and learned that I should dry-toast spices before using them when there was no oil because the bitterness made my tongue go numb.

Benefits Of Raw Food - And Why I Don't Eat All Raw

heather@healthyeatingstartshere.com (Heather Nauta) — Fri, 29 Mar 2013 04:07:00 +0000

The benefits of raw food are pretty hard to dispute - they have tons of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and enzymes, and probably a lot of other things we don't know about yet.

I get asked a lot why I don't eat 100% raw, since I have on my about page that Phil and I tried eating all raw for a month once but don't anymore. We still eat lots of fresh produce, but also cooked veggies, beans and whole grains.

There are a few reasons that I don't eat all raw, which I'll get into, but I do like to focus on always getting something raw or at least minimally cooked in every meal. It's good for the nutrients, and also just nice to have a little crunch in there.

Vegan Protein Options And Challenges While Traveling

heather@healthyeatingstartshere.com (Heather Nauta) — Fri, 22 Mar 2013 04:07:00 +0000

Vegan protein options are normally easy to come by - beans and legumes, whole grains, nuts, seeds and even vegetables and fruit have all the protein you need to be healthy.

It's important to get a variety of different sources of protein, though, because they all have different levels of the essential amino acids. They also give you more variety in all the other nutrients you need.

You don't need to combine them in a single meal (your body will be able to put together amino acids from different foods as long as you eat them within 48 hours), but you do need to get those different foods.

Lunchtime At Mandala Vegetarian Restaurant - Arequipa, Peru

heather@healthyeatingstartshere.com (Heather Nauta) — Fri, 15 Mar 2013 04:07:00 +0000

Although Peruvian cuisine seems a bit meat-centric at fist glance, there are so many amazing options for vegetarian dishes, and we've found lots of fantastic restaurants in every city we've been to.

The one trick is that you definitely have to specify if you don't eat dairy (and specifically say no milk, cheese, yogurt, etc) or eggs because many vegetarian dishes involve one or more of those foods.

In Arequipa, my favorite spot has been Manadala Vegetarian Restaurant. We've tried a few, and the food is good in all of them, but the staff at Mandala are so sweet that they make it special.

What Do Vegans Eat? Just A Big Bowl Of Kale?

heather@healthyeatingstartshere.com (Heather Nauta) — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 04:07:00 +0000

When you tell someone you're vegan, and that you don't eat any animal flesh or animal products (like milk, eggs or honey), do you get a funny look and then the question, 'well, what do vegans eat? Just salad?'

I get that a fair bit, and especially here in Peru. Everyone understands 'vegetariano', but when I tell them I also don't eat milk, cheese or eggs, they get a bit flustered.

I understand, especially when those foods are so much a part of cultural dishes. But at the same time, I find it funny that people often don't realize how much of what they eat are plant foods.