Category Archives: Recipes

Decongestant Chest Rub

By Emily | Published January 26, 2012

As promised – the recipe for a natural remedy for chest congestion.  My 5 yr old was coughing all night long, so first thing in the morning I set to making this chest rub to help clear things up and help him sleep:

Peppermint

  • 1/2 cup of avacado oil (or any base oil you have handy)
  • 4 tsp beeswax
  • 15 drops peppermint
  • 10 drops rosemary
  • 15 -20 drops eucalyptus
Combine the oil and beeswax in a pyrex jug, place the pyrex jug in a pot of water on medium heat on the stove .  Heat until all the beeswax has melted.  Mix thoroughly, add the essential oils, mix thoroughly again and pour into a clean dry glass jar or salve tin.  Allow it to cool, rub on chest as needed!
My son and nanny both LOVE this rub.  I do NOT recommend using this for babies, I didn’t use it on my daughter as she is only 8 months and too young for these potent essential oils with.  I would not recommend using this on yourself if you are breastfeeding and/or co-sleeping with a baby for the same reason.

 

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Homemade Lip Balms!

By Emily | Published February 9, 2011

Little bear LOVES lip balm!  He can’t get enough of it.  So it was the perfect thing to share with his friends on his birthday at preschool.  A friend had given me some empty lip balm tubes, mango butter, and beeswax she wasn’t using so I was all set!  The little bear had a great time helping me weigh out and mix the ingredients too.

Here’s how to make them:

  • 0.9g  beeswax
  • 1.1g  mango butter
  • 0.68g  cocoa butter
  • 1.8g  jojoba oil

Combine these ingredients in a pyrex measuring jug and place them in a saucepan of water on the stove.   Mix the ingredients well once fully melted, and remove from heat.  At this point add 10-12 drops of essential oil of your choice.  I chose to use mandarin and chamomile as they are both safe essential oils for young children, and are soothing/calming (I think most preschoolers can use some calming at least a couple of times a day :) ).  Other nice oils to use are peppermint, lavender, lime, tea tree, grapefruit or vanilla.

Once the essential oils have been mixed in, pour it into the lip balm containers until they look slightly too full!  The lip balms will shrink as they cool.  Allow the lip balms to cool completely before putting the lids on.

To label ours I just took some old craft paper of ours and cut it to fit the containers (1.9″X2.5″), glued it to the containers and then printed the children’s names on to printable labels.

 

Personalized Lip Balms

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Raw – Red Pepper & Cashew Dip

By Emily | Published October 13, 2009

My family requested this dip for an appetizer at our turkey dinner this weekend, and asked that I please post the recipe! so finally – here it is! I must credit my dear friend Amber – the most fabulous vegan cook I know :)

This dip is great, easy to make, and pretty healthy! (fat from nuts is healthy fat :) )

This is a raw food recipe and is great as a dip or a sauce. Enjoy!

2 cups raw unsalted cashews
1/4 cup raw almonds
1/4 cup raw pumpkin seeds
2 cloves raw garlic
1/2 small raw onion
3 raw red peppers (or 2 large ones)
1/4 cup water

Cut and seed the peppers, put them in a food processor with garlic and onion. Add the water, pumpkin seeds, almonds and gradually add the cashews. Blend them in the food processor until smooth – add more water if it is too dry / thick or if you’re planning on using it as a runny sauce rather than a dip.

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Molasses oatmeal apple spice muffins.

By Emily | Published September 4, 2009

This recipe is really good if you enjoy the gingerbread sort of flavour that molasses and spice have to offer ( I love it!)  These muffins are full of energy and are a great way to get in the nutrients molasses has to offer: iron and B vitamins, calcium, magnesium and potassium.

Make this a project with your toddler and they will be so proud and excited to share them with the rest of the family!

Help your toddler mix these dry ingredients in a large bowl:

1& 1/2 c flour

1 c oats

3/4 tsp baking soda

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp cinamon

1 tsp nutmeg

1/2 tsp allspice

Multitask :) and mix these ingredients at the same time in a seperate small bowl:

1/2 c molasses

1 c apple sauce

1 egg / egg replacer

1/3 c milk / soy

2 tbsp grapeseed (or your choice of ) oil

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix them with your toddler’s help.  Then have your toddler carefully spoon the batter into muffin tins (3/4 full) – wipe away the mess left around the edges so it doesn’t burn!  Cut some apple slices and put one on top of each muffin, you can sprinkle some brown sugar on the top of some of the muffins for those with a sweet tooth (I prefer to leave it off the muffins that the toddler is eating :) )  Put in the oven for 15 min and check with a tooth pick – cook until the toothpick come out clean. – Let cool and enjoy!

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Sophie’s Birth

By Emily | Published July 15, 2009

My labour with Sophie was an incredible experience. I think it was amazing for several reasons, but the biggest I believe was that I felt prepared and calm about it all. I was lucky enough to get a midwife near the end of my pregnancy and through discussions with her, as well as lots of resources from and discussions with Chelsea (my doula). I decided to get a doula this time because I wanted more control over my labour and the birth, and I knew that she could help me with this. I was able to create a clear birth plan that included everything that was very important to me. Both my midwife and doula were extremely respectful of my wishes, and that meant so much to my husband and I!
***
We had Sophie at home, and it was an amazing experience, though it was not planned as such. We planned on me staying home as long as possible so that I could avoid any medication because I felt like I would give in if I were in the hospital (it’s like sending me to a candy store and trying to not to let me buy chocolate!). But I planned on delivering her at the hospital near our home.
***
The whole time I was in labour I was not sure if it was true labour. My contractions were so inconsistent. I had already had a few bouts of false labour in the weeks before so I just assumed that that is what was happening, (nature’s cruel joke on me or something). So I called Nathanael (my husband) and told him that I thought I was having false labour pains and that he had to take me out for dinner to distract me (smooth hey?? J ). So we went to Chianti’s restaurant at 6pm and the contractions were getting more painful but were still all over the place. I was so annoyed and still thinking it was false. Finally we called the midwife to just come and check me out because we had no idea what was happening and just wanted to know what to expect. I was prepared to hear I was only  1 or 2cms dilated and when the midwife got there she checked me and announced that I was actually 9cms dilated and that I was going to be having the baby really soon! Since I had spent a great deal of time lying in the bath, our baby hadn’t descended enough, our midwife ask me to walk around a bit. I had made barely a half lap of the house when I felt ready to push. After nearly starting to give birth on our coffee table, I barely made it back to the tub before to my surprise I was ready to have this baby. I wouldn’t have even made it to the car let alone the hospital!
***
The whole experience was amazing. I think it went so fast because I felt so comfortable and safe where I was. The midwife experience was incredible, everything was natural and they gave me credit for knowing my own body and letting my body do what it needed. I felt like I had more control and say in what happened this time around, which helped with the whole experience.
***
I think I was only in active labour for maybe 4 hours this time. I was in labour for 16 hours with my first and four of those hours were spent pushing! I only pushed for 9 minutes with Sophie! I was also lucky enough to have a doula helping us out. It was nice because she would help with anything we needed and that made it so Nathanael could be with me the whole time through every contraction. She would help me breathe through each contraction , rub my lower back when I was standing and I remember that being just what I needed without having to ask her, and she had the most calming presence through it all (which is SO needed during what can be a very stressful time). She was respectful of Nathanael’s role as the father in the labour; she just worked around him and worked with him. I’m so grateful we had her there, and feel so lucky that we had a person who cared so much about our experience and our baby’s health!
***
I would never change anything about my experience with delivering Sophie. Though it was still really painful throughout the labour, I proved to myself that I was strong enough to deliver her how I really wanted to. I am grateful for the support I received from my husband, midwife and doula. I don’t know if my experience would have been as special as it was without them, they all played a very important role in the gentle birth of Sophie. I will never forget this experience because of how personal and special it was to my husband and I.

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Spring Salad

By Emily | Published May 5, 2009

· Romaine lettuce

· Avacado

· Feta cheese

· Cucumber

· Salad nuts – sesame seeds, soy nuts, sunflower seeds

· Bolthouse Farms – Creamy Yogourt Dressing  OR any dressing of your choice :)

The combination of the feta cheese, avacado and nuts in this salad make such a satisfying flavour!

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Pineapple Green Curry with Pistachios

By Emily | Published April 27, 2009

  • 3 cups Broccoli
  • 1 can pineapple
  • 1 can coconut milk
  • 1 cup pistachios
  • 2 tbsp green curry paste
  • 4 cloves fresh garlic
  • 1.5 fresh inches ginger
  • Half cup fresh cilantro

Sauté finely chopped garlic and ginger with broccoli. Add coconut milk and pineapple, simmer until broccoli is cooked. Add shelled pistachios and cilantro.

Serve over basmati rice.

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Vegan Taco Wraps

By Emily | Published November 16, 2008

Any flat wrap (I like the spinach flavour:) )

Mexican veggie ground

1/2 small white onion chopped

1/2 Tbsp coconut oil

chopped tomatoe

shredded iceberg lettuce

my yummy vegan dip (below)

1/2 can corn

Saute the onions in coconut oil, add mexican veggie ground and corn, continue to cook until thoroughly heated.  Place mixture on wrap with tomatoes, lettuce, and a good scoop of sauce drizzled over top, roll it up and enjoy!

So easy…so tasty…

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yummy vegan dip

By Emily | Published November 16, 2008

I love using this dip / sauce for dipping yam fries, pouring over falafel wraps or taco wraps, or even mixing with some mashed potatoes!

As with most of my recipes – this makes a whole lot of dip, so just adjust to your needs.  If you can prepare this 2 hours ahead of using it tastes even better if you refrigerate it for a couple of hours.

1 c soy yogourt

1/2 c vegan mayonaise

3 cloves garlic grated / pressed

1 Tbsp lemon juice

1 Tbsp fresh, chopped dill (or replace with other favourite herb!)

1 Tbsp nutritional yeast

mix it up, refrigerate, and enjoy!

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Vegan mac ‘n “cheese”

By Emily | Published November 15, 2008

Let me start off by saying I never thought I would become vegan – I used to love meat, and love, love, love cheese. The funny thing is I didn’t really wake up one day and think ‘I’m going to make a conscious effort to become vegan because I don’t agree with…”. How it happened was simply having many vegan and vegetarian friends, spending a lot of time with them, enjoying the food we shared, and suddenly realizing it had been about 2 months since I’d eaten meat! I actually tried eating meat again after the 2 months off, and it simply wasn’t appealing anymore. My dairy product consumption decreased also by “accident” – and then while at one of my favourite restaurants (because it’s soo healthy and yummy, and just so happens to be vegan :) ) Green Cuisine, I picked up the Vegan Starter Guide to see if it had any good recipes. I hadn’t intended to read any more than the recipes because I still loved my cheese…and just didn’t want to know! My son for some reason insisted on my reading it to him…maybe he likes the colourful veggie pictures on the front? Anyway, I read it out loud and after what I learned I am simply not interested in any animal products. I’m more shocked than anyone that I made this change and in what seems like a very short time, but I feel great for it and honestly do not miss the other foods. I think we are especially lucky in Victoria to have so many wonderful vegan options, in many other cities I think it would be significantly more challenging. I’ve always liked experimenting with food (when I can find the time) and now I can share my experiments (most of which I think are pretty good) here!

So…here’s the recipe – please note that nothing will taste just like cheese, certainly don’t expect a KD taste here ;) but if you’re looking for a thick cheese like sauce that is totally vegan this is pretty awesome! Please feel free to post any changes you made to improve on it – I’d love to know as this is only my second time making it! Oh – and this recipe made WAY too much sauce, I’ve frozen half of it…I’ll let you know how that works out, but halve this recipe and it should serve 4 people if you add your choice of veggies / protein.

Vegan mac ‘n “cheese”

1 small acorn squash peeled, chopped, boiled until VERY soft, strained and mashed

1/2 cup soy yogourt

3 cups Nutritional yeast (most health food stores sell it, in Victoria Seed of Life has the best price I’ve found)

1.5 Tbsp Tamari (this gives an aged cheddar bite to it)

Salt & Pepper to taste

2 tsp Garlic pressed / powder (optional…I always love garlic in everything!)

Simply keep mashing and mixing until it’s a smooth creamy consistency, add it to some cooked wholegrain macaroni and enjoy!

Again, this is only my second time making it – so you might want to play around with it a bit, I had to post it as is because I have two very dear preggies waiting to get it :) Enjoy ladies! (and gentlemen)

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