Super Summer Sides: Balsamic Cucumber Dill Salad

If I could only eat one meal every day for the rest of my life, I would choose SALAD!!  I know this may sound crazy, especially coming from someone who used to classify a 7-11 shopping spree of a slurpee, bag of chips and bag of candies a "snack", but it's true. I just LOVE salad. There are about a million bajillion different ways to make a meal out of salad, so I'd never, ever get bored. Besides that, salads are one of the most nutritious possible meals out there -- what can I say? It's true love!! <3

Being from Alberta, it's probably not going to surprise you that I'm a Ukrainian girl, so it goes to say.. I looove me some dill! haha My dad actually made this delish, fresh salad for a celiac (gluten-free) for a girlfriend of mine that we had over for a BBQ and I just had to steal some because it smelled sooo delish. It's great for bringing to work for lunch (I add the dressing right before serving otherwise gets a little mushy) or as a side for a  nice steak dinner! :-) Enjoy.


The Best Lunch EVER!!

Balsamic Cucumber Dill Salad

3 mini cucumbers, sliced thin

10 cherry tomatoes, sliced thin
1/2 bunch of green onions, sliced

2-3 tbsp fresh dill, chopped

1 tsp extra virgin olive oil
2 tsp aged balsamic vinegar
Salt + pepper

Toss in salad bowl, serve fresh + enjoy! I throw some chicken breast into mine so the chicken soaks up the vinaigrette and add whichever carbs I've got for the day too -- sweet potato, roasted baby potatoes or quinoa would all be a fantastic choice :)

Until next time... remember... abs are made in the kitchen! ;-) 

xo Brooke

all-natural chocolate + salted peanut butter cups (packed with protein!)

These. are. delish! No, really! They taste like Reese's Peanut Butter Cups minus all of the odd "natural flavoring" taste (read: artificial flavors created by scientists in a lab).

But wait.

There's an added bonus to this delicious, all-natural package. Yes, thats' right: protein! Anyways.. enough talking, on to our treats!

"Grease" your pan. I use a mini cupcake pan, but you could also use this super cute silicone mini peanut butter cup mold. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, combine:

1/2 cup all natural peanut butter (i like Mara Natha)
1/3 cup chocolate protein powder
1/4 cup plain all natural greek yogurt
1 tsp organic vanilla extract
a squeeze of honey to sweeten

Mix with spatula until combined.

Spoon mixture into pan, taking extra care to flatten on the top & trim neatly around the edges. (Ok, maybe this part isn't that important, but I'm a bit of a perfectionist! ha)

Now, this next step is optional. I like the extra bite that sea salt adds, so I add a couple cranks to the top.  

Put tray into freezer for 20-30 mins until PB hardens up.

Line a baking tray with parchment paper and put it into your freezer (a soon to be home for your chocolate-ified cups).

About 5 minutes before I'm going to take the tray of PB cups out, I'll start melting my chocolate (Enjoy Life's mini chocolate chips). I use a "double boiler" -- well, no, not really a double boiler, but a pot with an inch of water on medium-high heat, and then sit a metal bowl on top of the pot. Then I stir. Stir, stir, stir. Once the chocolate is melted, you're ready to coat  your beautiful little PB cups.

Take the PB cups out of the freezer, and one at a time, remove them from the mold and cover with chocolate. The way I found to work best was to use one of those little corn "skewers" to hold the PB cup and an icing knife to coat (ha ha ha corn skewers.. how nerdy, right?! oh well, whatever works! ;)
As each cup gets coated, put them onto the tray that's chilling in the freezer until set.

Once they've hardened, store them in an airtight container or freezer bag & empty your mail box because you're about to get a whole lot of fan mail! (from friends & fam who are lucky enough to enjoy these little gems, of course! ;)

chocolate spelt banana bread with pecan cinnamon crumble

Everyone loves banana bread.

When I was training for my first marathon, Sundays were the "long run" training day where we would work on endurance and run anywhere from 12 to 32 kms depending on the training week. 32 km? No, that is not a typo! ha ha hence the name... "LONG" run! About halfway through the run, the cravings would start; besides fantasizing about chocolate milk, I would dream of a big, warm slice of my dad's banana bread. 

While I obviously have a bit of a love for banana bread, I'm definitely not in love with the white, refined sugar, processed white flour and butter or oil that traditional recipes are loaded with. 

So what's a girl to do??  

Of course, spend hours searching for the perfect recipe and then carefully planning an overhaul. Extreme Makeover: Banana Bread Edition! ha ha

Let's get started!

preheat oven to 350 F. Grease loaf pan with coconut oil + set aside. 

get a big bowl + sift dry ingredients:

1 1/2 cups spelt flour
3/4 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp cloves
1 tsp cinnamon 

mix wet ingredients in bowl #2:

3/4 organic raw cane sugar
1/2 cup coconut oil 
1 free-run egg
2-3 over-ripe mashed bananas
3 tbsp "buttermilk" [note]

// buttermilk //
While my fridge was (not surprisingly) not home to a spot of buttermilk, I decided to use the amazing powers of google to find my own substitute. I came across a recipe for diy "conventional" buttermilk & just upgraded the ingredients; apple cider vinegar for white vinegar and soy for milk (you can also use almond milk). It's easy peasy lemon squeezy -  in a small cup, mix 1/4 tbsp of apple cider vinegar with 2 3/4 tbsp of soy and let sit for 5 mins and voila! Vegan Buttermilk 2.0.

add wet ingredients to dry + mix well.

pour batter into loaf pan.

now, normal banana bread would be popped into the oven at this point & patiently awaited. but we're not making normal banana bread, we're making brilliant banana bread. so,

chop:

1/4 cup pecans
1/8 cup organic raw cane sugar 
1/4 cup organic chocolate chips

sprinkle on top of batter + bake for 40-45 minutes or until a tester comes out clean.

make yourself a big mug of tea and prepare for banana bread bliss! :-)