From my kitchen to yours! Whether you’re new to cooking or have a knack for it, or have food sensitivities or eat everything – explore delicious real food recipes that I have created and photographed over the years.
Yes – I still exist, even though I haven’t published anything on my site in awhile 🙂
I just realized I’ve been depriving all of you wonderful people from recipe updates and ideas! How selfish of me.
How come? Well, I’ve actually been busy working on recipes over at Precision Nutrition’s Encyclopedia of food (a database to help educate you about specific foods – storing, cooking, nutrition info and more – and provides a recipe to go along with it) along with many other talented individuals. So come on over and receive 4 new recipes each month! 🙂
I always say, the best way to build a relationship with food is to get to know it – so try and introduce yourself to a new food this week and learn about it. Kinda like a human relationship right? To grow the relationship you need to spend time, get to know each other, treat each other with respect and determine if you’re right for each other 😉
Stayed tuned for the following recipes in the Encyclopedia over the course of several months:
I’ll continue to update my instagram account as I create more and more recipes to help my photography evolve 🙂
It’s also that time of year again! As most of you know, I’m a nutrition coach at Precision Nutrition and I accept clients only ONCE a year – every July – to work together for a solid 12 months. And since July is around the corner (July 12th to be specific), I just wanted to send out a reminder 🙂
Women can sign up to receive a discount here
Men can sign up to receive a discount here
Because discounts are nice 🙂
As I wrap up another year of clients – I am continually inspired by them and reminded that a journey of health, nutrition and fitness is about what you GAIN, not what you lose (if weight loss is your goal). Such an empowering feeling, right?
Whether it’s gaining more freedom of movement, more freedom in the grocery store, the ability to play with your children, skills in the kitchen, feeling strong, feeling confident, feeling knowledgeable, or having a better relationship with food – you can GAIN a whole lot by working on your health and fitness.
I feel honoured to be able to share stories of inspiring individuals that went through the program – maybe you see yourself in one of them?
14 Amazing Stories + more from this week – we have a section of the program called “a postcard from the future” – what would you say to your future self?
“I am loving this habit and these lessons because they encourage me to look backwards from where I’ve come. Not being able to go for a long walk. (without drugs) to randomly (every day) taking at least 45 minutes to walk. I haven’t taken prescription pain killers since around Christmas. I can dead lift 105 lbs now. Now I know, when I try a new exercise if it will cause problems or not. I stop, now, and don’t fight through it like I used to. I know when to get help from trainers, massage therapist, chiro etc. I started this cycling season with a 35 km bike ride. Last year, I only ended at 50. The list goes on and on. It really makes me excited about the future, my future.”
“For most of my adult life I have looked after kids, aging parent, husband, horses, neighbour kids, even the humming birds eat better than I do! This week I have an opportunity to a) stay in one place for a week b) mostly alone c) plan my own agenda and schedule. Normally I would go out to eat cause what does it matter? It’s just me. I would have a glass of wine or two ( for stress) cause what does it matter? It’s just me. And I would let my workouts slide cause what does it matter? I have time and can do them later. BUT THIS WEEK IS MY WEEK. I woke up one morning and something had happened and I WANT to be healthy. I want to plan and prep my food. I want to make progress towards my goals. What? Yes! For me! Not ‘it’s just me’ but it’s for me! I like making progress and I like working hard. I realize now that I can make progress and work hard, for me, for my goals. Who knew?
Thanks PN coaching! I can not explain how significant this is.”
Rachelle – “We took the kids to the city Museum – it has tons of crazy tunnels and crawl spaces for kids to explore. We split up into pairs and my 5-year-old dragged me ALL OVER the tunnels, both inside and outside of the museum. She kept saying, “no fear! That’s the rule!” (It was a little scary, especially in the wire tunnels that stretched like 3 stories above the ground, leading to airplanes precariously balanced on towers!). Anyway, my knees were KILLING me after an hour or two of this, and I wished I had brought knee pads. I ended up bear crawling through most of the rest of the tunnels, and I thought about how grateful I was that I’ve been bear crawling at every workout this past year! My whole intention with PN was to engage more in my children’s lives and I was truly able to do that this week. I could have sat on the sidelines abs watched the kids creak around, but instead I was able to join in and create memories together.” – Rachelle also lost 40lbs!
And it’s not just for weight loss – it’s for anyone looking to improve their health and nutrition. To give you an example – some goals coming into the program can be to lose weight, to gain muscle, to gain weight, to eat healthier, to have a better understanding of what to eat, to gain support, to help them implement what they know and turn it into action and so much more!
But, enough about that – I just can’t help but share inspiring stories of individuals who have worked hard to improve their health, their life and their well being – it’s stories like these that reminds me why I became a nutritionist in the first place 🙂
And, if that’s not what you’re interested in or you’re already living out the healthy lifestyle you want – awesome! Then be sure to sign up to receive those delicious recipe updates – you’ll receive 4 recipes a month in your inbox along with really fascinating information on specific foods. And who doesn’t love some food inspiration? Enjoy!
And that doesn’t mean things won’t be appearing on this website either – I’ll surprise you 🙂
I don’t know about you, but my favourite part of a pumpkin pie is the filling! Of course, the crust is delicious too, but I always wanted a second slice of just the filling – it’s so silky, smooth and delicious!
Hence, why I wanted to see if my normal dairy-free soy-free pumpkin pie filling would work inside of a mason jar – duh! Everything works in a mason jar, because they are glorious and wonderful.
I recommend using the little 125ml or 250ml mason jars (I used 500ml in the picture, but it ended up using half of the recipe – whoops!)
Enjoy!
Created by Sarah Maughan
Ingredients
*This recipe fills 2 x 500ml mason jars, 4 x 250ml jars or 8 x 125 ml jars
Directions:
I have another apple recipe coming at ya – can you tell I’m all about this Fall stuff? As funny as this is, I actually made all of these recipes BEFORE going apple picking. So, I guess I’ll just have to make some more with all of the new apples I get. Darn.
I filed this recipe under Desserts n’ Sweets AND breakfast – I don’t see why this couldn’t be both 🙂
Created by Sarah Maughan
Ingredients (per 1 serving/apple)
1 apple (I’ve used gala, empire, and honey crisp)
2 tbsp gluten free rolled oats or granola or crushed walnuts – I’ve made this many times with all of these variations, even with my quinoa granola
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp butter or coconut oil (only if using plain oats to wet them – not granola)
1 – 2 tsp 100% maple syrup* (ensure 2 if using plain rolled oats or nuts)
1 – 2 tsp 100% natural nut butter* (in the image it’s peanut butter, but I also enjoy cashew and sunflower seed butter)
*Be as generous as you want with the maple syrup and nut butter because they are delicious – it won’t mess up the recipe – I swear 🙂
Directions
Is there anything more delicious than Fall flavours? Well, if it’s jammed into a dessert fit for one – that’s even better!
On the weekend I experimented with and cooked up some individual apple crumbles – one with an oat topping, and the other with a quinoa topping – both turned out wonderfully!
One of the batches had egg white in the topping and I also experimented without it. Although it tasted delicious, it wasn’t as “crumbly” as I feel most people would expect so for that reason I decided to keep it out – but feel free to try it if you like that super crispy topping! I personally preferred the one with the egg white because I like a topping that’s crunchy and stuck together – but, to each their own 🙂
The mason jar on the left is the oat topping, and the one on the right is the quinoa topping – enjoy!
Ingredients (per 1 x 500ml mason jar)
Filling:
1 apple (I’ve used both gala and honey crisp) peeled and chopped into bite size pieces
drizzle of maple syrup (approx 1 tsp)
1/2 tsp corn starch
juice from 1/4 lemon slice (approx 1 tsp)
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp allspice
Crumble Topping
1/3 cup GF rolled oats OR quinoa flakes
1/8 cup almond flour
2 tsp maple syrup
2 tsp melted coconut oil – or a smidgen more so there’s enough to wet the topping
1 tsp ground flaxseed
sprinkle of cinnamon
Optional – 1 egg white (or a little less, 1 egg white works perfectly for 2 toppings) for an extra crunchy topping, but if you prefer it to be loose and flaky, then omit the egg white
Directions
Anything lemon blueberry or lemon poppy seed is my favourite baking combination ever. I make gluten-free shortbread with dried blueberries and lemon zest and they are a lot more flavourful than the regular shortbread. Who knew anything could be better than the melting buttery shortbread? Add lemon and blueberry and bam – you have yourself a winner!
I used the recipe from this website and made it into mini muffins – not a cake because I didn’t actually have a cake pan right now which I know, makes me an insane person.
I ended up using coconut oil because I didn’t have grapeseed or ghee and I used the maple syrup and egg options. I didn’t end up trying the frosting completely but I did put vanilla yogurt in between and I have to say – it was pretty good and a nice complement to the tart sweetness and tart from the blueberries.
One batch DID fall apart though and that was 100% my fault, not anything to do with the recipe.
So folks, if you’re baking gluten-free it’s important to evaluate whether it’s the recipe that isn’t working or if it’s the process. That’s why when I bake gluten free I tend to make muffins (instead of cakes – hence why I have a lot more muffin pans than cake pans apparently) on the first round and I will cook 2 different batches so I have 2 attempts at the cooking time and 2 attempts at the removing from the trays just to be sure it’s not the recipes fault, and you know, so I don’t burn them.
The trick to making this recipe not fall apart, was leaving them in the pan to cool for a bit – which they did point out on the website and I obviously listened well – then using a rubber spatula, gently release the edges from the pan and gently taking them out. If you take them out while they’re hot, well, enjoy your lemon blueberry crumble – which tastes all the same in your mouth anyways 🙂
Preheat oven to 350F. Add almond flour to a bowl and add 3 tbsp poppy seeds, this is what 1 tbsp poppy seeds looks like in your hand
Add 1/2 tsp baking soda and 1 tsp baking powder – this is what they both look like on your hand
Melt maple syrup and coconut oil in a pan
Zest your lemon into the syrup and oil pan
Squeeze half the lemon into the syrup and oil pan and bring to a boil then quickly remove
Pour the syrup/oil mixture into the almond flour mixture and stir
Beat the eggs in a separate dish and then pour into almond flour mixture and stir
Add blueberries and gently mix
Stare at the batter and try not to eat it
Lightly grease mini muffin tin (I used coconut oil by wiping it onto a paper towel and then smearing it inside the muffin slots) Then fill each muffin slot to the top (the batter will be sticky). Wet your finger and slightly dry it but leave it damp – then use your finger to push the batter down into the pan as it will prevent the batter from sticking to your finger. And now it’s ready to bake! Bake for 10 minutes and watch the edges. It’s ready when the edges are slightly golden brown.
Ingredients
1/3 cup macadamia nuts, ground or crushed*
zest from 1 orange, and juice from half
4 fish of your choice (works well with sole, tilapia, mahi mahi, halibut)
drizzle olive oil over each fish
sea salt/pepper
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 450F – on broil setting if possible
2. Grind up macadamia nuts in a food processor, or use a hammer and a plastic bag to pound them into tiny pieces*
3. Place fish on lined baking sheet
4. Sprinkle ground nuts on top
5. Zest the orange on top evenly of all the fish
6. Drizzle olive oil lightly on top of each fish
7. Season with sea salt and pepper
8. Bake for 10 – 12 minutes (watch carefully) until nut topping is starting to brown and fish is tender and slides apart easily
9. Squeeze a few drops of orange juice from the orange slices on top of each fish once done – enjoy!
*So, although I have owned a food processor in the past – I don’t have one right now so I had to get creative. I remembered when I was little my mom would have us smash candy canes in a ziploc bag with a hammer in order to make candy cane bark so I figured I could do the same with nuts – and it worked!
But please make sure you have a surface underneath that won’t crack. I used a thick cutting board and never hammer directly on top of granite or tile without something hard between – better yet, do this outside!
You know when you’ve been making a recipe for so long you kinda forget if it’s yours or someone else’s? Well, this Jambalaya recipe is one of those times. I have a vague recollection of changing the spices, increasing the water and removing dried parsley along the way, but that’s besides the point. It needs to be shared regardless.
I love this recipe because, um, it’s delicious, and it also uses only one pot and it freezes really well. So, you know when you’ve come home late and you’re about to open up the peanut butter jar? If you stock your freezer with meals like this, or any stew, soup, or pretty much anything that is basically not a raw salad – you’ve got a quick and easy meal at your fingertips that will actually satisfy what you’re rummaging around your cupboards for 😉
You know what else is amazing about this meal? Aside from it being a one pot meal – it contains red pepper, celery and onion finely chopped up – something that I generally always have in my fridge to sprinkle onto salads, mixed in tuna, in eggs – it just seems to be a staple in our house. So, for me, this meal requires a lot less prep.
Source: I’ve been making this recipe for so long I can’t recall if it’s someone else’s or mine 🙂
Ingredients:
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 ribs of celery, diced
1 medium purple onion, diced
1 cup chopped red pepper
1 clove of garlic, minced
1/2 can tomato paste
4 sausages, sliced into rounds – I use an antibiotic and hormone free cajun flavoured sausage
1/2 bag of organic raw shrimp – I like leaving the tails on because it looks neater and feels more authentic
1 cup raw brown rice
3 – 4 cups water (plus more if rice ends up not cooking quickly)
2 tsp cajun seasoning
1/2 tsp black pepper
2 green onions, chopped (green part only)
optional fresh parsley for garnish
*I have also just used chicken breasts or thighs instead of shrimp or sausage – play around with it (and all recipes) it’s fun!
Directions:
Chop up all the veggies into tiny confetti and sautee with olive oil until onion is soft. For this particular day I made this recipe, I had some white onion and carrots already chopped so I threw them in as well
Peel the garlic to mince it. I like to gently crush the garlic with a knife for easier peeling
Add minced or zester garlic to the pot – I use a zester to grate garlic over the pan
Add tomato paste and stir
Add the sausage and let it brown
Add the raw frozen shrimp
Add the raw brown rice
Add the cajun seasoning and pepper
Add the water and ensure the rice is fully covered. Bring to a boil. Cover and let simmer for 45 minutes, but checking frequently in case you need to add more water – continue until rice is cooked
Chop up green onion and parsley (optional) and mix into dish once ready to serve
I know it’s Spring, but truth be told I never stop using my slow cooker – whether hot or cold, I love soups and stews. The first time I made this Moroccan Lamb Stew recipe it felt like I big risk because come on – olives in a sweet tasting stew? I don’t think so. I’m not even a fan of olives really – but it works. For whatever reason it worked beautifully and deliciously.
I was convinced it would be a big fail, but instead it’s one of my favourites! There are so many flavours and textures in this stew it literally blows my mind every time I do it – and it’s incredibly easy and straight forward to do.
It just goes to show you that you never know what recipes might work out and become a favourite, so you might as well try to do it. After all, you never know what you’re missing out on if you don’t try. Sometimes recipes don’t turn out exactly how you planned – but rarely, will they be completely inedible – maybe just one or two times 😉
Modified by Sarah Maughan from…somewhere…
Ingredients:
2lbs lamb stewing meat (or beef – when I finally decided to take pictures I used beef in the above image)
1 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, chopped into large chunks
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 serrano chile pepper, ribs and seeds removed, chopped finely
1/2 cup red wine
1 cup beef stock* (homemade preferably but store bought is a-ok, gluten free if necessary)
3 tbsp balsamic vinegar
3 carrots, cut into large rounds
2 parsnips, cut into large rounds
1/2 cup dried apricots
1/2 cup pimento stuffed green olives
2 tbsp honey
1 tbsp oregano
2 tsp cumin
sea salt & pepper
1 1/2 tbsp corn starch (mixed in 1/4 cup cold water)
2 large handfuls finely chopped kale
*add more beef stock if you prefer more liquid – sometimes I add 1 1/2 – 2 cups depending on the juice from the veggies – but wait until close to the end to do this
Directions:
1. Turn your oven on to the broiler. Add stew meat to a lined baking pan and broil for 3 – 4 minutes per side. Transfer the stew meat and the juices it creates to the slow cooker. Turn the slow cooker on high (4 hours) or low (8 hours).
2. Add olive oil, chopped onion, garlic and serrano chile to a pan and sautee until onion is translucent – transfer to the slow cooker
3. Add all of the other ingredients into the slow cooker except the corn starch and kale – leave on high for 4 hours or low for 8 hours
4. Approximately 20 -30 minutes before you’re ready to eat, turn your slow cooker to high – if it’s not already on high – and mix the corn starch in 1/4 cup cold water and add to stew. Add kale (or steam separately and add on top like I did in the pic above) and wait for stew to thicken and kale to wilt.
Serve over brown rice, kasha, or nothing!
Freezes exceptionally well.
When that first hint of grilling season arrives – take advantage of it with this delicious grass fed steak marinade recipe! Although the steak isn’t dripping with juices, I assure you it is juicy with this marinade – I just re-plated it for taking a picture so I lost the juice that originally seeped out. Lesson learned!
Not sure what or why I mentioned grass fed? No worries, you must have missed out on this blog.
Last weeks lunch recipe contained red pepper, red onion and celery – so you can guess what I had leftover in the fridge when making this 🙂
Serves 4
Ingredients
1/2 cup Balsamic vinegar
2 tbsp maple syrup
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/8 tsp ground thyme
1 tsp ground black pepper
sea salt, to taste
4 servings of grass fed steak – approx 1 – 1.5 lbs cut into 4 or individual steaks
Directions
Serves 4
Ingredients
1 rib celery, diced into bite size pieces
1 green or yellow pepper, diced into bite sized pieces
1 red pepper, diced into bite sized pieces
2 tbsp diced red onion
2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and diced into bite size pieces
2 cups baby spinach, finely chopped
Dressing
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 tsp maple syrup
1/8 tsp paprika
1/8 tsp ground thyme
pinch cayenne
1/8 tsp fine sea salt
1/8 tsp black pepper
Directions
You may be sitting at work right now thinking – “what should I make for lunch next week? Ugh, I hate making lunch, it’s so boring and tasteless”. Or maybe you make awesome lunches, but it’s still the same thing over and over again. What if I told you that you could have variety, different tastes, and different textures – all from the same food prep effort? That’s right.
With Spring here to stay and Summer on its way, you may even notice your food cravings are changing so it’s time for a bit of a revamp anyways. Time for fresh food to reign again! Have you noticed you’re now craving cold fresh fruits and raw veggies again? Not so much feeling the soup and stew?
It’s funny how our environment can depict cravings – and believe it or not, there are reasons why our cravings change with seasons and temperatures, such as food availability. Our bodies are so smart!
I like to call this “Same, but different”. Its really easy to make – I promise. An extra bonus, they’re all gluten-free! I discuss this stuff with my clients all the time to try and make nutrition a bit easier and realize that you can play around with foods and make them different, but yet they can be the same too.
This is incredibly beneficial for those who crave tons of variety, but variety can make them crazy or feel unorganized, and for those short on time. You want variety, but the variety doesn’t need to be fast food – I can’t emphasize that enough. If you love and adore food, you probably already make the most awesomest of lunches. So keep it up! But for those who feel like making their lunch is PB&J or romaine leaves and chicken and end up feeling deprived, this blog is for you!
Let’s dive right in to see what I mean.
To do this, we need to pick a salad base that all three salads will have. Then from there, we pick three different mains that will make the salad different, but the prep for them all can be the same. For this particular example I’m choosing red pepper, celery, and purple onion for the veggies and sticking to the simplest of simple dressings made of olive oil, apple cider vinegar, maple syrup, sea salt and a tinge pepper. The mains that I chose are quick, easy and pantry friendly because my main goal is to get you started. You can really choose anything you want in terms of the veggies, dressing and mains and I highly encourage even more variety and fun on your end as you explore, but today is about simplicity and a step in the right direction.
Base, per 1 serving – (so chop more for as many salads as you are making)
½ red pepper, diced finely
2 tbsp diced red/purple onion
1 stalk celery, diced finely
¼ avocado sliced (I recommend adding this the day off)
*For a whole week I tend to use 2 red peppers, 1 whole onion, 1 whole bag of celery
Dressing, per 1 serving (make up however many servings you need in advance)
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 tsp apple cider vinegar
1 tsp 100% maple syrup
pinch of sea salt and pepper
Salad main examples
Salad # 1: 1 cup organic canned chickpeas + 1 tbsp hempseeds
Salad #2: 1 cup cooked quinoa* + 2 tbsp goats cheese (optional dried cranberries)
Salad #3: 1 can tuna (preferably Wild Planet or Raincoast Wild tuna) + 1 tbsp pumpkin seeds (optional finely chopped apple)
Directions
*NOTE
For salad #2 you will require pre-cooked quinoa so this does take a bit more effort. I always recommend that people have individual servings of pre-cooked grains in their freezer for easy access so keep that little tip in mind 🙂
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