Black & White Quinoa Salad
Beautiful on a summer table as a main course or as a tasty side, this ancient quinoa salad has it all going on: substance, crunch, flavor, beauty, and pizazz!
Quinoa, a mildly nutty-flavored, nutritious, gluten-free seed, contains an almost-perfect balance of all eight essential amino acids required by our cells. It cooks up in minutes for a low-maintenance grain-like meal that goes with almost anything.
For this light summer salad, I combined black and white quinoa with meaty shiitakes and eggplant in tamari and maple syrup, then added some crisp summer market veggies and organic greens, and drizzled the whole bowl in a little olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Easy-shmeasy. (more…)
My favorite thing about southern California is not celebrities, or the weather, nor is it surfer boys, 
Mmmm… Drinking in the mellow goodness of summer with this thick and creamy smoothie that refreshingly fills the gap between meals - or even replaces one… I had this before a workout and was fully energized without feeling full.
If you have a 
Summertime and the livin’ is easy… Nothing defines summer better than the cool, clean taste of lemonade, and nothing gourmets up your homemade lemonade easier than some fresh organic market strawberries added for a divine blend of sweet and sour.
When I’m in California, I eat at least one avocado a day. I eat avocados straight from the skin with a spoon, halved, sprinkled with a little Celtic sea salt and squeezed with a drop of lemon. I eat avocados mashed into a two-minute guacamole with some diced red onion, a minced clove of garlic and a squeeze of lime. I eat avocados sliced onto a salad and drizzled with a little olive oil and apple cider vinegar. I eat avocados diced onto a bed of brown rice or quinoa. I blend avocados into chocolate mousse and I blend avocados into gorgeous green smoothies. Bang for buck, there is no feel good food I can think of that comes close to the nutrient density, deliciousness, versatility, and sheer sensuousness of an avocado. What’s your favorite way to eat avocados? 
You know it well - that moment when you open the cupboards and open the fridge and there is nothing to eat. No leftovers to nibble, no packages to tear into, no veggies in the crisper waiting to be tossed into a gorgeous salad, not even an overripe banana or a bag of trail mix - nothing - or so you think.
Happy June! Summer’s right around the corner, and along with the hot and sultry weather come cravings for fresh, whole fruits and veggies to quench your thirst and cleanse away internal cobwebs. The live food movement is growing like a weed, way beyond gag-inducing green smoothies and stringy sprouts. Raw restaurants are popping up from Arizona to Zanzibar and we’re starting to see uncookbooks claim an entire category of their own on the bookshelves - there’s never been a better time to get your raw on!
BBQ season is upon us in Toronto, and for every ten or twenty carnivores who show up at the staff picnic with their 
Chilled buckwheat noodles and greens together make a wonderful salad. Add an ume-apple dressing, a ripe avocado and some toasted seeds, and you have a delish, easy-to-prepare vitamin and protein-filled 5-minute meal you’ll turn to over and over again for lunch or dinner.
OOH this big fat spinach salad from 
There’s a reason asparagus is wildly abundant at this time of year at farmers’ markets across North America. Nature knows our body is in need of a spring cleanse, and asparagus is a superb and succulent detox veg.
Hummus, a lifesaving staple for chuppies, isn’t just for chickpeas. I like to make hummus with pinto beans, great northern beans, black beans or green lentils. For a totally raw and totally delish version of this yummy Mediterranean dip, grab a handful of organic almonds and whip up a fast batch of almond hummus. It’s easy-shmeasy.
Spring has turned up at the markets in the form of fresh, fleshy asparagus, crisp kale, dainty greens and baby broccoli. The spirit in nature right now calls for simplicity in cooking.
As the weather warms, the days lengthen and our winter’s excess starts to melt away from our bellies, our bodies naturally start to crave lighter, fruitier, more tropical foods. When we’re in tune with our bodies and the seasons, we’ll eat what nature intended and feel incredible.
I like to shop for food without a plan and let the produce tell me what wants to be eaten. The other day while strolling through Kensington Market in Toronto, I ended up in 4 Life, my favorite privately owned health food store in town. There’s not a huge selection, but that’s the beauty. What does end up on the shelves is only the freshest seasonal produce available.
These easy-shmeasy Banana Almond Cocoa Coconut Gooey Crunchy Delicious Oat-free Oil-free Raw Date Squares are the perfect food to grab either before or after a workout or a hike or just about any time you need an energy boost and a powerful pick-me-up between meals.
The list of health benefits that chocolate provides is long, but the reason we associate it with V-day is that it contains a natural substance which triggers the same reaction in the body as falling in love.
This is a perfect breakfast to have on a cold winter day. Toasted buckwheat porridge, or kasha as it’s called in Eastern Europe, is actually a seed, though it looks and tastes like a grain. It’s high in iron, is full of B vitamins, calcium and fiber, and contains all 8 essential amino acids.
So many ways to make a pesto, so many ways to eat it! Traditionally you’d blend basil with olive oil, garlic, and parmesan cheese and toss it with pasta - easy-shmeasy.