Ingredients:
Main: (serves 1)

• 1 cup leafy greens
• ½ cup quinoa
• ½ cup bell peppers
• ½ cup tomatoes
• ¼ cup olives
• 1 cup spiralized zucchini

Dressing: (makes 5, 2 oz. servings)

• 1 cup walnuts
• 1 cup spinach
• ¼ cup nutritional yeast
• 1 clove garlic
• ¼ cup lemon
• Oregano to taste
• Basil leaves to taste
• Water to desired consistency

Directions:

• Cook quinoa
• Add all main ingredients to a bowl
• Blend all dressing into a high-powered blender and add water till you reach desired consistency
• Top bowl with 2 oz. of dressing. 

1 serving = 368 calories

Dana Clark, CNHP CHC CHN CLE

Ingredients:
Main: (Make’s 1 serving)

• 1 1/2 cups of chickpeas
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp coriander
• 1 tsp turmeric
• 1 tsp ginger
• 1 tsp hot paprika
• 1 cup leafy greens

Directions:

• Mix chickpeas with spices,
• Add leafy greens to eating dish and pour seasoned chickpeas over top
• Blend sauce ingredients adding water to reach desired consistency, drizzle 2 oz. over your dish. 

Optional:  You can add the Caesar Dressing used in the Chickpea Caesar Salad

1 serving is 463 Calories, Nutrient Balance Score 71, Amino Acid Score 102
​Dana Clark CNHP, CHC, CHN, CLE

Ingredients:
Main (makes 1 bowl)

• 2 cups leafy greens
• 1/2 cup chickpeas
• Onions to garnish

Dressing (makes 4, 2 oz. servings)

• 1 cup cashews
• 1/4 cup lemon juice, freshly squeezed
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 tsp capers (optional)
• 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
• 1 tbsp. onion powder (optional)
• Salt & Pepper to taste
• Water to reach desired consistency.

Directions:

• Prep main ingredients and add to a bowl
• Blend all the dressing ingredients adding water to reach desired consistency in a high-powered blender.
• Top your salad with 2 oz. of the dressing and garnish with onions. 

1 serving is 357 calories.

Dana Clark CNHP, CHC, CHN, CLE
Re-posted to my steemit account @danaclark 

When you are crazy busy and need to feed little people quick…turn to guac, you can even get them to do most of the work.

When embarking on healthy lifestyle changes many turn to healthy salads.  Sadly, a lot of the salads and salad dressings on the market are quite unhealthy.   When people clue into this they take their salad making to the extreme in the opposite direction and become what some of us call the salad martyrs. These individuals make salads devoid of caloric and nutrient dense ingredients and flavour.  Their salads don’t satisfy their hunger and are downright boring.  I can’t image how sad and depressing it would be sitting in a lunch room or with friends consuming one’s boring salad while they indulge in all the unhealthy addictive foods and feeling so hungry.  

The great news!  This does not have to be case.   Welcome to the Art of pumping up your salads. 

Choose nutrient dense and caloric dense ingredients, like seeds (for crunch) & legumes for resistant starches that will give you the energy to get you through the afternoon with stable sugar levels, regulated blood pressure and healthy digestion.   Add in some colour with veggies that smell and look delish, some whole grains like quinoa or wild rice for added texture and added fibre and nutrients.  You can also add in some Lacto fermented foods like pickles (choose wisely), or sauerkraut for your probiotics.  Top with a homemade creamy dressing (made with cashews, healthy nut butters or seed butters with tons of flavour).   Be super creative and make your salad a complete balanced meal that will get you through the afternoon!   Here is my recipe for a classic pumped up salad, although not colourful it smells delish.
Ingredients:
Main: (makes 1 serving)

• 2 cups leafy greens
• ½ cup tofu or baked/roasted chicken cut into strips or chunks.
• ¼ cup of beans (chickpeas, black beans, lentils…)
• 1 tbsp. hemp seeds

Dressing: (makes 2, 2 oz., servings)

• 1 clove of garlic
• 1-inch fresh ginger
• 3 tbsp. tahini
• 2 tbsp. white miso
• 3 tbsp. lemon juice
• Water to desired consistency

Directions:

• Prep main ingredients and add to a bowl
• Blend dressing in a high-powered blender, add 2 oz. of the dressing to your salad

Dana Clark, CNHP, CHC, CHN, CLE, owner of From the Roots Holistic

The above video is a perfect base for oil free hummus you can play around with it and come up with wonderful different flavours.  Here are few of our favorites.
Jalapeno, Cilantro Lime Hummus

• Follow the directions in the video and switch the lemon juice for lime
• Add in some Cilantro leaves (2-3 or more depending on taste)
• Add in a Jalapeno pepper

Dill Hummus

• Again follow the video
• Add in fresh dill or dried dill , lots to get that nice dill flavour going

Pumpkin Seed Oregano Hummus

• Follow the video but switch the tahini up for pumpkin seed butter
• Add in some fresh oregano or dried oregano to taste
• Once blended top with pumpkin seeds.

Olive Hummus (Thanks Megan D.)

• Follow the video but add in some of the juice from olives instead of some of the water.
• Chop up some olives and top you hummus

​Be creative and share your hummus creations in the comments below!

Perfect quick soup for the colder seasons.   This soup is full of probiotics, antioxidants & immune supportive ingredients.   

​Back to school! This time of year can be filled with a lot of joy coupled with a lot of anxiety for a number of reasons. One in particular that comes to mind: the dreaded school lunches!  

As parents we need to remember the foods we pack in our children’s lunches can have a beneficial impact or a negative impact on their school day. Processed packaged foods, even the ones marketed as natural, healthy or sugar free, are predominantly unhealthy and can impact our children’s health, ability to focus and their behaviour which can also have a ripple effect on the other students in their class. By packing wholefoods, we are giving their bodies all they need to stay healthy and alert. Not to mention a lifelong impact of good nutritional values they can take on into adulthood.

Here are some wholefood school lunch idea’s:
MASON JAR SMOOTHIE
Replaces the unhealthy sugar laden chocolate milk some schools promote.
• 1/2 avocado
• 1 cup of pineapple chunks
• 1 cup of spinach
• Water to desired consistency
Blend in blender Pour into appropriate size mason jar for your child’s appetite and lunch
box size. Put in freezer overnight. Take out first thing when you get up and pack in your
child’s lunch bag so it thaws throughout the day so they can have it at their last nutritional
break.  

Picky eater’s can make any meal difficult. So be creative and get them involved, countless studies show that children who are involved with the food they consume are more likely to eat it or at least give it a try.

BENTO BOX FUN
This idea replaces the unhealthy luchables full of unhealthy sugars, fats and questionable additives.
Purchase a bento box style lunch container. Go back to the basics.  It’s quick easy and healthy. Fill with
fruit, veggies and hummus or healthy homemade dip.

SPRING ROLL WRAPS
• Rice wraps
• Minced, grated or spiralized,vegetables your picky eater enjoys, tolerates or thinks is fun to work
with
• Drained and pressed tofu cut into thin strips or baked chicken/turkey cut into thin strips
• ¼ cup tamari sauce
• 1 tbsp sesame oil
• 1 tsp maple syrup
See rice wrap package for rehydration instructions. Have your child stuff his/her wraps with the veggies and tofu/chicken/turkey Wrap up the ingredients and bake in the oven at about 400 degrees F, turning often
to avoid having the wraps stick to the pan (be sure to use parchment paper) bake until firm.
Mix the tamari, sesame oil and maple syrup and pack in a container for dipping.

LEMON DILL BEAN SALAD
Save time by meal planning for the week and considering your children’s lunches. Make hearty wholefood
soups, bean salads, rice casseroles and other healthy family favorites.  Make lots for lunches the next day.
• 1 cup of chickpeas
• 1 cup lima beans
• 1 cup black beans
• 1 cup peas
• ¼ freshly squeezed lemon juice
• ¼ organic sunflower oil
• 2 tbsp. dried dill weed or 4 tbsp.  fresh dill weed
• Sea salt and pepper to taste
Toss the beans together and mix in the lemon juice, sunflower oil, dill, salt & pepper.  Refrigerate for one to two hours before serving. Serve over a bed of leafy greens or toss into containers for lunch the next day.

Dana Clark, CNHP, CHN, CHC owner or From the Roots Holistic, Certified Holistic Nutritionist at SBJJ & Muay Thai Academy.  
​Published in the Alive + Fit Magazine Fall 2016 page 30.