Christina Najjar

Curry Kale Chips (vegan, paleo)

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I present you with… curry kale chips! I have a confession to make. I’m addicted to curry. Honestly, I’ve thought of curry-ing pretty much everything I eat. I mean, things that you would never think of flavouring with curry spices. Like kale chips. Or roasted pumpkin seeds. At least my addiction consists of a healthy spice blend, instead of something bad.

Curry Kale chips

I woke up in the morning and considered going to yoga, but since I did two back to back yoga classes the night before, I opted for a calm day, free of the stress of the one hour commute to the yoga studio (and the hour on the way back). So, I stayed home and made kale chips.

I like this snack because it contains antioxidants, minerals, and fibre. Plus, it can satisfy snack cravings really easily. It contributes to your daily intake of vegetables but has the flavour of a good afternoon snack. Don’t get me wrong. I would eat this as my morning snack in a heartbeat. Hell, I’d even make these curry kale chips part of my breakfast. But I do understand that others don’t enjoy savoury foods for breakfast.

Curry Kale Chips

Ingredients
1 small bunch kale
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp ground coriander
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/8 tsp cardamom
Optional: cayenne pepper to taste
Salt to taste
(You can just use curry powder instead if you prefer)

Directions
Preheat over to 350F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Wash and dry the kale. Remove ribs, tear into bite-sized pieces, and place on the baking sheet. Add the oil and the spices and toss to coat evenly.

Bake for 15-20 minutes, taking it out halfway through to toss around.

Acorn Squash Wedges (vegan, paleo)

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Happy December! Thankfully, this year hasn’t been too too cold just yet, unlike last year. I am trying to eat more seasonably, though, so I’ve been eating quite a few root vegetables this winter. I had actually never tried making acorn squash until yesterday, but I figured I really should. It turns out that acorn squash is one of the easiest winter squashes to cut. The first time I made spaghetti squash, it took me about 20 minutes just to cut the damn thing open.

Acorn squash wedges

I won’t try to take credit for this recipe because there are all kinds of variations on these online. I just figured I’d make this a little more allergy friendly. I enjoy this way of spicing acorn squash. It plays with the squash’s natural sweetness and gives it that warming quality. Make sure you have a sharp knife before starting, or you may end up fooling around for a while, or cutting yourself.

Acorn Squash Wedges

Ingredients
2 acorn squashes
2 tbsp coconut oil, preferably in liquid form
1-2 tbsp coconut palm sugar (or to taste)
Salt, pepper, and chili powder to taste

Directions
Preheat oven to 400F (or preheat it when you’re done cutting the first acorn squash).

Cut the squash into wedges. To do that, use a sharp knife to slice off the top to remove the stem. Then, slice the acorn squash where there are ridges.

Place the wedges into an oven-safe pan. Spread the oil and coconut sugar evenly between the wedges, then add salt, pepper, and chili powder.

Cook for 20 minutes. If sauce starts to accumulate at the bottom of the pan, pour it back onto the wedges. Continue to cook the squash for another 20 minutes.

Let cool for a few minutes before eating, but serve it hot.

Stove Top Flatbread (vegan)

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You may be wondering why I would choose to make a flatbread on the stove top. The most frustrating thing I found when I first moved in to my current place, back in May, is that the oven is so small that none of my nice stoneware pans fit in there. The only thing that seems to fit is those disposable grocery store aluminum pans, but in nutrition school, we’ve been taught that it’s unhealthy to cook on aluminum.

Quick and easy flatbread

I love to eat bread. I get tons of bread cravings, but when that happens, I try to make my own bread as much as possible. However, when I don’t want to take the time to let a loaf of yeast bread rise, I usually opt for flatbread. Thanks to my tiny oven, this has been a bit more difficult to manage.

On Monday, I decided I’d had enough of letting this tiny oven run my life (well, so to speak). I decided I was going to make bread on my stove top, but I couldn’t really find a recipe I liked. I’ve recently noticed that I’ve become so familiar with the vegan/gluten free chemistry that I can invent recipes and get them right on the first try. My only complaint the first time I made this flatbread is that it didn’t look pretty enough to photograph, so I made it again on Wednesday and made sure to “roll” it out in a slightly more attractive manner.

Stove Top Flatbread (vegan, refined sugar free)

Ingredients
1/2 cup brown rice flour
2 tbsp tapioca starch
1 tbsp potato starch
3/4 tsp xanthan gum
1/2 tsp baking soda
sprinkle of salt
3-5 tbsp water (start with 3 and add more, 1 tbsp at a time until everything sticks together)
1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar or lemon juice
1 tbsp maple syrup, honey, or agave (optional)
Oil for cooking

Directions
Mix the dry ingredients together. Add in the wet ingredients and mix well. You may need to go in with your hands.

Spread a bit of oil in a frying pan. Spread the dough in the pan until it’s about 1/4 inch thick, or just over 1/2 cm.

Once the dough is shaped how you like it, turn on the heat to medium low. Check the bottom every few minutes. When it looks nice and golden brown, flip the bread and continue cooking until the other side is also nicely coloured.

This recipe makes one medium flatbread so multiply as needed, or split the dough into two smaller breads.

Healthy(ish) Candied Walnuts (paleo)

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Happy Halloween! I have chosen this day to come back from the dead to bring you some candied walnuts. In my rather long absence, a lot has changed in my life (for the better). I finally started nutrition school. I thought it was going to be great. In reality, it is so much more. I get to learn about the topic I love the most, in the method I love the most, that is, holistically, with amazing and supportive people around me.

Candied walnuts made with coconut palm sugar or maple syrup

I’ve been on a bit of a candied walnut kick, lately. I can’t tell you how many batches of these I’ve made since Canadian Thanksgiving. I don’t think I’ve made them twice the same way, though. Since starting nutrition school, I’ve made a commitment to myself never to buy white sugar again. So, I decided to provide you with two recipes of candied walnuts (which can also be used with pecans, by the way) in order to let you decide which way you prefer your refined-sugar-free candied walnuts. While I very much enjoy both recipes, my personal favourite is method #2, though it doesn’t win by much.

Healthy(ish) Candied Walnuts

Method #1

Ingredients
1 cup walnut halves
3 tbsp maple syrup

Directions
Line a baking sheet (or any flat surface) with parchment paper.

Over medium heat, combine the two ingredients in a medium saucepan. Toss the walnuts around in the maple syrup every minute or so until the maple syrup starts to bubble slightly. At that point, start mixing it more often. As the walnuts become more difficult to toss around, make sure to keep them moving, otherwise you’ll end up with a big sticky blob.

They’re done when there no longer is any maple syrup swimming at the bottom of the saucepan, and the syrup on the walnuts starts to look granulated (about 5-10 minutes). At that point, quickly transfer the walnuts to the baking sheet and spread them out to prevent them from sticking to each other.

Let cool and transfer to an airtight container.

Method #2

Ingredients
1 cup walnuts halves
1/4 cup coconut palm sugar
1 tbsp coconut oil

Directions
Combine all ingredients in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Toss every 30 seconds or so for the first 2-3 minutes. After that point, keep the walnuts constantly moving.

They’re done when the oil-sugar starts to get really sticky and looks darker (about 5-10 minutes). At that point, quickly transfer the walnuts to the baking sheet and spread them out to prevent them from sticking to each other.

Let cool and transfer to an airtight container.

Sesame Noodles (vegan)

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Since I’ve been reading through my first book for nutrition school, I’ve learned a lot. One of the most important things I’ve learned so far is that there is a such thing as a noodletarian diet! Who knew? Reading about this diet gave me such a hankering for sesame noodles. It had been a while since I had made these, so I jumped at the occasion to make them again.

Sesame Noodles

So what is a noodletarian diet, anyway? It involves eating a lot of whole grain noodles. These noodles of course need to be accompanied by the other required nutrients, but they form the base of your meals. Sounds interesting to me!

To satisfy my noodle craving, I went to the natural food store by my apartment and bought a few different kinds of King Soba brand noodles. I bought a black rice variety, a brown rice/pumpkin/ginger one, and a brown rice and wakame type. They cook quickly and have a great texture. I definitely recommend them! The sesame noodles are great as a side, or can be turned into a whole meal by adding some kind of veggies and preferably a protein. I really gobbled these up.

I have orientation this week for nutrition school, and I’m so excited! Real classes start next week. Wish me luck!

Sesame Noodles

Ingredients
250g (about 9oz) whole grain noodles of choice (I used King Soba Brown Rice and Wakame)
2 tbsp toasted sesame oil
1 tbsp agave nectar (or other liquid sweetener)
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
Sesame seeds to taste
Optional: sliced green onions to top

Directions
Cook noodles according to package directions. Drain and rinse noodles. Add the other ingredients and mix well. Serve right away. Store extras in an airtight container in the fridge (if there are leftovers). Makes 2-3 portions.

Spicy Double Chocolate Cookies (vegan)

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I decided to make these spicy double chocolate cookies because of a very specific craving. Have you ever tried that Lindt Chocolate Bar with jalapeno? I quite like it, but because of the dairy, I try to avoid eating it (though I do sometimes indulge in chocolate with dairy). I’m a fan of the combination of spiciness with chocolate.

Spicy Double Chocolate Cookies

Today was my first day off in a while. I had just worked seven days in a row, and the days off I’d had before that were spent studying for the last exam of my degree. I was able to relax for the first time in a long time. I got in the mood to bake, and I thought of Fettle Vegan’s Dark Chocolate Rosemary Cookies. I made these once, and they were quite tasty. However, because I’ve been craving spicy chocolate for a while, I decided to use the base for that recipe, but to change up the spice. By the way, if you ever do want to try making rosemary cookies, I strongly recommend you try Fettle Vegan’s recipe.

These are addictive, so make sure you have people to share these cookies with. The spice proportions I provide are just enough to give the cookies a bit of a kick, but if you want the cookies to actually be straight up spicy, you’re going to have to increase the amount of cayenne pepper.

Spicy Double Chocolate Cookies (vegan)

Ingredients
1 cup teff flour
1 cup almond flour
2/3 cups cocoa powder
1/2 tsp xanthan gum
1/2 tsp salt
4 tsp flaxmeal
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tbsp cinnamon
1 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (or up to 1/2 tsp for spicier)
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup coconut oil, melted
1/2 cup water or non-dairy milk
2 tsp vanilla
Chocolate chips to taste (I used 1/2-3/4 cups mini chocolate chips)

Directions
Preheat oven to 350F.

Combine all the dry ingredients. Add in the wet ingredients and mix well. Spoon out cookie dough balls on a cookie sheet.

Bake for 11-12 minutes. Let cool for a minute or two, then transfer to a cooling rack. Store in an airtight container at room temperature.

Makes about 3 dozen cookies.

Chocolate Nut Butter Chia Balls (vegan)

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Chia balls are a great solution to a need for an easy snack. They combine nut butter, chia seeds, and rolled oats to provide a variety of nutrients. Because the chia seeds in this recipe aren’t exposed to much liquid, they’ll expand in your stomach to keep you feeling full longer. For that reason, make sure to drink enough water after eating these chia balls.

Chocolate nut butter chia balls

It feels weird to say that at this time tomorrow, I will have sat through the last class of my undergrad. I think I was a little worried I wouldn’t make it. My final exam will be next Monday, and then I’m really actually done. Last week, I officially got my spot in nutrition school. Things are finally coming together. It feels good! I decided to ride the “high” and make the chia balls after work. These really don’t require too much work and are loaded with nutrients.

 

Chocolate Nut Butter Chia Balls

Ingredients
1/2 cup chia seeds
1/2 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup nut or seed butter of choice
2 tbsp maple syrup
1 tbsp cocoa powder

Directions
Combine all ingredients in a large bowl. Refrigerate for 30 minutes, then roll into 1 inch balls with your hands. Keep in an airtight container in the fridge.

Green Tea Muffins (vegan)

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I usually keep my posts nice and short, but this week, I want to bring up the issue of body image. If you would like to skip ahead to the green tea muffins recipe, scroll down to the picture.

For a very long time, society has told us that beauty meant being thin. While the definition of beauty has been expanded to include a bigger variety of body types, there still seems to be this ideal in place that being thin is attractive.

I raise this issue from the position of a small girl. I’m 5’2″ and wear size 00 or 0, depending on where I shop. It’s not that I’m unnaturally skinny; I just have a small build. I have what some people would call an “ideal” body shape: a small waist, and curvier hips.

So, what’s the issue? Let me bring up a few examples to demonstrate my concern. I work in retail, and my store has recently relocated. The new location has skinny mirrors, meaning that these mirrors that are designed to make people look thinner. I personally dislike the mirrors, but many customers seem to become excited at the sight of them.

Clothes shopping feels like an ordeal to me because I have such a hard time finding things in my size. Yet, when I complain to friends or coworkers about it, they’ll often take a sarcastic tone and reply something along the lines of, “Oh, poor you, you’re thin”.

Sometimes, conversations will turn to the topic of complaints we have about ourselves; “My feet are too big…” or “I’m so small that I never get taken seriously, since I look so young…”. What shocks me about these conversations is when someone’s complaint is dismissed with “Yeah but men like that”.

That should be plenty of examples to illustrate my concerns. Simply put, we are still letting society think for us. Rather than accepting our unique, beautiful bodies, we get stuck on how to fit a practically impossible mold in order to be perceived a certain way by others. That becomes exhausting quickly. Or maybe that’s just me.

The only person standing in your way is you. I know you’ve heard this many times. I feel that it applies here. Think of how much time to truly accomplish yourself would open up if you stopped getting stuck on the size of your thighs. On your deathbed, you won’t complain about how you wish you had toned your belly muscles more.

I have a lot of work to do that in that regard, but it’s always good to reflect upon these things. Hopefully, you’ll join me in my reflection in order to unleash your potential!

Green tea muffins

Now, the green tea muffins! I’m a fan of matcha powder, but it’s on the expensive side. I had 5 free bags of tea to claim from David’s tea so I ended up getting 4 bags of matcha powder. Not bad, huh? I decided to make these green tea muffins as a solution to my boredom with my breakfasts lately.

Green Tea Muffins

Ingredients
1 cup brown rice flour
1/3 cup tapioca starch
3 tbsp potato starch
1 tsp xanthan gum
3 tbsp organic cane sugar or alternative
1 tsp matcha powder
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup water
1/4 cup oil

Directions
Preheat oven to 350F. Grease 6 cups of a muffin pan. Avoid using muffin liners. No, seriously. The muffins will stick to the paper.

In a large bowl, mix the dry ingredients together. Add the wet ingredients and mix well. Spoon into the greased cups of the muffin pan.

Bake for 20 minutes.

Thyme Mushrooms (vegan, paleo)

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I would love to be able to socialise and attend all kinds of cool events and tapas parties. These thyme mushrooms would be such an easy dish to add to the menu. Maybe with some tapenade? They require little work, but still taste fancy. If you can make them in a cast iron pan, all the better. It will give them that extra bit of flavour and toast the cap nicely.

Make mushrooms interesting with this thyme mushrooms recipe

Unfortunately, there will be no partying for me this week. Things have been rough, physically. I feel like I’m getting next to no sleep and working rather long hours. A cold has been making its rounds around my work, and it appears to have found its way to me. I guess it’s a good reminder to take better care of myself.

I hope your week is better. Maybe you’re going to all kinds of cool tapas parties? I’m not going to lie, I made these right when I got home from work last night and wolfed them down because I was too hungry to savour them. You don’t have to wolf them down, though. Grab a toothpick and slowly enjoy this mushroom plate.

Thyme Mushrooms

Ingredients
1 package button mushrooms (about 225g)
1/4-1/2 tsp thyme
Coconut oil for frying
Salt to taste

Directions
Heat a bit of oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Throw in the mushrooms, cap-side down, and sprinkle thyme and salt. Leave the mushrooms to cook until the cap is nice and toasty, then toss around for about a minute to pick up the extra thyme and share juices.

Remove from heat and enjoy!

Black Pepper and Lime Potato Wedges (vegan)

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I eat potato wedges to forget… Have you ever gotten to the grocery store, only to realize that you didn’t have your wallet? I did yesterday. I only realized it after having put all the items on the conveyor belt, so I couldn’t just discretely put everything back and pretend it never happened. So, I decided to do my groceries at a different store today. Since yesterday, every time I’m about to step out, I check my purse about five times to make sure I have my wallet on me.

A good way to forget about these kinds of problems is to eat black pepper and lime potato wedges. I almost always make them using yellow potatoes, but for some reason, this time, I decided I’d go for red potatoes. It didn’t turn out as nicely as the yellow potatoes usually do, so I definitely recommend sticking to yellow potatoes.

Black pepper and lime potato wedges

Black Pepper and Lime Potato Wedges

Ingredients
1 package yellow baby potatoes (About 680g/24oz)
Zest of 1 lime
Juice of 1/2 lime
Loads of ground black pepper
Olive oil to coat
Salt to taste

Directions
Preheat oven to 400F.

Cut potatoes into wedges. To do so, cut them in half. Lay the flat side down and make three wedges out of each half. Mix the potato wedges with just enough olive oil to coat them, salt to taste, and loads of black pepper. And I mean LOADS. Lay them out evenly on a baking sheet and cook for about 40 minutes, or until cooked to your liking, taking them out halfway through to toss them.

While the potatoes cook, zest the lime.

When the potatoes are done, toss in the zest and squeeze half of the lime over the potato wedges. You can add more lime if the lime is small or if you simply like extra lime.

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Christina Najjar - Natural Nutrition

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Livewell Myofascial Release
2122B Montreal Rd
Ottawa ON K1J 6M7
T: (613) 706-2811

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231 Lisgar ST
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T: (613) 680-4325

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