vegetarian

Grill On

Spring is here and we’ve been graced with warmer weather this season, putting me in total BBQ mode. Peppers, zucchini, beets, asparagus, any protein, pizza, peaches  – I’ll grill just about anything! And it’s no surprise that most items taste better on the BBQ, that summery taste of the grill comes so easy and leaves for little clean up – huge bonus!

Over the Spring/Summer season, I thought I would share some of my favourite picks for grilling, to help excite and inspire your grilling game. 🙂 Don’t mind the iPhone shots, I was serious multi-tasking when I thought this would be a good one to share. Hope you enjoy and please share what you’re grilling up this season! 
Most recently, I have been obsessed with grilled Kale. The flavours and texture add a unique twist on a regular salad. I love a raw kale salad and have found that adding in a few grilled leaves makes it even more amazing. It puts an interesting spin on a classic dish and helps change things up from salad to salad when you have a garden full of Kale – which I can’t wait for!
My Classic Kale recipe is oh so simple:
  • 1 garlic clove
  • 2 parts olive oil
  • 1 part lemon juice
  • 1 tsp lemon zest
  • salt, pepper
  • parmesean
  1. Mix together olive oil, lemon juice, zest, garlic, salt and pepper.
  2. Massage dressing onto the raw kale. The longer it sits, the more delicious it gets.
  3. Grill a couple plain leaves and tear into the dressed salad and enjoy!
  4. Add toppers if I have them on hand, currants, pine nuts, pistachios, pumpkin seeds, whatever might be in the cupboard.
Kale Salad
Next up, which has become a new favourite summer appetizer/snack of mine is from Canadian Living’s Summer Best special issue. Their recipe for Grilled Sesame Edamame is ahhh-mazing!!! As soon as I came across this one I knew it would be a winner, seriously so YUMMMM!!! Grilled Sesame Edamame
Grilled Sesame Edamame
  • 500 g edamame (defrosted)
  • 2 tsp sesame oil
  • 1 tsp toasted sesames
  • 1/2 tsp himalayan sea salt
  1. Skewer defrosted edamame, heat grill to medium-high heat.
  2. Grill edamame until golden 8-10 minutes.
  3. Toss in sesame oil, top with sesame seeds and salt.
  4. Serve warm.
    Grilled Sesame Edamame

Stay tuned for more of my favourite BBQ picks and don’t forget to share yours on instagram – #delsdish #delsgrill

Get Grilling! xx

Sweet Potato Veg-Carbonara with Spinach & Mushrooms

This recipe went viral on Facebook last week and I just had to try! Wow – what a dish, it is incredibly delicious and so easy that I have already made it twice this week! The texture of the sweet potato noodles are perfect and I quote from my pasta loving man friend  “I feel like I actually just had pasta, that was so good!” That’s success in my books!

Lately, I have been on a sweet potato kick -roasted, grilled, mashed, thrown into a smoothie or juice – sweet potatoes every which way. They are super delicious, versatile and as most runners know they are a great source of fuel for runs and a great source of recovery post-run. Not to mention all the other fantastic benefits which I’ve shared with you before – see post here. Trust me, you will love this dish and if you’re not into the carbonara or you are vegan – season with olive oil, salt and pepper and I guarantee it’ll be just as good!

Sweet Potato Noodles

Sweet Potato Veg-Carbonara with Spinach & Mushrooms (yields 4 servings)

  • 2-3 large sweet potatoes, peeled
  • 3 large eggs, beaten
  • 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground pepper
  • 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 8-ounce package sliced cremini mushrooms
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 cups of baby spinach
  • Basil and chilli oil to top

Ingredients

  1. Spiralize sweet potatoes into “noodles.”
  2. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add mushrooms and cook, stirring often, until the mushrooms start to brown, 6 to 8 minutes. Add garlic and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add spinach and cook, stirring, until wilted, 1 to 2 minutes.
  3. Cook the sweet potato noodles in boiling water, gently stirring once or twice, until just starting to soften but not completely tender, approx. 1 minute. Reserve 1/4 cup of the cooking water, then drain. Return the noodles to the pot, off the heat.
  4. Combine eggs, Parmesan, salt, pepper and the reserved water in a bowl and mix.
  5. Pour mixture over the noodles and gently toss with tongs until evenly coated.
  6. Add the vegetables to the noodles and toss to combine.
  7. Top with a generous grinding of pepper, Parm, and basil.

Sweet Potato Veg-Carbonara YUM! xx

 

Socca with Caramelized Onion, Asparagus & Micro Greens

This was my first time trying to make Socca and it was a success! A high protein gluten-free traditional Provencal flatbread topped off with some favourite ingredients. This recipe was seriously a hit and I’m thinking it may be a new at home pizza crust alternative! It is simple to cook, light and crisp with a delicious nutty flavour that will go with just about any topping. Made from chickpea flour, Socca ends up being a great source of protein, folate, iron and magnesium with all that yummy starchiness flavour.

This variation was inspired by Sarah Britton’s My New Roots recipe. Personally, I’m not a huge dill fan and opted to use what I had on hand to make this recipe come to life. Unfortunately, I didn’t get the best pictures because I was ravenous and dug into this beautiful dish too soon. Hope you enjoy!Socca with Carmelized Onion, Asparagus & Sprouts

Ingredients:

  • 2-3 medium sweet onions
  • 2 tbsp of coconut oil
  • himalayan sea salt
  • 2 teaspoons of balsamic vinegar
  • 2 bunches of asparagus (all green, or add in white or purple to jazz things up)
  • 1 cup of radish, arugula, ruby mustard micro greens or your choice of sprouts
  • 2 oz. goat feta
  • cracked black peppers
  • olive oil to garnish

Socca Ingredients: (makes 4-6)

  • 1 cup chickpea flour
  • 3/4 tsp himalayan sea salt
  • 1/2 tsp cracked black pepper
  • 1 1/4 cup warm water
  • 3 tbsp coconut oil, plus extra for cooking crepes
  1. To make the socca batter, sift the flour, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Whisk in warm water and oil, then let it sit, covered, for at least 30 minutes. Note- This can even sit all day.
  2. Over high heat, melt some of the oil in a large pan. Once it’s very hot, pour in one quarter of the batter and tilt the pan so it coats the base evenly. Cook for 5-8 minutes, until bubbles form on the surface and the batter turns from shiny to opaque, then flip over and cook for a few minutes, until browned. Remove from the pan and set aside under a tea towel to keep warm. Repeat with the remaining batter.Socca
  3. For the topping, heat coconut in a large pan, add the onions and salt, and stir to coat. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally. When the pan is dry, add the balsamic vinegar. Cook for 20-25 minutes, or until the onions are golden and caramelized, then transfer to a bowl.Carmelized Onion
  4. Preheat a grill pan over high heat. Rub the asparagus with the remaining oil, then add them to the pan and cook, for 5-10 minutes, turning once, until tender and slightly charred.
  5. To serve, cover each warm socca with the caramelized onions, asparagus, sprouts and feta. Season with salt and pepper and drizzle with balsamic vinegar.Soccer with Asparagus, Carmelized Onion & Sprouts

Dig in! xx

Just Juice

I’ll keep this short and sweet today, but thought I would share 3 juice/smoothie combo’s I am loving lately. I do recommend blending these fruits and veggies or doing half and half to ensure you are getting all the nutrients you can from these delicious foods. I often will find myself juicing the harder fruit and veg + any citrus first. And then taking that juice and blend in the more leafy choices (you’ll yield much more green goodness). Of course blending works with all these recipes, just be sure to add water!

This PineApple-Mint juice is a big favourite of mine! But be aware that it can carry a lot of sugar, so make this one more of a treat. I like to juice the pineapple and blend in the apple and mint. That way I get the most flavour from the mint and the fibre content of the apple skin. This one is so quick and delicious, you’ll want to make it all the time!

Ingredients

1 apple, half a pineapple, handful of mint

Ingredients

Next up, we have Sweet Carotene which is high in beta-carotene (see what I did there haha).

This immunity boosting nutrient works to protect against toxic free radicals. So load up on this one. 🙂

2 apples, 2 sweet potatoes, 2 carrots and 1 lemon.

Ingredients

Lastly, Lean Green. Which is great when you are looking for a reset. I often feel like this one first thing Monday morning,

after an indulgent weekend. First, juice the apple, lemon, cucumber, and celery. And then blend it with the spinach and romaine.

If needed add a touch more water and you are good to go!

1 apple, 1 lemon, 1 cucumber, 4-6 stalks of celery, 1 head of romaine and 2 cups of spinach.

Juice

Reset. xx

Oat Smoothies

Looking for a real treat? These breakfast smoothies will have you pleasantly satisfied for hours. Heavier than our favourite vegetable/fruit smoothies, but another perfect way to start the day, especially for when ravenous and on the go. Basically, it’s your oatmeal breakfast thrown in a blender.

Oats are a great way to start the morning, packing a great punch of nutrients and minerals. High in carbs, oats are a great source of energy and strength to kick start your morning. Check out these percent daily values for 1/4 cup!Oats Nutritional InfoFor their in-depth nutrition profile, check it out here.

Here are two variations for you to try out – you are in for a treat!Oat smoothiesNutty Banana Oat

Blend – 1 1/2 cups unsweetened almond milk, 1 banana (ripe or frozen), 1/2 cup gluten-free rolled oats, 2 tbsp natural peanut butter or almond butter, 1/2 tsp agave, 1/2 tsp cinnamon, & 1/4 cup ice.Peanut Butter Banana Oat Smoothie

Blueberry Banana Oat

Blend – 1 1/2 cups unsweetened almond milk, 1 banana (ripe or frozen), 1/2 cup gluten-free rolled oats, 1/2 cup of fresh or frozen blueberres & 1/4 cup ice.

Blueberry Banana Oat Smoothie

Also, don’t be afraid to add in some greens to the Nutty Banana Oat! Everything is better when you add kale. I added in 2 cups and I barely noticed a change in taste. Give them a whirl and let me know your thoughts!

xx.