Strawberry Pineapple Sangria

Just in time for the long weekend, here is a lovely, fruity drink to enjoy while sitting on the patio with friends!  This sangria is delicious!  I love sangria because it is easy to make, yet is quite impressive, and since you make it ahead of time, you can enjoy your company, rather than spend time mixing up drinks. This version makes use of in-season strawberries and pineapple too!

Do you have plans for the long weekend?  It's Victoria Day weekend in Canada, so we get to celebrate the unofficial start of summer a week earlier than our American friends. 

My parents are driving up from Virginia to visit this weekend, and hopefully, we will have a chance to enjoy some beautiful weather and the sights around Ottawa!

Strawberry Pineapple Sangria

Adapted from My Life as a Mrs.

750 ml bottle of semi dry white wine (look for something described as fruity or citrusy)
1 1/2 cup pineapple juice
3/4 cup silver rum
1/3 cup lime juice
1/4 cup simple syrup
1 cup diced pineapple
1 cup diced strawberries
3-4 sprigs mint, gently squeezed with hands to release the oils

Stir together the liquid ingredients, then add fruit.  Allow the sangria to sit for a few hours before serving.  Add the mint just before serving.

Halibut with Citrusy Tomatoes and Capers

I initially didn't really like this halibut.  But, then I had it for leftovers, which I rarely do with fish, and it was way better.  I'm not sure how to remedy that, but perhaps you could finish cooking the halibut in the sauce?  Let me know if you try that!

The great thing about this dish is that it is super quick.  This was supposed to be a nice date night meal, but my date had an emergency, so I ended up cooking this up quickly and heading out to a pub to watch a hockey game.  I served the halibut with some quinoa and broccoli, and the whole thing took under 30 minutes to prepare!  In the end, my date got some leftovers too, and he also loved it.

Halibut with Citrusy Tomatoes and Capers

From Real Simple


1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon olive oil
2 cloves garlic, sliced
1 pint grape tomatoes, cut in half
1/2 cup fresh squeezed orange juice
1/2 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley
2 tablespoons capers
kosher salt and black pepper
4 6-ounce pieces skinless halibut fillet or some other firm-fleshed white fish


Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and cook, stirring often, until fragrant, about 30 seconds.

Add the tomatoes, orange juice, parsley, capers, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper and simmer until the tomatoes begin to break down, 4 to 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat the remaining teaspoon of oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.

Season the fish with ¼ teaspoon each salt and pepper. Cook until opaque throughout, 3 to 5 minutes per side. Serve with the tomatoes.

Black Bean Brownies

Happy Friday! You deserve a little treat to celebrate.  And what is better than a treat that tastes decadent and delicious, but is actually not terrible for you?  These black bean brownies fit the bill.  They are full of chocolatey flavour and so moist.  You will love them and not even wonder why there are black beans in your brownies.

Hope everyone has a fun, fabulous, and healthy weekend.  Sneak in a few treats and enjoy the sunshine! (Or in my case, I will be enjoying the rain I guess). 

Black Bean Brownies

From The Best of Clean Eating

1 ounce dark organic chocolate (70% cocoa or greater)
1 1/2 cups black beans, rinsed and drained
2 eggs
1 egg white
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 heaped cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/2 cup raw organic honey
1/2 cup chopped unsalted walnuts

Preheat oven to 350°F.  Spray an 8x8 inch baking dish with olive oil cooking spray (or line with parchment).

Melt dark chocolate in a small saucepan over low heat with one tablespoon water mixed in.

Combine melted chocolate, beans, eggs, egg white, oil, cocoa powder, baking powder, vanilla, applesauce and honey in a food processor.  Process until smooth.  Stir in walnuts and pour mixture into the baking dish.

Bake at 350°F for about 30 minutes.

Thai Kale Salad with Peanut Lime Dressing

What do you do when you've gotten off track with your eating habits?  Or when you've had an over-indulgent weekend?

Well, my body told me what to do after a weekend full of fun -- Kentucky Derby, a wedding, and Cinco de Mayo -- and my body told me to eat vegetables.  As many vegetables as possible.

Then inspiration hit me and I decided to make a salad, with a dressing so delightful that I would definitely be satisfied.  It has also been helpful to have the Tone It Up community keeping me inspired and helping me hold myself accountable.  TIU (and Chris Powell Bode) has also inspired me in the kitchen, as I've had to get creative to think up fun and delicious ways to feed my body the good stuff - lean protein and tons of veggies.

And then there is this salad, which is full of crunchy vegetables and bright colors.  It looks like a party in a bowl and tastes like a party in your mouth.  The dressing is one of my favorites as well.  It makes anything taste better.

Thai Kale Salad with Peanut Lime Dressing

1 head kale, washed and cut into thin strips
1 medium beet, peeled and grated
1 large or 2 medium carrots, peeled and grated
2/3 yellow bell pepper, slivered
2 mini cucumbers, sliced
2 tablespoons chopped peanuts
2 tablespoons toasted coconut flakes

Dressing:
2 tablespoons natural peanut butter
2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
1/2 tablespoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon Bragg's amino acids
Squeeze of half a lime
1/2 teaspoon honey

Prepare the dressing first.  Microwave the peanut butter for about 15-20 seconds.  Whisk in the rest of the dressing ingredients (feel free to adjust the amount of honey / lime juice to your preference).  Pour half the dressing on the kale and massage with your hands.  Let the kale sit for 10 minutes, then add the rest of the vegetables and dressing.  Sprinkle peanuts and coconut on each serving.

I served this with baked chicken breast (bake for 15 minutes per side at 375°F).

Chicken Quinoa Meatballs

When I was in San Francisco, my friend had a container of the most addictive meatballs in her fridge.  So addictive that we polished them off and I had to trek over to Whole Foods to get us some more.  I took down the ingredients in my iPhone's notepad and vowed to try to make the meatballs myself when I got back to Ottawa, since we don't have a Whole Foods here. (Dear WH execs, please put one in Ottawa, thanks! Oh yea, Trader Joe's, you should come here too.)

Anyways, these delicious chicken quinoa meatballs are so simple and full of fresh, wholesome ingredients!  You will not feel one bit of guilt in eating these!

And these are perfect for my new Tone It Up lifestyle. In the past week, I've jumped on the TIU bandwagon for the 3rd annual Bikini Series, and it has been an incredible ride so far.

Tone It Up was started by two amazing trainers and nutritionists, Karena and Katrina.  These girls are best friends, and seriously, take one look at them and you'd be inspired to listen to every word they had to say to help you work on your bikini body!! Their program is all about eating lean, clean and green and being strong, fit women.  They have some great workout DVDs and post tons of workouts and YouTube videos on their blog. There is also a TIU nutrition plan (in regular, vegetarian, gluten-free, and pescatarian), that I haven't yet purchased (it is a lifetime membership for $150), but I am considering it, because from everything I have heard, it is totally worth it.  For now, I am sticking with my Chris Powell Bode transformation plan, which is similar in that it focuses on eating 5 small meals during the day that are full of lean protein and lots of veggies, with a limited intake of complex carbs.

My favorite part of TIU though is that Karena and Katrina (the other K&K) created a community for women to support each other as they work toward living a healthy and fit life.  And this community is awe inspiring!  I've already become friends with so many incredible women, who are so supportive of each other.  And some of my friends have joined me in the Bikini Series too!  It is so fun to check-in with each other and help each other stay on track.  It has been a fun journey so far and I can't wait to rock my bikini body this summer!  You can follow along on my Instagram account or join the Bikini Series yourself!!  And continue to check back for recipes as I work on eating clean.

Chicken Quinoa Meatballs

1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breast - (or 1 lb. lean ground chicken)
3/4 cup cooked quinoa
3/4 cup grated carrot
2 tablespoons fresh parsley, minced
1 small yellow onion, minced
1/4 cup Italian breadcrumbs (or panko + 1 teaspoon dried oregano)
2 tablespoons skim milk
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon sea salt

I recommend grinding the chicken breast yourself.  I did this in a food processor.  The texture is better and frankly, sometimes ground meat scares me.

Preheat the oven to 400°F.  Place a wire rack in the bottom of a jelly roll (rimmed) baking sheet).  Spray the rack with cooking spray.

Mix together all of the ingredients so that they are well combined and so that quinoa and carrots are evenly distributed throughout.

Roll the mixture into balls (you can decide how big to make them, but the cooking time listed is for balls about 1-1/2 inches in diameter).  Place the balls onto the wire rack.

Bake for 25-30 minutes (or until juice runs clear).

Makes 16-20 meatballs (depending on size).

Healthier Baked Oatmeal

It is that time of the month again.  It is Secret Recipe Club reveal day!  Every month, the bloggers in the Secret Recipe Club, are assigned the blog of one of the other members to explore.  After browsing our match's site secretly, we each pick a recipe, make it, photograph it, and share it with you on reveal day.

This month, I was assigned Making Miracles, a blog written by Rebekah, to share both her journey as a surrogate and her love of cooking.  I have to admit that I didn't know much about surrogacy, but if you are ever curious, Rebekah shares her experiences, the highs, lows, and everything you'd ever want to know. She also has a blog packed with tons, and I mean tons, of delicious recipes!  I know that I say this every month, but again it was difficult to choose just one!

In the end, I decided to make baked oatmeal.  It is something that I have wanted to make for a long time, because I've always been drawn to its convenience and my idea that it must taste like a big oatmeal cookie.  Now, who wouldn't want that for breakfast! I've also recently joined the Tone It Up community, and I kept seeing baked oatmeal pop up in my Instagram feed.  I will tell you more about my TIU journey/plans tomorrow or Wednesday, but in the meantime, I will just say that because of TIU, I had to at least attempt to make Rebekah's Baked Oatmeal a tiny bit healthier.  So there is a bit of extra protein in there and coconut oil instead of butter.  You can also feel free to add in your own treats - nuts, coconut, fresh or dried fruit - there are tons of options!

Oh and the verdict, this definitely tastes like oatmeal cookies for breakfast. It is a winner!

Healthier Baked Oatmeal

Adapted from Making Miracles

3 cups oatmeal
½ cup brown sugar (I might cut this down to 1/3 or even 1/4 cup next time, as I prefer mine less sweet)
½ cup coconut oil (melted)
2 scoops vanilla protein powder (optional, my scoop is 30 grams)
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups skim milk (almond, coconut, or soy would work too)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup chopped raw pecans (optional)
1/4 cup toasted coconut (optional)
2 tablespoons ground flax seed (optional)

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Mix all of the ingredients together, stirring well until completely combined.  The mixture will be quite "soupy."

Pour the batter into a greased casserole dish (mine was round, 8 inches across).

Bake for 30 minutes, or until the center is set.

Buffalo Chicken Flatbread Pizza

If you love Buffalo chicken anything as much as I do, you may want to go make these flatbread pizzas immediately.  I don't know why I never thought to put Buffalo chicken with cheese, but I'm glad that I finally did it.  These pizzas are spicy and full of gooey melted cheese.

Find someone to share these with, because the pizza is quite addictive and you may find yourself caving to your cravings for another 3 slices.  I can't think of anyone who might do that. (Me. The answer is me. Oops!)

Okay, I promised a life update and to be honest, there is a too much to tell you.  This week has been crazy busy, but I will have time to sit down this weekend and write a full post.

I'm also going to do an update to the K&K Test Kitchen Facebook page this weekend too, so stay tuned for that!  Please hold me accountable.  Someone tweet me or comment here or on Facebook if the page still looks the same Monday.  Call me out.  Okay, thanks. Haha.

Buffalo Chicken Flatbreads

Adapted slightly from Simply Scratch

2/3 cup Frank's Red Hot sauce
2 tablespoons Unsalted Butter
Salt and Pepper to taste
2 Naan flatbreads
1 cup skim mozzerella cheese
2 cups shredded, cooked chicken
2 tablespoons blue cheese, crumbled
Green onions or cilantro, to top the pizza

In a small sauce pan, over low heat, combine the Frank's, butter, salt and pepper. Whisk until butter is melted.

Preheat your oven to 425°F and lightly spray a rimmed aluminum baking sheet with cooking spray.

Place the two naan flatbreads on the sheet pan and then spoon on desired amount of buffalo sauce on to both (this is your "sauce"). Then top each with shredded cooked chicken, shredded Mozzerella cheese and sprinkle with the crumbled blue cheese. Drizzle a little bit more of the buffalo sauce and save the rest for a different recipe.

Bake in the oven for 10-12 minutes or until the naan is crispy and the cheese is melted and slightly golden brown in spots.

Remove, let cool before slicing and then top with sliced green onions.