Comfort Food Recipe: Pumpkin Seed Kale Pesto on Brown rice pasta

Sep 12, 2011 • Categories: Recipes • by

Hello beauties,

I remember thinking that comfort food equated to the unhealthy, fattening kind of food. I feared comfort food like I fear margarine or mock-meat-burgers today. Guess what? You don’t have to be scared of “comfort food” if you are making the joyous-kind-of-comfort-food (and of course you move your body with regular exercise!).

So this past weekend I decided to lay low one night and make myself a comfort meal that was absolutely delicious, joyous-jammed with nutrients and tweet-worthy. It was warm, flavourful and very satisfying. I boiled some brown rice spaghetti and whipped up an awesome pesto with the bare essentials in my fridge. I created a meal that would make Chef Rocco of Enoteca Sociale jealous (my fave italian resto to Toronto!

Pumpkin Seed Pesto on Brown Rice (photo below)

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Grow Cool season veggies that pack a punch!

Sep 9, 2011 • Categories: Uncategorized • by

A note from joy: I’ve got a few spots left for Eat Well Feel Well starting on Tuesday. Check it out and register today if you want to secure the last spot. My superfoods workshop is getting close to capacity as well. Sept 17th – register today! !

I’m so excited to have Gabe from Verkade Design do a guest post for Joyous Health. Enjoy!

Are you a novice gardener? Don’t fret! Cool season vegetables are easy to grow. In fact, this is the perfect time to start growing your anti-oxidant, nutrient rich greens in your backyard or even on your balcony.  The following Fall favourites are moderately frost- tolerant so if you seed them now you will have fresh greens to put on the table at Thanksgiving!

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Smart Snacking: 5 Healthy & Tasty Snack ideas

Sep 5, 2011 • Categories: Recipes, Snacks • by

September always feels a bit like the start of a new year doesn’t it? The kids are going back to school and even if you don’t have little ones, you might be evaluating your health and wellness goals.. riiiiight? I know I certainly feel like it’s a fresh start. So let’s get right to it! Let’s talk about how you can avoid the mid-aft slump with smart snacking!

Why do you need to snack? It’s a great way to keep your fat-burning engines revving high, your blood sugar balanced and mindless eating far out of sight. I always have a light snack mid-afternoon so I don’t eat my way through the fridge when I get home in the evening.  Now, I believe it’s important to make sure your snacks taste amazing so you don’t feel restricted and “controlled”. Choosing healthy AND delicious snacks is a great way to have control with ease. Continue reading “Smart Snacking: 5 Healthy & Tasty Snack ideas” »

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Beautifying Local Tomato Salad with Fresh Basil & Avocado

Sep 1, 2011 • Categories: beauty, Recipes, Superfoods • by

Good day beauties,

I decided to take a trip up North to hang at my parents, get some work done, look after the animals (Frankie the poodle and Suki the most rambunctious cat ever) while they take a much needed vacay and of course, eat my way through Ma McCarthy’s organic garden. Little does she know there will be nothing left when she returns, hee hee.

Upon my arrival there were notes everywhere … my fave of them all was this one:

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Lentil Quinoa Loaf Recipe, Gluten-free, High in Protein & Fibre!

Aug 29, 2011 • Categories: Recipes • by

These positively beautiful energizing ingredients you see above are the main items in this loaf (all organic): oats, quinoa, curry powder, lentils).

Good day beauties,

Are you stuck in a sandwich-lunch-rut? If so, this recipe is going to save the day! Make it for dinner and then portion out the rest of it for a healthy energizing lunch, like I did for my sweet man. It is absolutely jam-packed with flavour. Aside from the taste, one of the reasons I love this recipe is because of the good balance of protein, carbs and fat. In fact, as a nutritionist, I find one of the most common mistakes people make is overdoing our fave feel-good macronutrient, carbohydrates. This creates an imbalanced diet which can lead to nutritional deficiencies and more commonly, carb and sweet cravings.

This delicious curry lentil quinoa loaf is great for the time-starved because you can make it on a Sunday afternoon and have it for dinner and get a few healthy lunches out of it. It’s full of fibre from the oats, lentils and vegetables. Fibre is important for elimination of wastes and toxins and prevention of many cancers including breast, colon and prostate. Plus, it keeps you fuller longer and balances your blood sugar.

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How to Make Peace with Your Body

Aug 28, 2011 • Categories: Best Body Ever, Inspiration • by

Hello Beauties!

Before I share my tips for making peace with your body, I want to tell you a personal story.

For a few years in my late teens and early 20′s, I wanted to be physically perfect.  My ideal “perfect” was a completely flat belly, jiggle-free buns and toothpick skinny arms. I would weigh myself every single day. As for my diet, I would control my food intake like a prison guard.

I would eat phood-like substances such as chemical-rich fat-free nutrient-dead salad dressing because I thought I could save some calories.  I would pour artificial sweeteners into my tea, even though it gave me wicked headaches and then for dinner I would eat Lean Cuisines full of over-processed almost plastic-looking veggies. I was completely nutrient-deficient and my imbalanced hormones were the end result of my deprivation and unkindness to my body.

Yes, I had a problem.

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Almond Coconut Power Cookies

Aug 26, 2011 • Categories: Recipes • by

I was experimenting in the kitchen with some almond flour and ended up creating some magic in the form of these delicious gluten and dairy-free gems.

Even as a kid I used to love combining ingredients and testing them. And to think it all started with an Easy-Bake oven one Christmas given to me by my great aunt. If you were a young girl in the 80′s (actually the Easy-Bake has been around since the 60′s), then you probably know exactly what I’m talking about. One word on cooking with a light bulb: AWESOME. I was already an enthusiastic baker at five (no you cannot make these cookies with an Easy-Bake).

Ma McCarthy, of course, tried out everything I baked and loved it all. But it was often my brother who kept me honest. Back then, my creations were a bit hit and miss, but fast forward to today and I’m proud to say that my baking is not only healthy (thanks to being a nutritionist), but delicious! That said, my brother is still known to turn up his nose if my cookies are what he calls “too healthy”. Little does he know I consider that a compliment!

Not only is this cookie chewy and delicious, but the ingredients make it superpower worthy, such as:

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Goat Cheese Strawberry Pecan Salad

Aug 23, 2011 • Categories: Recipes • by

If you’ve tried some of my other salad recipes, then you know how good a bunch of greens can taste. Making a side salad with dinner is one of the easiest ways to create a balanced meal, full of fibre, vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. Forget the pre-made salads sitting at the grocery store in plastic containers with questionable soggy ingredients. Instead, make your salad fresh with items found in your fridge!

I had leftover strawberries in mine from the pancakes I made on the weekend. These paired nicely with the goat cheese purchased during my Sunday grocery shop. As for the greens and pecans, both of these items are kitchen staples – meaning, I always have some sort of  leafy green in my fridge (kale, arugula, spinach or mixed greens) and nuts. These four ingredients were everything I needed for a yummy vegetarian dinner salad.

Goat cheese is smooth and creamy with a slightly sweet and sometimes salty undertone. You can find it in any health food store and now even most grocery stores. It is a great choice for cheese because it’s not homogenized (meaning the structure of the fat globule has not been changed) making it more digestible. Most cow’s milk (unless labelled non-homogenized) is always homogenized, otherwise the fat would rise to the top. However, many experts agree that lipase (your fat-digesting enzyme) has greater difficultly digesting fat when milk has been homogenized, making goat’s milk products preferable to cow’s milk for digestibility.

Digestion aside, goat cheese is a favourite of mine because it tastes so darn good. A source of the amino acid tryptophan, plus calcium, phosphorus, potassium and vitamin B2 up the ante on the health benefits of goat milk, most known for it’s bone-building ability. Many parents use goat milk as an alternative for their kids who don’t like cow’s milk or have trouble digesting it.

Strawberry Goat Cheese Pecan Salad

Ingredients:

4 large handfuls of mixed greens (your choice)
6 chopped organic strawberries
1/2 cup soft goat cheese
1/2 cup pecans

Mix all the ingredients together and toss with any one of these three delicious salad dressings.

Serves: 2-3 people

EnJOY!


Joy McCarthy, Registered Holistic Nutritionist and Health Coach of Joyous Health, loves to inspire others to eat well, live well and be happy.

Joy has clients from all over the world and consults via phone and Skype. Contact Joy today and take the first step to achieving joyous health. REASONS TO HIRE A HOLISTIC NUTRITIONIST.

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being grateful

Aug 23, 2011 • Categories: Inspiration • by

Every single day the world loses another soul, scratch that… many amazing souls. When it happens to someone close to us, it forces us to take stock of what’s really important. As you’ve probably heard, we lost Jack Layton today, an incredible politician, on Sunday there was a terrible tornado in Goderich, Ontario where one life was lost and many homes devastated and very recently, this amazing food blogger suddenly lost her husband.

This video really touched me, especially the outpouring of social-media-love. It relates to the food blogger who lost her husband.

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Wear the size that fits you now

Aug 21, 2011 • Categories: Inspiration • by

Hello beauties!

The other day I was shopping for a dress and I couldn’t help but overhear the woman in the change room next to me talking to her girlfriend. She was complaining about her body – her hips were too big, her boobs not perky enough and how much she couldn’t possibly bring herself to buy a size larger than she used to wear two years ago.

Translation? She was trying to squeeze herself into a dress too small.

So we’ve all been there – wearing a pair of pants just a little too tight on the waist or a blouse that looks like it’s about to pop a button. I was there too, but I don’t do it anymore because it really lowered my self-esteem and confidence. I was constantly trying to be something I’m not – a size smaller!

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