All posts by Robin Walsh, ND

Un-chocolate Cake

Recipes

Raw whole food goodness! Serves 12. I recently made this recipe for my friend’s birthday. Everyone loved it! I never would’ve imagined that this combination of ingredients could become such a decadent dessert.

Warning! 100% of the original nutrients are present in the final product. Since none of the vitality has been destroyed with heat, you may experience feelings of health, happiness and enlightenment with each bite.

Cake:

  • 5 cups ground walnuts
  • 3 cups raisins
  • 3 tbsp raw carob powder
  • 1/2 tsp sea salt
  • 1 cup dry, hulled buckwheat
  • Mix well and form into a cake shape on a serving plate/platter

Icing:

  • 1/2 cup water
  • 1 cup raw tahini
  • 4 tbsp raw carob powder
  • 1 tps vanilla

Pour the water into the blender first, then add remaining ingredients and blend until smooth and creamy. Spread icing evenly over the cake or squeeze using a decorating bag if you want to be even more creative. Decorate with fruit, berries and or nuts (I used lots of raspberries on top). Chill.

Live Cocoa Truffles

Recipes

You won’t believe how delicious these are!

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup Walnuts (unsoaked)
  • 1 Tbsp almond butter
  • ½ cup dates
  • ¼ tsp sea salt
  • 2-4 Tbsp raw carob or cocoa powder
  • 2-4 Tbsp water
  • ½ cup dried coconut (optional)

Directions:

  1. Blend the walnuts and dates in a food processor until smooth
  2. Mix in the almond butter, cocoa, salt and water. Add more water if necessary so mixture doesn’t stick
  3. Roll into small balls and roll in coconut or cocoa powder if desired

Raw Falafels

Recipes
  • 1 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
  • 1 cup loosely packed parsley
  • 1 cup tahini (sesame seed paste)
  • 6 cups sprouted chick peas (garbanzo beans)
  • 1 minced onion
  • 2 Tbsp cumin
  • 2 Tbsp nutritional yeast

Blend the first 3 ingredients in a blender or food processor until smooth. Add the remaining 4 ingredients and blend again until smooth and combined. Grind the sesame seeds in a spice or coffee grinder. Mix into the falafel batter. Form into balls or patties and place on a cookie sheet. Dehydrate at 100F for 10 hours. If your oven doesn’t go this low, keep the door slightly open. Flip once during drying time.
Sprouting chick peas: cover peas with water and soak for 24 hours. Rinse 2x per day until spouts are as long as the bean itself (approx 2 days). Create your falafels and enjoy all the tasty goodness!

Marinated Italian Salad

Recipes

This distinctively Italian salad is a popular summer favorite. It’s fast and impressive!

Serves 5 prep time: 10 min

  • 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved and seeded
  • 1 medium green pepper, seeded
  • 8oz provolone or mozzarella cheese
  • ¼ cup black olives
  • 1 med red onion
  • 2-3 sprigs fresh basil leaves, torn
  • ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
  • ½ tsp sea salt
  • 3-4 grinds fresh pepper

Wisk dressing ingredients and toss with chopped veggies and cheese. Serve immediately or marinate 1-2 hours in refrigerator.

Homemade Nut & Honey Energy Bars

Recipes

These delicious high protein, high fiber treats are great as a pre or post workout snack.

  • 1 cup oatmeal
  • 1 cup granola
  • ¼ cup sesame seeds
  • ¼ cup flax seeds
  • ½ cup wheat germ
  • ½ cup bran
  • ½ cup protein powder, soy or whey
  • ½ tsp. cinnamon
  • ½ cup maple syrup
  • ½ cup honey
  • 1 cup peanut butter
  • ½ cup pecans
  • Optional: ¼ to ½ cup coconut, raisins, or dried fruit

Grease a 9 x 13 inch pan or 10 x 10. Mix dry ingredients. Mix peanut butter, honey and maple syrup in a saucepan and stir until very hot, but don’t boil! Pour and mix over dry ingredients. Press into pan. Let it sit for 24 hours in fridge. Cut into bars. Wrap individually or store in airtight container in the fridge or freezer.

Eggless Mayonaise

Recipes

To avoid excess cholesterol, use this spread as a replacement for butter when possible. Mixing it with chicken, tuna or salmon makes a great sandwich.

Ingredients:

  • 1 tbsp ground brown rice
  • 8 tbsp pure water
  • 2 tbsp soya flour
  • 3 tbsp wine, cider vinegar or
  • lemon juice
  • 8 tbsp sunflower oil or flax oil
  • 2 tsp honey
  • ½ tsp sea salt (optional)
  • 1 tsp gluten free ready made
  • mustard

Preparation:

  • Place the ground rice in a small saucepan with the water and cook while you stir for about 4 minutes. The mixture should be smooth and thick. Leave it to cool.
  • Press the soya flour with the back of the spoon to remove any lumps and place it in a blender with the rest of the ingredients and blend to a cream
  • Store covered in the refrigerator for up to 1 week…use as required

Fruit Smoothies

Recipes

This refreshing fruity drink can be sweetened further by increasing the maple syrup, which will also provide an increase in calcium. Bump up the volume of this drink by adding crushed ice.

  • 1 large seedless orange, peeled and chopped
  • 1 cup fruit juice (calcium fortified if possible)
  • ½ cup strawberries (or other fruit)
  • 4 ounces soft tofu
  • 3 tbsp maple syrup
  • 1 ½ tsp vanilla

In a blender, combine all ingredients. Blend on high for 30 seconds. Refrigerate until cold or add crushed ice and serve immediately. Makes 2 ½ cups.

This great receipe is from “Calci-Yum!” by D & R. Bronfman.

Sarah’s Chocolatey Soy Protein Bars

Recipes

These chewy low fat bars are rich in protein, fibre, and flavor, and they are so easy to make! A great alternative to the highly processed, prepackaged energy/protein bars.

Here’s the magic formula:

  • One whole package of medium firm tofu
  • 2 cups oats
  • 1 cup ground flax seeds
  • 1 cup cocoa
  • 1 cup fancy molasses or honey
  • 1 cup water
  • 1/2 cup sliced almonds

Mix all ingredients together in one bowl. The batter will look like mud! Form bars as you want them on a greased cookie sheet. Bake at 350F for approx. 20 minutes. Makes about 17 bars. Store bars in refrigerator. Enjoy!

Don’t Let Vacation Set You Back!!

Exercise, Weight Loss, , ,

I have been getting many questions lately about vacations, so I thought I would address it in this week’s blog. We all need, deserve and should take vacations…however we need to keep in mind that the majority of people will gain 10lbs in a week.

Now, those of you who have been working with me know that very rarely can you LOSE 10lbs in a week. So, with respect to vacation here is the trick…your goal is weight maintenance. Enjoy yourself, indulge but keep your healthy eating and exercise habits through your whole vacation.

Breakfast Tips

Many times it is really easy to start the day off right. Instead of choosing those high glycemic foods such as the waffles, donuts, bagels, toast – choose an omelet or fresh fruit and yogurt. If you just have to eat the waffles, then do it 1-2times per week instead of everyday…your waistline will thank you!

Eating Frequently

When people are away they tend to sleep in, have a huge breakfast and then a huge dinner drink lots of alcohol and don’t exercise…so it is no wonder that people gain 10lbs. The key is to keep eating frequently. Take a piece of fruit, nuts/seeds or some veggies as a snack. When we travel, we either bring protein and energy bars with us, or find a grocery store as soon as we get there to buy fresh fruit, veggies and nuts. If you are at a resort, take an extra piece of fruit for a mid morning and afternoon snack. If you sleep in, it is important to not get in the pattern of only eating 2 meals per day.

Watch your Extras

I know you are on vacation, but that doesn’t mean that the whole week can be a no holds barred eating frenzy. You need to pick and choose what you really want to splurge on. Sometimes we get into a pattern where the food is there, so you just eat it…you don’t really totally enjoy it, but you just eat it. Pick the things that you really enjoy. For some it might be dessert, for others it might be the fruity drinks with the pink umbrellas (frankly these are my favourites) or an ice cream cone. Indulge and enjoy in moderation.

Exercise

One of the easiest ways to keep that weight off is to keep your exercise habits up. Usually the all inclusive resorts have great gyms, which are surprisingly totally empty!! Structured exercise is the easiest way to keep burning off those extra calories that you are consuming in a day. Try to get there every day, or take one of the classes that are offered. I remember when we were in Dominican Republic they had great pool aerobic, and a yoga/stretching class on the beach. Try something you would never experience at home, like a salsa class…it is a great way to have fun and burn extra calories.

If you are touring a town or city, try going for a run or walk to explore the town. When my husband and I were in Australia and New Zealand for our honeymoon the first thing we would do is put on our running shoes and grab our camera and some money for a drink and go explore. You can see great sites, learn the layout of the city and get a great, fun workout.

Enjoy your vacation, just keep in mind that you don’t want to undo all the weight loss or progress that you have made in one week.

Finding Your Purpose

Goals, Visualization, ,

Why do we spend so much time thinking, breathing, learning and focusing on our health? What keeps remotivating us each year to set specific health goals, like losing weight or exercising more consistently?

Part of it is that we have enough knowledge to know that being overweight, or eating too many fats or sugars will increase our risk factors for developing chronic disease.  Or, some of you may have had a health scare like high cholesterol or a heart attack that motivates us to make changes.

For most of us we feel that improving our health is going to get us something specific. This could be more confidence, more energy, the ability to exercise, travel or play with your kids or grandkids. The truth is, your health is a vehicle to achieving what is most important to you in life.

The way to be successful in achieving the health you deserve is to first decide where you want to be and set specific goals about how and when you are going to get there.

The second step is to define why you need to do this, or what is driving you to make this happen.  For some of you the driving force may be that being at an optimal weight will give you the confidence to find a new job, or join a dance class. For others, it may be that at a lower weight you will be more flexible, have more energy and have an easier time getting around to play with your kids.  Whatever the reason,  we need to determine what it is that excites you, what makes you feel alive and in the those tough moments what you are going to focus on to remotivate you to exercise or eat well.

So, what I would like you to do is visualize yourself in the body you deserve. What is your optimal weight? Get in the body of you at your optimal weight…see it, and believe it!

In this state, I would like you to write down all of the ways that your life is going to be different in this new body. How will you feel? How will your confidence be? What will your energy be like? What will your health be like? What will you be able to experience?

I would like you to write down exactly how you are going to feel in this body, and be specific. When you are done brainstorming, I would like you to rank these in priority of which reasons make you feel most inspired.  Once you have these, I would like you to post these beside your goals and read these everyday.

Example – Jane Smith  130lbs  (current weight 175lbs)

1. At 130lbs, I have the confidence to go and interview for my dream job
2. At 130lbs, I feel more attractive and sexy
3. At 130lbs, I have the confidence to learn to salsa dance
4. At 130lbs, I have more energy, and be able to get down and play with my children

If you notice, all of these statements are in the present tense. Write this as if you are already in this body – feel how it would feel, and get excited!

It is important that you focus on what you want, and where you are going. When you do this, you are going to be more committed and your brain is going to see the possibilities and find a way to make this happen. It is also going to be much easier for you to stay on track and avoid temptation when you know exactly what you want, and where you are going.

Get inspired, you deserve it!!!