I drove by Ottavio bakery and deli in Oak Bay yesterday and decided to go in and see if they have some interesting spices (or anything else) for me to experiment with. Guess what?! they did… I got a little jar with French lavender flowers and the recipe below is my first culinary experiment using them.

What you need

• 1/2 tsp dried French lavender flowers
• 1 tbsp organic coconut oil
• 1 tbsp honey (or Agave nectar, if you are vegan…)
• 1/3 cup cocoa powder
• 1/8 cup organic almond-hazelnut butter
• 1/2 cup almond flour
• 8-10 dates
• 1 tbsp chia seeds
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tbsp sesame seeds
• 1/8 cup rolled oats
• Shredded coconut (for rolling)
  

Start by processing the dates in a food processor until they turn into a paste, then mix everything together in a big bowl (except the shredded coconut). Use your hands… trying to mix all these ingredients any other way is not a simple task. Form into balls and roll in the shredded coconut.

There you go… that is all there is to it! Pretty simple and quick Please try making them and let me know what you think!

(Makes 8 golf sized balls)

What you need

• 1/3 cup coconut flour
• 2 tbsp almond flour
• 1 ripe banana, mashed
• 3 eggs, beaten
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 1 tbsp honey
• 3 tbsp non sweetened almond milk
• 1 tsp hemp hearts
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tbsp cocoa powder
• Unsweetened shredded coconut, for rolling

How to

• Pre heat oven to 375 degrees
• Combine wet ingredients well and add to the dry ingredients. Mix well
• Create little balls with the dough and roll in the shredded coconut
• Place on a cookie sheet and flatten with your fingertips
• Bake for ~10-12 minutes

Mine looked like this:

So I decided to make my own!

I always have various kinds of nuts and dried fruit in my cupboard, but I don’t always have oats, which is partially why Andrew showed up at my place one day with a bag of oats… he loves his oats in the morning When I made this specific muesli combination I had quinoa flakes lying around, so this recipe turned out to be gluten-free.

What you need

• Quinoa flakes
• Dried mango, chopped (organic and unsweetened)
• Pistachios, halved
• Honey
• Vanilla extract
• Dried cranberries (unsweetened)
• Shredded coconut (unsweetened)

The process

When I tried this recipe, I just threw things into a bowl without measuring anything properly. next time I make this I will measure things, but part of the fun is to just go by feel, right?

Just mix everything together and toast in a pre heated oven for ~10 minutes. Note that quinoa flakes toast faster than oats…

So the day before their race, I needed to distract myself… and decided to create a few new recipes! I think this one is worth sharing… I had Mari (Adam’s fiancee) try it and she approved too

What you need

• 1/4 tsp coconut oil
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 yellow onion, chopped
• 2 cups vegetable stock (home made is best… or low sodium)
• 2 zucchinis, medium size, chopped
• 2 cups kale leaves (~3 bunches curly kale)
• Juice of 1/2 lime
• 1/2 cup coconut milk
• 1 cinnamon stick
• Salt & pepper to taste

The process

• Saute the garlic and onion in a pot, with the coconut oil
• Add zucchini and stock
• Throw in the cinnamon stick, add salt & pepper and bring to a boil. You can also add the cinnamon stick a bit later, depending on how much you like cinnamon…
• Once boiled, stir in the kale until the leaves wilt. This will only take ~1 minute
• Remove cinnamon stick from the pot and remove the pot from the heat
• Blend everything together until smooth
• Add coconut milk and lime juice, then stir for ~5 minutes
• Taste, and add more salt and/or pepper, if needed

That’s it… Pretty simple! On a side note, all 5 athletes posted PB’s at IMAZ

Butternut Squash, roasted – 4 cups (post roasting)

6-8 garlic cloves, minced

1 red onion, diced

4 cups chicken stock (home made best, or low sodium varieties)

1 cup coconut milk

Thyme leaves, to taste

Salt and pepper to taste

2 large peppers, roasted (I used one red and one yellow)

How to

Roast the butternut squash and scoop out of peel

Roast pepper, peel and chop

Sauté garlic and onion, then add roasted butternut squash, pepper and stock

Bring to a boil

Salt, pepper and Thyme to taste and simmer for ~5 min

Blend everything together and add coconut milk. 

Simmer for another ~5 min

What you need

• 1/2 cup quinoa
• 1/2 cup almond milk
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 banana, sliced
• 6 dates, chopped
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 3/4 teaspoon minced ginger
• 1 teaspoon honey

How to

• Rinse the quinoa and heat in a pot for ~30 seconds before adding the water, almond milk, ginger and nutmeg
• Bring to a boil and reduce heat. Simmer until liquids are absorbed (~15 minutes)
• Turn off heat and let stand for a couple of minutes
• Mix in bananas and dates
• Top with honey

The ingredients

• 1/2 cup quinoa
• 1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk, vanilla flavor
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 cup fresh raspberries
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• handful of organic coconut pieces
• 1 teaspoon honey
• 2 tablespoons organic, non sweetened yogurt

How to

• Rinse the quinoa and heat in a pot for ~30 seconds before adding the water, almond milk & cinnamon
• Bring to a boil and reduce heat. Simmer until liquids are absorbed (~15 minutes)
• Turn off heat and let stand for a couple of minutes
• Mix in raspberries and coconut pieces 
• Top with yogurt and honey

Serves 2… but as usual, that depends on how hungry you are

As a special treat, I am offering 15% off all sports nutrition services  during November and December. Since team members get 15% off as it is, you guys will receive 20% off. Contact me for details. 

Noa

What you need

• 2 medium oranges
• 5 medium beets 
• 1.5 cups spinach
• 3 white mushrooms
• Handful pine nuts
• Fresh cilantro (to taste)
• 1 tablespoon goat cheese
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
• 1 teaspoon honey
• 1/2 teaspoon mustard

Note: I used spinach & beets from Madrona Farms, as their produce is definitely superior to anything you can get at the grocery store…

The process

• Wash the beets (I didn’t bother peeling them though), cut into cubes and boil until semi soft
• Peel the oranges and cut into cubes 
• Wash the spinach, dry and place in bowl
• Slice the mushrooms 
• Finely chop the cilantro leaves (leave the stems out) 
• Add the oranges, pine nuts, mushrooms and cilantro to the  bowl 
• When beets are ready, drain well and add to the bowl

The dressing: This one is pretty simple… just mix the olive oil, balsamic vinegar, honey and mustard together… thats it! 

• Add the dressing to the salad and mix well
• Top with the goal cheese

Thats it! Pretty simple to make. The quantities above should serve 3 people, but I guess that depends on how hungry you are

Noa

Noa