Sometimes you just need a cookie when a cookie is the last thing you need. I made these little cookie protein bites because I needed a cookie. Well, that's nothing new, I always need a cookie. But do you know what I mean? There are times when we think we need cookies, but really what...
The infinebalance Food Blog recipes
Grilled Potato Salad
A different take on a classic potato salad, potatoes are grilled on the BBQ. Perfect with your next summer BBQ party. Roasting the potatoes on the grill is surprisingly quick. The first time I had this potato salad it was the night before my wedding day. We had our rehearsal dinner in my in-laws' backyard...
Blueberry Banana Snack Cake
A sweet summer snack cake - Blueberry Banana Snack Cake. This healthy little snack screams summer. It's started. The mess we call summer has started. That constant state of disarray that comes with warm weather, days by the pool, the steady stream of neighbourhood kids and sunscreen. My kitchen is upside down, there are beach...
Quinoa and Avocado Salad
I have a special love for the avocado. I haven't found a dish that avocado doesn't make better. It's good in smoothies, desserts, and on any sandwich. Lately it's been in my breakfast - almost daily. But that is another story, and maybe another post. Avocado does awesome things to quinoa too. Other than needing...
Cranberry and Cashew Breakfast Muffins
Today I'm sharing a recipe for a yummy Cranberry and Cashew breakfast muffin. I hope that you are all lazing around this Sunday morning, perhaps celebrating Father's Day, and a muffin like this is what you need with your coffee. This is a moist and flavorful muffin. Yes, those are whole cranberries in there. I...
Refreshing Blueberry and Kiwi Smoothie
Energize your day with our delicious kiwi and berry smoothie recipe! This vibrant drink packs a healthy boost, perfect for breakfast or a refreshing snack. High in protein and full of fibre, this smoothie is one of my favourites in the winter months. Â More smoothie recipes: If you remember the candy, this smoothie has a...
Vegan Mousse {vegan, gluten-free}
This vegan chocolate mousse is the creamiest vegan desserts. Made with just a few ingredients, you can make this in a few minutes and it is relatively low in fat and calories.
Chocolate Banana Pancakes
Chocolate banana pancakes filled with bits of banana and extra crunchy from chopped walnuts. I call these our Funky Monkey Pancakes after our favourite Booster Juice Smoothie. Pancakes are not for busy weekday mornings. Or even busy weekend mornings when there is soccer games to go to or yard work to get done. A day off...
Orange and Cilantro Slaw
I ran 10 miles this weekend. Farthest I have ever, ever ran. I thought my knees were going to fall out. I hear Ottawa is a hilly place and I understand hills are hard on the knees. There are no hills where I live. It's as flat as a pancake. So I can't practice hills. When my Garmin...
Baked Lemon Donuts with Lemon Glaze
Super cute mini vegan lemon donuts with super easy lemon glaze. Perfect for sharing.
Easy Vegan Chickpea Tacos
It's Tuesday! Chickpea Tacos are a healthy and affordable weeknight meal. Easy and quick to throw together on a busy night. Perfect for meal prep too. These spicy chickpeas will work with all your favorite taco toppings. Vegan recipe. On the weekend I made a big batch of chickpeas in the slow cooker, see this...
Lighter Guacamole Recipe
Finally an easy, quick, and lighter guacamole recipe. This guac is what you want on your tacos, salads, and power bowls. It's full of flavor but has about half the fat and calories of most guacamole! And really, takes the same amount of time to whip together. Sometimes plans just don't work out. I had...
Curried Chickpea Wraps
Hey, hey!  Time for lunch. I will be the first to admit that I looove chickpeas. They are the smartest food ever. I mean they taste great on their own, but also take on some really cool flavours when mixed just right. Filling. Nutritious. And oh so versatile.  You probably have most of these ingredients...
Lemon Chia Seed Pancakes
So it's Sunday morning and you are wondering what to have for breakfast. Well, here it is. Lemon Chia Seed Pancakes. My husband made these for me one morning. Okay - he didn't make them just for me. He made them for himself too. But these are so special, it felt like he made...
Wilted Sprout Salad with Wheat Berries and Apples
This warm salad or side dish was inspired by Terry Walters book Clean Food. Â This is a mild dish, the flavours are not overly complicated or intense. I prefer it warm or room temperature. It packs well for lunch too. I've been eating away at my batch for several days and it is holding up...
Chocolate Peanut Fudge Dip
I'm fairly certain that in heaven there is a Blendtec because in my heaven there is this chocolate peanut fudge dip... Chocolate Peanut Dip recipe from Blendtec's Fresh Blends Cookbook Ingredients: 12 oz chocolate chips - semi-sweet 1 cup peanut butter, natural, crunchy 1 cup half and half or soy creamer Directions: Place all ingredients...
For the lunch box: Mediterranean Pressed Sandwich
A day off with no kids doesn't happen very often. With out any plans, my husband and I found ourselves at one of our favourite breakfast spots, Lakeside. A bakery. A café. The kind of place you don't know you are going there, but you end up there somehow..."Oh, here we are." While waiting for our breakfast and...
Back In the Kitchen - Weekly Prep and A Soup Recipe
Hockey season is over. Can I get a 'Yay!'? Honestly I didn't have it all that bad, we could have been much busier with hockey than we were. Still I'm happy to have my weekends back ... at least, until Soccer starts on April 20th I have a few precious Saturdays. Generally I like to spend a good...
Family Day Breakfast: Chocolate Oats with Pecans
Its Family Day and despite the intentions I set several days ago to clean closets and cupboards, it is 10am and I am still in my PJs. As I sit here and type the kids, also in their PJs, are watching a Harry Potter movie. I feel this could be the start of a HP...
Sunflower and cranberry cereal bars
If we ever bump into each other at the supermarket you will notice several boxes of cereal in my cart. The wanna-be health nut in me is totally embarrassed but trumped every time by practicality. I'm a mom after-all.  And as much as I would like to say my kids have smoothies, or oatmeal, or homemade...
Chipotle Black Bean Stew with Roasted Red Peppers
This chipotle black bean stew is packed full of warm-you-up spicy-ness, rich roasted red peppers and a hint of orange. THIS is the bowl of goodness you want after a day spent enjoying the winter cold. It will warm your bones. Addictively spicy. This recipe was originally posted in November 2012. I've updated the photos...
Spelt granola with orange and dates
Call me crazy, but I feel complete when I have a batch of homemade granola stashed in my pantry. Store-bought doesn't give me even the slightest bit of satisfaction. Sure it is easier and sometimes it even tastes okay, but store-bought granola in my pantry reminds me that I'm a busy mom and I can't do it all....
School food: A not so fishy, no tuna salad sandwich
Yep, you read that right. There is no tuna in this tuna salad sandwich. This stuff tastes so much like the real thing its kinda scary. Its totally vegan too. There was a time when a tuna salad sandwich was the best lunch of the week. It was a treat. For a while, earlier in...
Slow-Cooker Chipotle Black Bean Soup
A smokey black bean soup made in the slow-cooker with a hint of orange, oh and I painted the kitchen blue
Roasted Tomato and White Bean Crostini
So hey,I just wanted to let you know what I did with those yummy little red gems from the weekend. The next day, because that is how I roll, I tossed the roasted cherry tomatoes with some beans and garlic for a supper quick dinner. Crostini with a salad - so easy. 1 pint cherry...
Slow Roasted Cherry Tomatoes
I find myself in the kitchen today roasting tomatoes without a purpose. Today it's cherry tomatoes. I'm not sure what for yet… maybe for a dinner salad, maybe on a baguette or tossed with pasta... I'll figure that part out later. For now, aren't they pretty? Ironically, it all started with a few tomato plants....
Summer Fruit Jam
Once upon a time, many summers ago, a girl discovered home canning. She canned and preserved. Jammed and jellied. Salsa and sauces. Pickles, chutneys, and marmalades. It was a fun time. It was a messy time. Then the girl had to go back to her day job and she never canned again. Well, almost. I...
Grilled Vegetables and Fried Quinoa and Chickpeas
Grilled Vegetables and Fried Quinoa and Chickpeas. Flavoured with Pesto. This is summer food.
Chocolate Truffle Tart with Chocolate Glaze
this is the chocolate dessert of all chocolate desserts. rich, creamy, decadent, and beautiful. Make this for your Valentine
Panzanella: Tomato bread salad
When I first discovered this salad I made it every week for months. I could not get enough of it. I love the way the bread soaks up the dressing and juice from the tomatoes. The beans and bread can easily make this a meal instead of a side dish. You need a good quality...
Weeknight Food: Sloppy Zoes (a Vegwich)
Remember Manwich? Maybe you don't. It gives me nightmares. I hate the stuff. Hate is such a strong word. Detest. That sounds even more not nice. I remember those saucy messy buns from childhood and I get the shivers. Sorry mom. Those things were gross. My husband loves sloppy Joes. L-O-V-E-S them. Maybe L-O-V-E-S is...
Kale Salad with Sweet Almond and Ginger Dressing
At a request of a friend I was digging for kale recipes a few weeks ago. I found this one. And well, thought since I recommended it, I should give it a try myself. I made a few minor tweaks. I used raw sweet potatoes instead of carrots and added sunflower seeds. Otherwise this recipe...
Strawberry Cupcakes, two ways
My daughter celebrated her birthday with a girls-only sleepover this weekend. We had cupcakes, giggles and lots of screaming.  So much screaming. I didn't know little girls could be so loud together. On their own they are so quiet. This is a vegan cupcake and it is really good. If you can find them, and...
Strawberry Salsa
This fresh strawberry salsa is a bright surprise during summer months! Unexpected. Not too sweet. Easy to wipe together when Company is coming. And when the strawberries are ready you make salsa. No? Not you? You should try it. It's pretty awesome. You could serve this salsa at a party and play a game - ...
Weeknight food: Slow-cooker burritos
Okay, I don't know about you, but sometimes I need a meal that I can make with my eyes-closed. Literally. You could make this at 5am if you really needed. As in, in housecoat..with bedhead..before coffee. Or you could even ask the kid's sitter to throw it all together midway through the day while you are...
Dried Sprouted Beans
Sometimes Costco totally surprises me. It has become a secret weapon in keeping our family eating healthy. I know, I had my doubts too. Everything in the store comes in jumbo sized packages and most of these jumbos are high fat, high sodium processed foods. I usually avoid the produce unless I have a very...
Olive and Lentil Tapenade
For a healthy and easy party dip, try this Olive and Lentil tapenade. I've been buried in cookbooks for weeks trying to find the most perfect appetizer. I wanted something healthy, but full-flavour, something rich, but snacky. I finally settled on this dip. It's a good make-ahead, always important in my book. This recipe is...
Gluten-free chocolate almond tart
For my gluten-free friends….. I’ve especially adapted this just for you. Because I love you.
Breakfast food: Vegan Raspberry Pecan Muffins
A few words about these muffins before I begin. 1) My daughter requested raspberries, which were only available frozen this time of year, meh results - while the flavour was good, they bled purple juice throughout the muffins. I don't like the purple streaks. 2) Both kids are annoyed with me for using pecans in...
Roasted Carrot Awesomeness. The "Dip"
Not sure if I should call this a dip or a spread. All I know it is absolutely yummy! Full of veggie goodness and with only a dash of oil, it's low-fat too.  Trust me, the flavour will blow you away - the carrots become incredibly sweet and rich. Not what you would expect from a...
The best lentil soup and avocado cream
Funny, when I started this post, I thought I would have more to say about the soup. I've been revisiting old favourites lately and at one point in my life I made this soup every other weekend for about 6 months. Eventually I found something new, but man, this is good soup. Regardless, the soup...
Whole Grain Pancake Mix
Make-ahead for easy weekend breakfast, a whole grain pancake mix you can make from scratch. Yes- just like you can buy in the store, but this is DIY and so much cheaper. Full of oats and healthy whole grains. Make this whole grain pancake mix ahead of time and you can throw together a healthy...