Balanced Living

Get Back into the Kitchen + Simple Dal Recipe

Posted by Arja on January 12 in Holistic Health, Nutrition, Main Dishes, Meatless, Soups and Stews

Although I don’t place much emphasis on making New Year’s resolutions these days, I do love harnessing the powerful energy that comes at certain times of the year (back to school, spring, New Year, and birthdays) to re-focus myself.  For those who do make resolutions, health and wellness goals are often at the top of the list, which makes sense.  It’s a lot easier to achieve your other goals or intentions if you’re feeling good.  I’m not opposed to people having a goal, or making a resolution.  It just seems like too many are either motivated by fear or other negative emotions, which leads them to race towards their goals at a pace they cannot sustain.  If you’ve made goals this year, why not keep them simple, and take small steps towards achieving them?

Meatless Mains – Curry Roasted Cauliflower with Quinoa

Posted by Arja on August 27 in Main Dishes, Meatless

Meatless Mondays have soared in popularity with more and more people dabbling in vegetarian cooking on a weekly basis.  All you have to do is search the #meatlessmonday hashtag on Twitter or Instagram, and you’ll be overwhelmed with inspiration.  While I’m not 100% vegetarian, my family and I do enjoy a flexitarian style diet, and on the nights where we aren’t eating animal products, I don’t miss them one bit.

Butternut Squash, Chickpea & Kale Curry

Posted by Arja on February 20 in Main Dishes, Meatless

Cold nights call for warm food.  Certain foods and spices are considered warming, and consuming them helps to warm up our bodies.  In cold weather food cooked using these flavours can help beat the chill after a frigid dog walk, or warm us up after an afternoon of outdoor fun with friends and family.

Why Choose a Plant-Based Diet?  Plus a Kale and Bean Stew Recipe!

Posted by Arja on January 15 in Main Dishes, Meatless, Soups and Stews

Whether you’ve made this the year that you take control of your life and health again, or you’re already on your way down the path towards better health, trying to make sense of all the different diet types out there can be daunting.  Should you be vegetarian, or vegan?  What about going gluten-free?  Or maybe you should try following Paleo for a month?  Though we say we’re not looking for the next “quick fix”, it’s tempting to make a choice based on the idea that it will make losing weight easier.  Whatever your ultimate reason is for choosing one diet style over another, be it politically, medically, or emotionally driven, you should know that you don’t have to put a label on it if you don’t want to.

Roasted Vegetables and Chickpeas with Spelt Orzo

Posted by Arja on April 3 in Main Dishes, Meatless

Spring has sprung and I’ve started dreaming about warmer weather gatherings on my deck with friends and family.  I love getting together with people for a simple barbeque where everyone can contribute something to the meal.  It makes things easier on the host, for one thing, and also means that everyone gets to try all the yummy side dishes and salads that everyone else has brought to share.