super salad

Published Wednesday, April 03, 2013 by jodi renee.



Sometimes I beat myself up over where I am professionally, because my mind is too far in the future of where I want to be, dream of being.
And then I stop to remind myself that anything you want to master, anything you wish to truly be good at, is a never ending process...a practice.
It's chalk full of mistakes, and snafus.
A whole lot of angry rants, bursting frustrations, at times a bottle of white wine with tears streaming down your face, or the crazy mad laugh where you wish you could just lock eyes with someone, so for ONE instant someone would know you're reeaaalllly fuckin serious. And yes, quite crazy most of the time.
Predominately all of the time.
Un-crazy?...2% of the time.

Work has been a big clusterf$@k (I'm sooo getting there...) and for those of you who are questioning this cluster - trust me, it's an ongoing battle, AND I see more light at the end of the tunnel than I ever have before. Yay for hats with flashlights attached. I picture myself as a miner of sorts. Looking for that exact thing. And no, it's not perfection, it's just perfect for me.
Because I'm tired, tired, tired of so much the same. So much herding and status quo, so much 'standard' and 'the way it is'. So much of everyone JUST-LIKE-EVERYONE-ELSE.
Compromising what truly fills your heart.
I want to be different, in the way I know that I am.
This is not a journey for the light-hearted.

I say this all the time to people: You get what you pour into ANYTHING.
Be that your job, your health and fitness, any and all of your relationships.
Yet most of us want everything, for nothing.
Is anyone willing to put in the hard work?

I know, I KNOW I am on my way.
Pieces are falling together and what looks like ruin is the road to transformation.
As I stood today over the counter top, compiling all the ingredients for this Super Salad, it dawned on me, how easy this was for me. Foods in their simplicity, where they came from in the ground, where they're going in the body. An appreciation and respect for something we need, that we're given, often take for granted and the absolute power foods hold in all their simplicity.
It wasn't always this way...

I began, somewhere. A loooooong time ago.
The gym after school.
Making my own food.
And then non-stop workshops, books and trainings. I have immersed myself into everything mind/body/spirit. Fascinated with this ONE instrument that is possibly the best investment right under our noses.
The greatest gift we have ever been given...
Our body.

An ode to celebrate this wonderful and amazing gift shall we? Annnnd because my mom always wants more simple salad recipes (with awesome photos...ahem...) :)
Here's to one mother of a SIMPLE salad - a powerhouse of nutrients.

the salad
a few handfuls of arugala
a handful of spinach
5-6 stems of lacinato kale (they also call it dinosaur kale)
half of an avocado
1 large beet that I baked in the oven for about 30 minutes in olive oil, sea salt and pepper
however may tomatoes you'd like :)

the dressing
olive oil
apple cider vinegar
maple syrup
...just play around to taste. Less olive oil than vinegar and less maple syrup than well...everything :)

*you can add feta, walnuts and perhaps a fruit if you'd like, like pear would work well

You have no idea how good this is for you. No excuses.
xo
jodi renée

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eat your chocolate.

Published Friday, February 15, 2013 by jodi renee.

Spent most of yesterday in the kitchen, brewing up some healthy chocolate treats for Valentine's Day! ...and today...and maybe tomorrow. Annnnd then...they'll be gone.
The truffles are honestly so easy and SO good for you. Dates! Full of iron and all the sugars are natural. Plus the coconut oil is such a great oil, that really...you can't not make these!

As for the entree, I wanted something really tasty and super nutritious, often getting too ambitious trying new recipes, and not at the right times. Like when I tried cooking mussels on new years and to avoid poisoning the crowd, sadly had to chuck all those tight lipped Lucy's into the garbage. Or my first ever gluten free lasagna for a big birthday soiree. Which actually turned out great except for the fact that anything gluten is always a challenge. Soooo the noodles completely fell apart. More like a lasagna casserole.
So what's that little phyllo pocket of awesome? Beef Wellington! Stuffed with even more awesome. Picked up some hormone/antibiotic free, local and free range filet-Mignon. Yes, ambitious recipe, yet I've made it before (just not with the phyllo paper) so I felt confident making it again. Originally was going to make a garlic mash, and I wanted vibrant colours with nutrition so I went with roasted butternut squash (mashed) and green beans. SO GOOD. Probably hands down the best feast I've ever made!!!!

Try the chocolate recipes below. Let me know what you think.

date and cocoa truffles //
14 good quality dates
2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
1-2 tbsp coconut oil (I used 2, probably could have used 1)
1 tbsp spiced rum (or vanilla) optional 
unsweetened cocoa to roll the truffles in

Throw everything in food processor.
Roll into small little balls. 
And done!
Try rolling in cocoa powder, icing sugar or chopped nuts. I put these in the fridge, and I'm sure you can leave them out in an air tight container. Annnnd you may want to double the recipe.

chocolate cupcakes // 
1 1/2 cups almond meal
1/4 cup unsweetened good quality cocoa powder
1 teaspoon gluten free baking powder
2 free range organic eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract 
1/4 cup coconut oil
14/ cup choice of soy, almond, or coconut milk
2 tbsp honey

 Preheat oven to 350
Combine almond meal, cocoa powder and baking powder.
Add the eggs, oil, milk and honey to form a smooth batter.
Spoon into cupcake tins. And I barely half filled 12 so you can either double recipe or maybe just fill 8 tins!
Serve alone or in my honest opinion, warm with ice cream!
Inspired by the healthy chef. 

enjoy!
xo 
jodi renée

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best ever pumpkin bread

Published Monday, October 01, 2012 by jodi renee.

...recipe adapted from Cooke + kate.

The trees are changing leaves already, the air so much fresher.
I miss summer...and I do love the fall.
(It's winter that I have a love/hate with...)

One of my all time fav's of fall?
Pumpkin.
Everything and anything.
This weekend I was on a mission to find a really good pumpkin recipe.
And I found it.
Admittedly I had to venture away from gluten free. Lately I've been craving the light and fluffy breads that can't seem to be replicated (or I've not yet mastered) with gluten free baking. Everything I make seems to turn out gummy and/or brick like.
I don't have a gluten allergy (I think), I just notice the difference (big time) on my digestion when I lean towards avoiding it as much as possible. And after following the recipe 'as is'...I feel good to give gluten free a whirl the next time.
Or maybe I should leave a GREAT thing alone?
It really is THEE best pumpkin bread (or any bread for that matter) that I've ever baked.

So go! if you love pumpkin...bake this bread!!!


Healthy Whole Wheat Pumpkin Bread
Ingredients
1/3 cup of melted coconut oil
1/2 cup of honey
2 eggs (grain fed, free range please!)
1 cup of pumpkin purée
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 3/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 cup hot water

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
In a large bowl, mix together the coconut oil and honey.
Add eggs, and mix well.
Stir in pumpkin purée and vanilla, then add flour, salt and pumpkin spice.
Add baking soda to hot water, stir to mix then add to batter (I boiled the water.)
Spread the batter into a greased 9x5 inch loaf pan.
Bake for 55 minutes...checking to make sure a toothpick comes out clean when inserted!
Cool on wire rack...annnnnnd serve.
Butter optional :)

Enjoy! 
Eat and tell me all about it! ...
xo
jodi renée

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just peachy.

Published Friday, August 24, 2012 by jodi renee.


I've been looking for new dinner recipes and to be honest, I was too tired to get into anything fancy. So I took some old dishes and spiced them up a bit. Chicken tenders flaked in coconut with yam fries and a chipotle seasoning. Sometimes the 'side' can be the star...Enter peach.
Salsa!
Not to mention there's enough leftover for blue corn chips and avocado the next day.
Pretty simple.
Totally tasty.

peach salsa
3 peaches...or nectarines chopped
1/2 red onion chopped
2-3 jalapeno peppers chopped leaving as many seeds for heat as you like it hot!
juice of one lemon
handful of chopped mint
1 tablespoon coconut palm sugar
salt and black pepper to taste

Place the chopped peaches or nectarines, onions and jalapeno's in food processor and pulse only a few times! Nice to keep the fruit a little more diced...I actually processed too long. Still tasted the same! ...and actually better the next day.
Squeeze in juice of lemon, adding rest of the ingredients. DO NOT liquify!

Tastes awesome with chicken or fish...as a side to anything!
peachy huh.

Let know what you think! ...
jodi renée



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