This is it!

The perfect little sauce you’ve been waiting for.

I love Asian flavors and I’ve been experimenting with different recipes for several years now.

The recipe that I’m about to share (or some version of it) has been my go-to for quite a while.

Stir fry is called fast-food at my house and it’s a great way to get a lot of variety into your diet.

It’s also great for a quick, tasty lunch so consider scaling this recipe to ensure enough for leftovers.

Everything will come together pretty quickly so it’s a good idea to get all of your ingredients prepped ahead of time.

 


GET THE RECIPE HERE:  Asian inspired stir fry sauce recipe


 

1) Start by making the sauce.

I don’t usually cook the sauce until I bring all of the ingredients together.

Be mindful that the sauce will need to simmer in order to thicken.

 

2) Prep your veggies.

Prepare all of the veggies that you’ll be using and place them on a tray to add in according to cooking time.

When selecting vegetables, think color!

Different colors bring different nutrients to the table.

Here are some examples:

Orange/red could be carrot, butternut squash, sweet potato, sweet bell pepper or cherry tomatoes…

Green could be broccoli, asparagus, green beans, okra, snow peas, scallions…

Pale or white could be onion, cabbage, cauliflower, fennel, turnip, daikon, bok choy, …

You get the idea.

Select at least one from each color category to ensure max nutrients and eye-pleasing deliciousness.

Try busting out of your usual veggie rotation and get some new veggies or varieties in there.

Our ancestors used to eat over one hundred different varieties of vegetables according to season and availability. It’s estimated that most of us just circle around the same fifteen or so.

Also use the stir fry opportunity to get some leafy greens into your mix. Leafy greens (such as kale, spinach, Swiss chard and collard greens..) pack a ton of nutrition and won’t alter the flavor of your dish.

Remember to add the leafy green towards the end since they cook down pretty quickly.

3) Prepare your protein.

If you’re using cooked shrimp, cooked legumes, delicate fish or nuts such as cashews, they will just need to be tossed in at the end and warmed through.

If using tempeh, you may want to marinate it and sear it before bringing everything together.

If using poultry, meat or sturdier fish, you’ll also want to precook it and set it aside.

 

4) Bring it all together.

Start sautéing your veggies according to their cooking time.

I like my veggies al-dente and a little crunchy so the cooking time is pretty short. You may need to use a little broth or water throughout the process to keep everything flowing.

Once your veggies are about 3 minutes from being done, add in the sauce, your leafy greens and your protein and bring to a simmer to thicken the sauce and warm through.

Serve on warmed plates or flat bowls and consider garnishing with something like chopped coriander, lime wedges, chopped peanuts or toasted sesame seeds.

 

I hope you have fun.

Share this with someone that’s in need of inspiration.

 

Scurvy, the disease that wiped out thousands of sailors is caused by a lack of vitamin C.

The 18th century explorer, James Cook was the first explorer to beat the scurvy epidemic that plagued long ocean voyages.

How did he do it?

Sauerkraut baby!

Nowadays scurvy is pretty low on our radar as far diseases go. However, we’ve all heard of the benefits of vitamin C for the immune system.

The vitamin C content of cabbage is pretty normal but once that cabbage gets fermented, the vitamin C content skyrockets.

The fermentation process that is used to make sauerkraut also brings with it other kinds of magic like:

it contains several strains of beneficial probiotics that do wonders for the immune system
it helps naturally curb sugar cravings
it is AMAZING for digestion
it contains tons of antioxidants
it is antimicrobial and antifungal
it contains isothiocyanates that may help protect against cancer
it is a prebiotic, which means it feeds the good bugs

So hopefully I’ve convinced you that sauerkraut is a serious superfood.

But the taste…

Perhaps you tried it and promptly gave away your jar? I hear that one a lot.

I’ve converted many, many kraut haters.


Here’s what you’ll do:

👉Mix it into salads. This mitigates the strong flavor. You can also blend sauerkraut into salad dressings reducing the amount of vinegar needed. See my Happy Gut Salad Dressing

👉Use it as a soup topper. I love adding kraut to a hearty vegetable soup or even to chowders to give a little zip. It’s a must on French onion soup.

👉Mix it into cream cheese. This is delicious and actually is tasty enough to serve as a hors d’oeuvre on crostini or crackers. My daughter mixes her sauerkraut in cottage cheese and has it for breakfast.

👉Mix it into hummus. This is a favorite breakfast of mine. It’s delicious on crisp bread or toast with some avocado and a bit of sharp mustard.

👉Mix it into ketchup. I particularly like this with eggs, burgers, dogs or tourtière. I also like adding in a little sriracha for some kick. See my Eggs With Greens Recipe.

👉Mix into salsa. The sour flavor of the kraut happily replaces some of the acid in any salsa recipe. I haven’t met a kid that won’t gobble this up with some nachos. I’m talking about my Quick Tasty Salsa Recipe

👉Mix it into tartar sauce to have with fish, poultry, in wraps or even legumes. Have you ever combined mayo and relish to make tartar sauce? Try elevating your tartar sauce by adding in some chopped kraut. See Kim’s Famous Tartar Recipe.

 


The way I see it, you have no more excuses to not incorporate this super food into your diet. particularly when our need for vitamin C is high.

Trust me when I tell you that it is an acquired taste and that in a very short time you will be craving it.

Cheers to making healthy delicious ❤️Consider sharing this with someone you love.

Reach out if you want more.

My moto is: Make Healthy Delicious.

Adopting a healthier way of eating will only stick if it is sustainable – that means that you can keep it up and see yourself eating this way forever.

In other words, it must be D.E.L.I.C.I.O.U.S.


I meet so many folks that have this weird belief that if it tastes good, it can’t be good for you.

Wrong.

Our taste buds evolved to seek out the best tasting, most nutritious food.

I’m talking real food here.

Don’t get this mixed up with processed, engineered foods. Those guys are cheating and tricking our taste receptors with nasty chemicals and sugar.

Imagine this; you’re in your garden or at the farmer’s market and you’re tasting a freshly picked, organic tomato that’s still warm from the sun. Now imagine a typical grocery store tennis ball tomato in February.

Not the same animal right? The freshly picked garden tomato is actually more nutrient dense.

That’s what you’re tasting. You were built for this.

In fact, once clients work at getting those processed foods out of their diet, they often notice a taste bud revolution.

Natural foods taste better and their old (processed ) favorites become much less appealing, if not downright nasty.


Another fallacy that needs to go away is that butter is bad for you.

Butter is actually a gut-healing food that contains an anti-inflammatory compound called butyrate as well as essential fat-soluble vitamins.

Moderation is always key, but this recipe is a perfect example of how wholesome food can (and must) be delicious.

Garlic butter is a staple in my kitchen. When I make this recipe, I maximize my time in the kitchen and make lots of it to have on hand. I always have some frozen as a quick go-to to add zip and flavour when I’m in a rush.

This recipe can be used to flavour vegetables, legumes, mushrooms, fish, seafood, meat or poultry. You can use it as a dip for your next fondue and of course spread it on sourdough bread to make garlic bread or add zip to a grilled sandwich.

Cheers to making healthy delicious

Making the connections between what you’re eating and how you feel is crucial for long term sustainability.

Most of us have never been taught to do this.

Diets will never be the answer. Making the connection between how you feel and what you’re eating is the key to staying motivated and integrating a healthier diet that will stick.


We’re a bit of a band-aid society.

By that I mean, we’re accustomed to squashing or covering up symptoms.

Rarely do we go further upstream and get curious as to why the symptom is showing up in the first place.

A good example are antacids.

Many people have this hate relationship going on with their stomach acid. Stomach acid isn’t the bad guy, it’s actually super essential. More on this some other time…

Antacid use is a perfect example of squashing a symptom, and they can be very bad for you if you’re using them on a regular basis.


If you’ve ever struggled with reflux, bloating or gas, I encourage you to investigate a couple of things before you reach for the Tums or the Gaviscon:

 

Are you stressed?

The hormones of stress turn off digestion. These hormones are designed to set you up to fight or to run for your life. Digesting your lunch isn’t a priority when you’re being chased by a bear.
You may not be encountering that many bears or tigers over the course of your week, but your body can’t differentiate between our (many, many) modern stressors and being chased by a large, toothy predator.

If you’re rushing, you’re likely not chewing.

It’s estimated that most people chew on average 7 times per bite.

That’s not enough.

When eating meat or raw vegetables, you should aim for 25-35 chews per bite. Chewing is one of the best things you can do for digestion. Test it out for yourself.

Did you overeat?

Our bodies secrete stomach acid and digestive juices to help breakdown our food. We have the capacity to secrete limited amounts of this juice.
Overeating overloads the capacity of those precious digestive juices to do a good job. Aim to stop eating when you’re about 80% full.

Are you carrying a few extra pounds?
For many people, bloating and reflux are the red flags that they’ve reached their critical weight. Bloating often precedes weight gain.

Are you getting your probies?
I train clients to get into the habit of incorporating a little bit of fermented (or probiotic) food every day (or with each meal if they’re weak digesters).

Every traditional culture has its own type of fermented food and there’s a reason why they’re making such a comeback.
These fermented foods go a long way to support the gut and digestion. If you find yourself reaching for antacids, you may want to experiment with these superfoods. A little goes a long way.

What did you eat?
Our bodies don’t do well with highly processed or chemicalized foods. Next time you feel reflux or heartburn or bloating, check out the ingredients.
Are there unpronounceables in the list?
Keep in mind that one artificial flavoring can contain up to 30 different chemicals that were not part of our diet as recently as 40 or 50 years ago.

If you can’t pronounce it, there’s a good chance that your body doesn’t know what to do with it.


Sometimes, despite our best efforts, we still struggle.

I’ve been trying to make legumes my friend for over 10 years now. Eating them would invariably cause painful bloating and gas despite doing all of the things I just listed.

I recently discovered this ginger drink that allows me to enjoy legumes symptom-free.

Ginger shot recipe:

-2 tbsp of roughly chopped or grated ginger
-1 tbsp of lemon juice
-1 pinch of sea salt
-1 cup of water.

Blend this together, store in a sealed jar for up to 1 month in the fridge.

Try taking 1 ounce of this magic juice before a meal and notice your symptoms.

The flavor will take some getting used to. My taste buds took about 3 or 4 days to adjust to the sharp taste of the ginger.

Give it a try, and let me know how it goes?


Reach out if you’re ready to move away from the diet mindset and move towards sustainable, healthy eating

Share this with a gassy friend.

I hope you’re having a great summer.

If you’re like me, the kale in your garden is plentiful and your weekly vegetable basket is full of greens.

I wanted to share this super easy breakfast idea to help you use up those leafies.

If you like it, scale it up and make a double or triple batch for some delicious breakfast or lunch options to grab for when you’re busy and on the go.

Eggs with greens and sauerkraut ‘relish’

Here’s what you’ll need for a single portion.

2 eggs
about 2/3 of a cup of chopped kale (any greens will do)
1 tbsp. of olive oil or butter
about 1 tbsp. of cream or milk
2-3 pinches of sea or Himalayan salt
a few grinds or fresh pepper

For the relish – this is the best part so don’t skip this!

1/4 cup sauerkraut * See the note below on how to select your kraut
1 or 2 tbsp. of ketchup
optional; a touch of sriracha if you like some heat

What you’ll do:

-Wash your kale and remove the tough center rib.

-Chop the kale into bite size pieces.

-In a non stick pan, add the oil or the butter and gently cook the kale on med low heat. Too hot and it’ll turn brown.

-While the kale is cooking, crack your eggs into a bowl and whisk in the cream or milk.

-Add the egg mixture to the pan with the greens, season with salt and pepper and continue to cook on low heat.

-Meanwhile, chop the sauerkraut, mix in the ketchup and the sriracha if you’re using it.

That’s it.

This entire recipe comes together in about 8 minutes and if you scale it, you’ll have a few portions in the fridge for later.


Greens are so jammed packed with nutrients that even some light cooking won’t alter their superpowers.

Sauerkraut is another amazing superfood. It contains 13 strains of beneficial bacteria (think probiotics), it has antimicrobial and antifungal properties. All of the benefits of cabbage are present but AMPLIFIED because of the fermentation process.

A phytonutrient found in cabbage, called isothiocyanate may have anticancer benefits and may be helpful with ulcers.

Sauerkraut helps with the digestion of all of the other foods in the meal. It also contains prebiotics to help feed the good bugs.

*Not all sauerkraut is created equal.

In order to get all of the benefits I’ve just listed, you’ll want to select unpasteurized or raw sauerkraut. It will always be in the refrigerated section of your health food store or grocery.

I get mine here.

I hope this inspires you to give your body some love and eat your greens💚

The pandemic was hard on my business like so many others.

Apparently people aren’t into overhauling their diet when they’re just treading water.

The good news is that business has picked up.

With a busier schedule, I’ve found myself having to practice what I preach.

As many of my clients know, a holistic approach involves looking at the whole person, and I’m constantly preaching self-care and stress management.


What I recently noticed was, I stopped taking the time to batch cook and my freezer started looking bare.

The result: more takeout, frozen pizza, store bought dumplings and quick pasta meals…

The result of that: A few (8) extra pounds, a little more sluggishness, a little more brain fog, sore stiff joints which lead to less activity, less motivation, more scrolling, more Netflix.

See the pattern?

Let’s be clear; I have nothing against takeout once in awhile and I never want to divorce pasta but it’s about the balance.

Correcting that involved a couple of tough decisions, some prioritizing and a little more discipline with the scrolling and the screen time.

I’m working at building up my meal reserves again because I know that:

Cooking my own food is a giant part of self-care and it does pay off in the long run.

I’ve gone back to making one batch cooking recipe per week. It usually goes like this:

-Monday after work, I grocery shop and gather up my ingredients. I also take an inventory of containers and labels and make sure I have everything I need . I may do a little prepping such as taking stuff out to defrost, washing the greens, soaking beans, chopping some of the veggies.

-Tuesday is usually my big recipe day and I try to book myself off around 4:00 or so and go straight to the kitchen.
It’s much less overwhelming because I’ve already been to the store and everything has been laid out the day before.

I even plan a light lunch on my cooking day because I know that if I have a little edge, I’m more motivated to taste, season carefully and really work at making my masterpiece delicious.

Golden Rule: It doesn’t go into the freezer unless it’s absolutely delicious. Working at seasoning carefully and making your food delicious is ESSENTIAL.

Committing to doing this on a weekly or bi-weekly basis ensures that I always have some healthy delicious go-tos when things get busy.

Some weeks it’s as simple as making a giant batch of homemade salad dressing, getting some sprouts sprouting or starting a batch of ferments…

What I know for sure; cooking my own food is foundational and key to staying the course and being at my best.


My gift to you:

This pea soup recipe is a regular part of my rotation. This recipe makes a large batch so you’ll have enough to freeze for busy days.

I sometimes struggle with getting enough legumes into my diet. This recipe is one of my solutions to that problem.

Legumes are super-foods providing beautiful fiber, prebiotics and protein. Eating legumes has been shown to stabilize blood sugar levels for the meal when they’re consumed and well into the next meal.

This is called therapeutic for folks with blood sugar issues.

This recipe includes some bacon. For folks that are in the early stages of their Metabolic Balance program and don’t want to mix proteins, or if you prefer going full-on plant-based, the bacon can be replaced by a few drops of liquid smoke.

For folks that worry that bacon has no part in a healthy diet. I say, first of all, source your bacon carefully (naturally raised without antibiotics and without preservatives). Secondly, rest assured that some saturated fats are beneficial when part of a balanced, nutrient-dense diet.

Top this soup with a generous helping of raw sauerkraut and you’ve got all your bases covered. A perfect quick, delicious lunch.


Reach out if you’d like to build on your self-care routine.

Cheers to making healthy delicious.

My utopian world has commercials on TV touting the benefits of wholesome natural foods the same way we now hear endless drug commercials.

Only the vegetable and whole food commercials won’t have the laundry list of side effects where the announcer has to speak at warp speed to fit them all in.


Cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, cauliflower and kale, contain a phytochemical called sulforaphane

Sulforaphane is a ROCK STAR. It should be a household word. Here’s why.

Sulforaphane:

neutralizes toxins which means it’s good for the liver
has anti cancer and anti-tumor properties
is an antioxidant which means it protects the heart
has anti-inflammatory properties
helps with diabetes by stabilizing insulin


So along with a regular intake of cruciferous vegetables, I’ve been getting my sulforaphane from broccoli sprouts.

It turns out that that broccoli sprouts can contain up to 100 X more sulforaphane than broccoli.

Translation. That means that eating 1 ounce of sprouts gets you the same amount of sulforaphane as eating 6 lbs of broccoli.

Broccoli sprouts have a slight peppery flavour that’s more similar to radishes than mature broccoli. Use them as a garnish, throw them into salads, sandwiches or smoothies.

Sprouts are easy to grow at home, check out the easy sprouting procedure HERE.


Sulforaphane is just one tiny example of the power of real food.

ALL whole foods contain their own signature blend of nutrients that has their own role to play in a healthy balanced diet.

Metabolic Balance relies exclusively on regular food that can be found in your grocery store.

Over 20 years of ongoing research has resulted in an extensive databank of what each specific food brings to the table in terms of nutrients.

Your meal plans is tailored to your individual needs based on your blood values, measurements, health conditions… even what you do for a living is factored in.

This type of advanced preventative nutrition has been used in agricultural animal nutrition for decades because prevention is cost effective, calling the vet and treating is not. I think it’s time for a little more prevention don’t you?

 

Join me for a free info session to see if Metabolic Balance is the right fit for you.

Cheers,
Kim

References:
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9294217/
https://www.mdanderson.org/publications/focused-on-health/sulforaphane-benefits–how-leafy-veggies-like-broccoli-and-bruss.h13-1593780.html
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.3109/09637486.2012.665043
https://www.verywellhealth.com/sulforaphane-5083128
https://blog.metagenics.com/post/2021/01/22/tips-for-daily-detoxing/

Switching to a healthier diet and changing habits has to be a win – win.

By that I mean it has to be delicious and it has to be easy, doable and sustainable.

I hear the same story a lot… ‘’I got busy and the wheels fell off the bus’’ or ‘’the stress level went up and all the new habits went out’’

Stressful times are when our bodies crave good nutrition the most. Having a plan in place and a couple of easy go-tos is a game-changer and crucial to staying the course. Because…

LIFE WILL HAPPEN.


I’m sharing one of my old favourites with you.

It’s loaded with greens that supply a ton of nutrients (and don’t interfere with the flavour).

Nutritional yeast has a delicious cheesy flavour and it provides a ton of B vitamins (we burn through the B’s with stress). If you can’t find any, just add a bit more cheese.

For my clients that are following their plan and don’t want to mix proteins, you can omit the cheese and increase the amount of nutritional yeast.

This is a recipe I make ahead when I know the week will be extra busy.

I enjoy it best at room temperature or just slightly warmed but I have to confess it gets eaten straight out of the fridge sometimes.

It’s great for breakfast with a nice fruit platter or pair it with a tossed salad or some fermented vegetables for lunch or supper.

I also like to have some in the freezer as a quick, decadent breakfast when I have guests, especially around the holidays.

Get the recipe HERE

picture of frittata ingredients; eggs, vegetables, milk, flour and seasonings.

picture of frittata ingredients; eggs, vegetables, milk, flour and seasonings.

(I often stock up on eggs and greens and make a double or triple batch to have some on hand in the freezer.)

When I make a single recipe, I bake the frittata in the same cast iron pan that I used to sauté the veggies. I’m a fan of parchment to make cleaning up easier.

picture of frittata about to go into oven

picture of frittata about to go into oven


I hope you have fun with this and make it your own by switching up some of the veggies and adjusting the seasonings.

Once you get it right, scale it and make that precious kitchen time count.

Here’s to making healthy delicious.

Cheers!
oxo

Have pesky health issues been creeping up on you?

Are you on the fence about looking into your diet for possible answers? Are you worried that you’ll be in food prison and never get to enjoy your favourite treats ever again?

Stop worrying.

I’ve put together an info-packed workshop that will hit the spot.

In my upcoming Foods that Harm Foods that Heal workshop, I’ve distilled some of the most important messages that I repeat to clients again and again.

I’m not claiming that I’ll revolutionize your health in an hour, but I do hope to reassure you that addressing diet, even just in the form of some very basic swaps, isn’t the giant mountain you may perceive it to be.

Eating is personal – really personal.

For example; I have clients that intuitively gravitate towards a more plant-based diet while other clients would feel terrible if they tried to remove animal protein from their diet.

No two people are the same which is why cookie cutter diets don’t work.

The part I love the most with clients is witnessing their aha moments when they stop doing what they’ve always thought they should do and started paying attention to how they feel.

That being said, there are some sneaky ingredients that are just plain old nasty that have no place on anyone’s plate and especially not in your perfect body machine.

These culprits are concocted in labs and mainly serve the food manufacturer’s bottom line… more about that in the workshop.

On a personal note – I love food. It’s my raison d’être, my hobby and my passion. I’ve also witnessed first-hand what the loss of health can do to a person’s life as well as how it affects the people around them.

Good food is powerful prevention.

What I love most is bringing my passion for health and my passion for good food together as wholesome, natural food that is delicious and doable.

P.S. If you’ve worked with me before, this workshop will be a great refresher and motivator.


Now onto the recipe:

Do you have tomatoes coming out of your ears?

Fire up the BBQ side burner, pour a glass of wine and try your hand at this delicious marinara sauce.

If the thought of peeling pounds and pounds of tomatoes sounds overwhelming –no worries- you don’t have to peel the tomatoes for this recipe, all you’ll need is an immersion or wand-type blender.

diced tomatoes with skin on and anchovies

diced tomatoes with skin on and anchovies

I always add anchovies to my tomatoes sauces. The idea isn’t to taste the anchovy but it works miracles at elevating the sauce somehow.

An old friend gave me this tip years ago (thanks Dave) and I always have anchovies on hand because of it. If you’re not crazy about anchovies, you can omit them or use half the amount.

I like to make a giant batch that I freeze in small bags or containers to have on hand as a shortcut in many recipes.

(This is called healthy fast food folks!)

frozen bags of marinara sauce

frozen bags of marinara sauce

I always make the sauce neutral and add whatever different flavours I want to it depending on what I’m making.

For example, you could pull out a frozen container of basic marinara, add in some cream and some fresh basil and enjoy it over grilled zucchini and eggplant with melted cheese.

You could add in some chopped bell peppers and a little heat (chili flakes or jalapenos) and enjoy the sauce over pasta or even with a piece of chicken or fish.

I make these Swiss chard rolls with ground pork, wild rice, lots of mint and finish the whole thing with the marinara sauce and a touch of cream… yum.

No matter how you unleash your crazy in the kitchen, I hope you have fun with this one.

Click here to download the marinara sauce recipe

Cheers,
Kim

Food is powerful.

I believe we can have it all; delicious food, great health and vitality, easy weight maintenance, better hormone balance and less inflammation. All this is possible without cravings, feeling deprived or without living in a restrictive or punishing diet mentality.

I also think we have way more power over our health than we’ve been led to believe.

Many common diseases and health problems are preventable and avoidable.

We are a bit of a band-aid society. We’re really quick to slap band-aids on symptoms and never slow down enough to address the root cause of all those pesky symptoms.

Think acetaminophen or ibuprofen for headaches or joint pain, cortisone cream for skin issues, antacids for heartburn, antihistamines for hay fever… pharmacy shelves are overflowing with solutions for the thing that ails you.

Have you ever thought that the thing that is ailing you is a red flag your body is sending out to signal that all is not well?

Our bodies are incredibly resilient and forgiving but if we continue to squash symptoms without addressing the root cause, the body will eventually force you to listen.

It’s called disease and it’s usually the result of years of imbalance and suppressed red flags.

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

If any of this resonates and you feel like you’d like to address some of your red flags, contact me for a free 30 minute discovery session.


I also firmly believe that healthy food can and MUST be delicious.

Check out this delicious summer recipe.

Gaspacho fits into my win-win category. It’s delicious, easy (no cook), elegant and you can make it ahead. It’s also a great way to use up those beautiful fresh garden tomatoes that start coming at us by August.

I love serving this wonderful cold soup in a fancy long-stemmed glass as an appetizer that guests can enjoy while standing and mingling.

Garnish it with a sprig of something fresh or a sliver of lime and a dollop of sour cream and bam! Fancy, fun and tasty.

I hope you enjoy.