Ayah Young

How about switching up from a basic cauliflower mash to a heavenly cauliflower puree blended with beautiful leeks?

This recipe pleases even my Irish husband to be and potato loving mama.

The addition of leeks adds a ton of nutritional benefits, including finer, folic acid, potassium and vitamin C.  They’re easier to digest than onions, and even have a natural laxative effect (great to get rid of a bloated stomach).

Most importantly, leeks blend perfectly with cauliflower, and this combination is delicious.

Serve with your favourite protein and a summer salad or steamed asparagus.

But there are two problems: they contain sugar, and they are $2.99 a pop.

Since I already have an expensive kombucha habit I like to keep my other treat expenses low. I also like to avoid riding a sugar high after dinner or I toss and turn like a crazy kid at night.

Thus, an equally delicious, super easy, high antioxidant, sugar free miracle was born.


These dark chocolate goji cups just might be my next favourite thing. I even added a little protein boost so that they would be blood sugar stabilizing while at the same time super treat friendly.

I think I found a new favourite addiction.

It’s been a while, eh? Sorry about that. These past few weeks have been quite a blur. Between packing up and moving houses, taking a little road trip to Coachella, busy days at work, and dedicating a lot of time to my latest major project I’ve neglected y’all. Sorry about that. So… what’s this new major project all about? Well, it looks a little something like this:

Pretty cute, right? I’m tellin’ ya, growing a tiny human is my biggest and most thrilling project to date! I’m currently 15 weeks along and my due date is October 23^rd.  My husband and I are very excited about having our first baby.

Part of the reason that I have been posting so light these past few months is that my appetite was incredibly erratic during my first trimester. I pretty much lived off of bagels, bubbly water, and strawberries and couldn’t think about eating a vegetable without getting super queasy. Now that I’ve cleared the first trimester my taste for healthy foods is returning, I may even be able to prepare some dishes worthy of sharing with you all! I can’t promise how often I will be in this space in the coming months though. I’ve decided that my primary focus during this pregnancy is to take life a little slower, get in some good prenatal yoga time, read some good books, and get the rest my body needs. I’m not yet sure how blogging will fit in to my pregnancy world, or how it will factor in to my life as a new mom, but I’m confident that I will eventually find a balance with how often I post here. One thing is for sure though, healthy tasty cheap food  is seeming more important to me now than ever, and I’m excited to share my adventures with you as I explore this exciting new chapter in my life.

So, for now, how about some doughnuts? Because good news calls for cake, right? I picked up a doughnut pan as a little house warming gift to myself and decided to break it in with some lemon glazed blueberry buttermilk doughnuts. I consider these babies “healthified” because are not deep fried, and they use low-fat buttermilk… but don’t worry, they’ll still be sure to satisfy your sweet tooth!

Santorini is a gorgeous island in Greece that I visited as a young girl. The white houses and bright blue sky are serene and calming, the food is fresh, and it feels like a perfect place to relax for a week after we get married in France.

Since we’ve been spending so much time looking at hotels and planning our trip, I was inspired to get us ready for the delicious food.

These simple chicken skewers served with Greek yogurt and a Greek salad make a perfect summer dinner, and make me feel ready to take off any day now.

But since I have to wait until September, delicious meals like this will have to do for now.

When you stick to the ‘loin’ of red meat it is lean and a great way to get a boost of protein.

We are huge fans of buffalo meat in our house. Buffalo burgers, buffalo steak, you name it. Buffalo is extremely high in iron, super lean, and delicious.

Rather than slather it in a rich cream sauce I like to make a really simple glaze with tamari and balsamic that everyone loves. It takes two seconds and tops off your meal perfectly.

Bonne appetit!

I’ve been focusing a lot on clean recipes that will help me build muscle and give me the energy to be active.

These egg white muffin cups make the perfect light snack to get me through a long work day or get me geared up for some weight training.

  They keep really well and I’ve been making a batch to keep in the frige at work and heat up with a little spinach and bbq sauce when I’m hungry. I’ve also enjoyed them warmed up with tomato sauce!

The spice gives them a nice kick and the kale adds some extra nutrition!  They’re super easy to make and have on hand – enjoy!

I’ve been eating my way through some long forgotten pantry items (if I eat it, I don’t have to pack it!) and I recently found a neglected sweet potato that needed to be eaten. Drawing inspiration from this recipe and the miscellaneous contents of my fridge and cupboards I cobbled together yummy Sweet Potato Cauliflower Stew which I served up with a side of quinoa.  Warm, hearty, and filling, this vegan stew was just what I needed to face another rainy evening of  moving drudgery.

With the weather hitting record highs for March, we soaked up as much sunshine as we could and enjoyed dinner on our balcony every night.

I had a lot of fun making light, summer inspired meals, like this herbed dijon salmon with a fresh yogurt dip and a spinach salad with fresh berries, feta and blueberry balsamic.

The salmon was from a frozen pack of for filets I bought. I simply defrosted the filets, basted them in a mix of dijon, lime juice and herbs, then broiled them in the oven.

I threw together the yogurt dip with some plain greek yogurt, parsley, herbs and lime juice, and tossed together this fresh, simple salad.

Altogether it tasted like summer, and I enjoyed the leftover filets of salmon in my salads for two nights following (a killer combo was with capers, feta, boiled potatoes and olives).

Now we’re back to cooler weather, and I’m dreaming of summer so I can eat this on my balcony again!

I like to cook healthy meals that both John and I will enjoy, and a lean piece of meat with a side of vegetables really seems to please us both.

This dinner of roasted chicken with a light barbecue dijon baste and balsamic green beans, swiss chard and mushrooms is a great way to welcome Spring. It’s satisfying without being too filling, and makes for great leftovers if you make extra.

I roast my chicken on my Silpat so that I don’t need extra oil, but parchment paper will work well too.  And the vegetables roast up perfectly in the oven with a light spray of olive oil and this balsamic and tamari sauce.

I like to pour all of the extra balsamic from the vegetables all over my chicken so that I can dip it in for extra flavour!

This makes for a wonderful salad the next day, or great leftovers on their own!