Diet, Dessert and Dogs

Hello there, Wellness Weekenders!

We had 38 mouth-watering entries last week, with everything from TWO Banana-Based pies to Earth Day Rice to Gingerbread Almond Butter (mmm!) to shakes, soups and sandwiches. As always, your recipes impressed me with how delicious and creative they are! Keep ‘em coming!   And now, for this week’s news. . . .

Continue reading Wellness Weekend. . .

Ah, how I love breakfast. It’s the one meal of which I never tire–and for which I can always find infinite varieties of foods to prepare. Well, when Wendy of Cooking Quinoa asked if I’d whip up something for a guest post on her blog while she tends to her gorgeous new little girl, I was thrilled to oblige! (And congrats, Wendy, and to all of you on the addition of Skye to your family!).

For years, I attempted to perfect a breakfast muffin that contained whole cooked grains, but I found the results were consistently too moist.  (Whereas The Girls were thrilled, since it meant they got lots of extra tester muffins to sample.). When I began to experiment with psyllium in baked goods about a year ago, I knew I’d finally hit on the magic ingredient to transform those soggy muffins.

Head over to Wendy’s blog to see my perfect wholegrain breakfast muffin!

“So, Mum, does this mean Elsie and I won’t be getting samples any more?”

“Zip it, Chaser. . . you know that Mum never gets it right on the first try.  Don’t worry, there will still be lots of failed baking attempts for us to sample in the future.”

Never miss a recipe–or a comment from The Girls! Click here to subscribe to Diet, Dessert and Dogs via email. (“We love subscribers, Mum. . . almost as much as we love treats!”)

© Ricki Heller, Diet, Dessert and Dogs

[The different kinds of Growing Naturals protein powders, plus rice milk powder.]

Several months ago (I’m embarrassed to tell you how many), I received a lovely package from the folks at Growing Naturals.

Growing Naturals create amazing raw, whole food, protein powders and rice milk powder that are gluten-free, dairy free, corn free, soy free, and vegan. They are organic and non-GMO, carefully sourced and tested before they’re packaged and sold.  I love their motto, too: “Natural Products for All People!” That’s because they offer a great source of protein to everyone, vegans and omnivores alike (24 grams per serving!).

 
Click here to read more and enter the giveaway. . .

Hi and welcome to this week’s Wellness Weekend!

I couldn’t start tonight without mentioning the horrific events that have touched so many people across the US this past week.  I’ve been walking around with a heavy heart and keep thinking about all the victims whose lives have been changed forever (and those whose lives have been taken away), both in Boston and in Texas. I don’t have any great wisdom to add to what’s already been said, but I wanted to share my love and positive thoughts for those who are dealing with the aftermath of such senseless violence. I’ll be hugging the HH and my Girls a little tighter today.

There haven’t been too many blog-related items amassed with the focus on Boston and Texas, but here are a few newsy tidbits for you this week. . .

 
Continue reading this week’s Wellness Weekend post. . .

Special Note! There’s a giveaway on now of Growing Naturals Protein Powder–the very powder I use in this recipe! Once you’ve seen the recipe, head over here to enter the giveaway!

What’s the most dreaded question ever asked of a vegan? Go ahead and guess. Here are some to get you started:

• “Wow, I guess you must really love veggies, eh?”
• “So, are you friends with Ellen DeGeneres?”
• “Is it pronounced VEE-gun or VAY-gun?”
• “Wanna come back to my place and split a tofu pizza?”

Okay, so I was being a bit crafty here, since none of those is the question I’m thinking about. (But the answers to those ones are, respectively: I really do. Only in my mind. But I would dearly love to serve up some treats from my new cookbook on her show. VEE-gun, though some of us oldies still use the antiquated VAY-gun. Well. . . . okay. [That last one was an actual question posed to me many years ago on a date with Rocker Guy. The pizza was great, but too bad the relationship sucked.].

The single question, then, that is most dreaded by VEE-guns far and wide is this:

Click here to keep reading High Protein Mocha Sunbutter . . .

Hi Everyone and happy Thursday! I’m still sulking because it isn’t *quite* spring yet here in Toronto (in fact, as I mentioned this morning, we had snow today!! SNOW. On April 11th! Yes, that was me you heard sobbing in the background on your way to work. . . . ).

Well, at least Wellness Weekend didn’t suffer any lingering effects of winter! Last week’s recipes were bright with the promise of spring. I loved all the colorful cakes, the Sweet Broccoli Juice, the pancakes and green naan (yep!), the homemade BBQ sauce and more. Check out the 35 entries from last week for yourself!

 
Continue reading this week’s Wellness Weekend post. . .

Can you all believe it’s SNOWING here in Toronto today? Anyone who knows me (or even anyone who’s met me for more than 30 seconds, at any point between October and April) knows how much I hate winter. As soon as the tiniest hint of spring arrives, I’m ready to throw out the old and usher in the new: I pack up the boots and scarves; I fold up the heavy blankets; I even enjoy a bit of spring cleaning.

We’re far off from true spring right now, but that didn’t stand in the way of some recent spring cleaning. The other day, I spied a can of black beans that had been waiting patiently for someone to use them—and these vegan Black Bean Burgers sprang to mind. I was absolutely delighted with the final results. Not too spicy, firm and crispy on the outside, with a great mix of black beans and veggies. And no oil added!

I know you’ll love these, too. To check out the recipe, head over to the Attune Foods blog. And don’t forget to leave a comment and let me know what you think!

In the meantime, I hope the weather is better where you are.

I’ve got a new Facebook page–and I hope you’ll visit me there! I’m perpetually grateful to all of you who’ve “liked” my Diet, Dessert and Dogs page, but it’s time to move on. With a new cookbook on the horizon and lots of other cool sugar-free, anti-candida and allergy-friendly offerings in the works, I wanted a Facebook page that reflected all of that (along with DDD too, of course!). To keep it simple, this one is just called “Ricki Heller,” and I’ll be posting all the same things I now do on the DDD page (which will be shut down on August 31, 2013).  So please hop over to the new page and “like” it so you won’t miss out when things switch over this summer!

Hard to believe, but today is the HH‘s and my 16th anniversary! (Wait, how is that possible? I still feel as if I AM sixteen–well, internally, anyway. Externally, it’s more like, “where did those 16 new wrinkles come from?” or “how did I suddenly acquire 16 new aches and pains in my knees?” or “sixteen new gray hairs?! Wahhhh!!!”.  Okay, I guess that every kind of “sixteen” tends to creep up on you).
Click here to read more about our relationship (and pizza). . .

Thanks for visiting Wellness Weekend again this week! I love, love, LOVE all the good-for-you dishes you share here each week. 

Last week featured some amazing coconut waffles, Italian kale chips, Apple Cinnamon Buckwheat Granola, Grain-free Cinnamon scones, and all kinds of yummy Easter treats. Totally delicious!

Newsy tidbits:

• Did you win the signed copy of Wild About Greens? Head over to the contest page to check–and please email me if you won! If you’d still love the book anyway, you can buy it from amazon.
• Lexie’s Kitchen is giving away Molly’s Suds natural cleaners! These all-natural cleaners sound fantastic. Details are here. Until April 6th.When I first changed diets, I dreaded dinner invitations because I knew there’d be nothing for me to eat. No more! Here are my tips for how to handle those invites gracefully--and so you can enjoy the meal!
• There’s an AMAZING recipe contest going on over at Go Dairy Free–win a $500 gift card for Williams Sonoma, and more! All the details here. Until May 17th.
• Summer is almost here! Is your skin ready? This week on the Balanced Platter, I share tips on how to eat for glowing, healthy skin.
• Wellness Weekend has its own Pinterest board! Now you can find all your favorites in one place. Check it out here (and be sure to follow!)

Do you have a blog linky event or giveaway you’d like me to mention? I also will occasionally mention new courses that bloggers offer their readers. Send me an email with the details to dietdessertdogsATgmailDOTcom and I’ll include three or four each week. Please note that I cannot always accommodate all requests.

PLEASE DO NOT ADD YOUR GIVEAWAYS OR CONTESTS TO THE LINKYS BELOW–THEY ARE FOR RECIPES ONLY.

This Week’s Picks:

In honor of not one, but TWO greens-related posts last week, I thought it only fitting to make the theme here a green one, too.  And so, green veggies it is!

Dandelion Greens and Mushroom Soup from Rebel Grrrl Kitchen. Dandelion greens are one of my faves, and I don’t have them often enough!

Lupini Bean and Brussels Sprouts Slaw from Wayfaring Chocolate. Hannah uses a rare bean for this slaw. I’ve tried lupinis once–bet they are great in this dish!

Dill-icious Kale Chips from Rock My Vegan Socks.  Another flavor of kale chips–never too many, I say!

And This Week’s Readers’ Choices:

Readers’ Choice, Savory:

Lentil Bread from Awaken Your Taste Buds. I love the simplicity of this bread. So cool how it works!

Readers’ Choice, Sweet:

Super Safe Carrot Cake from What Smells So Good. Carrot cake for everyone–yay!!

Thanks for joining in and sharing all your healthy, sugar-free and vegan recipes. I love seeing what you whip up each week! And I hope you’ll also share on twitter, Facebook and Pinterest, too!

Here’s How to Participate:

The event occurs once a week, starting Thursdays at 8:00 PM my time and running until the following Monday at midnight.

1. Simply link up a vegan recipe you made (and posted about) that contains health-supporting ingredients. This means any good-for-you whole foods, especially those with antioxidant properties or “functional foods” (ie, offering naturally medicinal or health-promoting qualities–such as garlic, coconut oil, all vegetables, fruits, herbs, etc.)–but any fresh, real food is welcome! No-no’s include white flour or sugar, highly processed foods, or animal products. Definite no-no’s include: cane sugar (evaporated or otherwise), sweeteners ending in -itol, margarines, or faux meat products.Items like vegan protein powder, grain or bean flours, or coconut milk are fine even though they are technically “processed,” since they either contain a single ingredient, or could technically be made at home. Also, please note that this is a vegan recipe event. A minor ingredient with a vegan option is fine, but if the main ingredient is intended to be meat or other animal product, your recipe likely belongs in a different link up event.
2. This is a recipe event. Your blog post must contain a recipe.
3. You may link up older posts from your archives as long as they contain a link to this post. Please do not link up any posts you have previously shared at an earlier Wellness Weekend event.
4. Please link the post with your recipe, NOT your blog’s home page or another event page.
   
5. You may submit up to three recipes, but please follow the guidelines for each one individually. ONLY ONE THUMBNAIL FROM EACH BLOG POST, PLEASE.If your post contains two suitable recipes, link up once and people will still see all your fabulous recipes when they click on the linky.
6. Please mention this event and include a link back to this post so that others can find all the recipes posted!
7. Feel free to use the blog badge, above (or see the left sidebar of this page–if you need the html code, let me know and I’ll send it to you). Many thanks to Adrienne of Whole New Mom for setting up the badge code for me!

PLEASE NOTE: In order to promote your posts and the event, I like to occasionally tweet, mention on Facebook, or pin your blog post(s). On occasion, I will repost your photos in the following week’s Wellness Weekend as well. If you prefer that I NOT use your photos or links, please let me know in the comments below, or send an email to me at dietdessertdogsATgmailDOTcom. Thanks!

I will reluctantly remove any links that don’t comply. I apologize, but I will no longer be able to leave a comment telling you that I’ve removed a non-compliant link. I hate to have to remove links! PLEASE READ THE GUIDELINES BEFORE POSTING!

And now. . . what have you been cooking up lately? Please share!

DDD READERS: It May Be Time To Update Your Subscription!

I know that many of you, like me, read your favorite blogs via Google Reader. Well, if that’s how you keep up with DDD, be warned that Google Reader is closing down as of July 1, 2013! (I know–boo hoo).

I am always so grateful for your visits and your comments on the blog and I don’t want you to lose touch! To ensure that you continue to receive notices whenever I add a new blog post–or to get updates on the new cookbook or other happenings here at DDD–you can easily subscribe via email.  That way, you won’t miss a thing!  Just click here to receive every new DDD post right in your Inbox.

Thanks so much for reading. (And if any of you know of other good readers to use, please feel free to share in the comments!).

© Ricki Heller 2013.

After my post on Wild About Greens the other day (and don’t forget to enter the giveaway here!), I thought I’d extend the Greens Love one more day. So today’s post is all about my very favorite leafy green in the bunch. . . KALE!

As you may remember, I’ve aimed to consume more greens each day ever since my osteopenia diagnosis way back in 2008. And it made a huge difference–just check out my progress report, here.

I was besotted with kale from the first taste back in nutrition school in 2003.  Raw, cooked, shredded, rolled, blended into a green smoothie. . . it’s all good!

[Kale salad, anyone? Clockwise from large photo: Kale Salad, Fully Loaded; Uber Healthy Kale and Seaweed Salad; Crazy Simple Kale Salad; another variation of Kale Salad, Fully Loaded.]

That’s why I’m so delighted to take part in this launch party for the new ebook, Crazy for Kale, which I received last week. (Note: I was not compensated for this review and I am not an affiliate. I was not asked to write something positive about the ebook; the opinions here are all my own.).
Click here to read more about Crazy for Kale, and my top kale recipes . . .