Canadian Wild Blueberries

With so many plant-based options out there, it's exciting to see so many recipes able to be adapted and created to fit a vegan & vegetarian diet! Check out this recipe from Go Dairy Free! Vegan Wild Blueberry Scones... Author: Alisa Fleming Serves: 8 wild blueberry scones Ingredients 2 cups all-purpose flour cup sugar 2 teaspoons baking powder teaspoon salt cup frozen wild blueberries or cup dried wild blueberries 1 cup full-fat canned coconut milk (use a good quality one, with lots of cream - NOT coconut milk beverage), or as needed** 1 teaspoon vanilla extract Coarse sugar, for sprinkling (optional) Instructions 1. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat, and lightly dust two spots with flour. 2. Whisk the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt together in a medium bowl. Add the frozen wild blueberries to the flour, and toss lightly to coat, breaking up any berry clumps. Drizzle in cup of the coconut milk and add the vanilla. Stir to bring everything together. Drizzle in more coconut milk as needed (I use 1 cup total) to get a cohesive dough that is somewhat workable but not too sticky. 3. Divide the dough in half and place both on the prepared baking sheet. Gently pat each into a circle that is roughly to 1-inch high. Place in the freezer while you preheat your oven to 425F. 4. Once the oven is preheated, remove the baking sheet from the freezer and cut each disk into 4 wedges. Pull the wedges apart about 1 inch to give them a little space. 5. Brush the tops of the dough with a little coconut milk, and sprinkle with coarse sugar, if desired. Bake for about 15 minutes, or until lightly browned. Let cool 5 minutes. Can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days, in the refrigerator for up to 1 week, or individually frozen for longer. |To see step by step instructions and insights, check this link: https://www.godairyfree.org/rec/vegan-wild-blueberry-scones to go directly to the blog post! |

In many provinces in Canada, there is a green bin program where residents are to dispose of food waste to be turned into compost. Have you ever been surprised at how much food is wasted each week? We sure are! There are many easy ways to help reduce your waste, save you money, and allow you to enjoy fresh food longer. 1. Shop for what you need. Many people buy in bulk, but this often ends up with food wastage because products (especially produce) isn't being used up quickly... enough! By shopping for what you need for the next few days, you'll be able to purchase what you need, and ultimately stop throwing away money & food! 2. Keep the fridge tidy. If you can't see what's in your fridge, are you going to use it? Likely not. How often have you found that head of broccoli that got tucked away behind the leftover containers and yogurt tubs? By making sure you keep your fridge clear, you'll be able to what you have and what needs to be used. 3. Store your food properly. In the maritimes, it tends to be high humidity (especially during summer). Ensure your crackers, bread and rice stays fresh by properly sealing the bags! Look online for ideas on how to better store fruit (did you know many fruits and veggies do not need to be stored in the fridge?). One hack is to rinse your wild blueberries, ensure they are well dried, and then placing them in an airtight container. If you find you haven't used them after a few days, pop them in the freezer so that they can be used later! There are so many different ways to reduce food wastage! What are your best tips and tricks? Let us know below!

If you've ever worked shift work, you know how difficult it is to be eat well. Somehow, there's never enough time in the day to ensure you're getting the proper balance of proteins, fruits & veg, and grains. And because of an ever-changing schedule, meal planning can be tricky! Here are a few quick tricks to help with staying on the nutrition train! 1. As tough as it can be, planning ahead is going to be your best defence against questionable food choices. Try preparing bat...ch meals on days where you're home, and portioning them out in quick, easy to grab meals when you're on the go. We have found some of the best advice is to pre-wash and pre-chop your fruits and veggies as soon as you bring it all home from the grocery store. If it's possible to portion out your snacks into individual easy-to-grab containers (wild blueberries, strawberries and blackberries mixed in a container, cut carrots into sticks, spinach divvied up into portions for salads). 2. Try to eat regularly. If you're working as an essential worker, there are times where it can be difficult to squeeze in time to eat. But, it's very important that you do whatever you can to make sure you eat at consistent times during your shift so that you can build up good habits and help keep your energy levels up for whatever the rest of your shift may throw your way. 3. Kick the sugar. Avoid the sugary drinks as much as you can. Juice & pop are one of the top culprits in a crazy high sugar consumption! Grab a water bottle, and top it off with some ice (sometimes COLD water makes it more palatable, especially if you don't love drinking water), or add some frozen wild blueberries or lemon slices! 4. If your work doesn't allow for long breaks where you can sit down and eat a full meal, break your meal down into manageable components that still follow a balanced plate. Some cheese, the proper servings of cut up veggies and fruits, a small stack of crackers with hummus. All of these are great snacking items, and combined will help ensure you're staying right on track with your healthy eating goals! 5. Reduce your caffeine. This can be challenging, especially if your schedule ends up changing frequently between night and day shifts. However, caffeine isn't a great substitute for a lack of sleep. Try limiting your intake to 3 cups of coffee per day, and fill the rest with herbal tea, water or decaffeinated coffee for the rest.

It's getting closer to Easter! Today's poll: Do you dye Easter eggs? Give us a heart if you do, and a laughing face if you don't! ... Did you know that wild blueberries are so strong in pigment, they can be used to dye fabrics (and eggs)?! If you are looking for a natural way to dye eggs this year, check out this post about how to make your own: https://www.freutcake.com/in-/dye-easter-eggs-blueberries/!

With it being Nutrition Month, there are many resources out there to encourage healthy eating. Do you find yourself in a rut from time to time with your menu planning? We do. At our house, we've fallen into the same cycle of homemade pizza, BLT Chicken salad, sandwiches and homemade burgers. Winter can be especially draining of creative juices. That's why this might be something to get the ball rolling - a FREE E-cookbook of 15 meals created by registered dieticians across C...anada! Follow the link below to check it out now. https://www.dietitians.ca//Recipe-eBook-Nutrition-Month-20 Of course, don't forget to put your own spin on these recipes! We're a fan of the yogurt bark snack, and the Proudly Canadian Beet and Barley salad - especially once we added in a handful of wild blueberries to the mix ;)