Slow Cooker Potato Leek Soup

I’ve been under the weather lately and craving soup! Here is one of my all time favorite winter soups.

Ingredients
2 lbs potatoes diced
3 TBSP flour
5 cups veggie broth
2 leeks,rinsed and chopped
1 TBSP dried dill, or 2 TBSP fresh
2/3 cup half and half
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
Salt and Pepper

Add potatoes and leeks to slow cooker, sprinkle with flour and stir to coat. Add broth and dill and salt and pepper to taste and cook 7 hours on low until potatoes are tender.

Puree soup in batches in a blender or using a hand blender. Stir in half and half and cheese. Enjoy!

Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

One of my husband’s favourite holidays is Halloween: the decorations, our family traditions and especially the food. I’m not just talking about the mini-chocolate bars and candy, but fall food with a Halloween twist. Making food fun, especially during a holiday like Halloween, is a clever way to sneak nutritious snacks and meals into your spooky celebrations. Here is a great recipe that is so much fun to make your little monsters will have no idea that these tasty treats are good for them!

Ingredients
Pumpkin seeds saved from carving your pumpkin
4 tbsp vegetable oil or melted butter
Various seasoning

When carving your pumpkin separate the seeds from pumpkin flesh – a great job for those too small to carve their own pumpkin! Wash seeds in a sink or big bowl of water, making sure you remove the pumpkin flesh by rubbing them between your hands. Drain in a strainer and dry with paper towel.

Preheat your oven to 275 degrees.

Spread the dry seeds out on a cookie tray and lightly baste with vegetable oil or melted butter, just enough so that seeds are coated but are not swimming in oil.

Time to season your seeds! There are so many ways to do it – here are just a few. Mix flavourings together in a bowl and sprinkle or drizzle over oiled seeds.

Fall flavours: 1 tsp cinnamon, ½ tsp ground ginger, ½ tsp salt and ½ tsp ground allspice

Spicy: 1 tsp cayenne pepper, ½ tsp thyme, ½ tsp salt and ½ tsp pepper

Savoury: ½ tsp garlic salt and 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce

Natural: 1 tsp salt

Lemony: 2 tsp lemon pepper seasoning

Cook seeds in a 275 degree oven for 10 – 20 minutes until golden brown. Oven temperatures will vary and they burn quickly, so keep an eye on them and give them a stir every 5 minutes or so. Allow seeds to cool when they come out of the oven for 10 minutes. These are delish served warm or cold.

 

Vitamin C

Everyone knows that Vitamin C is helpful in keeping those nasty colds, infections and flu at bay, but why is it especially important for you while pregnant? Well let’s take a look at what Vitamin C does for your body.

Vitamin C, also known as ascorbic acid, is essential for tissue repair, wound healing, bone growth and repair, and healthy skin. Both you and your baby need this vitamin daily – it’s necessary for the body to make collagen, a structural protein that’s a component of cartilage, tendons, bones, and skin.

So not only is it keeping you healthy, but it’s also helping your baby develop it’s muscles and bones. Vitamin C also helps your body absorb iron, another essential nutrient.

How much do you need? Well, pregnant women need about 85 mg while those breastfeeding need almost 120 mg. But there are easy ways to get it into your diet!

Some foods high in Vitamin C include: citrus fruits, broccoli, strawberries and red peppers.

Use the tabs on the side to click through to recipes that include Vitamin C and check back often, new recipes and information is added each week.

Asian Marinara Sauce

Noodles of any kind are always a big hit at my house. There is something about them that the whole family loves. So warm, so comforting. But sometimes I grow tired of the same old same old. That’s why when I saw a recipe for Japanese Noodles in my Moosewood cookbook I was keen to give them a go. But of course in the hustle that is my week night I needed to make a couple of changes to the recipe for time sake. The finished product was something a little off the beaten path, but close enough to home that the kid gave it a thumbs up!

Ingredients

3 single serve packages of Udon Noodles (you can find these in most grocery stores near the rice noodles)
2 TBSP sesame oil
2 TBSP soy sauce
1 TBSP olive oil
2 cups diced salt free canned tomatoes
5 spring onions chopped finely
Salt and pepper to taste

In a small pot add all ingredients minus the udon noodles. Bring to a simmer and let sit on low heat to warm through.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook the udon noodles for 3 minutes, or by package instructions. Drain and return to large pot. Add heated sauce and serve immediately.