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Quinoa, Sweet Potato, Bean and Cashew Wraps

Creamy cashew sauce:

•    1 cup raw cashews (soak in hot water / 2 hours and drain) •    2-3 clove garlic •    3/4 cup almond or cashew milk •    1/3 cup nutritional yeast •    1 tsp lime zest •    2 tbsp fresh lime juice •    1-2 tsp paprika •    ¼ to ½  tsp Himalayan pink salt •    fresh ground pepper to taste   Filling Ingredients:

•    ½  cup chickpeas •    ½ cup pinto beans •    ½  cup dried quinoa (1 1/2 cups cooked) •    1 small sweet potato, cut into ¼ in (1.25 cm) cubes •    1 tablespoon virgin olive oil •    1 small red onion, thinly sliced •    1 tsp ground cumin •    1 tsp ground coriander •    ½  tsp paprika •    ¼  tsp cayenne (optional) •    ½ cup fresh cilantro, chopped 

•    6-10 whole wheat tortillas 

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 400° F. Dice sweet potato into ¼  inch cubes then toss with olive oil and spread on a greased baking sheet. Roast until tender, 20 - 30 minutes, stirring once halfway through. Once cooked cool completely and set aside.

Drain and rinse the chickpeas and pinto beans transfer to a saucepan. Cover with fresh water and bring to a boil for 20 to 30 minutes. Drain and transfer to a medium bowl and let cool to room temperature. While the sweet potatoes and beans are cooking, place quinoa into a separate pot with half of the salt. Bring quinoa to a boil with 1 cup of water of vegetable broth, reduce to low and cook for 20 minutes until all of the liquid has been absorbed. Slice red onion thinly and cut into ½ inch pieces. Chop cilantro, then toss all of the filling ingredients including the spices in a bowl until mixed thoroughly.

Place all of the cashew sauce ingredients into a food processor and blend until creamy and smooth.  Mix the sauce with the filling ingredients ½ at a time, stop adding when filling holds together but isn’t saturated. 

Place tortillas in foil and warm in the oven at 350° F for 10 – 12 minutes. 

Infofit Energy Bars

Ingredients

2 ½ cups old fashioned rolled oats

½ cup  whole pumpkin seeds

¼ cup sesame seeds

½ cup unsalted sunflower seeds

1/3 cup  honey

¼ cup unsalted butter, cut into pieces (can substitute applesauce in equal parts)

¼ cup packed light brown sugar (substitute coconut sugar, date sugar, or substitute up to half of the sugar with agave nectar)

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

¼ teaspoon kosher salt

½ cup dried cranberries, coarsely chopped

1/4 cup chocolate chips (optional)

Directions

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Line bottom and sides of an 8-inch or 9-inch square pan with parchment paper. Then lightly spray with oil, set aside.

2. Toast Oats and seeds in oven before adding to the rest of the ingredients. Place them on a baking sheet then bake 5 minutes, stir and bake another 3 to a minutes until lightly toasted. Transfer to a large bowl.

3. Combine butter, honey, brown sugar, vanilla extract and the salt in a small pan. Cook over medium heat.  Stir occasionally until butter melts and the sugar completely dissolves.

4. Pour liquid mixture in the bowl with toasted oats and seeds. Mix well ensuring the dry ingredients are coated. Let cool for 5 minutes then add cranberries. Add a ¼ cup of the mini chocolate chips if desired. Stir to combine. (The chocolate chips will slightly melt. The chocolate will solidify as they cool so will help to hold the bars together).

Living here in beautiful British Columbia, we are spoiled with the ability to enjoy many different water based activities like stand up paddle boarding and of course kayaking. Kayaking allows us to paddle through our pristine ocean and observe the aquatic wildlife as well as the beautiful landscape. In order to enjoy your kayaking adventure, be sure to prepare yourself fully by doing some prep work in the gym with your certified personal trainer.

Even the most casual kayaking adventure can challenge you aerobically, so to improve your cardiovascular endurance, you need to train aerobically a minimum of 3-5 times per week for 30-60 minutes per session. Ensure you elite trainer has taken specialized fitness courses that allows them to prescribed the appropriate cardiovascular program. You want to be training aerobically and not anaerobically, your heart rate in a range should be somewhere between -80% maximal heart rate. Having your personal trainer keep you in this zone should guarantee your ability to breathe easy!

Due to the nature of the sport, kayaking can test the muscular strength of your upper body and the muscular endurance of your core. Building strength in your arms and upper body with a weight training, kayaking alone will not be enough to improve your performance. Single arm exercises that provide the ability to train the core are always a great idea. Your program should include dumbbell chest press, seated cable row, cable rear deltoid row, bicep curls and triceps press downs.

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Learn More - http://www.infofit.ca/preparing-for-kayaking/

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Slow Cooker (no-butter) Butter Chicken

Simmer the sauce in a slow cooker for up to 8 hours. Come home and add the chicken. Serve over basmati rice. This recipe yields a large quantity of sauce and can easily be frozen if there are any leftovers!

Ingredients: 

2 onions, diced

3 cloves garlic, minced

3 tbsp coconut oil

3 tbsp fresh grated ginger

2 tbsp honey

2 tsp chilli powder

3/4 tsp each ground coriander, turmeric

1/2 tsp each cinnamon and ground cumin

1/2 tsp each salt and pepper

1 can 796 mL dices tomatoes

1 cup low-sodium chicken stock

1/4 cup almond or cashew butter

3 lbs boneless skinless chicken thighs, cut into bite size pieces

1 cup plain Greek yogurt

Cilantro for garnish

Directions: 

Combine onions, garlic, coconut oil, ginger, honey, spices, salt, pepper and tomatoes in slow cooker. Whisk broth with nut butter and pour into slow cooker.

Cover and cook on low for 5 hours or for up to 8 hours.

Purée sauce until smooth using an immersion blender. May add more broth if sauce is too thick. Add chicken, cover and cook on high for 30-40 minutes. Stir in Greek yogurt. Serve sprinkled with cilantro.

http://www.infofit.ca/courses/nutrition/

Vanilla Blueberry Ice Cream

Vanilla Blueberry is delicious and refreshing on hot summer nights.

3 scoops of Vega Vanilla Flavored Protein Powder

4 cups Frozen Blueberries

1 Cup Unsweetened Coconut Milk

Add all your ingredients together, placing them in a food processor. Start out by pulsing the ingredients together then slowly start to increase the speed until you have a smooth soft ice cream consistency.

Makes 2 servings

http://www.infofit.ca/courses/nutrition/

http://www.infofit.ca/category/nutrition/