#weekendwiki

Weekend Bookmark

A weekly roundup of Greenhouse’s digital reads.

The 15 best finds from this spring’s One of a Kind Show | Toronto Life Toronto’s One of a Kind Show is what we imagine Etsy would look like… IRL. The fair’s 450 vendors bring unique and handcrafted goods that are sure to delight the craftiest shoppers. Toronto Life has selected their 15 favourite products from this weekend’s fair, including two delightful plant holders. We plan to pot ours with blooms from our favourite plant whisperers, Crown Flora. Visit them at Booth K33.

Chocolate Can Boost Your Workout. Really. | The New York Times Pinch us, we might be dreaming. With perhaps the best news we heard all week, The New York Times reported that a new study from researchers at England’s Kingston University found that adding a small amount of dark chocolate to a “training diet” may help to improve endurance performance. It is believed this result is likely due to the epicatechin found in dark chocolate, an ingredient that can prompt the release of nitric oxide in the body. We know what we’re packing in our gym bags.  

Chocolate Peanut Butter Easter Eggs | Terrarium And while we have chocolate on the brain, for an extra bounce in your bunny hop this weekend, we suggest one of our most eggcellent Terrarium treats. Recycle last year’s recipe for these vegan, gluten free, chocolate, peanut butter Easter eggs. Made with either crunchy or smooth peanut butter, the recipe makes about 25-30 eggs to fill your Easter basket. 

Beet Hummus from The Society | Nutrition Stripped We are always ready to taste test new recipes, and this one looks especially delicious. Taken from the winter edition of Nutrition Stripped Society, this beet hummus dip will make the perfect companion to our brunch veggie tray on this long weekend.

Sweatworking a trendy way to merge fitness and networking | The Toronto Star The Star reports on Toronto-based Smart Girls Sweat, an organization that runs fusion events that marry business networking and fitness workouts. Interested multitaskers can sweat it out while making connections with liked-minded business-folk.  

Detox Smoothie Bowl with Granola

Granola Ingredients:

3 cups gluten free oats

1/4 cup slivered almonds

1/4 cup sunflower seeds

1/4 cup raisins

1/4 cup maple syrup

1/4 cup raw honey

3 tbsp almond milk

Smoothie Bowl Ingredients:

½ avocado

Handful of spinach

1 cup almond milk

1.5 cup cherries, blackberries, blueberries mixed

½ banana

½ cup ice

1 ginger shot

Mint

Granola Steps:

Preheat the oven to 300 F.

Toss oats, almonds, seeds and raisins together in a large baking pan.

On the stovetop, lightly heat up the maple syrup, honey, and almond milk.

Pour over the oat mixture and put in the oven at 300 degrees fahrenheit for an hour, stirring every 10 minutes to make sure it's toasted evenly.

Smoothie Bowl Steps:

Blend smoothie ingredients in a Vitamix/blender/food processor, whatever you may have! 

Pour ¼ cup of granola on the bottom of your glass, fill up the cup with your delicious smoothie, and top it off with whatever your heart may desire: hemp seeds, coconut, blueberries, banana.

Have a great breakfast!

DIY Standing Desk 

Materials:

Wood tabletop of your choice

Sandpaper

Wood stain of your choice

Paintbrush

Measuring tape

4 Double threaded black iron industrial pipes, a.k.a. legs

4 Iron industrial flanges

Ironblack metal pipe cap cabinet knob drawer pull

16 Wood screws

Drill/screwdriver

Steps:

Determine how tall you want your desk to be. You will need 4 double threaded black iron industrial pipes in your chosen length. Ours were roughly 3ft long. We found them at Home Depot, where they even cut and threaded them for us.

Sand your piece of wood and clean off all of the sawdust to prepare for staining. 

Apply as many coats of stain as you need to get to your desired colour.

Once dry, place your tabletop upside down on the ground and place your 4 flanges evenly in each corner on top.

Drill in your screws to secure each flange firmly.

On one end of each of your pipes screw your pipe cap into place.

Screw your pipes into each flange.

Lift your table and turn it over. Voilà.

Note: pipe caps can be tightened or loosened to compensate for uneven surfaces. 

Chocolate Chip Sea Salt Cookies

Holistic nutritionist and Greenhouse team-member Emily Kreeft shares a heart-warming (and heart-shaped) February treat: vegan, gluten free chocolate chip sea salt cookies.

Milk and cookies go together like February and hibernating.

After a week of subzero temperatures, it’s time to indulge in something that brings sweet warmth to your belly and heart. What better way then through my favorite food in the whole wide world: cookies?

I love finding ways to make comforting foods healthy without loosing the taste and richness,and after a few experiments this recipe passed the test. They’re a great partypleaser, but just as sweet for a night in with a loved one.

1/4 cup almond milk (I used Greenhouse’s Almond Milk) 1/2 cup coconut oil 1 cup brown sugar 1 tbsp vanilla 1 3/4 cup gluten free baking flour 1 tsp baking powder 1 tsp baking soda 1 tsp sea salt 1/2 cup of gluten free oats
 1 1/4 cup dairy free chocolate chips or bar that you cut into medium sized chunks

Steps:

Pre-heat your oven to 350 F.

Cream together the brown sugar and coconut oil, slowly adding the almond milk and vanilla.

In a separate bowl mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and sea salt.

Mix the wet and dry ingredients together and toss in the chocolate chips and oats.

Place on a lightly floured surface, and with a rolling pin, roll out the dough to desired 
thickness.

Using the heart-shaped cookie cutter (or the cookie cutter of your choice, or a glass if you don’t have a cookie cutter on hand), start cutting out hearts, while using a spatula to lift them onto 
the cookie sheet.

Bake for 7-8 minutes.

ENJOY!

A Super Bowl of Kale Chips

Abunch (or two) of curly kale

1-2 tablespoons olive oil or melted coconut oil

Sprinkle of Himalayan salt

Optional "cheesy" flavouring:

Half a red pepper

1/4 cup cashews

1/4 cup nutritional yeast

Steps:

Preheat your oven to 300 F.

Wash your kale and dry it thoroughly. (Soggy kale won’t crisp properly.)

Tear the leaves from the stems, and rip them into bite-sized puzzle pieces.

In a large mixing bowl, toss the kale in oil. We recommend using a wooden spoon (or your hands) to make sure it is spread evenly. (Too much oil will also stand in the way of crispiness.)

If you are planning to dress your kale chips up as Doritos with vegan “cheesy” flavouring, blend the red pepper, cashews and nutritional yeast together, and mix this into the kale pieces.

Spread evenly on a baking sheet (lined with parchment paper if you wish). Sprinkle with Himalayan salt.

Bake that kale until optimal crispiness is achieved, approximately 12-25 minutes, turning the tray if necessary. (Know your oven).

These can also be made in a dehydrator! Set it at 130 F and dehydrate for 4-5 hours.

Now place those super chips in your favourite bowl, and crunch away.

Whole Roasted Carrots with Tahini Dressing

Carrots:

1 bunch carrots (ideally on the thinner side; can be heirloom varieties: purple, yellow, red, etc.), skins and all

2-3 cloves garlic, smashed and finely chopped

Olive oil

Paprika

Himalayan salt

Pepper

Cumin (optional)

Steps:

Preheat oven to 375 F.

Wash and dry carrots (but don’t peel them).

Place carrots in baking dish. Baking dish should be big enough so that each carrot has enough space to lie flat without touching the other carrots. Carrots need their space. (Minimum 1 cm between carrots.)

Drizzle with olive oil (about 3-5 tbsp). Massage oil lovingly into carrots by hand, distributing equally from end to end. Carrots need love.

Sprinkle paprika (about 4 tbsp) over carrots. 

Grind black pepper over carrots, enough to cover each carrot. 

Sprinkle cumin (1-2 tbsp). 

Sprinkle salt (to taste).

Sprinkle finely chopped garlic.

Place baking dish in oven for about 45 minutes. Check on them after 30 minutes. They may need a whole hour, depending on the oven. They should be slightly charred on the outside and tender when you bite into the flesh.

Tahini Dressing:

3 tbsp organic tahini (sesame butter) 

5-10 tbsp warm water

3 pinches Himalayan salt

2 garlic cloves, crushed and minced

Juice of half large lemon (or full small lemon) 

Steps:

Add all ingredients in a saucepan to heat, with the 5 tbsp of water to start.

Add more water depending on desired thickness. 

Add salt to taste. 

Drizzle on carrots, or serve on the side for dipping. 

Carrot Ginger Soup

3 large carrots, chopped

1 large onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil or coconut oil

1 litre veg broth

1/2 cup coconut milk (optional —makes it really creamy and yummy)

Handful of basil 2 greenhouse ginger boosters (or 2 tbsps finely grated ginger)

Salt and pepper to taste

Steps:

Sauté onion and garlic in oil over medium heat for 3-4 minutes or until browning.

Add basil, chopped carrots, ginger boosters and broth and bring to boil.

Reduce heat and let simmer for 20 minutes.

Remove from heat and add coconut milk.

Blend in batches in a blender or food processor.

Add salt and pepper to taste and top with some fresh basil.

Lunch.

Vanilla Cinnamon Chia Seed Pudding

3 tbsp black chia seeds

1 tbsp ground flax seeds (optional)

1 tbsp hemp seeds (optional)

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1 cup vanilla almond milk (ideally made with real vanilla bean and some coconut oil, and sweetened with dates. Okay let’s be honest: ideally our almond milk)

Berries and/or crumbled nuts of your choice

Steps:

Pour the almond milk into a small mason jar, a bowl, or another sealable, coolable vessel with an opening large enough to accommodate a spoon.

Spoon in seeds and cinnamon, and stir very well. (You can also close the jar and shake it up, but it may not look quite as nice once it has set. Unless you wipe the inside edges with a clean damp cloth. If you go down that route then we can think of this as step 2 1/2.)

Ensure that all seeds are completely and irreversibly immersed.

Sprinkle some extra cinnamon on top to add panache.

Seal the jar and refrigerate for several hours (preferably overnight).

Getting antsy? To find out whether it has set, you can tilt the jar and observe whether the almond milk is spilling sideways or just swaying. When it is ready, it will sway.

Top with garnish of your choice and savour for breakfast, dessert, or whenever the mood strikes. Serves one (who is hungry) or two (who are generous).

Pro Tip:

You can shake this mixture up and pour it into several shot glasses or espresso cups (and cover them in the fridge overnight) to make miniature puddings for your seedy brunch posse, or as clever weekday snacks.

Off Piste:

Choco-Maca-Chia – substitute Almond Milk with Choco-Maca-Milk. Caution: this may change your life.

Raspberry Chia – muddle some raspberries with your seedy ensemble before mixing in the almond milk. In this case you may or may not wish to withhold the cinnamon (no judgment either way).

Coconut Chia – toss in some shredded coconut along with your seeds and spice.

Almond or Peanut Butter Chia –- blend a spoonful of either nut butter with the almond milk.

Banana Chia – blend half a banana with the almond milk. Substitute with an entire banana for added banananess.

Chai Chia –- add cardamom, cloves and extra cinnamon, then try saying the name twelve times really fast while standing on your head. If you succeed, call us immediately; we need to talk.