Whether you're serving breakfast on the deck or packing a picnic lunch, these muffins add a perfect combination of sweetness and nutrition to your meal. Enjoy them plain or topped with preserves - check out my recipe for blueberry chia seed jam!



Ingredients (Makes 6 muffins)

• 2 medium apples
  
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose gluten-free flour
  
• 1 1/2 cups flaxseed meal
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 3/4 cup unsweetened almond milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup whole flaxseeds

 
Watch the instructional video here

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a six-muffin tin with large paper cups and set aside. Peel and puree the apples in a blender or food processor. Set aside (mixture will turn brown).
                           
In a large bowl, mix flour, flaxseed meal, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. In a separate bowl, combine the milk, eggs, and vanilla. Mix well, and slowly pour the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients, stirring. When wet and dry ingredients are combined, add the apple puree; stir to combine.
 
Using a measuring cup or scoop, evenly divide the batter between the muffin cups. (fill nearly all the way to the top; because these are gluten-free, they won't rise very much.) Sprinkle flax seeds on top of each muffin. Bake, uncovered, for 20-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the muffin comes out clean. Cool in the muffin tin for 5 to 10 minutes.
 
Muffins will keep in an airtight container for 3 days.

While research results are mixed around flaxseed (Linum usitatissimum) and its ability to reduce menopausal symptoms, there are enough positive findings to support use of this nutrient-rich herb. For many women it has made the difference between comfort and discomfort when it comes to reduction of hot flashes, night sweats, mood swings. Here are three nutrients found in flaxseeds, all of which play a role in supporting good health.

1. Omega-3 Fatty Acids: beneficial for preventing or treating certain health conditions, including heart disease and depression.

2. Mucilage: refers to water-soluble, gel-forming fiber that can provide special support to the intestinal tract. This makes flaxseed an excellent support to digestion and relief of constipation.

3. Lignans: provides fiber-related polyphenols that have two important health benefits. They provide antioxidants, which help prevent damage to other cells in the body and are associated with preventing disease. Additionally, polyphenols in lignans influence hormone metabolism.


Purchasing and Storing Flax

Raw flaxseed ranges in colour from amber/gold to tan/brown. White or green flaxseed has been harvested before full maturity; black flaxseeds were likely harvested after full maturity. To reap the full health benefits, select the amber or brown variety. If possible, purchase the whole seed in bulk, store in the freezer and grind only the amount needed for immediate use. Flaxseed can be ground, sprinkled on cereal, added to baking mixes and used as a thickening agent in many recipes.

Want more flaxseeds? Check out this delicious recipe for Gluten free Flaxseed Apple Muffins 

This easy, 9-ingredient plant-based meal is packed with flavour and delicious nutrition in every bite! Aromatic brown rice and pinto beans are embellished with onion, salsa and a simple avocado crema!

Prep time:  15 minutes;  Cook time: 1 hour 15 minutes
Serves: 4

Ingredients

RICE

• 8 cups (2880 ml) water
• 1 cup (185 g) uncooked brown rice, this can be substituted with quinoa
• 1 tbsp (15 ml) grape seed oil
• 1/2 white or yellow onion, thinly sliced (55 g)
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1/4 tsp sea salt
• 1/3 cup (85 g) chunky red or green salsa, plus more for topping; a homemade salsa or pico de gallo would work here as well
• 1/4 cup (15 g) cilantro, plus more for serving

PEPPERS

• 4 poblano peppers, skin on
• 1 tsp grapeseed, olive or coconut oil

BEANS

• 1 15-ounce (425 g) can pinto beans, lightly drained (if unsalted, add additional salt)
• 1/4  tsp ground cumin
• Sea salt to taste (~ a pinch)

FOR TOPPING (optional)

• Creamy Avocado Cilantro Dressing (see link for recipe)
• Hot sauce
• Fresh cilantro
• Sliced avocado

Instructions

1. Add 8 cups water to a large pot and bring to a boil over high heat. Once boiling, add rice and cook for 30 minutes. Drain and return to pot off of heat, and cover for 10 minutes. Set aside.
2. In the meantime, preheat oven to high broil and place a rack at the top of your oven.
3. Lightly brush whole poblano peppers with oil. Place on a baking sheet and broil on high for 1-2 minutes on each side, or until lightly blistered.
4. Turn oven off broil and preheat to 375 degrees F.
5. Let peppers cool for a few minutes, then peel away any blistered skin and use a paring knife to cut out the stem. Also cut a slit down one side of the pepper and use your hands or a spoon to scrape out the seeds. Set aside.
6. Heat a large metal or cast iron skillet over medium heat. Once hot, add 1 Tbsp oil and onion and sauté for 4-5 minutes, or until soft and translucent.
7. Next add cooked rice, cumin, 1/4 tsp sea salt, salsa and cilantro. Stir to combine. Taste and adjust seasonings as needed.
8. In a separate small saucepan over medium heat, add pinto beans and season with cumin and sea salt to taste. Once bubbly and hot, remove from heat and set aside.
9. Place peppers in a lightly greased, large baking dish (9x13-inch is best) and scoop generous amounts of the rice filling into each pepper using a spoon. Top with beans and a bit more salsa and cover the dish with foil.
10. Bake peppers at 375 degrees F for 15 minutes, then remove foil and bake for another 10-15 minutes uncovered. The longer they bake, the more tender the peppers will become.
11. Let cool slightly before serving with desired toppings (see options above). Best when fresh, though leftovers keep in the refrigerator for 2-3 days. Reheat in the microwave or in a 350 degree F oven until warmed through.

I hope you enjoy this amazing recipe that I came across and had to share! For more pictures check out the recipe here.

Bite into a hot pepper, or chilis, and you'll instantly feel the 'flame effect.' But can these fiery fruits actually boost your metabolism and promote weight loss?
 
To a degree, the scientific answer is yes.
 
Chilies get their heat from an oily chemical compound called capsaicin, which is concentrated in the membrane surrounding the seeds of the Capsicum plant. In studies, Capsaicin boosts thermogenesis - the process by which the body turns calories into heat to use for fuel. However, the effect on weight loss is modest, at best. Here's why:
 
Given the pungency of peppers, it's difficult for anyone, even a person with a great tolerance for spicy foods, to eat hot peppers often enough and in a sufficient enough serving to lose weight via the 'chili pepper effect.'
 
Even though we can't eat enough hot peppers to result in weight loss, including chilies in your diet promotes good health in other ways. Chilies are rich in vitamins A, E and K and potassium. Additionally, in scientific studies capsaicin (in capsule form) has been shown to help reduce pain and inflammation, boost immunity, lower the risk for Type 2 Diabetes, and clear congestion associated with colds.
 
Caution:  Biting into a raw or cooked chili pepper creates an intense heat inside the mouth (the flame effect). If that happens to you, drink milk or eat cottage cheese or plain yogurt to tame the heat. Also, if you're not accustomed to eating chilis your throat may swell and your body may react to the peppers and cause you to vomit.
 
The Hottest of the Hot
The Scoville scale measures the heat of chili peppers. The following list shows chilis in the order of their Scoville Heat Units, from high heat to modest heat:

• Habaneros and Scotch bonnets
• Cayenne pepper
• Tabasco pepper
• Thai chili pepper
• Jalapeno and Serrano chili peppers

Hot Tip:  If you can't remember which are the hottest of the hot peppers, look at the thickness of the stem. The thinner the stem, the hotter the pepper (and higher the capsaicin). Red peppers are hotter than green.

It's really quite easy to plant and grow a flourishing organic garden. It all begins thinking of your organic garden as an integrated ecosystem built upon nature's principles, not man's laboratory creations.

The foundation for organic gardening is biodiversity. In the wild, a variety of plants and wildlife exist interdependently-providing shelter, moisture, continual bloom when pollen is available for insects, and support for all the creatures within the system.

You can apply the biodiversity principle at home by following these key steps in organic gardening:

• Build-up the soil
• Use natural fertilizer and pest control
• Choose companion plants for your climate zone
• Arrange plants so they provide a habitat for insects and wildlife that actually benefit garden health.

If you combine these principles with good gardening habits, you'll soon have an organic green thumb (and lots of delicious, good-for-you vegetables to eat)!


It's Not Just Dirt!

What's the difference between how the organic gardener feeds a garden compared to the conventional gardener? The conventional gardener feeds the plant (with chemicals from a lab), while the organic gardener feeds the soil.

Soil is living matter full of as many as 50 billion microscopic plants and organisms! Soil, and the creatures living in it, requires air and water to thrive. If you don't know the condition of your soil, contact your local master gardening organization, or university agriculture department-both will usually test soil for free or a nominal fee. When buying soil, you want it largely composed of organic material (read the package label).

To maintain and protect organic soil:

• Continually feed with organic matter-compost, manure, leaves, straw, and grass clippings.
• Weed regularly
• Incorporate companion plants that naturally tame weed growth.
• Check plant packaging or a regional organic gardening guide to learn how to properly select and space plants to best match the yield you want from your garden.
• Use mulch.

Protect Against Pests and Fertilize, Naturally

Synthetic herbicides and insecticides seep into groundwater, affect the health of wildlife and plants, and can contaminate your food. These chemicals also kill off beneficial insects that are part of nature's pest control system.

Synthetic fertilizers are not recommended for an organic garden because residual chemicals, including salts, can interfere with plant growth and even build-up in lawns. For example, quick-release high nitrogen fertilizers produce lush foliage but damage root structure - a plant's only way to extract nutrients.

Your best defense against pests is preventing a problem to begin with. You can accomplish this in a number of ways, all of which will invite natural enemies of pests into your growing area. Plus, these are great practices for any size garden:

• Carefully select plants for your climate zone, build-up your soil, and plant in appropriate light/shade and space for the growing season.
• Water early in the day. Keep water in the root zone, not aimed at the plant.
• Maintain "plant personal space." Prune plants and weeds to maintain good air circulation and prevent crowding, which can spread disease.
• Use netting or chicken wire to keep out pests that scurry around your yard.
• Learn to properly use botanical poisons, chemicals extracted from plants or minerals that are toxic to plant predatory insects (ex. Neem, certain essential oils).

You can also search online for resources to help you with natural, integrated pest management (IPM). These resources can also help you resolve a pest problem.

Its that time of year to start gardening, if you haven't already. So make your garden organic and have fun with it!

If daily hassles, constantly chiming cell phones, and past-due deadlines have you at the boiling point, simmer down to the yoga mat and find a little peace of mind.
 
A mind-body practice, Yoga combines physical poses (postures) called asanas, simple breathing exercises and guided meditation. Anyone can practice yoga and experience the health-enhancing benefits:

• Reduce blood pressure
• Lower resting heart rate (so the heart works more efficiently)
• Promote mental alertness
• Better manage symptoms of anxiety and depression
• Improve muscle tension associated with stress and chronic health conditions

 
There are many 'styles' of Yoga for you to try. Styles vary in how many and the intensity of how the poses are performed; some styles are more intense (Bikram, Power) and others more restorative (Kundalini, Ashtanga). All yoga styles originate from Hatha Yoga, which was developed in India about 5,000 years ago. Hatha Yoga is a good choice for managing stress and chronic health concerns. It also is ideal for beginners.
 
A yoga class begins with breathing exercises and gentle movements to clear the mind and limber the body for the "active postures." Next, you'll move through a series of poses (standing, seated, and lying down). During class an instructor may use the ancient Sanskrit (Hindu) names and the English names for poses, e.g., Mountain Pose (Tadasana) or Triangle Pose (Trikanasana). A certified instructor helps participants modify poses to suit their unique needs.
 
The focus of practicing yoga is not on how long or how perfectly you perform the pose. Nor is it competitive - so no making comparisons or judgments of self and others. Yoga is all about letting go of your mental chatter by focusing on the breath and allowing it to guide your body into a calm, centered state.
 
Yoga class concludes with a guided meditation or relaxation exercise. This may help you learn to be more mindful and aware of yourself in any moment of your day, not just the time you spend on the yoga mat.

It's not unusual to blame your shrink-resistant waistline on a slow metabolism. But that's not usually the culprit keeping you from reaching your ideal weight.
 
What is Metabolism?
Metabolism is your body's method of converting calories, from the food you eat, into energy needed to power all the physiological processes that keep you alive and kicking 24/7. The minimum amount of energy your body needs to keep you going is called Base Metabolic Rate (BMR).
 
Calories in food - protein, fat and carbohydrates - fuel your BMR. Each of us requires a unique daily number of calories to maintain BMR so we can breathe, grow, think, sleep, digest food, and filter waste. Age and lifestyle are significant factors in calculating BMR. If you sit more than you move each day, your BMR is lower and your daily calorie needs are lower, too.
 
Losing or gaining weight is about energy balance (calories taken in - calories burned off). Take in more calories than your body needs for maintaining BMR (or take in more calories than you use for physical activity) and you will gain weight.
 
It's in My Genes!
Your genes (and hormones) play a role in metabolism because they can influence the potential you have to grow muscles (how dense and how big) and how your body stores fat. However, genetic and hormonal mechanisms in metabolism are extremely complex. There are no definitive theories. Yet, many people have lost and maintained a tremendous amount of weight despite their family history. Many health experts agree, "Your genes are not your fate."
 
Chances are your 'slow metabolism' has more to do with your diet and the type of exercise you are (or are not) doing on a regular basis.
 
If your exercise routine builds lean muscle, that helps rev-up your metabolism. Muscle tissue requires more energy to maintain than fat tissue. This is why people with leaner bodies (a higher muscle to fat ratio) have a higher BMR. (Those are the folks who eat carrot cake that doesn't 'go right to their hips.')
 
Build a 24-Hour Fat Burning Body
The first key to revving-up metabolism is eating a whole foods diet: lean protein, high quality grains, plant-based fats and oils, fresh fruits and veggies, and drinking lots of water.
 
To really turn-up the heat on your metabolism, and your waistline, you'll want to try the muscle-building, never boring workouts listed below. These workouts help your body generate a 'post-exercise burn' that can rev up your metabolism for 2 - 24 hours after you finish a workout. Factors that determine the after-burn effect include your current fitness level and body composition, the intensity and duration of exercise, and type of exercise performed.
 
Just remember: Our bodies are designed to adapt; beginners to elite athletes both have to change-up their routine every few weeks to continue to see progress.
 
Circuit Training:  Exercises all the major muscle groups in one workout (30-45 minutes) and may include body-weight movements, machines, dumbbells, and exercise bands. Exercises are performed for 8-12 reps, 1-3 sets of each.
 
High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT). These workouts alternate bouts of maximal physical effort with a rest (or lower intensity) period for set times (e.g., 40 seconds max, 15 seconds lower effort). HIIT principles can be integrated into a variety of exercise routines including walk/run, swim, weight training, and group classes. Research shows an increase in calorie burn for up to 24-hours post exercise.
 
Metabolic Conditioning routines are highly intense and designed to engage different physiological "energy" pathways in the body. These workouts typically use a "suspension exercise system" (e.g., TRX) but can be integrated into other fitness activities. It's best to have a metabolic exercise routine designed and supervised by an experienced exercise specialist who can appropriately alter the intensity, reps, sets and rest intervals.
 
CrossFit often done as a group activity, this involves a variety of functional movements that engage the whole body at a relatively high intensity. The routines involve running, rowing, squatting and other exercises that support the way your body moves on a daily basis. The aim is to generate maximal power in as little time as possible to get stronger and fitter.
 
Calculate your BMR here!

I hope these tips become helpful for you on your weight loss journey!