Flexitarian Beet Pancakes

Thanks Deirdre for the email and recipes :-)

Serves 4

1 cup grated Yukon Gold potato
1 cup peeled, grated beet
1/2 cup peeled, grated carrot
3 green onions, thinly sliced
2 tbsp liquid honey
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 green chili, minced
3/4 cup chickpea flour
1 egg, lightly beaten
vegetable oil, for frying
garlicky kale
apple salsa
1 lb. sausage meat (optional)

/2 cup non-fat plain Greek yogourt, sour cream or crème fraîche (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 400 F. Using a SpongeTowel, squeeze excess water out of potato, beet and carrot until dry. Combine veggies with onions, honey, salt, pepper and chili in a large bowl; toss until incorporated.
2. Add flour and egg, and mix until ingredients can be formed into four patties, roughly 1/2 cup each. Add a tsp of water if needed.
3. In a large high-sided sauté pan with a lid, heat 1/4-in. oil over medium heat. Cover and cook pancakes until slightly crisp on bottom; flip and cook other side until crisp (roughly 4-5 minutes per side). Covering will keep steam in and help to cook those firm root vegetables through.
4. Remove from heat and transfer pancakes to a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake in oven for about 8 minutes, until pancakes are cooked through and vegetables are soft.
5. Optional: Form sausage meat into 4-oz. patties. Heat 1 tbsp vegetable oil in a non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Fry patties for about 5 minutes, turning once, until golden brown and cooked through.
6. Top pancakes with sausage patties, if desired, and serve with a small pile of garlicky kale, a spoonful of apple salsa and a dollop of yogourt, sour cream or crème fraîche, if you like.

Garlicky Kale

1/2 bunch kale
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
juice of 1 lemon

Pull kale leaves from stems and tear into bite-sized pieces. Heat oil in a sauté pan on medium high and add garlic. Sauté for 30 seconds, then add kale, mixing well to coat leaves with garlic-infused oil. Season with salt and pepper and cook for 5-7 minutes, until bright green and leaves are tender but still have some body. Remove from heat and squeeze lemon juice over kale.

Apple Salsa

2 crisp apples, peeled, cored and finely diced
2 green onions, finely chopped
1 small handful fresh coriander, finely chopped
1 jalapeno, finely chopped
juice of 1 lime
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1/2 tsp salt

Combine ingredients in a small bowl; mix well. Set aside for 15 minutes to allow flavours to blend.

Breakfast mini muffins

Some people call these little quiches....I like to call them, "breakfast mini muffins".
Oh yeah, they are yummy!

2 cups spinach
1/4 cup red pepper
1/4 cup onions
1 cup egg whites
2 whole eggs
1/4 cup low fat Swiss cheese grated
5oz (140g) turkey meat
3 cloves minced garlic
1/2 cup salsa
Pam spray

-Pre-heat oven to 400F
-Add all ingredients into a blender (except salsa), blend to your own consistency
-Spray the muffin cups
-Poor in the mixture evenly, about half way (try to get a little meat and cheese in each muffin)
-Cook for about 20min. Poke a tooth pick into the centre to test if muffins are done (if it is wet, they need more time).

Makes 12 mini muffins
Calories = 3 muffins / 2 muffins
Calories =   569.4kcal / 284.7kcal
Protein =     73.5g  /  36.9g
Carbs =      33.0g   /  16.5g
Fat =          15.8g   /   7.9g

TIP: for all my Action 90 clients, make this your post workout meal by adding a starchy carbohydrate like
oatmeal with blueberries, or a slice of Ezekiel bread with a side cup blueberries.

Chick Pea Cakes

I love me some chick peas!
Take advantage of the high protein and fiber content of chick peas by adding this side dish to some veggies and a serving of protein like baked chicken....yum:-)

1/4 cup Red pepper chopped
1/4 cup Zucchini chopped
1/4 cup Onion chopped
1 tsp coconut oil
1 tsp Garlic minced
1/2 tsp Ginger minced
1/2 tsp Curry powder
1 cup Chick Peas drained & rinced
1 whole egg
1 Egg white
1/4 tsp salt
2 pinches pepper
2 tsp Lemon juice


- Heat up frying pan or skillet  on med heat
- Add in the coconut oil, peppers, zucchini and onion and sauté until light brown
- Add in the garlic, ginger, curry and sauté for 1min more
- Break out the food processor and add in the above sautéed foods with the chick peas, eggs, salt, pepper and lemon juice. Blend this up until smooth or your desired cake consistency
- Set fry pan to heat to med, use some non-stick spray and scoop out 1-2 tbsp of the mixture into little cake circles
- Check under the cakes to see if they are light brown (4min/side about) and flip over
- Repeat this process until all mixture is used up

Calories = 1 Large / 2 Small
Protein =   26.1g  /  13.1g
Carbs =    66.6g  /  33.3g
Fat =        12.6g   /  6.3g

TIP: Add 1/4 cup greek yogurt (use this as a side dipping garnish)
TIP: To all my A90 clients,
this would be a good post weightlifting workout option with some added protein :-)

Side Dish: Coconut Cauliflower Mash

Miss mash potatoes?
Give this cauliflower mash a try; tastes just like mashed potatoes.
Here is a cool twist on the mash.

3 cups cauliflower
1/4 cup cashews crushed up
1/4 cup coconut milk
Pinch of
salt, pepper, cinnamon

BOOSTER = add some protein on the side to help balance out this meal :-)

- add all ingredients into a pot and bring to boil.
- reduce the heat and simmer for 12-15min
- drain and save a little of the water, you might need it for later when mixing it up
- Get out the boat motor and blend up (oh fancy word "Puree" untill smooth)
Calories = Large / Small (serves 1 large and 2 small)
calories =  409.4 / 204.7
Protein = 13.3g  /  6.6g
Carbs =  27.8g   /  13.9g
Fat =      27.3g  /  13.6g (nice healthy fats here for energy, hormone balance and satiety. Do not freak out and send in hate mail...eat up and enjoy)

HOT TIP = make this into a soup, add a cup of hot broth when blending it up :-) Slap in some spices as well.