Amanda Hilton: kale

Weekly Meal Plan

Weekly Meal Plan

July 24, 2022

Amanda Hilton

This week, I've decided to make a full day meal plan for the week instead of just dinners. The dinner meals are for the whole family whereas the breakfast and lunch will be mostly for me and my oldest daughter. When I have my meals planned, I’m not as likely to just snack on whatever I can grab throughout the day.

Each day breakfast is a smoothie and a macadamia milk latte. Before breakfast, I drink 1 litre of lemon water to help get my body ready for a day of digesting. Lunch will either be a salad, soup or a combo of a bit of each. I’m also planning on making a few batches of some healthy muffins (like the zucchini muffins in picture) and some energy bars/bites which are easy for my daughter to pack in her work lunch. For dinners we are having:

* DIY gluten free pizza and salad
* Twice baked sweet potatoes with broccoli, kale and chickpeas
* Vegan paella
* Brown rice noodles with pumpkin sauce and a salad
* Potato white bean soup
* Vegan chili
* Tofu or beyond sausage with roasted veggies and quinoa

Follow on instagram @amandahiltonrhn or facebook cert.holisticnutritionist for daily menu plan.

I went out yesterday to do my shopping for this week and saved $5 picking up my coffee syrups (member rewards) and $20 at the Superstore with PC points. I also earned 5800 points while at the Superstore. When I got home I saved an additional $0.75 through Eclipsa and $3.00 with Checkout 51.

Total savings of $33.75
Total spent: ECS coffee $20, Superstore $256

Got Kale? Try This Organic Superfood

Got Kale? Try This Organic Superfood

Amanda Hilton

March 30, 2022

(updated September 6, 2023)

Let's talk about Kale, Collards and Mustard Greens, third on the EWG’s 2023 Dirty Dozen list. If you aren’t familiar with the Dirty Dozen list, check out my previous blog, The Low Down on Organic for more info.

Nutritional Highlights

Dark leafy greens are probably the richest in nutrients of any food in the vegetable kingdom. The greener the better. These veggies are high in vitamins A and C as well as magnesium, potassium and calcium (kale has even more calcium than a glass of milk!). They are also abundant in folic acid, which helps make healthy red blood cells.

Most dark green, leafy veggies, will take nitrogen from the soil into its tissues. In excess (as you find in chemical fertilizers), these compounds can form carcinogenic (cancer-forming) nitrosamines in the intestines. Under organic cultivation, the soil is fertilized with compost rather than flooded with chemical nitrogen. Compost is buffered by the action of microorganisms and delivers only the amount of nitrogen the plants need for their health. Chemicals are also sprayed on leafy green vegetables and tend to remain there even after harvest. Because we consume the leafy part, this can be even more of a concern and reason to switch to organic.

Leafy Greens

Mustard greens are a great addition to a salad, soup, or stir-fry. And big collard leaves are great as wraps filled with hummus and veggies, or beans, rice and veggies. My favourite out of the three powerhouse greens is, kale. We always have kale in our fridge and we even grow it in our garden during the summer (very easy to grow even without a green thumb!). You can add kale to just about anything… soups, salads, rice dishes, stir-fry, pizza, noodles, pasta… the list goes on. My favourite way to incorporate its goodness, along with other amazing nutrient-rich foods, is in a Kale and Cabbage Salad.

Recipe

Kale and Cabbage Salad

4 cups chopped kale
2 tbsp olive oil
1 cup shredded red cabbage
½ cup shredded carrots
¼ cup raw sunflower seeds
¼ cup hemp hearts

Dressing:
¼ cup flax oil or olive oil
2 tbsp fresh squeezed lemon juice
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tbsp tamari sauce (gluten free soy sauce)
2 tsp dijon mustard
½ tsp Herbamare

Drizzle kale with olive oil and massage for 5 min.
Add remaining ingredients and top with dressing mix.
Enjoy!

Kale, Collards, and Mustard Greens are number three on the EWG's Dirty Dozen list, follow along with my blog as I chat about the other 11 fruits and veggies that contain high amounts of synthetic chemicals. Also, check out my Instagram page @amandahiltonrhn for posts about our local organic community food share and for healthy organic meal ideas. Shoot me a message services@amandahilton.ca if you would like to learn more ways to add organic vegetables to your diet.

Amanda Hilton

Weekly Meal Plan

Got Kale? Try This Organic Superfood

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