Firery Pumpkin Soup

Notice a trend so far in this blog? I like my food SPICY!

I'm sure this is just a winter trend, but as the outside temperature goes down, I am more inclined to have things baking in the oven, or my home filled with the smell of a delicious stew or soup. My Mum (I'm Australian!) used to make huge pots of pumpkin soup and I remember my brother eating bowls and bowls to fuel a growth spurt he had when he was 14 (in my memory he grew like a foot in a week!)

(don't want to read the boring stuff? click here for the recipe!)


Heat and curry give foods body and comfort, I'm by no means saying you need to have your face melting off and break out a sweat when you eat this soup, but even if you don't like hot food add a tiny bit of curry powder, and see what it does for the dish. Trust me you won't regret it.

Check out the nutritional info for the recipe - its no joke! This foods a great binge-recovery dish to cook, because it offers so much volume relative to the nutrients and caloric content. Sometimes when you're cold you just want to sit on the couch and eat and eat - and with this soup you can do it guilt free!

I want to make some videos on binge eating because theres a victimhood attitude towards it in the online weight loss community - often it is decided that its a disorder and self diagnosed then it perpetuates a lack of responsibility which frankly infuriates me! its like blaming your obesity on your genetics. Being successful in weight loss means acknlowledging your issues with food and undoing years and years of bad habits, not diagnosing yourself with disorders so that you can shift the blame.

I know its hard. I know you feel out of control, but the label "I have binge eating disorder" makes things worse, not better. Instead of focusing on the negatives, work on your relationship with food by turning it from something you fear into something you love and enjoy - make the damn soup!

Spicy Pumpkin Soup Makes 8 Servings Serving: 1.5 cup yield, 109 cal, 2 fat, 23 carb, 2 protein 1 Butternut squash(butternut pumpkin if you are Aussie!) 1 large onion 3 medium carrots, 2 cups chicken stock* 1tbsp olive oil 2tsp minced garlic 1tsp dried ginger 0.5tsp cayenne pepper (adjust for spice preference!) 1.5 tbsp curry powder (adjust for spice preference!) salt and pepper Cut carrots and pumpkin into even cubes, the larger the cube, the longer the cooking time. Roughly dice the onion. In a soup pot heat up 1tbsp of oil and cook onion until beginning to brown, roughly 2 mins. Add garlic and cook a furthur minute, then add pumpkin, carrot, stock and water to cover. Bring to a boil then reduce heat and simmer until vegetables are soft (aproximately 30 mins). Using a immersion blender, or pureeing batches of the slightly cooled soup in a blender, puree the soup, adding more water to achieve desired consistency. Add curry powder, cayenne pepper then taste for heat. Then add salt and pepper and taste for seasoning. To serve, garnish with a sprinkle of cayenne pepper Substitutions** Use Vegetable stock or none at all to make vegan

This soup freezes awesome, divide it into ziplock baggies and freeze flat for an easy stackable package that lasts months. Also some toasted pumpkin seeds or some curly carrot ribbons would be like, the cutest garnish ever!

Love life and your body!

-Toni

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Crunchy peanut lettuce wraps

 Every try something at a resteraunt and think "oh these would be really easy to make at home" well that is exactly how these delicious wraps came about

(don't want to read the boring stuff? click here for the recipe!)







I'm not going to say they are exactly or anything like the lettuce wraps we had at OJ's but my creation is just as good I promise! (and likely less calories!) I don't know what those crunchy noodles they use in the wraps are, but chow mein noodles seem to be a great stand-in and I managed to get a huge bag of them for $2 - I can't wait to add them to salads and anything else that could benefit from a little crunch! EDIT: I just checked the site and it was chowmein noodles! huzzah! I'm a genius!

Crunch crunch!

Crunchy Peanut Lettuce wraps Makes 10 lettuce leaves (5cup yield) Serving: 2 leaves, 247cal, 14fat, 13.5carb, 18.5protein 1 large chicken breast 1 small chopped onion 1/2 of a 340g bag of broccoli slaw 1/4 cup dry roasted unsalted peanuts 1/4 cup smooth peanut butter 3tbsp soy sauce 1/4 tsp cayenne (adjust to spice preferences) 1/2 tsp garlic 1/2 tsp ginger 1/2 tsp sesame oil 2 servings of chow mein noodles Large romain lettuce leaves In a mixing bowl whisk together ginger, garlic, cayenne, sesame oil, and soy sauce. Once combined add in the smooth peanut butter, add water to thin out mixture if desired. In a skillet brown chicken then add onion, cook for 2-3mins until chicken is cooked through. Combine peanut butter mixture, chicken mixture, broccoli slaw, peanuts, and chow mein noodles and stir until combined. Serve on romaine lettuce leaves.

If you are planning on serving this later dont add the chow mein noodles until right before serving because they will go soggy in the sauce and you won't have the delicious crunch

Love life and your body!

-Toni

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Tomato Rosemary Stew

I have another amazeballs weeknight dinner recipe to share!

(don't want to read the boring stuff? click here for the recipe!)

I'm all about the fast, easy, healthy and comforting foods, and this one really takes the cake! even carrying my tripod around the kitchen to film this took no time at all!

I have so much rosemary right now and its killing me! I hate to waste food but honestly im not a huge fan. I like rosemary as an integral part of Italian cuisine, but to make a dish where it is the star was kind of intimidating and not appealing to me at all. When I think about rosemary dishes I imagine it paired with meat or chicken or in roasted vegetables, or with startches in breading, and even then im not really a fan.

Rosemary luckily lasts pretty long in the fridge and is really easy to hang up and dry (it makes your kitchen smell beautiful too!) so I guess I wasn't FORCED to make this stew.. but I tell you what.. this girl has no regrets! Heck I think im more inclined to throw a stalk into every stew I make from now on.

Whether you love or notreallylove rosemary give this simple fast easy stew a try! You probably have the ingredients sitting in your cupboard right now (and the rosemary in the garden!)

Tomato Rosemary Stew Makes 5 generous portions Serving: 1.5cup, 332cal, 9fat, 49.7carb 14.9protein 3 tbsp olive oil 1 can navy beans, rinsed and drained 340ml* 1 can black beans, rinsed and drained 340ml* 1 large red onion, cut into large chunks 1 large can crushed tomatoes 720ml 2 tbsp chopped rosemary leaves 2 tsp crushed garlic 1 tbsp dried italian herbs Heat oil in a saucepan over medium high heat and slightly soften the onion (1-2mins) Add the garlic, rosemary and dry herbs and cook for a furthur minute. Add the beans and crushed tomatoes and a small amount of water (aproximately 1/4 cup) reduce heat and cook covered (so no moisture escapes) for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. The stew should be thick, but if it is starting to dry out add more liquid. Serve garnished with rosemary stalks. *Substitutions Use any canned beans you prefer

Love life and your body!

-Toni

Enjoy this recipe? help me out and give it a share!

Baked Tomatoes with Bread Crumb topping

These were so good and so fast and easy! makes a great subsitute to a baked potato in a tradditional meat and two veg arrangement!

(don't want to read the boring stuff? click here for the recipe!)

I'm not much of a snacker, If im peckish I'll have coffee, diet soda or eat a whole meal. These tomatoes could totally be made as a snack but the easy prep and fresh tasty ingredients make them a very satisfying little bite! I can just imagine a nice rare steak (sorry vegetarians!) served with these and asparagus.. mmhmm!

I know it seems like alot of ingredients but the prep is so easy and you can use whatever herbs you have in your fridge.. even dry herbs!

In other news..


My boyfriend and I took the puppy down to see the salmon swimming and we took this selfie using a "selfie tripod" how cool is that! I'm sure we looked like dorks to everyone else haha!

My boyfriend and I did alot of hiking together this past summer and when the weather gets warmer (and the puppy gets older) we are so excited to get back into it. Im even thinking about buying him some nice hiking boots for christmas but it might be painful having to wait so long before we get to use them.

These colder months its hard to keep fit and healthy - trust me, I know! I just try to do my best to capitalize on the few sunny days we have and get my butt into the gym on most days. Even being cold can be a motivator to jump on the treadmill and get warmed up!



I feel like im back on the upswing when it comes to my own motivations. I had alot a huge life changes happen this past year and its been really difficult to focus on my health and ive just been working out from necessity not passion for at least the past 6 months. We all have stagnant periods in our lives but boy am I glad to be feeling motivation, to be pumped to go workout and to feel antsy instead of relieved when my workout plans are interrupted.

Sometimes you just gotta take a step back and focus on whats most important at a given time and its okay to not make progress and even slide back a little - as long as you never give up!

Baked Tomatoes with Bread Crumb Topping Makes 8 tomato halves Serving: 2 halves, 126cal, 7fat, 14carb, 3protein 4 Roma tomatoes 1.5 Tbsp olive oil 5 Tbsp Panko Breadcrumbs* 2 tsp lemon juice 2 Tbsp Ground Flax seeds* 4 Tbsp chopped onion 1 tbsp chopped Italian parsley* 2 stalk rosemary leaves chopped* 2 tsp chopped basil leaves* 2 tsp crushed garlic Cut in half and scoop out tomatoes. Season generously with salt and pepper and set aside (any fluid that accumulates in the tomatoes while they are resting can be mopped up with a paper towel, they do not have to be completely dry) Cross chop herbs and onion until they are very fine (not a paste!) In a bowl mix olive oil, chopped herbs and onion, lemon juice, flax, breadcrumbs and garlic Spoon an equal amount of breadcrumb mixture into each tomato half and bake at 400degrees for 20 minutes or until bread crumbs are crispy and tomatoes are softened. *Substitutions Use any breadcrumbs you have If you dont want to use flax substitute the quantity with more breadcrumbs All the fresh herbs in this recipe can be substituted with 1tbsp your choice of dried herbs, I recommend greek or italian herb blend

Love life and your body!

-Toni

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Chickpea and Sweet Potato Curry

As the weather gets colder I am more inclined to spice up my food, and nothings easier than keeping a jar of curry paste in the fridge for when you need a curry kick.

Don't want to read the boring stuff? click here to jump to the recipe!

Indian cooking is some of the greatest hearty food I have ever tasted, and is loved and enjoyed by vegetarians and meat-eaters alike. My boyfriend won't go near a curry without some kind of chicken or beef in it, but I love the complexity and warmth that curry can lend to sometimes boring vegetables. Besides, nothing is stopping you from adding some cubed chicken or beef into this recipe!

In soups, I prefer to use curry powder, but in a skillet-environment I think the greatest weapon is curry paste. The advantage of using a paste is that the oil is already flavoured and the spices have had time to meld and mature - curry paste must be cooked throughly before adding liquids or it may cause cramping and diaherrha - but it is likely that you simply cannot tolerate spicy foods and may need to look at a more mild curry paste

Curry is often served with rice or bread - both are things that I only enjoy in moderation in my diet. The old me would have cried blasphemy at eating curry without pita or rice, when I think about it I would have rice with probably at least 5 of my weekly dinners. A cup of white rice is around 45 carbs and you get barely anything micronutrient wise. You can cut back on the caloric content in this dish by eating it alone without a carbohydrate, you will enjoy it just as much and your waistline will thank you in the future.

If you absolutely must eat this curry with something, I often eat meals like this on a bed of fresh spinach or with cauliflower mash or "rice", it takes a bit of getting used to, but cutting back on my rice habit was one of the key things that has allowed me to get to where I am today.

Your carbohydrate intake should be proportional to your level of activity. If you live a sedentary lifestyle, those carbohydrates will be stored instead of giving you energy like they are meant to. You may have been exposed to extreme low carb diets and I do think they are great in terms of curing the diabetic or treating the morbidly obese - but for a normal lifestyle I think the key is balance. If you move alot, eat more carbohydrates, if you don't move much, cutting carbs may be all you need to do to see some real results. At the time of writing this, I eat around 160 grams of carbyhydrate a day, which is aproximately 40% of my caloric intake. This suits someone young like me with moderate to high activity.

In with the curry paste! out with the rice! and maybe consider your overall carbohydrate intake.

Chickpea and Sweet Potato Curry Makes 5 generous portions Serving: 1.5 cup, 381cal, 17 fat, 49 carb, 12 protein Curry 1 can chickpeas rinsed and drained 540ml 1 large sweet potato, cubed (mine was 450 grams, about 1.5cups) 1 chopped onion 3 tablespoons curry paste (I used korma) 1 can diced tomatoes 720ml 1 cup coconut milk* 1/2 cup frozen vegetables (peas carrots corn)* 1/2 cup roasted unsalted cashews 1/4 cup fresh cilantro to serve Cook onion and sweet potato in oil until onion is softened Add frozen vegetables, chickpeas, diced tomatoes and coconut milk, bring to boil then reduce heat Simmer until sweet potato is tender and liquid has reduced (15-20 mins) Stir in 1/2 cup of cashews Serve with extra cashews and fresh chopped cilantro/ Add curry paste and cook for 1min until aroma is strong and curry paste is heated through. *Substitutions Use any canned bean; navy, kidney, lentils Replace coconut milk with 1/2cup sour cream, or omit completely (you will lose creamy texture) omit frozen vegetables, or use just peas, I would add spinach or peppers or anything I had in my fridge!

Freeze your extra coconut milk in an icecube tray then transfer into a ziplock bag.. you can use it in your next soup/curry!

When you make big pot dishes like this, seperate them into their serving size before storage, that way you won't be able to accidently overeat your portion.

Did I mention I brang puppies?

Love life and your body!

-Toni

Enjoy this recipe? help me out and give it a share!

Pumpkin scones with whipped maple butter

WOW! So the day is finally here.. the Tonisikkema channel is back baby!

(don't want to read the boring stuff? click here for the recipe!)


There's a few differences, the two big ones being the blog(welcome!) and the partnership with tastemade.

I'm not going to lie, signing a contract with a network is a scary deal, but I figure I don't make any money anyway, so in that sense I have nothing to lose - not that money is and ever will be a motivator for me. Tastemade has a whole bunch of tools and resources I hope that will help me succeed with reaching people.

So why am I doing this? if not for the money? well you might not know this about me but I used to be a failed dieter and a binge eater. Don't believe me? check out this picture

This all happened in 2012, and I feel that being in the clear for 2 years now I'm definitely not out of that "90% of people who lose weight gain it all back in 5 years" shadow. This statistic haunts me every day - I have watched my real-life inspirations gain weight back and I don't want to be one of those people.

One thing I do know for sure, is if you want to be successful in this game one of the most important things you can do is to re evaulate your relationship with food - not to restrict, not to control, but to genuinely develop a passion for treating your body well and to enjoy food and not fear it. My recipes are not about diets or cutting calories, they are to show that even healthy food and light baking can be enjoyable, indulgent and comforting.

Now for the good stuff!

Fall means 3 things to me; I can finally stop feeling guilty about not using my barbeque, Victoria BC's 8 months of solid rain is beginning(eat your heart out, Seattle!), and pumpkin EVERYTHING!

Pumpkin isnt really served sweet in Australia, and it took me a few years to get used to pumpkin pies and pastrys when I came to Canada, but I am now throughly converted! I'm not team PSL but I do like the occasional pumpkin scone at starbucks but when I discovered they are almost 500 calories a pop I was flabbergasted!

Then again.. a scone is basically butter and sugar..

So did I succeed in lightening up this tea time fall favourite? try it out and let me know!

Pumpkin Scones with whipped maple butter Makes 8 scones Serving: 1 scone, 157cal, 8 fat, 18 carb, 4 protein (not including maple butter) Scones 1 cup plain white flour 1/2 cup quick oats 3 tbsp ground flax seeds* 6 packets stevia (or equivalent*) 2 tsp baking powder 1/4 tsp baking soda 1/4 tsp cloves 1/4 tsp nutmeg 1/2 tsp cinnamon 3/4 cup pumpkin puree 1 large egg* 1/2 tsp vanilla extract 1/4 cup butter (+1/4tsp salt if butter is unsalted) (in cold chunks) Preheat oven to 400 degrees farenheight Combine all the dry ingredients and cut in the butter until the mixture holds together when firmly squeezed but releases easily In a seperate bowl combine the pumpkin, egg and vanilla and add to the dry ingredients Turn out onto a heavilly floured surface and knead in flour until the mixture can be formed into a disk about 1.5 inches thick, cut scone into 8 equal wedges and bake for about 12 mins until scone is firm to the touch. Let cool slightly on a rack. Serve warm or cold. Whipped maple butter 1/4 cup butter or margarine 1 tbsp maple syrup In an immersion blender cup or small bowl with a whisk add ingredients and beat until butter is light and fluffy and maple syrup is combined. Store in fridge. *Substitutions replace flax for flour or oats 4 tbsp of sugar to replace stevia replace egg for egg substitute or egg white you could also use whole wheat flour (it tastes like ass but hey thats just my opinion)

I think its important to note that when you cut out butter and flour like I have in this recipe you lose a bit of the crumbly dryness of a scone - these scones are quite moist but they are still true to tradditional scones in the sense of the crust and the stuble sweetness. If you want a more "spiced scone" flavour you could purchase pumpkin pie spice or increase the cloves and nutmeg in this recipe. I think even a little bit of ginger (1/2 tsp or so) would give these a great kick!

Maybe its because I live in Canada but pumpkin and maple syrup are a match made in heaven! I think whipped maple butter needs to live in my fridge at all times! seriously try the maple butter, I made mine with light margarine and it was delicious. I think a little bit of cream cheese would be divine on these scones too!

After making these I wrapped them tightly in clingfilm froze half of them for next time I have a hankering and kept the rest on my counter for consumption.

Bring on fall and comforting warm fall recipes!

Love life and your body!

-Toni

Enjoy this recipe? help me out and give it a share!

First post!

Hey, so I'm very excited to have another source to post more descriptive recipes and also some more things that I cannot fit into my videos. Food is such a huge passion of mine and I think going through the processes to invent and create healthy recipes will be so helpful to others and a great resource for myself.

The purpose of this post is to see the blog as a whole and to figure out the schemes and colors, its so frustrating to me that I have so many amazing recipes to share but first I need to organize this blog, however once I have the layout done and figure out how to fully use this blog there will be no shortage of content to share.

Now its time to test some embedding out, this is one of my old videos, my new videos will be part of the 2.0 relaunch which involves a more candid way of filming I love the old style of these videos but they are so editing intensive, I love the cooking and sharing recipes but the level of effort versus the amount of views (..(<300), was very draining on me, something that took less than an hour to film, took hours and hours of editing for little to no feedback or engagement, not that that was the goal or anything, but the cooking is where my passion lies, not in the editing process.

                                 

I don't only love cooking, here's one of my favorite photography pieces:

Vancouver from Stanley Park, I took this picture when I was going for my immigration interview

So that's all for today, love life, enjoy food, embrace this lifestyle, and don't forget to move yo body!