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If you've been browsing Pinterest lately, you've probably come across 2-Ingredient Cookies by The Burlap Bag. It seems too good to be true. Can you really turn mashed bananas and oats into cookies? Well it's true, you really can! It's a great way to use up old overripe bananas, and perfect if you're wanting to avoid processed sugar. The best part is you can add all sorts of things to them to suit
An authentic gyro is roasted in a vertical spit, but this crockpot version is a great homemade alternative to the real thing. I discovered this recipe through Pinterest at Rainy Day Gal. Her recipe is an adaptation of one by A Year of Slow Cooking. I couldn't find ground lamb, so I used beef instead. I'm not sure what lamb would have been like, but it tasted great with the beef and turkey combinat
My children seem to be more excited about Mother's Day this year than I am. They're so excited that they have trouble keeping their surprises for me a secret.Bennett burst out of his preschool on Friday with a Mother's Day gift in his hot little hands. As soon as we got to the van, he frantically ripped off the wrapping paper and presented me with a cute plant pot with dirt and seeds for planting
You won't believe it when you taste it, but this decadent chocolate cake is made with black beans! It has no flour or dairy in it, and if you make it with a sugar substitute it's amazingly low in carbs. Where was this when I had gestational diabetes? I was so intrigued when I saw this recipe at Healthy Indulgences. Luckily, I happened to have all the ingredients on hand so I made it right away. C
I don't know what it is about my mom's cooking, but my kids always prefer her food over mine. She made dinner for us every night for the first couple weeks after Ayla was born (I'm spoiled, I know) and every time my boys would gobble up Grandma's culinary creations. I have to admit I'm a little jealous, but my mom is a fabulous cook so I don't really blame them for liking her cooking more. The las
As soon as the boys come through the door after school, they start looking for food. You would think they haven't eaten in a week from the way they desperately scavenge through the fridge and cabinets for something to fill their hollow legs. It's not like I don't pack them a good-sized lunch, I do, but apparently my growing boys need more than that to keep them satisfied. The dilemma is that I don
I can't believe I haven't posted this recipe before because it's my all-time favourite muffin recipe. I make them more often than any other muffins. The whole family loves them warm out of the oven for a snack, lunch, or breakfast. I tend to have all the ingredients on hand, but if I don't, it's easy to substitute ingredients for something I do have. For example, if you don't have oat bran you can
Since the Easy Fish Tacos went over so well in our household, I decided to try more taco recipes. Oven tacos sounded like a great idea and I was eager to try them. They did not disappoint! Or at least, they did not disappoint Tony or me. The boys were a different story. I think it was the hard shell that threw them off. They weren't quite sure how to eat it and they didn't like how messy they were
Call me boring but I love spaghetti, just plain old spaghetti with tomato sauce. Sometimes though, it's nice to change things up. I thought Cole might enjoy something a little different in his spaghetti, because he has suddenly decided he doesn't like tomato sauce on his pasta. His change of heart was a little frustrating for me, since spaghetti with tomato sauce has always been the one food he'll
I recently wrote a post with dinner recipes you need to try, so now I'm going to share sweet and healthy snack recipes that you need to try too. Now that I'm nursing a new baby, I've been browsing Pinterest a lot on my tablet to pass the time. Honestly I don't know how I managed without a tablet when I nursed my boys. I think they should hand them out at the hospital when you have a baby as an ess
With a new baby keeping me busy, I've had to find ways to save time in the kitchen. The first step was to be as organized as possible with the initial meal planning and grocery shopping. On Friday nights at dinner, we decide as a family what meals we're going to have for the following week. Everyone gets to pick at least one meal. I was hoping this would result in less whining at mealtimes, but un
I haven't posted much on Food and Whine in a while, but I promise I have a good excuse. Here she is... Our darling little Ayla was born on February 8th. I can't believe that was almost a month ago already! If this first month is any indication of how fast the time will fly, my year of maternity leave will be finished before I know it. I thought I'd have more time to blog but so far it's been
The first time I ever had Chicken Korma with cashews was earlier in this pregnancy when I was still very nauseous and tired. My parents and siblings had stopped by for a visit, but I wasn't feeling up to cooking dinner for everyone, so we ordered Indian food. We sampled all sorts of amazing dishes, but my favourite was the korma. I was craving it the other day, but knowing the kids would find
I really lucked out this week and found several amazing recipes on Pinterest that I just have to share with you. These are definitely keepers!Cheesy Chicken, Bacon, Broccoli and Rice from Kevin and Amanda.I left out the chicken because I didn't have any, so I added more turkey bacon instead. It tasted great and was faster to put together that way too. I love one-pot meals that you can make
I'm approaching my final month of pregnancy, which will also be my final month dealing with gestational diabetes. I've been blogging about it at GD Diaries if you're interested in reading more about my experiences as a gestational diabetic. I've had it with all three of my pregnancies, and although it goes away after the baby is born, I will always be at risk for developing diabetes later in life.
2012 is coming to an end and Food and Whine is turning 3 years old! I can't believe I've been writing this food blog for 3 years now. When I started, my oldest was 3 and my youngest was 1. Now they're 6 and 4, and are looking forward to being big brothers to a new little sister who is due to arrive in February. I'm getting to that big and awkward stage in my pregnancy but still enjoying every mome
As I was putting this post together, I noticed I've already done a post about pork tenderloin and apples. In fact, I've done two of them already. I just love the combination of pork and apples apparently. This recipe is definitely the simplest of the three. It's really quick but still fancy enough for a nice Sunday dinner. We enjoyed this one Sunday with side-dishes of spaghetti squash tossed with
This recipe came about because I happened to have olives in the fridge left over from a somewhat unsuccessful attempt at Baked Eyeball Casserole for Halloween (the "eyeballs" melted because I put it back in the oven to keep it warm!). Anyway, I had these olives to use up. I also had baby spinach that was starting to wilt, and a container of feta with a looming expiry date. I decided
Every time I make risotto (which is rarely), I wonder why I don't make it more often. It makes a great weeknight comfort food while still being sophisticated. I love the hint of sweetness from the squash paired with the smoky bacon. I used maple bacon, which seemed to compliment it particularly well. It was a perfect mixture of fall flavours. If you're looking for a h
As the weather grows colder I start to crave hot, hearty, comforting soups for dinner. This lentil and kale soup hits the spot. I love the smoky flavour from the bacon and smoked paprika. I also love that it's so nutritious and full for fibre. Poor Bennett was struggling with tummy pains all weekend until finally Sunday night he was in agony so I ended up taking him to the ER. We spend f
Now that fall has arrived, it seems like everywhere I turn I see pumpkins. It's one of the things I love about fall. I've been enjoying things like pumpkin lattes, pumpkin muffins, pumpkin pie, and this delicious homemade pumpkin carrot loaf. This recipe makes 2 loaves so I can enjoy one right away and freeze the other one for later. It freezes really well. I pack small slices of this lo
There's my handsome son Bennett at his 4th birthday party. Ever since Cole's party a month earlier, he's been waiting for this day. His real birthday was Sept 13th, but with school starting and with Tony working almost every weekend that month, we put off the party until the last weekend in September. It was such a busy month and I'm low on energy with being pregnant, so I kept
This is one of those recipes that was based on what was in my cupboard and fridge at the time. Tony had taken Cole out to help my brother look for a car, and he called to say they were going to be late. Bennett and I were hungry, so I decided to make up something simple for dinner. I opened my cupboard and found a can of coconut milk and some Asian noodles. The wheels started turning. I looke
If you've been following my blog for a while, you'll know that I am on an epic search for the perfect homemade fruit-filled bar. You can read about my past experiments in Fruit-Filled Mini Cereal Bars and Fruit-Filled Mini Cereal Bars, Revisted. They were both good attempts, but I always felt they weren't quite there yet. I think this latest attempt is pretty close to what I've been envi
My boys have both come to expect that on Saturday morning they'll be eating either pancakes or waffles. It's my own fault, or actually my parents' fault, because they made us pancakes every Saturday morning when we were kids. I couldn't imagine not carrying on that tradition with my own kids. Even now, Saturday morning is still pancake morning in my parents' home too. Usually w
It's that time again...back to school! I always find it such a chore to come up with new and creative lunch ideas when packing school lunches. I get stuck in a rut of packing the same old things day in and day out. Usually at the beginning of the year I have all sorts of great lunch ideas, but my creativity quickly fizzles out as the year progresses. I tend to turn to whatever is quickest and
This past weekend we celebrated Cole's 6th birthday with a spy party. He's obsessed with spies lately from watching movies like Spy Kids and Agent Cody Banks. In fact, he's convinced that our neighbour must be a spy because he drives a black car. He's constantly looking for clues and codes. He told us that the number 9 is a secret spy number, so when I sent out the invitation to his party I t
With back-to-school around the corner, I thought it would be helpful to devote a post to fast dinner ideas. This summer I enrolled the boys in swimming lessons, so for two weeks they went every weekday at 6:30pm. It was a great way to tucker them out for bedtime, but it made dinner-time a little tricky. I had to think of quick meals that I could prepare after work and have everyone fed a
I hope you're all having a wonderful summer! I know I am, which is why- sadly for this blog- I haven't been posting too much. I'm sure once September rolls around I'll get back into the routine of posting regularly. I've still been taking lots of food photos and writing recipes so there's no shortage of things to share with you. As I mentioned in an earlier post, we've been doing a lot of barbecui
Barbecue season is upon us. I think it's one of my favourite times of the year because it's pretty much the only time that I can get Tony involved with dinner. He bought a new barbecue this year and he's very eager to grill just about anything. So while he's grilling, all I have to do is prepare the sides. Lately I've even been getting Tony to grill the sides, like corn on the
Hey there, remember me? I'm back and I'm finally posting a new recipe! Sorry to be absent for so long. I don't really even have a good excuse, since we`ve been back from our trip for almost 2 weeks now. We went to Cuba for our 10th wedding anniversary (kidless!) and it was wonderful. Here are some photos.Visiting Havana`s HarbourWalking tour through Old HavanaRiding a moped (while taking
I've been seriously slacking with meal planning lately. I seem to go through phases where I'll plan really well for meals for a while and then I'll shift to just winging it in order to use up ingredients that are building up in my fridge and pantry. Pizza is a perfect way to use up what you have on hand. When I noticed I had a lot of broccoli in my fridge, I remembered a recipe I had pinned f
Tony is a shift-worker, so there are several nights a week when he's not with us for dinner. It's always more difficult for me to think of what to make when I'm only feeding myself and two little ones who may or may not feel like eating what I put in front of them. I sometimes ask them what they want for dinner, but their answers aren't exactly varied. Usually they want spaghet
When I was a kid I used to hate meatloaf. My mom would try preparing it different ways, or serving it with ketchup, or putting it in a bun like a hamburger, but I just had it in my head that I didn't like it and nothing could convince me otherwise. I was a pretty stubborn kid, a trait that Cole seems to have inherited from me. He also thinks meatloaf is yucky even though I try to make it more exci
I love pretty much all types of dumplings. Whether they're wontons, gyozas, empanadas, samosas or perogies, I love biting into carblicious dough to uncover the yummy fillings hiding inside them. Not only are they fun to eat, they're also fun to make. The kids loved helping me make these wontons for our wonton soup. It was surprisingly easy to put them together; even 3-year old
A fellow food blogger, Ashley from Ashley's Cooking Adventures, is expecting a baby next month! I was excited to join in a virtual baby shower for her and post a brunch recipe, but I unfortunately I was sick all last week and wasn't able to prepare anything. This post is dedicated to her, and what better day than Mother's Day to dedicate a post to a mother-to-be. I remember the Mother's
My kids and I love having a hot bowl of oatmeal for breakfast. There's just something so satisfying and comforting about it, and it sticks with you all morning long. The problem is that we usually don't have a lot of time in the mornings to prepare oatmeal. I sometimes buy instant oatmeal packets for speed and convenience, but I don't like how much sugar and salt they contain. That'
Oh pretzel bites, where have you been all my life? I can't believe it's taken a carb-lover like me this long to make these. A while back I had tried a soft pretzel recipe without success, so that put me off of homemade pretzels for a while. I finally decided to try them again, using a different approach. The recipe I used before didn't allow for the dough to rise, which resulted in a dense an
Sometimes I feel like making something a little more exotic than the usual vegetable or chicken soup. I thought a Thai soup would liven things up. Cole had been leafing through my collection of cookbooks and was particularly interested in the recipes with shrimp, so I had bought a package of frozen shrimp for him. This Thai soup was a perfect opportunity to use them. The only problem is that
Easter is still a week away and Cole is already preparing for the Easter Bunny's arrival. Today he wrote several notes for Mr. Bunny, and made bunnies out of pipe-cleaner and foam paper. These little handmade treasures are now hidden around our house for the Easter Bunny to find. I only hope that I..*ahem*... I mean, Easter Bunny, can find them all on Easter Eve. We'll be away visiting m
It's such a lovely day today here on the west coast of Canada. The sun is shining, the flowers are beginning to bloom, and the kids are just itching to play outside. (Dare I say it? Ok, here I go...) I think Spring may be here at last! It's been particularly cold and dreary here up until now, which is why I made this warm and comforting Lasagna soup the other day. Not
Saint Patrick's Day is coming up and I've been thinking about another green drink to share with you. Last year I made Kiwi Coconut Smoothie Shooters and they were a big hit. This year I decided to try avocado smoothies in the same fun shooter glasses. I froze chunks of avocado and banana first to make it extra thick and creamy. If you want it to be similar to a Shamrock Shake (but m
I had never bothered to make my own vegetable stock before because it seemed like a lot of work, but then I came across an idea from Perry's Plate that changed my mind. When you're chopping up vegetables for a meal (something you have to do anyway), toss the scraps into a freezer bag and keep them in the freezer. I added in things like the ends and skins of carrots, onions, peppers,
I'm reposting my review of SmartSeat chair covers from last year, because there's a great giveaway happening right now for a bundle of goodies that includes these handy seat covers. If you're interested in entering, please see the form at the end of this post.Kids can be rather messy at the dinner table, in case you hadn't noticed. Clearly, I didn't realize this fact when I purchased&nbs
In case you haven't discovered the joy of lentils yet, let me just fill you in. These little legumes are incredibly versatile because they absorb flavours so well. They don't require soaking like other legumes, so they're fairly quick and easy to cook. You can store dried lentils for a long time, making them a perfect staple for your pantry. It's great having them on hand to add to
Eggrolls are one of those things I've been meaning to try making for a long time but just never seem to get around to it. Then I was in the grocery store and noticed egg roll wrappers, so I grabbed some on a whim and decided to make eggrolls at last. I kept them simple this time, but I might experiment with different flavours next time around. I've seen Southwestern eggrolls around the blogosphere
Usually I write about what happens after I serve dinner, but in this post I'm going to focus on the actual process of making dinner. You're going to get a peak into my kitchen while I prepare Shakshuka. I just love saying that...."Shak-Shu-Ka!" It kind of reminds me of the "Shikaka" scene from Ace Ventura 2: I know it's lame bu
For years I bought pancake mix and never really thought of making it myself. The store-bought mix seemed good enough and a lot faster. Then I ran out of mix one day and had to make pancakes from scratch. That's when I discovered that homemade pancakes are delicious, and really very simple to make, especially if you make a big batch of mix ahead of time. I just keep it in a jar and it's ready
I wasn't expecting to win anyone over with this recipe. My boys hate sweet potatoes, Cole hates spinach, and Tony isn't all that fond of quinoa. I made it anyway because I love all of those things. Surprisingly, everyone ate this stew without complaint. I think it was the chickpeas that did it, or as Cole would call them, "Chickadees." Both kids seem to like chickpeas a lot, so in t
?Goulash is basically a stew seasoned with paprika, often served with pasta or potatoes. I like that this version is done in the crockpot, because I love using my crockpot whenever possible. It's nice to prepare a meal ahead of time and just forget about it until dinner-time rolls around. All you need to remember with this recipe is to add the flour and water to thicken the sauce an
