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Entertain, Gluten Free, Summer, Vegan, Vegetarian, Wine & Cocktails

WATERMELON FROSÉ MARGARITAS

You guys, this week has been such a whirlwind! Between spending time in the prairies working ahead on some exciting new projects, capturing tons of content for JustineCelina, publishing 3 blog posts, speaking at a YYC Blogger Babes event last night about The Business of Blogging and attending another event earlier today for a new partnership — I’m totally having a cocktail (or two) tonight as I finish up this post!

If you’ve been following along with my Insta Stories this summer, you’ve undoubtedly seen me whip up a Watermelon Frosé Margarita. She was a fun recipe to test and a fast favourite among friends and family — a pretty, pink cocktail gone rogue! This time, my Connecting Over Cocktails crew and I are serving up an array of seasonal, fruity cocktails for our Summer Edition and I knew I wanted to do something a bit different. Today I’m shaking things up with my Watermelon Frosé Margaritas — an icy sangria 2.0 with an attitude, and tequila on her breath! In true JustineCelina style, she’s made with just 5 ingredients blended over frozen watermelon creating a naturally sweet, feisty summer cocktail that embraces fruity flavours with a margarita essence and a Himalayan pink salted rim! If you, too are in desperate need of a refreshing cocktail this weekend (hellooooooo, heatwave), check out the bottom of this post for inspired summer sips from my mega talented foodie friends!

July 29, 2017 by Justine

Baking, Dairy Free, Dessert & Treats, Food, Gluten Free, Life, Summer, Vegan, Vegetarian, Wellness

WILD SASKATOON BERRY CRUMBLE

Happy Monday, everyone! How was your weekend? If you’ve been following along with my Insta Stories lately you likely caught a glimpse of what my weekend looked like, including my very first saskatoon picking adventure! An old friend of mine invited us to forage their family farm near Carseland, Alberta where the saskatoons are flourishing — it’s the best crop they’ve ever had. I spent Saturday evening strolling through saskatoon tree lined paths with my Mom and little sister — bucket in one berry stained hand and camera in the other (now that’s my kind of girls night!). It was a gorgeous evening and we came away with overflowing buckets, happy hearts and about 8 pounds of berries!

Enjoy the bounty of our beautiful Canadian prairies with my Wild Saskatoon Berry Crumble — a simple, 9 ingredient recipe with a wholesome, plant based spin. It’s free of dairy, gluten and refined sugar — and bursting with decadent berry flavour! Freshly picked saskatoons are bathed in bright lemon juice then naturally sweetened with rich, caramel laden coconut sugar and sprinkled with a hearty topping including quick oats, homemade oat flour, more coconut sugar, Himalayan pink salt, cinnamon, chopped almonds and coconut oil. This vibrant, crowd pleasing dessert that accommodates food allergies and sensitivities without compromising those classic crumble characteristics we all know and love (I promise, no one will know it’s a ‘free from’ dessert!). It’s a no fuss summer dessert that’s ideal for entertaining and can be on your table in 45 minutes!

July 24, 2017 by Justine

Baking, Breakfast, Dairy Free, Food, Gluten Free, Summer, Vegan, Vegetarian

PROTEIN PACKED CHERRY ALMOND GRANOLA

I decided, spur-of-the-moment, to clean out the pantry one Saturday morning earlier this month… which usually leads to an impromptu cooking session! The product of my weekend cleaning spree was this completely unplanned granola recipe — and of course it was delicious, because I didn’t write anything down (#foodbloggerfail). As things go around here, almost every time I bake or cook without an agenda, it ends up being a recipe that I deem to be blogworthy (and thankfully, granola ingredients are pretty easy to dissect!). At the request of my Insta Story friends who got a sneak peek at the initial batch of this recipe, I threw it into testing so I could share it here with you!

As you might guess, my Protein Packed Cherry Almond Granola is made with… well, pantry staples! In fact, I bet you have most of these ingredients kicking around your kitchen right now. A nutritious, antioxidant rich blend of oats, almonds, pepitas, shredded coconut, cocoa nibs, dried cherries and a plant based vanilla protein powder (it may seem crazy, but it adds tons of extra protein and natural sweetness to this granola!) combine with coconut oil, organic Canadian maple syrup (eh?!) a kiss of cinnamon and a dash of salt to create a versatile granola that can be enjoyed in your breakfast bowls, smoothie bowls, parfaits and alone as a snack all summer long. As I sit here editing this post, I’m noshing on a bowl with fresh BC cherries, nut milk and one of those frothy lattes! Oh, and did I mention it comes together in 20 minutes?

June 23, 2017 by Justine

Dairy Free, Dinner, Food, Gluten Free, Paleo, Sponsored, Spring, Vegan, Vegetarian

SPRING VEGETABLE STIRFRY WITH COCONUT GINGER TOFU (WILD ROSE D-TOX FRIENDLY!)

Do you remember when we did the Wild Rose D-Tox back in March? If you were following along on Insta Stories, I shared (almost) every meal I made during those 12 days. You may also remember me raving about how incredible our Day 1 dinner was — well, today I’m finally sharing the recipe for my Spring Vegetable Stirfry with Coconut Ginger Tofu with you!

Initially this recipe it was a team effort, with both of us tossing ideas around and throwing things in the pan while this stirfry came together. And we both couldn’t stop eating it! It was the best recipe to come out of our D-Tox. Since the premade sauces and condiments I would typically use in a stiryfry-style dish (think soy sauce, fish sauce, peanut butter, etc.) weren’t permitted, we went in a completely different direction! The result was a colourful medley of spring vegetables in a coconut milk-based sauce — flavoured with garlic, ginger, lime and simple pantry spices ontop of a bed of brown rice, finished with toasted almonds for some extra crunch and protein. In my quest for nut based milks with a D-Tox friendly ingredient lists (not an easy feat, my friends!), I found Almond Breeze’s Unsweetened Almond Coconut Beverage and am thrilled to be partnering with Almond Breeze again today to bring you my Spring Vegetable Stirfry with Coconut Ginger Tofu! It’s totally Wild Rose D-Tox friendly and it’s also totally delicious, even if you’re not doing a detox. This easy to prepare, unconventional spring stirfry is light, clean and nourishing — perfect for weeknight dinners!

June 13, 2017 by Justine

Dairy Free, Dinner, Food, Gluten Free, Lunch, Salads & Bowls, Sponsored, Spring, Vegan, Vegetarian

MEDITERRANEAN RAINBOW BUDDHA BOWL

Want to eat the rainbow this spring? My Mediterranean Rainbow Buddha Bowl is inspired by the vibrancy of Mediterranean culture, sun drenched days and fresh, colourful ingredients! These festive, nutrition packed Buddha bowls are an explosion of plant based flavours, textures and colours sure to leave you feeling fully satisfied, but never stuffed. An unconventional medley of quinoa, chick peas, cucumbers, pickled beets and carrots, olives and medjool dates are topped with zingy Lemon Za’atar Vinaigrette, a generous dollop of Sabra Greek Olive Hummus and a kiss of fresh mint. The best part? These jubilant Buddha bowls can be on your table in less than 30 minutes and enjoyed year round!

As a hummus lover, I’m thrilled to be partnering with Sabra Canada to bring you my Mediterranean Rainbow Buddha Bowl today! Although typically I’m a very from-scatch cook, there are certain pre made items I enjoy picking up when I’m short on time — and Sabra hummus is one of them. It’s almost exactly like what I make at home (gluten and dairy free with a very simple, clean ingredient list) but with far less effort and tons of flavours options readily available! If you love hummus (and entertaining) just as much as I do, stay tuned for details on how to enter the #DipInWithSabra contest towards the bottom of this post for your chance to win a unique, in-home dining experience for yourself and 14 friends this season!

May 24, 2017 by Justine

Creative Process, Dairy Free, Food, Gluten Free, Life, Lunch, Paleo, Pantone, Soups, Spring, Vegan, Vegetarian

SPICED STRAWBERRY WATERMELON GAZPACHO

The grass is green, the trees are blossoming (finally!) and I think that’s cause for celebration! If you’re looking to treat your taste buds to something refreshing after what was quite possibly the longest winter in Canadian history, embrace spring’s bountiful produce with my Spiced Strawberry Watermelon Gazpacho. This pretty, pink (yep, still riding that Spring 2017 Pantone Fashion Color Report wave), chilled soup is the perfect menu addition for your next spring soirée, baby or bridal shower, or anytime you’re hosting your girlfriends and want something fuss free, fresh and festive!

My Spiced Strawberry Watermelon Gazpacho is so simple, I almost can’t call it a recipe — but I’ve been meaning to publish this one since last summer! I popped over to Blushlane (a new organic market that just opened in my neighbourhood) on Friday and was so inspired by the beautiful strawberries, basil (I picked up a gorgeous basil plant… let’s hope I don’t kill it!) and mini watermelon that I knew I had to channel them into this recipe. With just 10 ingredients (seasonings and garnish included!) this fruity spin on traditional gazpacho comes together in just 10 minutes! So grab a delicious glass of rosé (I’m enjoying a Spanish Rioja!) and kick back with me tonight for the details on this modern, seasonal spin on a classic Spanish dish while I catch you up on a few cool things that have been happening the scenes lately — I can’t share a lot right now, but if you followed along with my Insta Stories last week, you may have an idea!

May 15, 2017 by Justine

Dinner, Food, Gluten Free, Paleo, Spring, Vegan, Vegetarian

ROASTED PURPLE CAULIFLOWER WITH RED PEPPER ROMESCO (WILD ROSE D-TOX FRIENDLY!)

I’ve been testing this recipe since December — and it feels so good to finally publish it! Typically I go through 3 – 5 rounds of recipe testing and for my Roasted Purple Cauliflower with Red Pepper Romesco, the fourth time was the charm. If you’ve been following along on my socials, you may know that I had an unfortunate accident with a new kitchen knife on Easter Monday, sliced my index finger and wound up in the ER. Ironically, I was recipe testing. I’ll save you all the gory details because this is a food post after all, but long story short — I ended up with 5 stitches, one very sore finger, minimal nerve damage and a mild reaction to a Tetanus shot that left me with a rash all over my upper body (it’s been a rough couple of weeks!). So if it’s seemed a bit quiet around here, that’s why. It was such a struggle to do pretty much everything during the first week while I was healing up, but my stitches came out Thursday and I’m on the mend. The whole thing was pretty scary and I’m just incredibly grateful it wasn’t any worse! Thank you for all your well wishes and your patience as I attempted to navigate through life at a slower pace these past couple of weeks.

Now, onward and upward! After a week of being terrified to use my kitchen knife and not being able to actually wield it to chop anything, we decided to start the Wild Rose D-Tox on Monday. This is my 6th time doing it over the years and it’s not that much different than my regular, plant based diet — minus anything fermented (yes, that includes alcohol!), tropical fruit and the occasional indulgence. I like to think of it as spring cleaning for my system — and one that was definitely needed after feeling so out of whack last week with my Tetanus shot, taking painkillers (I prefer not to take medication unless absolutely necessary — we didn’t even have any Ibuprofen in the house!) and having to resort to a lot of frozen leftovers (thankfully, my recipe testing process affords a well stocked freezer!). Fast forward to late this week and I finally got my groove back — I was happy to be the kitchen again and feeling inspired! I used this past week as an opportunity to slow down and really focus on what I’m putting in my body to help it heal. I perfected my Roasted Purple Cauliflower with Red Pepper Romesco yesterday and I’m happy to report that it’s completely Wild Rose D-Tox friendly — I can’t wait to share it with you!

April 29, 2017 by Justine

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