Caven Nutrition Group

Ottawa’s Experts in Weight Loss Nutrition, specializing in healthy and sustainable weight loss, digestive issues, hormonal health, and stress

vitamin c

Zany Zucchini Muffins!

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It’s that time of year when my garden is overflowing with zucchini! Here is a great way to sneak some extra veggies into your kids. These are great for lunches or snacks on the go.

Zucchini Muffins
Ingredients
• 2 cups of flour (I used Bob’s Red Mill 1 to 1 Baking Flour. Or substitute any Gluten Free Blend)
• 1 ½ tsp. baking powder
• ½ tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• ½ tsp. Himalayan salt
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1/3 cup coconut oil, melted
• ½ cup coconut sugar
• 1 cup of grated zucchini
• ½ cup almond milk ( or any type of milk)
• ½ cup of mini chocolate chips
Directions
Mix dry ingredients in bowl. Make a well in the centre of mixture, then add the remaining ingredients. Bake at 350 F for 20 mins. Enjoy!

The creator of this recipe is our new addition to the team Jen Wright, Learn more about her here!
muffins

Eating your Way to Radiant Skin on CTV Morning Live!

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Tips for Food for Healthy Radiant Skin and looking good from the inside out!

Consume: WATER, Vitamin C, Vitamin A, Vitamin E, Vitamin B

1. Water::Cannot stress enough how important it is to drink this! If you “hate” water you can add fruit to it, organic lemon, limes, berries or cucumber for a refreshing twist. Also try herbal tea!

2. Vitamin C: Helps to defend your skin against free radical damage, Vitamin C is rich in antioxidants. These keep our bodies running well and able to rid of anything that is can be damaging to the system such as: environmental pollution, toxins, and life stress. Vitamin C is wonderful for skin care as this vitamin is essential for the production of collagen, which gives your skin its elasticity. As you age it is harder to store Vitamin C, so getting a daily dose of it is important for healthy skin.

• Artichokes are full of Vitamin C, help with proper blood circulation which can help to fight the signs of aging. Artichokes are a natural diuretic so it will keep the system moving to help with the removal of the buildup of toxins. Recipe below.

• Pineapples: Pinepples also contain bromelain, which is great for digestion. Keep things moving for the best skin!

• Kiwis: Did you know you can eat the skin? At first it will seems a little strange but it is totally fine. It’s also a great food for getting the bowels moving.

3. Vitamin A: is essential for the renewal of skin cells and promotes cell turnover, which will keep you looking fresh and renewed! Retinol and Beta Carotene Rich!

• Carrots are easy to eat as a snack, to shred, add into salads or just eat raw. Steaming your carrots help you to get more beta-carotene out of them! Rainbow carrots are available locally in the summer month! (beta-carotene is converted to vitamin A in the body and that promotes antioxidant activity) Hello Gorgeous!

• Sweet Potatoes rich in Vitamin A and these are a great option and they are also a great baked fry option!
• Goji Berries perfect snack, they taste sweet but don’t give you a sugar crash afterwards. You can easily make a trail mix with them and keep it at your desk to snack on. (Recipe for trail mix below.)

4. Vitamin E: Has amazing anti-inflammatory properties so it can aid in certain skin conditions such as psoriasis. Remember that meat is a poor source of this vitamin so ensure you are getting your fruits and veggies in!
• Avocados are great for your skin and are full of healthy fats, can also be applied topically to the face. (recipe)
• Mangoes are super awesome, refreshing and are a great summer addition your diet, and help clean you skin. These have lots of the pre-biotic fibre needed for proper digestion and elimination.
• Almonds, these little nuts are amazing, rich in Vitamin E and comes in milk and almond butter options! Amazing!

5. B Vitamins, Range of B Vitamins like B5 Panthothetic Acid, B3 Niacin and B6 Pyridoxine:

• Dark leafy greens like Kale are easy to make as chips and greens helps your liver produce enzymes that help keep your skin clear.
• Eggs full of a lot of vitamins and a boiled egg is an easy portable source when boiled.
• Lentils are easy to make and they are a great vegan protein source.

RECIPES

1. Baked Artichokes

Ingredients
• 2 artichokes
• 1 lemon
• 2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• salt & pepper
• 6 garlic cloves
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Cut the bottom stem and top 1/3 off artichoke with a sharp, serrated knife then use a small paring knife to hollow out and discard inner, center leaves. Spread artichoke leaves out as much as you can then drizzle with half a lemon and 1 Tablespoon olive oil each. Season liberally with salt and pepper then put in chopped garlic cloves in the crevices in the hollowed out center. Place and on pan, then roast for 50-70 minutes or until very tender.

2. Get on the Goji Berry Trail Mix!
Ingredients
• 1 cup Goji Berries
• 1 cup Walnuts
• ½ cup chopped dark chocolate ( 85% dark and up)
• 1 cup pumpkin seeds
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• raw tsp honey
Directions
Mix and place in a jar to take take to work with you or on the go!

This is a easy snack full of awesome vitamins for the skin. Chocolate is great with antioxidants, pumpkin seeds have zinc which helps with skin renewal and the goji berries are full of vitamin C! Walnuts have brain feeding omega 3s and the raw honey and cinnamon are great for your digestion!

3. Edible Avocado Face Mask

Ingredients

• 1tsp raw honey
• ½ unsweetened almond milk
• 1 ripe avocado
• 1 tsp matcha green tea (optional)

Directions
Blender and apply to skin! You can eat any leftovers! 🙂

Check out the segment here! http://ottawa.ctvnews.ca/video?clipId=618009&binId=1.1164511&playlistPageNum=1

Turn a Clementine Rind into a Candle? You got it!

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A Clementine Candle? Yes and it’s not magic, though it certainly looks magical!

Clementines are great as a snack because of their portability and their delightful taste. They have that rock’in vitamin C, which is great for fending off winter colds! They are portable and easy enough to put in your purse or bag and won’t bruise as easily an a banana, apple or pear!

But there is another use for a Clementine… You can make a candle out of it!

What do you need?

1. Clementine
2. Olive oil and or Coconut oil
3. Matches or lighter
4. A sharp knife ( or a dull one it’s has to cut through a Clementine so it’s okay)
5. Optional essential oil of choice
6. Plate or ceramic dish to function as candle holder

How to Make the Candle: Read instructions from start to finish first! 🙂

Cut the clementine in half or gently cut the outside until you reach the clementine. I find that cutting it in half is easiest and then carefully peel the outside or insert a spoon between the skin and flesh of clementine to wedge it out. If peeling do so in a circle formation without breaking it, do this slowly and ensuring you have the white middle called the pericap or albedo intact. This is your wick!

You want to end up with 2 full halves of skin without rips.

Once you’ve taken out the juicy clementine part eat it…or save it for later.

Now pull up the white albedo in the hollowed out clementine skin carefully so that it does not rip out. Take a little bit of olive oil and fill the clementine with about 2 glugs of olive oil but add more if needed.
You can also add coconut oil but it needs to be melted first. I added a few drops of lavender oil and the scent was amazing. Light the white albedo which is your wick. It might not light at first but put a little olive oil on the tip of the wick and it will light up! Magical!

Safety: Burn for about 2 hours and NEVER leave it unattended.
clementine

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