Red kale: How can you argue with any vegetable that's cholestrol-lowering, cancer-fighting and detoxyifying? A superfood among superfoods! Red kidney beans: A Mayo Clinic superfood that is a good source of iron, phosphorus and potassium. They're also an excellent low-fat source of protein and dietary fiber. Red beans also contain phytonutrients that help the body fight disease. It's delicious! 
Heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion, carrot, celery and rosemary and cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables begin to soften, about 6 minutes. Add the tomato paste and garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the broth, beans, kale, and Parmesan. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer until the vegetables are tender, about 15 minutes. Heat the 1 tablespoon olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the sausage and cook until browned on all sides and cooked through, about 10 minutes. Slice the sausage and add it to the soup. Return the soup to a simmer and cook 5 minutes more. Stir the cider vinegar into the soup and season to taste with salt and pepper.
Looking for other healthy and delicious soup ideas? Check out these slow cooker recipes for Lamb & Lentil soup or Taste of Tuscany soup.
We have always been huge fans of the Olympics around our house. During the summer games, we become glued to our televisions to watch swimming, gymnastics, trampolining, soccer, and track and field. During the winter games, we are equally glued to our screens, only this time we are enthralled with the skiing and snowboarding, the luging, the skating, and of course, the hockey.
We are also huge fans of, well, snacks around here. And during the Olympics we like to get a little patriotic in the kitchen. This year we have already made homemade winter donuts and maple taffy in the snow.
So, it was an obvious choice to make something savoury, and something that's arguably the most Canadian snack food there is—poutine. Of course, any good Canadian (and food lover) knows how to make plain old regular poutine.
So we thought we'd festive it up a bit and swap out the French fries for onion rings—onion olympic rings.
Prepare the onion rings as per package instructions. While they are cooking prepare the gravy. In a medium sized sauce pan bring the stock to a boil. In a small sauce pan over medium heat add olive oil and sauté the onions until caramelized. Add the garlic and sauté until browned. Slowly add the butter and flour, stirring constantly to form a roux. Slowly whisk the roux in to the stock and add the Worcestershire sauce, vinegar, salt and pepper. Reduce to a gentle simmer and cook until reduced to desired consistency, about 30 minutes. Plate individually by stacking onion rings, topping with cheese curds and then pouring a ladle of gravy over top.
Our family has been fortunate to visit Ottawa for the annual Winterlude festivities on numerous occasions. One of the highlights of Winterlude are all of the delicious treats you can find throughout the city. By far my kids' favourite are BeaverTails® pastries. Effectively a flat, whole-wheat donut slathered in butter and delicious toppings like cinnamon-sugar, Nutella, and the like.
When we decided that we couldn't make it to Winterlude this year my children were so sad to hear there would be missing out on all of those delicious treats. I was keen to try and replicate this delicious snack at home — but certainly didn't want to start building doughnut dough from scratch on a weekend morning... So this dad came up with a delicious alternative: take a whole-wheat pizza dough from the grocery store and elevate it to levels it never thought it could reach: donut dough! Enjoy this easy at-home version of a classic Canadian snack and watch your kids gobble them up!
Ingredients:
700 grams whole-wheat pizza dough
2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Vegetable oil, for frying
1 stick butter
For topping:
cake icing
cinnamon sugar
nutella
melted butter
Place the pizza dough in a lightly greased bowl, cover with a towel and allow to come to room temperature. Add the syrup and nutmeg to the bowl and knead the dough until it is completely incorporated.
Divide the dough into eight even pieces and place onto a well-floured work surface. Dust the top of each and begin to shape into oval 'tail' shapes. Use a rolling pin to flatten to about 1/2 inch.
Heat a large skillet with high sides and about 1 inch of vegetable oil over Medium heat. Once the oil is hot add butter and allow to melt (for added flavour)
Fry pastries one or two at a time for about 3 minutes per side. Allow them to brown, but obviously not burn.
Remove carefully and place on a plate lined with paper towel. Allow pastry to cool and then top with melted butter and other favourite toppings.
Love all things Canadian? See what else we love about Canada—it's not just donuts, you know!
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