Black Bean Quesadillas

Serve with: Garden salad. Beans are packed with both soluble and insoluble fibre, which can help to keep your digestive system regular, regulate blood sugar, lower cholesterol and protect against some cancers.

Roasted Acorn Squash & Apple Salad

Goat Cheese-Stuffed Chicken Breasts

This elegant chicken dish is a crowd favourite and cooks in under 30 minutes.

Middle Eastern Couscous Bowl

When you have leftover roast chicken from Sunday dinner, this is an easy and utterly tasty way to make it shine. This bowl is great for using up leftover cooked couscous too (if you don't have any, just prepare it according to the package directions). If you don't have raisins in the pantry, substitute sliced dried apricots, and add a crunchy garnish of toasted sliced almonds.

Sicilian Marinated Olives

Olive oil, fennel seeds and juice from an orange combine to make a zesty coating for olives. This mixture can also be used to marinate various cheeses, such as bocconcini, feta, Gouda or smoked mozzarella.

Cheddar Chili Soup

Cheddar originated in England, but Canadian Cheddar is now more famous worldwide. It's the preferred cheese of Canadians, who consume a total of 64,316 lb (29,174 kg) a year! Corn chips or tortillas make a great crunchy accompaniment to this fabulous soup.

Mushroom Nachos

Pork and Udon Noodle Soup

Udon soup often features a mix of pork and vegetables, and this quick version made with shredded pork makes for super easy weeknight fare. If you have any leftover cooked veggies on hand – such as broccoli, snow peas or zucchini – this is a perfect soup to add them to. 

Three-Cheese Onion Dip

The three-cheese blend used in this recipe makes for a highly addictive dip with a perfectly creamy consistency.

Canadian Bison Burgers with Spicy Yukon Gold Oven Fries and Caesar salad

This is an elegant, health-wise version of a Canadian favourite that shows you don't have to sacrifice big taste for health. Bison is a red meat alternative that is becoming increasingly popular due to it's lower fat content and because it is naturally raised, hormone-free, nutrient-dense and tastes wonderfully flavourful. Alberta raises some of the best bison on earth, providing Canadians with a local source of this amazing food. Last year, I made a commitment to myself to live healthier and lose weight. So far, I have lost nearly 80 lbs, and attribute much of my success to being creative and finding healthy alternatives to higher-calorie favourites. In many cases, like with these bison burgers and oven fries, I find that the healthy version tastes even better than the original! I use Yukon Gold potatoes as they give the best result for oven fries, but they are also an inherently Canadian ingredient, being "invented" at the University of Guelph and produced locally all over Canada, including a farm not 5km from my residence here in BC. I love being able to buy local produce, and am often inspired by our delicious, full-flavoured local produce.The salad that accompanies this meal is a low-fat version of the traditional Caesar that is a fraction of the calories and offers a fresh, clean taste.


This entire meal is 598 calories, 20g fat, 43g protein, 71g carbs. Compare this to a conservative estimate of a typical restaurant-style 1/4 lb cheeseburger, fries with herbed mayo, and ceasar salad at 1200 calories and 77g of fat, and you can see that it's a pretty amazing reduction! As well, this meal tastes fresher, more flavourful and delicious than any from a restaurant...it's a win win!