Perfect Hard Boiled Eggs

I love eggs. Who doesn't? Poached, hard boiled, scrambled, baked, you name it. They're the perfect portable snack, breakfast accompaniment and can even be the fancy main dish. They also have all the amino acids and protein your body needs. Ah, pure energy. Remember Rocky and his blender full of raw eggs...yeah eew! I certainly wouldn't advise anyone to eat raw eggs, but you get the idea. They are a great way to get high quality protein into your diet to help provide long-lasting energy and decreased hunger throughout the day.

When I was younger my Grandma used to make me boiled eggs. Sometimes she would serve them to me with little thin strips of toast for dipping into the egg yolk. I haven't done that in so long, but I remember it how much fun it made lunchtime. I don't know if this is an English thing, but I've since learned from Jamie Oliver that he calls it boiled eggs and soldiers, and it really does make an awesome meal idea for getting kids to eat their food.

The problem when it comes to boiling eggs of course is that you can easily over-cook them, which leads to an unappetizing gray-green colour that surrounds the yolk when you go to cut into it. That green stuff forms because the iron from the yolk reacts with the hydrogen sulfide in the egg white. The discoloured egg yolk is harmless to eat, but lets admit it, not at all appetizing. This used to happen to me quite often until my brother Matt taught me the proper fool-proof way to hard boil an egg. The other problem I used to have was when I went to peel them the shell would stick to the egg white. 

Now my boiled eggs come out perfect everytime.

A little trick I learned from Jamie Oliver for preventing your eggs from cracking while cooking is adding just a small pinch of salt to the pot of water. The eggs don't absorb the salt so don't be concerned about any unnecessary sodium.

What You'll Need

• Eggs (1-12 however many you need)
• A small saucepan
• Salt (optional)
• Ice cubes

1. Place your eggs in the saucepan and fill with enough cold water to just cover them. Add a small pinch of salt if using.
2. Bring the water to just a boil and then quickly lower the heat of the burner so the water is at a gentle boil. Let the eggs simmer for 5 minutes. 
3. Remove the from the heat, cover the pot,  and let the eggs sit in the water for another 5 minutes.
4. Discard the hot water from the pot, re-fill the with fresh cold tap water, and add a handful of ice cubes. Let the eggs sit in the ice bath for at least 4 minutes before removing them.

You can either peel them immediately or store them in the fridge up to 5 days for fast convenience.

7 Ways to Stay Healthy While Traveling & Healthy Snacks on the Go

It's that time of year again. The kids are out of school, the weather is gorgeous and you're ready to pack up and take a vacation. I can hear the beach calling my name right now.

Costa Rica anyone?

This is a picture from the boat of the sunset cruise in Tamarindo when I went a few years ago.

I wish I was there right now!

Maybe next year. But, when you do set off on vacation especially when its a road trip, how do you continue to eat healthy and stick to your clean diet? I know I certainly don't stop at road side McDonald's among other gross fast food stops and eat greasy food, but unfortunately, most of the time that's all there is to be found. It seem's like no one is looking out for the mindful eater. Let's face it, fast-food restaurants are called fast-food for a reason, the food is almost always full of bad fats, high levels of sodium,preservatives, artificial flavours, and empty calories -and let's not forget about portion distortion. Even their "healthy options" aren't exactly nourishing.

That's why I'd like to share with you today my favourite healthy travel tips and tricks and also some great snacks that are portable and easy to take with you while you're on the go.

With a little bit of effort and planning you'll be on your way.

Tips and Tricks to Stay Healthy While Traveling:

• Start your day by eating breakfast and avoid excess sugar. This will get your metabolism going first thing.
• Drink plenty of water.  I can't underestimate the importance of this one. It keeps you hydrated, keeps your body running smoothly and also helps to detox.
• Pack a cooler with healhty food before you leave home. 
• Find the local grocery stores or farmers markets. Summer is a great time to hit up the local farmers markets and almost every community has one. You can pick up fresh fruits and pre-cut veggies, and stock-up your hotel mini bar with them.
• Choose healthy options while dining out. Being on vacation doesn't mean you have to splurge at every meal. Eat like you would if you were enjoying a meal at home. Enjoy your time with the people you are dining with.
• Incorporate some fun activities for exercise. Take walks on the beach with your family as a way to start or end the day, find bike or hiking trails, explore the area by foot. The list can be endless!
• Enjoy and indulge in a treat. Everyone loves a good ice cream, and eating out at restaurants is all part of the fun of going on vacation so don't beat yourself up about it, just be mindful and keep a balance. Have something you really want and enjoy every bite. Have fun and relax, you will get back to your regular clean eating when you get home.

Healthy Snacks For the Car:

• Fresh-cut veggies. Remember that cooler I told you to pack, well this is where it comes in. Fresh cut veggies are great portable snacks when they're cut into small bites. Remember the ice packs to help keep them fresh.
• Sandwiches made with baked or grilled chicken breast and mustard or natural peanut butter/ almond butter and homemade chia jam or sliced bananas. These can be cut into triangles for snacking.
• All Natural Nut Butters.
• Individual containers of oats. All you have to do is add a cup of hot water cover it back over and wait 5-10 minutes and viola, oatmeal on-the-go. Add some fresh fruit and nut butter or protein powder.
• Whole grain crackers or tortilla chips. 
• Homemade humus, guacamole, or salsa. All great condiments that are clean eating.
• Low-fat mozzarella string cheese. A great source of calcium and protein.
• Mini yogurts. Also a great source of calcium and protein.
• Hard boiled eggs. The perfect portable protein
• Fresh fruit. Apples, bananas, pears, peaches, grapes, oranges, apricots, cherries, berries of all kind are the perfect hand sized portable snack.
• Individual bags of mixed dried fruit and nuts. Great sources of healthy fats and fiber, and even protein. Almonds, walnuts, brazil nuts, raisins, dried apricots, cranberries, dates. You can even add some healthy dark chocolate chips and make it a real trail mix!
• Lara Bars. These are a little high in sugars but the ingredients are all real foods. No preservatives.
• Vega also has some great on the go products that I sometimes buy like their Vibrancy Bars, energizing smoothie snack packs (individually packaged - all you have to do is and it to juice or water), and their savi seed are a great healthy superfood snack rich in nutrients. I really like Vega because they base all their products on real whole foods and use no strange ingriendents. They are also completely Vegan. If you're interested in finding out more about them, their web site is full of info.

Here are a couple of other great snack recipes that you can make at home: