Mother’s Day Sips & Recipes as seen on CTV Morning Live Ottawa

Booze Free Mom ~

More Moms than ever are sober curious… taking a break from drinking alcohol or choosing not to drink at all! Keep the cheers flowing when you toast the special ladies in your life this Mother’s Day…with a personal favourite of mine: Gruvi Bubbly Rose (click here for more info).

Have Gruvi Bubbly Rose delivered right to your home through well.ca.

For more non-alcoholic beverage recipes, sober inspo and a store locator tool are at GetGruvi.com. Cheers to that!

Pasta Loving Mom ~

Mom’s LOVE pasta! It’s a perfect pantry staple, cooks up in minutes, and lends itself well to countless flavour concoctions. If your mom is looking for weeknight supper inspo – this sheet pan pasta is an absolute must try. Better yet, why not whip up this recipe for mom and give her a night off from cooking?

Sheet Pan Chickpea Pasta Shawarma with Tomato Mint Salsa

This Middle Eastern-inspired sheet pan supper is loaded with flavour, vegetables and plant protein. Bonus: it’s a great excuse to use up all those spices hiding in the back of your pantry.

Sauce

• 1/3 cup (75 mL) tahini
• ⅓ cup (75 mL) mayonnaise (or plain yogurt)
• 3 tbsp (45 mL) lemon juice
• 1 tbsp (15 mL) hot sauce
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• Generous pinch of salt

Directions:

Stir together all ingredients. Set aside until ready to assemble

Tomato Mint Salsa

• 1 cup (250 mL) halved grape tomatoes (or chopped tomatoes)
• ½ cup (125 mL) diced cucumber
• ¼ cup (60 mL) chopped green onions
• ¼ cup (60 mL) each of chopped fresh parsley and roughly chopped fresh mint
• Squeeze of lemon juice
• Pinch salt and pepper

Directions:

Stir together all ingredients. Set aside until ready to assemble.

Vegetables and Pasta

• 2 tbsp (30 mL) vegetable oil
• 2 ½ tsp (12 mL) each of cumin and smoked paprika
• ½ tsp (2 mL) each of turmeric, ground cinnamon, ground ginger and salt
• ¼ tsp (1 mL) each of cardamom and chili flakes
• 1 cup (250 mL) chickpeas, drained and patted dry
• 2 carrots, cut in thick matchstick pieces
• 1 small cauliflower, cut into florets
• 1 red onion, cut in thick strips
• 2 cups (500 mL) Italpasta Fusilli ~ click here for product info

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 425⁰F (220⁰C).
2. In a large bowl stir together oil and spices. Toss with vegetables and chickpeas.
3. Place vegetable/chickpea mixture evenly on a large baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
4. Place in the center of the preheated oven. Bake for about 30 minutes, tossing once during roasting, until vegetables and chickpeas are golden.
5. While the vegetables are roasting, cook pasta according to package directions. Drain well and toss with a splash of vegetable oil. Set aside.
6. Remove pan from the oven and toss cooked pasta with vegetable/chickpea mixture (on baking sheet).
7. Drizzle reserved sauce evenly over pasta/veg mixture and garnish evenly with tomato mint salsa.
8. Serve immediately. Serves 6 people. Enjoy!!

Plant Based Mom ~

Many Moms are incorporating more plant-based meals into their (and their families) diets. If your mom is like me and loves a good burger and sweet treat, these recipes will be sure to hit the spot!

Mushroom Veggie Burger

~ click here for recipe. Click here for more tasty recipes made with Canadian Mushrooms.

Coconut Chocolate Energy Truffles

Satisfy your sweet tooth with these good-for-you and easy to prepare bites. Perfect for a post workout nibble, or 3 p.m. at-your-desk snack.

Ingredients

• 1 cup (250 mL) each; large flake sweetened coconut, almonds and dark chocolate chips (*at least 70% chocolate)
• 1/2 cup (125 mL) large flake rolled oats
• 2 tbsp (30 mL) each; chia seeds and hemp seeds
• 1/2 cup (125 mL) liquid honey
• 2 tsp (10 mL) pure vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp (1 mL) pure coconut extract
• ½ tsp (2 mL) salt
• Garnish ~ approx ½ cup (125 mL) shredded coconut

Directions:

1. Place coconut, nuts, chocolate and oats in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade. Pulse until finely chopped. Scrape down sides of bowl when needed.
2. Add remaining ingredients and pulse until mixture is very well combined and starts to clump together.
3. Roll mixture evenly into balls – just a bit smaller than a golf ball (should yield approx 16 ‘truffles’).
4. Roll each truffle in shredded coconut to lightly coat (you may need to use your hands to press the coconut onto the balls, so it states put).
5. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.
6. Makes 16 truffles.