DIY Chocolate-Nutty Raw Bars

These bars are simply delicious, raw, healthy and protein-packed.   I like to make a batch on Sunday, and then I get 8 on-the-go breakfast/snack bars for the week with NO preservatives or junk.  They're all-natural, nutty delicious goodness, just the way I like.   They're kinda like Larabars, without the high price tag, and with even more goodness inside.

Behold.....

Ingredients:

1 c dates 1 c almonds 2 T flax seeds 3 T coconut flakes 1/4 c pepitas 2 T cacao powder 6 T tahini 1 T raw honey 1/4 c rolled oats 1/4 tsp vanilla extract 1/2 tsp cinnamon 1/4 tsp sea salt 1 T sesame seeds

1/2 T bee pollen (optional...but I love the crunchy b-vitamin rich addition!)

1 T cacao nibs (optional)

Soak the flax seeds in an equal amount of water for about 5 minutes while gathering the rest of the ingredients together. In a food processor, combine first the nuts and the dates and pulse until a rough chop. Then add everything else in. Pulse and then blend until a nice consistency. I like to let it go for a couple minutes. Grab a pinch of the mixture and see if it's nice and sticky. If it's not, just blend a bit more.

I like to press into a 8x8 pyrex baking dish. Press with clean hands until level and evenly distributed. Cover and let chill for 1 hour or so. Then, cut into 8 or 9 bars. Wrap individually and keep in the fridge. They would technically last for quite a long time, I'd imagine since all ingredients are fairly dry. In my home though, they don't last longer than a week. :)

Per bar:

288 cal 17 g fat 39.6 g sodium 30 g carbs 7 g fiber 17 g sugar 8 g protein

SuperFood Travel Mix

The worst thing about travel for me is the uncertainty of good, sound nutrition!  My body is so used to eating well on a regular basis, that eating junk for even a day has me thrown "off".  Besides, airport food is expensive and you're hard pressed to find anything healthy.  Before a trip, I make sure to pack some snacks in my carry-on to get me through the trip.  The trail mix above is super healthy, vegan & nutrient-dense.  It goes hand & hand with my mobile kitchen for our next journey... back to Costa Rica!

1 c cacao nibs
1 c salted organic peanuts
1 c dried cranberries or cherries
1 c raw hulled sunflower seeds
1/2 c raw pepitas

Mix well! Portion out into baggies for the plane, car, bus or just to have on hand in your purse or gym bag.

Nutrition per serving:
295 calories
21 g carbs
21 g fat
7 g protein

Yogurt: breakfast, digestive health and why Activia is a terrible choice.

You know you should eat your breakfast; your momma told you so.  Then again, so did Wheaties and Pop Tart and Jimmy Dean and Tim Horton.   But all breakfasts are not created equally. Cereal? Bagel? Pop tart and OJ? Greasy breakfast sandwich that could sit on your counter NOT growing mold for a year or so?  Not so much balanced breakfast ideas.   Having a breakfast of sugar and carbohydrates might give you a quick boost, but you'll crash and be cranky and starving by lunchtime.   Protein is essential to keeping your body functioning properly.  So, what do you do for QUICK weekday breakfasts that are healthy and cheap?



YOGURT!  Whole, real, full-fat, plain yogurt like Seven Star Farms.  They are cultured products, which means the good microbes are still alive and haven't been killed by pasteurizing the product.  Probiotics and enzymes are fantastic natural solutions for digestive health. Real yogurt actually TASTES like yogurt; tangy and tart and with a little bit of texture.  If you're protein-conscious, Greek Yogurt is a great choice.   Because Greek yogurt has been strained to remove excess whey, it is thicker and the protein content is much higher than regular yogurt.  To me the extra protein is worth the extra couple bucks.  Greek yogurt is super filling, so I tend to do 1/2 c servings rather than a whole cup.

NO-gurt.  What kind of yogurt is a bad idea?  All of the ones in little, convenient cups and filled with real & fake sugars + additives, colors, preservatives, namely Activia.  Yeah, that might sound counter-intuitive, because of all of the TV ads and claims that it has healthy probiotics.  Guess what?  The probiotic they use, Bifidus Regularis (LOL) has been manufactured just for them in a laboratory, people.  It's not a naturally occurring one like you'll find in the types I've mentioned above. So, not only are we unsure of what actual benefits this modified organism has, it's just plain snakey for Dannon Corporation to create and patent the living organism and profit off of YOU.

/rant.

If you work in an office, keep the "toppings" in baggies at your desk, and bring in a large container of Yogurt and some real fruit in at the beginning of each week. There. Now you officially have no more excuses of "wahhhh.....I don't have time for a healthy breakfast!!!".

Here are some of my favorite yogurt "recipes" but feel free to mix, match, substitute and create your perfect blend. 

SEED-TASTIC

1/2 c Whole-Milk yogurt
1 oz pepita seeds
1 tsp flax seeds
1/2 banana, sliced
Pinch of cinnamon

AMBROSIA


1/2 c Greek yogurt
Drizzle of honey
1/2 orange
1/2 oz almonds
1/2 oz unsweetened coconut flakes

250 calories
14 g protein
10 g fat
21 g carbs

BERRY BLAST


1/2 c Greek yogurt
1/3 c frozen or fresh blueberries
2 tbsp tart cherry juice concentrate
1/2 oz walnuts

261 calories
13 g protein
10 g fat
32 g carbs


GRANOLA CRUNCHER


1/2 c Greek yogurt
2 tbsp granola
2 tbsp dried fruit (cherry cranberry mix is my favorite)
1/2 oz pecans

325 calories
14 g protein
15g fat
33 carbs

SUPER PROTEIN (If you're working out a ton, this is a good choice!)


1 cup Greek Yogurt
1/2 banana
2 scoops whey protein powder (I used chocolate)

289 calories
36 g protein
3 g fat
32 g carbs

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