3 Ingredient Granola....seriously amazing!

We spent last week visiting family in Canada. And of course the day I get there, I go grocery shopping for our ‘standard’ food items: peanut butter, yogurt, fruits/veggies for green smoothies, etc….things that my mother-in-law may not have stocked already. I bought a huge thing of peanut butter and couldn't find a granola that I liked at the grocery store. Luckily on the PB jar there was a granola recipe and there at the store I immediately knew I was going to make it! And make it I did….THREE times! It was so good couldn't get enough!! I ate it with yogurt, it added a nice peanut butter crunch to oatmeal, and of course by the spoonful fresh out the oven (after it cooled ;)

Here is the easy peasy recipe:

1/4 cup crunchy peanut butter

2 TBSP maple syrup

1 cup quick oats

HEAT oven to 350F

MIX peanut butter and maple syrup together, Add oats and mix until mixture evenly coated. Spread onto baking sheet lined with parchment paper. I wet my hands to spread the granola out evenly.

BAKE 15 minutes, stirring after 8 minutes

DONE!

The ingredients

So quick to whip up!

Fresh out the oven

Strawberry oatmeal topped with PB granola

Yogurt topped with blueberries & PB granola

My morning shenanigans: a toddler looking for something mischievous to do & a crying infant!!

RAW Carrot Chewies

These are SO delicious, I make them weekly! Great snack with a nice protein punch!

I absolutely LOVE peanut butter. We were playing a couples game one New Years and it was on how well you know your spouse. One questions was what is your spouses' favorite food. Yep, my husband guessed that one right: PEANUT BUTTER! Now mind you, I get the natural kind with no added oils, sugars, preservatives, etc. Found one that I like at Costco, ingredients: peanuts, sea salt, that's it!

Here is a great article on the health benefits of peanuts:

http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=101

Great website with lots of info on the world's healthies food & how to prepare it. Have that guy's book too!

1/4 cup low-fat granola

1 Tbsp honey or maple syrup

1/4 cup carrots, finely shredded

1/4 cup sunflower seeds

1/4 cup raisins

1 Tbp wheat germ

3/4 cup natural peanut butter

~in smal bowl, combine all ingredients

~form into small balls

tip: after adding the PB to the mix I popped it into the microwave for 15 sec to softned the PB making it easier to stir everything together & it worked great!



'Better than Peanut Butter & Jelly' by Wendy Muldawer & Marty Mattare

I was trying to debate if I should raise Audriana (and future kiddos) vegetarian. Finished reading another book 'Disease-Proof Your Child' by Joel Fuhrman which really stressed a plant-based diet, and the ill-effects of meat & dairy. That got the wheels turning because he backed his data with scientific research; I did a library search on how to raise vegetarian children and this book came up. It is a cookbook with quick, easy & nutritious vegetairan recipes that children will like (and the whole family for that matter). This is the 1998 versions, there is an updated edition (2006) but my library did not have it. I really liked this book and the beauty of it is that the older version is under $1 (minus S&H) on Amazon :) 

Home-Made CLIFF bars...phenominal!

I got this recipe from one of the blogs that I follow, Enlightened Cooking! I have made Lara Bars from it too, which are under 5 ingredients, and those bars are pretty pricey at the store. Plus, just like you can with these bars, there can be SO many different variations. Whatever you are in the mood for, or have in your pantry! The recipe comes together in minutes!!

I made cranberry chocolate chip, using sunflower seed butter as the base. You can use any nut butter you like. I also use brown rice syrup to make it all stick together. Apparently honey won't do the job. I bought the syrup at Whole Foods, it's taste is a cross btwn honey & maple syrup

Mixing it all together

so so good!

p.s. the link to the recipe is avaliable when you click on 'Enlightened Cooking', in case you were not aware ;)

and she has lots of nice pictures too

Kale Chips

it may not look it, but they are crispy!

I have my kale & ready for the challenge ;)

1 bunch kale

1 Tbsp olive oil

1 tsp. sea salt

Spread out, sprayed with olive oil & sea salt

Preheat oven to 350F

Cut out the stems from kale, the tear or cut kale into small pieces

Drizzle with olive oil & sprinkle with salt

Bake in oven about 10 minutes until edges slightly brown

**the key is to really watch the kale towards the end of baking, you have to get it just right so they are cripsy, not chewy or burnt & crumbling! It helped to read the review off the website below.

I got my initial recipe from: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/baked-kale-chips/

For pretty pictures go to: http://smittenkitchen.com/2010/03/baked-kale-chips/

got the idea to use my olive oil cooking spray from them, much easier with a more even distribution!

GOOD LUCK & ENJOY

oh and make how much you need for the day, after putting them in tupperware they just weren't the same the next day, they became chewy? if you figure out a way to store them, let me know!

Energy Mix...Extra Lean Style

1/4 cup walnut halves

1/4 cup slivered almonds

1/4 cup dried cranberries

1/4 cup whole grain cereal

2 Tbsp. sunflower seeds

~combine all ingredients & mix

~divide into 6 equal portions & distribute into resealable plastic bags

serving size: 2 heaping tablespoons

calories: 146 kcal

fiber: 2g

protein 4g

I read Mario Lopez's book 'Extra Lean' & 'Extra Lean Family'.

Just randomly stumbled upon it and was surprisingly good!

His basic principles were:

1. Balance your daily intake of carbs, protein, and fat (and yes eat EACH!)

2. Practice proper portion control

3. Eat frequently throughout the day

(snack btwn breakfast & lunch, and 2 snacks btwn lunch & dinner)

Nothing new right? It just helped remind me in my post-partum period TO EAT properly!

I felt like I was stuck with the 'last 10 lbs' and I couldn't understand why; but then I

re-evaluated how I was eating and I figured it out. I was grazing the whole day (yes it was on whole grain crackers and other 'relatively healthy food' but it was nothing substantial, and then I felt like I over-ate at dinner because of it. Most of the book is recipes and weekly meal plans. After trying the first week, following it to a T, I lost 3lbs (this was with occasional exercise, and lots of running up & down the stairs). Wow I thought to myself, what and how we eat directly impacts our health & well-being!

Just another friendly reminder ;)

Welcome Summer, Watermelon Fresca

This is my first summer in Cincy & it has started EARLY! All week it has been >80F/25C! And they say its only going to get hotter & more humid. I feel like we moved to Florida! The air condition has been pumpin'.

Okay so I am a huge watermelon fanatic. Jumped the gun & bought a watermelon a few weeks back that wasn't so sweet & juicy on the inside. Cut it up & put in the fridge....it was just okay; but the next day it tasted like watermelon flavored potatoes. I couldn't throw it away, oh how I missed this fruit. Googled a few recipes to make a refreshing smoothie and put this together. It was GREAT!!!

serves about 6

6 cups seedless watermelon chunks

4 tablespoons frozen limeade/lemonade concentrate

2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

1 1/2 cups crushed ice (or 1c. water)

blend all ingredients together and voila all done!

(I used frozen lemonade concentrate from Trader Joe's that does not contain high fructose corn syrup, just plain ol' sugar.)

disclaimer: I grabbed the photo off Google Images, I cheated, I know....didn't have time to take a pic!

Prepare to be Amazed Green Smoothie

I follow a raw food website/blog: learnrawfood.com by Jennifer Cornbleet
 and they were featuring this smoothie made with spinach. I eat a spinach salad almost every day and like to get another dose of all the jam-packed nutrients through a smoothie....why not if you are willing to experiement? There were no pictures, so I was picturing a green smoothie in my head, but was pleasantly surprised that it came out a lovely purple, because of the blueberries...duh! But here is the great part: you cannot even taste the spinach....if you did not see the pictures your tastebuds would be fooled as well!

Here is the recipe:

1/4c. water

1 sm. ripe banana

1c. frozen blueberries

1/2 orange, peeled & sectioned
1/2c. spinach leaves

Blend & Enjoy....its that simple!

My adventures in Raw Almond Milk

I have been reading up on raw food, and wanted to try making Almond Milk, have tried different brands of commercial almond milk and was curious to see what the home-made version tasted like. It is a little bit of a process but super easy, here it goes:

1 cup raw almonds, soaked in water 8-12hrs
Drain almonds, in food processor add 2-3 cups filtered water and blend till creamy and uniform.

Using a cheese cloth strain the mixture over a large bowl or pitcher, allow to strain till milk runs clear.

So after my milk finished straining, I looked at the remains of almonds called "almond pulp" and had to find a recipe to actually make something out of it. Throwing it away seemed like such a waste! And behold, after doing a Google search there are many things you can use this almond pulp...in smoothies, in banana bread batter, but I decided to try to make granola out of it. So I spread the almond pulp over a baking sheet and toasted it in the oven on 350F for about 15 min to dry it out. Mixed in whatever I had handy in my pantry: rolled oats, cranberries, and sunflower seeds (next time I will put shredded coconut and dried pineapples), and lots of honey and cinnamon. I put it back into the oven for another 30-40min until golden and dried out. The result....a great nutty granola....who knew??

Boring Yogurt Days OVER

First I would like to start with the YOGURT itself. I used to eat fat-free/low-fat flavored yogurt thinking I would win at calories and that its definetly more healthy for me but I was wrong. After reading my lastest nutrition/diet book (The Last 15 by Joey Shulman) it opened my eyes on how much hidden sugar we comsume! They recommened eating plain yogurt and adding your own fruit. Flavored yogurt contains about 27 grams of sugar per 6-ounce serving and 170 calories compared with plain, low-fat yogurt, which has around 110 calories and no added sugar. When we eat a continuous amount of sugar, everything from your Starbucks Frapp to ketchup, we put our bodies on a insulin rollercoaster ride. Insulin controlls your blood sugar and is released when you eat any type of sugar (even naturally occuring sugar from fruit, fructose). My favorite diet expert Jorge Cruise also recently wrote a book dedicated to avoiding access sugar, see the exerpt that I copied directly from his website and youtube videos below...he really brings home some great points!

But FIRST let me tell you of some interesting toppings to sprinkle on plain ol' yogurt. In the beginning, I felt like I was eating sour cream but after putting some blueberries, cinnamon & granola on it.....I was becoming a fan. Plus, I guess once my brain knows its healthy I start liking the food more just for that reason. I wanted to shed some light on other topping you can put on yogurt that you might have not otherwise tried.

Ground Flaxseed

Flaxseeds are high in alpha-linolenic acis, an essential fatty acid, AKA Omega 3. Flaxseeds help lower cholesterol, keep blood pressure in check, and even reduce cancer risk. I bought this book a few years ago: World's Healthiest Foods, quite interesting bc it gives you everything you need to know: nutritional facts, best storage, and ways to prepare the food to maximize nutrients of common foods we eat. http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=81#healthbenefits This is their blurp on flaxseeds.

Chia Seeds: My newest discovery

Cha-cha-cha chia...does anyone remember those plants that you water and watch it grow. I never thought those seeds were even edible! Little did I know that the chia seed is an excellent source of
fiber, packed with antioxidants, full of protein, loaded with vitamins
and minerals, and the richest known plant source of omega-(http://www.thechiaseed.com/) You thought the flax seed was great, well consider this a superstar! What I like about these seeds is that they had a little crunch without a wierd after-taste. With the flaxseeds, I had aquire a taste for them. You can add it to everything oatmeal, cereal, salads, smoothies, salsas, dips, muffin/pancake recipes, you get the idea.

Shelled Hemp Seeds

These seeds have a nice nutty taste, are a good source of protein and yet again heart healthy Omega 3. I always wondered if I would fail a drug test bc hemp is derived from Cannabis Sativa, marijuana's cousin. So a sprinkle, probably won't get me anywhere lol.

All these seeds have similar health benefits: they are cardioprotective, reduce imflammation, reduce cancer risk, manage weight, boast immunity, and the list goes on. So why not try one or all three?

COPIED straight from: http://thebellyfatcure.com/the-science-new/

What is The Belly Fat Cure?
The first thing you must awaken to is the truth about what causes belly fat and obesity, and it isn’t a failure to count calories or fat grams. It is critical you understand that the foods we eat are packed full of hidden sugars. The latest breakthrough research has proven that losing and gaining fat isn’t determined by how many calories you eat, but by the kind of calories you eat. That is why the focus of The Belly Fat Cure is about eating the right amount of sugar and carbohydrates to maximize fat loss while still satisfying your sweet tooth. The reason we single out the sugar and carbohydrates, not the calories and fat, all has to do with the science of a naturally occurring hormone we all have...insulin.
Why Insulin?
You may be thinking “I’m not diabetic, my insulin is fine!” or “I’ve always known it is bad to eat sugar, I hardly ever have candy!” That is where the breakthrough research about insulin and the huge amounts of hidden sugar in our everyday “healthy” foods comes into play. It is absolutely vital you know that insulin is the hormone that controls your bodies ability to push fat into fat cells, especially the dangerous fat tissue that accumulates around the midsection. Without lowering insulin levels, it is impossible to lose weight, regardless of calorie intake or exercise intensity. 

The Newest Breakthrough Science and Research
"Jorge Cruise gets it right by eliminating excessive sugar and processed carbohydrates.   His recipes make eating smart easy. I recommend them highly."
--Andrew Weil, M.D., Director of the Arizona Center for Integrative medicine, University of Arizona, and author of Why Our Health Matters
 
Watch these very useful video interviews with my dear friends Dr. Mehmet Oz and Dr. Andrew Weil: