No Bake Elvis Bars

These quick bars are so yummy!

No Bake Elvis Bars

- adapted from Oh She Glows

Crust:
1.5 cups whole almonds
2 tbsp. coconut oil
2 tbsp. maple syrup
1 tbsp. almond butter
pinch of sea salt

Line an 8 inch square pan with parchment paper. (This makes it easy to lift the bars out after).  Add the almonds into a food processor and process until a fine crumb mixture forms.  Now add the rest of the crust ingredients and process until the mixture comes together, scraping the sides if necessary.  The mixture should be slightly tacky and should stick together when pressed with your fingers.  If it is not, add a small splash of water and process again for a few seconds.

Dump the crust into parchment lined pan.  Smooth out evenly and then press down firmly and evenly into the pan.  Place in freezer while you prepare the middle layer.

Middle Layer:
2 medium ripe bananas, peeled
1/4 cup coconut oil
2 tbsp. almond butter
1 tsp. vanilla extract
pinch of sea salt

Give the processor bowl a quick rinse.  Add all the middle layer ingredients into the processor and process until smooth.  Remove the crust from the freezer and pour the middle layer on top.  Smooth out and return to the freezer for at least 1.5 hours or until the middle layer is very firm to the touch.

Chocolate Drizzle:
3 tbsp. mini chocolate chips
1/2 tbsp. coconut oil

When the middle layer is completely solid, place the chocolate chips and coconut oil in a small pot and heat on low.  When half the chips have melted, remove the pot from the heat and stir until completely melted.  Remove the bars from the freezer.  Lift slap out of the pan and slice into squares.  Spread out on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.  Drizzle on the melted chocolate and return bars to the freezer until the chocolate is firm and the bars are solid.

*Make sure to keep the bars frozen as they melt quickly.

FUN FACTS

Coconut oil - lauric acid in coconut oil can kill bacteria, viruses and fungi

Almonds - are a great source of folic acid

Sea salt - is obtained by evaporating seawater, contains essential minerals and nutrients that are removed from table salt during the refining process

Green Goddess Salad Dressing

I make all my salad dressings now and love trying new ones!  This one is from my nutritionist and is so different and yummy.  It has so much flavour and a little bit of zip so you don't to use much!

Green Goddess Salad Dressing

- from my RHN Whitney Paige

1 avocado
juice of 1 lemon
1 garlic clove, minced
1/4 cup water
2 tbsp. green onions
2 tbsp. fresh basil
1 tsp. sea salt
1 tsp. pepper

Place all ingredients in a food processor or blender and puree until smooth.  Add a bit more water to thin if needed.  Serve over a fresh green salad.

FUN FACTS

- Garlic - great immune booster

- Basil - contains high levels of vitamin A

- Avocado - can improve lipid profiles

Healthified Pasta Salad

I LOVE pasta salad!  My favorite ones use to be slathered with unhealthy mayo!  That was until I discovered that hemp seeds turn dressings into amazing creamy ones!

Healthified Pasta Salad  

- adapted from my RHN Whitney Paige

1 package dry pasta (I used GoGo Quinoa macaroni)
Any vegetables you have on hand (I used celery, cucumber, green onions and carrots)

Cook pasta as per package directions.  Rinse in cold water.  Mix in vegetables.

Dressing:
1/2 cup ketchup (I ran out of my organic ketchup - shhhh!)
2 tbsp. maple syrup
2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
2 tbsp. hemp seeds
salt & pepper
water to thin

Blend until smooth and pour over salad. Toss to coat.

Note - the original recipe said to blend dressing ingredients in a magic bullet.  I don't have one so I first ground up my hemp seeds in my food processor and then added the rest of the ingredients and processed until smooth!

FUN FACTS

- hemp seeds - contain all nine of the essential amino acids

- maple syrup - contains a host of natural minerals such as calcium, vitamin B, zinc, potassium and magnesium.

What I eat + Easy Overnight Buckwheat Parfait

Confusing information about nutrition + not knowing where to start = feeling overwhelmed. I know, I have so been there!

I had to take some baby steps and struggle a little to find the right way to eat for me and my body.  Unfortunately something that worked for someone else did not work for me and a food journal has been an amazing way for me to document my food and symptoms and see connections.

So how do I eat you ask? We are a 100% soy & gluten free household and the only dairy we have in the house is butter for my dear husband. We focus on "whole foods" which means I spend a lot of time in the kitchen making meals. BUT it is so worth it to know I am nourishing my body with REAL foods. We eat a lot of fruits and vegetables, gluten free grains such as quinoa, buckwheat and rice, beans, lentils, nuts, seeds and lots of smoothies, green juices and raw foods. We do eat some meat such as wild game, grass fed beef and wild fish but right now my husband and I are doing a 30 day meat free challenge. Today is day 4! My husband has Crohn's disease and he has already seen some improvements with his digestion.

Easy Overnight Buckwheat Parfait  

- from Oh She Glows

1/4 cup raw buckwheat groats
3/4 cup almond milk
2 tbsp. chia seeds
1 large ripe banana, 1/2 mashed, 1/2 sliced
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. vanilla extract

Add the buckwheat groats in a bowl and cover with water.  Stir.  Place in the fridge uncovered overnight.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the chia seeds, almond milk, banana, cinnamon and vanilla until no chia clumps remain.  Place in fridge uncovered overnight.

In the morning, rinse the buckwheat with cold water in a strainer.  Add the rinsed buckwheat into the chia mixture and stir well.  Just before serving, drizzle with a small amount of maple syrup and top with some fresh fruit.

FUN FACTS

- chia seeds - 2 tbsp. contains 10 grams of fiber

- buckwheat - is gluten free

- cinnamon - can help balance blood sugars

The start of a new adventure...

I have been on a health roller coaster for the past few years in search of trying to feel healthy. Over the years I have been to different doctors who have never been able to figure out what is wrong or how to make me feel better. Frustrated I turned to a Naturopathic Doctor who was extremely helpful but all the supplements I had to take was very expensive and I still wasn't seeing the results I was looking for. It wasn't until I started working with a Registered Holistic Nutritionist (RHN) that I learned these supplements still weren't addressing the root cause of my health issues and that eating the right foods would help my body heal itself.

Over the next 8 months my body did start to heal itself and so many symptoms started disappearing! When I first started changing my diet my symptom list was long:
- constant horrible nausea
- hypoglycemia 
- constipation
- bloating
- burping after meals
- frequent colds
- fatigue
- frequent headaches
- horrible period cramps
- always feeling cold
- lightheaded & dizziness
- acne
- moderate candida, low pancreatic enzymes, low gut SIgA, food intolerances (all diagnosed by testing through my Naturopathic Doctor)

So many of those are much better or completely gone, such as:
- every winter I would have a cold the WHOLE DARN WINTER...this past winter, no cold! Not even a sore throat or a sniffle!
 - I use to take gravol like they were candies and now I can't even remember the last time I took one!
 - I went from being curled up in a ball with my heating pad, popping tylenol when my period started to not needing a heating pad or any tylenol!

AMAZING!!!

I have decided to enroll in a distance program to become a Registered Holistic Nutritionist. I can't wait to start helping people!