Posts

Homemade Sunflower Seed Butter

sunflower butter

Sunflower seed butter is a tasty peanut butter alternative! Nut-free and super delicious. You can buy off the shelf but many have added sugar, my favorite are the ones with only ground sunflower seeds and salt so why not make my own! My daughter loves this homemade blend on millet toast, apples, pears or stirred in oatmeal.

Ingredients:

1+1/2 cups roasted sunflower seeds

1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

3 T. coconut oil

1 tsp. vanilla

Method:

  1. Grind sunflower seeds for a minute then add remaining ingredients and blend until smooth (or to your liking).
  2. Add a pinch of salt if desired but not needed if seeds already have added salt.
  3. Cover and store in fridge.
  4. Use within 1/2 weeks.

 

Yield: 1 cup

 

 

This recipe was developed for Vitacost.com and featured on their blog:

Black-Eyed Pea Hummus Collard Wraps

Ring in the New Year with healthy!

Black-eyed pea hummus collard wrap-copyright

Ringing in the New Year with a bit of good luck and prosperity on the mind is a great way to kick off the New Year. In the South, that means black-eyed peas for good luck and collard greens for prosperity. Enjoy this super satisfying hummus wrapped in a blanched collard green loaded up with your favorite fillings. Before you head out on the town for New Year’s Eve be sure to place the peas in water to soak overnight so they’ll be ready to cook when you rise on New Year’s Day! Read more

Classic Tasting Chocolate Chip Cookies

Who doesn’t love a good homemade chocolate chip cookie? I <3 cookies but my body is so sensitive that I can’t eat the classic version made with butter and white flour. Good thing there are other ingredients that can make a cookie that’s just as divine without the belly ache. These have a good amount of protein from the chickpeas, I imagine you can use any bean you have on hand. Pinto beans would make a pretty pink shaded cookie. This makes a small batch. This is my version of Donielle’s Gluten Free, Grain Free Chocolate Chip Cookie.

20130518_115956 (480x640)

Recipe (high protein, gluten free, dairy free) – Makes about 8 small cookies

Ingredients:

3/4 cup cooked chickpeas (rinse if using canned)

1/2 tsp. baking soda

pinch of sea salt

2 T. raw local honey

1/4 cup homemade pumpkin seed butter, check out my recipe (can use almond butter if you like)

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1/4 cup Enjoy Life chocolate chips (allergen-friendly, dairy, soy, and nut free)

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 350.

2. Pull out the food processor and add all ingredients except mini chocolate chips. Blend until smooth. Will need to pause and scrape down sides a few times (1-2 minutes of blending will do).

3. Remove batter from food processor and place into a bowl, add mini chocolate chips and mix to distribute chips.

4. Use small baking sheet and drop cookie batter by the spoonful, golfball size.

5. Place in oven and bake 15 minutes. I recommend baking so they are still soft, cookies will firm when they cool.

6. Enjoy!

20130518_120047 (480x640)

Serve up with a warm cup of tea! Glorious Smile

20130518_120122 (480x640)

Review: Box Of Goodies From Vitacost.com!

Vita samples (640x425)

It’s a great day when Vitacost.com sends you a box of goodies to sample!! This totally made my day and I am so honored they decided to send me a variety of items to review and share with you.

Disclosure of material connection: Vitacost provided me with free samples of these products to review. All opinions expressed here are completely my own.

Now onto my review of these products:

1) Kathy Smith PGX Program “Get Moving” – Kathy Smith is a icon in the world of fitness. I remember working out to one of her VHS aerobics tapes when I was in high school. I can even remember some of the workout moves. She always inspired me to sweat it out and feel great. I was psyched to workout with her again years later and feel the same inspiration with this workout DVD as well. Kathy knows how to make you work up a sweat, is very motivating, and fun. She explains exercise movements very well so you never feel lost, that is my usual complaint with most workout videos. Her clear instructions and upbeat motivational style has me going back to this DVD often to feel and see tangible results.

2) Orgain “Iced Café Mocha” Protein Drink – I had my husband sample this one due to my dairy intolerance. Milk and I don’t get along Winking smile. This to-go protein drink contains both whey protein and milk protein, studies have shown whey protein to be highly absorbable and great for post workout protein. Heman drank it down and said the flavor did taste like mocha with no after taste. He said it was light and creamy, not thick and creamy. If you prefer light and creamy, this drink is for you. You get a boost of several vitamins and minerals, there is no caffeine in it, despite the mocha name. The sugar count is 13 grams which translates to 3.25 grams of sugar. This is much less than typical sugar content of a drink from a coffee shop and it delivers a high protein count of 16 grams, ideal for post workout. For on the go, this is a good option. I always recommend real whole foods, but it’s good for a stand-by if you’re short on time.

3) Real Salt – I use this stuff everyday! I actually have a large bag in my kitchen cabinet, but the size Vitacost sent me is much easier to sprinkle on food when I’m cooking. This salt is unaltered, so it contains all of the trace minerals that are naturally in salt. It’s sourced from Utah, made in the USA! All of the salt grains are a different color indicating high trace mineral content. The pure white salt most people are used to seeing has been refined and stripped of all trace minerals expect for the sodium chloride. Our bodies do need some salt for electrolyte balance and other functions so your best bet is to use Real Salt.

4) Annie’s White Cheddar Popcorn – This popcorn contains dairy, so my husband happily stepped in to review for me, thanks honey! I did review the ingredients and was pleased to see no artificial colors (no food dyes) or flavors (no MSG), so he has my blessing to go ahead and eat it. He liked the white cheddar popcorn and said it was a solid snack choice.

5) NuGO Slim Non-Dairy Bar, Espresso – This bar had me at non-dairy gluten-free and high protein! The flavor is dark chocolate accented by espresso, winner in my chocoholic book. It wasn’t overly sweet, it was just right in the satisfactory department. The bar only contains 3g of sugar, a huge bonus in my book, I think that’s why it wasn’t super moist because it wasn’t soaking in brown rice syrup or agave syrup. The moisture factor was just right, it wasn’t a dry bar, but you definitely wanted to consume it with water. To me that’s perfect, because you are supposed to drink plenty of water with these type of bars to help with absorption of the protein and nutrients. I would get this for travel and on the go. I rely mostly on real food or bars I make myself, but it’s always good to have a backup you can pack for travel or in emergency ‘gotta have something now’ days. There are no artificial sweeteners or maltitol, which can cause stomach upset for some, me being one of those people.

6) Earthpaste toothpaste – I am on the natural toothpaste band wagon. My go to is Kiss My Face toothpaste, I have never tried Earthpaste, but I was impressed. This actually has clay in it, no coloring of any kind (no neon blue), contains sea salt – which I love too. This is hard core all natural and I like it, there are no questions as to what happens if I accidently swallow, no need to call 911 or Poison Control. Earthpaste has got it right, it’s exactly what we need to clean teeth, nothing more or less. Well done!

7) Alpha Hydrox Diabetic Shampoo and Scalp Care – This shampoo contains wheat and therefore gluten so I again passed it on to my husband. I have sensitive skin and since I also have a wheat intolerance, I do not eat wheat and try to avoid body care products that contain wheat. He said the shampoo left his hair soft and smooth. It has a slight medicine smell, but it’s not very strong, it just doesn’t smell like flowers or perfume. It does contain sodium lauryl sulfate if that is a chemical you choose to avoid, studies show it can irritate skin on some people.

8) Promax Fit Crisp – This snack bar contains whey protein and milk so I had my husband sample it since I am dairy intolerant. He said it was like an apple cinnamon rice crispy treat, however, he felt it had a slight after taste. It does not contain artificial ingredients, so I am not sure where the after taste would come from. Other people may not notice it. It contains 13 grams of protein out of 140 calories. This bar relies on both whey and soy protein, it also contains egg albumin and yogurt powder. This bar is peanut free, so great for those with peanut allergies.

I hope this product review inspired you to try a few new products from Vitacost.com!

Thank you again Vitacost.com for some great products to try Smile

Real Salt (640x425) Angie's popcorn (640x425)

promax bar plus (640x425) promax (640x425)

nugo slim bar  (640x425) NuGo Slim (640x425) (640x425)