Maca-Goji-Cacao Bars

 

Move over Larabars!  There's a new bar in town and it'll knock your socks off in flavor and nutrition.  I put these bars together in less than 15 minutes and they were ready by the morning for my adventure at the beach with my family.   Packed with protein, antioxidants, iron, magnesium and omega 3's, this little snack proved itself worthy of an anytime meal.
So, this recipe called for almonds and cashews, but I just threw anything and everything in there.  This is how it goes....

Take 8 cups of your favorite nuts (other than cashews)....almonds, walnuts, brazil nuts, macadamia nuts, etc. and place in a food processor.  Grind into crumbs.    This will make about 4 1/2 cups worth. 

 Then take 3 cups of cashews and pulse these in the processor into pieces.  When you are finished with that, combine all nuts together in a bowl and mix with a spoon.

After this you will add the remaining ingredients which are the following:  1 cup soaked goji berries (soaked no more than 15 minutes and drained), 1 cup hemp seeds, 1/2 cup flax seeds or flax meal, 1/2 cup cacao nibs, 1 tsp. sea salt (real sea salt....it should be pink, not white!), 1 tsp. organic vanilla extract, 1 tsp. lemon zest, and 1/4 cup maca.  Bring it all together with 1 3/4 cup raw honey.  Mix until blended.

You will use 3 dehydrator sheets for this.  Make sure you cover your dehydrator tray with a fruit roll up sheet.  Using a spatula, place mixture on a tray and press firmly to the edges until smooth.  Repeat process for all trays and dehydrate on 110 degrees overnight or until a soft cookie/bar like texture is obtained.  If you don't have a dehydrator, I encourage you to invest in one...not that expensive.  Nesco is a good brand.  But you can try this in your oven on the lowest setting with parchment paper lining a cookie sheet.  Obviously, you will be taking some of the nutritional value away, but it will still be yummy and good for you.  You will need to keep an eye on it as it will not take as long as the dehydrator. 

This recipe is a spin off of Matthew Kenney's from everydayraw.  I do NOT use agave because it is not true agave AND it is not low-glycemic as claimed.  It is worse than high fructose corn syrup.  Raw honey is an enzyme-rich food which carries trace minerals.  So, so good!  Especially if you know the bee keeper.  :)

Enjoy!

Beet Benefits

Beets are one of those foods as I kid I swore I'd never eat.  What I've learned is, never say "never".  I am a beet addict in my 30s.  They are pretty much a staple food in my home.  Two reasons for this - they are incredibly nutritious and surprisingly versatile. 

On a nutritious level, beets rank pretty high and are considered to be a  “cardiovascular health” friendly root vegetable. Certain unique pigment antioxidants present in beets as well as top greens have found to offer protection against coronary artery disease and stroke, lower cholesterol levels in the body and have anti-aging effects.  They are low in calories and low in fat and offer a punch of Vitamin C, iron, potassium, magnesium, and manganese. 


When buying beets, buy them with the tops still attached and preferably locally grown or organic.  When you get them home, cut the tops off, wash thoroughly and chop for salad greens.  Add some spinach leaves to the mix for a nice salad.  I usually roast some of the beets in the oven to add to my salad as well. 


Another option is to take a quarter of a raw beet and add it to your morning smoothie.  Instead of a green smoothie, it will be hot pink!  Just an fyi - about 10-15% of the population are unable to break down the natural pigments of beets, therefore, you may experience some pink color your urine, which is completely safe.  Do not be alarmed.  :)

Farmer's Markets

Today was like every Saturday....get up, make sure everyone is fed and head out to the Downer's Grove Farmer's Market for some fresh produce.  There is nothing more exciting for me to do on a Saturday morning.  It's unreal that a pop-tart, sugared cereal lover from the 80s and 90s could transform into a kale chip popping, raw foodie.....but it has and I'm so thankful and grateful!  So, back to the Farmer's Market.  A few weeks ago, I talked with one of the vendors about all of the Farmer's that come to share their produce.  Well...I received an extensive education on the matter and this is why I pretty much just make it a one-stop shop at this particular stand.  Why?  Because all of the produce at this stand (with a few exceptions) is grown on her farm.  Why is this so different, you ask?  Glad you are so inquisitive.  Here's the low down...many of these vendors (when you ask them) only grew a small percentage of the items that are on the table.  For instance, one vendor had about 40 different varieties of fruits and veggies, but come to find out when I asked, he could only claim 5 as coming from his farm.  The rest are shipped from other states to him to sell, which is why the prices are so high.  You, the consumer, are paying for all the gas....and it's not even locally grown.  Even if the tag says, "Grown in Illinois" and it's a later season crop, chances are it's not from here.  For example, 4 weeks ago, the only thing that was in season was leafy greens, but many vendors were selling corn, which is not in season yet.  Why be so picky?  Well, if I'm going to by produce from a Farmer's Market with the intention of supporting local farmers, I better be getting a locally grown head of kale or I might as well head over the Whole Foods. 

This is why my one-stop shop is Lange's Farm.  The husband and wife team are very friendly and their produce is extremely reasonable.  I walked out with 5 bags of fresh produce today for $11.  And they are honest.  They do have 1-3 items that are not from there farm, but she will be upfront and tell you that.  No scammers! 

If you are from the area, make sure to check them out! 

Sprouted Grain Breads

 

Sprouted grain breads have made their way into our home....almost overnight.  When I made the switch, my daughter was about 18 months old and hadn't developed a definite taste for breads yet, which made sprouted grain really easy to introduce.  She likes all kinds of bread, but the only one served in my home (for the most part) is sprouted grain.  Why?  Well....why not?

When you think about how children should be getting 6-11 servings of whole grains a day, white bread simply doesn't and will never compare and should just run out your door in mere shame of itself for pretending to be nutritious.  It's a far cry from it.  Even if the bag says, "made with whole grains" as if to redeem itself in some way to it's consumers....don't be fooled!  Do you really think....I mean seriously think, that when it says "made with whole grain on a box of Lucky Charms, a child is receiving a nutritious meal?  If you do, please go back and sit down to think some more. ;)


So, back to white bread.  Let's take a look at this in two parts:  before milling and after.  The grain used to make white bread is the wheatberry, in which the bran and germ layers are completely stripped off and the rest is made into white flour.  When those two layers are removed, so are nutrients such as iron, dietary fiber, micronutrients, B vitamins, and essential fatty acids.  This makes sense since 90 % of the wheat berry's nutrition is held in the wheat germ.  Yes, they put some nutrients back in trying to reconstruct the nutritional part of it, but it's clearly not the same.  And yet,  after they are finished with the flour, the process still continues with bleaching.  And guess what?  You're going to love this....many countries (except the U.S.) BAN these bleaching agents.  Nice, isn't it?  Unfortunately, type 2 diabetes runs it's way through many children in the United States and you can be certain most of these children are eating white bread.  White bread is easily digested and when you have an easily digested carbohydrate such as white bread, candy bars, soda, etc., glucose levels rise.  Yes, sometimes white bread has its place.  My daughter loves having a baguette once in a while and she's entitled to it.  Is this a staple?  No.  The body doesn't break down overnight.  It's years worth of feeding it nutritionally depleted foods that eventually makes our body fail....whether it be Type 2 diabetes, heart disease, cancer, headaches, and the list could goes on.

Here are some quick and simple recipes or ways to incorporate sprouted grain breads.  I especially like the tortillas.

Avocado Roll Up:  Spread hummus on a sprouted grain tortilla.  Place avocados and alfalfa sprouts inside and roll.  (You can do this with virtually anything.  For those of you who eat meat, you can do a ham and cheese roll up or cream cheese, etc.)

Quesadillas:  Place one sprouted grain tortilla in a pan.  Spread organic pasta sauce on top (about 1/4 inch thick).  Then place a layer of fresh spinach.  Covering the spinach is raw goat cheese in thin slices.  Then top with another sprouted tortilla.  Heat, flip, heat, serve.  It's a little messy, but my daughter LOVES this.  I do cut it up with a pizza slicer into quarters.  Takes less than 10 minutes to make.  


You can also use sprouted grain bread for dipping into soups, stews or dips. 


Ezekial brand is one that I use the most, but there are other options available.  You will probably only find this in Whole Foods or a natural food store.  You can also make your own!