Santa Shots

These are delicious and perfect for your Christmas party or family gathering! Very smooth and no aftertaste. Must try even if you aren't a fan of mint or peppermint! On yeah, the alcohol for this is fairly inexpensive. 

INGREDIENTS

1/3 shot grenadine

1/3 shot creme de menthe

1/3 shot peppermint schnapps

For these to taste great, you must layer the alcohol. To do the layering (floating) I turned a teaspoon upside down over the shot glass. 

PREPARATION

1. Pour the grenadine in the shot glass first. 

2. Float (layer) the creme de menthe next. 

3. Float the peppermint schnapps on top. 

Turn up and ENJOY! Merry Christmas!

Raw Cinnamon Buns

Buns:

• 5 dates
• 1/4 C Water
• 1 C Ground Flax
• 1 1/4 C Almond Flour
• 1 C Spelt Flakes
• 1 C Chopped Pecans (chopped fine)
• 2 t. Cinnamon
• 3 T. Olive Oil
• 1/4 C Agave
• 1 C Water

Soak dates. Blend with 1/4 C water to make a smooth date paste. Set aside.

Combine flax, almond flour (I use the dehydrated almond pulp left over from making almond milk), finely chopped pecans, and Spelt flakes. In a separate bowl, combine date paste, olive oil, 1/4 C agave and 1 C water. Mix wet ingredients into dry. Spread in a rectangle on a non-stick dehydrator sheet. You want this to be a little less than 1/2 inch thick. Dehydrate at 145 for 30 minutes. Flip onto screen, peel off dehydrator sheet and dehydrate at 115 for another 20 minutes. While the bun is dehydrating, you will want to prepare the filling.

Filling:

• 1 Young Thai Coconut (the white part)
• 1 C Cashews
• 1/2 C Almonds
• 1/4 C Raw Agave
• 1 T Vanilla (not raw)
• 1/2 C raisins

Soak Almonds and Cashews for at least 3 hours to soften. Place in food processor with remaining ingredients except raisins, process until smooth. Stir in raisins.

Assembly:

Place “bun” on parchment paper. Spread filling on bun. You can spread to the edges on the long sides but leave an inch or two on the short sides. Gentley roll up the roll. Slice and top with icing. Makes 12.

Icing:

• 1 C Raw Cashew Butter
• 3 T Maple Syrup (not raw)
• 1 t. Cinnamon
• 3-4 T Water

Mix all ingredients except water. Add water 1 T at a time to desired consistency.

Mike's Homemade Natural Peanut Butter

Our friend Mike has been on a quest to make a natural peanut butter to rival the store bought ones and he has finally found the perfect recipe!!

INGREDIENTS

1/2 cup unsalted dry-roasted peanuts

1/3 cup walnuts

1 1/2 tsp coconut oil

1/4 cup unsweetened coconut flake

Dash of fine sea salt

1 tbsp honey

PUT IT TOGETHER

Add peanuts, walnuts, coconut oil, coconut flake, and salt and blend for approximately 2 minutes. Add honey and blend for another 30 seconds. Taste. If you want a smoother consistency, blend in 30 second intervals until desired consistence is reached. 

You can store in a mason jar in cabinet or refrigerate to make it last longer. Enjoy!

Interesting Article--Things to Eat to Lose Weight

When doing some research on different ways I could change up my diet and move to the next level of eating healthy, I came across the article below about 4 foods that are "must eats" to lose weight. I hope you find it as informative as I do!!!

Things to Eat to Lose Weight - 4 Natural Appetite Suppressants That You Will Love

By Arthur Martens

One important way of improving weight loss is by taking appetite suppressants--foods that either make you feel full faster but are low on calories. Unfortunately, many appetite suppressants come in the form of diet shakes, supplements and other manufactured products which raises the issue of side-effects.
But the good news is that there are certain natural things to eat to lose weight and reduce suppress your appetite including the following:

Natural Suppressant #1: Lentils
(How about "natural suppressant" since that's our topic? Let's change that for all of them)
An understated but powerful food item is lentils, which has plenty of benefits not only for enhancing weight loss but for your overall health. Lentils are packed with protein and fiber: 9 grams of healthy proteins per half cup serving and 8 grams of fiber per serving, to be exact. They also have lots of minerals required in the body for metabolism. As an appetite suppressant, lentils travel relatively slowly through the digestive system compared to other legumes like beans, thus keeping you full for longer. To have a little fun with them, try the different colored lentils for soups, dips and spreads.

Natural Food#2: Celery
A great vegetable to reduce appetite is celery. It is very rich in fiber and offers very few calories- a whole cup of celery contains 16 calories. This combination of high fiber and low calories, as well as the slight salty taste and crunchiness of the celery, makes it ideal for reducing your appetite. (watch the grammar of using "appetite" on its own) Celery will satisfy hunger without the calories, so you can eat as much as you wish without worrying about gaining weight.

Natural Food#3: Pickles
Natural pickles-usually made from cucumbers-- are great snacks / salads as they are very low in calories--a whole jar of pickles will only add about 50 calories to your body. In addition to keep you satiated, brine cured pickles will allow intestinal microflora, which aid in the digestion process and help boost the immune system, to flourish.
There are many varieties of pickles in the market like salted, half-sour, backed et cetera and so it is important to always read the ingredient labels before adding them to your shopping cart. Steer clear of the ones with artificial additives and flavoring as these will actually cause you to add weight.

Natural Food#4: Bananas
This is a fruit with a long list of health benefits and is often featured prominently in many weight loss diets. Some of the health benefits associated with the consumption of bananas-whether ripe or unripe-include:
1) Helps to maintain a healthy blood pressure due to their near perfect potassium / sodium balance.
2) Prevents eye-sight degeneration in old age.
3) Helps fight kidney diseases
4) Helps control anemia by providing the body with high quantities of iron to facilitate the formation of red blood cells.
Why talk about health benefits in an article about natural appetite suppressants? Simply because when your body is out of balance you crave things you shouldn't or wouldn't if you were healthy. But, health benefits aside, this wonder fruit aids directly in the weight loss fight in various ways. Here's a few:
1. Ripe bananas are an excellent substitute for sugary snacks. This keeps you from overloading your body with refined sugar calories that leave you hungry and send weight directly to the places you want to keep the weight off of!
2. Bananas have sugar in its natural form within the the fruit and are high in monosaccharides--glucose, sucrose, and fructose--which will keep your energy up and help you burn more calories and keep your appetite in check
3. Finally, bananas help you suppress your appetite because their fiber content will keep you satiated and nourished.. Feeling full is the #1 goal of natural or synthetic appetite suppressants so the fiber in bananas is your friend!

So there you have it! Four satisfyingly suppressing super foods to eat to lose weight. Be creative with them and enjoy looking at yourself in the mirror after these natural appetite suppressants have worked their wonders on your body!

Arthur Martens is the founder of Guaranteed Wellness Inc, and created the popular weight loss resource "From Flab to Fab: 3 Proven Principles to Permanently Drop the Pounds!" ( [http://flabtofabweightloss.com/] ) to help people lose fat safely, quickly, and permanently. To Receive powerful resources on weight loss and wellness visit [http://flabtofabweightloss.com/].
As we always say, "Welcome to the First Day of the Rest of Your Life!"
For more great Fat Burning Facts and Simple Solutions see his other articles on EzineArticles.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Arthur_Martens


Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/6375315

My Week in Workouts

I've never posted or written down what all I do during a week as far as working out goes. I wanted to start documenting what all I'm doing so it will hold me accountable and also hopefully inspire some of you to try new things! I am using an app on my iPhone called Lose It! This allows me to document my eating/calories along with my workouts/calories burned. My goal this week has been to burn more than 500 calories per day.

Here we go!

Monday (total daily calories burned = 1103)
5am - Swimming - Finished 20 laps at our local Rec Center. Pool is 25 yards/per lap. Estimated calories burned = 676

8pm - Workout Anytime (local gym) - Multiple items completed (Total Calories Burned = 427):

• Elliptical, 10 minutes, moderate speed. Estimated calories burned = 127
• Walking/Jogging on Treadmill, 30 minutes, various speeds. Estimated calories burned = 136
• Weight lifting/abs workout, 45 minutes, various weights. Estimated calories burned = 164

Tuesday (total daily calories burned = 796)
6:30pm - Workout Anytime (local gym) - Multiple items completed (Total Calories Burned = 418):

• Elliptical, 10 minutes, moderate speed. Estimated calories burned = 127
• Weight lifting/abs workout, 30 minutes, various weights. Estimated calories burned = 109
• Stationary Bike, 10 minutes, vigorous speed. Estimated calories burned = 182

8pm - Rec Center - Multiple items completed (Total Calories Burned = 378):

• Walking on Treadmill, 25 minutes, moderate speed. Estimated calories burned = 114
• Stair Machine, 12 minutes, moderate speed. Estimated calories burned = 191
• Free weights, 20 minutes, various machines. Estimated calories burned = 73

Wednesday (total daily calories burned = 676)
5am - Swimming - Finished 20 laps at our local Rec Center. Pool is 25 yards/per lap. Estimated calories burned = 676
In the afternoon, we went to our outdoor local pool and just did a recreational swim, no structured workout. Considered this a "resting night".

Thursday (total daily calories burned = 609)
6:30pm - Workout Anytime (local gym) - Multiple items completed (Total Calories Burned = 609):

• Elliptical, 10 minutes, moderate speed. Estimated calories burned = 127
• Weight lifting/abs workout, 45 minutes, various weights. Estimated calories burned = 164
• Stationary Bike, 10 minutes, vigorous speed. Estimated calories burned = 182
• Walking/Jogging on Treadmill, 30 minutes, various speeds. Estimated calories burned = 136

And the week is not over yet! Tomorrow (Friday) & Saturday morning have more swimming planned. I'm also planning on getting in another workout at the Rec Center Friday night. And to top off the week, Saturday night is the Glo Run--a 5k that's under black lights and has a DJ and is going to be so much fun!

Healthy Mexican Dinner

We love Mexican food in our house! When deciding to go unprocessed, you can still make delicious Mexican options. Here is something we tried tonight and it was amazing!! Including the "meat"!

Ingredients
1 can Black Beans, drained and washed in cold water
4 Roma tomatoes
1/2 white onion
1 clove fresh garlic
1/2 Mango
1 Avocado
1/2 Jalapeno pepper, including seeds
1 Serrano pepper, no seeds
1 bag rice
1/2 bell pepper
1/4 cup cilantro
Soft shells or chips
Romaine lettuce
Spices Used: salt, pepper, coriander, chili powder, cumin

How to Put It All Together:
Black Bean "Meat"
Add one can black beans, drained and washed in cold water, in the blender. Add in 1 1/2 tsp cumin, 1/2 tsp coriander, heaping 1/2 of chili powder, 1/4 tsp black pepper, 1 pinch salt.

In a small pan, put 1 tsp Olive Oil on medium heat. Let this get warm and add in 1/4 bell pepper minced, 1/4 onion and 1/2 garlic clove minced. Heat until softened or onions translucent. Add mixture to the blender.

Finally, add 1/4 cup the Mango Salsa (listed below) to the blender. Blend all items until they are a paste-like consistency. Transfer this from the blender to the pan used to heat the warm ingredients and put on medium-high for approximately 5-10 minutes. Use as the "meat" for your Mexican meal! You can also flatten this out in the pain and shape into burger shape for Mexican hamburgers!

Mango Salsa
Chop the following ingredients: 3 Roma tomatoes, 1/2 mango, 1 Serrano pepper (no seeds), and 1/2 Jalapeno pepper with seeds, 1/4 of bell pepper, and 1/4 of onion and place in food processor. Add in 1 tsp cilantro, 1 tbsp. lemon juice, 1 pinch cumin, 1 pinch salt, and 1 pinch black pepper. Blend until liquid salsa consistency.

Guacamole
Take one avocado cut into chunks and add to small bowl. Add 1 tbsp. Mango Salsa and stir until creamy.


We took Romaine lettuce and used them as taco shells adding the "meat" mixture, Mango Salsa, and guacamole to make a delicious Mexican treat! The kids used regular soft shell tacos and added the "meat", salsa, regular rice, and cheese for their version. We hope you enjoy!!!

4 Tips to Cut Processed Foods

As I continue to workout a lot, I'm finding I lose the most weight when I change my diet. I have been trying to cut out processed foods. (I have failed this over the past 3-4 days) This is one of the hardest things I've ever done! I believe that's why I'm drawn to write about it again tonight.

I am finding I struggle most at work during lunch and at night for dinner. When I go straight to the gym after work, I don't have an issue, but with my schedule getting a little more hectic, it's not always easy to get to the gym before 9 or 10pm at night.

On my quest to put together some meals for myself, I came across 4 tips to cut processed foods from your meals and stick with it! I have referenced the link to the article at the bottom of this page.

To summarize, here are the suggestions:

1. Don't quit "cold turkey"! Evaluate what you are eating or drinking on a daily basis and slowly move to a total non-processed option. The example they give is of orange juice. Fresh-squeezed orange juice is your non-processed option. Orange juice not made from concentrate is the "almost real" option. Orange juice from concentrate is the "barely real" option. And orange sodas/flavored drinks are the "bad"/processed option. Depending on what type of orange juice you are currently drinking, move to the next best option. Continue this process until you are at the fresh-squeezed option, also known as the non-processed option.
2. Think about how processed foods are affecting your body. Once you list out the items you are eating and drinking, evaluate those items to see how they are affecting your body. It can be as simple as making you feel tired all the way to increasing your blood sugar or blood pressure, headaches, and bowel issues. Think about if it is worth the risk to your overall health to continue to consume those items. Having trouble remembering what items are doing to you? Make flashcards and place them strategically around your kitchen/house where you are frequently tempted to consume these items. Better yet--put those reminders in your car, your wallet, and with your grocery bags so you are reminded NOT to purchase these items! Out of sight/out of mind.
3. Choose fresh ingredients to make quick meals when time is of the essence. If you are crunched for time during a busy week, skip the drive thru and choose options from your local grocery store which you can use to prep a quick meal. For instance, pick up fruit and veggies that are pre-cut but still fresh. When in an extreme pinch, choose a garden salad and a piece of fresh fruit.
4. Learn new recipes and prepare meals you can use for leftovers. Research non-processed food recipes online. I am also putting new recipes on this blog to try and share new ways to put a healthy twist on favorites, like chocolate chip cookies and brownies! The main thing to watch in your recipes are for ingredients that are processed. A website I have found with good recipes is www.detoxinista.com. Once you find recipes you like, save them on your tablet/phone or print them and make a custom recipe book. We have also started trying new recipes with our friends which makes it much more fun!

Thank you for being on my journey to get healthy and fit by not only being more active but changing my eating habits as well.

As promised, I found this article at: http://www.naturalnews.com/039249_processed_foods_diet_tips.html

Vegan Gluten Free Black Bean Brownies

Prep time

5 mins

Cook time

25 mins

Total time

30 mins

 

Black bean brownies that are vegan, gluten free, and require just one bowl and about 30 minutes to prepare! Healthy, easy and delicious – the best kind of dessert.

Serves: 12

 

Ingredients

1 15 oz. can (~ 1 3/4 cups) black beans, well rinsed and drained

2 large flax eggs (2.5 T flaxseed meal + 6 T water)

3 T coconut oil, melted (or sub other oil of choice)

3/4 cup cocoa powder (the higher quality the better)

1/4 tsp sea salt

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

Heaping 1/2 cup raw sugar

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

Optional toppings: crush walnuts, pecans or semisweet chocolate chips

 

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Lightly grease a 12-slot standard size muffin pan (not mini).
• Prepare flax egg by combining flax and water in the bowl of the food processor. Pulse a couple times and then let rest for a few minutes.
• Add remaining ingredients (besides walnuts or other toppings) and puree – about 3 minutes – scraping down sides as needed. You want it pretty smooth.
• If the batter appears too thick, add a Tbsp or two of water and pulse again. It should be slightly less thick than chocolate frosting but nowhere close to runny. I didn't have to add anything to mine.
• Evenly distribute the batter into the muffin tin and smooth the tops with a spoon or your finger. Optional: Sprinkle with crushed walnuts, pecans or chocolate chips.
• Bake for 20-26 minutes or until the tops are dry and the edges start to pull away from the sides. I found mine took about 22.
• Remove from oven and let cool for 30 minutes before removing from pan. They will be tender, so remove gently with a fork. The insides are meant to be very fudgy, so don’t be concerned if they seem too moist – that’s the point. Plus, they’re vegan so it doesn’t really matter.
• Store in an airtight container for up to a few days. Refrigerate to keep longer.

 

Link (original recipe)
http://minimalistbaker.com/vegan-gluten-free-black-bean-brownies/

Cutting Processed Foods From Your Diet

I will be the first to admit that cutting out processed foods from my diet is very difficult to do! I have found it easier to cut out meat, which I'm currently doing as well.

Here's how I have started to modify my diet.....I decided to cut out all meats except grilled chicken. I am also trying to strictly limit the amount of processed foods I consume. I try new raw and natural foods like fresh fruit and vegetables. I'm also trying new recipes. I'm not sure if I'll ever be at 100%, but I haven't changed my workout too much and just altered my diet and I've lost 4 pounds in less than 2 weeks! When you sit back and evaluate everything you eat daily, you will be shocked at what is processed! See the "5 Simple Tricks to Avoid Eating Processed Foods" below to get started.

A definition of processed foods is: convenience food that is commercially prepared and designed for ease of consumption. Products designated as convenience food are often prepared and can be sold as hot, ready-to-eat dishes; as room-temperature, shelf-stable products; or as refrigerated or frozen products that require minimal preparation (typically just heating).

Some examples of processed foods are:

• chocolate & cookies (yes, Oreos too)
• canned fruits and vegetables
• cheeses
• lunch meats
• macaroni/pasta
• milk (even soy and almond milk!)
• potato chips
• pickles
• frozen dinners
• breads (even vegan ones!)
• ice cream
• white rice
• jelly/jams
• butter
• French fries
• ketchup
• mustard
• pizza
• energy bars
• fresh meat with additives
• cereal--all kinds including the "healthy" ones
• creamer and sugar you put in your coffee (this one is hard for me!)

So basically, any food that has a label or comes in a box, bag, or can/jar is processed!

Top 5 Scariest Processed Foods:
cake frosting
powdered drink mixes
jarred cheeses
canned lunch meats
chicken nuggets

5 Simple Tricks to Avoid Eating Processed Foods:

1. Shop parameter of store--most of the least processed foods reside on the outskirts of the grocery store. Try to limit the amount of items you purchase from the center of the store.
2. Read ingredients labels--if a product is made with an ingredient that you cannot pronounce or is a long list of words that sound like chemicals, DON'T EAT IT!
3. Demand that restaurants provide a list of what is in their foods! Restaurants are not required to reveal what is in their foods. Most of the foods they prepare are NOT made with fresh ingredients!
4. Cook for an army on the weekends. Make food ahead of time and freeze it to make your own version of "fast food".
5. Think simple. Cooking doesn't have to mean cooking gourmet or even cooking at all. Look for recipes that are simple, with only a few ingredients, and find new foods in the process.

Raw Taco Salad

INGREDIENTS
Shredded lettuce
1 lime
Walnut Taco Meat:
2 cups walnuts, soaked 4-6 hours
1 tbsp. dehydrated minced onion
2-3 tbsp. chili powder
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp salt
pinch of cayenne
Easy Guacamole:
2 small, ripe avocados
1/2 cup tomato, diced
3 tbsp. red onion, diced
Juice of 1/2 a lime
Salt to taste
Pico de Gallo:
2 large tomatoes, seeded and diced
1/2 medium red onion, diced
1/4 cup of cilantro, minced
1 tbsp. lemon or lime juice
1 jalapeno, seeded and minced
Salt to taste
Cashew Sour Cream (optional):
1 cup cashews, soaked 4-6 hours
1/2 cup water
2 tbsp. lemon juice
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
1/2 tsp salt

METHOD/STEPS
Walnut Taco Meat:
Blend walnuts in a food processor until they break down into small crumbles. Do not over mix, they will quickly form a paste (not good!). Add remaining ingredients listed above and pulse a few times until well blended. Remove from processor and set aside.
Easy Guacamole:
In a small bowl, mash the avocados until fairly smooth. Add remaining ingredients and mix together.
Pico de Gallo:
Mix together all ingredients in a small bowl.
Cashew Sour Cream:
Blend the soaked cashews with 1/2 cup water in a food processor or powerful blender until very smooth. Add remaining ingredients and blend until well combined.

*If you want a warm non-meat option, you can use vegan substitute such as Boca crumbles.

Eating Healthy is Expensive! Here's How We Cope.

One of the things I hear the most when discussing eating healthier is that it is expensive. That statement is completely TRUE! While I hate to admit it, buying fresh, good quality food isn't cheap. Our family is determined NOT to let that keep us from getting healthy!

A Little History of Our Food Transformation
My husband, Eddie, started our healthy eating habits. When he first started losing weight, he was doing fresh fruit and veggie smoothies. He then went back to eating solids but stayed with vegan items. Recently, he decide to go more towards a raw foods, no processed food diet while staying vegan.

I have to say, I've started slowly cutting out processed foods and meats and I am losing weight so much faster than just exercising and eating "bad" foods! I'm not 100%, but I try to make better decisions and purchase less and less processed foods.

Some days, depending on his exercise regimen, Eddie will intake 3,000 to 5,000 calories. When you are eating raw, this means he consumes a ton of food! In order to allow us to move towards eating healthier, I started couponing about 6 months ago.

Couponing
Now, I'm NOT a crazy couponing lady who gets $1,000 of groceries for $5, but I am able to get items such as body wash, toothpaste, shampoo, razors, feminine products, and makeup for about 70% of original cost. This is a huge savings! By doing that, it frees up our budget to purchase fresh fruits and vegetables.

For example, today I spent a total of $112.38 and here are all the items I purchased from Kroger and Target (averages about $1.42 per item):

• 12 boxes (10 ct each) Capri Suns
• 12 regular sized tubes Crest toothpaste
• 4 Oral B toothbrushes
• 3 boxes of tampons (40 ct each)
• 2 pks of Stayfree maxipads
• 5 pks of Carefree pantiliners
• 4 jars of Barilla pasta sauce
• 4 bags of Pirates Booty snack
• 2 bunches of fresh organic Kale
• 1 bunch of fresh organic Mustard Greens
• 2 eggplants
• 4 yellow squash
• 4 zucchini
• 15 pkgs (4 ct each) Hunts pudding
• 1 Venus razor
• 1 Almay eyeshadow kit
• 1 Almay mascara
• 1 KitKat Mini bag
• 1 Rolo Mini bag

Other Options
We also go to Aldi, which is a budget-friendly grocery chain, to strictly purchase fruits and veggies. If you've never been to Aldi, you will need $0.25 to get a buggy and bring your own bags. Yes...you get your $0.25 back if you return your buggy to the store. Those are two ways the store keeps costs down. Don't get carried away at Aldi buying junk though! Some of their prices are NOT good when compared to going to other stores and using coupons. Aldi doesn't take coupons!

Splurges
One thing we like to do is  visit local farmer's markets to find super fresh items! Sometimes it might be more expensive than Aldi or our local grocery store, but you are supporting your local economy and helping a local family.

If you need help getting started couponing or if you have suggestions on other ways to save money, email me!

Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients:
1/2 small banana (or 1/3 large one) very ripe, mashed - too much makes cookies oily and flat
1 cup Palm (coconut) sugar
1 cup Almond butter (I like the Barney Butter crunchy brand)
1 tsp baking soda
Semi-sweet chocolate chips (use a vegan brand to keep vegan)

Method:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and let it completely heat up. Mash banana and all other ingredients in a bowl, mixing well. I use a plastic bowl and fork to mix. Use parchment paper on cookies sheets (very important! don't leave this step out). Place batter on cookies sheets leaving approx 1 inch between each drop of batter (use a teaspoon to divide out). Bake on 350 degrees for EXACTLY 10 minutes. Even if you don't think cookies look done at the 10 min mark, TAKE THEM OUT! Very important to place on cooling rack. Then enjoy!

Info: Makes 12-14 cookies per batch

Hummus Pizza

Ingredients

Crust:

1 cup ground flax seeds

1/2 cup whole flax seeds

1 cup water

6 carrots

1 red bell pepper

1 medium onion

2 cloves garlic

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon cayenne

Hummus:

2 zucchini, peeled and chopped

2 tablespoons tahini

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/2 onion, chopped

1 teaspoon cumin

1 clove garlic

1/2 teaspoon salt

Toppings:

1 tomato, sliced

1 onion, thinly sliced

4 oz mushrooms, marinated and dehydrated (optional)

Methods/steps

The crust can be started the evening before and left in the dehydrator to get crispy.

Start by soaking the ground and whole flax seeds in the one cup water. They will get gelatinous and this is what helps hold the crust together.

While the flax is soaking, in food processor fitted with an "S" blade, process the remaining crust ingredients until smooth. Stir into the soaked flax.

Spread thinly on teflex or plastic covered dehydrator trays.

Let dehydrate for a couple hours, then score into desired shapes and flip. Peel the sheet off the back of the crust and let it finish drying on the screen.

To make the hummus, simply process all the ingredients in the food processor with the "S" blade until very smooth.

Assemble the pizzas by breaking the crusts long the score lines, spreading on a layer of hummus, and adding the toppings.

New Facebook Page!

We have started a new Facebook page to share both Eddie and my blog entries, along with other healthy items. Come join us! You can click my Facebook icon link or to go http://www.facebook.com/finefamilyfitness

Banana Ice Cream

Ingredients:

• 5-6 bananas, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1 tbsp honey
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/3 cup walnuts, optional

Directions:
Cut bananas into 1-inch pieces and place in freezer for 2-4 hours. When ready to make ice cream, take bananas from freezer and add honey and cinnamon, along with walnuts, if desired. Place into blender/mixer. Blend until mixture becomes ice cream consistency (time varies by type of blender used). Dish and serve.

Calories:  Approx 80 per serving

Healthy Recipe Sharing Day

I thought I would start off my blog talking about our day today. Eddie, the girls, and I went over to our friends, Mike & Courtney's house, to have a day of sharing healthy recipes. On a quest to rid ourselves of processed, unhealthy foods, this turned out to be much more fun (and filling) than any of us imagined! I'm going to share the recipes we made in separate posts, but the day started with making vegan chocolate chip cookies. I love cookies and these are AMAZING!!! Courtney made them for me a few weeks ago and since then, I've been dying to make them again. Today I got to learn how. After that, Eddie shared his recipe for energy bars. Since starting out on his cycling, and now running and swimming journey, he has been eating pre-packaged energy bars. A few months ago, he decided he could make better-tasting, more-nutritious bars for himself. I will share this recipe as well. Courtney made a batch for her family and used different ingredients. Both of these also turned out extremely well! Since we had already eaten our desert, we decided it was time to cook dinner. We had chicken kabobs, fresh chicken tenders, and corn-on-the-cob all grilled by our grill master Mike. Again, everything turned out so good. For desert, Eddie made his banana ice cream. I think everyone was a little skeptical due to the lack of ingredients needed, but they were quickly amazed by this healthy, refreshing treat! Needless to say, there was none left! Just when we thought we were going to settle down and rest our overworked digestive systems, Eddie discovered a recipe for almond butter fudge. GAME ON!!! After picking up one missing ingredient, the kitchen was again in disarray on a quest to try this fudge. Fudge = rich, creamy, and wonderful! Now in a food coma, we ended our healthy cooking adventure!