Almond Vanilla Protein Clusters

So you know I’m all about getting in the kitchen, getting my hands dirty and recipe testing all kinds of things! Well, the other day while flipping through the PALEO magazine, I saw a great recipe for Almond Clusters and decided to take it up a notch and make my own version. 

What ended up was 12 delicious, protein rich, fat rich (you know, the good fats!) clusters that were gone in 2 days!

My boyfriend took some to his athletes at work, I ate a few, he ate a few and well, before you know it, they were all gone! 

I actually love it when food goes fast. It means it was that good! 

These perfect energy fuelling bites are great pre workout, for a quick out-the-door breakfast (although, you might need some extra protein in there), or an afternoon snack. 

I’ve been super busy over here working on some top secret projects (one is a 7 day intensive detox program with amazing supplements included and the other project is all around beauty care). That’s all I can share for now! Keep your eyes peeled for more details coming soon. 

Anyhow, these delicious clusters were perfect for fuelling my brain and energy while I was busy working away on my projects. 

I loaded them up with pumpkin seeds which is rich in zinc, an important mineral for immunity, skin health (it’s great for acne) and for sex hormones! 

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Along with zinc, you’ll also get a dose of vitamin E, magnesium, B6 and calcium. Not to mention blood sugar stabilizing protein and fat (key in keeping your moods in check and hormones happy!). 

Oh! And best part, these take 10 minutes to make and are free of junk. Meaning, no need for you to buy store bought bars when you can make your own. Swap out the nuts and nut butter for seeds/seed butter and they’re safe for school. 

Hope you enjoy these Almond Vanilla Protein Clusters as much as I do!

Almond Vanilla Protein Clusters
Yields 12
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Prep Time
10 min
Prep Time
10 min
Ingredients
  1. 1 cup raw almonds
  2. 1 cup raw pumpkin seeds
  3. 2 tsp ground cinnamon
  4. 1 tsp ground ginger
  5. 1/2 tsp sea salt
  6. 1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
  7. 1/2 cup thompson raisins
  8. 1/2 cup raw almond butter
  9. 2 scoops Progressive Organic Vanilla Whey Protein Powder
  10. 3 heaping tbsps raw honey
  11. 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
Instructions
  1. Line a muffin pan with paper liners and set aside.
  2. In a food processor fitted with the S blade, process the almonds, pumpkin seeds, cinnamon, ginger and sea salt until finely chopped. Transfer the mixture to a large bowl.
  3. Stir in the coconut and raisins.
  4. In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt together the almond butter, protein powder, honey and applesauce. When mixture is smooth and combined, pour over nut mix.
  5. Stir together until all nuts are evenly coated and thoroughly mixed.
  6. Divide the mixture evenly between the 12 muffin cups. You may need to slightly wet your hands in order to press the mixture down into the cups and keep your fingers from sticking.
  7. Eat as is or store in the fridge to cool. Clusters can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge or freezer.
Notes
  1. *Get creative! Feel free to swap out the raisins for dried blueberries or cherries. For some extra sweetness, you can add in some chocolate chips. You can also try using brown rice syrup or maple syrup in replace of raw honey. As for the nuts and seeds, try using cashews, pecans, sunflower seeds or even hemp seeds.
Holistic Wellness https://holisticwellness.ca/
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Foodie Fridays – Chocolate Cherry Protein Oat Bars

Oh what a week it has been! 

Although it’s been a whirlwind and my schedule has been swamped, I’m so grateful when I hear about the WINS my clients are experiencing. 

Like a non-existent period finally returning after 6 months and infertility issues which are clearly solved because whoot-whoot, one of my clients is pregnant! And then my client Elide, who is down 51lbs since she started working with me back in January!

Honestly, my heart is full and nothing brings me more joy than being along for these incredible successes!

But amongst all of the amazingness, I managed to get very little sleep all week, stayed up waaaay too late one night watching Sons of Anarchy and skipped my workouts! My schedule was full, my life is full and I am fully accepting where I am at. 

As for my food on the other hand, well that never suffers. My eating has been on point this week and since coming back from Jamaica last week (which is oh-so-incredibly-sad, but was the best trip ever!), I decided to do a little bit of a reboot. Although I ate really well and healthy for the most part on vacation, a few extra indulgences left me feeling bloated. 

I’ve been overloading on veggies this week, drinking lots of water and enjoying my cleanse tea which contains nettles, fennel and mint. It’s so good! 

Amongst all the busyness, I made it a point to carve out some time to test out some new recipes.

*As a side note – when I’m stressed and overwhelmed, you can find me in my kitchen baking to take the edge off. It’s my way of managing stress. It always seems to pay off because I end up creating deliciousness, like this recipe here!

Foodie Fridays!#yum-6

Chocolate. Cherry. Nuts. Seeds. Chocolate… honestly… can you go wrong? What an amazing, delicious, healthy combination! 

These bars are so damn good!

I ate ONE! My boyfriend TWO and the rest were devoured by his athletes! He came home with an empty tray, which obviously means everyone enjoyed them. Although I could’ve eaten them all, it was better I let him take them to work. (truthfully, I was secretly hoping he’d save me one more, but it’s all good). 

These bars contain only natural and real food ingredients. You can make them nut free by substituting pumpkin seeds or other seeds and the almond butter with sunbutter. Although I haven’t tested it with sun butter, I’m sure it would still be delicious. 

I added in a scoop of my favourite Organic Whey Protein Powder. Again, you can try substituting this with your favourite protein powder. I’m a HUGE fan of Progressive Organic Proteins. They also have brown rice and hemp available too! The whey works perfect in this recipe because it blends really well. Plus, it’s grass-fed and free of ALL antibiotics and hormones and only sweetened with stevia. 

I’d love to know what you think of these bars! Share with me in the comments below 🙂

Chocolate Cherry Protein Oat Bars
Yields 16
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Prep Time
10 min
Cook Time
15 min
Total Time
25 min
Prep Time
10 min
Cook Time
15 min
Total Time
25 min
Ingredients
  1. 1 1/2 cups wheat free rolled oats
  2. 1/2 cup Progressive Organic Whey Protein Powder
  3. 1 cup almonds, roughly chopped
  4. 3/4 cup sunflower seeds
  5. 1/2 cup pecans, roughly chopped
  6. 1/2 dried cherries
  7. 1/4 cup shredded coconut
  8. 1/2 cup Enjoy Life Mini Chocolate Chips
  9. 1/2 tsp vanilla powder
  10. 1 tsp cinnamon
  11. 2/3 cup almond butter
  12. 1/3 cup maple syrup
  13. 2 eggs
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350F.
  2. Line a brownie pan (roughly 9x9) with parchment paper.
  3. In a large bowl, stir together first 10 ingredients (oats to cinnamon).
  4. In a small bowl, whisk together almond butter, maple syrup and eggs.
  5. Add wet ingredients to dry and combine really well, until all ingredients are coated with the wet mixture.
  6. Pour into brownie pan and press down to even out.
  7. Bake in the oven for 15-17 minutes until top is set.
  8. Remove from oven and let cook for 10 minutes before cutting in bars.
Holistic Wellness https://holisticwellness.ca/
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