Tag: treats

Raspberry Banana Ice Cream

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It’s safe to say that summer has arrived despite the long delay! And when I think summer, I think icey treats! Who doesn’t love a nice big bowl of ice cream on a hot summer day? Since summer has now arrived, let’s enjoy this summer treat we have all loved since we were kids. As I am focusing on family nutrition, I love to create recipes I know would work for kids and families on a busy schedule. This is such an easy recipe and takes about 5 minutes to make!

Quality
Remember quality is key here, raspberries and bananas are heavily sprayed fruits, so buying organic from your grocery store or from a local farmers market is important. As stated on EWG’s (Environmental Working Group) site, raspberries were ranked 27th and bananas were ranked 32nd on pesticide residue levels.

Freezing
Frozen fruit is great to buy! Some companies use what’s called flash freezing where they pick the fruit at its peak ripeness and then freeze almost immediately. Check for packages that say ‘picked and flash frozen within 4 hours’ and make sure to check the ingredient label for any added sugars. Freezing that quickly after being picked will preserve and trap the nutrients at its most optimal level so your body can enjoy the benefits it needs and deserves.

The Benefits
What’s so good about raspberries and bananas anyways? Well, bananas are high in potassium as well as vitamin B6. Also, the vitamin C and manganese content found in bananas provide antioxidant protection against free-radical damage. Also, this delicious fruit is high in fibre! Raspberries include phytonutrients such as ellagic acid and flavonoids such as quercetin and kaempferol. They also contain anthocyanins, which give rasberries their deep red colour among countless other health benefits. 

Stephanie xo

Raspberry Banana Ice Cream
Serves 3
Healthy Homemade Ice Cream
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Total Time
5 min
Total Time
5 min
Ingredients
  1. 2 organic frozen bananas
  2. 1 cup of organic frozen raspberries
  3. 1 tbsp. maple syrup
  4. 1 tbsp. unrefined coconut oil
Instructions
  1. Throw all ingredients into a blender.
  2. Blend until smooth or desired texture is reached.
  3. Using an ice cream scoop, scoop three large servings of ice cream into a bowl.
  4. Sprinkle any desired toppings such as walnuts, almonds, pine nuts or cacao nibs (optional).
Notes
  1. I enjoyed my ice cream as is, without any added ingredients on top and it was delicious! However, feel free to add nuts in order to add some protein to complement the quality fat and fibre in this tasty little treat.
  2. Enjoy!
Holistic Wellness https://holisticwellness.ca/
References:
• The World’s Healthiest Foods, George Mateljan

• Environmental Working Group, Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides in Produce, http://www.ewg.org/foodnews/list.php#

 

 

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Gluten Free Chocolate Oat Bars

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What do you reach for when craving a snack?

I’m sure most of us crave something sugary, or salty during that 3pm crash. If you haven’t nourished yourself all day with the right amounts of nutrients, and your on your second pot of coffee by 3pm; there’s a good chance sugar and salt are on your mind!

I’ve been there… we’ve all been there, and it’s time to get outta there!

Fruits, nuts, seeds, a protein shake; these are all great snacks to have mid day. I always encourage my clients to reach for a whole food option when it comes to snacking. No prepackaged special K bar is good in my books. And to think, as a teenager I used to eat those! My I’ve come a long way 😉

These bars are just what you need for that afternoon fix. In fact, they are full of nutrients and goodness, that they would be great along side a bowl of fruit in the morning for your kids, before sending them off to school. I mean… don’t you think it’s time to ditch the pop tarts?!

So let’s get to it…

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Gluten Free Chocolate Oat Bars
(recipe adapted from Joyous Health Book)

Ingredients:

2 and 1/2 cups wheat free rolled oats ( I use Bob’s Red Mill)
1 cup chocolate whey protein powder (I use Progressive Organic Whey)
2 tbsp raw cacao powder
1/4 cup sesame seeds
1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
1/3 cup chocolate chips (optional, but great for extra sweetness for kids! I like Enjoy Life chocolate chips)
1/2 cup roughly chopped walnuts
1/4 cup coconut sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground vanilla bean
1 cup raw almond butter
1/4 cup coconut oil
1/2 cup almond or coconut milk
2 tbsp real maple syrup

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease a large baking dish with coconut oil.
In a large bowl, combine oats, protein powder, sesame seeds, coconut, chocolate chips, walnuts, sugar, cinnamon and ground vanilla; mix well. In a small saucepan over low heat, melt almond butter and coconut oil together. Add to dry ingredients and quickly stir. Then add almond milk and maple syrup and mix well. Stir until well combined. Pour batter into prepared baking dish and press down evenly with hands. Bake for approximately 15 minutes. Remove from oven, keep oven on, and let batter cool slightly for about 10 minutes. Then cut into desired pieces and place on a cookie sheet. Cutting the batter into bars may get crumbly. Be careful when transferring them to a cookie sheet. Transfer back to oven and bake for another 12 minutes, until edges of bars start to crisp up.

These bars are amazing as is, or you can crumble them like granola and serve over your favourite sheeps yogurt or with some homemade almond milk.

Happy Baking 🙂

To Your AWESOME Health & Abundance,
Samantha xoxo

 

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Valentines Day Treats for Your Sweetheart

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Valentines Day treats do not need to be unhealthy.

Avoid the unnecessary sugars, unhealthy fats, and poor quality chocolate (cacao is the way to go!) and make your valentine something sweet in your own kitchen!

I love this recipe (adapted from Doug McNish Eat Raw Eat Well cookbook). It’s loaded with heart healthy fats (bonus…February is heart health month!), tons of minerals from rich cacao powder, and lots of antioxidants from sweet raspberries.

It’s simple to prepare and chances are they won’t last long!

Raspberry Cacao Hemp Heartsraspberry

Ingredients:

1.5 cups shelled hemp seeds (soak for 30 minutes, discard water)
2 cups organic raspberries (I used frozen)
1 tbsp chia seeds
1/2 cup raw cacao powder
1/3 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup filtered water
1/4 cup melted coconut oil (melt over low heat till liquid)

Directions:
In a blender or food processor, combine hemp seeds, raspberries, cacao powder and maple syrup. Blend until smooth. Add water and coconut oil and continuing blending until smooth. Spread into a baking dish and freeze for 1-2 hours. Remove from freezer and let sit for 10 minutes to bring to room temperature. Cut into squares or hearts using a cookie cutter.

Looking for other Valentines Day recipe inspirations?

I’ve got you covered!

Check out my:

Chocolate Lover’s Massage Butter

Dark Chocolate Goji Bark

Almond Butter Cups

Enjoy!

 

Happy Valentines Day 🙂
Samantha xoxo

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Delicious Flourless Almond Butter Chocolate Chip Brownies!

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I LOVE baking!

I’m always tweaking recipes and up for the challenge to health-ify desserts!

I make these delicious flour less almond butter cookies (recipe here!) and they are a huge hit! So I thought I would take that same recipe and make brownies!

I made a few slight changes and it was a success! Yippee! PLUS, they are gluten free! How great is that?!

You can whip up these bad boys in no time, with very little mess in the kitchen! 😉

Image

Flourless Almond Butter Chocolate Chip Brownies

 

Ingredients:

1 cup almond butter (I used chunky for the extra crunch)
1 organic egg
½ tsp sea salt
½ tsp baking soda (aluminium free is BEST!)
1/3 cup of coconut sugar (organic cane sugar or sucanat would work well too)
½ tsp vanilla extract or vanilla bean
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/3 – 1/2 cup organic chocolate chips (you can get dairy free chips and make this recipe vegan!)

 

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a brownie pan with parchment paper. Mix all ingredients except chocolate chips until smooth. Fold in chocolate chips and pour batter into pan. NOTE – the batter did not completely fill the brownie pan. I used my fingers to press the batter down into the pan, making it quite flat. It ‘almost’ fit the pan, but not quite. This is ok! They still came out amazing! If you have a smaller pan (6×6), use that! Bake brownies for approx. 22-25 minutes. Cool brownies for at least 10 minutes before cutting.

Simple, easy and super tasty!!
Enjoy!
Health & Abundance,
Samantha 🙂
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@holisticwellnessfoodie