Strawberry Chia Jam

This jam is so incredibly easy!!!

No Sugar & Pectin-free

Use fresh or thawed frozen fruit.

Add some Chia Seeds.

Opt. sweetener...

Raw Honey, Maple Syrup, Stevia, etc.

Put it all in a blender and then right in the fridge,

so the chia seeds will gel and thicken it up.

Recipe here. I used way less raw honey.

It's great and the kids like it!

 

Simple Blueberry Jam recipe here.

Sweet Potato Brownies--Paleo Style

The lighting on the pics are no good, but the brownies were great! Nice chocolate flavor and not too sweet. This is a no grains, no sugar brownie. The ice cream was made out of frozen bananas and coconut milk...with "Carmel Topping." 

This was a super awesome treat for me because I haven't had something like this in a very long time.

I'm currently not eating grains, dairy, refined sugar or high glycemic natural sugar.

The Fish Fam enjoyed it!

Sweet Potato Brownies Here.

&

Creamy Ice Cream with Caramel Topping Here.

*My brownies came out very moist and soft in the middle, but still good.

The Ultimate Granola & Sugar

 This recipe is from Quinoa 365: The Everyday Superfood pg.18.

Ingredients: Organic oatmeal, quinoa, flaxseed, sesame seeds, almonds, raisins, cinnamon, maple syrup.

A box of organic granola between $7-7.50 at Costco will fill up this whole container. I made 2 1/2 cups of oatmeal and 3 C of organic oatmeal in bulk costs $1.50, so my container (some already eaten) of homemade organic oatmeal costs just a few dollars.  I am also trying to avoid all types of cane sugar and organic products always have evaporated cane sugar (which seems to be just as bad as white sugar, minus the chemicals and pesticides.)

***All sugars are metabolized differently in the body and will effect us in very different ways. Our bodies need sugar for energy and for our cells and organs to function properly (like our muscles and brain.) We just have to make sure that we are getting sugar from the right sources! It's best to get it from whole foods...fruits, veggies, and grains. Our bodies know how to process these properly and retrieve and use the nutrients so that our bodies benefit from it. 

Continuously feeding your body processed refined sugar is very harmful to your body because essentially it is foreign to the body, there is no nutrients, it's toxic. Toxic because it can cause diseases e.g. heart disease, diabetes, cancer, obesity, etc. Sugar's in whole fruit form have all the vitamins, minerals, enzymes, and fiber to protect our bodies from immediately ingesting sugar. During digestion it all gets metabolized and broken down, separated, and absorbed into the body gradually, so that our cells and organs get the right amounts of everything. On the other hand when sugar has been processed and refined it gets directly absorbed into the bloodstream and with no protection from vital nutrients in digestion and once in the liver it is metabolized and becomes an extreme burden on your liver and eventually other organs. These organs become more fatty and slow and stop working at full capacity, eventually affecting the whole body. Not only this, but refined sugar in high amounts leads to gaining weight, could be a lot of weight! Your metabolism is tricked and tells your brain that it's not full, "it turns off your body's appetite-control system"...the unhealthy, high doses, toxic sugar turns right into fat. Not good!

All sweeteners/sugars found in unhealthy processed food are so bad for the body! In the end they will only make the body gain weight and cause the body to be much more susceptible to diseases.

All of this information is very general and may not be entirely accurate (I'm still learning), but all in all it's so important to get sugars from the right sources!!! 

  

Yoga and Yogurtland

A girlfriend and I love going to Yoga and sometimes out for a treat to Yogurtland! Yum! This Grapefruit Guava Sorbet with my toppings of lychee, strawberries, pineapple, kiwi, mangoes, boba pearls, and sweetened coconut is so so good! There are so many awesome yogurt flavors, but I'm down to one because it's the only diary-free option. Perfect treat after a good workout! Thanks Meredith!

Quinoa/Coconut Chocolate Chip Cookies

This recipe is from one of my favorite cookbooks Quinoa 365: The Everyday Superfood. I made my own quinoa flour with my Vita-mix. I also substituted the butter with coconut oil. I really like using these Kirkland Chocolate Chips made with 51% Cacao.

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread

This bread is too good to be true! My kids love helping make it and the spices make our house smell so good while it bakes! Here is the recipe. I use organic unbleached flour. I've substituted the sugar with agave and need to work on substituting other ingredients like the oil with applesauce and try other flours.