Elevating Balance

Week 40

October 6, 2020October 6, 2020Leave a comment

Can you believe today is the last day of the 40th week of 2020? 12 weeks left of healthy snacks… what would you like to see for 2021? 😀

So you know that awkward time in the afternoon when you’re hungry but don’t want to ruin your appetite for dinner? It hit us today. Trying to find the delicate balance between satiation and overindulgence. I think I nailed it! These really hit the spot. They are packed full of flavor with the smoked salmon and hint of lemon. My favorite were the ones with both olives and sweet cherry peppers on top!

Smoked Salmon Cucumber Bites

4 ounces smoked salmon
1 cucumber
1 5-ounce container of unsweetened Greek or Icelandic yogurt (i used lemon noosa)
1 teaspoon fresh lemon zest
Sweet cherry peppers, olives, and/or capers
optional – fresh herbs (dill, basil, cilantro)

INSTRUCTIONS

Slice the cucumber into 1/4-inch slices.
Optional: Place the yogurt in a coffee filter over a small jar for one hour to allow the liquid to drain. (I only had patience for however long it took me to cut up my vegetables haha)
Mix 1 teaspoon of lemon zest into the yogurt (you can also use crème fraiche)
Top each appetizer with a small dollop of the yogurt, smoked salmon, and your choice of sweet cherry peppers, olives, capers, and herbs.
Best assembled within a few hours of serving. Store in the refrigerator until 10 minutes before serving.

Week 39

September 30, 2020September 30, 2020Leave a comment

A day late! I have had an incredibly busy week and accidentally let some bananas overripe. Whoops! I decided to try something a little different than the usual banana bread and choose mini muffins!

Banana PB Muffins

2 to 3 Bananas (overripe is best)
2 Tbsp Natural Peanut Butter
1 cup Old Fashioned Oats
3/4 cup Whole Wheat Flour
1/2 tsp Baking soda
1 tsp Cinnamon
1/4 tsp All Spice
2/3 cup Cranberries or other dried fruit

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Mash the bananas and peanut butter together, until smooth.
Add oats, flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and cloves, and stir until just mixed.
Fold in dried fruit. Do not over mix.
Drop the batter by spoonful (~a heaping Tbsp.) into a greased mini muffin pan.
Bake for 12-15 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean.
Cool for 10 minutes before removing from the pan to cool on a wire rack.

Week 38

September 22, 2020September 22, 2020Leave a comment

I am in love with all of the nuts and seeds in these cookies! Nuts and seeds are good sources of protein, healthy fats, fibers, vitamins and minerals. They regulate body weight as their fats are not fully absorbed, they regulate food intake, and help burn energy. Mounting evidence suggests that eating nuts and seeds daily can lower your risk of diabetes and heart disease and may even lengthen your life.

AND THEY’RE DELICIOUS!

Breakfast Cookies

1 1/4 cup gluten-free rolled oats
1/4 cup almond flour (can sub any type of flour)
1/2 cup raw sunflower seeds
1/4 cup pumpkin seeds
1/4 cup sliced almonds
1/4 cup sesame seeds
3 tbsp. chia seeds
1/4 cup dried cranberries
1/4 cup chocolate chips
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup honey
1/3 cup peanut butter
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 egg

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line a baking pan with parchment paper.
Mix all the dry ingredients together in a bowl.
Mix all the wet ingredients together in a separate bowl.
Pour the dry ingredients into the wet and mix together until well combined.
Use a cookie scoop to scoop evenly sized cookies onto the baking sheet.
Press down with your hands (these cookies won’t spread)
Bake for 12 to 14 minutes.

Week 37

September 15, 2020September 15, 2020Leave a comment

Week 37 inspired by my Dole Plantation visit last year when we were living in Hawaii,

Virgin Piña Coladas!

3/4 cup pineapple juice
3/4 cup cream of coconut
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract or rum extract
3 cups of ice

Blend all ingredient; garnish with pineapple wedges or maraschino cherries.

Pineapple is the only edible fruit of its kind, the bromeliads, and produces one fruit at a time. They are all hand planted and picked, and grow in bushes pretty low to the ground. Pineapples contain fiber, vitamin c, manganese, vitamin b6, copper, thiamin, folate, potassium, magnesium, niacin, pantothenic acid, riboflavin, and iron.

Coconut Milk and Coconut Cream are essentially the same; milk just has a higher water to coconut ratio compared to the cream. Because coconut cream is higher in fat than coconut milk, it’s important to use it in moderation. Though the fatty acids in coconut milk are medium-chain triglycerides that have been shown to have some health benefits, too much fat from coconuts or other sources will cause weight gain.

Coconut cream has a relatively high fiber content in a small serving size, and it’s also a rich source of B vitamins, vitamin C, vitamin E and the essential minerals iron, selenium, sodium, calcium, magnesium and phosphorus.

I opted to use vanilla extract…I’ve never actually tried rum extract before, but as someone in recovery I decided I wasn’t super in to trying it either. However! If you don’t have any issues with alcohol, that is potentially a better option than vanilla for a more traditional flavor? Just my guess 🙂

EnjoY!

I spy somewhere in this picture a pineapple plant!

Week 36

September 5, 2020September 5, 2020Leave a comment

With snow in the forecast for Tuesday, this may be the last zucchini recipe for awhile. Don’t rush to your tissue box yet, these brownies will leave you smiling, I promise!

Zucchini Brownies

1/2 cup olive oil
1 1/3 cups coconut sugar
1 tbsp. vanilla extract
2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
3 cups finely shredded zucchini DO NOT DRAIN
1 1/4 cups semi-sweet chocolate chunks (optional, i omitted and opted to be naughty on half with peanut butter chips)

Preheat oven to 375°F and prepare a 9×13 pan with butter or line with parchment paper.
In a large bowl combine oil, sugar, and vanilla until fully incorporated.
Add flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt. Mix until combined. Batter will be very dry.
Fold in zucchini by hand. Allow batter to rest for 5 minutes.
Optional: Add in chocolate chunks and stir again. Batter should appear more wet. (if not, let it rest for 5 more minutes and stir again)
Spread brownie mixture into the pan and bake for 25-35 minutes. Brownies are done with an inserted toothpick is removed with crumbs. There should not be wet batter on the toothpick.

What makes whole wheat better?

Wheat has three parts to it—the bran which is packed with fiber, the endosperm—the largest part of the seed and made up of mostly starch, and the germ—the nutrient-rich embryo of the seed. It is downright delicious but unfortunately white flour is made up of only the endosperm portion of the wheat, eliminating many of the grain’s nutrients. Whole wheat flour includes the bran, endosperm, and germ of the wheat grain, which gives it a slightly darker color and makes it more nutritious.

Why are whole grains important in preventing type 2 diabetes?

The exact reasons why whole grains are an important mechanism to prevent type 2 diabetes aren’t crystal-clear, but there are several theories:¹

Whole grains improve insulin sensitivity, which means that the body uses blood sugar more effectively and efficiently.
Whole grains are digested more slowly which leads to a far slower increase in blood sugar levels after eating.
The nutrients in whole grains plus the fiber content help to lower our body’s level of inflammation which is strongly associated with type 2 diabetes.
The fiber in whole grains is incompletely digested in the gastrointestinal tract which produces short-chain fatty acids which decrease insulin sensitivity.

Are certain types of whole grains more effective in preventing type 2 diabetes?

Recent research with 55,000 participants over 15 years from the Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden, and the Danish Cancer Society Research Center confirms decades of previous research findings on the importance of whole grains for prevention of type 2 diabetes. In this study, any type of whole grain provided similar benefits.¹

How many servings of whole grains per day are necessary?

In the Swedish and Danish study, each serving of whole grain was associated with an 11% lower risk of type 2 diabetes for men and a 7% lower risk for women.¹ A large meta-analysis of 16 studies recommends consuming 2-3 servings of whole grains per day to decrease risk of developing type 2 diabetes.²

References

Cecilie Kyrø, Anne Tjønneland, Kim Overvad, Anja Olsen, Rikard Landberg; Higher Whole-Grain Intake Is Associated with Lower Risk of Type 2 Diabetes among Middle-Aged Men and Women: The Danish Diet, Cancer, and Health Cohort, The Journal of Nutrition, Volume 148, Issue 9, 1 September 2018, Pages 1434–1444. https://doi.org/10.1093/jn/nxy112
Aune D, Norat T, Romundstad P, Vatten LJ. Whole grain and refined grain consumption and the risk of type 2 diabetes: a systematic review and dose-response meta-analaysis of cohort studies. Eur J Epidemiol. 2013 Nov;28(11):845-58. doi: 10.1007/s10654-013-9852-5. Epub 2013 Oct 25.

Week 35

August 31, 2020Leave a comment

Healthy ice cubes 🤷‍♀️

Sounds weird, I know. Trying to prolong summer via my tastebuds with these tiny, flavorful pleasures! These are extremely versatile and fun to make (especially if you have some fun tray shapes). You could use any fruit, juice, herbs, or tea for the cubes and juice, sparkling water, or coffee for the beverage! (Not healthy, but I am definitely trying hot cocoa cubes this winter with a mini marshmallow in coffee)

Anyway….back to a healthy snack…I ended up blending kiwi and pineapple, layering on top of a blueberry or two, and once frozen – popping a few into my apple juice – once it started melting, it instantly tasted tropical. Im in Love.

Antioxidants, immune boosting, and aids in digestion are only a few of the many benefits of this mix. What would you create?

Week 34

August 24, 2020August 25, 2020Leave a comment

Zucchini Pizzas

I decided to prepare these 2 different ways. One was directly on a cookie sheet with parchment paper and the other was raised on a rack in a baking pan. I think the pizzas that were raised up taste better, they seem a little more firm at the base making them more pizza-like. They both still taste super great

There isn’t really a recipe for these guys because it’s all what you like besides the basics of having a zucchini slice act as the bread, your pizza sauce, and your cheese. You can either not top it or top it with seasoning or anything else you like! Bake at 400 for 8 to 10 minutes ❤

I did want to share some fun facts about the ingredients of this treat: The flower of the zucchini plant is edible,
mozzarella was originally made with Buffalo milk,
green peppers have twice the vitamin c then citrus fruits,
pepperoni means big pepper in Italian however this salami variety originated in New York City in 1919,
eating olives improves the appearance of wrinkles by 20% since they contain oleic acid,
and tomato seedlings have been grown in space!
Do you think they made pizza sauce?

Week 33

August 19, 2020August 19, 2020Leave a comment

Fruit Tarts

Every ingredient in this treasure is made possible by pollinators 🐝 thank you bees

These are delightful, it’s hard to stop at one!

Almond flour is high in protein, manganese, vitamin E and monounsaturated fats, low in Carbohydrates, and contains fiber.

Greek yogurt is full of protein, probiotics, B12, potassium, a work out recovery food, iodine, and calcium.

Berries are loaded with antioxidants, help improve blood sugar levels and insulin response, help fight inflammation, and help lower cholesterol.

Recipe

Crust

2.5 cups almond flour
1/2 tsp. salt
2 Tbsp. cold butter
2 Tbsp. honey
1 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar
1 egg white

Filling

8 oz. greek yogurt (vanilla or whatever you like)
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 Tbsp. honey
1/4 tsp. cardamom
1 cup berries of choice

Stir together almond flour and salt. Use fork to cut butter into mixture until a rough sand texture forms. Add honey, apple cidee vinegar, and egg white and mix. Divide evenly between 12 greased muffin cups, then use your fingers to press into a tart shape. Bake at 350 for 10 to 12 minutes, until edges are golden.

Stir together yogurt, honey, cardamom, and vanilla. When tarts are completely cool, fill with yogurt mix, then top with berries and an extra drizzle of honey.

Enjoy!

Week 32

August 11, 2020August 11, 2020Leave a comment

Cherry Pomegranate Limeade Popsicles

A break from Zucchini!!

Cherry Pomegranate Limeade Popsicles

These are stellar, the sweet and the sour combo is very refreshing.

OG Recipe
4 tablespoons sugar (i used half)
4 tablespoons water
2 cups fresh cherries pitted
6 tablespoons lime juice
1/2 cup pomegranate juice

Dissolve sugar into water, add everything to blender, and pour into a Popsicle mold! 8 plus hours later, you’ll be in for a treat!

Cherries have a low glycemic index, are rich in antioxidants and anti-inflammatory compounds.

Pomegranate gets its color from polyphenols, which not only give it its vibrant ruby color, but also are a strong antioxidant. Pomegranate also contains a very large amount of vitamin c, and may be able to help prevent cancer and Alzheimer’s alike. It helps improve digestion, and can reduce inflammation in your gut.

Limes are a huge immunity boost. They also reduce heart disease, improve complexion, and increase iron absorption.