Sweet vs. Savory? Our pick is from Emilie's Pure & Simple Kitchen

Every once in a while we come across a new snack food that’s equally healthy and delicious. 

Whether we’re strolling the aisles at the local Whole Foods, or catching wind of a new product by word of mouth, it’s always exciting to add something nutritious to our cabinets.

Today we're off the sweets and craving something savory. 

We’d like to share a product with you that’ll satisfy a savory craving without any guilt: 

The Savory Cracker, from Emilie’s Pure & Simple Kitchen! 

These crackers are available in 3 delicious flavors and are naturally GLUTEN-FREE, GRAIN-FREE, and LOW-CARB! Our favorite flavor is Savory, but the Original and Dipping flavors are just as impressive. They’re the perfect substitute for the many over-processed, sugar-loaded crackers at the market, and are an easy snack to pack on-the-go, or bring as a hostess gift.

 

Emilie’s Pure and Simple Kitchen is known for 

“pure food made from simple ingredients.”

It really is that simple. 

And tasty!

Head on over to Facebook: (facebook.com/PureSimpleKitchen)

or give the company a call (203-842-8682) 

or email them at puresimplekitchen@gmail.com 

Treat yourself to a something that’ll make your insides happy!

DNA Life Bars

Friends, this bar is so so delicious I could not pass up the opportunity to write a blog about them.  I am even eating one as I type up this raving blog post about them.

If you want to feel festival for the holidays than the Green Apple Cinnamon one is my suggestions.  It tastes like a Pumpkin Pie and Apple Pie in one delicious bar. 

Other flavor names are: Chocolate, Chocolate, Chocolate with Roasted Quinoa

Chocolate Fudge

Make sure to check out their website for locations on where to purchase bars:  There are plenty of options in LA as well as LV!

Here is a little information about DNA.

Protein Bars that taste amazing and they’re good for you!

When we set out to make the best protein bars possible there were a few hurdles we wanted to overcome. It needed to be All-Natural, Gluten-Free, Soy-Free, Dairy-Free, and have no refined sugar.  So, what did that leave us with? Well, actually the best nature has to offer!
Starting with whole foods like pumpkin, sweet potatoes, and coconut (you can actually see small pieces of the whole foods in every bar) we were able to create a truly unique product. Each bar has 14 grams of high-grade egg white protein, healthy fats from organic coconuts or organic almonds, and is very low in sugar. Of course, most importantly they taste amazing! You will not believe DNA Life protein bars are not made with sugar and yet have none of the aftertaste that some of the other natural sweeteners can leave behind. We hope you give our protein bars a try.  We think you will enjoy them as much as we do.

Cheers to your taste buds,
Brian
Owner, DNA Life Bars

 

Move Over Kale

Those those Kale Chips?!? Me too!

If you are like me then you have to try BRUSSEL BYTES 

They give you the same satisfaction as kale chips, that nice crunch snack grab and go, yet this is their new exciting twist.  

The flavors are more inventive too...check it out

The best part is that the stats are so good, you don't feel guilty about eating the whole bag.

See for yourself. Chili Pumpkin Nutritional Facts

Head on over to my instagram and see what people had to say :-)

Dangerously Delicious AND Healthy

I think it is often that a lot of us find ourselves in a pinch for a snack when the hunger strikes when you least expect it to.  It happens to me often, yet I don't always have the best options surrounding me.  Due to most places surrounding us sticking to the American Standard Diet aka 80% junk it leaves less options available for those of us that want to treat our bodies right.

"You are what you eat."

I am a firm believer in this.  Sure we love our treats, but what if I told you there is yet another option out there giving us nutritious ingredients while tasting like we just had the biggest 'treat' of our life.  I have a sweet tooth and this has been a great option for kicking that sugar craving while satisfying that sneaky hunger strike.

My solution is: Elemental Raw Food Bars

These are all absolutely amazing.  Trust me when I say that the Peanut Butter/Dark Chocolate one is dangerously delicious.

The great thing about buying these products from the website is that they are only $29/dozen.  Free shipping over $80 and When you buy 4 boxes you get a free bag of the crumble to top on endless options.

I also encourage you all to click on the link about to read about their story and fall in love with this wonderful company.  Everything is completely raw, dairy free, gluten free but EVERYTHING DELICIOUS.

Health-ifying Recipes

Baked Good can often seem less caloric than they actually are...

For example take something labeled Zucchini Bread, because of the vegetable in the title it seems like it could be nutritious for the body.  Well what if I told you a normal recipe for Zucchini Bread looked something like this...(source)  What blows my mind the most is that it is from the food network channel.  Just because things are shoved in our faces (in media) does not mean it is good for you and you should do it...just saying :-)

• 3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 3 cups sugar
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 4 eggs, beaten
• 1/3 cup water
• 2 cups grated zucchini
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans

Look at how much SUGAR AND OIL are in this recipe!!!

If you take some of the pointers I mentioned in the post before this about, healthy swaps and protein replacements, we can make this recipe a whole lot healthier without missing any of the flavor.

This recipe can also be labeled as dairy free, gluten free, grain free and heck lets say meat free too ;-)

I want to first go over the swaps and then at the end I will list the recipe (incase there is confusion during the swap explanation).  

1. First we have all purpose flour...If its white, get it out of your LIFE!  A better substitution is almond flour, garbanzo bean flour, or if you are into the grain thing than oat flour works well (try and stick to gluten free).

2. The salt can be reduced...no need for all the extra sodium

3. Baking Soda...KEEP...we need this sucker to rise!

4. Cinnamon KEEP!  I put cinnamon in EVERYTHING!!!!

5. 3 cups sugar...OMG...lets all have diabetes just from this bread alone.  Some great swaps for this is to use Truvia (it is stevia but has the texture of sugar so it can help in the construction of the cake).  Other nice swaps are honey, agave or banana or a combination of whichever

6. 1 cup oil!!!!!!!  How about we reduce that to tablespoons...no need for all that oil to clog the arteries.  Plus to keep the moisture in the bread some nice swap moisture ideas are banana, unsweetened applesauce, or cottage cheese if you are okay with dairy.

7. 4 eggs....we like eggs, even the egg yoke!  Lets keep those but reduce the number, no need for extra calories....moderation people

8. Water...as silly as this sounds...even though this provides no calories to the bread it isn't even necessary.  If there is ever anything that needs an extra liquid to get things moving, I will pour in some unsweetened almond milk.  Adds a little flavor without adding too many calories.

9. 2 cups zucchini...YES KEEEP!!!!  WE LOVE VEGETABLES!

10. Lemon Juice...optional

11. 1 cup nuts is a little excessive.  I will list this as optional...but lets reduce the amount to maybe a 1/4 cup

Healthy Zucchini Bread

1 1/2 cups almond flour (or 1 cup almond flour and 1/2 cup unflavored protein powder)

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 cup grated zucchini, water squeezed out (you can simple use a cheese grater)

2 eggs plus 2 egg whites

3 Tablespoons Truvia, Agave or Honey

1 banana, mashed

1 tablespoon coconut oil, melted

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

-Coconut Oil spray two mini bread loaf pans or muffin tins

-Combine dry ingredients in a small bowl and set aside

-Combine wet ingredients (not zucchini) and beat with hand or hand mixer for a couple minute

-Add zucchini and mix until combined

-Pour dry ingredients into wet and mix (I like to pour a little, then stir, then alternate pour and stirring until bowl is empty)

-Pour batter into pans

-Bake for 32-35 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean. (muffins will take a shorter amount of time: try 15-20min)

-Remove from oven and cool

***If you would like to make this recipe chocolate then add 2 TBS Cacao Powder and replace the unflavored protein with chocolate protein)

Artisana Superfood!

Calling all nut butter fanatics!

Nut Butters has reached a new level of awesome!

Artisana, a well known company in Organic Raw (nut insert here) butters has released a new product. On their shelf they have cashew, pecan, walnut, almond butters just to name a few. Under their belt they already broke ground in making coconut butter (which is completely different than oil). Has already became a leader in raw coconut butter, with very few competitors in their way. Added cacao into a line of their coconut butter is another daring move they made with no one else on the shelf competing. Artisana is great at being ahead of the game and introducing great porducts into the health market. Full of essential fats aka good for you fats, this company needs to be in everyone's life. 

Whichever product you choose, you will not be let down. One of them will become a staple in your diet. What is also super great about the pre-existing products is that many of them come in single serving packets, so you don't have to worry about over doing it. If you are like me and one serving of almond butter is actually more like six, the single serving packs are your go to! Lets get on with the new product line shall we... Always amazing the public with new inventive products, they have released a line of nut butters with super foods added into them. Used like a spread, just like you would with any of the other nut butters, you can now add more beneficial nutrients to your midday snacks! For those of you worried about calories, you can enjoy the same creaminess with a lesser amount of calories. Each packet coming in at 100 calories or less. Add some variety into your snacks and check out all the products by Artisana!

Blue Algae  this one to me has a lemon kind of flavor...maybe pair with some fresh berries

Goji and Milk Thistle this one could almost be your PB&J without the J...just spread on whatever you would enjoy PB&J on.

Berry Antioxidant this one fights aging...lets rub it on our faces, just kidding...eat straight out of the packet!

Acai Berry this one would be a great accent to greek yogurt

Marine Phytoplankton  I have not had a chance to check this one out yet

If you weren't sold on their products by now, how about the added fact that they are always giving back to the communities!?!

Follow this link to order some of your next superfoods!

More Raw Bar Goodness!

You already know how much I love raw bars. They're low in fat, delicious, and better yet, they contain no preservatives or funky ingredients that you can't even pronounce.

I have recently discovered another raw snack that's quickly becoming my favorite: African Red Tea bars by Organic African Tea have everything you could ever love - made by hand, completely raw, and made up entirely of almonds, coconut, pumpkin seeds, figs, raw agave nectar, rooibos extract, sea salt and vanilla extract. Each bar has 140 calories.

You can buy them at your local health food store, like Whole Foods, or just order them online from Organicafricantea.com.

If you have tried them, let me know how you liked them!