Be Prepared...for Health!

The new brown bag lunch.

Everybody's noticed by now: it's a food jungle out there. Fast, grabbable, not-so-healthy and even downright dangerous fare is always just a quick stop away. If you want to take care of yourself by eating well in this world, you have to be prepared.

One of the best ways to stay on top of your nutrition game is to bring your lunch to work. Taking along your own food keeps you in charge of what goes into your mouth, and of how you end up feeling in your body at the end of the day.

Clean, fresh food just feels better!

But being prepared takes...preparation! You can't bring your lunch to work if there's nothing in the fridge. That's why I recommend planning your daily food in advance. You can do this one day at a time, in chunks based on your next trip to the market, or for the whole week ahead. At the very least, figure out the night before what you plan to eat the following day. Write it down. Then do it!

Writing down your food ahead of time gives you a game plan. It's an especially useful tool for when you happen to stray away from the path of clean eating a little too far, or too long.

Figure out what you need to do to get your health, weight or digestion back on track. (This is where a call to your nutritionist might come in handy.) Maybe it's taking a break from grains, cutting out the dark chocolate or doing a little juice fast. Whatever you decide, write down what you plan to eat for the next few days. Writing it down makes it real.

You might want to include your exercise plans as well. Build them right into your schedule. Then, follow your program. And celebrate your success. Give yourself a gold star on the calendar for every day you love yourself healthy. Why not? Intention and planning take effort. Be proud of your achievements. You deserve to feel amazing!

Coconut-Almond Crunch Balls

Ever since I was introduced to the concept of "low carbohydrate density" nutrition I've been on a mission. The goal: to create a low-carb, low-sugar, grain-free and, most importantly, delicious dessert.

The low-carbohydrate density diet aligns beautifully with the evolution-based diet that I recommend. It eliminates flour and sugar, includes but minimizes whole grains and fruits, and emphasizes vegetables, seeds, animal protein (not necessarily meat—think pastured eggs and raw goat cheese) and healthy fats like coconut oil. The benefits of avoiding refined grains and sugars include improved blood sugar balance, yeast control and intestinal comfort (i.e. reduced gas and bloating, a big bonus for IBS people like me). However, there isn't much to offer the sweet tooth contingent. Hence my mission.

I started off very simply: grated carrots (carrots are sweet, right?) mashed with nut butter and cinnamon. (I told you it was simple.) I know: not exactly blog-worthy—but it's darn good, trust me!

Anyway, in terms of a real recipe worth sharing, I am proud to present these adorable Coconut-Almond Crunch Balls. 

They're made with naturally sweet raw coconut butter, and naturally sweet raw almond butter, with only a hint of concentrated natural sweetener added. (I used agave, but maple syrup would be scrumptious, too.) The crunch comes from homemade Buckwheat Crunchies (soaked, sprouted dehydrated buckwheat groats), which I had on hand from a previous dehydrating day.

Buckwheat Crunchies are REALLY easy to make (instructions below). But if you don't have a dehydrator or the time, consider substituting finely chopped almonds. (Alternatively, forget the crunch aspect altogether and use this recipe, sans crunchies, to make creamy Coconut-Almond Truffles instead! Guaranteed they would be totally yummy, too.)

P.S. This dessert is gluten-free. I know buckwheat sounds like it must be related to wheat, the mother of all gluten-containing grains, but it isn't. In fact, buckwheat isn't even technically a grain. It's a fruit! Read more here.

Coconut-Almond Crunch Balls

1 cup raw coconut butter
1 Tablespoon raw coconut oil
1/4 cup raw almond butter
4 Tablespoons agave or maple syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon Himalayan pink salt or fine sea salt
1 cup buckwheat crunchies
shredded coconut for coating - about half a cup

In a food processor fitted with the S-blade, process coconut butter, coconut oil, almond butter, agave or maple syrup, vanilla and salt until a smooth dough is formed. Transfer to a medium bowl and use a soft spatula to gently mix in buckwheat crunchies.




Use a teaspoon or the spatula, and very clean fingers and hands, to separate out small chunks of dough. Roll and press them into little bite-sized balls, or medium-sized balls if you like more of a mouthful.

Roll each ball in shredded coconut and set aside until all the dough is used up. You'll get about two dozen balls or more, depending on their size.

If you prefer a flatter profile, that works, too.

I recommend eating Coconut-Almond Crunch Balls at room temperature for best flavor, but do store them in the refrigerator to keep firm and fresh. Miraculously, these balls hold their crunch for at least two weeks! (It wasn't easy to keep them around that long—hence the miracle—but I wanted to be sure my Crunch Balls lived up to their name over time, before going public with this recipe.) Enjoy!


Buckwheat Crunchies
To make these, you will need a dehydrator and a supply of raw buckwheat groats, which can be hard to find. I ordered a five-pound box directly from my local food coop.

To begin, soak two cups of buckwheat groats in four cups of water for eight hours or overnight.



Drain and rinse very well, several times, to thoroughly remove slippery foam. Allow soaked buckwheat to sprout in a strainer for 12-24 hours (as pictured below), rinsing at approximately six-hour intervals so that the soaked buckwheat doesn't dry out prematurely. (If sprouting overnight, you don't need to wake up to rinse your groats; just loosely cover strainer with a clean damp towel at bedtime.)

Spread sprouted buckwheat in a single layer on mesh dehydrator sheets and dehydrate at 110 degrees for 12 hours, or until very crisp.

Store crunchies in an airtight glass jar. Use in place of dry cereal (delicious with coconut milk!) or in recipes that call for crunch, such as my delectable Coconut-Almond Crunch Balls. ♥

Warm, Spiced Vanilla Goji Berry Mylk

I love drinking my breakfast - usually in the form of a fresh green juice or smoothie sweetened with fruit  - but I've been running into trouble with sugar lately. This has sparked some creativity in the kitchen as I experiment with new ways to satisfy my sweet desire.

I'm not a big fan of juicing in the winter, as I've mentioned before, so for now, I'm focusing on low-sugar smoothies, like this warm Spiced Vanilla Goji Berry Mylk (pictured above).

Starting with a base of hempseeds for the mylk, I sweetened this beverage with two things. One: lucuma powder, a nutritious whole food sweetener made from the dried pulp of a golden-colored Peruvian fruit. And two: goji berries.

Goji berrries have a very low sugar content, measuring only 29 on the Glycemic Index scale. (For comparison, low-sugar grapefruit is 25, ripe bananas average 52, and the evil demon white sugar is 100.)

Nutrition and health-wise, goji berries are famous for their high antioxidant content. Antioxidants - including vitamins A, C and E, and polyphenols (plant compounds found in olives, green tea, berries, grapes, etc.) - help to protect cells and blood vessels, fight cancer and boost immune function, so we want to eat lots of them!

In addition to antioxidants, goji berries are high in polysaccharides, fiber and protein. In fact, they are considered a "complete protein," containing all eight essential amino acids. Traditionally, goji berries were thought to promote longevity, and people who eat them regularly are known to have beautiful, glowing skin. If you want to learn more about goji berries, click here to link over to a good article.

I mostly love goji berries because they taste cherry-plum delicious. They're fun to eat in a raisiny kind of way, and besides, they're pink. Need I say more? (Yes, it's Valentine's Day! Love to you all.)

Spiced Vanilla Goji Berry Mylk
makes one 2-cup serving

1/4 cup hemp seeds
1 Tbs hemp protein powder
2 Tbs goji berries
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon  nutmeg
2 Tbs lucuma powder, or stevia to taste
1 or 2 teaspoons white chia seeds
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 to 1.5 cups water

Add all ingredients to blender and soak for fifteen minutes, to soften goji berries and activate chia seeds. After soaking, blend on low for half a minute, then increase speed to high until thoroughly smooth. For a thicker mylk, use less water and/or more chia. If you like, add ginger, too!

Note: The longer you allow the mylk to blend, the warmer it gets, which is nice this time of year. I recommend drinking this smoothie at room temperature, or slightly warm, fresh out of the blender. Yum.

Blended Soup Basics

Creamy Celeriac Soup with Fresh Spinach

Blended soups are a quick, economical and delicious way to increase your daily intake of alkalinizing, mineral-rich veggies. Blended soups are also handy for cleaning out your fridge of slightly wilted produce, or using up leftovers from another meal.

For instance, try blending leftover baked sweet potatoes or winter squash (skin removed) with pre-made vegetable stock, a pinch of sea salt, and curry paste or powder. Once blended, transfer to a pot and heat, adding cayenne pepper, cinnamon or more curry to taste. Serve with a squeeze of fresh lime juice and top with chopped cilantro to liven things up. Easy!

It's almost as easy to make fresh blended vegetable soup from scratch. You can use any vegetables you have on hand—roots, broccoli, whatever. The basic process is to saute some onions first (I like to use coconut oil, which is heat stable and richly flavorful), along with garlic and ginger if desired. Next, stir in your veggies of choice, stir in your herbs, stir in salt and seasonings, and then add enough water to cover.

Once you bring soup to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer until veggies cook through. (This doesn't take long. Root vegetables cut into medium-sized chunks cook in about 20 minutes, tops. Softer veggies like zucchini, broccoli or cauliflower are done in half that time.) Don't overcook—just simmer until veggies are fork-tender. Then transfer contents of pot to blender, and work in batches as necessary to puree. Adjust salt and flavorings at the end, and if you like, pulse in leafy herbs or greens as a final step.

I made today's beautiful blended soup with a base of celeriac, carrot and celery. It's green because at the end of the blending phase, I pulsed in a bunch of fresh, raw spinach. (Thanks to detoxilicious Ana Zaharia for suggesting that brilliant tip!)

Creamy Celeriac Soup with Fresh Spinach

1 small onion, chopped
1 Tbs coconut oil
4 cloves fresh garlic, peeled
1 large carrot, chopped
1 celeriac root, chopped
1 small head celery, chopped
1/2 teaspoon Celtic sea salt
1/2 teaspoon each tarragon, oregano, thyme
water to cover
1 bunch fresh spinach
Herbamare and fresh ground black pepper to taste

Over medium heat, saute the onion in coconut oil for a few minutes, then stir in remaining vegetables (except spinach) and sea salt. Saute for a few more minutes, add herbs, stir again and let things heat up for a minute or so. Pour in enough fresh water to cover everything in the pot, increase heat until boiling point is reached, then reduce heat, put the lid on and simmer for about 20 minutes until roots are fork tender.

Remove soup from heat and allow to cool slightly. Transfer contents to blender and puree. When done, add fresh spinach and briefly pulse-blend it into the soup, leaving the leaves slightly intact if possible. Season with Herbamare (an blend of sea salt, herbs and kelp powder) and fresh ground black pepper to taste. If necessary, reheat the soup but try to keep it from boiling again, which would cook the spinach. Instead, aim for pinkie-test hot (about 100 degrees). :~) Bon appetit!