Here at TGBK we love a lot of foods but we have to say that one holds a special place in our hearts, yes you guessed it, chocolate. Now if you're into chocolate as much as we are and don't want to feel guilty about an everyday chocolate fix then this post is for you! And we're here to remind you that certain forms of chocolate are actually superfoods and a great addition to your diet. Now don't get crazy, we aren't suggesting you head down the nearest candy aisle- we are referring to cacao and raw chocolate recipes. Confused? Read on! So the wonderful (and to us, holy) cacao bean is what provides the world with chocolate (hallelujah!). Cacao beans are seeds found in the fruit pods of the cacao tree which are harvested and fermented and then processed into the various chocolate products we know and love. However, this processing is what can make all the difference in final product and nutritional benefit. Many beans go through a roasting process to dry the beans and develop flavor and aroma, but this high temperature treatment can destroy the antioxidants that cacao contains which make it a superfood in the first place (refresher about superfoods here). Raw cacao products are alternatively dried at low temperatures to preserve these beneficial nutrients. The low temperature dried cacao beans can then be made into cacao nibs, cacao powder or cacao butter, all raw, antioxidant packed products that we love! This recipe features raw cacao nibs which are essentially crumbled cacao beans. They have a bold chocolate flavor that may be more tangy and bitter than you would initially expect, but remember this is 100% pure cacao with no added sugar or other ingredients. This recipe features not only cacao as a superfood but also mulberry and goji berry which have their own super qualities. Our favorite supplier of these super foods is Navitas Naturals - their website can provide you more superfood information and ways to find their products. You will notice that these products may be pricey but remember that you are paying for a high quality product. If you are budgeting look for these items in bulk bins at local co-op or specialty markets or search for bulk deals online. Once you get your raw cacao get going on this recipe! Holy Cacao Superfood Power Mix PREP TIME: 5 mins TOTAL TIME: 15 mins Servings: 7.5 cups Ingredients Toasted Cereal 6 cups unsweetened puffed kamut or puffed wheat 1/3 cup pure maple syrup 1 Tbsp coconut oil, melted 1/8 tsp sea salt Superfood Power Mix 6 cups unsweetened puffed kamut 1/2 cup raw cacao nibs 1/4 cup raw goji berries 1/4 cup raw mulberries 1/2 cup raw pistachios 1/4 tsp sea salt Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside. Measure out 6 cups of puffed kamut and place into a large bowl. Combine 1/3 cup pure maple syrup, 1 Tbsp melted coconut oil, and 1/8 tsp sea salt in a small bowl, stir to combine. Pour liquid mixture over puffed kamut and stir until evenly coated. Spread mixture onto parchment lined baking sheet and toast in the oven for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool. Combine all ingredients (cooled kamut, cacao nibs, goji berries, mulberries, pistachios, and sea salt) in a large bowl. Portion out into individual 1/2 cup servings if desired. Store mix in air tight containers, we prefer a small jar we can throw in our purse or backpack for an on-the-go healthy snack! Have your prayers been answered with this power mix? We sure hope so! We love the toasty, sweet cereal mixed with the bold cacao nibs and chewy, slightly sour berries. You can feel good snacking on this anytime of the day or even as a delicious superfood cereal with homemade almond milk. Hey, we could all use a little more raw chocolate in our lives.
Have a rawesome week! Jess and Cecelia
3 Comments
In the midst of a long week there are a few certain things (of course all food related) that help keep us going until the weekend. One of those being a lazy, late morning, carb loaded breakfast; I mean hey we've earned it right? But on the topic of carbs we have to remind you that not all are created equal especially when it comes to bread. If it's not baked at home then you have to remember to check ingredients lists, you won't believe what can be hiding in there! So lets talk about an optimal bread to keep this delicious breakfast nutritionally on track because delicious doesn't have to mean guilty, but you already knew that. So it seems like a pretty easy concept - whole wheat bread is healthier than white - but as you may be learning, food choices are not always that staright forward. That's because of efforts in the processed food industry to keep production prices low while still appealing to health concious consumers. Ideally a whole wheat or whole grain bread should contain, surprise, whole wheat, grains and maybe nuts and seeds. But what you'll find when looking at ingredient labels is a whole lot more, including high fructose corn syrup, refined oils (soybean and canola), a variety of difficult to pronounce chemicals, and even coloring agents to create that deep brown color associated with whole grains. Question though - if you're using real, whole grain ingredients then why would the bread need to be colored? Our point exactly. We invite you to start looking at those ingredient lists in the store or around your home and see what you find. You may be shocked but don't be scared because there are plenty of better options and we will help you find them. To start, a quality bread should be 100% organic and free of artificial ingredients. The main and first ingredients on the ingredient list should be unrefined grains, nuts and seeds and if possible these ingredients be sprouted for optimal nutrient absorption and digestion. Also remember that in general, the shorter the ingredient list the better. Per slice, look for a bread that contains at least 5 grams of protein and 3 grams of fiber. Silver Hills Hemptation bread is the bread we featured in this recipe. As you already know we are obsessed with anything containing the miraculous hemp seed! Silver Hills Bakery is based out of Canada and their line of delicious bread can be purchased at Whole Foods and Target. You can also use their handy store locator to find other stores near you carrying their products. We love this bread because of the simple and wholesome ingredients we found on the ingredient list; including non- GMO and vegan certified whole sprouted wheat, hulled hemp seeds, water, cane sugar, vital wheat gluten, yeast, sea salt, cultured wheat, and citric acid. Per slice, hemptation contains 7 grams of protein and 4 grams of fiber, making this a superior choice to most of the breads you'll find down the standard bread aisle. Okay, so now it's time to find your favorite bread using these tips and get to into the kitchen! Egg-less French Toast PREP TIME: 15 mins TOTAL TIME: 30 mins Servings: 2 Ingredients Egg-less French Toast 4 slices of high quality, nutrient rich bread 1 cup almond milk 1 cup chopped walnuts 1/4 cup oatmeal flour 3 Tbsp ground flax seed 1 Tbsp coconut sugar 1-2 Tbsp organic grass fed butter 1 tsp ground cinnamon 1/2 vanilla bean (scrap out the insides of the pod) OR 1 tsp pure vanilla extract A drizzle of pure maple syrup over the top Filling 3/4 cup full fat Greek style yogurt 1/4 cup full fat ricotta cheese 1/2 cup raspberries or berries of your choice In a medium wide bottomed bowl, combine the almond milk, oatmeal flour, ground flax seed, coconut sugar, cinnamon, and vanilla. Stir all ingredients until fully combined. Allowed the mixture to sit until the batter becomes thick, about five minutes. Place chopped walnut on to a large plate and set aside. Combine Greek yogurt and ricotta cheese in a bowl. Mix until fully combined then set aside. Turn a large skillet or large saute pan to medium heat, add 1 Tbsp butter and allow to melt coating the entire bottom of the skillet. Careful dip bread in wet mixture one slice at a time, working fast so the bread does not become too soggy and break. Coat each side of bread in chopped walnuts then place in the hot pan/skillet with melted butter. Cook for 3-5 minutes on each side. TIP: watch the bread closely, if the temperature on your stove top is too high the bread will burn quickly! We have a smaller pan which only cooks 2 slices at a time. If this is the case for you as well, make sure to clean your pan in between batches to remove burnt butter and walnuts for best results with the next two slices. Once you have all four slices cooked cut the bread in half (triangle style) add 1/4 cup of yogurt & ricotta mixture to the top of one triangle. Arrange berries on top of filling and place the other triangle on top to make a sandwich. Continue to do this until you have made four, half sandwiches, 2 per plate. Lightly drizzle pure maple syrup over the top and dig in! Okay so is there anything better than perfectly cooked french toast slathered with real maple syrup? Simply, no way! So next time you're in need of a decadent weekend breakfast please remember this recipe. And we hope you'll be thinking about your choices next time you find yourself in the bread aisle because nourishing your body with good ingredients is the right choice any day of the week.
Wishing you a lazy Sunday, Jess and Cecelia Peanut butter and jelly. Just the name conjures childhood memories of a perfect lunch; the soft, gooey bread, crunchy, salty peanuts and tart but sweet jelly. Each bite better than the next until your done and running back out to play with your siblings and friends. Ahhhhhhhh. Fast forward a few decades and you arrive at this recipe, still the perfect combination of PB&J but now all grown up! Add some soluble and insoluble fiber and you've got a match made in heaven no matter your age. So whats the deal with fiber you ask? A lot! Fiber is a broad term encompassing the portion of foods we eat that are not digestible. Fiber passes through our intestines unphased by digestive enzymes but along the way fiber can help our bodies out in a huge way. Now it's important to know that all fiber is not created equal and there are two main types; insoluble and soluble fiber which are both important to your diet in balanced amounts. Insoluble fiber does not dissolve in water, meaning within your gut insoluble fiber passes along through with little change. This type of fiber can improve constipation by adding "ruffage" and encouraging the excretion of waste, basically it helps keep food moving through your gut at a steady pace. Soluble fiber does absorb water and creates a gel when exposed to liquids (you will see this first hand with chia!). This gelatinous property can slow digestion to keep you feeling full for longer and also contributes to soluble fiber's ability to reduce cholesterol. Remember that a balance in the diet of both types of fiber is best and luckily chia is a great source of both. Just a 2 Tbsp serving of chia seeds packs a whopping 11 g of fiber; 75% being insoluble and 25% soluble. Chia seeds are unprocessed and unlike flax seeds do not need to be ground prior to eating for our bodies to obtain their nutrients. Because of their soluble fiber content, when placed in liquids chia can expand up to ten times their size! This is what allows their nutrients to be more available to our bodies as well as making them great egg replacements or binders in recipes. So let's get down to it. PB&J Chia Pudding PREP TIME: 5 mins TOTAL TIME: 10 mins (let sit in fridge for at least 6 hrs) Servings: 2 Ingredients Pudding 1 cup plain unsweetened milk kefir (or 3/4 cup plain yogurt) 1/4 cup unsweetened almond milk, or milk of your choice (if using yogurt instead of kefir increase to 1/2 cup milk) 4 Tbsp white chia seeds (black will also work but will look and taste slightly different) 2 Tbsp pure maple syrup* 2 Tbsp natural peanut butter** Sprinkle of sea salt Toppings 1 banana 1/4 cup chopped walnuts 2 Tbsp raspberry preserves (or preserves/jam of your choice) In two 10-12 oz mason jars, combine half of the ingredients in each - 1/2 cup plain kefir, 1/8 cup almond milk, 2 Tbsp chia seeds, 1Tbsp maple syrup, 1 Tbsp peanut butter, and sprinkle of sea salt. Screw on a tight fitting lid and shake vigorously until all ingredients are combined. Allow pudding to rest and gel up in the refrigerator for at least 6 hrs (we prepare ours just before bed so it's ready to go the next morning for breakfast). Once your pudding has set, you can make pretty layers in new jars (pictured above) or simply add the following toppings to your set pudding; 1/2 sliced banana, 1 Tbsp raspberry preserves, and 1/8 cup chopped walnuts. *Make sure to read your ingredient lists when buying maple syrup - ingredients list should contain maple syrup only, nothing more and nothing less! **Same goes for peanut butter - only ingredients should be peanuts and optional salt We recommend this recipe as an easy, prepare ahead breakfast to fuel your busy days and keep you satisfied until lunch. Or really for any time you want to crack open an old photo album and reminisce about your childhood. This recipe can be a kid favorite as well and maybe even take the place (gasp!) of the typical PB&J sandwich. Hey you never know.
Enjoy it, Jess & Cecelia |
AuthorsJess and Cecelia welcome you to our kitchen. We are fun-loving and passionate foodies working to make the world a healthier, happier place one plant based recipe at a time. Categories
All
Archives
December 2018
|