Chocolate Chia Bars

If you are a cookbook hoarder like me, your pages might have notes written all over them like mine do.  I seem to have a hard time following directions, and I write all over the books, noting what I changed.  I like learning just enough about something to be dangerous.  If you get the basic gist of it down, you can make variations, or substitutions....sometimes with success...otherwise you at least learned what not to do again.

This recipe is one of those "she didn't follow the directions" ones...but it works beautifully, and I hope you give it a try.  My daughters love these bars too, so I consider that a major endorsement.

I adapted my recipe from one found in this book called CHIA, which was lent to me by a good friend who luckily shares her books with me {the link takes you to an article about the book}.  She is also a great taste-tester.....no complaints yet.  That's my kinda girl.

I will list the original recipe so you can see how it started out, and how I changed it to have more nutritional value without compromising on taste.  If you need a refresher of some of the ingredients, goto this post for info.

Original recipe (made about 20ish bars)

1/4c virgin liquid coconut oil

1Tbs milled chia

1c chopped, pitted dates

1/4c almond milk

1tsp vanilla extract

1 1/2c rolled oats

1/2c whole wheat pastry flower

1/3c chopped nuts

3/4tsp baking soda

1/2tsp salt

1/4-1/2c chocolate chips

My version.......

Jenn's Chocolate Chia Bars

1/2c coconut oil {liquid}

2Tbs milled chia seeds

2c chopped dates {about 30 dates}

1/2c almond milk

1-2tsp vanilla extract

3c oats

1/3c hemp protein powder

1/3c ground flaxseed

2/3c flour

1c chopped nuts {I used walnuts}

1 1/2tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1c chocolate chips

2Tbs organic agave syrup

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray cookie sheet with olive oil spray, or whatever you normally use. 

My food processor is my BFF~we waited so long to be together.  I think this is the easiest way to make prepping these bars go quickly. 

Step 1: Pulse in food processor or blender the dates, coconut oil, chia seeds, and nuts. 

Step 2: Add the vanilla extract, hemp, flaxseed, flour, baking soda, salt, agave and pulse a few times to combine.

Step 3: Scrape out the food processor concoction into a bowl so you can stir in the oats and chocolate chips.

Step 4: Press the mixture onto a cookie sheet.  It probably will not fill the entire pan, but try to make it create a rectangle-ish shape.  Figure the bars will be about a 1/2 inch high, like a brownie.

Step 5: I use a wet pizza cutter to "pre-cut" the bars before baking.  My lines are crooked...I know...I try, people, I try....

Step 6: Bake at 350 degrees for about 12-14 minutes.  To be technical, I took mine out at 13 minutes.  This made about 42 bars for me.  I made them this afternoon, and they are disappearing quickly...

Eat!  But do yourself a favor...let them cool before picking them up to eat, or you will have some breakage....I didn't mind burning my fingers with melted chocolate, and maybe you won't either, but if you want your kids to not leave a trail like Hansel and Gretel through the house, then let them cool before handing them out.  Cutting them smaller helps with this too.  They are delicious, and you're getting some nutrition as well...worth the effort, I swear.

Have a great day!

{Jenn}

Prepare the Pantry

We've all heard the saying, "If you eat the way you've always eaten, you'll look the way you have always looked".  I'll take it a step further and say if you eat the way you've always eaten, you will never know the health that is waiting for you.  I have never felt better since changing my eating habits.  I know it sounds hokey, but I'm completely in tune with my body and how different foods affect me now.  When you clear out all of the junk...actually allowing yourself to feel hungry, you can tell right away what your body does and does not want in it. 

When you eat clean, the cravings you had in your former life of eating whatever you wanted, whenever you wanted to~go away.  It's like your brain had the craving switch flipped off. 

I wouldn't have believed it either if I hadn't experienced it for myself.  You owe it to yourself to give this "clean" lifestyle a shot.  Make your goal to eat this way 80-90% of the time.  That's what I do.  That way you can eat pizza with your kids on Friday night if you so choose, because you know you will only have a little since you are eating so many veggies to fill you up.  I don't deny myself anything, and I think that's why this works so well.

And I'm not always perfect....sometimes, like while on vacation {not like I just came back from vacation or anything.....choke, choke} I fall off the wagon a bit, and eat dips I normally wouldn't {with fresh veggies}...or snack on cracker packs {I was on the beach!} just because they were easy to grab...and I feel the repercussions.  Mainly the uncomfortable stomach bloating that comes from eating crap.  Now that vacation is over, I'm getting back to zero, and my body is breathing a sigh of relief.

The first thing you need to do when setting yourself up for success is to clean out the pantry, and fill it with new items.  Yes, I still buy a few things the kids want, but stop buying the cookies and regular potato chips...they will call your name {they talk to me too} and you may not have the power to ignore the siren's call {I don't give myself extra temptations}.  You will find you use these new items a lot, and you will be able to make substitutions easily when you need to.  I'm a Bob's Red Mill fan, so you will see me use lots of their products, and you can find them at most grocery stores or online.  I am a big fan of Newark Natural Foods {in Newark, DE}, and get most of my products there.  By changing what you eat, your kids will follow suit.  You can still make chocolate chip cookies, but know that they are not going to be a 'chips ahoy', okay?  Your kids will deal.  Mine are on board, and no one is suffering {or at least they realized complaining wasn't getting them anywhere with me...ha!}.

Don't let this list panic you.  You don't have to go out tomorrow and spend a fortune.  These are just my staples, and I will be posting some recipes soon which will include these ingredients.  I'm not paid for any of these opinions, and the brands I use are just my favorites. 

 

Oats~this super big jar gets filled and re-filled constantly in our house.  We always keep a large amount on hand.  Not only for oatmeal, but to add to bars, thicken shakes, make {healthy} cookies or even mix with our apple breakfast "cereal" if it needs to get beefed up a bit, or heated up {it just tastes better w/oats if it's warm}.

Shredded Coconut~I love using this in my bars, and I add it to my morning cereal as well.  This coconut is NOT what you'd buy in the grocery store near the chocolate chips.  That is the sweetened kind, which is junk!  This is unsweetened, and shredded...it's a must-have for me.

Walnuts, Almonds~I use nuts in many different ways.  I always buy nuts in the baking aisle in BJ's because they have large bags of unsalted nuts.  If you are always snacking on salted nuts, you will feel bloated and get way too much salt.  I try to buy walnut pieces {they're coarsely chopped} and sliced almonds, since they are easier to eat without breaking a tooth.  I use them in my bars, add them to my breakfast cereal, blend them to make flour, or even to make crusts for tarts.  It's the healthiest way I get fats into my diet.

Maca Powder~a slightly nutty flavored powder of the {you guessed it} maca root.  It's an excellent source of B-12, balances hormones, and gives an energy boost without caffeine.  I add it to the morning cereal concoction, to soups, dressings for salad, bars....it's also known to increase libido, especially in men.  You can thank me later, ladies.

Ground Flaxseed Meal~I buy the organic, ground flaxseed because that's the best way for our bodies to absorb the nutrients.  Otherwise it would just pass through your system. It's rich in Omega-3 fatty acids, high in fiber, and is high in lignans which balance hormones, especially in women.  It goes rancid easily, so keep in the fridge.

Dates~I use dates as a sweetener and as a binder in my bars, as well as chopped in our morning cereal.  There are so many good reasons to add dates to your diet...mainly for their high fiber content, the vitamins and minerals they contain, and how quick they can give you an energy boost when you need it.

Blue Agave~I use this instead of white sugar.  It has a low glycemic index, meaning it has less of an effect on blood sugar. It is way sweeter than sugar, so only small amounts are needed.  I use it in my bars, cookies, or drizzle over oatmeal.

Hemp Protein Powder~an excellent source of plant based protein that is super rich in minerals, essential fatty acids, and amino acids. So basically you will be in a great mood while getting the nutrition your body needs.

Hemp Seeds~these have a great, mildly nutty flavor, and are great sprinkled on salad, or in yogurt.

Almond Milk~I use almond milk for everything from drinking, adding to our morning "cereal", moistening bars, and to mix with my Vega powder for a meal replacement.  I buy unsweetened for most of my needs, but I also buy "original" which is lightly sweetened.  My kids all love the vanilla and chocolate options, and the added health benefit of getting extra dairy out of their systems has been amazing...Forget about the milk campaign that tells you 'milk does a body good'....I'll follow up with that at some point in a future post.  Promise.

Chia Seeds~This is a MUST HAVE for me.  I could go on and on about the benefits of chia seeds in your diet...and I'm sure I will at some point.  I drink them in water with a squeeze of lemon or lime {aka, "chia fresca"} using a straw...you will thank me when you don't have tiny seeds stuck to your face if you drink them without one.  You can also sprinkle them on salads, add them to bars, or make "puddings" with them, since the seeds create their own gel when soaked in water. 

In a nutshell, chia seeds are high in fiber, they contain Omega-3 fatty acids, they're gluten free, stabilize blood sugar, and can help "clean out your insides"...absorbing and getting rid of toxins in the body....keeping the pipes clean.  They do not go rancid, so you can keep them on the counter, unlike flaxseed.

Nutritional Yeast~a new addition for me, it is a great way to add minerals and protein to your diet.  It's also gluten free.  Sprinkle it on popcorn, veggies....really anything you would normally add cheese to.  It has a cheesy/nutty taste, and packs a great nutritional punch.



Nutritional Yeast



Yerba Mate~this tea, rich in antioxidants, enhances your ability to focus, and have sustained energy during physical activity.  It contains caffeine, but doesn't have the same let-down response you might have from drinking coffee or a soda drink.  I use this by cutting open the tea bags, and adding it to homemade sports gels I make for my husband during races {thank you, Brendan Brazier of Thrive}, or training. I've also added it to homemade sesame crackers, another Thrive recipe. 

I'll follow up with recipes soon.  Until then, have a great day!

{Jenn}

Breakfast "Cereal"

Good Morning!

Ok, you have heard me talk about the Thrive books ~ here is the first recipe I tried as I began to include those new pantry ingredients in my everyday life. 

At first you might feel like you are swimming in muddy waters, because you will have to pick up some new ingredients that you may not have in your pantry yet~but that is okay.  Change is good.  This is not painful...just go to the store with a list, and you will be fine.  There are people working in the store who are nice...they will help you find your stuff.  Promise.  Once you start eating more in the "new way", it will become old hat, and you won't feel weird buying hemp anymore...you know, the legal stuff......

Every morning, during the week, my husband and I eat the same thing {sometimes on the weekends we have eggs or something...}.  There can be slight variations, of course, but sticking to a "no-brainer" kind of meal for breakfast is key for me.  I don't want to think about much in the morning~I'm trying to deal with 3 kids, and that's enough.  If I don't plan in advance, I will make a crummy choice or not eat at all.  Both options are just not good, and will leave me hunting for chocolate...

Routine = no thinking {good}

Making choices with my eyes closed while trying to think in the morning = {bad}



Routine is good.  Do yourself a favor, and plan.  Below is our breakfast cereal, adapted from Brendan Brazier's book, THRIVE The Vegan Nutrition Guide to Optimal Performance in Sports and Life.  We don't always have every ingredient on hand, but we do have definite staples in our pantry now, so I will give you what we have created from the original recipe in the book.  This is what we have come up with from the book recipe,  "Ginger Pear Cereal". 

Once you understand the general components of putting this together, you can add/delete ingredients easily, as we have, and enjoy the benefits of a supercharged breakfast.  The protein, fiber and energy will keep you going, and you won't feel hungry in an hour. 

Another thing...you are not going to want to chop up this stuff every morning...don't add something else to your morning list.  My husband and I make a 5 pound container of this, and keep it all chopped up and ready to go in the fridge.  It keeps beautifully~all you have to do is scoop it out into your bowl, and pour a little almond milk on it, and eat it. 

See?  No thinking for like 2 weeks.  Then you will need to make it again....

Morning Apple Cereal

• 1~5pound bag of gala apples {or pears} chopped

• 1c Organic ground flax seed
• 1c Hemp protein powder
• 1/2c Carob powder {or cocoa powder} *carob is optional, give a nice taste, though
• 22 {approximately} Medjool dates, chopped
• 1c sliced almonds {or whatever kind of nut you like}

Step 1: Chop everything up...apples, dates..

Step 2: Mix everything else into bowl with the chopped apples and dates.

Step 3: Stick it in the fridge and stop thinking about breakfast for about two weeks.  Yes, it's a big container, but if you don't want to make as much as we do, just chop a few apples, a few dates, and sprinkle on a few Tbs of each of the dry ingredients to get the same result.  Add milk, and enjoy!

Give it a try...you will love it!

Have a great day!

{Jenn}