Homemade KIND Bar Recipe - Dark Chocolate with Nuts and Sea Salt

Wednesday, March 16, 2016


One of my favorite daily treats are KIND Bars. They are low in sugar, tasty and hit the spot for an afternoon chocolate indulgence without taking me off track of my eating plan. They make the perfect breakfast on-the-go (who doesn't love chocolate for breakfast?!) or afternoon purse snack when I'm out running errands. And they are 21 Day Fix friendly!

They're a bit pricey and seem to use basic ingredients, so I thought, why not make them and see if it's worth the effort? These can be made for about 44 cents a bar, whereas you'll pay around $1 a bar at Costco (and not always get your favorite flavor) or $1.49 at Trader Joe's. 

So I hopped onto TheYummyLife, a food blog I love, and tried out Monica's recipe.

I anxiously awaited by husband's reaction as he bit into one...

"Whoa! These are AMAZING!" I followed his lead and tried one and, I have to say, I was not disappointed! These bars taste BETTER than the original in both of our opinions. They even top his all-time favorite homemade granola bar from a high-end boutique hotel in La Jolla. 

My 3-year-old gobbled one up and said, "Thanks for dessert, mom!"

I will definitely make these again, they weren't hard to make, especially now that I've made them once. In the future, I will make a double batch and keep them in the freezer.



These are gluten-free and can be made vegan, as well. 


Homemade KIND Bars - Dark Chocolate with Nuts and Sea Salt

Servings: 20 bars
Prep time: 20 minutes
Cook time: None if nuts roasted, or 10 if roasting nuts
Container equivalents per serving: 1 blue, 1 tsp


Ingredients:
FOR NUT MIXTURE:
  • 2 cups whole roasted unsalted almonds
  • 3/4 cup whole roasted unsalted peanuts
  • 3/4 cup roasted walnuts, chopped (I was out of walnuts so subbed in cashews)
  • 1/2 cup puffed millet or rice
  • 1 tablespoon flaxseed meal


FOR SYRUP:
  • 1/2 cup honey (sub out for all brown rice syrup to make it vegan)
  • 1/3 cup brown rice syrup
  • 3/4 teaspoon sea salt, divided
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla

FOR CHOCOLATE DRIZZLES:
  • 1 cup dark chocolate chips (use Enjoy Life brand for vegan version)
  • 1 tablespoon vegetable, grapeseed, or coconut oil


Directions
Grease/spray large bowl, 9x13 baking sheet/pan, wooden spoon or rubber spatula. Set aside.

IF NUTS AREN'T ALREADY ROASTED:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spread nuts  on large baking sheet and bake for 10 min. until lightly toasted and fragrant. 

Add  toasted nuts to large bowl. Add puffed rice/millet and flaxseed meal. Stir to combine; set aside.

In 1-1/2 or 2 quart saucepan, combine honey, rice syrup, 1/4 teaspoon of salt, and vanilla over medium-high heat. Cook, stirring frequently, until mixture reaches 260 degrees (hard ball stage) on a candy thermometer. Immediately, pour mixture over nut mixture, stir until evenly coated. Quickly transfer to greased/sprayed 9x13 pan, use hands to spread mixture evenly in pan; press the mixture to close in holes and distribute evenly all over the pan. Using bottom of greased/sprayed drinking glass to tap and compact mixture in pan. Sprinkle top with 1/2 teaspoon sea salt. Let cool 20 minutes. 

While still slightly warm, invert pan on cutting board and tap until mixture falls out in one piece. Cut into 20 bars. I cut them to weight about 40 grams each, as that's the weight of KIND bars. (If they cool too much and become too hard or brittle to cut easily, put in warm oven for 1-2 minutes to soften; proceed with cutting.) Allow bars to cool completely before proceeding with chocolate drizzles. 

FOR CHOCOLATE DRIZZLES: Add chocolate chips and oil to microwave safe bowl. Cook on high power in 20 second intervals, stirring each time, just until last chips melt into mixture (approx. 60 seconds total). Use fork or squeeze bottle to drizzle chocolate over nut bars. Let cool until chocolate hardens.

STORAGE TIP: I wrapped mine burrito-style in parchment paper and put them in the freezer, where they can be left for probably a month or so (although they'll never last that long before being eaten!). They can be left for a week in an airtight container at room temperature. 




 So what do you think? Are they worth the effort? I'd love to hear your thoughts!






How to Improve the Health of Your Entire Family

Friday, March 11, 2016

Two years ago, a visit with the doctor revealed that my husband had high cholesterol. Not alarmingly high, but high enough he needed to make a change. Our life was already so jam-packed full that he tried to eat better but it still wasn't enough. So he decided to start going to the gym again.

Being the amazingly supportive wife I am, I would get resentful when he would leave me with the kids for a couple hours on Saturday and Sunday to go to the gym. And then I would feel guilty for giving him attitude because he was trying to take care of himself. I wanted him to be healthy, but I hated that it was taking a huge chunk out of our weekend together. It was a no-win situation.

One of the biggest blessings of my fitness journey is something I didn't expect. Because, although I was the one who signed up for a challenge group, it wasn't just me who lost weight and became more fit. My husband benefited from this, too. He lost twenty pounds and his cholesterol came down to a healthy range by simply following the program I was on.

And really, it was easy. I prepped my meals...I prepped his. I worked out and asked him to join me....he joined me. As busy as we are, it really wasn't hard. We just got up 30 minutes earlier than we normally would, knocked it out, and then felt good about ourselves the rest of the day. By eating clean, whole foods, we were able to eat delicious, healthy food and never be hungry. The weight came off quickly, which made it all the more motivating to keep going!


Dying after Cardio Xtreme! 
As women we have a lot of influence in the home. If we want our families to be healthier, it starts with us. Whether that means reading a book on clean eating, taking family walks after dinner, joining a challenge group or preparing healthy lunches for your kids, the small choices you make will steer your family one way or another. We have the privilege of being a catalyst for change in our families, which I see as a great opportunity!

When you are living a healthy lifestyle, it will trickle down to your husband and children. If you want your family to be healthier, start with yourself. They will follow your lead. There are so many tasty and healthy recipes, and so many options for quick workouts, that it's really not hard. Getting over the mental obstacle of thinking you can't do it is the hardest part.

So start with one small change tomorrow. It doesn't have to be drastic! Have fruit with your sandwich instead of chips. Have celery sticks and peanut butter instead of crackers. Drink your coffee black or with cinnamon and unsweetened almond milk instead of creamer. Once you've made that change a habit, move onto something else. These seemingly small and insignificant changes will add up over time and will equal a healthier, happier you and family.


Another Post-Workout Sweatie Selfie

I'm so glad we found an alternative to my husband's weekend warrior gym escapades. Our workouts are sometimes the only time we spend together all day. When that alarm goes off in the morning, we're tired and have crazy hair. But we motivate each other, throw our workout clothes on, run downstairs and hit play. We laugh at each other and tease each other throughout the workouts. It's a ritual that we really enjoy now. So when the weekends roll around, not only do we enjoy more leisurely time together, we're both healthier and happier.

Tired and Overweight? - It’s Not Your Fault & How to Change It

Friday, March 4, 2016

For years, I’d struggled with vague symptoms and didn’t know why:




When I was diagnosed with Hashimoto's hypothyroidism, I felt relieved and hopeful. Finally I’d be motivated to be the person I always dreamed of and live without anxiety. Finally I was going to lose weight and feel amazing again!

I enthusiastically filled my Synthroid prescription and started taking it as ordered. 6 weeks went by and I lost a couple pounds, but I still couldn’t shake all the hypothyroid symptoms I was having. 

“I must still need a higher dosage,” I thought to myself. A trip to my doctor, a well-respected endocrinologist, revealed that my labs had come back as normal. According to him, I was fixed! My doctor seemed puzzled that I wasn’t equally pleased with the results. 

“If my labs are normal, why am I still having symptoms? Is there anything else I can do?” I asked. 

I was hopeful he would be able to point me in the right direction of dietary alterations, supplements, etc. But alas, he had nothing for me. He said the medicine had corrected the problem. It must be something else. 

I felt powerless. My optimism was defeated. I had been looking forward to a new chapter in life. One filled with energy, a faster metabolism, clearer thinking. But these hopes were dashed in an instant. I had been told I was “better.” 

I didn’t know what to do. But I knew I had to do something. Being the book lover I am, I did what I usually do when I have a problem: I find a book on the topic at hand. 

As I Googled my way around the literary world, I stumbled across a book called Stop The Thyroid Madness. It immediately spoke to me. I wasn’t the only one in this situation. In fact, far from it! There were so many other thyroid patients just like me. Patients who were told their labs were normal, so their complaints must be due to “something else.” 

The book had a webpage with a forum full of fellow Hashimoto’s patients. What I liked about these patients was their determination. They weren’t going to accept that there was nothing else they could do. They knew there must be a better life for them and nothing was going to stand in their way. They were actively seeking to improve their health. 

Long story short, I found a wonderful physician who takes a Western AND holistic approach. She truly listened to my story, and helped me with the residual issues I was having. She put me on a gluten-free diet (I didn’t even know what that was at the time), a daily vitamin regimen, natural thyroid hormone and gave me (something I loved) a reading list full of helpful books!

I followed the regimen she prescribed for me to a “T” and it really helped. I was feeling 85% better, but I knew I had the potential to feel even better. I knew there were changes I could make in my diet and lifestyle habits. So I signed up to be in a Challenge Group under my friend and coach, Laura. 

The daily exercise programs and Shakeology gave me the extra push I needed to feel amazing! The Shakeology has done some pretty amazing things for me, which I’ll discuss in a different post. I fell in love with the Challenge Group atmosphere and signed up to be a Coach to help others on their journey. Today, I am the fittest, most motivated and confident that I’ve ever been. I feel like I could take on the world! I'm so glad I didn't give up on my health journey! 

Before and after getting my Hashimoto's under control. 
Frederick Buechner once said “The place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet.” I feel like one of the biggest reasons I was put here on earth is to comfort and encourage others. 

If you’re reading this, you’re probably feeling a lot like I was 4 years ago. I want you to know that things can get better. You can have your energy, your optimism and your metabolism back. You’re going to have to work at it, you’re going to have to make changes and it’s not going to be easy. But is it worth it? Heck yeah! If I can help just one person feel better, then it’s worth it. 

Here should be your points of action:

1) Educate yourself! There are so many great books written by experts in the field. A few are:

- Stop the Thyroid Madness (Janie Bowthorpe) - excellent online forum with patient info
- Living Well with Hypothyroidism (Mary Shomon, MD)
- The Thyroid Solution (Ridha Arem, MD)

2) Find a physician who prescribes natural thyroid hormone and uses the three-legged stool approach. This physician takes the following into consideration:
- lab values (free T3 and T4, not just TSH)
- physical exam findings 
- YOUR reported symptoms (i.e. How do YOU feel?)

3) Commit to healthy habits, which include:
- eating clean, whole foods
- exercising 4-6 times/week
- sleeping 8 hours a night when possible 
- stress reduction

If you need help with motivation or accountability, I'd love to Coach you in either FREE clean eating or traditional Challenge Group setting. I'll share meal plans, clean eating recipes, motivational tips, etc.

Write down your goals for yourself and start working on them today! You can make a change!


Mountain Man Chili

Wednesday, February 17, 2016

21 Day Fix Approved: Mountain Man Chili 

My husband is a SoCal native, but you'd never know it! He's most comfortable in a flannel, rocking a beard, Coors Light in hand. He grew up riding horses and even raised and sold a pig for 4H.

The Mountain Man and his Girls. Another vacation, another beard. 

When it comes to gastronomic fare, he's all about a good, hearty meal. And luckily for all of us in this house, his cooking skills exceed mine! A student of his Italian mama, he can concoct a delicious meal out of seemingly bare cupboards with a pinch of this and a handful of that. 

He didn't know I was snapping this, but I couldn't resist. Who doesn't love a man in the kitchen?

One of my favorites that he's taught me is what we call Mountain Man Chili. It's the perfect meal for a weeknight when you're short on time and haven't prepared anything. It's one of those few meals that everyone loves, from my husband to me to my kids (my three-year old asks for it weekly) to friends, etc. 

You can pair it with chopped bell peppers, a salad, avocado slices, or eat it on its own and it's healthy and filling. Best of all, it fits the 21 Day Fix lifestyle, so we can eat it and still reach our fitness goals. 

Without further ado, here's the recipe! 

Mountain Man Chili 

Serves : 8
Serving Size: 1.5 cups
21 Day Fix Equivalent: 1 yellow, 1 red, 1/2 green*
Cook time: 20 minutes



Ingredients:

- 2 pounds lean ground beef (grass-fed preferably)
- 2 cans kidney beans (2 14.5oz cans)
- 1 can diced tomatoes (14.5oz)
- 1 cup of your favorite salsa (we used Trader Joe's Organic Tomatillo & Roasted Yellow Chili Salsa this time)
- 1 large onion, diced
- 1/2 tsp cumin
- 2 tbs chili powder
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp oregano
- Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:

1. On medium heat, brown meat in skillet. Drain grease and set meat aside. 
2. In the same pan, cook diced onions until translucent. Add meat back into skillet. 
3. Add salsa, diced tomatoes, kidney beans and spices. Mix well. 
4. Simmer for 10 minutes. 
5. Dish up and enjoy! You can pair it with chopped bell peppers, avocado slices, a dollop of Greek yogurt on top, or eat it on its own and it's healthy and filling.

Best of all, it makes a large batch so you'll have leftovers. Guess who doesn't have to make lunch tomorrow?
Let me know what you think of it! 


Cheers!

Maryanne

* I counted the salsa and diced tomatoes as a green because they only contained veggies and spices (i.e. no sugars or other additives).