Element Bars

I have to let you guys in on a little secret: they're called Element Bars, and they are custom whole food bars. Yes, you heard me right... custom, meaning you create your own. These bars are seriously the greatest idea ever. You start with your choice of 5 different cores (crispy, chewy, oaty, fruit & nut, datey), add your choice of fruit (like bananas, blueberries, coconut, etc.), and then pretty much any kind of nut you would like can be added. Next are the sweets (agave, honey, brown rice syrup, maple syrup, etc.), and then you have the option of adding a boost, such as protein, immunity or fiber. To top it off, you get to name your bar, and store it so that people can order it in the future. How cool is that!?

The "GSW Real Food" bar was the bar my mom and I customized and ordered ourselves. It has flax, blueberries, chewy core, and it's delicious. 

A pack of these bars also came in my order. I love these because they are smaller, which makes them perfect for breakfast, they are packed with protein, and they're only 160 calories - the perfect start to your day. 

As you can see, the ingredients are all natural - no preservatives, artificial flavors, high fructose corn syrup, hydrogenated oils, or anything you can't pronounce is added to the bars. It doesn't get much healthier than that. The fact that these bars are completely customizable gives them an A+ in my book. Make sure you check out the Element Bars website for more info, or email me if you would like to order some!

KALE & BROCCOLI QUINOA

And I'm at it again - another Quinoa, gluten-free recipe! I feel like I'm always trying to find new ways to eat Quinoa because it is so healthy, gluten-free of course, and just a great addition to any diet. I've also been attempting to add Kale into my diet more frequently, but I don't love it raw, so I figured why not try it in this recipe? This one is great to incorporate some healthy veggies, without being too overdone. It was pretty darn delicious, and with a little extra cheese, this meal hit the spot.

The first thing I always do is gather all the ingredients and figure out which will take more time to cook so that I'm not frantically running around trying to put the recipe together as some things get cold. 

Cook the quinoa first - it takes the longest, and then it's ready to go as soon as your vegetables are ready. I used 1/2 cup dry quinoa and one cup water. Using the instructions, you want to bring to a boil in a medium pot, and then put it on low heat until all the moisture is absorbed by the quinoa. Once it is cooked, stir a bit to fluff it up, and add it to a mixing bowl. 

While the quiona is cooking, I chopped half of a red onion, and sauteed it in some olive oil over medium/high heat. Just make sure you do not burn the onion (it'll turn brown and soggy, and just wont taste as good). A good way to tell that it is cooked is when the onion turns translucent. A great alternative to use instead of regular olive oil is garlic flavored olive oil. It makes the recipe extra flavorful. Once the onion is cooked, add the garlic (2 cloves or a bit more) straight to the pan.  I use this much garlic even if I use the garlic flavored olive oil. I'm a garlic lover. To add the garlic, I used a grater and grated it right over the onion. Stir for a minute and then add in 1/3 cup of chicken broth.

While the onion was cooking, I was chopping up the broccoli florets and kale pieces. After you add the garlic pieces to the onion, you want to add the broccoli and kale to the mix pretty immediately before the onion and garlic overcook. Cook everything together for about 5-10 minutes, stirring on occasion just to keep everything mixed together. Next, add some salt and pepper (how ever much tastes good to you really). I'm a big salt lover, so I would probably add more than normal.

Once the veggies are cooked, add them to the bowl of quinoa and stir everything together well. Finally, add the Parmesan cheese (the original recipe called for garnish, but I of course added at least 1/3 cup... and then some once it was served). I then stirred everything together again to make sure the cheese was mixed thoroughly. Finally, serve it on up! You can also add a tiny bit of lemon juice over top if you wish.

And there you have it: Kale & Broccoli Quinoa. Easy, fast, healthy and delicious. A common theme I like to use recipe-wise since I'm always in a hurry, usually eating late, and don't like to spend too much time in the kitchen. I even had some leftovers for the next day. I will definitely be trying this recipe again soon. 

Ingredients:

- 1/2 cup dry quinoa (and corresponding water amount - see individual package for instructions)

- about 2 tbsp olive oil or garlic flavored olive oil

- 1/2 chopped red onion (small/medium sized onion)

- 2 cloves garlic, grated

- 1/3 cup chicken or vegetable broth

- 1 large head of broccoli, cut into florets

- 1 large bunch of kale, leaves removed from stems and broken into bite sized pieces

- 1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese (or less... depending on how much you like cheese - original recipe called for cheese as a garnish)

- lemon juice, as desired

*recipe adapted from 

Carla's Confections

xx

DP

MY POST WORKOUT SMOOTHIE

My go to workout smoothie is a delicious as it is healthy. You can really do any assortment of fruit that you want, but I love the mixture of blueberries, raspberries and strawberries. Another great option is blackberries. Also, if you use a frozen banana, it makes the smoothie so much creamier. Not sure how freezing a banana does this, but it's definitely worth a try. Just make sure you peel the banana before putting it in the freezer (I know, stupid mistake, but I've done it!). I always throw in a protein powder, because as I named the post, it usually is my post workout smoothie. This

Nuskin

 My Victory Protein Boost is incredible - healthy, natural, gluten free, lactose & soy free... the benefits are endless. Contact me if you're interesting in learning more or ordering.

Take all the fruit (about 1/4 to 1/2 cup of each type), the full banana, the appropriate measurement of protein powder, about a tablespoon or two of chia seeds, and throw it all in a blender. I then add enough almond milk to cover the top of all the ingredients. I prefer unsweetened vanilla almond milk because it doesn't have as much sugar, and you cannot taste the different when it is in a smoothie.

Blend it all up, and you've got your delicious, post workout smoothie!

Ingredients:

- about 1/4 cup raspberries

- about 1/4 cup strawberries

- about 1/4 cup blueberries

- about 1.5 cups of almond milk

- about 2 Tbsp of chia seeds

- 2 scoops of protein powder

- 1 full banana