Water and snacks and a Recipe for Cocoa Bites

So, for the first night of our class on healthy living and whole food we're talking about water and snacks.  There's a lot of differing opinions about how much water you should drink each day, 8 glasses for most people is not enough.  I typically drink 5 water bottles a day (23.6 oz) which is almost 120 oz, so that's about an ounce per pound for me.  That's in addition to any tea, coffee, or smoothies that I might have during the day and I still get dehydrated sometimes, especially during the summer.

As for snacks, my friends laugh at me because I always have some kind of a snack in my purse.  I find that most people end up eating something unhealthy or going through a drive through because they're starving and don't have a snack with them.  If I don't have access to a frig my favorite go to's are Kind bars or Larabars.  They're gluten free, have a very short ingredient list and are very convenient.  If you're looking for an easy, home made snack both of these are perfect.  (The picture is of the cocoa bites)

Peanut Butter Balls

Ingredients:

1 c oatmeal

2/3 c unsweetened coconut flakes

1/2 c almond butter or peanut butter

1/2 c ground flax seeds or wheat germ

1/2 c chocolate chips

1/3 c honey

1 Tbsp chia seeds

1 tsp vanilla or almond extract

Instructions:

Mix together honey, nut butter, vanilla, and chia seeds.

Add the oatmeal and flax seeds or wheat germ. Roll in coconut or chocolate chips. Enjoy.

Cocao Bites

Ingredients:

1 cup raw seeds or nuts of choice (I used sunflower, flax seeds, and walnuts)

1/4 cup cacao or cocoa powder*

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 tsp sea salt

1 cup medjool dates, pitted and chopped

1-3 tbsp water (I used 3)

1/4 cup cacao nibs or chocolate chips*

cocoa powder, sesame seeds, or shredded coconut, optional for coating

Instructions

Place seeds/nuts in a food processor, and process until finely ground. Pulse in cocoa, vanilla, and salt.

Add in the chopped dates and water, 1 tablespoon at a time until the dough comes together nicely.

Process until all ingredients are distributed evenly.

Pulse in the cacao nibs or chocolate chips.

Roll pieces of the dough into small, tablespoon-sized balls. Optional: roll them in the cocoa powder, shredded coconut, sesame seeds or any other toppings of choice. Refrigerate or freeze for about 30 minutes before serving. Enjoy.

*Cacao powder and cacao nibs are vegan and raw

Recipe of the week: Post workout smoothie

I love smoothies and tried this combo a couple of weeks ago when I had finished a monster leg workout at the gym followed by a Bodyrock.tv workout. Research suggests that chocolate milk is a better post workout drink than almost anything else. Last year when I was trying to help my son put on some weight for football every night after practice I made him something like this minus the nut butter and he gained 20lbs of muscle and 2 inches in about 8 weeks. Let me know what you think, I think this one tastes like everyone’s favorite candy…peanut butter cups. (I usually use almond milk but you can also use coconut milk, when I make them for my son I use 2% milk).

8 oz milk
1 scoop protein powder (whatever your favorite is)
1 Tbsp unsweetened dark cocoa powder
1 Tbsp peanut butter (or almond butter)
a hand full of ice

Blend in the blender until its frothy and enjoy!

Recipe of the week: Candy Bar Cookies

What are you going to do with all that leftover Halloween candy?  Make cookies of course!  This recipe calls for mini Snickers bars but I'm sure the snack size cut into 3 pieces would work.  You can also use Milky Way, Reeses, Baby Ruth, Twix....whatever you like.  I don't make these very often because they're not very healthy, but once in a while won't hurt.  Enjoy!


Candy Bar Cookies
1 cup softened butter
1 cup creamy peanut butter
1 cup sugar
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 tsp. vanilla
1 egg
3 cups flour
1 tsp.baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
60 snickers miniature candy bars
chocolate glaze (recipe below)


Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit.  In large bowl beat together margarine or butter, peanut butter, sugar and brown sugar until fluffy. Add egg and vanilla. Combine flour, baking powder and baking soda then add to peanut butter mixture, beat until combined.  For each cookie shape a rounded Tbsp of dough around a candy piece, forming a ball. Place on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake @ 350 for 15 mins, cool on rack.  After they're cool drizzle with glaze.


Chocolate glaze:
2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tbsp milk
add additional milk 1 tsp. at a time
mix all ingredients together