Smoothies While Traveling: Easier Than you May Think

November 23, 2016 by Sarah

So this chica is back in Ecuador for a month!! I studied abroad here 4 years ago and during that time, I found an orphanage that I completely fell in love with. I came again to care for the little babies that left a bigger impact on my heart than words can describe. I plan to volunteer at the orphanage as much as I can and do catch-up work for my photography business, which I’m so blessed to be able to do remotely. This year has been a whirlwind, and I felt like I needed a little time to get away to take care of myself, do something I love more than anything in me, and refocus to determine my goals for the upcoming year.

Well, part of taking care of myself involves food, of course! I pre-contemplated this before leaving and brought some ingredients I could use to make sure I was still consuming a nutrient-rich diet while here. Because I’ve lived here before, I was a bit familiar with what I could get my hands on and what produce I’d have access to. All in all, I’m banking on smoothies as being my daily go-to, and here is how I prepared for this:

From home, I brought:

chia seeds
hemp seeds
e3live Renew Me powder (this stuff is the absolute best and definitely worth the money!)
goji berries
stick blender and a mason jar *more detail below

(Ideas of other powders include protein, maca, ashwaghanda, any herbal powders like He Shou Wu, Reishi, Chaga)

Buying local foods:

If you know the region a bit, you may know what to expect, but even if you don’t after doing some research, you can still improvise! Being that I’m in the Andean mountains, I was hoping I’d find some local maca and cacao. Yesterday I wandered around and found some at one of the Artisan markets! I was stoked! The cacao powder also has ginger 🙂

I also found these exotic chocoalate bars, which was some extra icing on the cake!

But back to smoothies.

I knew there’d be bananas and other exotic fruits, like passionfruit, granadilla, tomate de árbol, that I could add to the smoothies so I picked up some produce today as well. If you bring some of the more expensive ingredients from home (seeds, powders, superfoods), you won’t need to spend as much while traveling. And as far as space goes, I just put them in smaller bags, and the food I brought really didn’t take up that much room. Now Ecuador is very cheap, but produce is in many other places as well. Keep this in mind when you’re trying to eat healthy. I bought everything below for LESS THAN $7.

*Equipment

As far as equipment, it definitely depends on what kind of trip you are taking. You may have a blender where you are going, and if you can, inquire at the place(s) you’re staying. When I was in Cabo San Lucas earlier this year, there was a kitchenette in the room with a blender. I took full advantage of that by making smoothies with chia and hemp seeds I brought with me. I am here in Ecuador for a month and did have a checked bag so I was able to bring this kind of thing along. Initially, I knew I wanted to bring a blender to make banana milk (because the only non-dairy milk they have here is soy milk), and I was going to bring a Shake N Take my mom gave me years back. Last minute, I decided to go with a Cuisinart stick blender and a wide mouth Mason jar instead because it’s much more powerful and better at blending and is not much bigger. It’s very, very portable and easy to clean. I’m staying in an Airbnb and have access to a kitchen, but it’s the family’s and is in a separate unit so I most likely will not be using it often.

I’ll conclude with the smoothie I made this morning!

It had water, two bananas, passion fruit, mango, tamarind, chia and hemp seeds, maca, cacao, and e3live powder! Since I don’t readily have access to a kitchen, I just rinsed the attachment from the stick blender with some water over the smoothie and then rinsed the jar with water and drank it when I was done. Then I was able to clean out the little bit of smoothie remnants that were left in the bathroom sink! It was super easy and worked really well. Unless you have a good place to do dishes, my advice is to rinse it right away so it doesn’t dry and get caked on 🙂

So there you have it! Do you have any thoughts or ideas for smoothies while traveling?! If so, leave a comment below!

3 Reasons you Need to Be Making this for Breakfast

February 26, 2016 by Sarah

Why does breakfast seem like such a nuisance for most people when it should be one of the more prioritized actions of the day? I think it’s safe to say there’s a connection between lack of time and lack of nutrition. And I’d beg to argue that it’s pretty widespread in our society. We could be making the healthiest choices at home, but instead we’re often faced with being out and about, very hungry and ready to devour the next best food-like thing in front of us. This is when we are most vulnerable to neglecting our body in regards to nutrition. Yes, sometimes good options are available when you’re out, but not only do you have the security of knowing how your food was prepared and what specific ingredients went into it, you will probably save money by just making something at home.

I know it kind of seems like a drag, but I’ve preached this time and again; eating healthy consistently has to be intentional and requires you to think ahead. It’s all about priorities; nutrition must make its way to some of the top spots on your list otherwise it will easily fall through the cracks. Breakfast is the perfect example. Here is a recipe that can hopefully provide one solution for this matter and also make you think twice about your relationship with quinoa.

Here are three reasons why this breakfast quinoa recipe can help you in your morning routine:

1 – It will make you feel your best.

This is a gluten-free, dairy-free, sugar/sweetener-free breakfast that is made with only whole, unprocessed ingredients. Unlike the majority of typical breakfast foods out there that are highly processed and laden with sugar or unhealthy fat, this is as clean as they come and will save your from feeling sick or groggy and more content and fulfilled. Besides that, it’s so very delicious, and that alone will put a smile on your face!

2 – It can power you through the day.

It’s power-packed and ready to support you; this breakfast has the perfect punch you need in the morning. There are a variety of rich nutrients that will sustain you through your daily activities. It starts with quinoa, which is not a grain like wheat, oats, barley and rye, but rather it’s in the same family as spinach, swiss chard and beets (or chenopods). Although quinoa can be used in many ways like a grain, it contains more protein, fiber and healthy fats, something that makes it stand above other grains. It also contains phytonutrients, manganese, iron, and a good amount of magnesium, which is a crucial mineral many people do not get enough of. Apples, bananas and raisins add some natural sweetness as well as their own unique nutritional profiles. A touch of lemon juice adds some tang in addition to Vitamin C. Walnuts add some more protein, fiber, healthy fats, vitamins and minerals. Cinnamon is another ingredient that is tooted for many health benefits. Shredded coconut contains healthy saturated fats and gives the dish some added texture. And lastly, goji berries! Here is a post where I go into a little more detail about this superfood.

3 – You will save time when you need it most.

I know what it’s like to get up in the morning and want to throw the easiest piece of food into your mouth… or just skipping breakfast altogether because you’re in that much of a pinch. This recipe is so perfect for your busy morning needs. You prepare it ahead of time so the flavors can marinate (trust me, this makes a difference), and it’s all ready in the fridge as you’re running out the door. Also, I’m not saying you should make an extra large portion of this, I’m saying you need to! Because of the benefits mentioned above, this is perfect for enjoying again at your next convenience. Make a double batch up the night before, enjoy in the morning and then the next morning too!

Because you so deserve to take care of yourself with a nice restorative breakfast in the morning.

So on to this recipe. I actually made this very similar one back in my early Edibly Educated days when I just had a Facebook page. Here it was 😉

So are you ready to commit to this?

Like I mentioned in the previous picture, I highly recommend soaking the raisins, walnuts, goji berries, and chia seeds (I added the coconut too, but it’s not as important) in the lemon juice and non-dairy milk like this:

Instead of waiting until the morning to combine with the quinoa, do it at night so the flavors can marinate. Also, add the sliced banana right before consuming.

Apple Cinnamon Breakfast Quinoa

Prep time

15 mins

Total time

15 mins

This power-packed breakfast is sure not to disappoint. With primary flavors from apple, cinnamon and raisins, you won't know you're consuming a dairy-free, gluten-free, sugar/sweetener-free dish!

Author: Sarah

Recipe type: Breakfast

Serves: 2-3

Ingredients

2 cups cooked quinoa
¼ cup non-dairy milk
juice from one lemon
2 tbsp shredded coconut
1-2 tbsp goji berries
1 tsp. cinnamon
handful of raisins
small handful of chopped walnuts
1 apple, chopped
1 banana

Instructions

Soak raisins, goji berries, walnuts and coconut in lemon juice and non-dairy milk for at least 15 minutes.
Combine all ingredients besides the banana and mix gently.
Let it sit in the refrigerator overnight.
Add sliced banana when ready to consume.
Enjoy!!

How to Make Your Oatmeal Work for You

January 6, 2016 by Sarah

Oatmeal is an easy go-to breakfast, and not to mention comforting on these winter days. I’d like to show you how you can amp up any ‘ol bowl of oatmeal (or hot cereal) with this one easy tip. But first, let’s talk about the different options for oatmeal or hot cereal because a healthy bowl of oatmeal usually does not start in a packet. Those instant flavored varieties tend to be laden with sugar and/or artificial flavors. I would recommend starting from scratch with some of these options:

Steel-cut oats – they take a little longer to cook but are higher in fiber
Organic rolled oats and/or oat bran – also high in fiber
Gluten free options include gluten-free rolled or steel-cut oats, quinoa flakes or organic yellow corn grits

Once you have a bowl of plain hot cereal of your choosing, it’s time for exciting part – livening it up a bit! This is my one tip that is a total time saver and ensures you are getting loads of nutrients at the start of your day:

Prepare a large bowl of add-ins (like the one below) to have on hand that you can add to your hot cereal any time you make it.

Here are many ideas of things to add to the mix:

Nuts and Seeds

Walnuts
Pecans
Almonds
Cashews
Hazelnuts
Brazil nuts
Hemp seeds
Chia seeds
Pumpkin seeds
Sesame seeds (black too, which is in the one I did!)
Ground flax seeds (show some love to those omega-3’s!)

Dried or Freeze-Dried Fruits

Currants
Blueberries
Apricots
Pineapple
Dates
Figs
Cherries
Cranberries
Raisins
Mango
Apple
Papaya
Goji berries

Other

Shredded coconut
Raw cacao powder or nibs
Cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, sea salt
Mesquite powder
Lucuma powder
Maca powder
Ashwagandha powder (more info on this here)
Dash of spirulina or chlorella powder

Making the Mix

My best advice is to make a mix of what you have on hand or what you have access to and add things in pretty equal proportions. If you absolutely love cranberries, by all means add more cranberries. Or walnuts. Or shredded coconut.

Make a mix depending on your liking, but don’t forget to add in all those little additional components that help supercharge the hot cereal – foods high in protein, fiber, healthy fats, antioxidants, vitamins and minerals.

Add as much of the mix to your oatmeal as you desire. Also, if the dried fruit isn’t enough and you want to add a bit of sweetness, add some coconut palm sugar, rapadura, sucanat or raw honey (like below) at the end.

Do you have any other ideas for add-ins? How do you like to amp up your oatmeal?

How to Set Yourself up for Smoothie Success

November 28, 2015 by Sarah

Is there anything not to love about a smoothie? Other than cleaning the blender, which I’ll get to later in the post, there is pretty much nothing better than a good, nutrient-dense smoothie.

Here are a few of my favorite pointers for how to set yourself up so that making a smoothie is very simple to do anytime! Having something that’s easy to make and healthy like this when you are hungry is dynamite.

Make sure you have ample options of frozen fruit. First line of business, always buy bananas when you go grocery shopping. Always. At least just a bunch. They are perfect for every smoothie because even if you are not a big banana person, they add substance and a subtle touch of sweetness to your smoothie. I like to get them a little green, set them out for a couple days to a week on the counter to enjoy fresh and then as soon as they start getting brown spots, throw those babies into the freezer. Peel them first, break them in half or quarters and place them in a container. I like to reuse the plastic salad container you get when you buy greens (like Earthbound).Here is a picture of our fruit bowl with the older bananas and new bananas. We’re always just adding new ones and putting the others in the freezer. If you are eating bananas and making smoothies regularly, you will go through them weekly no doubt. Also, extra frozen bananas are a super plus because then you can make banana ice cream whenever you please!Second, stock up on produce that is on sale or in season, bring it home, cut it up and place it right in the freezer. You can buy bags of frozen fruit if you’d like, but if you get what’s on sale or in season, you may save some money. Plus, you get to enjoy many different varieties. Good options of fruits to include are pineapples, mangos, peaches, pears, grapes and all kinds of berries.
Don’t forget the greens. Another always when you go to the grocery store. Always pick up at least one bunch of greens, whether it be kale, romaine, spinach, chard, collard greens, you name it, you get it. Greens can be used for so many other things than smoothies, but always having a fresh bunch of greens in the fridge will allow you to add a big, fresh handful to your smoothie anytime. Adding greens to your smoothie is a fabulous way to eat up greens that are on their way to wilting. If you don’t have any fresh greens, it’s nice to keep a green powder on hand. My absolute favorite is e3Live Renew Me! powder. I also like wheat grass powders as well. Adding fresh mint to your smoothie is never a bad idea either 😉
Start building your pantry to include seeds and superfoods. Here is our new wall pantry, and we LOVE it. It makes it so easy to grab ingredients right off the wall to go into our smoothie. Superfoods and seeds help add nutrition to your smoothies so they are power packed and filled with what you need to embrace your day. Some of my favorites include hemp seeds, chia seeds, flax seeds, goji berries, shredded coconut, black sesame seeds, spirulina, maca powder, camu camu, mangosteen, ashwagandha powder, aloe and turmeric powder. These foods take time to acquire so don’t get overwhelmed. Keep your eye out for them and buy them when you feel they are most affordable. Sometimes we just buy them in small amounts (like goji berries) or wait for them to go on sale. Either way, start getting them into your pantry.
Add fresh juice from lemons and/or limes. These not only add a little flavor to your smoothie, but they’re notorious for promoting healthy digestion and cleansing. They also provide vitamin C and A and have anti-cancer properties.
If you hate the clean up (like me), consider investing in a stick (or immersion) blender. We actually only use an immersion blender now because our regular blender broke, but we love it more! We have a stash of large ball canning jars we use to drink out of and these are PERFECT for smoothies using the stick blender. All you do is place all your ingredients in the jar with some liquid (to make the blending go a little faster), and then place the blender in there and blend until smooth. Once you are done, you simply detach the blade attachment from the motor and wash it. Yes, you only have to wash one piece. And the jar you’re using to drink your smoothie out of. Easiest clean up imaginable. We bought this Cuisinart one off Amazon and are very satisfied with it. It works like a charm.

What are your favorite smoothie tips? Anything you do to make the process a little easier?

Easy Curried Sweet Potato Hash

September 18, 2015 by Sarah

I’M BACK!

WOO!

The last month has been absolutely nuts!

First my mom got married.Then I started a new job.Then my sister got married.THEN I moved into a new apartment.I’m so glad to have things slow down a bit now even though we’re not quite all settled into the apartment. I finally made our first home-cooked meal with lots of fresh veggies from the farm market in the new place a little bit ago, and it felt oh so good. We’re also working on a pretty great pantry, which I hope to reveal once it’s all organized!

I also got the sweet potatoes for this recipe at the farm market, which was bumpin’! I hadn’t been to it in years because I haven’t lived around there, but it’s one of the biggest ones in downtown Grand Rapids, and it was packed with people. I was so enthused to see everyone there supporting our local farmers. I sure got lots of glorious groceries!

I’ve also been on a little curry kick. So here you have it: easy curried sweet potato hash.

This sweet potato hash is not only really quick and easy, but it’s delicious by itself or mixed with other foods. I don’t know about you, but I love when sweet potato is added to a dish because it gives it a subtle sweetness and a smooth texture to whatever you’re eating. You can put it with eggs and greens for breakfast or add it to any rice or noodle dish, like I did in the picture below. There is a bed of romaine and kale with the sweet potato hash, a little sweet chili sauce, rice noodles (which were reheated so that’s why they’re all broken up), and green and yellow beans from the farm market.

Easy Curried Sweet Potato Hash

Prep time

5 mins

Cook time

15 mins

Total time

20 mins

Author: Sarah

Recipe type: Side Dish

Serves: 2

Ingredients

4 small or 2 large sweet potatoes, diced (cubes or the like)
1 tbsp. coconut oil (or oil of choice)
¼-1/2 tsp curry powder
½ tsp. sea salt
coconut sugar, sprinkled to taste (I did about 1 tbsp.)
½ tsp. cinnamon
¼ onion, diced

Instructions

Dice up the sweet potatoes and onions.
Place oil in the pan and melt to cover pan.
Start sautéing sweet potatoes and onions on medium heat and add spices while mixing.
Continue mixing regularly for 15 minutes or so until the onions are translucent and the sweet potato is cooked (just try a piece). The time will vary depending on how big your sweet potato pieces are.

What would you put this sweet potato hash with?

Thanks for reading!

This is How you Can Take your Chia Pudding to the Next Level

August 7, 2015 by Sarah

Today something great happened. Banana Ice cream and chia pudding met, fell in love, and smooshed.

I’m certainly a banana ice cream and chia pudding fanatic as you may already know, but I haven’t put them together until now. And I am so glad I did. When I set out to make a batch of chia pudding layered with some fruit, I thought about making a fruit smoothie too and layering it with that. But I wanted something that was cold and more firm, and that’s when it dawned on me to add banana ice cream to it.

Chia banana ice cream pudding is what I’d like to call it.

So what kind of banana ice cream specifically?

Think more of a sorbet with this.. more fruit than banana. I went with tart fruit one, which consisted of a little bit of frozen banana, frozen cranberries and strawberries, and frozen apricots. I loved the tartness from the apricots and cranberries. I didn’t use any liquid, which made for an awesome sorbet texture. Depending on what kitchen equipment you have, you may or may not be able to do this. My Cuisinart 9-cup processor works like a charm, but it was pretty loud chopping through that frozen fruit in the beginning.

I also thought about making more of a chocolate-y banana ice cream and adding that to a chia pudding too! I don’t see that going awry so you could try that as well! I’ll report back when I get around to doing that 🙂

This treat was a success on so many levels. Here are some of the other things I did that I felt made it so enjoyable in addition to just adding the banana ice cream:

add some superfoods and spices to the chia pudding like shredded coconut, goji berries, cacao nibs or powder, carob powder, vanilla bean powder, cinnamon, allspice, powders like ashwagandha, maca, spirulina or chlorella, wheat grass, ginseng, lucuma, matcha, mesquite, camu camu, mangosteen, maqui berry
give it some crunch; add things like cacao nibs, chopped nuts or grapes
add some fresh fruit too; make your chia banana ice cream pudding a little fruit explosion by layering or just mixing in some fresh fruit – I did blueberries and halved grapes and LOVED IT!

The chia pudding was a very simple mix of chia seeds, almond milk, mashed banana, currants and cinnamon. Look below for an estimated recipe for the whole thing.

My favorite way to consume this was by mixing it all together in a bowl so that the coldness and flavor from the banana ice cream and the bits of fresh fruit could be tasted in every bite!

Berry Apricot Chia Banana Ice Cream Pudding

Prep time

30 mins

Total time

30 mins

This treat will satisfy your fruit cravings in so many ways!

Author: Sarah

Serves: 1-2

Ingredients

-Chia Pudding
2 tbsp. chia seeds
⅓ cup almond milk
1 mashed banana
dash of cinnamon
small handful of dried currants
-Berry Apricot Banana Ice Cream
small handful of frozen cranberries and strawberries
½ frozen banana
large handful of frozen apricot
-Toppings and Mix-Ins
cacao nibs
goji berries
halved grapes
fresh blueberries

Instructions

Mix the ingredients for the chia pudding and place in the fridge for at least a half hour.
Place the frozen fruit in the food processor and process until it forms a sorbet. You may need to stop it and scrape down the sides multiple times.
Add or layer the toppings and mix-ins with the banana ice cream and chia pudding.

Enjoy! Let me know if you try this and what you think of it!

Beginner’s Guide to Stuffed Energy Dates

August 1, 2015 by Sarah

So I made these quite awhile ago and never got around to posting them. I feel that they’re a little too pretty not to, so here they are!

But the only problem is that I never made a recipe for this. I actually made them and took pictures for a demonstration I was doing so I never wrote anything down because I just wanted the pictures. I know what’s in them, just not the amounts.

Buuut, I’m just going to go about this like I do with most of my beginner’s guides. I give you the ideas, you run with them.

I came across this raw stuffed dates idea and thought it was pretty rad. I really just experimented without following any sort of recipe and used inspiration from other recipes I’d seen. I also just used things I had in my cupboard, which I recommend. No need to go out and buy all sorts of stuff if you’ve got a well-stocked pantry.

Where to begin?

Start with the date. The food kind of date. As far as amounts go, it all depends on how much you stuff them, how big the dates are, how much mixture you have, and so on. My advice is to make a cup or two of the mixture and then stuff dates until you run out. Dates usually come in a container with quite a few or you can buy them in bulk. I would get at least 10-12 dates.Which variety? Doesn’t really matter. A really common and popular one to use is the medjool date because they are quite large and nice and chewy. I have also used some smaller Deglet Noor ones, and those worked fine too – they were just less sweet and can’t hold as much. The kind of date you use is dependent on your preference (sweeter, chewier, nuttier, etc.) and availability. Here is a website that talks a little bit more about different types of dates if you’d like to read about them.

Next, you’re going to want to use a food processor for best results. You could get by hand chopping and mixing all of your desired ingredients, but it takes a lot more time and the mixture may not stick to itself as well as it does when you use a food processor.

Place your choice of the following ingredients together and process until combined. It should be a chewy granola bar texture so keep in mind your wet/dry ratio. If it’s too dry, add some more ingredients from the wet category and vice versa.

Dry

Nuts and Seeds

Walnuts, pecans, almonds, cashews, hazelnuts, brazil nuts, sunflower seeds, hemp seeds, chia seeds, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, pistachios, ground flax seeds (bring on the omega-3’s!)

Powders, Spices and Other Superfoods

Shredded coconut, cacao nibs or powder, carob powder, vanilla bean powder, cinnamon, allspice, sea salt, ashwagandha, maca, spirulina or chlorella powder, wheat grass powder, ginseng, lucuma, mesquite, camu camu, mangosteen, maqui berry, reishi, turmeric

Wet

Dried Fruits – these can be soaked to help the mixture come together more

Cranberries, blueberries, goji berries, raisins, dried mango, currants, apricots, figs, and dried cherries

Other

Small amount of lemon or orange juice, drop of essential oil (like a citrus one), vanilla extract, coconut oil or manna, cacao butter, any nut/seed butter, any liquid sweetener like raw honey or maple syrup**

**As far as the liquid sweetener, I would first determine if you’re going for more of a snack or a dessert. If it’s a snack stick with a more savory/nutty/less sweet filling, but if you’d like to make more of a dessert or a treat, I’d play around with adding a little sweetener for taste if you’d like. Be careful not to add too much though, the date itself is pretty sweet on it’s own!

Like I always say, add small handfuls/spoons/dashes at a time and taste test your mixture as you go along to make sure it’s something that you’re taking a liking too.

Next is ready, set, stuff!

Slice the date on one side, remove the pit and then take a spoon or small handful of the mixture and press it into the date. I had quite a bit of the mixture so I stuffed my dates to the brim and beyond. I also think it helped balance out the sweetness of the date by adding more of the mixture.

Keep these babies stored in the refrigerator and consume within a few days for the freshest tasting stuffed dates!

This is what I put in the ones shown in the pictures:

Soaked raisins, soaked goji berries, sunflower seeds, soaked almonds, walnuts, shredded coconut, chia seeds, allspice, cinnamon, vanilla extract, and a couple cranks of sea salt

Now over to you — do you have any other ideas I’m missing? I’m sure there are more. I’d love to hear from you!

With love,

The Best Breakfast When You’re Pinched for Time

July 15, 2015 by Sarah

We all have the mornings where we get up late or spend too much time getting ready. Breakfast is sometimes the last of our priorities when this happens, but it doesn’t have to be replaced by a Starbucks stop or a run to the drive-through. This idea is perfect for those days that you didn’t save enough time for breakfast but know that a good wholesome first meal is really going to give you the energy and nutrients you need to efficiently carry out your day.

What are they?

Trail mix bowls.

This is simply a mixture of chopped nuts, seeds, dried fruit, and other superfoods that you combine ahead of time and keep in the cupboard in a sealed container. It’s best to make a pretty large bowl so it lasts awhile. This is what the dry mixture looks like:

When you’re in a rush, you can simply transfer some to a smaller bowl (with a lid) and pour your choice of milk over it. Grab a spoon and take it right with you! The longer you let the mixture soak, the juicier the dried fruits will become. If you’re in not as much of a rush, you can do what I did in the picture below. I soaked goji berries in warm water so they became nice and plump and then put those on top!

You can also slice a banana or add different powders like I did here:

The best part about these fruit/nut bowls is that they keep indefinitely in the cupboard just as any other dried fruit, nut or seed would. Keep the large bowl on hand and you’ll be happy you have it for those crunched mornings 🙂 My favorite bowls are the Pyrex glass storage set, which come with lids. If you get a set of them, you will have different sizes that are perfect for things like this breakfast. I use my pyrex bowls and lids so much!

What kinds of things to put in the trail mix??

Here are some ideas:

Nuts – almonds, walnuts, pecans, cashews

Seeds – buckwheat groats (nice and crunchy!), hemp seeds, chia seeds, ground flax seeds

Dried Fruits – currants, blueberries, apricots, pineapple rings, dates, figs, cherries, cranberries, raisins, mango, apple, papaya, goji berries

Other – coconut, cacao powder or nibs, cinnamon, mesquite powder, lucuma powder, maca poweder, ashwagandha powder, spirulina or chlorella powder, you can also add oats if you want to make it more filling!

I would do 2-4 kinds of nuts and seeds, 4 kinds of dried fruits and small amounts of anything extra. Pour just enough milk to cover the mixture when you’re ready to eat it and then enjoy!

Alright now go make up a batch so you have it on hand when you need it! 🙂

What’s your favorite breakfast when you’re in a time crunch??

I’d love to hear from you!

Beginner’s Guide to Homemade Superfood Fruit Roll-Ups

June 15, 2015 by Sarah

Okay, so I advise you to steer clear of the traditional ‘fruit’ roll-up from Betty Crocker.

Berry Berry Cool Ingredients: Pears From Concentrate, Corn Syrup, Dried Corn Syrup, Sugar, Partially Hydrogenated Cottonseed Oil, Citric Acid, Sodium Citrate, Acetylated Mono And Diglycerides, Pectin, Malic Acid, Vitamin C (Ascorbic Acid), Natural And Artificial Flavor, Color (Red 40, Yellow 5, Blue 1).

That is NOT a berry berry cool ingredient list, Betty.

Now I know these may be a thing of the past and you don’t necessarily eat them anymore, but many, many foods like Betty Crocker’s Fruit Roll-Ups are being sold all over and tons of kids are consuming them. The corn syrup, the trans fats, the ‘flavors’, the dies – they’re so prominent in candy and children’s foods these days. Not only can we ourselves avoid eating these kinds of foods, but we can also avoid giving them to our children and future children. There are infinitely better options! Including these ~~dehydrated smoothies~~ homemade superfood real fruit roll-ups. I guess you can call these ‘the adult fruit roll-up’ or ‘the improved kid fruit roll-up’.

They are made primarily from fruit, but you can also sneak in some super foods, seeds, powders and what have you to make them more nutritious!

Need a little inspiration?

I gotchu.

Start with the fruit.. bananas, pineapple, apples, melon, all kinds of berries, apricots, peaches, mango, pears, kiwi, durian, lychee, etc. You want your mixture to be primarily fruit.

If you’d like..

Add some greens or a sneaky veggie.. kale, spinach, mixed greens, chard, cucumber
Add some super foods.. spirulina, chlorella, maca, cacao, açaí, goji berries, lucuma, mesquite powder, camu camu
Add some ingredients to change up the flavor.. shredded coconut, lemon/lime juice, cinnamon, vanilla, other flavor extracts and spices
Add some seeds.. chia, ground flax and hemp are great
Add a hint of sweetness.. raw honey, maple syrup, agave, etc.

Then place it all in a blender and blend away.

You literally just make a smoothie! Don’t be scared to mess up. Just taste test as you add ingredients and start by adding a very small amount because you can always add more! Some great combinations I’ve liked are:

Piña Colada – pineapple, spirulina or chlorella, banana and coconut

Banana Power – banana, chia seeds, ground flax seeds, cinnamon, maca, mesquite

Superberry – Mixed berries, açaí, goji berries, greens, banana, pear

Tango – Mango, lemon juice, chia, strawberry, lucuma

Grab Bag (shown in the pictures) – Banana, apple, blueberry, cranberry, strawberry, vanilla bean powder, ashwagandha powder, superfood smoothie mix from Bright Earth Foods

Pour the mixture onto a Teflex sheet or wax paper and spread using a spatula so it’s about 1/8 inch thick. On a Teflex sheet, I like to pour a circle in the middle and then just move it in the air side to side, front to back so that the smoothie spreads over the sheet – it makes it a lot more even than trying to use a spatula to do it. Dehydrate at 115 for 8-12 hours (overnight works great) until dry. If you don’t have a dehydrator, you can bake them on your oven’s lowest setting on a parchment or Silpat-lined pan for 4-5 hours until dry as well. You don’t want this to bake so if your oven’s lowest setting is over 170, you may want to prop it open slightly or let it heat up to it’s lowest temperature and then turn it off and repeat every hour. Do so until it is not gooey at all when you touch it.

If you are going to use a dehydrator and you have a lot of trays you can fill, it’s nice to make up different kinds or multiple batches so you can make a mess once and have more on hand for snacking. I’ll make around a 40 oz. smoothe and fill about 5 trays. When dried, I then cut each big leather into thirds or fourths.

Do you have any other questions or ideas?! Send them my way using the comments section below 🙂 Also, let me know what you try and how you like it!

Until next time 😉

Raw Honey Flax Banana Crepes

May 24, 2015 by Sarah

Okay, so they’re more like banana fruit roll-ups.

Buuuut, crepes sounds more fun and you can utilize them like you would crepes too (the sweet kind, not necessarily the savory kind) 😉

So what can you do with these bad boys?!

Layer with fruit and eat for breakfast
Layer with homemade chocolate sauce or this chocolate hazelnut cream sauce, coconut whipped cream or banana ice cream and fruit (especially berries) for dessert
Eat alone as a perfect little snack

Raw Honey Flax Banana Crepes

Author: Sarah

Recipe type: Snack, Breakfast

Ingredients

4 bananas
½ tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. mesquite powder (optional)
2 tsp. raw honey
¼ cup water
1½ tbsp. ground flax seeds

Instructions

Puree ingredients in a food processor until smooth.
Spread out evenly on Teflex sheets or unbleached parchment paper and place in the dehydrator at 115 degrees for 8-12 hours (overnight).
Peel away crepe when completely dry and roll up or fold over.

If you do not have a dehydrator, you can try lining a baking sheet with parchment paper or a Silpat and baking it on your oven’s lowest setting for 4-5 hours. If that’s over 170 degrees, you can either prop the door open or let it preheat, turn it off and repeat every hour.

With love,