Collagen Boosted Hot Chocolate

They say that chocolate is the best carrier of any medicine + I must say I agree! Add chocolate to anything + it will always taste great going down.

We love making chocolate elixirs on cozy winter evenings. It’s a great way to get in our collagen, medicinal mushrooms + more! Did you know that some species of mushrooms have medicinal properties?! Several are also adaptogens, meaning they help your body adapt to stress. Adaptogens increase the body’s resistance to stressors, including physical, emotional, chemical + environmental. Cool right?!

Choose This, Not That: Salad Dressing

how to choose a healthy salad dressing

Salad dressings can liven up a meal and make veggies/salads more tolerable BUT most are loaded with:

• inflammatory omega-6 fats (i.e. canola oil, soybean oil)
• added sugar
• high fructose corn syrup
• artificial sweeteners
• artificial preservatives
• artificial colors and flavors
  
  

To learn more about how these additives can impact your health, check out this A to Z Food Additive Glossary.

Instead of typical dressings like Hidden Valley Ranch or Kraft Thousand Island, try the homemade recipe below or either of the healthier brands pictured above. Primal Kitchen is my go-to — their Green Goddess dressing is delicious!

Creamy Avocado Hemp Dressing

Delicious and healthy salad dressing recipe

• 1 ripe avocado
• ⅓ cup hemp seeds
• ⅓ cup extra virgin olive oil
• ½ lemon (squeezed)
• 2 garlic cloves
• ½ cup fresh basil

1. Combine all ingredients into a food processor or blender and blend completely. Enjoy!

Salad

American

homemade dressing, salad dressing

What is your favorite homemade dressing recipe?! Share below!

Homemade Gummies

I posted this in my Instagram stories the other day and tons of people asked for the recipe so, here it is! Who else loves gummies? I feel like they are so nostalgic of the 90s. Unfortunately, gummies typically contain:

• artificial flavors
• artificial colors  (yellow 5, blue 1, red 40, yellow 6 and titanium dioxide)
• high fructose corn syrup
• other ingredients

When there are questionable ingredients where I’m unsure of the safety (or even just what the heck it is) I love utilizing this Food Additive Glossary. I am all about making healthy swaps when possible, and I’ve found that this simple recipe is a great way to do that!

These make great snacks for little ones, and will be perfect for a Valentine’s Day treat! Additional benefits of making gummies on your own include:

• utilizing a healthier sugar source
• includes real fruit
• gelatin sourced from healthier animals (you are what you eat)
• ZERO artificial ingredients that your body can’t recognize
• can customize the shapes!

Matcha Latte Recipe and Benefits

The chilly weather over the past week has got me sipping all kinds of warming beverages, from hot water with lemon to an old favorite, matcha tea. In addition to its soothing taste, this beautiful green powder is a total powerhouse superfood. In fact, Japanese tea farmers have been growing it for over 1,000 years to obtain its health benefits! This type of tea is unusual in that the whole leaf is ground and consumed, as opposed to conventional green tea where the plant is simply seeped in water.

Yep! It’s Veggie Chili

This is one of my favorite recipes from my 21 Day Transformational Nutrition Cleanse. Chili is a wonderful option when you are looking for a quick, simple, nutritious recipe. You can load in lots of veggies and have enough to serve a family or have leftovers for the next day!

• 3 ears corn (or 10oz bag of frozen corn)
• 1 ½ cups cooked kidney beans (or 15oz can, rinsed and drained)
• 4 large tomatos (diced)
• 1 large green bell pepper (diced)
• 1 large red bell pepper (diced )
• 1 medium sweet onion (diced)
• 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic (minced)
• 2 Tbsp sea salt (Celtic is one of the best types)
• ½ Tbsp chili powder
• 1 tsp cumin
• ¼ tsp cayenne pepper
• ¾ cup high quality protein (grass-fed groud beef, ground turkey) (OPTIONAL)

1. Heat a large pot over meadium heat and add the oil and onion. Sauté for 3 minutes.

2. Add the corn, garlic, cumin, salt, chili powder and cayenne pepper. Sauté for another 4 minutes.

3. Add the tomatoes and peppers and cover pot.

4. Turn heat to love and simmer for ~30 minutes.

5. Add more salt to taste and enjoy!

Ways to Upgrade Your Breakfast & 6 Healthy Recipes

Walking through the breakfast isle in the store, I can’t help but think, this is what America is serving our youth…breakfast cereals laden with sugar, artificial flavors and colors, and highly processed white flour with virtually no nutritional value aside from the vitamins and minerals added back in after the fact. Unfortunately even those are minimally beneficial as fortified vitamins and minerals are rarely added in a form our body can easily digest.

Granola bars, toaster waffles, brown sugar and cinnamon instant oatmeal — these are all in the same category. They are highly processed “franken-foods” (thanks Dr. Mark Hyman) with little to no fiber, healthy fats, or protein. When protein, fat and fiber is removed, foods become less filling, resulting in a higher than desirable intake. This process also increases the speed of digestion, resulting in higher blood glucose levels.

Growing up I would live off these foods for breakfast (though add toaster strudel into the mix). Now, with the obesity rates rising and over 52% of the U.S. adult population having either prediabetes or type 2 diabetes, I am here to provide you some better options!

Healthy, Dairy-Free Eggnog! (AKA Banananog)

This time of the year we are bombarded with sugar overload! You can only resist turning down unhealthy sweets for so long (or maybe not at all). Rather than inflicting hyperglycemia, bloating, fatigue and food remorse secondary to 2-3 long weeks of gluttonous feasting, I prefer find healthy alternatives.

This eggnog recipe is a fun twist on the typical sugar loaded version. It has no added sugar and has great nutritional value. Bananas are an excellent source of prebiotics (the food for probiotics), are great for digestion, have high levels of vitamin B6, and contain nutrients to help lower blood pressure.

Coconut is loaded with healthy fats, particularly medium chain triglycerides, which can be used as a quick source of energy and to promote weight loss.

*This recipe serves 4

INGREDIENTS

• 4 bananas
• 3 cups coconut milk
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

*Note: For a creamier recipe, opt for full-fat coconut milk

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Add bananas, coconut milk, and vanilla extract to a blender
2. Blend until creamy
3. Pour into 4 serving glasses, and sprinkle nutmeg on top
4. Enjoy!

*Optional (but more fun): add a splash of rum to make it an adult beverage

Need some inspiration? Chocolate Covered Katie is a healthy dessert blog with alternatives to almost any sweet treat!

What are your favorite healthy desserts? Share below!

Recipe courtesy of the Institute for Transformation Nutrition

Matcha Latte Recipe and Benefits

The gloomy weather over the past week has got me sipping all kinds of warming beverages, from hot water with lemon to an old favorite, matcha tea. In addition to its soothing taste, this beautiful green powder is a total powerhouse superfood. In fact, Japanese tea farmers have been growing it for over 1,000 years to obtain its health benefits! This type of tea is unusual in that the whole leaf is ground and consumed, as opposed to conventional green tea where the plant is simply seeped in water.

Health Benefits

• METABOLISM BOOSTING. It contains a powerful antioxidant, EGCG, which is known to boost metabolism. One cup of matcha has 137 times the amount as a conventional cup of green tea.
• ANTI-CANCER. One bowl of matcha contains as many antioxidants as 10 cups of green tea.
• STRESS RELIEF. It is high in L-theanine, an amino acid helpful in reducing stress and lowering blood pressure.
• DETOXIFYING. For several weeks before the matcha plant is harvested it is shaded from the sun. This forces the plant to compensate for the lack of light by producing extra chlorophyll, a potent detoxifying compound that binds to toxins in the blood.

In addition to these incredible benefits, I also love matcha because it gives me steady energy without the jitters and, when prepared such as below, it’s filling and will help satisfy sugar cravings!

Collagen Matcha Latte Recipe

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup water
• 1 cup unsweetened almond or
  coconut milk
• 1 scoop collagen (optional)
• 1 tbsp coconut butter
• 1 tsp matcha
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp honey

INSTRUCTIONS

• Heat the water and milk together in a pot
• Blend, sip, enjoy!

*To make an iced matcha latte, add a cup of ice instead of heating up the water and milk.

Have you tried matcha before? How was it prepared?

2 Ingredient Banana Pancakes

Over the years, as I started paying more attention to food labels and limiting processed foods, pancakes were on of the foods I started making homemade rather than buying a mix. Unfortunately, top brands are most often made with highly processed white flour, sugar, dextrose (aka more sugar), unhealthy oils (soybean, palm, canola),  and have very little, if any, fiber.

My favorite part about these pancakes is that they only have two main ingredients and can be made in a matter of minutes! They are also very easy to customize by adding blueberries, chia seeds, nuts, cinnamon, cacao powder or dried coconut. Additionally, since the banana gives them a natural sweetness, minimal syrup is needed.

INGREDIENTS

INSTRUCTIONS

-2 eggs
– 1 banana (I typically make this recipe when my bananas are about to go bad as that is when they are the most sweet!)
– Optional ingredients to add to batter: cinnamon, cacao powder, coconut flakes, chia seeds.

– Top with: berries, nuts
– Drizzle with: honey, pure maple syrup

1. Mash banana in a bowl using a fork.
2. Add 2 eggs and scramble together with the banana.
3. Add optional ingredients and mix together.
4. Cook pancakes on preheated griddle or large pan for 2-3 minutes or until bubbles form.
5. Flip and cook and additional 2-3 minutes until they are done in the center.
6. Enjoy!

NOTE: I prefer to use coconut oil on the pan as it is stable at high temperatures and adds great flavor to the pancakes.