LOVE Potion Smoothie

              Love Potion #9
















Yogi's are always trying to express love and be open to love in there lives. So Valentine's Day is the perfect Yogi day. And since I am a Yogini I am finding it fun to express love in my food.

A great way to start off your day is by having a nutrition packed smoothie. And this smoothie packs nothing but LOVE!


Love Potion Smoothie

Ingredients:

1 Cup Milk -your preference-- Unsweetened Almond/Unsweetened Soy/or Skim Milk
1-2 Scoops Unsweetened Protein Powder- Try to stick with Unsweetened...you don't need all that sugar in the morning--Try to get your sugar from natural resources
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
1 tsp Cocoa Powder
1-2 Pitted Dates or 1 Tbls of Raisins
1/4 Cup Frozen Mixed Berries

If you find you want more creaminess to your smoothie add 1/2 of a banana or 1/4 of an avocado
Don't be scared by the avocado. The taste will not overtake your smoothie. But it will provide a nice creaminess and powerful nutrients to your breakfast.

The dates/raisins and berries provide the sweetness to the smoothie, but if you find you need more sweetness, try adding 1 packet or 1-2 drops of Stevia

Blend all ingredients in a blender and then begin to receive the love baby!!

Sweet Oatmeal Bake

So yummy. So easy. So few ingredients!

For my birthday I wanted to make myself something that was sweet, but had a healthy benefit for me as well. I think I hit this one right on the nose. My recipe has four main ingredients. All of the ingredients are beneficial to a good health.

Oats- high in fiber, therefore filling your belly

Banana's- high in potassium and good on your digestive system

Carrots- lower your risk of cancer, great for your eyes of course, lower your risk of heart desease, and they help nourish your skin

Dates- provides you with energy, a great fiber source, iron source, rich in vitamins: calcium, manganese, copper, and magnesium


Ingredients:

4 Cups of Oatmeal
6 Banana's
2 Carrots Shredded
1 Cup of pitted Dates
1.5 TBLS Cinnamon
1 TBLS Vanilla Extract

Directions:

In a large bowl mash banana's.

Stir in Vanilla and Cinnamon

Add oats and stir to combine

Add shredded carrots and stir to combine

Place ingredients in a 8x8 baking dish

Bake 300 degrees for 40 minutes

In a saucepan add dates and .5 cup of water and cook down on low heat for 30 minutes.

Place dates in a food processor and blend till creamy.

Place the date mixture over the top of cooled oatmeal. Cut into equal squares.

Enjoy as a nice healthy snack or dessert!

~K

a healthy cookie?

Is that possible? Why Yes!!!
These little babies are the perfect snack to satisfy a sweet tooth and give you an energy pick me up without the sugar crash and craving for more sweets!
I love recreating a recipe without sugar. If I think a recipe needs a little more sweetness I will use either stevia, brown rice syrup, maple syrup, or honey. Otherwise you won't find the white stuff in my kitchen.

You've heard this before that sugar is evil. And it's true. It causes your blood sugar to spike and you begin to crave more! It messes with your digestive system, makes you feel lethargic, makes you not fit in those skinny jeans, and the list goes on! It's not your bestfriend no matter how much it tells you it loves you and can't live without you!

In my recipe I use banana's and dates which are naturally sweet and will also give you energy.
I love this because it is a 4-5 ingredient recipe. Could you ask for anything better?! Just keep in mind this cookie isn't going to be your grandmothers mouthwatering oatmeal raisin cookie here. But it gets the job done when you want something sweet.

Banana and Date Cookies

Ingredients:

3 Banana's
12 fresh dates* (if you can't find fresh dates soak your packaged dates for about an hour or longer till they soften)
1 1/2 Cup Rolled Oats-Old Fashioned + 1/4 cup separated
1 TSP Vanilla
Optional--1 TBLS Cocao/Cocoa/ or Carob powder

*Fresh Dates--Medjool Dates are fabulous! I get mine at Whole Foods Market in the bulk section thanks to a tip from my sister. They are so fresh and soft. The packaged dates work just as well, but they aren't as lushious as the fresh dates. Ok, so I think they are pretty amazing!  And they are perfect by themselves for a treat. I think that their flavor resembles caramel a little bit. Can I just say I LOVE MEDJOOL DATES! So with that said...there will be more medjool date recipes in the near future.

Prepare:

Preheat oven 300 Degrees

Mash your banana's in a medium bowl.

Place your dates in a food processor and blend till it has a paste consistancy

Combine banana's, dates, oats, and cocoa(if using)

On a baking sheet...spread out 1/4 cup of oats on baking sheet to prevent sticking

Spoon out 2" balls on the baking sheet. With a fork gently flatten the cookies.

Cook for 30 minutes