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MMMMmmmmmm fat bombs. Balls of delicious fatty-ness. As the name suggests, these little paleo/keto-friendly balls are filled with healthy fats, some protein and a mix of omega 3s and some omega 6s, and will hold you over until your next meal - that is, if you are even hungry on a keto-style diet.
I have been experimenting with some keto-style eating recently and whipped these fat bombs up as a snack, inspired by Canadian Keto-Queen, Leanne over at Healthful Pursuit. Technically, these are not 100% keto because of the vanilla extract, which contains alcohol sugars. However, you can substitute the vanilla, or just omit it altogether. You can whip these fat babies up in 15 minutes and they require zero baking. I repeat, zero baking! Who has time for baking?! Not me, at least not unless it's the weekend. Plus, in the heat of the summer who wants to turn on the oven? Until next time, enjoy the fatty-ness! Prepared in 15 minutes | Makes 9 balls Ingredients: 1 1/2 cup almond flour 1/4 cup chia seeds 1/2 cup hemp hearts 1/4 cup + 1 tbsp melted coconut oil 1 tsp sunflower seed butter 1 tbsp cold coffee (leftover from the morning) 1 tbsp cacao powder 1 tsp ceylon cinnamon 1 tsp pure vanilla extract Instructions: 1. Place flour, seeds, hemp hearts in a mixing bowl and mix with fork. Add melted coconut oil and mix in thoroughly. 2. Add sunflower seed butter and mix in thoroughly. 3. Add remaining ingredients and mix well. 4. Form balls with ingredients, place in cookie tin or tupperware and keep refrigerated otherwise the balls might be a little crumbly. Tip: To make these balls, 100% keto, you could add an artificial sweetener. I would recommend stevia. -Nikki Don't forget to subscribe to our newsletter for outdoor fitness trips, recipes, and tips and tricks on everything Stand Up Paddle, & fitness. To Learn more about the Ketogenic Diet, visit the Healthful Pursuit blog, by Leanne Vogel, nutrition educator and Canadian-Keto Queen!
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EXTRA TIP: You can also try other goodies like raw cacao nibs, sunflower seeds, or other nuts. I also like to add a pinch of bee pollen on top of my topper!
-Nikki Don't forget to subscribe to our newsletter for outdoor fitness trips, recipes, and tips and tricks on everything Stand Up Paddle, & fitness. To Learn more about the Ketogenic Diet, visit the Healthful Pursuit blog, by Leanne Vogel, nutrition educator and Canadian-Keto Queen! Despite it's name, Buckwheat is not a grain, but is actually classified a seed. Half a cup of Buckwheat contains 6g of protein, which is actually the same protein content as quinoa. Buckwheat can also be a great gluten-free alternative.
As someone who experiences gut dysbiosis, (an imbalance of good to bad bacteria in the small intestine), I have actually found that Buckwheat sits well with me, compared to other grains that tend to cause bloating and a whole other range of symptoms that I will spare you from. So I've tried my hand at making Buckwheat granola, and it's a fun alternative to an oat-based granola. There is no added sugar in this recipe - just straight up seeds and spices. You can eat it alone as a granola - good post-workout snack, or use it as a smoothie bowl topper too! Ingredients: 2 cups of water 1 cup of raw buckwheat 1/2 cup sunflower seeds 1/2 cup of pumpkin seeds 1/4 cup of hemp hearts 1-2 TBSP of coconut oil 1-2 TBSP of Ceylon Cinnamon 1-2 TBSP of Cacao powder (optional) Option to also add other winter spices such as nutmeg, ginger, cardamom, mixed spices Option to add maple syrup or honey if you want a sweeter granola (I tend to not add sugar but eat with fruit instead) Instructions: 1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees on convection. 2. Bring 2 cups of water to a boil. Add 1 cup of buckwheat. Stir occasionally. Let simmer for 10 minutes. Drain access water. Let cool. 3. In a large bowl, mix cooked and cooled buckwheat with seeds, hemp hearts and spices. 4. Melt coconut oil over stove or microwave, drizzle over the buckwheat mixture. 5. Mix it all together in the bowl and then place on a baking sheet. 6. Bake in oven for 15 minutes, remove to stir, then place back in oven for another 10-20 minutes, removing half way through for another stir until desired crunchiness is reached. -Nikki Don't forget to subscribe to our newsletter for outdoor fitness trips, recipes, and tips and tricks on everything Stand Up Paddle, & fitness. One of my favourite foodie places in Whistler is Olives market in Function, and this recipe is inspired by them.
I also don't drink coffee for digestive reasons, and so I am always looking for a Latte alternative - Rooibos lattes are great and now this one will be another staple. More about the ingredients: Tumeric has anti-inflammatory properties, e.g. good for any kind of inflammation or bloating related to digestion. Pepper is known to help with the absorption on turmeric. Ceylon Cinnamon is a thermogenic food, which may help increase metabolism and calorie burning by enhancing thermogenesis - a process in which the body burns calories to utilize the foods just eaten - converting calories to heat. So lots of goodness in this Latte. Enjoy! Ingredients: Cup of almond milk Tbsp of turmeric Tbsp of Ceylon cinnamon Dash of pepper Dash of bee pollen or organic creamy honey Instructions: 1. Place all Ingredients in pot and whisk until reaching desired temperature. Note: I used a Nespresso milk frother, which also works wonders. -Nikki Don't forget to subscribe to our newsletter for outdoor fitness trips, recipes, and tips and tricks on everything Stand Up Paddle, & fitness.  A lot of people have a hard time with breakfast. Either they don't like it, aren't hungry in the mornings, or have the same old, same old every morning. And it's no wonder why; we've been brought up on toast and cereal for breakfast. While these aren't necessarily bad options, they aren't very balanced meals; all carbs and no protein can lead our blood sugar levels to spike, leaving us "hangry" by mid-morning.
Instead we recommend the "Complete in 3" rule at every meal: a healthy balance of protein, fibre/carbs and healthy fats. This is where the Breakfast Salad comes in. You can use the exact ingredients below or you can get creative and add other yummy goodies! Ingredients: 2 hard boiled eggs 6-8 grape tomatoes 1/4 avocado 6 grapes Sprinkle of Hemp Hearts Salt and pepper Other possible goodies might include: Roasted root veggies (beets, yams, carrots) Prosciutto Little bit of feta cheese Nuts and/or seeds Different fruit: berries, kiwi, Apple, pear Drizzle of olive oil Really the sky is the limit. The key is to hard boil a big batch of eggs on your food prep day so they are ready to go as the foundation or as the bread and butter of your Breakfast bowl, shall we say. Go ahead, get creative and eat the rainbow for breakfast! -Nikki To learn more about fitness, nutrition and a holistic approach to weight loss, visit the Fit Chicks Fitness & Nutrition Expert Program, and the Natural Weight Loss Coach program. Don't forget to subscribe to our newsletter for outdoor fitness trips, recipes, and tips and tricks on everything Stand Up Paddle, & fitness.
I have all my new clients submit a food log when they first start working with me. Often, I see store bought protein bars as morning or afternoon snacks on their food log, often without a workout prior to the snack. I think sometimes people buy and eat protein bars with a false sense of how healthy they are. While some protein bars on the market are less processed and much better than others, more often than not they are candy in disguise. Bars like Cliff and Builder's Bar are probably better suited to long outdoor hiking, biking, climbing or skiing expeditions than to a regular afternoon snack.
So I'll often suggest to my clients that they try making their own, less processed version of a protein bar. These tasty homemade protein bars are a spin off the Oh She Glows recipe. Give credit where credit is due. Here is my variation below: Ingredients: 1.5 cups of oats 1/2 cup of vega oh natural protein powder 1/2 cup of Kamut puffs (cereal) 1/4-1/2 teaspoon of Himalayan sea salt 1/2 cup of nut or seed butter (peanut, almond, etc) 1/4 cup of maple syrup 1 banana 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 4-5 ounces of unsweetened bakers chocolate Directions: 1. Mix all dry ingredients in a food processor: oats, kamut puffs, salt and protein powder. 2. Add nut butter, maple syrup, banana and vanilla to the mix. If consistency is too dry, add splash of milk and mix again. (Milk, almond milk, coconut milk - your choice). 3. Press mixture firmly into square pan and place in freezer for 10-15 minutes. 4. Melt bakers chocolate in sauce pan and drizzle overtop of bars. 5. Keep refrigerated or freeze in air tight container. Enjoy non-processed pre or post-workout protein bars! -Nikki To learn more about fitness, nutrition and a holistic approach to weight loss, visit the Fit Chicks Fitness & Nutrition Expert Program, and the Natural Weight Loss Coach program. Don't forget to subscribe to our newsletter for outdoor fitness trips, recipes, and tips and tricks on everything Stand Up Paddle, & fitness.  This Green Smoothie Breakfast Bowl is the perfect way to get your morning started! I love smoothies, but I also love to actually eat and chew my food in the morning - otherwise I often feel unsatisfied.
So I've topped this green smoothie with local North Van Cascadia gluten-free granola, almonds, banana, chia and hemp hearts - but feel free to mix it up. Smoothie Ingredients:
Blend together and enjoy! -Nikki To learn more about fitness, nutrition and a holistic approach to weight loss, visit the Fit Chicks Fitness & Nutrition Expert Program, and the Natural Weight Loss Coach program. Don't forget to subscribe to our newsletter for outdoor fitness trips, recipes, and tips and tricks on everything Stand Up Paddle, & fitness. These breakfast cookies are really easy to make: two main ingredients are oats and bananas, then toss in whatever else you fancy.
If you're hungry before a workout, these would also make great pre-workout snacks; carbohydrates for quick energy. You could also bring them along for long hikes, bike rides or on a ski day. Interestingly enough, the only time our bodies need fuel for energy to be used right away is during long duration exercise - as in long distance runs, bike rides, hikes, etc.. That's why triathletes, marathon runners, iron men, etc, will bring along quick release chews and other forms of carbohydrates to fuel the rest of their activity. Most of the time, during a one hour workout, our bodies are actually using stored fuel from previous meals - not fuel that we have just consumed 30-60 minutes prior. In any case, these are tasty, and can be healthy little treats depending on what you choose to add to them: Ingredients: 2 bananas 2 cups of oats 1 tsp vanilla Possible add ons: Trail mix Pumpkin seeds Sunflower seeds Dried cranberries, raisins or other dried fruit Slivered almonds Chocolate chips Unsweetened Coconut shreds Chia seeds Hemp seeds Cacao nibs Cocoa powder Instructions: 1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees 2. Mash bananas in bowl, add oats. Use blender to mix. 3. Add vanilla. Mix. 4. Toss in "add ons" of your choice. Mix with spoon. 5. Roll Into balls with your hands and place on cookie sheet. Gently press balls flat-ish. 6. Bake for 9-12 minutes. 7. Let cool on rack. Enjoy! - Nikki To learn more about fitness, nutrition and a holistic approach to weight loss, visit the Fit Chicks Fitness & Nutrition Expert Program, and the Natural Weight Loss Coach program. Don't forget to subscribe to our newsletter for outdoor fitness trips, recipes, and tips and tricks on everything Stand Up Paddle, & fitness.
Chocolate cravings are ubiquitous. Cravings can occur for a variety of reasons: nutritional deficiencies, emotional triggers (including stress and boredom), digestive issues and others.
But chocolate is by far the most common craving and nutritional challenge that I hear from my clients. To some, chocolate is comforting - it releases those happy serotonin hormones. But dark chocolate and cacao is also a natural source of magnesium - a natural muscle relaxant. So sometimes we crave chocolate to ease stress and help our bodies relax. The only problem is we might reach for sugar-filled milk chocolate rather than a pure form of chocolate, that is sugar free. Try this Cacao Chia pudding to satisfy those chocolate cravings without the added sugar. Ingredients: Chia seeds Raw cacao nibs Almond milk Banana (or any fruit to top your pudding) Unsweetened shredded coconut Cinnamon to taste Instructions: 1. Take a small glass, fill 1/4 with chia seeds, top with 1-2 teaspoons of cacao. 2. Pour almond milk to top of mixture, and mix chia and cacao nibs well. 3. Top with banana, berries or fruit of your choice. (For no sugar, don't add fruit). 4. Sprinkle with coconut shreds and cinnamon. Enjoy! - Nikki To learn more about fitness, nutrition and a holistic approach to weight loss, visit the Fit Chicks Fitness & Nutrition Expert Program, and the Natural Weight Loss Coach program. Don't forget to subscribe to our newsletter for outdoor fitness trips, recipes, and tips and tricks on everything Stand Up Paddle, & fitness.  Quite simply, sweet potato toast is a breakfast miracle. No pre-cooking, just a tiny bit of slicing and toaster popping. Everyone can handle making this.
I have been enjoying Sweet Potato Toast with my morning eggs and spinach 2-3 mornings a week, satisfying the "Complete in 3" rule that I follow for all my meals. My plate will always contain protein, fibre (the sweet potato) and healthy fats to keep me satisfied and balance my blood sugar levels throughout the morning. Literally, this is all you need to do to make sweet potato toast your morning miracle too: 1. Purchase sweet potato, preferably a smaller sized one. 2. Slice length-wise into long slices less than 1 cm thick. 3. Pop your slice of Sweet Potato in your toaster, and toast it three times. 4. Eat alongside eggs and spinach, or with avocado and cottage cheese, the possibilities are endless. Disclaimer: For step 3, depending on your toaster, you may have to toast it more than 3 times. However, if you find it is still not ready after 3 toasts, consider trying to slice each piece a little bit thinner. You're welcome. |
AuthorNikki Johnston Beaudoin is an outdoorsy Mountain Mermaid, and the Owner and Operator of Sea to Sky Paddle Fit, based on Ambleside Beach in West Vancouver. Categories
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