Cacao nibs

Ever tried chocolate? ?? Who hasn't right!?!?!

I dont think it is actually possible to survive without the occasional bit of chocolate, especially when you hear about the antioxidants in dark chocolate (same reason we can justify red wine!!) ...I mean its practically good for you ;) .. so when choosing..pick the best quality, darkest chocolate you can handle. You will eat less and be more satisfied along with it being better for you.

In the mean time you can get that chocolate flavour and have it ACTUALLY BE GOOD FOR YOU.  This comes from the super food Cacao Nibs.

Cacao Nibs are actually the whole coca bean, roasted, removed from the husk and broken.. so you get that chocolate taste but without the sweetness.

You can grab and eat right from the bag..though a little on the bitter side, or you can add them to baking in place of chocolate chips, I love them in granola where there is already a natural sweetness from honey or maple syrup or something. Pretty much wherever you use chocolate pieces or cocoa you can substitute cacao nibs for a much healthier addition.

So..why eat them? Whats good about them? Why have they earned the title of super food? 

Well first and foremost..it tastes like chocolate and its good for you..thats super right there.

Fiber 1oz/9grams of nibs... thats way more then the big fat Zero you get eating a chocolate bar.

Magnesium one of THE BEST dietary sources of magnesium which is important for muscle and nerve functions
Iron essential in red blood cell production

Antioxidants - incredible amount of antioxidants especially if eaten raw.

PEA (phenylethylamine) - which is a chemical that our body makes and is also fo in in the cacao nibs. It makes your pulse quicken, alertness, focus and makes you happy!

Anandomide - this also has feel good properties with the molecular shape representing that if THC (my granola friends wont need to google this, but if you are unfamiliar with THC ..check out why this gives you a boost)

Theobromine - this is a nervous system stimulant that dilated the blood vessels (much like caffeine) . So if coffee affects you in a negative way, you may want to go easy on the nibs.

You can see now why this combination is so powerful and good for your health!

And did I mention they taste great?

Below is the wiki definition and explanation of cacao you can see the fruit, the raw seeds and the roasted.

Be educated, make good choices and stay healthy!
Xo
Kara

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cocoa_bean

Im such a Granola Gal

I'm a hippie at heart. I cant help it..everything that you stereotypically think of as "hippie"... yep..this girl right here. From birkenstocks, to long hair, hiking and being outside, to loving Janice Joplin and Bob Dylan,  to tattoos, to making this earth green, to spreading love and happiness, and to eating healthy and organically... and definitely one of my favorite things to eat is granola.

Granola is so simple to make, uber healthy, easy to customize for your own preferences, wont include preservatives and copious amounts of sugar and tastes a million times better then the store bought variety.

I dont measure (you are used to this by now right? :)  ) the dry ingredients; I just put together what I have on hand from the pantry. . Items such as but not limited to by any means:

OATS- I use large flake (the + the better cost effectiveness)
NUTS- almonds, pecans, walnuts, pinenuts
DRIED FRUIT-apples, pears, dates, figs, prunes, mango, raisins, coconut
SEEDS-pumpkin, sesame, sunflower
SPICES-cinnamon, vanilla, ginger, cocoa
SUPERFOODS-cocao nibs, hemp hearts, flax, sprouted chia, protein powder

Mix these together and then add your liquid ingredients.

Honey, maple syrup, molasses, cocount oil, macademia nut oil, almonds butter
**all clean healthy fats and sugars

Boil the liquid ingredients, mix into dry making sure to coat all . (If not all dry mix seems coated drizzle on a little more liquid/oil/honey etc and mix again)

Spread on cookie sheet

Bake 325° for 30 min or so..depending on how crispy you like it.. stir a few times throughout.  Cool and store.

Making your own saves money, tastes better and honestly takes no time. You could whip up a huge batch in a commercial.

Enjoy granola straight up as is, with milk, on (or my and my daughters favourite snack) or mixed in with greek yoghurt as well as awesome sprinkled on anything from fruit (raw or stewed), to pancakes to fish. It is an excellent way of adding protein and fiber and complex carbs.

Eat up!
With love from your granola eating friend :) ♥ ★
Kara

if the world was consumed by hippies, if we took over the population, things would look much more green and beautiful.

Thursday HIIT day ♥

Started out with more kickboxing ♥♥♥♥♥ Maddy is having an awesone class so we were going over some moves.. and I learned to roundhouse kick..sweet!!!

Feeling how hard you can punch a pad is very empowering. I absolutely love it. We were both dying by the end of our circuit.

Not quite worn out enough after some.rest and water break, we set up a High Intensity Interval Training routine. 45 seconds of activity and 15 seconds rest between exercises.  If you want to significantly increase your cardio and calorie burn...throw some HI IT into your workout schedule. 

Skipping, burpees with tuck jump, box jumps, pull ups, lunge jumps, v sits, plank, ropes, push ups.. do them all..or pick a few, but dont stop... push yourself!

We then rolled and stretched.  The whole workout, incl the boxing would have taken about an hour.  Today we were a little chatty and it took a bit more time.. gym time for me is about exercise, but also I want it to be fun. I look forward to coming each and every day, seeing some great friends, and getting healthier. Win win win

Sweat sweat!
♥ Kara

Protein waffles

I dont have too many kitchen gadgets.

I have purchased a few and end of giving them away as they just collect dust in the cupboards.. there at three (4 including the toaster) that I do use regularly. .my Hand immersion blender, my KitchenAid stand mixer (cant live without this!), and my waffle maker.

I bought it on a whim...I think after a sunny vacation stay in a hotel where they had one on the breakfast buffet..you know the kind where you put in the batter, flip it and when the green light goes on.. taa daaaa!!!! A beautiful,  light, fluffy and warm waffle... a far cry from the frozen toaster variety. Sooo..out I went and bought a waffle maker as close to the professional variety as I could find and I haven't looked back since!

I always make my own pancake batter ..and to throw it into the waffle maker instead of a fry pan is is just as easy and the kids love it!

You can literally cook anything in it... from traditional waffles..to stuffed ones..to filled ones to sandwiches to stuffing.

You have probably seen my protein pancake recipe..which is great in a fry pan...below is how I made it in my waffle iron and it awesome!! Flavour town.

I am very rough in measurements when it comes to this so here goes...

A handful of oatmeal, 2 eggs, handful of coconut,  3ish teaspoons of ground flax, 1 small banana, 2scoops Arbonne vanilla protein powder...mix and throw it in.. delish!

Make a few up..pop them in the fridge and toast in the morning (1/2 a waffle is tons!) And top with almonds & maple syrup, or pb, or blueberries stewed with some balsamic, sliced strawberries and drizzle of macademia nut oil and a touch of honey, add dome ginger, cloves and cinnamon to the batter and tip woth applesauce.....or however you want! So filling, tons of protein, complex carbs and healthy fats.

Start your day off right..eat!

♥Kara

Thats a RIDICULOUS Goal

Have you ever?

How many times have you thought... "man I would love to be able to do that" ?

Thats when you need to set an absolutely ridiculous goal and out steps in place to get there.

I love doing this... you are empowering yourself, you are deciding how your life will play out, you are taking control.

Does it always work out? Well..if you give it enough time and work at it...yes is does. If you quit halfway through...not so much. Sure there are obstacles that will get in the way..but every step going forward is still moving in the right direction !

Soo.... this brings me tonmy latest goal.. I want to be able to do a free standing handstand... dont laugh!

When I set this goal I started..as per my usual no holds barred type of attitude and did about 40 handstand a day.. I may have over done it a bit and it may or may not be the reason  my back went out :/.

So..here is the lesson ..I will continue that goal and by the end of the year I know I will be popping h andstands wherever I want. .but to get there I will be doing 5-10 a day instead of 40 ;) .

Continuous Consistency Perseverance

Xo
KARA