Today I cranked up some good music and did some stress relieving cooking. Nothing nourishes the soul more than crafting together a healthy tasty combination of ingredients to ensure I am staying on the right path. I made some crunchy granola, superfood chocolate focusing on some main healthy ingredients.
Crunchy Granola
There is no reason to buy sugary low quality granola when it is quick and easy to make your own homemade version. Here is a recipe I use as a general guideline depending on what in in the house at the time I make a batch:
Whole oats (gluten free and organic)
Coconut (unsweetened shredded or flaked)
mixed nuts (almonds, walnuts, hazelnuts, pecans)
mixed seeds (hemp, flax, chia, sunflower, pumpkin)
dried fruit (dates, raisins, cranberries, apricots)
spices (cinnamon, ginger, maca powder, reishi mushroom, turmeric)
Sweetener (maple syrup, agave, honey)
Oil (olive oil, coconut oil, ghee, avocado oil)
Mix everything together in a big bowl (except the fruit), turn out onto a large cookie sheet and bake in a 325 oven for about 30 minutes stirring often. Turn off oven and let sit another 30 minutes then add the fruit. Mix well and store in a container in the fridge. This is great over yogurt and fruit or used as a topping for a fruit crisp.
Antioxidant Chocolate
There is nothing better than my homemade chocolate, it gives you that sweet bite that I crave with the rich satisfying qualities that chocolate contains. Here is the basic recipe I follow
Coconut oil
dark cocoa powder
honey (agave, coconut sugar or xylitol)
cinnamon, turmeric, maca powder, reishi mushroom powder
Heat the ingredients and mix until blended. Pour over your favorite goodies such as:
Nuts (almonds, hazelnuts, macadamia nuts, coconut)
dried fruit (cranberries, raisins, dates, apricots)
seeds (pumpkin, sunflower, hemp)
Sandwich with peanut butter or coconut cream
Lay flat on a cookie tray, sprinkle with a touch of sea salt and place until fridge until cool. Break into chunks and store in fridge.
There are some foods here that I have used in both recipes and that is no accident . The superfoods I have concentrated on and the reason why are as follows:
Maca powder
Reishi mushroom powder
http://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-15383/4-awesome-health-benefits-of-reishi-mushrooms.html
Tumeric
http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=78
Cocoa powder
http://www.livestrong.com/article/331715-cocoa-powder-health-benefits/
Coconut oil
Cinnamon
https://authoritynutrition.com/10-proven-benefits-of-cinnamon/
coconut
hemp seeds
https://authoritynutrition.com/6-health-benefits-of-hemp-seeds/
chia seeds
https://authoritynutrition.com/11-proven-health-benefits-of-chia-seeds/
I try and sneak these foods into my cooking as much as possible to ensure I am getting maximum bang for my buck and nutrition out of my homemade food.
Ritual in self care 