Tag: healthy snack and dessert recipes

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Why Raw Cacao is a Super Ingredient Choice for Creating Healthy Snacks?


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Raw Cacao – A Rich Source of Nutrients and a Powerhouse of Antioxidants

The cacao bean is the source of both cacao powder and cocoa powder. However, if you are looking for the purest form of chocolate you can consume packed with the most nutrients, raw cacao is your answer.

Cacao powder has been enjoyed for centuries in the kitchen and as a health aide. It is believed to be the highest source of antioxidants of all foods and the highest source of magnesium of all foods – it even trumps dark chocolate when it comes to antioxidants provided offering 300 different chemical compounds with nearly 4 times the antioxidant power of dark chocolate.

Cacao powder is also considered brain food because it contributes to cognitive function and the flow of blood to the brain – it improves heart health, stress and cholesterol levels and reduces inflammation. It is perfect for desserts, smoothies and even makes the cross-over easily to savory dishes.

Cacao beans grow in cacao pods on the fruit tree known as “Theobroma Cacao.” When the pods are cracked open the cacao bean is released. The bean is then harvested, fermented (not always) and dried.

Cacao and cocoa powder are not the same

In cacao powder the bean is still in its raw state – uncooked, unprocessed and additive free. It is unadulterated and is not as processed as traditional cocoa powder. It is processed by cold-pressing (pressing the oil/cocoa butter out) unroasted cocoa beans which removes the fat but keeps the living enzymes active.

Cocoa powder on the other hand has been roasted at high temperatures which changes the molecular structure of the bean and reduces the enzyme activity lowering the nutritional value.

The fattest part of the cacao fruit is the cacao butter that lines the inside of the cacao bean. Offering a rich, buttery texture similar in taste and texture to white chocolate.

Cacao powder is what remains of the fruit once the cacao butter is cold-pressed removed. It is the most important ingredient for making chocolate. An excellent source of nutrients, offering monounsaturated fats and cholesterol-free saturated fats. It also offers a wealth of vitamins, minerals, fiber, natural carbohydrates and protein.

Cacao nibs are cacao beans that have been chopped into edible pieces similar to chocolate chips but with no added sugars or fats. They do contain the same wealth of nutrients, fiber and fat you find in cacao beans. Nibs are just small bits of fermented, roasted, dried and crushed cacao bean. Offering an intense, non-sweet, chocolaty taste, they are very good for your health.

Cacao nibs and cacao powder are becoming a healthy cook’s best friend and are showing up everywhere.

The versatility of cacao nibs is one reason for their recent popularity. Similar to a macadamia nut in texture, cacao nibs are crunchy yet tender. If chocolate is already a favorite treat of yours, then you’ll likely fall in love with cacao nibs – even if their somewhat “bitter” taste takes a bit of getting used to.

They are perfect as is just sprinkled on your favorite gluten and sugar free cupcakes or mixed into your favorite homemade granola.

Consider creating healthy snacks using raw cacao? Watch this video – Deliciously Ella – Cacao & Almond Energy Balls

Ready to take your traditional desserts and turn them into “life giving” desserts? “50 Desserts with Hidden Veggies” was written with you in mind.  In it you will discover no bake, Paleo friendly, no sugar, gluten free healthy sweet treat and dessert recipes…

Isn’t it time to make every bite you take count!

Author Bio:

Carolyn Hansen is the author of The Blended Bites Healthy Snack and Dessert Recipe Collection. This is a one-stop resource for delicious, healthy, guilt-free snacks that you can eat every day. And even better, EVERY ONE of these recipes are RAW healthy snack foods that taste as good as their fattening counterparts.

You can NOW satisfy your snack urge without any negative impact on your weight loss and fitness goals, and without sweating over a hot stove. These easy-to-prepare snacks contain no sugar, no flour or butter and are paleo friendly.

So, if you want to get your hands on recipes for desserts and snacks that you will not need to feel guilty about eating the next time you have a craving for something delicious, be sure to check out Carolyn Hansen’s books at Blended Bites, where she will show you how to take control of your blender and churn out mouth-watering desserts and snacks that will have the kids in your neighborhood lined up around the block for a sample.

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How to Choose the Right Ingredients to Create Healthy Nutritious Desserts?


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Shift Your Perception about Dieting by Adopting the Addition Diet

Elimination diets have been around for a while now. They are a dime a dozen putting focus on food groups that need elimination from your diet. Filled with words like “can’t,” don’t touch,” and “bad for you”…all pointing the fingers in a negative direction.

It’s no surprise then that many people “fall off the bandwagon” when trying to improve their eating habits by following such negativity.

But just as all things in life change and evolve, so too does healthy eating and there’s a new kid on the block gaining popularity called the “addition diet.” Even the name sounds positive and reflects positive images into our psyches.

The “addition diet” represents a real shift in perceptions (a psychological shift) from negatively to positively approaching our diets. It shifts the “can’t” to “can”…a much more empowered way of doing things.

Truth is, human beings are curious by nature. If we are told we cannot do something or cannot eat something it seems as though a trigger goes off inside and suddenly we want those things more than ever and that’s when real battle begins.

The “addition diet” avoids this negative “dieting” trigger by allowing you to add foods not subtract them.

This puts your mind in a different mindset, a healthy, positive mindset…one focused on the positive rather than the negative putting you on a direct path to success.

Dieting in general teaches us to remove unwanted, unhealthy foods such as certain types of breads, sugar and all processed foods but they fail to inform us on what to replace these foods with so we’re left with a big gap in food and meal choices. Unfortunately, most times we end up filling these gaps with “junk foods.”

The first thing you need to do before beginning an “addition diet” is to make a list of foods that will be added to your eating plan rather than subtracted from. These foods should be real, natural, whole fresh choices.

Your goal should still be stellar health and vibrant living and that can only happen with real live food.

So, if you’re ready to shift your diet perceptions from negative to positive then it’s time to start making a list of foods you’ll want to incorporate into your new “addition diet.”

Here a short list to get you started (this list is only an example and not the end-all).

Fruits and Vegetables: Be adventurous and expand your horizons. Mother Earth has provided us a rich bounty. Try some fruits or vegetables that you have not been willing to try before…or possibly some you have not had in a while. Vegetables such as sweet potatoes are perfect choices but why not reach for that Mango you’ve never tried too?

Protein: This is another area that you can get adventurous in. Quality proteins include things such as grass fed meats, fresh fish from the ocean and free range poultry and eggs. High quality whey protein powders are also good choices.

Healthy fats: Your body needs fat in order to be healthy but we’re talking healthy fats – not bad ones. Coconut oil is one of the perfect fats that can replace some of the “bad fats” that may be lurking in your kitchen cabinets.

Nuts and seeds – There are lots of raw nuts and seeds you can add – nutrient-rich and packed full of healthy fats too.

The whole idea of an addition diet is to focus on adding foods into your diet that “contribute” to your health balance and by doing so; you automatically “crowd out” the ones that are “subtracting” from your health balance.

Simple, important and powerful!

You don’t have to give up desserts and treats either if you plan and choose the right ingredients – even desserts can be made healthy, nutritious (using veggies and fruits will help you meet your daily requirements too) and good for you!

Watch this video – Homemade PROTEIN BARS Recipe (Easy & Healthy)

If you are ready to take your traditional desserts, treats and snacks and turn them into “life giving” ones grab my “50 Desserts with Hidden Veggies. “  In it you will discover no bake, Paleo friendly, no sugar, gluten free healthy sweet treats and dessert recipes…

It’s time to make every bite you take count!

Author Bio:

Carolyn Hansen is the author of The Blended Bites Healthy Snack and Dessert Recipe Collection. This is a one-stop resource for delicious, healthy, guilt-free snacks that you can eat every day. And even better, EVERY ONE of these recipes are RAW healthy snack foods that taste as good as their fattening counterparts.

You can NOW satisfy your snack urge without any negative impact on your weight loss and fitness goals, and without sweating over a hot stove. These easy-to-prepare snacks contain no sugar, no flour or butter and are paleo friendly.

So, if you want to get your hands on recipes for desserts and snacks that you will not need to feel guilty about eating the next time you have a craving for something delicious, be sure to check out Carolyn Hansen’s books at Blended Bites, where she will show you how to take control of your blender and churn out mouth-watering desserts and snacks that will have the kids in your neighborhood lined up around the block for a sample.

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How to Create Healthy Raw Sweet Desserts and Treats to Satisfy Your Sugar Cravings?


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Explore the Exciting World of Raw Sweet Desserts and Treats

Have you ever made a cake without having to bake it? Or whipped up desserts like chocolate mousse, cookies, and ice cream without using sugar, flour, dairy, soy or eggs as ingredients? Does that seem impossible to you?

It’s not only possible, it is by far the preferred way to prepare snacks and desserts and most people are astonished to discover how easy it is to make exciting, delicious sweet recipes which use raw and live food ingredients including vegetables.

The truth is, understanding the role that raw foods play in your diet and the expansion of their use is critical to your long term overall health.

Living foods are alive, they have not been cooked – at least to the level that it destroys the enzymes that we would otherwise derive from the food for our benefit. Most times this means the food in its uncooked or raw state.

Raw foods that can be added to your diet daily without first needing to be cooked are any raw nuts, seeds, vegetables, fruits, sprouted grains, and beans. These foods are not processed, heated, cooked or altered in any way. They are nothing more than whole foods in their natural living state, a gift from Mother Nature herself.

You might question whether nuts can be considered “live food.” But, if you consider the fact that nuts sprout when soaked in water it’s easy to see that they were just in their dormant state and waiting to be prompted. They are very much alive just waiting for the perfect environmental opportunity of water, light and warmth to activate their inner life force.

This is why it is better to sprout beans, nuts and even seeds overnight – it activates the food’s living energy in the form of enzymes that pass instructions at the cellular level (important to us because it assists our ability to digest food properly.

On the contrary, cooked foods have been stripped of the enzymatic activity that raw living foods have to offer.

Gluten intolerance which is a condition experienced by many is largely explained by this idea as wheat is not sprouted before it is cooked so the gluten (part of the cell structure) becomes indigestible and toxic to those that are particularly vulnerable to it.

If wheat is first sprouted and then cooked at a temperature below 112 degrees Fahrenheit it is still alive when eaten. Essene bread (named after the Essene’s, an ancient civilization that flourished 2,000 years ago) is freshly made sprouted wheat and rye bread that is unbelievable good and contributes to your health rather than causing a toxic reaction. These nature lovers cooked their grains/bread after sprouting on a rock in the sun.

It’s important to elevate the amount of food in your diet which is rich in active enzymes because your body needs them to function properly and will actually deplete its own enzyme reserves if they are not constantly replenished.

It seems that nature gifts each one of us with an “enzyme bank account.” This account needs regular deposits made by taking in the enzymes found in raw foods. If we do not make regular deposits but simply continue to use up our present supply, we become more susceptible to aging, disease and premature death.

Once you discover

Designing healthy snacks is something of an art and cannot be made by simply taking a normal recipe based around sugar, butter and white flour and turning it into something healthy. However, once you get a feel for it you’ll find yourself experimenting more and more. Get the family involved. Find out what their favorite raw foods are and incorporate them into your sweet dishes.

Expand your horizons to include an array of vegetables in your sweet, raw desserts and treat dishes as well as savory dishes. They add moisture, texture, fiber, taste and color. They are a real adventure in boosting your health and fun to explore in more depth.

Not only will nutritional, raw, fresh ingredients (in your snacks treats and desserts) make you feel and look great, but they taste great too. And, the best thing of all, they are guilt free meals.

Eating a wide variety of fruits and veggies is key to maintaining balanced nutrition and a healthy body.

Watch these 2 videos to learn how to create healthy raw sweet desserts and treats to satisfy your sugar cravings

What I Eat When I’m Craving Sugar [Low Sugar Dessert Recipe!!]

Healthy Sweet Tooth Treats | Desserts

Discover no bake, Paleo friendly, no sugar, gluten free healthy sweet treat and dessert recipes that incorporate a wide variety of healthy vegetables…“50 Desserts with Hidden Veggies. ” 

Isn’t it time you began introducing these much ignored nutrient-dense super-stars into all your dishes…including your desserts?

Author Bio:

Carolyn Hansen is the author of The Blended Bites Healthy Snack and Dessert Recipe Collection. This is a one-stop resource for delicious, healthy, guilt-free snacks that you can eat every day. And even better, EVERY ONE of these recipes are RAW healthy snack foods that taste as good as their fattening counterparts.

You can NOW satisfy your snack urge without any negative impact on your weight loss and fitness goals, and without sweating over a hot stove. These easy-to-prepare snacks contain no sugar, no flour or butter and are paleo friendly.

So, if you want to get your hands on recipes for desserts and snacks that you will not need to feel guilty about eating the next time you have a craving for something delicious, be sure to check out Carolyn Hansen’s books at Blended Bites, where she will show you how to take control of your blender and churn out mouth-watering desserts and snacks that will have the kids in your neighborhood lined up around the block for a sample.

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How to Create Healthy Raw Desserts to Satisfy Your Sweet Tooth?


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Treat Your Sweet Tooth to Healthy Raw Desserts

Shifting your lifestyle from one with destructive, disease inviting habits to one that embraces health and wards off disease doesn’t have to be as painful as some people believe especially when it comes to diet.

Many people are under the misguided belief that their “sweet tooth” will suffer in this transition and because of that they stay locked into their unhealthy eating patterns and health destroying desserts.

But the reality is, you don’t have to give up your sweet desserts and treats. You simply have to change your perception of desserts and treats and modify them to reflect healthier ingredients.

What better way is there to make a lifestyle shift towards healthier eating and better health than with decadent raw desserts that are as healthy as they are delicious?

Truth is, you can serve up delicious raw desserts, snacks and treats that are created from the healthiest foods on earth…those that Mother Nature provides us.

When your desserts are made with real, whole, healthy ingredients that our bodies were designed to eat and process…those that provide anti-oxidants, vitamins, minerals, amino acids and enzymes what is there to feel “bad” or guilty about?

You can replace your guilt with “joy of knowing” that you while your taste buds are getting a treat, your body is getting the gift of nutrition.

Dried fruits and other natural sweeteners replace harmful white sugar, coconut and its oil replace butter, cream and eggs (avocados are often used to replace fat too) and ground nuts can be used to replace flour. The only things you eliminate are bloating, lethargy and guilt. In return you get energy and a feeling of lightness…and all the joy, goodness and satisfaction you want and expect from dessert.

With a new perception we can appreciate desserts in a whole new way – raw and healthy. Raw desserts are a delight literally. They taste better than their counterparts and offer fresh dynamic “clean” flavors because they are created from real, whole healthy ingredients.

Imagine throwing almonds, avocados, dates and cacao powder in a food processor and creating rich cream chocolate mousse. Or, how about serving up a slice of “cheesecake” that you’ve put together with healthy ingredients like fruits and nuts that could easily rival something in a gourmet bakery.

And, to make your raw desserts even healthier…try adding vegetables to them.

Raw desserts offer more flexibility than their baked or cooked counterparts and eating them helps us to not only achieve ultimate health but it helps us to maintain a healthy weight. The negative impacts of chemicals in our food and our exposure to food allergens like wheat, dairy and gluten are eliminated.

Next time you serve dessert, feel good about what you are serving. Try serving something made with raw healthy ingredients and watch as people’s face light up and they come back for seconds.

Here’s a simple but delicious fudge recipe that’s sure to quench your sweet tooth and bring in rave reviews.

White Chocolate Goji Fudge

Grind up:

  • 1/2 cup goji berries (usually sticky not really a powder)
  • Blend until smooth:
  • 1/2 cup cacao butter
  • 1/2 cup cashews
  • 1/2 cup agave nectar

Blend in ground goji powder and mix in by hand:

  • 1/2 cup cacao nibs, 1/2 cup whole goji berries
  • zest from 1 orange

Spread in a glass pie plate and chill in the freezer until firm.

Serve and accept compliments with grace…

Isn’t it time you began introducing much ignored nutrient-dense super-star ingredients into all your dishes…including your desserts?

Watch these 2 videos to learn how to create healthy raw desserts to satisfy your sweet tooth:

4 Simple & Healthy Desserts to satisfy your sweet tooth!

5 EASY + HEALTHY SNACKS | Satisfy Your Sweet Tooth

For more delicious, nutritious desserts and treats – “50 Desserts with Hidden Veggies.” Inside  you will discover no bake, Paleo friendly, no sugar, gluten free healthy sweet treat and dessert recipes…

Author Bio:

Carolyn Hansen is the author of The Blended Bites Healthy Snack and Dessert Recipe Collection. This is a one-stop resource for delicious, healthy, guilt-free snacks that you can eat every day. And even better, EVERY ONE of these recipes are RAW healthy snack foods that taste as good as their fattening counterparts.

You can NOW satisfy your snack urge without any negative impact on your weight loss and fitness goals, and without sweating over a hot stove. These easy-to-prepare snacks contain no sugar, no flour or butter and are paleo friendly.

So, if you want to get your hands on recipes for desserts and snacks that you will not need to feel guilty about eating the next time you have a craving for something delicious, be sure to check out Carolyn Hansen’s books at Blended Bites, where she will show you how to take control of your blender and churn out mouth-watering desserts and snacks that will have the kids in your neighborhood lined up around the block for a sample.

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What are the Good Fats You Can Use for Preparing Healthy No Bake Desserts?


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Choosing Healthy Fats – Good Fats vs. Bad Fats

Although nutritionists and doctors alike have been preaching the benefits of a low-fat diet as one of the keys to managing cholesterol, losing weight and preventing future health issues, it’s really more about what types of fat you eat…not the amount.

Bad fats such as trans-fats and saturated fats have given a bad name to all fats but fat isn’t always the bad guy when it comes to disease and weight gain.

Truth is, eating fat can be heart-healthy when you pick the right fat. In fact, in order for your body to function at peak performance, your body needs some fat…the healthy kind. If you try and avoid all fat you risk not getting enough fat-soluble vitamins and essential fatty acids.

To truly understand the difference between good and bad fats it’s important to know the major types of fats we’re dealing with.

Bad Fats include:

Trans-fats

Trans-fats and some saturated fats are bad because they increase the risk of disease and elevate cholesterol levels and play havoc with your weight. Good fats on the other hand protect your heart and your overall health.

In fact, good fats like omega-3 fats (fish is by far the best source of omega-3 fatty acids) are essential to your body physically, mentally and emotionally. Omega-3 fatty acids are polyunsaturated fat and are proving to be especially beneficial. Getting more omega-3’s in your diet can help to sharpen memory, protect against dementia, balance mood and battle fatigue.

Healthy fats are far more satiating than refined and processed carbohydrates and a healthy diet should include at least 50-70 percent healthy fats.

Healthy fats do not include things like vegetable oils that are often marketed as being “healthy.” These man-made, refined and processed vegetable oils they want to label as “healthy” are actually loaded with unhealthy omega 6-fats that mess with your fat storing-fat burning hormones.

Fructose along with the wrong types of carbohydrates such as grains (that break down into sugar once in the body) lead to weight gain and eventually obesity. Other conditions such as weight-loss resistance are also the result of eating the wrong types of carbohydrates. The key is to begin replacing grains, sugars and lost carbohydrates with healthy fats.

Healthy Fats

Healthier dietary fat includes:

  • Monounsaturated fats
  • Polyunsaturated fats
  • Omega-3 fatty acids (a type of polyunsaturated fat)
  • Some saturated fats (like those found in coconut oil)

There are many readily available sources of healthy fats that you can include in your diet, here’s a few examples:

  • Olives and olive oil – Not for high temperature cooking but perfect for cold dishes
  • Coconuts – All forms of coconut…shredded, dried, fresh and flour for cooking and baking. Coconut oil or butter is good for high temperature cooking
  • Avocados
  • Butter – From grass fed cows
  • Raw nuts – All raw nuts not roasted
  • Seeds – Chia, flaxseed, sunflower, sesame and pumpkin seeds
  • Eggs – Free range
  • Meat – Grass fed

When focusing on replacing bad fats with healthy ones, a good place to start is to eliminate the trans-fats in your diet because no amount of trans-fats is healthy. They all contribute to major health issues ranging from heart disease to cancer.

The answer is not cutting fat out of our diets…it’s learning to make wise healthy choices in regards to which fats we eat as we begin replacing bad damaging fats that are currently in our diets with ones that promote health and well-being.

It’s time to take your traditional desserts and turn them into “life giving” desserts.

Watch this video to learn how to create healthy no bake desserts using good fats – Chia Seed Energy Bars: No-bake power packs for pre/post-workout

Grab my “50 Desserts with Hidden Veggies. “  In it you will discover no bake, Paleo friendly, no sugar, gluten free healthy sweet treat and dessert recipes that use only healthy life giving fats.

Author Bio:

Carolyn Hansen is the author of The Blended Bites Healthy Snack and Dessert Recipe Collection. This is a one-stop resource for delicious, healthy, guilt-free snacks that you can eat every day. And even better, EVERY ONE of these recipes are RAW healthy snack foods that taste as good as their fattening counterparts.

You can NOW satisfy your snack urge without any negative impact on your weight loss and fitness goals, and without sweating over a hot stove. These easy-to-prepare snacks contain no sugar, no flour or butter and are paleo friendly.

So, if you want to get your hands on recipes for desserts and snacks that you will not need to feel guilty about eating the next time you have a craving for something delicious, be sure to check out Carolyn Hansen’s books at Blended Bites, where she will show you how to take control of your blender and churn out mouth-watering desserts and snacks that will have the kids in your neighborhood lined up around the block for a sample.

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Why Whey Protein is a Great Ingredient Choice for Healthy Delicious Desserts?


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Whey Protein…An Excellent Source of Protein

Whey protein is a naturally complete, high quality source of easily digested protein and bio-available essential amino acids. It is a complete protein, low in lactose content, containing all 9 essential amino acids that is easily digested and absorbs from the gut quickly compared to other types of protein. These qualities make it one of the best dietary sources of protein available.

This super supplement is the liquid by-product (used to be discarded by cheese manufacturers as a waste product). It is sold as a dietary supplement in protein powders and shakes. The benefits of a high-quality whey protein supplement range from preserving healthy to purely aesthetic reasons.

Whey protein is a favorite supplement with athletes who use it to help improve muscle protein synthesis and promote the growth of lean muscle tissue mass when strength training.

This powerful protein helps dieters burn fat – especially belly fat! Dieters take advantage of its hunger-curbing benefits and ability to help preserve lean body mass while shedding weight. and health conscious consumers like it for the antioxidant support it offers –  delivering amino acid building blocks for glutathione, a super intracellular antioxidant.

But the benefits of this super food don’t stop there…science is also proving whey protein to be a powerful super-food in the quest towards longevity and it has proven effective at lowering blood pressure and cholesterol, reducing the risk of cardio-vascular disease, and has anti-cancer properties.

There are a number of varieties of whey protein powder that you can take, each formulated slightly different to assist your goals at various points in the day. There’s one to fit all needs…

The best kind to take before or after a workout is the whey isolate variety. This type digest more quickly in the body giving your tissues what they need at this critical point in the day. On the other hand, if you are taking protein powder before bed then you’ll want to go for the casein variety as this type breaks down and digests very slowly (you get a steady and even release over time.)

If you are lactose intolerant, take the lactose free variety or consider an egg white protein powder instead. Vegetarians can turn to soy protein powder or hemp protein powder as well.

The important thing to keep in mind when choosing any whey protein variety is to find one that is low is sugar and fat content so that you are getting just 100% pure protein – or as close as possible. Avoid using them as a meal replacement too because they offer little on the satiety front and some are extremely high in sugar not exactly what you want to be loading your body with.

A typical serving of whey concentrate contains about 5 grams of carbs, 25 grams of protein, and 2 grams of fat. You can even use whey successfully in many healthy desserts and snacks.

Watch this video – Protein Fluff – 3 Best Recipe Variations! (No Sugar, Classic, Powderless)

If you are ready to take your traditional desserts and turn them into “life giving” desserts grab my “50 Desserts with Hidden Veggies. “  In it you will discover no bake, Paleo friendly, no sugar, gluten free healthy sweet treat and dessert recipes…

Author Bio:

Carolyn Hansen is the author of The Blended Bites Healthy Snack and Dessert Recipe Collection. This is a one-stop resource for delicious, healthy, guilt-free snacks that you can eat every day. And even better, EVERY ONE of these recipes are RAW healthy snack foods that taste as good as their fattening counterparts.

You can NOW satisfy your snack urge without any negative impact on your weight loss and fitness goals, and without sweating over a hot stove. These easy-to-prepare snacks contain no sugar, no flour or butter and are paleo friendly.

So, if you want to get your hands on recipes for desserts and snacks that you will not need to feel guilty about eating the next time you have a craving for something delicious, be sure to check out Carolyn Hansen’s books at Blended Bites, where she will show you how to take control of your blender and churn out mouth-watering desserts and snacks that will have the kids in your neighborhood lined up around the block for a sample.

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How to Create Exciting Healthy Tasty Desserts with Raw Unprocessed Honey?


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Raw Honey is a Super-Food Favorite

Anyone that is truly seeking health pays attention to what goes into their bodies in regards to nutrients.

White sugar quickly becomes a no-no and satisfying their sweet tooth can be a challenge.

However, there are a few great sugar substitutes available and raw honey is one of those – it’s a long time family favorite.

Humans have enjoyed and indulged in honey for thousands of years. Its consumption dates back to prehistoric cave paintings found in Spain over 8,000 years ago. Recorded in Egyptian, Chinese and Biblical texts, honey was also enjoyed and used medicinally by Native Americans.

Used in beverages and foods of all types for its nutritional value, honey has been used as a remedy for everything from burns to intestinal problems.

Of course, like other foods, honey comes in differing grades. If you’re really after the super-food nutrient value of honey, steer clear of the processed “heated” kind.

Choose high quality raw honey that still retains all of its nutrients, enzymes and medicinal properties. When honey is in this state, it is still a living food offering enzymes that can boost the immune system and digestive functions.

Honey contains a wide variety of trace minerals. Iron, calcium, zinc, potassium, phosphorous, magnesium, chromium, copper, manganese, and selenium are critical for insulin sensitivity and, blood sugar balance. Because it is easily digestible, it offers a huge energy boost for the body.

Raw honey is a perfect alternative sweetener but should be used in moderation because of its high glycemic sugar content. Often prescribed at bedtime, raw honey helps promote the release of melatonin, the hormone responsible for the recover and rebuilding of tissue when the body is at rest.

Benefits you’ll derive from honey include:

In order for honey to be considered real honey by the Food and Drug Administration, it must contain pollen.  Unfortunately, in the U.S. has a lot of honey being sold that is not real honey. For the most part, honey is not checked so many people buy and consume nutrient-depleted honey. 

The best thing to do is to buy organic, raw honey from your favorite health food store or health food aisle in your grocers. If there is a local beekeeper in your area that would be the best place by far to purchase your honey.

Raw unprocessed honey comes straight from the beehive. It is a potent superfood that provide us with healing enzymes that make us mentally alert and sharpen our IQ. 

Raw honey or real honey is usually labeled according to the flowers it was obtained from – each offering their own array of nutrients. Flower sources can include wildflowers, clover, buckwheat, alfalfa and or other specialty types.

Want to create exciting healthy tasty desserts with raw unprocessed honey? Watch this video – No Bake Honey Cheesecake

Isn’t it time you began introducing much ignored nutrient-dense super-star ingredients into all your dishes…including your desserts?

For more delicious, nutritious desserts and treats – “50 Desserts with Hidden Veggies.” Inside  you will discover no bake, Paleo friendly, no sugar, gluten free healthy sweet treat and dessert recipes…

Author Bio:

Carolyn Hansen is the author of The Blended Bites Healthy Snack and Dessert Recipe Collection. This is a one-stop resource for delicious, healthy, guilt-free snacks that you can eat every day. And even better, EVERY ONE of these recipes are RAW healthy snack foods that taste as good as their fattening counterparts.

You can NOW satisfy your snack urge without any negative impact on your weight loss and fitness goals, and without sweating over a hot stove. These easy-to-prepare snacks contain no sugar, no flour or butter and are paleo friendly.

So, if you want to get your hands on recipes for desserts and snacks that you will not need to feel guilty about eating the next time you have a craving for something delicious, be sure to check out Carolyn Hansen’s books at Blended Bites, where she will show you how to take control of your blender and churn out mouth-watering desserts and snacks that will have the kids in your neighborhood lined up around the block for a sample.

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What Can Happen If You Can’t Curb Your Addiction for Sugary Foods?


Click HERE to Get These Super Healthy Sweet Treats & Dessert Recipes

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Sugar Turns on Your Fat-Storing Switch

Nutrigenomics is a blossoming new field that studies the genes associated with health and disease as well as obesity.

It is the study of how nutrients interact with our human genes.

We’re already aware that certain foods contain information and instructions for cells and hormones along with nutrients and calories. Now they are trying to find out how this information can turn on or off the expression of certain genes.

For example –

When you eat sugary types of foods a cascade of chemical and hormonal reactions are set off in the body. One of the side effects of this is it turns up the dial on your hunger thermostat which reprograms your level of hunger upwards. You not only experience increased hunger, you now experience increased cravings as well.

It’s a known fact that fructose (sugar) stimulates and turns on a gene-mediated “fat-storing switch.”

The results are…

A cascade of chemical reactions that play havoc with our bodies and health. Decreased HDL (good cholesterol) levels and increased LDL (bad cholesterol) levels, elevated blood fats (triglycerides), higher blood sugar levels and high blood pressure – all thing that lead to the condition known as metabolic syndrome.

Dietary carbohydrates, especially fructose, are also the primary source of a substance called glycerol-3-posphate (g-3-p), which causes fat to become fixed in fat tissue. At the same time, high carbohydrates raise insulin levels, which prevent fat from being released from the body’s cells.

Fructose further tricks your body, turning off your body’s appetite control/regulation system which results in feeling hungry all the time, even though you have eaten. You continue to overeat which causes you to not only gain excess body fat and weight but now you’ve opened the door to developing insulin resistance which is the precursor to not only diabetes, heart disease and cancer, but a long list of other chronic disease.

When we eat the wrong foods, particularly the wrong carbohydrates and turn on this “fat storing switch” it leads to weight gain, especially in the abdominal area. But the damage doesn’t stop there. It goes on to affect your health in other negative ways and can eventually lead to serious disease. Unfortunately, no amount of exercise or physical activity alone can compensate for this type of damage to the body cells and systems.

Fructose and the wrong types of carbohydrates, for example grains that break down into sugar in the body, lead to weight gain, obesity, weight loss resistance and on to other more serious health issues.

Becoming and staying overweight is not necessarily the result of eating too much food and calories but rather eating the wrong types of foods and getting calories from the wrong sources.

The truth is, the foods that are now making us unhealthy and overweight were not part of the diets of our ancient ancestors. These are modern varieties. They activate and program our bodies to continue to store fat rather than burn it and the only way off the merry-go-round is to get them out of our diets.

Isn’t it time you began introducing much ignored nutrient-dense super-star ingredients into all your dishes…including desserts?

Want to curb your addiction for sugary foods? Watch this video – 3 Easy No Bake Low Carb Dessert Recipes | Quick Sugar Free Desserts

To enjoy delicious, nutritious desserts and treats that contribute to your health – “50 Desserts with Hidden Veggies.” Inside  you will discover no bake, Paleo friendly, no sugar, gluten free healthy sweet treat and dessert recipes…

Author Bio:

Carolyn Hansen is the author of The Blended Bites Healthy Snack and Dessert Recipe Collection. This is a one-stop resource for delicious, healthy, guilt-free snacks that you can eat every day. And even better, EVERY ONE of these recipes are RAW healthy snack foods that taste as good as their fattening counterparts.

You can NOW satisfy your snack urge without any negative impact on your weight loss and fitness goals, and without sweating over a hot stove. These easy-to-prepare snacks contain no sugar, no flour or butter and are paleo friendly.

So, if you want to get your hands on recipes for desserts and snacks that you will not need to feel guilty about eating the next time you have a craving for something delicious, be sure to check out Carolyn Hansen’s books at Blended Bites, where she will show you how to take control of your blender and churn out mouth-watering desserts and snacks that will have the kids in your neighborhood lined up around the block for a sample.

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How to Create Desserts and Treats That Are Both Decadent and Healthy?


Click HERE to Get These Super Healthy Sweet Treats & Dessert Recipes

LISTEN ON SPOTIFY

No bake, Paleo friendly, no sugar, gluten free healthy meals are becoming a trend these days and desserts and treats are no exception.

The “old” belief that eating healthy eliminated treats and sweets is no longer valid.

Nor is the belief that losing weight means giving up all your favorite foods…things you can never eat again.

This kind of mentality only leads to “cheating” and the ensuing “guilt.” It is doomed for failure because no one is going to give up their favorite treats, snacks and desserts forever.

Truth is health conscious recipe creators are coming up with some amazingly delicious, healthy guilt free snacks and desserts that you can eat daily that contribute to your health rather than subtract from it as most traditional dessert and treat recipes have in the past.

And, the most remarkable thing is…every one of them tastes as good as or better as their fattening, no nutrient counterparts.

Today, the idea for healthy desserts and treat recipes has expanded even more to include and incorporate vegetables as an ingredient. Although this idea is not entirely new, with things like carrot cake and pumpkin pie having been favorites for decades…it is expanding and gaining in popularity quickly as more and more people become conscious of trying to squeeze the most nutrition out of what goes into their bodies. They are opting for high nutrition…not empty calories.

Let’s face it, the Internet is educating people. More and more they can no longer be fooled by fancy packaging, star endorsements or tricky labels like “all-natural.” They are no longer compromising their health and fitness goals in support of corporate greed, but are demanding nutrient dense foods…including their snacks, desserts and treats.

In reality, desserts can be decadent as well as healthy without losing flavor or texture. Unhealthy fats will be replaced with healthy fats such as avocados and coconut oil, unhealthy sugar for sweetness is replaced with dates and dried fruits of all kinds.

If you’re tired of the guilt, if you’re ready to eliminate “junk” foods from your diet…if you’re truly ready to embrace a new way of enjoying food…especially your desserts, treats and snacks then you will love my newest creation:

“Blended Bites”…

With 50 healthy, no bake, sugar, wheat and gluten free dessert and snack recipes…all made with vegetables either playing a starring or support role you’ll have at your fingertips highly nutritious, healthy snack and dessert recipes that are waist-line friendly at any time of the day. High in nutrition and low in dead, useless calories.

Whether its cakes, cookies, puddings, brownies, fudge, cheesecake, candies or ice cream that you love to make and serve to your friends and family…you’ll find healthy recipes for each one included.

Isn’t it time to break out of your snack and dessert rut and begin viewing them in a whole new “light” from a whole new perspective?

How satisfying would it feel to serve dessert to your family and watch as they fully enjoy the experience, all the while knowing they are getting a portion of their vegetables for the day?

Do you want to learn how to create desserts and treats that are both decadent and healthy? Watch this video – HEALTHY VEGAN NO BAKE DESSERTS ‣‣ easy to make!

Once you start with these exciting healthy but tasty recipes I promise you’ll never go back!

Author Bio:

Carolyn Hansen is the author of The Blended Bites Healthy Snack and Dessert Recipe Collection. This is a one-stop resource for delicious, healthy, guilt-free snacks that you can eat every day. And even better, EVERY ONE of these recipes are RAW healthy snack foods that taste as good as their fattening counterparts.

You can NOW satisfy your snack urge without any negative impact on your weight loss and fitness goals, and without sweating over a hot stove. These easy-to-prepare snacks contain no sugar, no flour or butter and are paleo friendly.

So, if you want to get your hands on recipes for desserts and snacks that you will not need to feel guilty about eating the next time you have a craving for something delicious, be sure to check out Carolyn Hansen’s books at Blended Bites, where she will show you how to take control of your blender and churn out mouth-watering desserts and snacks that will have the kids in your neighborhood lined up around the block for a sample.

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