Ingredients:
3 cups cranberry trail mix
3 cups mixed nuts
1 cup large flake oats
10 scoops (20g protein/scoop) vanilla protein powder
2 tbsp molasses
2 tbsp honey
Instructions:
Chop the cranberry mix and mixed nuts in a food processor. Mix with large flake oats and protein powder in a large bowl (as big as you can find, otherwise you may have to do this in two batches).
Add just enough water to wet all the protein powder so that it doesn’t have a chalky consistency. Next, add 1 tbsp molasses, spread over whole batch, and mix thoroughly. After that, add 1 tbsp honey and do the same. Repeat with 1 more tablespoon of each sweetner. If the mix is too dry, add a little water; if too wet, add a little protein.
Lay plastic wrap across the bottom of two 9 x 9 or similar baking dishes, leaving enough wrap on each side to wrap around the mixture and cover the top. Spoon the mix into the baking dishes on top of the wrap, and pack it in with the spoon. Cover the mix with the extra wrap, then flatten the mix with your hands. Refrigerate. No baking required.
Cut into 20 bars, 10 in each baking dish. And enjoy.
Notes:
Keep the mix in the fridge and covered or else it will dry out.
These bars are wicked good so make sure not to overeat them. Even though the ingredients are healthy, 2 or 3 small squares will net you 600-900 calories. And that’s alot for a little snack.
Nutrient Profile:
1 bar = 312 calories
16.5 Protein
26.5g Carbohydrate
15.5g Fat
Thursday 20 August 2009
IF YOU MUST HAVE CHOCOLATE>>MAKE YOUR OWN
The First Step - Raw Cocoa
Raw chocolate is made from cocoa beans which haven’t been roasted. You see, roasting changes the molecular structure of cocoa beans, reducing the enzyme content and lowering the overall nutritional value.
Unfortunately, commercial cocoa (and the chocolate made from it chocolate) is made from roasted cocoa beans - unless stated otherwise. So, this recipe includes raw cocoa rather than roasted. And you’ll notice a huge difference between the two.
The Ingredients
Ok, so here are the ingredients (and amounts) you need on hand to make your own raw chocolate.
1/2 cup cocoa butter
1/2 cup virgin coconut oil
1/2 cup (raw) organic cocoa powder
1/4 - 1/2 cup agave syrup for sweetening
(organic honey, stevia or raw cane sugar okay too; or you don’t have to use any sweetener at all)
Here are the steps for making your own, raw chocolate.
Step 1.
Grate 1/2 cup of the cocoa butter. It will melt easier when it’s grated. Measure also 1/2 cup of coconut oil.
Grated Cocoa Butter
Step 2.
Place cocoa butter and coconut oil in a water in a small, heat safe cup or bowl. Then place the cup or bowl in a shallow pan containing a small amount of warm (not boiling, but nearly) water. Stir the oil and butter occasionally until it’s smooth.
Melting Cocoa Butter and Coconut Oil
Step 3.
Measure 1/2 cup cocoa powder. If you’d like to add any other dry ingredients, measure them out now and stir them together with the cocoa powder. Note: in this recipe, I used 1/4 cup lucuma powder and 1 tbsp maca. Natural vanilla or vanilla extract would work here also.
Cocoa Powder
Step 4.
Pour the dry ingredients in the bowl with melted oil and butter. Stir continuously until smooth.
Adding Dry Ingredients to Melted Butter and Oil
Step 5.
If you want to sweeten your chocolate, pour 4-6 tbsp agave nectar into the mix and stir. If not, skip this step.
Adding Sweetner If Desired
Step 6.
Have someone check the quality Meaning… go ahead and check if the chocolate is sweet enough. You can also add the rest of the additions at this point - like chili/cayenne, dried fruit, nuts etc.
Having A Friend Check Out The Quality :-)
Step 7.
Pour the melted chocolate on a pan / plate / ice cube tray. You can also throw some of the additions on top of the chocolate, it looks nice. Place the chocolate for 30 minutes in the freezer or 60 minutes in the refrigerator.
Before Freezing
After Freezing
Raw chocolate is made from cocoa beans which haven’t been roasted. You see, roasting changes the molecular structure of cocoa beans, reducing the enzyme content and lowering the overall nutritional value.
Unfortunately, commercial cocoa (and the chocolate made from it chocolate) is made from roasted cocoa beans - unless stated otherwise. So, this recipe includes raw cocoa rather than roasted. And you’ll notice a huge difference between the two.
The Ingredients
Ok, so here are the ingredients (and amounts) you need on hand to make your own raw chocolate.
1/2 cup cocoa butter
1/2 cup virgin coconut oil
1/2 cup (raw) organic cocoa powder
1/4 - 1/2 cup agave syrup for sweetening
(organic honey, stevia or raw cane sugar okay too; or you don’t have to use any sweetener at all)
Here are the steps for making your own, raw chocolate.
Step 1.
Grate 1/2 cup of the cocoa butter. It will melt easier when it’s grated. Measure also 1/2 cup of coconut oil.
Grated Cocoa Butter
Step 2.
Place cocoa butter and coconut oil in a water in a small, heat safe cup or bowl. Then place the cup or bowl in a shallow pan containing a small amount of warm (not boiling, but nearly) water. Stir the oil and butter occasionally until it’s smooth.
Melting Cocoa Butter and Coconut Oil
Step 3.
Measure 1/2 cup cocoa powder. If you’d like to add any other dry ingredients, measure them out now and stir them together with the cocoa powder. Note: in this recipe, I used 1/4 cup lucuma powder and 1 tbsp maca. Natural vanilla or vanilla extract would work here also.
Cocoa Powder
Step 4.
Pour the dry ingredients in the bowl with melted oil and butter. Stir continuously until smooth.
Adding Dry Ingredients to Melted Butter and Oil
Step 5.
If you want to sweeten your chocolate, pour 4-6 tbsp agave nectar into the mix and stir. If not, skip this step.
Adding Sweetner If Desired
Step 6.
Have someone check the quality Meaning… go ahead and check if the chocolate is sweet enough. You can also add the rest of the additions at this point - like chili/cayenne, dried fruit, nuts etc.
Having A Friend Check Out The Quality :-)
Step 7.
Pour the melted chocolate on a pan / plate / ice cube tray. You can also throw some of the additions on top of the chocolate, it looks nice. Place the chocolate for 30 minutes in the freezer or 60 minutes in the refrigerator.
Before Freezing
After Freezing
BEEN A BUSY TIME
Sorry guys, havnt updated in a day or two as Ive been up to my eyes in it this week. Firstly, my wee girl got brought into the house of God this week when we had her baptised on sunday. She looked & behaved like a wee angel!!!
Im off on hols next week to England to spend 6 days on a canal/barge boat doing nothing but eating & relaxing....Yes, I do relax occasionally, but I need all my clients to be really focused in this period.
STARS OF THE WEEK
Im giving a big shout out to the following people, who in the past week have stepped up to the mark & put their health top of their priorities, which has showed in appearance/mental attitude & training capacity:
JUDY CONWAY & BIG ROD (aka Rodney Beggs)
PHIL & JILL CLARKE
JOHN PEDAN
ALAN LAW
ANN PARKHILL
P.S Big Shout to Fran(hope the hol went gd!!) & Flamingredhead for your kind comments!!!
Keep up the good work guys!!!
If any other followers are looking for extra inspiration, you could contact these guys and ask how they have changed their lifestyle etc
Im off on hols next week to England to spend 6 days on a canal/barge boat doing nothing but eating & relaxing....Yes, I do relax occasionally, but I need all my clients to be really focused in this period.
STARS OF THE WEEK
Im giving a big shout out to the following people, who in the past week have stepped up to the mark & put their health top of their priorities, which has showed in appearance/mental attitude & training capacity:
JUDY CONWAY & BIG ROD (aka Rodney Beggs)
PHIL & JILL CLARKE
JOHN PEDAN
ALAN LAW
ANN PARKHILL
P.S Big Shout to Fran(hope the hol went gd!!) & Flamingredhead for your kind comments!!!
Keep up the good work guys!!!
If any other followers are looking for extra inspiration, you could contact these guys and ask how they have changed their lifestyle etc
WHATS HOLDING YOUR BODY SHAPE CHANGE BACK!!!
Look, it’s not your lack of inspirational posters. It’s probably not the set/rep scheme you use in the gym, and it’s definitely not your genetics. Make no mistake about it, your limiting factor nearly always resides in the 160+ hours per week that you spend outside of gym.
And what do you think is the most important factor in those 160+ hours? What, in that time, has the greatest impact on your body composition, health and performance? Answer: Nutrition.
Whether you want to gain muscle, lose fat, or just live healthy, the limiting factor is almost always nutrition.
Poor nutrition is what holds you back. And good nutrition is what will move you forward. Good nutrition is what will feed muscle and shed fat. It’s what will improve nearly every health marker you can measure. It’s what will drastically improve recovery and mood, so you can work harder, longer. Good nutrition is what will get you the body you never thought you could have.
Change your nutrition, and you’ll change your body entirely. Change your nutrition, and you’ll quite literally change your life.
Just look at people who have made major changes to their body – and I mean major changes, the type of changes that make people take notice when you enter the room. The common denominator is that they all completely changed their nutrition.
“Well, great,” you say, “I understand the importance of nutrition to my body – and I do want to change – the question is how!”
And what do you think is the most important factor in those 160+ hours? What, in that time, has the greatest impact on your body composition, health and performance? Answer: Nutrition.
Whether you want to gain muscle, lose fat, or just live healthy, the limiting factor is almost always nutrition.
Poor nutrition is what holds you back. And good nutrition is what will move you forward. Good nutrition is what will feed muscle and shed fat. It’s what will improve nearly every health marker you can measure. It’s what will drastically improve recovery and mood, so you can work harder, longer. Good nutrition is what will get you the body you never thought you could have.
Change your nutrition, and you’ll change your body entirely. Change your nutrition, and you’ll quite literally change your life.
Just look at people who have made major changes to their body – and I mean major changes, the type of changes that make people take notice when you enter the room. The common denominator is that they all completely changed their nutrition.
“Well, great,” you say, “I understand the importance of nutrition to my body – and I do want to change – the question is how!”