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Chocolate Peanut Butter Energy Bites

These energy bites are great for kids and for your pre and post workouts! Gus would not stop eating them. They have no added sugars and contain chia seeds, a powerhouse of nutrition. Chia seeds contain omega-3 essential fatty acids, antioxidants, protein, calcium, iron, potassium, vitamins A, B, E, and D, as well as other key minerals. Plus, chia seeds absorb about 30 times their weight in water… this can help combat dehydration for kids and athletes alike. These little delights are gluten free, vegan, dairy free, no added sugar

Ingredients:

1 cup rolled oats (gluten free in you need them that way)

1/2 cup cocoa powder (divided)

1/4 cup chia seeds

1/3 cup peanut butter

1 lb medjool dates (remove pits)

Directions:

Add oats and 1/4 cup cocoa powder to food processor and blend to desired oat consistency (I like mine fine). Add the remaining ingredients and process until the dough forms one large ball. Roll the dough into small balls and roll each one in remaining cocoa powder. Refrigerate. Make about 2-4 dozen depending on the size you make. 

If you’d like more info about nutrition and health please contact me!

I do phone coaching and in home nutrition consultations/ pantry overhauls. 

Play With Your Food!

So this isn't a recipe, just more of a concept to promote fun, healthy eating. Kids typically like things simple. That's why it makes sense to give them a variety of heathy options and let them choose.... and create! This is what we did with whole wheat pasta, peas and shrimp. I did a tree, Annie did a nest, Max a house (with a few added goldfish) and Gus, well I'm not too sure.

Enjoy and have fun!

Kelley

Chilaquiles!

Ever had Chilaquiles?

They are dee-lish.

Try this easy way to make them for breakfast.

Assemble these 3 simple ingredients:

Place the tortilla chips in one half of a pan and cover with salsa.

Place an egg or two on the other side. I got a double yolk today! 

Cover and cook until eggs are done to your liking. 

Assemble with eggs on top.

Eat. 

High in protein and vitamin C. 

Enjoy,

Kelley

Happy New Year!!!

Starting the New Year off right- at the Fresh Start 5K

Welcome to 2014! I'm so excited to be in a new year- something about the 13 last year just had me a little on edge :)

I just wanted to talk a little bit about New Years Resolutions… have you made some? I decided not to this year. I plan to align to New Year's PRINCIPLES for 2014. I'll share them with you:

1. Aliveness

2. Health

3. Responsibility

You see, I love the idea of a guiding principle. It feels freeing rather than marching to a specific goal. Take the example of weight loss. You could set a goal like losing 20 pounds. And really, it could be fairly easy to reach- you could work out every day and cut your calories dramatically. You could probably lose the weight in a month. But then what? What is truly sustainable? Aligning to a principle like healthy living is. It innately has the why in it… I want to be healthy. So my choices should fairly consistently reflect that. Now it doesn't mean that every choice needs to be perfect- but if my overall goal is to be heathy- I'm not going to be taking short cuts. It will be an overarching factor in my life. 

I suggest you also give this a try- and share it with your family! Ask your kids about health. You can help them understand it by relating health to having energy, clear skin, shiny hair, strong bones, getting sick less often, etc... Help them make healthy choices as well along the way. And most importantly, lead by example!

Wising you a healthy, happy NEW YEAR!!!

Two Confessions

For those of you that know me well, you may want to sit down for this one. Seriously, sit down. There's only one way to start this... might as well just rip that band-aid off: 

I'm taking my kids to McDonald's for dinner tonight. 

I'm just going to let that one soak in for a bit. 

Now just to be clear, I have not converted into a drive thru mama. (Starbucks excluded). This was actually a very tough decision. You see, Annie and Max's school is participating in a fundraiser there. A portion of the sales from tonight will go to help fund activities in their school. Many of the teachers, students and parents will be there. Love the idea, hate the venue. 

This is where I have to make a(nother) confession. I'm uptight. And not just a little, when it comes to food, I look at McDonalds like the devil incarnate (or inrestaurant). Yeah, it's that bad. It pretty much embodies all I stand against in the food world. But the reality is, I'm pretty uptight. I'm realizing more and more that there does need to be a balance in life and that takes me to my next point. 

I'm guessing some of you are thinking I should just donate the money and skip the meal. I really like that idea, but I started to give it some thought. What's important about this event, and life quite frankly, is community. And that's exactly how food should be eaten... together. Food represents so many things to so many people, but it is often part of the glue that brings people together. So tonight, I'm choosing relationships and charity first, even at the Golden Arches.

Happiness and Health,

Portion Sizes and Empty Calories

So I was feeling the need to get on a little soapbox here. I'm certainly not a perfect parent, far from it. I'm also not so great with the portion control on my plate... It's hard work and sometimes that extra cookie or 5 "mysteriously" end up missing as I stand over them at about 9:30 at night. 

That said, I want to stress that it's not maintaining the perfect balance every day that's important... but more knowing how you stack up over time. This is especially important with kids and all of the snacks and special treats they get. And it's not just at home- it's all over. It seems that there is always a reason for cake and/or a special treat. 

I thought it might be helpful to break it down in what I've seen a typical day could look like for a preschooler... I'm just going to include the empty calories here- essentially the "junk food"- (Calories are rounded)

9:30- playdate- 2 doughnut holes and a "juice" like drink: 200 calories
12:00 lunch- "fruit" snacks- 80 calories
3:00- snack- Goldfish crackers- 120 calories (Ok there are a few OK things about Goldfish- they are a source of iron and some B vitamins, but for the most part they are pretty nutritionally void.)
4:00- Dumdum lollipop at the dry cleaners- 25 calories
7:00- after dinner- two "fun size" candy bars- 140 calories.

Now obviously all of your days don't look exactly like this, but I think it's easy to lose sight of the big picture... I know I do. In this example this preschooler had 565 "empty" calories. A preschooler needs approximately 1000-1600 calories. This means more than half of your child's daily caloric needs can very easily be coming from foods with little or no nutritional value.  The current recommendation is limiting these foods to 8%-20%. No easy feat in a world full of parties, play dates, prepackaged snacks and fast food chains. 

The solution? Think about the day, or even the week. Go for more nutrient dense choices for you and your kids- for most meals and snacks. Try smaller portions of the "junk" foods. And make it fun. In the pictures below I gave my kids teeny tiny ice cream cups with sprinkles. They loved it and really didn't think twice about not getting enough. You can also offer to bring healthy snacks to play dates and parties. And finally, plan ahead. I've found many of my poor food choices come in a pinch. Have heathy snacks and desserts ready to go!

Send me your suggestions and concerns... I'd love to hear from you all!

Happiness & health,