Almond Bliss

Delicious, Creamy, Frothy, Healthy, Home-made Almond Milk

My love of almond milk started about 5 years ago. When my daughter was born, she had acid reflux and I had read somewhere that it might help if the mother does not have dairy in her system and it is not getting transferred through her breast milk. I was willing to try anything before having to give my sweet baby girl medication for her reflux! I also discovered that if I held her ALL the time the reflux was not as bad, of course I still had to explore some other avenues. I gave up dairy. I could only have done this for my daughter because I never would have had the strength to say “no” to Brie and ice cream on my own! It worked, I was also holding her 90% of the time but her reflux was noticeably not as bad after I had gone off dairy. Not only that but I lost my baby weight quicker than I had imagined and I felt great. My skin felt great and looked great. I have no allergies or intolerance to dairy but I realized that my system simply functioned better without it. I was also quite happy to go down a road of exploring other options and finding new and exciting recipes.

Here was my discovery of almond milk. Awesome!

The Benefits of Almond Milk

Almond milk has no cholesterol or saturated fats, it is high in healthy Omega fatty acids that we need, it has Calcium, Fiber and vitamins D, E and B.

So yummy and so easy, just buy a carton of almond milk and away we go… until I did a little more research about what was in the almond milk that I was buying. I found that unless you are cautious about getting unsweetened, it has gobs of added sugar, the vitamins that are added are sometimes synthetic and then there is carrageenan. Oh my goodness!

I started to make my own! When you are making your own nut milk you have complete control over what is going into it. It is also surprisingly quick and easy to make. Let me not forget to mention how truly satisfying it is to know that you have just made this amazingly healthy, super delicious home-made almond milk! Everyone will think you are an absolute rock star in the kitchen and you will be tempted to not tell them exactly how quick and easy it is!

What is Carrageenan?

car-ra-gee-nan: noun

a substance extracted from red and purple seaweeds, consisting of a mixture of polysaccharides. It is used as a thickening or emulsifying agent in food products.

Sounds harmless right? It comes from seaweed so it must be good for you right? Unfortunately, the answer is NO.

One of my favorite health professionals Dr. Andrew Weil, MD. has been questioning the use of carrageenan for over 10 years. Read the following link for his insight.

http://www.drweil.com/drw/u/QAA401181?Is-Carrageenan-Safe.html

Prominent carrageenan researcher Joanne Tobacman, MD has this to say:

“Although derived from a natural source, carrageenan appears to be particularly destructive to the digestive system, triggering an immune response similar to that your body has when invaded by pathogens like Salmonella. The result: Carrageenan predictably causes inflammation, which can lead to ulcerations and bleeding.”

Concerns over food-grade carrageenan are not new. Beginning in the 1960’s, researchers started linking the ingredient to gastrointestinal disease in lab animals, including ulcerative colitis, intestinal lesions, and colon cancer.

Referenced from The Wellness Mama website. Here is the link for further reading on the subject, definitely worth it!

http://wellnessmama.com/2925/what-is-carrageenen/

The following is a link to a shopping guide for foods that do and do not have carrageenan in them:

http://www.cornucopia.org/shopping-guide-to-avoiding-organic-foods-with-carrageenan/

On to the delicious part!!

It is Simple…

Basic Almond Milk

1 cup raw almonds
4 cups of water

Optional:
2-3 dates (pitted and soaked for at least one hour).
Vanilla (I do love ground vanilla bean powder).

-Place almonds in a bowl and cover completely with water.
-Let soak for at least 8 hours or over night.
-Drain the almonds and rinse thoroughly.
-Place the almonds in the blender ( any old blender will do, no need for fancy kitchen devices here!)
-Add 4 cups of water.
-Blend! Just about a minute will do.
-Strain through a nut milk bag (you can use a tea towel, a muslin cloth or nylon if you do not yet have a nut milk bag)
-Squeeze out every drop of this delicious treat.
-Enjoy!
-Store in an airtight container and refrigerate up to 5 days.

I often make almond milk with only almonds and water; however, if I am to entice my 2-year-old and my 5-year-old over to my side I add a few cheeky dates for sweetness. I cannot lie, I do appreciate the sweetness on occasion as well! Simply make the almond milk as above, strain, put back in the blender and add the soaked dates and or vanilla, blend again. I use ground vanilla bean powder, it is so delicious and can be added to almost anything.

Almond milk is great on its own, in smoothies, in cereal, used in baking… so many possibilities!

Of course you do not have to stop at almonds, Brazil nut milk is gorgeous and let’s not forget about coconut milk.

Decadent Chocolate Almond Bliss
( You could even have this in the morning, what a way to star the day!)

1 Frozen banana
1-1 1/2 Cups of your awesome home-made almond milk ( start with 1 cup then add to desired consistency.
1-2 Tbsp Cacao powder
2 Tbsp peanut butter
1 Tbsp hulled hemp hearts
2-3 Pre-soaked dates
-Put it all in the blender and blend away.

This frothy treat is a super protein booster. Great for an after work out re-fuel!

I hope this inspires some creative nut milk making for the wellness of you and your families!

Thank you Lorissa, for inspiring my nut milk passion :o)

Instagram @breathewellness.april

Cookies For Breakfast?? … YES!

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Breakfast Cookies

I have been especially cheeky this week!

These are cookies that you will not feel bad about giving to your children, or yourself, even for breakfast! Sweet!

Yesterday morning I was on the ever frustrating quest to find something nutritious and of course delicious to give my son for breakfast. He can be a little tricksy, my little cherub, when it comes to eating. (To say the least!) As I was scanning all options, I came across the cookies I had just made the day before which had been a big hit. I thought, I cannot possibly give him cookies for breakfast, I am not quite that desperate yet, am I? Then I started thinking about the ingredients… organic oats, sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, almond flour, prunes, walnuts, cranberries, chia seeds, sweetened with maple syrup (which would be poured over pancakes or french toast anyway) and vegan mini chocolate chips (I did struggle here for a minute, but decided for the amount of nutrition packed into these little energy boosting delights, I could do it!)

These little gems are also vegan and if you use gluten-free oats, gluten-free.

So, my friends, I give you…

Cookies For Breakfast!

-1 cup oat and seed blend
I grind together gluten-free oats with sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds and keep in a container to use as and when.
-1/2 cup almond meal
-1 tsp baking soda
-1 tsp vanilla
-1 tsp cinnamon
-Pinch of sea salt
-2 Tbsp cranberries
-3-5 chopped prunes
-2 Tbsp chopped walnuts
-2 Tbsp vegan mini chocolate chips
-3 Tbsp chia seeds mixed with 1/4 water and left to sit for approx. 10 minutes
-1/4 cup coconut oil
-1/2 cup maple syrup
-Pre-heat oven 350 degrees.
-Prepare baking sheet with a sheet of parchment paper.
-Mix all dry ingredients.
-Mix in the coconut oil and maple syrup, mix well.
-Add the chia mix and stir until well blended.
-scoop into rounds on you baking sheet.
-bake for 14-16 minutes.
-Let cool on the baking sheet.

-Store in the refrigerator.

* I just made them again today and I mixed some hulled hemp hearts into my oat and seed mix. This gives them a great protein boost!

I did give my wee ones some fresh fruit to go along with these. Let’s not forget there is a nice dose of maple syrup so don’t forget to get your greens in either.

These cookies are also a great addition to lunches. The children feel like they are getting chocolate chip cookies and you know they are getting calcium, iron, fiber, magnesium, protein and an array of gorgeous vitamins!

Enjoy!

Thank you.

April Godfrey
Holistic Health Coach
Follow me on instagram @breathewellness.april
agodfrey.wellness@gmail.com

What’s For Lunch??

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Lunches to Love!

Tomorrow is Monday, so of course I am beginning my mental scramble to think of some lunches for the week that I know my children will eat. I don’t know about you, but sometimes I really struggle to keep lunches exciting, yummy and most of all nutritious. I want to make sure they are getting protein and calcium, vitamins and minerals … all the essentials for their growing bodies.

I decided to look back at some past lunch successes for inspiration!

My daughter is almost 5 and my son is 2, and in my case they have very different taste preferences, but if I can keep their lunches, interesting, fun and of course delicious, I can be assured that they will not go hungry on the days that I work and they are in “school”.

The photo of my daughter’s lunch at the top was a big hit! It was the first time I had made a shape out of the sandwich. She had not seen it so when she opened it at school she was so excited, always a good way to start eating! I used chocolate covered sunflower seeds for the face. (The sandwich is home-made bread, almond butter and home-made strawberry chia jam.) I know my daughter will always eat a hard boiled egg so when in doubt I always throw one in, great for protein! Cucumbers are always a favorite for both of them and sometimes I will add a little hummus. The snack mix is a blend of raw nuts, sesame sticks, pumpkin seeds, raisins and I throw in a few of Annie’s Organic Bunnies. My two love bugs will eat all of the things in the snack mix but are sometimes reluctant to start. By throwing in the little bunnies, it gets their sweet little fingers in the mix a little more eagerly and before you know it they have eaten all of it! I know it is a bit cheeky but it works :o) And they always get fruit, scrumptious sweet fruit to refresh and energize them. Veggies are ever important, on their own or with a little hummus or nut butter to dip in.

I will sometimes give them leftovers from the previous night’s dinner and I bake on Sundays to have super healthy snacks to throw in throughout the week. Mini-muffins, oatmeal everything cookies and baked dough-nuts of all sorts (The half dough-nut below is made with avocado, cacao, apple sauce, oats and maple syrup… YUM!) If find that if I have a rare chunk of time in the kitchen to do a little extra baking, I put all the extra baked goods in the freezer so they are there and ready for the weeks that I do not have quite so much time. I take comfort knowing there is a surplus if we need it.

I have struggled to find bread that I am happy to use. Living in Bermuda, the price of imported organic bread is astronomical! This led me on a quest to make a beautiful healthy loaf of bread at home. I tried many, many, many different recipes and variations of recipes and have found a combo that my children love and that holds up really well for sandwiches. Making bread can feel so rewarding! Not only does your house smell divine, you know exactly what has gone into it. Very exciting!

Here is my sandwich bread recipe, I hope you like it!

-2 cups organic unbleached flour
-1 cup ground oat blend
( I put organic oats in a blender with organic seeds such as sesame, pumpkin and sunflower. I pulse a few times so it is well ground but with still a little bit of coarseness. I love knowing that all of those power house seeds are in my bread and making their way to the bellies of my babes!)
-2 Tbsp coconut crystals (or preferred sugar)
-2 tsp sea salt
Optional 1 Tbsp ground flax seed
-1 cup hot water ( I do not measure temperature, but I do make sure it is “nice and hot”)
– 2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast (one pre-packaged pouch)
-3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

-Mix the yeast into the hot water and let set while mixing the other ingredients.
-Mix together the dry ingredients.
-Add olive oil to the yeast and water, mix into the dry ingredients.
-If you have a mixer with a kneading paddle, perfect. If not mix together and kneed by hand about 5-8 minutes. If it seems too moist add a bit more oat mix little by little.
-Place in a pre-oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap or a tea towel.
-Let rise approx 1 1/2 hours.
-Punch down and do a short knead, re-cover and let sit for a short rise, approx. 30-40 minutes.
-Punch down one last time and form into your desired shape loaf.
-Place on parchment covered baking sheet and cover loosely.
-Let rise again for approx. 30 minutes (great to do this while the oven is heating up).
-Place in pre-heated oven at 400 F
(my oven happens to run a bit hot so I cook at 375 F. If you know your oven has a specific personality of it’s own like mine does, adjust up or down accordingly).
-Bake for 20 minutes. To test “done-ness” hold the bread, turn over and do a little “knock, knock” on the bottom, it will sound a bit “hollow”.

Let sit for at least 10 minutes before you dive in.

Enjoy!

Fresh bread with peanut butter and honey is one of our favorite fresh out of the oven bread treats! So melty and delicious!

Thank you!

Follow me on instagram @breathewellness.april

agodfrey.wellness@gmail.com

Traveling and Eating Well…It can be done!

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Traveling and Staying Healthy
( It can be done, and deliciously! )

With a little preparation, your travel days do not have to be filled with refined and processed foods that leave you feeling terrible, tired and puffy.

Here are a few tips and tricks to help you eat well and feel well while traveling.

First, it is so important to stay hydrated when you are traveling. Even short flights can take a lot out of you, with the to and fro, recycled air and usually messed up sleep patterns. So, hydrate, hydrate, hydrate! If you are well hydrated you will also be less likely to succumb to sugar cravings.

I used to think you could not travel with any fresh fruits or vegetables, but thankfully this is not true. Check the travel guidelines for the country you are traveling to, and then you can prepare and pack accordingly.

http://www.cbp.gov/travel/international-visitors/kbyg/prohibited-restricted

I always pre-cut carrot sticks and cucumbers (good for helping to stay hydrated as well as a great snack with a little crunch). My children love green beans raw, so they come with us too. Fresh blueberries are an absolute favorite filled with all of those anti-oxidants and vitamin C! Grapes are a big hit, and again help with hydration.

Now, neither myself, my husband or my children can feel sustained on fruit and veggies alone so I like to add in some fun things with hidden healthy ingredients.

One of my favorites is home-made granola bars. They are chewy, sweet, filling and can camouflage an arsenal of power-house foods, such as hemp protein, a blend of ground flax, sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds and ground Goji berries … the possibilities are endless! I do sprinkle vegan chocolate chips on top to help get my children excited. They are also quite hardy so they travel well without getting messy.

Chewy Granola Bars

1 1/4 cup gluten free crispy rice
1 cup gluten free oats
2 Tbsp ground flax seeds or Chia seeds
2 Tbsp chopped or ground seeds
2Tbsp hulled hemp hearts
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla ( I LOVE ground vanilla bean powder, is so soooo delicious!)
1/4 cup dried fruit
1/2 cup brown rice syrup
1/3 cup nut butter of your choice ( I most often use almond butter. You can also keep them nut free by using sunflower seed butter)

Prepare a 9×9 baking pan by lining with parchment paper.

Mix dry ingredients together.

In a small sauce pan over low heat mix together the nut butter and brown rice syrup, just until blended and creamy. If you are using vanilla extract instead of powder add it here.

Transfer the wet ingredients into the bowl with the dry ingredients and mix, mix, mix. It really helps to get your hands in there and really blend together.

Transfer to the prepared pan and press. I use my potato masher so that I can get it nice and compact. If you would like to add chocolate chips on top, press partially, sprinkle the chips on and press again.

Place in the refrigerator for at least an hour. When ready, cut as you would like.

I sometimes pre-make these and keep them in the freezer for an anytime snack.

Mini muffins are another favorite of mine, small and easy to pack. Also, another place to sneak in all kinds of wonderful things,zucchini, quinoa, carrots….. just to name a few. My daughter is catching on to me so I have to be careful, for trips I usually stick to her favorite, Blueberry Quinoa Muffins ( She doesn’t know about the Quinoa part :o) )

Blueberry Quinoa Mini-Muffins

1 cup cooked quinoa (room temp)
3/4 cup ground oats
3/4 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup maple syrup
1/4 coconut oil (at liquid temp)
1 1/2 Tbsp chia seeds mixed with 3-4 Tbsp water (mix and let sit for 10-15 minutes)
1/2 cup of blueberries (fresh or frozen; this is where you could substitute, shredded carrots or zucchini).

Pre-heat the oven to 350F.

Lightly oil 2 mini-muffin pans.

Mix dry ingredients together; mix in the wet ingredients one at a time.

Scoop into your prepared muffin tins and bake for approx. 16 minutes.

Check for ‘done-ness’ by inserting a tooth pick which will come out dry when ready.

Cool on a wire rack.

I usually keep some of these in the freezer as well. The freezer stash has come in so handy when I have had unexpected guests or an impromptu play-date. It is so nice to have some home-made baked goods on hand to have with a nice cup of hot tea!

It is key to find containers that are reusable, compact and fit into your carry-on easily. This way you will not feel it is all too cumbersome or difficult to maneuver in small spaces. A little planning and preparation and you are on your way to a hydrated, well nourished holiday that will leave you feeling way more energized than a travel day filled with refined and processed foods!

Supporting yourself when you are traveling and out of your daily routine is so important! How you feel throughout your travels is greatly affected by what you are eating and drinking. You want to keep your immune system nice and strong, and what better way to do that than with healthy delicious whole foods?

Because life should be … Sweet, Simple and Delicious

April Godfrey
Holistic Health Coach
agodfrey.wellness@gmail.com
You can follow me on Instagram @breathewellness.april

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