Acai Berry Muffins!

Today is International Families Day! If you're like us, you want to do anything you can to show your family you love them.  So why not make these delicious, energy-revving, high-fiber acai berry muffins for your family to celebrate the day? The acai berry is known for its potent antioxidants—it’s flavonoids and anthocyanins, which help you to defend your body from life stressors, giving you more energy to spend on doing the things you want to do.

These muffins are also high in fiber and protein as they contain flax seeds and whey protein to keep energy levels stable so you won’t experience sugar crashes and the moodiness that goes along with it—and neither will anyone in your family. They will sustain you throughout long days and are so tasty even kids will love them!

Acai Muffins

The Ingredients:

2 cup all-purposes flour

1/2 cup flax seeds (ground)

½ cup vanilla whey protein powder

2 t baking powder

½ t salt

½ t baking soda

½ cup plain low fat yogurt

½ t baking soda

2 T agave syrup

1/2 cup soymilk (or regular dairy milk)

1 egg

½ t salt

1/8 cup vegetable oil

1 cup of acai berries (fresh)

Directions

1) Preheat oven to 175 C. Grease a standard 12 muffin tray.

2) Combine the flour, flax seeds salt, protein powder, baking powder, baking soda, salt in a bowl.

3) In a separate bowl, place vegetable oil, egg, milk, yogurt, and agave syrup in a bowl and mix them.

4) Combine the contents of both bowls and mix them together until even. Fold in the acai berries.

5) Fill the muffin tray with the mixture to the top.

6) Bake for 20-25 minutes or until done. Let cool for 5 minutes.

You can add in variations like other berries as well. You can also incorporate acai berries into pancakes and smoothies. If you want to get really creative you can use the acai berry powder and make ice cream, chocolate, and even cocktails!

What types of healthy treats do you like to make for your families? Granola? Whole wheat waffles? Bran cookies?

Berries Berries Berries!

It’s Friday, wanna feel more energized and ready to take on the weekend?

Add more colors to your snacks today! If you’re looking for a snack to push you through the rest of the workday so you can make it to the weekend with ease; grab a handful of berries for that little energy nudge. Raspberries, strawberries, blueberries, cranberries, blackberries… any of them will do the trick. Colorful berries such as these are especially good choices because their color comes from anthocyanins, very powerful antioxidants that prevent cell damage, keeping the body in better condition so it can have more energy.

Berries are also rich in vitamin C and bioflavonoids, which are phytochemicals that are found in fruits and vegetables that can also work as antioxidants and prevent injury to cells. Dark berries such as blueberries are especially high in bioflavonoids. For the best immune system boosting effect, eat a bowl of mixed berries instead of choosing just one type.

How do you like to eat your berries? Which are your favorites?

Maca Powder

Maca is a root from the Andes mountains in Peru that has had a variety of uses by Peruvians including promotion of endurance, energy, sexual virility, and even fertility. It has also been known to have many health benefits and is a great suggestion to add to your diet. Maca is abundant in vitamins and minerals such as calcium, magnesium, iron, Vitamin C, B1, B2, B6, and B12 that all assist your bodily functions. And that’s not all…studies have shown that Maca contains two of the three fatty acids and offers incredible amounts of fiber!

To get your dose of Maca for raising your energy levels , try adding one teaspoon to smoothies, pancakes and other recipes or take ½ gram of the extract, twice a day, instead.

Maca powder: The Vital Stats:

Serving size: 1 tbsp

Calories: 60

Fat: 0g

Carbohydrates: 12g

Dietary Fiber: 3g (pretty impressive for just a level tablespoon!)

Protein: 3g

Here is a simple, fabulous smoothie recipe with Maca powder that you can try for breakfast tomorrow:

The Ingredients
1 1/2 cups almond milk
1-2 tablespoons maca powder
1 serving of your favorite protein powder
2 tablespoons flax seeds
1 banana (optionally frozen)
A little honey to sweeten

If you’ve never tried Maca powder before, you should be able to find it at your local health food stores like Trader Joe’s or Whole Foods.

Have you tried Maca before? Which benefit would you enjoy most that it has to offer?!

Egg and Salmon Sandwich

Need a breakfast that feels like a splurge yet that gives you the nutrients you need so that you can power right through this hump day? Look no further than this mouth-watering breakfast sandwich. The smoked salmon (Yes,-that’s code for indulgent lox!) has omega-3 fatty acids, the egg whites are packed with plenty of protein, and the whole wheat English muffin is a healthy carbohydrate choice. This all makes for the perfect combination of energy-fueling foods to help you power through your day.

Egg and Salmon Sandwich

Ingredients
1/2 teaspoon(s) extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon(s) finely chopped red onion
2  large egg whites, beaten
Salt and pepper, to taste
1/2 teaspoon(s) capers, rinsed and chopped (optional)
1 ounce(s) smoked salmon
1 slice(s) tomato
1 whole-wheat English muffin, split and toasted

Directions:

1. Heat oil in a small nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add onion and cook, stirring, until it begins to soften, about 1 minute. Add egg whites, salt and capers (if using) and cook, stirring constantly, until whites are set, about 30 seconds.

2. To make the sandwich, layer the egg whites, smoked salmon and tomato on English muffin.

Nutrition Info- Calories: 214, Total Fat: 5g, Carbohydrates: 25g, Protein: 19g

You also might want to add some berries on the side of this meal to give you some extra antioxidants and energy! Enjoy!

www.delish.com

Chia Muffins

Who doesn’t love a tasty muffin? But let’s face it, if all of that sugar doesn’t zap your energy and cause a crash, all of the oil and fat will weigh you down and make you feel sluggish. Well not true for these muffins, folks!

This delicious Chia Muffins recipe will fill you with energy…And the incredible flavor is anything but just a bonus! Chia seeds are loaded with omega-3 fatty acids that decrease inflammation (and the damage that comes along with it) and help rejuvenate our bodies and give us that little extra energy that we all long for.

Chia Muffin Recipe

Ingredients
1 Tbsp chia seeds, ground
1 ½ cups whole-wheat or whole-grain flour
2 tsp cinnamon
½ tsp nutmeg
2 tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt (or salt and pepper to taste)
16-oz. can organic pumpkin (make sure there’s only pumpkin listed in the ingredients)
2 egg whites
¼ cup high-quality canola oil
½ cup agave nectar
1 tsp vanilla
½ cup chopped walnuts

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix dry ingredients together in a bowl. In another bowl, mix all wet ingredients. Fold wet ingredients and nuts into dry ingredients, stirring only until dry ingredients are moistened (don’t over-mix!) Spoon into paper-lined or greased (with canola oil) muffin tins. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes (or until a toothpick comes out clean from the middle of the muffin). Store completely cooled muffins in a sealable plastic bag in the freezer.


This recipe makes about a dozen muffins, at 150 calories each. There are 9 grams of fat (but the good kind), and only 1 gram of saturated fat.

Recipe adapted from www.youbeauty.com

Mediterranean Pizza

When we were growing up every Thursday night in our house was pizza night. Whether we

were coming in the door from a long day of school followed by soccer practice or a speedskating

session, we always looked forward to pizza night. And one of our favorite versions of pizza

that our Mom used to make was a Mediterranean version. And now we still make this pizza

for ourselves and our families. It’s such a pleasure to feel like we’re really indulging while

providing a nutritious meal.

We’re all for anything that is healthy, delicious and gives us energy like this pizza does—and

in fact, that’s what the Mediterranean diet is all about. We love that Mediterranean cuisine

is predominantly plant-based, low in saturated fat and high in fiber. It helps to keep you trim

while helping to prevent chronic diseases like Alzheimer’s disease, cancer, heart disease, and

so much more. It keeps energy levels high and blood sugar levels stable because it’s rich in

fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, beans and seeds—wholesome, high fiber foods and low-

fat protein sources both of which prevent energy crashes while providing the micronutrients,

vitamins and minerals that keep energy levels high.

These nutrient-rich foods are the backbone of a healthy diet—and exactly the foods that we

help our clients to incorporate into their diets to become healthier, fight disease and achieve

and maintain a healthy weight. These are also the foods that we focus on eating ourselves and

have developed meal and diet plans around in our books The Secret To Skinny and Fire Up Your

Metabolism.

Here’s our recipe for Mediterranean Pizza, we hope you enjoy it as much as we do!

Mediterranean Pizza

Recipe:

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons honey

1 1/2 teaspoons dry yeast

2 tablespoons warm water (100° to 110°)

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 cup whole wheat flour

3/4 teaspoon salt, divided

1/3 cup cold water

Cooking spray

2 teaspoons cornmeal

1 plum tomato, thinly sliced

1 teaspoon olive oil

1/2 cup chopped red onion

1 small cucumber, thinly sliced

4 garlic cloves, minced

1 (14-ounce) can quartered artichoke hearts, drained

2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil, divided

2 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano, divided

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

3/4 cup (3 ounces) pre-shredded part-skim mozzarella

1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese with basil and black olives

Preparation

Combine the water, yeast, and honey in a large bowl; let stand for 5 minutes. Stir in 1

tablespoon of oil. Next, stir in the flour and 1/2 teaspoon salt into yeast mixture.

Slowly add 1/3 cup cold water, stirring until dough forms a ball.

Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead until smooth and elastic (about 2

minutes). Roll dough into a 9-inch circle on a lightly floured surface. Place dough on a

12-inch pizza pan coated with cooking spray and sprinkled with cornmeal.

Cover and let rise in a warm place (85°), free from drafts, 1 hour or until doubled in size.

Place tomato slices on paper towels; let stand 5 minutes.

Preheat oven to 400°.

Heat 1 teaspoon oil in a large nonstick skillet. Add onion, cucumber, and garlic; sauté 4

minutes or until tender. Add artichokes and 1 1/2 tablespoons each of basil and

oregano; sauté 30 seconds. Drain. Stir in 1/4 teaspoon salt and pepper. Set aside.

Crimp edges of dough with fingers to form a rim; coat with cooking spray. Bake at 400° for 9

to 10 minutes or until lightly browned. Sprinkle crust with 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese. Top with

vegetable mixture. Sprinkle the top with the rest of the mozzarella. Place tomato slices on top

of cheese. Sprinkle with feta cheese and remaining basil, black olives, and oregano. Bake an

additional 6 to 7 minutes or until crust is golden. Serve immediately.