Morselicious alMONDay Mania

Happy MORSELICIOUS Monday or shall I say alMONDay.

Today we have a guest post from my  friend and colleague, Lauren Kelly.

Hi my name is Lauren Kelly. I am a Certified Nutritionist who has a passion for nutrition, health, food and wellness.  I am a busy mother 0f 3 little boys and have been happily married for 10 years.  I love teaching my family and friends healthy fun tips and how eating whole, unprocessed foods benefit your mind and body.  I am a recipe developer, nutritionist, food and nutrition blogger that loves healthy food!

Almond Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies (Gluten Free and Dairy Free)

Disclaimer** These are AMAZING!!

These cookies are made with all natural ingredients, but taste delicious at the same time.  My kids could not get enough of these!  These are one of my favorite treats when I want something sweet but want to still eat healthy and clean.

I made these for a friend whose family is dairy free due to dairy intolerance.    Those who suffer from this experience gas, bloating, pain and cramps in the lower stomach and maybe even vomiting.   Adapting to a dairy free lifestyle may require some extra work, but can be quite manageable once you change your eating habits.  I wanted to show them that you can still eat healthy (and dairy free) and still eat yummy treats!!

Almond Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

 adapted from Clean Eating Magazine

INGREDIENTS:

  • 1 cup unsalted almond butter, stirred well (I used Trader Joe’s Natural Almond Butter, lightly salted with flax seeds)
  • 3/4 cup Sucanat (MORSELIST note: I chop 3 dates & mix w 1/4 c boiling water)
  • 1 large egg  (MORSELIST note: I use 3 tbsp flax meal mixed with 1/2 cup water)
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda (MORSELIST note: I skip the soda to reduce sodium)
  • 1/4 tsp sea salt ( I omitted since the almond butter was salted)
  • 3 oz dark chocolate ( I used Enjoy Life Semi-Sweet chocolate chips that are Dairy, Nut, Soy and Gluten Free)

INSTRUCTIONS:

  1. Preheat oven to 350°F. In a medium bowl, stir together first 5 ingredients until blended. Stir in chocolate.
  2. Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls onto parchment-lined baking sheets. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until lightly browned. Let cool on baking sheets for 5 minutes. Remove to a wire rack and let cool for 15 more minutes.

 

Nutrition Information per cookie: Calories: 110, Total Fat: 8 g, Sat. Fat: 1.5 g, Carbs: 10 g, Fiber: 1 g, Sugars: 3 g, Protein: 2 g, Sodium: 55 mg, Cholesterol: 10 mg
http://laurenkellynutrition.com

Work it out Wednesday- Heart & Stroke Awareness Month

Happy Work-it-out-Wednesday!
In honor of National Heart Month and my dad, Mac,
I’ve collected a couple of my favorite BLOGGER’s posts on this issue.
Thank you, Lauren Kellly, Certified Nutritionist
and Karen Whittier, founder of EMBRACE ACTIVISM!
And, please click on this link from the CDC to learn FACTS
about SODIUM and ways to REDUCE it from our diets:
There are a few PDF’s to download and I found them extremely
helpful.
February is National Heart Health Month and luckily heart disease prevention
is easy to do with simple changes to your diet and lifestyle.
Eliminating saturated fats (red meat and dairy) and trans fats
(deep fried foods, bakery products, and packaged foods),
high cholesterol foods, high sodium foods and those that have refined carbohydrates is the first step.
Maintaing an active daily routine (at least 30 minutes a day)
reduces stress which can in turn prevent heart disease.
Add omega-3 fatty acids (found in salmon, mackerel, flax seed oil and walnut oil)
to decrease risk for heart attacks and can lower blood pressure.
Finally, stay in a healthy weight range.
Avoid too much weight gain and loss (yo-yo dieting) and keep positive thoughts!
- Lauren Kelly, Certified Nutritionist
—-
The Beat Goes On…*

By: Karen Whittier  -  2/5/2012

February contains Valentine’s Day so it’s fitting that it also is Heart Disease/Stroke Awareness Month. Heart disease affects more Americans than all cancers. It kills more women than breast cancer; in fact, heart disease is the #1 killer of women.

The heart is one of our body’s vital organs. It can be thought of as a pump sending oxygen-rich blood to the body. Being the daughter of a carpenter I think it makes sense I assigned functions/characteristics of the heart in home-building terms. So, one aspect of the heart involves ‘plumbing’. As I mentioned above, the heart pumps oxygen-rich blood out all the way to the far-reaches of the body. The mode oftransportation begins with arteries and branches out into smaller pathways called capillaries. Hardening of the arteries or atherosclerosis decreases the area available for blood flow due to a build-up of plaque along the artery’s inner walls.. Continued build-up creates blockages depriving areas downstream of oxygen; whether or not that’s a life-threatening blockage depends on the location of the blockage and/or the number of arteries involved.

Another home-building term that applies to the heart is ‘electrical’. The heart’s pumping begins with an electrical impulse that signals the upper chambers (atrium) to contract so blood is pumped into the lower chambers (ventricle). Additional electrical signals take place directing blood from the right ventricle to the lungs and blood from the left ventricle to the body. If there is any kind of electrical malfunction the main job of the heart is compromised. Irregular heart rhythms are called arrhythmia and can jeopardize the workings of the heart in supplying oxygen to the body. Arrhythmias can be further classified into tachycardia where the heart beats too fast and bradycardia where the heart beats too slowly. It should be no surprise that if there is a problem with the electrical workings of the heart its function is impacted.

With the exception of congenital conditions that affect the heart’s functioning, factors that create heart disease and lead to heart attack and/or stroke are, by and large, governed by lifestyle choices. Learn what your heart attack risk is by completing this assessment:

Make heart-friendly diet choices, engage in heart-strengthening activities, learn heart-pampering stress management techniques, and let your heart sing! Read more ways to make heart-healthy decisions here and visit the American Heart Association page. GoRed!

*Listen to the Whisper’s And the Beat Goes On

Health, Wellness & CURES!!
Karen

Don’t forget to share your MORSELICIOUS LOVE bites this Valentine’s Day with my special

COUPON CODE for 15% off all orders $19.99 and above

“xomo”

click here to shop online http://shop.macnmos.com/main.sc

Close [X]