February 2018 - Online Personal Trainer for Women

February 11, 2018February 11, 2018

Chocolate Smoothie

Chocolate smoothies make me think of visiting my parents in Costa Rica where local cocoa powder is added to everything. So for Valentine’s Day I thought it would be fun to make a chocolate smoothie packed with heart healthy omega 3’s, strawberries, and spinach.

Smoothies are one of the easiest ways to pack in a lot of healthy ingredients in a delicious and convenient way. This chocolate smoothie is one of those examples of something that tastes like it must not be that good for you, but it actually is. Packed with spinach, cocoa powder, chia seeds, hemp hearts, strawberries, soymilk, and bananas it comes out so thick and creamy it almost seems like a chocolate milkshake. Perfect for a quick, yet very filling and delicious breakfast or snack.

Ingredients:
1 cup baby spinach
1 cup frozen strawberries (you can use fresh, but frozen is 
better during the off season)
1 cup soymilk
1 large banana or 1.5 medium bananas
1 tablespoon chia seeds
1 tablespoon hemp hearts
1 tablespoon cocoa powder (non-alkaline)
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:
Combine all the ingredients in a high speed blender and 
blend until smooth and well combined. Sometimes the chia 
get stuck on the bottom so scrape them off and re-blend 
as needed.

February 10, 2018January 22, 2021

Valentine’s Day Chocolate Cookies (made healthier)

When thinking of giving a gift on Valentine’s Day, why not bake a treat filled with ingredients that are good for your loved one?

I’ve been having fun experimenting with this wonderful cookie recipe, and decided to create a Valentine’s Day cookie with almond flour, pure cocoa powder, and date molasses. Date molasses has slightly less sugar than agave or maple syrup, making it a little healthier, but noticeably less sweet. Almonds are a uniquely nutritious nut that is low in fat, high in vitamin E, and calcium. However you choose to play with this recipe, it will be free of refined sweeteners, oil, dairy, eggs, or refined carbohydrates.

Ingredients:

2 cups finely ground almond flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
2 tablespoons cocoa powder (non-alkaline)
1/3 cup pure date molasses, maple syrup, or agave (plus 2-4 additional tablespoons)
3 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, or pre-heat a baking stone.
Whisk the almond flour, cocoa powder, and baking powder together in a medium mixing bowl.
Pour in the date molasses and vanilla extract. Stir until well mixed. If the cookie dough seems too dry add a little more sweetener one tablespoon at a time.
Make small balls of dough in your hands and place them onto the prepared baking surface. Press the dough down and shape into a heart, or desired shape.
Bake for 15 minutes. Allow the cookies to cool for a few minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to finish cooling.
Enjoy!

February 10, 2018February 11, 2018

Healthy Hot Cocoa

When I was growing up in Vermont, nothing said “winter” like a snow day and a steaming cup of hot cocoa. But as I’ve become more health conscious over the years, the thought of having lots of sugar and milk with a little cocoa powder is no longer as appealing. While cocoa powder has been shown to have powerful antioxidants and a long list of health benefits (For more information about the health benefits of cocoa powder watch this video), unfortunately adding milk has been shown to suppress the health benefits of cocoa powder. And we all know refined sugar isn’t something we need to add to our diet!

So here’s what I’ve come up with instead. A truly healthy, deeply chocolatey, slightly sweet, hot chocolate that you can enjoy with a smile, knowing that you are giving yourself a treat that is actually treating yourself well.

There are only three ingredients, but all of them have been well thought out. Be sure not to use dutch cocoa powder also known as alkaline cocoa powder. Alkalized cocoa powder has dramatically reduced antioxidant levels. For more information take a look at this study. For the sweetener, I used date molasses which is lower in sugar than other natural sweeteners and retains some of the healthful benefits of dates.

Healthy Hot Cocoa

Serving size 1
Ingredients:
1 Cup Unsweetened Soymilk (or other non-dairy milk)
1 Tablespoon Cocoa Powder (unsweetened and non-alkaline)
2 Teaspoons Date Molasses

Directions:
1. Over a medium low flame warm up the soymilk.
2. When the soymilk starts to steam add the cocoa 
powder and date molasses and whisk all the 
ingredients together until well blended.
3. Pour carefully into a mug and enjoy!