The best way to eat kale raw is to use the black lacanato or dinosaur kale. It is easier to eat raw than curly green kale because it has less fiber.

Raw Kale Salad Massage

4 cups thinly sliced kale
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon Celtic Sea Salt
1 teaspoon Bragg’s liquid aminos

In large mixing bowl, add the kale, lemon juice, olive oil, and salt. With your hands, massage the ingredients together until the kale wilts or looks “cooked”. For extra flavor, add in Bragg’s. Serve immediately. Keeps in air tight container for up to four days in the refrigerator.

Add pine nuts, goji berries, sliced red onion, hemp seeds, or raw cashews.

For more recipes, try out my cookbooks.

no guilt brownies

A protein packed, carob brownie. A mini-meal you can eat for breakfast or a 3 o’clock snack.

2 Omega 3 organic eggs
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons agave
1 1/2 tablespoons organic vanilla
3/4 cup coconut date rolls, or Medjool dates
1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk
15 oz can organic black beans, drained
1/2 cup organic raw tahini
3 droppers liquid chocolate stevia
2 teaspoons cinnamon
3/4 cup carob powder
1/2 cup buckwheat flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon xanthan gum
3/4 cup unsweetened carob chips
1/2 cup chopped Brazil nuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Add to food processor, eggs, agave, and vanilla. Puree until mixed. Add dates and almond milk and puree until well blended. Add black beans, tahini, Stevia, and cinnamon. Pulse until well blended. Add in carob powder and pulse slowly until mixed. Now it starts to look like a brownie mix.

In separate small bowl blend well, buckwheat flour, baking powder, baking soda, and xanthan gum. Slowly add prepared flour mixture into food processor. Pulse until just blended. Remember, the brownie mixture will appear very thick. Add in chips and pulse a few times.
Transfer the mixture to an 8×8 pan that has been sprayed with cooking spray and lightly floured with buckwheat flour. Use a bit of spray oil on your spatula for easy spreading. Spread brownie mixture evenly and sprinkle chopped Brazil nuts on top of brownie mixture.

Bake at 350 degrees for 45-50 minutes.

Yield: 16 brownies.

BEETS GREENS AND LEEKS with Red and White Quinoa

2 teaspoons Bragg’s liquid aminos
3 cups water
1 cup white quinoa
1 bunch of leafy beet greens
2 medium leeks
1 tablespoon coconut oil
¼ teaspoon Celtic Sea salt
½ cup red quinoa

In medium sauce pan, bring water and quinoa to a boil, lower heat to a simmer, cover and cook for 15-17 minutes; set aside.

Cut leeks across the diameter into circles. Don’t use the end tips of the green stem if they look too rough. Place cut leeks into a bowl of water and push the centers of the circles so as to separate them allowing the sand to fall to the bottom of the bowl. When all the leeks appear clean, scoop out, place into a strainer and shake away excess water. Heat oil in skillet and sauté leeks on medium heat for about seven minutes. Add in sea salt. Wash and dry the beet greens and chop into bite-size pieces. Add to the leeks and sauté for another three to four minutes. Add in liquid aminos.

Serve sautéd beet greens and leeks over cooked quinoa.

Yield: six, one cup servings

WEIGHT LOSS COACHING

If you were my Weight Loss Coaching Client, the above link is an example of a recipe video I may use with you. And because it is accessible online, I can work with you from anywhere!

I suggested this recipe to my Weight Loss Coaching Clients because it has all the components of sweet, savory, bitter, salty, and comfort food. Plus it is easy to make, and you can always get more or free beet greens from your produce guy!

Get access to all NEW 10 Weight Loss Coaching Videos when you sign up!

kale with peanut butter sauce, goji and strawberies
“100 Best Gluten-free Recipes for Your Vegan Kitchen”
www.kellykeough.com

4 cups thinly sliced dinosaur kale
1/4 cup lemon juice
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon Celtic Sea salt
1 red onion, thinly sliced
1/2 cup organic chunky peanut butter
1/4 cup coconut vinegar
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup agave
2 tablespoons Bragg’s liquid aminos
1/3 cup Goji Berries
1 quart fresh strawberries, washed and sliced (optional)

In medium mixing bowl, whisk together peanut butter, rice vinegar, lemon juice, agave, and Braggs.   Add in sliced kale and red onion. With your hands, massage dressing into the raw vegetables. Toss in Goji berries, and prepared strawberries.   Serve immediately.

Yield: 5 cups.

THE COOKING COACH APPROACH
Six Sessions to Eating Smart and Weight Loss
By Kelly e. Keough, Sugar-free/Gluten-free Chef

The following is an excerpt from a Q&A quiz I give all my weight loss coaching clients. Max started out two weeks ago with the following cravings. Since then, he has lost 10 pounds and made over 10 recipes from both of my cookbooks, “The 100 Best Gluten-free Recipes for your Vegan Kitchen” and “Sugar-free Gluten-free Baking and Desserts”.

Here are a few recipes Max has accomplished:
Yogurt with berries, mint, and sprouted dehydrated buckwheat granola for breakfast, and for lunch and dinner, Kale w/Peanut Butter Sauce and Goji w/Tofu.

If you are interested in coaching, email me through my contact page on my web site!

SESSION ONE
Step One – Pantry Make-Over.
Let’s start from the outside in. We are going to go through your cupboards and fridge, remove what’s absolutely not necessary, raise our awareness of how each item is affecting your body, and replace those items with sugar-free/gluten-free alternatives and superfoods. You’ll receive a handout with product health benefits and website info.

Step Two – Q &A w/ MAX
Let’s focus on fixing immediate food changes that can be made. This ½ hour consult will ask you to identify your “EATING CHARACTER” and point us in the direction of the best way to customize an eating practice that’s best for you.

QUESTIONS: Be Specific!

* Do your best to describe the kind of eater you are in 10 verbs, or 10 adjectives, 10 or nouns, and/or 10 adverbs. Same root word can apply like: munching, muncher or grazing, grazer. These observations can come from yourself or from what you’ve heard people say about you. For example, “You’re a picky eater”.
1. Over-eater(not waiting until a full feeling, eating beyond) and then feeling bloated.
2. Quick-eater
3. Over-doing it on a cheat day/ having as much as I can physically eat rather than just a treat.
4. Late-eater: eating after 7pm
5. Sweet-lover
6. Carb-lover
7. Binge-eater
8. Copy-cat eater: eating similarly to the ones around me, irrespective of what I know I should and shouldn’t eat.
9. Fattening food lover: pate, baked goods, all sweets really, pizza, etc…
10. Multiple meals eater: can eat a meal a few hours after the last without any problem.

* What foods do you love eating?
Pizza(especially very good pizza), great pasta carbonara, caviar, great pate, great croissant, moules frites, umami burger, great el pastor tacos, Lebanese food, Indian, thai, moroccan food(tagines, brochettes, etc.), kettle korn, humus, creme brûlée, profiterole, saucisson sec, lots of cheeses, roast chicken, omelets, escargot, roasts (potatoes & chicken). Korean BBQ. Sushi.
* What foods can you absolutely not live without?
Pizza, great burgers, pastries, chocolate.
* What foods do you hate eating?
Mayonnaise, anything that uses tons of mayonnaise, gravy, anything using corn starch (Chinese gelatin looking foods), foods that are too bland. I dig everything else…
* What foods do you fear eating?
Oysters(due to looks), certain shellfish(just seems like too much work)
* What are your biggest food cravings? Are they salty, fat, or sweet or a combo? What foods are they, and at what times of day do you crave them?
Combo! Seems like variants of melted cheese: pizza, croque Madame and monsieur, humus with anything. Crave most after the gym or work outs…
* Do you cook? And if so, which dishes (recipes) do you love making?
I do cook. Omelets, roast potatoes, filet mignon, fried eggplant.
* Which dishes (recipes) do you hate making?
anything asking me to gut a chicken or handling raw meat.
* Which dishes (recipes) do you fear making?
Whole chicken (having to empty the Thing!), a turkey (cause I could fuck it up),
* What has been your biggest accomplishment with food, weight loss and/or cooking?
Master cleanse: lost 22 pounds in 13 days. Never eat fast food, never drink soda, diminishing my coffee intake greatly. Switched to tea…
* What has been your biggest failure with weight loss, food and/or cooking?
At my heaviest I’ve ever been currently. 233lbs this morning. I should not be a pound over 200 and my fighting weight should be 175.
* Do you have any cravings? If so, what are you craving right now?
Going into intelligensia, ordering another tea and a croissant or pain au chocolat to go with it. Why the fuck does Everyone else get to eat one!!
* What meal is the most challenging for you to eat “healthy”?
Eating out! Never seems very possible.
* What time of day do you find yourself eating mindlessly, not counting breakfast, lunch, dinner and two snacks?
Mid Morning and mid afternoon.
* What do you want to change about yourself, your eating, and your weight?
33 lbs to start, eating only when I absolutely need to, not because a clock tells me it’s time. Decrease my body fat and turn most of it to muscle. Knowing whenI’m hungry would be great.
* Have you ever weighed and measured your food before in an effort to diet and lose weight?
Never weighed my food, ever.
* How much weight do you want to lose?
49lbs. I’d be happy at 185.

* When during the week do you have a 3 hour block of time to devote to food shopping, planning, and preparation?
Whenever, I work for myself. Late afternoons are usually safe most days.

Young Coconut

Do you know the incredible benefits of the coconut? Many people like to talk about the increase in metabolism and the ability of coconut to help you loose weight. But I would like you to focus on portion controlling coconut because of its high fat content, yet still enjoy it. Beside the claims that coconut stimulates the liver and thyroid, I’d like you to think about and experience the practical and achievable benefits you can see with your eyes and feel in your body immediately with coconut, young and mature.

With just one young coconut, you can make keifer, yogurt, pudding, sour cream, and milk!  And with a mature coconut, you can discover how when you blend the meat with the oil, you get coconut cream, which is a dessert by the spoonful.

Young Coconuts:
1. It has gives you coconut water for ultra hydration.
2. It gives you coconut water, which you can ferment into coconut keifer and aids in digestion and hydration because of live probiotics, enzymes, and electrolytes.
3. It gives you young soft meat to ferment into coconut yogurt and pudding.
4. It gives you the option of blending the young meat and water into a coconut milk.
5. Gives you a vegan alternative to dairy. Use the milk (blended water and meat) in coffee, tea, smoothies, baking, sauces, and dressings.

Mature Coconuts:
1. Gives you a coconut cream by blending the mature meat with extra coconut oil, which you can bake with, make chocolates, and chocolate sauces from.
Gives you a medium chain saturated fat, which turns to liquid over 76 degrees, and is great for sauteing vegetables because you will use less than half the amount of oil if you used olive oil. Coconut oil cuts the calories in half. For example, instead of using 1 tablespoon of olive oil to saute, use only 1 1/2 teaspoons coconut oil. You will find that the coconut oil last longer and spreads out further when sauteing vegetables.
2. Gives you satiation with just a small amount, so when you portion control your fats, you will get the satisfaction and ability to curb hunger with small amounts.
3. The coconut oil, even food grade, can be used to soften the skin.
4. The dried mature meat can be shredded for raw desserts, baking, and candy.

So the reasons to use young and mature coconuts are because it is highly nutritious and rich in fiber, vitamins, and minerals. It is classified as a “functional food” because it provides many health benefits beyond its nutritional content.  Coconut has been called “The Tree of Life.” The coconut provides a nutritious source of meat, juice, milk, and oil that has fed and nourished populations around the world for generations.

Recipe:
Coconut Ceviche
www.kellykeough.com

2 young Thai coconuts
2 medium tomatoes, thinly sliced
1 cucumber, de-seeded and thinly sliced
1 cup cilantro, chopped
2 jalapenos, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 bulb fennel, thinly sliced
1 red pepper, thinly, sliced
1 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/3 cup lime juice
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons Bragg’s Liquid Aminos

Crack open young coconuts. Pour off coconut water to drink or to reserve to make coconut keifer. Scrape out coconut meat with sturdy spoon. Remove any visible shell pieces from coconut. Thinly slice coconut meat, about 1/8 inch wide and 1 inch long. Place prepared coconut meat in large mixing bowl. Add prepared tomato, cucumber, cilantro, jalapeno, garlic, fennel, and red pepper. Mix well. Sprinkle sea salt on top of prepared vegetable mixture. Toss until salt is well incorporated, then massage salt into vegetable mixture with hands. In small bowl, combine lime juice, olive oil and Bragg’s. Pour prepared lime mixture on top of vegetables and mix until well coated working the marinade into the vegetables with spoon. Marinate prepared vegetables for at least one hour before serving.

Yield: 5 cups.

Top Ten Uses for Agave
Sugar-free Cooking Made Easy
By Kelly E. Keough

New to sugar-free cooking? Start with agave nectar. Nature’s Agave is the best for taste and a glycemic index of 17.

Agave syrup is made from a succulent plant grown in Mexico. It is an all-natural fructose sweetener that substitutes for sugar in everyday recipes.

Imagine making sugar conscious desserts, sauces, and dishes without spiking your blood sugar levels or your kid’s too for that matter! Agave is a low glycemic food and has a low glycemic index of under 50.

Use these simple recipes with agave to replace high glycemic sweeteners like white sugar, brown sugar, molasses, honey, maple syrup, and high fructose corn syrup.

Ten Easy Uses for Agave in Recipes

1. Drinks

Use agave in your morning hot beverage and you’ll have found the first alternative sweetener that has no aftertaste. It tastes great, too.

Coffee and Tea with Agave
8 oz prepared coffee or black, green, or Rooibos herbal tea
1 teaspoon agave
1 – 2 tablespoons creamer

Pour prepared coffee, black, green, or Rooibos herbal tea into cup. Stir in agave. Add in your choice of non-dairy creamer or milk.
Yield: 1, 8 oz serving

2. Smoothies

A simple smoothie using ice instead of fruit can be used for a 10 o’clock or 3 o’clock snack. And with just 2 teaspoon of agave, it will make your life sweeter.

Sugar-free Smoothie with Agave
8 oz water or milk
1 scoop sugar-free chocolate or vanilla flavored protein powder
1/2 cup ice
2 teaspoons agave

To blender, add water or milk, protein powder, ice, and agave. Blend on low and increase speed to high for 30 seconds. Pour into 16 oz glass.
Yield: 1, 12 oz serving

3. Hot Cereal

Don’t dump maple syrup all over your breakfast. Try agave on hot oatmeal or quinoa. Your breakfast will last you all morning long without giving you sugar crashes.

Sugar-free Hot Quinoa Cereal with Agave
1 cup water
1/3 cup Ancient Harvest quinoa flakes
1 teaspoons agave
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
dollop of your choice of milk
1/2 cup fresh berries

In medium sauce pan, add water and Ancient Harvest quinoa flakes. Bring to a boil stirring constantly for 90 seconds until cooked. Transfer mixture to a small cereal bowl. Stir in agave and cinnamon. Top with milk and fresh berries.
Yield: 1, 1 1/2 cup serving

4. Yogurt

The best way to buy and eat yogurt is plain, nonfat. Then add your own flavorings like vanilla bean and use agave to sweeten without spiking your blood sugar levels.

Sugar-free Vanilla Yogurt with Agave
1 cup plain, fat-free yogurt
1 teaspoons agave
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract or bean

Place plain, fat-free yogurt in a small serving bowl. Stir in agave and vanilla extract until well blended.
Yield: 1, 1 cup serving

5. Salad Dressing

Make salad dressing in minutes with oil, vinegar, agave and spices. Enjoy green leafy vegetables without added cane juice and corn syrup.

Sugar-free Italian Salad Dressing with Agave
3/4 cup olive oil
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice or apple cider vinegar
2 cloves fresh crushed garlic, minced
2 tablespoons agave
1 teaspoon Italian spice
1/2 teaspoon salt

In medium bowl, whisk together oil with lemon juice or vinegar. Stir in garlic, agave, Italian spice and salt. Transfer dressing to a glass jar with lid. Shake well before using. Yield: 1 1/2 cups

6. Ketchup

Most ketchup brands add high fructose corn syrup. No wonder it’s the only food kids will eat. Make your own ketchup with agave. No one will know it doesn’t have sugar.

Sugar-free Ketchup with Agave
1 1/2 cups unsweetened ketchup
2 tablespoons agave
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1/4 teaspoon sea salt

In small mixing bowl, whisk together unsweetened ketchup, agave, Worcestershire sauce, and salt. Transfer to an air-tight container and store in refrigerator.
Yield: 1 2/3 cups

7. Marinades

Make your own marinade with citrus juies, oil, agave, and spices. Add flavor and zest to chicken without the added corn syrup and cane juice.

Sugar-free Citrus Marinade with Agave for Chicken
1 cup orange juice
1/2 cup lemon juice
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons agave
1 tablespoon low salt tamari
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 cup fresh minced cilantro
3 cloves crushed garlic, minced

In medium bowl, whisk together orange juice, lemon juice, olive oil, agave, tamari, and salt. Stir in cilantro and minced garlic. Add to marinade four, 4 oz washed, pounded and patted dry chicken breasts. Marinate chicken for 30 minutes. Cook chicken as desired.
Yield: 2 1/2 cups marinade

8. Baking

Baking sugar-free with agave adds the needed moisture to baked goods and makes an easy backed apple without the ill affects of brown sugar.

Sugar-free Baked Apples with Almonds and Agave
6 Fuji apples, washed and cored 1″ wide and 3/4 down to core
3 tablespoons lemon juice
3 tablespoons agave
2 teaspoons cinnamon
3 tablespoons raw almonds, finely chopped

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray oil bottom of 9×13 inch Pyrex baking dish. Place apples in baking dish. In small bowl, whisk together lemon juice, agave, and cinnamon. Stir in almonds. Pour 2 teaspoons of lemon agave mixture into each apple core. Add 1/2 inch of boiling water to baking dish. Bake apples for 45 minutes. Cool before serving.
Yield: 6, 1 cup servings

9. Stir-fry Sauce

Stir-fry is a healthy meal to make with left over vegetables. With agave on hand, you can whip up a sugar-free stir-fry sauce that tastes better than if you used a store bought sauce.

Vegetable Stir-Fry Sauce with Agave
2 1/2 cups low salt vegetable broth
1 tablespoon low salt tamari
1 teaspoon Umeboshi paste
1 tablespoon lime or lemon juice
2 tablespoons agave
1 tablespoon fresh minced ginger
1 tablespoon fresh minced garlic
1 tablespoon fresh minced jalapeno
1 teaspoon salt
dash cayenne
2 teaspoons kuzu root or cornstarch dissolved in 2 tablespoons cold water

In medium sauce pan over medium heat, add broth, tamari, Umeboshi paste, lime or lemon juice and agave. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to a simmer. Add ginger, garlic, jalapeno, salt and cayenne. Slowly stir in dissolved kuzu or cornstarch and stir constantly until thick about 3-4 minutes. Use sauce in your stir-fry recipe.
Yield: 3 cups sauce

10. Pizza Sauce

Pizza sauce usually contains cane juice or sugar. Sweeten your family’s favorite Friday night meal with agave to ensure everyone loves the slice and can still sleep soundly.

Sugar-free Pizza Sauce with Agave
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1 sweet Hawaiian onion, finely chopped
1 15 oz car unsweetened tomato sauce
1 15 oz can crushed tomatoes
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1/4 cup agave
1 tablespoon Bragg’s Liquid Aminos
1 teaspoon sea salt

In large sauté pan over low heat, add oil and lightly sauté garlic for a few minutes. Add onion and sauté until translucent about 5 minutes. Stir in tomato sauce, tomatoes, paste, agave, Bragg’s, and salt. Simmer to reduce liquid for 15-20 minutes stirring occasionally. Use pizza sauce on favorite pizza dough recipe.
Yield: 4 cups sauce

This video recipe is takes you all the way through the blending truffle process. Nutiva Coconut Mana is a new product that is super satiating and easier to use then hemp butter.

Use coconut mana in:

• smoothies
• on hot and cold cereals
• on yams
• in desserts, baked and raw vegan

Coconut Hemp Chocolate Truffles
By Kelly e. Keough, expert gluten-free/sugar-free vegan chef
And from her cookbook, “100 Best Gluten-free Recipes for Your Vegan Kitchen”

1/2 cup Nutiva Coconut Mana, melted

3 tablespoons Nature’s Agave

3 tablespoons Whey Low or erythritol

3 tablespoons Hemp Milk

1 tablespoon vanilla

1 teaspoon cinnamon

4 rounded tablespoons carob powder

4 rounded tablespoons Navitas cacao powder

1 tablespoon Navitas cacao nibs

1 tablespoon Navitas Goji Berries

3 tablespoons Nutiva Hemp Seeds

In small bowl, blend melted Coconut Mana, agave, Whey Low or erythritol, hemp milk, cinnamon, and vanilla. Stir until all ingredients are incorporated. With flat spatula using a folding motion, work in carob and cacao powder until smooth, pliable, and shiny like fudge. With spatula, fold in cacao nibs and Goji berries. Form into balls and roll in hemp.

Note: To melt coconut mana, place glass jar in two inches of water in medium sauce pan. Heat on low for ten minutes. Remove from heat and stir.

Makes 35, one-inch truffle balls.

Put peanut butter on just about anything, and it tastes good!  So dressing raw kale– the most nutrient dense green leafy veggie on the planet, with peanut butter is a win/win. Because the kale is raw, the nutrients nourish the body, you’ll feel it. And the peanut butter sauce with Goji and strawberries tantalize the taste buds, satisfy our mouth feel and sweet tooth, and makes us think we are eating something decadent. When really it’s superhealthy!

This is what I call MINDFUL EATING. It is taking the time to plan, prepare, and enjoy the tastes we love.

RAW KALE WITH PEANUT BUTTER SAUCE AND GOJI

from “The 100 Best Gluten-free Recipes for Your Vegan Kitchen”

4 cups thinly sliced dinosaur kale                   
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup olive oil
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 red onion, thinly sliced
1/2 cup chunky peanut butter
1/4 cup rice or coconut vinegar
1/4 cup Nature’s Agave
3 tablespoons Bragg’s liquid aminos
1/3 cup Navitas Naturals Goji Berries
1 quart fresh strawberries, washed and sliced

In large mixing bowl, add slice kale with lemon juice, olive oil, and sea salt. Massage the wet ingredients into kale until kale wilts. Mix in sliced onion; set aside.

In medium mixing bowl, whisk together peanut butter, rice vinegar, agave, and Bragg’s. Pour wet mixture onto prepared kale. Toss in Goji berries and prepared strawberries. Serve immediately.

Note: Skip strawberries, or only add as eaten as the strawberries will only taste good when served immediately.  This is because the vinegar will make the strawberries taste fermented if left in the fridge over 24 hours.

Yield: 5 cups.

The Latest Thing to Happen to Me About Mindful Eating:
I usually look and feel 10-15 years younger due to my healthy lifestyle and mindful eating. I didn’t come across this behavior naturally, it was actually do or die. From age 35-39, over 1/3 of my hair fell out and I was balding. I thought, “This is my best asset, I can’t loose it!” Always a sugar addict/compulsive over eater, I was desperate to heal my hair and my body. Going sugar-free/gluten-free not only helped my heal my hair and grow back, I healed my sugar addiction and lost 50 pounds. I am now the most mindful eater I know! And I am so grateful. Here’s why…

Three weeks ago, I took a 9-5 job to enhance my understanding of internet business– which was actually a
7 am – 6 pm job. Working from home these past six years as an expert healthy chef afforded me the luxury of practicing a total regime of mindful eating and receiving the benefits from it. Now, I was doing eleven hours in the in can, and my mindful eating was railroaded right off the tracks. Even though I had strong tools of healthy choices and portion control in place, they barely carried me through the rigor of getting at 4:50 am and sitting in front of a computer until 6 pm, plus even though I was learning what I set out to achieve, I was admittedly unhappy and not fulfilled. And that’s because I couldn’t be 100% committed to my health 24-7. Suddenly, I felt badly for everyone everywhere who had a full-time job and didn’t have the time for healthy eating. I knew what it felt like to have limited time to be to shop and prepare whole fruits and vegetables, organic proteins, and sugar-friendly/gluten-free desserts.

Packing my lunch went out the door. I only had time to pack snacks, which were all gone by 11 am because I speedily ate them. Then, I would turn to coffee. Coffee and I don’t mix. The caffeine would crash my blood sugar and make me want to eat more than I needed. Then I would try to balance it all out and buy a healthy salad for lunch. For the average person, this could be batting a thousand, but for me, it was well below my standard of mindful eating. Buying food out at a store when stressed and unhappy was dangerous for me. I had to curb my spending and budget. I saw the stress of the job was causing me to purchase extra good-for-you-foods like rice cakes and Think Thin bars. Nothing wrong with these snacks, it just that I would eat half the bag or more than one bar. The time commitment stressed my body and mind to the max. I lasted three only weeks, and quit! It’s because deep health and natural beauty are what I value most, they are my greatest success and what I hold true and close to my heart. I don’t regret taking the job. It taught me what I love and value most, my health. And so much of my health depends on what and how I eat.

I went back to basics and planned my food for the day. I love the health benefits and appreciate my life more because of my mindful eating. This is all due to my sugar-free/gluten-free and flexitarian food practice of planning, preparation, and prayer. I plan my meals and snacks first and make a shopping list. I prepare all my fruits and vegetables for juicing and snacks and store them in Tupperware so they are ready to eat, even on the go. And prayer is to remind me to receive the benefits of healthy glowing skin, better sleep, trim body, steady blood sugar, and ability to access my happiness frequently through out the day. I am so grateful for who I am and who I have become as a person and as an expert chef. The tools I’ve created for myself saved my life. I could’ve gained 10 pounds and be miserable, but I didn’t.

I bounced back.

This is the recipe that you will make over and over again.

From my cookbook, “Sugar-free Gluten-free Baking and Desserts”.

Welcome to the Hemp Ball Club!

Why raw chocolate made with hemp butter and why my recipe?

• Full Vegan Protein Source
• Heart Healthy
• High in Omega 3
• Low GI
• Low Sugar
• Less Than 1 Gram Saturated Fat
• Less Than 50 Calories a Truffle
• Satisfies Without Triggering Wanting More
• The Best Chocolate You’ve Ever Had

And I have made over 10,000 truffles and met over 10,000 people who ate them, so I am pretty confident that you will like them too!

Hemp ball truffles
A protein packed Omega 3 vegan chocolate!

1/3 cup raw Manitoba Harvest hemp butter
4 tablespoons Nature’s Agave Raw
1/4 cup ZSweet or coconut sugar
2 tablespoons Manitoba Harvest hemp milk
1 tablespoon vanilla
1 teaspoon cinnamon
4 rounded tablespoons carob
5 rounded tablespoons Navitas cacao powder
2 tablespoon Navitas cacao nibs
2 tablespoon Navitas Goji Berries
3 tablespoons Manitoba Harvest hemp seeds

In small bowl with flat spatula, blend hemp butter, agave, ZSweet, hemp milk, cinnamon, and vanilla. Stir until all ingredients are well incorporated. With back of flat spatula using a folding motion, work in carob and cacao powder one tablespoon at a time until batter is smooth, pliable, and shiny like fudge. Repeat this process until all carob and cacao is incorporated. With spatula, fold in cacao nibs and Goji berries. Form into 1-inch balls and roll in hemp seeds.

Yield: 24, one-inch balls.