Cheat Day Coconut Ice Cream!

Paleo-friendly Ice Cream

Even though this is a "healthier" version of that creamy, cool summer treat ice cream, save this one for a cheat day, or after a long, grueling summer time wod!

Chocolate Coconut Ice Cream

Ingredients:

1 Can of Coconut Milk, Full Fat (check the ingredients that it is just coconut milk and there's not "other" ingredients in it!)
1/4 Cup Cocoa Powder
1/4 Cup Maple Syrup
1 Tsp Pure Vanilla Extract

1. In a blender, combine all of the ingredients and blend until it becomes creamy and smooth in texture.
2. Taste the mixture, and add more maple syrup or cocoa powder, whatever your preference is.
3. Place in a freezer-friendly container with a lid and freeze for at least 4 hours or until it is firm. If it ends up getting to hard, just remove it from the freezer for about 10 minutes before you dig in and enjoy!

Cha-Cha-Cha-Chia!

The Magic of Chia

Chia seeds are pretty cool how they start off so small and then expand like crazy! They are also a great addition to any food or drink that you want to nutritionally enhance! Try out these simple and easy to make chia seed recipes whether it is a WOD day or a rest day - they are good for you! 

Coconut-Chia Seed Beverage

Ingredients:

1 Tbsp Chia Seeds
250 mL (1 Cup) Coconut Water,chilled
50 mL (or about 2 Tbsp) Fresh Pineapple Juice, chilled

1. Take all of the ingredients and put it into a blender, blend to combine. Then allow to sit for about 12-15 minutes until the seeds have expanded. If you want to have a little sweetness, you can drizzle a bit of maple syrup to this awesome drink!
2. If you are at the Box, bring in the ingredients in your shaker bottle (chia seeds left separate); when you are done your wod, add the seeds, give it a shake, let it rest while you cash out and you have a refreshing post-wod beverage waiting for you full of electrolytes and omega 3's!
   

Chia Breakfast Pudding
Ingredients: 
1/2 Cup Chia Seeds
2 Cups Unsweetened Almond Milk
2 Tbsp Maple Syrup or Raw Honey (Your preference!)
A splash of Pure Vanilla Extract

1. In a large bowl, combine the ingredients together; it should start to get thick as you continue to mix everything.
2. Cover the bowl with saran wrap and place in the fridge for at minimum an hour to chill.
3. When you are ready to dig in, remove from the fridge and give it a stir. If it is too thick, you can add a bit more almond milk to help thin it out. 
4. Place a serving into a bowl, top it with fresh berries, or your favourite fruit and some chopped nuts and you are good to go.
5. Best thing about this recipe is, you can make a large batch, portion it and you are ready start your whole week off right!

Nutty Treat!

Nuts for Easter

It's Easter time and yes, everyone needs to indulge a little bit, but it doesn't have to be all bad. Try these little no-bake required macaroons that are yummy for everyone and if you want to have a little fun, shape them into some egg shapes and serve them up for Easter dinner dessert! Or better yet...pair them with your morning coffee...mmmm....macaroons.

Ingredients:

1/4 Cups Room Temperature Coconut Oil

1 Cup Coconut Flakes

1/2 Cup Sliced Raw Almonds (or you can toast them a bit yourself for some extra flavour)

1/4 Cup Macadamia Nuts, crushed into chunks

1/4 Cup Raw Honey

1/2 Tsp Pure Vanilla Extract

Sea Salt

1. In a medium sized bowl, combine the coconut flakes, almonds, macadamia nuts, and a couple pinches of sea salt to taste. Stir the ingredients until well combined.
2. In a separate bowl, whisk together the coconut oil, vanilla, and raw honey.
3. Take the liquid mixture and pour it over the dry ingredient mixture and mix immediately together until well combined. The texture should be sticky and slightly stiff, just holding the ingredients together.
4. Take half of the mixture and put it into your food processor and pulse to break up the larger pieces. Then set it to puree to create a smooth paste, about 20 seconds should do it - do not go more than a paste texture or else it will be too runny.
5. Take your paste and mix it back in with the other half of the chunky mixture and stir together well.
6. Form into little 2" balls, packed tightly to hold together and place on a small sheet pan that is lined with parchment paper. Make sure they don't roll around.
7. Chill in the fridge for about 2 hours and they should be set and ready to serve!

COOOOOKIIIEEEES!!

COOOOOKIIIEEEES!

Easy, chewy, chocolate chip cookies. These simple to make and quick to bake ... and are even faster to disappear!

Ingredients:

3 1/4 Cups of Ground Almonds (aka Almond Flour)
1 1/2-2 Cups of Good Chocolate Chips or Cacao Nibs (depends on how much chocolate you want in them!)
1 Tsp Baking Soda
1 Tsp Flaked Sea Salt, crumbled
1 Tsp Pure Vanilla 
1/2 Cup Maple Syrup
1/2 Cup Butter, melted
2 Eggs

1. In a bowl add in the ground almonds, baking soda, and sea salt. Give it a stir to combine. In a separate bowl, add in the eggs,butter, maple syrup, and vanilla - whisk until completely mixed.
2. Stir in the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Then add in the chocolate chips and/or cacao nibs. The result should be a very wet cookie dough. Place this bowl in the fridge for approximately 15-20 minutes for the dough to become solid.
3. Preheat the oven to 375F. Line your baking trays with parchment paper and remove the dough from the fridge. Use a small 1oz ice cream scoop to shape the cookies. Make sure you leave space between each cookie scoop. If you do not have a cookie scoop, shape the cookie dough into 1" in diametre balls.
4. Place tray in oven and bake for about 8-10 minutes - be cautious that you do not over-bake the cookies!! At the 8 minute mark, take a peak to see if the bottom of the cookie is golden and the top of the cookie is golden. If it is, then remove from oven; if not, cook for another minute or two. 
5. The cookies will be soft to the touch when they first come out of the oven. Allow to cool, then eat up or store in an air tight container in the fridge...but you will more than likely not need to do that :)