Category: Nutrition

Recipe: Collagen Pistachio Chocolate Bites

Posted on by Michael Devon

These chocolate bites pack a serious punch of nutrition, not only are they tasty, but their health benefits make them worth every bite! As the name of the recipe suggests they contain collagen, which is the most abundant protein in your body and supports the cells of every single tissue in your body! Collagen is a major component of your health, it promotes skin elasticity, holds together your bones and muscles, protects your organs, and provides structure to your joints and tendons. As you can see these chocolate bites are way more than just a dessert, they’re “skin firming, antioxidant rich” sweet treats!

Here’s what you’ll need to make them:

  • 1 cup cacao butter, finely chopped
  • 3 tablespoons raw honey
  • 1 cup raw cacao powder
  • 3 tablespoons grass-fed collagen powder
  • 1/4 cup pistachios, chopped (can sub for nut of your choice)

Baking instructions:

  • Melt the cacao butter into a double boiler, whisking until it is fully melted, and remove from heat immediately.
  • Add the honey and whisk into the melted cacao butter. Add the raw cacao powder and collagen powder, and whisk until very smooth.
  • Pour the melted chocolate into an ice cube tray or cookie sheet and top with chopped pistachios.
  • Let the chocolate chill in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes before removing from the mold.

Total time: 40 minutes

Prep time: 10 minutes

Inactive time: 30 minutes

Serves: 10

Recipe provided by: paleohacks.com

Recipe: Mint Chip Smoothie

Posted on by Michael Devon

I found this smoothie recipe when I was in Florida on a business trip and I fell in love! I wanted to share this tasty recipe because it’s filled with ingredients that are good for you and the best part is, it tastes like a dessert!

All you need is a banana, 2 big handfuls of spinach, 1 small handful of mint (depending on your taste), cacao nibs (to taste), and cashew milk. Combine all of the ingredients in a blender and enjoy!

Pro Tip: add a frozen banana for a creamier, milkshake like texture… you’re welcome 🙂

Ps. I had to experiment with ratios on this because the smoothie shop that I found it at wouldn’t share the recipe- go figure. The ingredients are all listed so it’s up to you to get creative and make it your own- enjoy!

Take Advantage of Your Life

Posted on by Michael Devon

We all wish we could be those people who can eat anything they want and never seem to gain any weight or have any health problems. That being said they may have health problems arise down the road if they continue with their unhealthy eating habits, so don’t idolize these people just yet- just sayin’. It seems impossible to be able to abstain from bread or alcohol or desserts the rest of your life, just from the simple fact that they are always around and everyone is eating them. That sort of mentality can be harmful because if everyone is jumping off a bridge, would you? Just because 90% of the population eats sweets regularly, doesn’t mean you have to, its no wonder that over 60% of Americans are overweight. Just because everyone is overweight do you want to be?

If you do, then go right on ahead and eat like everyone else chooses to eat, notice I said “chooses” to eat, not “has” to eat. We all choose what to eat and how much, it’s not like someone is forcing us to eat that slice of pie after dinner or finish an entire bag of chips for lunch. With everything in abundance it’s easy to overeat because we no longer have to save food in case our source of food runs out, if we want more we just go to the store and buy more. It’s rare to find someone who can try a bite of dessert after dinner to taste it and leave it at that, usually the taste turns into the whole thing.

So how can you enjoy all life has to offer and still maintain a healthy lifestyle? Simple. Everything in moderation. Easier said than done. If you aren’t already you can start with moderately exercising, then slowly increase your exercise frequency over time. Another option is to start eating moderate amounts of foods that have a high nutritional value, like snacking on vegetables and hummus instead of hummus and pita chips. The more you include moderate amounts of exercise and moderate amounts of nutritional foods instead of junk foods the better equipped your body will be to handle all life has to offer, including a slice of pie after dinner- just make sure you wash it down with a walk around the block!

 

Garlic Basil Chicken & Veggie Dinner

Posted on by Michael Devon

Here’s a healthy recipe that you’ll love and the best part is, the ingredients are all real foods! Shout out to my wife Haley for this one and for her constant creativity in the kitchen and always placing our health as a priority for what she cooks! Here’s what you’ll need for this bad boy.

10 cloves of Garlic

Chicken breasts (we used 5)

Handful of fresh basil

Sweet potatoes

Brussel sprouts

Avocado oil

Salt (we use pink himalayan sea salt)

Pepper

Clean and finely chop 10 cloves of garlic, you can use less but we love garlic. Clean and finely chop the basil. Put about 2 TBS of avocado oil in a small bowl and add the garlic and basil with a pinch of sea salt. Set aside. This will be your topping for the chicken. I actually think it would taste better if you prepped the chicken the night before and let it marinate in this mixture and then bake the next day.

Clean the chicken. Lightly pound chicken breast so they are about equal thickness, but don’t pound them too thin (this step is optional).

Lightly spray chicken breast with avocado oil, lightly salt and pepper. Put on baking sheet covered with parchment paper. Add garlic and basil mixture on top. Set aside.

Cut up veggies about the size of a quarter. Spray or mix with avocado oil, lightly garlic salt and pepper, red pepper flakes are good too if you like a little kick. Spread evenly on same sheet or another (depending on how much you are making) with parchment paper.

Bake everything at the same time at 375 for 25 – 30 minutes. I put the chicken on the middle rack (so it doesn’t dry out) and veggies on the lower because we like our veggies crispy.

Note: it’s important not to cut your veggies too small or too big because you want everything to be done cooking around the same time. That’s why I recommend a quarter or a little bigger.

PS: don’t forget to garnish with an avocado-yum!

No-Churn Avocado Ice Cream

Posted on by Michael Devon

Here’s a follow up to the No Bake Brownie Bites we made last week! Now you can have a scoop of ice cream with your brownie, without all the guilt. This ice cream has only 5 ingredients, all from real foods, making it one of the healthiest alternatives to ice cream you’d eat from the store.

Ingredients:

  • 1 1/2 large Avocados, ripe
  • 1/2 cup Honey
  • 2 cups Coconut cream
  • 2 tbsp Lemon or Lime juice
  • 1/4 tsp Salt (again, we used Pink Himalayan sea salt)

Instructions:

  1. Combine all ingredients in a blender and mix until smooth and creamy
  2. Pour mixture into a loaf pan or other container and freeze for 4 hours (or overnight)
  3. Allow ice cream to set out 5-10 minutes to soften before serving

This recipe is great for a healthy homemade treat, however I’m not advocating that you only eat sweets and desserts, no matter how healthy they are. What I’m saying is that when you do treat yourself, you should try to make it as healthy as you can by choosing natural ingredients that are good for you. If you build your body’s foundation with nutritious foods then it will operate more efficiently leading to a healthier lifestyle, healthy weight management, and a healthy mental state!

Healthy “No Bake” Brownie Bites

Posted on by Michael Devon

Here’s a healthy recipe that I was turned onto by a client- and now I’m hooked! These no bake brownie bites are made with only 5 ingredients and while they aren’t actually brownies, they sure do hit the spot. I bet you just can’t eat one!

Here’s what you’ll need:

2 cups Walnuts

2/3 cups Cacao Nibs

1/4 cup Cacao Powder

1 1/2 cups pitted Dates

Pinch Sea Salt; more or less to taste (we used Pink Himalayan Sea Salt)

Combine the walnuts, cacao nibs, sea salt, and cacao powder in a food processor. Once processed, add dates, a few at a time. If dough needs to be thicker add more dates, one at a time. Once dough is thick enough roll into balls.

Once we rolled our Brownie Bites into balls we stuck them in the refrigerator, because who doesn’t like their chocolate treats a little cold. If you’d prefer, you can certainly eat them as is or leave them out of the fridge when you store them.

These brownie bites can be eaten as a healthy snack, pre workout fuel, or a sinless dessert to get your sweet tooth fix!

Processed vs. Natural foods

Posted on by Michael Devon

When you see the words “fat free” and “sugar free” on a food label this doesn’t always equate to “healthy” because the ingredients in the food are usually heavily processed with chemicals to make it taste good. Let’s be honest, fat and sugar taste good and that’s why most of us enjoy chips and cookies. So if the fat and sugar are removed from chips and cookies then they have to get their taste from somewhere, and thats where the chemicals play their part to make up for the lack of fat or sugar.

When we eat foods that are highly processed (high in chemicals) then our bodies never get the nutrients that we need to function physiologically and that leads to health problems in the long run. More importantly the chemicals we ingest interact with our bodies metabolic processes and can disrupt normal function. Then this makes it hard to lose weight, no matter how hard we try, we find ourselves always getting sick, and blaming it on allergies, and we can’t figure out why we never get a good night of sleep. It’s because the food we eat is composed mostly of chemicals that are foreign to our body and the immune system doesn’t know how to process these chemicals and it’s always in a state of stress.

If we go to the opposite end of the spectrum and eat a diet that is composed of primarily whole foods in their natural state they supply our body with the nutrients it needs to maintain normal metabolic functions and preserve health. If our immune system is in a state of equilibrium with the rest of our body then we are able to function better, we find ourselves not getting sick all of the time, getting a better night’s rest, and having energy throughout the day and not having to depend so much on caffeine to make it through work or school.

I get it, our society makes it hard to eat whole foods 100% of time, most of the food at parties or restaurants are highly processed and don’t supply the body with many of the necessary nutrients. I’m not suggesting that you boycott these parties or restaurants but the next time you go out be mindful of what you’re putting on your plate and limiting how much you choose to eat. If you decide to eat a plate of chips and dips then skip the cake, or if you’re a cake lover then have some cake but skip the beer. It’s all about finding balance between the foods we fuel our body with, other than the parties and restaurants we should be aiming to eat mostly whole foods that are natural or very minimally processed. That way when we do enjoy life, a little, we have established a strong nutritional foundation from our body to operate from and when we do indulge our body can handle the stuff that’s not so good for us, every now and then.

Perks of Meal Prepping

Posted on by Michael Devon

The term meal prepping has a lot of buzz around it yet most people don’t understand what it means to meal prep. It can be different for everyone, some people spend their entire Sunday in the kitchen cooking meals and portioning them out for the rest of the week, others spend time each morning preparing their meals for the rest of the day. For us, it means taking time to set yourself up for success when life gets in the way so you can keep up with your healthy eating habits.

A typical Sunday afternoon in my house is spent washing produce, cooking beans, or preparing proteins like chicken, fish, or grass fed beef. My version of meal prepping is having everything washed, cut, seasoned, and ready to grab and go or grab and cook. For example, today I came home for lunch and was in a hurry so I got out some of my precut veggies (tomatoes, onions, and peppers) sautĂ©ed them in a pan with avocado oil and scrambled some eggs with them to create a healthy veggie scramble… then of course, I topped it off with some avocado.

When my produce is already washed it’s as simple as reaching into my refrigerator and pulling out an apple or an orange and adding it to my lunch or just eating it as a snack. I’ve found out that if I don’t wash all of my produce in advance, then when I’m in a hurry I will just reach for something else that’s already cooked and then my body misses out on the vitamins and minerals it needs from the fruits and vegetables I should be eating.

I’ll often prepare a big pot of black beans or lentils, I’m talking several bags worth of beans, so that I can portion out a big bowl for the rest of the week and then portion out the remaining beans into smaller containers that I can put in the freezer. That way they don’t go bad and I can pull them out of the freezer the night before and have them for lunch or dinner the next day. The real benefit is that I don’t have to make beans every week, if I’m going to spend the time making a pot of beans I might as well triple the recipe so that I can have enough leftovers to eat in the coming weeks and then when my stock in the freezer is running low I know it’s time to make another big batch.

Simply having the “staples” ready to go can help me continue making healthy eating choices when I am in a hurry and don’t have time to cook an entire meal from start to finish- in those cases it would be easier to roll through a drive through and pick something up that’s ready to eat. However, through past experiences, it may be easier in the moment but I’ve found that it’s harder in the long run because I don’t have any energy to get me through my day, I start having digestive issues, or I make myself sick because my immune system doesn’t have the nutrients it needs to keep me well.

So for us, meal prepping doesn’t mean we have all of our meals prepared for the entire week but it does allow us to prepare enough food to create healthy meals throughout the week. We wash all of our fruits and vegetables, we even precut the veggies we like to cook with, we prepare beans or lentils in bulk, and we cook our proteins for the week. Taking these steps allows us to eat well balanced meals everyday, for lunch I can take some chicken that is already cooked and chop it up and add it to a salad that I made from my washed and ready to eat produce, or I can sautĂ© some pre cut veggies and add them to my already cooked beef. Eating healthy in our culture is already hard enough, don’t make it harder on yourself by overcomplicating your meal prep, keep it simple and sustainable by preparing food that you can eat a lot of different ways while still making it a healthy meal.

My Dog and The Vet

Posted on by Michael Devon

Obviously we are dog parents, Daisy is the apple of our eye and we want the absolute best for her. A few months ago we noticed she started having some red spots on her stomach from itching; quickly they became raw and concerning. My mother-in-law had taken her dogs to the vet for the same reason and the first thing the vet asked her was “what are your dogs’ eating?” Turned out they were eating a dog food that had a lot of grains and the vet recommended that she change their food to a grain free option and that should clear things up. She changed their food and immediately they were fine. So we took the same approach with Daisy, minus the cost of the vet visit. We called a lady, Ms. Nancy, who had groomed Daisy before and has the heart of a saint, she rescues the sick dogs nobody wants and nurses them back to health through diet and vitamin therapy- her success stories were good enough for us. She recommended we feed Daisy the “Gucci” of dog food and of course, no questions asked, we are at the feed store buying it the next day. We had to slowly transition her food because she has a sensitive stomach but within a few days she was itching less and less and now has no dry spots on her stomach.

So why am I telling you about my dog when this should be about health and fitness? Well let’s start with the doctor. Before I began seeing my current doctor, I don’t think a doctor had ever asked me what I was eating. I had acne, thyroid issues, dry skin, acid reflux and no one ever asked what I was eating. In fact the solution to all those problems was a pill. Thankfully my mom was smart enough to tell the thyroid doctor he could “shove it where the sun don’t shine” when he suggested I start a taking a pill that I would have to take for the rest of my life, at only 15 years old. “Acne- how much dairy are you eating?” “Thyroid- do you eat a lot of grains?” “Dry skin- grains.” “Acid reflux- you could afford to lose some weight, acid reflux and weight gain have a direct correlation.” No one asked me any of these questions or shared how nutrition, or lack thereof, and health issues are directly related!

Now back to Daisy. My first response when she had an issue was to change her food, something must be wrong with her diet. She needed more expensive, natural, organic, grain free food- DONE! So how in the world do we not hold ourselves to the same standard? As soon as I knew my dog might be suffering from a poor diet I was committed to changing her lifestyle and I didn’t care how much it cost. However, in today’s society when you ask someone why they aren’t eating healthy we come up with, “I can’t afford to eat vegetables they go bad too fast, I don’t have time to cook, everyone else eats this way, etc.” Yet you can afford to go to the pharmacy every month and pay for your prescription… just saying.

Honestly it comes down to laziness and how bad you want to improve your health. Modern medicine will always have a solution for you, it is a trillion dollar a year business in the US, and they have no intention of losing your business. I hope one day everyone goes to the doctor and the first thing they ask about is someone’s diet and how to make it better- we do it for our pets with no hesitation, let’s try holding ourselves to the same standards.

So next time you have an ache, a pain or a symptom, ask yourself, “could it be something I am eating?” Our bodies are amazing healing vessels, they just need the right kind of fuel to do their job. If that isn’t enough then I want you to ask yourself…”would I do it for my dog?” 😉

PS: I do believe modern medicine has its place and we are so blessed with technological advancements but I do think it is abused and the easy way out for a lot of people who don’t want to make a healthy lifestyle change that would solve their problem instead of putting a band aid on it.

Tastiest Guacamole Recipe

Posted on by Michael Devon

If you enjoy avocados as much as we do then you’ll love this guacamole recipe. All you need is a few simple ingredients, expert mashing skills, and you’re ready to indulge.

Ingredients:

4 ripe avocados

1/2 a red onion

1 large garlic clove, minced (substitute garlic powder)

1 medium tomato, diced

1 teaspoon pink Himalayan sea salt

1 teaspoon black pepper

*Optional ingredients: 

1 jalapeño, diced

3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime or lemon juice

1/4 cup cilantro, chopped

Combine the ingredients you want into a mixing bowl, take a fork, and start mashing and mixing together. It’s okay to leave some avocado chunks as that adds a nice texture to the dish. What you’re left with is a healthy appetizer to take to your next dinner party or, if you scale down the recipe, a healthy snack for yourself!

We know guacamole tastes great with chips but remember that there are other crunchy options to choose from that are healthier. Our favorite is sliced cucumbers, but bell peppers, celery sticks, or carrots all work the same way chips do! If you are intent on eating this dip with chips then we recommend Siete brand Cassava chips. Cassava is a root vegetable that is ground into a flour and substituted for corn and other flours in this brand of chips. The only ingredients are cassava flour, avocado oil, coconut flour, ground chia seeds, and sea salt- healthiest chips we’ve come across so far!

Give this recipe a try and feel free to substitute ingredients you don’t like and add ingredients that you do! Share any tweaks you make to this dip, we’d love to try your healthy version!