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Bite-sized carob heart recipe for Valentine’s Day

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Enjoy this healthy treat for Valentine’s Day! Make your honey and the kids some of these yummy bite-sized carob hearts and you’ll all be smiling instead of feeling like you over-did it on the chocolates and candies.

  • 1 cup organic almonds, soaked
  • 1/3 cup pumpkin seeds, soaked
  • ½ cup organic dates
  • ½ cup organic raisins, soaked
  • ½ cup carob powder
  • ½ cup coconut oil
  • 4-5 teaspoons water from the soaked raisins

Soak almonds and pumpkin seeds overnight (or 4-6 hours) and then drain and rinse. Place raisins in a small bowl, cover with hot water for about 10 minutes. Save both the raisins and the raisin water in two separate bowls. In a food processor grind almonds and pumpkin seeds until fine. You can also use your blender and use the “grind” option.  Remove nuts/seeds from the food processor or blender and add dates, raisins, carob, coconut oil (first melt this on low heat on the stove) and vanilla.  Blend this well. Now transfer the nuts and fruit mix to a bowl and mix. Add 4-5 teaspoons of the raisin water, if necessary, until the mixture is the consistency of very thick cookie dough. Roll into 1 inch balls and then shape into bite-sized hearts. If you make these at another time of the year, just make them into bite-sized balls.

This recipe is thanks to Frances Holmes, one of my dear friends and a nutritionist colleague.  She used to make them for us when I worked in Julia Ross’ Recovery Systems Clinic in Mill Valley. Frances says: “Add pizzazz by rolling the balls in coconut, cinnamon, carob, toasted sesame seeds or any other tasty thing your little heart desires. You can also be creative and add flavored essential oils, or spices like cardamom as well.”  

Once they have been coated, chill for 2-4 hours in the refrigerator, or until the balls slightly harden. And Frances says “These little delightful bites freeze well too!”

I have modified the original recipe: I used half the carob powder and replaced 1/2 cup almonds with 1/2 cup pumpkin seeds.  Some optional additions: 1/3 cup whey protein powder; substitute some of the almonds with walnuts; add I T ginger to 1/3 of the batch; add ground mint leaves to 1/3 of the batch.

And here are some of the few healthy reasons for selecting these over store-bought candy:

  • Dates and raisins have health benefits like iron, fiber and are naturally sweet
  • Coconut oil is healthy fat that is delicious and helps offset the effects of the sugar in the dried fruit
  • Carob is a healthy magnesium-rich naturally caffeine-free alternative to cocoa and chocolate. The caffeine in chocolate affects some people and makes them anxious.  If you can eat chocolate do make sure it’s dark chocolate
  • Almonds  are a source of protein and fats and vitamin E
  • Pumpkin seeds are a good source of tryptophan and zinc (a functional food made from pumpkin seeds has been shown to help with social anxiety and insomnia).  You can read more about soaking and pumpkin seeds here
  • Sesame seeds are a great source of calcium and magnesium and add a delicious crunch
  • Coconut flakes add a delicious tropical flavor and crunch

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Vitaclay slow cooker beef stew recipe and why I love this slow cooker

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I’ve been searching for a good slow cooker for some time. As well as convenience and of course taste, quality and safe materials are always a big factor when it comes to cooking materials. So when I came across the Vitaclay crockpot at the recent Weston A Price conference I was excited! And the more I read about this crockpot the more excited I got. Let me first share a yummy recipe and then I’ll share why I love this crock!

Vitaclay crockpot beef stew

Place 2 lbs (1 kg) of uncooked beef cubes into the bottom of the crock
Place 2 chopped onions and 4 cloves chopped garlic on top of this
Place 1 lb (1/2 kg) of chopped carrots and 4-6 chopped celery sticks on top of the onions/garlic
Don‘t stir but rather leave the veggies on top so they kind of steam and don’t get too mushy.

Mix the following and pour over everything: 4 cups water or beef stock, plus 2 T olive oil, 1T sea salt and 2 T paprika.

Place the lid on the crock, close the cover and hit SLOW COOKING. The default is STEW /2 hours. The clock will begin the countdown from 2 hours to 0. It will beep when the 2 hours is up and will switch to warming mode.

Cook for 2 hours – the meat will be super-tender and the veggies will be nicely cooked. You’ll start to smell the wonderful aroma of home-cooked stew after about an hour of cooking.

Why I love my Vitaclay slow cooker:

  • the ease of use and they look really great
  • the aroma and flavor of slow-cooked is awesome, plus those gorgeous home-cooked aromas get your digestive juices going
  • it is non-toxic and doesn’t contain Teflon or lead. I’m always looking for good products that I can share with my clients and wanted to be sure about this one. Of course I turned to Debra Lynn Dadd, author of Home Safe Home (one of my absolute favorite books) and found this very useful information about the best non-toxic slow cooker: “This is a nontoxic slow cooker”;“only one I know of that does not have a finish that could contain lead”; “made from zisha clay, which is a famous Chinese clay, known for its purity. It has been used for centuries to make teapots because of their ability to enhance the flavor, aroma and texture of tea. Zisha clay is also structurally strong without glazing and does not crack when subjected to large and sudden temperature differences.”

  • They are tested for purity after they are made. I did have some concerns about pollutants from China and found this comment by Dadd in the above blog: “The raw materials for zisha clay are buried deep underground, sometimes under heavy sedimentary rock formations. Processing of raw material involves removing the clay from the from it’s underground storage, drying it under the sun, and then pulverizing the dried clay pieces into fine particles. The clay powder is then passed through a screen to isolate clay particles of the finest grit size. The screened clay is mixed with water to a thick paste and vacuum processed to remove air bubbles and some of the moisture. The quality and quantity of water is critical in that it determines the quality of the stoneware products produced. After this processing, the clay is then ready to be formed into pots.

    Because the clay is mined from underground, it would not be affected by air or water pollution in the region. However, the water it is mixed with could add pollutants to the finished product. Since the quality of the water affects the quality of the finished stoneware, it’s very likely that good quality water would be used.

    I called Vita-Clay and was told that their pots are tested for toxics AFTER they are made, to ensure that no toxic substances are present that might leach into food.”

Since I am doing a review of this product I do have one negative comment: There is a definite new burning rubber smell the first time you use it. I did a quick google search and was told it’s typical. Fortunately the smell faded in about 10 minutes. I would have loved the supplier to have done something in the factory to prevent us having to smell this!

In the interests of full disclosure, the above Vitaclay link is my affiliate link but I only recommend products that I would use myself. I do hope you enjoy it as much as we are enjoying it!

Trudy Scott (CN), Certified Nutritionist is the founder of www.everywomanover29.com, a thriving nutrition practice with a focus on food, mood and women’s health. Trudy educates women about the amazing healing powers of food and nutrients and helps them find natural solutions for anxiety and other mood problems. Trudy’s goal for all her clients (and all women): “You can be your healthiest, look your best and feel on-top-of-the-world emotionally!”