Paleo Pumpkin Bars

The holidays are fast approaching which means most of us will be eating our way through the next two months. Enjoying holiday treats doesn't mean we have to forego our healthy lifestyles. Here is a recipe for pumpkin bars that are not only healthy but paleo and vegan too!

Paleo Pumpkin Bars

Ingredients:
¾ cup creamy almond butter
½ cup pumpkin puree
1 overripe medium banana
¼ cup pure maple syrup
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp coconut flour
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp baking soda
¼ tsp salt
⅓ cup chocolate chips and/or walnuts

Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 350F. Spray an 8x8in square baking dish with cooking spray.
2) Place almond butter, pumpkin, banana, maple syrup, and vanilla in a medium bowl. Stir until well-combined.
3) Add the rest of the ingredients, stirring until smooth.
4) Pour into prepared baking dish, smoothing with a spatula. Bake for 30 minutes or until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean.

These guilt-free treats take 15 minutes to prep and 30 minutes to cook. They are absolutely delicious!!

Going Vegan with Amanda Campfield

ellelauri's own Amanda Campfield has decided to switch to a vegan lifestyle. Veganism is the practice of abstaining from the use of animal products. In terms of diet, vegans do not eat meat or animal bi-products such as dairy. Here is what Amanda has discovered about her health, diet, and what it means to be vegan.

ellelauri: What inspired you to go vegan?

Amanda: I have wanted to go vegan for a while due to health reasons. I have become more health conscious in recent years. I am becoming more aware of what I am putting into my body.

ellelauri: What has been the hardest part about the transition?

Amanda: No cheese! There are not many 100% vegan options when you go out to eat so I try to modify as best as I can.

ellelauri: What do you miss the most?

Amanda: Cheese! Besides cheese, I really like seafood, especially salmon and sushi. At first I tried to cut everything out but learned you can't do that. You have to be educated. I am slowly cutting things out of my diet, little by little.

ellelauri: How have you felt since going vegan?

Amanda: Amazing! I have lost weight, I have more energy, and I'm not sluggish after meals. I just feel a lot healthier.

ellelauri: What are your favorite vegan restaurants in Philadelphia?

Amanda: I love V Street. For lunch, HipCityVeg is great, they have so many different options.

ellelauri: Do you have any tips and/or suggestions for anyone who is interested in becoming vegan?

Amanda: Do your research. Really look into it and don't go in cold turkey.

For more information about becoming vegan, visit www.vegan.com

Warm up with banana bread

What’s better on a cold winter day (or any day really) than a delicious, comforting piece of banana bread? Since it is one of my all time favorite treats and I have been craving it a lot this winter, I have been been making healthier versions by using whole wheat flour, a touch of maple syrup, adding ground flax seeds and walnuts for extra omega 3s. Feel free to add some dark chocolate or cacao nibs for extra flavor and health benefits such as antioxidants, lowering blood sugar and boosting moods.

Another great thing about this recipe is it’s fairly simple and quick to make and only requires one bowl, minimizing clean-up :)

Ingredients
3 very ripe bananas
1/2 cup melted coconut oil, butter or ghee
1/2 cup maple syrup, brown rice syrup, or coconut palm sugar
1 egg beaten
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp kosher or sea salt
1.5 cups 100% whole wheat flour
1/4 cup ground flax seeds
1/2 cup cacao nibs or chocolate chips
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Directions
Preheat oven to 350F and grease a loaf pan with coconut oil or butter or line with parchment paper.

In a large mixing bowl, mash the bananas and add the melted coconut oil or butter.

Mix in the baking soda and salt. Stir in the maple syrup, beaten egg, cinnamon and vanilla. Mix in the ground flax seeds and flour. (Do not over mix)

Stir in any additional ingredients like chocolate chips and walnuts.

To make this recipe vegan, swap the egg for a flax egg (soak 1 TBS of ground flax in 3 TBS water for 15 mins) or your favorite egg replacer.

I have been making a lot of different variations off of the above recipe. Feel free to add any of your favorite dried fruits, nuts, seeds or even swap out the flour for gluten-free variety and add 1/4 tsp xanthan gum.

Enjoy!

~ Laura Ferro 

For more great healthy recipes from Laura visit her webpage https://naturalnoshes.wordpress.com/ 

Drinking Aloe? Find out why you should be

Aloe: skin saver or delicious and healthy beverage?

Most of us of familiar with aloe vera as a topical skin gel: The cool, jelly like substance that comes in a transparent bottle and is usually an electric green color or a frigid blue. Give the bottle a nice squeeze and the gel oozes out with an odd squishy noise following it. It’s our dear old friend aloe that only shows its face in the summer hot months. Sticky, cold and leaves you stuck in scarecrow position for a few minutes to let it sit in and dry off, then you try to sit down and realize it’s less painful just to stay in that position because Mr. Golden Sun did a number to your skin earlier today. 

But, I’m not here to remind you to put your sunscreen on or to bring back painful memories of a family member rubbing aloe on your bright red back, I’m talking about drinking it. NOT the topical gel kind!!! Have you ever considered drinking the juice from an aloe vera plant?  Is it good? Is it healthy for us? Let’s dive on in.

Benefits:
Detox: aloe works as a natural detox. Aloe contains different trace elements, vitamins and minerals that help the body flush out.

Digestion: Aloe has the power to increase protein absorption and regulates the bowel. Aloe helps reduce yeast and bacteria by moving it along the digestive system and aloe soothes heartburn.

The Immunity Booster: Full of antioxidants! Sending those free radicals away with a dose of aloe.

Anti-inflammation: Aloe Contains 12 different substances that reduces and prevents inflammation. The kind of inflammation that aloe can help with are swollenness, stiff or painful joints.

Healthy Skin: We all know aloe helps are skin on a topical level, but consuming the drinkable kind of aloe can repair out caloe-vera-juiceollagen and elastin from the inside. Aloe also helps sooth minor skin irritations, scrapes, cute and burns.

Energy: Because aloe works our digestive system, this can go hand in hand with energy. Aloe regulates the system which prevents you from feeling sluggish.

Vitamins: Aloe includes Vitamin A, Vitamin B1, Vitamin B2, Vitamin B6, Vitamin B12, Vitamin C, Vitamin E, niacin and folic acid. In addition chromium, magnesium, manganese, zinc, copper, potassium, iron and calcium. Maybe it would have been easier for me to list what aloe doesn’t contain!

Amino Acid: Aloe contains amino acids which aid the process of building protein.
Smile: Aloe helps your gums and mouth hygiene. It helps with mouth ulcers and bleeding gums.

Cardiovascular Health: Aloe boost the ability to diffuse red blood cells in return aids the oxygen transportation. It improves the oxidation process, circulation and lowers cholesterol.

As you can see, the benefits of consuming Aloe Vera Juice are abundant. There are brands at local health food stores and Whole Foods that are ready to drink. Others are concentrated and can be diluted in water or juice. I love adding either kind to my smoothies as well for added benefits.

Let’s get one thing straight, we are drinking only the consumable kind of aloe, NOT the topical kind. Drink up and enjoy, let us know your thoughts on the taste, results or experience you have with drinking aloe vera juice.

Find more health tips and healthy recipes by nourish + nosh with Laura Ferro here.

Food for game day! The healthy way.

Shhh! The healthy part will be our secret. 

Who doesn't love a spread of delicious snacks to eat during game day… and in this case not just any game day – Super Bowl Sunday game day!?

I certainly do. I also love putting my own healthier spin on staple game day/party snacks and appetizers.

Although, sometimes I am hesitant to use the word “healthy” or “light” on game day in fear of giving the extremely hungry crowd of boyfriends, husbands, brothers and dads any pre-conceived notions. So I will refrain from using the term from here on out.  We know these guys are here to eat. A lot.  And not salads.  These below dishes will definitely be a hit with our toughest critics. We’ll inform them after that they are indeed…healthy.

As for us ladies of course we want tasty, but we usually are more cognizant of what we are throwing into these dips, casseroles and crockpots. Whether it’s sneaking in extra greens and veggies or replacing some of the hydrogenated, unhealthy fats, you won’t be able to tell with these delicious recipes! I have compiled a few of my favorite versions of tried and true appetizers we all know and love below.  

Creamy Artichoke and Spinach Dip

Ingredients
 2 cups chopped kale, finely chopped
 2 cups fresh spinach, finely chopped
 1 bag of frozen artichoke hearts thawed, finely chopped
 1 large red pepper, very finely diced
 1 large shallot, finely diced
 1 garlic clove minced
 ¼ tsp smoked paprika
 1 tsp salt
 1 tsp fresh black pepper
 ½ tsp onion powder
 1 cup organic sour cream (or ½ cup sour cream and ½ greek yogurt)
 3 tbsp organic mayo (healthy fats!)
 3 tbs raw parmesan or manchego cheese, plus more for top
 1 cup daya vegan cheddar cheese or mozzarella, or your choice of shredded cheese
 coconut oil for greasing

Directions
 Preheat oven to 375 degrees
 Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl and place into a greased medium sized baking dish (8×8 or 9x 9)
 Top with additional cheese if desired
 Bake for approximately 30-45 mins covered
 Remove from oven, and let sit for at least 5 mins before serving with whole wheat pita or tortilla chips,  or my favorite –  rice chips!

Sweet and Spicy Veggie Chili with Sweet Potatoes

Ingredients
 1 medium red onion, chopped
 2 shallots, chopped
 1 green bell pepper, chopped
 4 garlic cloves, chopped
 1 tablespoon chili powder
 1 tablespoon ground cumin
 2 teaspoons unsweetened cocoa powder
 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
 kosher salt and black pepper
 1 28-ounce can fire-roasted diced tomatoes
 1 15.5-ounce can black beans, rinsed
 1 15.5-ounce can kidney beans, rinsed
 1 medium sweet potato (about 8 ounces), peeled and cut into 1⁄2-inch pieces
 Separate plate with sour cream, sliced scallions, sliced radishes, choice of cheese, avocado, and tortilla or pita chips, for serving

Directions
 In a 4- to 6-quart slow cooker, combine the onion, bell pepper, garlic, chili powder, cumin, cocoa, cinnamon, 1 teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon black pepper. Add the tomatoes (and their liquid), beans, sweet potato, and 1 cup water.

Cover and cook until the sweet potatoes are tender and the chili has thickened, on low for 7 to 8 hours  or on high for 4 to 5 hours (this will shorten total recipe time).
 Open and add spinach. Stir until wilted and blended.
 Taste and add more spice or seasoning as needed.
 Serve the chili with the sour cream, scallions, radishes, avocado, daya cheddar cheese and tortilla chips.

Shrimp, Avocado and Mango Parfait with Creamy Cilantro Lime Dressing

Ingredients
 1 lb shrimp (wild caught is best) cleaned and cooked
 1 ½ cup mango salsa or 2 mangoes, small dice
 4-5 avocados, medium dice
 1 large red bell pepper, small dice (can leave out if it is in salsa)
 2 cups shredded romaine
 1 can (15 oz) organic black beans, cleaned and rinsed
 1.5 cups tomatoes, chopped
 1 cucumber, chopped
 juice of 1 lime
 2 Tbs chopped cilantro
 chipotle powder, to taste
 sea salt
 fresh pepper
 1 cup finely shredded Mexican blend cheese, optional

Creamy Cilantro Lime Dressing

Ingredients
 ¾ cup Greek Yogurt
 ¼ cup light sour cream or organic mayonnaise
 ½ cup almond milk, unsweetened
 ½ cup chopped cilantro
 juice of 2 limes
 ½ tsp chipotle powder
 1 clove garlic, minced or ½ tsp garlic powder
 1 scallion, chopped
 ¼ tsp cumin
 ½ tsp sea salt, more to taste
 ½ tsp fresh ground pepper
      Place all ingredients in food processor or blended until well combined. Adjust flavors as needed.

Directions
 Chop into large chunks. Toss shrimp with a little salt, chipotle chili pepper, and fresh lime juice.

Start by layering the romaine on bottom of a large parfait dish (or large glass bowl).
 Divide all ingredients in half except the shrimp.
 Layer each ingredient once and drizzle with dressing and fresh cilantro.
 Repeat with remaining half and drizzle with dressing (save some for top)
 Top with shrimp, remaining dressing, salt, pepper, cilantro and scallions (optional)

This recipe is loaded with protein, lots of vitamins and minerals from all the veggies, fiber, and healthy fats. It is also highly addictive! Enjoy.

This goes very well with Corona Light or an Agave Margarita :)  )  Tip for margaritas : kick up your favorite recipe by adding a little chipotle or spicy seasoning to the plate with salt. Mix the salt and spice and dip each rim glass before pouring.

Last but not least- what is a party with out a cocktail? This winter Rosemary Grapefruit Cocktail is light, refreshing and so beautiful.

Rosemary- Grapefruit Refresher

1 cup organic cane sugar (or 1tsp stevia)
1 cup water
3-4 long sprigs of rosemary, plus extra for garnish
6 cups fresh squeezed grapefruit juice (can use store bought but watch out they are much sweeter, so lower the sugar in the simple syrup or dilute with water)
5-6 oz vodka
2 oz Triple Sec

In a small saucepan heat the sugar and water until the sugar has completely dissolved. Add the rosemary and simmer for 5 minutes. Set aside to cool (I put in the refrigerator to hurry the process, or make ahead)

In a pitcher, mix the rosemary syrup with the grapefruit juice, vodka and Triple Sec.

Serve over ice with a rosemary garnish.

Enjoy!

Who are you rooting for?!

For more yummy and healthy ideas from Laura Ferro, certified Natural Chef and Holistic Health Coach visit http://naturalnoshes.wordpress.com/ 

For the perfect game day fashion visit www.ellelauri.com