• 3 apples (I like honey crisp)
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 2 tbsp maple syrup
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 cup of oats
• 1/4 cup of almond flour
• 1/4 cup of coconut sugar
• Pinch of salt
• 1/4 coconut oil

1. Peel the apples and cut them into slices.
2. Put them in a bowl and add the lemon juice, maple syrup and cinnamon. Mix it all up.
3. Get another bowl for dry ingredients. Add oats, almond flour, coconut sugar, and salt. Mix it all up.
4. Get the coconut oil and massage it into the dry ingredients until it clumps up.
5. Put apples in a tin and then top with the crumble.
6. Bake for 40-50 min at 350 degrees.

Ingredients
3 large potatoes (preferably Yukon Gold)
1 small onion
1 tsp sea salt
2 eggs
Canola oil (or any neutral oil)

1. Peel the potatoes and then grate them together with the onion.
2. Mix in the salt and let the mixture stand for 30 mins to allow it to release some moisture.
3. Squeeze the mixture with your hands and pour out the excess liquid.
4. Add both eggs and whisk everything together.
5. Heat 1-2 inches of oil in a deep pan or skillet. Form mixture into plump latke patties and fry in oil until golden brown on each side.

Sauce
2 cups sour cream
2 cloves garlic
5 green scallions
3 tbsp chopped dill
1 tsp sea salt

1. Mix the sour cream well first to make it creamy and fluffy.
2. Add the rest of the ingredients and whisk it all together. Adjust seasoning to taste.

Ingredients:

• 3 cups almond flour
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 cup blueberries (frozen or fresh)
• ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• ½ cup raw honey
• 3 eggs

Directions:

1. Heat over to 350 degrees. Line a muffin tine with large baking cups.
2. Combine the flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon in a bowel. Combine the vanilla, honey, and eggs in another bowl.
3. Add the dry ingredients and blueberries to the wet ingredients and mix well. 
4. Evenly fill each baking cup with the batter. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes.

SERVES 2

Ingredients:

• 2/3 cup chia seeds
• 2 cups unsweetened dairy free milk
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 2 Tablespoons unsweetened coconut flakes

Directions:

• Mix all ingredients in a mason jar, Leave overnight in the fridge, Consume the next morning (you can also warm the chia seed pudding and add cinnamon for those colder fall days).
• To make this chia pudding extra powerful, add pomegranate seeds, cacao nibs, fresh blueberries or goji berries.

What is Chia?

Chia is an edible seed that comes from the desert plant Salvia hispanica, grown in Mexico dating back to Mayan and Aztec cultures. “Chia” means strength, and folklore has it that these cultures used the tiny black and white seeds as an energy booster. That makes sense, as chia seeds are a concentrated food containing healthy omega-3 fatty acids, carbohydrates, protein, fiber, antioxidants, and calcium.

Chia seeds are an unprocessed, whole-grain food that can be absorbed by the body as seeds (unlike flaxseeds). One ounce (about 2 tablespoons) contains 139 calories, 4 grams of protein, 9 grams fat, 12 grams carbohydrates and 11 grams of fiber, plus vitamins and minerals.

The mild, nutty flavor of chia seeds makes them easy to add to foods and beverages. They are most often sprinkled on cereal, sauces, vegetables, rice dishes, or yogurt or mixed into drinks and baked goods. They can also be mixed with water and made into a gel. 

Benefits of Eating Chia Seeds:

1. Help weight loss. Chia seeds are popular for weight loss. They reduce food cravings by preventing some of the food that you eat from getting absorbed into your system. This blockage of calorie absorption makes them a great diet helper.
2. Feel fuller faster: They can also help your diet by making you feel full. This is because they absorb 10 times their weight in water, forming a bulky gel.
3. Hydration for athletes: They are also great for athletes because the “chia gel” can hydrate the body.
4. Reduce your blood pressure: There’s evidence to suggest they can reduce blood pressure.
5. Omega-3: They are the richest plant source of Omega-3 (the vital fats that protect against inflammation—such as arthritis—and heart disease). In fact, they contain more Omega-3 than salmon!
6. Benefits for diabetes: Because chia seeds slow down how fast our bodies convert carbohydrates into simple sugars, studies indicate they can control blood sugar. This leads scientists to believe chia seeds may have great benefits for diabetics.
7. They are easier to digest than flax seeds, and don’t need to be ground up.

Here are some great ways to enjoy chia seeds:

• They can be eaten raw. (They have a nice “nutty” flavor.)
• They can be soaked in fruit juice (in Mexico, they call this “chia fresca”).
• They’re perfect in porridges and puddings.
• They make an ideal addition to baked goods including breads, cakes and biscuits.

How Many Chia Seeds Should You Eat? 

Two daily doses of about 20g each (1.5 ounces total).

Yield: 12 Servings 

Ingredients:

• 4 medium ripe bananas, mashed
• 1 tsp maple syrup
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup organic peanut butter 
• 2 tbsp coconut oil, melted
• 2 eggs, at room temperature 
• 1/2 cup coconut flour
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips 

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 8×4 inch or 9×5 inch loaf pan with parchment paper and spray with nonstick cooking spray. 
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine bananas, maple syrup, vanilla, peanut butter and coconut oil and mix until well combined. Add in eggs, one at a time and mix on medium speed until combined. With the mixer on medium-low speed, add in coconut flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon and salt; mix until just combined. Gently fold in chocolate chips.
3. Pour batter into prepared pan and smooth top. Bake for 25-35 minutes or until tester inserted into center comes out clean. Remove from oven and place on wire rack to cool for 20 minutes, then carefully invert, remove bread from pan and place back on wire rack to cool completely. Cut into ~12 slices.

1 serving: 175 KCAL, 10g FAT, 20g CHO, 4g fiber, 4g PRO; *ideal for diabetics

Ingredients

• 12-oz. jar quartered marinated artichoke hearts
• 18-oz pkg. refrigerated steamed lentils
• 1 cup parsley, chopped
• 2 cups cucumbers, halved and sliced
• 2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
• sea salt and fresh black pepper to taste
• ½ cup crumbled Greek feta cheese (optional)
• ¼ cup pumpkin seeds

Directions

1. Strain artichoke hearts over a small bowl, reserving liquid.
2. In a large bowl, stir together lentils and parsley. Add about 1/3 cup of the reserved artichoke liquid (if necessary, add additional liquid to generously coat lentils). Stir in artichoke hearts, cucumber and tomatoes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. 
3. Top with feta cheese and pumpkin seeds and serve.

My friend and yoga teacher, Heidi Kristoffer, has just released her very own yoga app. I have been training with Heidi for the past few months and I feel she helped me so much regain flexibility, elongate my muscles, and feel energized. Heidi and I met at a professional  health meeting and as soon as she started her yoga class, I felt I want to spend more time training with her. Many of you are not aware, but I have been dealing with a spinal injury for the past two years. My road to recovery included a surgery that did not end up successful, but I have been trying many other therapies since then. One of the things I let go after my spine surgery is yoga because my back and hips were so tight that anytime I tried yoga poses, I was in pain.

When I met Heidi, I immediately felt her amazing positive and gentle energy and her skill and knowledge about using yoga for healing impressed me. For the past few months, working one-on-one with Heidi, I made tremendous progress in my practice, my flexibility and my strength. I am now feeling much more confident to flow, and luckily I can now get even more mat-time with Heidi by using her Cross Flow app. If you are new to yoga or experienced, Heidi’s flows are perfect for everyone. Give it try. The first 2 weeks of using her app are free.

The CrossFlow app has Yoga-based routines for every mood, energy level, and need. There are routines suitable for every level of fitness, all time constraints, and every stage of life.

• CrossFlowV: “V” is for Vinyasa! In CrossFlowV routines, you can expect to FLOW, breathe, create space, and feel amazing! There are yoga flows for every level of practice, time of day, and energy level.
• CrossFlowX™:  a fast-paced blending of strength, core, inversion and arm-balance-focused flows, high-intensity cardio intervals, traditional yoga kriyas, and a little bit Xtra. These routines are designed to maximize your time while you laugh and sweat!
• CrossFlowZ: “Z” is for gentle flows that help your RELAX and get your Zzzs!
• CrossFlowP: for all of the mamas!  “P” for prenatal and postnatal flows.
• CrossFlowRx: your yoga prescription for all that ails you!  These therapeutic flows are doctor and physical therapist approved for each condition addressed.
• Tutorials / workshops
• Breathing exercises
• Guided meditations
• A minimum of two new videos uploaded every week.

Heidi is offering it with a FREE two weeks trial by clicking HERE! 

Here is a quick, easy and heathy dinner recipe. Store bought teriyaki sauces are typically loaded with sugars and processed ingredients. Fortunately, it is so easy to create your own teriyaki marinated with 5 ingredients.

Ingredients:

• 2  6-0z. fillets of Wild Salmon 
• 3 Tablespoons pure maple syrup
• 3 Tablespoons low sodium soy sauce (I prefer Tamari or Coconut Aminos)
• 2 Tablespoons EVOO
• 1 Tablespoon minced fresh ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

Directions

1. Whisk together maple syrup, soy sauce, EVOO, ginger, and black pepper. Pour mixture over salmon fillets and let marinate for 30 minutes. You can refrigerate for baking later.
2. When ready to bake, bring salmon to room temperature and heat oven to 400 degrees.
3. Place marinated salmon on baking sheet with parchment paper and add the extra marinate. Cover with foil. 
4. Bake covered for 12 minutes, uncover and broil for about 3 minutes. 

This is the easiest light green soup made with 5 ingredients + salt and water! It is energizing and detoxing and perfect for early spring.

Ingredients:

• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 10 medium size zucchinis, sliced into rounds
• 3-4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 5-6 cups of water
• 1 bag frozen peas
• 4-5 cups spinach

Directions:

1. Heat up the oil on medium heat in the pot and add the zucchini rounds. Saute the zucchini by constantly stirring, until most rounds are slightly browed on both sides. 
2. Add salt, garlic and continue to saute for another 2 minutes until the garlic is slightly browned. Add the water to just cover the zucchini. Bring to a boil. Lower heat and cook for 10 minutes.
3. Add the frozen peas and continue to cook for another 5-8 minutes. 
4. Add the spinach and use an immersion blender for 2 minutes to puree the soup.
5. Option: garnish the soup with mint leaves and roasted pine nuts to serve!

Yield: 1 pound

Matcha offers even more antioxidants than green tea. Green tea, or matcha, paired with berries helps to support heart health.

• 15 ounces dark chocolate chips
• 2  cups raw organic almonds (can replace with pistachios or 1 cup of each)
• 1⁄2 cup unsweetened dried cranberries
• 2 teaspoons ground matcha green tea
• Sprinkle of coarse sea salt

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper.

2. Place chocolate in a wide bowl and set aside. Place almond/pistachios on a cookie sheet and toast in oven for 10 minutes, careful not to burn.

3. Pour hot almonds over chocolate and let sit for 1-2 minutes until chocolate melts. Place over a double boiler if chocolate does not melt completely. Add cranberries and toss to coat.

4. Using a rubber spatula, scrape chocolate, almond and cranberry mixture on a parchment lined cookie sheet and spread out evenly. Sift matcha powder and sea salt over chocolate.

5. Place in refrigerator to cool and harden. When solid, break into pieces and serve.