CC Energy Bites

It’s like making cake pops and no bake cookies – but healthy. All the fun without the sugar – and they said it couldn’t be done.

Get creative with these little guys – use this recipe, or any other you come across, as a guide. Don’t have peanut butter, use almond butter. If ya don’t like raisins, use dried figs. I could keep going but I think you get it.

I’m sucker for basically any nut butter so whenever I see them on sale, one or the whole shelf ends up in my cart. (No MasterCard, those aren’t fraudulent charges. Meijer had organic sunbutter on sale.)

Speaking of finding nut butter on sale, Costco had a 2lb jar of Cashew butter priced at like $4 a few months back. In an amazing display of self-control, I only bought one. Which is a good thing because I swear there is no bottom to this jar.

Once I decided to make energy bites, I busted said cashew butter outta the fridge.

Pro tip: Not all nut butters have the same consistency. Adjust your wet ingredients until the right consistency of your “batter” is achieved. Basically, “wet” enough that they don’t crumble when you bit into them but not too “wet” where they lose their shape or leave your hands feeling really greasy or sticky.

{CC Energy Bites}

[Ingredients]

• 1 cup cashew butter
• 3/4 cup salted cashews
• 3-4 pitted medjool dates
• 1 cup old fashioned oats
• 3 tbsp honey
• 1 tbsp agave nectar
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 3 tbsp unsweetened coconut flakes
• 3 tbsp ground flax seed
• 2 tbsp chia

[Directions]

1. Add all ingredients to your blender or food processor. Pulse until combined and crumbly.
2. Using a large cookie batter scoop, roll the dough in your hand to form bite size balls. Or press dough into a parchment lined baking dish.
3. Store balls or bars in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 7 days.

Cheers,

Danielle

Progress > Perfection

As I’m sitting here trying to come up with a title for this blog post, I’m wishing that it could just be audio of the Backstreet Boys singing Everybody. Like the Backstreet Boys, I’m back 🙂

Since my last post, I’ve accepted a new job and passed my registration exam. I’m tempted to report that I’m finding an equilibrium but it would be a lie. Rather than hide the mess that my life often looks like, I’m going to share it with you. Because if I can find time (and enjoy it) to cook healthy meals, I know you can too!

Coming back to blogging, I went through some of my old posts. It was a fun way to see how I’ve progressed in cooking and communicating to you all about food and nutrition. Some of the habits I’d been working to kick to the curb, I’ve achieved (I’m looking at you coffee creamer)! What a beautiful reminder that progress is never linear, often slow, but absolutely achievable.

My focus and philosophy on food has changed a bit, too. The more I learn about food versus food like products, the stronger I feel about using my money to “vote” about what and how the food industry grows, makes, and distributes food. My definition of “processed foods” has expanded to cover a lot more than what it used to.

When purchasing food, I ask myself these questions:

1. Where did it come from and how far has it traveled? – A manufacturing plant or from the ground/tree/plant; another country/state or a local farm?

2. How was it grown? What chemicals were sprayed on the plant? Does the farmer that grew this food grow several crops or just a few?

3. Is this food going to benefit my body? Does it move me closer to my health goal or farther from it?

4. How does this food make me feel? Energized, content, healthy or sluggish and gross?

When I use these questions to make food choices, my pantry is filled with nutrient dense, often locally produced foods. Which means I’m supporting my local and state’s economy, reducing my carbon footprint, eating food at peak ripeness and often saving money.

And while I strive to make most of our food purchases that were grown not produced, have not traveled miles and miles, that benefit our bodies to leave us healthy and content – not all of them do.

Some packaged foods still make into the pantry and while my goal is to continue to reduce that, it’s totally fine that we have more than one bag of chips in the pantry. Because there are such things as moderation and mindfulness.

What I’ve come to learn and accept over the past year is that everything in life is about the process of progress not achieving perfection. I think this can be applied to just about any area of life. If we strive to continually learn and apply that knowledge to our lives, we will be setting ourselves up for success.

So, what now? Much of what I’ll be blogging about will stay the same. I love to cook and enjoy sharing the excitement and deliciousness of healthy cooking. I also love sharing how a healthy lifestyle, eating well and exercising, can dramatically impact and improve health.

I hope you tune in and join me on the journey!

Cheers,

Danielle

 

 

#InternLife

I promised you all a recipe for cheddar beer biscuits and have yet to follow through on that. I’ve started my internship, which is partly to blame, but I also decided I wanted to “up my game” when it came to blogging. Meaning, I would post more consistently (I’m really doing great with that one) and take more pictures while I cook to add to my posts.

As it turns out, being an intern (and working and being a wife, sister, friend) keeps you very busy. There is a balance here, so bear with me as I try to find it. I’ve also discovered that taking pictures while cooking is harder than it sounds. As much as I love my iPhone to be covered in flour/eggs/sugar/sauce, I’m not willing to shell out the crazy amount of dollars for a new one in the event that said coverings venture to a place they do not belong. I do have a camera but the “Food” setting is something I have yet to figure out. Again, there is a solution or balance here, I just have to find it.

I did get a few good shots of the beer biscuits that I need to edit. As soon as that happens, I’ll post the recipe with the beauty shots. Its worth the wait.

Now, for those of you who are reading my blog to learn more about what life turns into when you become a dietetic intern – read on.  I have started my community rotation at the WIC clinics that I also work in. This has been a nice way to ease into my internship. I’ve been able to work from home a few days and am able to work on internship projects when things are slow at the clinic.

I have shadowed a public health nurse for one of my requirements and really enjoyed that experience. I will be doing a few presentations in the next few weeks so I have working on getting those ready.  The first one is about breastfeeding. My goal for this presentation is to provide approachable advice for nursing moms about milk production, diet, supplements, and expectations.

If you’d like to see the worksheets, papers, or projects that I complete as I work my way through my internship, leave a comment. I’m happy to share!

Cheers,

Danielle