I truly can’t wait to announce all that it is to come for the blog in a few months. So excited to open that chapter of my life.

Anyways, I actually made this carrot cake smoothie a while back and never got to post the recipe in the blog or making it again for that matter, however, this morning, when I got up I had about 2 lbs of carrots sitting in the fridge that I didn’t know what to do with so I decided to make the smoothie.

The taste is out of this world. I actually doubled the batch and stored some in the fridge without the flaxseed meal since otherwise it becomes gel like. When we are ready to consume it we will add the flaxseed meal.

That is what happens when you add flaxseed meal to smoothies, it becomes gel like. Unless you are about to drink it right away I suggest to add it later.

I think this carrot cake smoothie mixture can also be frozen as popsicles. I think this summer I will actually do a batch and try it for the first time.

Anyways, I wanted to start with the healthy recipes for the blog. I know many of you go on a healthy diet/lifestyle the beginning of the year so I want to give you a few ideas.

I really hope you get to try this carrot cake smoothie. It has become one of my favorite smoothies to date. A great way to start the day.

Enjoy!

Carrot cake smoothie

Miryam's original recipe

Yield: 4 servings

Total Time: 5 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 lb fresh carrots, cut into chunks
• 6 cups milk of choice
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 8-10 pitted dates
• 1/4 cup roasted hazelnuts
• 1/2 cup flaxseed meal, optional

Directions:

Place all the ingredients in a blender and blend until completely smooth. Serve.

The post Carrot cake smoothie appeared first on Eat Good 4 Life.

Healthy snacking is what I am all about, specially when it comes to snack at work or in school. I am the master of trying to keep healthy treats and making sure I come up with new recipes that are tasty, easy and are able to keep me going. These no bake pistachio cookies are nothing but the prime example.

These no bake pistachio cookies not only are extremely easy to make but they are healthy. These are definitely a boost of energy. They are also gluten free and vegan so for those following especial diets this are a great treat.

Nuts are one of my favorite ways to snack because they are full of protein, vitamins and minerals. I don’t like to indulge on empty calories so when ever possible nuts are the way to go for me and my family when it comes to snacking. Did you know?

• Thirty pistachios are only 100 calories for a snack that offers both crunch and seasoning, making them a satisfying snack choice.
• Almost 90% of the fat found in pistachios is unsaturated fat, i.e. the good stuff, making them a better snack choice than popular fried snacks foods like potato chips.

I happen to love Wonderful Pistachios because they are also full of antioxidants. A serving of Wonderful Pistachios provides an alternative to snacks high in added sugars and saturated fat.

Load your work snack drawer with healthy snacks, like Wonderful Pistachios. They’re perfect to have when hunger strikes. I also keep them in my kids back pack and my bag to make sure that when ever we get hungry we can have a healthy snack. The little packs are wonderful for this.

Snack mindfully with The Mindful Nut. Wonderful Pistachios are the guru masters of portion control. Cracking each shell may help you slow down and savor the moment. So, sit back, relax, and focus on a healthy you.

I hope you like this amazing no bake pistachio cookies. They are super easy, tasty, healthy and great to have around your work station.

Enjoy!

No bake pistachio cookies

Miryam's original recipe

Yield: 16 cookies

Total Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 cup pitted dates
• 1 cup Wonderful Pistachios
• 1/3 cup almond flour
• 2 tbs water
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Covering

• 1 cup dark chocolate, melted
• 1/4 cup Wonderful Pistachios, finely chopped

Directions:

Line a cookie sheet with unbleached parchment paper and set aside.

Add the dates to your food processor and pulse until it resembles coarse bread crumbs. Add the rest of the ingredients and pulse until the mixture comes together.

Form little round cookies.

Dip each cookie in chocolate and place in the prepared baking sheet. Sprinkle the chocolate with the chopped pistachios. Repeat until you don't have anymore dough.

Place in the freezer for about 30 minutes until the chocolate solidifies. Store cookies in the refrigerator.

The post No bake pistachio cookies appeared first on Eat Good 4 Life.

I was pleasantly surprise with the flavor of these Christmas energy bites. I wanted to mimic ginger bread flavor so I made my own spice mixture with cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and cardamon.

The base of these energy bites are just dates, unsweetened coconut flakes and walnuts. After obtaining the base you can later add any flavorings of your choice to make them different, like in this case, I used the spices to make them indicative of the holidays.

Christmas season is known to be cookie season. I like to keep my recipes on the healthy side. If you are looking to make some cookies over the holidays I really suggest starting with these or least try them. Not only they are no bake, but also gluten free and dairy free.

For these Christmas energy bites you will need some liquid to made the batter come together. I used Silk Unsweetened Almond Milk for it. I always use unsweetened varieties so that I can control the sweetness plus I really don’t like tasting any sweetness when having a plane glass of it.

I have seen recipes that use maple syrup to bring energy bites together but by using dates there is no point in adding any more sweetness to the recipe. Dates are naturally sweet already.

You can also sign up to receive Silk newsletters for coupons. If you use their products you should take advantage of the many coupons they offer. They have a wide variety of new products so I am sure you will put them to good use.

These Christmas energy bites are something that I will be making again around the holidays to give away to friends and relatives. I think these will be a hit so if you like making your own energy bites and keeping your dessert on a healthier side I highly recommend making these. Very unique and delicious.

Enjoy!

Christmas energy bites

Miryam's original recipe

Yield: 22 bites

Total Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 lb pitted dates
• 2 cups walnuts and pecans
• 1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
• 1/4 cup almond milk
• pinch of celtic salt
• 1 tsp clove powder
• 1 tsp cinnamon powder
• 1/2 tsp cardamon powder
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg powder

Directions:

Place walnuts and pecans in your food processor and pulse until they are pulverized. Add the rest of the ingredients and pulse until the mixture comes together. If you need more liquid for the mixture to come together you may add a tsp of water at a time.

Form little balls with the mixture and store in a glass airtight container in the fridge.

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Silk. The opinions and text are all mine.

The post Christmas energy bites appeared first on Eat Good 4 Life.

I love Halloween, however, the part that I dread the most is all of the candy my kids collect around this time. As a rule, I only allow them to keep a few and since I am able to make them healthier alternative treats they are ok with it.

During this time I also get to make them treats to take to their friends parties, which they always get super excited. Perfect for any kid between the ages 6-12.

These Halloween coconut date bites are also a great dessert to make with the little ones since it doesn’t require baking and it is fun for them to roll them out. My kids often help in the kitchen and since these are easy, it is perfect for them, and lets not forget they are just 3 ingredients!

With all of the extra sugar around this time all I want my kids to drink is water. Water is the drink of choice for us most of the time since all other drinks just add unnecessary sugar which we really don’t need.

These little Halloween water bottles also makes it kind of fun for the kids to drink so they are pretty happy about that. They love the little Halloween designs! They actually have 8 different designs so your kids could pick their own.

NESTLÉ® PURE LIFE® “Share-A-Scare” 8oz water bottles are the perfect size for trick-or-treating, making it easy for kids to stay hydrated throughout the night.

In a 2015 survey conducted by NESTLÉ PURE LIFE, moms and kids revealed many surprising insights about their hydration habits.

It was found that water is one of the biggest “healthy habit” struggles moms have with their kids (38%), even more than struggles like “eat your fruit” (29%), “get enough exercise (23%), “eat your breakfast” (19%), and “drink your milk” (18%).

Today, beverages account for 47% of added sugars in the US American Diet and more than 13% of calories consumed per day. The 2015 Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends that the primary beverage consumed be either calorie-free – like water – or should contribute beneficial nutrients such as fat-free and low-fat milk and 100% juice. Replacing a single 12-ounce, 140 calorie sugar sweetened beverage with water each day for a year can cut more than 50,000 calories from one’s diet.

• • To learn more about NESTLÉ® PURE LIFE® and find the limited edition “Share-a- Scare” bottles at a store near you, visit this link.

• • Show us how you use “Share-A-Scare” bottles in your Halloween festivities with the hashtag #NestleShareAScare and by tagging @nestlepurelifeus.

Well I hope you like these Halloween coconut bites, 3 ingredients, super easy to make and much healthier for you than conventional treats.

Enjoy!

Halloween coconut date bites

Miryam's original recipe

Yield: 24 bites

Ingredients:

• 1 lb pitted dates
• 1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
• 1 cup walnuts
• Candy eyes

Directions:

Place the walnuts in the food processor and pulse until you obtain a powder. Add the dates and coconut and pulse until the dates come together and form a homogenous mixture. You may need a couple of tablespoons of water.

Place mixture in a bowl and form little ball. You can dip them in extra unsweetened shredded coconut.

At this time you can decorate them with the sugared eyes and make them more fun.

NOTE: You can use any other type of nuts if you don't like walnuts

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Nestle® Pure Life® . The opinions and text are all mine.

The post Halloween coconut date bites appeared first on Eat Good 4 Life.

No matter what type of nut butter I may decide to make energy bites with my kids will eat them rather fast.

Sometimes, after picking up the kids from school, we go straight to the gym for their activities. Energy bites tend to keep them until dinner time so more often than not this is what I prepared for them to have for an after school snack on the go.

The choice of drink is almost always water. They are always super thirsty after school. I don’t know if it is because they don’t have enough time to drink or what it is but for some reason they are always super thirsty after school.

In a 2015 survey conducted by NESTLÉ PURE LIFE, moms and kids revealed many surprising insights about their hydration habits.

• Drinking water is one of the biggest “healthy habit” struggles moms have with their kids (38%), even more than struggles like “eat your fruit” (29%), “get enough exercise (23%), “eat your breakfast” (19%), and “drink your milk” (18%).

Share Your Smile” Contest Overview:

The NESTLÉ PURE LIFE brand is thinking outside the bottle, creating an interactive contest that engages the entire family, by inviting parents to have their children Draw “What Makes Them Smile” and enter their child’s design in the contest for a chance to have it included in the 2017 Share-a-Smile bottle label collection. The two Grand prize winners will each also receive a $25,000 college scholarship, a trip for four to Florida, and free NESTLÉ PURE LIFE Purified Water for a year!

The contest will run from April 7, 2016 – June 6, 2016. The winners will be announced on or about August 16, 2016. For more information on the contest and to enter please visit share your smile contest.

The two Grand prize winners will each receive:

• “$25,000 college scholarship, a trip for four to Florida and NESTLÉ PURE LIFE Purified Water for a year (awarded as 24 coupons, each good for a half liter or 8 ounce 24-pack of Nestlé Pure Life Purified Water).”
• To enter, parents are asked to visit www.shareyoursmilecontest.com where they can download the “Share Your Smile” design template and find the Official Rules for the contest and instructions for the design. Completed entries can be mailed in or uploaded via the website (as of 5/6) for a chance to win. For more details on entry check out the video (shared separately)
• If you need more instruction on how to enter you can visit these youtube videos, one in English and one in Spanish.

If you like to use different nut butters for these peanut butter energy bites go ahead. It will also work. I have done it with almond butter before and they worked really good. You can even add some cacao powder or any ingredients you may like to experiment with. Remember that energy bites are really versatile so anything goes.

Enjoy!

Peanut butter energy bites

Miryam's original recipe

Yield: 20 bites

Total Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 cup peanut butter
• 1 cup medjol dates, pitted
• 2 scoops protein powder
• 1 cup rolled oats
• 1/3 cup water

Directions:

Place all the ingredients, except rolled oats, in your food processor and pulse until combined. Add the rolled oats and combine until you obtain a dough consistency mixture.

If you find that the mixture is too dried you can add a few more tablespoons of water.

Roll small pieces of dough into little round bites and store in the refrigerator in a glass container for up to 1 week.

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Nestle® Pure Life® . The opinions and text are all mine.

The post Peanut butter energy bites appeared first on Eat Good 4 Life.

I love Moroccan food and flavors. It is also a favorite cuisine of mine even though I don’t get to cook Moroccan food as much as I would like. Today I figured I try to incorporate ingredients and spices that resemble that type of cuisine and see how it works. To my surprise, rather well for salads.

By adding cumin to the dressing, as well as using dates and chickpeas was enough for me to give the salad the Moroccan flavor I was looking for. I truly love cumin so this salad was totally up my alley. A very simple yet delicious salad.

So today is mother’s day and to be honest I have nothing especial planned. Probably go to the gym, bake a cake and prepare a few blog posts since I will be going to school next week and I have to get all my posts scheduled prior to starting.

To be honest the only thing I want in this world is to keep healthy and grow old to be able to see my kids develop into good human beings. I would like to travel more, have more flexibility with money by having a healthier bank account and perhaps have a a bigger home, however, to be honest, these are things that I don’t strive for or concentrate on because there are far more important things.

Being nice and compasionate, putting positive things out onto the universe and so forth is what I strive for.

Anyhow, I hope all the mother’s out there have a wonderful especial day. Perhaps I should have baked a cake or made something more indicative of the day but I think this salad is fine with me so I hope you like it.

Enjoy!

Moroccan buckwheat salad

Miryam's original recipe

Yield: 6 servings

Total Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients:

• 2 cups buckwheat
• 3 carrots, chopped
• 1 small red onion, chopped
• 2 oz fresh spinach, chopped
• 6 oz cooked chickpeas
• 6 pitted dates, chopped
• 2 green onions, chopped
• 2 oz fresh cilantro, chopped
• pepper flakes, optional

Dressing

• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1/3 cup rice wine vinegar
• 3 tsp cumin powder
• 1/2 tsp celtic salt

 

Directions:

Cook buckwheat according to package instructions and let it cool completely.

In a large mixing bowl add the salad ingredients together with the buckwheat and set aside.

In a glass jar mix the dressing ingredients and pour over the veggies. Combine and serve immediately.

NOTE: You can quinoa, farro or pearl couscous for this recipe.

The post Moroccan buckwheat salad appeared first on Eat Good 4 Life.