Homemade Healthy Twix

THESE ARE GOOD.

When I'm bored, sometimes I'll start throwing things into a food processor and try to make something new and yummy (haha, anyone else?) A few weeks ago I decided that I was going to try to make healthy Twix. So I tried it... BOOM. So good.

• Dairy free
• Gluten free
• Refined sugar free
• Guilt free!

Healthy Homemade Twix Bars

Ingredients:
Base layer-

• 1 c coconut flour
• 3 T coconut sugar
• pinch of salt
• 1/4 c egg whites (or a whole egg)
• vanilla
• 1/2 c apple sauce
• almond milk to reach desired consistency

Caramel layer-

• 12 soaked dates
• 1/4 c water 
• 2 T maple syrup
• pinch of salt
• a few tsp carob powder (optional - this just gives it more of that "toffee" taste)

Chocolate-

• Dark Chocolate 
• 1 T Coconut oil

Directions:
Mix all of the ingredients for the base layer until the mix reaches a firm/doughy consistency and press into a pan lined with parchment paper
**You can either place this in the freezer to set OR bake on 375 for 10 minutes**
While the base layer is either setting (or baking), strain the dates and place them into a food processor with 1/4 c water and process until it reaches a smooth consistency
Add in the maple syrup, salt, carob powder, and more water if needed
Once the base layer is ready, spread the date caramel evenly on top
Place it back into the freezer to set again
After about 10 minutes in the freezer, take out your base and caramel concoction and slice into twix-sized bars and either space them out on a plate, or place them on a cooling rack (so you can pour your chocolate evenly on top)
Melt the dark chocolate with the coconut oil
Pour the chocolate evenly over the twix bars until they are all covered
Place your bars back into the freezer and wait for them to set (should only take a few minutes)
Enjoy your dairy-free, refined sugar-free, grain-free, guilt-free treat!

SOO YUMMAY

Tourin' Whole Foods Park City

 

I LOVE touring grocery stores. Especially "specialty"/"nerdy healthy-food-containing" stores. On my Instagram @healthyutahspots, I have been posting pix of my favorite healthy places/menu items to eat around Utah! It has been so fun & I've been so excited to get such a positive response!

Through this account, I was so stoked to be invited to an exclusive pre-store opening event for @WholeFoods in Park City. YES. I was jumping up and down when I saw the tickets - I've always loved Whole Foods! 

• Toured the amazing new features in this GINORMOUS store (double the size of most Whole Foods)
• Treated to a live Jazz band, cute cheese plates, chocolates, and amazing samples
• Fed a yummy dinner
• AND my friend @TristanTausinga & I left with the cutest goodie bags! 

I LOVE GOODIE BAGS

Someone's gonna need to hold me back because I get a little too excited over these places #foodnerd... 

If you'd like to know my favorite "healthy spots" around Utah feel free to follow my instagram account, @healthyutahspots 😊 Catch ya later! 

SHOOT these are my favorite...

  

   

Copycat Cubby's Wild Rice & Kale Salad

One of my most favoritest salads ever... Can't decide if it's a good or bad thing that this re-creation is so spot on cuz now I can have it 4.5 times a day every day 😳

I LOVE this salad from @cubby's (as previously mentioned in my "Healthy Reminder" post when madre & I hiked Timp)

FYI - I do like to change a few things in this salad. Keep in mind that you can have fun & go crazy with each ingredient swap!

Copycat Cubby's Wild Rice & Kale Salad

(I like using spinach so technically this is a 'Wild Rice & Spinach Salad' 😆

Serves 1
Ingredients:

• large handful of spinach (or chopped kale) 
• 1/2 of a microwaveable Minute Rice "Ready to Serve" Multi-Grain Medley cup (got this @Walmart - pic below)
• chopped grilled chicken (I use Foster Farms frozen pre-cooked grilled chicken breast strips @Walmart - pic below)
• garlic salt
• 1/2 thinly chopped gala apple 
• 1/2 of a sliced avocado
• dried cranberries
• slivered almonds
• fresh grated parmesan
• lime juice

Directions:

Slice up 1/2 apple and 1/2 avocado
(I would suggest massaging the avocados into the greens - it also acts as the dressing)

Microwave the Multi-Grain Medley rice cup

Microwave the chicken to defrost it, then cut the strips into smaller pieces. Sprinkle on some garlic salt and grill on medium-high heat for just a few seconds to get it a bit of crispier/charred (grilling is optional)

ASSEMBLE! 

Throw everything inside of a bowl, mix it all up, and squirt lime juice on top as the healthy dressing! 

TRUST ME & TRY THIS SALAD - IT'S INCREDIBLE 

Plus, it's super easy, super cheap (got of my all ingredients from Walmart), and super healthy. 

Tourin' Honeybee Produce Company

Hey team!

This post is dedicated to giving a BIG, SWEET shoutout to @honeybeeproducecompany 🍯🐝

OK. I'd say it's pretty common knowledge that I'm a food nerd*
*someone who starts jumping up and down and squealing when any food-related topic is brought up, ranging from normal things like, "it's time to eat lunch" to extremely unusual things such as, "Kass, I saw vanilla bean paste the other day, weren't you looking for that?"

So when I go to super amazing grocery stores, I kind of really geek out and can't contain my excitement...

Three words: Honeybee Produce Company

Honeybee Produce Co. is located in Draper, Utah. I was lucky enough to be treated to an amazing     exclusive tour around the store... GUYS! IT'S BUZZING! 🐝🐝 I basically had a healthified "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory" moment. I was full-on cheesing 😃, wide-eyed 😧, and drooling 😛 the entire time I was there - It's incredible.

Honeybee Produce Co. has...

• So many organic options
• A TON of local produce (like locally made healing bath bombs)
• Amazing vegan options
• It is very reasonably priced (especially compared to other higher-end grocers)
• A "Mountain Mix" create-your-own trail mix bar
• A glorious bulk section with a bunch of yummy selections
• An incredible infused olive oil and vinegar section (k but their caramelized garlic extra virgin olive oil... yess)
• Freshly ground peanut, almond and ⭐CASHEW⭐butter
• The coolest "Hive Eatery" where everything is made/baked in store THAT DAY (*their mangoberry salad is yummm)
• Amazing hydro lemonade and kombucha on-tap
• Vegan cloud top coconut cream ice cream

And much more!

👆Not only that, but while they do have a ton of healthy options, what makes this place so unique is that they also feature some of your favorite basic "Walmart", "kid-craving" necessities like Soda and Twinkies!

I dropped by, was treated to an amazing tour (thank you Sarah!) with the nicest & coolest employees, taste-tested the yummiest cheese spread and jelly-topped crackers (that were cranberry, apricot & pistachio flavored...) (no joke, this was a highlight of my week), sampled their amazing vegan coconut cream ice cream, enjoyed their tasty mangoberry salad, was introduced to super delish Mexican CINNAMON flavored dark chocolate, and even got to take home an amazing goodie bag that was packed full of the yummiest, cutest, most awesome healthy goodies ever!

Mangoberry Salad 🙌

Thank you to the cheese-genius herself, Diana!

I know I know... dark chocolate is my weakness

Alright, I pride myself in only promoting the things that I truly love and am passionate about right? I'm always looking for options that are healthy, different, unique, and most important - delicious! That being said, I very highly recommend Honeybee Produce Company. It has so many amazing options that are super reasonably priced. Not only that, but their "Hive Eatery" is delicious and even offers a cute hive seating area to relax and chow on yummy food. Overall, the whole atmosphere here is bomb - so fun, clean, organized, unique, cute, and happy!


Thank you Honeybee Produce Company!!

HEALTHY TOMATO BASIL SOUP

I lovvvvvvve fall!! Lately for some reason it's been so fun for me to finish classes (shocker...), escape the crisp autumn air 🍁🍂 , toast some 45 cal bread, warm up a steaming bowl of soup, and chill on my comfy couch while I fill my belly with warm, amazing food ...Which is exactly what I did after making this delicious tomato basil soup!

It's...

• Dairy-free (Creamed with tofu!)
• Vegan
• Gluten-free
• Low-calorie
• Super easy to make
• DELICIOUS!!

Dairy-Free Tomato Basil Soup

Serves 3-4

Ingredients

• 6 oz semi-firm tofu (I got some at Walmart)
• 1/2 small red bell pepper
• 1 whole can of diced tomatoes without added salt (we'll be adding that in later!)
• 2 fresh basil leaves
• garlic salt
• dried diced onions

Directions

BLEND EVERYTHING on a high speed blender until it has reached a smooth, creamy consistency AND ENJOY!!

PB2 Banana Bowl

OK GUYS THIS IS IT. I'm officially releasing one of my all time favorite recipes EVER.
....It's the PB2 Bowl...plus healthy granola...

TIP: make the granola first so the smoothie base doesn't melt 👍😉

PB2 Banana Bowl

It's definitely cool to take your bowl outside and enjoy the morning sun as you demolish it! 😊

Serves 1
Ingredients (for smoothie base)

• 2 heaping T of PB2 powder
• 1/2 c ice
• 1/4 c almond milk (amount might vary depending on blender & desired consistency)
• 1 small to medium sized RIPE banana
• 2 squirts stevia
• large pinch of pink himalayan sea salt (this gives the smoothie a super delicious "buttery" taste, but normal salt always works just fine as well 😀)

Directions

Blend everything! (Thicker consistency is ideal)

**AH! THIS SMOOTHIE IS MY FAVORITE! It is super light & low-calorie and often I will just drink the smoothie on its own without the extra work of making granola! (But the granola is still amazing)**

Ingredients (for sweet n salty granola)

• 1/4 c crispy rice cereal
• 2 T slivered almonds
• 1/8 c quick oats
• 2 heaping T of PB2 powder
• 2 T pure maple syrup
• A large pinch of pink himalayan sea salt (or just normal sea salt)
• optional: a few squirts of "I Can't Believe it's Not Butter" spray
• optional: handful of shredded sweetened coconut
• optional: throw some sliced banana on top

Directions

Mix everything together in a separate bowl and pour on top of smoothie base

**This granola recipe is so bomb because it is light & oil-free! It pairs so perfectly with this smoothie bowl and is soo delicious! My mom will sometimes ask me to make her a bowl of just the granola so she can munch on it! YUM!**

Turkey Feta Spinach Burger

Who loves burgers? Me! ✋

The thing I love about eating healthy is that you can still eat the things you love minus the full/heavy feeling!

These burgers are MONEY. They are one of my favorite meals ever!

PS sorry for not putting exact measurements! I rarely use exact measurements anyways, but this recipe is fairly simple so definitely try it out!

Turkey Feta Spinach Burgers

Ingredients

• 1 part extra lean ground turkey
• 1/2 part chopped spinach
• 1/4 part feta
• 1/4 part quick oats
• 1/4 part egg whites
• salt & pepper
• around 3 T garlic powder (they need more than you'd think)
• garlic salt
• 1/8 part dried or finely chopped onions
• optional: whole wheat burger bun or iceberg lettuce wrap(my fav)
• optional: garnish with parsley

Directions

Mix everything together in a large bowl

Form into patties and grill on a greased pan for 5 minutes each side on medium high heat

*If using a whole wheat bun, grill the bun on the pan as well

*If using a lettuce wrap (MY PERSONAL FAV!!) rinse the iceberg lettuce thoroughly and wrap it around the turkey burger in place of the whole wheat bun

**TASTES AMAZING paired with a ketchup and mustard mixture