Ingredients

For the Dough:
3/4 cup chopped almonds 
2 cups gluten free oat flour
1 cup quick oats 
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup maple syrup
1/2 cup coconut oil
For the Cherry Filling:
4 cups frozen cherries
1 tablespoon arrowroot starch mixed with 1 tablespoon water

Directions: 
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9×9 inch baking dish with parchment paper.
2. Spread the almonds out on a baking sheet and bake for about 7 minutes until golden brown. Set aside.
3. In a bowl, combine oat flour, quick oats and salt. Stir in maple syrup and coconut oil. Using your hands, pinch mixture together to incorporate coconut oil. 
4. Add walnuts, and knead to combine. 
5. Press 2/3 of the mixture into baking dish, making sure it’s one solid crust. Bake for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool for 5 minutes.
6. Meanwhile, add the frozen cherries into a saucepan. Heat over medium heat until the cherries are defrosted and the sauce is simmering. Use a fork or potato masher to gently break cherries into smaller pieces. Remove from the heat, add in the arrowroot starch mixture. Return to heat and simmer. Remove from the heat and set aside.
7. Pour the cherry filling over the baked crust and sprinkle on the remaining crumble. 
8. Bake uncovered for 14 to 18 minutes, until the topping is firm. 
9. Let cool for 45 to 60 minutes. Enjoy!!

Ingredients:
6 eggs 
½ large avocado, diced 
3 Tbsp. bacon fat, liquid 
1-2 tablespoons red hot sauce 
3 strips cooked crispy bacon, diced 
1 teaspoon sea salt 
Sprinkle of Paprika
Directions:
1. Place the eggs in a bottom of a saucepot and cover with cold water. 
2. Place the saucepan on the stove over high heat, and bring to a boil. 
3. Once boiling, remove the pan and cover. Let sit for 14 minutes. 
4. Drain the eggs and put them in a bowl with ice water to stop them from cooking. 
5. Once they’re cooled, peel your eggs and cut them in half (long way), and carefully remove the yolks (put them in a mixing bowl). Put the egg whites on a plate and set aside. in a mixing bowl and set aside. 
6. To your mixing bowl, add avocado, bacon fat, hot sauce, sea salt, and about 2/3 of your bacon. Mix well.
7. Carefully fill your eggs with your mixture. 
8. Garnish with leftover bacon and sprinkle with paprika. Enjoy!

Ingredients:
• 2 cups kale (packed tight)
• 1 small frozen banana, previously peeled
• 1/2 cup frozen mango
• 1/2 cup pineapple
• 1 inch ginger peeled and roughly chopped
• 1/2 cup full fat coconut milk
• 1/2 cup water, more if needed
Directions:
1. Add all the ingredients into a blender and blend!
2. Enjoy!

Hash Ingredients: (serves 2)

• 2 strips nitrate-free bacon

• 2 Tbsp. olive oil

• 1 sweet potato, peeled & cubed in 1⁄4” pieces

• 1/4 red onion, diced in 1⁄2 “ pieces

• 1 cloves garlic

• 1⁄4 tsp ground cumin

• Pink Salt and pepper, to taste

• 4 Eggs (make 2 eggs per serving. Save half the hash for following day.)

Directions: In a sauté pan over medium-high heat, add bacon and olive oil. When

the bacon begins to sizzle, add sweet potatoes and spread out as much as possible to

allow the potatoes to rest in the pan in 1 layer. Cook for about 5 minutes or until

potatoes start to brown.

Toss potatoes until all sides of potatoes are browned and bacon is crisp. (about 3-5

min) While potatoes are cooking, in a separate pan, cook 2-4 eggs to your liking.

Add onions, garlic, cumin, and season with salt and pepper. Allowing everything to

sit in the heat of the pan for a minute or 2. Once the eggs are done, add them over

the top of the skillet or on the side.

Enjoy!

The Sugar Detox Challenge!

This week we’re going to be getting rid of ADDED SUGARS in our diets.

There’s a HUGE difference between the natural sugars found in foods, and the added sugars that we put in our drinks and foods.
The scary thing is, these days sugar can sneak up on you with at least 60 different names, making them difficult to spot when scanning your labels.

In fact, here’s a great list with about 56 of them for you: www.healthline.com/nutrition/56-different-names-for-sugar

It’s recommended that we (as adults) limit our daily-added sugar intake to around 25 grams, or 6 teaspoons a day.

Your challenge this week is to avoid ANY added sugars to your diet! (this includes food AND drinks)

Fruit? It’s absolutely fine … it brings in a wide-variety of vitamins, minerals, and other micronutrients along with fiber.
But coffee or tea with sugar? SORRY!!!

If you absolutely, positively MUST add a little sweetness…. I’d rather you go with these than sugar:
Raw Honey
Stevia
Coconut Sugar

Be sure this week to check all of your nutrition labels…. even on items you’d never imagine (like bread, crackers and other processed foods) because sugar is added to pretty much everything. 
After one week without added sugar, your body and brain will be thanking you!
Are you and your sweet tooth up for the challenge?! Let us know in a comment below! And keep us posted with how you’re doing and any successes or struggles.

One of the things I tell clients all the time is that SUGAR craves SUGAR. If you invite sugar into your body, it’s going to want to have a party and invite all of its friends … and they are just going to leave your body feeling trashed.
That’s because when you consume sugar, your blood sugar rises quickly and then falls … leaving you craving more “energy”. But it’s false energy!

Best bet: If you’re cutting back sugar, hang tough during the first day or so. Remind yourself that it’ll get easier as your body gets used to not having it. That effort will be so worth it in the long run!

Do you know how much salt you take in over the course of a day? If you eat processed foods or tend to eat out a lot, chances are you’re getting way more than you think!

Too much salt can cause your body to store extra water, which raises your blood pressure. This means there will be a greater strain on your heart, arteries, kidneys, and brain. And as you know, heart disease is the NUMBER ONE KILLER in the United States… and many times, it’s preventable.
Your challenge this week is to monitor and CONTROL your salt intake!
The American Heart Association recommends that you don’t get more than 2,300 mg a day … with an ideal limit of 1,500 mg a day for most adults.
But because most of us get far more than we need, cutting back to 2,300 mg can make a HUGE impact on your health! 

Here are estimated amounts of sodium in table salt. As you can see, it adds up fast!
1/4 teaspoon salt = 575 mg sodium
1/2 teaspoon salt = 1,150 mg sodium
3/4 teaspoon salt = 1,725 mg sodium
1 teaspoon salt = 2,300 mg sodium

If you’re eating processed foods, it’s really hard to control how much you’re getting.

Here are a few guidelines: 
Read your labels- even for condiments and hot sauce! You’ll be surprised how fast sodium levels creep up.

Then, keep track of your sodium levels and see if you’re in the danger zone.

If you are cooking at home, try Pink Himalayan Salt instead! This is one of my favorites! Here’s a great article to learn why you should ditch the table salt and replace it with this: https://draxe.com/pink-himalayan-salt/

Are you in for the challenge!?

4 Servings!

Ingredients: 
3 or 4 chicken breasts
2 Tbs. olive oil
4 or 5 small tomatoes, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
½ small red onion, chopped
1 tsp. balsamic vinegar
⅛. tsp. sea salt
Handful basil, chopped

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Rub chicken breasts with 1 Tbsp. olive oil, and season with salt and pepper. Bake for about 10 minutes. Flip, and cook for another 15 or until the juices run clear. 
2. In the meantime, combine chopped tomatoes, garlic, onion, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, sea salt and basil in a bowl. Place bowl in refrigerator until chicken is ready. Spoon over chicken and enjoy!

Do you rely on caffeine to keep you going during the day!?

Need that cup-of-joe to kick-start your morning? Need that mid-day jolt to get you past the afternoon slump? Well- relying on caffeine as an artificial way to boost your energy levels isn’t always the best for you.

That’s why, this week, we’re going to “zero-in” on our caffeine intake! Now, before you freak out, yes … caffeine is a natural stimulant that has been shown to have some health benefits. For instance, having just enough (not too much!) helps improve your memory and focus. But answer me this: if you HAVE to use it to power through every single day, as a tool or crutch, how good is that for you? Caffeine stimulates your central nervous system, and for most of us, having one (even up to two cups of caffeine per day) is considered generally safe.

However, more than that can lead to poor sleeping patterns, high blood pressure, nervousness and irritability, stomach upset, a fast heartbeat and even muscle tremors. Want a few great alternatives for that pick-me-up? Get some fresh air, drink a cold glass of water, meditate, or even pop out 15 body squats or push-ups! Now… if you’re used to taking in a lot of caffeine over the course of a day, be prepared for a headache and sluggishness if you go cold turkey! A less disruptive option is to gradually cut back your caffeine intake over the course of a week.

You up for this!? I KNOW YOU CAN DO IT!!!

Let’s start…. right now!

Feeling stressed, overwhelmed, or tired? Need to add a little zen into your day? 
Well… lucky for us there’s a guaranteed way to bring calm to our bodies – and it’s all about how you breathe. In fact, you can energize or relax your body just by changing the way you breathe. 

Challenge is to practice “yoga breathing” for 10 minutes a day!
Pranayama helps correct poor breathing patterns that can help pull your body out of “fight-or-flight” mode. It helps you to relax and feel more balanced. 

Here’s how to do it:
Lay down with your back on the floor (you don’t have to lay down, but it helps). Keep your knees bent, your feet hip-width apart, and feet on the ground.
With your mouth slightly open and your tongue just behind your teeth, inhale slowly, feeling your chin raise ever-so-slightly toward the ceiling. Breathe in for 6 to 8 counts, nice and slowly. 
Next, exhale through your nose for 3 to 4 counts (half as long as you inhaled), slowly returning your head to its starting position.
In just a few breaths, you will notice your thoughts start to slow down and your body begin to relax.
This form of breathing helps relieve anxiety, anger and agitation, and even sleep disturbances.

Ingredients:
• 2 pork chops (all-natural or organic, 1” thick)
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 1/2 lemon
• 2 cloves of garlic
• Pink Himalayan Salt & Fresh Ground Pepper to taste

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Then, pre-heat an oven-safe sauté
pan to med to med-high on the stove. Rinse and pat dry both pork chops. Season
both sides of chop with salt and pepper. Smash your garlic cloves with the side of
your knife and cut your lemon in half.

Once your sauté pan is heated, add the olive oil. Once oil is heated (in a couple of
seconds), place the 2 garlic cloves in the pan carefully separated by a few inches).
Place each pork chop on top of a garlic clove. Allow to sear for 2-3 minutes. Flip
chops and sear for an additional 2-3 minutes. (You’re looking for a nice crust on
each side). Squeeze 1⁄2 lemon over the chops.

Place the pan in the oven for about 10 minutes or until the internal temperature
reaches 145 degrees. Let rest for 3 minutes and enjoy!