choosing high-quality ingredients.

High-quality vs. Low-quality ingredients.

Every time you decide to embark on a health journey is your first thought, “bleh, health food…”? We’ve all been there. With that attitude though, your diet won’t last long. Do you like Chinese food, Mexican food, desserts, etc.? You probably never knew how easy it was to just change a few ingredients into their healthy alternatives and never sacrifice anything to your taste buds. Will it taste 100% like what you’re used to? It would be disingenuous to make that claim. However, we can get very, very close.

BELIEVE. TRUST. ACT.
First, you have to believe that you can eat and choose healthier options. Then trust the process. Grab a recipe for a favorite dish and get to work in the kitchen.

You won’t believe how easy this is. Let’s say you love parfaits. As Donkey from Shrek would say, “When the last time you ever heard somebody say, ‘hell naw, I don’t want no parfait?’”

Normal parfaits are made from fruit preservatives, seed oils, and added sugars. Yes, as Donkey says, they taste great. Yet think outside the box. How do you enjoy something this tasty but in a way that gets nutrition in your body as well?

LET’S START WITH THE INGREDIENTS:

^{CHOCOLATEY FRUIT PARFAIT}

• 1 Sprouted Grain English Muffin (Ezekiel Bread 4:9)
• 1 tbsp Grass Fed Butter
• 1 tbsp Organic Cinnamon
• 1/4 cup Organic Blueberries
• 1/4 cup Organic Strawberries
• 2 tbsp Organic Robust Maple Syrup
• 1/2 cup Grass-fed Greek Plain Yogurt
• 1 tbsp Raw Cacao Powder

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Slice the English muffin in half. Lightly butter each side and place in the oven for 8-10 minutes.

Cut up your strawberries as desired while you wait.

Put 1/2 cup of yogurt in a small bowl. Add 1 tbsp of maple syrup. Add cacao powder. Add blueberries and cut strawberries. Mix well until satisfied.

Once the muffin is toasted well, remove from the oven. Cut the muffin into small squares. Dash with cinnamon. Try to cover as much of the bread as possible.

Now it’s time to make our first layer. Grab a nice tall glass or cup. Preferably clear so you can see the ‘tasty’ while you eat it. Start with a layer of cinnamon bread muffin at the bottom. Now layer with the Greek yogurt mix. Repeat by adding another layer of cinnamon bread muffin. Then another layer of Greek yogurt mix.

Rinse/repeat until you’ve used up the pre-made ingredients.

Top off the last layer with 1 tbsp of robust maple syrup.

TUCK IN!
Bon appetite! Now doesn’t that sound delicious?

Sprouted grain bread is full of phytonutrients and fiber. Grass-fed butter is a great source of vitamin D. Cinnamon and raw cacao powder are both anti-inflammatory. Greek yogurt is great for your gut flora. Any fruit that has a name that ends with ‘berry’ can help reduce the risk of coronary diseases like stroke and heart failure.

Most of these benefits aren’t available in the highly processed version of commercial parfaits. This whole food version gives you the taste as well as the nutrient density.

There are so many examples to be applied to some of your favorites. Do you like orange chicken? Try breading it with buckwheat flour. Do you like pizza? Try using cauliflower as your crust. Mac n’ cheese? Try a recipe that uses hearts of palm in place of pasta.

Combine taste with your newfound knowledge! Visit our recipe page for more ideas!