How to Prepare High Fiber Delicious Desserts for Health and Weight Loss?

 

Click HERE to Get These Super Healthy Sweet Treats & Dessert Recipes

Fabulous Fiber for Health and Weight-loss

A recent study published in the “Annals of Internal Medicine” suggest that eating 30 grams of fiber daily can actually help you lose weight, lower blood pressure and improve the body’s response to insulin with the same effectiveness that a complicated diet can.

Those that participated lost a significant amount of weight even though no other dietary changes were implemented.

Just as the body needs its portions of macro and micro nutrients daily, it also needs and requires a healthy dose of fiber.

Fiber (known as roughage and bulk) is either soluble (because it dissolves in water) or insoluble (it does not dissolve in water). It includes the parts of plant foods that your body is unable to digest or absorb like it does with fats, proteins and carbohydrates. Fiber simply passes through your stomach and intestines and out of your body.

Soluble fiber: This kind of fiber dissolves in water and forms a gel-like substance. It helps lower blood cholesterol and glucose levels. You can find this type of fiber in legumes (peas), oats, apples, citrus, barley and carrots and a whole lot of other foods.

Insoluble fiber: This type of fiber increases stool bulk and promotes the movement of food material through your digestive system. Highly beneficial for those suffering from constipation or hard and irregular stools. Nuts, beans, vegetables are great sources of this kind of fiber.

Plant based foods such as beans contain both insoluble and soluble fiber although the amount varies in each one.

Rather than start another dead-end diet, why not look to fiber – it is great tool for fat loss:

• It provides zero calories but takes up space in our stomach making us feel full.

• You’re likely to eat less and stay satisfied longer. High fiber foods generally take longer to eat and have less calories for the same volume of food.

• Binds with fats in our food preventing some from being absorbed

• Slows the conversion of carbohydrates to sugar which keeps us burning fat

Fiber also helps to normalize stools. Loose stools benefit from fiber because it is able to absorb water and adds bulk. It also softens and increases the weight of your stool so it is easier to pass.

Some great sources of fiber:

• Fruits
• Vegetables
• Beans, peas and other types of legumes
• Nuts and seeds
• Whole-grain products

Getting more fiber into your diet is not hard to do.  Why not start by adding more fiber to your breakfast meal. Add unprocessed wheat bran to your favorite cereals (always opt for those with “whole grain, bran or fiber” listed). Make every snack count. Fresh fruits and veggies are your best choice for fiber but you can also enjoy an occasional handful of nuts or seeds (just be aware of the calories).

Be aware. When adding fiber to your diet, don’t overdo it. Add a bit at a time and spread your increase out over a few weeks to avoid intestinal gas and abdominal bloating from adding too much too quickly. Allow the natural bacteria in your digestive tract to adjust to the changes.

Most veggies and many herbs can be used with great success in desserts and treats and can be key to getting the required daily requirements of nutrients that your body needs.

For more ideas on how to prepare high fiber delicious desserts, watch this video – My GLUTEN-FREE, HIGH PROTEIN, HIGH FIBER Brownies Recipe | A GUILT-FREE DESSERT Anytime of The Day

If you are ready to expand beyond your traditional recipes and upgrade them to a more nutritional level you will love my newest creation…“Blended Bites.

Author Bio:

Carolyn Hansen is the author of The Blended Bites Healthy Snack and Dessert Recipe Collection. This is a one-stop resource for delicious, healthy, guilt-free snacks that you can eat every day. And even better, EVERY ONE of these recipes are RAW healthy snack foods that taste as good as their fattening counterparts.

You can NOW satisfy your snack urge without any negative impact on your weight loss and fitness goals, and without sweating over a hot stove. These easy-to-prepare snacks contain no sugar, no flour or butter and are paleo friendly.

So, if you want to get your hands on recipes for desserts and snacks that you will not need to feel guilty about eating the next time you have a craving for something delicious, be sure to check out Carolyn Hansen’s books at Blended Bites, where she will show you how to take control of your blender and churn out mouth-watering desserts and snacks that will have the kids in your neighborhood lined up around the block for a sample.

How to Add Flavor to Your Desserts Using Herbs?

 

Click HERE to Get These Super Healthy Sweet Treats & Dessert Recipes

Herbs that Play Well with Desserts

When using herbs, don’t limit yourself to savory dishes. Their delicate aromas and distinctive flavors add other dimensions to many dessert and baked dishes as well.

Additionally, since herbs are nutrient dense plants, they offer a boost to the immune system. A literal “sweet bonus” when used in desserts and sweet treats.

Herbs are perfect for balancing dessert ingredients in any dish. With an endless variety of flowery to spicy notes, they add brightness and earthy flavors to any season and elevate all desserts to a more sophisticated level.

It’s time to “think outside the box.”

Here’s a list of favorite herbs that are commonly used to enhance sweet dishes. Use the information to explore and discover new ideas for yourself.

Mint: Nothing is more refreshing than mint, a worldwide culinary favorite there are a quite a few good ones to choose from. Some of the more widely used and favorites are peppermint and spearmint, but orange, pineapple and apple are other good choices. Good with nearly any fruit (raspberries marry perfectly with this herb).

Mint adds refreshing taste, aroma and color to sorbets, pies, jellies, and is delicious in fruit salads. It also does well when baked with fruits such as pears or apples and the perfect choice to pair with chocolate.

Lemon balm, lemon verbena: Lemon flavored, highly aromatic herbs add both sweet and citrus flavors to desserts. Successfully used in pies, cakes, custards, jams, and jellies, you can also simply sprinkle freshly chopped in fruit salads and sorbets and other berry dishes. Verbena is denser with citrus oil than balm, so be sure to adjust your recipe accordingly.

Rose: Who doesn’t love the intoxicating aroma of roses? These scents also lend an endless variety of exotic touches to desserts. Rose petals, rosewater, and rosehips are all successfully used to create a variety of syrups, jellies, candies, and frostings.

Treat them like you would any new flavor, taste-test first to see if it leans to the sour or bitter side since no two roses are alike. Citrus fruits or other mild flavored fruits when used in tandem, accentuate the delicate scent of rose.

Lavender: Lavender pairs beautifully with the slightly nutty, sweet flavor of peaches.

Rosemary: Often used in pastries and breads, this aromatic herb is perfect for desserts too.

Angelica: Offering a woody and slightly bitter flavor, it is both a medicinal and culinary herb.

Fun and easy to use, these edible, aromatic plants add flavor and nutrients to whatever dish they are included in, including sweet desserts. They are calorie free, adding extra flavor without adding extra pounds.

You can purchase dried or fresh herbs locally but its best to go organic to be sure they have not been sprayed or irradiated with chemicals. For the most part, fresh herbs are more subtle, but fresher in flavor and require more than dried herbs which generally offer more concentrated flavor and can sometimes be a bit more bitter than the fresh variety.

Don’t be afraid to experiment growing your own herbs inside or outdoors. It can be quite rewarding to flavor and enhance your desserts with herbs from your own garden, knowing you are giving your immune system a boost at the same time.

Be adventurous and begin playing and experimenting with different herb variations in your favorite recipes and explore the possibilities and taste differences they produce.

You’ll soon become a master of “herb flavors,” enhancing all your dessert and sweet treat recipes with exotic flavors and scents while empowering them with antiviral, antibacterial and antioxidant properties of different herbs.

Remember, it is never about the amount of calories going in but about the amount of nutrients consumed. Make every bite count.

Most veggies and many herbs can be used with great success in desserts and treats and can be key to getting the required daily requirements of nutrients that your body needs.

Watch this video – How to Add Flavor to Your Desserts Using Herbs

If you are ready to expand beyond your traditional recipes and upgrade them to a more nutritional level you will love my newest creation…“Blended Bites.

Author Bio:

Carolyn Hansen is the author of The Blended Bites Healthy Snack and Dessert Recipe Collection. This is a one-stop resource for delicious, healthy, guilt-free snacks that you can eat every day. And even better, EVERY ONE of these recipes are RAW healthy snack foods that taste as good as their fattening counterparts.

You can NOW satisfy your snack urge without any negative impact on your weight loss and fitness goals, and without sweating over a hot stove. These easy-to-prepare snacks contain no sugar, no flour or butter and are paleo friendly.

So, if you want to get your hands on recipes for desserts and snacks that you will not need to feel guilty about eating the next time you have a craving for something delicious, be sure to check out Carolyn Hansen’s books at Blended Bites, where she will show you how to take control of your blender and churn out mouth-watering desserts and snacks that will have the kids in your neighborhood lined up around the block for a sample.

How to Prepare Protein Rich Veggie Desserts for Muscle Building and Weight Loss?

 

Click HERE to Get These Super Healthy Sweet Treats & Dessert Recipes

Protein Plays an Important Role…Even in Dessert

If you are dieting. you want to lose fat and as little lean body mass as possible and the macro-nutrient protein is the key player to help us do just that.

Yet, if we take a look at the macro-nutrient composition of the average diet it consists of 50% carbohydrates, 34% fat and just 16% protein. This means that people are only receiving about 16% of their daily energy requirements from protein when protein provides so many bonus benefits.

Let’s take a look at some of the awesome benefits that protein provides:

Keeps you feeling full: Sometimes when we are dieting, our caloric intake can sometimes leave us feeling unsatisfied or even hungry. Studies prove that a higher ratio of protein in your diet is beneficial for many reasons including keeping you feeling full for longer stretches of time…a true dieter’s helper.

Protein slows down digestion and helps to keep you from going back for seconds. Bottom line is protein not only satisfies but it saves calories.

Protein for lean body mass: In order to lose body fat, it is vital that you create a caloric deficit…meaning you are burning more calories that you consume.

Unfortunately, most people do not just lose weight when dieting but they also lose precious muscle (especially if they are dieting but not performing any muscle building or maintaining exercises). The result that most people experience when on a high caloric deficit is that they lose muscle along with fat.

Protein preserves lean body mass…protein is not the macro-nutrient you want to be cutting. What you need to be cutting down on if you wish to lose fat and not muscle is nutrient-poor foods that are nothing but empty refined carbohydrates and unhealthy fats…filling you up with useless calories.

Give yourself a metabolism boost with a healthy portion of protein. It’s an easy way to eat a healthy balanced diet so that you can achieve your health and fitness goals.

Pairing protein with Carbs: You can actually slow down the absorption of sugar from your stomach to your bloodstream by pairing protein with carbohydrate rich foods. This in turn help keep your blood sugar from skyrocketing and keeps those incessant cravings at bay.

Rebuilds and Repairs: Protein is what you need…especially after you’ve just worked out intensely. However, protein cannot do the job alone so pair it up with its macro-nutrient cousins, healthy carbs and healthy fats.

With all this talk about needing protein how does that translate into Veggie Desserts? There are many plant based protein vegetables that offer a good amount of protein and are perfect for Veggie Desserts of all kinds.

Spinach offers 3 grams of protein per ½ cup and can be used in desserts, smoothies and Smoothie Bowls.

Broccoli is another veggies that offers protein…approximately 2 grams per serving…and don’t forget the fiber it also offers.

Kale is another great choice to use in your veggie desserts and smoothies…it offers about .7 grams of protein per cup.

There are other veggie choices that offer a hefty amount of protein such as Swiss chard so don’t limit yourself to this short list. In order to reach your daily recommended requirement for protein you need to eat an assortment of veggies and there is no better way to do that than to enjoy then in a dessert, smoothie or Smoothie Bowl along with your traditional meals.

For more ideas on how to prepare protein rich veggie desserts, watch this video – HEALTHY VEGAN NO BAKE DESSERTS ‣‣ easy to make!

If you are ready to expand beyond your traditional perception of how veggies should be used you will love my newest creation…“Blended Bites.”

Truth is, most veggies can be used with great success in desserts and treats and can be key to getting the required daily requirements.

Author Bio:

Carolyn Hansen is the author of The Blended Bites Healthy Snack and Dessert Recipe Collection. This is a one-stop resource for delicious, healthy, guilt-free snacks that you can eat every day. And even better, EVERY ONE of these recipes are RAW healthy snack foods that taste as good as their fattening counterparts.

You can NOW satisfy your snack urge without any negative impact on your weight loss and fitness goals, and without sweating over a hot stove. These easy-to-prepare snacks contain no sugar, no flour or butter and are paleo friendly.

So, if you want to get your hands on recipes for desserts and snacks that you will not need to feel guilty about eating the next time you have a craving for something delicious, be sure to check out Carolyn Hansen’s books at Blended Bites, where she will show you how to take control of your blender and churn out mouth-watering desserts and snacks that will have the kids in your neighborhood lined up around the block for a sample.

How to Prepare Nutrient Dense Tasty Desserts Using Chia Seeds?

 

Click HERE to Get These Super Healthy Sweet Treats & Dessert Recipes

Chia Seeds Provide Super Nutrition

As science opens the door to the secrets of nutrition, more and more foods are surfacing as super-foods…foods that go beyond the norm when it comes to providing nutrition for our bodies.

Chia seed is one of those super-foods. As one of nature’s most perfect natural foods, it is regarded by many health and nutrition experts as the pinnacle of superfoods. Some of them even declare that if they were only allowed one food daily…chia seeds would be the chosen one.

Chia seeds supply our bodies with super nutrition. They taste good are inexpensive and mix well with most foods. There are many medical conditions that Chia seeds help with and weight loss is just one of those.

Although Chia seeds have recently enjoyed a resurgence in modern times, this little super seed is not to man. The Aztecs, Mayans and Inca cultures all revered this seed, considered it a mega energy food and carried it with them throughout the day for a boost of energy. It was so important to these cultures that they even traded it as currency. To the Mayans chia actually meant “strength.”

Chia is an annual herb that produces white and purple flowers that eventually go to seed. The seeds are little and oval in shape. They can be white, gray, black or brown.

There are no toxic effects documented from chia seeds so they are safe to consume without worry.

Besides the wealth of vitamins and minerals provided, the benefits of chia seed are:

High Energy: Chia seed is a mega energy food and provides sustainable energy that will easily carry you through your cardio or resistance workouts. It also provides twice the potassium of bananas.

High Protein: Chia seed is a complete protein source containing all 19 amino acids in balance. They are higher in protein than any other grain, chia’s protein is absorbed and digests easily and is the perfect replacement for protein in protein shakes.

Antioxidant Rich: Chia is rich in antioxidants…even more so than blueberries. This gives chia seed a long shelf life.

Fiber Rich: Consuming chia seed daily aids digestion and regularity. They detox your system and clean your intestines. Providing both soluble dietary fiber and insoluble dietary fiber.

Reduces Joint Pain: Consuming chia seed on a daily basis can greatly reduce or eliminate joint pain.

Aids with Weight-loss: Chia helps to fill you up so you eat less, but does not weigh you down.

Although chia are perfect for human consumption, insects don’t like it which allows it to remain pesticide free.

Chia can be consumed so many different ways. You can enjoy this super seed all alone as a snack or sprinkle them generously on soups, salads, cereals and yogurt.

They are perfect in juices, smoothies, Smoothie bowls or shakes. Some people simply stir a few tablespoons into water, let them sit for a few minutes until they soften a bit and then drink them down.

Because the taste of chia seeds is relatively mild to no flavor they can be easily cooked into foods without changing the flavor but boosting the nutrient value considerably. They are the perfect addition to healthy desserts…both traditional and veggie based desserts.

Isn’t it time you began introducing this nutrient-dense super-seed into your dishes…including your desserts?

To learn how to prepare nutrient dense tasty desserts, watch this video – HOW TO MAKE CHIA PUDDING ‣‣ 6 Amazing Chia Pudding Recipes

You’ll find some exciting veggie based dessert recipes in my new “Blended Bites” recipe book that include this super food.

Author Bio:

Carolyn Hansen is the author of The Blended Bites Healthy Snack and Dessert Recipe Collection. This is a one-stop resource for delicious, healthy, guilt-free snacks that you can eat every day. And even better, EVERY ONE of these recipes are RAW healthy snack foods that taste as good as their fattening counterparts.

You can NOW satisfy your snack urge without any negative impact on your weight loss and fitness goals, and without sweating over a hot stove. These easy-to-prepare snacks contain no sugar, no flour or butter and are paleo friendly.

So, if you want to get your hands on recipes for desserts and snacks that you will not need to feel guilty about eating the next time you have a craving for something delicious, be sure to check out Carolyn Hansen’s books at Blended Bites, where she will show you how to take control of your blender and churn out mouth-watering desserts and snacks that will have the kids in your neighborhood lined up around the block for a sample.

How to Add Taste and Color to Your Desserts Using Vegetables?

 

Click HERE to Get These Super Healthy Sweet Treats & Dessert Recipes

Add Taste and Color to Your Desserts Using Vegetables – Yummy Green Coconut Fudge

Adding taste and color to desserts using veggies is not a new idea but is gaining serious attention once again as more and more people get focused on getting nutritional benefit from every bite they eat…including dessert.

Let’s face it, the Internet is making people much wiser.  They understand that it’s not about the amount of calories eaten but more about what those calories offer or lack when it comes to nutrition that really matters.

Truth is, calories are not created equal and if optimal health and weight maintenance are important to you every calorie that goes in does matter. What good does it do anyone…especially you if what you are eating is foods that do nothing but rob you of your vitality and in the end your health? Is it really worth that small “pleasure”…that momentary high to jeopardize your future?

The trend towards enjoying foods in as close to “raw” as possible state and squeezing nutrition into snacks and desserts as well as other primary meals, has re-emerged with veggies playing the starring role as well as supporting roles as subtle flavors and textures.

There are many dark green vegetables available that can be used with great success in creating sweet dishes as well as savory ones. Spinach is one of those dark green veggies and contains one of the most active coloring agents of all greens.

It is easy to grow and find and the perfect addition to any dessert recipes for flavor, texture and color.

Fudge is a family favorite both as a dessert and sweet snack most likely because it can be created in endless varieties…mixing endless ingredients and anyone worth their weight in candy-making gold has tried their hand at making great fudge.

However, not everyone has ventured into the “unknown” and brought spinach into their fudge mixture.

Not only is this fudge tasty…with added nutrition, but it offers a beautiful festive color that can add spice to your table during holidays or simply bring a smile to the face of the child who loves color.

Isn’t it time you enjoyed your fudge without your gremlins’ kicking in?

Green Coconut Fudge

• 2 bananas
• 1 cup desiccated coconut
• ¼ cup coconut oil, warmed until liquid
• 1 tablespoon honey
• Handful of fresh spinach

Place all ingredients into the food processer and process until mixture is smooth and creamy.

Spoon out and spread into a small dish or pan. Place in fridge to firm up.

Cut into bars.

Who knew such healthy creations could be made so easily and satisfy a “sweet” tooth so completely…all while benefiting health with added nutrition?

To learn how to add taste and color to your desserts using vegetables, watch this video – 3 Easy No-Bake VEGAN Dessert Recipes

As the younger generation would claim “Sweet!”…it doesn’t get any better than this!

For more delicious veggie based dessert and treat recipes visit: “Blended Bites” …you’ll be pleasantly surprised with what you can create with veggies.

Author Bio:

Carolyn Hansen is the author of The Blended Bites Healthy Snack and Dessert Recipe Collection. This is a one-stop resource for delicious, healthy, guilt-free snacks that you can eat every day. And even better, EVERY ONE of these recipes are RAW healthy snack foods that taste as good as their fattening counterparts.

You can NOW satisfy your snack urge without any negative impact on your weight loss and fitness goals, and without sweating over a hot stove. These easy-to-prepare snacks contain no sugar, no flour or butter and are paleo friendly.

So, if you want to get your hands on recipes for desserts and snacks that you will not need to feel guilty about eating the next time you have a craving for something delicious, be sure to check out Carolyn Hansen’s books at Blended Bites, where she will show you how to take control of your blender and churn out mouth-watering desserts and snacks that will have the kids in your neighborhood lined up around the block for a sample.