So here goes! Excuse the slight mess and the links that do not work. Be assured that I am working to fix all those ‘broken’ things and things should be running more smoothly later today

Until next time,

Noa

I drove by Ottavio bakery and deli in Oak Bay yesterday and decided to go in and see if they have some interesting spices (or anything else) for me to experiment with. Guess what?! they did… I got a little jar with French lavender flowers and the recipe below is my first culinary experiment using them.

What you need

• 1/2 tsp dried French lavender flowers
• 1 tbsp organic coconut oil
• 1 tbsp honey (or Agave nectar, if you are vegan…)
• 1/3 cup cocoa powder
• 1/8 cup organic almond-hazelnut butter
• 1/2 cup almond flour
• 8-10 dates
• 1 tbsp chia seeds
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tbsp sesame seeds
• 1/8 cup rolled oats
• Shredded coconut (for rolling)
  

Start by processing the dates in a food processor until they turn into a paste, then mix everything together in a big bowl (except the shredded coconut). Use your hands… trying to mix all these ingredients any other way is not a simple task. Form into balls and roll in the shredded coconut.

There you go… that is all there is to it! Pretty simple and quick Please try making them and let me know what you think!

(Makes 8 golf sized balls)

What you need

• 1/3 cup coconut flour
• 2 tbsp almond flour
• 1 ripe banana, mashed
• 3 eggs, beaten
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 1 tbsp honey
• 3 tbsp non sweetened almond milk
• 1 tsp hemp hearts
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tbsp cocoa powder
• Unsweetened shredded coconut, for rolling

How to

• Pre heat oven to 375 degrees
• Combine wet ingredients well and add to the dry ingredients. Mix well
• Create little balls with the dough and roll in the shredded coconut
• Place on a cookie sheet and flatten with your fingertips
• Bake for ~10-12 minutes

Mine looked like this:

So I decided to make my own!

I always have various kinds of nuts and dried fruit in my cupboard, but I don’t always have oats, which is partially why Andrew showed up at my place one day with a bag of oats… he loves his oats in the morning When I made this specific muesli combination I had quinoa flakes lying around, so this recipe turned out to be gluten-free.

What you need

• Quinoa flakes
• Dried mango, chopped (organic and unsweetened)
• Pistachios, halved
• Honey
• Vanilla extract
• Dried cranberries (unsweetened)
• Shredded coconut (unsweetened)

The process

When I tried this recipe, I just threw things into a bowl without measuring anything properly. next time I make this I will measure things, but part of the fun is to just go by feel, right?

Just mix everything together and toast in a pre heated oven for ~10 minutes. Note that quinoa flakes toast faster than oats…

So the day before their race, I needed to distract myself… and decided to create a few new recipes! I think this one is worth sharing… I had Mari (Adam’s fiancee) try it and she approved too

What you need

• 1/4 tsp coconut oil
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 yellow onion, chopped
• 2 cups vegetable stock (home made is best… or low sodium)
• 2 zucchinis, medium size, chopped
• 2 cups kale leaves (~3 bunches curly kale)
• Juice of 1/2 lime
• 1/2 cup coconut milk
• 1 cinnamon stick
• Salt & pepper to taste

The process

• Saute the garlic and onion in a pot, with the coconut oil
• Add zucchini and stock
• Throw in the cinnamon stick, add salt & pepper and bring to a boil. You can also add the cinnamon stick a bit later, depending on how much you like cinnamon…
• Once boiled, stir in the kale until the leaves wilt. This will only take ~1 minute
• Remove cinnamon stick from the pot and remove the pot from the heat
• Blend everything together until smooth
• Add coconut milk and lime juice, then stir for ~5 minutes
• Taste, and add more salt and/or pepper, if needed

That’s it… Pretty simple! On a side note, all 5 athletes posted PB’s at IMAZ