two things get me out of bed in the morning… well, other than the need to pee, my phone alarm beeping, the farmer getting a little too ‘handsy’, the need for 4 glasses of water, children to feed and pack lunches for and two dogs to kick out of the porch…
but there are two main things that excite me the most… (apologizes to the ‘handsy’ farmer)…
food… cooking, creating, eating…
and running...
(or other forms of exercising… weights, pilates, yoga… as long as I am sweating by the end of it)
so today was just about the perfect day... I woke up knowing I was going to attempt my fourth try at a recipe I had been tweaking that a friend had sent me…
and I was going to get a run in on my treadmill while watching Netflix…
describe to me a better day… please try…
in my mind the best recipes involve fantastic ingredients… the Lindt dark chocolate with sea salt bar is hands down the best chocolate bar out there…
and this raw almond butter is so good you don’t want the taste to ever leave your mouth…
I have three active kids in the house along with a farmer and myself who are attempting to eat well lately, so the food I’m making needs to taste good and provide sufficient fuel for the day…
we were going through so many protein bars, I figured I’d make a homemade version of a protein bar...
something I could have as a snack that would not only quench my sweet tooth but feel good in my belly and power me through my run while watching Grace and Frankie...
this was the epiphany I had… putting the chickpeas, maple syrup, almond milk, almond butter and vanilla in the Vitamix... the consistency it beats it up into is perfection…
a few years back I came across a chocolate chip chickpea cookie recipe that changed my life… well my kids lunch kit life really…
so you can understand the level of excitement that flooded over me when my friend sent me a brownie recipe with chickpeas!
this is easily the best way I have ever incorporated chickpeas into my baking…
transfer the wet mixture to a bowl and fold in the brown rice flour, baking powder and chia seeds to bind it…
place in a greased square baking dish and think to yourself of all the power foods you just put into a brownie pan!!!
this is when the chocolate comes in… you might notice one square is missing… I attribute this to having to go to Parent Teacher Interviews last night and needing to make myself not feel like such a failure when I got home…
chocolate with salt has a way of making everything better…
who cares if my 15 year old is still hiding in different spots in the school to avoid class and eating his pencils?
chocolate made it seem just fine…
I had to showcase the decorative measuring spoons my mother brought me on her last trip out here… they are so cute and remind me of her… (and sadly her hoarding habits)
once you sprinkle the chocolate and a smidgen of love on the brownies, pop them in the oven and allow yourself to feel the pure joy of making something that is good for you to eat… so good…
gluten free almond butter chickpea protein bites
Ingredients:
- 1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 3/4 cup almond butter (or peanut butter)
- 1/2 cup maple syrup
- 1/3 cup almond milk (or regular milk)
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1/2 cup brown rice flour (or all purpose flour)
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/8 cup chia seeds
- 1 bar dark chocolate, crushed
Directions:
- blend chickpeas, almond butter, maple syrup, almond milk and vanilla in a Vitamix or food processor
- transfer to a bowl and add flour, baking powder and chia seeds
- fold flour mixture in and transfer to a greased square baking dish
- chop up chocolate bar and sprinkle over the top
- bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes
- let cool before cutting
- freezes well
i feed a farmer 
My attempt at a perfect day….a wise friend told me when you go out into your day send love and expect it – everywhere – even before you get there…I was like “ya, as if that is going to work. Someone will cut me off in traffic or there will be that unruly child at the grocery store checkout who keeps motoring by hitting my butt on each flyby…there is always something that will set me off.”
So I decided to try her love “experiment”…what did I have to lose?
We drive into Canada Place Jasper Avenue – downtown Edmonton – knowing we will be standing in a long lineup. I have heard the dreadful stories of long lineups taking forever… but I am sending love wherever I go so it will be perfect. We get into the city with no one cutting us off. My husband is in a good mood and we drive easily over to Canada Place. A friendly woman just leaving the underground parking lot hands us her ticket to use in the parking stall she was in and it has two hours time left. We go upstairs and there is abit of a lineup about 20 people – so not too bad. We get through the initial screening very friendly and helpful clerk as the lineup goes through quickly. There are about 15 clerks and I am watching to see which stand we might be called to. I see that there are some stern employees but I am still expecting more love. We get called up to the one clerk that I thought looked most stern and he is very friendly and very helpful. Our forms are perfectly completed. The woman clerk beside him compliments me on the beautiful fuschia scarf I am wearing. We leave the office all finished and there is a longer line up than when we arrived extending farther down the hallway…so we had arrived at a perfect time. The rest of the day went perfectly – no hitches no delays and super friendly people.
LikeLike