DIY Wednesday: Sports Drink

February 3, 2016February 1, 2016 / ktbuchs87

DIY Wednesday: Sports Drink | Life Healthfully Lived I would say that sport’s drinks like Gatorade, Propel, and Powerade are some of the most controversial products when it comes to hydration. You have the people who are firmly in the water-is-the-only-hydration-you-need camp and then you have others who are firmly in the you-need-to-replenish-your-electrolytes-after-activity camp. Then you have those in the murky middle ground who believe sometimes you need sports drinks and sometimes you don’t. It can be very confusing.

I am somewhere in the murky middle ground. It all depends on the activity you’ve been doing and how long you’ve been active for. The vast majority of us don’t do enough work or exercise that will require anything other than water to rehydrate. There is no need for a Gatorade after a 20-minute workout or to hand out sports drinks after a kids soccer game. There are a few instances where you do need to replenish your electrolyte levels with something other than just water.

People who run/train for marathons, triathlons, Ironman competitions, or any other grueling endurance sport are probably going to need something more than just water. That is because they are asking their bodies to work at full capacity for a long period of time. Anything more than a 90-minute workout session is going to probably warrant a little extra attention to your hydration levels. DIY Wednesday: Sports Drink | Life Healthfully Lived

Now, here is my other sticking point: I think that commercially sold sports drinks are NOT the way to replenish your fluids and electrolytes. They’re full of sugar and other ingredients that actually make you thirstier than you were before. How else would they sell their product? If one drink made rehydrated you, you wouldn’t need another. Plus you’re getting way more calories than you need from a drink.

Lucky for you, it’s easy to make your own sports drink that will rehydrate you as well as replenish your electrolyte levels without the calories, sugar, or any other possible weird ingredients. You can make these in advance of a tough workout or activity and have them ready to go when you’re done. You can play with the levels of citrus and natural sweetener to suit your tastes.

You can play with the levels of citrus and natural sweetener to suit your tastes and if you don’t want or can’t find coconut water, regular water works just as well. And yes, I know there is salt in here and you’re going to tell me that is ridiculous because we all know that salt makes you thirstier. Yes, BUT, you also need the proper amount of sodium levels in your body to rehydrate and absorb minerals like potassium. If you’ve been sweating like crazy, then you have been losing a lot of sodium as well and need to replenish those stores. So don’t skip the salt (and make sure you use sea salt NOT regular table salt), it won’t make you thirstier and you won’t be choking down a salty drink.

Sports Drink

1 cup coconut water or regular water (make sure it’s just plain coconut water, no added sugars)
1-2 tsp fresh lemon juice
1-2 tsp fresh lime juice
1 tsp honey or maple syrup (less or more to suit your taste)
pinch of sea salt

Put everything into a blender and blend for a few seconds. Taste and adjust things as needed.

Keep this drink stored in the fridge up to 2 days before you need it. You can also double or triple this recipe to make sure that you have enough on hand for when it’s needed.

Salted Caramel Chocolate Swirl Cookie Bars

December 18, 2015December 18, 2015 / ktbuchs87

Salted Caramel Chocolate Swirl Cookie Bars | Life Healthfully Lived Whew! Yes that is a long name, but I had to get everything in there so you can understand just how awesome these things are. I was really shocked when I came up with this recipe. I had been experimenting with making caramel out of dates and after the caramel pieces that I had planned didn’t turn out as I had hoped, I thought about making a no-bake cookie bar.

These aren’t totally no bake, you do have to cook the cookie base, but that takes less than 15 minutes. The rest you just stir together, pour, and swirl! Which makes this perfect if you realize at the last second you said you would bring a dessert to that Christmas party you’re going to. Salted Caramel Chocolate Swirl Cookie Bars | Life Healthfully Lived

I have a few other Christmas-y recipes and posts coming your way next week before the big day, so be on the lookout for those. I plan to spend the majority of my weekend in the kitchen. The only time that I will be out and about is to go see the new Star Wars movie with my husband. I have been getting a countdown for about two weeks now, so I think the man is excited. To be honest, I am too. While I might not be as passionate about Star Wars as he is, I really do enjoy the movies.

So if you’re going to see the movie this weekend, enjoy! Then come home and make some hot chocolate and eat these salted caramel chocolate swirl cookie bars! If the empire, hot chocolate, and cookie bars don’t put you in the Christmas spirit… you may have already crossed over into the dark side.

Salted Caramel Chocolate Swirl Cookie Bars

Cookie Base- slightly adapted from this recipe by Plated with Style

3/4 cup coconut flour
1/2 cup solid coconut oil (if your oil is liquid-y, put it in the freezer for a few minutes)
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/2 tsp sea salt

Preheat oven to 350. In a blender or food processor, pulse all of the ingredients together until you have one dough ball.
Grease an 8 x 8 pan with a little more coconut oil. Don’t skip this step or you will end up with crumbled mess.
Take the dough ball and press it onto the bottom and a little up the sides of the pan. You can use a cup if you’re having a hard time rolling the dough out. Make sure you have a fairly even layer.
Bake for about 9 minutes or until it is golden brown. Remove from oven and let it cool before you pour the rest of the layers in.

Salted Caramel

10 Medjool dates, pitted and soaked in hot water for at least 20 minutes (preferably overnight if you remember)
1/2 cup full fat coconut milk
6 tbsp liquid coconut oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tsp almond butter (could use cashew or peanut butter)
1/4 tsp salt (a touch more if your nut butter isn’t salted)

While the cookie layer is baking, make the caramel and chocolate layers.
Make sure that your dates have been either soaking overnight or in boiling hot water. You want to be able to remove the skins easily.
Once your dates are done soaking, slip the skins off. Most of them will slide right off, a few might give you a little fight. As long as you get most of the skin off you should be just fine.
Put the dates and the coconut oil into a blender and blend until you have a smooth and creamy paste. You may have to scrape down the sides a few times before everything comes together.
In a bowl, combine the date paste and the rest of the ingredients. Mix until everything comes together.

Chocolate Swirl

4 oz dark chocolate (I used 100% chocolate)
2 tbsp liquid coconut oil
1-2 tbsp maple syrup (if you used 100% chocolate like I did)

In a medium bowl, grate the dark chocolate so you have little shreds.
Add the coconut oil and maple syrup and stir.
In the microwave or a double boiler, melt the chocolate until it is all melted and smooth.

Putting It All Together

Once the cookie layer has cooled, pour in the salted caramel and smooth evenly over everything.
Pour in the chocolate swirl over the top. Using a chopstick, toothpick, or butter knife, swirl the chocolate throughout the caramel layer.
Place the pan in the freezer for at least 30 minutes so the caramel and chocolate harden.
To serve, Run a butter knife under hot water for a little bit and slice the bars, wiping the knife clean each time.

Ok, I know you’re panicking at this point because this does NOT look like a simple recipe. Trust me, this comes together a lot faster than it seems. I finished making this in about 30 to 40-ish minutes. And once you taste these bars, you’ll forget about this super long list. Salted Caramel Chocolate Swirl Cookie Bars | Life Healthfully Lived

Have a great weekend friends and may the force be with you!

Italian Pasta Bake

December 11, 2015December 10, 2015 / ktbuchs87 / 1 Comment

Mozzarella Italian Pasta Bake | Life Healthfully Lived that isn’t really mozzarella. Confusing I know, but totally awesome. There are tons of recipes out there for fake cheese as well as plenty of products that you can buy. My issue with store bought “cheese” is that it’s usually full of ingredients that I would rather not ingest.

I’ve made cheese sauce before for my Fusilli N’ Cheeze, but I wanted to make a cheese that was a little thicker. My goal? To try and recreate the mostaccioli that Adam made for me when we first started dating. Italian Pasta Bake | Life Healthfully Lived

About a month or so into our relationship, Adam decided he was going to cook for me. He made me his mom’s mostaccioli and it was delicious. It was super simple, but watching him make that meal for me was one of the first times that I started to fall in love with him. When I stopped eating gluten and dairy, mostaccioli kind of went out the window. But not anymore!

Don’t be freaked out by making “cheese” that isn’t really cheese. It isn’t difficult and there really aren’t any weird ingredients unless you think tapioca starch is weird. It isn’t. It’s just a thickener and helps make this cheese stretchy. You could also use potato starch, but I like tapioca better. Once you make the cheese, this is a really fast meal and a great one to prep early and pull out for a quick weeknight meal.

Not-Mozzarella, Mozzarella

1/2 cup raw cashews, soaked in warm water overnight
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
1 tsp roasted garlic
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp olive oil
2 1/2 tbsp tapioca starch (or potato starch)
1 cup hot water

Add everything to a blender and blend for 2 to 3 minutes until it is completely smooth.
Pour the mixture into a medium saucepan and heat over medium-high heat. Cook while constantly stirring. After a few minutes, the mixture will start to thicken.
Turn the heat to low and keep stirring it until it is very thick and stretchy. You can use it right away or keep it in an airtight container in the fridge for 2 to 3 days.

Italian Pasta Bake

1 batch of Not-Mozzarella, Mozzarella
1 batch of my tomato sauce
1 package of gluten-free pasta, I used brown rice shells

Preheat oven to 350. Cook your pasta according to the directions on the package. Drain and set aside.
Get a 9 x 13 casserole dish and spoon a thin layer of tomato sauce on the bottom. Next, put a layer of pasta and then top with tomato sauce. Spread some of the cheese on top of that.
Keep layering the pasta, sauce, and cheese until it’s gone. Cover the dish with aluminum foil and bake for 25 minutes.
Remove from oven and take off the foil. Cook for another 5 minutes until the cheese on top is starting to brown on the edges.
Take out of the oven and let it cool for 10 minutes before you serve it.

DIY Wednesday: Dairy-Free Ranch Dressing

November 18, 2015 / ktbuchs87

I have lived in Illinois my entire life, so I am a Midwest girl through and through. I think a big stretch of farmland is beautiful, I can drive in most snowy conditions, and I know malls are the best way to shop for everything. The other thing that my Midwestern upbringing has taught me?

Ranch dressing belongs on everything.

Raw vegetables? Instantly better doused in ranch. That boring old salad? Drench it in the white stuff. Chicken fingers and nuggets were made for dunking into the nectar of the Midwest gods. I’ve even dipped french fries, meatloaf, and sausage into ranch. Don’t judge until you try it.

Unfortunately, the combination of ranch dressing on all the food and frying everything possible has made the people of this part of the country just a little less healthy. When I changed the way I ate, I begrudgingly quit my ranch habit. After a short (read: longer than I thought) adjustment period, I actually started to enjoy the flavor of my food without the aid of ranch dressing.

But there was still that fat Midwestern kid inside that wanted to swim in a vat of ranch. I decided to fix it.

I made this dressing with full-fat coconut milk and my DIY ranch seasoning and was shocked with how much it tasted like traditional ranch. It was a little runny at first, but after a few hours in the fridge it thickened up nicely. I tend to like a more watery ranch, so I let it sit out a few minutes before I use it.

The fact that it’s so easy to make this dressing and the fact that I love it on everything have made it a weekly staple. Try it on roasted sweet potatoes or mixed into mashed potatoes. It is amazing with carrots and celery sticks and is wonderful whisked into a frittata. I even made a topping with mashed potatoes and this ranch and spread it on top of my lentil loaf.

So if you have been missing ranch dressing in your healthier lifestyle, try this dairy-free version. I promise you won’t be disappointed!

Dairy-Free Ranch Dressing

1 cup full-fat coconut milk, unsweetened
2-3 tsp ranch dressing seasoning, add more or less to your taste
1/2 tsp celery salt (sea salt will also work)
1 tsp roasted garlic (you could also use garlic powder)

Put all the ingredients into a blender and blend for a few minutes until everything is combined.
Pour into an airtight container (like a mason jar) and put in the fridge to thicken. Keep it stored in the fridge for up to a week.

That’s it. Easy Peasy, time to put ranch on all the things and not feel like the fat Midwestern kid you might just be at heart!

Have a great day everyone!

DIY Wednesday: Coconut Chips

November 11, 2015November 11, 2015 / ktbuchs87

I’m not a huge snacker, but every now and then the snacking bug will bite and I can’t seem to stop grazing. Luckily I try to only keep healthy snacks around the house so I’m not binging on cookies and chips, but store bought healthy snacks can be full of unnecessary ingredients.

While some people might crave sweet snacks or salty snacks, I usually crave a combo. I love the mix of sweet and salty. Kettle corn is a weakness and Garrett’s Chicago Mix (it will never be anything else to me)? Forget about it.

I have seen coconut chips in the stores and online for awhile now and they always sound really good. A nice mix of sweet and salty, healthy fats from the coconut, and the satisfying crunch of the baked chips. A snacker’s dream. Not so dream like? The cost. A tiny bag of coconut chips at the store can cost almost $15. Ain’t nobody got time for that.

Good for you and me that it’s really easy to make your own at home! A few things, don’t worry if you don’t like the flavor of coconut these do not have a very coconutty taste. You will also want to make sure that you get the coconut flakes and not shreds otherwise you’ll end up with a pile of shriveled and burnt coconut shreds.

These come together fast and don’t require many ingredients, so if you feel a snack attack coming on you’re only a few minutes away from these sweet and savory coconut chips!

Coconut Chips

2 cups unsweetened coconut flakes, not shreds
2 tbsp coconut aminos, you can also use liquid aminos, soy sauce, or tamari
1 tbsp maple syrup, honey could also work
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp smoked paprika

Preheat the oven to 350
Dump the coconut shreds into a large bowl. Add in the rest of the ingredients and stir to coat everything.
Place some parchment paper or Silpat onto a large baking sheet and spread the chips in an even layer.
Bake for 5 minutes and stir the chips. Bake for another 2 minutes, watching carefully so the chips don’t burn.
Remove from oven and let cool…. or dig right in if you can’t wait!

Make sure to keep an eye on the coconut chips in the last few minutes because these can go from golden and delicious to charred very quickly. Store them in an airtight container for up to a week…. if they last that long!