Howdy y’all.
[haha...saw this at the checkout line! too cute!]
That greeting only seemed fitting with the card above. 
Today I have a little 2 for 1 special for ya! Anecdote time…
‘2 for 1‘ reminds me of this shady pizza place I used to love when I was a good. It was literally THE WORST pizza place ever…dingy, dirty, and with TERRIBLE pizza…but something about getting 2 slices for the price of one when I was a little kid was so magical. I used to beg my parents to take me there. Eventually our visits lessened…but I did go back a few years later because I remembered liking it so much and was totally appalled that I had ever even eaten there! OMG it was like rotten cheese on cardboard. Just goes to show you, kids will eat anything!
Okay, get back on track. I have 2 recipes to share with you today in exchange for you all getting through a product review I have as well! I know some of you like product reviews, but for those that don’t…you have two delicious recipes to look forward to.
But first….
Living Tree Community foods sent me 3 of their unique nut butters to try out.
I eat nut butter at least 2 or 3 times a day, so I am always excited to try a new kind to add into my rotation. And when I saw that Living Tree included Pistachio butter and Dark Chocolate Cherry butter, I was even more enthusiastic to get sampling since I have never had either of those before!
But i decided to start with the almond butter as a sort of neutral baseline. This was one of the smoothest, and sweetest nut butters I’ve ever had. Not gritty and with little ground almond skin pieces like your typical almond butter. The only ingredient was almonds, but i could hardly believe that based on how sweet it was. I think adding a little sea salt to this would make the almond flavor even more pronounced and pair really well with the natural sweetness.
The pistachio butter was a peculiar yellow green color and a little thinner than most nut butters. But as soon as I opened the jar I got hit with the aroma of pistachios. Almost like opening a bag of fresh roasted ones! The butter was delicious. It reminded me of a more concentrated, rich pistachio icecream….obviously not the same texture or consistency but that same sweet/salty flavor. So delicious. I liked this one on its own the best and didn’t really find anything that I liked dipping in it. I would recommend this one best as a topping…as things like apples and carrots detracted a bit from the nuts unique flavor.
And last but not least, the chocolate cherry butter! Having recently tried my hand at homemade nutella I was excited to try yet another chocolate infused nut butter. This one was made with almonds and the cocoa and cherries combined to make a rich, bitter, yet decadent spread. It reminded me slightly of a spreadable cherry pie larabar but with added decadence and sweetness from the chocolate. A little of this stuff goes a long way in terms of flavor and satisfaction! It packs a punch and really tastes like dessert. A great treat type of nut butter.
Thanks Living Tree! Your nut butters are unique and nutritious…both of which I really appreciate!
PERFECT Spelt & Coconut Flour Pancakes
serves 1
1/4 cup spelt flour
2 tbsp coconut flour
3/4 cup coconut water
1 egg ( or 2 egg whites)
1.5 tsp baking powder
cinnamon to taste
Mix dry ingredients together. Add in egg and water and mix until fully combined ( do not over mix). Spray a nonstick pan with cooking spray and heat until hot. Cook pancakes until bubbles form and then flip. Remove pancakes from pan when cooked through. Serve with fresh fruit.
Simple Black Bean Burgers
[recycled pic since I forgot to snap a pic during the prep process 
]
makes 3 burgers
1 16oz can black beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1 egg
1/2 cup red pepper, finely diced
1 small onion, finely chopped
1/4 cup cilantro, finely chopped
2 small garlic cloves, finely chopped
salt and pepper to taste
chili powder, basil, cumin, oregano
Mash beans in a large bowl. Beat egg and add that as well as the other ingredients to the beans. Mix together (using your hand is best!) and form into 3 patties. Bake for 25 at 400 degrees.
Serve with pepperjack cheese and avocado for supreme deliciousness!
—–
I went to see an awesome documentary tonight called Vegucated! I will elaborate more with a recap post this weekend, but I just wanted to tell you that it was AWESOME. If you have a chance to see it…do it! Its not only very informative, but pretty entertaining and funny too! Best of both worlds.
Also, you have till Friday night to send me your #healthyhelp for this weeks Lend a {Healthy} Hand project! Email me, tweet me, or even leave a comment telling me something you’ve done for someone else this week. Any small act of kindness counts!
Have a great night!
Kaila
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Todays’s Healthy Help: Got a friend to agree to become more informed about the problems with the food industry and how we can make small changes everyday to make a difference in changing them.
