Healthy Happy and Free

"Chocolate with Benefits" I think they meant extra benefits because tasting delicious is a benefit of chocolate already.  All jokes aside, ZenEvo knows that dark chocolate has great benefits, but they wanted to take that one step further by creating chocolate confections that can serve a purpose in your life. They first dreamed up a good tasting energy product and that was just the tip of the iceberg. They created the Energy Chocolate, Weight Loss Raspberry Chocolate, Dark Chocolate with Vitamin D, Protein Peanut Butter Cups, and Sleep White Chocolate. They were so kind to send me a few samples to try! Protein Peanut Butter Cup Have you had other protein peanut butter cups where the interior is some strange, chalky peanut flavored substance? I have. Safe to say, the bar was set low for this product. However, it greatly surprised me. The chocolate was smooth and creamy and rather than having a defined peanut butter center it was peanut buttery throughout and it

It's summer so everything is better frozen, right? I originally saw a similar recipe on ChocZero's blog! I adapted it a bit to suit my fancy and it turned out delicious and refreshing - perfect for a hot, summer day! Ingredients: 1 container greek yogurt of choice, I used cherry  1 tbsp ChocZero syrup of choice, I used coconut 1/2 tbsp shredded, unsweetened coconut flakes (or other topping of choice) Directions: Line a freezer safe container with parchment paper or wax paper.  Mix the yogurt and syrup. If you are using plain yogurt, you may want to adjust the sweetener depending on your preferences.  Spread the sweetened yogurt mixture in the container. Mine was maybe 1/4 inch think so it was not too thin, not too thick! Top with coconut flakes or whatever toppings you like.  Place in the freezer for at least 6 hours.  Break into pieces and enjoy! I love how you can customize this! Think of the possibilities: caramel yogurt with caramel syrup with cr

Remember my hike of the month vow?  My mother and I vowed to do a new hike each month of 2018. We braved freezing temperatures in January and now we endure sweltering Carolina summer temperatures for July! It's worth it! This month we chose a hike we have eyeballed in the past. Upon googling NC hikes, we often came across this "Road to Nowhere" that, as it turns out, actually goes somewhere! This road has quite an interesting story, too! The cliff notes version: Highway 288 was buried under Fontana Lake in the 1940's and the National Park Service promised to replace it with a scenic Lakeview Drive which would also serve to allow people to visit cemeteries. They constructed six miles of road into the Park ending at a tunnel and then construction stopped. They faced "environmental issues" eventually deemed to expensive to solve. So the road ended. The road to nowhere. However, just through the 1,200 foot tunnel, the pavement ends and a network o

Have you heard the term adaptogenic thrown around here and there? Adaptogens are defined as natural substances that have a normalizing effect on bodily processes. My bodily processes could definitely use some normalizing. Let's kick it up a millenial notch and add adaptogens to coconut butter. Brain Butter with Smart Sweets Gummy Bears Yes, adaptogenic coconut butter that makes for the most Insta-worthy food porn. That's where Pearl Butter comes in! They currently offer:  NP butter (matcha, secret ingredient) for calm alertness  Beauty Butter (pearl, shavegrass, pitaya) collagen boosting for glowing skin Fairy Berry (strawberry, maca) for libido enhancing  Brain Butter (Spirulina, Ginkgo) for a strong, healthy brain, neuroprotective proteins Dirty Butter (coconut charcoal, milk thistle) to strengthen, protect, and love your liver Glow Butter (Turmeric, Ashwaganda, black pepper) to empower your day  I've tried Brain Butter and aside from being a beaut

Stressed out? Honestly, who isn't these days? It seems like stress is an epidemic, even among young people. Did you know stress can actually be helpful? Yes, some stress can help us to meet challenges or save our life in a dangerous situation.  However, constant stress can actually be threatening to our overall health! Everything from aches and pains, common colds, cancer, gut health and autoimmune diseases can be linked to stress. So what is the remedy? Stop stressing! Well, that's easier said (err, typed) than done. So start small and take a few simple steps to reduce your stress! You may be amazed at the results from such initiating just these three simple steps. Do you have any other tips to cope with stress?

Who remembers the Big Comfy Couch? Anyone, anyone?  It was a classic when I was a little girl. I would make a mess of the living room just so I could do a ten second clean up! If you know, you know, you know? I digress.  There was a character named Granny Garbanzo. She was quite a hoot. Little did I know, however, that Garbanzo was also the name of a bean AKA chickpeas. Little did I know that said beans could actually be quite tasty!  Now that I am older and have knowledge of the tastiness of garbanzo beans (chickpeas), I had a revelation: why not make it into a "butter". Every nut and seed you can think of is being made into butters so why stop there?  I took to my blender and got to butterin! Whether you have a nut allergy or just love to eat delicious things, you'll love this spread! GGB&J What you need: powerful blender 5 oz roasted chickpeas (aka 1 bag of Biena snacks) 2 tbsp coconut oil (or oil of choice) optional:

FAQ Time! Here are a few questions that I've gotten! Hope you enjoy! How do you make protein fluff (as seen on my Instagram frequently)? All you need is one banana, one scoop protein powder (vegan doesn't work in my experience), and a tsp of xanthan gum. The full recipe is here:  http://healthy-happy-and-free.blogspot.com/2016/04/protein-fluff.html What blender do you use? I use this Ninja: I like that it has multiple blades. Of course I dream of a Vitamix, but this is way more affordable! What type of workouts do you do? I follow MAPS programming which is from Mind Pump Media. I've listened to the Mind Pump podcast for a long time and I trust their programming. I've done MAPS Anabolic and I am currently doing MAPS Performance. Find all of their programs here:  https://www.mindpumpmedia.com/ I also run 3-4 miles about 3 times a week, simply because I love it! I love to participate in 5k races as well! Do you eat the whole pi

How do you milk a nut? It's easier than you might think!  If you've ever looked at your carton of almond milk, you might have noticed a lot of ingredients there. Some can even cause people stomach upset or digestive issues. Whether that is the case or not, homemade nut milk is so easy and you can customize it to your preferences! So why waste your money on those store brands? I first tried my Ellie's Best nut milk bag with cashews but you can use any nut you like!  Method: Soak your nuts overnight.  Drain the nuts.  In a blender, blend soaked nuts, vanilla if desired, sweetener if desired and salt if desired. Whatever you want! I then added about 3-4 cups water and blended more until it appeared uniform in consistency.  Put the nut milk bag over a large bowl and pour the blender contents into the bag.  Squeeze out the liquid, using a kneading method is very effective.  Pour the contents of the bowl into airtight containers and store in the fridge

Every year I say: "This summer is gonna be the best summer." Every year, I'm sad to see summer go. I feel like I've missed opportunities and not fully embraced all the fun of summer! I think it's healthy to find our inner child and fill our summer with fun, relaxing things, even if I do have to wake up and adult in the morning lol! So to make the most of this summer, I'm compiling a summer bucket list! Let's take advantage of the extra daylight and remember how to let loose and have fun! Who's with me? What's on your summer bucket  list? Have you already accomplished something on it?