Sexy Almonds

Oh yes, almonds can be sexy! These are roasted with maca and cacao, two superfoods that can help to put you in the mood (or just give you more holiday cheer!) among their many other benefits. Maca root is known for its mood-balancing and energizing properties as well as improving sexual health and function for both men and women. Cacao (kuh-COW), the cocoa bean in its raw/un-roasted form, is rich in vitamins and minerals and also balances serotonin levels. So these almonds are basically tasty little happy pills! Almonds are also high in protein and contain healthy fats, which means having these as a snack will keep you satisfied longer (Hooray! You won't be hangry!). One handful of this sultry snack and you'll have a mood and energy boost that is sure to sustain you through all of your holiday adventures.  My recipe is adapted from Glow Nutrition's cocoa roasted almonds recipe. Enjoy!

Sexy Almonds

ingredients:

• 1.5 cups whole raw almonds
• 1 tablespoon coconut oil
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1.5 tablespoons raw cacao powder
• 1 teaspoon maca root powder
• pinch of pink Himalayan salt
• *optional: to give these a little spicy kick, add a pinch or two of cayenne pepper

Method: 

Preheat oven to 250F. 

Melt coconut oil in a small sauce pan over very low heat and remove from heat. 

Add honey and vanilla to melted oil and stir with rubber spatula. Make sure not to heat the oil up too much, or the vanilla extract will pop and splatter all over the place! 

Add almonds and stir to coat completely, and then sprinkle on the cacao, maca, and salt as you stir.

Cover cookie sheet with parchment paper, then spread almonds evenly in a single layer across cookie sheet.

Bake for about 20 minutes and then allow to cool completely before storing. 

I like storing these in the refrigerator, otherwise the coconut oil will melt, get chocolate all over your hands, and turn these into sloppy sexy almonds!

Hello, fellow food-lovers!

I've decided to start keeping a blog of all the recipes that I make for several reasons.

1) I love food. I love preparing it, talking about it, learning about it, shopping for it, and most of all, eating it! Whether I've made a simple dish to nourish my body or just spent hours hanging out, cooking, and sipping wine with my family in the kitchen, food and the culture surrounding it brings me joy.

2) I've always wanted to keep a recipe book of my food adventures, but I never get around to writing the recipes down and putting them in an actual book.  Plus, I have an incurable case of wanderlust. Since I tend to move to another state or country every year or so, having less physical junk to haul around is necessary. Keeping all my recipes online means I can take them anywhere I go. 

3) My nutritional goal is to THRIVE and feel amazing for many decades to come. Staying on track with healthy eating is so much easier when you have a big selection of healthy recipes to choose from. Though all of the recipes I post won't be super healthy (I'm thinking of my bacon/mascarpone/white wine pasta recipe...), 90% of them will be. I like experimenting with all types of recipes: paleo, gluten-free, grain-free, vegan, vegetarian, wine-and-cheese-etarian, etc. If it involves real food, I'll try it. 

4) Over the past few years, I've kept learning more and more about real nutrition, not just counting calories consumed and calories burned. I want to share this journey with my friends and family and anyone else who may be interested in living a more vibrant life through healthy eating. I may as well put those Instagram food pics to good use, right?

Thanks for checking out my first post, and I look forward to sharing my food adventures and misadventures with you! 

Cheers!

Cindy