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Showing posts from February 14, 2018

The Definitive Guide to Chocolate

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Ah, chocolate. What a life. According to the Aztecs, the great feathered serpent god of wisdom and creation known as Quetzalcoatl introduced the cocoa bean to mankind. It’s likelier that it originated in the Amazon rainforest and wound its way north to Mesoamerica, whose inhabitants figured out they could domesticate, ferment, roast, crush, and mix cocoa with water, chilies, and spices to produce a bitter, intoxicating drink. It then took a boat across the Atlantic, learning Spanish along the way. Europe wasn’t sure what to make of the bitterness until someone spilled a little sugar into the drink. Cocoa quickly swept across the continent, giving rise to large corporations that persist to this day, like Cadbury, Nestle, Hershey, and Lindt. Today, chocolate is everywhere. It’s part of the fabric of human experience. Why’s it so good? Let’s start with… The Health Benefits Chocolate Contains Healthy Fats Cocoa butter is mostly monounsaturated and saturated fat, with very little 

Tips for Mixing Collagen into Hot & Cold Liquids

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Hey, hey! So, I receive a lot of questions about the collagen (and sometimes protein powder ) that I add to my daily glass of iced coffee. It’s a great (and easy!) way to add some extra protein to my diet and collagen has SO MANY awesome health benefits ! Can collagen mix with coffee? How much collagen do you add to coffee?  How do you add collagen to coffee?  These are all great questions, so let me answer them for you! 🙂 Yes, you can absolutely mix collagen with coffee – both hot and cold coffee and other liquids. I typically add half to one full scoop (10g) of collagen, but you could totally add more/less depending on your personal preferences. I’ll often mix a scoop of collagen AND a scoop of protein powder into my iced coffee, and they mix right in, no problem. Here’s how I do it… Here’s a quick tutorial: Grab a shaker bottle Pour in some iced coffee Add a scoop of collagen Pour in more iced coffee and/or milk/cream Shake! No shaker? Just mix the collagen wit

Dark Chocolate and Hazelnut Hearts

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Show yourself some love on Valentine’s Day by indulging in these heart-shaped dark chocolate candies. These treats are truly irresistible, with intense bittersweet flavor and a smooth, creamy texture that slowly melts in your mouth. There’s nothing questionable added, just health-giving ingredients like cacao butter, raw cacao powder, avocado oil , maple syrup, sea salt, and hazelnuts. If you think making chocolate at home is too complicated, you’ll be surprised by how easy this recipe is. Simply melt cacao butter, then whisk in cacao powder , and  PRIMAL KITCHEN Avocado Oil  with a little sweetener, and you’ll be in chocolate heaven. What’s really fun about making chocolate at home is experimenting with all sorts of flavors. Nuts, nut butters, coconut flakes and coconut butter , spices, dried fruit…the flavor variations are endless. This recipe is for purists, though, who like dark chocolate with just a hint of added flavor. In this case, it’s hazelnuts , which pair perfectly with

What Thomas Has Taught Me

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Whether it’s your spouse, children, furry friends, or best friends, give someone a smooch today! They always say that the strongest relationships bring out the best in one another. Thomas and I are similar in so many ways. We are both strong-willed and driven, goofy and a little dorky (but we think we’re cool), eager to solve problems, and lovers of many of the same things: iMessage (which we discussed in detail on our first date), playing soccer, and Half Baked ice cream, to name a few. We often finish each other’s thoughts. I can’t tell you how many times we’ve said “I was  just about to say that!” or we call each other at the same time. We complement one another in other ways though, and these are some of the things that Thomas has taught me. Doing things the right way I love a good short cut, but Thomas is go big or go home. Whether it’s building things, the way he runs his business, making a purchase, or simply cooking a meal, the guy does not cut corners. In our wedding