Dr. John Day, Cardiologist

You get all of the rich nutrients of the pumpkin and avocado in a super creamy shake without even knowing the avocado is there. This is a great alternative to pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving and anytime you desire a   Pumpkin treat. It is naturally sweetened with banana and dates. If you want it sweeter you could add another date or a packet of Stevia. It also has a mild flavor.  I kept the pumpkin and pumpkin pie spice amounts about where I like it, but you’re welcome to add more if you want an bolder flavor. I served this room temperature, but if you’d like it cold, you could blend in an ice cube or two. You could also warm it, if that’s what you’re craving. Sometimes I like having chunks in my shakes, which I can achieve by throwing in unsoaked deglet dates, but if you want yours without chunks, you could presoak the dates, use medjool dates, or blend the dates until completely smooth. Experiment!

If you love vanilla yogurt and don’t want all the added sugars and other ingredients, this is a simple and great way to go! Use your favorite organic plain unsweetened yogurt, and just add stevia and pure vanilla extract.  Creamy yum!

Feeling like just a spoonful of cookie dough? This “cookie dough” is sugar free, flour free, and dairy free. Intrigued? This tiny treat is made from cashew butter, stevia, vanilla extract, sea salt and stevia sweetened dark chocolate chips. When you’re looking for just enough and just the right ingredients, it sure beats making a batch of cookies!

If you’d like a healthy treat to share at gatherings or just to enjoy yourself, these little bars are a nutritious and tasty delight.  Just slice a deglet noor date and add a little crunchy salted almond butter or peanut butter and a whole almond, pecan or walnut, then sprinkle with coconut and stevia sweetened dark chocolate chips. You can even mix in a little chia seed and flax for extra crunch, then chill or freeze. This real-food treat is chewy and crunchy, guilt-free, and very satisfying. Better than a candy bar! Enjoy!

I experimented to see if I could make a delicious crepe using only quinoa for the flour–it turned out awesome! This protein-packed crepe recipe is made from four simple ingredients: quinoa, milk, eggs and salt.  With a blender such as a Blendtec or Vitamix, you can blend whole grains for 90 seconds, such as quinoa in this case, to make your own fresh flour, then simply blend in the milk, eggs, and salt for a crepe batter. I’m so excited that we now have this simple and nutritious boost to our crepes. I hope you enjoy it too.

This lightly sweet pumpkin muffin is adapted from a recipe my friend Claudia shared with me.  If you enjoy making muffins and other baked goods from time to time, it’s good to vary the healthiest ingredients possible.  This muffin is made with nutrient-dense, high protein, high fiber almond flour and almond butter. Enjoy!

I am so happy that I made this chocolate peanut butter smoothie! I can’t believe how tasty it is considering the ingredients: organic unsweetened vanilla soy milk, frozen banana, peanut butter, cocoa powder, vanilla, hemp, and spinach. I tried it with and without the spinach to see if it affected the taste, and for me, it did not. So I’ll be making mine with spinach.  Don’t worry about it being green! Enjoy!