Beauty Comes from Within

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Beauty comes from what you put into your body.

Good day my lovely roses. I am back and i will be doing a post to help us be healthier. I will be showing ways on how to prepare superfoods that will help with digestion, health and beauty. We need to take care of our bodies not just on the outside but on the inside as well. The way your skin is depends on what you eat.

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Let me start off with Matcha Green Tea. Matcha is a high-quality green tea powder with a fine texture. Its tea leaves are grown only in Japan and are shield from sunlight several weeks before harvest. This helps the leaves darken and produce higher levels of amino acids. After the best tea leaves are picked, they are dried out and ground manually to a fine powder on a stone mill to protect the nutrients in the leaves. We mainly use this as a drink but you can definitely use Matcha Green Tea in tons of ways. If you are into baking, you can make a matcha cookies or cake. Use agave or stevia as sweetener to cut down your sugar as well. I also remembered, a friend of mine made a matcha green tea cheesecake brownie and it was the bomb.

Matcha Green Tea Cheesecake

Ingredients

For Crust

3/4 cup fine graham cracker crumbs

3/4 cup unsweetened coconut flakes (if using sweetened, minimize sugar to 1 tbspn)

3 tablespoons sugar

1/2 stick (1/4 cup) unsalted butter, melted

For Filling

2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese at room temperature

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup sour cream

1/3 cup green tea syrup

3 teaspoons matcha green tea powder

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

3 large eggs

For Topping

sifted powdered sugar (optional)

sifted green tea powder (optional)

ripe raspberries

Preparation

1. Make Crust

2. Preheat oven to 350°F and butter bottom and side of 9 to 9 1/2 inch springform pan (or mini cheesecake pan).

3. Stir together crumbs, coconut flakes, sugar, and butter in a bowl with a fork until combined well, then press evenly onto bottom and one-third up side of pan. Bake crust in middle of oven 8 minutes and cool in pan on a rack.

4. Make Filling

5. Beat cream cheese with an electric mixer at medium speed until fluffy, then beat in sugar. Add green tea syrup, sour cream, and vanilla and beat until smooth. Mix in green tea powder and salt at low speed, scraping down side as needed, until just incorporated, then add eggs all at once and mix just until incorporated.

6. Pour filling into crust and set springform pan in a shallow baking pan. Bake cake in middle of oven until set in center, 1 hour to 1 hour and 10 minutes (or 25-35 minutes in mini pan). Cool completely in springform pan on rack. (Cake will continue to set as it cools.)

7. Run a thin knife around edge of cake and remove side of pan. If desired, transfer cake with a large metal spatula to a serving plate.

8. Garnish with powdered sugar and/or green tea powder and top with fresh raspberries. Serve with toasted coconut flakes, if desired.

(https://nuts.com/cookingbaking/powders/green-tea/100-pct-matcha.html & http://hungrytohappy.com/2011/12/green-tea-cheesecake/)

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Next are Chia Seeds which helps with weight loss and can also help reduce blood pressure. These seeds are rich in Omega-3 that protects against inflammation. They can also help your diet by making you feel full. This is because they absorb 10 times their weight in water, forming a bulky gel. You can use these babies in smoothies to add energy for you throughout the day. You can also do a Chia seed pudding, especially those with a sweet tooth. Basically, you can use chia seeds in almost everything because it is versatile and is really good for you. I have heard of Chia Seeds from YouTubers who include them in their diet plans. I haven't tried tasting them or including them in meals but I was able to research about a recipe that will help in detoxifying and it is easy to do.

Chia Detox Water

Ingredients

1 - 12oz glass of water

1 Tablespoon Chia seeds

Juice from 1 lime

1/4 teaspoon agave nectar

Instruction

1. Fill a glass jar with a lid with drinking water

2. Add chia seeds to water. Place lid on the jar and shake well. Let set for 10 minutes

3. Add juice from 1 lime and 1/4 teaspoon agave nectar. Shake again and drink

(https://nuts.com/cookingbaking/chia-seeds/premium.html & http://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.freerecipes.detoxdrinks)

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My dream is to be drowned in chocolate, but that can give me diabetes, good thing there are cacao nibs. Chocolate at its natural form and is good for you. It will give you energy to help you throughout the day and won't give you any nasty side effects. The recipe that I was able to find is a perfect treat for those who are on-the-go because you can definitely make these ahead of time. You can grab one of these babies and you are good to go.

Protein Bars No-Bake Quick n Easy

Ingredients

1.5 cups gluten-free rolled oats, blended into a flour

½ cup unsweetened/unflavoured vegan protein powder (Sunwarrior Warrior Blend Natural used here)

½ cup rice crisp cereal

¼-½ teaspoon fine grain sea salt, to taste

½ cup natural peanut butter, almond butter, or sunflower seed butter

½ cup pure maple syrup (or liquid sweetener of choice)

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

3 tablespoon cacao nibs

½ tablespoon coconut oil

Instruction

1. Line an 8-inch square pan with a piece of parchment paper. Mix the oat flour, protein powder, rice crisp, and salt together in a large bowl.

2. Add in the nut/seed butter, maple syrup, and vanilla. Stir well to combine. If the mixture is a bit dry, add a splash of non-dairy milk and mix again.

3. Press into pan and roll out with a pastry roller until smooth. Pop into the freezer.

4. Melt the chocolate chips and coconut oil together in a small pot over low heat. When half of the chips have melted, remove from heat and stir until smooth.

5. After freezing the bars for about 5-10 minutes, remove from freezer and slice into bars. Drizzle with melted chocolate and freeze again until set. Store in the freezer for a week or longer in an air-tight freezer bag or container.

(https://nuts.com/nuts/cacao/organic-nibs.html & http://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.omniluxtrade.veganrecipes)

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Goji Berries are alien to me but I am willing to try this super fruit. These berries are good for the eyes because it has lutein that is essential in protecting your sight. They also help in boosting the immune system to protect you from sickness. I also love the fact that goji berries are good for your liver and kidneys. The only way for me to be well introduced to a foreign food is to make it into ice cream. I mean, who doesn't like ice cream right. The recipe that I found is so easy and is refreshing too.

Vegan Chocolate Goji Ice Cream

Ingredients

2 Ripe Avocados

1 14oz can Coconut Milk

1/2 C Unsweetened Cocoa Powder

1/3 C Goji Berry Powder

1/2 C Agave Nectar

1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract

Optional Goji Berries for garnish

Instructions

Halve and remove pits from avocados. Scoop avocado meet into a blender. Add coconut milk, cocoa powder, goji powder, agave nectar and vanilla extract. Blend on high speed until creamy and smooth. Freeze in ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s instructions. Enjoy!

(https://nuts.com/driedfruit/goji-berries/premium.html)

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I know that these nuts are good for the heart, you can munch on them for a quick snack. You may also do your own trail mix but don't forget these healthy nuts. Almonds have always been a part of baking and it is not just in its actual form but also in its processed form. I have seen ways on how to make your own almond milk, it looks promising, and I might try making my own if I have the proper tools to do so but for now, here is a tasty recipe that I found using the humble little almond.

Healthy No-Bake Cookies

Ingredients

½ cup agave nectar

⅓ cup Dutch-process cocoa powder

¼ cup unsweetened almond milk

¼ cup coconut oil

¼ cup almond butter

2 cups gluten-free oats

⅓ cup shredded coconut

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

⅛ teaspoon salt

Instruction

1. In a medium saucepan, mix together agave and cocoa powder. Heat over medium heat until combined. Stir in almond milk and coconut oil and bring to a boil. Continue stirring and boil for one minute.

2. Remove pan from heat and stir in almond butter, oats, coconut, vanilla extract, and salt.

3. Using a spoon or cookie scoop, drop cookies onto wax paper. Let the cookies set up for about 20 minutes in the refrigerator before serving. Store the cookies in an air-tight container in refrigerator for up to one week.

Note-You can use honey instead of the agave if you don't need to make vegan cookies. You can also use regular rolled oats if you don't need the cookies to be gluten-free. You can also replace the almond milk with your favorite milk. And you can also swap peanut butter for the almond butter. These cookies are very adaptable! Enjoy!

(http://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.omniluxtrade.veganrecipes & https://nuts.com/nuts/almonds/)

I hope that you found this post helpful. If you have any other superfoods in mind, just let me know. I would love to hear your thoughts about these awesome nibbles and let us share recipes so that we can leave a healthier and better life.

Thank you for the continuous love and support. God bless!

"The greatest wealth is health."

— Virgil