Healthy, Restful Sleep Cycle

There are certain foods that comprise the quintessential breakfast selections, but few conjure the warm feelings of childhood better than pancakes! Fluffy, light and dripping in melted butter and sticky syrup, this treat was truly dessert on a plate, and then we took the breakfast pastry to the next level with sugary additives. Who doesn’t like banana, caramel and peanut butter or cinnamon, apple and mascarpone. Yet the classic remains chocolate chip! It’s time to bring back this morning indulgence in an adult and body friendly recipe that gives you all the things you need and nothing you don’t while still fulfilling our inner child breakfast craving. Mint Chocolate Chip PancakesGluten free options, vegan options, nut free options12 – 14 pancakes, yields two servings 1 cup of rolled oats (gluten free if necessary) 1/3 cup Greek Yogurt (thicker is best) 1 large egg 1 egg white 1 – 2 tbsp. almond milk (more to desired consistency based on liquid in yogurt) 1 tsp baking powder ¼ tsp salt 1 tbsp. honey, agave or maple syrup (optional) 1 tsp vanilla extract 2 scoops of Terra Origin Mint Greens Superfoods ¼ - ½ cup of dark chocolate chips (depends how chocolatey you like it) Place the oats in your blender or food processor and pulse a few times to break into coarse bits. You do not need flour, just smaller pieces. Mix the oats, baking powder, salt, and Terra Origin Mint Greens until thoroughly mixed. Set aside. In a separate bowl, mix your eggs, then add the Greek yogurt, almond milk, sweetener and vanilla extract. Slow whisk in your dry ingredients. When everything is blended smoothly, let the bowl sit for 10-15 minutes as the oats absorb some of the liquid. You can then adjust your preferred consistency with more almond milk if needed. Lastly, fold in your chocolate chips. Heat your skillet on medium heat with a tablespoon of coconut oil and pour out your pancakes. When the edges begin to brown and the standard bubbles appear, you will feel a firm consistency, flip. If the skillet gets too hot, simply set it aside to cool a moment and lower your flame or electric setting. Add more coconut oil as necessary. For grain free: You can substitute 1 cup of almond flour. For nut free: You can substitute equal amounts of coconut or rice milk. Soy milk can be thick, so if you choose to use it, mix slowly and pay attention to your consistency. For vegan: Substitute one small to medium banana for the Greek yogurt and for the eggs take 1 ½ tablespoons of flax seeds, grind them and mix with 4 ½ tablespoons of water in a small dish. Set it aside and let it congeal. Then mix it with the rest of your ingredients. Choose agave or maple syrup as your sweetener. Buy a vegan dark chocolate chip. And most importantly, give your oats a finer grind, near flour consistency to mix with the flax egg and hold better. By subbing the standard white flour, we give our body much needed fiber and protein whether we use oats or almonds. The Greek yogurt replaces the high fat butter and oils in typical pancake mixes while the honey is a great substitute for plain sugar which is a common ingredient. Your non-dairy milk choice replaces the high fat dairy milk and choosing to only use the egg whites in one egg can help lower the cholesterol and fat content as well. The real winner in these delicious and healthy pancakes is Terra Origin’s Greens Superfoods in the mint flavor. What was once simply a sugary carb, now includes more than 45 vegetables, probiotics, digestive enzymes, herbs and antioxidants giving your body and immune system a massive influx of nutrients that pump you up with raw energy and stamina for your day! Now you can dive into your short stack with excitement and zero guilt. You can even go back for seconds!

Lucky Vitamin has posted a new video sharing two incredible gut healthy smoothie recipes featuring Terra Origin Vanilla Bone Broth Protein and Matcha Green Tea Probiotic Collagen Powder Peptides! We were excited to see what they whipped up in the kitchen and take a look at the additional ingredients that were chosen to protect your digestive system! Papaya & Banana Bone Broth Protein Smoothie 1 scoop Terra Origin Bone Broth Protein Vanilla 1/2 a ripe papaya 1 frozen banana 1 tablespoon lime juice 1/2 to 1 cup unsweetened coconut milk handful of ice if desired Matcha Latte Smoothie 1 scoop Terra Origin Probiotic Collagen Powder Peptides - Matcha Green Tea 1 cup unsweetened almond milk 1/2 cup kefir or plain non-fat Greek yogurt 1 cup spinach or kale 1 frozen banana 1 teaspoon vanilla extract sprinkle of cinnamon handful of ice When it comes to gut health, there are some simple things we can do to support our digestive system and boost our immune system. When the tight junctions, the small valves, in our intestines operate correctly they only permit the particles and nutrients our bodies need into the bloodstream. When these valves become weakened for a variety of reasons, they begin to let larger particles through creating leaky gut. These particles carry toxins which compromise our immune systems and that is when disease sets in. By incorporating the right foods, we can do things to protect our health and prevent the loosening of our tight junctions. These two recipes offer up some great gut support with ingredients like bone broth, papaya, coconut milk, collagen peptides, kefir, Greek yogurt, spinach and kale. Bone broth has become incredibly popular for those wanting to heal their digestive systems or increase vital nutrients in their diets. The collagen, gelatin and amino acids in bone broth help restore the gut lining by providing the building blocks for the cells to maintain the intestinal walls. Bone broth also helps reduce inflammation in the gut and soothe symptoms of IBS and digestive distress. Papaya is another key player in gut health as it is a natural source of the enzyme papain which makes digestion a lot easier. It is actually used as a meat tenderizer! Papaya also works as an anti-parasitic, provides a good dose of fiber and has a high water content for easing elimination. Coconut milk is an excellent flavor pairing with papaya bringing in healthy fats and dreams of the tropics. It also serves as a lactose-free option in a smoothie that boosts flavor and retains creaminess. Being a low-FODMAP food it is also great for people with IBS or sensitive digestion helping to ease digestive symptoms. Collagen peptides are now equal with bone broth when it comes to leaky gut support, digestive healing and supplement favorites! Amino acids like glycine and glutamine are found in collagen and both are key players in restoring the gut lining and reducing inflammation. It also helps to control oxidative stress in the intestines and improves overall digestion. When you mix collagen with kefir or Greek yogurt, you also get a huge dose of probiotics which help restore balance to the gut microbiome. When it comes to eating healthy, there are few vegetables that are better than leafy and cruciferous greens. Kale actually contains certain phytochemicals like indole-3-carbinol, I3C which has been shown to encourage stem cell growth and boost immune cells.  So if you can get a little extra, add it in. Take a look at their fun and tasty video to find ways you can get healthy and stay healthy with just a few simple tweaks in the kitchen!

We once thought that nothing could say good morning better than a hot stack of pancakes dripping in maple syrup. That was until Melanie, over at Headstands & Heels, took a classic breakfast and made it even better with the addition of mint, chocolate and a whole lot of good for your body ingredients. Now you can enjoy guilt-free pancakes every week while still getting that same great flavor you love. Take a look at the recipe below and whip up some nutrition packed flapjacks that are so good you may want them for breakfast, lunch or dinner!