Dark Chocolate Nut Bark

I wrote this post awhile ago, but some family and friends have been asking for it, so I'm reposting.

Here's what you need:

9 x 13 baking dish - lined with parchment and
                            sprayed with cooking spray
 
4 bars of dark chocolate - 85% ( I love Green & Black Organics) 
1/2 - 3/4 cup chopped pistachios, walnuts and almonds - any that you like
 
coarse sea salt such as fleur-de-sel ( I used a lavender sea salt)
 

• Melt chocolate slowly in microwave. 
• It's very important to melt and stir. If you cook too long the chocolate will seize up, and once that happens, it's done. Start with about 1 1/2 minutes and then stir and most of the chunks will melt. Microwave a few seconds more if necessary.

 

Pour into prepared pan.

Sprinkle the nuts on top. Gentle press into chocolate. Sprinkle the sea salt over top.



Put the pan in the fridge and chill for at least 30 minutes. When chilled, lift sides of parchment and remove chocolate from dish. Break into pieces.
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Change your thinking, Change your life.

If you have followed my blog along the way, you know I am an early adopter, have a fear of missing out, and I'm always looking for the perfect path. 

Since January, 2014 my husband and I became grain and wheat free. Sure, I dabbled it in here and there, since I bought Dr. Davis' book Wheat belly quite awhile ago. But with the start of the new year, I made a decision that this was the way of eating for me. Then I found Dr. Perlmutter's book, Grain Brain and that sealed the deal. Getting rid of the genetically modified, addictive wheat in my diet was going to become my new way of life and way of eating.

It's really not hard. I hear over and over, 'what would I eat?',  or 'I could never give up pasta, bagels, bread'. The simplest advice I can give you, is that you can do this if you change the way you think. Change the way you have always thought things to be. Challenge the information you have been fed by the big food companies, pharmaceutical companies, and even our FDA, and read, research and explore for yourself. There are a myriad of reasons why you should do this. Both of these books convinced me that this lifestyle is a change for the better.

Who says you have to have cereal for breakfast or sandwiches for lunch? Where did that even come from? Possibly from the Kellogs or General Mills marketing department? What did your great, great grandparents eat? Probably bacon and eggs, seasonal fruit and healthy butter. Our ancestors weren't eating some conjured up laboratory margarine goop that has to be colored yellow to make it remotely palatable looking. Lunches were often dinner type meals or leftovers from the night before.  Change your thinking. Don't eat foods thought up by food scientists in a lab, genetically changed, sprayed with chemicals or modified to be fast growing, pest and weed resistant. Ask yourself the question, why do I think and believe what I do?

I have lots of inquiries about some of the recipes I make for myself and my husband ( who by the way since giving up wheat is off all acid blockers and has significantly less joint pain.) He's a believer just by the results he has seen in his life. If you give it a try, and really commit to this as a way of eating, not a diet, but a lifestyle change, I think you will see some great changes to your health, and overall well being, physically and mentally.

This blog started out in a very different direction when I first started it. I followed the Belly Fat Cure by Jorge Cruise. It was with that book that I learned to limit carbs, sugar and processed foods. It's a great plan and there's nothing wrong with it. I went one step more and gave up grains and wheat. 

I've had so many questions and inquiries about my recent changes from family and friends, that I thought it was time to put some of the things I am doing, and changes I am making up on this blog. I'll let you know some of the things I love to make, healthy foods and supplements I buy and also where to buy them. I love to share what I learn. 

I back in big batches. Here are some wheat free muffin tops, granola and two loaves of the Walnut Raisin Bread

Here is one of my favorite recipes from the Wheat Belly Cook Book,  Walnut Raisin Bread.


Walnut Raisin Bread
makes 10 slices

1 1/3 cups almond meal/flour
1/3 cup ground golden flaxseeds
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 tsps ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp sea salt
3/4 cup raisins
1/2 cp chopped walnuts
2 eggs
1 egg white
1/4 cup butter, coconut oil, or extra light olive oil, melted
1/2 cup buttermilk

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees
• Grease an 8 1/2 x 4 1/2 loaf pan
• In large bowl, sift together first six ingredients. I use a whisk.
• Add the raisins and walnuts and stir to combine.
• In another bowl, combine eggs, egg whites, butter or oil and buttermilk. Beat lightly to break up egg yolks
• Pour the egg mixture into the flour mixture and mix thoroughly, just until moistened.
• Spoon the batter into loaf pan and bake for 40 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes our clean and bread is firm, yet springy to touch.

Per slice 169 calories, 5g protein, 11 g carbs, 13 g fat, 3 g fiber, 220 mg sodium

 My Tips: 

1.make sure your loaf pan is the size listed. Your standard loaf pan is too big. Invest in a few smaller ones. Order online or buy at kitchen store. 

2. Make 2 batches. When cool, I cut into 10 slices with serrated knife. I freeze in batches of 5 slices and take out a pack when you need it.

3. This bread is not a sweet bread. If you find you need it sweeter, you can add some Stevia drops to batter. I think the raisins give it just the right amount of sweetness.It is great with butter or cream cheese and I like it cold out of the fridge, but it can be toasted.

4. I have always made it with butter, so can't speak of the results with olive or coconut oil

I'll continue to post some of my favorite recipes in the weeks to come. Let me know what you think.



Thought for the day: "Don't be afraid to change. You may lose something good, but you may gain something better."