Preventing Holiday Weight Gain

The holidays is a time when a lot of us pack on some unwanted pounds. You can totally avoid holiday weight gain and still enjoy your favorite foods with this simple tip. [x_video type="16:9, 5:3, 5:4, 4:3, 3:2" m4v="" ogv="" poster="" hide_controls="" autoplay="" embed='' no_container="true"]

Recipe: Massaged Kale Salad with Apples and Carrots

Kale can be a scary vegetable for a lot of people. It's quite tough and bitter, which aren't exactly crowd-pleasing traits. However, as massaged kale salads have become trendy in the past couple years, many have realized that this little step of rubbing the kale down can make a big difference in both the texture and flavor departments. Now, kale is never going to be like a spring green, because it isn't! Rather, it's hearty and much more substantial, which is exactly what we need this time of year. As a bonus, this salad holds up well in the fridge, unlike more delicate greens. At our house, we've been doing a lot of kale salads, so I thought I would share a recent creation with you. Strangely enough, Lisa Leake over at 100 Days of Real Food recently put up a similar recipe , so, if you want a slight variation on the same idea, be sure to check out her recipe for Kale and Apple Salad as well.

Massaged Kale Salad with Apples and Carrots

makes approximately 4 servings

Ingredients

1 large bunch kale, ribs removes and torn

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 sweet apple, chopped

1 large carrot, cut into matchsticks

1/4 cup chopped pecans

1/4 cup crumbled blue cheese

Directions

1. Add chopped or torn kale to a large bowl, along with the red wine vinegar and salt. Massage the kale until it is tender, about 5 minutes. You should see some liquid being released from the kale and it should also reduce in size.
2. Add the oil, apple, carrot, pecans, and blue cheese to the kale and toss to combine.

Layered Chocolate Peppermint Bark Recipe

This peppermint bark is something that my family looks forward to every year. The best part is, along with how good it tastes, it also happens to be pretty easy to make. Most recipes for layered bark call for semi-sweet chocolate, but I prefer unsweetened chocolate instead. Since white chocolate is basically pure sugar, and there is even more sugar added with the candy canes on top, I find it provides a nice contrast between the super sweet white chocolate/candy-cane layer and the bitter dark chocolate underneath. Whether you make this for yourself, or as a gift for others, it will definitely be a big hit!

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Layered Chocolate Peppermint Bark

Ingredients

12 oz unsweetened(100% cacao) baking chocolate

12 oz white chocolate

8 natural/organic candy canes

Directions

1. Melt the dark chocolate in a double boiler or in the microwave until smooth.
2. Poor the melted chocolate onto a parchment lined baking sheet and use a spatula to spread it into a thin layer. Refrigerate until solid.
3. Melt the white chocolate in a double boiler or microwave until smooth. Allow it to cool as much as possible, while still remaining melted. This will ensure the dark chocolate layer doesn't soften and mix with the white chocolate.
4. While the white chocolate is cooling, place candy canes in a plastic bag and crush into pieces using a mallet or rolling pin. Sift the crushed candy canes through a strainer to separate the very fine, sugar-like pieces from the larger chunks.
5. Mix the fine candy-cane pieces into the white chocolate.
6. Pour the white chocolate and candy cane mixture over the dark chocolate and use a spatula to spread the white chocolate as close to the edges of the dark chocolate layer as possible.
7. Sprinkle the large candy cane pieces over the white chocolate and lightly press the pieces in with your fingers to help them better adhere.
8. Return the bark to the refrigerator and allow the white chocolate layer to harden.
9. Break the bark into pieces and store in the refrigerator.

Recipe: Peppermint Sugar

Candy canes are a staple for many this time of year. They make festive coffee and hot chocolate stirrers and are a favorite addition to holiday treats. However, it can be challenging to find candy canes that aren't full of corn syrup, artificial dyes, artificial flavors, and other nasty chemicals. While I prefer a natural candy cane because of the iconic shape and colors, you can make a substitute yourself if you can't get your hands on a high quality candy cane.

Peppermint Sugar

makes approximately 1 cup

Ingredients

1 cup Sucanat/Rapadura sugar

1/4 cup water

1/2 - 1 teaspoon peppermint extract (depending on how minty you like it)

Directions

1. Line a metal baking sheet with parchment paper and place in the refrigerator to chill.
2. Meanwhile, add the sugar and water to a medium sauce pan and heat over medium low heat. Stir water and sugar mixture with a spatula as it heats to dissolve the sugar.
3. Continue stirring and heating until the sugar starts to bubble. Then, continue to stir the sugar frequently as it cooks for 15 minutes.
4. Remove sugar from the heat and stir in the peppermint extract. Make sure to stand away from the pot as your do this, because the peppermint extract hitting the hot sugar can take your breath away if you're not careful.
5. Stir the sugar to ensure the peppermint extract is incorporated and poor it out onto your chilled, parchment-lined baking sheet.
6. Use your spatula to spread the sugar into a thin (but not transparent) layer. Allow the sugar to cool until it is hard and does not bend. You can place it in the refrigerator to speed up the process if you like.
7. Now it's time for the fun part: Breaking up your sugar! Cover the sugar with another piece of parchment and then use a mallet or rolling pick to break the sugar into pieces of your desired size. Use immediately or store in a thin layer to prevent the pieces from sticking together into a big mass. You can also put the pieces into a small blender and make a finely ground sugar for your coffee.