Indulge and Go Dark: A Heart Healthy Halloween by Carina Sohaili

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Halloween and the numerous holidays coming up are a time for friends, family and memories to be made. Depriving yourself of certain foods tend to lead you to overeat the foods you forbid in the first place and then deprive yourself of them again; an unhealthy cycle. How do you enjoy yourself while being healthy? Become a fan of dark chocolate! I also have included two of my favorite “no brainer” Eat Yourself Gorgeous healthy dark chocolate recipes: my warm dark chocolate pumpkin puree and my divine dark chocolate apple crisp sandwich.

Select wisely. Many labels advertise “healthy dark chocolate” but really are loaded with processed sugars, excessive ingredients and preservatives (defeating the purpose of going dark). Make sure the chocolate is made with a minimum of 70% pure cacao and read the back of the label. Try to get as real as possible with little added ingredients. I always carry a small square in my purse whenever I need a 3PM pick me up or post dinner treat. I also love munching on a small handful of dark chocolate chips (Lily’s brand is a great choice) instead of that afternoon cup of coffee. If you are looking for an easy but healthy Halloween treat – this is it. Trader Joe’s has great pre-portioned snack bars. Just because dark chocolate has incredible health benefits does not mean you can go to town! Balance is key. Around 1-2 squares (1/2 ounce) is a good snack size.

BEAUTIFUL benefits of going dark:

  1. Beat cavities. Dark chocolate contains Theobromine, a compound that hardens your tooth enamel, lowering the risk of cavities.
  2. Feel good. Dark Chocolate triggers the release of “feel good” hormones in your brain. The same “feel good” hormones that get released after you do physical activity or when you are falling in love.
  3. Control Cravings. This delicious delight does not spike your blood sugar levels. What does that mean? You will have more stable energy levels throughout the day, and not have that sudden crash you normally get with other candy. Most candies contain tons of sugars and hidden preservatives that make it very hard to tell when you are actually full. So you just keep munching and suddenly the bag is empty!
  4. Fight the flu. Dark chocolate contains zinc (which most people lack in their diet). Zinc is a mineral superstar when it comes to boosting your immune system and also great for smooth clear skin.
  5. Focus. Dark chocolate increases blood flow to the heart and brain improving your thought processing abilities. Brain food!

Eat Yourself Gorgeous Divine Dark Recipes (all take twenty minutes or less to make):

Divine Dark Chocolate Apple Crisp Sandwich: Slice up an apple and bake in the oven for around fifteen minutes until the top is a golden brown. Spice up your life and add spices of your choice (nutmeg is a great one). Apples are nature’s candy but if you like things extra sweet sprinkle on some stevia (an all natural sweetener). Then melt ½ ounce of dark chocolate, spread and smack together to make your baked apple dark chocolate sandwich.

Quick tip: practice planning! Take an hour on Sunday and make a batch of dark chocolate apple sandwiches for the week ahead so you can have a delicious, divine treat whenever that craving hits. I have a client bring these babies to work and she shares them with the entire office instead of her normal weekly crispy cream run.

Warm Dark Chocolate Pumpkin Puree: Use 1/2 cup of organic canned pumpkin, which you can find at any local market, and is the same price as normal canned pumpkin. (For another easy pumpkin recipe check out my pumpkin spice pancake video tutorial here.) Blend the pumpkin with ½ ounce of melted dark chocolate and heat up in saucepan for around two minutes. If the combination of pumpkin and dark chocolate is too bitter for you simply sweeten with one tablespoon of stevia an all-natural sweetener from the stevia leaf.

Check out my Eat Yourself Gorgeous Meal Makeover Fall Video Series HERE!

Watch for more pumpkin recipes (pumpkin pancakes, pumpkin parfaits AND my pumpkin pancake taco) as well as my favorite healthy comfort foods (cauliflower garlic mashed potatoes and skin clearing spaghetti squash)

Connect with me and let me know how your divine dark recipes turn out!

I am here to answer any questions you may have. Remember, everyone is different, has different tastes, preferences and goals. Find a way to make these recipes work for you, in your life.

As always, focus on progress not perfection. Every small change counts.

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Love always,

Carina

Eat Yourself Gorgeous Meal Makeover: Healthy Comfort Food: Skin Clearing Spaghetti Squash by Carina Sohaili

On this episode of Eat Yourself Gorgeous Meal Makeover learn how to make one of my favorite healthy comfort food recipes: skin clearing spaghetti squash! I even explain how to make a healthy dessert pasta at the very end of the video! Check out my healthy pumpkin spice pancake and Pancake Taco episode below if you missed it. For more videos swing by the Meal Makeover section of my site here.

Connect with me and join the Vibrant Healthy Life community for daily inspiration, tips and tools:

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Love always,

Carina

Eat Yourself Gorgeous Meal Makeover Video: Pumpkin Spice Pancakes and The Pancake Taco by Carina Sohaili

Welcome back to the Eat Yourself Gorgeous Meal Makeover Video Series! In this episode learn how to make my Pumpkin Spice Pancakes and a client favorite, my Pancake Taco (all in under ten minutes). Be sure to check out episodes 1-3 here in case you missed any! Enjoy and as always, Eat Yourself Gorgeous!

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Love always,

Carina

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The Change Challenge: My Sweet and Simple Swaps by Carina Sohaili

The time has come to take my change challenge! See if you can transform your taste buds with these SWEET and SIMPLE swaps:

Craving French Fries? Instead of classic French Fries make Jicama French fries. Jicama is a root vegetable from the bean family in Mexico and a fantastic skin clearing healthy carbohydrate. Jicama is a great source of magnesium. Magnesium has a calming effect on the body, helps increase energy levels and is great for your skin. The mineral magnesium slows down the aging process, which will give your skin an overall smoother tone. Jicama also has plant protein, which will help stabilize your blood sugar levels and reduce cravings; you will find that you are full for a longer amount of time and have lasting energy. Classic French fries are loaded with simple sugars, which will make you hungrier twenty minutes later as well as make you crave more processed junk foods. That is why it is so hard to only have a couple of French fries. Peel the jicama, slice up and bake in the oven with a dash of cooking spray and herbs of your choice for twenty minutes! That is it. Check out my simple video tutorial on how to make them here.

Craving Pasta? Make a squash pasta instead! Simply use a vegetable grater or spiralizer to create noodles from zucchini or yellow squash. Check out my simple video tutorial here. Why am I a huge fan of Zucchini? Zucchini is loaded with vitamin C and vitamin A two of my favorite skin clearing vitamins. Vitamin A is great for removing dark circles and bags under your eyes. Vitamin C is fantastic for fine lines and wrinkles. Not to mention a great source of potassium (one of my favorite flat belly minerals). This energizing healthy carbohydrate will help curb unhealthy cravings and simply make you glow. Top off the dish with a simple stress reducing avocado sauce. Take three tablespoons of avocado and mix with freshly squeezed lemon. Lemon is a great detox food due to the balancing effect it has on the body (more of my simple detox foods can be found here). Avocado is a great source of potassium (it has more potassium than a banana) and vitamin E. Vitamin E does wonders for fine lines and those pesky crows feet around your eyes.

Craving Ice Cream? Go for a blended frozen banana with Stevia (an all natural sweetener that does not spike your blood sugar levels) instead. Bananas are one of my favorite de-bloating foods due to the potassium content. Potassium flushes the body of excessive toxins and waste that is ideal for bathing suit season. Bananas also are loaded with fiber, which will keep you more full for a longer amount of time and contain a variety of B-vitamins. B-vitamins are great for stress relief and energy levels. Not to mention, bananas also help stimulate the production of serotonin the feel good hormone in the brain and improve the body’s ability to absorb calcium, which is great for bone health. Check out my video tutorial on how to make this healthy soft serve ice cream alternative here. I have included techniques on how to create different flavors based on your mood.

Focus on progress, not perfection.

Learn more about my Custom Eat Yourself Gorgeous Programs

*Stay tuned for my exciting announcement I get to share very soon…

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Love always,

CARINA

Eat Yourself Gorgeous Meal Makeover Video 3: Sassy Summer Pasta with Stress Reducing Avocado Sauce by Carina Sohaili

PASTA PLEASE! In this episode of Eat Yourself Gorgeous learn how to make my Sassy Summer Pasta with Stress Reducing Avocado Sauce in under ten minutes. Get your glow on by eating pasta! Check out my Creamy One Ingredient Feel Good Ice Cream and Skin Clearing French Fries with Energizing Ranch Dip in episodes one and two below. XO.

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Check out my Satisfying Summer Beauty Bites here and my Simple Summer Detox Foods here

LOVE ALWAYS,

Carina

Eat Yourself Gorgeous Meal Makeover Video 2: Creamy One Ingredient Feel Good Ice Cream by Carina Sohaili

Welcome to episode two of my Eat Yourself Gorgeous Meal Makeover Summer Series! This episode we are making my Creamy One Ingredient Feel Good Ice Cream! Enjoy and stay tuned for the next video! In case you missed it, check out My Skin Clearing French Fries and Energizing Ranch Dip in episode one below!

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Love always,

Carina

Eat Yourself Gorgeous Meal Makeover Video 1: Skin Clearing French Fries and Energizing Ranch Dip by Carina Sohaili

Welcome to episode one of my Eat Yourself Gorgeous Meal Makeover Summer Series. This episode we are making my Skin Clearing French Fries and Energizing Ranch Dip! Check out episode two where I make my Creamy One Ingredient Feel Good Ice Cream here!

Be sure to join the Vibrant Healthy Life community for tips, inspiration and health tools:

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Love always,

Carina

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