Strawberry Vanilla Almond Milk

The temptation to stop at a coffee stand and get a treat can be avoided with a couple recipes from home. This one is a keeper and super easy! Healthy and nutritious to boot! No preservatives and all natural ingredients plus you can skip adding extra sweetener because the strawberries sweeten it themselves.

Now have yourself a cup of healthy pink milk today! (You might already have all the ingredients!)

Strawberry Vanilla Almond Milk
2 cups water
2 cups frozen strawberries
1/2 cup soaked almonds (soaked overnight or 8 hours)
1/3 vanilla bean*
optional: 1-2 TB liquid sweetener of choice (I skip this)

1. Rinse almonds. Blend water and soaked almonds in blender. Pass through sieve or nut milk bag to refine out chunks (This is optional if the little almond bits don't bother you or you'd like the protein, skip this).
2. Add nut milk to blender and remaining ingredients. Blend on high.
ENJOY!

*I order these plump and juicy vanilla beans from amazon.

Carob Oat Energy Bars (Nursing Friendly!)

New moms need all the energy they can get! Having a new baby, figuring out nursing, and eating healthy can take its toll. Heck, even getting in the shower seems impossible some days. But if you're properly fueled, this beautiful thing called mothering will seem a little easier. Having snacks/treats like these prepared ahead of time in the freezer is super handy. Plus all the foods in this recipe are nursing-friendly!

* If you or someone is allergic to nuts in your family and you are nursing, substitute sunflower seed butter for the almond butter. *

I dearly missed chocolate while nursing my first child. Like so many other infants, chocolate would upset her tummy so I refrained from having it. I found carob to be an interesting replacement - sweeter and contains no caffeine. I like the roasted carob powder from Mountain Rose Herbs but it is also available on amazon or at your natural grocery store.

If your breastfed infant is gassy, this article "Nourishing the New Mom" from Nourishing Meals (authors of Nourishing Meals: Healthy Gluten-Free Recipes for the Whole Family - one of my favorite cookbooks) can be very helpful. It gives a list of good foods to eat and foods to avoid while breastfeeding. Also try drinking fennel tea (as I write about here) can be very helpful or have a cup of sweet potato fennel soup!

I hope you enjoy these no-bake carob oat bars. We found them to be quite tasty!

Carob Oat Energy Bars (No-bake, nursing-friendly, dairy free, vegan optional)
3 cups oats (gluten-free certified if gluten intolerant, available on amazon if you don't know where else to look)
1 cup raisins
6 TB roasted carob powder
6 TB coconut oil
3/4 cup almond butter
1/2 cup maple syrup or honey
1 TB Vanilla extract
Pinch of salt

1. Line a 8x8 with parchment paper.
2. Combine oats, raisins, and salt in a bowl.
3. In a saucepan over low heat, melt maple syrup, coconut oil, vanilla, and almond butter together. Add carob powder and mix in.
4. Pour over oats and raisins. Mix thoroughly and pour into 8x8 pan. Smooth with a spatula and refridgerate until solid. Cut into squares and enjoy!

Also a scoop of protein powder (unsweetened) can be added for an extra boost!

I buy all my herbs from Mountain Rose Herbs.