Happy Tuesday Bella Diva

Hopefully by now you have surrendered to the stress and said…it is what it is!  If you haven’t yet….Well do it now.

Trust me, this advice took me 39 years to understand.  In fact, when I start to get my panties in a bunch, freak out, feel the sudden rush of anxiety and the feeling of “if I don’t get it done, I fail” has had to come to a stop.  Whats the point? We truly stress over WAY to many things we should never stress about.  I unfortunately had to learn the hard way and now live with a stress auto immune disease called Addisons. I truly have an internal “DING” that goes off and says SLooooowwwwwww down or I will knock you down.
Which happened this time last year as I stressed myself out with too many end of year deadlines…

So, make your priority list, get what you must get done first and the rest will fall into place.  Oh and BREATH!!!!

Nuts

Yes we all can be nutty from time to time, especially this time of year (its normal), but I want to talk about different nut butters.

Below is a new recipe that I created last week for the Christmas season and gave them to my clients/divas as a test run.  I would say…it was a GO!!  My new Cashew Christmas balls.
However, one question that came up was: “Isn’t cashew butter more fattening than almond or peanut butter since it tastes richer”

Here is the deal.  Most nuts except for a few that we really don’t consume much as a nut butter are about equal.  They may differ from 1-2 g of fat per serving or 10-20 calories.
So if you LOVE cashew, get cashew. Almond butter is your fav? Get it.  BE SURE to look at the sugar content.  When you start mixing nuts manufacturers will sneak in extra sugar.
Take a look at the chart below to compare.

Diva-licious Recipe

Christmas Cashew Balls

This healthy no bake recipe is easy and quick to prepare. Oatmeal, flaxseed (or chia seeds), cashew butter, M&Ms, honey, and “snow” aka finely shredded coconut make up these homemade gluten free goodies. Make these raw bites for kids and adults!

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 cups Oatmeal, old-fashioned
• 1/2 cup Honey
• 1/2 cup Cashew Butter
• 1/4 cup Chia seeds or ground Flax seed
• 1/2 cup Christmas m&ms
• 1/2 cup “snow” finely shredded unsweetened coconut

DIRECTIONS:

• Mix all ingredients in bowl. Scoop out 1 Tbsp at a time. Press and roll into balls and then roll into extra coconut flake to coat each ball.
• Chill in the fridge or freezer until ready to eat! Store balls in sealed container.
• **If your mixture is dry, add a splash of water or almond milk.
  (It may start to dry half way through)

Side Note:   I have used both regular green and red holiday M&Ms and Chocolate Holiday Mint M&Ms  in this recipe. Both flavors tasted amazing.

Fit Diva Final Tip

• Stop Sweating the Small Stuff.  Stop stressing is doesn’t do anything but cause more stress.
• Enjoy your most favorite nut butter of choice.  Check the sugar and make sure its less than 3 g per serving
• It is Nut butter! Which means it is a fat.  YES it is a good fat, but it is fat.  9 calories per gram.  Just because its “good for you” doesn’t mean eat 1/2 the jar.
•  Most importantly…cherish this time of year.  Another year to give thanks and then be READY to welcome a fresh new start.

Any Questions?  Leave your email in the comments.
Until then…
Ciao xoxo

For more visit my website at  www.BellaDivaFitness.com
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Laura DalSanto  | BellaDiva Fitness  | laura@belladivafitness.com