A Living Angel & Healthy Bites Recipe by @LCCotter!

Hey there, friends! I’m so grateful to be blogging today. I know that I’ve been M.I.A. for the past few days and there is good reason behind it: we’re still stuck in Vegas. And I just got WiFi back an hour ago. I’m trying my very best to be positive and get my #jadorelavie on. It’s been a challenge, for sure. Most people go to Vegas for three days. The toll it takes on your wallet and your sleep schedule is no joke! We’ve been in Vegas for seven days now. We’re exhausted, broke, homesick, and craving routine.

Our hotel wouldn’t let us stay until Friday at a discounted rate so we decided to head to the airport and try again to get an earlier flight home. No dice. Every single flight to the East Coast was booked. Defeated, we walked outside to hail another (read: astronomically expensive) taxi home. We were led to a large van taxi cab. A short woman with a strawberry blonde bob and a bright pink top was standing outside. “No luggage?” she said. “No,” I replied. “We were trying to change our flight.” We sluggishly made our way into the back seat of the taxi.

The woman, Cynthia, noticed that we were looking a bit down in the dumps and encouraged us to tell her our story. We spilled our guts, telling her how we were rejected by our hotel and had to check out, how we couldn’t leave Las Vegas for Boston until Friday, how we were so homesick, and how we were running out of money. She turned the timer off on her cab and said she was only going to charge us for mileage and proceeded to drive us to multiple hotels. We eventually found one with a kitchenette, so we could purchase our own food instead of being forced to spend $60 on lunch and dinner for the remaining nights.

Cynthia gave us her number and said that she was going to drop a small care package to our hotel. She also said that she would drive us to the airport free of charge. “I have kids too,” she said. “I would hate to see them in your position. Call me on Friday for a free ride to the airport.” She placed her card in my hand and assured us that everything was going to be alright.

“Thank you so much,” I said. “You’re a living angel.”

Cynthia let out a meek chuckle and said, “People get in my cab for a reason. Everything is going to be alright.”

Thank you, Cynthia, for shedding your light onto us. I’ll never forget your beautiful spirit. We are so grateful to you.

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In other news, today is the final day of the #plantPOWER challenge! Kasey and I are so blown away by how successful this challenge has been – and we owe it all to YOU! All of your meals, snacks, smoothies, and beverages, have inspired us so much. We can’t wait to share all of the fun and exciting things that are in store! That’s right – #plantPOWER is here to STAY! If you have any suggestions on how we can make #plantPOWER better for YOU, email me at heather[at]fortheloveofkale[dot]com and/or kasey[at]powercakes[dot]net. Also, if #plantPOWER has impacted you in any way, feel free to email us and tell us your story! There may or may not be a special something in store.

Today, we’ve got a special Halloween recipe from the incredible Lindasy Cotter, author of Cotter Crunch! I’m sure you already know and love her just as much as Kasey and I do. Lindsay is a living example of #jadorelavie and her Healthy Bites fit in seamlessly with our #plantPOWER theme! Take it away, Lindsay!

Hello and welcome to Heather’s and Kasey’s blogs! I’m excited to write for them today and I’m even more excited to support their #plantPOWER goodness!

Speaking of goodness, let me schpeel my story, mmmm k? My name is Lindsay Cotter and I blog over at Cotter Crunch. It’s funny, my blog title and subtitile really do describe my life.
No lie… I’m a pro triathlete’s wife, nutrition manager/fitness consultant, kombucha lover & wanna-be wino who has a joyous passion for GLUTEN FREE cooking! Scold me now, yes, that’s one long RUN-ON sentence. Grammar is not my strongpoint. Haha.

Anyway, the main reason I blog is to support my husband. We’ve created this dream together. A dream to pursue HIS professional triathlon career and I get to play wing man woman, or is it wing wife?

Either way, I’m by his side. I’m his SHERPA! I’d say my best support comes through food and fueling.

I’m good at feeding that man, or so I like to think. In an effort to help James (aka the hubs) fuel properly for pre and post workout, I started making him healthy bites. What are healthy Bites? Glad you asked. Healthy Bites are my take on functional, gluten free bite sized “ball” snacks.
Each bite is made with natural, gluten-free, and mostly organic ingredients.

What started off as a little healthy snack option for me and my husband has now turned into my own little business. I am passionate about it and want to share these bites with others…kids, athletes, on-the-go mom’s, food allergy folks, and more! My mission is to make gluten-free and process-free food that actually tastes really good. Sheesh, do I sound like an infomercial or what? Haha.

Anyway, today I wanted to share a special Halloween Vegan Healthy Bite recipe in honor of #plantPOWER October.

You can see more on my site or in my BOOK of BITES eBook. Oh, and feel free to order some yourself. I ship! Well, I try to ship to most. Still working on shipping to China and Antarctica… JUST KIDDING!

SPOOK-TACULAR VEGAN BITES!

                                       

Ingredients

• 1 heaping cup of Vegan Marshmallow (I use the ones at Whole Foods Chicago Vegan Foods Brand)

• 2 tbsp. 100% cocoa

• 2 heaping tbsp. peanut flour (can also use coconut flour, ground up peanuts, etc.)

• 1 serving Vegan Chocolate Protein (Vega Smoothie blend is good here)

• 2 tbsp. Food for Life Vegan Chocolate chip Minis (Can also use carob chips or 100% dark chocolate chips)

• 1-2 tbsp. unsweetened coconut (shredded)

• 3-4 tbsp. of preferred nut butter

• ¼ cup agave nectar

• Optional : cocoa or coconut extract

Instructions

• Grind up your marshmallows in a blender or food processor first.

• If you have large chocolate chips, go ahead and blend them up with the marshmallows as well. If you are using minis, there is no need, just mix in.

• Make sure you grind up the rest of your dry ingredients as well.

• Transfer into a large bowl and add in nut butter, flours, protein, coconut, and agave.

• Mix well, and then roll into balls/bites. Makes around 10-12 bites.

• I then like to roll each of them in some extra coconut and/or cocoa.

• Freeze right away then store in fridge or freezer to maintain freshness.

• Store for up to 6 weeks. YUM!!

Well folks, that’s all I got for now. I hope you get to make these. If so, please let me know how they turn out.

Thanks for letting me ramble today. I mean, that’s what blogs are for right?

And Heather and Kasey…. thanks for letting me participate in this October Challenge. I’m definitely raising my glass of wine and toasting you tonight!

Cheers,
LC

Lindsay Cotter
@LCCotter
@Cbhealthybites
www.cottercrunch.com

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Thank you so much, Lindsay! We know the hard work it takes to create a free, new recipe for others and we SO appreciate it!

Keep an eye out for a post with all of the WINNERS from the GIVEAWAYS within the next couple of days! With me being stranded in Vegas and just getting WiFi (HOLLA!), Kasey and I are working hard to get everything rounded up as soon as possible!

Keep tweeting and Instagramming your #plantPOWER meals! The #plantPOWER will not stop! Kasey and I will still be tagging everything with #plantPOWER!

Stay lovely,
Heather

P.S. – Remember there is always an angel nearby if you’re willing and open to receiving love. We experienced that first-hand with our new friend, Cynthia. Sending all of those effected by Hurricane Sandy lots of love and prayers. Be well and be safe. <3