First things first. You may have noticed something different about the blog…yes! It was time for some freshening up and “Spring Cleaning” around here you might say. I’ve revamped the blog with a new header, cleaner look, less clutter on the menu, and a slight name change! I hope you love it all as much as I do, and you’ll enjoy referring to the blog as “NITK”, the little minimalistic acronym I’ve grown to love (I’m all about minimalism these days). If you aren’t big into change, no worries, everything on the blog including my recipes, philosophy, writing, and all that goodness shall stay the same. Here’s to Spring and good change!
If you follow me on Instagram, a couple weeks ago you may have seen me giving a sneak peek of these sweet little superfood tarts and talking about these Genuine Health advanced gut health probiotics on my Instagram stories. You also might have been waiting eagerly for the recipe. So, without further adieu it’s finally here for you to make, devour, and enjoy. While these tasty tarts may look like dessert, they are top notch when it comes to nutritional benefits.
Instead of a sugary baked pastry flour crust (the tart usual), I created a delicious raw crust made with nuts, dates, and cocoa powder, rich in antioxidants, fibre, healthy fats, and protein. To fill these delicious chocolaty crusts, I used creamy coconut yogurt which is an awesome source of probiotics and fibre to boost digestion, immunity, and pretty much EVERY aspect of health. Then, the toppings….oh the glorious, colourful, nutrient dense toppings…drizzled extreme dark chocolate, chewy gojis, mulberries, and apricots, crunchy pistachios and hemp hearts, and bee pollen!
Out of all of the delicious superfoods found in this recipe (berries, nuts, cocoa, bee pollen..etc.), the most important, in my opinion, is the probiotics. Technically probiotics aren’t a “food” per se, but they are a part of many foods including coconut yogurt and they can also be found in supplement form like Genuine Health’s advanced gut health probiotic 15 billion CFU daily care.
I recently switched over from another brand and started using Genuine Health’s probiotic and I’m happy to be adding another variety of wonderful bacteria to my microbiome!
Ok, I might get a little geeky here, but I seriously love, love, love healthy bacteria and how the intake of these nifty probiotics has not only changed my life, but many of my clients lives too.
…Changed my life? Really? Yes, let me explain.
Throughout most of my childhood, teen years, and early 20’s I dealt with chronic digestive issues. It was embarrassing, anxiety-provoking, frustrating, and to be honest it prevented me from living a full life. I was the friend who always had a stomach-ache or needed to know where the bathroom was everywhere I went. It sucked. After countless trips to the doctor with only being told that I had IBS and should just to learn to live with it, I continued to experience symptoms that waxed and waned and I felt totally defeated.
It wasn’t until I attended school for nutrition, learnt about probiotics and how this healthy bacteria truly revolutionizes health, and began supplementing, that I saw an incredible improvement in my digestion. I’m not joking when I say that it was literally less than one month after taking a high-strain probiotic that I stopped and realized I hadn’t gotten sick or experienced the uncomfortable symptoms that I dealt with for so long once in the entire month.
As I continued to take the probiotics, the freedom from symptoms continued, and after about 6-months I felt like a new person.
I have never looked back and have not gone a week without taking probiotics since. They are an absolute staple for me, and while I do eat probiotic-rich foods like coconut yogurt and sauerkraut, I always supplement with a good quality high-strain probiotic. Every 6 months to a year I change up the brand or the blend of bacterial strains to bring keep a variation of good bacteria colonizing my body.
Now, with new and more recent research we know that not only do probiotics improve digestive health immensely, but they also improve urinary tract health, skin quality, allergies, mental health (this research is incredibly interesting!) and immune function.
Being pregnant has also increased my body’s need for probiotics as taking probiotics during pregnancy can strengthen the immune function of the fetus and has been shown to help mothers avoid illnesses and other issues that can crop up during pregnancy like pre-eclampsia.
Since taking the Genuine Health advanced gut health probiotic I have noticed continued digestive regularity (which can definitely be rare during pregnancy!) and strong immune function (I’ve yet to get sick during this seasonal change and the typical 8-months-pregnant-restless-sleep patterns I’ve experienced!). I also love that the Genuine Health probiotics are 100% vegan (they contain no dairy unlike some probiotics), non-GMO, toxin-free, contain 15 human strains, and have guaranteed potency.
If you have digestive issues, feel like you always catch the cold that’s going around, deal with mild anxiety or depression, have skin issues, allergies, chronic yeast or bladder infections, or just have a desire to improve your health, you should definitely give probiotics a try. You can find Genuine Health probiotics at these retail locations or purchase it online through many online health food retailers.
In the meantime...get in some awesome food-sourced probiotics with these delicious Coconut Yogurt Superfood Tarts!
- Chocolate Crust:
- 1 cup pitted dates, softened or soaked in warm water for 10 minutes then drained
- ½ cup raw almonds
- ½ cup raw walnut halves
- 1½ tablespoons cocoa powder or raw cacao powder
- 2 tablespoons unsweetened almond mik
- Filling:
- ¾ cup plain unsweetened coconut yogurt or other probiotic yogurt of choice
- a few drops of stevia or 1 teaspoon of honey or pure maple syrup to sweeten, if desired
- Toppings:
- ½ ounce 85% dark chocolate, melted
- Crushed nuts/seeds, chopped goji berries or other dried fruits, hemp seeds, bee pollen... and any other healthy superfood toppings your heart desires!
- Begin by preparing the tart crusts. Soak the dates if they are not already very soft to the touch.
- Once dates are soft, add to a food processor with the rest of the crust ingredients and process for 2 minutes on high, stopping the processor periodically to scrape the sides with a spatula.
- The mixture will become sticky, clumped together, and slightly oily with only small chunks of almonds and walnuts remaining.
- Using a regular sized muffin tin, take a golf-ball sized portion of the crust mixture, roll into a ball with your palms, then press evenly into a muffin tin cup to create a crust that's about 1 cm thick on all sides.
- Repeat this process to create 8 crusts in total.
- Place the muffin tin in the freezer for 15-20 minutes so the crusts can harden.
- Once the crusts are firm to the touch, carefully remove each crust from the muffin tin and place on a large plate or platter.
- Next, mix the coconut yogurt with the sweetener of choice, if using, and divide between the chocolaty crusts until they are each filled with yogurt, then place back in the freezer.
- Heat a small non-stick pan over low heat or a double boiler and melt the chocolate.
- Once the chocolate is melted, remove the tarts from the freezer and drizzle the chocolate over each tart.
- Finish by topping each tart with additional superfood toppings as desired.
- Enjoy!
Have a wonderful rest of your Sunday!
xo Christal // NITK
These little tarts almost look too pretty to eat! 🙂
Where does one get the Genuine Health probiotic, Christal?
Hey Kim! Check this link: http://www.genuinehealth.com/where-to-buy/