Avocado and chocolate? Yes! This is a nut-free preparation that yields a delicious pudding every time. This recipe is rich and creamy, with a nice soft chocolate flavor, and may be adapted by adding more cacao or nut milk to suit your own needs.

Ingredients

4 Haas avocados

1 cup coconut water

1/2 cup raw honey

1 cup raw cacao

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon sea salt

Directions

1. Begin by slicing the avocados length-wise and removing pit. Then scoop out flesh from skins.

2. Combine all ingredients in a blender, loading the liquids first, and blend on high for 30-45 seconds. Scrape out pudding and refrigerate. This recipe keeps for up to 4 days in the refrigerator and is best served chilled.

Makes 3-4 cups, depending on avocado size.

We are all looking for ways to optimize our health. But with our busy lives, the last thing we want to have to do is add another thing to our to-do list and keep track of. This week we thought we’d focus on a simple way to elevate our health with very little effort.
 
Intermittent Fasting has become a key part of our RISE 10-Day Jumpstart as well as our RISE Coaching Programs. We have found it to be an amazing tool to supercharge your health and metabolism.

Check out some key benefits of IF from leading Functional Medicine Expert Dr. Will Cole.

“If you haven’t tried fasting before, you don’t have to worry about being hungry and you can ease into a fasting practice and find what works for you. Here are the top reasons why you should try intermittent fasting if you need a simple way to boost your health".

1. Intermittent fasting keeps snacking at bay 
Snacking can easily throw us off track with reaching our wellness goals. Unless you plan...

How are you? How are you feeling? 

No question, it’s been a challenging few weeks for all of us and most likely under the weight of this situation you’ve felt its impact in some area of your life-body, mind, heart and spirit. We wanted to share with you some simple strategies over the coming weeks to help you gain strength to overcome obstacles you may be facing. We have discovered one of the best ways to help you do that is to boost your emotion through “motion”.  

According to fitness researcher, Michael Bracko of the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM), the psychological aspect of exercise has been overlooked for some time now. Bracko states, “The psychological benefits of exercise are as important, if not more so, than the physical benefits. The physical needs and outcomes of exercise, whether it’s to lose weight, tone muscle, or address obesity dominates what we hear about, but lots of people who exercise...

Like most of you, we are brokenhearted by the recent events in our nation. As we take a collective pause as a country of how we can best move forward to bring healing, we are reminded that the healing needs to start with us…
 
…to come back to our own lives and make sure that peace and harmony are reigning there. 
 
It’s our prayer that we can fully embrace our true call to love – with a love that never fails…
 
“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” - John 13:34-35

As we seek to love as God designed us to, we wanted to share a segment of a prayer for healing and hope from Pastor Rick Warren…

“Father, 

We know that this is not the world that you planned. This is not the world that you want it to be.

We have lived self-centered...

We thought it would be encouraging to check-in with one of our RISE Expert Faculty, Dr. Mark Hyman and glean a few of his favorite ways to strengthen and fortify our health for the journey ahead.

 “We have to protect ourselves, our families, and communities. Above all, we have to stay healthy. Here are a few things I've been focusing on over the last few weeks to support my immunity:

1. A whole-foods, nutrient-dense diet.

Our immune system relies on nutrient-dense whole foods to function well. Vegetables are the foundation of a nourishing diet, and they provide so many immune-supporting nutrients like vitamin C (red bell peppers, broccoli, and spinach) and carotenoids (carrots, sweet potatoes, and kale). Aim for two servings of fruits and eight or more servings of vegetables a day! (A serving is half a cup.)

Berries, pasture-raised meats, and nuts and seeds are also nutritional powerhouses that will hold up great in the freezer, so you can stay...

As the weather starts to warm up, it is a great time to try an açaí smoothie bowl as a delicious breakfast option! These intense berries not only taste good but are rich in antioxidants. A few studies have shown that açaí fruit pulp is even richer in antioxidants than cranberries, raspberries, blackberries, strawberries, or blueberries. The açaí berry can be described as an inch-long, reddish-purple fruit. It comes from the acai palm tree, which is native to Central and South America.

Açaí Smoothie Bowl Ingredients

• 1 packet açaí, frozen
• ½ cup mixed frozen berries
• ½ banana 
• ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
• ½ cup water or coconut water
• A few drops of liquid stevia (optional)
• Handful ice (optional)

Directions

1.  Add the açaí, mixed berries, banana, stevia, vanilla extract and water to a blender and start to blend. Add more liquid till desired consistency.

2. Add ice to...

Ingredients

1 pound ground turkey

1 onion chopped

6 cloves garlic minced

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 bell peppers, any color seeded and finely chopped

1/2  teaspoon chili powder

½ teaspoon paprika

1 teaspoons ground cumin

1 ½  teaspoon garlic powder

½ teaspoon of turmeric

Sea salt and pepper

1 28 oz can diced tomatoes or Fire roasted diced tomato

1 28 oz can of tomato sauce

1 28 oz can black beans or kidney beans (optional)

1 cup chopped zucchini

Toppings:

Diced onion

Avocado

Directions: 

1. In a large saucepan, heat olive oil. Cook turkey and onion over medium-high heat, stirring often to break up meat, 5-10 minutes.

2. Add rest of ingredients to the crock pot. Add the meat and stir.

3. Add zucchini 30 minutes before end of cooking time. Cook on low for 8 hours or high for 4 hours.

4. Serve with diced onion and avocado.

Energize your body! 

Enjoy this simple smoothie to energize your body well! Can be enjoyed daily!

Serves 1
• 1 banana

• 1 cup frozen mango

• 1 cup spinach or kale

• 1/2 cup water or coconut water

• 1tbsp almond or coconut butter or 1 tbsp chia seeds

Blend and enjoy fresh!

Recipe by Jenny Ross RISE Chef and Nutritionist