What a wonderful testimony to wake up to in my inbox!
“I had been taking Crestor for high cholesterol levels, but never felt well while I was taking it. So I decided to give Maria’s diet plan a serious try. Within a few weeks on the diet plan I decided to discontinue my Crestor and had my cholesterol levels checked about 6 weeks later. My triglycerides dropped from 274 to 115. My LDL cholesterol was still high, but by doing the calculations of my ratio of triglycerides to HDL I had a ratio of .40. This shows I have more of the large fluffy LDL particles which do not appear to cause an increase of plague build up in my arteries. Previous to starting the low carb diet, my blood pressure had began to rise to the level of needing medication. After just a few weeks of the new diet regime, my blood pressure began to drop and after 6 weeks was back to normal levels. I’ve found the recipes to be fulfilling and delicious and plan to continue following this way of eating.” -D
Click HERE to get your 30 day meal plans and start your transformation!
Trans Fats and FAT BURNING!
When insulin can’t bind with the cell, the insulin stays in the blood. About 30 minutes after eating, our body measures the sugar levels in our blood to determine if it needs to produce additional insulin. If you have a healthy body, this process works great. The problem is when you live in America and are surrounded by trans-fat (Jiff Peanut Butter, Saltine Crackers, Cereals, Frozen Pizzas, Ice Cream Cones), a crust forms around your cells by consuming these harmful trans-fat. When this happens, the cells are incapable to respond to the insulin that is already in the blood; therefore, an additional surge is created even though enough insulin is already present. So when I read Diabetes Pamphlets that recommend low fat foods and MARGARINE, I get more than upset! Most often the writers of these food guide pamphlets are the pharmaceutical company pushing their drugs! Go figure! They don’t want you to get better; they wouldn’t be one of the most profitable companies in America anymore.
So now we have a very high level of insulin in our blood! And what goes too high, eventually and quickly goes too low…enter: low blood sugar = cravings, moodiness, hunger, low energy, lightheadedness… you grab any carb you see to satisfy your body’s desire and the cycle happens all over again. All day you dream about food. You are no longer the person you once were.
Our fat burning hormone is called the Human Growth Hormone… and guess what? Its antagonist is insulin! So as you continue this cycle of high carb, low fat foods, you never get a natural surge of growth hormone and never get the opportunity to burn fat….you just burn sugar.
To read more on what to eat to get your Human Growth Hormone as high as possible, check out the charts on foods, exercise and supplements in my book: Secrets to a Healthy Metabolism.
Thank you for your love and support!
“HEALTHIFIED” Crunch Berries
2/3 cup Swerve
1 tsp stevia glycerite (omit if using Swerve)
1 cup almond flour
1 cup strawberry egg white protein
1/2 cup butter or coconut oil, softened
2 TBS water
1 tsp pure organic cherry extract
1 tsp Natural Red Food Coloring (if desired)
Preheat oven to 300 degrees F (170 degrees C). Combine sweetener, almond flour, whey, extract and food coloring in a small bowl. Add in butter and water with a blender until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Place on a cookie sheet with defined edges or the butter will leak off. Bake for 12-20 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from the oven and gently stir while still hot. Let cool in the cookie tin (it will crisp up A LOT). Break pieces apart and enjoy with unsweetened almond milk. Makes 8 servings.
NUTRITIONAL COMPARISON (per serving)
Post Cereal = 220 calories, 3g fat, 3g protein, 45 carbs, 2g fiber
“Healthified” Cereal = 211 calories, 16g fat, 15.6 g protein, 4.2g carbs, 1.6 g fiber
MILK COMPARISON (per cup)
Skim Milk = 90 calories, 13g carbs, 13g sugar
Unsweetened Almond milk = 35 calories, 1g carb, 0g sugar
I think I may have to try these. I haven’t been eating any cereal. We did low carb 8 years ago but fell off the wagon. We are back on and making this a life change. The one thing that always amazed is how it lowers cholesterol and that the less carbs you eat the less you crave!
I am confused, the recipe calls for 2/3 cup erythritol and then in the instructions, it says right away, “Combine 1/3 cup erythritol and stevia glycerite”. So where does the other 1/3rd cup come in? This sounds really good. I have given up cereal since LCing but I may start back with this! Something different, thank you!
Opps Nancy! All fixed!
I went wheat/grain free in January after reading your book and Wheat Belly. I’ve lost 15 lbs and have had more health benefits than I can count! Your blog is my favorite to read. I love the information you share and your recipes. Can’t wait to make this cereal! Thanks for all you do!
Thank you for your kind words!!!
How inventive! I do miss cereals. How would you make PB Captain Crunch?
As for PB Captain Crunch try this version: http://mariahealth.blogspot.com/2012/03/reeses-peanut-butter-cereal.html
and use vanilla whey instead of chocolate AND omit the chocolate powder.
Happy Baking!
Thank you for the suggestion. And thank you for this blog! It’s fantastic! Now I’m heading over to Amazon to buy your books. 🙂 Especially the one one about grain-free, low carb sweets, as sweets are my downfall. If I can have my cake and eat it healthfully, why that will take the “die” out of “diet.” 🙂 🙂 🙂
Thanks! I’m a former fat kid myself and I will always love food! Cereal was my favorite as a child.
Happy eating!
Maria – do you personally like zsweet? I’m deciding between that or just like sugar…? Thanks!
I prefer zsweet! I love it!
You use zsweet? How do you substitute it in your recipes?
It is a one for one substitute. I like Swerve better now though. 🙂
Awesome, thanks – and it’s available from amazon via subscribe and save! 🙂
Maria, Can you tell me what is your opinion on Greek yogurt and also fat-free, 2%, and full fat Greek yogurt. I know you are very much for whole milk, which I agree with 100%, but do you feel the same way about greek yogurt? The sugar content of the fat-free vs the full fat is only a difference of 2 grams. Also the fat free contains much more protein per serving than the other two options. I love my greek yogurt, I am just a little confused about which one to eat now after reading your book on improving metabolism. Should I always be eating full fat dairy or is it ok to have fat free dairy as well? I like to have my post-workout shake with milk, but adding whole milk will take the calories too high, and with the skim milk I am able to keep the calories a little lower while still adding protein?
I get A LOT of questions about yogurt…even the plain Greek yogurt has too much sugar for me. Instead of yogurt for your protein smoothie or an addition to the “Healthified” Granola…try this. It has less calories than yogurt or skim milk, and only 3 grams of sugar (versus 9 for plain yogurt…yogurt is high in lactose, which we slowly lose the enzyme after childhood to break this down…”lactose intolerance”). It also has 10 live and active cultures for good bacteria. Feeding your body delicious fermented foods and drinks is a great way to boost your brain-body connection. Did you know that the health of your intestines affects your moods, behavior and brain health?
Our moods are directly correlated to the intestinal flora of our gut…the nervous system actually come from the gut to the brain (in the pasted they thought it was the other way). Check out the nutritional analysis compared to regular yogurt! WOW!
Yoplait Yogurt = 175 calories, 35 carbs, 28 sugar, 0 fiber
Plain Yogurt = 120 calories, 17 carbs, 10 sugar, 1 fiber
Coconut Milk KEFIR = 70 calories, 6 carbs, 3 sugar, 3 fiber
http://mariahealth.blogspot.com/2011/01/coconut-chicken-curry-and-naan-bread.html
I am very surprised when you mentioned that yogurt is high in lactose. My teen daughter is very lactose intolerant, and has to take a Lactaid with anything that has dairy in it (and that sometimes doesn’t help, so she usually avoids dairy), but she has absolutely no problems with yogurt! She loves Greek yogurt. I figured that all the healthy bacteria in it helped her to digest it.
It can depend on the brand, etc. They are different. Also, how long fermented will determine how much lactose is left. 🙂
Do you think I could make this with coconut flour due to nut allergies??
No sorry, coconut flour is totally different…it would be really dry!
I made the “crunch berries” this morning & they were a hit!!! It took 2 cups of almond flour to get the large crumb consistency, but they turned out perfectly!
I love your recipes!!
Yay! I’m glad you liked them. 🙂
Your cereals look fantastic! Is there any way a person could omit the protein powder?
Thanks!
The protein powder hold it together so that would be tough. You could give it a try, it just might be more crumbly. 🙂
This was really good! I used 2 tsp strawberry extract. Yum!
Somehow, I feel this recipe could be tweeked & made into really good croutons! I made the cereal and it is delightfully crunchy.
~anne
So I was given your “Kids Cookbook” a couple of days ago and I LOVE it! The recipes in it are so great! I made the energy bars yesterday which are amazing! My children will be so excited to re-institute “cereal Friday!” I am just wondering if I were to make a double batch…can I store the extras in the cupboard like I would cereal? Or should it be refrigerated? Also, what do you consider 1 serving of this cereal? 1cup? Thank you so much for all of your hard work! I have been trying to healthify some of my old recipes and it’s quite a lot of trial and error…I can’t imagine all of the work you put into sharing these great recipes with us 🙂
Thank you so much for your support and kind words! I used the same serving size as they did, 3/4 of a cup. If you make it with coconut oil, it could be on the shelf for 2 weeks or so. If you use butter, I would store in fridge. I store mine in the freezer for portion control and only take out and thaw what I am eating at the time.
It is a lot of experimenting for sure and that is why I am so appreciative when people buy from my astore! That helps pay for all the ingredients that go into coming up with these recipes. Thanks again for your support! 🙂
Hi Maria!
Ohmygoodness this is SOOO good. I made mine with no colouring and with vanilla essence. WOW! And so much more filling than those cereal (of which I could eat a whole box in one sitting, once upon a time!). I love this. Will try other variations soon, YUM!!! I ordered your book and can’t wait to get it, I need to fix my leptin receptors, like other ladies mentioned on your FB page recently, I’m often hungry, all day, and I think it’s all to do with hormones too. I’m going to sort this out soon!
Just thought I’d mention: 300°F is 150°C according to my converter! 170°C is closer to 340°F. 😀
I know I comment a lot!!! I love your blog!!
Thank you! And thank you for all your comments! 🙂
Hey Maria, I just started looking at your website and some of these recepies look amazing! My one problem is that I seem to be allergic to Stevia, I break out in Hives when I eat it. Based on the chart about your saying that to subsitute the 1 tsp I would have to use 1 cup of Just like Sugar or 1 cup of something else on the right side of that list?
Yes, I would suggest Swerve or Just Like Sugar. 🙂
How come the conversion is so high, I’m newer to baking so just trying to understand. Just seems like 1 cup to replace 1tsp is a big difference!
Sorry also forgot to ask, if you already have Just Like Sugar or Swerve in the ingredients, for example your peanut butter cookies you have 1/2 just like sugar and 1 tsp stevia, so I would just add 1 1/2 cups of Just Like Sugar to Substitute that and that wouldn’t ruin the recipe?
Pure Stevia is 300 times sweeter than sugar. A little goes a long way. 🙂
The peanut butter cookie recipe is a little different. I would try 3/4 to 1 cup. 🙂
Maria, I love this recipe! So do my kids. I just wish it wasn’t so expensive to make. I’m sure you do too! Anyway, this time I made 2 cookies out of the dough and they turned out perfectly!!! Have you tried making cookies out of the cereal dough? Yum! Thanks for another fabulous recipe, Maria!
Thanks! That is a good idea. Let me know if it works out. 🙂
I’ve had problems with getting more crumbles than chunks….I watched the video = although it didn’t show how you put it in the pan and then stirred it. How can I fix that? Taste seems to be good.
If the chunks are too big for you, when you take it out of the oven let it cool a little and when it started to solidify, stir it up a bit. You should be able to get chunks of whatever size you like. 🙂
I don’t think I was very clear – I got more crumbles than chunks. i want more chunks. lol Had some for breakfast and was too sweet for me so will lay off on the sweetener a bit next time. Could hardly finish it. Maybe its my new taste buds. lol
Oh, OK. Then Don’t stir it when you take it out and it should solidify as it cools. You can easily adjust the sweetness to your liking too. 🙂
I’ve been searching your blog trying to see what your thoughts are about oat flour. I read on all day I dream about food’s blog that it is basically all fiber. But I also see that you don’t use it in your recipes and I know that must be for a reason. Am I correct? What do you think about oat flour?
There are too many carbs for me in oat flour. Sorry. 🙂
Genius! How does your mind free up to think of these wonderful things?!! 🙂
Thanks!
Hi Maria! I have a food dehydrator and was wondering if you think the cereal recipes would work out dehydrated instead of using the oven? Looks yummy either way!
Hmm, I think that could work. Let me know if you try it. 🙂
You said Zsweet is most people’s favorite sweetener. That has xylitol in it, right? What would you recommend for children that are coming off a sugary, sweet tooth? Zsweet? I am transforming my kid’s food and don’t want to ‘shock’ them. So far Swerve did not pass the test.
Zsweet is erythritol and stevia. Swerve is erythritol and chicory root. You can try xylitol. 🙂
I have been waiting to make this for a while. I took the day off from work and just made this. Wow! This is sooo awesome! I can’t believe that I haven’t made this until now. How will I be able to control myself to divid this up into 8 servings?! Thank you so much for the wonderful recipe!
Thank you!
Do you think vanilla whey would work in the cereal? It is what I have. Thanks.
Yes, that should work. Just adjust sweetener to taste. 🙂
This looks so yummy!! Going to have to whip up a batch–I saw you have a peanut butter puffs version….do you have suggestions to make it tast like cinnamon toast crunch? That is still a weakness for me :S thanks for all you do! Love your recipes!
Gah! Every time I think that I have all the special ingredients I’ll ever need, I find another recipe that lets me know I need more. LOL Now I need chocolate and strawberry flavored weigh protein, when all I have ordered is plain. And peanut flour. Seeing your cereal recipes is making me want it so bad! The biggest thing I miss is pouring a bowl of cereal. Isn’t that funny? Switch to low carb, grain free, and miss cereal. O.o
Wow, another brilliant recipe!! I used one packet of strawberry Jay Robb and 1/3 c. Swerve. It was perfectly sweet. I also added cherry and almond extract. I’m so excited to be able to enjoy cereal again. Thank you!!!
Thanks!
Oh, I had to add about a 1/2 c. of unflavored whey protein to equal 1c. since the Jay Robb packet wasn’t enough. I can’t wait to try your other cereals!
This is my second time making this, I loved the first batch! I didn’t have strawberry whey, so I used plain and added cherry and almond extract. It’s wonderful! Thanks again for your genius recipes.
Thanks!
I finally got around to making this after flipping past it a million times in the book. Why did I wait????? It is so good, and really adds to the breakfast line-up! The flavor combos are endless! I tend to get bored with bacon and eggs after a while….thank you!
Thanks!
Hi Maria! I purchased your Kids cookbook and it’s been a lifesaver for us! My 3 yo is a T1 Diabetic so we’ve are in the process of switching to a “LC lifestyle” as gluten isn’t agreeing with her. For the sake of saving a few dollars, can I use vanilla protein powder and cherry and strawberry extract? Just curious…unless I find more recipes to use strawberry protein with! 🙂 Thanks and keep up the amazing recipes!!
Yes! That should work!
And thank you for your love and support!
I tried this recipe and I loved it! I added some chopped up strawberries to the mix right before I baked it and it turned out really nice. 🙂 Thank you for the recipe!
<3
Awesome!!!
Hi Maria, I just wanted to thank you for this recipe. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve made this. I always make it in multiple batches. It’s my go-to when I don’t have a lot of time to prepare something. (We have five children) 😬I even bring it to Disney when we go. It’s perfect to snack on when there is no almond milk around. Your books are great to just read and get little tips from when I’m not looking to cook. So thanks for all your hard work. I totally appreciate you.🙂 Mary-Louise from CT
Made this today and it was 😍😛! Super easy and delish as a snack.
Yahoo! So glad you like it 🙂