These delicious treats combine three of my favorites…peanut butter, chocolate, and coconut…YUM! I was looking for a sweet treat to make for my friend who follows a vegan and gluten-free diet.

Low-Carb, More Protein, and Healthy Fats

I’ve been following a lower-carb diet after reading a few different diet books last year, and at the recommendation of my doctor. Most of the diet books I read are reviewed in this blog, they include, Eat Fat, Lose Fat; 4-Hour Body; The Fateful Fork; and one more that I haven’t reviewed yet entitled, The Carbohydrate Addict’s Lifespan Program and Cookbook. As I’ve mentioned before, I was looking for something to help me maintain my weight after I turned 40. For me, lower carbs, more protein, and healthy fats help me maintain my weight without feeling hungry or deprived.  To read the book reviews, simply select the Book Reviews Category from the right-hand column.

Guilt-Free and Delicious!

I call these Super Healthy Peanut Butter Balls because they are loaded with nutrient-dense Superfoods, such as, Perfect Coconut Oil, Raw and Fair Trade Cacao Powder, Almond Flour, and local, raw honey. I always choose organic ingredients whenever possible. These are the super hero of peanut butter balls, compared to those other peanut butter balls which are made with highly-processed and questionable ingredients, such as, 4 cups of powdered sugar, semi-sweet chocolate chips and Kellogg’s Crispies.

It is surprising how little natural sweetener (only 1/4C of honey for approximately 4 dozen) is needed to create theses delicious treats.

Super Healthy Peanut Butter Balls Recipe

1C     Perfect Coconut Oil

1C     Creamy Natural Peanut Butter (room temperature)

1C     Almond Flour

1/4C Raw Honey

5T     Raw Cacao Powder

1C     Shredded Unsweetened Coconut (plus optional extra 1/2 C for rolling)

1. Coconut Oil begins to soften around 70 degrees Fahrenheit. Ideally, your coconut oil will be soft enough to mix, but not completely melted. Simply combine all the ingredients in a bowl until well-blended.

2A. At this point you can either “pour” the batter into candy molds and place them into the refrigerator or freezer to chill. (I used silicone muffin cups filled 1/4 inch)

2B. OR, place the “batter” bowl into the refrigerator or freezer to cool. This takes about 15 minutes in the freezer. When the batter is firm enough to roll into balls, roll bite-size balls in extra shredded coconut and place in single layer on a cookie sheet or 9X13 pan. Place the pan in the refrigerator or freezer to chill. (approximately 15 minutes in the freezer)

3. Finished chocolates will need to stay cool to hold their shape. Enjoy!

Only 6 carbs per chocolate. These are NOT low-fat or reduced-calorie, so best to enjoy these healthy treats with moderation.

Congratulations Marina – Our Ninth and Final Holiday Supplement Giveaway Winner!

Thank you Marina, and all our winners and entrants for participating. It has been wonderful to learn what our readers are doing to stay to healthy through the holidays. All the parties and busyness can be a real challenge. Training for the 5K with my co-worker, Alice, was a great motivator through Thanksgiving. I am looking forward to training with her again for a 10K in the Spring…I’ll keep you posted.

What’s New and Exciting? – Perfect African Mango

I am happy to report that I survived the holidays and my jeans still fit! What’s my secret? Perfect African Mango. I love this supplement! An all-natural, clinically-proven, wild-harvested, and fairly-traded supplement that helps support weight loss? It’s almost too good to be true.

I am one of those lucky people who never worried too much about my weight…until I turned 40. Following a sensible diet with lots of fruit and veggies and whole grains and avoiding junk food (most of the time) was generally all I needed to do. Then at 40, despite training for a marathon, joining weight watchers, reading various diet books, reducing portions, etc, etc, my weight kept creeping up. At only 5’4″, just a few pounds means I need to shop for new jeans.

Maintaining My Weight Is Easy With Perfect African Mango

Is Perfect African Mango the Miracle Pill we have all been waiting for? Probably not. Every body is different…so what works for me might not work for you. I am relieved to not have to worry about my weight anymore. The 50+ participants in the clinical trial were probably pleasantly surprised when they lost an average of 23 more pounds than the placebo group (over a 10 week period). You can read more about the clinical study published in Lipids in Health and Disease (3/2009).

Try Perfect African Mango – Risk Free

For only $23 (plus the cost of shipping), you can try Perfect African Mango for 30 days. If you are not impressed with the results…return the empty bottle for a full refund. To sweeten the deal, here’s a coupon…

10% Off Coupon Code: HappyNewYear

Please come back to this blog and tell me if Perfect African Mango is working for you. Best wishes for a healthy and happy New Year!  Coupon good until the end of January 2012.

Rikki is this week’s Perfect Supplement winner…keep up the good work!

Last Chance – Only Four More Days to Enter to Win Free Perfect Supplements

To celebrate the New Year…let’s think about some small change we can make in our lives to reduce our suffering. Let’s make it a small, do-able change instead of some huge unattainable goal.

For me, I want to get a minimum of 6 hours of sleep every night, and average 7 hours per night over a week’s time. This seems like a reasonable goal to me.

What’s Your Small Change for Personal Health?

Tell us about it in a comment on this blog and receive 1 entry to win a FREE bottle of Perfect Supplements.

Visit us on Facebook, tell us about your small change on our wall, and receive a 2nd entry.

Perfect Supplements Wishes Everyone a Happy and Healthy New Year!

Congratulations Todd Williams – this week’s supplement giveaway winner!

Three more days to enter the giveaway this week…and one more giveaway next week. Weekly Holiday Supplement Giveaway ends 1/6/12.

A Healthy New Year

Perfect Supplements wants to help you achieve your New Year’s Resolutions! Lose weight? Lower cholesterol? Improve your blood glucose levels? We are thrilled to introduce scientifically-proven, all-natural, wild-harvested (grown without pesticides) and fairly-traded Perfect African Mango. Too good to be true? Not according to a double -blind placebo, peer-reviewed study, published on www.PubMed.gov. Perfect Supplements has created a supplement that exactly duplicates the ingredients used in the study and we want everyone to enjoy the health benefits.

Finally, an All-Natural and Scientifically-Proven Weight Loss Supplement

Perfect African Mango – Available from Perfect Supplements in January

Now that is something to celebrate!

Terie is this week’s winner…we are happy to see that someone is still focused on health this holiday season.

Healthy Holidays?

I have to admit that focusing on my health is one of the first things to go when things get busy. It is more challenging to find time for healthy grocery shopping, planning meals, and even getting adequate sleep when there are so many other responsibilities. Exercise? Who’s got the time?

Here’s What I’m Doing

Catch Up on Sleep – This week I stayed up really late a few nights (Christmas cards and online shopping), so last night I went to bed really early.

Crockpot Cooking - This is such a time saver! It doesn’t work for everything, but it is perfect for soups, stews, and sauces…you can even “roast” a whole chicken. This week I browned some locally farmed beef and threw it in the crockpot with Bob’s Red Mill Bean Soup, some chopped carrots and water.  Came home at dinner time to “Dinner is Done!”

Freezing Healthy Food – Looking back on this week’s dinners, I was fortunate to have plenty of healthy food choices because I buy in bulk and freeze healthy staples, such as meat from a small local family farm, Organic Valley’s Pasture Butter, and sour dough bread. This way I don’t have to waste a lot of time with frequent visits to the grocery store.

Family Karate Class - My family enjoys karate classes together. This commitment got me to exercise twice this week, despite the busy holiday season.

Looking back on the week, one healthy thing is missing…getting out for some fresh air. I love hiking through the woods, and really believe in the healing power of nature. I will have to make this a priority this coming week.

Perfect Supplements – Yes, I take my supplements everyday. I have not had a cold or any other virus this season (knock on wood) despite the many sick people around me. Aaahh, the amazing power of healthy food plus superfood supplements.

Holiday Giveaway!

Perfect Supplements  wants everyone to enjoy the benefits of healthy living and superfood supplements. All through the holiday season we are giving away a free bottle of Perfect Supplements every Friday at 2PM. If you haven’t won yet, please try again this week.

It is easy to enter. Simply post a comment to this blog and tell us what you did to stay healthy this week.

Want a second entry? Go to Perfect Supplements Facebook page and tell us what you did to stay healthy on our wall.

Wise Traditions Beginner Video Series

Videos are presented by Sarah Pope, chapter leader and board member of the Weston A. Price Foundation. Enjoy!

And the winner is…Barbara! We will contact you through email.

My First 5K

I did it! Trained and ran my first 5K. Here I am crossing the finish line in under 48 minutes…

That averages out to a 15.5 minute mile…not bad for my first race…and it was a hilly little town, too.

If I Can Do It, You Can Do It

Almost anyone can train and run a 5K. We are only talking about 3 miles. Even at my relatively slow pace, we were done in under an hour. The whole experience was a lot of fun. We ran in the East Greenwich Turkey Trot right after Thanksgiving. There was also a 1 mile fun run for kids. It was a family-friendly event and the proceeds went to benefit the East Greenwich International Food Cupboard.

Here I am with my two daughters, Kristen and Kara, who trained with me, and some of my grandchildren.

Registering for a race is great motivation to get out there and get moving. It is wonderful to share the energy of a bunch people getting together at these events. In the spring we plan to register for a 10K. Woo-hoo!

Free Supplements

Enter to win weekly supplement giveaway by commenting on this blog and/or Perfect Supplements Facebook Page…just tell us what you did to stay healthy this week.

Giving is the Reason for the Season; and here at Perfect Supplements, we are feeling generous. In addition to continuing our Supplements Giveaway through the holidays, we are also teaming up with a great charitable organization.

Holiday Donations

Perfect Supplements proudly announces their partnership with Vitamin Angels, a non-profit dedicated to reducing child mortality worldwide by connecting infants and children with vital nutrients.

Through the month of December, Perfect Supplements will donate $1 for every order.

Holiday Giveaway

Traci is the winner of the Perfect Supplements Giveaway this week.

Thank you to everyone who entered to win. Keep up the good work and continue to tell us what you are doing to stay healthy. The holidays are a good time to counteract all that party food with some Superfoods and Exercise.

Perfect Supplements will select a new winner every Friday at 2PM throughout the holiday season. If you haven’t won yet, please try again next week.

How to Enter the Giveaway?

Simply post a comment to this blog and tell us what you did to stay healthy this week.

Want a second entry? Go to Perfect Supplements Facebook page and tell us what you did to stay healthy on our wall.

Alicia entered the giveaway through Facebook and has been contacted with a message through Facebook.

Thank you to everyone who entered to win. It is so great to read what everyone is doing to stay healthy. Perfect Supplements employee, sixty-four year old Alice, ran her first 5K today with a 15 minute mile pace…nice work Alice! We’ll tell you all about it in a separate post later in the week. The holidays are a good time to counteract all that party food with some Superfoods and Exercise. Perfect Supplements wants to help you stay healthy too.

Perfect Supplements will select a new winner every Friday at 2PM throughout the holiday season. If you haven’t won yet, please try again next week.

How to Enter the Giveaway?

Simply post a comment to this blog and tell us what you did to stay healthy this week.

Want a second entry? Go to Perfect Supplements Facebook page and tell us what you did to stay healthy on our wall.

Perfect Supplements is happy to announce our Biggest Sale Ever! 35% off of EVERY Perfect Supplement, ALL Weekend through Monday!

While you are stocking up on all your favorite Perfect Supplements, don’t forget to stop by our Health Blog and post a comment to enter our FREE Supplement Giveaway!

Post a comment on Perfect Supplements Facebook Wall for a second chance to win.