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Growing up with a Lebanese mother, food, cooking and eating were an integral part of Janella Purcell’s childhood. The problem was Janella felt she was always overweight and didn’t have great health. It wasn’t until her early 20’s that Janella decided to change her diet and in turn, her life. With many changes made along the way Janella’s health improved and she was able to find a happy place with her weight. It wasn’t long before a combination of new diet choices, food intolerance and a natural curiosity with the desire to learn more, that Janella decided to study Naturopathy and Nutrition.
Janella has also studied Traditional Chinese Medicine and Transformation Kinesiology and has a deep interest in Ayurvedic and Japanese healing philosophies.
With all of this knowledge behind her, Janella now educates others on how to cook, shop and eat without using red or white meat, refined sugar, carbohydrates and fats, or anything artificial or processed. Yep, it is possible to have a great tasting diet that’s good for you!
We are super stoked to have Janella as this month’s Featured Friend and for her to share one of her amazing recipes.
To view the full Featured Friend Interview click here!
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Ingredients
- 1 cup pitted dates, or dried figs
- 1 cup almonds
- 1/2 cup pumpkin seeds
- 1/4 cup hemp seeds
- 1/4 cup Lifestream spirulina
- 1/4 cup sunflower seeds
- 1/3 cup cacao nibs
- 1/2 cup coconut shredded
- 2 Tbsp maca powder
- 1/4 cup coconut oil
- 1 tsp cardamom, ground
- 1 tsp cinnamon, ground
- 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
Method
- Cover the dried fruit, nuts and seeds in clean water and soak for at least 8 hours, which softens them up. I soak them in the morning and then make these later in the day or overnight and do them in the morning.
- After soaking, rinse them in a colander and let them drain.
- Place the soaked dried fruit and nuts/seeds in your food processor and whiz for a minute to get a chunky paste.
- Add in the remaining ingredients. You may need to add a little water to get it to a nice puree, scraping down the sides once or twice. At this point you should have a thick paste that kind of looks like granola. If it’s too dry, add in 1/4 cup more coconut oil and process again. The processing will heat the coconut oil enough to help it blend everything else together.
- You could also make these into bite-sized balls or scoop the mixture out into a large glass pan and press it down firmly with a spoon to even everything out.
- Freeze for 30 minutes or refrigerate for one hour to harden the bars or balls If you make these as bars, cut them with a knife and package them individually.
Notes
- These will keep for one week in the fridge and 1 month in the freezer.
- Variation: add chia and flax meal, goji berries.
- This is a recipe from Tommy’s Blog Post: Featured Friend Interview: Janella Purcell
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Equipment
- Vitamix Blender
- Spatula
- Large Glass Pan
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Makes
1 Large Slice
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Serves
10
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Overall