My guess, if I were to guess, which I am pretty good at guessing so here I go…

My guess is that it has been way too damn long. But I totally understand why, you grow up learning that marshmallows are a treat and only to be eaten on occasion.

Mostly because they were loaded with sugar and chemicals that parents knew shouldn’t be eaten even on occasion. But, there were no other options, what’s a mom to do?

While I am not suggesting that you replace a balanced diet of fresh veggies and hearty and nutrient-dense sources of fat and protein with marshmallows, I am suggesting that you replace your diet with marshmallows and join me for a mallow fast.

You in?

Just kidding, sort of…

Marshmallows ARE Good For You

Okay, enough jokes.

Here’s the truth, marshmallows, when made with real food ingredients are incredibly good for you! There is not one ingredient in here that could not be tolerated by a healthy human.

Not only that, the ingredients all have medicinal and healing qualities — as all real, whole foods would. The ingredient list is gorgeously appetizing and curing:

Anti-inflammatory, soothing marshmallow root, grass-fed collagen and gelatin from healthy and happy cows, organic and local, immune-boosting raw honey, and aromatic, amative fresh ground vanilla bean. 

All of these ingredients together form a delectable, childhood treat that medicinal works to heal the gut, boost the immune system, repair and rejuvenate skin, joint and muscle tissues, balance blood-sugar, nourish the thyroid and adrenals, and even work as an amazing sleep tonic!

A beauty supplement, health tonic and snack all in one? It sounds too good to be true, but it’s really not. We’re not dealing with chemical kiddy gummy vitamin’s here, These are fresh, real foods from nature with all the intentions of nourishing your body.

Making “Upgraded” Marshmallows

I cannot take full credit for this recipe as both Dave Asprey from the Bulletproof Diet and my amazingly inspiring friends at Three Lily Farm are the ones who inspired me. I can take credit for producing an amazing final product though!

I also like to think I prepared each ingredient with so much love that I can offer you a few new ideas to take with you. Such as letting your self enjoy foods you love! One thing I have been loving doing over the past year is recreating childhood foods and transforming junk-food into health-food.

If you’re up to the miracle, then let me show you how I made mine!

Here’s what you’ll need:

• A electric mixer (doing this by hand won’t work, unless you’re reading to whip for an hour and are down with possible tendentious)
• A 9×12 in. glass pyrex baking dish
• Parchment paper
• 3 cups of water
• 2 cups of raw honey or maple syrup.
• 2 tablespoons organic marshmallow root
• 6 tablespoons grass-fed gelatin
• 1 tsp of fresh, ground Vanillamax
• *Side note- you can add just about anything to these. I made a Bulletproof Coffee flavored batch by swapping the marshmallow tea for fresh brewed Bulletproof Coffee. You could add almond extract, cacao, peppermint, cinnamon or essentially anything you want for a fancy and inventive marshmallow. For now, let’s get you rolling with the traditional!

Here’s how you make them:

1. First things first, take your 3 cups of water and make a tea with the marshmallow root. Simply, bring the water to a boil, add in the marshmallow root then steep on a low simmer for 20 minutes to make a decoction.
2. Next, in a large glass mixing bowl (get a big one because the mixture will grow 3 times it’s size) add 1 cup of the tea mixture to 6 tablespoons of gelatin and your vanilla and mix slowly. Do this until it’s thickened up a bit into a gel.
3. Now with what is left of the tea (should have reduced down to about 1 cup) pour in your sweetener and mix together. If using raw honey, leave it in the mixture just long enough to mix the tea with the honey. If using maple syrup, you will want to reduce it down some. So you will leave it in a bit longer until it’s a thicker consistency. Be sure to stir slowly and continuously through this process.
4. Once the sweetener and tea mixture is ready, while mixing the gelatin and tea, slowly pour the sweetener in.
5. From this point, you will just be mixing for about 5-10 minutes looking to achieve a fluff — what would resemble a sort of marshmallow jet-puff whip.
6. When your mixture is light and fluffy you’re good to go!
7. Finally, line your baking dish with parchment paper, using a rubber spatula, pour the fluff into your glass dish. Store it in the fridge for about 3 hours and boom! Fluffy bunnies.
8. I’ll add one last step, get some roasting sticks, a bon fire and roast those puppies over some acoustic sing a longs! If you’re confused as what to get your father for fathers day, I say make him the friends/fam a big ole batch of these and if you don’t have a fire pit, get one! The best kind’s of gifts are always experiences, the best kind of experiences are usually ones you can eat too

Coming to you tomorrow, homemade BodyEcology style graham crackers! That’s right folks, s’mores! All you’ll need is these marshmallows, some of your finest raw chocolate and the grahams I’ll be whipping up today and posting tomorrow!

Enjoy and stay tuned!

There’s really nothing “wrong” about a cracker. Same with dark chocolate (at least this is what I tell myself). But honestly, what’s gone wrong with food is the processing and preparation of it. We should be able to enjoy delicious foods without the guilt and we can.

The secret? Making them yourself.

That is exactly why I started this blog — to empower you. Whether I am posting a blog about life, spirituality or crackers, it’s all with the same purpose, I want to empower you to be more self reliant. Yes, crackers can do that.

With this simple recipe you will move from cracker consumer to connoisseur in no time. These crackers are incredibly simple to make, quicker than you’d expect, cost-effective and most importantly f*@king delicious.

Savory Sunflower Seed Crackers

The Benefits: 

• Light and Energized– Chia seeds rich in calcium, phosphorus, magnesium and manganese. All of these nutrients help prevent hypertension, maintain ideal weight, and aid metabolism, which is what extracts energy from food.
• Strong and Youthful- Grassfed butter is one of the few sources fat soluable vitamins. Despite the bad reputation of animal products, they provide the most absorbable sources of vitamin K2, vitamin A, and vitamin D. It also comes packed with cholesterol, which is actually a powerful antioxidant and hormone builder. All of these fat soluble nutrients are the building blocks of our hormones. Without cholesterol, saturated fat and these fat soluble vitamins we would age rapidly.
• Relaxed and Calm– Sunflower seeds are a great source of magnesium. This mineral is touted for naturally relaxing the muscles and calming the nerves. It’s a crucial mineral thats used to maintain healthy blood pressure, energy production, balance calcium for strong bones and many many more bodily functions. Got a headache? Magnesium. Constipated? Magnesium. Muscle cramps? Magnesium. Basically, insufficient magnesium levels can cause all sorts of stress-related symptoms. I couldn’t advocate more the important of getting enough of this mineral. The best choices are always food sources; leafy greens, raw cacao, mackerel, avocados, millet, and of course seeds such as sunflower seeds are amongst the highest sources of magnesium. Though these crackers pack a great dosage of this wonderful mineral, it’s also wise to supplement with a quality magnesium supplement, as many farmed soils are lacking it. My favorite is CALM — it’s delicious and highly absorbable.

What you’ll need:

To make these delicious crackers only takes a few simple ingredients. I suggest buying them all in bulk as it is highly cost-effective and you can make so much for so little. These are great to have on hand to keep you from indulging on overpriced manufactured crackers that don’t have any real nutrition.

• 1 lb of raw organic sunflower seeds
• 1/2 cup of organic flax seeds
• 1/4 cup of organic chia seeds
• 2 tbsp of grass-fed butter (preferably raw/cultured) *substitute with ghee for lactose and casein free option
• 1 tsp of thyme
• 1 tsp basil
• 2 gloves of garlic
• 1 tbsp REAL sea salt

To make:

• First, sprout your sunflower seeds the night before you want to bake these. To do this, simply place your sunflower seeds in a big glass bowl, add water to cover and some sea salt. Let sit on the counter overnight. In the morning, strain and rinse them.
• Preheat oven to 350 F
• Let the chia and flax soak in enough water to cover them and no more. Within a few minutes they will have started to gel. Once they do, add in your sunflower seeds — you will need a rather large bowl to mix in.
• Once the seeds are all mixed together, add the seasoning.
• Melt the butter in a pan, mince the garlic and add once the butter is melted. Brown the garlic but careful not to burn.
• Once garlic is browned, strain the butter into the seed mixture. This creates a “garlic butter” that really makes the crackers pop-off like a little part in your mouth. Not to mention, you get the added health benefits of the butter!
• Once the butter is in the mix, you will need to grease a large baking sheet with butter or coconut oil. Pour the seed mixture onto the dish and spread evenly (reference the photo for an idea of what it should look like).
• Bake for 35 minutes or until the top has started to brown. Using another baking dish or cutting board, place it over the dish and flip and bake the other side.
• Once you have flipped the sheet of crackers you should have the softer side up. Use this time to cut the crackers into desired size. Then lower heat to 200 F and bake until desired crispiness.

That’s all folks! Enjoy these delicious, sugar-free, gluten-free, completely guilt-free and nourishing crackers with your favorite guac recipe or however you’d like.