From the USANA Test Kitchen: We Have a Winner!
We asked, you delivered.
We asked for your healthy recipes featuring USANA Nutrimeal, and we received over 100 responses. Wow!!
The goal of our recipe contest was to discover some flavor ideas and combinations to combat flavor fatigue for those of you who are participating in Destination Transformation. You are more likely to keep going and finish out the next few weeks strong if you have some new flavors to add to your healthy eating regime.
Tough Decisions
Our recipe contest panel (Ashley Collins, Camille Fletcher, Teresa Elias, Jessica Reimer, Jessica Whiting, Melissa Fields, and myself. Dr. Susan Kleiner reviewed nutritional information.) narrowed all of the entries down to eight, then narrowed them down to the top three. We had a final recipe tasting Friday with special guest judges — Dr. Mehmet Oz and Dave Wentz. Seriously. Check it out:
The Winner Is…
Congratulations to Pauline Van Der Velden for her winning Sweet Nutri-Treats. This was the unanimous winner among our recipe contest panel, and Dr. Oz and Dave. See for yourself:
[youtube]http://youtu.be/66-KRIk0SjU[/youtube]
If you are unable to view this video, please visit the USANA YouTube channel.
The Recipe
SWEET NUTRI-TREATS
Ingredients
1/2 cup organic brown rice syrup
1/4 cup organic agave syrup
3 scoops vanilla Nutrimeal
1 teaspoons vanilla extract
Pinch of sea salt
2 tablespoons chia seeds
2 tablespoons flax seeds
1/2 cup pumpkin seeds
1/2 cup sunflower seeds
1/2 cup sesame seeds
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup dried, sweetened cranberries
2 – 2 1/2 cups chopped nuts — I used 2 cups of pecans and almonds.
Optional: 1/2 cup unsweetened coconut ribbons — I could not find unsweetened coconut, so I omitted it.
Directions
Bring syrups to a gentle boil, stirring often. Remove from heat.
Using a whisk, stir in vanilla, salt, and Nutrimeal.
With a large spoon or spatula, stir in other ingredients until well combined.
Pour into an oiled 8×8 pan. With a greased spatula, pack down mixture into the pan.
Let cool, or refrigerate for a quick set.
Cut into small bars. Store in a cool place.
*Pauline suggested trying different dried fruit for variety: cherries, blueberries, currants, chopped dates, apricots.
Congratulations Also Go To…
Our 2nd place winner is Glenn Bailey, with his Nuts for You Energy Bites. These were easy to make and delicious. My kids loved them, which means I am making another batch this week.
Our 3rd place winner is Amy Pederson, with her Vanilla or Chocolate Nutrimeal Muffins. I used French Vanilla Nutrimeal. The batter for these muffins is so light and fluffy. Next time, I will add more cinnamon.
Shake Winners
With so many entries, we decided to make shakes their own category. We received a lot of creative recipes. Here top two shake recipes were Megan Wilson‘s Strawberry Summer Sensation, so refreshing with cucumber and basil, and Debbie Michalski‘s Sweet Surprise, with Goji berries and Maca powder.
All recipes will be posted on our RESET Facebook Page.
Thank you to all who participated. We are energized by your creativity, and had a lot of fun. We hope you did, too.
Now it’s your turn: which of these recipes are you going to try? What is your current favorite flavor combination?
*Photos by Raji Barbir, USANA Health Sciences
Congratulations to all the winners. My friend Deb Anderson and I entered with banana pancakes and thought they were delicious. If these beat our pancakes I certainly can’t wait to try them. Thank you for sharing
Note from Dr.Kleiner – for help in digesting flax seeds and getting all their nutrients, try grinding them up first. Or you can purchase flax meal and keep it refrigerated. Also, to lower the sugar and fat, instead of adding chocolate chips, try rolling the finished recipe in cacao powder.
These look wonderful. However the recipes are cut off on the FB page. Missing the last ingredient for the Strawberry Summer Sensation and the muffin recipe’s How To is also cut off. Wah!!! lol
Congratulations to the winners! I wish I could have been here for the tasting. They all sound delicious. Thank you to everyone who participated! There were some very creative recipes.