Extraordinary Health Magazine EH Magazine VOl 33_Final | Page 41

One reason Rachel’s fans respond so positively to her personal story. The healthy recipe guru has written in her blog, “Everyone’s body is different. We cannot compare ourselves. It sets us up for failure.” She wasn’t always happy with her body or her diet­­—but set out to change that beginning in college. “I have a sweet tooth and if I want to have something sweet every day, I can’t eat real cream and flour all the time,” she said. “Regarding health in general, people are realizing they need to start paying attention to what they put in their bodies.” A Garden of Life® brand advocate, Mansfield calls herself a Garden of Life groupie. Like so many others, she was first a consumer when she discovered the products. She posted on Instagram and asked her followers if they’d tried the products. They responded with a resounding yes. Mansfield tried several Garden of Life products and says she “became obsessed. “My readers and I get amazing results and a lot of people say they didn’t even know about Garden of Life, so it’s nice to introduce the brand to everyone,” said Mansfield, who though not pregnant, takes the mykind Organics Prenatal Gummy along with Vitamin Code® Vitamin D3, and Dr. Formulated Probiotics. “Every time I finish a bottle of probiotics, I switch to another one.” Her recipes include lots of Garden of Life Coconut Oil and Raw Organics Chia Seed ™ —she makes a tasty chia seed pudding—and go-to breakfast recipes are a favorite of hers. Many are recipes that home cooks can prepare overnight for the next morning which helps make them some of her best-read recipes. FLUFFY VEGAN PANCAKES (GLUTEN-FREE) YIELDS 8 SMALL PANCAKES INGREDIENTS 1 cup oat flour (spelt flour or gluten-free works too!) 1 Tablespoon baking powder 1 cup almond milk (or any milk!) 2 Tablespoons liquid coconut oil 3 Tablespoons Garden of Life Organic Plant Protein (unflavored) 1 teaspoon vanilla extract DIRECTIONS Heat a large skillet with coconut oil or butter and stay on medium/low heat. In a large bowl add all the pancake ingredients together and mix well so there are no clumps. “One of these dishes is made with rolled uncooked oats, nut milk, three tablespoons chia seeds, protein powder, nuts and blueberries—you just let sit overnight and it makes this creamy porridge,” she said. “You can heat it up and add some granola or berries, plus chia and flax seeds add great nutritional value and are good to sprinkle on everything.” Let the batter sit for a couple minutes to thicken then begin adding about 3 tablespoons of batter per pancake to the skillet (my skillet fits about 3 pancakes at a time). Cook on each side for about 3 minutes or until ready to flip. One of Mansfield’s favorite products is Garden of Life Organic Plant Protein powder. She uses it in her fluffy vegan pancakes, which she prefers because it is a flavorless protein powder, plant- based and grain-free. She also uses the protein powder in one of her favorite cookie recipes. *Will stay good in the fridge for a week or you can freeze these for longer! Repeat until all batter is gone and enjoy with your favorite toppings! I used nut butter, granola and some coconut yogurt. Mansfield’s blogging journey began at her first job out of college, which she admits was not stimulating. She needed to figure out what worked for her and made her feel her best. Experimenting in her kitchen developed into a career and today is her full-time job. Now she will have an opportunity to share her message with an even bigger audience. At the time of this writing, she had just signed a deal with Penguin Random House imprint Clarkson Potter for her debut cookbook. Discover Rachel Mansfield’s recipes and encouragement towards wellness online at rachlmansfield.com Vol 33 • Extraordinary Health ™ 39