During these two weeks I’ve baked and prepared the “bloom with food” products for the tennis event at my hometown tennis club Nordstrand. They arranged it this week and I wanted to contribute with healthy yet tasty products for the tennis players of the event. From my own experience, I know that the market is offering bars and sugary treats with conservatives and additives that is no good for you. Therefore, I wanted the oat bars, energy balls, banana muffins and raw cakes to be “pure” with only natural ingredients without any refined white sugar. I’m passionate about nutrition and my purpose behind “bloom with food” is that you will get fuel to perform.
I never expected the concept to come to life, but I believe when you are driven by purpose and passion things happen. So in this occasion, I suddenly ended up baking 150 oat bars for the tennis participants of the tennis event. They each got one in their goodie/welcoming bag for entering the tournament. This oat bar or flapjack was a perfect snack for them to eat before, during or after match, as the ingredients contain lots of fiber, healthy fats and good carbs in order to keep their blood sugar at check. As an athlete myself, I know how important it is to stay energized throughout my performance, there’s no fun if you end up hungry or moody if you haven’t fueled your body right!
On sports events in Norway, we have a culture of eating hamburgers, pizzas, baking pastries, cakes and ice creams and as a kid this is what you are growing up to get accustomed to. However, I wanted to change and influence with some new impulses by these healthier choices offered by “bloom with food” products I made. The philosophy is that you can enjoy while still perform. The banana muffins, energy balls and raw cakes are without any refined sugar, it’s without any artificial sweetener or additives. I was so lucky to be sponsored by “Sticky Fingers” with the ingredients. Those were of high quality, only the best! With medjool dates from Israel, vanilla bean from Tahiti, dark chocolate from Belgium, ecological peanut butter and the list goes on. I also wanted to make everything homemade, so I made the tahini or sesame butter from scratch and as well with the hazelnut butter. This was used for the oat bar and energy ball for extra flavor. As a whole, I care about what you put in your body, no matter if you are a kid, athlete or adult. It’s so important about taking care about your well being. When you do, you will bloom with food as the brand I have created is all about.
That’s why I made action with these “bloom with food” products to influence others into making better eating habits and choices. I’m going to be honest, it’s a challenge when it comes to what foods you are used to eat and then going for something healthier instead. Humans are habitual creatures, who doesn’t seek change. But this will totally be worth it, what I only hope is for us to be more open minded, introduce ourselves to something we are not quite used to with at first but implementing it in harmony as life is all about balance. I hope this inspires you to take some healthier food choices and that you become more aware of what you put in your body.
You might be curious about the ingredients I used, behind the scenes scenarios and how the “bloom with food” products looked like? So below I will share pictures from the baking process , the finishing products and from the tennis event:)
I introduce you the oat bar or more known as flapjack!
Ingredients:
Gluten-free oats, tahini, medjool dates, honey, coconut oil, raisins, pumpkin seeds, almonds.
Onwards to our next candidate, energy balls everyone
Ingredients:
Medjool dates, vegan Nutella (homemade hazelnut butter with melted Belgian dark chocolate), gluten-free oats, shredded coconut, salt.
Next we have banana muffins that has no refined sugar, what?!
Ingredients:
Ripe bananas, peanut butter, vegan eggs, oat milk, whole wheat flour, cinnamon, baking powder.
Lastly, we top it off with raw cake deliciousness!
I served 4 different raw cakes to make flavors interesting! One was with raspberry jam, vanilla cream, decorated with cacao nibs and caramelized nuts. Second one was raspberry topped with coconut flakes. Third one was chocolate and vanilla cream with fresh raspberries. And forth one was vanilla and chocolate cream with cacao nibs and caramelized nuts on top. Which one is your favorite? Comment below:)
Ingredients:
Gluten-free oats, medjool dates, almonds, peanut butter, coconut oil, maple syrup, cacao powder, coconut cream, soaked cashews, vanilla bean and essence, raspberries, cacao nibs, walnut, pecan nuts, coconut oil, salt.
I want to thank you “Sticky Fingers” and Nordstrand Tennisklubb for making it possible for me to launch the products at the event. Maybe this is the beginning of something great, who knows.
With love and care, Melanie x
Bloom with food 