Holiday Promenade – East Village Spa Blog

Top 5 reasons to visit the spa during Promenade

The East Village’s annual holiday kick-off is THIS FRIDAY, November 17th. Thanksgiving is crazy early this year so we’ll get an additional week of holiday festivities before Christmas. As always we plan fun events for the Promenade and encourage you to stop up and say hello! Here are our top 5 reasons to stop up this year!

TREATS! Our friend Anne at Shade Tree Bakery is creating gingerbread cake parfait cups for us. Be one of the first up to make sure you get one. She’s a genius with baked goods.
DRINKS! I’ll be making my spiced cranberry hot toddies. Cranberry, cinnamon, cloves, orange, and a splash of Jameson to warm your body and spirit.
BLENDS! Kelly and Molly will help you craft perfectly blended gifts at our aromatherapy blending bar so you can give a homemade gift that is customized for everyone on your list. Enjoy 20% off of all custom blended lotions, body scrubs, body mists, bath salts, and bubble baths.
MENU UNVEILING: We’ll debut our December and January seasonal menu at the event…need a hint? The menu pairs perfectly with our treats for the evening.
GIFT CARD SALE! As Always, we’ll be kicking off our annual gift card sale on Friday. For every $100 in gift cards purchased in the spa (excludes online) you’ll get a FREE $20 voucher good for regularly priced services in 2018. The sale goes through 12/23, but it is best to shop early to avoid the lines.

P.S. A secret 6th reason? We have restrooms our customers can use between all of the Promenade stops for holiday cheer and merriment. A perk of being part of the East Village Spa family!

Healthy Holiday Cookie Make-Overs: Part 2

Yesterday I shared my favorite healthy holiday cookie, a vegan, gluten free, paleo friendly Pecan Sandy. Today I’m going to share yummy and healthier version of chocolate bark and buckeyes. Both are easily customized to your preferences too!

My friend Renae shared with me her favorite monster cookie protein ball recipe. It was easy to adapt into a protein ball that was healthier, AND to dip into dark chocolate for a buckeye that had lots of protein and fiber, win-win!

Protein Ball Buckeyes

Ingredients:

1 c. old fashioned or quick oats

1/2 c. natural peanut butter (I use one of the easier-to spread versions like Jif)

1/4 c. honey (local if you can-if making vegan, you can use agave)

1 scoop vanilla whey powder (if making vegan, look for a vanilla flavored vegan protein powder)

1/3 c. ground flax seed/chia seed blend or 1/4-1/3 c. flax or chia seeds (optional)

Dark chocolate for melting and dipping (I used the large dark chocolate bars from Zoet, found at Hyvee)

Combine all above, I found that starting with the peanut butter and honey, then adding the dry ingredients a bit at a time was best. If you can’t quite get them sticky enough to form a ball, add a bit more peanut butter or honey at a time. You’ll need to mix with your hands eventually.

Roll into balls, then place on waxed or parchment paper. To be honest, they are delicious at this point without being chocolate dipped. You can store then in the freezer for a quick protein snack or breakfast this way or continue with the next step.

Melt chocolate squares in microwaveable bowl about 30-45 seconds at a time and stir each time until just melted.

Drop a ball into the chocolate and roll until it is covered, then remove with a spoon and place onto the wax paper. Do this until all protein balls are covered in the dark chocolate, stopping to re-soften the chocolate or add more squares as needed.

Place into fridge to harden faster.

Store in fridge or freezer, depending on how quickly you’ll eat these. (Warning, it might be pretty quick-I had to tell my husband to back-off because they were so good).

The finished protein buckeyes, ready for sampling at the Promenade (unless my husband finds them first).

While these protein buckeyes do have more fiber, nutrients, and protein than regular buckeyes, do note they are certainly not low calorie and are ideal for active lifestyles or a grab and go breakfast replacement!

Be sure to visit the spa this Friday for the Holiday Promenade to sample these and a few other holiday cookie healthy makeovers! 🙂

A Healthy Twist on a Classic Holiday Cookie: Pt. 1

I’m a sucker for holiday cookies, candies, bars, you name it. I also love finding recipes for healthier versions of said treats to find perfect recipes to please diverse crowds, from those who love decadent desserts to people who are vegan, gluten free, or have other dietary limitations. This year, I decided to make several healthier versions of classic holiday cookies to serve at our Holiday Promenade event, along with recipes, to inspire others to be creative.

Sometimes my experimentation leads to hilarious cookie fails. Last night one of my cookies had maybe one-too-many healthy substitutions and was deemed by my taste testers as “So bad that if you serve this at Holiday Promenade, you will RUIN Holiday Promenade.” My husband even asked if I made it with potatoes. This explains why my dog that eats anything in sight didn’t try to get the pan off the counter. And I just thought he was being good!

To save our Promenade guests from fails or substitution headaches, I’ll only be serving really yummy treats taste-tested by my picky friends made with easy-to-fi
nd ingredients. This is one of my long-time favorites: Healthy Pecan Sandies.

Pecan Sandies (Gluten Free, Vegan, Paleo, Possibility of being raw)

Ingredients:

1 c. pitted dates

2 c. chopped pecans (use raw if making this as a raw cookie)

zest of half an orange.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line a baking sheet with a piece of parchment paper. Process pecans in a food processor until finely ground. Add pitted dates and orange zest. Process until the mixture starts to pull away from the side and makes a coarse “dough”

Pecan Sandy cookie dough after it has been processed

Roll into walnut sized balls on prepared cookie sheet and press a pecan half into each while flattening slightly. They can be placed close together as they will not spread while baking. Bake at 325 for 12-15 minutes or until bottoms brown slightly. Cool before eating (or they’ll fall apart!)

Pecan sandies ready for the oven (they look the same coming out of the oven!)

To make a raw version, make sure you purchase raw pecans (easy to find in health food stores or Trader Joes) and don’t bake your cookies, but prepare them and freeze in a single layer so they hold their shape. Eat out of the freezer as they’ll crumble as they warm to room temp if you haven’t baked them.

Stay tuned for more healthy holiday treats recipes this week!