BY SANDRA GUY

Chicago South Side native Floyd Webb, a filmmaker known for starting the Blacklight Film Festival four decades ago, calls himself an “AARP-generation success story” for reinvigorating his career at age 70.

Webb was shooting a feature film in New York and editing a pitch for a movie about 1930s-era Black Chicago Air Force Pilot John Robinson when he carved out time for this Sun-Times interview.

The film he is producing — “Legally Drugged” — is based on Richard Schneeberg’s book about a Brooklyn man who survives homelessness and mental-health challenges to emerge as a multimillionaire real-estate mogul. The movie he’s pitching is about “The Black Condor” John Robinson, an airman who helped start the Ethiopian Air Force at the invitation of then Emperor Haile Selassi, the Ethiopian Airlines and the Tuskegee Airmen Flight School.

Webb also works as a consultant. One of the films on which he consulted with filmmaker-animator Paul Louise-Juli, an African space opera titled “Yohance,” has been accepted in the Cannes Film Festival and taken on by the French company, Federation MEAC.

If that weren’t enough, the South African team that Webb has been working with on a dramatic film and documentary about Yasuke, an African warrior who went to Japan and fought in the war to unify that nation, has completed the first volume of a comic book to promote the Netflix 2025 project. Web has done consulting and historical research with Mandla Dube, a favorite director of Netflix Africa.

BLACKLIGHT FESTIVAL RELOAD

Webb is also raising money for the Blacklight Festival RELOAD, a three-day event Oct. 17-20 at Chicago Filmmakers, 1326 W. Hollywood Ave. The event — part of Chicago Filmmakers’ 50th anniversary — aims to engage a new generation of filmmakers by exhibiting new film works and presenting a summit to explore volumetric cinema, interactive fiction, virtual and augmented reality, the use of artificial intelligence, the future of storytelling in cinema and the latest in black video game development, content and design.

Webb can identify with his protagonists. He grew up in the Harold J. Ickes housing project at 23rd and State streets on Chicago’s Near South Side, moved to Fort Benning, Georgia, when his father, Vietnam War veteran Bernie Webb, moved the family there for one year when Webb started high school. When the family returned to Chicago, Webb attended and was graduated from Proviso East High School in Maywood.

It just so happened that, in the late 1960s and early 1970s, Proviso East was embroiled in race riots.

“I became part of a radical leftist anti-racist clique,” Webb said. “We published an underground newspaper called Gideon’s Babble, and opposed the school administration’s dress codes and discriminatory practices. We were mostly students in the top 10 percent of our class.”

That time proved auspicious, too, because Webb’s father returned from Vietnam with a Super-8 movie camera that Webb used to film the school protests and anti-war demonstrations.

Webb’s other teen-aged revelation was seeing the late Chicago native Melvin Van Peeble’s “Story of the Pass” film on WTTW-TV’s Friday night program, “Foreign Cinema.” The 1967 film was based on Van Peeble’s French-language novel La Permission. It starred Harry Baird as a Black American soldier who is demoted for fraternizing with a white shop clerk in France.

“The film just blew me away,” Webb said. “It showed so much technique, the story was authentic and relevant, the acting was brilliant. … I didn’t know that Van Peebles was Black until years later.”

A MOTHER’S SMARTS

Webb’s mother, Carolyn Webb, played a key role in Webb’s life, too. After Webb was the target of a robbery, his mother put a stop to his daily childhood pickup work, which ranged from selling JET magazine for the nearby Johnson Publishing; 25-cents-per-chore jobs sweeping the press room at “Muhammad Speaks,” the Nation of Islam’s newspaper, and delivering sandwiches for the Jewish deli across the street; and $1 pay for helping musicians carry their instruments up the back stairs to the studio at Chess Records, then at 2120 S. Michigan Ave.

His mother, who grew up as a “country girl” in Jonestown, Mississippi, went on to work in an automotive factory as a United Auto Workers (UAW) member, making enough money to buy the family a house in west suburban Maywood. His maternal grandmother, Portia Phipps-Miller, had trained to be a schoolteacher at the Tuskegee Institute (now Tuskegee University in Alabama), the first institution of higher learning for African-Americans. So Webb’s mother encouraged him and his sister to read.

“I was reading when I was 4 years old,” Webb said. “When I got my first library card at age 6, my mom allowed me and my sister to walk to the mobile library.”

AFRICAN JOURNEY

By age 20, Webb was ready to explore the world in the same way he had explored his neighborhood — and his experiences with racism spurred him to go to Africa.

He started his journey in Tanzania by way of New York, an Icelandair flight to Reykjavik and then on to Germany to visit his uncle. He ended up in Paris, working in a darkroom and practicing flute at the American Center on Bly Raspail. The American center at that time was a haven for expatriate Black artists. Webb became part of the community of artists and blues, classical and jazz musicians like Chicago Beau, Oliver Lake, Baikida Carrol, Noah Howard, Joseph Bowie and Anthony Braxton.

“I even ran into the Cuban Abstract artist Wilfreo Lam there,” Webb said. “James Baldwin held court in the Cafe Select some afternoons, not far from the American Center. I would sit listening, 20 years old and too shy to speak, and with a stutter that I had back then.”

In London, he worked for a photo agency and took a bus to Marrakesh, Morocco, and then traveled in Algeria and Tunisia before reaching his destination in Tanzania.

“It frustrated me that I didn’t have anyone to support me in opening a photo studio,” Webb said, noting that he knew white peers whose families gave them major investments to start their own businesses.

“I started with $1,000 to $3,000 jobs,” he said. “I had no overhead. I could rent a studio to do the work. You figure out how to work from where you are, instead of being angry.”

“I had a wanderlust and left the country as a photojournalist after I became a member of the American Society of Magazine Photographers (ASMP),” Webb said. He intended to cover the African Liberation Movement in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania.

There were few independent Black filmmakers in America at that time.

“I had the successful example of Gordon Parks, a great photographer who became a great director with his film, the Learning Tree (1968), and who later became a good friend and supporter,” Webb said. “I met documentary filmmaker St. Clair Bourne in New York. He introduced me into his circle, and that got me started as a filmmaker.”

Webb took buses and hitchhiked through Africa —Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and Zaire.

“I didn’t know enough to be scared,” he said.

INDEPENDENT FILM REBIRTH

Webb returned to the United States in 1976, when a renaissance in Black independent filmmaking was brewing behind the decline of Black action genre films, aka “Blaxploitation.”

He joined the Chicago Filmmakers, made an experimental film, “Flesh/Metal/Wood,” and joined the Black Filmmakers Foundation, a New York-based group that distributed the work of Black independent filmmakers such as Spike Lee, Warrington Hudlin, Julie Dash, Roy Campanella II and Charles Burnett.

Webb decided to organize his own festival of Black films, curating 20 films from throughout the world. He now operates his own streaming channel at blackness.tv and distributes his own films through blacknussnetwork.com.

OPENING DOORS TO GREATNESS

Judith McCray, president of Juneteenth Productions and a senior professional in residence at DePaul’s College of Communication who serves as faculty advisor to the college’s Association of Black Journalists (DUABJ), described Webb as “a powerful force for good in Chicago filmmaking.

“He’s opened doors to opportunities for people of color in the city’s vast production scene, while also introducing films and documentaries produced by African American filmmakers of earlier eras to diverse audiences long before it was popular to do so,” McCray said. “And, throughout, he has stayed in the game with the best of intentions and good humor.”

Webb invited McCray more than 10 years ago to participate in a panel discussion of the Blacklight screening of the film “The Spook Who Sat By the Door,” an adaptation of the book of the same name by the late Sam Greenlee. Many of McCray’s films are available on Webb’s streaming channel – blacknuss.tv – honoring her company’s 25th anniversary in June 2022: https://blacknuss.tv/programs/juneteenth-productions.

Before COVID started, Webb took time off for two-and-a-half years to care for his father, who suffered from prostate cancer and long-term effects of Agent Orange, a herbicide used in the Vietnam War to clear vegetation for battle. His father died in rehab in May 2020 after he had contracted the COVID virus.

Webb’s advice to today’s aspiring artists includes:

• Give yourself as many experiences as you can.
• Develop your craft by maximizing your skills, including using the latest technologies. Webb’s tech skills include film editing, motion graphics and desktop publishing.
• A niche audience is important. It’s about being authentic and, when necessary, uncompromising.
• Join like-minded groups that help you stay relevant and up-to-date. Webb is part of technology-centric think-tank groups comprising everyone from startups to successful entrepreneurs to big companies.

“I’ve been part of a yearly meeting of one cohort of 250 people who have an ‘un-conference,’” he said. “Those meetings are so useful. Being probably the oldest person there, I always hope I have as much to give as I get from being with so many smart younger people. It keeps me fresh and alive.”

————–

Photo by Leslie Jean-Bart 
https://www.realityimagination.com/

BY SANDRA GUY

The COVID pandemic created ripe conditions for young people to sink into eating disorders, as they grew bored and lost their daily routines and their relationships with friends.

The suspended animation left more time for social media, where young people can easily compare themselves to fake, idealized body images.

Now is the time to pay attention — Eating Disorders Awareness and Screening Week is Feb. 6-12 — and beware warning signs.

It’s nothing to shrug off. Eating disorders reflect potentially serious problems that can lead to fatal illnesses. Take, for example, a 57-year-old woman who died of kidney failure after decades of abusing laxative and diet pills.

Common eating disorders include anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa and binge-eating disorder.

If you see someone severely restricting food and refusing to get psychiatric help, insisting that their skeletal look is actually plumpness, he or she is probably suffering from anorexia nervosa. Other symptoms may be low blood pressure, sluggishness and an extreme focus on body image.

One aspect of this illness is bulimia nervosa, in which the person may gorge on food and then vomit it, taking care to make as little noise as possible and getting a thrill from the secretiveness of the behavior.

Signs of this disorder include a chronically inflamed and sore throat, acid reflux disorder and other gastrointestinal problems, and too low or too high levels of sodium, calcium, potassium, and other minerals that can lead to stroke or heart attack.

Though it may seem a matter of willpower, researchers have found unique brain activity patterns in women with eating disorders compared with their healthy peers.

People with eating disorders often suffer from anxiety and depression, so it’s important to help the person who’s struggling get help. Recovery is possible, but the longer the issue lasts, the stronger the sufferer’s addiction.

BY SANDRA GUY

It’s understandable that single people on Valentine’s Day — for the second year in a row —  could feel despairing, frustrated and even cheated of valuable dating time.

How to cope?

The obvious answer would be to practice yoga. But it’s difficult to go to a gym or to meet people in a tightly enclosed environment at the height of the Omicron virus.

You’ll have to be inventive. Plenty of excellent yoga teachers from throughout the world offer online yet personalized yoga classes that can help you practice self-care.

One example is Shvasa — the word means “breath” in Sanskrit — the first streaming yoga and meditation website with live classes led by some of the world’s leading yoga teachers in India. Take one class and you will learn that the practice really is about breath.

“We focus on breath first because immunity soars when your blood is oxygenated,” said Arunima Singhdeo, 47, CEO of Shvasa and mom to a 12-year-old son.

The Shvasa platform was custom-built to provide features that allow for engagement with the instructor as needed, chat and music, however the one thing that students will notice is the limited class size and focus on personal attention that other platforms do not offer.

Other opportunities abound.

Just get a notebook or two pieces of paper. Draw your self portrait, even if it’s a stick figure. Then draw bubbles with quotes from your inner critic. Turn the page. Draw yourself again, but this time, quote your optimistic, confident self. Finally, remind yourself that you can rise above your negative thoughts.

Finally, focus on spending your time and energy with people and groups who uplift, encourage and cheer you on as you maintain a healthy lifestyle. Online exercise programs host marvelous Facebook groups in which people boost each other’s progress and screen out any hint of negativity.

It’s all about the principle that we are all equally human and deserving of dignity, love, and happiness—including you.

BY SANDRA GUY

Mark Feb. 5 on your calendar and wear red — or buy that gorgeous red sweater you’ve had your eye on to make sure you do — to honor efforts to fight heart disease.

You can also help with a social media shout-out using #OurHearts for National Wear Red Day.^® 

It’s part of American Heart Month throughout February. The goal is to recognize heart disease as a leading cause of death for both men and women, support research and efforts to improve outcomes, and to urge preventive measures to improve your health and well-being.

One natural aid involves herbs, and in particular, turmeric. The turmeric root’s main compound, a volatile oil, contains turmerone and nutritional pigments called curcuminoids.

Curcumin’s antioxidant properties help protect the healthy development of cells and tissues as people age. That happens because curcumin helps promote the adrenal glands’ cortisone production, the cardiovascular system’s response to internal challenges, and slows platelets from forming blood clots to boost healthy blood circulation.

Of course, decades of research offers a wealth of other heart-healthy habits that would make perfect New Year’s resolutions, such as exercise, quitting smoking, eating heart-healthy foods and practicing self-care such as getting adequate sleep and finding positive ways to cope with stress.

That’s easier said than done as COVID variants rage on, but it’s time-tested advice that can keep you strong for the long run.

By SANDRA GUY

Students who want to stay fit through the holidays, but are living on a tight budget, have no fear that you can stay on plan.

Keep in mind these general ideas:

• Add inexpensive greens like cabbage, frozen spinach, or chopped kale to your meals.
• Forget the noodles. Instead, buy carrots or zucchini.
• Swap out rice for “riced” cauliflower.
• Limit or eliminate foods based on white flour.

Here’s one recipe for Tuna and White Bean Salad as an example that uses healthy fish as a nice boost.

Ingredients:

One 15 oz. can white beans ($0.86)

One 5 oz. can chunk light tuna in water ($0.89)

Two whole green onions ($0.19)

One Tbsp lemon juice ($0.06)

One Tbsp olive oil ($0.16)

Salt and pepper to taste ($0.05)

Instructions:

• Pour the can of beans into a colander and rinse with cool water. Allow the excess water to drain off.
• Drain the can of tuna. Combine the drained beans and tuna in a bowl.
• Thinly slice the green onions and add to the bowl as well.
• Add the olive oil and lemon juice to the bowl, along with a light sprinkle of salt and freshly ground black pepper. Stir to combine.
• Taste the mixture and add salt, pepper, or lemon juice to your liking.

Take this time, especially if you’re still spending lots of time at home, to realize your creativity in ways you may have never had time for. Might you be a chef-in-waiting? Even if you just like to experiment with tastes and seasonings, that’s a great start.

Take a deep breath. Being creative in the kitchen can be enormously relaxing and satisfying. Block out, just for now, the stresses of the day and use easily accessible ingredients, or make a list of easily affordable ingredients to pick up at your neighborhood store. No big, exhausting shopping trip required.

Then, after you’ve whipped up your creation, take more deep breathes as you enjoy your warm meal on a cold winter evening. Appreciate your skills and the little things that we take for granted: Hot water, a stove, a microwave, healthy food, and the ability to taste, smell and slowly chew fulfilling goodness.

BY SANDRA GUY

You’ve blown your diet, but beating yourself up isn’t the answer. Take a deep breath and allow yourself the experience of enjoying good food, especially if you indulged while gathering with friends and family for the first time in nearly two years.

Just tell yourself, ‘One step at a time.’ Setting up a grueling two-hour daily exercise routine or a starvation diet for the next week will only backfire — and you know better.

Get back on track: Eat smaller portions, skip desserts and stick to smart food choices.

And remember these tips:

• People often mistake thirst for hunger, so next time you feel like noshing, reach for water first. Drinking also helps you feel full. Some experts suggest sipping water just before you sit down to a meal. Continue drinking as you eat to add volume and weight to your meal.
• Set realistic goals. One or two pounds a week maximum is doable. Top weight-loss programs advocate stopping after the first ten pounds and maintaining that loss for about six months before trying to lose any more.
• Studies suggest that the average craving lasts only about 10 minutes.  So before caving into your urge, set your mental timer for the time-out. Use the time to tackle an item on your to-do list; choose one that will give you a sense of accomplishment—and get you out of the kitchen.
• Spike your meals with salsa. This spicy condiment can stand in for mayo to deliver plenty of flavor without the fat. Mix it with a bit of low-fat yogurt to make tuna salad. Spread it on a veggie burger, or serve it with chicken or fish.
• Remember that alcohol is a source of calories. A 12-ounce beer has 150 calories; a 3.5-ounce glass of wine, 85. A margarita packs a bigger caloric punch. The bottom line: If you’re trying to lose weight, stick with water.
• Avoid salt-laden dips, gravy and dressings. Bring or choose hummus instead.
• Replace white potatoes with sweet potatoes, whole grains or cauliflower mash.

Some people binge when they’re stressed. A Yale University study found that women who secreted the most cortisol (a hormone released during stress) ate the most high-fat food after stress. The combination of cortisol and insulin prompts the body to store fat in preparation for possible starvation—just what you don’t need. If stress has a stronghold on your life, try learning yoga, meditation, or simple breathing exercises.

Make health deeply meaningful. You may find incentives by incorporating your most cherished principles or religious beliefs into healthy traditions.

On Chicago’s South Side, Original Soul Vegetarian’s holiday menu – made with no refined sugars, flours or rice – includes chemical-free and additive-free cornbread, macaroni and cheese, roasted gravy, cranberry sauce, cornbread, candied yams, sweet potatoes, and pumpkin and apple pies.

African Hebrew Israelites, including the founder of Original Soul Vegetarian restaurant on Chicago’s South Side — one of the oldest African-American vegan soul-food restaurants in the country — cites Scripture as the basis for eating plant-based food instead of meat, including on holidays many people consider meat extravaganzas.

“My dad and the initial pioneers of the African Hebrew Israelites cited Genesis 1:29 — “And God said, ‘Behold, I have given you every herb-bearing seed which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree in which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat,’” Arel Ben Israel, who runs the restaurant with his sister, Lori Seay, said in an earlier interview.

Remember that ham and other processed meats are packed with sodium. Pot roast and fresh turkey free of salt and brine injections are better alternatives. And certain desserts contain baking soda rich in sodium.

Frozen vegetables are picked at their freshest peak, so they’re a healthy alternative. Avoid canned vegetables because they’re loaded with sodium and preservatives.

Another solution is to swap out meat for healthier entrees, like those centered on fish or beans and whole grains.

And see if it’s possible to start or keep family hiking or sledding traditions that get you moving, or go outside and walk the dog together.

Have some family fun that’s not focused on food. Divide into teams to play games like Wii or Twister. Set up a situation so everyone can laugh and get into the spirit of the season.

BY SANDRA GUY

January marks the start of healthy habits, and that’s especially true for those expecting babies.

In fact, January is National Birth Defects Prevention Month.

Birth defects can happen for many reasons and not all can be prevented. But people can increase their chances of having a healthy baby by making healthy behaviors a habit even before they get pregnant.

One such habit is to get 400 micrograms (mcg) of folic acid every day, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Folic acid is a B vitamin. If a woman has enough folic acid in her body at least one month before and during pregnancy, it can help prevent major birth defects of the developing baby’s brain and spine.

Women can get folic acid from fortified foods or supplements, or a combination of the two, in addition to a varied diet rich in folate. That includes eggs, beets, bananas, papaya, avocado, broccoli, asparagus, brussels sprouts, leafy greens such as kale, spinach and arugula, and citrus fruits like oranges and grapefruit.

Other key to-dos:

See a healthcare professional regularly. Be sure to see a doctor when planning a pregnancy and start prenatal care as soon as possible.

Talk to a healthcare provider about taking any medications. 

Keep diabetes under control.  Monitor your blood sugar levels, follow a healthy eating plan developed with your healthcare provider or dietician, stay physically active and take insulin as directed.

Avoid risk, including drinking alcohol, smoking cigarettes, and ingesting marijuana and other drugs. 

Avoid overheating and treat fever promptly. During pregnancy, a woman should avoid overheating and treat fever promptly. Overheating can be caused by a fever or exposure to high temperatures (such as getting in a hot tub) that increases a woman’s core temperature.

The CDC offers a toolkit of resources on these and related topics at https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/birthdefects/index.html.

BY SANDRA GUY

Forecasts show this will be a busy holiday for travel — so take care to stay safe and ensure that your loved ones are, too. And brace yourself for delays and inconveniences. Take a deep breath and prepare well.

Priceline predicts the busiest travel day for the Thanksgiving holiday will be Monday, Nov. 15, and the second-busiest will be the Wednesday before Thanksgiving (that’s Nov. 23).

The most popular travel day before Christmas is expected to be Dec. 22 (that’s the Wednesday before Christmas), and the most popular travel day after Christmas is forecast for Tuesday, Dec. 28.

Get ready for crowds, long lines and other moments that call for deep yoga breathing. Bring those magazines and newspapers you’ve been meaning to read, and, if you’re traveling with children, pack plenty of books, games and CD-based videos and a CD-video player in case Wi-Fi is spotty or unavailable.

In fact, Wi-Fi is just one of the pre-COVID conveniences that may be absent. Hotels hard-hit by the pandemic and the resulting labor shortages may have no restaurant service, shuttered food courts, and no daily room cleaning except upon request or for a fee.

Rental cars also remain in short supply, and prices are high, in some cases double or triple pre-pandemic rates. Many concessions and businesses in airports are still closed, and airlines have canceled hundreds of flights in the last several months.

If you must bring your pet, set up easy-to-grab must haves, including treats, water bowls and play toys. Plan weeks ahead for airline requirements for pet travel.

Wash hands often to help prevent the spread of germs. It’s flu season. Wash your hands with soap and clean running water for at least 20 seconds.

Bundle up to stay dry and warm. Wear appropriate outdoor clothing: light, warm layers, gloves, hats, scarves, and waterproof boots.

Manage stress. Give yourself a break if you feel stressed out, overwhelmed, and out of control. Some of the best ways to manage stress are to find support, connect socially, and get plenty of sleep.

Don’t drink and drive or let others drink and drive. Choose not to drink and drive and help others do the same.

Fasten seat belts while driving or riding in a motor vehicle. Always buckle your children in the car using a child safety seat, booster seat, or seat belt according to their height, weight, and age. Buckle up every time, no matter how short the trip and encourage passengers to do the same.

Get exams and screenings. Ask your health care provider what exams you need and when to get them. Update your personal and family history.

Get your vaccinations. Vaccinations help prevent diseases and save lives. Everyone six months and older should get a flu vaccine each year.

Monitor children. Keep potentially dangerous toys, food, drinks, household items, and other objects out of children’s reach. Protect them from drowning, burns, falls, and other potential accidents.

Practice fire safety. Most residential fires occur during the winter months, so don’t leave fireplaces, space heaters, food cooking on stoves, or candles unattended. Have an emergency plan and practice it regularly.

Prepare food safely. Remember these simple steps: Wash hands and surfaces often, avoid cross-contamination, cook foods to proper temperatures and refrigerate foods promptly.

Eat healthy, stay active. Eat fruits and vegetables which pack nutrients and help lower the risk for certain diseases. Limit your portion sizes and foods high in fat, salt, and sugar. Also, be active for at least two-and-a-half hours a week and help kids and teens be active for at least one hour a day.

BY SANDRA GUY

With the holidays quickly approaching, it’s time to get serious about finding healthy desserts that you can bring to this year’s long-awaited get-togethers.

Going paleo is one option so you can steer away from grain, legumes and dairy. Just beware that you don’t overdo it by eating too much protein and saturated fat, which is itself a health risk.

Let’s start with the basics, and what’s more basic than a chocolate-chip cookie? And you don’t even have to bake these.

Thanks to Paleo Running Mama: https://www.paleorunningmomma.com/no-bake-banana-chocolate-chip-cookies/

• 1 medium very overripe banana
• 2/3 cup pitted and chopped dates [if anyone eating this has diverticulitis or cannot eat hard kernels, you can omit this ingredient.]
• 1/3 cup plus one Tablespoon creamy cashew butter
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup plus one to two Tablespoons organic coconut flour
• ¼ cup plus one-and-a-half Tablespoon mini dairy free chocolate chips

1. Blend the dates in a food processor on the high setting until a paste begins to form.
2. Add the remaining ingredients except for the chocolate chips and process until a cookie dough forms. Once you have a thick cookie dough, stir in the chocolate chips.
3. Chill the dough for 20 minutes. If dough is still sticky after chilling, stir in another 1/2 tablespoon coconut flour.
4. Form the mixture into balls and flatten into a cookie shape if desired.
5. Store in the refrigerator. Makes 12 cookies.

If you’re more of a cheesecake person, this delicacy comes courtesy of My Whole Food Life. Again, be sure to warn your guests that this recipe contains nuts.

https://mywholefoodlife.com/2014/03/27/mini-vegan-cheesecakes/

The crust:

• 1 cup gluten free rolled oats
• 1/4 cup flax meal
• 5 medjool dates (pits removed)
• 2 Tablespoons coconut oil (measure after melting)

The cheesecake

• 2 cups raw cashews soaked overnight
• 1/2 cup maple syrup
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 1/3 cup coconut oil
• 1/2 tsp sea salt

Instructions

1. Combine the ingredients in a food processor for the crust.
2. Press a little bit of dough into each lined muffin cup. Muffin pans with silicone liners, or paper liners both work.
3. Put the muffin pans into the refrigerator as you make the filling.
4. Drain and rinse the cashews.
5. Place them into a food processor with the rest of the filling ingredients and blend until smooth.
6. Spoon the filling into each muffin cup.
7. Put into the refrigerator for two hours.

Now, search for yourself at https://acleanbake.com/paleo-desserts/