Coconut Oil Vanilla Frosting



   I have been working and looking for a recipe for frosting that was low in sugar and high in flavor for a long time. And I have found one form babycakes recipe book that I have made a little different. This is actually the best tasting frosting I have ever had. I made this recipe the day before my son’s birthday party and everyone loved it. This recipe is enough for 2 dozen cup cakes and it lasts for up to a month in the fridge. I made these with an almond butter banana chocolate cup cake. I’ll post that recipe when I have more time. Right now I’m thirty seven weeks pregnant with my third and I still haven’t packed my hospital bag. I’ll be doing that today and shopping for whatever I don’t have on the list. I’m excited and nervous.
recipe here for, Moist Chocolate Cupcakes (low glycemic) 

Ingredients:

• 1 1/4 cup milk (regular cow's milk)
• 1 cup dry milk powder
• 1/4 cup agave
• 1 1/2 cup coconut oil
• 1tbsp coconut flour
• 1 tbsp vanilla
• 2 tbsp of lemon juice

In a food processor or blender add the milk, dried milk, agave, coconut flour and vanilla and blend for 1 minute. Liquefy the oil (add to a sauce pan on low heat until it becomes liquid. make sure that the liquid amount adds up to 1 1/2 cups). While the food processor is on add the liquefied oil slowly. After you add the oil let blend for 30 more seconds. The frosting will be runny until the coconut oil cools by placing it in the fridge for 4 hours.

Pin It Now!

Pumpkin Pie Oat Meal

     

     I am so happy that we finally found a place to call home. I've been away from my blog because the house we were renting became inhabitable and unsafe for us to live in any longer. We stayed in my brothers RV for one month parked out in front of our local beaches on the central coast. Being by the beach definitely helped the sad feelings of not having a place to call home, especially because I was about 7 months pregnant and unable to get ready for the new baby. The kitchen in the RV was not suitable to experiment in (and really challenging to cook or bake anything at all!).  I was also very distracted by everything that was left to do in the middle of moving: storage for our five cars, where our dog was going to stay, storage for all of our stuff, and where we were going to live. Well, with much patience my husband I searched night and day to find this wonderful place we now call home. And the house is great; we live in a beautiful neighborhood on three acres that has tons of play area for the kids to frolic for hours. I haven’t even been to the park since we moved in because we've been here having so much fun.

            If you’re wondering how we’ve been settling in to our new place, well, its going ok…. Who am I kidding? We are still in boxes and my cravings and lack of a functional kitchen for a month has left me with some unique dinners to say the least. I know when my husband asks for the salsa or the cheese, I must be slacking on taste or spice.

            But, I have been making this pumpkin pie spice oat meal lately for the kids. Yesterday, when I went shopping for Thanksgiving kitchen supplies, my husband couldn’t figure out what to give the kids for a snack. So he called me and I told him to warm up the leftover pumpkin pie spiced oat meal. When I returned home a few hours later he told me that the cereal thing you made was so good and he would eat that for breakfast everyday if I made it for him to take to work. So I agreed with a big grin.

ingredients:

Water- 2 ½ cup

Old fashion oats- 1 cup

½ cup of almond meal

 Sea salt- 1/8 tsp

Pumpkin- fresh or canned – ¾ cup

Maple syrup – 4 tbsp

Vanilla – 1 tsp

Cinnamon – 1 ½ tsp or more

Pumpkin pie spice – ½ tsp or more

Milk of choice or half and half

Bring the water to a boil and add the oats. Cover and simmer on low (keeping a slight boil) for 5-10 minutes (depending on how soft you want the oats). Add the almond meal and cover and simmer for another 5 minutes. Stir in the sea salt pumpkin, maple syrup, vanilla, cinnamon and pumpkin spice. Then I cover and let stand with the heat off for a few minutes. Serve with milk or half and half.

Note: Leftovers will always need to be heated with extra milk. If you add extra pumpkin you’ll need to add more maple syrup because of the bitterness from the fruit.

Pin It Now!

Chocolate Chip Cookies

   Chocolate chip cookies are easy to make and traditional. When asked, most people would say chocolate chip cookies are their favorite cookie which makes them pretty much a crowd pleaser. At my houses we make them all the time – my boys love them! I was inspired by a recipe from http://www.elanaspantry.com/. Whenever I make these, I usually double up the batch stick them in the freezer and take them out whenever I need them. This recipe calls for butter… I love butter… I can give up gluten but I will never give up dairy. To me it’s like living without a toe, “you always think about it and wish it was there. Of course, I wish I could raise a cow off of nothing but grass and milk the cow myself and turn my own butter, but that’s not the case just quite yet! Until then I will buy organic. But, if you’re unable to use dairy, coconut oil is a great substitution. I hope you enjoy this recipe!

Ingredients:

2 ½ cups almond meal (almond flour works too)

½ teaspoon of sea salt

½ teaspoon of baking soda

½ cup of butter

¼ cup of agave nectar

¼ cup of apple sauce

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

½ cup of chocolate chips

In a large bowl, combine the almond meal/flour, sea salt, and baking soda.

Turn a burner on low heat. Place the butter in a medium sized sauce pan on the lit burner. Once the butter is melted take off the burner and add agave nectar, apple sauce and vanilla.

Mix the wet ingredients in to the dry.

Add half the chocolate chips (1/4 cup) to the dough and stir.

Cover and place in the freezer for 1 hour.

Remove from the freezer and preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Line a baking sheet or a pizza brick with parchment paper (I like to use a pizza brick).

Take a generous tablespoon size scoop the dough and roll it into a ball with the palm of your hands, then place it on baking sheet or pizza brick and press it down with your fingers or palm (important to press down or it will look like a cookie scone: ). 

Now add the rest of the chocolate chips on top. 

Place in the preheated oven and bake for 18-20 minutes, until the top of the cookies is a light golden brown.

Pin It Now!

Easy BLT Wraps

   I love bacon as I’m sure most of the world does. This is a great recipe to make when it’s hot and you just want to sit outside and eat. Lately in the kitchen, I've been trying to make more "Dude Food" meals to make my husband excited when he sees what I made for dinner. And he did as soon as he saw the bacon and roasted potatoes. :)  Now, if I didn't make a starch with these wraps my husband and kids would keep asking for more food after dinner – not to say that these wraps aren't good by themselves.  As we sat down for dinner this evening, this meal sure kept us all quite for a good half an hour – with no after dinner munchies!

Ingredients:

1 pound of bacon cooked

Sliced provolone cheese

2 large tomatoes

2 avocadoes

Butter head lettuce or green leaf lettuce leaves

Tooth picks

• Slice up the tomatoes and avocadoes
• Make a little station to make assembly easier
• Lay a piece of lettuce then cheese, bacon, tomato and avocado
• Roll up and place a tooth pick in to keep in place and slice the lettuce rap in half or thirds
• Plate and serve with mustard dip and pickles

Mustard Dip

Ingredients:

½ cup of Greek yogurt (full fat works best or cheese yogurt)

1 tbsp of yellow mustard

1 tsp of Dijon mustard

1 tsp of agave nectar

A pinch of dried dill

Salt and pepper to taste

• Place the Greek yogurt in a measuring cup
• Add the yellow mustard, Dijon mustard, agave nectar and dill in the cup and mix
• Add salt and pepper to taste

Simple Roasted Potatoes

• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees
• Cut up 8 red potatoes into 1 inch cube
• Drizzle with olive oil and ½ tsp of sea salt
• Place on a pizza brick and bake for 45 minutes or until golden brown

   

Pin It Now!

Orange Julius Smoothie

    

   I love this smoothie throughout the day, but we end up making it in the morning because my kids usually beg for it, they say, “orange shake please.” It’s been about 95-100 degrees daily out here on the central coast and this bright citrus smoothie wakes me up just in time for our morning walk which needs to be before 10am. I hope you try this recipe out and maybe add your own touches to it!


Ingredients:

1 cup of yogurt (I use cream line for its mild taste)

2 medium sized oranges

1 cup of frozen pineapple

½ a ripe banana (if you prefer a sweet taste)

• Peel the skin off of the oranges and take out seeds if need
• Place all the ingredients in the blender and blend for 1 minute
• Serve

Pin It Now!

Protein Bars

Ingredient:


¼ cup of honey

¾ cup of peanut butter

¾ cup of almond butter

1 tsp vanilla

½ tsp of sea salt (if your nut butter is salted disregard the sea salt)

1 cup dried milk powder

2 tbsp of coconut flour

1 cup of toasted chopped pecans

2 ½ cups of puffed brown rice (unsweetened)

Optional ½ cup of chocolate chips and or raisins

        Line a 13x9-inch baking pan with wax paper

• In a large saucepan over medium heat, combine the honey, vanilla and sea salt; heat up just before a boil. Remove from heat.
• Stir in the nut butters and remaining ingredients expect the chocolate and raisins. And the chocolate and raisins once the batter’s not to warm (or garnish them on top after pressing the bars into the dish) 
• Press in to the baking dish with a piece of wax paper on top to prevent from sticking.
• Place into the freezer with the wax paper still on top for 1 hour. Cut into bar sizes and store them in plastic baggies or air tight sealed containers.

I hope you enjoy these as my family does!!!

Add some chocolate!

Kid approved. 

Pin It Now!

Summer Squash Mac & Cheese

     I love summer squash especially since it’s in season. And this is totally a kid friendly dish as most of my dishes are. I hope you enjoy this recipe!

Ingredients:

1 medium purple onion

5 tbsp of Olive oil

5 cups of chopped yellow squash

2 cups of brown rice pasta

Water

½ tsp of Sea salt

1 cup of extra sharp cheese (I used a mix of Cabot and New Zealand cheddar “TJ’s”)

Garnish with extra cheese

• Add the pasta to a pot of boiling water for 8 minutes. When the pasta is tender immediately drain the water (saving 1 cup of the water)
• In a skillet sauté the onions with the olive oil until golden brown. Then add the squash, pasta water, sea salt and simmer for 20 minutes with the lid on.
• Once the veggies are tender stir in the pasta and cheese
• Serve

Servings: 4 people  

Pin It Now!

Perfect Banana Pancakes

     I love summer squash especially since it’s in season. And this is totally a kid friendly dish as most of my dishes are. I hope you enjoy this recipe!

1 medium purple onion

5 tbsp of Olive oil

5 cups of chopped yellow squash

2 cups of brown rice pasta

Water

½ tsp of Sea salt

1 cup of extra sharp cheese (I used a mix of Cabot and New Zealand cheddar “TJ’s”)

Garnish with extra cheese

• Add the pasta to a pot of boiling water for 8 minutes. When the pasta is tender immediately drain the water (saving 1 cup of the water)
• In a skillet sauté the onions with the olive oil until golden brown. Then add the squash, pasta water, sea salt and simmer for 20 minutes with the lid on.
• Once the veggies are tender stir in the pasta and cheese
• Serve

Servings: 4 people  

Pin It Now!

Basil Turkey Sausage Patties

This recipe is so versatile, you can add whatever you have in your fridge. this recipe calls for basil carrots onions and spinach, but I've also added to the base ingredients (ground turkey, sausage, an egg, and almond flour) is chopped apples, mustard, cracked black pepper, and goat cheese and they were fabulous too. Here's what we had for dinner tonight. These are so moist and flavorful....Yummm.

1 medium red onion chopped

4 tbsp olive oil

½ cup of chopped carrots or one large carrot

4-6 medium size cloves of garlic

zest of one small lemon

¼ of a bag of frozen spinach (about 1 cup frozen)

¼ tsp of sea salt

1 egg

¼ cup of almond flour or meal

1 pound of ground turkey

2 sausage links (raw I used garlic basil, but I find any on your favorite sausage works)

• Heat up a medium size skillet on medium heat with olive oil
•  Add the chopped onions and saute until golden brown
•  Add the carrots and spinach and garlic. Cook until carrots are soft

• Heat up a large skillet on medium heat with a little butter and olive oil (this ones for the patties)
• combine and mix in a large bowl the cooked veggies, zest, sea salt, egg and almond flour, turkey meat and sausage (removing the casings)
•  With your hands make patties to about the size of your palm or smaller (I make them smaller for my kids)
• Add the formed patties to the skillet and let them cook until the rim of the patties are white
•  Flip (add the cheese if desired) and cook for another four minutes
• Serve

I served these with a concoction that the kids love and I like because it has less sugar then ketchup.

¼ cup of tomato sauce (I use an unsalted marinara that I keep in the fridge)

1-2 tbsp of your favorite BBQ sauce
Combine the tomatoes sauce and BBQ sauce in a serving dish and serve on the side

Pin It Now!

Chocolate Chip Brownies

These are so yummy and to me taste way better than traditional wheat flour brownies. The moisture from almond flour and apple sauce makes it so moist. I took a recipe from Elana’s Almond Flour Cook Book http://www.elanaspantry.com/ and made it a little different by using less sugar and less oil and replacing it with apple sauce. I know its summer time and maybe baking seems to be the last thing on your mind but, baking them early in the morning when the temperatures are cool makes it easy to get around the heat. Also these taste so good frozen and added to your favorite ice cream!

Ingredients:

1/4 cup butter  (or coconut oil)

3/4 cup of agave

1/2 cup of apple sauce

1/4 cup of half and half (or milk of your chose)

1 tbsp vanilla

3 eggs

3 cups of almond flour/meal, www.store.honeyvillegrain.com

1/2 tsp sea salt

1 tsp of baking soda

1/4 cup + 2 tbsp’s of coco powder

1/2 cup to 1 cup of chocolate chips (semi sweet or dark)

• preheat the oven to 350 degrees
• Butter or oil an 11 by 7 inch baking dish
• Melt the butter in a small size sauce pan
• Combine and mix in a large bowl the melted butter, agave, apple sauce, half and half, vanilla and eggs
• Combine in a smaller bowl the almond flour/meal, sea salt, baking soda and coco powder
• Mix the dry ingredients into the wet
• Add 1/2 cup to 1 cup of chocolate chips and stir
• Pour the batter in the prepared baking dish.
• Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes, until a knife inserted into the center of the dish comes out clean.
• Take out of the oven and let cool in the baking dish for 1 hour
•  Cut into bars and serve

Pin It Now!

High Protein Banana Bread

 I have wanted to make Banana bread for quite some time now, but it's been time consuming to get all the ingredients together. But let me say, it’s well worth it! I made this recipe at about 5am this morning so that my mom and family could have something special for breakfast with their coffee!! Yumm. so moist and flaky with the aroma of  cinnamon floating around the house... I was in heaven. the kids loved it and so did I. Tomorrow I want to make french toast with the leftovers if we have any left. 

Recipe: Nutty Banana Bread

Add to bowl:

2 mashed bananas

6 eggs

1/2 cup almond butter

1/2 cup of sugar, or 1/2 cup coconut sugar (which is low glycemic index) I used sugar because thats what I had on hand

2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp allspice

1/4 tsp sea salt

Blend.

Add:

1.5 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp baking powder

1 cup quinoa flakes

1/4 cup coconut flour, sifted

1/2 cup lightly toasted diced almonds

2 tbsp coconut oil, liquified

Blend.

Pour into 8.5 x 4.5 x 2.5 bread loaf pan, lined with unbleached parchment paper and greased.

Bake at 350 degrees for 45 to 50 minutes

Pin It Now!

A Spanish Craving!

I'm sad that it's been a few months since I’ve posted. it's been a log few months for me. I had what you may call "morning sickness” (which should be called all day sickness). I was so excited when I found out I was pregnant back in February, and then it hit me around week 4. I have never experienced anything remotely close to this in my life other than a fluke food poisoning that lasted no more than 24 hours. With my two previous pregnancies, which I was carrying boys, I felt really good that is for being pregnant. I now have a new respect for pregnant women suffering from morning sickness. I'll keep you posted on the gender when we find out next week! Now let's talk food! I have been into chilies and cheese, so, I made spiced pork shoulder, with Spanish cauliflower rice. I kid you not my husband thought he was eating rice and he even forgot after eating the leftovers! I've been tweaking this recipe for the past week and after my husband bought pork shoulder instead of pork tender loin the recipe was finally complete. When I first glanced at pork shoulder I thought what in the heck am I going to do with all this meat! While noticing I need new knives, I chopped it up and let the simmering on low heat do the work! Oh yes, it turned out rich and tender and the cheesy Spanish rice was the topper! Yeah to the hubby!

Spanish Pork Shoulder

            1 Large red onion

            3tbps of olive oil

            4 medium sizes to large garlic cloves chopped 

            ¾ cup unsalted marinara or tomato sauce (I used marinara)

            1 tbsp of ancho chili powder

            ½ tsp of cumin

             1 tsp of sea salt

            ¾ cup of water
            2 ½ pounds of chopped raw pork shoulder (rough chop around

            2 inches by 2 inches smaller if you would like)

• Heat up a large skillet with olive oil. Add the onion and saute until golden brown (reserve ¼ for the rice)
• Add the chopped garlic, marinara, ancho chili powder, cumin, sea salt, water and pork shoulder
•  cover with a lid and let simmer for 2 hours on low heat
• Turn off the heat and let stand with the lid off for a half an hour to thicken

Cheesy Spanish Cauliflower Rice

            Steamed cauliflower

            Reserved onions

            1 cup of sharp cheddar cheese

            ¼ cup to ½ cup of your favorite salsa

            Sea Salt to taste

• Steam a large head of cauliflower until tender and while hot add in a skillet the reserved onions, cauliflower.with a fork mash until it resembles rice
• Add the cheese, salsa and sea salt. Mix around until smooth
• Garnish with fresh cilantro
• Serve

 Note: You can also use a food processor to make the rice. If you find that the stems of the cauliflower are not mashing, cover and simmer on low for a few minutes with a tinny bit of water before adding the cheese.
Pork shoulder can also be made without chopping and just putting the thing straight into the pot (and it will fall apart perfectly when done). I've just never made it with this recipe before so I wouldn't know how flavorful it would be without it cooking if the sauce chopped up.

Pin It Now!

Chickpea Cheddar Sesame Cracker

I was tired of my son asking for gold fish every time he saw another kid munching on them. I thought, I've got to find a recipe that was savory, crunchy and full of protein. He loves these!!

Ingredients:

1 cup garbanzo flour

1 cup grated cheddar cheese ( a hard goat cheese for casein free)

1/4 cup water

1 Tbsp olive oil

Sesame seeds, sea salt, and 21 seasoning to sprinkle

• Preheat oven to 350
• Mix all ingredients together until you get a dough ball
• Cut two pieces of parchment paper the size of a cookie sheet. Place one piece on the cookie sheet. Place the dough on the parchment paper with the other piece of parchment paper on top
• Roll out the dough 1/8 inch in thickness
• Peel of top layer of wax paper.
• Using a pizza cutter or knife make 16 2x2 squares. This should look like a grid of markings on the dough. (the squares in the grid should be cracker size)
• Sprinkle a little sea salt, sesame seeds and 21 seasoning on the surface and gently press it into place
• Bake for about 30 minutes.
• Remove for the oven and carefully break along the scored lines
• cool and serve
• store them in an air-tight container

Pin It Now!

Almond Butter Chocolate Chip Cake

I woke up this morning at 6:30am to make this cake. I had a craving for something sweet. So after breakfast we all ate cake!

Almond butter chocolate chip cake

ingredients:

1 jar of crunchy almond butter

2 eggs

1/2 cup apple sauce

1/2 cup pure maple syrup

1 tsp of vanilla

1/2 tsp sea salt

1 tsp of baking soda

2/3 cup of chocolate chips (semi sweet or dark)

• Combine and mix in a large bowl the almond butter, apple sauce, maple syrup, vanilla and eggs
• And sea salt and baking soda
• Add dark chocolate chips
• Pour batter into a well greased baking dish
• Bake at 325degrees for 35 minutes
• Serve

Serving 24

Pin It Now!

I Love Me Some Dairy!

GET MORE YOGURT Contrary to popular belief, eating dairy products won't increase congestion or worsen a cold, says a researcher at Zurich University Hospital. In fact, a recent study from the University of Vienna shows that the lactic acid bacteria in yogurt can activate immune cells that fight illness.The immune system is what protects us against bacteria (harmful), pathogens, microorganisms, cancer cells, and other things that can be danger to our health.
Also, a recent study compared the absorption of calcium from kale with the absorption from milk revealing absorption of calcium from kale was 40.9%, compared with 32.1% from milk. Yogurt is more suitable then milk because of the acidity, which is thought to increase the absorption of minerals. Plus, you would need to eat half a pound of kale to a cup of yogurt for the same calcium ratio.

Did you know that yogurt has Magnesium, phosphorous, potassium, zinc, selenium, iron and chloride? May I say electrolytes! Are you Low carbing or lactose intolerant? The good bacteria in yogurt eats the lactose to multiply during the fermentation. Which means less sugar for you? According to Dana Carpender, a national best-seller cook book and food writer, you can subtract 8 grams of lactose sugar from whole fat plain yogurt.

Yogurt Cheese

Ingredients

---

• 4 cups plain yogurt
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• black ground pepper (I use it, but it’s not from the original recipe)
• 1 thin cloth bag

How to make it

---

·       Stir yogurt gently with salt and pepper

·       pour inside the cloth bag

·       Suspend the bag (don’t need to be refrigerated first day), let drain all time.

After a few days yogurt cheese is not very creamy, so you can do little balls with your hands, dust thyme and black pepper... (You can choice your herbs or garlic...)

·       Enjoy it!!!

Pin It Now!

what to buy organic and what to slide buy on!

Fruits and veggies you should buy organic

Peaches and nectarines (all stone fruit) - they have a very thin skin and are often heavily sprayed with chemicals to ward off pests. Their thin skin also means that the chemicals penetrate to the flesh so even if you peel them you won't get rid of them.

Apples - another thin skinned fruit that is often heavily sprayed.

Bell peppers- any vegetable in the Nightshade family has thin skin (which includes tomatoes)

Celery - since celery has no skin it is impossible to wash off chemicals and pesticides.

Strawberries - this is especially true during the off season as they are shipped in from other countries with fewer regulations on pesticides and chemicals. 59 differect pesticides have been found.

Cherries-The US Government has found up to 42 different pesticides on domestically grown cherries. Need I say more? Imported cherries are found to have three times less pesticides.

Spinach- Dubbed by some as one of the "dirtiest" leafy greens, it has had multiple FDA recalls in recent years due to improper handling and farming. Not to mention it can be laced with up to 48 different pesticides if conventionally grown!

Leafy greens- are frequently contaminated with what are considered the most potent pesticides used on food

Grapes - especially the imported ones

Carrots – sprayed with 26 different pesticides

Pears - as insects become more resilient to the pesticides used on pears, more and more chemicals are used

Potatoes

Tomatoes - have been taken off some worst offenders list but their skin keeps them on my list

Raspberries

Citrus- which you are using for zest

Blue berries- have been treated with 52 pesticides

Fruits and veggies that you don’t need to buy organic

Onions – pests don’t seem to bother onion, so no need for sprays

Avocado – rinse well before cutting

Corn - although I would buy local whenever possible from a source you trust.

Pineapple- rinse very well before cutting.

Mango - has a very thick skin that keeps pesticides out. Rinse well before cutting.

Asparagus - not too many pests enjoy asparagus so fewer chemicals are used

Sweet peas – are among the least likely vegetable to have pesticides residue

Kiwi - was well before peeling and cuttings. Rinse before cutting

Cabbage

Eggplant - think skin is a great barrier to pesticides

Papaya – rinse very well before cutting

Melons - watermelon, cantaloupe and honeydew. Rinse well before cutting.

Broccoli - like asparagus it does not have too many pests so it is sprayed less

Bananas

Cauliflower

Winter squash- the thick skins give them a barrier for pests

Sweet potatoes

Mushroom

Always veggies wash when you can!

Pin It Now!