I have been trying a bunch of new recipes lately and I wanted to share a few of our most recent favorites! I have been mostly following the Trim Healthy Mama plan. To simplify the plan a bit, so that you know what I am talking about, when on the THM plan you don't consume sugar and you separate your high fat low carb meals from your high carb low fat meals. What I love about this program is that I can still eat carbs! I just have to eat them strategically. This plan was created by Christians and I really appreciate how they talk about God throughout the program and how He created food for us to enjoy as well as for our nourishment! If you are interested in Trim Healthy Mama I highly recommend that you read their books The Trim Healthy Mama Plan, The Trim Healthy Mama Cookbook, and their newest book Trim Healthy Table. 

These Crispy Parmesan Chicken Wings were fantastic! This recipe calls for dry brining the chicken wings with baking powder! I have never heard of that before and I can't wait to experiment with other sauce flavors! They fit in as a THM S. 

Recipe and Photo from CookingManiac.com

This Trim Healthy Mama S Pound Cake is fantastic! I served it with fresh whipped cream and strawberries at my last Tutor Meeting and everyone loved it! It was especially good the next day for Breakfast! Brian liked it too... which was a bummer because I definitely didn't want to share! ;)

Recipe and Photo from FitMomJourney.com

Trim Healthy Mama has introduced me to quite a few new to me ingredients one of those is Baobab powder! I have been loving this Baobab Water in the afternoons! It's lightly citrusy and tastes very refreshing! 

Recipe and Photo from OhSweetMercy.com

I have been making these Cream Cheese Chicken Nuggets for lunches and they are so easy and delicious! I even took them to CC one day and ate them cold. I let another mom sample them and she made me write the recipe down for her right away! They are great dipped in Whole Sisters Dump Ranch, Frank's Red Hot, or just eaten plain! I usually serve them with raw veggies! 

 

Recipe and Photo from MercyandGratitude.Wordpress.com

These Orange Ground Chicken Rice Bowls make a fantastic E meal. Our whole family loves this dish. This dish cooks up super quick which makes it a perfect weeknight meal! To make it a little bit easier I use the frozen microwavable rice packs from Trader Joes! This one is also great as leftovers for CC lunches! 

Recipe and Photo from FrugalNutrition.com

Okay, this Trim Train Taco Soup recipe has some ingredients that you might not have tried in a soup before. BUT trust me and try this one! My whole family loved this soup! It tastes like a regular taco soup but has lots of gut healing ingredients. This makes a huge vat of soup and freezes great! This is also a THM Fuel Pull so you can either top it with cheese and sour cream to make it and S or some blue corn chips and greek yogurt to make it an E or just enjoy it plain as a FP! 

Recipe and Photo from THM.com

Lastly, these Trim Healthy Mama E Pancakes were a huge hit when I made Breakfast for dinner the other night! Once again everyone loved them! They taste light and fluffy like regular flour pancakes but contain no flour. All of the ingredients are thrown in the blender and then poured onto the griddle so there is minimal clean-up! 

Recipe and Photo from THM.com

Have you tried any new recipes lately that were winners? Searching Pinterest for recipes can be fun but its also hard to tell which recipes just have great pictures and which recipes will actually taste good! 

Check out my THM S Pinterest Board and my THM E board for even more inspiration! 

Dark Chocolate Mint Crunch Bars

Treats and temptations everywhere! One way that I am keeping my hands out of the candy bowls is to have homemade healthier treats prepared so that when that sweet craving hits I can satisfy it without junk ingredients! My Dark Chocolate Mint Crunch bars contain amaranth, which is a teeny tiny seed that is an excellent source of protein, iron, calcium, and fiber.

Word of caution: Buy more amaranth than this recipe states. Even though I have been making popped amaranth for quite some time, I burn a batch almost every time I make it. Don’t let that stop you though, just toss the burnt batch and start over!

Dark Chocolate Mint Crunch Bars

Ingredients:
- 1 bag Dark Chocolate Chips
- 1 Tbsp uncooked Amaranth
- 1 Tsp Mint Extract

Directions: 
1. Place a pan (with a tight fitting lid) over medium heat. Allow to heat up for about a minute.
2. Add 1 tablespoon of amaranth to the dry pan, cover and shake pan for about 30-40 seconds and then continue to shake off of the heat for another 20 seconds or so. Pour popped amaranth into a separate bowl. (If it burns, toss it and start over. Burnt amaranth is just about as bad as burnt popcorn.)
3. Slowly melt chocolate chips via a double boiler or microwave.
4. Gently stir mint extract and popped amaranth into melted chocolate.
5. Pour chocolate mixture into molds and place in the refrigerator to set.
6. Once set break into pieces and serve or return to the refrigerator to store for when that sweet craving hits!

*If you don’t have chocolate molds, pour chocolate mixture onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Once chocolate is set break into pieces and you have Dark Chocolate Mint Crunch Bark!

Enjoy!

Small Batch Chocolate Chip Cookies

Most nights, as soon as I get my girls tucked into their beds, my sweet tooth really starts to kick in. I love baked treats but Brian isn’t a big fan so it is way too dangerous to have an entire batch of cookies sitting around just waiting for me to eat all of them! To satisfy my cookie cravings, I like to make small batches of healthier chocolate chip cookies. This recipe makes either 4 large or 6 small cookies. Just the right amount for snuggling on the couch and catching up on the DVR! 

Small Batch Healthier Chocolate Chip Cookies
Makes 4 or 6 cookies

Ingredients: 
2 Tablespoons Melted Butter
2 Tablespoons Maple Sugar
½ Tablespoon Nutritional Yeast
¼ teaspoon Vanilla Extract
1 Egg Yolk
¼ teaspoon Baking Soda
¼ teaspoon Salt
6 Tablespoons White Whole Wheat Flour
1 ½ Tablespoons Dark Chocolate Chips

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a bowl combine melted butter, nutritional yeast, and maple sugar.
3. Add vanilla and egg yolk. Stir until combined.
4. Add in baking soda, salt, and flour. Stir until combined.
5. Stir in chocolate chips.
6. Form dough into 4 or 6 balls and place on a cookie sheet.
7. Bake for 8-10 minutes

Enjoy!

Honey Lime Melon Trio

I wrote this recipe right after Brian and I had just returned home from celebrating our 7-year anniversary on an Alaskan cruise. We had such a wonderful time enjoying each other’s company all week. Another thing that we enjoyed all week was the food! I had been in a little bit of a food rut, but all the wonderful food on the cruise has inspired me to try lots of new recipes! One of our favorites from the cruise was a Melon Trio appetizer that I knew I had to recreate as soon as we got home! I hope you enjoy it as much as we do!

Honey Lime Melon Trio

Ingredients: 
1 Cantaloupe
1 Honeydew Melon
1 Personal Sized Watermelon
3 Limes + Additional Lime Zest for Garnish
2 Tablespoons Honey

Directions:
1. Use a melon baller to scoop all the flesh from the honeydew, cantaloupe, and watermelon. Place melon balls in a large bowl.
2. Zest the limes over the melon balls.
3. Juice the limes and whisk the lime juice with honey until combined.
4. Pour honey lime mixture over melon balls and stir to coat.
5. Refrigerate for an hour before serving.
6. Garnish with additional lime zest.

Enjoy!

Feta Guacamole

Mmmm! Warm weather makes me want Mexican food! Chips, salsa, and guac are about one of the greatest food combinations ever! You already know about my love of avocados right?! Next time you have a surplus of avocados, you should try this unique version of guacamole! The addition of feta adds an unexpected flavor that keeps drawing you in and the apple cider vinegar pulls it all together with a bit of tang! 

Feta Guacamole

Ingredients: 
2 Large Avocados (or 5-6 Pee-Wee Avocados)
¼ Cup Crumbled Feta Cheese
3 Tbsp Prepared Fresh Salsa
1 Tsp Raw Apple Cider Vinegar
Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions:
1. Smash avocados in a bowl until desired consistency is reached.
2. Mix in remaining ingredients. (You may need more or less salsa depending on how spicy you prefer your guacamole.)
3. Serve with chips. This is also a delicious addition to taco night!
Enjoy!

Olive's Baked Potatoes

When we made our move across the country, we stopped by my Great Aunt Ann’s house in Memphis, TN. She inherited all of my Great Grandmother’s recipe books and I was eager to have a look through them! The diamond from my engagement ring was passed down to me from my Great Grandmother so even though we never met, I feel a special connection to her. I couldn’t wait to read her recipes written in her own handwriting. I jotted down quite a few recipes before my hands gave out on me! Many of my Great Grandmother’s recipes came from her dear friend Olive. The recipe I am sharing today is courtesy of Olive! 

Baked Potatoes are a classic side dish that pair well with so many main dishes. These baked potatoes are changed just enough to make an impact while still retaining the classic flavors that will pair beautifully with a nice juicy steak or Thanksgiving dinner. 

Olive’s Baked Potatoes

Ingredients:
8 Yukon Gold Potatoes
2 Tablespoons Melted Butter
1 ½ Cups Panko Breadcrumbs
½ Teaspoon Jane’s Krazy Salt

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Place Breadcrumbs and Krazy Salt in a blender or food processor and process until very finely ground.
3. Peel potatoes then roll in melted butter.
4. Roll buttered potatoes in breadcrumbs and place in a well-buttered baking dish.
5. Cover baking dish with foil and cook for 60 – 70 minutes.
6. Garnish with sour cream, cheese, butter, or anything else you would load into a baked potato!

Enjoy!

Cream Cheese Filled Dates

I'm kind of obsessed with dates... Both the out with the husband kind and the fruit kind. :) 

Today I am going to be talking about the fruity kind! Dates are definitely not the most appetizing looking of all the foods. Let’s be honest, they resemble cockroaches! Despite their undesirable exteriors, dates are sweet and taste similar to brown sugar. This little snack is great at providing that quick energy burst that I so often need in the afternoons! I love that I can make a whole plate full to share with friends or I can quickly just make one for myself! 

Give this little snack a try! 

Quick Snack Idea: Cream Cheese filled Dates

Ingredients:
Medjool Dates
Light Whipped Cream Cheese (about 1 teaspoon per date)

Directions:
1. Slice date down the middle on one side and remove the pit.
2. Fill empty space in date with desired amount of cream cheese.
3. Serve and enjoy.

I also like to fill dates with sunflower seed butter, almond butter, and/or
cinnamon ghee... Pretty much anything can be stuffed in a date and taste good!

English Muffin French Toast

Do you ever get a recipe or craft idea stuck in your head and you just can’t stop thinking about it until you have gone to the store, bought the supplies, and then accomplished that task? This happened to me the other day while I was browsing Pinterest. (Doesn’t it always happen after browsing Pinterest?!?) This time it was English Muffin French Toast. I love all things breakfast-y so this looked like something I would love! Swapping out the typical bread for English muffins adds a new delicious twist to French toast that is sure to make it a regular at your breakfast table!

English Muffin French Toast
Inspired by this recipe on The Kitchn

Ingredients:
8 English Muffins, split
4 Eggs
¼ cup Milk
¼ cup Orange Juice
1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
¼ teaspoon Cinnamon
4 Tablespoons Coconut Oil, divided
Berries, Powdered Sugar, and Maple Syrup for garnish

Directions:
1. Turn oven on to 200 degrees. Add a sheet pan to the oven and allow to preheat while you cook the French toast.
2. Add 2 Tablespoons coconut oil to the bottom of a large cast iron pot or pan placed over medium low heat.
3. Add eggs, milk, orange juice, vanilla, and cinnamon to a blender and pulse until well combined.
4. Pour egg mixture into a 8x8 or similar glass dish and dip each English muffin half for about 1 minute per side.
5. Cook soaked English muffins in coconut oil until golden brown on each side. I had to add another 2 tablespoons of coconut oil to my pan halfway through cooking the English Muffins. Once each English muffin has cooked through, immediately transfer it to the sheet pan in the oven so that the they will all stay warm until it is time to serve.
6. Serve with a sprinkling of powdered sugar, fresh berries, and warm maple syrup

Enjoy!

Quinoa Berry Salad

Have you tried quinoa yet? Quinoa (pronounced Keen-wah) is often touted as a super food and for good reason, it is a complete protein meaning that in and of itself it contains all nine of the essential amino acids. 

Best of all quinoa is very tasty! The texture is similar to rice so I like to swap it out for rice any chance I get! Quinoa has a fairly neutral flavor so when I prepare it to serve with savory dishes I like to cook the quinoa in chicken broth rather than water to boost the flavor. Today, I want to share a sweet way to enjoy quinoa! 

Quinoa Berry Salad

Ingredients:
1 cup quinoa
1 cup water
1 cup apple juice
½ cup chopped strawberries
½ cup blueberries
½ cup blackberries
¼ cup chopped almonds
¼ cup unsweetened coconut flakes
2 tablespoons raspberry vinaigrette (I used Trader Joe’s)

Directions:
1. Rinse quinoa well. I like to put my quinoa in a mesh strainer and rinse it under the faucet until the water runs clear.
2. Combine quinoa, apple juice, and water in a medium saucepan.
3. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to a simmer, cover and cook for 15-20 minutes until all liquid is absorbed.
4. Fluff quinoa with a fork and place in refrigerator until chilled.
5. Combine strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, almonds, and coconut in a bowl. Gently stir mixture into the quinoa.
6. Drizzle vinaigrette onto quinoa and stir until combined.
7. Serve room temperature or chilled.

Enjoy!

Ranch Dip Mix

This warm weather has me craving raw veggies and what goes better with raw veggies than ranch dip? The first 3 ingredients in Hidden Valley Ranch Dip Mix are maltodextrin, salt, and MSG. Not exactly ingredients that I want my family to top their vegetables with! My Ranch Dip Mix contains all whole food ingredients and it takes just a few minutes to whip up a batch of mix that will yield 9 cups of Ranch Dip! 

Ranch Dip Mix

Ingredients:
¼ cup Nutritional Yeast Flakes
¼ cup Dried Parsley Flakes
2 teaspoons Dried Dill
2 teaspoons Onion Powder
2 teaspoons Garlic Powder
½ teaspoon Dried Basil
½ teaspoon Black Pepper

Directions: 
1. Place all ingredients in a blender and pulse mixture into a fine powder.
2. Store mixture in an airtight container.

To prepare Ranch Dip:
Combine:
½ Cup Plain Greek Yogurt or Sour Cream
1 teaspoon Ranch Dip Mix
1 tablespoon Mayonnaise  (Optional)
Salt to taste

Refrigerate until ready to serve! This dip gets better with time. I like to prepare it at least an hour in advance of serving time.

Enjoy!

Avocado Chicken Salad

I have a great recipe to add to your lunch rotation today! Avocado Chicken Salad! Not only do I love avocados because of how they taste, I also love avocados because of their many health benefits! Avocados are high in the good fats that we need for our hair and skin, they are high in fiber, and they are rich in B, K, and E Vitamins! You know that I am often doing Whole30s, which are all about eating protein, vegetables, and good fats all at each meal. With this Avocado Chicken Salad, I have all those bases covered and it is delicious! It is so hard to tell that I swapped the mayonnaise out for avocado! Even my chicken salad and avocado hating husband told me that he really liked this dish and would gladly eat it anytime! 

Avocado Chicken Salad

Ingredients: 
1 lb cold cooked chicken
1 ½ medium avocados
½ cup chopped raw pecans
½ cup diced celery
½ cup quartered red grapes
½ cup quartered green grapes
¼ cup pomegranate seeds
Salt & Pepper to taste
Spinach for serving

Directions:
1. Add cold chicken to the bowl of a stand mixer. Turn to the slowest setting and let chicken shred into desired size pieces.
2. While continuing to mix, add avocado to the bowl.
3. Once the avocado and chicken are well mixed, gently stir in pecans, celery, grapes, and pomegranate seeds.
4. Season with lots of salt and pepper.
5. Serve on a bed of spinach.
Enjoy!

Strawberry Blossoms

Do you need a last minute dessert idea? Try these Strawberry Blossoms! My Mom has been making variations of these Strawberry Blossoms for as long as I can remember. I have simplified my Mom’s recipe by using ready to eat cheesecake filling. It makes this dessert a cinch to throw together at the last minute! 

Strawberry Blossoms

Ingredients:
Strawberries
Philadelphia Ready-to-Eat Cheesecake Filling

Supplies:
Pastry Bag fitted with Star Tip

Directions: 
1. Remove green tops from strawberries.
2. Slice strawberries in half lengthwise.
3. Fill pastry bag with cheesecake filling.
4. Pipe cheesecake filling onto strawberry halves.
5. Serve right away of chill until ready to serve

Enjoy!

Raspberry Brie Mini Croissant Sandwiches

This might be one of my favorite recipes that I shared on For Chic Sake. 

Baked Brie with apples is one of my favorite appetizers but I rarely make it because I could eat the entire thing in one sitting! Right now, I love the tartness of raspberries paired with the creaminess of Brie, it is a great combination! These sandwiches remind me of a cross between a Cheese Danish and a Toaster Strudel!

These sandwiches work great for parties because you can prepare a bunch in advance and then place in the oven right as your guests arrive so that the sandwiches can be served warm. These are also great for enjoying with coffee or tea while chatting with a friend!

Raspberry and Brie Mini Croissant Sandwiches


Ingredients: 
-Raspberry Jam
-Brie Cheese (with rind removed)
-Mini Croissants
(Amounts will very depending on number of sandwiches you would like to make.)

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Slice croissants in half
3. Spread about 1.5 teaspoons of jam on one half of croissant
4. Spread about 2 teaspoons of brie on the remaining half of croissant
5. Put halves back together and place sandwich on a baking sheet
6. Bake for 5-10 minutes or until cheese is melty
7. Serve warm and enjoy!

Crispy Sunflower Seed Butter Truffles

Hey y'all! I am back to share another of my For Chic Sake recipes! 

My Pinterest feed seems to be full of delicious looking peanut butter and chocolate recipes lately! I have a mild peanut intolerance so unfortunately I shouldn’t take part in all of that peanut chocolate goodness. I can, however, enjoy sunflower seed butter! Sunflower seed butter is by far my favorite peanut butter alternative. It is similar enough to peanut butter that I don’t have to feel deprived of peanut butter anymore! These Crispy Sunflower Butter Truffles can definitely satisfy any peanut butter and chocolate craving! 

Crispy Sunflower Butter Truffles
Yield About 40 Truffles

Ingredients: 
1 Sleeve Graham Crackers (use gluten free if desired)
1 Cup Sunflower Seed Butter
1 Tbsp Honey

1 Bag of Chocolate Chips
Himalayan Pink Salt for sprinkling

Directions:
1. In the bowl of a stand mixer combine graham crackers, sunflower seed butter, and honey.  Process until graham crackers are well crushed and mixture comes together.
2. Form mixture into small balls and place balls on a parchment lined baking sheet.
3. Place baking sheet in the freezer for about 15 minutes or until firm.
4. While truffles are in the freezer melt chocolate chips. (I typically use the double boiler method but microwaving would be fine too!)
5. Remove truffles from freezer and coat with melted chocolate.
6. Place coated truffles on a parchment lined baking sheet. Sprinkle each truffle with a bit of pink salt.
7. Refrigerate until set and serve cold!

*Notes*
I haven’t tried it, but I am sure that peanut butter or any nut butter would work great in place of the sunflower seed butter.

I use only Pink Himalayan Salt in my kitchen. Kimberly Snyder has a great blog post explaining differences in salts! 

Enjoy!

Roasted Tomato Soup

The next recipe that I want to share from my For Chic Sake recipes is one that I make at least a few times a month! In fact, this tomato soup is one of Kenley's very favorite foods! Making tomato soup this way takes just a bit more time than opening a can but it isn't really any more difficult and the results are totally worth the extra bit of time to roast the tomatoes! 

Roasted Tomato Soup

Serves 2 (plus our 2 girls who barely eat)  :)

Ingredients:

2 lbs Cherry Tomatoes

½ Cup roughly chopped Onion

¼ tsp minced garlic

Scant 2 Cups shredded cheese (I use Kerrygold Dubliner)

Pepper to taste

Directions:

1.     Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2.     Place tomatoes and chopped onions on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

3.     Cook tomatoes and onions in the oven for about 20 minutes or until some of the tomatoes begin to burst.

4.     Add tomatoes, onions, garlic, and cheese to the Vitamix. Blend on low speed for a few minutes to get everything combined then up the speed to high and blend for 5 minutes.

5.     Serve immediately

Enjoy!

*When we are on Whole30 I substitute a spoonful of ghee for the cheese! It is still super yummy! 

For Chic Sake Recipes- White Chocolate Covered Strawberry Granola Bars

Sorry for the unannounced blog hiatus! My computer has stopped reading memory cards so I haven't been able to upload pictures in quite some time! I still need to get it fixed but in the mean time I thought I would post some recipes that I haven't posted before!  I used to be a food contributor on ForChicSake.com but that site has shut down so I am going to repost all those yummy recipes here! 

Let's start with the very first recipe that I shared! 

White Chocolate Covered 

Strawberry Granola Bars

Ingredients:

1 stick salted Butter

1/2 cup Honey

1 Tablespoon Vanilla Extract

2 cups Instant Oatmeal

1 cup Rice Krispies Cereal

1 Tablespoon Vanilla Extract

1 cup Freeze Dried Strawberries

1/3 cup White Chocolate Chips (plus more for drizzling if desired)

Directions:

1. In a large mixing bowl combine oats, rice cereal, and strawberries. 

2. Add butter and honey to a saucepan set over medium low heat. 

3. Once butter melts and mixture begins to bubble, stir constantly for 3 minutes. 

4. At the end of your 3 minutes remove mixture from the heat and allow mixture to cool for       another 3-5 minutes stirring occasionally. 

5. Add vanilla extract to butter-honey mixture. 

6. Pour the butter mixture over the cereal mixture and stir to combine. 

7. Stir in white chocolate chips. (The longer you wait to add the chips the less likely they are to melt) 

8. Dump mixture onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Add another piece of parchment paper over the top of your granola mixture and pound to desired thickness with a potato masher. This step helps your granola bars to stick together. 

9. Place cookie sheet in the refrigerator to allow granola bars to set for at least 1 hour. Cut into bars and serve, or cut into bars and drizzle with additional white chocolate if desired.

These bars have the best consistency when stored and served straight from the refrigerator.

Enjoy!

I happen to have all of these ingredients in my pantry so I think the girls and I will whip up another batch of these tomorrow!!  

Peanut Butter Bacon Snacks

First of all I feel the need to apologize to my Vegetarian Mom.. Second I feel like I need to apologize to my Paleo/Gluten Free friends... 

Now that we got that out of the way, I would like to introduce you to our new favorite snack/appetizer/sometimes breakfast... 

The idea for these came to me as I was reading my copy of The Essentially Lilly Guide to Colorful Entertaining by Lilly Pulitzer and Jay Mulvaney. In it there is a blurb about how when Lilly would have people over she would put them to work. "Good hostess that she is, she sets you up with a task- punching out bread rounds, chopping bacon, and spreading peanut butter to make one of her favorite 'crispy crits'- the minute you walk in the door" -pg. 4 

Peanut butter and bacon.. that sure sounded good to me but unfortunately the recipe wasn't in the book nor could I find it online so I googled peanut butter and bacon found a few different appetizers and then improvised! These definitely remind me of something my grandma would have made in the 50's which in my book is a good thing! 

Peanut Butter and Bacon Snacks
aka my version of Lilly Pulitzer's Crispy Crits

Ingredients:
White Bread
White Chocolate Wonderful Peanut Butter
Bacon, cooked to crispy
Butter, melted

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees
2. Remove crusts from bread
3. Brush BOTH sides of bread with melted butter
4. Chop up your crispy bacon
5. Spread peanut butter on one side of the bread
6. Evenly distribute chopped bacon over your peanut butter bread
7. Cut bread slices into quarters
8. Place peanut butter bacon bread squares evenly on a baking stone
9. Cook for 8-10 minutes
10. Serve immediately and enjoy!!

Paleo Pumpkin Spice Creamer

I feel like we are just starting to get a few glimpses of Fall around here. There was a crispness in the air the other day that was so refreshing! I really love October in North Carolina! The weather has cooled so that we can start to enjoy park days, bike rides, and overall being outside more!

What better way to enjoy Fall than to drink a Pumpkin Spice Latte right?

Paleo Pumpkin Spice Creamer

Ingredients:
4 Tbsp Butter
4 Tbsp Honey
Pinch Himalayan Pink Salt
4 Tbsp Pumpkin Puree
1 T Pumpkin Pie Spice (you can add more or less depending on how spicy you like it)
1 Can chilled Coconut Cream or Coconut Milk

Directions:
1. Add butter and honey to a pan set over medium heat.
2. Stirring constantly, allow butter honey mixture to come to a boil.
3. Continue to stir for 5-10 minutes until butter honey mixture turns into caramel.
4. Once caramel has thickened stir in salt, pumpkin puree, and pumpkin pie spice.
5. Remove from heat and allow to cool a little bit.
6. Stir in your can of coconut cream.
7. Pour creamer mixture into a mason jar and store in the refrigerator.
8. Add to your coffee and enjoy!
(I like using my little electric whisk thingy from Ikea to make it frothy!)

You should definitely make Detoxinista's Paleo Pumpkin Bars to enjoy with your coffee! I have made 4 batches so far and everyone who has tried them really likes them! They are great for breakfast, an afternoon snack, or dessert! (I bake mine for 30 minutes though!)

No Bake Cookies

These cookie bars are awesome because they can me thrown together so quickly! I may or may not have gotten into the habit of making a batch every night...

No Bake Cookies

Ingredients:

1/2 cup Peanut Butter and Co. Dark Chocolate Dreams Peanut Butter or White Chocolate Wonderful Peanut Butter (Have you tried these peanut butters? They are spectacular!)

1/4 cup Honey

1/4 cup Coconut Oil

2 cups Old Fashioned Oats

Directions:

1. Combine peanut butter, coconut oil, and honey in a pan over low heat. Stir until coconut oil is melted and mixture is combined.

2. Remove from heat and stir in oats.

3. Pour oat mixture into an 8x8 glass dish lined with parchment paper.

4. Allow to cool in the refrigerator or freezer.

5. Enjoy! 

*Because of the coconut oil, these treats are best when served straight from the fridge or freezer! 

Gummy Worms!

Ah! Worms! We made gummy worms! 

I recently ordered some grass-fed gelatin (Great Lakes Brand in the Red Can) and have been looking for ways to incorporate more of it in our diets. Gelatin has tons of health benefits including tightening loose skin, helping improve cellulite, improving digestion, and supporting hair skin and nail growth. What's not to love about that?

Have you seen the gummy worm tutorials on Pinterest yet? Basically you pour your gelatin mixture into straws to get the gummies to be shaped like the worms. It leads to a fun product but I don't think that this is a very practical way for me to make our gummies every week. It was very time consuming to get the gelatin out of the straws so this will have to be a special occasion fun treat! 

This gelatin recipe is great for making worms but it also works just as well to pour the mixture into a glass dish and use cookie cutters to cut out fun shapes or to just use a knife and cut little squares! The girls love when I let them help cut out the shapes with our tiny cutters that I found in the Hobby Lobby clay aisle. 

Cranberry Pomegranate Lime Gummies

Ingredients: 

3 1/2 Cups Organic 100% Cranberry Pomegranate Juice*

9 Tablespoons Grass-fed Gelatin

1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract

2 Tablespoons Lime Juice 

Directions: 

1. Add Cranberry Pomegranate juice to a large sauce pan set over medium heat.
2. Gradually whisk gelatin into juice.
3. Whisk constantly until mixture begins to boil.
4. Remove from heat and add vanilla extract and lime juice
5. Allow to sit undisturbed for about 5 minutes or until most of the bubbles have dissipated.
6. Pour mixture into a glass baking dish (or into straws if making worms).
7. Place in refrigerator and allow to cool for about an hour or until set.
8. Slice or cut and enjoy!

-I store our gummies in the fridge to maintain freshness but they do pack great for lunches or for snacks while running errands!

*You can use any type of juice to make gelatin but it is best to use very strong tasting juices because they really mask the gelatin flavor!