frozen hot chocolate

When my husband and I were first dating, frozen hot chocolate from Serendipidy in NYC made Oprah's Favorite Things list. I thought it sounded so delicious, and he secretly ordered some packets straight from New York City, so we could make our own at home. Awww, so sweet.

(Photo from Serendipity website)

For some reason I was thinking about it the other day, so I recreated it using better ingredients. When I told the boys I was trying to make frozen hot chocolate, they looked at me like I was crazy. Everett said, "Mom, hot chocolate can not be frozen." But the result of my more unprocessed version was pretty tasty! They even requested that I make it again at breakfast. Um, probably not!

Frozen Hot Chocolate

2 tbsp raw cacao powder

1/4 c maple syrup

1 tbsp coconut sugar

2 c milk

2 c ice

Blend all ingredients until smooth. 

Makes about 4 cups.

Ingredient Notes:

-You could use cocoa powder in place of the raw cacao powder, 

however sometimes cocoa powder is over processed. I use this brand of cacao, which can

found at most health food stores.

-Coconut sugar is made from the sap of the coconut palm tree. 

It is lower glycemic on the index than regular sugar. I use this brand. 

This sugar is a great 1:1 swap for regular sugar in most recipes.

-I used 2% dairy milk, but you could swap it out for almond milk, 

coconut milk, or any other nut milk.

grainless zucchini bread

Last summer we grew the world's largest zucchini and I immediately thought about loaf after loaf of this glorious bread from Against all Grain. I shredded the entire thing in the food processor, then froze it in 1 cup portions for zucchini bread deliciousness all year long.

If you haven't checked out Against all Grain, you're really missing out. Danielle basically cured her own autoimmune disorder through food. She drastically changed her diet by eliminating all the foods that cause inflammation, such as grains and dairy. She now has a website and two best selling cookbooks, which are my go to resources for all things paleo.

Just a quick note about almond flour. Blanched almond flour is finer than the regular almond flour you find at the grocery store. It really does make a difference in grain free baking. I buy mine in bulk from Amazon.

Grainless Zucchini Bread

1 1/2 c blanched almond flour

2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp nutmeg

3 eggs

1/4 honey

1 ripe banana

1 c shredded, unpeeled zucchini

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Use coconut oil to grease two mini loaf pans. Combine dry ingredients in a small bowl. Place the wet ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer, then beat on medium for 1-2 minutes until fully combined. Add the zucchini and mix again just enough to incorporate. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the mixer until all the flour mixture as been incorporated. Spoon batter evenly into the two mini loaf pans. Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until the middle is set and a toothpick comes out clean.

Can also be made into muffins. Bake for 20-25 minutes

real food snacks

I don't know about your house, but snack time has become a real problem. I'd love to do away with the snacks and just eat three meals a day, but the little people in my house seem to think they need to eat all. the. time. Instead of filling up on crackers and goldfish, which really do nothing but make them hungrier, here are some real food ideas for those, "Mom, I'm hungry!" moments.

Ants on a Log 

What's not to love about this darling little snack? Swap out peanut butter for almond butter or sunflower seed butter for a tasty alternative. Theses can even be made ahead and kept in the fridge.

Smoothie Pops

I try to keep these on hand in the freezer during the hot summer months. These reusable popsicle molds work great and you can fill them with any concoction you wish.

Apples and Peanut Butter

This is a household favorite, and one snack both of my boys will eat. That is a real Christmas miracle, my friends. Again, swap out the PB for any other nut or seed butter.

Popcorn

This popcorn maker gets more use than most of our other small appliances. Ditch the microwave kind and pop it yourself - it's tastes so much better! I use a little coconut oil and top it with sea salt. If the hubs is in charge of popcorn, it usually gets some butter on top, too.

Nuts and Seeds

One of my boys eats pistachios like it's his job. The other won't touch them. What gives? Look for nuts and seeds without added oils.

Homemade Baked Goods

Muffins and even cookies that you make at home are way better than the packaged junk. You can control the ingredients, specially the sugar, and know exactly what's in them. Here are some of our favorites:

These chocolate chip cookies from Against all Grain - seriously so good!

These muffins I posted last week

Start with this whole wheat muffin base and add whatever you want!

five food fixes

When I began the journey to healthy living nearly three years ago, I knew it would be a marathon rather than a sprint. It's so overwhelming and it can be hard to know where to start. We had many areas to clean up in our lives, and I had two (three if you include the husband) very stubborn boys at home. I always thought we ate fairly healthy, but once I began to dig into some research and facts, I realized we were far from healthy. We still have a long way to go and are no where near perfect, but slowly, we are transforming our lives.

It's not realistic to wake up one morning and declare that you are switching everything over to real food. But, you can start small, and things will snowball because of those changes. Here are five simple changes I made early on in our journey.

1. Eliminate hydrogenated oils

This one is HUGE, yet pretty easy to change. Partially hydrogenated oils such as vegetable oil and margarine are very popular in processed foods because of their long shelf life. However, these fats are artificially saturated and your body has a hard time digesting them. Swap out these oils for coconut oil or ghee. 

Coconut oil is all the buzz right now for good reason. It has so many health benefits that go beyond just cooking. This article has some really great uses. There are many options when buying coconut oil and it can be sort of confusing, so here are a couple tips. The unrefined (virgin) variety has a coconut smell and taste. I typically use this in baking and skin care products. The refined kind, however, has no taste or smell. I use this when cooking veggies, or making something savory that I don't want to taste like coconut. But I promise neither variety has a super strong coconut taste. Both can be swapped out 1:1 for vegetable oil in most recipes.

And what's ghee you ask? It's relatively new to me, too. Ghee, or clarified butter, is essentially butter that has been melted and the milk fat is removed. It's delish!!

 2. Swap white or "wheat" bread for 100% whole wheat bread

I follow a mostly paleo diet, but my children do not, so it was important for me to clean up the bread we used for toast and sandwiches. Now I realize bread is a hot topic for a lot of folks, and is still considered "processed." It's one thing I have not taken to making from scratch just yet, so I still buy it at the store. I'll admit, I used to think "wheat" bread meant it was healthy. This could not be further from the truth. Companies have a way of packaging products to make you think they are "heart healthy" or "natural" but the truth is, they are usually hiding something. When buying bread, look for 100% whole wheat as the first ingredient.

3. Buy organic produce for "dirty dozen"

Organic produce used to be hard to come by. For me, it meant a pilgrimage to a far away "health food store" which didn't always fit into the weekly shopping trip. But over the past couple years there has been a huge switch in the amount of organic foods in regular grocery stores. I always try to follow this guide when buying my fruits and vegetables. The dirty dozen are very high in pesticides if buying conventional, so try to buy those organic, when possible. The clean fifteen are less likely to hold pesticide residue, so buying conventional would be ok.

4. Avoid food dyes

I did a post a while back about the harmful effects of food dyes, and luckily in the two years since I wrote that post, companies have started to eliminate them from foods. I will not say we are perfect when it comes to food dyes, but we have eliminated nearly all of them when it comes to foods I buy at the store. That does not mean that my boys don't have them from time to time when they are out and about, however, we have made huge strides in this area!

5. Read your food labels

This seems like a no brainer, but I'll be honest, I rarely used to read the ingredient list on foods. Now it's the first thing I do when I pick up something at the store. Look for things like food dyes, high fructose corn syrup, monosodium glutamate (MSG), and artificial flavoring, and put those things right back on the shelf. Although we are not quite there yet, I'd love to follow Lisa from 100 Days of Real Food's rule of 5 real ingredients or less. It's a lofty goal, but I think we can do it!!

spinach and fruit smoothies

My two boys are pretty much polar opposites, especially when it comes to their food. One eats salad nearly everyday, the other won't touch it. The same one that won't eat salad, gobbles up other raw veggies as the other turns up his nose. One drinks milk, the other prefers water. One dips in ketchup, the other, ranch. You get the idea. 

As most parents experience, feeding them healthy, real food can be a challenge. I started making these spinach and fruit smoothies to sneak in some veggies, but as expected, only one child will drink them. I'm still working on the other one! I also add hemp seed, which is a great source of protein, as well as flax seed, which has a huge dose of omega-3 fatty acids.

The apple juice adds some sweetness to be a little more kid friendly, however, if you're not careful, they can have a lot of added sugar. Look for a juice that is fresh pressed, unsweetened, and organic, if possible. I like this this brand from Whole Foods, but I'm sure there are many options out there. Just read your labels! 

Spinach and Fruit Smoothies

1 cup apple juice

1 cup water

2 cups raw spinach

2 cups mixed berries

2 tbsp hemp seed

2 tbsp ground flax seed

Add liquids to a blender, then add spinach, berries, and seeds. Blend all ingredients until smooth. Serve with a crazy straw for added flair. 

Makes about 3 servings.

homemade taco seasoning

When I started my quest to get healthy, I knew it was going to be a slow, steady race instead of a sprint.  I decided to start small and eliminate something that we use all the time: taco seasoning packets.  Tacos are a staple in our house.  They are quick, easy, and most of the time the small people in my house will eat them.  However, I always found my tacos to be super salty.  Well, duh, most contain close to your daily allowance of sodium (which is far more salt than anyone needs!) in one packet.  Not to mention a whole long list of ingredients I can't even pronounce. It truly shows how naive I was because I honestly never thought that there might be a better alternative.  I started to research a little and found a delicious recipe that has become our go-to taco seasoning.  No more MSG packets!

Using the ratio below, mix up however much you like.  You can make this every time you make tacos, or you can whip up a big batch and just measure out what you need each time.

I like to store mine in a cute little jar.  Everything is better in a cute container, isn't it?

Homemade Taco Seasoning
2 tbsp chili powder
1 tbsp cumin
1 tbsp sea salt
2 tsp coriander
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp cayenne pepper (optional)
1/4 tsp pepper

Feel free to double, triple, depending on how big a batch you are making.  Use 2 tbsp of mix per pound of ground beef, add a little more if it's not to your liking.  I like to add onions and garlic to my beef, and about a cup of pureed tomatoes.  If that doesn't float your boat, add whatever gets you going.  If you don't use tomato, you will need some sort of liquid, AKA water.  I do think the tomatoes add a nice touch.

cinnamon honey roasted nuts

I love, love, love the bulk bins at Whole Foods.  I don't even know what half the things are in the bins, nor would I know how to cook with them, but I sure do love buying my nuts and flours in bulk.  Saves so much money, plus it gives me another excuse to use cute little jars for storage.

The problem with the bulk bins is sometimes the product comes out way too fast and once you dispense, there is no going back.  This is how I ended up with four pound of raw cashews.  I made a couple batches of grainless granola, but I still had way too many cashews left.  Enter roasted cashews!  You could easily swap out cashews for any nut or nuts of your choice.

Cinnamon Honey Roasted Cashews

4 cups raw cashews

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 tbsp raw honey

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Melt honey in a saucepan or microwave and stir in cinnamon.  Pour mixture over cashews and stir to coat evenly.  Line baking sheet with parchment paper and spread cashews into a single layer on sheet.  Bake for 15 minutes, stirring once or twice.   Watch them close at the end because they burn in a hurry.  Burned nuts = bad.  Cashews are done when they just start to turn brown.  Cool completely and store in an airtight container.  A cute jar perhaps?

This batch got just a touch over done.  See, you gotta keep an eye on your nuts.