Berry Stella Cookies from Eden Kitchen!

Why do you blog? To share stories and pictures, to journal your thoughts or travels, for a creative outlet?

I started Simply Healthy family just a few short months ago. I have always loved cooking from scratch. I love how I can create so many wonderful, savoury meals from so many cultures in my very own kitchen. I also wanted to catalogue our family's favourite recipes and maybe make a recipe book someday for me and my friends and family. Lastly, I am passionate about healthy eating and wanted to share just how easy it is to make home made, healthy meals in hopes that people will see that I have 4 children who actually eat healthy and be inspired to give healthy a try.

Those are the reasons I started this blog. In the last few months I have grown to LOVE all of the wonderful foodie sites out there and meeting some really wonderful people. Some of whom I really feel like I know and consider friends. Weird huh?

Lately, I have been cooking quite a bit from fellow foodies blogs and have come across some seriously wonderful dishes and snacks! I feel fortunate to have come across these recipes from all over the world that I would never have otherwise tried.

This brings me to my point. Stick with me....

 I so appreciate that these people have taken the time and love to share their recipes, I know how much time goes into food blogging! I have read about some fellow foodie friends frustrations with people who comment without even reading the posts let alone with the intention of actually trying the recipe. If your anything like me, I really would love people to try my recipes and let me know what they think. In return, like I already mentioned, I cook at least once a week from others blogs/sites and love to let them know how wonderful it was and especially to give a "shout out" on my blog so that others can find these recipes too. I try to only post recipes on Simply Healthy Family that are "family friendly".  This means, they are fairly simple, inexpensive and my kids will eat them (some days are better than others). This does NOT mean that they are bland or boring or your typical "kids foods" like chicken nuggets and mac n' cheese, I don't want to eat that crap.

So, I hope your still with me!! I usually try to keep it short so as not to lose people's attention.
THIS IS THE BEST PART OF THE POST, I PROMISE!!!
 I recently came across a wonderful site with so many amazing recipes I just had to share. Joe from Eden Kitchen who shares my passion for healthy yet delicious foods and I really wanted to do a Shout Out or Guest Post or Simply Share The Love.

Fellow Foodie Friends, meet Joe. I sure hope you check out his wonderful site!

Hi there, my name is Joe Rich. Based in Auckland, New Zealand, edenkitchen.com is all about my favourite recipes and food discoveries.


I am passionate about healthy food. I love cooking with natural, whole foods and fresh produce that's in season - creating food that has real flavour and natural goodness. Thanks!


I wasn’t sure what to call this recipe. I don’t usually go for gimmicky names; I much prefer to call out the predominant or unique characteristics of a recipe and work that into the name. But these oatmeal cookies have a lot of good things I just can’t squeeze into the name. First, they’re about the healthiest cookie you can make before it really stops tasting like a cookie. I used a little maple syrup in place of cane sugar and a good dose of coconut oil, macadamias, flax seed and berries. So these cookies pack in a lot of goodness; protein from the nuts, fibre from the oats and flax seed, lauric acid from the coconut oil, and phytonutrients in the berries. Whoa!



Then there’s the wonderful crunchiness thanks to the medley of oats, desiccated coconut, macadamias and flax seed. And finally, each cookie is bejeweled with a small handful of raspberries and black currants, giving them a lip-smackingly good berry tang. Trust me – they are as good as I’m making them sound.

So what should I call them? Macadamia Berry Oatmeal Cookies? Coconut Macadamia Berry Oatmeal Cookies? You get the idea… It just won’t all fit. So I settled on Berry Stella Cookies. I think it has a nice ring to it and seems to sum up both the flavor and the health(ier) factor.



Berry Stella Cookies Recipe


My cookie cutters didn’t cut through the oats very well and made the edges crumble a little so I ended up pressing the dough into each cutter and working it into the desired shape. It is a little time consuming but gives a much better shape. If you don’t have OCD you could simply roll them into balls, flatten them a little, and be done with the cutters altogether.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour (or zentrofan fine wheat flour or all-purpose flour)


• 1 cup desiccated coconut


• 1 cup rolled oats


• ½ cup macadamias


• ¼ cup flax seeds, ground


• ½ teaspoon fine ground sea salt


• ¾ teaspoon baking soda


• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract


• ½ cup maple syrup


• ½ cup virgin coconut oil


• ½ cup black currants and/or raspberries (fresh or frozen)

Preheat oven to 350°F/ 180°C. Position a rack in the upper third of the oven and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Pulse the macadamias in a food processor until they resemble coarse breadcrumbs. In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, desiccated coconut, oats, macadamias, flax seed, salt and baking soda.

Add the vanilla extract, coconut oil, and maple syrup and mix until well combined. If using cookie cutters scoop 2 tablespoons of the dough into each cutter following the instructions above. Otherwise simply roll the scooped dough into balls and flatten them a little.

Lightly press and small handful of frozen berries onto each cookie and bake in the upper third of oven for 13-15 minutes, or until golden on top and bottom.

Makes about 20-25 cookies.

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Monster Eyeballs! {Purple Berry Macaroons}

Happy Halloween peeps! Everyone knows that Halloween means you're in for a sugar overload. If your a mom you know that the entire month of October means sugar overload central, prepare the insulin for a diabetic coma any second sort of situation. Seriously. I volunteered at my 3rd graders Halloween party (still amazed someone hasn't petitioned, rallied and picketed that it be renamed "Fall Harvest Festivities Celebrations") and the amount of cookies, cupcakes, candies, fruit punch and crackers that were involved made me cringe.






Why people? Why must Halloween be associated with buckets or pillowcases full of sugar? Every year I struggle with either not passing out anything at all (which I just can't bring myself to do) or handing out prizes and toys which I tried one year and got egged for the trouble. Damn teenagers.


Which coincidentally brings me to cookies. Obviously. Am I a hypocrite? Possibly, but I'm talking macaroons people. Yes, coconut is a sugar, natural or not. I've debated this to death and am standing my ground that...

a. Yes, sugar is sugar but all things in moderation.
b. Not all sugar is created equal, natural is better than processed.
and
c. I like coconut so who gives a crap.

 Creepy, [naturally] sweetened cookies. 

Berries + Coconut + Bananas & Chocolate = ?

Deliciously spooky monster eyeballs of course! Frieking out your little ones is just an added bonus.

These come together in minutes, literally. Confession: I am not the worlds greatest baker. Anything involving sifting, fluffing, or basically measuring precisely quite frankly puts me off. 

These macaroons I made with ease with the help of my 4 year old, who oddly enough 'loooooveees' to bake.

You could use marshmallows which honestly would probably hold their shape and color better than these bananas did but I wasn't going for show quality here. 

I used a bigger, restaurant type straw to punch holes in the center of the bananas so that the

chocolate pieces would stay put. I used chocolate covered Acai berries to put in the middle but

any type of small chocolate candy will work.

Recipe from Leanne at Healthful Pursuit

PREP TIME 15 MINUTES      BAKE TIME    30 MINUTES      YIELDS    24 COOKIES

Ingredients 

2 teaspoon freshly ground chia seeds3 tablespoons water1 cup frozen mixed berries1 tablespoon honey½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1½ cups shredded unsweetened coconut1 banana, sliced with holes punched into the middle of each slicechocolate covered Acai berries or other chocolate pieces 

Instructions 

1. Combine chia and water in a small dish and set aside.

1. Preheat oven to 300F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicon baking mat. Set aside.

1. Add mixed berries, honey, and extracts to a small saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Begin to stir constantly until liquid reduces to half and it fairy thick but not syrupy. Remove and place in a medium-sized bowl.

1. Add chia mixture. Add coconut and mix with a spoon until it’s completely coated.

1. Place tablespoon amounts in the palm of your hand and work into circles. Press down to make into a coin shape and place on the prepared baking sheet.

1. Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes.

1. Remove from the oven and place banana and chocolate piece on top.

1. Return to the oven and cook for 2-3 minutes. 

1. Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly before removing from the cookie sheet and placing on a cooling rack.

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Tofu-Berry Morning Smoothie

If your anything like me, you get completely bored with breakfast every once and a while. I don't like to give the kids cold cereal very often because most all of them are laden with sugar and processed flour. Also, if you could see how much these 3 boys eat you would know that they easily scarf down a big box of cereal and well, boxed cereal is like $4 ea. That adds up fast. So that leaves the old reliable oatmeal. Even though we doll it up with pecans, flax, honey and dried fruit you can only eat so much oatmeal. That goes for eggs too.
Smoothies are always a fun treat and perfectly nutritious when made with healthy ingredients. You can always use plain, non-fat yogurt or Greek yogurt as a base, then add fruit of choice.

This time I used some soft Organic Tofu instead of yogurt for the protein. I freeze fresh blueberries when they are in season and chopped up frozen banana so the smoothies are nice and cold. That's it, blend it all up, add a tablespoon of flax meal for added Omega's and you have a super power breakfast smoothie!
These will wake you up and keep you energized much longer than cold cereal. Perfect breakfast for kids going to school!

Baby Mona gives her smile of approval!

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Berry-Orange Julius Smoothie

Isn't it funny what you remember from your childhood? Things that scared you half-to-death that you laugh at now. Things that you thought you absolutely, positively couldn't live without that seem so trivial in retrospect. Small things that brought you such happiness as a child so as that they imprinted a certain magic of sorts on your soul. And when you come across them years later you are flooded with nostalgic happiness. Few things bring such memories rushing me back to my childhood and Orange Julius' are one of them. We didn't get many sweet treats when I was little. A fact that I tolerated belligerently then but appreciate greatly now. A tradition that my children have begrudgingly been placed upon. Once or Twice a month at most my healthy conscience, and looking back budget conscience mother packed all four of us up and we went to the market or the mall for a sweet treat.

Orange Julius' were my absolute favorite, hands down. I could hardly contain myself as we stood in the always endlessly long line waiting for our Icy, sweet Julius treat. It's funny, back then I thought they were good for you, they were full of fruit right? Hmmmmm. Good thing I didnt' have to worry about that then.

Well , Orange Julius has long since been gone, replaced by another fad of the moment. I've been making my own various tropical smoothies and juices for my family for special treats and had all but forgotten about Orange Julius'. Then, last week, my mom handed me what I thought was our usual mixed berry-yogurt smoothie.  I took a sip........ and schazaaaam, was blasted into my childhood via my taste buds!

What was this magical concoction that has eluded me all these years? This simple recipe that brings back memories of happiness and childhood bliss. I'll tell you, and only because not only is it tear inducing delicious, but contains NO sugar! This may not mean much to you if you've never had a sugar-laden Orange Julius, but let me tell you, it's BIG TIME!


Berry-Orange Julius Smoothie 


1 cup mixed frozen berries

2 cups non-fat, plain yogurt

1 ripe banana

1 tablespoon Flax Meal ( ground, toasted flax seed)

3 small pieces frozen orange peel 

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Combine all ingredients in blender and blend on high till smooth. That's it! Simple, yummy happiness!!

Frozen orange peel is the key ingredient, vanilla too I guess. I've been giving my mom a hard time for peeling and saving orange peels. She gives a small amount of them to my kids as snacks occasionally and boasts that they contain super levels of vitamin C and antioxidants, only found in the peel. My little ones chomp them up to my amazement and now they have found an even greater purpose as far as I'm concerned!

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Lazy Black Berry-Peach 'Pie'

It pains me to finally get around to posting this recipe at the very end of summer. I hope it doesn't get skipped over by people who are over seeing peach recipes. My mom made this for us a couple of times while she was living here with us and I've made it twice with the intent of getting some great pic's of the finished product so I can share it with all of you. Unfortunately, this is one of those recipes that doesn't last long enough for me to set it on the counter and take pictures of it.

I could blame it completely on my 4 hungry children but in all honesty, the smell is just so divine that I can't help but scoop out seeping hot spoonfuls of freshly baked peaches and oozy blackberries into my dish as soon as it's out of the oven.

My mom's recipe calls this "Lazy Peach Pie" but it's really more of a cobbler I think. Whatever you call it, the preparation is so crazy simple that even I don't mind baking it for a last minute delicious dessert. Even though peaches are a summer fruit, you can really stick to the theme of being 'Lazy' and buy frozen or even canned peaches to throw into this pie during the Fall and Winter months. I can just picture cuddling in a thick quilt with a piping hot bowl of this pie with a bit of cream poured over top.

Making the batter is as simple as 1...2....3.

Then, fold in your peaches be they fresh, frozen or canned.

Pour into your baking dish.

Sprinkle some black berries over the top. I had about twice this much before a very curious 2 year old grabbed the cup of berries sitting on the counter and dumped half of them on the floor. 

Sabotage I tell you!

Bake for 45 minutes and enjoy the smell.

RECIPE FOR LAZY BLACK BERRY-PEACH PIE

SERVES  6        TIME 1 HOUR

You Will Need:

1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup turbinado (raw) sugar
1 cup flour, preferably white, whole wheat
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon real vanilla
1 cup milk
2 cups fruit


Directions:

Cream butter and sugar. Sift together dry ingredients, add alternately with milk to butter mixture.
Fold in fruit. Pour into baking dish. Top with berries.
Bake at 375F deg. for 45 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean.
Scoop into bowls and pour a bit of cream over top if you wish.

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Tic-Tac-Toe Ricotta Toast or Mandarin, Almond and Honey

I like to play with my food. Which should come as no surprise since I like everything about food, cooking it, thinking about it, taking pictures of it and of course eating it! My kids like playing with their food too, I'm a little odd in that I think that's just fine as long as they eat it. I love to hang out in the kitchen with my kiddos and teach them all about food. While we cook our meals together, we talk about where food came from and which foods are healthy and how they help our bodies be strong.
It's so rewarding to hear my 5 year old tell his 13 month old sister that cheese will help her bones be strong and that he didn't use to like avocados but he does now so she should eat them up! I love it!!

I discovered this yummy breakfast/snack out of necessity. It was a grocery shopping day and all we were out of cereal, oats, eggs and milk. Hmmm, what's for breakfast? We had a loaf of sprouted grain bread and a bit of ricotta cheese left over in the fridge. I toasted the bread and spread on the ricotta. I clipped some parsley from my window herb garden and sliced up some fresh, warm tomatoes ( no fruit that morning either). A bit of seasoning salt and cracked pepper to finish it off and it was Delicious!

I couldn't stop thinking about how I wanted it again the next morning and thought the kids would enjoy some fruit on theirs too. They ate the tomatoes but not the parsley. Anyway, the idea of a tic-tac-toe toast was spur of the moment and Oh-so-fun!

I simply hulled and pureed the strawberries with my hand-held emersion blender, No Sugar necessary. I put the pureed strawberries into a Ziploc baggie and cut an itty bitty tip of the corner off so I could draw the lines onto the toast. Use whatever fruit you have on hand for your game pieces.
Drizzle with honey and sprinkle with nuts if you so desire, but most importantly.... Don't forget to Play with your food! ;-)

I wanted mine with mandarin orange segments, sliced almonds and a bit of honey.

Use sprouted bread or whole grain bread rather than whole wheat or white. I like Ezekiel brand sprouted breads, they are really yummy and of course good for you. Another complete protein!

Inspired by the Holy Scripture verse Ezekiel 4:9., "Take also unto thee Wheat, and Barley, and beans, and lentils, and millet, and Spelt, and put them in one vessel, and make bread of it..."

Ezekiel 4:9® Organic Sprouted Whole Grain Products are:
Flourless,
Organic,
Complete Protein,
and Sprouted Whole Grain

When these six grains and legumes are sprouted and combined, an amazing thing happens.

A complete protein is created that closely parallels the protein found in milk and eggs. In fact, the protein quality is so high, that it is 84.3% as efficient as the highest recognized source of protein, containing all 9 essential amino acids. There are 18 amino acids present in this unique bread – from all vegetable sources – naturally balanced in nature.

Ezekiel 4:9® Bread, made from freshly sprouted organically grown grains, is naturally flavorful and bursting with nutrients. Rich in protein, vitamins, minerals and natural fiber with no added fat. Try it served warm to release its exceptionally rich nutty flavor.

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Crock Pot Barley Pilaf with Summer Squash, Sugar Snap Peas and Fresh Berries with Citrus-Mint Dressing

This is another recipe that I came up with out of necessity for a few reasons.

One.  It's to stinking hot to even consider turning the stove on. The thought of it makes me tired and cranky.

Two.  My budget is less than glamorous at the moment and so I'm having to get really creative with my meatless dinner recipes so as not to have a full on revolt happening. Four meat loving kids and a hungry husband can be dangerous unless I come up with something filling and flavorful for dinner.

Three.  I have a big bag of barley in my pantry that has been staring at me for the last several weeks asking me why it's been neglected.





Well, necessity is the mother of invention right? And this one turned out so very good that I decided to share it with you lovely people. Barley is a whole grain and very healthy. When I think of barley my mind goes straight to barley soup made with mushrooms, carrots and maybe beef. I can't even imagine eating soup while it's 118F degrees outside so I went with my usual flawless plan; a crock pot, more veggies and a bit of fruit to sweeten it up. Bravo!



Throwing the barley and dried mushrooms (best invention ever) into the crock pot with home made chicken stock was simple and sweat free. I tossed in some summer squash and sugar snap peas, raw and threw together a simple mint vinaigrette using my cute little hydroponic mint plant really pulled this together into a sweet dinner. Even the kids liked it!



TIME    4 HOURS (CROCK POT)        SERVES 6

Ingredients:

1 cup dried barley
3 cups chicken broth (preferably home made)
handful of dried mushrooms (I used shitake)
1 teaspoon salt
3 summer squash (yellow)
large handful sugar snap peas
large handful fresh blueberries
4-6 fresh strawberries, sliced
1/2 cup slivered almonds or nut of choice
chopped lettuce to serve on (I used a head of red leaf because it was cheaper)


Place barley, broth, salt and dried mushrooms in crock pot. Cook on med-high heat for about 4 hours checking after 3 hours.

Meanwhile, chop squash into small bite size pieces, slice strawberries and sugar snap peas. When barley is done spoon on top of chopped lettuce and sprinkle veggies and fruits and nuts over top. Serve with Citrus Mint Dressing.  (A Strawberry Vinegraitte would be nice too)


FOR THE DRESSING

1/4 cup fresh mint leaves from your cute little indoor herb garden
1 clove garlic or shallot
1/3 cup freshly squeezed lime or orange juice depending on your fancy
1/4 cup EVOO or  grape seed oil
if you prefer you could use vinegar instead of citrus. I've used both.
1/3 cup white wine or champagne vinegar

Blend all ingredients in a blender until combined. You can whisk if you'd like but I find the ingredients tend to separate much faster.

This post is linked to:

Fresh Food Friday
Seasonal Saturdays
21st Century House Wife
Tasty Tuesday's

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Watermelon Boat with Blueberries and Fresh Coconut Chunks

Watermelon is in season and so sweet right now! You can pick up a huge seedless super sweet watermelon like this one for around $2 right now!! We had this for the 4th of July BBQ at our house this year. Not only is it pretty, but so good for you.

Simply cut the top 1/3 of the watermelon off  lengthwise. Set the smaller half aside, slice the inside of the bigger half into small squares. Using your fingers, pluck out the watermelon pieces and chop into bite size.
Put into a big bowl. Mix with 1 pint of fresh, washed blueberries and 2 cups of fresh, diced coconut. We crack our coconuts open with a screwdriver then carefully cut out small chunks. Make sure you save the coconut water!!!! We usually just drink it straight out of the coconut, it's sooooooo refreshing! You can also mix it with any other fruit for a simple juice. Refridgerate it in a sealed container if you don't use it immediatley.

Did You Know?....

Health and Nutition Benefits of Coconut

* Coconut is highly nutritious, not only is high in protein but rich in fiber, vitamins, and minerals. It is classified as a "functional food" because it provides many health benefits beyond its nutritional content. Coconut oil is of special interest because it possesses healing properties far beyond that of any other dietary oil and is extensively used in traditional medicine among Asian and Pacific populations.

Coconut In Modern Medicine

Modern medical science is now confirming the use of coconut in treating many of the above conditions. Published studies in medical journals show that coconut, in one form or another, may provide a wide range of health benefits.

    This is a pretty impressive list ! 

Kills viruses that cause influenza, herpes, measles, hepatitis C, SARS, AIDS, and other illnesses.

Kills bacteria that cause ulcers, throat infections, urinary tract infections, gum disease and cavities, pneumonia, and gonorrhea, and other diseases.

Kills fungi and yeasts that cause candidiasis, ringworm, athlete's foot, thrush, diaper rash, and other infections.

Expels or kills tapeworms, lice, giardia, and other parasites.

Provides a nutritional source of quick energy.

Boosts energy and endurance, enhancing physical and athletic performance.

Improves digestion and absorption of other nutrients including vitamins, minerals, and amino acids.

Improves insulin secretion and utilization of blood glucose.

Relieves stress on pancreas and enzyme systems of the body.

Reduces symptoms associated with pancreatitis.

Helps relieve symptoms and reduce health risks associated with diabetes.

Reduces problems associated with malabsorption syndrome and cystic fibrosis.

Improves calcium and magnesium absorption and supports the development of strong bones and teeth.

Helps protect against osteoporosis.

Helps relieve symptoms associated with gallbladder disease.

Relieves symptoms associated with Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, and stomach ulcers.


Improves digestion and bowel function.

Relieves pain and irritation caused by hemorrhoids.

Reduces inflammation.

Supports tissue healing and repair.

Supports and aids immune system function.

Helps protect the body from breast, colon, and other cancers.

Is heart healthy; improves cholesterol ratio reducing risk of heart disease.

Protects arteries from injury that causes atherosclerosis and thus protects against heart disease.

Helps prevent periodontal disease and tooth decay.

Functions as a protective antioxidant.

Helps to protect the body from harmful free radicals that promote premature aging and degenerative disease.

Does not deplete the body's antioxidant reserves like other oils do.

Improves utilization of essential fatty acids and protects them from oxidation.

Helps relieve symptoms associated with chronic fatigue syndrome.

Relieves symptoms associated with benign prostatic hyperplasia (prostate enlargement).

Reduces epileptic seizures.

Helps protect against kidney disease and bladder infections.

Dissolves kidney stones.

Helps prevent liver disease.

Is lower in calories than all other fats.

Supports thyroid function.

Promotes loss of excess weight by increasing metabolic rate.

Is utilized by the body to produce energy in preference to being stored as body fat like other dietary fats.

Helps prevent obesity and overweight problems.

Applied topically helps to form a chemical barrier on the skin to ward of infection.

Reduces symptoms associated the psoriasis, eczema, and dermatitis.

Supports the natural chemical balance of the skin.

Softens skin and helps relieve dryness and flaking.

Prevents wrinkles, sagging skin, and age spots.

Promotes healthy looking hair and complexion.

Provides protection form damaging effects of ultraviolet radiation form the sun.

Helps control dandruff.

***Does not form harmful by-products when heated to normal cooking temperature like other vegetable oils do.

 Who needs all the beauty products and OTC medicines out there when you have super foods in your everyday diet?!?! 

the coconut research center

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Gluten Free Coconut Cake with Fresh Berries

This was probly one of the best cakes I have ever had! I have only recently been attempting to bake gluten free ( most of the time) It has been a rocky journey. So far, I have yet to make a GF loaf of bread that doesn't weigh as much as a brick or crumble apart when you touch it. *sighhhh  I am not a big bread lover anyway so decided I would only make a couple of loaves of bread a month and stick with the oatmeal bread recipe I have and love. My mom has developed a serious gluten allergy and I have heard for quite some time about the health dangers involved with gluten. It's everywhere and in much higher concentrations than in the recent past.

Anyway.... this cake was SO GOOD! I altered the recipe my mom gave me only slightly by usuing 2 less eggs &   half cocnut flour and half white rice flour. It was perfect, you could taste the coconut but it wasn't overly coconutty (yes that's a word....) I was so happy that it turned out super moist and not to sweet. I don't like frosting... too sweet, so I blended triple berry preserves with fresh strawberries and swirled it into the cake batter, YUMMM!  I wanted a simple American Flag Cake so only used a few lines of berries but next time I will definatley be using more berries!  After it was cooked and cooled, I dusted it with just a little powdered sugar and sprinkled it with unsweetened coconut flakes. So good.

You Will Need:

2-1/2 sticks butter, softened
1-1/3 c organic (raw) sugar
8 large eggs, room temp
1 c coconut flour, sifted
1 c white rice flour
2 t baking powder
1/4 t sea salt
1-1/3 c + 1 T milk
1 T vanilla
Coconut oil

optional:
fresh blueberries or other berries
1/4 cup unsweetend coconut flakes
3 tbsp powdered sugar

for the strawberry swirl:
1/2 cup organic berry compote
1 cup fresh, hulled strawberries
Put in a bowl and with an emersion blender pulse a few times till blended ( mini food processor workst too)


Putting it all together:


     Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  With pastry brush, grease two round 8-9" or one 9x13" cake pans with coconut oil and dust with coconut flour.
     In bowl of electric mixe fitted with whisk attachment, beat butter and sugar together about 5 minutes on medium high speed, til light and fluffy, scraping bowl occasionally.  Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition.
     In separate bowl, combine all dry ingredients together.  Add vanilla to milk.  With mixer on low speed, add flour and milk to butter-egg mixture, scraping bowl when needed.  When all the milk and flour mixture is used up, bat cake batter about 5 minutes, til the color is a bit lighter and batter is light and fluffy.
     Spoon batter into prepared cake pan(s) and smooth out tops.  Bake in oven 30-35 minutes, or til toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out clean.
     Place cake pans on wire rack and let cool 5 minutes in the pan.  Run a butter knife along edges of cake before removing from pan.




PRINT THIS RECIPE!

http://www.tropicaltraditions.com/Coconut_Flour_Recipes.pdf (with variations)

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Happy Independence Day!

Happy 4th of July!

I hope all of you are having a great holiday with your friends and family.

Here are a few of the yummy things we ate at our house to get in the patriotic spirit.

We had so much fun swimming and playing and BBQing.

Today we are going to swim some more and then if the little guys aren't too cranky and it's not to hot out,

 we will go watch some fireworks!

We try to talk to our little ones about what Indepencence Day means and all of the wonderful things we have thanks to our Freedom. I've heard some great ideas about how some people teach their children about this. My favorite was to have your children write a letter to a soldier over seas telling them thank you for all that they do for us!

What do you do to celebrate the 4th of July???

I will post the recipes to these pictures very soon. I'm to busy being lazy with my family today. ;-)

Enjoy!

We had chili-butter corn on the cob that we grilled on the BBQ

Patriotic red, white and blue watermelon boats

and of course, CAKE!

(this one is Gluten Free!) I am so excited to share this one with all of you, it was delicious!

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Banana Split Popsicles {sugar free & healthy}

Inspiration for today's post comes from the fact that is 113F out and getting. even. hotter. The fact that it doesn't rain here in Phoenix makes me wonder how the hell so many idiots people decided to make this their home. It's a mystery..... and I'm Native..... idiot.






To make matters even more miserable, I work in the Operating Room aka meat locker (that didn't come out right). Meaning that we keep the AC around 59F-62F at all times and complain when it reaches 66.7F.  We are a strange group us medical people. So when I leave the perfectly normal frigid temps of the O.R. and walk outside into the blinding desert sun (no windows in surgery, could be an apocalypse and we'd never know) my internal body temperature starts to boil in exactly 13.2 seconds. Which is exactly how long it takes me to get to my car, open the door and step right into HELL, at 125+ degrees F.



Leather seats, wearing shorts, with no window shade, no parking garage, in Phoenix, in July. I'm all kinds of smart.

Eating a Banana Split on a stick = Very, very smart.

What I do have going for me are Popsicles. Granted I've seriously considered rubbing them all over my overheated face and body on more than one occasion. Desperate times, desperate measures.

Typically, light and fruity Popsicles or even frozen fruit are our only source of snacking and desserts here during the summer months but seeing as that it's a Major Holiday in July I decided to step dessert up a level.




What's even better than a big Ooooey Goooey Banana Split? A Banana Split that is combined together, layer by layer and then frozen on a stick to slowly enjoy while you sit waist deep in your pebble tech, salt water pool. With your big, ridiculous floppy hat of course.

Strawberry, coconut puree, frozen bananas blended with vanilla almond milk and fresh cherries and pineapple in every bite. Drizzle with chocolate and sprinkle with chopped peanuts. 

Summer just got better. 

I learned a few things while making these Banana Split Popsicles,

1. Making and attempting to photograph popsicles in July in Phoenix is a feat worthy of serious admiration. 
2. Banana Splits in popsicle form are sheer genius that you can eat single handedly while sitting in the pool, no spoon required.
3. I need a cherry pitter thingy-ma-jig.
4. My mom just called me a lazy bum because I want a cherry pitter thingy-ma-jig. She's mean. 
5. It's perfectly acceptable to dip fresh cherries and pineapple into melted chocolate before dinner while you are waiting 3-5 minutes in between popsicle layers to freeze. 

You will need

A ZOKU popsicle maker or other popsicle mold
2 cups fresh strawberries, greens removed, or not (I leave them on, lots of nutrients!)
1/2 cup coconut milk (in a can)
* tablespoon monk fruit in the raw
2 fresh bananas
1/2 cup vanilla (or plain) almond milk)
*1 tablespoon monk fruit in the raw
1 handful fresh cherries, pitted and cut in half
1 handful of pineapple tidbits
1 cup semi sweet chocolate, melted
1/2 cup chopped peanuts

To Make

In a blender, combine strawberries, coconut milk and monk fruit in the raw. Blend until smooth. Carefully pour into popsicle molds 1/4 deep. If using a ZOKU, wait 3 minutes till frozen then pour in the banana mixture. If using old fashioned popsicle molds, put in freezer until frozen, about 2 hours.
Rinse out strawberry puree from blender and then add bananas, almond milk and monk fruit in the raw. Blend until smooth. Drop a few cherries and pineapple tidbits into popsicle molds then carefully pour in banana mixture. If using a ZOKU, let freeze for a few minutes then remove and drizzle melted chocolate on top and sprinkle with chopped nuts. 

Need some more summer worthy snacks? I've seen some pretty delicious and perfectly picnic/4th of July worthy recipes from my blogging buddies such as:





Boozy (or not) Watermelon Stars

Red White and Blueberry Yogurt Pops from The View from the Great Island

Something super simple

These Fire Cracker Berry Margarita Floats from Half Baked Harvest!

And of course PIE! I know Apple Pie is an American Symbol of summer and picnics and even the 4th of July but I happen to l.o.v.e.  home made Cherry Pie the most.


Loaded Cherry Pie from Joanna at Eats Well with Others

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