Clean eating "reese cups"

Mark and I are on day 10 of a 21 day detox.  It is a refined sugar and gluten free detox.  It has had its ups and downs, but it is going well.  My body is responding quite well to it and i'm considering staying off gluten full time if i continue to feel better.

With that being said...this girl needs some chocolate in her life semi-often.

So i whipped these guys up:

Ingredients:

• 1 Cup Coconut Oil
• 1/2 Cup Natural Cocoa
• 1/4 Cup + 2 Tbsp Pure Maple Syrup
• 1/3 Cup Pumpkin Puree
• 1/3 Cup Natural Peanut Butter
• 1/3 Cup Pitted Dates
• Dash of Salt

Directions:

1. Spray a mini muffin tin with non-stick cooking spray.
2. Using your small food proccessor bowl blend your coconut oil, cocoa and 1/4 cup of maple syrup until smooth (stopping to scrape down the sides occassionally).
3. Using a large food processor bowl blend your pumpkin puree, peanut butter, dates, salt and 2 tbsp maple syrup until smooth. If you experience the batter being too thick add 1 tbsp of warm water and continue blending.
4. Place 1/2 tbsp of your chocolate mixture in each muffin cup.
5. Then layer just under 1 tbsp of your peanut butter mixture on top of the chocolate layer.
6. Finally, place another 1/2 tbsp of the chocolate mixture on top of the peanut butter layer.
7. Cover with saran wrap and place in the freezer for 2-3 hours.
8. Remove and enjoy!

store in freezer.

if you make them, let me know how ya like them!  :) 

One of those dinners.

You all are familiar with the whole, "what in the world am i gonna make for dinner" question.  Those days when you end up having eggs for dinner or pancakes or some kind of weird canned vegetable that's been at the back of your pantry for a while.

So, last night was one of those nights.  I had some broccoli, some rice, some fruit, and some cauliflower.

and so we had this...

That is brown rice, covered in a ooey, gooey, alfredo cheese garlic sauce.

WOW. it was so good.

and the best part..it's made from:

cauliflower.

I will be using this Alfredo sauce recipe from now on!!  What an awesome way to SNEAK in veggies. And it would be good over anything!
The best part for me???

MY KIDS DEVOURED IT!

So, here's the recipe:

(makes about 5 cups)

INGREDIENTS

• 8 large cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 5-6 cups cauliflower florets
• 6-7 cups vegetable broth or water
• 1 teaspoon salt (more to taste)
• ½ teaspoon pepper (more to taste)
• ½ cup milk (more to taste)
• colby jack or mozzarella cheese (optional)

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Garlic: Saute the minced garlic with the butter in a large nonstick skillet over low heat. Cook for several minutes or until the garlic is soft and fragrant but not browned (browned or burnt garlic will taste bitter). Remove from heat and set aside.
2. Cauliflower: Bring the water or vegetable broth to a boil in a large pot. Add the cauliflower and cook, covered, for 7-10 minutes or until cauliflower is fork tender. Do not drain.
3. Puree: Use a slotted spoon to transfer the cauliflower pieces to the blender. Add 1 cup vegetable broth or cooking liquid, sauteed garlic/butter, salt, pepper, and milk. Blend or puree for several minutes until the sauce is very smooth, adding more broth or milk depending on how thick you want the sauce.  Add cheese to your taste, and gradually stir in until melted and well incorporated. You may have to do this in batches depending on the size of your blender. Serve hot! If the sauce starts to look dry, add a few drops of water, milk, or olive oil.

Let me know if you love  it as much as WE did!

Crustless, Gluten-free, refined sugar free, grain free HONEY LEMON CHEESECAKE.

one word.

yum.


It's actually easier then one would think to find a "dessert" that isn't full of crap not good for you stuff.

It generally takes more time because there are a lot of nuts and dates and things of that sort.

BUT, not this beauty.

Quick & Easy!!!!

it's super light!  PERFect summer dessert.

Here's what you need to buy:

• 1 1/2 cups plain 2% greek yogurt (I don't recommend using fat free)
• 1 cup non fat cream cheese
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/4 cup + 1 tbsp honey
• 3 egg whites
• 1/4 cup arrowroot starch or cornstarch
• 1 tbsp lemon zest
• 1/2 of a lemon's juice (plus more to taste) 

Preheat oven to 350F.  Combine all ingredients in a large bowl.  Mix until all ingredients are incorporated.  If it looks a little thin, that is OK!  Pour mixture into a greased 8x8 circle pan (a springform is best).  Bake in preheated oven for 40 minutes.  Remove from oven.  Chill in fridge overnight, or for at least 8 hours.  After chilled, cut into slices and serve chilled.  Store leftovers in the fridge.

i actually only chilled mine about 6 hours...but it was just fine.

I also put lemon zest all over the top! :) 

disclaimer:  Obviously this will not taste like a cheesecake laden in sugar and butter and fat.  Don't expect that or you will be disappointed!  Changing your "dessert" palate over to a more real-food way of living is so good for you and if you get used to that, you'll probably really enjoy this little cake :) 

Small changes for a more "real" diet.

Some things to a "real food" diet can be quite overwhelming. I'm the first to admit it takes MUCH MORE TIME.   But there are somethings that you can switch over, that are really quite easy!
Here's a GREAT example.

Dried onion soup mix.  Yummy on meats, for burgers, in a roast, etc.  let's take a look at what we've got in a dried onion soup mix at the store:

first off, holy ingredient list. 

second off, "autolyzed yeast extract" = MSG.

oh..and what the crap is "anti caking agent" ew.

just a few of the nasties this thing contains.

Sooo...why not just make our own??

Here's a recipe:

2/3 cup dried minced onion

1 Tbsp parsley flakes

2 tsps onion powder

2 tsps turmeric

1 tsp celery salt

1 tsp sea salt

1 tsp favorite sugar/natural sweetener (can omit) 

1/2 tsp ground black pepper

Mix all together and whoa-la Onion Soup Mix!

yes, you have to mix spices together.  Yes, you have to maybe buy some spices.  But make it in bulk! Then your set!

Baby steps to help us all step away from the nasty junk we put in our bodies FAR too often!

Taco Soup.

Let's talk about an EASY meal.  This would be that meal.


(get your crock-pots ready!)

Taco Soup.  Really it seemed to be a version of white chicken chili.  But man, it was GOOD.  and it's good for the waist-line too :)   You could take out the cheese and brown rice chips that I topped mine with to make it even less calories :)

So throw the following things in your crock-pot

*1 lb chicken breast

*1 cup chicken broth (i didn't have enough so i threw so beef broth in too.  Just use whatcha got!) 

*1 can of black beans (drain and rinse)

*1 can of white beans (drain and rinse)

*1 can of diced tomatoes (don't drain- use that juice!)

* 3/4 plain greek yogurt

*1 4oz can diced chilies (I stuck with mild so my kids would eat it- but get hotter if you want it hotter!)

*2 T fresh squeezed lime

*1 clove garlic

*1 T oregano

*1/2 t onion powder

*1/2 tsp paprika

*1 tsp cumin

*1 tsp dried cilantro (could use fresh too! just used about 2 T if using fresh)

Then...here comes the hard part

turn your slow-cooker on.

:)

cook for 4 hours on high

and about 6 hours on low

Then shred up your chicken and stir well and serve hot!! Add cilantro on top and cheese if you wish 

:)

and ENJOY!