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Salted Caramel Cookie Dough Brownies

By on August 5, 2016 in Guilt-Free Treats

Back in the day (the day of processed sugars), I used to have a reputation for baking. People asked me to make cookies and cupcakes for events and whenever people came for dinner, they were always most excited for dessert. So when I gave up sugar, I was scared to lose that reputation. I still love to make (and eat) yummy treats. I just have to do it with healthier ingredients and eat it in moderation (meaning i can’t have an entire pan of brownies myself. Sad day.)

Last Sunday we had friends over for dinner for the first time. I was confident I could make a healthy dinner anyone would like because who doesn’t like meat and potatoes? But the dessert had me a little scared. So I decided to combine three different recipes to make one amazing dessert. Everyone was impressed and I still get to experience the joy of watching people eat my treats.

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I started out with the Coconut Flour Brownies From Empowered Sustenance.   I added 1/2 a cup of dark chocolate chips to these because…. well I don’t think I ever need to give an explanation for adding more chocolate. These brownies are amazing, if you make them right. The first few times I made them, I overcooked them. Check them halfway through baking time and frequently after. If they feel set in the middle, you’ve overcooked them. Watch the edges and make sure they don’t get too dark. These brownies are gooey and soft, unless you overcook them.

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I’ve topped these brownies with peanut butter frosting and chocolate frosting and mint frosting, but I wanted to do something more fun. I decided to top them with Edible Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough from Wicked Spatula.  When you make this cookie dough, make sure you process it for a long time. If you don’t, it won’t be fluffy. If you keep it going, the dough turns out fluffy and soft just like regular cookie dough.

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The brownie and the cookie dough would have been plenty, but I wanted something to really send this over the top. I went with Salted Coconut Caramel Sauce from An Edible Mosaic. This sauce was my favorite part of the dessert. This sauce is great over ice cream, brownies or just a spoon. A massive spoon. A ladle really. It’s that good. This thickened up really well after a bit in the fridge. And it stayed soft and pourable right out of the refrigerator. I just drizzled this over the top of the cookie dough layer. I have a lot left over. Hmmmm… Maybe this would be great with just a straw too.

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If you’re looking for an awesome dessert to wow a crowd, this is definitely it!

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No-Sugar Grilled Pineapple Rings

By on July 15, 2016 in Guilt-Free Treats, Healthy Snacks, Side Dishes

When we lived in Utah, we had a Brazilian neighbor. Every time she saw us, she’d invite us in for Brazilian food, which happens to be AMAZING! The meat and veggies were delicious, but my favorite part was the grilled pineapple. As it heats up, the sugars caramelize and the juices come out. It softens but somehow stays crunchy. It’s one of the most satisfying things in the world. The only problem was, it was covered in sugar. I was so sad to learn that she made it by covering it in brown sugar.

Fast forward to now. One day I had a hankering for that sugary, warm, juicy grilled pineapple. I decided there had to be a way to make it without the brown sugar. After all, pineapple is naturally sweet, so there’s no reason to add more sugar.

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The key is to start with a fresh pineapple. Canned rings just won’t do the trick. You need to start out with firm, crunchy rings to keep the nice crunchy texture after you grill them.

Then all I did was melt some coconut oil, add cinnamon and salt and brushed it on the pineapple rings.

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Then I passed them off to my manly husband to cook on the bbq grill next to some juicy steaks. Since this is both healthy and sweet, it works as a side dish, or a dessert.

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The Healthy Wendy’s Frosty

By on July 1, 2016 in Guilt-Free Treats

Girls’ night in college usually involved my roommates and I going to a movie, getting dessert at midnight in a restaurant, daring each other to do something really stupid and then dancing until 2 a.m. when someone would suggest making cookie dough, which we’d do, and then eat the entire bowl before falling asleep on the couch about 4 a.m. Now that I have a daughter, we do regular girls’ nights. Though these days, they usually involve painting nails, watching Angelina Ballerina and making a treat together. I have to say, I prefer these girls’ nights.

Last Friday after our nails were sparkly turquoise and Angelina was having a dilemma about being jealous of another mouse ballerina, we decided it was treat time. Giving my daughter loads of sugar right before I send her to sleep does not make for a happy ending to girls’ night. Instead, we made this healthy version of a Wendy’s Frosty with only 3 ingredients, all of which are healthy and easy to pronounce.

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Just throw the frozen bananas, cocoa powder and a milk of your choice (we went with almond milk) in a blender and you’re good to go! I really want to make some sweet potato fries to see how they taste dipped in. Come on. You know you used to dip your fries in your frosty.

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7 Healthy Ways to Satisfy Your Chocolate Cravings

By on April 29, 2016 in Guilt-Free Treats

When you ask people what they crave the most, the majority of people will say, “chocolate.” When you switch to a clean-eating lifestyle, that doesn’t go away. Why? Chocolate is not only good, but it’s good for you! So go ahead! Eat chocolate! BUT (That’s right, you knew there was a “but”), do it the […]

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Guilt-Free Ice Cream

By on February 12, 2016 in Guilt-Free Treats

Two weeks ago, my husband was gone for an entire week. Things started out fine but by Thursday, I was more than ready for him to come home. I pride myself in being a strong, capable woman. When it comes to being a mom, I feel like I’m fairly resourceful and know what to do in certain situations, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t days I want to run for the hills screaming as I go. After spending the early part of the week screaming and fighting, the kids finally came down with a nasty cold Thursday. This was somewhat comforting to know that the reason they were acting as though possessed with demons was because they were getting sick, but it didn’t make things easier. I was still left with two grumpy, sick kids who stayed up all night crying about being too congested to sleep. This is hard as a mom because you feel so helpless. It’s hard to see your kids suffering and not be able to change it. It’s hard to try to explain that the crying is going to make the congestion worse (one day my kids will realize I’m not actually an idiot). And it’s hard to be a happy, compassionate mom when functioning on no sleep and having to run around getting juice and tissues, while listening to the theme song from Superman cartoons for 8 hours straight.

On Friday night, by the time I filled them with ibuprofen, stacked pillows on their beds, filled up humidifiers and oil diffusers, stocked them with water and tissues, I was ready to collapse. And while I don’t condone drowning your sorrows in comfort food, that’s all I wanted to do. I wanted to eat ice cream under a blanket and watch chick flicks until one of my kiddos woke up complaining of congestion. So, that’s what I did. Only I did it a in a healthy way. So now to the point of that rather long, extremely fascinating story: I made this healthy ice cream. I could indulge and feel zero guilt. And making it through that week without having a nervous breakdown or buying a pint of Ben and Jerry’s kind of made me feel like Super Mom.

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Seven Guilt-Free Hot Chocolate Recipes

By on January 29, 2016 in Guilt-Free Treats

2015-02-23 11.47.20My 5-year-old loves to play in the snow. She wants to sled, build snowmen, make snow angels, shovel, etc, etc, etc. And she has more snow stamina than I do. After about half an hour I’m totally done and want to come inside and heat up a rice sock. She stays out until she can no longer feel her hands. Oh to be five again. Every time she comes in from a snow extravaganza, she declares she needs hot chocolate. After all, nothing warms up cold feet like drinking hot chocolate. At least that’s what my daughter tells me. Since I’m not a big fan of the ingredients in packaged hot chocolate, we started making our own. Luckily, it passes my daughter’s after-snow hot-chocolate requirements.

For basic hot chocolate, just whisk together the almond milk, cocoa and sweetener of your choice. For my kids (including my husband), I always use the honey instead of stevia. I always use stevia in mine.

Start on the lower end of measurements and add to your tastes. I use a full tablespoon of cocoa while my daughter prefers two teaspoons. You can always add but you can’t take away.

To make life more exciting (because now that I’m a mom in my 30’s, new hot chocolate flavors really does qualify as exciting), try these variations.

Almond Hot chocolate

  • 1 recipe Guilt-Free Hot Chocolate
  • Stir in 1/8 t almond extract

Peppermint Hot Chocolate

  • 1 recipe Guilt-Free Hot Chocolate
  • Stir in 1/4 t peppermint extract or 1 drop pure peppermint essential oil

Coconut Hot Chocolate

  • Make 1 recipe Guilt-Free Hot Chocolate, but use coconut milk instead of almond milk
  • Stir in 1 tsp coconut butter

Mexican Hot Chocolate

  • 1 recipe Guilt-Free Hot Chocolate
  • Whisk in 1/4 t cinnamon and 1 pinch cayenne pepper

Orange Hot Chocolate

  • 1 recipe Guilt-Free Hot Chocolate
  • Stir in 1/4 t orange extract

Raspberry Hot Chocolate

  • 1 recipe Guilt-Free Hot Chocolate
  • Smash 3 raspberries in bottom of mug before adding milk. Whisk together with the cocoa powder.
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No Sugar Chocolate Banana Muffins

By on January 8, 2016 in Breakfast, Guilt-Free Treats, Healthy Snacks

Every morning my son’s breakfast includes a mini muffin. This is my way of cramming a bit more protein and nutrients into him in an unprocessed way before sending him off to second grade to solve the world’s great problems. I always look for muffin recipes heavy on nuts and/or eggs and low on sugar. We generally stick to banana muffins, but to keep things interesting, I’m always trying to find something else. I found this recipe from Yummy Mummy. It looked delicious, but since I was giving it to my son every morning for breakfast, I wanted something without added sugar or sugar substitutes and without chocolate chips. So using Yummy Mummy’s recipe as my base, I came up with a version without sugar. We’re all very pleased with the results and I can continue to give my son a muffin every morning without feeling guilty. Luckily as a mom, there are still plenty of other things I get to feel guilty about every day.

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