Frozen yogurt dots

I don't know about you, but desert has become a THING with my kid! 

It's requested and thought about all the time. Sweets this and sweets that! We are bombarded with treats everywhere. Its at home, restaurants, schools, TV commercials, grocery check out stands. Total craziness. We had to eliminate deserts from our vocabulary Sunday - Thursday. No one gets desert in our house on these nights. For us, desert meant a piece of chocolate, or a piece of left over Easter treats. Minimal but still pure sugar that isn't needed. I don't want this habit started at 6 yrs old. It's a weekend thing only now. Special treats. So to try to help my plea, I have started making these frozen yogurt dots that my son now calls desert. LOL. Yes, they still have sugar, but not nearly as much as the usual choices. And because it's yogurt, I secretly feel a little better letting him have one after dinner. Go figure.

Super easy, super fast and a healthier option. Fun for summer! Every kid love ice cream like treats.

 You can make these even cooler by adding a wooden candy stick before freezing, making them frozen yogurt pops. Or leave as is. Small little yumminess bites.

Makes 6 dots

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup plain greek yogurt. If you choose, you can buy 1  5oz carton of a pre-made flavor. More sugar but minimal for 1 dot.
• 1 Tbs honey. (Only if you are not using pre-flavored yogurt.)
• 6 blueberries
• 2 Tbs granola of choice.
• 1 Tbs low sugar jam or jelly. (Again, only if you are not using pre-flavored yogurt.)

Equipment:

•  Silicon non stick mini muffin pan
•  Wooden candy sticks
•  1 sheet of cling wrap

Directions:

• Mix yogurt and honey in small bowl.
• Add tsp of yogurt mixture to 6 mini muffins
• Add 1 spoon of granola and 1 blueberry in the middle of each yogurt filled muffin 

• Add remaining yogurt mixture on top of blueberries
• Cover pan with cling wrap
• If you are using candy stick, insert one candy stick through cling wrap into each muffin

• Place in freezer for at least 2 hrs.
• Remove from pan and devour!
• Any remaining dots can be stored in a freezer container or plastic bag for a month.

ENJOY!

*Don't miss a recipe or post! Make sure you are on my email list. ADD EMAIL

  

Dill Pickles

While doing my studies with the Institute of Integrative Nutrition, I started experimenting with fermenting my own foods. 

Pickles of course were the families FAVORITE! 

My 6 yr old LOVED them! My husband wanted me to start selling jars at Farmers Markets! You get where I am going.

Tasty!!

Better than any store bought pickle. Easy to make! Flavor to your personal taste. And best of all, so very healthy for you! 

Why is this salty deliciousness good for you? Because fermented foods are high probiotic foods. Most of us would benefit tremendously by eating small amounts of fermented foods each day. Healing your gut is must for optimum health. Feeding the microbes in your gut (the good bacteria) can improve digestion, boost immunity and maybe, just maybe help you get leaner. Either way, health starts in your gut believe it or not. That is for another discussion all together, which I would LOVE to have.

Anywho, if you are a pickle lover like us, making your own is a must try!

Ingredients:

• 5-8 small pickling cucumbers or 4-6 small regular cucumbers
• 1 quart filtered, spring, or distilled water
• 2 tbsp Pink Himalayan salt (be generous)
• 1-2 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1-2 tsp dill seed
• 1/4 cup fresh dill or
• 1 tbsp dried dill leaf
• 1 Tsp whole peppercorns

Directions:

• Soak cucumbers in ice water for an hour to enliven them.
• Place leaves, garlic, and spices in the bottom of a quart jar. 
• Don't do this and add them to the top... They MUST be at the bottom and covered entirely in water. I learned the hard way! Stinky! LOL
• Add the cucumbers into the jar, packing them in tightly. I have discovered whole cucumbers taste the best! Crispier and more flavor.
• Dissolve salt in water and pour over the cucumbers. Like I mentioned, make sure the cucumbers are completely submerged in the water, add extra salt and water to cover them if they are not.
•  Leave at least 1 inch space between the top of the water and the top of the jar and cover loosely with a light kitchen towel or cheesecloth and secure with rubber band.
•  Leave on the counter in a cool place for 3-7 days. Checking daily. The liquid will begin to get cloudy and slightly bubbly.
• When pickles reach desired taste, cover and refrigerate.

 ENJOY!

*Don't miss a recipe or post! Make sure you are on my email list. ADD EMAIL

Oatmeal Banana Peanut Butter Cookies

Who doesn't LOVE cookies? 

Who doesn't love feeling guiltless when eating cookies? I needed to Mokshafy a recipe to keep me on track and to let my son eat cookies without all the sugar. We both have a major sweet tooth. It can put us in a sugary situation.

This recipe did just that. I won't feel bad sneaking one of these into his lunches for school, or eating one in the middle of the day. Healthy Cookies! For real!

INGREDIENTS
3 bananas, ripe
1⁄3cup Coconut oil
2.25 cups quick cooking oats
1⁄2cup chocolate chips
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 Tbs Honey
3 Heaping Tbs of peanut butter

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a large mixing bowl, mash bananas with a fork until no longer lumpy. If bananas aren't very ripe, a hand mixer may be used. Stir in oil, oats, chocolate chips, peanut butter and vanilla.
Lightly grease a cookie sheet or use a silpat.
For each cookie, spoon about 2 tablespoons of cookie mixture (or I like to use an ice cream scooper) onto the cookie sheet. 

Bake for 16-20 minutes.
**IF batter seems a little dry, add dashes of milk to moisten.

You can omit the chocolate chips to make them even healthier and add cinnamon, raisins or chopped pecans! Omitting the peanut butter all together is also a delish version! I just happen to have a love affair with peanut butter.

Enjoy and stay healthy my friends!

*Don't miss a recipe or post! Make sure you are on my email list. ADD EMAIL

Lip Exfoliator

I Don't know about you but my lips are crazy dry during this time of year. With the cold outside, dry heat inside. I can't seem to keep them from hurting. I love this lip exfoliator because...

1. It's all organic
2. It's made with edible ingredients
3. It's yummy

It gives you back soft lips!

Ingredients:

•  1 pt Brown Sugar
•  1 pt Extra Virgin Coconut Oil
•  1 pt Creamed Honey

(regular honey would work just as well)

Directions:

•  Mix all 3 ingredients together.
•  Rub softly onto lips for about 30 seconds. Even corners. 
•  Let it sit for another minute soaking in a moisturizing.
•  Rub off damp wet towel.
  

BAM! Nice soft kissable lips. 

*Don't miss a recipe or post! Make sure you are on my email list. ADD EMAIL.

Coconutty Sugar Body Scrub

Who doesn't LOVE soft skin? And if you are like me, with super sensitive skin, you can't use many over the counter products because of all the harsh chemicals. I don't know what I am allergic to, but sometimes when I try new products I wake up completely swollen. Eyes shut and all. So, I stick to what I DO know! My Derm Exclusive facial products and then my DIY products. Like this!  

This body scrub is so yummy! Not to mention EASY! I have never felt softer. It's only 2 organic ingredients. 3 if you want to make it even yummier with some essential oils. You probably have everything in your pantry already if you're like me.

No harsh chemicals, no extra cost, no calories, ALL organic! And it's truly amazing! 

You can try this with brown sugar instead of white sugar, you can add a tsp of essential oils if you like. There are many options to experiment with. I use this as body scrub in the shower, and as a hand and foot scrub at night. An anytime scrub really. You just might become addicted as well. 

Coconut oil has so many moisturizing benefits for your skin. I could write and entire post just about Coconut oil! Maybe next time. This is a course scrub and you don't want to chance clogging your pours on your face with too much oil, so only use this on your body. It's heavenly. 

• 1 Pint Jar

Ingredients:

• 1 1/3 cups Organic white sugar
• 2/3 cup Organic Virgin Coconut Oil melted

Optional:

• About 20 drops Essential Oil of choice. Vanilla, Lemon, Eucalyptus, peppermint.

If you want to make a lip scrub, add 2 tbsp of honey and use Bakers Sugar.

This also makes for a wonderful gift! Christmas is around the corner you know! Buy some pretty jars and doilies from Container Store or Cost Plus, add a creative tag and bow. And WALLA!  A very inexpensive, thoughtful gift everyone can use! Even kids in the bathtub! They can play with the texture and it wont hurt them if they accidentally get it in their mouth. It actually tastes yummy. If I didn't make my own I would LOVE a gift like this. 

Need I say more? Best scrub I've used.

*Don't miss a recipe or post! Make sure you are on my email list. ADD EMAIL

The secret to keeping your lettuce fresh and crispy

The secret to keeping your lettuce fresh.

I love salads!

I will eat them everyday if possible. There are so many options on how you can create one you really should never get board of a salad. You can have a completely different flavor each day of the week. So many options.

Eating as many salads as I do, I have finally figured the way to keep lettuce crispy and fresh. Here is a little tip to keep your lettuce FRESH and crispy the entire week.

• Instead of buying pre-washed bagged lettuce, but a head of your favorite lettuce. 
• As soon as you get home, wash it well. Tear each leaf off the stem rinsing it thoroughly.
• Place cleaned leaves in a large bowl of water. Soaking and stirring leaves around for a few minutes to ensure you get all the dirt and critters off. Drain water out.
• Cut the lettuce leaves in half and dry them well. I use a salad spinner to get all the water off the leaves. It works wonderful!  

• Place the clean dried lettuce leaves in a large plastic bag and close. 
• Using a knife or scissors, cut holes in the bag on each side so the lettuce gets air and can breath. 5 or 6 holes on each side of bag.
• Place the bag in your the refrigerator.  

Your cleaned fresh lettuce will crisp up and stay fresh the entire week. 

Not only will you save money by buying an entire head of lettuce, but you get MORE lettuce AND it will last longer than a bag of pre-washed. Who knows how long it has been in that bag already. And the stink of rotting leaves ruins the entire bag!

Note: If you put lettuce in your refrigerator without washing, the leaves wilt immediately. 

Tip 2: If you have wilted leaves, soak them in a bowl of water inside the refrigerator for 30 minutes or so. WALLA. Crispy once again. Use immediately.

*Don't miss a recipe or post! Make sure you are on my email list. ADD EMAIL

Summer Corn Salad

Summertime is salad experimenting time for me. Why stick with the usual leafy salads? Which I love by the way! But sometimes you need to whoop it up. Corn is versatile, sweet and delicious. Is there really anyone who doesn't LOVE it? It's gotten such a bad rap over the years with being GMO. Just buy NON GMO organic and enjoy it! 

When I saw a recipe for a corn salad I thought to myself, THIS IS IT! I had to revise the recipe make to my own and add some zing and tastiness! I always need the tasty! 

The final recipe is light, refreshing and delicious. 

This is SOOO YUMMY!  I LOVE CORN!!! 

Makes 5-6 servings

Ingredients;

• 4 ears corn, husked and cleaned
• 1 pint grape tomatoes, halved
• 2 tbs fresh basil, chopped
• 4 tsp olive oil
• 3 tsp red wine vinegar
• 4 oz crumbled feta cheese
• 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
• 1/2 tsp pink himalayan salt

Taste the dressing as you make it. If you like MORE zing, add more vinegar, less zing add less. Make it how YOU like it. That is key. 

Directions;

• Place your grill on high. Grilling adds flavor. Or heat your oven to 350 degrees.
• Wrap each cleaned ear of corn in aluminum foil. The entire cob needs be covered with just one layer so it will steam the kernels.

• Grill or cook all wrapped ears for about five minutes per side, turning occasionally.
• Remove the corn from the grill or oven and let it cool.
• Stand the corn upright in a large bowl, and holding the top of the corn, use a sharp knife to cut off the kernels from top to bottom. Discard cobs. You will have about 2 1/2 cups corn kernels for the salad.

• Add the tomatoes, basil, olive oil, red wine vinegar, feta, pink salt, and pepper to the bowl of corn. Lightly toss.
• Serve slightly chilled.

The perfect side with grilled steak, chicken or fish. 

*Don't miss a recipe or post! Make sure you are on my email list. ADD EMAIL

Citrus Electrolyte Drink

Dehydrated? Sick? 

This homemade citrus Electrolyte water gives you just what you need to replenish. My son requests this beverage even when he is not sick. :)  Don't buy Gatorade or anything else full of junk. Pure and simple is always best.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup fresh orange juice
• 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
• 2 cups raw coconut water 
• 2 tbsp organic raw honey  
• 1/8 tsp Himalayan Pink salt 

*Don't miss a recipe or post! Make sure you are on my email list. ADD EMAIL.