Easy Sweet Smoothie

Blend: 

1 frozen banana (freeze without the peel!) 

A large handful of kale or spinach 

8 ounces of coconut water 

SO sweet and delicious!

Paleo Coffee Creamer

It's no secret that I love coffee. Anyhow, any way. But I especially like it strong and creamy. So much so that my mom thinks I should have grown hair on my chest by now. And my father in law says that I drink coffee stronger then his mother did. (And by the way he says this, I think he respects me for it.)

Coffee creamer is such a treat, but I have given it up before because of the ingredients. I bought creamer while our family was in town, and I did enjoy it! But then I looked at the ingredients list and got a little sick. Plus I think dairy aggravates my eczema. Time for a change.

SO I found some awesome homemade paleo coffee creamer recipes from Planks, Love, and Guacamole's website. They all have a base of 1 can of coconut milk and 1 T. coconut sugar (which you can buy at TJ Maxx or any health food store) or maple syrup.

I made the "toasted almond" creamer (bottom picture.)

Here are the ingredients: 

1 can coconut milk
1 Tbsp coconut palm sugar OR Grade B Maple Syrup
1 Tbsp almond extract

Blend in a blender and store in a mason jar up to 4 days in the frig. NO LONGER. 

Note-- Every morning, I blend the coffee with the creamer in my blender. It makes for a frothy treat, like the picture below!  

Click here to see the other variations like hazelnut, cinnabun, coconut, peppermint mocha.........

White Wine Sangria

picture source: http://www.honeygheeandme.com/2013/11/1240/

Happy weekend! This is amazing. I recommend making this ahead of time because it's even better the next day! :)

 White Wine Sangria w/Mango, Peach, & Ginger 

Copied from: Honey, Ghee, & Me

Serves: 6-8 drinks 

Ingredients

• 1 bottle dry white wine (Sauv. Blanc works well)
• ½ cup mango nectar (pure mango puree)
• ½ cup Triple Sec
• ½ cup ginger simple syrup (recipe below)
• 1 cup sparkling water
• ½ cup each, chopped: mango, peach, and strawberry
• 1 lime, sliced
• for ginger simple syrup:
• 1 cup water
• ¾ cup raw honey
• ¼ cup sliced ginger

 

Directions

1. To make syrup... In a small pot, bring the water, honey, and sliced ginger to a boil.
2. Lower heat and let the syrup cook down for about 10 minutes.
3. Remove from heat and set aside.
4. To make sangria... Slice the strawberries, mango, and peach.
5. In a large pitcher, combine wine, water, mango nectar, Triple Sec, and ginger simple syrup. Add the fruit now if you wish, or add it directly to the cups when serving.
6. Stir to blend, taste, and adjust flavors as desired.
7. To serve... Add a few ice cubes to cups.
8. Pour the sangria over ice.
9. Add chopped fruit if not already added along with a slice or two of lime.
10. Sip and enjoy!
11. * I add ice to the cups rather than to the pitcher so that the sangria doesn't dilute.
12. ** Note: lime/lemon rind can make drinks bitter if soaking for too long, so add those just before drinking.

Piña Colada Smoothie

Picture borrowed from http://draxe.com/recipe/pina-colada-smoothie/

Quite possibly the BEST smoothie I have ever had. 

Copied from Dr. Axe's website:

"Coconut is a medium chain fatty acid which is easily digested and converted to energy instead of being stored as fat. It is extremely diverse and one of the healthiest foods you could eat! Try this Piña Colada Smoothie Recipe and indulge in the benefits of coconut!"

Ingredients

• 10 oz. coconut milk (I used canned)
• 1-2 raw eggs
• 1 Tbsp extra-virgin coconut oil, melted
• 2 Tbsp honey
• 1 C fresh or frozen pineapple
• 1/2 banana
• ½ tsp vanilla extract
• 3 Tbsp ground chia seed
• (I added ice because my pineapple wasn't frozen!)

Directions

1. Combine the ingredients in a high-speed blender. 

Makes 2 servings.

Homemade Almond Milk

 

A couple weeks ago, I made homemade almond milk.

Why homemade instead of store-bought? The store-bought has some unpronouncable ingredients in it, if you like to steer clear of that kinda thing. 

Homemade is also thicker and creamier than the store-bought. 

Plus I just wanted to try it. To say I did. 

So if you have lots of raw almonds you want to play with, try it! 

Here's how it went down...

Copied from: NomNom Paleo

Here’s what to gather to make 3 cups of almond milk:

• 1 cup organic raw almonds
• 2½ cups water, plus extra for soaking
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• pinch of sea salt
• nut milk bag or cheesecloth ($3.99 from Bed Beth and Beyond!) 

Here’s what you do:
1. Measure out 1 cup of almonds…
2. Rinse well
3. Transfer almonds to a large pitcher or bowl
4. Add at least twice the volume of water to the bowl
5. Cover with a towel and let the almonds soak at room temp for 12-24 hours
6. Strain the almonds in a colander and rinse again
7. Add almonds and fresh water (2 1/2 cups) to high speed blender-- a powerful one
8. Add vanilla and pinch of salt
9. Blend on high until nuts are pulverized
10. Grad a nut milk bag or cheese cloth and place it inside a pitcher
11. Pour in almond milk
12. Slowly squeeze out milk from top to bottom of the bag
13. Keep the milk in the frig for up to 4 days!

 

 

Healthy Hot Chocolate

I can't get over how amazing this stuff is. Really.

3 ingredients. 

Squeaky clean. 

Perfection. 

 

For 1 serving:

1 cup almond milk (unsweetened or vanilla)

1 Tablespoon of unsweetened cocoa powder

1 Tablespoon (or less) of coconut sugar***

1. Heat the almond milk in a saucepan on the stovetop or in the microwave for about 2 minutes. 

2. Blend the cocoa powder, sugar, and warm almond milk in a blender until whipped. 

3. Pour into a mug and top with spinkle of cocoa powder and ENJOY! 

4. This stuff is amazing. That's all.  

***I bought coconut sugar at a health food store a while back for a cookie recipe. I was bummed that it didn't come in a smaller bag, because I wasn't sure what else I would use it for. But I have loved this stuff!  Why is it better than sugar, you ask? Unlike white sugar, coconut sugar is low on the glycemic index and high in nutrients and amino acids. Now, I still don't think any kind of sugar is great. But I think this is better than the alternative. :)

In case you wanted an action shot.