Yoga is an incredible thing.

It has the ability to heal us, strengthen us, challenge us and break us down, make us happier, increase our sense of gratitude, make us more flexible and increase our overall health, ground us and root us. It’s magical and peaceful, yet can also kick your booty and leave you feeling stronger and sweatier than when you showed up.

There are so many reasons why yoga is such an incredible tool for us, and so many reasons why you should consider incorporating it into your exercise regimen throughout the week.

Let’s talk about mental health. First and foremost, yoga has the ability to help you slow down, concentrate, be mindful and live in the present movement. Do you ever notice how great you feel after a yoga class? There’s got to be something to this, right?

According to Yoga Journal, the practice moves you from the sympathetic nervous system to the parasympathetic nervous system, or from fight-or-flight to rest-and-digest. With yoga, you enter a more relaxed state and start breathing more deeply and slowly. Your nervous system calms down and you start to feel less anxious, and instead, happier.

With less anxiety, better stress management and a happier attitude, your relationships benefit, productivity at work increases, cortisol levels decrease and sense of self improve. It starts to become easier to slow down, observe, breathe and make clearer decisions.

In addition to helping to improve your mental state, yoga has a variety of positive effects on your physical health. It improves your flexibility, builds muscle, helps to improve posture, protects your spine, prevents cartilage and joint breakdown and increases your blood flow. Also, as you contract and stretch your muscles during a yoga practice, you move organs around and increase the drainage of the lymphatic system. This helps your body to fight infection, detox properly and destroy cancerous cells! Not to forget, yoga is exercise, which your heart and body always benefit from.

Although the benefits of yoga are immeasurable on an individual level, did you know that yoga can also benefit your relationships and sex life? You heard me correctly. Yoga and sex actually have quite a few things in common

According to Heather Simonson, a New York sex therapist and yoga instructor, “yoga means unity of the mind, body, and breath. In sex we are using our bodies, but oftentimes don’t use the mind or the breath,” she says. “Yet we should be. Tuning into both can help you better connect to the sensations you’re experiencing, as well as connect to the person you’re in bed with.”

Because yoga improves flexibility, fosters body acceptance and helps improve mobility within the pelvic region, the practice can greatly benefit your sex life and add a lot of dynamic to it! Furthermore, yoga keeps you in the present moment, which is incredibly important for our relationships, conversations, sex life and more.

Has this information persuaded you yet?! Yoga has the ability to change your life in both small and mighty ways. Why not let it?

Why You Should Consider Saying Goodbye to Sugar

These days, sugar is everywhere, and in practically every processed or packaged food. According to a study done by the University of California San Francisco, the average American consumes approximately 66 pounds of sugar each year. This is leading to disease, obesity, mental health issues and illness.

“But sugar makes everything taste so much better!” – your brain

“Yeah, but I’M the one suffering!” – your body

Sugar affects nearly every department of our well-being – our hormonal balance, mental health and mood, energy levels, sleep and taste buds. So, shouldn’t we be careful of how much we’re consuming?

There are two different kinds of sugar – “natural” and “added” – and although there is a big difference between the two, are either of them truly benefiting you and your health? Let’s dive in.

Added sugar is exactly what it sounds like: sweetening agents that are added to foods and that need to be processed (either minimally or highly) in order to reach their form. This includes brown rice syrup, brown sugar, cane juice and cane sugar, raw sugar, maltose, agave syrup, corn syrup, maltodextrin, dextrose, confectioner’s sugar, tapioca syrup, and a list of others that you might see on the back of food labels (including artificial sweeteners like aspartame, acesulfame, saccharin and sucralose).

Natural sugars, on the other hand, are naturally found in real foods. This includes fructose and lactose. These natural sugars are encased in fiber, and therefore are absorbed by the body more slowly, which helps your body metabolize the sugar better and keeps you from hitting that “sugar high.”

Although natural sugars are definitely better than added sugars, we have to be careful about how much we consume of both.

When we ingest sugar, natural or added, our bodies create glucose, which in turn gets used as energy – and if not expended as energy, gets stored for later. But, if we don’t end up using that energy (or glucose) that’s been stored for later, then our body stores it as fat. This “energy” relationship that our bodies have with sugar affect our hormones, mental state, and more.

When we consume sugar in large amounts, it throws our blood sugar out of line, and this can really harm hormone levels – especially as a woman! Hormonal expert and author of WomanCode, Alisa Vitti, has a very helpful article about how sugar affect hormonal balance. Read it here for more in-depth information!

The roller-coaster of high blood sugar followed by a crash can correlate to mood disorders, along with depression and anxiety. Think – when your body is out of balance in any sense of the word – you don’t feel quite like yourself, right? Sugar can make you feel a bit funky when consumed in high amounts or too often. Furthermore, it’s addictive! The same reward centers in the brain that are activated by cocaine are also activated by sugar; and a study in 2007 showed that rats actually prefer sugar water over cocaine when given the two to choose from.

Our energy levels and sleep are also affected by our sugar intake. With a blood sugar spike comes a crash. You might hit a “high” and peak in energy for 20 minutes, but you’re sure to feel lethargic and sluggish in the end. Sugar and glucose don’t offer a sustainable energy level like healthy fats and protein do. Additionally, if you are someone who enjoys a bowl of ice cream at night before bed – you might want to think twice. When we consume sugar before bed, it’s even WORSE for us because it will be converted straight into fat. The glucose will have nowhere to go (because you’re not expending energy while you sleep) and therefore will stick around instead.

Isn’t it crazy how much sugar affects our day-to-day well-being? Almost everything is directly impacted by our consumption of it! And, unfortunately, the more that we consume it, the more that our taste-buds and brain want more of it.

Although sugar isn’t providing us with any nutrients or healthy calories, we don’t have to give up ALL things sweet! Here are some alternative sweeteners that you can use that won’t spike your blood sugar and are okay in moderation!

-       Pure Stevia Leaf (extract or powder)

-       Raw, organic honey

-       Raw, organic maple syrup

-       Organic dates

-       Organic applesauce

-       Banana puree or bananas

-       Organic fruit juices

-       Monk fruit

-       Coconut sugar + nectar

Of course it’s fun to treat yourself every now and then, but making a habit of saying “no thanks” to added sugar a majority of the time is going to greatly benefit your health down the line. Let’s find ways to be intentional about our sugar consumption – by choosing products and foods that don’t include sugar (or use natural sweeteners instead), and opting for nutritious meals and snacks that are full of healthy fats and proteins in its place!

Why Eat Organic?

Why Eating Organic & Local is Important

Did you know that organic foods have more beneficial nutrients than their conventionally-grown ‘twins’? It’s hard to believe, because an organic peach – from the outside – truly doesn’t look too much different from a conventionally-grown one, but it’s what’s on the inside that counts…

The difference between organic and conventional produce is actually quite huge.

Conventional produce is farmed using techniques that include synthetic chemicals such as fertilizers, pesticides, antibiotics, hormones or genetically modified organisms (all of these things negatively affect the environment AND take away nutrients from the produce!). Additionally, food additives can be used in conventional farming to preserve food, enhance color, add sweetener, etc. This is not a natural way of farming considering the produce is not harvested at its organic, natural state. It is, instead, affected by the additives and chemicals that come into contact with it; and these chemicals and additives make their way to the consumer’s mouth and body.

Organic farming prohibits the use of synthetic pesticides, chemicals, fertilizers, genetically-modified organisms, waxes and other preservatives. Organic farming also uses crop rotation strategies that help maintain healthy soil and nutrient content in plants. It is a farming technique that helps to sustain a healthy environment for plants, animals and human beings.

When you’re walking through the farmer’s market or grocery store and you decide to grab the organic celery and organic container of strawberries instead of the conventional ones, you are doing your body a huge favor. When you ingest conventional produce, you are also ingesting the toxins (anything artificial and toxic that was used during farming) that come with it; and sometimes these toxins linger in the body, resulting in illness or disease. However, when you ingest organic produce, you are getting all of the nutritious benefits of the fruit or vegetable without any of the toxicity.

Eating organic also supports your local, organic farmers because much of the organic produce in your grocery stores comes from local farms! And when you make the choice to eat local food, you are getting the freshest produce possible – whereas other produce has to make its way across the United States or other countries with different food standards to get to you. The more we support local farmers and their communities, the more organic and local produce that will be available, and the more your community will begin to see and understand the importance of eating this way.

Purchasing organic food is not only helpful to the environment, but it’s also incredibly important for your health. If you are passionate about leading a healthy lifestyle, or one that incorporates practices and eating habits that enhance your overall well-being, then eating organic is a MUST!

Of course, eating organically can be expensive, and it would be naïve to not consider this when advocating for eating an organic diet. This is where the “Dirty Dozen and Clean Fifteen” lists come in handy. These lists provide you with the 12 fruits and vegetables that are highest in pesticide residue and must be purchased organically, and the 15 that are more pure and okay to consume at the conventional state. Do what is financially best for you and your family, and take these lists into consideration if you would rather only purchase what absolutely needs to be organic!

See below for the 2018 breakdown.

The “DIRTY DOZEN” - Items with the most pesticide residue. 

Strawberries

Spinach

Nectarines

Apples

Grapes

Peaches

Cherries

Pears

Tomatoes

Celery

Potatoes

Sweet Bell Peppers

The “CLEAN FIFTEEN” - Items with the least amount of pesticide residue

Avocados

Sweet Corn

Pineapples

Cabbages

Onions

Sweet Peas

Papayas

Asparagus

Mangoes

Eggplants

Honeydews

Kiwis

Cantaloupes

Cauliflower

Broccoli

It seems daunting to try and eat 100% organic all the time, but this isn’t the purpose of this blog post. The purpose of this information is to inspire you to support your local, organic farmers and to make decisions that benefit your body and health! By reducing toxins in our lives and supporting practices that positively impact our planet and our bodies, we can live happier, healthier and more vibrantly!

Easter Brunch

I love the Easter Season for several reasons

ONE I am reminded how much each and every one of is loved because Jesus gave his life for each one of us!

TWO Spring is here and the days are getting warmer and the sun is out longer.

THREE I love brunch and you cannot beat a good Easter brunch!!

So here are some ideas for your Easter brunch or any spring brunch you have coming up!!

Maple Sugar Crusted Ham 

(This recipe is for half a ham double for a whole ham)

Ingredients

·      Spiral Cut Ham (I buy one with no nitrates)

·      1 Cup Water

·      ½ Cup Avocado Oil

·      ½ Cup Coconut Super

·      1 tsp Vanilla Extract

·      1 tsp Maple Extract

Directions

1.     Place Ham in roasting pan with water and cover with foil. Place in 350-degree oven for 15 minutes.

2.     While Ham is in oven mix the oil, sugar, vanilla and maple extract in a bowl

3.     After 15 min take foil off Ham and cover with sugar mixture then place back in oven for 10 minutes uncovered.

4.     Take out of oven and let set for 5 minutes before cutting.

Spring Vegetable Egg Casserole

Ingredients

·      1 Cup Chopped Asparagus

·      1 Cup Chopped Mushroom

·      1 TBSP Avocado Oil

·      ½ Cup Onion

·      6 Eggs

·      1 Cup Non-Dairy Milk

·      1 TBSP Garlic Powder

·      1 TBSP Thyme

·      1 TBSP Everyday Seasoning (I use Trader Joes)

·      Salt and Pepper to taste

Direction

1.     In a heated skillet add oil, asparagus, mushroom and onions. Cook until cooked through

2.     Spray 8X8 baking pan and then add cooked veggies

3.     While veggies are cooling mix eggs, milk, garlic, thyme, everyday seasoning as well as salt and pepper together then pour over the veggies then mix them all together in pan.

4.     Place veggie and egg mixture in a 350-degree oven for 30 minutes or until it is cooked through.

Rosemary Thyme Roasted Potatoes

Ingredients

·      10 mini potatoes

·      5 Sprigs of Fresh Thyme

·      1 TBSP Avocado Oil

·      1 TBSP Rosemary

·      Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions

1.     Wash and chop potato’s

2.     Place potatoes, oil, thyme, rosemary and salt and pepper in and bowl and toss together

3.     Place potatoes on a cookie sheet sprayed with nonstick spray and place in a 400-degree oven for 20 min or until bottoms are golden brown.

Berry Baked French Toast

Ingredients

·       10-12 slices gluten free bread toasted (I use Canyon 7 Grain)

·       1 cups Blueberries

·       1 cup Chopped Strawberries

·       10 large eggs

·       2 cups nondairy milk

·       1 cup maple syrup

·       1 tsp nutmeg

·       2 tsp cinnamon

Directions

1.     Preheat oven to 350-degrees

2.     Spray 9"x13" pan with nonstick spray or coconut oil

3.     Line bottom of pan with the bread overlapping each piece.

4.     Press bread down to sort of mold together.

5.     Spread berries over the toast in the pan.

6.     Whisk eggs, milk, syrup and spices together well.

7.     Pour over the berries and bread.

8.     Bake uncovered for 50-65 min until done.

Tip: Serve with fresh Coconut whipped cream

Honey Glazed Carrots

Ingredients

·      12 Petite Carrots

·      1 TBSP Avocado Oil

·      1 TBSP Honey

·      ½ tsp Garlic

·      Salta and Pepper to taste

Directions

1.     Wash and pill carrots in not bought that way

2.     Place carrots in bowl with oil, honey, garlic, salt and pepper toss together

3.     Place carrots on cookie sheet and place in a 400-degree oven for 15 minutes

Citrus Salad

Ingredients

·      1 Bag Spring Mix Salad

·      ½ Bag Arugula

·      ½ Cup Pistachios

·      ½ Cup Sunflower Seeds

·      1 Orange peeled and segments cut up

·      1/3 Cup of Orange Muscat Champagne Vinegar

·      ¼ Cup Olive Oil

·      Edible Flowers (optional)

Directions

1.     Toss together salad, arugula, pistachios, sunflower seeds and Orange Segments in bowl

2.     In a separate bowl wisk together vinegar and oil then toss into salad mixture

3.     Top with edible flowers

Mini Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Glaze

Ingredients

·      1 box Simple Mills Vanilla Cake Mix

·      2 Cup Finely shredded carrots (removes excess moisture with paper towel)

·      1 Cup Crushed Pineapple (make sure to buy in own juice)

·      ¼ Cup Chopped Walnuts

·      2 tsp Cinnamon

·      1/8 tsp Cloves

·      ½ Cup Daiya Spreadable Cream Cheese

·      ½ Container Simple Mills Vanilla Icing

Directions

1.     Mix Vanilla cake mix as box states

2.     Mix in cinnamon and cloves

3.     Fold in carrots, pineapple and walnuts into cake mix

4.     Poor cake mixture into well-greased mini cake molds (you can also make regular sized cake)

5.     Cook in 350-degree oven for 20 mins or until cooked through

6.     Once cooked let cakes cool

7.     While they are cooling add Cream Cheese and Vanilla Icing into sauce pan and stir until melted together.

8.     Removes cakes from molds and spoon glaze over the cakes.

Tip: You can top with more crushed walnuts

HAPPY EASTER and Enjoy Your Brunch!!

Who is Ready for Some FOOTBALL!!!

I love watching the Super Bowl even though my team didn’t make it this year :( I still love watching the commercials and eating all the foods!

However, most of the time the foods are fried, processed and full of fat but I can help you with that! I have come up with some great CLEAN Super Bowl Foods everyone at your party will love!

 

One Pot Chili

Ingredients

·      1 lb. Grass Fed Ground Beef

·      4 oz. can Green Chiles

·      1 can Diced Tomatoes

·      1 cup Beef Bone Broth

·      1 cup Tomato Juice

·      1 can Black Beans

·      1 small Yellow Onion – diced

·      2 TBSP Cumin

·      2 TBSP Chili Powder

·      Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions

1.     Add Beef and Onion to large pot. Cook until beef is browned.

2.     Add everything else into pot and stir together

3.     Let cook on medium for 30 min.

4.     Let simmer on low for an hour

Note: You can setup a chili bar or just serve with the corn bread in the next recipe!

Mini Cornbread Muffins

Ingredients

·       1 cup milk of choice, room temperature or warm (this is important so that the coconut oil doesn't harden once added)

·       2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar

·       1/3 cup refined coconut oil, melted

·       1/2 cup honey

·       1/2 teaspoon vanilla

·       2/3 cup medium grind gluten-free cornmeal 

·       1 1/3 cup oat flour (if you do not have oat flour you can quickly grind some oats up in a blender)

·       3/4 teaspoon salt

·       2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

·       1/2 teaspoon baking soda

·      1/2 cup Frozen Corn

Directions

1.   Preheat the oven to 350-degrees spray mini muffin pan wells with nonstick spray.

2.   Pour the milk in a large mixing bowl, add the apple cider vinegar, and give it a few stirs. Let sit for 5 minutes while preparing the dry ingredients.

3.   In a medium mixing bowl, stir together all the dry ingredients. Set aside.

4.   To the milk mixture, add the melted coconut oil, honey and vanilla and stir until well combined.

5.   Add the dry mixture and frozen corn stir just until combined.

6.   Pour into the prepared pan. Bake muffins for 10 minutes. A toothpick inserted in the middle should come out with a few moist crumbs but no wet batter.

Chicken Meatballs with Yogurt Wing Sauce Dip

Chicken Meatballs

Ingredients

·      2 lbs. of Ground Chicken

·      1 TBSP Trader Joes Everyday Seasoning

·     1/2 TBSP Garlic Powder

·      1 TBSP Avocado Oil

·     1/2 cup Chicken Broth

Directions

1.     Add Avocado Oil to skillet and heat

2.     While the oil is heating up mix the chicken and seasonings in a bowl

3.     Once the oil is hot start forming the chicken mixture into balls and put in the skillet. (Do not fill the skillet too much. You do not want the meatballs to touch. You may have to do two rounds.)

4.     Flip the meatballs in the pan so each side gets a good brown outer layer. (They do not have to be cooked all the way through)

5.     Once each side of the Meatball is nice a browned place the Meatballs in an oven save casserole dish. Once you have all the Meatballs in the dish add Chicken Broth to the bottom of the pan and cover with foil.

6.     Place the dish in a 350-degree preheated oven and let finishing cooking for 20 min.

7.     Take them out and serve warm!

Yogurt Wing Sauce

Ingredients

·      1 cup Plain Almond Milk Yogurt (you can use any yogurt you like)

·     1/4 cup Franks Hot Sauce

·     1/2 TBSP Tomato Paste

·      Salt and Pepper to Taste

Directions

1.     Mix all ingredients in a bowl. Add more hot sauce if you like it hotter!

2.    Let sit in fridge for at least an hour (You can make this the night before)

Place the Meatballs and Sauce on a Platter and Serve!

Note: You can add celery, carrot sticks or some blue cheese crumbles!

Easy Guacamole

Ingredient

·      2 Ripe Avocados

·      1/2 cup Fresh Pico de Gallo (I get mine from the prepared food section at the grocery store)

Directions

1.     Cut and remove the avocado from the skins into and bowl and mash

2.     Add the fresh pico mix with mashed avocado

3.     Place in a serving platter and serve with veggies and tortilla chips. (Siete Brand Tortilla chips our mine fav! The Lime flavor is awesome with the Guacamole)

Mini Twice Baked Potato Skins

Ingredients

·      1/2 lb. Bacon

·      1 cup Dairy Free Cheese Spread (My Favorite is Barefood'n Cashew Cheese)

·      6 Red Skin Potatoes

·      Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions

1.     Wash and cut potatoes in half long ways

2.    Place halved potatoes on a baking pan and place in a 400-degree oven for 30 min or until cooked all the way through.

3.    While potatoes are cooking cook the bacon and set aside to cool.

4.    Once potatoes are done scoop out center and place in bowl

5.    In the same bowl with the center of the potato add cheese and salt and pepper. Mix together

6.    Add the cheese mixture back into the potato and Broil in the oven for 10 minutes or until the tops brown.

7.     Once done take the potatoes out and place on a plate. Crumble the cooked bacon over the top of each potato and serve!

For the final play and something a little sweet!

 

Football Cookie

Ingredients

·      Simple Mills Chocolate Chip Cookie Mix

·      Simple Mills Vanilla Icing

Directions

1.     Mix the cookie up as directed on the box

2.     Place all the dough on a sprayed cookie sheet and shape like a football

3.     Place football cookie in oven and cook as directed on the cookie mix

4.     Once cookie is done let it cool

5.     While cookie is cooling take the icing and place in a pastry bag and warm up with hands. (this icing is a little stiffer than normal icing because it is made with coconut oil)

6.     When cookie is cool take icing and add the football details.

7.     Serve and Enjoy!

I hope everyone has a great Super Bowl Sunday!

Intermittent Fasting

Intermittent Fasting is not as scary as some people think. In all actuality fasting can be natural and good for our bodies.

So, what is Intermittent Fasting?

Intermittent fasting is not a diet, it's a pattern of eating. It's a way of scheduling your meals so that you get the most out of them. Intermittent fasting doesn’t change what you eat, it changes when you eat.

So how does intermittent fasting work?

Your body is always in one of two states: fed or fasted. In the fed state, (anytime your body is digesting food), your body’s insulin levels make burning fat a challenge. However, in the fasted state, (8-12 hours after your body finishes digesting), your insulin levels are lower and your body is better able to reach into fat stores for energy.

After you eat, your body works hard to digest your meal. As you break down your meal in your digestive tract, nutrients are released into your bloodstream. That means your body often has excess fuel and that excess gets stored as fat. When you fast, your body has to rely on its energy stores by burning fat and glycogen. So, through intermittent fasting, you train your body to burn fat instead of storing it.

What are the Health Benefits to Intermittent Fasting?

Besides the fat loss that I discussed above research has shown that Interment Fasting can improve hormone Imbalances, increased life expectancy, maintenance of skeletal muscle mass, decreased insulin levels and increased insulin sensitivity.

Johns Hopkins neuroscience professor has shown research that fasting not only wards off Alzheimer’s, but also other neurological diseases like Parkinson’s Disease. 

There are more studies been done that are starting to show fasting has effects on cancers and other diseases  

3 Reasons why I love Intermittent Fasting

1. It makes my life easier!

2. It put me back in control of my food. 

3. IF has helped me shed excess fat!

How do I learn how to Intermittent Fast?

If you are interested in learning more about Intermittent Fasting let's chat. I would love to talk to you more about IF!

Almond Herb Crusted Chicken with Spaghetti Squash

Love Chicken Parmesan but not all the fat and calories that come with it? Try this Healthy version that I make for my family.

Almond Herb Crusted Chicken

Ingredients

• 6 organic boneless skinless chicken breasts

• 1 egg

• 2 cup almond meal

• 1 tablespoon garlic powder

• 2 tablespoon basil

• 2 tablespoon parsley

• Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees

• Lightly beat the egg in a shallow bowl.

• In another shallow bowl mix together the almond meal, garlic, basil, parsley and salt and pepper with a fork.

• Now you are ready to bread the chicken. Dip the chicken into the egg mixture until coated on all sides. Then coat with almond flour mixture.

• Spread the chicken on the cookie sheet lighted coated with coconut oil and place in the oven for 30 mins or until golden brown.

• If you want them a little more crispy turn the oven on broil for a few minutes then flip chicken and crisp the other side as well.

Spaghetti Squash with Marinara

Ingredients

• 1 Medium Sized Spaghetti Squash

• 1 tablespoon Avocado Oil

• 1 tablespoon garlic powder

• 1 tablespoon basil

• 1 tablespoon parsley

• Salt and pepper to taste

• 1 Jar of Organic Marinara

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees

• Cut squash in half and clean out seeds with a spoon.

• Place the 2 halves of the squash on cookie sheet and drizzle oil and sprinkle herbs over top.

• Place in the oven for 30 mins or until soft.

• Scrap center of squash out with a fork into skillet.

• Add marinara mix and cook until sauce is warm.

Place the squash/sauce mixture and a plate and top with herb crusted chicken and ENJOY!

Cleaner Holiday Treats

I love this time of year and baking with my son is one of my favorite things to do around the holidays. I love seeing how a 4 year old mind works when adding ingredients and then trying to decide how many sprinkles need to go on each cookie (usually too many for my liking but I let him run with it) However most recipes are made up of lots of butter and white flour so I wanted recipes we could make together that I would feel better about him and his little sister eating.

These are the ones we made this year!

Pecan Bars

Ingredients

Shortbread Layer

• 2 cups almond flour

• 2 tablespoons coconut flour

• 1/3 cup coconut oil melted

• 1/3 cup maple syrup

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Pecan Layer

• 2 cups raw pecan halves

• 1/2 cup coconut oil

• 2/3 cup coconut sugar

• 1 tablespoon molasses

• 1/4 teaspoon salt

• 1 teaspoon vanilla

• 1/2 cup almond milk

• 2 eggs room temperature

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350F and line a 9x9 pan with parchment paper. Set aside.

2. In a large bowl, combine almond flour, coconut flour, coconut oil, maple syrup, and salt. Stir until well combined.

3. Press into bottom of the prepared pan and bake for 16-18 minutes. The edges should be slightly brown.

4. Once removed from the oven, sprinkle pecans on top.

5. Reduce heat to 325F

6. While the crust is baking, make the filling. In a large saucepan, combine coconut oil, coconut sugar, molasses, and salt. Heat on low, stirring the whole time, until mixture is completely mixed. Do not cook any higher or the mixture won't combine properly.

7. Take off heat and add in the vanilla and almond milk. Stir until smooth. Add in the eggs and mix. Pour mixture oven pecans and bake for 30 minutes.

8. Let cool and room temperature then cut and serve. Store in the fridge after 24 hours.

Chewy Fig Thumbprint Cookies

Ingredients

• 2 cups  blanched almond flour(called ground almonds in other countries)

• 1/4 cup coconut flour

• 1/2 cup coconut sugar

• 1 tablespoon maple syrup

• 1 teaspoon baking powder

• 1/8 teaspoon salt

• 7 tablespoons coconut oil, melted and cooled slightly

• 1 large egg, room temperature

• 1 teaspoon almond extract

• 1/3 cup fig jam or jam of choice

Instructions

1. In a medium bowl, stir together the almond flour, coconut flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.

2. In another medium bowl, stir together the coconut oil, egg and almond extract.

3. Add the flour mixture to the wet mixture and stir just until combined. The dough will feel quite wet.

4. Let sit for 10 minutes, which allows the coconut flour to absorb the liquid.

5. Preheat the oven to 350F  and line a cookie sheet with a piece of parchment paper.

6. Roll the dough into 1" balls and place 2" apart on the prepared cookie sheet. The dough will feel quite greasy but this is okay.

7. Using your thumb, make an indentation about 3/4 of the way down into each cookie. You may want to re-form the edges a little to make them prettier.

8. Fill each indentation with 1/2 teaspoon of jam. Be sure not to overfill them.

9. Bake for 8 minutes or until the cookies have barely started browning on the bottom.

10. Let the cookies, which will be very soft, cool for 5 minutes on the baking sheet and then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.

11. Refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 4 days.

Almond Flour Sugar Cookie

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup butter, ghee, or palm shortening, softened

• 1/4 cup softened coconut oil

• 3/4 cup coconut sugar

• 2 eggs

• 2 teaspoons vanilla

• 1/4 teaspoon almond extract

• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

• 1/2 teaspoon fine salt

• 2 1/4 cups blanched almond flour(scoop and slightly pack it down when you measure it)

• 1/2 cup coconut flour

Instructions

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the butter, coconut oil, and sugar. Add the eggs, vanilla and almond extract, mix until incorporated.

2. In a separate bowl, combine the baking soda, salt, almond flour, and coconut flour. With the mixer running on low, add the flour mixture to the creamed ingredients 1 cup at a time, beating well after each addition.

3. Form the dough into a ball with your hands and place on a piece of plastic wrap. Form the dough into a disc and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes and up to overnight.

4. Preheat the oven to 350F. Line a 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

5. Sprinkle a clean, flat surface with coconut flour and roll the dough out until it is 1/4 thick. I like laying it on a piece for parchment paper and placing another sheet on top to roll it out. Or you may have to rub the rolling pin with coconut flour to do this. Cut out the cookies using your choice of cutters. Work somewhat quickly so the dough stays cold. Using a spatula, transfer the cut cookies to the baking sheets.

6. Gather the remaining scraps back up into a ball and roll out again. Repeat rolling and cutting out cookies until you use all the dough. If the dough gets too warm while you work with it you may need to chill it again.

7. Bake the cookies for 13-15 minutes, until lightly golden. These cookies need to bake longer than typical sugar cookies. They will stay soft and just get a little crispy, which is just what you want!

8. Cool on a baking sheet for 2 minutes then transfer to a wire rack. Cool completely before frosting.

9. For a cleaner frosting and sprinkles I used Simple Mills cake frosting and India Tree sprinkles.

Cinnamon Cookie

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups almond flour

• 1 tsp baking soda

• 1 tbsp cinnamon

• 1/2 tsp sea salt

• 1/2 cup raw creamy almond butter

• 1/2 cup pure maple syrup

• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.

2. In a medium-size mixing bowl, whisk together the almond flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt.

3. In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the almond butter, maple syrup and vanilla extract.

4. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry while stirring. Stir well to thoroughly combine. The dough will be sticky, but this is what you want.

5. Using your hands, roll the dough, about 1 tbsp at a time, into a ball and place on the parchment lined baking sheet. Dampen your hands slightly to make the dough easier to work with. Continue until all the dough has been used. Be sure to space the balls of dough out on the baking sheet with a few inches in between because they will spread out into perfectly round cookies.

6. Bake for 8-10 minutes, until they are starting to firm up on the outside.

7. Let cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes before transferring the cookies too a wire rack to continue cooling completely.

Note: If you really love cinnamon like I do - add an extra 1/2 tbsp of cinnamon.

If you are not a big baker but need something to bring to a party or cookie exchange these Cake bites are perfect!

Chocolate Mint Cake Bites

Ingredients

• Simple Mills Chocolate Cake Mix

• 1 container Simple Mills Vanilla Icing

• 1 tsp peppermint extract

• Dark Chocolate ( I used one large bar of dark chocolate with no sugar added)

Instructions

1. Make the cake mix as directed on the Simple Mills box

2. Bake the cake and let cool enough that you can touch it but not all the way to room temp. You want it a little warm to melt the icing a bit.

3. While cake is cooling line a sheet pan with parchment paper

4. In a large bowl mix the cake, container of icing and peppermint together until icing is completely mixed into the cake.

5. Roll about 1-2 inch balls out of the mix and lay on a sheet pan

6. Freeze the cake bites for 30min

7. While they are freezing melt chocolate in a pan over low heat. I just broke up the bar and placed in pan to melt. If yours seems too thick add in a little coconut oil.

8. Take the frozen bites and dip them in the chocolate then place back on the lined cookie sheet.

9. Option to top with sprinkles or crushed candy cane

10. Once they are all covered freeze again for at least 10 mins. Once chocolate is hardened move them to a airtight container to store. They will need be stored in the refrigerator or freeze.

Gingerbread Cake Bites

Ingredients

• Simple Mills Vanilla Cake Mix

• 1 container Simple Mills Vanilla Icing

• 1 tbsp molasses

• 2 tsp ginger

• 1 tsp cinnamon

• White Chocolate (If you are dairy free you will want to skip this or replace with a drizzle of the vanilla icing)

Instructions

1. Make the cake mix as directed on the Simple Mills box but then add in molasses, ginger and cinnamon to batter.

2. Bake the cake and let cool enough that you can touch it but not all the way to room temp. You want it a little warm to melt the icing a bit.

3. While cake is cooling line a sheet pan with parchment paper

4. In a large bowl mix the cake and container of icing together until icing is completely mixed into the cake.

5. Roll about 1-2 inch balls out of the mix and lay on a sheet pan

6. Freeze the cake bites for 30min

7. While they are freezing melt chocolate in a pan over low heat. If yours seems too thick add in a little coconut oil.

8. Take the frozen bites and dip them in the chocolate then place back on the lined cookie sheet. You can also just drizzle the chocolate over the bites is you do not want them fully covered.

9. You can decorate them with a sprinkle of cinnamon and ginger

10. Once they are all covered freeze again for at least 10 mins. Once chocolate is hardened move them to a airtight container to store. They will need be stored in the refrigerator or freeze.

I hope you enjoy baking these delicious treats! Happy Holidays!!