Yummy Dairy-Free Ice Cream

I have wanted to find a "healthy" ice cream recipe that I could make and share with people that can't have dairy. I have had requests for it before and tonight was a great find! I found a recipe on DelightedMomma.com called "Paleo Strawberry Ice Cream." You can find the recipe HERE and once I saw the picture and ingredient list, I knew I had to make it. It is super simple and here is my version of the directions:

In a bowl, add about 20 frozen strawberries. (I like frozen because of the extra juice they give once thawed). If they are super large, use a few less. Let them sit out and thaw enough to mash. Once mashed, add them to the following mixture:

1 can full fat coconut milk (I like the Sprouts Brand from Sprouts)
The juice of 1 medium-sized lime
2-3 T. honey (I think we were between those two)
2 T. vanilla
Once you add the strawberries, mix and add to your ice cream maker. I add mine once the maker is on and turning. It was done in 20 minutes and everyone LOVED it except my 4 year old. He ate about 5 bites and then went off to play.

 Jocelyn wanted to make sure I got a picture with her mouth open...so here it is!

Pretty and Light Pink!

Next time, I am going to try key lime ice cream with whole wheat graham cracker crumbs. YUM!

Healthy Lunches Week #1

To see what I am doing with the "lunch challenge" why I am doing it and my inspiration for this challenge, click HERE!

I have to say that the first week of our whole foods lunch challenge went really well. The kids were excited to see what they were getting, and for the most part, they liked everything. It was fun to see their lunch boxes at the end of the day and see how very little was left.

Ahead of time, I made pizza crust from 100 days of real food. I used her recipe and made three thin crust pizzas. I poked holes in the dough to limit the air bubbles and cooked it on a pizza stone. Once cool, I cut it into some squares and some slices and froze them ahead of time. The recipe to her crust HERE.

I also made smoothies ahead of time and froze them in the smoothie containers that Lisa uses on 100 days of real food. I bought them on Amazon. You can order them HERE. The smoothies I really like are from The Yummy Life and you can find the recipe HERE. When you see the list of options at the bottom, I used almond milk, Greek yogurt, honey and agave, bananas and frozen strawberries. There are my kids favorite. Pour in the silicone smoothie tubes and they stay in the freezer.

 MONDAY:

My spaghetti sauce (Here) made on Sunday, shredded mozzarella cheese, pizza crust from the freezer (link to recipe above), Applegate natural pepperoni (see HERE) and cut strawberries.

 Reviews: Both girls said this was their favorite lunch they have ever had!

TUESDAY:

Lunch was dehydrated strawberries (made myself), Somae granola in fridge (recipe HERE), poppy seed muffin from the freezer (recipe at the end of the post), hard boiled egg with lemon pepper and Greek yogurt blended with berries and agave (in blender, mix 1 C. Greek yogurt, 1 C. of triple berries from Costco, thawed, and 2 T. agave). Blend and that's it!

 Review: Victoria didn't like the yogurt, but ate half of it....she never eats any yogurt...so this was good. Jocelyn licked hers clean! They said the dehydrated strawberries were like candy!

WEDNESDAY:

Lunch was cut up cantaloupe (cut up the night before), one of my raw cookie balls (recipe HERE), air popped popcorn with sea salt and a little drizzle of melted coconut oil and a sandwich with natural peanut butter, homemade low sugar raspberry jam in a cool cut out sealed circle from Pampered Chef (HERE).

 Review: Nothing left at the end of the day for either girl

THURSDAY:

Lunch was cut up veggies with ranch (not the best, but doesn't have MSG and much junk. Fresh at Costco), Quesadilla on whole wheat flax tortilla, new at Costco with smashed avocado in the container). Girls also got a smoothie (not pictured) in a silicone smoothie tube (info at beginning of post)

 Review: Success! I sent too many quesadilla slices, but other than that....they LOVED IT!

FRIDAY:

The girls were so excited about the pizza lunches, that they BEGGED me for them again. They have the same thing, expect applesauce with cinnamon and a raw cookie, like Wednesday.

 Review: The girls were excited to have this again, especially cause this was the first time I haven't let them get the school pizza. They felt included and loved this even more they said!

Every day, the girls got water and an ice pack in their lunch. They came home from school happy, content and drank a green smoothie when they got home. Our favorite is :

1 C. almond milk

1/2 C. Naked Orange Juice

2 Frozen bananas

1/4 C. plain Greek yogurt

1-2 C. spinach

2 C. thawed strawberries

Blend together in a blender until smooth. Sometimes I add some ice to make it thicker and sometimes I add water to thin it out. I then add 2 scoops Somae Pure Protein (whey and egg white protein) and blend for a quick second. Everyone drinks a cup after school and if they are still hungry, I keep my raw cookies in the freezer and we make popcorn.

Whole Wheat Poppy Seed Muffins

  In a bowl, stir:

2 eggs

1 6 oz natural vanilla yogurt 

1/ 2 C. buttermilk

1/2 C. coconut sugar

2 T. raw honey

Juice of one lemon

Zest of one lemon

4 T. coconut oil (melted)

2 t. vanilla

Add:

1 1/2 C. whole wheat flour

2 t. baking powder

1 t. baking soda

2-3 T. poppy seeds

Mix and Bake at 400 for 10 minutes or until golden. 

Update on Life

I have been out for a while. First of all, crazy summer and getting pregnant in June contributed to no extra ability to blog...let alone clean my house, cook, take care of my crazy kids, and be involved in life around me. I am now 15-16 weeks pregnant and feeling great. My kids are in school: Victoria (9) is in fourth grade, Jocelyn (7) is in second grade, and Tyler is in preschool three days a week.
I  have been hired by Somae Health as an independant consultant to rewrite training materials and help revamp their procedures as they expand and grow. I LOVE Somae! David and I used them in March and David lost a total of 30 pounds. I lost 16 and am finding each one of those pounds again as the baby grows each week.
I LOVE that Somae promotes whole foods, I LOVE that they believe in healing your gut and your digestive system, I LOVE that they have one-on-one mentor coaching to help you with your individual needs and I LOVE what they stand for and are trying to promote....overall health and wellness through a whole foods lifestyle.
When I started my blog almost 2 years ago, that is what I was trying to do. It hasn't been perfect and it hasn't been easy and there have been times when it was easier to revert back to everything that was convenient and fast. I have learned so much since then and have met amazing people along the way to teach me and set such a good example for me.  And now, as a family, we are slowly on our whole foods journey together.
I told Somae that for 4 weeks, I would blog about whole foods lunches and what I am fixing for my kids. My ideas for the challenge came from 100 days of real food and the amazing lunches Lisa creates every day for her kids. My friend Trina told me about her website and once I took a few minutes to check it out, I couldn't believe everything she was doing with her kids. I decided to take on the challenge for 4 weeks and then evaluate how it went, what the kids like and don't like, and what I can continue to do to make lunches exciting and fun (and easy for MOM).
I am hoping that I will find time to not only blog about the lunches we create as a family, but what else we are doing to stay healthy this fall and winter, what we fix for dinner, fun things we do and are involved in, and just give a little more insight to our every day lives and how eating a whole foods lifestyle fits in with a crazy schedule.

 Victoria on her first day of fourth grade. She is smart, kind, funny, gentle, accepting  and we call her our "old soul." She plans on being a veterinarian and gets this compassionate love for animals, definitely from her dad.

She has had the hardest time "enjoying" healthy choices at home, but is slowly coming around, and I have realized that the less I push her, the more she decides its good for her on her own! She doesn't want to know what is in her food and is more likely to eat something healthy if she doesn't see me make it!

 Jocelyn on her first day of second grade sporting her brand new braces. Jocelyn is spunky, brave, strong, full of life and determined to do things her own way. She wants to do make-up for runway models someday! She LOVES eating salads and drinking green smoothies and begs for healthy things! (She also loves sugar, but admits that it doesn't make her feel good and knows that she is happier and less feisty when she consumes less sugar! She also sleeps more soundly and has less trouble falling asleep when she doesn't have anything "junky" in the evening!

And last, but CERTAINLY not least, our Tyler. He is 4 and LOVES preschool. He wants to be a ninja when he grows up (like his friend Kevin-one of David's P.T. interns). He loves dinosaurs, playing by himself, scootering and HATES using hair products! Junk food, especially artificial dyes, high fructose corn syrup and enriched white flour make him CRAZY! He is drawn to those foods because he likes the tastes, but then bounces off the walls or becomes sick and lethargic from too much. When he makes better food choices, he is more obedient, has no runny nose, sleeps better and is less likely to bite or hit one of his sisters. He will only drink a green smoothie if he know he is gaining some sort of super power from it....SO....we get creative around here!

Enjoy our journey and glad to be back! Don't count on a post every day, but do plan on new recipes, healthy tips and great lunch ideas in the near future!

I don't promise to be perfect, to know all the answers and to do everything right, but I do promise that I am committed to:

•  health created (as much as possible) at home,
•  moderation
• trying different things
• learning from others
• admitting someone can do it better
• listening to my kids and what they like/don't like
• making healthy eating fun and easier
• having fun

Here's to HOME-MADE HEALTH and the freedom that comes from living a whole foods lifestyle....most of the time!

Somae Health Company offers weight loss and wellness : Utah News from the Daily Herald Newspaper

Somae Health Company offers weight loss and wellness : Utah News from the Daily Herald Newspaper

Here is a link to an article in the Daily Herald about my husband and I. First time I have really shared my story about my emotional eating...hopeing to be able to share more about it soon. This is a new road for me to go down, but excited to be upfront and honest and maybe I can help someone else like me overcome emotional eating. If you have a few minutes, please read.

Raw Energy Bars

Raw Melissa has several recipes that you can get for free on her website. I love her cookbook too, but I also love the freebies she has posted. I have had the opportunity to go to her raw cooking class and have had the privilege to be served a four course dinner that she creates. She is a beautiful, talented and inspired women who makes wonderfully tasting food that is healthy, beautiful and much of it is raw.

The link to her granola bar recipe is HERE. She also has an an awesome chocolate banana smoothie recipe on there too!

Here is what you do:

First, add 7 cups of the following (combine however you would like:rolled oats, raisins, pumpkin seeds, pecans, shredded coconut, chopped almonds, chopped dried fruit, rolled quinoa, hulled buckwheat, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, flax seeds....)

(I did 4 Cups oats, 1/2 C. sunflower seeds, 1/2 C. pumpkin seeds, 1 C. shredded coconut, 1/2 C. diced dried cherries, 1/2 C. grain sweetened chocolate chips).

1 C. coconut oil

3 C. dates (soaked in water for 20 minutes)

1 t. sea salt

Directions:

1. Drain the dates and set the date water aside

2. Pulse in a food processor until the dates turn into a paste

3. If they seem to dry, add a little of the date water until you reach a smooth consistency like a nut butter

4.Add the rest of your ingredients and mix well together

5. Pat in a a 13x9 pan that is lined with parchment paper

6. I put mine in my oven on the lowest setting for a few hours and then let cool. I cut them in little pieces and wrapped in foil. I keep them in my freezer like in the picture below. They are great to have before or after a run.

Jocleyn's Green Smoothie

Jocelyn is my middle child and loves healthy things the most out of all my kids. She begs me for a salad to take to school and loves smoothies. She helped me make the one in the picture and she drank the whole thing in a few minutes. It gave her energy to do her theory that she LOVES....ya right!

In your blender, add:

1/2 C. unsweetened almond milk

1/2 C. cold filtered water (add more if it gets too thick)

1 handful spinach

6-8 frozen banana chunks*

1/2 orange, peeled

8 frozen strawberries

*Frozen bananas always taste better in smoothies because the thicken it up and help to make it creamy. At one time, I cut several bunches of bananas in 1-2 inch chunks, lay on cookie sheets, freeze and then store in large zip lock bags. That way, they are always ready.

The Road Ahead Looks Bright!

It has been a few REALLY LONG MONTHS for our family.

End of December-January: I was in a ton of pain from my endometriosis and really couldn't do much!

February: On February 7, I had surgery to remove the new endometriosis growth (last surgery was 10 years ago).

Middle of February: David hurt his back even worse and was in so much pain, he couldn't sleep, stand, sit, or do anything to find comfort.

March: On March 7, David had back surgery (by the grace of God and the quick response from the top surgeon in Utah County to see David and fit him in on his surgery schedule).

Today, March 23: We are all feeling awesome! We have all had our highs and lows (including the kids). David is gaining strength every day and can stand and walk for more than 5 minutes without shooting pain down his legs. I can run again and no longer have endo pain!!!!!

Between the two of us we have lost about 20 pounds!

Enduring the struggles and almost unbearable challenges in our life is really hard and often painful, but when we allow those things to humble us and bring us closer to God, we can rise above it, and truly feel grateful for days like today...when everything...finally....after a long time....seems wonderful and bright!

In honor of that, I thought I would share my most favorite OH SHE GLOWS recipe! (You can see the original recipe HERE along with a much better picture) I can't believe I haven't posted it before. I call it:

ALMOND BUTTER FROM HEAVEN

In your blender, add:

3/4 C. unsweetened vanilla almond milk

3/4 C. almond butter

(I used the freshly ground from the health food store)

1 T. pure maple syrup

(I used 1 t. maple syrup and 5 drops vanilla flavored stevia)

1/4 t. cinnamon

(I used almost 1/2 t.)

Blend until smooth and creamy. It is thin at first. It thickens in the fridge

You are basically cutting the calories and fat from plain almond butter in half!

I love it with bananas, apples and strawberries.

Celebrate something wonderful about your day with this awesome goodness!

Remember the old saying:

Sticks and Stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me!

After what we've been through these last three months, I can safely say:

Pain and Sickness may ache my bones, but Trials will never hurt me!