Two Ingredient Berry Dessert

During cold days and nights the only thing I want to drink or eat is something warm.  I wanted to share one of our go-to wintertime nightly desserts!  This was also a hit at our Christmas Party and people couldn’t believe how simple it was! It's the perfect dish to bring to any party or your weekend brunch dates.

What makes it so simple? Frozen fruit and coconut oil are all you need!  

Put a tablespoon of coconut oil in your skillet and fill the rest with frozen fruit.  I used the organic mixed berries from Kroger, but you can get them at any local grocery store.  

Set the stove to low/medium heat and let the berries and coconut oil simmer.  Make sure you mix the berries occasionally because some of the fruit at the top stays cold unless you stir.  

Once everything is nice and warm/steamy (usually takes about 5 to 7 min), pour all the contents (and the juices too!) in a bowl and enjoy!  It will warm you up, give you a healthy 'dessert', and curb your sweet tooth!

Use any frozen fruit- my personal favorites are berries, cherries and mangos (not all mixed together).  You can drizzle with honey if you want it sweeter.  Try topping it with cocoa, coconut flakes or pecans too!  It is also really tasty drizzled over Greek yogurt. 

This is a great option for those on Candida Clear detox too!

It’s simple, tasty and takes no more than 5 minutes to make.  Plus, you get your coconut oil in.   A win win win!  Enjoy!

My Favorite Guilt Free Salad Dressing

Photo: Tessemae

It's always better to make your own condiments and salad dressings, but sometimes we just don't have the time!  I've found a brand that is both tasty, good for you, and available in your local grocery store.  

Tessemae’s is one of my personal favorites. The story behind the brand is so cool, and they're committed to healthy eating and healthy living. Not to mention, everything is all natural and Whole 30 approved! You can find them at Kroger’s or Whole Foods in the refrigerated section by the boxed salads. If you want to see the whole line of dressings/sauces visit their website.

My personal favorites are Lemon Chesapeake, Lemon Garlic, Balsamic, Mild & Hot Buffalo Sauce, and BBQ Sauce. I haven’t tried them all and there are many more flavors online compared to what is in the store! I won’t lie the ranch was kind of stretch, so if you are a ranch person I would try something else.  It wasn’t quite like I was expecting. The other ones above are much much better.

I use it on my salads, season my chicken or dip veggies in it.  I love carrots and celery dipped in lemon garlic! Check them out at the grocery store or online and let me know what you think!

Guilt Free Sausage and Gravy

We live in the south and Southern food is always a weakness, but not always the healthiest.  Here's my take on a healthy sausage and gravy!

This is quite possibly one of my favorite recipes for 2 reasons:
1. It tastes AMAZING and is so easy to make.
2. Sausage and gravy is such a classic Southern food that I thought would be hard to duplicate, let alone with only 3 ingredients.  

I have made it multiple times for people and they can never believe it tastes so good. I have even been told it tastes better than regular gravy! Plus, you don’t get the bloating that comes along with eating regular gravy.

Ingredients
1 1/2 cup raw cashews
2 cups water
1 pound of sausage (make sure it has no preservatives in it- nitrates, nitrites, sulfites, sulfates)

Soak your cashews in warm water the night before.  I just took a mason jar and filled it with my cashews and covered them with warm water to sit overnight.  In the morning, drain the water out and put the cashews in a blender or food processor.  

Put 2 cups of fresh water in with the cashews. Blend until creamy.  It took about 30 seconds in my food processor, but just make sure it is ALL blended. It shouldn’t be grainy at all.

Cook your sausage on medium heat.  When done drain excess grease.  Then put pan back on low-medium to medium heat and add your ‘cashew gravy’. Stir until warm.  You can also add more water at this time to thin it out, your call!

Add pepper or any other seasonings you want.  Try it and feel free to be skeptical like I was, but I can guarantee you won’t be let down.  Add it to your breakfast, lunch, or dinner menu!

Paleo Tomato Soup

There are so many tomato soup recipes out there, so I figured I would try my hand at one of them.  It was super easy to make, very tasty and completely dairy free!

Ingredients
1 Onion, chopped
1 TBS Coconut Oil
1 TBS Olive Oil
1/2 cup fresh Basil
1-2 tsp Sea Salt and Pepper
3 Garlic Cloves, minced
3 cups of Chicken Stock
5 Tomatoes- Vine (I used 4 large tomatoes)
6 oz Tomato Paste

Instructions
Cut tomatoes into quarter slices and toss with olive oil (I did melted coconut oil), sea salt and pepper.
Roast tomatoes on a baking sheet for 30 minutes on 350 degrees
With about 5 minutes to go on the tomatoes melt 1 TBS of coconut oil over medium heat in a large soup pan
Saute onion and garlic (until onion is translucent)
Add in your roasted tomatoes and saute for 1 more minute
Add in 3 cups of chicken stock, the basil (I ripped mine into smaller pieces first), and the tomato paste. 
Stir until tomato paste is dissolved into the broth
Bring to a low boil, then reduce heat to low and cover pot
Let covered pot simmer for about 30 minutes
Pour soup into a food processor or blender and mix up until nice and smooth

Last but not least... Enjoy! (And even top with your fresh basil... so tasty!)

Recipe from Primal Palate.

No Bake Coconut Crispy Treats

This is the perfect, healthy alternative to a Rice Krispy Treat.  These take no time to make and are a great dessert for all ages! Plus, they are void of all junk sweeteners and filler ingredients in processed desserts and treats. So, make a big pan of them and feel good about having a healthy treat for your family!

Ingredients:
4 Cups Shredded Coconut
1 Cup Coconut Oil, Melted
1/3 Cup Maple Syrup or Honey
1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
1/4 Teaspoon Sea Salt

Instructions:
Toast coconut in a skillet over low heat.  Once toasted, put in a bowl and mix in maple syrup, vanilla and salt. Lastly, add in melted coconut oil and stir all together.

Pour coconut crispy treats into a 8×8 pan.

Cover the pan with wax paper or parchment paper and press the coconut mix down evenly over the whole pan.

Refrigerate coconut crispy treats for 1 to 2 hours or freeze for 30 minutes.  Once set, they are ready to cut up and enjoy! Keep leftovers in the fridge or freezer.

Optional - drizzle with healthy dark chocolate (3 ingredient homemade recipe here) or add crushed almonds with sea salt on top too!

Recipe adapted from: The Coconut Mama

Gluten Free Almond Flour Bread

This gluten free bread has been a game changer at our house!  Regular bread (even wheat) spikes your blood sugar, contains minimal nutrients and usually contains gluten. Gluten creates inflammation in the body especially to the digestive system and really stresses the thyroid out.

If you are wanting to loose weight, have digestive or suspected or known thyroid issues, drop the store bought bread and pasta (sprouted bread is okay but I believe this recipe is even better). This is a perfect alternative that won’t spike up your blood sugar and contains protein and healthy fats that will leave you more full after eating it versus craving more bread.

Ingredients
2 cups almond flour (Or put almonds in food processor/ninja and blend into flour)
2 TBS coconut flour
¼ cup ground flaxseed (Or put flaxseed into food processor/ninja and pulse till it is ground- doesn’t take much)
½ tsp baking soda
5 eggs
1 ½ TBS honey
1 TBS olive oil
1 TBS apple cider vinegar

Preheat oven to 325. Grease up loaf pan with a lot of coconut oil. Make sure it is completely covered because this bread can stick to the pan pretty easily after its cooked.

First add in all the dry ingredients (almond flour, ground flax, coconut flour, baking soda) and pulse in food processor. Then add in the wet ingredients and pulse to blend into batter.

Pour batter into greased loaf pan.

Bake for 20 minutes. THEN take a piece of foil and place on top of the loaf pan and bake for 10 more minutes or until toothpick comes out clean (it took my oven about 15 to 20 minutes).

Cool your bread for 20 minutes and enjoy!  Keep leftovers in the fridge to make it last longer.

Top with homemade jam or your favorite nut butter! This even makes for great sandwich bread.