Valentine Sweets & Treats < 3

There was plenty of Valentines baking and treat making over the week!

I'm pretty wiped out from all the Love Day Week events going on with my little ones.

Nonetheless, we made some yummy sweets and treats!

I make two different kinds of sugar cookies with butter or switch it for coconut oil.

The Fish Fam prefers the coconut sugar cookies.

Recipe for Coconut Sugar Cookies here and for the butter sugar cookies this recipe.

I made these heart shaped fruit pizzas for my youngest's Vday Party.

Yummy! Just make your sugar cookie, spread cool whip over the top, and then add your favorite sliced fruits. <3

These were for the older kids school teachers.

I used heart shaped silicone cupcake molders.

Then I put the Vday sprinkles and M&M's at the bottom. Then poured the melted chocolate on top. Which, I had to do some research on it is important to use the right type of chocolate to melt and use. There is a big difference that will give you very different results. Read here!

Homemade Fruit Snacks!

By Wellness Mama

Recipe here.

My kids sure loved these. Once you have all the right ingredients they are easy to make, but let me tell you it does take some practice to get it right. Mine failed the first time because come to find out I used fresh pineapple juice and just like she said it won't thicken. So I made them into popsicles. But, the second time they formed using pineapple juice from a can. Finally, but I still have much room for improvement.

We got some pretty sweet molds at amazon...heart shaped, dinos, and legos.

(I'll make a more detail post about this sometime soon.)

Perfect Peach French Toast

We picked up some yummy Organic Peaches at Costco, don't you just love when peaches are in season?!

Sunday morning I made the Fish Fam some delicious French Toast!

I made the my own peach syrup and then topped w/ sliced peaches. Yum.

For the Syrup....

1 cup water

1 cup sugar

1 T cornstarch
1 tsp cinnamon

(cinnamon if desired)

Stir constantly and bring to a boil.

Sugar should be dissolved.

Turn low & stir constantly so it thickens.

Don't burn it.

Cut up 3 peaches.

Then blend them w/ the syrup.

Let it sit for about 30min.

Can use immediately if needed.

 Drizzle it all over and enjoy...

PERFECT!

Coconut Sugar Cookie Fruit Pizza

I made these mini fruit pizza cookies for my friends and they loved them!

I couldn't eat them because of the grains and sugar in them, so I'm very happy they passed the test!

Everyone said they were more than good and of course my family loved them too. 

My mom used the make this delicious treat for us every once in a while and oh my goodness she makes the best sugar cookie dough and this was one of our family's favorite treats. I didn't use my mom's recipe. I found one on my All Recipes app that wasn't going to take long... Easy Sugar Cookie Recipe. 

I didn't have any butter, so I used coconut butter (Artisana Coconut Butter, which is my absolute favorite), but it didn't work. The dough was super crumbly and not sticking together. So, I cracked in another egg and added coconut oil in tablespoon by tablespoon until the dough started sticking together.  I usually use coconut oil instead of butter, but because the weather is so warm here in Hawaii, our coconut oil is always liquid. I needed softened coconut oil, so the cookies wouldn't be flat as a pancake! 

I rolled them in balls and then mashed them and flattened them out in my hands. Which they were still a bit crumbly and would crack easily, but it worked!

Everyone said they were soft and delicious! Thank goodness!

I was going to make a coconut whip cream, but I didn't want to overdue it on the coconut and I was pressed for time. Luckily, thanks to Thanksgiving there was a can of whip cream in the fridge at my in-laws that all I had to do was shake the can and out it came. Then top it with apple-banana slices, strawberries, and kiwis and it looks beautiful!

Use your own favorite sugar cookie recipe and sub out butter with coconut oil for an extra good coconut-a-nutty taste and top it with your favorite fruits! 

Enjoy!

Sweet Potato Brownies--Paleo Style

The lighting on the pics are no good, but the brownies were great! Nice chocolate flavor and not too sweet. This is a no grains, no sugar brownie. The ice cream was made out of frozen bananas and coconut milk...with "Carmel Topping." 

This was a super awesome treat for me because I haven't had something like this in a very long time.

I'm currently not eating grains, dairy, refined sugar or high glycemic natural sugar.

The Fish Fam enjoyed it!

Sweet Potato Brownies Here.

&

Creamy Ice Cream with Caramel Topping Here.

*My brownies came out very moist and soft in the middle, but still good.

"Muesli Bars"

This recipe is found at Whole Foods Simply. I love her website and how simple and easy she puts recipes together with whole foods.

Wholefood Simply Snack Bars

75 grams roasted almond butter (this is 1/3 cup, you can use hulled tahini or sunflower seed butter for a nut free option)

75 grams (5 tablespoons) cooled roast pumpkin or pumpkin puree

75 grams desiccated coconut (3/4 cup finely shredded dried coconut)

1/2 ripe banana

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon vanilla

pinch of salt

Preheat your oven to 175 Degrees Celcius or 350 Degrees Fahrenheit.

Grease and line a mini loaf tin (mine is 6″ x 2.5″) with baking paper hanging oven the sides for easy removal.

Place all ingredients into your blender or food processor in the order listed, blend quickly to combine. Alternatively mash the almond butter, pumpkin and banana together in a bowl and then stir in the remaining ingredients.

Press the mixture into the loaf tin and cook for 30 minutes or until golden on top and an inserted skewer comes out cleanly.

Remove from the oven, leave in the tin for five minutes then carefully move the slice onto a cooling rack. Once it has cooled chop into bars. Enjoy!

You could also double this recipe and make it in a standard loaf tin, be sure to increase the cooking time.

***I used tahini paste and didn't add the shredded coconut. I added chopped pecans. My loaf came out soft and mushy inside. So, I couldn't cut it into bars. Nonetheless, it was delicious!

Pumpkin Soup :)

Another simple and easy soup...Pumpkin Soup!

Blend together...

Roasted pureed Pumpkin

Onions & Garlic

2 cups chicken stock

Fresh Mint

Nutmeg & Cinnamon

Salt

Later on when I would heat up my soup on the stove I added some Anish, peas, and chicken meat.

"A Jar of Pumpkin & Pecan Pie"

 If you love pumpkin then you'll love this smoothie from mywholefoodlife...

1 cup pumpkin puree

1 frozen banana

handful of Pecans

1 tsp cinnamon

1 cup water & ice

Blend!

I roasted suger pie pumpkins and it's so so good!

Green Drink

 These green drinks are bitter, strong, and awesome for my liver! Lol, but true.

3 leaves kale, 3 stalks asparagus, stalk of celery, big bunch of cilantro stems and leaves, cucumber, thin carrot, ginger, 1/2 lime, 1/2 an orange, some water, and 2 ice cubes.

Good Moring Sunshine

The kids love this for breakfast...organic whole fat plain yogurt, peaches, and coconut granola.

We Love Pinepples!

We've always enjoyed pineapples, but here on the islands the pineapples are so so good!

 

Green Juice

Organic kale, Italian parsley, celery, cucumber, ginger, green apple, and carrots.

Beets and Greens

Beets and Greens don't make the prettiest color and the greens don't make the tastiest juice, but the amounts of nutrients from greens is so good for our bodies!

Organic spinach, beets stems & leaves, parsley, cilantro, red kale, carrots, ginger, lime, and celery.

My little one had three full small Dixie cups of this. Glad he even likes the bitter juice!

Juice :)

Whole head of organic red leaf lettuce, organic carrots, oranges, lime, organic ginger, organic beet, & organic celery :)

Kiwi's :)

My kids love fresh ripe kiwi's! 

We especially loved being in Taiwan and China and getting fresh Zespri Kiwi's from New Zeland!

Did you know Kiwi's have more vitamin c than oranges???

Health Benefits listed below all from WHFoods:Kiwifruit website...

• Kiwi's Phytonutrients Protect DNA-kiwifruit has fascinated researchers for its ability to protect DNA in the nucleus of human cells from oxygen-related damage. The protective properties of kiwi have been demonstrated in a study with 6- and 7-year-old children in northern and central Italy. The more kiwi or citrus fruit these children consumed, the less likely they were to have respiratory-related health problems including wheezing, shortness of breath, or night coughing. 

• Premier Antioxidant Protection- excellent source of vitamin C. This nutrient is the primary water-soluble antioxidant in the body, neutralizing free radicals that can cause damage to cells and lead to problems such as inflammation and cancer. In fact, adequate intake of vitamin C has been shown to be helpful in reducing the severity of conditions like osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, and asthma, and for preventing conditions such as colon cancer, atherosclerosis, and diabetic heart disease. And since vitamin C is necessary for the healthy function of the immune system, it may be useful for preventing recurrent ear infections in people who suffer from them.

• Fiber for Blood Sugar Control Plus Cardiovascular and Colon Health- kiwifruit as a very good source of dietary fiber. Fiber is also good for binding and removing toxins from the colon, which is helpful for preventing colon cancer. In addition, fiber-rich foods, like kiwifruit, are good for keeping the blood sugar levels of diabetic patients under control. Kiwifruit also passed our food ranking test as a good source of the mineral potassium. 

• Protection against Asthma- Eating vitamin C-rich fruit such as kiwi may confer a significant protective effect against respiratory symptoms associated with asthma such as wheezing.

• Protection against Macular Degeneration- Data reported in a study published in the Archives of Opthamology indicates that eating 3 or more servings of fruit per day may lower your risk of age-related macular degeneration (ARMD), the primary cause of vision loss in older adults, by 36%, compared to persons who consume less than 1.5 servings of fruit daily. 

• A Delicious Way to Enjoy Cardiovascular Health-Enjoying just a couple of kiwifruit each day may significantly lower your risk for blood clots and reduce the amount of fats (triglycerides) in your blood, therefore helping to protect cardiovascular health. Kiwifruit is an excellent source of vitamin C, and polyphenols, and a good source of potassium, all of which may function individually or in concert to protect the blood vessels and heart. In one study, human volunteers who ate 2 to 3 kiwifruit per day for 28 days reduced their platelet aggregation response (potential for blood clot formation) by 18% compared to controls eating no kiwi. In addition, kiwi eaters' triglycerides (blood fats) dropped by 15% compared to controls.

Whole Wheat Waffles & Non-GMO

This picture and whole wheat waffle recipe is from Vitamix.com. I've used many recipes from their website to make things in my Vitamix and they have all turned out great!

 My mix of dry ingredients...

1 cup Organic Whole Wheat (Bob's Red Mill)

1 cup Organic Unbleached White Flour

1 tablespoon Baking Powder (Rumford Aluminum/GMO Free)

1 teaspoon Sea Salt

Then all the wet ingredients for the batter go straight into the blender...

  I used...

2 cups Unsweetened Almond Milk

2 Organic Eggs (egg substitute chia seeds, etc.)

2 tablespoon Raw Organic Honey (Honey down below is so so good!)

4 oz Organic Tofu (You ALWAYS want GMO free soy!)

Click on the highlighted links for good information on why to buy GMO free, especially soy...USDA Organic Soy & GMO's = not good.

Top Genetically Modified Foods...Corn and Soy are ALWAYS at the top of every list and also in just about every single piece of processed food you buy cereals, chips, popcorn, granola bars, crackers, baby foods, baby formula, pre-made mixes, animal feed, dairy, etc. Check out this list of more GMO foods. These kinds of foods are especially harmful to kids. The government is allowing so many more GMO foods. Would you ever think Sugar Beets (one variety of beets) to be a GMO food? Beets have the highest content of sugar of all vegetables, all natural, but when it's processed into refined sugar it loses all nutritional value and is just plain sugar and no bueno for our bodies. All of this GMO stuff is terrible, just terrible! The best way to avoid GMO foods/products is to make your own food and know what you are feeding your body. Also, a lot of health foods will definitely say right on their product "Non-GMO." I'm not saying you should never eat gmo's, but it should be very minimal.

Then take out the plug on top of the lid and put the dry ingredients into the batter and let it mix.

Put some frozen or fresh berries on top and enjoyed this nice & simple meal!

Raw Organic Applesauce

 For raw (uncooked) applesauce I cored the center out, quartered the apple, put it in the blender, and added some fresh squeezed lemon juice. 

 

This was fast and easy, however nothing can beat just eating the apple whole!

Organic Applesauce

 I've been wanting to make my own applesauce and oh my goodness, the homemade stuff is so much better than the organic applesauce we buy at the store! I never really liked the texture of applesauce, but this stuff is good! I buy the 10lbs bags of organic red apples at Costco for juicing and eating, but this time I bought an extra bag to make applesauce. Here's the process I did...

I had to buy a apple corer and cored out the center of the apple.

Have you ever heard of controversies over toxins found in manufactured apple juice and applesauce....Los Angeles Times: Dr. Oz vs. FDA, Arsenic found in Mott's apple juice, Eco-News. I've known that apple seeds are toxic, containing cyanide, so can we be sure that the prepared foods we buy are the best quality and safe? I'm all about knowing exactly what is going into my food. When you prepare your own food, you most likely are using crazy toxic chemicals and preservatives that are put in processed foods. The more you know about your food the better off your body and health will be!

 Next, I peeled off the skins, quartered the apple, and then chopped 'em up in cubes. And tossed them into my steaming basket in a pot on the stove. I let the apples steam for about 5-8mins.

In this first batch I added some fresh squeezed lemon to help the applesauce coloring stay light and yellow.

 

 I put all the steamed apples and lemon juice into the vita-mix on low speeds.

 I slowly turned up the speed and used the tamper stick to push down the apples, so everything was getting blended. 

  

 It came out nice and smooth!

 The jar on the left is the applesauce with the lemon added and the jar on the right has nothing added.

Finished product and oh so good! I like to save all my glass jars and they are really starting to add up. My husband will be delighted I'm finally using them, all in good time!

冰棒 Bing Bang

 My kids love to make "冰棒" Popsicles from our smoothies!

 Cherries, pineapple chunks, blackberries, strawberries, coconut ice cream, and water. These Popsicles are especially good to make for teething babies. They love it on their swollen gums.

Yoga and Yogurtland

A girlfriend and I love going to Yoga and sometimes out for a treat to Yogurtland! Yum! This Grapefruit Guava Sorbet with my toppings of lychee, strawberries, pineapple, kiwi, mangoes, boba pearls, and sweetened coconut is so so good! There are so many awesome yogurt flavors, but I'm down to one because it's the only diary-free option. Perfect treat after a good workout! Thanks Meredith!

Cherry Coconut Smothie

My husband made this incredibly yummy smoothie...organic frozen cherries, frozen pineapple, frozen blackberries, organic (dairy/soy free) coconut ice cream, and some water. We froze the rest into popsicles for the kids!