These are a few of my favorite things

When I'm feeling like a little treat these are the things I turn to. My mom got me hooked on the lemon ginger tea and after trying that flavor I had to try more and found the raspberry which is my new favorite! And of course a girls got to have chocolate! Most of the varieties offered by Endangered Species are clean, just glance at the ingredients to be sure. They are sweetened with beet sugar and some of the proceeds go to help the endangered species in the world. I like the 88% dark the best, but the mint is a close second! If you live in North Idaho you can find all these things at Super 1 Foods, Fred Meyers and Pilgrim's Market.

"The Best One Yet"

I take the quote from nearly every one at our Crossfit holiday party. This is the best dessert recipe to date and could be dangerous to have around your house! It takes a little work, but in the end its totally worth it! The frosting is especially good and would be nice on a number of things it is very sweet, rich and creamy. You've got to try this one! I used coconut flour which is something I hadn't used before and was surprised how light and airy it was. Not to mention much more affordable than almond flour. I got a 1 lb bag at Pilgrim's for just over $5.00, It is so light that 1 lb looks to be at least 4 cups.

Chocolate Cake with Cashew Icing

2/3 C Almond Flour

1/3 C Coconut Flour

2/3 C Arrowroot

1/2 C Cocoa Powder

1 1/2 tsp Baking Soda

1/2 tsp Baking Powder (Clabber Girl brand is clean)

1/2 tsp Salt

1 tsp Cinnamon

1 Very Ripe Banana

3/4 C Coconut Milk

1/4 C Coconut Oil

1/2 C Honey

2 tsp Cider Vinegar

2 Tbsp Ground Flax

1 Pkg Gelatin

Mix the dry ingredients together and add the mashed banana mixing well.

In a small sauce pan over medium heat warm the coconut milk and coconut oil, add the gelatin and let it sit and thicken off the heat for about 5 minutes.


Add the gelatin mixture and the remaining ingredients to the dry mixture and blend together.


Bake in a 350 degree oven for 25 minutes in a 9 inch round pan that has been greased well.
Cool slightly and turn out of the pan to ensure it doesn't stick.

Icing:
1 5oz Jar of Cashew nut butter
1/2 C Honey
1/3 C Cocoa Powder

blend the ingredients together and stir until it is smooth and a little glossy. Ice the sides and top of the cake with the icing.

Fully Paleo Chocolate

So every now and then I get a craving for CHOCOLATE!!! Sometimes I just want straight chocolate not a delicious brownie cake or Paleo truffles (see older posts for recipes)... So I made this:

Pure dark chocolate! You can make so many things using this as your base such as almond butter cups and chocolate chip cookies (I will post ASAP!)

Chocolate is a great source of antioxidants, it contains polyphenols which are similar to the antioxidants found in wine. Chocolate also contains many vitamins and minerals including magnesium, calcium, zinc, copper, potassium, vitamins A, B1, B2, B3, D and E. Chocolate may keep blood pressure down and reduce the ability for blood to clot thus reducing the risk of heart attack and stroke.

An Italian study showed that to best receive the benefits of dark chocolate one should eat 20 grams every 3 days (I could sure go with that!) The sad thing is eating more often will not give you any additional health benefits. You can choose to believe that study or just eat the whole 8 oz batch!!!

8 Oz Unsweetened chocolate (you can get this in the baking isle

3 Tbsp Coconut oil

1 Tbsp Honey

1 Tbsp Nut butter (I used almond)

Using a double boiler (you can make one by placing a glass bowl on top of a small sauce pan filled with a few inches of water) put the coconut oil in the bowl. Place the chocolate on top of the oil and add the honey and nut butter. Adding in this order will help the chocolate not to separate as it sometimes will when making additions. It will look like this:

Don't worry it doesn't look tasty now, but trust me this will be your new favorite source of healthy fat! Let it simmer on the stove stirring occasionally until all the chocolate is melted and smooth. Pour onto a cookie sheet that is lined with parchment paper-don't skip this you will never be able to get it out of the pan! Place in your freezer and chill until hardened and hide from the rest of the family because this will go fast if you aren't careful!!!