paleo

Lightened Up Date Shake

Living in Southern California my entire life, I grew up going to Palm Springs every Easter with my family. Every trip to palm springs always included a quick stop by the date gardens in Indio to get a date shake. Since you guys know I love “healthifying” comfort foods, today is the day for a Lightened Up Date Shake. Traditional date shakes consist of full fat vanilla ice cream, whole milk, and dates. My recipe still consists of 3 ingredients, but adds up to nearly a fraction of the calories! Plus it’s vegan, gluten-free, lactose-free, paleo, and low-fat!

A traidtional date shake adds up to:
Calories: 626
Fat: 25.3g
Sugar: 77.5g
Fiber: 4.5g
Protein: 13.2g

And my Lightened Up Date Shake totals:
Calories: 330
Fat: 1.25g
Sugar: 57.5g (all natural unrefined sugar)
Fiber: 8g
Protein: 3g

Not all sugars are created equal. Say a candy bar (refined sugar) has the same amount of sugar as a banana (natural sugar). They process through your body completely different. Whole fruit has a lot of fiber, which actually slows down your body’s digestion of glucose, so you don’t get the crazy insulin spike (and crash) that candy causes. That also means your body has more time to use up glucose as fuel before storing it… as fat.

That’s the #1 reason why I love using Medjool Dates as a sweetener in baking and other recipes versus regular table sugar!

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Lightened Up Date Shake
Serves 1

3 Natural Delights Medjool Dates, pitted
1 frozen banana
1/2 cup unsweetened original almond milk
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Remove pits from dates. Blend blend blend until smooth and creamy!

Tip: To make this more filling as a meal replacement, try adding 1/4 cup of dry rolled oats to the blender!

Huge thank you to Natural Delights for supplying the dates for this recipe!

Raw Gingerbread Men

Congratulations to the winner of my #ChotallyAwesome Chobani Giveaway: Kaitlin!
Don’t forget to check your email to claim your prize! xo

Giveaway Winner 12:13:13
Merry Christmas Eve Eve little bunnies!

Is it just me or has this holiday season been crazy? I’ve been working on a lot of graphic design projects and I’ve barely had time to create new recipes, which makes me bummed. But today, that changed! It’s been a way-too-warm 70 degrees here in southern California, and as awesome as it sounds to have beach weather and sunshine, it makes it feel less like Christmas. I literally don’t even want to turn on my oven to bake anything because it’s too hot in my house, haha.

Instead of traditional gingerbread cookies, I created a no bake, raw, vegan, paleo, gluten-free, gingerbread cookie recipe with no grains or refined sugars! How do you like them apples?! I don’t want to toot my own horn, but toot toot, this is probably the healthiest gingerbread recipe you will find! Minimal dishes required. What whatttttt!

Grab your almond milk, turn on Elf, and prepare to be a man-eater. ha. ha .ha.
But seriously, these Medjool men are so scrumptious!

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Raw Gingerbread Men

1 cup + 1/4 cup Natural Delights Medjool dates, pitted
1 cup almonds
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
1/8 tsp cloves

Before you begin, REMOVE PITS FROM DATES! Combine all spices and almonds in a food processor and blend until finely chopped. Next add the dates and vanilla extract and blend until well combined. Even if it doesn’t resemble dough, it should stick together when pressing it into a ball. Transfer the ball of dough onto a picee or parchment or wax paper, cover with another sheet of parchment paper, and flatten to 1/4 inch thickness with a rolling pin. Remove the top layer of parchment paper and cut into gingerbread men or various shapes using a cookie cutter. Continue balling up the dough, rolling it out, and cutting into gingerbread men until there is no dough left. Eat right off of the plate, or store in refrigerator until serving!

Note: If you don’t have a cookie cutter, you can also roll them into 1 Tbsp sized balls as Gingerbread bites!

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Have a Merry Merry Christmas my loves!
xo Catherine

Roasted Brussels Sprouts

Sorry for the lack of posts this week! I just arrived home from a wonderful wedding weekend in Kansas. I had the best time celebrating Jocelyn & Ryan and eating my way through Kansas and Missouri with new friends!

Jocelyn-&-RyanCongratulations to the blushing bride and groom! (Photo credit: Farfum)

Jocelyn-&-Ryan-WeddingWith Jocelyn and her gorgeous bridesmaids! Ashley, Nicole, Jocelyn, & me!

Jocelyn-&-Ryan-Wedding1Highlight of the night before the wedding: getting photo-bombed by the camo convention at the bar! I want need a ghillie suit!

If you follow me on Instagram, you may have noticed one of my fav lunch spots: Zinc Cafe. My best friend Taryn and I ALWAYS get the roasted brussels sprouts when we’re there. We are completely hooked! The last time I was at Zinc I asked the chef what the Brussels sprouts were prepared with and he said “just a little olive oil, salt, and pepper!” I actually couldn’t believe it because they’re so flavorful, so I had to take to my own kitchen to recreate my fav lunch for you guys. The roasted Brussels Sprouts at Zinc are always chilled and tossed with cannellini beans, which is totally to die for. I decided to serve my roasted Brussels and beans over some fluffy quinoa to make this a perfectly portioned lunch or dinner for anyone following the Rabbit Food Pyramid guidelines for weight loss or maintenance!
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Roasted Brussels Sprouts
Serves 1

2 cups Brussels sprouts, halved
1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/4 tsp ground sea salt
1/8 tsp ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut brussels sprouts in half and coat with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Place the Brussels sprouts cut side down on a rimmed baking sheet and transfer to the oven. Bake for 25-30 minutes stirring occasionally (2-3 times) until browned and crispy. Remove from oven and serve immediately

Make it a Rabbit Food approved meal:
Serve Roasted Brussels Sprouts over
1/2 cup cooked cannellini beans
1/2 cup cooked quinoa

The Rabbit Food Pyramid Breakdown
Produce: Brussels sprouts
Whole Grain: quinoa
Protein: cannellini beans
Plant Based Fat: olive oil

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Two Ingredient Coconut Macaroons

Congratulations to the winner of my Love True Naturals Beauty Box Giveaway: Melanie H.!
Be sure to check your email!

Motivation Monday: “What you do today can improve all your tomorrows.”

My website had some technical difficulties this morning, so I apologize for the inconvenience. I’m so happy it’s back up and running!

I’m obsessed with desserts and after making some toasted coconut this weekend, I though to myself; I NEED to make healthy coconut  macaroons! Most macaroons contain tons of added sugar and even full fat condensed milk, so I took to the kitchen to make a skinny bunny version with only 2 ingredients! Crispy and toasted on the outside with a lightly sweet chewy center!

This recipe is gluten-free, paleo friendly, clean, and made with healthy plant based fats!
If you’re following my Rabbit Food Pyramid: 4 Macaroons (2 Tbsp of shredded coconut) count as 1 serving of healthy plant based fats! Excellent topping for your Banana Nicecream!

Two Ingredient Coconut Macaroons
Two Ingredient Coconut Macaroons
Two Ingredient Coconut Macaroons
Two Ingredient Coconut Macaroons
Two Ingredient Coconut Macaroons
Two Ingredient Coconut Macaroons
Two Ingredient Coconut Macaroons
Two Ingredient Coconut Macaroons
Makes 14 macaroons
(about 3.5 servings)

1 cup sweetened shredded coconut
1 egg white

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Whisk one egg white and then stir into the shredded coconut until well combined. Spray a cooking sheet with nonstick cooking spray (I used coconut oil spray, but any will do). Using a 1/2 Tablespoon measuring spoon, scoop the mixture, press into the spoon (to keep the mixture together), and then place onto the cooking sheet. Once all of the mixture has been scooped into 1/2 Tbsp balls, place cooking sheet in the oven and bake for 10-15 minutes until they become a light golden brown. If only the bottom halves of macaroons brown, turn the oven to broil and cook for 1 minute until the tops turn golden brown. Remove from oven and allow to cool.
Note: Watch the macaroons while baking because they tend to burn quickly.

What’s your favorite healthy dessert to make?

Coconut Mug Cake

Ohhh my gosh, I am so excited to share this recipe with you! On Tuesday, I went to a Kappa Alpha Theta Alumni Group social and came home with the BEST recipe! My fellow sister, Carter (sorority sister for those of you who may be confused) told me all about her new healthy dessert creation, and I was all over it! Only 6 ingredients and takes 2 minutes to make, what’s not to love?! Carter has a Tumblr with tons of delish healthy recipes so make sure visit choisis la joie!

Choisis la joie

Coconut Mug Cake
When I asked her how she came up with the recipe, she explained, “I am not Paleo, because I love cheese and sourdough bread too much, but Paleo recipes are a great place to start, because they are focused on veggies, fruits, healthy fats and proteins. This makes it so that overall, the foods I make for myself are healthier and more nutritious. Then I can indulge without guilt when I’m out for happy hour or food-truck day!” I love her philosophy on using Paleo guidelines as a starting point or base for her recipes. It’s a great way to explore different healthy foods and experiment with new recipes!

I like to emphasize that all types of foodies are welcome here whether you are vegan, vegetarian, carnivore, candy lover, paleo, gluten-free or if you follow Weight Watchers, or a low carb diet like Atkins. I want my blog to be a place where anyone can come to find inspiration and motivation to try new healthy recipes. There is no foodie judgement here! Plus most of my recipes can be easily adjusted to fit your dietary needs.

I do however want to talk about the pressure to follow a certain “diet.”
My most requested recipe adjustments are usually to make meals gluten-free, but recently I have been asked about Paleo options. I don’t follow the Paleo diet, but I love the way that Carter explained it! It makes Paleo seem less cult-like and more approachable! If you are an avid healthy living blog reader, you probably know what I mean by “cult-like” haha but if not, let me explain. CrossFit has recently turned into a phenomenon. Not only for fitness, but for it’s own “language” (box, WOD, AMRAP, etc.) and even adopting it’s own diet; Paleo. It seems like any blogger that I follow (or even Facebook friend) that goes to CrossFit, gets sucked into this crazy CrossFit cult! Suddenly they give up their vegetarian lifestyle to become full-blown carnivores and LIVE to plaster their new weight lifting PR all over the internet. It seems more like people are quick to jump into the Paleo world for the trendy CrossFit reasons than for their health. I don’t want you to get the wrong idea, I’m proud of all of my friends who do CrossFit. I know it’s something that I A) would never enjoy B) would probably suck at, and C) would most likely get hurt doing, so props to the CrossFitters in the world! But why has CrossFit gone from a trendy new exercise to intimidating hardcore lifestyle? Honestly, I would be so scared to set foot into a “box” because I wouldn’t be able to lift more than 10 lbs, would feel guilty that I ate whole-wheat, and think that Fran is my instructor, not my workout! As you can tell, CrossFit is probably not for me, but it’s a great match for so many others! Long story short, I like Carter’s approach for creating healthy recipes by starting with paleo guidelines. To me, that’s how special diets should be used. You shouldn’t feel obligated or pressured into eating a certain way to sit at the cool table haha. Not every diet or lifestyle works for everyone, and most of the time it takes a little while to find out what works for you and makes you feel your best. I don’t want anyone to think that because I eat a certain way, that they have to as well I also want everyone to know that no matter what their diet is, they are very welcome here and I respect their choices. The important thing is to eat clean whole foods as much as possible and have a healthy balance and relationship with food. Healthy eating should be fun, not intimidating!

choisis la joieAlso love that Carter made my DIY Workout Shirt before meeting me or knowing that this was my blog! So awesome!

Coconut Mug CakeI had some very curious kitchen assistants today. Elin (Labrador Retriever) & Teddy (Corgi) had tons of fun as the cleanup crew.

Coconut Mug Cake

Coconut Mug CakeSince this recipe requires a heaping tablespoon, I thought I would show you what that looks like. If you are unsure of anything in my recipes, always feel free to ask! I had no idea what a heaping or scant Tbsp was a while ago haha yay for learning new things!

Coconut Mug CakeThe batter before microwaving.

Coconut Mug CakeCoconut mug cake cooked!

Coconut Mug CakeMy favorite way to eat it, with one tablespoon of all-natural peanut butter!

Coconut Mug Cake
Serves 1

1 heaping Tbsp coconut flour
1 heaping Tbsp cocoa powder
1 Tbsp almond milk (or coconut)
1/2 Tbsp honey
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 egg

Combine all all ingredients together in a microwave safe mug and mix well. Microwave for 1 minute and 30 seconds to 2 minutes until cooked.
Carter’s notes: Enjoy with a big dollop of peanut butter if you’re as obsessed with the pb/choc mix as I am! You can also add some dark chocolate chips in the cake for a little extra flavor.