Pureed Parsnips

Pureed Parsnips RecipeA dear friend of mine headed out of town this week. While I always miss her when I don’t get to see her, she passed along her weekly CSA allotment before she left. In it was a lovely assortment of local, organic, seasonal produce, including beets, lots of greens, eggplants, and a bunch of parsnips.

 

Parsnips are an often overlooked root vegetable.… Continue reading

Fruit-Sweetened Chocolate Pudding Pops

Fruit-Sweetened Chocolate Pudding PopsEven though fall temperatures are moving in (especially in the mornings), we still generally have warm afternoons here in the Rockies. And my boys are still going through a ton of ice pops.

 

The other day I decided to make a batch of ice pops that I would really enjoy. My favorite ice pops are those that are rich and chocolaty, so that’s what I made.… Continue reading

Fruit-Sweetened Chocolate Mint Pudding

Fruit-Sweetened Chocolate Mint Pudding RecipeI love the combination of chocolate and mint. It’s got all of the delicious decadence of chocolate along with the refreshing hint of mint. Together they are amazing.

 

So when we were looking for a healthy, sweet treat, I decided to adapt my Fruit-Sweetened Chocolate Avocado Pudding (recipe HERE) to be a Fruit-Sweetened Chocolate Mint Pudding instead.

 

The result was delicious.… Continue reading

Homemade Honey-Sweetened Marshmallows

Homemade Honey-Sweetened Marshmallows RecipeThe other day, we were reading Rattletrap Car, which repeatedly mentions “Chocolate Marshmallow Fudge Delight.” My 6-year-old speculated about what it might taste like, and how we might make it ourselves. I told him that I imagined it tasted like s’mores, but with all of the ingredients mixed together. Since he’s never had a s’more, this spawned a whole other conversation.… Continue reading

Fruit-Sweetened Chocolate Brazil Nut Milkshake

Today as I was writing I suddenly had a huge craving for chocolate. I didn’t have anything chocolate made or ready-to-eat, so I pulled ingredients out of my pantry, refrigerator, and freezer and tossed them all into the blender. What came out not only fulfilled my chocolate craving, it tasted really fantastic and was very easy to make.

 

This single-serving Milkshake recipe is vegan, raw, simple to prepare, and full of chocolaty goodness.… Continue reading

Fruit-Sweetened Chocolate Peanut Butter Ice Pops

Fruit-Sweetened Chocolate Peanut Butter Ice PopsApparently we haven’t been making enough smoothies lately (see HERE), because when my 2-year-old asked for an ice pop today, we were completely out. So I pulled out my blender and made a special smoothie batch specifically to use for ice pop making.

 

I’d love to say I filled all of our ice pop molds with this chocolaty, peanut buttery goodness, but all four of us drank some of it in smoothie form too (and it was fantastic!).… Continue reading

Peanut Sauce Coleslaw

Today I was looking at the red cabbage in my refrigerator and was suddenly inspired: Peanut Sauce Coleslaw. It seemed like the perfect side dish for a hot day. It’s mostly raw, crispy vegetable, and it’s lightly coated with a yummy sauce.

Peanut Sauce Coleslaw

So I whipped up a batch, and we all ate some as an afternoon snack. Delicious!

 

Here’s how I made it:

 

 

Peanut Sauce Coleslaw

1 Cabbage
½ cup Peanut Butter
¼ cup Apple Cider Vinegar, or to taste
½ cup Water
2 tablespoons Tamari or Coconut Aminos
2 tablespoons Honey
½ teaspoon Garlic Powder
¼ teaspoon Ginger Powder
¼ teaspoon Red Pepper Flakes (or more to taste)

Shred the cabbage using a food processor slicing blade (or cut into whatever shape pieces you want with a knife).… Continue reading

Green Lemonade Slushie

Green Lemonade SlushieThe other day, I took my boys to the County Fair. While we were there, especially as the day got warmer, we saw lots of people drinking slushies. My boys were fascinated by these bright-colored beverages.  I didn’t want to buy a fair slushie drink. The day-glow colors told me that they were full of artificial colors, and they were likely loaded with corn syrup too (which would make my little guys break out in a serious rash).… Continue reading

Meal-in-a-Glass Smoothie

Meal-in-a-Glass Smoothie RecipeWhat do you do when it’s so hot outside that you child declares he’ll only eat a smoothie for lunch? Make sure that smoothie is a nutritious meal in and of itself. To make this smoothie, I combined lots of greens – kale, spinach, and spirulina powder, generous amounts of healthy fats and protein – coconut and cashew butters, frozen bananas to give it some sweetness and to make it nice and cold, as well as some cacao powder to make it all taste yummy (in addition to cacao’s wonderful nutritional benefits).… Continue reading

Fruit-Sweetened Banana Cardamom Ice Cream

Fruit-Sweetened Banana Cardamom Ice Cream RecipeAnother hot afternoon means another round of ice cream at our house. We’re all enjoying having a cool, healthy treat on these hot summer afternoons. Today’s flavor of choice? Banana Cardamom. The bananas provide the sweetener, and the nut butter adds a richer mouth feel (as well as some healthy fats) that you wouldn’t otherwise get without adding cream. Here’s how I made it:

 

Banana Cardamom Ice Cream Recipe

2.5 cups Milk of choice (coconut milk works excellently for this, but dairy or almond milk would also work)
4 Bananas
½ cup Almond Butter (peanut butter would also work, but adds a distinctive peanut taste)
2 teaspoons ground vanilla beans (read about them HERE)
2 teaspoons ground Cardamom
¼ teaspoon Salt

Process Bananas and spices in a food processor or blender until thoroughly combined.… Continue reading