Delicious Lime Creamsicles (honey-sweetened & dairy-free)

Hello friends! We are back in the states for our two month furlough and it seems that summer doesn't want to lose its grip around here just yet.

During our first week in Iowa we experience temperatures up to the 100s and it was pretty humid. Ugh.

Then, we were in Arizona visiting churches and friends... yes, it was HOT there, but thankfully not humid. We enjoyed the pool every morning with the kids and cooling down with cold or frozen fruits and smoothies.

Now, we are in Southern California and the last few days have been in the lower 90s.

Goodness, summer is sure hanging on! But I've got something to share with you that will cool off the day nicely...

Creamy, rich Lime Creamsicles. Perfect for hot days and so easy to make and... and... and...

so tanglicious!

Plus, they only call for 3 ingredients!

I also love the vivid green color. Totally natural... no food coloring in my kitchen!

Maybe you might've already guessed what the main ingredient is.

Yes. Avocado.

I love avocados.

They are creamy. Rich in good fats. A great snack and there is so much you can make with avocados!

Remember, avocado is a fruit. So, technically it should be used like a fruit to make sweet stuff like Aquacate del Chocolate (diary-free chocolate pudding), Lime Mousse, smoothies and ice cream, but it is great for savory things like Avocado Gazpacho too!



I've made them several times and everyone loves them! Really, they are super easy to make and SO refreshing!

Summer is holding on for a little while longer so it is best to enjoy it with some tanglicious lime creamsicles while you can!!

Lime Creamsicles

(honey-sweetened & diary-free)

1 cup water
1/4 - 1/3 cup honey
3 ripe avocados
4 - 6 Tbsp fresh lime juice
zest of one lime
pinch of sea salt

Add in water, 1/3 cup of honey and avocados into a blender or food processor. Puree until smooth.

Add in 1/8 cup of fresh lime juice and sea salt. Puree until just combined.

Taste the mixture and add in more honey and/or lime juice until it is to your liking.

Scoop into popsicle molds or cups with sticks. Freeze until solid (about 5 hours).

Enjoy!

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Honey-sweetened Orange Curd Bars (gluten-free & dairy-free)

We are finishing up a great week with a mission team from one of our supporting churches. I am always exhausted when the teams leave, but feel spiritual full from being able to fellowship with other believers & friends!

The last few weeks have been emotionally draining for me. A lot has been happening and God is opening new doors and closing old doors, but...

it's all good.

Basically, we are heading for a new adventure soon. I'm sure you will know soon enough (or you can go to our ministry blog and subscribe to stay updated) Please keep us in your prayers, thanks!

Now, these bars...

I really don't need to say much about these bars. I think the pictures speak for themselves. A thousand words, right?

These guys are so good and totally guilt-free. We even enjoyed it for breakfast one morning!

I didn’t think of this until after I took the pictures, but I think some homemade chocolate syrup would be the “cherry on top” for these delicious curd bars!!

Honey-sweetened Orange Curd Bars

(Gluten-free & Dairy-free)

1 3/4 cup almond flour

1/4 cup coconut flour

3/4 tsp sea salt

1/2 cup butter (or coconut oil for a diary-free option)

1/4 - 1/3 cup honey

1 - 2 Tbsp orange zest

2 tsp vanilla

1 egg

1 recipe of orange curd

Make the orange curd (if you haven’t) and let it cool in the fridge.

Preheat oven to 375 F. Grease an 8 x 8 square or circle pan. Set aside.

Mix together dry ingredients in a large bowl.

Mix together wet ingredients and pour over the dry ingredients. Mix until well combined.

Evenly spread the batter into the greased pan. Place in the middle of the oven and let it bake 15-20 minutes or until the top and edges are lightly brown. It may puff up a little, but no worries.

When done, test the middle with a toothpick or knife. It should come out clean. Set it aside and allow it to cool completely.

When cooled, spread the orange curd evenly on top and let it firm up in the fridge, if needed. We think it tastes better cold than room-temperature!

Before serving, sprinkle some orange zest and coconut flakes on top.

Also, don't forget the chocolate syrup... I know it will be amazing!

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Easy Mango Blackberry Swirl Ice Cream Pie {nut, dairy & grain-free crust!}

That is a piece of sunshine.

Perfect for the dreary, cloudy, rainy day that we had on Father's Day.

I asked my wonderful Man what he would like me to make for him on Father's Day. He asked if an ice cream pie was possible.


Hmm.


Never made one before, but didn't think it would be impossible.


I did a search on google and came across this recipe (it was first on the list) from the famous Pioneer Woman. Her recipe was the springboard for me to make my own truly homemade version.


I made possible...


A delicious & easy toasted coconut meringue crust. Homemade tangy & fragrant mango frozen kefir (recipe in my ice cream ebook!). And freshly picked & sweetened blackberry sauce.

It was so easy to make and so so so good! My girls are begging me to make more ice cream pies. I think I will do this more often... sure puts a fun twist on having homemade ice cream!

Jon wanted a fruity ice cream and I had a perfectly ripe mango sitting in my fruit bowl along with a mason jar full of fresh kefir. The mango had a wonderful floral smell that always gets my mouth watering and the kids screaming for a bite. Heavenly.


While I was thinking about how to make the meringue crust that should pair up perfectly with mango frozen kefir... I thought coconut flakes, then took it a step further and toasted the flakes in my toaster oven. It smelled so good. Perfect.


I love how I could use the egg whites to make the meringue crust and whip in those rich egg yolks into the fruity mixture to give the homemade mango frozen kefir a nourishing boost. Nothing is wasted!


Next, I knew I needed to add some color to the ice cream. Pioneer woman made her boring looking ice cream pie look eye-appealing with that homemade caramel sauce. Well, the girls and I picked fresh blackberries that morning. Yesss... luscious, blood red blackberry sauce. Couldn't keep my fingers out of the pot while it was simmering. Yummy.

Easy Mango Blackberry Swirl Ice Cream Pie

{diary-free options and nut & grain-free crust}

Crust:

1/3 cup egg whites (about 3 eggs)

1/3 tsp sea salt

1/3 cup raw sugar, rapadura or coconut sugar (you can use stevia, start with a few drops and taste)

1 1/2 cups coconut flakes, toasted

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Lightly rub coconut oil on a non-glass pie pan. Beat egg whites until frothy (I used my lovely KitchenAid mixture). Add your choice of sweetener and the sea salt. Beat on high until stiff. Fold in toasted coconut flakes. Spread the mixture over the bottom and sides as evenly as possible. Be sure to get up the sides well. Bake for 15 to 25 minutes and watch it towards the end to make sure the crust doesn't get too brown. When crust is golden brown, remove from the oven and allow the crust to cool completely.

Blackberry Sauce:

3 cups fresh or frozen blackberries

3-5 Tbsp rapadura, coconut sugar or raw honey (stevia can be used too)

1 Tbsp arrowroot powder

pinch of sea salt

Put everything in a blender and give it a whirl until smooth. Pour into a small pot and bring to a simmer over low medium heat. Simmer until it thickens slightly, about 5-10 minutes. Set it aside and allow it to cool. Stir a few times while it is cooling to prevent it from getting jelly-like.

Mango Frozen Kefir:

2 cups pureed mango

1 1/2 cups kefir (you can use regular coconut milk or coconut kefir for a dairy-free option!)

2-4 Tbsp raw honey, if needed

2 or 3 egg yolks (leftover over from the meringue pie)

pinch of sea salt

Put everything in a blender and let it whirl until smooth. Pour mixture into your ice cream machine maker and follow the maker's instructions. When done, scoop out about half the frozen kefir and spread evenly on the coconut meringue crust. Swirl some of the blackberry sauce on top. Spread the rest of the frozen kefir on top of the sauce and swirl in more blackberry sauce. Take care not to over mix it or it won't have that pretty swirling look when you cut the pie into pieces! Cover the beautiful ice cream pie with plastic wrap and foil. Put it in the coldest section of your freezer and freeze until very hard. 

Use the extra blackberry sauce to decorate the plate or simply drizzle it on top of the pie.

Note: I wasn't sure what the crust would be like, but I am happy to say that it was amazing. Just the right amount of sweetness & flavor. It didn't get soggy and held up well. Don't expect the crust to come out of the pie pan perfectly. It will stick a little (that's why I say to use some coconut oil on the pan), but the Pioneer Woman said it was normal and imperfection is permitted because the crust is so darn good! I have to agree  :o)

Ready for a luscious bite?!

linked up at Real Food Wednesday

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New Online Lacto-Fermentation Class: Get Cultured!

Have you been aspired to learn how to make naturally fermented food, but don’t know where to start? Feel a little bemused? Intimidated? Overwhelmed?


Now you can overcome those feelings with this awesome online lacto-fermentation class, Get Cultured! How to Ferment Anything, done by Jenny of Nourished Kitchen.


Go Get Cultured!

Learn how to ferment/culture with dairy, coconut milk, veggies, fruit, grains, soybeans, meat, fish and much more!


Would it be wonderful to learn how to make homemade probiotic-rich ketchup, hot chili sauce, mayonnaise & barbecue sauce? How about some delicious sauerkraut & salsa? Cured meat & fish? Honey wine & Beet kvass? Sourdough? Fruit chutneys?


Click here to see the intensive list of lessons this class offers!


See for Yourself!

Want to make the foods you already eat even better? Want to enhance immunity and increase digestion? Fermentation, the same practice that gives yogurt its tartness and bread its rise, is the answer. The process of lactic-acid fermentation actually increases vitamins, enzymes and beneficial bacteria naturally present in all foods – improving flavor, enhancing digestion and boosting immunity. It’s a simple and easy solution that greatly improves the nutritive value of the foods we all consume. –Jenny of Nourished Kitchen

The Package

When you join this 13-week class, you will get full lifetime access to:
50 video tutorials
100 recipes
60 tutorials
Regular conference calls to get your questions answered


PLUS a free 36 page e-book, Get Cultured: Probiotic Recipe from the Nourished Kitchen, thrown in with the package!

Sign Up and Get Culturing!
Enrollment ends February 28th and class starts March 4th


Sign up with a one-time payment of $149 and get full lifetime access to all 13 classes, video lessons, recipes, online forum and regular conference calls to get your questions answered.


Lifetime access? Oh yeah! Once you are enrolled, you can go back through all 13 classes, video lessons and recipes as much as you want. Learn it all in your own pace!


$149? This is a sweet deal! For less than $12 per lesson, you can learn the art of lacto-fermentation right in your own kitchen. You will become a pro in no time! Remember, you will have full LIFETIME access to all 13 classes, video lessons and recipes with a FREE e-book thrown into the deal!


Psst! This is a special launch price… the price of the class will go up after this.


Can’t commit to 13 weeks? No worries! You can sign up for individual classes of your choice for only $20 each.


Save $20!
This is great! Jenny is offering you all a sweet discount. Use the coupon code: SOURPICKLES and get $20 off!


Now start culturing! The coupon expires February 19th and this is the one and only coupon code that will be offered for this class.


Sign up now and get culturing!

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Chunky Monkey Muffins (Gluten-Free)

I am happy to FINALLY pull these yummy guys out of my files. These easy, delicious muffins are great to travel with! I’ve made these the last few times we’ve traveled and love how nutritious these guys are. Full of fiber and protein, yet lightly sweet to satisfy the sweet tooth… these muffins are fantastic alternatives to the awful, expensive airport food.


Dairy-free, sugar-free, gluten-free and wheat-free… these guys are so good that you wouldn’t even know that they are so healthy too! Each bite just simply melts in our mouths. The last time I made these guys… I chopped up some dark chocolate chips to throw in and it was the perfect touch. You can skip the chopping if you want small gobs of chocolate, but we like the tiny bits and how it spreads evenly throughout the muffins… giving us more chocolate with each mouthful :o)


I usually use coconut oil when I bake, but I have a bucket of palm shortening left from my review and wanted to try it out in baking. I noticed that these muffins were very moist and soft when I used the palm shortening… plus if you are not a big fan of the coconut flavor, palm shortening is a good alternative because it has no flavor.


I usually like to use very ripe bananas and only need 1/3 cup of the coconut sugar paste to lightly sweeten the muffins, but if the bananas are not very ripe… then I increase the sweetener little by little till I get the perfect amount of sweetness. You can use raw honey or other for your sweetener, but I love the coconut sugar for its caramel-like flavor, low GI count and rich source of vitamins and minerals… learn more about this fantastic sweetener!


Now, I want to go whip up a batch of these guys!

Chunky Monkey Muffins (Gluten-free)

• 1/2 cup coconut flour
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 6 eggs
• 1/3-1/2 cup coconut sugar paste or honey
• 1/3 cup melted palm shortening, coconut oil or butter
• 1 Tbsp vanilla
• 3/4 cup mashed bananas
• 1/2 cup chopped crispy pecans
• 1/3 cup coconut flakes
• 1/3 cup chopped dark chocolate

Preheat oven to 350 F and greased the muffin pans.

In a small bowl, mix together coconut flour, sea salt & baking soda. In a large bowl, mix together eggs, coconut sugar, palm shortening, vanilla. Mix the dry ingredients with the wet till thoroughly mixed. Fold in mashed bananas, pecans, coconut flakes and chocolate. Scoop batter into muffin tins to 3/4 full, top with more pecans (optional) and bake for 20-30 minutes. When done, let it cool and serve with a big glass of milk!

Please share with me some of your favorite traveling foods!! Hope you will enjoy these guys as much as we do. Let me know what you think and have a wonderful week! Hugs!

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Strawberry Coconut Muffins w/ Strawberry Cream Cheese

Update: Please head over to our RO4Y blog and read about our time in Honduras! We will be posting more over the next few weeks, but it is a start... we are so excited!

Before we talk about these yummy yummy muffins... I want to announce the winners for the Spunky Coconut Cookbook & Organic Evaporated Palm Sugar giveaways!

The winner of the fantastic Spunky Coconut Cookbook is: Ann Marie! Congratulations!! I seriously wish I could give every one of you who entered the giveaway a free copy! This book is simple and inspiring... a must have for those who are trying to live a gluten, dairy & sugar free lifestyle.

Now, the winner to receive a free bag of Organic Evaporated Palm Sugar is: Brittney Harmon! Funny, she's a great friend of mine from CA... Woohoo Brit! Now you must make your chai for me :o)

Now, speaking of gluten, dairy & sugar-free lifestyle... the muffins...

These are THE. BEST. muffins we've had so far made with coconut flour. Oh my! I actually made these girls over a month ago and we've enjoyed them a few more times since then. Since I made them I was trying to decide if I should post these muffins or not... then after a few weeks went by I decided to go for it. Share the love, right?

I made a few changes, but it breaks my heart that I can't claim this recipe completely mine :o) LOL!! I actually found this over at Elana's Pantry, she made them with blueberries.... which can be bought here at a "gringo" grocery store for a whopping $12 a bag (a very small bag & Dole brand) of frozen non-organic blueberries. No thanks, I'll just stick with a local fruit that is in season... strawberries!!

Yes, I did mentioned that strawberries pretty much grow year around here in Costa Rica, but they are at their peak time right now. Thankfully, I found a source of organic strawberries because they are listed on the Dirty Dozen. I've been buying 2 kilos every week now and storing them away in the freezer for smoothies and baked goods. I am so glad to have strawberries around now that mangos are not in season anymore. I was going crazy for a few weeks trying to find something to replace my mango addiction... yeah, it was tough :o)

Anyway, the reason why I say that these muffins were the best we've had is because I've tried 2 other muffin recipes that call for coconut flour. They tasted good, but had a very heavy and dry texture. Elana's muffins are light & fluffy with just the right amount of sweetness. I'm sure the blueberries taste wonderful, but the strawberries were fantastic with just the right amount of tartness to balance the mellow sweet flavors of the coconut flour. We've been enjoying them for breakfast topped with Strawberry Cream Cheese and we were surprised to find them very filling. My girls loved them and chowed them down, but Tabi's favorite is the cream cheese... she couldn't keep her fingers away even while I was taking pictures of the extras:

See how she dug her finger in there?! I was scolding her while she was sitting there waving that cute little finger over the muffins. She had on the this adorable mischievous face and was giggling like crazy... finally she snuck her finger in there while I was snapping away. I decided to just go with the flow and kept snapping away while she licked her finger and dung back in for some more. Then, Naomi sneaked over and decided to join in on the fun with the other muffin! My girls are so fun and crazy:

She got one last strawberry cream cheese finger coated lick... I took them away...

then we ate them :o)

Strawberry Coconut Muffins

• 1/2 cup coconut flour
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 6 eggs
• 1/3 cup raw honey
• 1/3 cup coconut oil
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup strawberries, fresh or frozen & chopped

In a small bowl, combine coconut flour, salt and baking soda.

In a large bowl, mix well the eggs, raw honey, coconut oil and vanilla. Mix dry ingredients into the wet, blending with a hand mixer or simply with your hand and a fork. Gently fold in strawberries.

Place batter in paper lined muffin tins OR oil small individual glass bowls and pour batter in about 1/2 - 3/4 full.

Bake at 350° for 20-25 minutes. Take them out and let them cool and serve topped with Strawberry Cream Cheese.

Strawberry Cream Cheese

1 cup homemade cream cheese (store bought is fine)

1 cup chopped strawberries, fresh or frozen

1 - 3 Tbsp raw honey

Put everything in a blender or food processor and blend till smooth. Store in an airtight container in the fridge. When muffins are ready... generously top each muffin and enjoy!

So YUMMY! I wish I could go make some right now, but we are taking off tomorrow to the Caribbean side of Costa Rica with my in-laws. They wanted to take us there for Christmas and I am excited to explore the food over there. We will be back next week and hopefully I will have time to share about our time before we take off to the states...

Have a great week!

This is part of the Real Food Wednesday hosted today @ Kelly the Kitchen Kop.

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