Registered Dietitian
Oh. my. goodness. gracious.
At Katie’s Online Bake Sale to help Japan, my Smacaroons sold for $96! Katie did such a great job with this bake sale, and she raised thousands of dollars for Japan! I can’t wait to make another batch of my Smacaroons to send off to the generous donor.
For those of you who don’t get Smacaroons sent to your door, you can make your own! Seriously, try them. They are amazing! You’ll need some coconut oil to make them…
Alison from Kelapo was so kind to send me a jar of their Extra Virgin Coconut Oil to try. If I haven’t told you already, I am a huge fan of coconut oil! Not all coconut oils are the same, though, because some are more processed than others. I like my coconut oil to taste extra coconut-ty, and Kelapos does! It is also very smooth
“Harvested from exclusive coconut palms in Sri Lanka, this 100% organic, trans fat free oil can be used as an all-natural, flavorful, and energy packed, butter alternative.”
You can read more about their company at www.kelapo.com. I was excited to learn that Kelapo was based out of Florida (where I live!), and that organic, cold-pressed. I use coconut oil in a lot of my recipes because it has some very healthy fatty acids in it to help your brain stay smart, your eyes stay sharp, and your skin stay clear! Thanks again, Kelapo!
Now go make yourself some Smacaroons so you can be healthy, too 😉
Do you like the taste of coconut?
I L.O.V.E it! Seriously, it is one of my favorite flavors, along with chocolate and, of course, peanut butter.
Have a great week everyone because I am going to Washington DC for the National Cherry Blossom Festival tomorrow! I’ve been gone so much lately that I haven’t had time to create more recipes, or post on my blog more regularly! So sorry 😛
Yes, I like them Sam I Am!
But not as much as I like pistachio butter…
This is amazing! It may hurt your fingers, but it is definitely worth it. It is a funny green color, but I think it looks neat-o. Feel free to buy either salted, unsalted, or raw. You can even buy them without the shell, but they are usually more expensive. Therefore, I just hunkered down, watched some tv, and shelled some pistachios!
Ingredients
Just throw the pistachios into your food processor or strong blender and blend away! I used my handy dandy magic bullet, and it turned out well. Sometimes my magic bullet can’t turn the nuts into a nice, creamy nut butter without adding oil, but for someone reason the pistachios worked well. I think it’s because pistachios are softer nuts compared to most.
Say!
I like pistachio butter
I do!! I like it, Sam-I-am!
And I would eat it in a (celery) boat!
And I would eat it with a goat…
And I will eat it in the rain on a cracker.
And in the dark.
And on a train banana.
And in a car.
And in a tree apple.
It is so good so good you see!
So I will eat it in a box on a slice of grain-free banana bread .
So I will eat it in a box.
And I will eat it with a fox more bananas.
And I will eat it in a house on ants on a log.
And I will eat it with a mouse some oatmeal.
And I will eat it here and there on another banana with chocolate.
Say! I will eat it ANYWHERE!
Not only because it tastes good, but because it:
Did you read Dr. Seuss books as a kid?
I love Dr. Seuss! I remember dressing up for his birthday in elementary school. We had green eggs and ham for lunch, and we read his books all day long. In fact…I went to Seussland this weekend…
Psst! Check out Chocolate Covered Katie’s Bake sale today! I am donating a batch of Smacaroons to help Japan!
This is a pretty serious post, and I hope you don’t hate me for it.
I’m addicted to sugar.
This whole blog is a lie! I hate bitter chocolate, and I add sugar to all of my recipes. I usually have donuts everyday for breakfast, cookies for lunch, and cake or pie for dinner. Oh yeah, I also drink about 4 Mountain Dews per day. I’m addicted to the white stuff.
I’m a sugar-free girl! Don’t take me too seriously 😉
However, a sugar addiction is something you should take seriously.
If you have any of the following symptoms, you might be addicted to sugar:
Why is sugar addictive?
Sugar is a highly refined substance that does not appear alone in nature. It looks very similar to cocaine, and sugar acts like heroin when it hits the brain. A study shows that sugar affects the brain chemistry and thus might be expected to cause addictive behavior. In the study, written by Nicole Avena and others, it was shown that sugar bingeing can cause withdrawal symptoms and cravings.
The effects sugar has on behavior is quite similar to the neurochemical changes in the brain that also occur with addictive drugs. One finding shows that sugar and the taste of sweet activate beta endorphin receptor sites in the brain, the same receptor sites that are activated by heroin and morphine.
The implications of these findings show that sugar substitutes (ex. splenda, aspartame, saccharin)Â are not the answer for people who want to kick their sugar addiction. Children given candies and drinks made with sugar substitutes may become sugar addicts when they grow up, and they will find it difficult to give up sugar and other refined carbohydrates in the future.
Health problems associated with a sugar addiction:
How to get over your sugar addiction:
Watch this informational video below about sugar addiction if you are serious about giving up your sweets. It includes great information about sugar in today’s diet. It is about 90 minutes long, so you may want to watch short snippits of it at a time.
Do you know someone who was affected by a sugar addiction? If so, how did they get over it?
Also, have you tricked someone today for April Fool’s day?
But it is rather tasty nonetheless.
My first recipe with carob started with the Healthy 7-Layer Bar. I decided that I love the taste of carob then and there. When I saw my local health food store also sold unsweetened carob in powder form, I had to buy it!
To me, carob has a rich butterscotch taste. It is extremely sweet (of course, my sweet buds are rather sensitive) without adding sugar. Some say it has a tootsie-roll taste. I don’t know. I just like it. Don’t take my word for it, though, go buy some yourself and make some yummy carob recipes!
My first experiment with carob powder turned out wonderfully. I took my Bitter Chocolate Cake for One and simply substituted carob for the cocoa powder. Yum. This cake is no longer bitter!
Flourless Carob Cake for One
~This cake is meant to serve one person, but feel free to double, triple or quadruple the recipe. The cake is gluten free, grain-free, dairy-free, nut-free, and, of course, sugar-free!
Serves 1
Ingredients
Preheat oven to 375*. Mix all of the above ingredients together. Then add a splash of water until it reaches the consistency of a thick pudding. Pour batter into a mini bread pan or a muffin tin (It makes about 4 muffins). Bake in the oven for about 15 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.
More Ideas: Try mixing in nuts, dried fruit, or carob chips! Add a little almond or coconut extract for extra flavor.
Or make a delectable strawberry and cream stack! I baked the cake in a mini loaf and cut it into 3 pieces. Then, I stacked it with strawberries and topped it with coconut cream!
Each gargantuan cake is only about 115 calories.
Carob Health Benefits: Unlike chocolate, carob contains no caffeine and it contains a number of nutrients, including vitamins A, B, B2, B3, and D. It also contains a good dose of Pectin that helps to eliminate toxins from the body.
Do you like carob? Have you ever tried it?
When I was younger I tried a bite of those carob energy nuggets, and I didn’t like. Consequently, I didn’t think I liked carob. Boy am I glad I tried it again!
I am not lying when I say these smacaroons are awesome. Everyone who has tried them has loved them, and they ask, “These are healthy?!”
Yes. They are extremely healthy.
I have been snacking on these like crazy! They are a great on-the-go breakfast, dessert, or snack; or for serving on a lazy Sunday brunch.
My inspiration for making these came from Heather’s fantastic Grain & Sugar-Free Scookies. You all know how much I love grain-free and sugar-free foods, and her scookies looked amazing! Seriously, Heather, you are a genius!
My little bites of goodness ended up being more like a mix between a scone and macaroon instead of a scone and cookie, so the smacaroons were born!
Scones+Macaroons=Smacaroons.
~These smacaroons are grain-free, gluten-free, vegan, soy-free, peanut-free, dairy-free, and, of course, sugar-free!
Ingredients
Instructions
I love the coconut+banana+chocolate combo. The coconut replaces the peanut butter in my favorite combo that I can no longer eat due to lent! The Smacaroons have a somewhat tropical taste with the banana and coconut, but it is comforting, too. They are soft and fluffy in the middle, but nice and crispy on the outside. They taste delightful straight out of the oven because the chocolate is nice and melty!
You can omit the banana if you want to make it completely sugar-free; but it tastes so good with the banana and bananas are good for you! Natural sugars are a-okay in my book!
Health Benefits
I calculated the nutrition facts for the smacaroons because I was interested to see the calorie content for something made out of mostly almonds. Each Smacaroon is only about 100 calories! I would take one of these over those artificial, bland, cracker-like 100-calorie packs any day!
Do you follow recipes?
I never follow recipes really. I always change something in my food! I may glance over the ingredient list, but I always end up throwing whatever I want into the mix. I also rarely measure my ingredients. If it is the right consistency, it is probably fine!
Hello!!! How was your St. Patrick’s Day? Did you wear green? If you didn’t, then I virtually pinch you 😉
If you didn’t wear green, you can redeem yourself today by making these wonderful treats! There were so many great bloggers who made tasty treats in honor of St. Patty’s day; so I had to try a few!
Katie’s Raw Mint Chocolate Chip Milkshake.
Oh my goodness everybody. Have you tried this yet? It seriously tastes like a chocolate mint milkshake, but it is sugar-free! Aren’t bananas amazing? I have made this milkshake at least 10 times already because it is so good and easy to make. Not to mention it has 2 cups of spinach in it, and I can’t even taste it! Katie, you are a genius.
I didn’t add the spirulina to make it green, but I thoroughly enjoyed this beer socca. Remember when I made this green socca pizza? Well, I think this socca would taste fabulous as a pizza, too. When I was a kid, one of my favorite foods was beer bread. I know. I was a strange child. Anyway, when I gave up gluten, I thought I would never taste beer bread again. I was wrong-o! I see a lot more gluten-free beer breads in my future…in fact, one is baking in the oven right now!
I also had a nice stack of green gluten-free pancakes. These were very easy to make. All I did was blend 2 cups of spinach with the 1 1/4 cups of milk in my One-Size Fits All Pancakes. Then I continued to make the pancakes as usual, and I added a banana to make it banana-flavored.
How did you celebrate St. Patty’s Day?
Honestly, the only way I celebrated it was by wearing green and making these recipes!
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