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Sorry for the posting absence. I’ve still been in the kitchen, but my experiments have not been going as planned.

Exhibit A: 

A paleo waffle attempt turned into a paleo waffle crumble cereal.

Exhibit B:

My quest for the perfect gluten-free banana muffin began with the first trial and error: muffins tops that sunk when taken out of the oven.

I can only learn from my mistakes, try again, and hope for success!

Exhibit C: 

I bought some delicious-looking peaches to snack on, but they ended up being way to mushy and grainy. Now this isn’t so much a failure as a “when life gives you lemons, make lemonade” experience.

Only in this case it was a “when life gives you mushy peaches, make Peach Crisp!” And this was a delicious experience.

With all the rainy afternoons I’ve been having lately, though, it gives me more excuses to bake and cook! Fingers crossed my next experiment is successful, though.

“Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.” -Winston Churchill

Thought-provoking, mind-prodding question of the day:

Have you had any recent kitchen failures?

P.S. Most of these photos are from my Instagram. Follow me @SugarFreeAlex 

If I offered you a giant spoon of chocolate frosting, would you eat it?

I don’t know about you, but I would devour that frosting and continue to lick the spoon clean. No wasted frosting for me.

What if I told you this frosting was healthy?

If you’ve been reading my blog for a while, you would probably believe me. If you are new here, however, you might think I’m a wee bit crazy.

I promise I’m not crazy (well, maybe I’m just a little crazy…). I’m just a girl who loves chocolate frosting. Fudgy brownies with frosting. Chocolate cupcakes with frosting. Banana cookies with frosting. Chocolate cake layered with frosting. Chocolate frosting on a waffle. Chocolate frosting on a spoon.

Oh, and I’d still like this all to be healthy.

The great thing about this frosting is that it holds its shape. I wanted to make a frosting used the Coconut Whipped Cream trick, but that melts easily when out of the fridge. So go ahead and pipe this onto cupcakes or use to decorate your favorite cake with squiggles, flowers, or poco dots.

Not only does this recipe contain no added dairy, sugar, or soy (no tofu frosting for me, please), but it is chock full of antioxidants and vitamin A from sweet potato! The sweet potato gives it a creamy texture and body, while the dates help sweeten it a bit more. If you are on a diet that limits intake of fruit-sugars (like anti-candida diets), then try substituting the pureed dates for alcohol-free liquid stevia.

Health Benefits:

• Sweet Potatoes: Full of fiber to keep you full. One of the best sources of Beta-Carotene. This pre-vitamin to vitamin A prevent night blindness and other eye problems, skin disorders, enhance immunity, protects against toxins and cancer formations, colds, flu, and infections. It is an antioxidant and protector of the cells while slowing the aging process.
• Coconut: Coconut is widely misunderstood because of it’s high fat content; however, coconut’s saturated fat is made up of medium-chain fatty acids. These medium-chains are easy to absorb and digest, and are converted quickly into energy. This means that the body is less likely to store the medium-chain as fat. Coconut is also a great source of dietary fiber with a whopping 5 grams per oz!
• Chocolate: Click Here for a post I wrote about the benefits of chocolate.

Thought-provoking, mind-prodding question of the day: 

Would you eat a giant scoop of frosting? Or are you more of a cake person?

P.S. Even if you didn’t win the giveaway for the Sugar Free Challenge, CORE Foods wants to give you a chance to try CORE Meals too! SAVE 20% on a single sample pack of CORE Meals at www.corefoods.com.  Use Coupon Code “sugarfree” after check out.  This discount expires 7/18/2012!

Summer here is flying by, and I am loving it.

 This past weekend I had a blast biking, playing board games, and watching fireworks. While eating these popsicles:

It really isn’t a recipe at all. Simply puree fresh or frozen strawberries with water and freeze in popsicle molds. Sweet, light, and refreshing! Sometimes simple recipes are better.

 I also spotted this little guy while biking a trail. I had no idea there were deer in my part of Florida! I also saw some crazy-spotted grasshoppers, little green frogs, and a turtle. Nature always surprises me.

Thought-provoking, mind-prodding question of the day:

What have you been doing/enjoying this summer?

P.S. Most of these photos are from my Instagram. 

Welcome to Day 10 of the Summer Kick-Off Challenge!

Today is officially the last day of the challenge. I have had so much fun creating sample menus and helping you all with the challenge. A big thank you to everyone who joined! I hope you all had a great time learning about (and eating!) sugar-free food. Maybe you found that it wasn’t as hard as you thought?

Now it is time to announce the winners of the giveaway. All those who joined the challenge were entered to win NuNaturals Stevia Wellness Basket or Core Foods sample bar pack.

Winner of NuNaturals: Megan

Winner of Core Foods 1: Kelly

Winner of Core Foods 2: Alex

Congratulations! I will be emailing you all shortly.

Now onto today’s sample menu:

Breakfast: Paleo Breakfast Burrito. Vegan Option: High Protein Cookie Crisp Cereal.

Lunch: Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Bacon and Apples.

Snack: Roasted Chili Lime Nuts

Dinner: Dairy-Free Cheezy Nachos

Dessert: PBC Bars

Again, thank you all so much! I have had a wonderful time with this challenge. I hope you continue to eat at least low-sugar (if not sugar-free!). A word of warning: be careful going back to sugar this week and weekend. Don’t go over board because your body is not used to eating sugar these past ten days.

Thought-provoking, mind-prodding question of the day:

How was the sugar-free challenge???!!! Please tell me all your experiences and how your body feels! I would love to know!

Welcome to Day 9 of the Summer Kick-Off Challenge!

Every challenge I host, I’ve had a day dedicated to recipes from other sites. There are so many sites out there that post wonderful recipes, and I love to share them with you all! These recipes and others are on my pinterest boards if you want to check that out and follow me.

Breakfast: Very Berry Granola. This granola from Hobby and More is sweetened with only berry puree.

Lunch: Sweet Potato and Kale Chicken Patties with Super Healthy Coleslaw from the Healthy Foodie.

Snack: Roasted Peaches and Coconut Cream Popsicles from Katie Did.

Dinner: Vegan Pesto Mac n Cheese from Clean Eating Chelsey. Use gluten-free brown rice pasta to make gluten-free and try using my vegan pesto recipe.

Dessert: Chunky Monkey Ice Cream from Healthful Pursuit. Banana, Walnuts, and Chocolate ice cream and no ice cream maker required!

Thought-provoking, mind-prodding question of the day:

Thanks to all those who share their sugar-free, healthy recipes! Link up your favorite sugar-free recipes below or in the Sugar-Free Food Forum.

Tweet or Instagram your sugar-free meals with the hashtag #sfchallenge. You can follow me on Instagram and Twitter, where I will be posting my daily sugar-free eats.

Also, post about some of your favorite sugar-free meals in the Sugar-Free Food Forum, and  chat with other challengers in the Free Thoughts Forum.

Welcome to Day 8 of the Summer Kick-Off Challenge!

There are only 2 days left of the sugar-free challenge, and a week until Independence Day (at least for the U.S.). Today’s sample menu will feature a few of my favorite patriotic Independence Day treats, full of red, white and blue!

Here is today’s red white and blue menu:

Breakfast: Patriotic Baked Oatmeal

Lunch: Heart Stopping Chicken Salad. Nothing like some old-fashioned chicken salad for a picnic on the 4th!

Snack: Cool off after the parade with some popsicles. Make them extra-patriotic by making blueberry, banana, and strawberry popsicles. You can layer them, too, by freezing one layer of fruit at a time.

Dinner: The 4th is nothing without a good barbeque! Grilled corn on the cob, fresh green beans, burgers, fries, barbeque! Serve it with a side of Sugar-Free Barbeque sauce.

Dessert: Patriotic Banana Cream Pie with Chocolate Crust.

Thought-provoking, mind-prodding question of the day:

What are your plans for Independence Day? Or if you live outside of the United States, what are your plans for the weekend?

Tweet or Instagram your sugar-free meals with the hashtag #sfchallenge. You can follow me on Instagram and Twitter, where I will be posting my daily sugar-free eats.

Also, post about some of your favorite sugar-free meals in the Sugar-Free Food Forum, and  chat with other challengers in the Free Thoughts Forum.