Healthy Holiday Candy (made with coconut oil)

If you are one of those people who associate the holidays with candy and stock up as soon as the Christmas candy goes on sale, I invite you to resist the urge to buy all those tempting, beautiful packages, and make your own candy instead! It tastes just as good (better in my opinion) and is made from real ingredients (no nasty artificial flavors, colors, preservatives, etc) and no refined sugar! It's amazing how simple it is too. Just heat up your coconut oil and have several recipes going on at the same time in different bowls. Then you can make an assortment plate for your friends and family!

Reese's Peanut butter (or Sunbutter) Cups
Found this recipe at: http://www.teacheatlove.com/2013/05/unjunked-peanut-butter-cups-and.html 

Chocolate:
1/2 cup coconut oil, melted*
1/2 cup cocoa or carob powder
2 tsp vanilla (alcohol-free)
1/2 cup pure maple syrup (or raw honey)

 Filling:
1/2 cup peanut butter, other nut butter (I used Trader Joe's Sunflower Seed Butter)
1 tsp coconut oil, melted

1. Mix the chocolate ingredients together.
2. Mix the sunbutter or peanut butter filling in a separate bowl.

*Hint: To warm your coconut oil, you can scoop it into a 2 cup glass measuring cup and then place it in a bigger pan that already has a couple inches of hot water. Stirring makes it melt faster. Once it has turned to liquid, I added the other chocolate ingredients directly into the measuring cup. I also warmed my sunflower seed butter mixture this way. Don't microwave it, or it will destroy the amazing nutrients in the oil!)

2. Drop a teaspoon of the chocolate mixture into mini muffin cups. Put in the freezer for 5 minutes to set.

3. Drop a half teaspoon of the nut butter filling in the center of each chocolate. Freeze for 5 minutes to set.

4. Cover with another teaspoon of the chocolate mixture, adding a little more to completely cover the filling.

5. Freeze for at least an hour.

Store in the freezer and take out just before serving.

(Warning: These are so good! You won't be able to stop eating them!)


Coconut Macaroons
Found this recipe here: http://www.rebootwithjoe.com/smart-sweet-raw-macaroons/ 

Mix together:
3/4 cup coconut oil (warmed)
2 cups shredded coconut (unsweetened)
1/2 cup pure maple syrup, honey, or agave
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp salt
(1/2 tsp almond extract, optional)

Drop spoonfuls onto cookie sheet lined with wax paper, and freeze until set.
Take out just before serving. (You can also drizzle chocolate over the top before freezing. See the chocolate recipe above.)

Chocolate Macaroons with almonds

Make coconut macaroons using the above recipe.
Add 1/4 cup chocolate or carob powder.
Add chopped nuts if desired.

(My husband and I loved these better than the regular macaroons- we used chocolate powder and loved raw almonds in them!)


Almond Chocolate Bar
From a recipe here: http://www.rebootwithjoe.com/smart-sweet-raw-macaroons/ 

2 cups coconut oil
1 cup cocoa or carob powder*
1/3 cup Maple syrup or honey
1 1/2 cups nuts, roughly chopped.

*Carob did not work for me in this recipe- I would stick with cocoa

Whip oil in bowl until fluffy (2-3 mins) or vitamix.
Add chocolate (or carob) powder and maple syrup and whip (1 min).
Stir in nuts.
Pour into a 9x9 baking pan and chill for 1 hour. Then break into pieces and enjoy!

Chewy Chocolate Candy:
1/2 cup coconut oil
1/2 cup raw honey (thick)
1/2 cup cocoa or carob powder
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp salt

Combine ingredients (this was a little challenging with the thick honey- I would suggest warming the honey a little to make it easier to mix in). Drop teaspoons onto wax paper lined cookie sheet to form small discs. Freeze until firm (keep stored in the freezer).

Molasses candy:
Taken from: http://www.hybridrastamama.com/2012/03/how-to-consume-coconut-oil-reader-questions-answered-plus-coconut-oil-candy-recipes.html 
(I wouldn't make this for other people, but personally I love them and they are so good for you with the blackstrap molasses- a great source of calcium and iron!)

2 Tbsp. Blackstrap molasses
2 Tbsp. coconut oil
2 Tbsp. nut butter (I used sunflower seed butter)

Mix ingredients and pour into silicone candy mold (or mini muffin pan with liners). Freeze until firm. Enjoy your healthy candy treat!

Chewy Fudge or Vegan Frosting- (previously labeled as Classic Chocolate Candy)

1/2 cup coconut oil (warmed)
1/2 cup honey or maple syrup (I used maple syrup when making this to use as frosting)
1/2 cup + 2 Tbsp carob or cocoa powder
2 Tbsp almond butter (or other nut butter)

Whisk oil and honey. Slowly whisk in powder. Whisk in almond butter (or use a Vita Mix blender and blend until well combined- you will have to use your tamper, as it will be pretty thick). If making fudge, pour into a loaf pan and freeze for 15 minutes. Then cut into squares and enjoy. :) If making frosting, spread over your cupcakes or vegan cake (or make a pan full of these homemade bars to use as your "cake" like I just did!). Keep chilled until ready to eat. If you want the frosting to be softer, take out about an hour before serving.

Fall Quinoa Salad

This is my new favorite dish for the Fall. It tastes like Thanksgiving! I am planning to add it to my growing list of healthy comfort food. It would pair nicely with slippers, a blanket, and snuggled up with the one you love (whether that be a person, a movie, or book). :)

"Two Peas & Their Pod" has posted this recipe (and a way better picture of it) here.  I think it is way better served warm, instead of cold, and with a touch of cinnamon. So happy to have another quinoa salad that I love (my summer fave is this Mango Quinoa Salad).

Pumpkin Nog

Egg nog season has officially begun, and I fully intend on having my fair share of dairy-free nog this year. I glanced at the options today in Whole Foods, and I was so excited to find So Delicious Coconut Milk Nog & Pumpkin Spice (I thought the only non-dairy option was Silk Nog). I was seriously considering buying some, but of course, I looked at the ingredients, and predictably it was loaded with sugar. There are 14g of added sugar (dried cane syrup) per 1/2 cup. Is this really the best Whole Foods can offer me? A "healthier" option to cow's milk, that is filled with sugar? I took one more look at the ingredients and decided to make some myself.

So tonight I decided to make an almond version, using my aunt Juliette's Almond Milk recipe (that can be found on her blog 3 Fruity Chicks). It is so easy, but you do need a high powered blender such as a Vita Mix or Blendtec. (1/2 cup raw almonds gives you a little more than 5 cups of Almond milk! Way cheaper than store bought kind.)

Then to turn my basic Almond Milk into "Pumpkin Nog" I added:
1/2 cup pumpkin (I used Trader Joe's canned Organic Pumpkin)
1/4 tsp pumpkin pie spice
a couple dashes of extra nutmeg & cinnamon
(and I used 1 tsp pure vanilla (alcohol free) instead of the vanilla bean)

I didn't bother to strain out the almond pulp since my Vita Mix did such a good job blending it up and I am all about taking the easiest & quickest way possible lately. :)

It was delicious! So creamy and good. I drank mine cold, then warmed up (both great), then put it in a bowl with some pumpkin granola, yum. :)

And this is almost totally raw, with NO added sugar (the dates are the only sweetener). I'm never buying another carton of liquid sugar nog again!

P.S. I can't wait to try my own regular nog version! Probably just adding nutmeg and a little cinnamon to the regular almond milk. I'll post about it soon!

Raw Caramel Dip for apples

My aunt and cousins (the  3 Fruity Chicks) are such an inspiration to me. I love their blog and the yummy, healthy recipes I discover there. This one is absolutely wonderful. Caramel dip for apples! I made this on Halloween for a special treat. You can find it here.