Clean Eating Tropical Birthday Carrot Cake

Our family fell off the clean eating wagon over the holidays, but we decided we'd better hop back on ASAP. And so far, so good! Then I realized Abbey's 3rd birthday was coming up and I had to think up a healthy birthday cake for her family party since we always do a small one on their actual birthday. She loves carrot cake and cream cheese so Isearched online but pretty much every recipe was full of fat and sugar! That's when I decided to take a bunch of recipes and create my own.

This recipe makes one small cake pan and a couple of muffins.

2 eggs, beaten
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup coconut sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup applesauce
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 cup crushed pineapple, semi-drained
1 1/2 cup carrots, shredded
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup unsweetened coconut
1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease pans with olive oil and sprinkle with flour. Cut out parchment paper to the size of the bottom of the pan and put it in prepared pan.
2) Mix eggs, vanilla, honey and sugar with whisk in a medium mixing bowl.
3) Whisk in cinnamon, applesauce and olive oil.
4) Add baking soda, salt and baking powder. Mix in pineapple, carrots, flour and coconut.
5) Pour into greased pans and bake for approx. 30 minutes or until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean.

Icing:
1/4 cup cream cheese
1/4 cup plain greek yogurt
2 Tbsp honey
Sprinkle of toasted coconut
Sprinkle of chopped pecans
While cake is baking, beat cream cheese, yogurt and honey together and refrigerate until cake is cooled.
Once cooled, ice cake then sprinkle with coconut and pecans on top.

The birthday girl enjoyed her cake very much and I hope you do too!

Clean Eating Strawberry Banana Oat Muffins

I was looking for a decent muffin recipe for breakfast this morning and just couldn't. I found some that sounded delicious but I didn't want to eat a bunch of wheat first thing. Then I came across one with no wheat that sounded perfect, so of course I had to adapt it and try it!

So, here is my recipe for the most delicious muffins I have had in a long time! As a bonus they are gluten, dairy and sugar free.

Strawberry Banana Oat Muffins

4 Tbsp melted coconut oil
1/2 cup honey
2 eggs
2 1/2 cups oat flour (you can make your own by putting rolled oats in a food processor until a flour-like consistency)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp cinnamon
3/4 cup almond milk
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1 banana, mashed

Approx 10 strawberries, washed and diced

1) Preheat oven to 395°

2) Beat coconut oil and honey in a medium bowl. Add eggs and beat well.

3) Add oat flour, salt, baking soda & cinnamon. Stir.

4) Add almond milk, vanilla and banana then strawberries.

5) Spoon into greased/lined muffin tins and bake for 22-25 minutes.

These were such a hit, even our 2 year old had 2 muffins for breakfast!

Pizza Cravings are Under Control

I was having the biggest pizza craving ever a few weeks ago. I toyed with the idea of ordering a pizza and then flashed back the stomach cramps that come along with greasy, preservative filled pizza. And then I remembered this wonderful recipe that curbs the cravings and tastes just like junk food!

Pita Pizza
1 whole wheat pita
1/4 cup grated cheese (I used low fat cheddar)
1/4 bell pepper, sliced
1 green onion, chopped
1/2 chicken breast, cooked & sliced
2 Tbsp organic spaghetti sauce

1) Heat oven to 375 degrees.
2) Put pita in oven right on rack for about 4 mins.
3) Take pita out and place on baking sheet. Top with sauce, chicken, veggies and cheese.
4) Bake for 10-15 minutes or until cheese is melted and pita edges are brown.
5) Enjoy!

Quinoa Salad Rolls

We have been eating clean for almost a week now (including our juice reboot) and so far so good. Our fridge is stocked with lots of fruits and veggies and I'm having a lot of fun experimenting and creating new recipes! I have also tried a few off of Pinterest, most of them totally delicious. I find myself appreciating flavours so much more since we did the juice cleanse and I feel great. I haven't had to take an Advil for my aches and pains in over a week!

I bought some rice paper wrappers at the Asian grocery store and wanted to do something different with them. I was thinking salad rolls but wanted to add something to them. White rice isn't such a good idea, but quinoa is! Here is my recipe for my new recipe that I can't get enough of. I have made these a couple of times and changed up the ingredients.

Yields about 8 spring rolls, depending how much fill them!

Ingredients:
1 cup Quinoa, dry
2 cups Low Sodium Organic chicken broth
1 tsp Sesame oil
1 tsp Organic soy sauce
1 tsp Rice Vinegar
Rice Paper Wraps
1 lg. Cucumber cut into sticks
Bean Sprouts
1 carrot, peeled & shredded
3 Green onions chopped (I found if cut lengthwise they were too hard to bite)
1/4 Cup unsalted chopped peanuts

1) Cook quinoa as per package directions using the chicken stock and add the sesame oil and soy sauce. Once cooked add the rice vinegar. Allow to cool before using.
2) Wet rice paper wrappers and lay out on a flat surface. Layer quinoa, veggies and peanuts on the wrappers.

3) Roll up and enjoy!

I also made this dressing as a dip for our salad rolls and it was great!

Purple Citrus Punch Recipe

On a whim I decided to throw together a bunch of fruit and veggies tonight to create something for our juice tomorrow morning. My hubby and I have been having a juice every morning to try new recipes and prepare for the cleanse. I am slowly weaning myself off of my morning tea!

I tasted it and couldn't believe how delicious it was! Even the kids slurped it down and asked for more. Now I am left with only a half glass for breakfast!
I named it "Purple Citrus Punch" because it's quite sour but delicious and purple :) Here is the recipe for anyone who wants to try it out.

Purple Citrus Punch

2 Oranges, peeled
1 Grapefruit, peeled
1 lime, peeled
2 pears
1 handful blackberries

Put through the juicer alternating ingredients and enjoy! Keeps for 24 hours in fridge, but it's best to drink it right away.
Yields about 4 cups (2 servings)

Stuffed Meatloaf Muffins

I thought I should finally get around to posting one my family's favorite recipes. It's a little time consuming, but so very tasty. Even Abbey loves them! They are a great recipe for cold winter days because you can heat the house and have a nice, warm meal.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 lbs Ground Beef
1 Egg, lightly beaten
1/2 Cup Milk
3/4 Cup Bread Crumbs
1 1/4 tsp. Salt
1/2 tsp. Pepper
1 Box of stuffing mix, prepared

1) Mix first 6 ingredients in a bowl.

2) Pack mixture onto bottom and sides of lightly greased muffin tins leaving enough of the meat mixture to cover the tops of the "muffins".

3) Pack a little bit of stuffing into each cavity in the muffin pan.

4) Use remaining meat mixture to made "lids" for the muffins and pinch down around the edges to seal the stuffing in.

5) Bake at 350 degrees F for about 30-40 minutes.

6) Allow to cool a couple of minutes then remove from muffin tins and enjoy!

Note: Sometimes I make a gravy to go with this like beef or mushroom gravy.

Chocolate Yogurt Dream!

I found this recipe the other day and decided to try it with my own twist by tring a different yogurt and adding raspberries. It ended in a to-die for dessert that isn't completely unhealthy! This makes approx. 4 servings.

Ingredients:
1 Cup Greek Yogurt- I used coconut
4 Tbsp. Semisweet Chocolate Chips
4 tsp. Coffee Cream
16 (or more) Raspberries

1) Spoon 1/4 Cup yogurt into each dish.

2) Put chocolate chips and cream in a small dish and microwave for 15-20 seconds. Stir until blended.

4) Spoon some of the chocolate onto each cup of yogurt and smooth over top.

5) Top with a few raspberries.

6) Refrigerate for around an hour until chocolate is set. Enjoy!

Banana Yogurt Pancakes

I'm sharing another one of our family favorite recipes. I took a recipe from the Food Network and altered it a bit to suit our tastes. After some experimentation, I found the perfect combination of flavours. So, here are my favorite banana yogurt pancakes. I usually make a double recipe and stick a bunch in the freezer for quick breakfasts!

1 1/2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 cup vanilla greek/balkan yogurt
3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon milk
2 extra-large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Unsalted butter
2 ripe bananas, diced, plus extra for serving
1/2 cup chocolate chips (optional)
Maple syrup

Whisk together the yogurt, milk, eggs and vanilla.

- Add the flour, baking powder and salt and stir until just mixed. Add chocolate chips if you are using them.

Melt a small amount of butter in the pan.

Use a ladle and pour a couple of Tablespoons of batter per pancake onto pan/griddle

Lay banana slices into batter in pan and cover with a little more batter.

Cook until bubbles form around the edge of pancakes then flip and cook until browned.

Serve with maple syrup and banana slices.

I even made a few tiny ones for Abbey and she loved them!

Yogurt Cones

Our oldest daughter Ceili is all about the snacks. If she could eat snacks for meals, she would be all over it!

Tonight I made her favorite snack before bed. She thinks it's a huge treat, but it's really fairly healthy! All you need is yogurt and an ice cream cone. If you have fruit and sprinkles it's even better. Just fill the ice cream cone with yogurt and fruit and top it off with a few colorful sprinkles. Yum!

As you can see by the photo, she is quite pleased with her snack.

Good Morning Sunshine!

I made one of my favorite childhood breakfasts for us this morning. Bacon and eggs in a nest, I used a cookie cutter to cut out a sun shape though. It was a huge hit with Ceili!

Homemade Granola Bars from Heaven!

I have been trying to make some things instead of buy them lately because they are healthier (less preservatives and you can add extra healthy things to them!) as well as less expensive. Here is my take on homemade no- bake granola bars...they're even gluten free!

Ingredients:

1/4 cup butter
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup honey
2 cups quick cooking oats
1/2 cup coconut (you can use Rice Krispies insead if you prefer)
1/4 cup quinoa
1/4 cup chopped nuts (I use almonds)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
2 tablespoons mini chocolate chips

1) In a large bowl, combine oats, coconut, quinoa and nuts and set aside.
2) In a small pot over medium heat combine butter, brown sugar and honey until it starts bubbling. Reduce heat to low and cook for 2 minutes.
3) Add vanilla and pour over dry ingradients.
4) Pour into lightly greased 8" x 8" pan and sprinkle chocolate chips over top.
5) Pack down well and let cool until chocolate chips are no longer soft.
6) Cut into bars and enjoy your healthy, protein-filled snack!
Makes about 12 granola bars.

*Store in plastic bags or plastic wrap for future snacking :)