Coconut banana carrot cake

This cake takes the cake!   Literally.  It’s moist, tender, delicious and dare I say it for a cake… rather healthy!   Loaded with coconut, banana, carrot, cinnamon and zero refined sugar, this will quickly become a go-to recipe!  The cake batter is sweetened with maple syrup.  It’s so good and perfect for any special ending to a meal!

It is super delicious unadorned, but if you want to top it with a traditional cream cheese frosting, it doesn’t get any better than the one we have (warning:  the icing recipe is an old school, sugary-buttery-lick-your-fingers-icing… but everything in moderation… right?)!

1 cup ripe banana, mashed

2 cups carrots, grated
½ cup maple syrup
½ cup coconut oil (or butter), melted
4 eggs
2 cups almond flour
2 teaspoons cinnamon
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon vanilla
½ cup coconut
1/3-1/2 cup organic raisins (optional)
¼ cup walnuts, finely chopped (optional)

8-ounce cream cheese, room temperature

2 cups powdered sugar
½ cup butter, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla
Dash of cinnamon & nutmeg, optional
Drop of milk

1. Preheat oven to 350°.
2. Grease and flour a bundt pan.
3. In a mixing bowl, mix together banana, maple syrup, coconut oil and eggs until well mixed.  Add almond flour, cinnamon, baking soda and vanilla.  Mix until incorporated.  Add carrots and coconut.  Mix until combined.  Add raisins and walnuts, and mix until incorporated.
4. Pour into prepared pan.  Bake for 40-45 minutes, until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
5. Cool cake completely.
6. For the icing:  Beat cream cheese and butter until smooth.  Add the powdered sugar, vanilla and spices (if using), beat until combined.  Very gradually add a drop of milk until you reach the right creamy consistency (be careful to add a very little at a time!). 

What we are loving:  these stainless steel cups!  We got them for the kids, but oddly they are most coveted by adults.  I think grownups feel like they are drinking out of a mint julep cup… but they are perfect for kiddos!  They can safely drink from these without the worry of plastic leaching or breakage.

sweet (spinach) mini muffins

Shh, don’t tell your little shamrocks that the ‘green’ ingredient is spinach!  Kids will love the muffins because they are sweet & scrumptious!  Parents will love them because they are made with wholesome ingredients like spinach, apple sauce and almond flour.  These mini bites are super moist (thanks to the almond flour) and the perfect combination of healthy and delicious.

I like to throw in some raisins and/or coconut (chopped walnuts would be a good addition too!), but this recipe is perfect as is. 

1 cup fresh spinach, packed

½ cup organic applesauce
1 organic egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
¼ cup maple syrup
2 Tablespoons melted butter
1 ¼ cups almond flour
1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon cinnamon

¼ teaspoon nutmeg

1.      Preheat oven to 350 F.

2.      Place the spinach, applesauce, egg, vanilla, maple syrup and melted butter in a food processor and puree.  Add the almond flour, baking soda, cinnamon and nutmeg.  Pulse until combined.

3.      Drop batter into 24 lined or greased mini muffin tins. 

4.      Bake for 11-12 minutes, until toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Makes approximately 24 mini muffins

We are loving these reusable produce bags!  No more plastic bags :)

Chocolate cherry breakfast cookie

Our children’s easy, go-to breakfast on weekday mornings are organic cereal bars.  They love them and request them every day.  After a little label reading it became very clear why they love them so much!  They are LOADED with sugar.  I am trying to reduce our family’s sugar intake, so I decided to come up with a cereal bar alternative that was low in sugar and high in protein and nutrition (and of course, deliciousness!).  This breakfast cookie fits the bill!  It is so scrumptious that they are almost addictive.  They also are far more nutritious than the average cereal bar sold everywhere.  Made with almond flour, oats, walnuts, cherries and chunks of dark chocolate, this recipe will quickly become a family favorite!  Feel free to tinker with your families personal preferences!  Replace the cherries with cranberries, dates, raisins or banana chips, or the chia seeds with flax, pumpkin, sunflower or sesame seeds. 

Who knew that a breakfast bar alternative could be this tasty and good for you!

½ cup butter, melted

2-3 Tablespoons honey

2 organic eggs

½ teaspoon vanilla

1 cup almond flour

1 teaspoon cinnamon

¼ teaspoon ginger

¼ teaspoon cloves

½ teaspoon baking soda

¼ teaspoon baking powder

1 cup oats (I use Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free)

¾ cup dark chocolate chips

1/3 cup dried cherries

1/3 cup unsweetened coconut

1/3 cup walnuts, broken in half or quarters (I like them chunky, but cut to your preference)

2 teaspoons chia seeds

1.)    Preheat oven to 350°.

2.)    In a large mixing bowl, mix the butter, honey, eggs and vanilla.  Add the almond flour, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, baking soda and baking powder until just combined.  Add the oats and stir until just combined.  Add the chocolate chips, cherries, coconut, walnuts and chia seeds until just combined.

3.)    Using a small scooper, drop onto a parchment-lined baking sheet, spacing 2 inches apart.  Lightly flatten the dough.

4.)    Bake for 11-12 minutes.  Once cooled, store in an air-tight container.  I pop most of these in an air-tight freezer container.  12 seconds in our microwave will thaw and warm them.