Tag Archives: coconut

sweet tooth pleaser + weekend mantra

February 16, 2013 by natasha

I tried a new recipe and it was a beautiful success so I just have to share!

I think it’s safe to say that most of us prefer to either cook OR bake. Am I right? And of course there will be a couple of you who can do it all – bravo! Personally, I have a lot more confidence in the cooking department but that doesn’t mean I don’t enjoy the odd sweet treat indulgence. Good thing for me it’s a lot easier nowadays to find healthier baked goods at local bakeries, restaurants and health food stores. It is also possible to make healthified baked goods in your own kitchen. The best way to turn some of your favourite tried and tested recipes into a more healthy option is to make some substitutions for the not-so-healthy ingredients.

Here are a few of my fav substitutions that I hope you will experiment with …

  • Coconut oil or organic, grass-fed butter INSTEAD OF shortening, margarine or vegetable oil
  • Gluten free/whole wheat/spelt flours INSTEAD OF all purpose white flour
  • Coconut sugar or Sucanant INSTEAD OF white or brown sugar
  • Sweetening with pureed fruit, pure/organic/local maple syrup and honey
  • Celtic sea salt or Himalayan sea salt INSTEAD OF table salt

Note: Not all these substitutes are 1:1 so a quick little google search is sure to help you make your substitutions work for your recipe.

Okay so back to this amazing recipe.

I saw Joy posted an absolutely scrumptious looking Apple Tart with Maple Cream recipe over on her lovely blog last week and it had my taste buds swooning with envy. I knew I had to try it out.

A play date with Sloane and some of her sweet little friends {as well as their awesome mama’s} was a great excuse to test drive this tart.

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Voila!

Apple tart slathered in maple cream. Ummmm, this was OMG amazing.

This is officially a new go-to recipe in my {wee} baking repertoire. Of course this is an indulgence but all the ingredients are from REAL FOOD and it tastes incredibly amazing. I am sure you will love it as much as I did.

One more thing before I go.

Here is a sweet little weekend mantra for you. I have kept this in my heart and head as I move through the day today and I hope you will too.

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 mantra courtesy of Gabby Bernstein

 Have a very happy weekend my loves!

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coconut smoothie bliss + finding your magic

September 24, 2012 by natasha

it’s monday-funday!

I hope you have some serious high expectations for a fabulous week ahead. I am still getting things in order over here and hoping to book a plane ticket today (woot!!!!).

with every move comes a lot of packing, cleaning, and organizing. cleaning out the pantry and fridge is actually a fun little challenge for me to use up as many ingredients as I can in the weeks before the move. I hate wasting food! this brings me to today’s DELICIOUS coconut smoothie that I sipped on yesterday. I used as many whole food ingredients as I could and it was really delish. I promise your tastebuds will agree.

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup coconut milk
  • 1 cup pure, filtered water
  • 1 tbsp coconut oil
  • 1 tbsp unsweetened coconut
  • frozen banana
  • 1/4 cup frozen blueberries
  • 2 tbsp goji berries
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 1 tbsp chia seeds
  • 2 tbsp raw cacao nibs
  • scoop of vanilla sunwarrior protein powder
  • scoop of chocolate vega protein powder
  • option {and highly recommended} big handful of your favourite greens! I didn’t have any left in the house at the time {gasp…}

Method:

  1. add your gorgeous ingredients to a blender. blend 1-2 minutes until smooth.
  2. top with a sprinkle of cinnamon
  3. note: this made enough for two large smoothies. I like to store one in a mason jar in the fridge for the next day.

this smoothie is brimming with vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and healthy fats!

here is another delicious {and EASY} recipe using coconut.

Ingredients:

  • about 15-20 pre-cooked shrimp (unthawed, and tails taken off)
  • 1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
  • 4 tbsp coconut oil

Method:

  1. add shrimp to a medium sized pan on medium heat and cook for about 2 minutes.
  2. then add your coconut oil + coconut to the pan. continue to cook until shrimp are ready.
  3. enjoy!
as you can see I served mine on top of a big green salad. I will note that the coconut didn’t exactly stick to all of the shrimp – so I used a spoon to clean it all up ;)

well there is your coconut lovin’ for today. I hope you have a magical day!

via

PS. I really think that you should read this awesome article, written by Ange over at Hol:Fit. we all have a “game-changer” as she calls it, or perhaps an “ah-ha” moment when we decide that we are absolutely worthy of living our best life yet, and I would love to know what + when yours was! 

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