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The Best Pumpkin Dish You’ll Make This Fall

By on November 4, 2016 in Guilt-Free Treats

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Excited doesn’t really cover how I feel about this recipe. I made it on a Sunday and literally dreamed about it the night before. Yes, I am that big of a loser and yes, it did live up to my dream.

I used to make a pumpkin dump cake that made my heart happy. It was creamy and warm on the bottom with a crunchy, sweet top. I LOVED it! The problem was, it was loaded with both white and brown sugar and was topped with a cake mix…. which you had to add even more sugar to. I thought about cheating and just making the darn thing (Yes, it would have been worth it), but before I sold my soul I decided to try to make a healthier version.

I’m SO glad I did. The pumpkin layer is warm, creamy, sweet and bursting with fall flavors. The topping contrasts nicely with the creamy base and the flavors work perfectly together. This is a perfect dessert for a cold night. Though since this dessert is so good I almost cried, I’ll probably make it for my birthday… in April.

So if you believe all men (and women) are entitled to the pursuit of happiness, make this… now. No really. Go do it.

A few tips first (sorry for the false alarm. Hopefully you aren’t running to grab your slow cooker).

Make sure you grease your slow cooker. If you don’t, instead of talking about how much you love me, you’ll be cursing me to the depths of Hades. Grease that sucker!

Yes, this has a lot of ingredients, but it truly is a dump cake. Two bowls and a slow cooker. That’s it. You don’t even have to beat the pumpkin layer in stages. I really did just throw everything in a bowl and beat it.

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Make sure you distribute the topping evenly when you sprinkle it over the pumpkin. This is basically going to cook up like a cake layer, so you want it as even as you can get it. Though since it is a dump cake, you really can’t ruin it. This just makes it better.

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The same goes for the butter. This provides a lot of the liquid for the cake layer, so you’ll want it even. But again, you can’t ruin this. The moisture from the pumpkin and the steaming affect of the slow cooker will get any spots you miss.

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As far as the pecans go, they are totally optional. If you hate pecans or they kill you if you eat them, you should leave them out. I love the flavor of pecans with pumpkin and fall spices so I left them in. You can even substitute them with another nut if you like. Not peanuts though. I like peanuts as much as the next squirrel, but that just sounds wrong.

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Lastly, this is a dish that is amazing on its own, but is even better topped with something cold and creamy. While ice cream would be amazing, we decided to go with something a little healthier and use coconut cream. Don’t worry. If you can hold a hand mixer, you can make coconut cream. Click here for instructions from The Pioneer Woman. We sweeten ours with honey.

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Okay. Now you are armed with what you need so go and make it. Now. It’s not a false alarm this time…

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Sip On This Instead of Water

By on September 16, 2016 in Guilt-Free Treats

Does anyone else get tired of drinking water? It sounds strange since water has no flavor, but sometimes I get tired of it. If you have the same problem, keep reading for nine fun non-water drinks you can enjoy at any point in your day without having to feel guilt or regret.

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Salted Caramel Cookie Dough Brownies

By on August 5, 2016 in Guilt-Free Treats

Back in the day (the day of processed sugars), I used to have a reputation for baking. People asked me to make cookies and cupcakes for events and whenever people came for dinner, they were always most excited for dessert. So when I gave up sugar, I was scared to lose that reputation. I still love to make (and eat) yummy treats. I just have to do it with healthier ingredients and eat it in moderation (meaning i can’t have an entire pan of brownies myself. Sad day.)

Last Sunday we had friends over for dinner for the first time. I was confident I could make a healthy dinner anyone would like because who doesn’t like meat and potatoes? But the dessert had me a little scared. So I decided to combine three different recipes to make one amazing dessert. Everyone was impressed and I still get to experience the joy of watching people eat my treats.

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I started out with the Coconut Flour Brownies From Empowered Sustenance.   I added 1/2 a cup of dark chocolate chips to these because…. well I don’t think I ever need to give an explanation for adding more chocolate. These brownies are amazing, if you make them right. The first few times I made them, I overcooked them. Check them halfway through baking time and frequently after. If they feel set in the middle, you’ve overcooked them. Watch the edges and make sure they don’t get too dark. These brownies are gooey and soft, unless you overcook them.

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I’ve topped these brownies with peanut butter frosting and chocolate frosting and mint frosting, but I wanted to do something more fun. I decided to top them with Edible Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough from Wicked Spatula.  When you make this cookie dough, make sure you process it for a long time. If you don’t, it won’t be fluffy. If you keep it going, the dough turns out fluffy and soft just like regular cookie dough.

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The brownie and the cookie dough would have been plenty, but I wanted something to really send this over the top. I went with Salted Coconut Caramel Sauce from An Edible Mosaic. This sauce was my favorite part of the dessert. This sauce is great over ice cream, brownies or just a spoon. A massive spoon. A ladle really. It’s that good. This thickened up really well after a bit in the fridge. And it stayed soft and pourable right out of the refrigerator. I just drizzled this over the top of the cookie dough layer. I have a lot left over. Hmmmm… Maybe this would be great with just a straw too.

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If you’re looking for an awesome dessert to wow a crowd, this is definitely it!

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Guilt-Free Ice Cream

By on February 12, 2016 in Guilt-Free Treats

Two weeks ago, my husband was gone for an entire week. Things started out fine but by Thursday, I was more than ready for him to come home. I pride myself in being a strong, capable woman. When it comes to being a mom, I feel like I’m fairly resourceful and know what to do in certain situations, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t days I want to run for the hills screaming as I go. After spending the early part of the week screaming and fighting, the kids finally came down with a nasty cold Thursday. This was somewhat comforting to know that the reason they were acting as though possessed with demons was because they were getting sick, but it didn’t make things easier. I was still left with two grumpy, sick kids who stayed up all night crying about being too congested to sleep. This is hard as a mom because you feel so helpless. It’s hard to see your kids suffering and not be able to change it. It’s hard to try to explain that the crying is going to make the congestion worse (one day my kids will realize I’m not actually an idiot). And it’s hard to be a happy, compassionate mom when functioning on no sleep and having to run around getting juice and tissues, while listening to the theme song from Superman cartoons for 8 hours straight.

On Friday night, by the time I filled them with ibuprofen, stacked pillows on their beds, filled up humidifiers and oil diffusers, stocked them with water and tissues, I was ready to collapse. And while I don’t condone drowning your sorrows in comfort food, that’s all I wanted to do. I wanted to eat ice cream under a blanket and watch chick flicks until one of my kiddos woke up complaining of congestion. So, that’s what I did. Only I did it a in a healthy way. So now to the point of that rather long, extremely fascinating story: I made this healthy ice cream. I could indulge and feel zero guilt. And making it through that week without having a nervous breakdown or buying a pint of Ben and Jerry’s kind of made me feel like Super Mom.

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Seven Guilt-Free Hot Chocolate Recipes

By on January 29, 2016 in Guilt-Free Treats

2015-02-23 11.47.20My 5-year-old loves to play in the snow. She wants to sled, build snowmen, make snow angels, shovel, etc, etc, etc. And she has more snow stamina than I do. After about half an hour I’m totally done and want to come inside and heat up a rice sock. She stays out until she can no longer feel her hands. Oh to be five again. Every time she comes in from a snow extravaganza, she declares she needs hot chocolate. After all, nothing warms up cold feet like drinking hot chocolate. At least that’s what my daughter tells me. Since I’m not a big fan of the ingredients in packaged hot chocolate, we started making our own. Luckily, it passes my daughter’s after-snow hot-chocolate requirements.

For basic hot chocolate, just whisk together the almond milk, cocoa and sweetener of your choice. For my kids (including my husband), I always use the honey instead of stevia. I always use stevia in mine.

Start on the lower end of measurements and add to your tastes. I use a full tablespoon of cocoa while my daughter prefers two teaspoons. You can always add but you can’t take away.

To make life more exciting (because now that I’m a mom in my 30’s, new hot chocolate flavors really does qualify as exciting), try these variations.

Almond Hot chocolate

  • 1 recipe Guilt-Free Hot Chocolate
  • Stir in 1/8 t almond extract

Peppermint Hot Chocolate

  • 1 recipe Guilt-Free Hot Chocolate
  • Stir in 1/4 t peppermint extract or 1 drop pure peppermint essential oil

Coconut Hot Chocolate

  • Make 1 recipe Guilt-Free Hot Chocolate, but use coconut milk instead of almond milk
  • Stir in 1 tsp coconut butter

Mexican Hot Chocolate

  • 1 recipe Guilt-Free Hot Chocolate
  • Whisk in 1/4 t cinnamon and 1 pinch cayenne pepper

Orange Hot Chocolate

  • 1 recipe Guilt-Free Hot Chocolate
  • Stir in 1/4 t orange extract

Raspberry Hot Chocolate

  • 1 recipe Guilt-Free Hot Chocolate
  • Smash 3 raspberries in bottom of mug before adding milk. Whisk together with the cocoa powder.
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Clean Maple Pumpkin Cheesecake

By on October 16, 2015 in Guilt-Free Treats

It’s Fall!! The air is crisp, the leaves are red, the occasional sweater makes an appearance and the best part of the season shows its lovely orange face: PUMPKIN! I firmly believe pumpkin should be a part of everything I eat whenever possible from October 1 to December 31. It just feels right. Basically, this is me:

The problem is, a lot of those delicious, gooey pumpkin desserts are chock full of refined sugars, processed flours and hydrogenated oils. Because I am not willing to give up my pumpkin desserts, I needed to come up with a healthy pumpkin pie. And not just a normal pie, but a CHEESECAKE!  Now listen. Eating healthy doesn’t mean eating “healthy” treats every day. And to me, it doesn’t mean depriving myself of treats for the rest of my life, because that sounds like the worst life possible. What it does mean is eating healthier treats in moderation. We have dessert every Sunday night. We had this last Sunday and the whole family gave it two thumbs up, including my son with sensory eating issues. That’s always a huge win in our household.

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I started with this coconut cookie pie crust by Plated with Style. I’ve made this crust for several pies and love it. Why reinvent the wheel, right? I left the crust raw and baked the filling and crust together with great results. I used a regular pie dish and greased it with coconut oil, which I highly recommend.

This cheesecake easily comes together in a stand mixer. If you don’t have a stand mixer, use hand beaters.2015-10-03 18.29.12

I’ve heard of several clean-eating cheesecakes that require soaking cashews and then blending them…. I just stick with cream cheese for this. The sweetness comes from maple syrup, vanilla and fall spices like cinnamon.

The batter will be very thick, so don’t worry it’s wrong if it’s not really pour-able.

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The pie bakes for 30-35 minutes. The middle should be a bit jiggly, but not sloshy.  I’m not ashamed to say, I teared up a bit pulling this out of the oven because it smelled SOOOO good. It’s like a perfect package of fall.

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Once it reaches this state, let it cool before refrigerating at least four hours. I made this on  a Saturday night for a Sunday dinner and left it in the fridge overnight.

You can eat this plain or top it with whipped coconut cream. Happy pumpkin season!!!

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