Here are some pictures of what we have been up to the past few weeks. My 4-year-old participated in a Frozen dance camp. This is her with her big sister and best friend.

My 4-year-old also started learning to cheer like her big sister. She loves being able to do some of the things her sister can do!

My 8-year-old particiapted in a hip hop camp. This picture is from Luau day.

My son has been busy playing in lacrosse tournaments. He is #17.

My 4-year-old performed in her first ballet recital.

My 8-year-old went to see Katy Perry with two of her friends!

We went to a carnival with our best friends!

Pop pop (my dad) came for a visit! Grandma came for some visits too, we need to get pictures of that next time.

Lastly, we have been experimenting with new desserts! It has been so hot so I have not been in the mood to turn on my oven much, so we have been making sweet treats in the blender, refrigerator and freezer. Stay tuned for more of what we have been making!

This chocolate mousse from The Detoxinista is one of my favorite new recipes that we found. I find myself soaking cashews everyday in preparation to make this amazing dessert! I have also been doubling the recipe because it does not last long in our house. It takes as long to prepare as a smoothie, super quick and easy!

Cashews are so good for you and I love being able to give my family a dessert that promotes health! Did you know that 2 handfuls of cashews is the therapeutic equivalent of a prescription dose of Prozac?  Inside you, the essential amino acid L-tryptophan is broken down into anxiety-reducing, snooze-inducing niacin. Even more important, tryptophan is also made into serotonin, one of your body’s most important neurotransmitters. Serotonin gives a feeling of well-being and mellowness. This is such a profound effect that Prozac, Paxil and similar antidepressants usually either mimic serotonin or artificially keep the body’s own serotonin levels high. (Source)

This recipe also uses cacao, which is sooooo good for you! It is the most antioxidant-rich food in the world. Cacao also contains natural mood-boosting compounds, making it a good food for people suffering from anxiety, sadness and depression.

I love that this mousse is sweetened with maple syrup instead of sugar. Maple syrup is an excellent source of manganese and a good source of zinc. The trace mineral manganese is an essential for energy production and antioxidant defenses. Zinc and manganese are also important allies in the immune system. Most traditional pancake syrups contain added salt, corn syrup, high fructose corn syrup and sodium benzoate. Both corn syrup and high fructose corn syrup are potential GM (genetically modified) ingredients.

There are two varieties of maple syrup to choose from, USDA Grade A and Grade B. Grade A is the most popular, with a light maple flavor and a relatively thin consistency. It’s a good choice for pancakes, and can make a great topping for desserts and other foods.

Grade B maple syrup is much darker and has a stronger flavor. It also is a bit thicker, tending towards the consistency of pancake syrup rather than the runnier Grade A. Grade B is often recommended for baking because its stronger flavor comes through more readily, but it can be a better choice for pancakes or waffles than Grade A if you are a fan of the flavor of maple in general. The two are interchangeable as far as what will work in a recipe that calls for maple syrup. Grade C maple syrup, it is now called Grade B. Thus, Grade B & C are the same.

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Decadent Dairy-Free Chocolate Mousse

See Detailed Nutrition Info on

WholeFoodRealFood.com

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup raw cashews, soaked 2 hours
• 1/2 cup almond milk
• 1/4 cup melted coconut oil
• 1/4 cup raw cacao powder or cocoa powder
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Pinch of sea salt

Instructions

1. Drain and rinse the cashews well, discarding the soak water.
2. Combine the soaked cashews, almond milk, melted coconut oil, cocoa powder, maple syrup, vanilla extract and salt in a high-speed blender, and blend until completely smooth and creamy.
3. Pour the mixture into 4 ramekins, and place in the fridge to chill until set, about 4 to 6 hours.
4. Serve chilled, with shaved chocolate, sliced almonds, raspberries or any other topping of your choice.
5. Enjoy!

Notes:

Recipe source: http://detoxinista.com/2014/03/chocolate-pots-de-creme-vegan-paleo/

Decadent Dairy-Free Chocolate Mousse

• 1/2 cupraw, unsalted cashews, soaked 2 hours
• 1/2 cup almond milk
• 1/4 cup melted coconut oil
• 1/4 cup raw cacao powder or cocoa powder
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla (I prefer the taste of the type without alcohol)
• Pinch of Himalayan pink salt

1. Drain and rinse the cashews well, discarding the soak water.
2. Combine the soaked cashews, almond milk, melted coconut oil, cocoa powder, maple syrup, vanilla extract and salt in a high-speed blender, and blend until completely smooth and creamy.
3. Pour the mixture into 4 ramekins, and place in the fridge to chill until set, about 4 to 6 hours.
4. Serve chilled, with shaved chocolate, sliced almonds, raspberries or any other topping of your choice.
5. Enjoy!

To receive daily health tips and gluten-free, grain-free, dairy-free and sugar-free meal/snack ideas, like us at www.facebook.com/wholefoodrealfood.

“When you know better, you do better.”

These pops are so, so, so much better for you than store bought pops. There is no comparison. None. The pops made with a juicer are good for you and provide essential vitamins and nutrients to keep your body thriving. The ingredients in many store-bought popsicles are detrimental to your health. For example the Popsicle brand of watermelon ice pops are made of the following ingredients (at-risk GMO ingredients are bolded in red):

water, maltodextrin, corn syrup, fructose, citric acid, malic acid, locust bean gum, guar gum, natural and artificial flavor, yellow 5, blue 1 —  (No mention of watermelon!)

When making pops with fresh watermelon juice, the only ingredient is watermelon juice. One watermelon slice contains about 33 percent of your daily requirement of vitamin A, which your body uses to build skin, bones and teeth, and to keep your eyes healthy. It also contains about 38.6 percent of your vitamin C requirement. Potassium is the most prevalent mineral in watermelon, with about 9.2 percent of your daily requirement in each slice. Staying well hydrated is important for proper function of virtually every part of your body. MayoClinic.com says a good rule of thumb is to make sure you consume about eight 8-oz. glasses of water per day, for a total of 64 oz. of water. However, some of this water can come from the food you eat, as well as from the beverages you drink. Watermelon is roughly 92 percent water content, which means that eating watermelon can help make sure your daily water consumption is sufficient. ~ Information provided by www.livestrong.com

I added Enjoy Life Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips to the watermelon pops for the “seeds”. These chips are certified gluten free, contain no wheat, dairy, peanuts, tree nuts, egg or soy. They are also made without casein, potato, sesame or sulfites and contain no trans fat or cholesterol. They are certified kosher, vegan – no preservatives, all natural. I replaced our Toll House chips with these chips without telling my kids and no one knew the difference.

Another flavor we made this week is mango. The only ingredient in these pops is mango juice and they are delicious!

The possibilities are endless. As we come up with new recipes, I will be sure to post!

~ Focus on foods you should eat, instead of what you shouldn’t.

My whole family loved this ice cream, it is so smooth and creamy, it tastes just like soft serve! It all started because we had a bunch of bananas that were very ripe and about to go bad — I did not want to see these bananas go to waste. Instead of throwing them away, we decided to make ice cream out of them! When making this ice cream, your bananas should be extremely brown, almost to the point when you would throw them away or freeze them. If they are not overly ripe, your ice cream will not be as sweet and probably not taste as good. If you are using non-ripe bananas, you should add about 1 tbsp of raw honey to the mixture.

As a banana ripens its levels of antioxidants increases. These antioxidants in ripe bananas protect your body against cancer and heart diseases. A banana gives an instant, sustained and substantial boost of energy. When you compare a banana to an apple, it has four times the protein, twice the carbohydrate, three times the phosphorus, five times the vitamin A and iron, and twice the other vitamins and minerals. Bananas are also rich in potassium and are one of the best value foods around.

We made this ice cream in our Vitamix. I have not tried this recipe in other blenders, so I am not sure how other blenders will handle the frozen bananas. If your blender has trouble processing the bananas, you can add almond milk to the mixture. Add the milk to the blender first and then add the bananas.

When choosing your almond milk it is important to know that one the 10 Foods You Should Never Buy is store-bought alternative milks.  These milks are often full of added sugars, preservatives, and thickeners such as carrageenan, which research has shown causes inflammation. When laboratory mice are exposed to low concentrations of carrageenan for 18 days, they develop “profound” glucose intolerance and impaired insulin action which can lead to diabetes and other chronic diseases. If you don’t have time to make the almond milk on your own, it is good to remember that while most store-bought almond milk contains carrageenan, Silk Almond milk does not. If you choose to buy your Almond Milk, Silk brand is a good choice.

If you have leftovers you can freeze them in pop molds — we use the Norpro 431 4-Piece Silicone Ice Pop Maker Set.  Just spoon into the mold and freeze. You can also use this ice-cream in between two grain-free chocolate chip cookies, and make a dairy free & grain free ice cream sandwich.

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Dairy Free Banana Ice-Cream

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 1 minute

Total Time: 6 minutes

See Detailed Nutrition Info on

Whole Food. Real Food. Good Food. www.facebook.com/wholefoodrealfood

Ingredients

• 4 ripe bananas
• 1 cup almond milk (optional)

Instructions

1. Cut bananas into 1 inch pieces.
2. Freeze for 4-5 hours.
3. Add almond milk to blender (optional).
4. Add bananas to blender.
5. Blend until smooth and creamy.

Notes:

We used a Vitamix -- I am not sure how other blenders will handle the frozen bananas.

Dairy Free Banana Ice Cream

4 ripe bananas
1 cup almond milk (optional)

1. Cut bananas into 1 inch pieces.
2. Freeze for 4-5 hours.
3. Add almond milk to blender (optional).
4. Add bananas to blender.

5. Blend until smooth and creamy.

6. Enjoy!

~ Eat Better. Feel Better.

These cookies were the first Paleo dessert I made when we started changing our diet. The recipe comes from the Paleo Plan. I usually tweak the recipes, but this one is perfect as is. (I did make one small change to the salt by using Himalayan Pink Salt instead of the sea salt the recipe calls for.) I could not believe how good they tasted and how much the kids enjoyed them. My son calls them his “favorite healthy cookie” .

When consuming grain free baked goods we have to be careful about how much we consume because most contain large quantities of nut flours. These nut flours contain high amounts of omega-6 fatty acids. While omega-6 fatty acids are good for you, in excess, they can cause problems. It’s a good idea to keep your omega-3 consumption (from foods like organic butter, pastured beef, pastured eggs, raw organic cultured or fermented dairy, fish, etc.) twice as high as your omega-6 consumption to avoid possible inflammation.

The recipe calls for Enjoy Life Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips, but you can also add raisins, walnuts, pecans, silvered almonds or anything else you may choose. Enjoy Life Chocolate Chips are certified gluten free, contain no wheat, dairy, peanuts, tree nuts, egg or soy. They are also made without casein, potato, sesame or sulfites and contain no trans fat or cholesterol. They are certified kosher, vegan – no preservatives, all natural. I replaced our Toll House chips with these chips without telling my kids and no one knew the difference.

When purchasing your honey, raw unprocessed honey is a good choice. 75% of all honey sold in stores contains no honey at all. A comprehensive investigation conducted by Food Safety News (FSN) has found that the vast majority of so-called honey products sold at grocery stores do not contain any pollen, which means they are not real honey. “Raw honey is thought to have many medicinal properties,” says Kathy Egan, dietitian at College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Mass.  ”Stomach ailments, anemia and allergies are just a few of the conditions that may be improved by consumption of unprocessed honey.”

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Grain Free Chocolate Chip Cookies

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Ingredients

• 3 cups almond flour
• 1/2 cup coconut oil, melted
• 1/2 cup raw honey
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp Himalayan pink salt
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups Enjoy Life Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375℉.
2. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
3. In a small mixing bowl, combine dry ingredients. Set aside.
4. In a medium mixing bowl, beat the eggs, honey, and vanilla extract with a hand mixer, or wire whisk.
5. Pour wet ingredients slowly into dry ingredients and beat with mixer or fork until combined.
6. Add the melted coconut oil and continue to blend until combined. Stir in chocolate chips.
7. Drop Tablespoon size balls of cookie dough onto prepared baking sheet.
8. Bake for approximately 8-10 minutes.

 Grain Free Chocolate Chip Cookies

• 3 cups almond flour
• 1/2 cup coconut oil, melted
• 1/2 cup raw honey
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp Himalayan pink salt
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups Enjoy Life Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips

1. Preheat oven to 375℉.
2. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
3. In a small mixing bowl, combine dry ingredients. Set aside.
4. In a medium mixing bowl, beat the eggs, honey, and vanilla extract with a hand mixer, or wire whisk.
5. Pour wet ingredients slowly into dry ingredients and beat with mixer or fork until combined.
6. Add the melted coconut oil and continue to blend until combined.  Stir in chocolate chips.
7. Drop Tablespoon size balls of cookie dough onto prepared baking sheet.
8. Bake for approximately 8-10 minutes.

~ “One of the very nicest things about life is the way we must regularly stop whatever it is we are doing and devote our attention to eating.” – Luciano Pavarotti

My kids used to tear through bags of the Entenmann’s Brownie Bites like they were the last brownies on earth and to my surprise, they tore through these new brownies last night just as they did with the Entenmann’s brand.  You can double or triple the batch and freeze these for future use, so they can be grab and go just like the Entenmann’s we are all used to — after all, that is what makes the Entenmann’s little brownie like products so desirable, they are quick, easy and delicious.  Now we have a new option that is quick, easy and delicious with just a tad of planning.  We use WEXY Lunch and Munch Snack Bags to freeze our mini muffins.  These bags are BPA free and are fun for the kids with cute little monsters on each bag.  We put 3-4 muffins in a bag, freeze and grab when we need them.  If you pack them in a lunch they will be defrosted by lunch time.

We used Navitas Naturals Cacao Powder.  The only ingredient is Certified Organic Cacao. Cacao contains a naturally rich supply of antioxidants and is a good source of dietary fiber.  Raw cacao contains the highest concentrated antioxidant of any other food.  It is also known to be one of the highest dietary sources of magnesium, flavanols and polyphenols.  I was so excited to find something that promotes health that my kids would enjoy!

I hope you enjoy these brownies as much as we did!  Brownies are one of our favortie treats, and now we have an option that is actually good for us.  If you look at the ingredient breakdown, you will see that each ingredient in the brownies serves a nutritional purpose in one form or another. Simply click on the ingredient and you will see for yourself the goodness and wholesomeness you will be providing to you and your family.  (For this particular recipe 4 brownie bites equal 1 serving). You will be not only eating for pleasure, but for purpose.  The food we eat needs purpose.

This vs. That ~ Cacao Brownie Bites vs. Entenmann’s Little Bites Fudge Brownies:

(Apart from other health concerns, many of the ingredients in the Entenmann’s Little Bites are potentially GM (genetically modified) — sugar, corn syrup, fructose, cornstarch modified, soy lecithin, mono and diglycerides & xanthan gum.)

Almond Flour, Baking Soda, Himalayan Pink Salt, Raw Honey, Coconut Oil, Organic Eggs, Vanilla Extract, Raw Cacao Powder vs. Sugar, Egg(s), Wheat Flour Bleached, Chocolate Powder (Sugar, Chocolate Liquor, Dextrose), Canola Oil, Palm Oil, Milk Non-Fat, Soybean(s) Oil, Corn Syrup, Cocoa Processed With Alkali, Fructose, Whey, Salt, Cornstarch Modified, Gellan Gum, Sodium Citrate, Soy Lecithin, Flavor(s) Natural & Artificial, Guar Gum, Xanthan Gum, Propylene Glycol Monoester, Mono and Diglycerides, Sodium Stearoyl Lactylate, Potassium Sorbate Preservative

When purchasing your honey, raw unprocessed honey is a good choice. 75% of all honey sold in stores contains no honey at all. A comprehensive investigation conducted by Food Safety News (FSN) has found that the vast majority of so-called honey products sold at grocery stores do not contain any pollen, which means they are not real honey. “Raw honey is thought to have many medicinal properties,” says Kathy Egan, dietitian at College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Mass.  ”Stomach ailments, anemia and allergies are just a few of the conditions that may be improved by consumption of unprocessed honey.”

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This vs. That ~ Cacao Brownie Bites

Rating: 51

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 11 minutes

Total Time: 21 minutes

Number of servings: 12

See Detailed Nutrition Info on

Ingredients

• 2/3 cup raw honey
• 1/2 cup coconut oil or ghee
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract
• 3 eggs (preferably organic)
• 1 cup almond flour
• 1/2 cup raw cacao
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp Himalayan pink salt

Instructions

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Grease muffin pan with coconut oil spray or ghee.
3. Mix honey, coconut oil or ghee, vanilla and eggs until smooth.
4. Add almond flour, cocoa, baking soda and optional salt.
5. Stir to blend.
6. Fill muffin cups with batter (approximately 1/3 full).
7. Bake for 11 minutes, until centers no longer jiggle and tops feel cakey.

Notes:

Another alternative is to pour the batter into a greased 8x8x2 inch pan. We use coconut oil spray to grease the pan. Bake for approximately 25 minutes, until center no longer jiggles and top feels cakey. Recipe Adapted From: http://grainfreefoodie.blogspot.com

Cacao Brownie Bites

2/3 cup raw honey
1/2 cup coconut oil or ghee
1 tbsp vanilla extract
3 eggs (preferably organic)
1 cup almond flour
1/2 cup raw cacao
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp Himalayan pink salt

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Grease muffin pan with coconut oil spray or ghee.
3. Mix honey, coconut oil or ghee, vanilla and eggs until smooth.

4. Add almond flour, cocoa, baking soda and optional salt.

5. Stir to blend.

6. Fill muffin cups with batter (approximately 1/3 full).

7. Bake for 11 minutes, until centers no longer jiggle and tops feel cakey.

8. Let cool for 10 minutes.  Enjoy!

~ “To eat is a necessity, but to eat intelligently is an art.”  – La Rochefoucauld