As most of you probably already know, I can’t do life without dessert. I mean what is life without dessert? I can’t sleep without a bedtime snack. It just won’t happen. But seeing as “dessert” usually means sugar laden crap and seeing that I’m attempting to heal from illness and should be consuming no sugar or processed foods of any sort, I have to find other ways to satisfying my dessert cravings.
Eating one piece of fruit usually doesn’t cut it, I need something creative and yummy. So I came up with this recipe. It’s not super sweet, which I love (because I actually don’t like when things are overly sweet, anyway), and you can feel free to leave out the couple of tablespoons of honey/maple syrup or replace them with added coconut butter or oil.
Blueberry Cups
Makes 9 mini pies
Ingredients:
Crust:
1 cup of pitted medjool dates
1/2 cup buckwheat groats (preferably sprouted)
1/2 cup pecans (for nut-free option, use sunflower seeds or more buckwheat)
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tbs. coconut oil, melted
1 tbs. raw honey or maple syrup, replace with melted coconut oil if you don’t want the added sweetener
Filling:
1 cup frozen blueberries, thawed
1 very ripe banana
3 tbs. coconut oil
2 tbs. coconut butter
1-2 tablespoons raw honey, maple syrup, or more coconut butter
2 tbs. agar agar
1/2 cup water
Place all crust ingredients in a food processor and pulse until it comes together and sticks like a dough (don’t over process to the point where it is super smooth).
Divide dough among muffin tin (this recipe makes about 9). There is no need to grease them or use muffin liners. Use your hands to press dough into muffin cup and about 1/2 way up the side of the cup, forming a crust.
Now, place agar agar and 1/2 cup water in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil, reduce to simmer and stir until agar agar is dissolved (about 5 minutes).
Melt coconut oil and coconut butter together over low heat (or in the dehydrator).
Blend all filling ingredients in the food processor until smooth. Pour filling into your mini crusts, dividing evenly.
Place in the fridge and let set for at least 4 hours or overnight. When ready to remove, slide a knife around the outside edge of each blueberry cup to loosen from tin. You should then easily be able to scoop them out of the muffin tin.
Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Enjoy!
I’ve been really digging on papaya lately. Not only is it delicious if you have a perfectly ripe one (it took me a long time to learn what ripe is for papaya- when the outside gets soft and dark and it almost seems like it is going bad), but papaya is a health powerhouse! Papaya is packed with nutrients and is wonderful for your digestive system. It is anti-inflammatory and can ease pain, including menstrual cramps.
I add papaya seeds in this smoothie, which, yes, you can consume. Papaya seeds are anti-parasitic, filled with digestive enzymes, and aid in liver health.
If you don’t have access to organic papaya, be sure to buy the Mexican papaya NOT Hawaiian! Hawaiian papayas are genetically-modified.
Pink Power Smoothie (not only for the guys)
Serves 1
Ingredients:
1 cup water
1 tsp. maca powder
1 tablespoon hemp seeds
1/2 serving vanilla Sunwarrior raw vegan protein
About 1/2 teaspoon size thumb of fresh ginger root or 1/4 tsp. ground ginger (optional, adds some spice as well as the health benefits of ginger)
10 papaya seeds
1 ripe banana
1 frozen banana
5 frozen strawberries
1 cup papaya (about 1/4 of a large)
*You can add 1 cup fresh spinach to get your greens in, as well (it just won’t be a pretty pink color ;))
Add all ingredients to your blender (I suggest a high speed blender like a Vitamix). I also suggest adding them in the order listed.
Blend for 1 minute or until everything is combined together. Add more water to reach desired consistency
Pour into a bowl or glass, top with your favorite toppings and ENJOY!
I made a thicker version with less water so it was like ice cream
I hope you all had a wonderful holiday season. I’m not really a holiday person, not since getting sick anyway. I’m glad it’s all over and I can move on with my life.
Like to crackers. Mmm crackers.
If you know me at all, you know that I make green vegetable juice every day. Holy crap, that is a lot of leftover pulp! I was tired of wasting all of that pulp and when I got a dehydrator for Christmas (eeeeeek so much excitement!!!!), I knew exactly what to do. MAKE GREEN JUICE PULP CRACKERS!
If you juice as often as me (or even at all) then this is the perfect recipe so you can recycle that pulp. These babies are crunchy, earthy, and a little salty (which is exactly how I like ’em). They are super easy to make and you can really use any vegetable juice pulp you have (beets, carrots, greens, a mixture).
Green Juice Pulp Crackers
Ingredients:
2 cups green juice pulp, slightly packed
1/2 cup chia seeds
1/4 cup coconut aminos
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. dried basil
1/2 tsp. dried oregano
3/4 cup water
Blend everything together in a blender or food processor. I used my Vitamix. You’ll need to use the tamper to keep everything down and blending. Stop halfway through blending to scrape down sides and make sure everything gets blended.
Mixture should be sticky-wet and don’t worry if it’s not PERFECTlY blended and you still have some stringy bits from the pulp.
Line your dehydrator trays with parchment paper. Spread mixture on sheets evenly, to about 1/4 inch thick (unless you want thicker or thinner crackers… remember, the dough will thin more as it dehydrates). Score crackers to size you want.
Dehydrate at 115 F overnight for about 12 hours. Break apart along scored lines and store in airtight container for up to a week.
Yummy on their own or dipped in hummus or guacamole.
I know there are a lot of cashew milk recipes out there but there isn’t one on my blog :). I recently posted the picture below on my Instagram “> and had some feedback for the recipe. So, I decided to post the recipe on my blog as easy access for you all. I’ve recently become obsessed with making homemade nut milks because 1) It’s super easy 2) They are so delicious and creamy 3) There aren’t all those nasty, unhealthy additives like in store bought varieties 4) You can make all sorts of flavors!
So let’s get to it. Homemade milks allow you to adjust flavoring and sweetness to your liking so take all the flavoring ingredients I post below with a grain of salt, adjust according to your lovely taste buds!
Homemade Cashew Milk
Makes about 6-8 cups
Ingredients
2 cups organic, raw cashews
4-6 cups of water (less for thicker and creamier milk, more for a thinner milk)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4-1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3 dates
Soak your cashews for at least four hours or up to overnight in filtered water (store soaking cashews in fridge). Drain and rinse thoroughly.
Place cashews and all remaining ingredients in a high speed blender (I use a Vitamix). Blend on high for 1-2 minutes until everything is well blended, smooth, and creamy.
Strain milk through a fine mesh strainer or nut milk bag (I’ve found that cashew milk doesn’t create much pulp compared to, say, almond).
Store in glass mason jars in the fridge for up to 1 week.
I’ve been really into smoothies for the past few months. I’m not a fan of super sweet, all fruit smoothies and if you have a chronic illness like Lyme disease you really shouldn’t be drinking those types of smoothies too often. The sugar content of an all fruit smoothie is both inflammatory and will feed the Lyme bugs so I’ve had to find ways to make my smoothies nutrient packed but still tasty.
Although this smoothie takes a little bit more effort then throwing 3 ingredients into the blender, it is totally worth it! It contains both ginger and turmeric for anti-inflammatory effects and cilantro, lemon and lime juice, and greens to help detoxify.
Detoxifying Anti-Inflammatory Smoothie
Serves 1
Ingredients:
1/4 cup full fat canned coconut milk
1/4 cup almond milk (or replace with more coconut milk or non-dairy milk of choice)
1/2 cup cold filtered water
1/4 tsp. ground turmeric
1 tsp. grated fresh ginger root (can replace this with 1/4 tsp. ground ginger)
1 tsp. maca powder (optional)
1 scoop protein powder of choice (optional)
1 small handful (1/4-1/2 cup depending on how strong you want the flavor) fresh cilantro
1 large handful spinach
Juice from 1/2 a lime
Juice from 1/2 a lemon
1/2 frozen banana
1/4 cup frozen mango
It is easiest to prep all your ingredients. THEN throw them all in a high speed blender. The best order is to place the liquid first, then all the powders/spices and lemon/lime juice, then the spinach and cilantro, and finally the fruit. This allows everything to blend evenly. Turn blender on and let it whirl until all ingredients are mixed in and it is nice and smooth.
I top mine with local bee pollen which contains an amazing amount of nutrients, has natural antibiotic effects, and provides the body with sustainable energy. I’ve added it into my diet to help aid in healing from Lyme disease. Using local bee pollen can also help with allergies. So, even if you aren’t sick but you suffer from seasonal allergies, bee pollen can be a great natural way to boost your immune system to local allergens without using drugs or chemical filled allergy meds.
Homemade nut butters are so easy and you can flavor them however you like! I love making my own food, even almond butter, because then I know EXACTLY what goes into it (yes, sometimes I’m even skeptical of the organic, raw labels in grocery stores). This recipe adds a little sweetness to almond butter to make it the perfect treat (or, ya know, part of your daily meal plan 😉 ).
I’ll be posting a full LDI update in the upcoming weeks so be on the lookout for that. In the meantime things have been a bit up and down. I had about 3 VERY rough weeks both physically and emotionally. I hadn’t changed anything treatment wise so I don’t know if it was the weather, a flare, or some weird moon cycle but I felt absolutely miserable. I was in horrible pain on many days (widespread body pain which I really never deal with), severe headaches (which I’m still dealing with), horrible cravings for non-lyme diet approved foods (that, yes, I gave into and we all know that didn’t help my symptoms), and pretty bad anxiety and depression. I’m not afraid to admit it, I deal with some pretty bad mood swings associated with Lyme and any little thing can set me off sometimes (I don’t even mean to go off!)… does anyone else deal with this? I also go in and out of a depression and generally deal with bad anxiety 24/7 (that one is just part of my personality!) but this past month was some of the worst it has been in the last 6 months. Hoping the worst has passed for now and I do get to see my doctor in two weeks.
Anyway, on to the good stuff.
Vanilla-Cinnamon Almond Butter
Ingredients:
3 cups organic, raw sprouted almonds (this is what I used but you can use roasted or raw or whatever works for you)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1/8-1/4 teaspoon pink Himalayan salt
Place the almonds into a food processor and turn it on. Let it run (it will be VERY loud at first) until the almonds are broken down. Before it becomes creamy, it will form this ball that just whirls around inside the processor, but don’t worry that will pass! As soon as the ball passes and it starts to become creamy, pause the processor and add in the vanilla, salt, and cinnamon. Continue to process until nice and smooth and it looks like the below picture.
Scoop out and store in a glass container… or do it the right way and eat spoonfuls of it straight out of the food processor praying that there will be some left for tomorrow. Yes, I have an almond butter addiction. We don’t need to discuss it.
