Sugar Free Chocolate Sauce {DIY Wednesday}

I’m not supposed to be eating sugar.

It’s annoying, and hard, and I cheat…. a lot. 😛

However, in the attempt of being good and obeying my doctor 😉 the other day when I was craving chocolate milk, I decided to come up with a version of chocolate sauce to use that was within my diet. It actually turned out pretty well I think. I may even like it better than Nesquick. 😉 Well anyway, here is the recipe.

:Sugar Free Chocolate Sauce:

1/2 Cup Agave

Scant 1/2 Cup unsweetened cocoa

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

dash of salt

Whisk together in a small saucepan. Add in 4 ounces of water. Heat over medium heat to boiling. Cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Pour into a jar and let cool. Once cool cover and refrigerate.

For chocolate milk: stir in desired amount to milk of choice.

I think I might try some of mine drizzled on some raspberry sorbet. 😉 Yum!

Enjoy!

Stay beautiful,

~Alaina

Advertisements

Iced Cube Coffee {DIY Wednesday}

I saw this idea somewhere and wanted to try it and thought I would share it with you. It’s super easy, and pretty tasty for a hot summer afternoon [and yes, we are still having those, but it’s almost September.] Not quite as strong as I might like 😉 but still a yummy treat.

You need some cold strong coffee, an ice cube tray, milk of choice, and something to sweeten.

Just freeze the coffee into ice cubes [mine took about 2 hours to harden fully] then pop them out and store them in the freezer. When you’re ready for some coffee, add the cubes to any kind of milk and sweeten as desired.

I am currently loving this vanilla flavored agave. It’s really delicious.

Since I’m supposed to be dairy free right now I figured it would be good to start thinking up ways to make my own coffee drinks at home. I had run out of almond milk when I made this so I used cows milk, but I really want to try it with almond milk soon, and maybe some other flavor combinations. 🙂

Do you have any coffee drinks you like to make at home?

Stay beautiful,

~Alaina

Cherry Almond Breakfast Cookies {DIY Wednesdays}

Okay, okay… using the word “cookie” might be a bit of a stretch, but these little numbers are fantastic, healthful, very easy, and they taste pretty good too. 😉

I used this recipe, but made several modifications {minor ones} so I will just tell you what I did. My yield was 12 large cookies.

You will need:

1.5 cups rolled oats {I used GF rolled oats}
1 cup coconut flakes
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1/4 cup of almond meal
1 cup almonds, chopped
1 cup dried cherries {mine were tart cherries}, chopped

3 ripe bananas, mashed
1/4 cup coconut oil
1/2 tablespoon vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Combine dry ingredients in a mixing bowl, then inhale very deeply because that will probably be the most amazing thing you smell all day.

Once you’re done enjoying that heavenly aroma… combine all the wet ingredients into another bowl, being sure to mash up the bananas.

Then add the wet ingredients to the dry ones and mix thoroughly.

Press the batter into a cookie cutter, I used a heart shape for fun and because we dont have a round cookie cutter anymore. 😉

Bake at 350F for about 20 minutes to start out. Leaving them in longer depending on how thick your cookies are. Mine were pretty thick and I ended up baking them for 35 minutes total, but my oven is rather stupid and temperamental so just keep an eye on them.

They should be a lovely golden brown, but take them out before the edges burn. And there you go, a lovely, healthy, pre-made breakfast that everyone can enjoy.

Stay beautiful,

~Alaina

Summer Iced Herbal Tea {DIY Wednesday}

You have probably noticed that it’s hotter than the dickens outside. If you didnt, it means you live somewhere a lot cooler than Broken Arrow Oklahoma and I may move in with you before summer is over.

Iced drinks are one of my favorite ways to survive the summer, and since I seem to be stuck here for a while I thought I would share with you my basic iced herbal tea recipe.

You can probably use most any flavor of herbal tea with the same results. For this batch I chose Orange Blossom Hibiscus because, well, it sounded good and I wanted to try it.

[I dont have a picture of the box to show you, mom got a little excited with cleaning out the pantry and tossed it so if you want to buy some here’s what it looks like:

http://www.liptontea.com/product/detail/141476/orange-blossom-hibiscus-herbal-tea ]

I used 9 tea bags [there are 18 bags in a box so this will make two batches]

And boil 4 cups of water.

I just like to put the tea bags in a 4 cup measuring cup and pour the boiling water over. I think it’s easier.

Wait patiently for 12 minutes… or longer if you like stronger tea =)

Strain into a half gallon pitcher, and add 4 more cups of [cold] water, and stick it in the fridge to cool off.

Some days I wish I could climb into a fridge…

Now you can sweeten the tea or leave it plain. I am trying to like and drink more unsweetened tea because it’s better for me, but I really like a splash of this vanilla syrup in my tea. It sweetens it up a little and adds a nice flavor. It’s delicious.

There you have it. An easy and refreshing way to beat the summer heat and stay hydrated!

Do you have a particular tea that you enjoy iced in the summer? I’d love to hear what kind. Someday I think I am going to create my own iced tea blend… I’ll let you know if I ever get around to it. 😉

Stay beautiful,

~Alaina

German Cole Slaw {DIY Wednesday}

I’m not a fan of cole slaw. I think it’s squishy and slimy and the taste isnt worth the effort of trying to get over the texture. That being said, there is one cole slaw that I dont just like, I love it.

It’s called German Cole Slaw.

Maybe it’s the bacon. Bacon fixes everything.

Anyway, this was my supper tonight. It would make a great addition to a summer meal, but I like eating it for the meal with some crackers on the side. I’m sure it helps that I’m not very hungry when it’s hot and it got pretty warm today. {Dreading summer… ugh.}

But it’s delicious, tangy, and the bacon adds a nice salty flavor and gives you something to chew. 😉

{German Cole Slaw}

3/4 c. Bacon {fried and crumbled}

2 c. Cabbage {grated or chopped}

2 T. Lemon juice

1 t. Salt

1/2 c. Mayonnaise

2 T. Parsley {chopped}

1 T. Onion {minced}

Optional:: I omitted

4 T. Green Pepper {chopped}

::Mix together::

Chop up the cabbage.

And parsley.

{Raise your hand if you’re grateful that it’s summertime and we get fresh herbs again :raises hand:}

Fry the bacon. Oh yum.

Here’s a tip: microwave your lemon for 10-15 seconds then firmly roll on your counter before cutting. This will help you get the most juice out of your lemon.

Drain the bacon on a paper towel.

Add the bacon right before serving so that it stays crispy. Refrigerate leftovers {you probably wont have to worry about having leftovers ;)} but this is best eaten the same day.

Add freshly ground pepper if desired.

Seriously. This is amazing. You should make it, eat it, and love it.

Stay beautiful,

~Alaina