Healthy Carrot Cinnamon Cookies

Love carrot cake?  And/or moist, fluffy, cinnamon-y cookies?  These are your go-to sweet treats then.  Gluten/grain free, without lactose, and no refined sugar, these are cookies you can feel good about eating, and enjoy to the fullest, zero guilt.  The best part?  They taste AWESOME and are a cinch to make.  Ready in mere minutes.  You can satisfy you craving for something sweet and cakey, while eating something you can feel great about chowing down on!  Woo hoo!

Here’s how to make em, so you can start eating them 😉

Sweet Potato Rhubarb Vegan Ice Cream

Hi all,

Get excited for Maxx and Brookes Culinary Crafting Ice Cream session, part TWO.  (Here is the link to part ONE of our ice cream postings, if you like).  Though Maxx was the sole creator of this particular recipe.  This one is creamy, light, with the slightest tart tang.  The color is inviting and lovely.  Reminds me of cozy autumnal afternoons and evenings.

Personally, as Maxxs only other sampler, I recommend this topped with something like crushed Oreos, chocolate jimmies, or maybe some hot fudge, any of which I think would be a nice accompaniment.

Way cool thing about this recipe (aside from it being dairy free and sugar free): NO ice cream maker needed!!!!

This particular recipe is perfect for any time of year.  Summer, because thats an obvious pairing with regards to ice cream.  Though its also an ideal flavor for autumn or winter, with its homey flavors and texture, along with the warmth of color.

Blueberry Lavender Vegan Ice Cream

Get ready for a Maxx and Brookes Culinary Craft recipe.  This one, split into two entries. This being the first.

(Here is the link to part TWO of this ice cream entry extravaganza).

While dating this fantastic man, one of the many small but interesting shifts Ive seen occurring within myself has included going from neutral feelings towards ice cream, to full out loving it.  Before dating Maxx, sure, I liked ice cream fine and would enjoy if it was around, but never would I crave nor seek it out for myself.  That has since changed.

Sometimes now, finding myself in the grocery store on which a lightbulb going off overhead says, ice cream aisle!  Just go take a gander, the voice whispers.  And more than once, I have left with a new flavor for sampling.  Clutching my sweet treat with the mischievous wide eyed coupled with the death grip of Gollum from Lord of the Rings, complete with mental whisperings of “my precious.”  Yup, I’m a woman transformed.

However, recently Ive been feeling that, while I love it, all this dairy isnt doing my stomach the most kind of favors.  Hence the recipe below.  Ice cream, minus the dairy.  Talk about a sweet solution 😉

This ice cream recipe is bold, while light and lovely.  Its creamy.  Yet, there is no dairy, nor any refined sugar within.  Its sweet, smooth, so delicious.  Summer days and ice cream are, to me, the quintessential pairing.  What better way to enjoy this sweet treat, but without all the heavy ingredients (boatloads of sugar, dairy, cream) than to make your own??

Here is a fabulous, and pretty easy recipe, so that you can do just that!

Blueberry & Blackberry Lavender Pancakes

Happy Summer, all!  Yes, yet another pancake recipe.  These ones bursting through with berry deliciousness.

In adapting a diet free of refined sugar for the next 3.5 weeks, a personal challenge of sorts (save for honey and maple syrup), I threw together this recipe as the thought of going more than a couple days without pancakes made my heart fall.  These are loaded with juicy berry goodness, laced through with the most subtle floral of lavender.

Gluten/grain free, lactose free, and with no refined sugar.  The most perfect of summer breakfasts with their varied purple and blue colors, along with the use of fresh berries, and their light, fluffy texture.

Enjoy!

So, how to make the pancakes…

Olive Oil Chocolate Truffles

Who doesnt love a decadent, smooth, rich chocolate truffle??  The perfect serving size, portable, and the timeless taste of this sweet treat, making for a dream worthy dessert.  The best parts?  Obviously gluten/grain free (thats a duh on that one), and with no extra refined sugar added (though, there is sugar in the chocolate bars already of course).

And the combination of chocolate and olive oil?  A longstanding one, with a lengthily line of devotees.  Get ready to hop on in line after sampling these creamy, oh so dreamy, super easy to make treats.  And these Chocolate + Olive Oil truffles in particular?  Bakery quality good.  Dont take my word for it though, try them yourself.  Better yet, serve them to crowd and watch them be wowed.

Healthy Strawberry Shortcakes In a Jar

Hi all,

With sunshine, way more hours spent outdoors, and activities like beach and camping under way, both healthy as well as easily portable desserts are just the ticket.  Especially those loaded with fruit and cream, eh?  Because when is there ever a bad time for fruit laden, cream filled desserts?  Ill tell you when: never 😀

(The perfect setting for enjoying tasty treats such as these!)

These shortcakes are light, lovely, and easy to make.  Heaped with any type of berries for which your heart yearns (and stomach craves), and a dollop of cream, these are just the thing.  They are lactose free, very low in sugar, and made with whole grains.