Tag Archives: Coconut

No Bake Carrot Sunbutter Coconut Energy Balls | Gluten Free * Nut Free * Dairy Free

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Maya’s school recently had a “Healthy Snack” contest.  Truth be told…there wasn’t a lot of advanced notice on the specifics, but thankfully I volunteered in the class the day before it was due!  And…let’s be honest.  I probably wouldn’t have DONE anything until the day before, so…perfect timing!! haha.

The rules were that it had to be 5 ingredients or less.  Couldn’t use an oven or a microwave.  Needed to include ingredients, steps, AND…a picture!

Of COURSE we had to enter!! 😉

If I’m honest…I went through our archives to see if I could just reuse something haha-CHEATER!

BUT…nothing we had done so far fit all those, so…we (ok, I) winged it and made something up!

Maya suggested a smoothie, but…duh.  Who doesn’t think of that?!

Next was a banana concoction, but we were out of bananas, and on short notice…NO, not going to the store!

We have CARROTS!  And dates!  And…little energy balls are all over the place, so…yup.  We made our own version.  Could have been better, but honestly, I keep going back to all the things I would have added and think that maybe, simple is better?

In any case…we both loved them!  I asked her teacher if we could bring them in for the class, and she was excited!

I had to give Maya a pep talk about the fact that a lot of the kids might not like them, and to not get her feelings hurt.  Turns out, over half the kids loved them!  I even had 3 girls run up to me at drop off and ask if I could share the recipe with their moms so they could make them-MADE MY DAY!!!

Well….we found out that the recipe won!!!  For the entire school!  Fairly certain not a lot of people entered, but pretty cool regardless!

SO…go ahead and make these “Award Winning” energy balls!

HAHAHAHA. 

But seriously…do.  So easy and yummy!

Ingredients

  • 1 Cup Shredded Carrots
  • 1/2 Cup Unsweetened Sun Butter
  • 1/2 Cup Unsweetened Coconut (plus about another cup to roll the balls in)
  • 1/2 Cup Pitted Dates
  • 1/2 Cup Gluten Free Flour

I did make sure she scrubbed her hands vigorously before she helped.  That pen didn’t want to come off… 🙂
 I was so impressed.  She wrote out all the ingredients AND the instructions! ENJOY!

Blackberry Vanilla Coconut Pops

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Ready for some more blackberry inspiration? Try these Blackberry Vanilla Coconut Pops. Low sugar and kid approved! Not just for the kids, these are a cool treat for anyone on a summer day.

blackberry coconut paleo popcicles blog

Ingredients

  • 2 cups blackberries
  • 2 Tbsp honey, divided (or more if needed)
  • 1 tsp vanilla, divided
  • 1 can full fat coconut milk
  • 1 Tbsp water

Directions

  • In a saucepan over medium-low heat, combine blackberries, 1 Tbsp water, 1 heaping Tbsp honey. Simmer, stirring gently, 3 to 5 minutes. Mash berries with a spatula as they cook. Remove from heat and add 1/2 tsp vanilla.
  • Strain through a fine mesh sieve into a bowl, pressing with spatula to extract all liquid. Discard solids, and set liquids aside to cool.
  • In another saucepan over medium-low heat, combine the coconut milk with another 1 heaping Tbsp honey. Simmer, stirring constantly, 2 to 3 minutes or until thoroughly blended. Remove from heat, stir in 1/2 tsp vanilla, and set aside to cool.
  • Fill pop molds 2/3 full with coconut mixture and then pour in blackberry mixture until mold is full. Insert sticks and freeze.
  • Enjoy! 🙂

dit-elle-Esther

Frozen Strawberry Lime Coconut Margaritas

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Nothing says summer like a Frozen Strawberry Lime Coconut Margarita! Totally delicious and I made mini frozen slushies for the kids with the ingredients (except alcohol!). It was a nice cool treat for them, and you could serve this as a fun (non alcoholic) and festive dessert drink for grown-ups as well!

strawberry lime coconut margarita blog (3) strawberry lime coconut margarita blog (2) strawberry lime coconut margarita blog (1)

Ingredients

  • 1 cup coconut milk (full fat)
  • 1/4 cup Simple Syrup
  • Zest from 1 lime
  • 1/4 cup lime juice
  • 2 cups strawberries
  • 3 Tbsp lime juice
  • 3 oz tequila
  • Lime and shredded coconut for garnish

Directions

  • Combine first four ingredients in blender, blend until smooth and then pour into ice cube tray or a large Ziploc bag and freeze for 2-4 hours
  • Combine strawberries and 3 Tbsp lime juice in blender and blend until smooth
  • When ready to make margaritas, put frozen coconut lime mixture in blender and puree. At this point you can remove some for the kids. then add in tequila and blend until smooth.
  • Pour coconut lime mixture into four margarita glasses, add some strawberry puree to each glass and garnish with lime wedges and shredded coconut
  • Serve! Enjoy!

Inspired by Tequila Avion’s mini video on Instagram.

dit-elle-Esther

Coconut Panna Cotta with Tropical Fruit

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We’re excited for warm and dry season so we can eat all meals on our deck! Nothing says summer like Panna Cotta with fresh fruit or berries. Coconut Panna Cotta with Tropical Fruit is a wonderful twist on the classic Panna Cotta with Berry Coulis.

coconut panna cotta with tropical fruit (2)

The number one challenge in photography is lighting! Too bright or too dark creates different challenges. This past week has been a rainy grey one in Seattle. To maximize lighting, I have been running outside between showers to try to get good shots! Welcome to my mini studio! 🙂

 

coconut panna cotta with tropical fruit (4) coconut panna cotta with tropical fruit (3) coconut panna cotta with tropical fruit (1)

Ingredients

  • 2 (7-gram) pouches gelatin (5 teaspoons)
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 2 1/4 cups grass-fed whole milk or heavy cream
  • 1 (14-ounce) can coconut milk
  • 1/4 – 1/2 cup granulated sugar (I used 1/3 cup coconut sugar)
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 6 tablespoons shredded coconut + more for toasting and sprinkling on top
  • Sliced mango, pineapple, kiwi or banana, for serving

Directions

  • In a saucepan, sprinkle gelatin over water and let stand for 1 minute. Place over medium heat and stir constantly until granules are dissolved, about 3 minutes. Add milk or cream, coconut milk, sugar and vanilla. Stir over medium heat until sugar is completely dissolved, 3 to 5 minutes.
  • Pour mixture into 6 ramekins; sprinkle coconut on top. Chill in the refrigerator until set, about 3 hours.
  • Optionally (I did not do this step) to serve, dip each ramekin in boiling water for a moment to loosen panna cotta. Turn onto a serving plate. Arrange sliced fruit beside each panna cotta and serve.
  • Optionally (I added this step) toast some coconut and sprinkle on top.

Thanks for the inspiration PCC Natural Markets!

dit-elle-Esther

Carrot Cake with Toasted Coconut Cream Cheese Frosting

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Do you LOVE carrot cake? I do too! I love it for breakfast, a power snack, or dessert. And with all the carrot that goes in it, you’re getting at least a serving or two of veggies, right!? 🙂

Because of the oats and sugar I would not call this recipe paleo but it is gluten free, moist and pretty super delicious! Check out my Paleo Carrot Cake here, and if we haven’t convinced you yet, we’re all fans of carrot cake here on this blog. Check out Lauren’s Healthy Gluten Free Carrot Cupcakes and her Carrot Cake Muffins!

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Ingredients

  • 3/4 cup almond meal
  • 1/4 cup quick-cooking oats
  • 1 Tbsp coconut flour
  • 1.5 tsp cinnamon
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 cup coconut sugar
  • 1/4 cup melted butter, coconut or other oil
  • 1/2 cup apple sauce
  • 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
  • 1 1/4 cups grated carrot
  • handful of raisins

Directions

  • Preheat oven to 325
  • Combine the dry ingredients (except sugar) in a food processor (first 5 ingredients)
  • Transfer to a large bowl
  • Combine eggs, oil, sugar, applesauce in food processor and mix until blended
  • Add liquid to flour mixture and stir just until moist
  • Stir in grated carrots and raisins
  • Bake @ 325 for 40 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean
  • Cool on wire rack before frosting

Frosting

  • 1/3 cup cream cheese, softened
  • 1 Tbps butter
  • 1 c powdered sugar
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla
  • 1/2 c unsweetened flaked coconut
  • Directions: combine cheese and butter and beat until creamy. Add powdered sugar and vanilla, beating until smooth. Spread over cake, sprinkle with coconut. Cover and chill.

Enjoy! 🙂

dit-elle-Esther

Coconut Almond Dark Chocolate Mug Cakes // Paleo + Gluten Free

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I made one other mug cake here, and I have NO idea why I don’t do them more often.  There’s no shortage of variations, and they are ridiculously easy to make, enough for one or two to share, and with nominal clean up=TOTAL WIN!!Blog Paleo Coconut Flour Almond Mug Cake-1 Blog Paleo Coconut Flour Almond Mug Cake-2

Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons coconut flour
  • ¼ teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 egg
  • 2 tablespoons Almond Butter (can use Sun Butter for a nut free option)
  • 1-½ tablespoons melted coconut oil
  • 1-½ tablespoons raw honey
  • 1 tablespoon almond milk (or any milk you’d like)
  • ½ a vanilla bean (scrape out the inside, throw away the shell) or ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
  • Optional topping ideas- dark chocolate chips, coconut flakes, or berries (dried or fresh)!

Directions

  • In a separate bowl whisk together coconut flour, and baking powder.
  • Add egg, almond butter, coconut oil, honey, almond milk and vanilla bean and blend until creamy.  Super easy to have your child do all the mixing!  Not so easy to keep them from eating the batter 😉Blog Paleo Coconut Almond Mug Cake with Banana Ice Cream-2
  • It will look like this in the mug before you microwave it.
  • Blog Paleo Coconut Flour Almond Mug Cake-3Microwave for 2 minutes (depending on your microwave) and you magically have cake!!Blog Coconut Flour Dark Chocolate Almond Mug Cake-5
  • That’s IT!!!

Enjoy!

Thank you to Regina, from Leelalicious for the inspiration!dit-elle-Lauren

Pistachio Cherry Bark

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Chocolate bark is a lovely and festive holiday treat! This was my first batch and it was easy to make and as delicious as it looks. I used crushed pistachios and pecans, dried cherries, toasted coconut and sea salt to top melted dark chocolate – make this for an easy dessert, hostess gift or party favor! 🙂

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Ingredients

  • 5 oz dark chocolate (e.g. 65-70% cacao), roughly chopped
  • 2 tsp coconut oil
  • 1 tsp maple syrup
  • Parchment paper
  • 3 Tbsp crushed pistachios
  • 3 Tbsp crushed pecans
  • 3 Tbsp toasted coconut flakes
  • 3 Tbsp dried cherries, chopped
  • 1/2 tsp coarse sea salt

Directions

  • In a double boiler or heatproof bowl over simmering water, melt chocolate, coconut oil and syrup, stirring until just melted and smooth.
  • Pour onto baking sheet lined with parchment paper and spread with spatula until 1/4 inch thick.
  • Top with nuts, coconut flakes, cherries and salt
  • Freeze until set, about 3 hours
  • Remove and break into pieces
  • Serve chilled
  • Store in airtight container in cool place

dit-elle-Esther

Banana Ice Cream Sundays with Figs Almonds and Honey

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Need I say more haha?

I’ve been dying to make a dessert with figs!  I’d love to say that it’s because of their flavor, but sadly…no, it’s because of how beautiful they are.  YES, I’M THAT WEIRD!!  But in my mind…if they look that beautiful, and they are THAT EXPENSIVE (!!!), they have to be delicious too, right??

Truthfully…I’m glad I got some (thank to my parents splitting the Costco batch with me!), but…you could easily just top this with any fruit that is in season and it would be just as yummy!Blog Banana Ice Cream Sundays with Figs Almonds and Honey-1 Blog Banana Ice Cream Sundays with Figs Almonds and Honey-2 They ARE pretty though, right??!Blog Banana Ice Cream Sundays with Figs Almonds and Honey-4Banana Ice Cream

  • Frozen Bananas (I cut mine into 1-2 inch pieces and then freeze) amount varies on how many servings you want.  I used two, and it was enough to feed 3.
  • 1/2 Cup Almond Milk (or any kind of milk)

Toppings

  • Figs
  • Almonds (diced)
  • Unsweetened Coconut
  • Drizzle of Raw Honey

What to do

  • I a blender, mix all the Ice Cream ingredients until smooth and creamy.  It helps to let the frozen bananas sit out for about 5 minutes.
  • Scoop into little bowls and top with whatever you have on hand!   Really, the possibilities are endless on how you can vary this!  And…I DO! 🙂

Blog Banana Ice Cream Sundays with Figs Almonds and Honey-5 Blog Banana Ice Cream Sundays with Figs Almonds and Honey-6 Blog Banana Ice Cream Sundays with Figs Almonds and Honey-7 Blog Banana Ice Cream Sundays with Figs Almonds and Honey-8 And this is what happens when you try and take pictures of a dessert with a hungry toddler haha.Blog Outtake-1 Blog Outtake-2ENJOY!!

dit-elle-Lauren

Paleo Coconut Almond Butter Mug Cakes with Banana Ice Cream

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Do you ever have a craving for cake, but don’t want to make/have to restrain yourself from eating an entire cake?  ME TOO! 🙂 Mug cakes are easy to make, SUPER easy to clean up from, and take a little over 5 minutes from start to finish-WIN!

I’d heard about mug cakes before, but had never really thought to try my hand at them until I saw Regina from Leelalicious  post this recipe.  Once I saw that you could make them relatively healthy, I was all in!  I’m already thinking of different variations I want to try next!

Blog Paleo Coconut Almond Mug Cake with Banana Ice Cream-Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons coconut flour
  • ¼ teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 egg
  • 2 tablespoons Almond Butter
  • 1-½ tablespoons melted coconut oil
  • 1-½ tablespoons raw honey
  • 1 tablespoon almond milk (or any milk you’d like)
  • ½ a vanilla bean (scrape out the inside, throw away the shell) or ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 4-5 dollops of Medjul Date Caramel Sauce (omit if strictly Paleo)
  • Other topping ideas- chocolate chips, coconut flakes, or berries (dried or fresh)!

Directions

  • In a separate bowl whisk together coconut flour, and baking powder.
  • Add egg, almond butter, coconut oil, honey, almond milk and vanilla bean and blend until creamy.

Blog Paleo Coconut Almond Mug Cake with Banana Ice Cream-1Blog Paleo Coconut Almond Mug Cake with Banana Ice Cream-2Maya loved doing this part, but of course just wanted to eat the batter 😉  Yes, I know…raw egg batter = a no no, but I did it as a kid all the time and turned out just fine! Blog Paleo Coconut Almond Mug Cake with Banana Ice Cream-3Instead of pouring the batter into one large mug, I greased up two ramicans to make two little cakes! Blog Paleo Coconut Almond Mug Cake with Banana Ice Cream-4 Blog Paleo Coconut Almond Mug Cake with Banana Ice Cream-5 Microwave for 2 minutes (depending on your microwave) and you magically have cake!!Blog Paleo Coconut Almond Mug Cake with Banana Ice Cream-6 Blog Paleo Coconut Almond Mug Cake with Banana Ice Cream-7 It turned out surprisingly moist, but I wanted to add a little something to it.  You could do a healthy frosting, but I added some banana ice cream to go along with it.  Only added 2-3 minutes to the process and was SO GOOD!

Take 2 frozen bananas (cut in 3rds before you freeze), add 1/3 cup almond milk or enough to get a creamy consistency.  Blend in Cuisinart or high speed blender for a minute or two.Blog Paleo Coconut Almond Mug Cake with Banana Ice Cream-8Enjoy!!dit-elle-Lauren

Cherry Garcia Smoothie

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I was inspired by Lauren’s recent Healthy Cherry Garcia recipe and decided to make a super easy smoothie version. You really can’t go wrong with frozen cherries, chocolate and coconut milk or other milk base.

Blog cherry garcia smoothie-2 Blog cherry garcia smoothie-1

Ingredients

  • 1 cup coconut milk
  • 1/2 cup frozen cherries
  • 1/2 oz or large chunk of chocolate
  • 1 Tbsp chocolate icecream or 1 tsp other sweetener like agave

Directions

  • Blend all ingredients together until smooth
  • Top with some chopped chocolate or chocolate covered almonds

dit-elle-Esther