Happy Valentines Day!

Most people like to induldge in wonderful chocolates on Valentines Day and who can blame them? Chocolate is the best thing EVER discovered. Aside from coffee (which I no longer drink anymore :( ), I think chocolate is the BOMB! Love, love, love, love all kinds of chocolates. I have had a love affair with chocolate for as long as I can remember. I have been known to eat full bags of Cadbury Mini Eggs in one sitting-without blinking and then looking for more. My kids have the same love affair with chocolate as I do. Well, since we are living clean it is not always easy to find chocolate goodies in its' purest form. It is almost all mass produced. Well...I came up with a chocolate strawberry ice cream. And it is delicous and healthy for you too. I got the "rolling of the eyes" delicious sign from the kids and I tried a spoonful and thought it was tasty as well. I made my own sugar free and almost fat free chocolate syrup to drizzle on top. I hope you try them and enjoy them as well. The recipes are as follows:

ICE CREAM:

1 cup homemade kefir (you could use plain greek yogurt)

1 1/2 cup frozen strawberries

1 dropperful of liquid chocolate stevia

1 Tbs. raw cacao powder

Blend in blender until well mixed and thick....if it gets too stuck add almond milk a tablespoon at a time.

CHOCOLATE SAUCE

1 cup water

1/3 cup raw cacao powder

1 cup xylitol ( 1/2 cup palm sugar, 1/2 cup dark agave)

1 Tbs. pure vanilla extract

Bring water, cacao powder and xylitol to a boil. Boil for 5 min. or until it begins to thicken. Remove from heat and add 1 Tb. of vanilla. Let cool. Pour on top of fresh fruit or ice cream.

What is Clean Living?

Some may question "What is clean living?", "What does it entail exactly?". Well...it's not a fad, or a diet. It is a lifestyle choice. And it is WONDERFUL!

1) Get label savvy~ Start learning the ingredients in the products you are purchasing. If you can't pronounce it or have any idea what it is-investigate. Clean living foods are foods that are limited to one or two ingredients. Anything with a long ingredient list is human-made and not considered clean. You want a product that is in its purest form. Make things from scratch as much as you can. Again-purest form.

2) Avoid processed and refined foods. ( No white anything!)

3) Shop with a conscience~ Consume humanly raised and local meats if you are a meat eater. Support your local farmer's market. Any meat processed commercially has been put through the ringer. It is literally junk and unrecognizable metabolically by our bodies.

After learning about the toxic ingredients in many of our day to day products, I knew that I could do something different. I came across several recipes for making my own personal hygeine products like toothpaste, deodorant, shampoo, dishwashing liquid, laundry soap, etc. I knew what I was putting on my body and I knew that it was a lot healthier than store bought products like Suave or Dove. (Those rate extremely high on the toxicity ratings.) I came across this website that put a lot product ingredients into perspective. http://www.natural-skincare-authority.com/index.html It helped me understand my label reading.

We grow as much of our own food as we can. (Apple trees, raspberries, strawberries, chokecherries, vegetables, chickens, and pigs.) I am still learning a lot about what grows well in Northern, MN as our summers are short! I have big, big plans for our garden this year. And lots and lots of canning and freezing in store for me. I have already begun drooling over seed catalogs. Can't wait for Spring!

Healthy Chocolate Gluten Free Pancakes

This morning was the first day back from a wonderful vacation the kids and I took out west. Everyone slept in as we enjoyed our own beds, smells and comforts. Things like that we take advantage of until we miss them. I made everyone chocolate pancakes. Now anybody who knows me knows I don't serve treats for breakfast. (I like treats-rules are after noontime). However, I love chocolate and I knew that in some way I could make this healthy too. They were a HUGE hit.

1 cup cottage cheese (Next time I will try kefir)
6 farm fresh eggs
1/2 c. almond milk
1/2 c. GF flour mix
1 tsp. vanilla
1/4 c. coconut oil melted
dash of pink salt (pink salt is RAW salt-it has not been stripped of its minerals)
2 Tbs. raw cacao powder (antioxidant rich)
1 banana
1 Tbs. maca root powder (vitamin rich)


Mix in blender-pour on hot griddle. These make thin, crepe style pancakes. We loaded them with organic raw almond butter and agave. I think sliced bananas would have been a nicer addition, but ours were not ripe yet.