Mexican Hot Chocolate Mousse

Here in SoCal, it’s currently pouring rain! This sweet + spicy mousse is sure to warm your heart on a cold day like this.

It is a light and fluffy dessert with flavors of spice, sweetness, and best of all, chocolate!!! This mousse is super simple to make: it only takes ten minutes! The rest is just chilling time. Also, it is vegan, raw, and paleo. I hope you all have a wonderful week!

Serves 4 people.

Ingredients:

The thick coconut cream from 2 13.5 oz. cans coconut milk**
3 Tbs maple syrup (or raw honey)
5 Tbs raw cacao powder
2 tsps ground cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla extract
2-4 pinches cayenne pepper (to taste!)
4 Tbs cacao nibs, optional (for topping)

Directions:

1. Place all the ingredients in a large mixing bowl.
2. Whisk using an electric hand mixer until smooth and whipped. It's alright if there are some tiny lumps of cacao ;)     
3. Scoop the mousse into a glass dish, cover, and place in the freezer for about 2 hours.
4. Spoon the chilled mousse into little dishes, and serve! Top with cacao nibs, if desired.

**The coconut cream comes from a can of full-fat coconut milk. Refrigerate the can overnight, then open it. Scoop off the hard, solid top layer, to use. Discard the clear liquid at the bottom.

Eating Gluten-Free in Kaua'i

Hello, friends! I just got back from a vacation Kauai, Hawaii with my family. We had an amazing time exploring the stunning island and eating the delicious food! It is so easy to be gluten-free in Kauai; almost every restaurant we went to had great GF options. On the side of all the streets were smoothie and acai bowl trucks! I fell in love with the place. I didn’t eat strictly paleo on the trip because… well… vacation! But the island had amazing fish and veggies, so eating paleo would be completely possible there.

In this post is a list of the top 10 favorite places we ate during our vacation, and some pictures that I took of my food there! Enjoy, and ask me any questions you have in the comments below ;)

1. Bubba's Burgers
We went here three times! Bubba’s sells local, grass-fed beef burgers. And the lettuce wrap burger is so yummy! Just note that the chili is not GF, (it has beer in it) and neither are the French fries.

2. Java Kai
This café is so cute! The coffee is really good. We went for breakfast one morning, and I got the power bowl, which is grain-free, too! Java Kai is perfect for a little smoothie or coffee. They also have GF English muffins + tortillas. 

3. The Dolphin
My family devoured the sashimi here, which was really tasty. A great place to eat fresh fish. Just remember that the soy + ponzu sauces have wheat in them!

4. Wishing Well Shave Ice
Three words: Organic. Shave. Ice. So good! The syrups for the organic shave ice are made right in the truck! I got the ginger + orange-guava flavors, which were amazing.
 

5. Kilauea Fish Market 
The fish market was the last restaurant of our trip, and the best! The seared ahi dinner, the poke, and seaweed salad were divine. This place is perfect to satisfy your fish cravings!

6. Poipu Farmers Market
We stopped at this adorable market on our way back from snorkeling in Poipu! Very fresh, local produce and yummy foods to eat. Lots of exotic fruits, including our amazing discovery of white pineapple! It is a sweeter, less acidic version of the pineapple we know.

7. Sushi Girl
This little roadside stand had unbelievable organic, local sushi. I ordered the Spicy Ahi sushi and it was so spicy and delicious. They even have GF soy sauce!

8. Papaya Natural Foods
The perfect grocery store to pick up some healthy staples at, after arriving at the Lihue Airport. They also make a mean Tarro Root Burger! (Tarro is a root grown on Kauai, which is sort of like a sweet potato. That’s what Poi is made from! You can see the taro being grown in fields all around the island.)
 
9. Kilauea Farmers Market
This market is located on the same property as Banana Joe’s (which I’ve heard great things about!) and the Kaua’i Mini Golf and Botanical Gardens. It had delicious organic fruits and veggies! I tried many fruits for my first time: Rambutan, Soursop, Longan, and Starfruit. All were amazing.

This is me with some Rambutan fruits! 

And me with a piece of starfruit!

10.  Paco's Tacos
This taco place is great for a quick taco lunch! Yummy and gluten-free :)



Have fun in Kaua’i!

Candy Cane Brownie Cupcakes

Brownies… in the shape of cupcakes… whipped cream… candy canes… peppermint bark… uh… Yes, please!! They are so rich, fudgey, and minty! I hope you all enjoy these paleo, gluten-free cupcakes. Spend lots of great time with your family, this holiday!

Makes about 16 brownie cupcakes.

Ingredients:

1 (16 ounce) jar creamy roasted almond butter
2 large eggs
3/4 cup pure maple syrup
1 Tbs vanilla extract
1/2 cup cacao powder
1/4 tsp real sea salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 cup dark chocolate chips

Optional Toppings:

1 cup Organic Pastures Dairy raw cream (or coconut cream, for dairy-free)

1 Tbs maple syrup

1 batch Peppermint Bark

5 organic candy canes, crushed

Directions:

1.     Preheat your oven to 325 degrees F. Line 2 cupcake tins with paper liners (the recipe should yield about 16 cupcakes).

2.     In a stand mixer, blend the almond butter until smooth. Blend in the eggs, maple syrup, and vanilla. Do not over-mix!

3.     Blend in the cacao powder, salt, and baking soda. Stir in the chocolate chips.

4.     Scoop the batter into the muffin tines, filling each cavity about 5/6 of the way full. Bake the brownies one tin at a time, for about 35 minutes each. Let the brownies cool completely before frosting.

5.     Whip the cream in a stand (or hand) mixer until soft peaks form. Blend in the maple syrup and whip until stiff peaks form.

6.     Top the cooled cupcakes with whipped cream, crushed candy canes, and a small piece of peppermint bark.

Christmas Goodies Recipe Roundup

Christmas time's a-coming, Christmas time's a-coming! Oh my goodness, aren't holiday treats just the best?! I've got many recipes here for you, today! They are all gluten-, grain-, and refined sugar-free. Also, all of them can be made dairy-free, and most are nut-free. Everyone should be able to enjoy holiday treats, no matter what they can/can't eat! I hope you all have a very merry Christmas :)

Gingerbread-Orange Spice Cookies

                Paleo Christmas Cookie Cut-Outs               

Paleo Snickerdoodles

Grain-Free Chocolate Cake

Paleo Gingerbread-Lemon Thumbprint Cookies

Melt-In-Your-Mouth Peppermint Patties

Dark Chocolate Peppermint Bark

Decadent Dark Chocolate Almond Butter Cups

 Mint Brownies

Gingerbread-Orange Spice cookies

‘Tis magic time, cozy, warm

‘Tis loving time, bright, at home

‘Tis time for cookies, spice and all

For it is no longer fall!

Santa is on his way…

‘Tis winter now,

Each and every day.

These cookies are bold and bright, perfect to warm you and your heart on these cold winter nights! They have a crispy outside, and a soft inside. The pleasant gingerbread notes enter your mouth, then followed by a light orange touch. I know that if you gave these cookies to Santa and Rudolf, they would enjoy them thoroughly!

Makes 20 cookies.

Ingredients:

1/3 cup coconut oil, softened (or butter)
¼ cup + 1 Tbs coconut sugar
1 Large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons black strap molasses
½ teaspoon orange zest
1 cup blanched almond flour
½ cup arrowroot starch
2 tablespoons coconut flour
Scant ¼ teaspoon Himalayan sea salt
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground cloves
½ tsp baking soda

Directions:

1.     In a stand mixer, (or an electric mixer and a large bowl) cream together the coconut oil and coconut sugar.

2.    Add the egg, and mix until combined. Mix in the vanilla, molasses, and orange zest. Beat until combined. It’s alright if it’s a little lumpy.

3.     In a separate bowl, whisk together the flours, spices, and baking soda.

4.     Mix the dry into the wet. Beat until smooth.

5.     Refrigerate the dough for 30 minutes, and preheat your oven to 350 degrees .

6.     Roll the dough into balls about the size of a tablespoon, or a walnut in it's shell. Place the balls (there should be about twenty) on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Slightly flatten out each ball with the palm of your hand.

7.     Bake on the middle rack of the oven for 10 minutes. Let the cookies cool for 5 minutes, then devour!!

Dark Chocolate Peppermint Bark

Chestnuts roasting on an open fire… Jack Frost nipping at your nose… yuletide carols being sung by a choir, and folks dressed up like Eskimos…

Merry Christmas, everyone! Today, I have the easiest, most scrumptious recipe for you. It is a family favorite: Peppermint Bark! And, only two ingredients are needed to make this treat. I can’t even contain my excitement!

Now, I know I haven’t posted a new recipe in a while. I am so sorry! I just finished being in a musical, so I didn’t have a lot of time for baking. Even when I am not posting on the blog, I am still cooking! If you follow me on Instagram, you can see all the yummy things I’ve been cooking up, and the ingredients I love.

So, back to the bark: ’Tis full of creamy, rich chocolate, topped with crunchy, minty goodness! Sound good? Heck, yeah! Let’s go make some!

Ingredients:

1 cup dark chocolate (chips or chopped bar)

3 organic candy canes, crushed**

Directions: 

       1.  Place your chocolate in a double boiler on high heat, until it is fully melted. Stir until smooth.  Let the chocolate cool for a few minutes.

 2. Line 2 large plates with parchment paper, and spread the chocolate thinly and evenly onto both. Sprinkle the candy cane pieces evenly on top.

3.     Place the two plates of bark in your freezer (on separate shelves!!). After about fifteen minutes of freezing, remove the plates from the freezer, and break the bark into bits with your hands. I like non-uniform pieces of bark, because I think they look rustic ;) Enjoy, and store uneaten bark in the freezer!

**To crush the candy canes: Unwrap your three candy canes and place them in a small ziplock baggie. Outside, place the sealed baggie on the ground, and whack it a few times with a rubber mallet (or hammer), until they candies are broken into small chunks. Do not crush the candies so much, because you don’t want them to turn into powder!

Thanksgiving Treats Recipe Roundup

It’s almost Thanksgiving! Can you believe it? It seems like Halloween was just yesterday! Now, comes the holiday of family, joy, and best of all,  food :) Here, I've compiled all of the holiday-themed recipes for my blog into one giant post!

All the recipes here are easy, for a low-stress Thanksgiving. Even if no one at your gathering is gluten-free or Paleo, they will surely enjoyed these treats and be begging you for more! I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving. Enjoy! 
Pumpkin Pie with a Walnut Crust, Caramelized Apples, and Maple-Balsamic Drizzle

Grain-Free Apple Pie

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bars

Grain-Free Chocolate Cake

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Biscotti

 Dairy-Free Pumpkin Ice Cream

Pumpkin Spice Latte Power Balls  

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Mini Muffins

Enjoy!!