Dairy-Free Matcha Green Tea Latte

Rite, Sir. Time for Saint Pattie’s Day! As you may know, all leprechauns simply adore matcha lattes! It’s a FACT. This dairy-free latte is really easy to whip up. Also, it is perfect to warm your noggin, if it’s cold where you live.

Not only is matcha green tea just lovely in color, but it is also really healthy! I mean, it’s got 137 times more antioxidants than regular green tea!!! Sound amazing? It is! The sweetness of the coconut milk in this latte goes really well with the earthy matcha flavor, and the mild honey.

You get to decide how much matcha to add. If you add ½ a teaspoon, your latte will be weaker in flavor, and you will taste the coconut milk more. (Which is fine by me!) If you have a sensitive stomach, I recommend using only ½ tsp. If you have a strong stomach and enjoy a stronger matcha brew, feel free to use ¾ tsp in your latte! Also, if you don’t have any collagen peptides on hand, don’t freak out! It is totally optional. I added it because of its amazing gut-healing benefits.

I hope you all enjoy this warm, cozy latte! Enjoy, and happy Saint Patrick’s Day :)

 

Makes 1 latte.

Ingredients:

¼ cup filtered water

1 tsp raw honey (or maple syrup for vegan)

½ - ¾ tsp pure matcha green tea powder

1 scoop vital proteins collagen peptides (optional, omit for vegan)

¾ cup full-fat coconut milk

Directions:

1.     Place your filtered water into a small saucepan, over medium/high heat. Cook until the water boils. Remove from heat, and let it cool down for about a minute, or until it stops boiling. Pour into the mug you will use.

2.     Whisk the matcha, collagen, and honey into the water in the mug.

3.     Place your coconut milk in the small saucepan and heat it over medium/high heat, until it reaches a boil.

4.     Pour the hot coconut milk into a new mug. Using a handheld frother, froth the milk until it is foamy. Pour it into the water/matcha mug.

5.     Drink, and enjoy!

Coco-Hemp Protein Bars (Raw, Nut-Free, Paleo, Vegan Option)

I am going to let you in on a little secret: I’m in love!

WITH HEMP SEEDS! They are so yummy. Also, they’re chock-full of protein, and have a great 3:1 ratio of omega-3 and -6 fatty acids. Lately, I have been sprinkling them all over my yogurt, and in my green smoothies! But I really wanted to create a recipe where hemp is the star- where you can taste the deliciousness, and the hemp flavor is not hidden.

That’s where these bars come in. They are really easy to make, and only a few ingredients are needed. There are no nuts in this recipe, so the bars are great for our nut-free friends, too! The combination of the coconut-chocolate flavor is mixed with the earthy taste of hemp seeds and the sweetness of raw honey, to create a scrumptious bar!

These treats are best stored in an airtight container in the freezer, and eaten cold. If they are too firm to eat, let them thaw at room temperature for a few minutes. I brought these in my lunchbox to school with me, and they gave me a great boost of energy! Enjoy, and let me know how you liked them in the comments below :)

Makes 6 full-sized bars.

Ingredients:

½ cup raw shelled hemp seeds

¼ cup chia seeds

¼ cup ground golden flax seeds (flax meal)

¼ cup shredded unsweetened coconut

¼ cup Cacao powder

Scant ¼ tsp Himalayan pink sea salt

2 Tbs + 2 tsp raw liquid honey (or maple syrup, for vegan)

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, mix together all the ingredients except for the honey.
2. Stir in the honey, and mix with your hands until fully combined. The dough should resemble wet crumbs.
3. Line a (bread) loaf pan with plastic wrap. Press the dough into it, firmly and evenly.
4. Place the pan in the freezer for 1 hour.
5. Remove the pan from the freezer. Gently lift the solid mixture out of the pan, and peel away the plastic wrap. Carefully, cut the bars width wise (the short way).
6. Eat right away, or leave at room temp for a few mins before eating. Bars should be stored in the freezer, but can be refrigerated for short amounts of time. They are more solid if frozen.

Paleo Valentine's Day Recipe Roundup

 Today, I've posted a recipe roundup with all my favorite Valentine's Day recipes from my blog! All are paleo and gluten-free. Enjoy, and have a great holiday of love!

Paleo Raspberry Marshmallows

Mocha Birthday Cake 

Raspberry Chocolate Sweetheart Cookies

Mint-Chocolate Brownies 

 Lemon Cupcakes with Strawberry Whipped Cream

 Strawberry, Rose, and Coconut Milkshake

 Mexican Hot Chocolate Mousse

Homemade Gummy Bears

Mini Chocolate Cupcake Bombs

Raspberry-Chocolate Sweetheart Cookies

Valentine’s Day is coming! The holiday of love, hearts, and chocolate. Did I mention chocolate? This obviously makes it the best holiday ever! Ever.

I mean- what says, “I love you” more than a basket of freshly baked paleo Raspberry-Chocolate Thumbprint Cookies? Basically nothing. Which is why you need to make these cookies ASAP. They are paleo and also just happen to be vegan as well!

They are rich, crisp, and chocolate-y, filled with a tart/sweet raspberry jam, and topped with delicious dark chocolate. They are ah-mazing. And suuuuuper addictive, so be careful!

Makes 18 cookies.

Ingredients:

2 cups almond flour

½ cup arrowroot flour

¼ cup cacao powder

scant ¼ tsp sea salt

3 Tbs pure maple syrup

¼ cup coconut oil, melted and cooled to room temp

Fruit-sweetened raspberry jam (I used the Trader Joes’ organic kind)

½ cup fair trade bittersweet chocolate chips

Directions:

1.     In a food processor, pulse together the dry ingredients just until combined.

2.     Pulse in the wet until a smooth dough ball forms.

3.     Scoop round tablespoon-sized balls of dough onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. Space the balls about 1 ½ inches apart. Press your thumbprint gently into the center of the balls.

4.     Scoop ½ a teaspoon of jam into the center well of each cookie.

5.     Bake at 350 degrees F for 12 minutes. Transfer cookies to a cooling rack.

6.     Now, melt the chocolate chips in a double boiler over high heat, until smooth and melted. Let cool.

7.     Once both the cookies and the chocolate are cool, drizzle the chocolate over the cookies. (I did this using a ziplock baggie filled with the chocolate. Then I cut off a tiny piece of baggie from the corner, and used it as a piping bag for pretty chocolate design.)

8.     Let the chocolate set, then serve the cookies!

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.