Category: Dessert

Paleo Pumpkin Donuts

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Tis the season.  With autumn well under way, all things pumpkin have arrived in explosion, showcased in abundance on any and many menus.  Pastas with pumpkin, quinoa bowls with chunks of pumpkin among other autumnal flavors and ingredients, pumpkin lattes, pumpkin cheesecakes, pumpkin muffins, and of course, pumpkin donuts.

There is something about the color, that warmth induced coziness via the brilliant orange shade.  As well as of course, the spiced flavor of pumpkin desserts.  Laced through with cinnamon, cloves, ginger, all manner of comforting, cold weather friendly spices.

These pumpkin donuts?  Get super excited, because not only are they moist, cakey, delicious, subtly spiced, and easy to make.  But.  They are also gluten/grain free, lactose free, and low in sugar.  No guilt in enjoying one of these babies.  Clocking in around 250 calories each, frosting included (not an exact count, a very close estimate), they aren’t heavy on the calorie end for a sweet treat of this size and satisfaction inducing either 😉

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It is my goal over the next few weeks to perfect the pumpkin donut (albeit, a gluten/grain free, low in sugar one.  My two stipulations).

In the meantime, this is a pretty darn good start.

Note: see bottom of the recipe for a cashew maple glaze frosting and how to make it.

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Quinoa Chocolate Cake

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Chocolate cake.  One of those go-to, traditional, most loved desserts.  Certainly in my book, it is.  This chocolate cake though?  One of the best Ive ever sampled (up there with my sweet potato chocolate cake). This one however has zero grains/no gluten in it.  Its also lactose free.  And though it does contain some sugar, its with a far lower amount than usual cakes tend to have.

Dont be detoured by the ingredients list (this tends to be one of the first reasons I decide to forgo trying a recipe myself.  Too many ingredients or recipe steps).  I was pleasantly surprised by how easy this was to throw together.  And the moist, fudgy taste when finished baking?  Out of this world.  SO yummy.  Almost guaranteed to become one of your new favorite sweet recipes.

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Healthy Raw Cookie Dough Bars

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Love cookie dough?  Though majorly bummed about all the flour, calories, sugar, and dairy its chock full of?  Have no fear, I’ve got ya covered.  These bars are perfect to take as a healthy sweet treat to work or elsewhere.  They take 5 minutes to throw together, are dairy free, sugar free, and grain/gluten free.  Most importantly, they taste awesome.  This is a dessert you can truly feel good about eating, no guilt included.

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Grain Free Decadent Chocolate Cake

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Who doesn’t love chocolate cake?  Well, certainly a few people 😉 but not many.  For a majority, chocolate cake is a quintessential classic yet routinely craved dessert.  Get excited for this decadent version, topped with a whipped chocolate cream.  Super easy to make, and the best part?  Grain/gluten free, and low in sugar!

Why should I care about not eating grains, you ask?  You can read about that in brief here.

So, this chocolate cake is sweet, satisfying, fudgy and delish, though without the grains and with way less sugar than usual.  To me, if you can eat something that’s far better for you yet tastes just as good as they significantly less healthy original, why not go with the version that’s better for your body?  This one is exactly that.  A sweet treat that’s better for you than the original version, though just as tasty.

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Vanilla Bean and Lavender Rice Pudding

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Hello Friendly Foodies,

Though I realize the words “comfort food” and summer do not tend to go hand in hand, skipping down the street with one another (winter being more synonymous and close companions with all things comfort foody), for this dish, I guarantee you will gladly make an exception 😉

This dish can be a breakfast, snack, or dessert.  Its dairy free, with no refined sugar, yet filling, sweet, deliciously lovely.

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The Life Changing Power of Prehistoric Eating: Sugar

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Hi all,

To segue off my last post under this umbrella titling (the topic of which was “wheat/grains”), the life changing (as well as health changing, and figure changing) power of eating akin to how humans were originally designed to eat…

Why are so many of us (a vast majority of citizens, with the number continuing to climb) overweight? Perpetually lethargic?  Why nowadays do our citizens have a laundry list of diseases and health problems, from cancer, to diabetes, health disease, high blood pressure, and more.  When back during the early days of humans, diseases were rare to nonexistent.  Why, especially Americans, are we all about fitness, getting “ripped” and perpetually dieting, yet as a collective whole our weight continues to climb and climb?  Why, most of the time when people lose weight, do they eventually gain it all back and then some?  Why do we eat huge meals and then find ourselves starving again just a few hours later?

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Healthy Carrot Cinnamon Cookies

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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 😉

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Sweet Potato Rhubarb Vegan Ice Cream

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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.

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Blueberry Lavender Vegan Ice Cream

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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!

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Olive Oil Chocolate Truffles

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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.

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