Creamy Coconut Chocolate Mousse

It's been a while...actually a long while. I haven't posted anything new in 4 months! I'm sorry guys. My sweet little boys got busier and busier, and in turn I also got busier and busier. Ha! During all the busyness, I didn't have a lot of time to try out new dishes or come up with any new recipes. One night out of the blue, though, I was craving chocolate..creamy chocolate, and with a lactose intolerance I couldn't just whip up some pudding (which is FULL of dairy). I grabbed a few things in my pantry and got to work hoping to come up with something delicious that would hit the sweet spot.

It took me a couple of tries, but within 30 minutes I had created a creamy chocolate mousse that even my picky 3.5 year old loved. It was easy, fast, and yummy! With only 3 ingredients, you just can't pass on trying it out!

I use coconut cream from Trader Joes, but since there aren't Trader Joes in every state (like the state I live in) you can also buy full fat coconut milk and place it in the refrigerator overnight. When you are ready to make this Creamy Coconut Chocolate Mousse, pull out the can, open it, and skim the delicious cream off the top. DO NOT SHAKE THE CAN. The coconut water will be left at the bottom of the can, and you can use that for so many things! Coconut water is similar to Gatorade in the ability to hydrate you. It's also good to add to smoothies. The leftover cream can also be kept in a sealed container in the fridge for at least a week to make more mousse later :).

The other two ingredients are unsweetened cocoa powder, which is full of antioxidants and has many of health benefits, and stevia powder, which is a natural sweetener.

This recipe is for 1 serving (1/3 cup), but I like to share it with my kids or double the recipe to share with my husband. It's too fun to watch my kids smile and ask for more with "mmmm" sounds as they are eating something very good for them. You can't beat that!


Creamy Coconut Chocolate Mousse
(gluten free, dairy free, nut free, egg free, refined sugar free, soy free, Vegan, Vegetarian)
Serves 1 (Share with a friend or double or triple the recipe to make more)

Ingredients

• 4 Tbs coconut cream (I use Trader Joes brand)
• 1 Tbs unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 packets Stevia powder (or 4 tsp of any sweetener)

Directions

1. Place can of coconut cream or full fat coconut milk in the refrigerator the night before you want to make this dessert.
2. The next day, when you are ready to begin, open the can and scoop out 4 Tbs of cream into a food processor. DO NOT SHAKE THE CAN! (Place leftover cream back in the fridge in a sealed container to use again for the next week or so.)
3. Pour the cocoa powder and Stevia on top of the cream. (Feel free to add more sweetener if you have a strong sweet tooth.)
4. Process the ingredients until smooth.
5. Scoop the creamy mousse into a small bowl and enjoy this healthy, smooth dessert.

Nutrition Facts:
Cals-138, Fat-12.5g, Carbs-12g (7g net carbs), Fiber-2g, Sugar-1.5g, Pro-2.5g

Slices of Sweet Potato Heaven

We are a family that loves sweet potatoes. We like them whole, diced, mashed, as fries, or added into any dish. One of the newest ways we enjoy eating this beta carotene vitamin rich food is baked in slices. The outside is slightly crunchy while the inside is delectably soft. It is a sweet side to any meal. Even the kids will like them!

My sweet baby loves these!

It takes a little bit of prep work but not nearly as much time as it takes to make homemade sweet potato fries. It makes up for it by taking less time to bake them then whole potatoes. I always prefer olive oil and cinnamon on mine, but using salt and pepper is another way to make this delicious.

You begin by washing the sweet potatoes and slicing off the end tips. Then slice them into 1-2 inch circles. Cut them too thick, and they will take a long time to cook. Cut them too thin, and they will burn. Try to make each circle about the same amount of thickness or they will cook unevenly, and you will end up with some undercooked or some burned. Not yummy stuff.

Note how all of the slices are about the same thickness.

Next pour 1-2 Tbs. of olive oil on a baking pan and rub it over the entire surface of the pan with a spoon. Use as much as you need to coat the pan with a thin layer of oil. Place the sweet potatoes on top and sprinkle with seasoning of choice. I use cinnamon, but feel free to use any herb or seasoning you like. There is no need to put oil on top of the slices at this time. When they are flipped after 15 minutes, the top side will also be coated with the delicious rich healthy olive oil.

Place pan in the oven at 350*F. After 15 mins, pull out pan and flip potatoes. Put back in oven for 15 more mins. When that time is up, turn heat up to 400*F and roast these slices of sweet potato heaven for 15-20 more mins. This will make the top nice and caramelized. Keep an eye on them after 10 minutes of roasting to prevent burning (some ovens can heat quicker than others). 

This is after flipping them over after the first 15 mins.

Here we have the finished product. Delicious Healthy Happy Eats!

Slices of Sweet Potato Heaven
(Gluten free, dairy free, nut free, egg free, Vegan, Vegetarian)
Serves 3 adults or 2 adults and 2 small children (Use as many sweet potatoes as you need to feed your hungry mouths.)
Adapted from nutritious plate

Ingredients

• 3 sweet potatoes
• 1-2 Tbs olive oil
• Cinnamon (or any seasoning or herb of choice)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350*F.
2. Wash sweet potatoes well, cut off the end tips, and slice into 1-2 inches circles.
3. Pour 1-2 Tbs of olive oil onto a baking pan, and rub it over the entire surface of the pan with a spoon. Use as much as you need to coat the pan with a thin layer of oil.
4. Place the sweet potato slices on top of the oil and sprinkle with seasoning of choice.
5. Put pan into the preheated oven for 15 mins. 
6. Pull the pan out and flip potato slices. Be careful to not burn yourself!
7. Place pan back into the oven for 15 more mins. 
8. Turn up the heat to 400*F for 15-20 more minutes to roast the potatoes. 
9. Keep an eye on them after 10 minutes of roasting to assure they do not burn.
10. Pull the pan out of oven and flip over the slices with cinnamon side up. This makes a beautiful presentation.
11. Let cool for a few minutes since they are VERY hot. Eat and Enjoy!

Please let me know how this recipe worked out for you! I love to read comments and/or suggestions. Feel free to comment on here or on Facebook. Thanks for reading!

Cinnamon Carrot Fries

My last post was about 2 months ago. My household has been SICK off and on since Thanksgiving. It has not been fun. I've been lucky to cook at all, and what I cooked was the quickest, easiest food you can imagine (we had enough Ore-ida sweet potato fries and homemade soup to feed an army!). My family loves the Ore-ida sweet potato fries, but I don't want to give them tooooo many of them. They are definitely healthier than the white potato fries, but still not something I want to serve them on a weekly basis. The last time I posted on here was about Healthy Carrot Fries. Since we are on the up and up from our sickness (at least for the time being), I am pressing full force back toward healthier cooking. I was craving those yummy sweet potato fries, but remembered I had a few organic carrots left in my fridge. YAY! So I decided to make carrot fries, but this time with a sweet twist. I apologize. I did not take a picture before I completely devoured them. :-D

I absolutely love sweet potatoes with cinnamon. While preparing my carrot fries, I had an idea that cinnamon on carrot fries might just be fantastic. So i gave it a try, and they are delicious and yet simple and light. I also tried to forgo the oil and just use spray oil. I wasn't sure if it would work, but it worked just as well! If you have a hankering for fries but don't want the old school salt and pepper fries, I encourage you to try these Cinnamon Carrot Fries!

Updated 1/13/15: added some pictures after making these again. 

The easiest way to cut into 4 sections is to place carrot flat side down to cut.

Prior to cooking

                 

I'm just loving all the cinnamon on these! Cinnamon is so good for you and so are carrots!! (Post cooking)

Cinnamon Carrot Fries
(Gluten free, dairy free, nut free, egg free, Vegan, Vegetarian)

Serves 1 (I made these just for myself today and ate the whole 2 carrots! You can very easily double, quadruple, etc. this recipe to suit the number of people in your family.)

Ingredients

• 2 medium whole carrots
• Spray oil
• Cinnamon

Directions

1. Turn oven on at 400* F.
2. One at a time, peel, chop off top end of carrot, and cut into 4 inch pieces. Throw other end away.
3. Cut each 4 inch piece into 4 long horizontal skinny pieces or 2 long skinny pieces depending on the thickness of the carrot.
4. Place all prepared carrots onto a sprayed baking pan and place them in a single layer. 
5. Spray carrots with the spray oil until well coated. Sprinkle cinnamon over all of the fries. (Add as much or as little as you like. I LOVE cinnamon so mine were covered ;) I probably used a total of 1 Tbs.)
6. Cook for 20 mins on top rack, move onto bottom rack (my lazy way of not having to flip them), and check to make sure they are done. If not ready, cook up to 10 more minutes. Mine were done at 30 minutes total, but all ovens are different. 

Nutrition Facts:

(entire batch)

Cals-69, Fat-0.4g, Carbs-18g, Fiber-7.6, Sugar-6g, Pro-1.4g
(sugar occurring naturally from the carrots)