Month: August 2016

Snickerdoodle Cookie Balls (Keto, Clean, Low carb)

Posted on by Ashley Phillips

Hi! Happy Sunday!

This is my final week of doing keto. What does this mean? Currently, less than 10% of my diet is currently carbs (it’s almost impossible for me to do NO carbs) and a huge portion of my diet is healthy fat & protein.  I have to say, I actually love it. I have been feeling way more satisfied than I normally do due to the good healthy fats and it’s much easier than I thought it would be. BYE CARBS…actually, more like “see ya later” because I’ll be back some day soon.

All of that to say this recipe is totally keto friendly (*low carb*) and clean. Going forward, most of my recipes will likely be a little less fat-heavy, so enjoy it while it lasts!

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Also, does anyone think it’s funny that most of my recipes end of being balls? Not sure why that happens – ha.

I can’t take full credit for these fun little balls. KetoSizeme.com has the recipe here! 

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Let’s jump into the recipe!

Ingredients:

  • 4 tablespoons of melted coconut oil
  • 1 egg
  • 2/3 cup of Stevia in the raw
  • 1.5 cups of almond flour or almond meal (Careful if you substitute with coconut flour, as it’s super absorbent and will dry these out too much)
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • Dash of cream of tartar
  • Coating:
    • Another 1/4 cup of powdered Stevia in the raw + 2 tablespoons cinnamon

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How to:

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees, line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside
  • Combine all dry ingredients except for the coating ingredients in a medium mixing bowl
  • Separately, whisk egg in a small bowl
  • Add all wet ingredients to the bowl with egg
  • Slowly mix dry ingredients into wet ingredient bowl
  • Using your hands, form the dough into balls
  • Roll balls in the “coating” until they are covered with cinnamon and sugar
  • Bake in the oven for about 12 -14 minutes
  • Note: it’s hard to tell when these are done, so if you think they *may* be close to done, they probably are – just take them out of the oven and let them sit on the baking sheet for a few minutes
  • Enjoy!
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Low Carb Zucchini Bread (Keto, Clean, Sugar-free)

Posted on by Ashley Phillips

Have you noticed a trend in my last few posts? I’ve really been experimenting with including vegetables into some of my snacks and it’s actually been working out well! I know it seems weird, but zucchini really compliments a typical carb-loaded treat.

Besides having some great veggie content, this recipe is great because it’s low carb and packed with protein – something bread typically does NOT have.

Plus, I love when you can see the veggies peeking through during the final product but can’t taste them! It make you feel better about eating 2… or 3 slices 😉

Many of my ingredients are super quick, but this one took a bit longer. And by a bit longer, I mean about 20 minutes to put together. Still super quick comparatively.

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I love some good crunch in bread, so I added some walnuts here to mix in some really good healthy fats – which keep you full longer and make you feel more satisfied. Nothing wrong with that!

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Ingredients:

  • 1 cup Organic coconut flour – I used Bob’s Red Mill
  • 1/2 cup organic Stevia
  • 2-3 tablespoons low carb protein powder, vanilla or unflavored – I used Thorne Research 
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1.5 tablespoons cinnamon – or more if you’re me 😉
  • 1/2  teaspoon baking powder
  • Dash of himalayan sea salt
  • 6 eggs
  • 1 medium spiralized or grated organic zucchini
  • 1/2 cup of organic melted coconut oil 
  • Any mix-ins you’d like – I used 1/3 cup of chopped walnuts

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Check out the zucchini peeking out of there – love it!

How to:

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and prepare a bread pan with coconut oil spray
  • Wash then grate or spiralize zucchini and sprinkle with salt, set aside while you prepare the rest of the recipe
  • Combine all dry ingredients in a bowl seperate from the zucchini, mix together
  • Add eggs and melted coconut oil to dry ingredients and use a hand mixer to blend well. Once combined, add in zucchini and mix until blended. Add in any ingredients you desire. Nuts = highly recommended
  • Pour or scoop mixture into the pan and bake
  • Cooking times will vary – mine took about 50 minutes (an eternity when you’re excited to try it!
  • After baking, remove it immediately from the pan and place on a cooling rack to ensure it doens’t keep baking even after you take it out of the oven
  • SLATER with butter (especially if you are eating a keto diet) and eat!

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Dark Chocolate Avocado Cookies (Keto + Clean eating)

Posted on by Ashley Phillips

Let’s keep on the train of sneaking in healthy ingredients into treats…

I currently (and always) have an obsession with avocado. It’s by far my favorite healthy addition to almost any meal. Lately, I just don’t feel like a meal is complete without a chunk of avocado of a scoop of guac. Remember when I went through my banana phase? Well, it turns out that avocados have way more potassium and fiber than bananas and way less sugar and carbs – two things I’ve been trying to limit. Bye banana, hi avo.

These barely made it to the blog because my husband couldn’t keep his hands off them. Turns out, I’ve actually run out of places to hide my baked goods so we’ve implemented this rule: JUST MAKE SURE YOU SAVE ME ONE!

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I know I say this a lot because I love sweet treats so much, but these really are gorgeous and full of fiber and healthy fat. (By the way, fat is a GOOD thing. Let’s talk more about this because its honestly something that was hard for me to truly believe. More to come here.)

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Sadly, I totally forgot to take photos of these while I was making them so I only have the final version. There is nothing crazy that goes into these, though, so I think you’ll be able to figure it out by reading directions. 🙂

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Ingredients:

  • 2 medium super ripe avocados (they should be borderline smooshy so they’re easier to mix)
  • 1 egg
  • 1/2 cup of sweetener of choice (Stevia or coconut sugar are recommended)
  • 1 cup of almond flour meal
  • 2 tablespoons of melted coconut oil
  • 3 tablespoons of dark cocoa mix
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • Dash of himalayan sea salt
  • Sugar free dark chocolate chips
  • Any other additions you want to include – pistachios, walnuts, pecans!

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How to:

  • Preheat oven to 325 degrees and prepare a cookie sheet (I used parchment paper on a cookie sheet to prevent sticking)
  • Add all ingredients to Vitamix and blend!
    • If it looks too dry and not like a thick batter, add a dash of almond milk and blend for a few more seconds.
  • Hand mix in any other ingredients you desire
  • Scoop onto the cookie sheet and bake for 12-14 minutes

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Let me know what you think – and save ONE for moi!

Fudgy Zucchini Brownies (Clean, Keto, Low Carb)

Posted on by Ashley Phillips

Dessert + Veggies = Best combo

When is the last time you had some beautiful green zucchini in your brownies? This was my first time and I’m shocked at how great they taste. I know it sounds weird but you really can’t taste the zucchini – I swear!

Plus, it looks so pretty once you spiralize it… look!

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I remember in high school, my friends and I discovered that you can take a box of brownie mix and mix it with a can of diet coke to make brownies. At the time, I thought there was no other way to make brownies healthy… Ohhhh… how much I’ve learned since then! (For those of you who don’t know, diet soda does NOT = diet food!)

These are made of all healthy and clean ingredients. While I wouldn’t call these a health food, you can definitely argue that these are healthier than your average brownie.

One thing you’ll notice in these is that they are not shy in butter/oil. As some of my friends know, I’m testing out a ketogenic diet, meaning I’m eating little to no carbs (other than from leafy greens), a little protein, but a LOT of fat. Seems totally counterintuitive for health, I know, but if you read a little about it there are some amazing benefits. More to come on this later.

Let’s dive in!

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Ingredients:

  • One medium zucchini
  • 1 large egg
  • 2 tablespoons of organic coconut oil (I use Kelapo)
  • 6 tablespoons of melted salted butter
  • 1/2 cup Stevia or coconut sugar
  • 1/2 cup cocoa powder
  • 2 tablespoons of cashew butter
  • Dash of vanilla extract (or more if you like vanilla – I am personally obsessed)
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • Pinch of Himalayan sea salt
  • One bar of the darkest chocolate you can find

How to:

  • Use a spiralizer or a grater to dice up the zucchini into mini pieces – you can leave the skin on
  • Beat the egg and then add all ingredients except for the bar of dark chocolate into one bowl and mix! (I know, so simple)
  • Once it’s mixed well, chop up the dark chocolate and mix in

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(So colorful and so pretty!)

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  • Grease an 8×8 pan with coconut oil spray and pour batter into it. It may appear a bit chunky because of the zucchini – that’s ok

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  • Bake for 12-14 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean

Ok, in this photo, I know they look a bit dry. But I promise you they’re not! The zucchini keeps them moist and fudgy.

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Mmmmmmaybe it’s just me, but I love a good hot brownie right out of the oven. So get yourself a glass of almond milk ready and dig in as soon as they’re done!

If you’re able to make these last for a few days, keep them in the fridge in a tightly sealed container, otherwise the zucchini in them will make them go bad quickly.

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Have you ever used any vegetables in your brownies or cookies? I’d love to hear what you’ve tried!

Pumpkin Chia Pudding (Keto-friendly, clean)

Posted on by Ashley Phillips

 

Who’s ready for pumpkin season!?

I’m not scared to admit it. I love pumpkin, and I’m ready for pumpkin season.

I know it’s still August and I’m not saying I’m ready for fall. I’m just ready for pumpkin. Pumpkin everything (except for PSLs…those should never be considered real pumpkin!)…let’s get it going.

This is a super easy dessert to throw together. And it’s keto-approved. (More to come on keto!) The hardest part is making sure you make this ahead of time so the seeds have time to soak. After dinner, I always need one sweet bite or something and this really does the trick.

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Pumpkin is full of fiber and chia seeds are full of healthy fats. The two together make this a totally healthy, fun snack or dessert.

This is another one of those throw-everything-together-and-just-let-it -do-it’s-thing” type recipes.

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Do you guys use chia seeds? I had a weird aversion to them for a while. I didn’t like the texture and didn’t really understand why anyone would even bother. They seemed tasteless and just silly. After reading more about them, they’re now a staple for me every single day. If nothing else, I just throw them in my AM smoothie (which reminds me, I should totally do a blog post on my favorite AM smoothies!)

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Ingredients:

  • 1 cup organic pumpkin puree (actual pumpkin, not pumpkin pie mixture)
  • 1/2 cup chia seeds
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla
  • 2 tablespoons pumpkin pie seasoning
  • 1.25 cups of organic unsweetened cashew milk

How to: Combine everything in a bowl. Mixture will be watery before the seeds have time to expand. Set the mixture in the fridge for 3-4 hours, mixing every hour or so. Once they have set a bit, scoop 1/4th of the mixture into a cup. Top with whipped cream, pecans, or walnuts.

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