• Healthy Baking

    Little Lemon Olive Oil Cakes

    If you’re trying to bake and cook with more olive oil rather than butter, then you simply must try baking this cake. It’s the perfect Fika cakes and the frosting is particularly wonderful, but sweetened with honey for a more natural and organic taste! The topping of sliced almonds looks delightful. All together, it’s a homey cake, ideal for any season. Your can make it into a small 6 inch cake, as well as cupcakes! 

    Ingredients for Cake:

    • 4 eggs
    • 1 lemon
    • 1 cup Olive oil
    • 2/3 cup bakers sugar
    • 3/4 cup very fine polenta
    • 1 cup almond meal

    Ingredients for Frosting:

    • 3/4 cups mascarpone
    • 2 tbsp honey
    • 1/2 teaspoons vanilla paste
    • 1/4 cup greek yogurt

    Method for Little Lemon Olive Oil Cakes

    Preheat your oven to 325. Grease a muffin tin and a 6 inch cake tin.

    Cook the lemon for 20 minutes in water. Once cooled, cut it the lemon into small pieces, and remove the seeds. Blend the lemon with the olive oil in a cuisenart or blender.

    Whisk your eggs and sugar together, then add in your olive oil and lemon mixture.

    Add in almond meal and polenta. 

    Bake at 325 for 28 minutes. Make sure a toothpick comes out cleanly. 

    For the frosting, mix together the mascarpone, honey, vanilla paste and greek yogurt. 

    Lastly, you know what to do! Once the cakes are cooled, spread the frosting on them, and enjoy them for your afternoon Fika!

  • Food & Drinks,  Wellness

    “Healthy-ish” Peanut Butter Cups

    These “healthy-ish” Peanut butter cups are really tasty, loaded with protein and refined sugar-free these peanut butter cups are sure to please. These are a great snack with a cup of tea or perfect for the kids lunches! 

    Makes 6-8 Peanut Butter Cups

    Ingredients

    Chocolate Layer

    • 1/2 cup coconut oil, melted
    • 1/4 cup cocoa powder
    • 3 tablespoons maple syrup
    • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

    In a mixing bowl, Mix together the coconut oil, cocoa powder, maple syrup and vanilla until combined. Layer into a square baking dish or muffin tin (since these are for valentines day you can use a heart shaped mold!). and place into the freezer for 15-20 minutes. 

    Peanut Butter Layer

    • 1/2 cup coconut oil, melted
    • 1/2 cup peanut butter (salted, chunky peanut butter)
    • 1/4 cup maple syrup 
    • 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
    • 2 tablespoons of chia seeds  (optional) 
    • Powdered Sugar for garnish

    Mix together Coconut oil, peanut butter, maple syrup and vanilla until combined. Pour on top of chocolate layer, Sprinkle with chia seeds. Freeze for 15-20 minutes. 

    At this point you can either slice with a warm knife or cookie cutter, or unmold! 

    Place on a plate and sprinkle with powdered sugar. 

    Enjoy!

    xx,

    T

  • Food & Drinks

    Baked Broccoli

    This is one of our most favorite sides. Baking the broccoli brings out a somewhat “nutty” flavor and it can be the perfect addition to a salad, pasta dish or just have it as a side dish. This recipe is simple, foolproof and well, downright delish.

    Preheat oven to 400 degrees

    • 3 cups broccoli, trimmed into bite-sized pieces (I usually make them smaller if they’re going into a salad)
    • 2 tbsp olive oil
    • 1/2 tsp salt,
    • 1/2 tsp pepper

    Place Broccoli in a mixing bowl, toss with olive oil, salt, and pepper.

    Bake 20-25 minutes

    Warning: Once this comes out of the oven a few pieces will inevitably be consumed by passers-by, for this reason, I always add a few more pieces than I think I need just to account for the missing florets.

    Happy cooking!

    xx,

    gracegrl

  • Food & Drinks

    Fancified Avocado Toast

    Step up your brunch game with this outside the box take on Avocado toast. Instead of using “toast” we opted for mini waffles. They sure are a crowd-pleaser, they’re hearty, healthy and they look super cute too! 

    Waffles

    • 1 1/4 Cup all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
    • 1 1/2 Tablespoons sugar
    • 1 Teaspoon baking powder
    • 1/4 Teaspoon salt
    • 1/2 Cup
    • 1/2 Cup plain greek yogurt
    • 4 Tablespoons butter, melted

    Topping

    • 4 eggs
    • 3 small tomatoes
    • 1 small avocado
    • Salt
    • Pepper

    Place waffle batter in a large bowl, whisk all ingredients together until smooth and combined. Drop spoonfuls onto waffle iron and cook to your desired “done-ness” 

    Place 1 waffle on a plate, top with fried egg, avocado slices and 2 slices tomato. Sprinkle with salt and pepper!

    Enjoy this tasty weekend breakfast! 

    xx, 

    T

  • Food & Drinks

    Corned Beef, Cabbage,​ and Sweet Potato Pizza!

    This is a St. Patty’s day tradition in our house, I make it almost every year and we always say “we should make this more often”! It’s a fun twist on a traditional Irish classic! Making the dish in “pizza” form is fun and interactive, you could even do mini pizzas for a party too!

    • 3 carrots, peeled and sliced into 1/2 inch pieces
    • 4 sweet potatoes, peeled and sliced into 1/2 inch pieces
      1 (about 3 lbs) corned beef brisket already brined.    
    • 1/4 cup mozzarella cheese
    • 2 cauliflower pizza crusts (you can use regular too!) 
    • 2 Tablespoons truffle oil. 
    • 6 cups water
    • 1 lb bag shredded cabbage
    • 1 tablespoon butter
    • Salt
    • Pepper
    • 1/2 cup chicken broth

    In a slow cooker, place carrots and sweet potatoes.  Remove corned beef from package, and rinse (I like to rinse it to remove some of the saltiness). Place corned beef, fat side up, on top of vegetables add enough water to almost cover meat (about 6 cups). Cover and cook on high until corned beef is tender, about 6 hours on low.

    Melt butter in a saucepan, once it’s heated add cabbage, salt, Pepper and broth, sauté until cabbage is translucent and completely cooked (about 5-10 minutes). Let cool. 

    Once meat is cooked, prepare pizza crust as directed on package. I opted for cauliflower pizza crust but you can use regular pizza crust too,  Once crust is baked sprinkle generously with truffle oil and a light sprinkle of mozzarella cheese, now build your pizza! Start with veggies, shred beef and add that, then top completely with cabbage and the reminder of the mozzarella cheese. 

    Turn oven to broil and broil pizza on high, just until cheese is melted and browned. 

    Now let cool for 5 minutes, serve and enjoy with a cold Guinness. 

    Happy St. Patricks day!

    xx,

    T

  • Food & Drinks,  Wellness

    Green Goodness Smoothie

    Need a great, nutrition-packed smoothie? This is just the ticket. It is really tasty, and you can make it sweeter depending upon your tastes (just add some agave nectar). Healthy, delicious and bursting with superfoods! This can be your new go-to recipe when you’re craving a smoothie.


    • 1 cup vanilla almond milk
    • 2 handfuls spinach
    • 1 handful kale
    • 1/2 large banana
    • 1/2 frozen blueberries
    • 1/2 plain or vanilla greek yogurt
    • 1/2 cup orange juice

    Ready for a really complicated process? Put everything blender, and… drumroll, please?

    Blend it up!  Pour into your favorite glass and savor the healthy, deliciousness!

    Note: depending upon your blender you may have to add the spinach and kale in batches to ensure it blends smoothly!

    Happy Healthy Eating!

    xx,

    T

  • Food & Drinks,  Wellness

    Fresh and Fab Carrot Orange Smoothie

    This smoothie is SO delicious. It’s sweet and slightly nutty from the hemp seeds. Great for breakfast or a mid-day pick me up or just your daily dose of vitamins! 

    Makes 4 smoothies

    • 1/4 cup Hemp Seeds
    • 1/2 Teaspoon Tumeric
    • 3/4 cup yogurt
    • 1 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk
    • 1 scoop vanilla protein powder
    • 1 scoop collagen powder
    • 1/2 banana
    • 1/3 cup chopped carrot
    • 1/2 cup orange, peeled and cut into small pieces
    • 1/2 teaspoon orange zest
    • 1 cup frozen mango 

    Place all ingredients in blender, blend until smooth. Pour into glasses and serve!

    Enjoy this tasty treat!

    xx,

    T (Peanut Butter & Jelly Chronicles)

  • Food & Drinks

    Summertime Fish Tacos

    These tacos are great for a hot summer evening, they don’t require very much cooking and best of all, most of this recipe can be made ahead of time. All you need is a margarita and some cute summertime cocktail napkins and you’re good to go! 

    Fish:

    • 1 1/2 lbs cod or white fish
    • 2 tablespoons taco seasoning
    • 1 lime, juice and zest

    Place fish in a ziplock bag, sprinkle with taco seasoning and add lime zest and juice, let marinate for at least 4 hours or more. 

    Salsa: 

    • 2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
    • 3 cloves garlic, crushed in a garlic press
    • 1 cup frozen fire-roasted corn or regular frozen corn (but I like the trader joes fire-roasted option)
    • 1 can black beans, rinsed and drained 
    • 1 avocado, cut into cubes
    • 1 lime, zest, and juice
    • 1/2 teaspoon salt or more to taste
    • 1/2 teaspoon pepper or more taste

    Extras:

    • 1 package small “street” taco tortillas
    • Fresh cilantro for garnish 

    Mix tomatoes, garlic, corn, black beans, avocado, lime juice and zest, salt, and pepper together in a large bowl, set aside and let it sit so that flavors meld. 

    Cook fish in saucepan for 5-8 minutes or until cooked through, place fish and salsa inside a tortilla and voila, your dinner is served! 

    Garnish with fresh cilantro. 

    xx, 

    T (Peanut Butter & Jelly Chronicles)

  • Food & Drinks,  Wellness

    Rainbow Smoothie

    Lately, we have been trying to “eat the rainbow” everyday! Focusing on healthy food choices and eating as many fruits and veggies as possible. This smoothie contains all the colors, Red berries, Orange zest, Yellow banana and mango, green spinach, and Blueberries! Not only is it nutritious but it tastes great too!

    Makes 4, 1 cup servings

    • 1/2 cup greek yogurt
    • 1 1/4 cups almond milk
    • 1 cup frozen blueberries
    • 1/2 cup frozen fruit medley (we used mango, banana, strawberry medley, you can use any berry assortment that you like)
    • 3 tablespoons oats
    • 2 big handfuls spinach (definitely an official measurement!)
    • 1/4 teaspoon orange zest
    • 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon (really good for reducing inflammation!)
    • 2 teaspoons flax seed
    • 1 tablespoon maple syrup
    • pinch of salt
    • Optional: 1 scoop of protein powder or collagen powder

    Blend all ingredients together, if the smoothie is too thick for your taste just go ahead and add more almond milk!

    Enjoy this tasty treat and daily dose of nutrients too!

    xx,

    T

  • Food & Drinks

    Superfood Breakfast Cookies

    This is the perfect ‘grab and go’ cookie. They are not only nutritious and loaded with superfoods like pumpkin, flax seeds, cinnamon and of course some chocolate but they’re also really durable, I like to pop one into a baggy and toss it into my purse to curb my afternoon “hangriness”!

    Preheat oven to 325

    • 1 cup oats
    • 1 cup flour
    • 1/2 cup chocolate chips
    • 1/2 cup walnuts
    • 1/2 cup pepitas
    • 1/2 cup rasins
    • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
    • 2 tablespoon flax seeds
    • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
    • Pinch salt (about 1/4 teaspoon) 
    • 1 cup canned pumpkin
    • 2 tablespoons butter, melted 
    • 1 teaspoon vanilla
    • 3 tablespoons agave nectar 
    • 1 tablespoon milk

    Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl and set aside. 

    Mix pumpkin, butter, and agave together until fully incorporated. Add dry mixture and fold together until partially combined, add milk to moisten the mixture and continue to mix until fully incorporated.

    Drop equal sized cookies on a cookie sheet and flatten each cookie. 

    Bake 18-20 minutes or until golden brown.

    Makes 18-20 cookies depending upon your scoop size!

    Enjoy these tasty morsels, they’re exceptionally good with coffee or tea.

    xx,

    T