Homemade fudgesicles

Dairy Free Fudgesicles – customize your own!

Posted on by Carie Perrino

Homemade fudgesicles

Now that its summer we all want ice cream, right?

I always thought I hated chocolate ice cream but one thing I love is fudgesicles in the summer time! Who am I kidding, how could I hate chocolate ice cream?

Brandon and I keep hearing the ice cream truck pass by our house but I swear it makes sure that we are not outside because we are usually outside most days of the week and he never drives by when we want him too!

This weekend I got creative and tailored a standard fudgesicle recipe to my food sensitivity results and then I got to thinking. How can I make this even more customize-able!? I want everyone to be able to eat fudgesicles if their heart desires.

what your heart desires

And fudgesicles make me happy.

 

But I guess, I do like other desserts too – like this sorbet 🙂

Dairy Free Fudgesicles
 
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These fudgesicles are super chocolaty and perfect for a hot summer day!
Author:
Recipe type: Dessert
Ingredients
  • ½ C cocoa powder or carob powder
  • ¾ C allowed granulated sweetener
  • 2 Tbsp allowed liquid sweetener
  • 1 tsp flavor extract
  • 2 C allowed milk
Instructions
  1. In a pot, whisk together the granulated sugar and cocoa or carob powder.
  2. Add the liquid sweetener and flavor of your choice.
  3. Turn the stove on medium heat and pour in your milk.
  4. Whisk until chocolate and sugar are dissolved. The mixture does not have to boil but the heat helps it dissolve better.
  5. Pour into popsicle molds.
  6. Place in freezer until solid.
  7. Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition information is not provided due alterations that can be made to accommodate food sensitivities.

 

Alternatives:
Milk: whole fat coconut milk or 2% or whole cow’s milk – you need some fat!
Granulated sweetener: cane sugar, blonde coconut sugar, beet sugar
Liquid sweetener: corn syrup, brown rice syrup, honey, maple syrup, cassava syrup, coconut nectar, homemade simple syrup – I use this recipe to make my simple syrup
Chocolate: you can also use carob powder for a caffeine free version!
Flavor Extract: vanilla, almond, mint would all be great flavors – I would use ½ tsp if you use mint because it is strong.

Products:

Enjoy!

fudgesicle

Easy Healthy Gummies

Easy Healthy Gummies

Posted on by Carie Perrino

Easy Healthy Gummies

I’m so glad I found these easy healthy gummies!

Gummies were always a go to candy when I was younger. I remember my brother and I having competitions on long car rides to see how many gummies we can fit in our mouths. Kind of gross now that I think about it!

I stopped eating gummies for years until recently I found that they can actually be HEALTHY! I’m not talking about gummies you buy in the candy aisle that contain corn syrup, artificial colors, citric acid. These are easy, homemade and healthy!

 

Bonus: they taste better than the chemical laden store bought gummies!

 

I tested a lot of gummy recipes to find the perfect combination of ingredients. One thing I found is that you have to use ingredients that allow you to concentrate the flavors . Many recipes I see call for 100% fruit juice + added sweetener. When I made them they do not provide enough flavor in the end product!

These gummies are packed with flavor!

 

What makes these gummies healthy?
  1. Make your gummies with beef gelatin powder. This helps improve gut health and digestion, protects joints, improves skin health, heart health and helps you feel full.
  2. I sweetened them with raw honey. Honey has antioxidants to prevent cell damage, natural allergy relief and it boosts immunity!
  3. My Lemon-Ginger gummies are a great source of vitamin C and lemon juice aids in digestion. Ginger is often used for indigestion and to calm an upset stomach.
  4. My Orange-Cranberry gummies are another great source of vitamin C and phytonutrients. They have significant antioxidant properties. Cranberry juice is most often associated with providing relief from UTIs. There are also cardiovascular health benefits, digestive benefits and many more!

I used these fun Fruit Shack gummy molds but any molds will do!

Easy Healthy gummies
 
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Clean eating healthy gummies that you don't have to feel guilty about eating!
Author:
Ingredients
Lemon-Ginger Gummies
  • ⅔ C lemon juice
  • 1.5oz gelatin
  • 6 Tbsp raw honey
  • 1 tsp grated ginger
Cranberry-Orange Gummies
  • 2 Tbsp honey
  • 2 Tbsp cranberry concentrate
  • Fill to 1 cup with 100% orange juice
  • 1 tsp orange zest
  • 1.5oz gelatin
Instructions
  1. Add liquid to pot.
  2. Sprinkle gelatin over liquid and let sit for 3-5 minutes to bloom.
  3. Heat and stir to dissolve gelatin – do not boil!
  4. Fill gummy molds or pour in thin layer in a 9x13 pan
  5. Refrigerate for 30 minutes to cool.
Notes
Makes two trays of “fruit shack” gummies per batch. If using a gummy bear mold – ¼ cup makes about 50 gummies.

No gummy molds? You can pour the gummy mixture into 9x13 pan and cut into squares or use cookie cutters when cooled!

**Nutrition information is not provided due alterations that can be made to accommodate food sensitivities.

 

Products:

What is your favorite flavor of gummies?

Enjoy!

5-Ingredient Cauliflower Soup

5-Ingredient Cauliflower Soup

Posted on by Carie Perrino

5-Ingredient Cauliflower SoupGrowing up my dad would always make soup with the Thanksgiving turkey leftovers or after having a roast chicken for dinner. They were always so good! I was intimidated by making soups but one day I just decided to jump in and try it out. At first I made a green chicken chili and then I royally screwed up a black bean chili (who knew a whole can of ancho chiles could be SOO spicy… whoops!)

There has been a big kick with cauliflower lately. Roasted cauliflower. Cauliflower “mashed potatoes”. Cauliflower pizza crust. etc. etc. etc. Well you should try my cauliflower soup! I wish I could get Brandon (remember.. the veggie hater) to even give it a try but because he knows the ingredients he won’t even give it a shot.

I like to cut up all of the ingredients first so that I can throw them all in the pan at the right time. After the soup cooks for about 20-25 minutes you will need to blend the soup so your cuts don’t have to be beautiful but they should be relatively uniform so that they cook at the same pace. It is not good to have some super mushy and others raw… been there, done that!

 

Heat 1/2 T of the oil of your choice in a heavy pot/dutch oven. For this recipe I would use a mild flavored oil: olive oil, unflavored coconut oil, sunflower oil, rice bran oil, corn oil.

Brown garlic and onion in the pot. This process takes about 5-7 minutes. Be careful not to burn them. Browning the onion and garlic gives the soup an additional depth of flavor.

Once brown, add broth and chopped cauliflower. I prefer to use my own broth if I have some available but in a pinch I do keep some clean broths on hand.

Here a couple of brands that I like:
–Swanson Chicken Cooking Stock: chicken stock, salt, carrots, cabbage, onions, celery, celery leaves, parsley
–Progresso Vegetable Stock: water, celery, onions, carrots, cabbage, salt, parsley, leek, sugar, garlic, thyme, bay leaves

The Progresso brand is not approved for the initial phases of the LEAP diet but is a great clean broth if you are past phase 5 or not following the LEAP diet!

After the soup contents are soft add everything to a blender and puree until creamy. I had to do this in batches because my blender is not big enough to hold all of the soup. If you have an immersion blender, this would be the perfect time to use it. When everything is blended pour back into the pot and heat back up to serve!

I enjoy croutons with my puree soups so I made some homemade croutons with crusty dutch oven bread. The soup is also great with cut up scallions.

 

5-Ingredient Cauliflower Soup
 
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Easy 5 Ingredient Cauliflower Soup that the pickiest of eaters will enjoy!
Author:
Serves: 4
Ingredients
  • ½ T oil
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 medium onion, chopped
  • 1 head cauliflower, chopped
  • 32 oz clean broth or homemade broth - chicken or vegetable
  • 1 tsp salt
Instructions
  1. In dutch oven, heat oil over medium heat. Add onion and garlic. Cook until slightly browned, about 5-7 minutes.
  2. Add broth and cut up cauliflower. Bring to a boil and cover. Simmer for 20-25 minutes until cauliflower is softened.
  3. In batches, pour contents of pot in blender. Blend until smooth. Continue until whole pot is smooth.
  4. Pour each batch back into dutch oven. Add salt and stir.
  5. Heat soup and serve with sliced green onions or homemade croutons.
Notes
Nutrition information is not provided due alterations that can be made to accommodate food sensitivities.

Products:


Here are other great recipes to make with these products: Crusty Dutch Oven Bread and Zucchini Pizza Bites

What’s your favorite homemade soup?

Enjoy!