If you haven’t already guessed, I have issues…..  One of my (many) issues is an intolerance to dairy products.  For years I continued to eat dairy regularly and live with the consequences of my decision, but in 2015 I decided it wasn’t worth the constant belly aches.  Rather than give up the foods I loved, I took it as a challenge to find new dishes that I love just as much if not MORE than their dairy alternatives.  As an added bonus these new recipes are more nutrient dense than the foods I used to indulge in AND I experience no ill digestive side effects.  Whether you also avoid dairy, you are interested in a more nutrient dense version of an old favorite, or you just want to try something new, today I’m sharing my favorite caramel recipe.  My family’s favorite way to eat the caramel is as a dip with sliced green apples and bananas.  But I’ve also been known to add it to my caramel latte frappé and apple tacos! [Read more…]

As long as I can remember, I’ve loved the cold creamy texture of ice cream.  As a kid, I preferred hand dipped peppermint ice cream. Then as an adult my tastes changed and I found myself gravitating towards butter pecan, java chip, and the decadent appeal of vanilla ice cream with chunks of cherry and chocolate (just thinking about these flavors makes my mouth water).  Unfortunately, having struggled to digest dairy products my entire life (I’ll spare you the details), I’ve always regretted the decision to give into my sweet tooth….UNTIL NOW. [Read more…]

For Valentine’s Day we decided to enjoy a low key evening at home.  No commercialized cards or obligatory chocolates. No overpriced flowers or jam-packed restaurants.  Just us (and the dog). It was nice, really.

Seeing as how Valentine’s Day is a celebration of relationships, we decided to celebrate a very special relationship in our lives.  One that neither of us could live without (literally).  A relationship that many people take for granted, or even abuse. This relationship is so important to our well-being that each day it has the ability to build us up and make us stronger or, depending on our life decisions, it can also tear us down and make us weak.

[Read more…]

I’ve been playing around with tropical smoothie recipes for awhile and they always seem to come out bitter. How can that be when each individual ingredient is naturally sweet?!? Truth be told, making smoothie recipes that taste good SOUNDS easy, but getting the perfect blend of sweet and savory has its challenges.  After talking it over with a friend, it was suggested that I add a natural sweetener like honey to counter the bitterness.  Excited to see if honey was the missing ingredient I hurried home and tried this addition.   [Read more…]

Warning: If you’re not already addicted to balls, you will be after trying these bad boys. They are not addictive in a destructive manner like drugs, Pokemon Go, alcohol, or the famous “Song That Never Ends” (yes it goes on and on my friends).  Rather, they are addictive in an unsuspecting and pleasant way.   We enjoy them so much that we often make a double batch.  Lucky for us (and for you), these delicious treats take less than 10 minutes to make, including clean up. [Read more…]

If you know me very well then you know I’m a HUGE fan of smoothies.  Not a fair-weather fan like many NFL team so-called “supporters”, but a true die hard fan like my Nana was of the Dallas Cowboys.  She rooted for them from the day they were founded in 1960 up until her passing in 2012. I imagine my commitment to smoothies being similar to how ABBA fans (such as my husband) are unwavering even though they are regularly ridiculed by mean-spirited bullies (such as my husband’s wife…whom shall remain nameless).   [Read more…]

There are a lot of things that I don’t miss from my old eating habits (soda, donuts, cappuccino, etc), but I do occasionally miss the refreshing taste of a good cherry limeade.  I remember when I was 16 (oh to be sweet 16 again…) I decided to give up soda for lent.  I typically drank 1 can of soda a day and thought I would use lent as a motivator to kick that nasty habit. Thinking I was being a good girl by avoiding soda while simultaneously getting some fresh fruits into my diet (cherries and limes), during the six week observance of lent I would go to Sonic daily and buy one of their famous cherry limeades.  Did I order a Small? (Ummmmm no…) Perhaps a Medium? [Read more…]