Banana & Coconut Milk "Ice Cream"

Unlike regular ice cream, you can actually feel good about eating this delicious treat. It's perfect for summer, or if you're like me, perfect for your daily sugar fix! 

It's super easy to make (no ice cream maker required) and it's good for you too. 

Coconut milk, if you're not familiar, is the liquid that comes from the meat of a coconut when it is blended. It isn't the same as coconut water, the stuff that's inside the hollow part of a whole coconut. Coconut milk does contain quite a bit of coconut oil, which is a saturated fat, but don't be fooled! It is NOT the same saturated fat that clogs your arteries. Coconut oil is a medium chain triglyceride that your body burns more efficiently as energy and is less likely to be stored as fat when compared to long chain triglycerides (not all LCTs are bad for you though). Coconut oil is essentially fuel for our bodies, and, using popular terms, it "speeds up" your metabolism which aids in weight management. Yay! 

Ingredients 

There's only 2 fundamental ingredients for this recipe (if this can even be considered a "recipe") : 

Bananas & Coconut milk 

I used 6 bananas and 1/2 cup of coconut milk and got a nice and creamy mixture, but feel free to adjust the ratio according to your preferences. Bear in mind that adding less coconut milk means that there will be fewer calories. 

Some optional ingredients include: 

Stevia to sweeten

Vanilla extract 

Peanut butter

Chocolate chips

Shredded Coconut 

Just toss everything in a blender. If you have a fancy ice cream maker, go ahead and use it, but if you don't have one, that's cool too. Just take it straight to the freezer and let it harden for a few hours before serving. It tastes great with anything that you'd normally eat ice cream with, or you can eat it by itself. I had mine with a salted caramel macaron :) 

I had mine with a mini macaron that I made. Delicious! 

Thanks for stopping by! Enjoy your new favorite ice cream! 

Almond Flour Cookies

These cookies are to die for! You can add whatever ingredients you want to make the perfect cookies you're in the mood for using this dough as a base. I made chocolate chip cookies and I have a few suggested optional ingredients listed below, but there are soooooo many possibilities!



If you haven't tried almond flour yet, you're seriously missing out! You can make so many delicious desserts and even savory entrees using it. I've been on a quest to create healthy but delicious recipes that don't contain any added sugar or refined carbohydrates in order to keep my diet as natural and healthy as possible. It's not as difficult to eat well now as it was a few years ago with all the white flour and sugar alternatives readily available for very affordable prices at most grocery stores; plus it's a small price to pay for better health!

Main Ingredients 
1 cup almond flour 
3/4 cup steel cut oats
1 ripe banana

1 egg

1/2 tsp baking powder 1/4 tsp salt 

1 tsp coconut oil 

Suggested Optional Ingredients

2-3 tablespoons chocolate chips
1 tablespoon peanut butter  

1/4 cup walnuts or pecans 

1/4 cup raisins or cranberries 

Shredded carrots or zucchini for veggie nutrients without the taste  

Raw cane sugar, Stevia, honey, maple syrup, or dried medjool dates for extra sweetness

(I adde Stevia and chocolate chips to mine)

Preheat your oven to 350F.

Mash the banana with a fork in a medium sized bowl and combine the rest of the ingredients. The batter should be firm enough to hold it's shape and stick to a spoon. Depending on the optional ingredients you use, you may need to add more or less dry ingredients, but these ratios worked perfectly for me. Spoon 1-2 tablespoons per cookie onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake for 10-15 minutes until the middle is set and the edges are golden brown.
Yields 1 dozen cookies. 

Enjoy!
Thanks for stopping by :)

Baked Zucchini & Sweet Potato Fries

Seriously, guys. Best recipe ever.

They're perfectly crisp, have amazing flavor, and taste like they've been deep fried!

I'm really excited about this. I can't even tell you how many times I've tried to make baked sweet potato fries. Every single time -I've tried at least 10 times- they've always come out too mushy, never crisp, then when cooked longer they become burnt on the edges but soggy in the middle, etc. I've tried using corn meal and bread crumbs to coat them, plain potatoes misted with olive oil, different oven temperatures... the list goes on. I've tried tons of recipes and combinations of recipes and not a single of them have been successful. UNTIL NOW! This was just another one of my experimental sweet potato fry recipes and it happened to turn out amazing!
          The secret? Almond flour. Almond meal, almond flour, whatever you want to call it, it's a miracle. I'll be posting many more healthy recipes with almond flour soon!
          I've never tried making zucchini fries before but by chance I happened to have a zucchini that was going to go bad soon and I didn't want to waste it, so I added it just for kicks and it turned out great!

Ingredients

Sweet potatoes
Zucchini
egg
almond flour

Optional:
Olive oil or coconut oil
garlic powder, cayenne pepper, salt, pepper, whatever seasonings you like!
(I used cayenne and garlic salt)

*For all ingredients, use as much as you want to make. I made one sweet potato and one zucchini and I needed 1 egg and 1/2 cup of almond flour. It was enough to fill one whole baking sheet without any of the fries touching.

Preheat oven to 400F.
Cut up the zucchini and sweet potatoes into fry-sized pieces. The easiest way I've found is to cut them in half long ways, so that you have two stumpy short pieces, and then section those off as desired. Whisk the egg(s) in a bowl and coat the veggies with it. Pour the almond flour onto a plate and mix in the seasonings. Remove the excess egg from the veggies and coat with almond flour. This will get a little messy and the almond flour will start to get mixed with the egg and create clumps, so be sure to remove as much egg as you can from the potatoes/zucchini. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and arrange the fries so that none of them are overlapping. Use a second tray if necessary, just don't crowd the pan or they won't get crispy. I didn't use any oil, but at this point feel free to mist or drizzle the fries with olive oil or coconut oil.  Keep in mind that ovens vary and the size of the fries will affect cooking time. I baked mine for around 20 minutes, flipping the fries after about 10 minutes.

Serve hot with whatever dipping sauces you like. I like to eat mine with avocado hummus, sriracha, and Greek yogurt.

Remember that you don't have to stick to any recipes, that's how new ones are made. Be creative and enjoy cooking!
Thanks for stopping by :)

Cauliflower Pizza Crust

Who doesn't love pizza?! 

Pizza is delicious, but when you buy it at a restaurant, chances are it's not very healthy. It's loaded with grease, refined carbohydrates, and empty calories. I enjoy experimenting with food and creating healthy versions of things that I love. Even homemade crusts can make a pretty big dent in your calorie and carbohydrate intake if you're being careful about your diet. I first heard of the cauliflower pizza crust last summer and I've been making it since then, trying different methods each time (using parmesan instead of mozzarella, adding flour, different oven temps, etc.). This is the recipe that I have found works best and I've had consistently good results, even my dad who notoriously doesn't like anything that "tastes healthy" admitted to liking it, albeit reluctantly. His reaction: "Huh, not bad. Cauliflower usually tastes like s***,  but this is pretty good."

Ingredients: 

1 head of cauliflower (FRESH!! not frozen) 

1/3 cup of shredded mozzarella cheese 

1 egg 

salt, garlic, or whatever seasonings you choose to add 

Preheat the oven to 400 F. Wash and prepare the cauliflower, make sure you dry it well. Put all of the ingredients in a food processor until well-blended. There shouldn't be any large chunks and it can be anywhere from the consistency of lumpy pudding to cookie dough depending on the ratio of cauliflower to egg. I've made this same recipe many times and the texture of the raw dough has been different each time, it'll be fine once it's cooked.  Line a baking sheet with foil and then parchment paper (two sheets are important because you will use one to flip the crust over, but you can use 2 layers of foil and grease the top one if you don't have parchment paper). Pour the batter onto the baking sheet and bake until cooked most of the way, about 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and, using the parchment layer or top layer of foil, carefully flip the crust over. Return it to the oven and bake until desired doneness, 10-20 more minutes.

I like mine pretty crispy- golden brown throughout and darker around the edges. 

Warning: If you use frozen cauliflower, the cooked crust will be mushy and gross. When I did it, it was uncooked in the middle and burnt around the edges. Blegh. 

Once the crust is done, you can top the pizza with whatever you want! Here are some of my healthy favorites: 

Mexican Inspired Pizza

1/2 can of refried black beans (gotta have that fiber) 

1/2 cup of Greek yogurt

1/3 cup of thawed frozen chopped spinach (frozen is cheaper and in my opinion more convenient, but fresh spinach works just as well)

some chives or green onion to taste

1/2 pound of cooked lean ground turkey breast seasoned with chili powder, turmeric, cumin, paprika, salt, and pepper

3-5 chopped jalapeños

1/2 bell pepper, diced 

1/3-1/2 cup of shredded pepper jack or mozzarella cheese

Spread the beans on the crust first. In a bowl, mix the yogurt, spinach, and chives and then spread over the pizza, then spread over the beans. Add the remaining ingredients and bake for 15-20 minutes, until desired doneness. 

Mediterranean Inspired Pizza

1/2 cup of Greek yogurt 

1/4 cup of sun dried tomatoes 

1/3 cup of thawed frozen spinach 

1/2 cup of sliced mushrooms 

1/2 pound of cooked seasoned lean ground turkey 

2-3 artichoke hearts, quartered 

1/2 cup of feta cheese 

1/4 cup of mozzarella cheese 

Mix the yogurt, tomatoes, and spinach and use as the sauce. Top with the remaining ingredients and bake. 

Hawaiian Inspired Pizza 

1/2 cup of marinara/pizza sauce 

1/2 cup of sliced pineapple 

1/2 cup of thawed frozen spinach

1/4 pound of cooked chicken breast, cubed  

1/4 pound of Canadian bacon or thick sliced ham 

1/2 cup of shredded mozzarella cheese

Have fun and be creative with your pizza! Thanks for stopping by! 

Urban Gold

My friend Christie and I had some down time downtown!

Shirt - BCBG (~$40)

Jeggings - Forever 21 ($10)

Beanie - Hot Topic ($10)

Shoes - Target ($30)

Jacket - Forever 21 ($20)

Please visit her blog

<3

Black Noir

Hey guys, I am sooo incredibly sorry we haven't uploaded like..anything, but Rita and I have just been so busy with school and applications and test and everything in between. Plus, we don't even live in the same city so it makes it kind of hard to coordinate things. Anyways, since we haven't come up with any good recipes recently I thought I'd share you ya'll a simple outfit of the day!

• Shirt - Forever 21 ($12)
• Purse - somewhere on the streets of Asia (~$15)
• Boots - Lucky Brand (~$50)
• Pleather Skirt - Urban Outfitters ($10) 

Green Tea Panna Cotta

So, I am in love with this recipe! Panna cotta is an Italian milk/cream gelatin dessert that is sweet and wondering and so satisfying. Its even better because since it is just milk and cream based, you can easily add in your own little twist and make it practically any flavor you want! I love green tea in the summer time and thought this would be the perfect time to make it. It's so simple, yet the results would blow anyone away.

I made about 4 mugs worth of panna cotta. This might be a bit much, so if you're putting them in smaller containers I suggest halving the ingredients. I was making this for my parents, who don't really enjoy sweet desserts. I was trying to keep the flavor of the matcha authentic. However, if you enjoy your desserts to be on the sweeter side you should double the amount of sugar I used. I topped this panna cotta with honey to counter balance any bitter flavor for the matcha powder, but honey will go well on a sweet green tea panna cotta as well. 

Ingredients

• 1 pint of half and half
• 1 cup of heavy whipping cream
• about 1/3 cup of granulated sugar
• 3 tbs matcha powder
• 2 packets of unflavored gelatin
• water
• honey
• lemon zest (the amount is to preference)

Process

1) Place the water in a small bowl and sprinkle over the gelatin, set aside to soften. For two packets of gelatin I used a little less than half a cup of water.
2) In a small saucepan, add the heavy cream, half and half, lemon zest and sugar, bring to a simmer over medium heat. Turn the heat off and add the gelatin mixture, whisk for a couple minutes or until the gelatin melts. 
3) add matcha power to a little bit of boiling water and mix till it throughly dissolves. Add the dissolved matcha in mater mixture into your hot milk and gelatin mixture. 
4) repeat until all of the matcha powder has been dissolved and added. Make note of the color and taste you want to achieve. 
5) Strain this mixture through a cheesecloth on top of a sieve. Redissolve and add any matcha powder that did not pass through the strainer. 
6) repeat until the desire color and taste is achieved. Add sugar when needed.
7) Divide the mixture into ramekins or cups. I added it into 4 glass mugs and 1 tea cup. 

To serve:

If you want your panna cottas to be sitting freely on a plate, dip the bottom of each ramekin or tea cup in a bowl of hot water for 10 seconds. Run a thin knife around the edges of the ramekin or tea cup and carefully transfer it to a plate. This might take a couple of attempts. 
Whip up some heavy cream and place a dollop on top. Then, drizzle with some honey. 

And ta-da! You are finished!

Final note: As I stated before, this dessert is so simple to make. The only part that might be  a bit of a nuance is that matcha powder tends to form clumps, so be very careful when adding it to the milk. In retrospect, I would've passed it through a sieve first. 
The more common panna cotta is a vanilla panna cotta. So, instead of adding in the matcha powder, just scrape the seeds from a vanilla pod and add both the seeds and vanilla pod in! It also looks very fancy! Vanilla panna cottas are typically served with a fruit sauce on top. 

 Thanks for stopping by and enjoy!

Veggie and Protein Smoothie!

So, I know we don't really seem like healthy people (with the whole "Maple-Bacon Macarons" as one of our first post), but we really are! ...most of the time. With that said, if you're feeling a bit down-in-the-dumps for munching on those yummy Maple-Bacon Macarons, fear not! The wonderful Rita from Maddie and Rita has whipped up a lovely and delicious recipe to get you back on track to that beautiful and healthy body! Not to mention, its super easy to make if you're a broke college student like we are!
So, on to the recipe!


Before I scare you away with some of the ingredients in here (Spinach, carrots, and cottage cheese? Ew!!) let me start off by saying that this smoothie is delicious! The frozen banana makes the texture like that of a milkshake, except it's not loaded with sugar and calories and GUILT. The flavor of the veggies is completely masked by the other ingredients. Please note that all of these ingredients are optional except the banana, I highly recommend that one because it really makes a difference in texture and sweetness (if it's ripe).

What I used: 

• 1/2 cup cottage cheese
• 1/2 cup almond milk (original, unsweetened)
• 1/4 cup plain nonfat Greek yogurt
• 1/4 cup carrots, frozen*
• 1/2 of a ripe banana, peeled and frozen
• A few drops of liquid Stevia to sweeten
• 1 tablespoon of unsweetened cocoa powder

*For the carrots, I pre-cooked them to soften them and bring out the sweetness and then froze the pureed mixture. You can also pre-mix and process other vegetables and freeze them to save time if you make smoothies often like I do.

Directions: 

Do I need to write directions? Just toss everything in a blender and blend! I used a food processor because it's all I have in my dorm and it works just as well. 

Other delicious and healthy things you could add:

• Fruit (but keep in mind the sugar and calories if you're watching your macros, berries will generally give you the most nutritional value for the least sugar)
• Peanut butter (it does have a lot of calories, but you don't need a lot for the flavor to come through)
• Pre-soak some chia seeds in some almond milk for some omega-3's
• Cold coffee instead of almond milk (it's not exactly healthy, but come on, it's coffee! Plus it brings out the flavor of chocolate if you're using cocoa powder)
• Egg whites (the ones that come in a carton are pasteurized so they're safer to consume raw than regular eggs)
• Protein powder (but check out how much protein the cottage cheese already has!)

Nutrition Information:

(MyFitnessPal.com)

This is only for the ingredients I used, not the ones I listed as optional. I didn't include the cocoa powder and Stevia because they don't have any nutritional value at the amounts I used. 

YUMMY! 

Thanks for stopping by!

Maple-Bacon Macarons

Macaron ingredients:

• 1 cup confectioners sugar
• 3/4 cup almond flour
• 2 large egg whites (room temp.)
• Pinch of cream of tartar
• 1/4 cup superfine sugar
• Candied bacon bits

Directions:

1. Sift confectioners sugar and almond flour  (do not skip this step!). If necessary, use a food processor on the larger pieces that did not make it through the sieve and sift again. If you skip this step you will have lumpy cookies.
2. Using a large bowl and an electric mixer on high, beat the egg whites and cream of tartar until soft peaks form. Slowly  add the superfine sugar. (If you don't have superfine sugar, run some regular sugar through a food processor)
3. Continue mixing until stiff peaks form. This will take a few minutes, so be patient.
4. Gently fold in the almond flour and confectioners sugar with the egg whites using a spatula. Do not over mix or you will have flat cookies, but don't under mix or you will have a lumpy batter. Add food coloring (if desired, we didn't use any) and candied bacon at this point.
5. Transfer to a pastry bag or just use a Ziploc bag like we did to pipe the macarons. If you're good at estimating perfect circles, go for it freehand, but if you're not, do what we did. On a sheet of parchment paper, trace circles using anything you can find in the kitchen (we used the bottom of a McCormick spice bottle) with a pencil. Flip the parchment paper over so that the pencil marks are on the baking sheet and you should be able to see through. Pipe the macarons onto the parchment paper and instead of making a peak as if you were piping frosting onto a cupcake, keep it flat.
6. To remove air bubbles from the macarons, lift up the baking sheet a couple of inches off the counter top and drop it. Repeat a couple of times.
7. Leave the macarons out on the counter top to form a shell on the outer surface for at least 30 minutes. Use this time to preheat your oven to 375 F.
8. Put the macarons in the oven (if you have a convection oven, you can put two pans in the oven at the same time. If you don't have a convection oven, bake one pan at a time). Lower the oven temperature to 325 F. Bake until the tops are crisp, about 10-12 minutes, but ovens will vary. Raise the oven temperature to 375F and lower to 325F between batches.

Candied Bacon Ingredients:

• 1/2 pound of raw bacon (thick cut is best, but it doesn't matter)
• 1/8 cup brown sugar
• 1/8 cup maple syrup

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375F.
2. On a foil-lined pan, coat the bacon with the brown sugar and maple syrup.
3. Bake until crisp.
4. Using kitchen scissors, cut the bacon into small squares. You will only need about 1/4 cup of bacon bits for the macarons and about 1/2 cup for the filling. Eat the rest!

Cream Cheese Filling Ingredients

• 1 8oz package of cream cheese
• 1 cup confectioners sugar
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4-1/2 cup of bacon bits

Directions:
Let cream cheese and butter soften at room temperature. Use an electric mixer and cream the butter, cream cheese, and vanilla until well combined. Sift the powdered sugar and slowly add it. You may need to add more powdered sugar to thicken it. Stir in the bacon bits.

Assembly and Tips:

If you didn't over mix, you let the macarons sit for a while before putting them in the oven, and you baked them until they were done, you should have nice cookies with "feet" (that little rim of puffy stuff around the bottom of the cookie). Even if your macarons don't look perfect, assemble them anyway! They'll taste the same, ugly or not.
Take 2 similar sized cookies and use a piping bag to pipe the cream cheese filling onto one of them. Sandwich the cookies together gently, and you should have a beautiful, delicious macaron!

Have fun and thanks for reading!

Welcome

Hi guys!

Maddie here! So, this is a brand-new blog that will consist of mainly

1. food
2. DIY
3. fashion
4. beauty
5. health/fittness

So...basically everything...