coconut sugar | Healthful Mind Body and Soul

Finding Marvelous Things

August 19, 2013 by Celeste @The Whole Serving 2 Comments

Happy Marvelous Monday!

My bed felt so good Saturday morning, I almost didn’t get out the door for my early morning run, but after checking the temperature and finding it was 68 degrees, that was motivation enough for me to get up and head out. Near perfect running weather, I love being out in the early morning air and I think the cooler temperature help open up my stuffed nose. I rarely catch colds, which is amazing, considering I am around small children everyday, but I guess when one of those little ones sneezes in your face the chances of getting sick goes up. I didn’t really feel bad, just a stuffy runny nose which I absolutely hate, you blow and nothing happens and I had the sneezes. While out on my run the symptoms seemed to disappear.

About an hour after my run, symptoms started to return. Earlier in the week, I came across a recipe for a homemade cold and flu remedy, “Mucus Buster”. You can find it HERE at Anyonita Nibbles. I gave it a try and it worked, Marvelous for me.

For the first 15 to 20 minutes after drinking, my chest and stomach were on fire from the onion and garlic, but later it opened my nose, relieved my cough and when I coughed it was a productive cough, the tickle in my throat was gone. Just be prepared to smell like garlic and red onions.

I tried another new fruit this weekend, plumcot, it’s a cross between a plum and an apricot. It has the texture more like a plum with a mild taste, not as tart as a plum, it was sweet and juicy.

I gave my brownie recipe from last weekend another try, this time using coconut sugar instead of xylitol as a sweetener. They were super moist and delicious. Super Marvelous!

Click here for the recipe.

Another Marvelous find I have to share is Shopkick app. You earn kick points for just walking into participating stores and when ready, you redeem the points for merchandise or gift cards to stores you shop.

Learn more about Shopkick here.

Have a Marvelous Monday and stop by Healthy Diva Eats to check out the host, Katie’s MIMM post and all of the other MIMM post.

The Best Coconut Ice Cream

August 5, 2013 by Celeste @The Whole Serving 4 Comments

When life gets busy like mine has been lately, it’s so important to allow yourself time to live schedule free and do things that bring you joy, and that’s exactly what I did this weekend and it was Marvelous.

It’s been super hot and I have been craving ice cream lately, but being lactose intolerant means I can’t eat regular ice cream. Over the past month or so I have been searching for a good dairy free ice cream recipe, I have tried a few with no luck in any having big flavor, but this weekend I put together a recipe that turned out to be absolutely delicious.

Full fat coconut milk and unsweetened almond was the answer, along with using coconut sugar and agave nectar as sweeteners the result was ice cream with a rich smooth cappuccino taste.

Click for recipe.

After having the best polenta I have ever tasted at Coronado Springs Resort, I wanted to see if I could make a tasty polenta dish. I used a very fine grain polenta and it was Marvelous.

I hope you had fun this weekend and I hope you are being Marvelous in your Monday.

Thanks to Katie for hosting this link party, don’t forget to check her and the others out at Healthy Diva Eats.

If you have a good dairy free ice cream recipe, please share.

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How was your weekend?

Are you a lover of ice cream?

What’s your favorite flavor of ice cream?

Rainy Day Cool Down

July 15, 2013 by Celeste @The Whole Serving 4 Comments

Sunday was a rainy day cool down, instead of high 90’s or 100 degree temperatures it was in the low 70’s, how great is that!

The cooler temperature made me nostalgic for a cold weather meal, so out came my crock pot, and into it I put…

Fire roasted tomato sauce, I blended the dates with some of the sauce before adding the sauce to the pot, this is optional, I just like the flavor it gives, it balances out the acid in the tomatoes.

Red onions, fennel and red peppers were sauteed just until they started to soften. I added the sauteed mix to the crock pot along with a can of rinsed black beans, fresh tomatoes, and sweet corn.

The first time I tried fennel, it was raw in a salad and I didn’t like it. Fennel is definitely one of those foods for some a taste has to be acquired. I have found that cooked fennel has a different taste and I like much better.

Everything went into the crock pot and a few hours later, it was time to enjoy!

Just before serving I stirred in some chopped spinach.

It was Marvelous.

The second bowl was topped with a little cheese.

I purchased some lusciously sweet fresh figs this past weekend and was eager to use them.

Some of the health benefits of figs are that they are a good source of potassium and minerals that help to control blood pressure. They are high in fiber, contains calcium and has trace amounts of manganese. However, figs contains oxalate, a naturally occurring substance foun in plants, animals and humans. When oxalates become too concentrated in the body, they crystallize and can cause kidney or gallbladder stones.

I sprinkled washed and cut figs with organic coconut sugar and cinnamon and roasted them in a 375 degree oven for about fifteen minutes, they were served on top of some creamy greek yogurt, drizzled with honey, next time I will drizzle with a honey balsamic glaze.

Be Marvelous in your Monday and start the week off right with good food and positive thoughts. Check out Katie at Healthy Diva Eats for more MIMM.

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Do you like fennel?

Hoe do you like figs, fresh of cooked?