Sweets for my Sweets, No Refined Sugar for My Honeys.

when i picked sylvia up from school the other day she asked me what i brought for her.  i asked her "what do you mean? i brought you my love." she answered, "no, mom. i mean a treat."  i must admit that i was a bit saddened that she did not consider me a treat but i decided not to make this about my lack of confidence that day, so,  i pretended to not understand but i knew exactly what she meant. i asked her "what's a treat?" she got frustrated very quickly and replied, "you know...something good to eat."  i kept the frustration going. "oh! you want a cucumber? i have lots at home!" she begged, "MOM! STOP!"  i teased, "then what? what's a treat?" finally she cut to the chase, "something sweet. a treat is something sweet."  to most kids, i suppose it is.

the food we feed our family should be as pure, nourishing and full of love as the hugs and kisses we unconditionally give them.  i don't know about you, but i don't give my family processed hugs and kisses.  pure, authentic love and pure, authentic food to grow big and strong physically as well as emotionally, that's what i strive to bring to "the table."  when i know that something is not good for my family i stay far away from it.  according to nancy appleton, PhD (Suicide by Sugar), sugar is our #1 national addiction and is ruining our health. appleton states that sugar can be attributed to at least 140 problems and life threatening illnesses including suppressing the immune system, upsetting mineral relationships in the body, hyperactivity, anxiety, food allergies, cardiovascular disease, impairing the structure of DNA, gallstones, cancer, addiction, inflammation, alcoholism and much, much more.  

i am a fiercely protective mother bear and i work hard to make my family happy.  one of the best ways i can do this is by keeping them healthy.  as a rule we stay away from all packaged, processed & pasteurized foods, keep gluten to a minimum, traditionally prepare our grains, legumes & nuts, avoid refined sugars, flours and immune suppressant foods in general. we drink lots of pure, filtered water and steer clear of "drugs."  i get teased quite often at birthday parties and family functions when we are offered sugary "treats" when i politely, and sometimes not-so-politely (when pushed to the edge with "come on, a cookie won't kill them,") decline.  believe it or not, sugar has been proven to be more addictive than cocaine, so actually, a cookie or a cupcake could lead to a lifetime of trouble, addiction and illness.  (check this video out).

my daughter's amazing kindergarten teacher (who totally gets it and respects my parenting choices) emails me the night before there is a birthday celebration in class so i can pack an appropriate treat and syl won't feel "left out" when the cupcakes are passed around.  henry's nursery school teacher does the same. thank you, brooke.  as far as i can tell, my kids don't feel left out at all. they know that we do things a bit differently and that's okay with them. it took a little getting used to at first but now they have adapted to our sweet treat routine.  they like having some-thing special that mum makes just for them and look forward to our treats that we make all together as a family at home.   

what differentiates these treats from others?  for starters, all ingredients are fresh, organic and whole. there are no additives, preservatives,  ingredients with numbers or names you can't pronounce.  we use real butter, real pastured eggs, sprouted flour that is easier to digest, healthy fat like extra virgin coconut oil that contains natural anti-bacterials, anti-fungals and lauric acid (found in human breast milk), sea salt, properly soaked nuts and nut butters, enzyme rich raw honey, nutrient dense raw dairy and gut healing bovine gelatin.  each treat is naturally sweetened with local, raw honey or local grade b maple syrup.  i choose to not use agave syrup because it is not a natural sweetener. i wish it were the healthy, miracle sweetener it is hyped to be but, in fact, it is a highly processed product that has more fructose than high fructose corn syrup.

the following are our favorite "sweet treat" recipes. at any given time you can find one (or sometimes all) in our home just waiting to be enjoyed.  i invite you to make them and see just how delicious they are.  i am confident that you will feel satisfied by the flavor, texture, healthy fat content and yumminess that will quickly make you feel like a kid again, and your kids feel very special. as a matter of fact i think that these recipes might just become a regular part of the way you bring your naturally sweet family2table. 


NOTE: some recipes have been adapted from previously existing recipes handed down to me from incredibly talented cooks and generous friends and family. thank you all for your creativity, wisdom, love and inspiration!

BANANA MUFFINS
1 cup organic coconut flour
6 pastured eggs
2 ripe bananas
2 TBS melted butter
2 TBS xtra virgin coconut oil (Nutiva)
2 TBS milk
2 TBS raw honey
1 tsp aluminum free baking powder
1/2 tsp. organic vanilla extract
1/8 tsp. sea salt


Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Mix coconut flour and baking powder in a bowl and set aside. mash bananas and set aside. combine eggs, milk, honey, coconut oil, butter, vanilla and salt. add mashed bananas and incorporate well. add dry ingredients and blend. fill muffin cups in a muffin tin and bake for 20 minutes. FOR CUPCAKES - frost with real cold butter whipped with vanilla and maple syrup to taste. add whipped cream, chocolate powder or cream cheese to frosting for delicious variations.

ALMOND BUTTER COOKIES
1/2 cup natural almond butter
1/2 cup grade b maple syrup
3 tablespoons xtra virgin coconut oil
1 teaspoon organic vanilla extract
1 cup shiloh farms sprouted whole wheat flour
1/2 teaspoon aluminum free baking powder
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 cup chopped crispy almonds (these are almonds that have been soaked in sea salt & water overnight and then dehydrated for 12 hours at 100 degrees & then crisped on a metal tray in a warm oven)
Preheat the oven to 350*F. In a large bowl, combine natural almond butter, maple syrup, oil and vanilla extract until well blended.  In a separate bowl, mix together whole wheat pastry flour, baking soda and salt. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients, along with chopped almonds, and stir until just combined.  Let sit for five minutes.  Roll heaping tablespoons of dough into balls, flatten to about 1/3 of an inch and place onto cookie sheet. Bake for 10 -15 minutes.  Makes 15 cookies.

YUMMY CHOCOLATES

1/2 cup xtra virgin coconut oil (gently heat and measure as liquid)
3/4 cup organic chocolate powder (pick a high quality organic brand for the best taste)
2-3 Tablespoon raw orange blossom honey 2-3 TBS. dessicated organic coconut

melt the chocolate and coconut oil in a double boiler.


add the honey to taste (if there's too much honey it's overbearing and won't harden properly). don't cook! just heat till it's melted or you'll destroy the live enzymes in the honey.

add dessicated coconut and incorporate. stir well to keep honey dispersing throughout.

pour into molds (you can use ice cube trays) and put in freezer. should be hard and ready to eat in about 15 minutes.  store in refrigerator.

MAPLE VANILLA ICE CREAM

4 pastured eggs yolks (save whites for pavlovas - we'll get to that another day)
1/2 cup grade b maple syrup
1 TBS organic vanilla extract
1 fresh vanilla bean
1 TBS arrowroot powder
3 cups heavy cream (preferably raw but definitely not ultra-pasteurized - i like Ronnybrook)

Beat egg yolks. blend in maple syrup, vanilla extract, vanilla pods from the bean - split bean down the middle and use a knife to scrape out pods), arrowroot and finally, the cream. blend well and pour into an ice cream maker. **Make sure the freezing bowl from the maker has been in the freezer for at least 48 hours before churning).  Churn for 20 minutes. transfer to a glass bowl, cover and store in freezer.

RAW MILK PANNA COTTA

3/4 cup raw cream
3/4 cup raw milk
1 TBS Bernard Jensen's bovine gelatin
1 TBS + 1 tsp. raw orange blossom honey
1 cap full organic vanilla extract
1/4 vanilla bean


gently warm 1/4 cup cream to not above 100 degrees in order to dissolve the gelatin

turn off heat, add honey and continue to stir to dissolve.



add vanilla extract and cut vanilla bean and let steep
add remaining cold cream and milk and let flavors bloom
strain through mesh sieve into measuring cup
pour into individual ramekins
place in refrigerator
should be a solid pudding in about an hour.

VARIATIONS - instead of vanilla, steep with lavender flowers, cinnamon stick, cloves, lemon zest etc