I just learned how to cold brew coffee and now I'm wondering why it's taken me so long to try it.  It's so easy to make and tastes so much better!  I got the idea to try to cold brew my coffee while reading Trader Joe's fearless flyer for cold brew coffee bags.  The article talked about how when coffee is brewed at a lower temperature, it's less bitter and acidic, because some of  the heat activated acids and oils don't pass through the brew.  Instead of buying cold brew bags of coffee at Trader Joe's, I figured I would rather make my own in my French press, since it would be cheaper and I can use any coffee I want.

I hosted Thanksgiving again this year which means I had access to all the leftovers.  Which resulted in me gaining about 3 pounds.  Not good when were just starting the holiday season!  This might not sound like alot but it was just enough to put me into what I call my weight danger zone.  My weight danger zone for me is when I reach my highest weight I've ever been and am in danger of going up a size.  I pretty much don't think much about calories unless I am in the danger zone, then I am very careful to eat low calorie and exercise any chance I get.  I also try to be really careful about cutting out sugars and grains (unless it's high fiber) and basically trying to recreate that magical time in my life when I lost 15 lbs effortlessly. 

This Labor day weekend here in Minneapolis has been down right tropical.  Highs in the upper 80s and lower 90s, and humid.    I know this is likely the end of summer here.  In fact it could likely go from 90s to 60s here soon, so I am going to enjoy summer while it's still here!  What better way than with a cucumber Lime cooler?  This is so refreshing it's perfect for a hot day.  Even better it's light enough you can have more than one!    

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With warmer weather around the corner, (it has to come eventually right?),  I've been starting to play around with making cocktails.  I just learned how to make grenadine, and just recently tried some organic wine and Limoncello samples for my first ever product review.

Image via CupcakeProject

Years ago when I started trying to eat healthier I purged our pantry of all bad things.  One of those was grenadine because it's seriously just high fructose corn syrup (which you know is GMO) with artificial food colouring made from petroleum (which has been thought to possibly contribute to ADD.), and preservatives.

I use to often get shakes at McDonalds (thank god I know better now!), and by far my favourite was the shamrock shake.  I'm surprised I have never thought about trying to make one myself until now.

I've been making my own coconut and almond milk since I learned that store bought milk alternatives have synthetic vitamins added to them, which is not good for your health.  When I tried to make it on my own I wondered why I never tried it before.  It's so easy and saves money.  I also love that I can make it whenever a recipe calls for it, instead of heading to the store.  Also when buying almond milk from the store I have no ideal if the nuts have been soaked for hours to remove the anti-nutrients.

Lately I've been having smoothies for breakfast followed by a healthy mid mourning snack.  I've been trying to have less grains and dairy (no cereal for me for breakfast!) so my breakfasts have been mostly eggs and veggies, which is great but not eveyday. I also love the ideal of starting my day with some fruits and veggies.  I wanted a smoothie that didn't require a high speed blender, (lots of smoothie recipes require a high speed blender or you end up with a smoothie full of heavy pulp), had fruits, veggies, fat, and fiber, and low sugar.  I also wanted it to taste sweet but not overly so.  I think I've finally got it after a week of experimenting.  This smoothie was so good I quickly made another helping after I finished the first!  It's like a cross between a green tea latte  and a green smoothie. It's a great way to make sure you have green tea every day as well as increase your fruit and veggie intake.  Green tea is sooooo...good for you.  I swear the more health info I read the more I hear about even more ways green tea helps you that I've never heard of.  My favorite way is that it helps you lose weight, and help prevents against cancer.

Nothing says the holidays like egg nog. Every year my husband and I treat ourselves to a McDonald's egg nog shake.  Well not this year!  I was determined this year to make up a shake that was healthier and at least close to as good.  I think I've found it! It's more of a smoothie than a shake but just as good!   If you want you could spike it (although it wouldn't be very healthy than)  or you could add rum extract.  I used a light egg nog I bought at Trader Joe's, which cuts down a lot on the calories!

image via Mom Prepares

I've changed my diet pretty drastically from only two years ago.  I know hardly have any real sugar and when I do it's usually in a natural form of honey or maple syrup we made.  I usually use stevia to sweeten these days.  I rarely have soy, refined flour products, and have greatly reduced my intake of gluten and grains.  While these changes in diet might be hard for some they've really been very effortless for me.  But now I'm seeing that I should really try to go dairy free for a month to see if it will help my acne.  I have PCOS and  it has caused me to have horrible cystic acne.  I read the book the The Clear Skin Diet and it said that the hormones from the pregnant cow in dairy can still work and be active in your body.  This increase in hormones can aggravate acne. This makes enough sense that I think it's worth a shot, but it won't be as easy and effortless as all my other diet changes have been.

If you follow this blog, you've probably noticed I've become obsessed with healthy shakes, smoothies, and juicing.  Since this is my second summer since I decided to stop drinking any beverages with refined sugar (and no diet drinks either), I have come to realize I need something to replace sugary drinks.  Smoothies, and juicing, and iced tea are my answers for this.  What I love is that instead of having a drink with empty calories,  I'm getting a lot of nutrition and no added sugar with every drink. 

The smoothie is perfect for summer and makes a great breakfast, snack, or post work out shake. It's super healthy and raw and vegan!  I love blueberries because they're low in sugar and high in fiber and packed with antioxidants.   Cashews are great cause they're packed with minerals, protein, good fats, and fiber.  What a great way to start your day.  I've been having eggs every mourning with veggies because I'm trying to have as little of grains as possible (to increase my insulin and leptin sensitivity).  I'm getting bored with having eggs every morning so this is a nice change of pace.

Why did I never think to make apple cider before?  I use to use those individual packages for cider until I thought about what was in it.... 

I'd rather make the real deal.  It's so easy, just juice it (or buy organic apple juice) you just put a few spices and the juice in the crock pot and there you go.  I've made this for Thanksgiving for a few years and it's been a hit. This is also great for a Halloween or Christmas party or just a treat for a cold snowy day.

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A healthy banana shake?  I know that had to go through your mind right?  How can a shake be healthy?  You ready for my secret?  It's frozen bananas in place of ice cream.  I am so loving this! If you freeze bananas and place it in a blender or food processor it has the same consistency as ice cream and tastes like it too.

I am trying to cut out as much sugar as possible from my diet and limit my grains to only limited unrefined grains.  The most important and easiest way to cut out sugar from your diet is to avoid sugar beverages and processed foods.  I mostly drink water, coffee (with organic half and half and sweetened with stevia), and tea.  We only drink natural sodas once in a while as a treat and we split the bottle, and we juice organic apples, ginger, and carrots in our juicer, and have a small amount of organic OJ.  That's about all we typically drink.  Which is fine in the winter but in the summer I crave sweet drinks more often.

So I've been on a hot chocolate thing lately, and I love white chocolate and coconut, my favorite chocolate bar is Lindt's white chocolate and coconut.  So I had to come up with a recipe inspired by it.  Why did I never think of this before...?