simply guacamole.

I'm a Texas girl. I love me some guacamole. There's nothin' like fresh table-side-made (you know what I mean) guacamole from a great Mexican food restaurant. But it's just as delicious and easy to make at home! 

Here's my easy homemade guac recipe:

simply guacamole.

ingredients:

-avocados

-limes

-salsa

-dried herbs

instructions:

wash and dry avocados and limes.

slice and dice avocados.

squeeze lime juice onto avocado.

(I use a 1:1 avocado/lime ratio)

cover with salsa of your choice.

sprinkle herbs of your choice.

(I use pepper, dill, and oregano)

using a knife and fork, slice and dice mixture (I prefer this to mashing it) until it reaches your desired consistency.

garnish with lime.

simple. fresh. easy. healthy.

enjoy!

apricots with coconut butter and cinnamon

So, it's Monday. I don't know about you, but on a Monday - and a Monday after a holiday weekend no less - sometimes I need a little something sweet to brighten my day...  or bright to sweeten my day. See what I did there?

There's nothing better than fresh fruit from the farmer's market in the summer. Okay, so I didn't actually make it to the farmer's market. I got these apricots at Trader Joe's. Sue me. But hey - they are organic.

Anyway, I just randomly concocted this sweet, simple, summer snack and wanted to share! So without further ado...

apricots with coconut butter and cinnamon.

ingredients:

- apricots

- artisana coconut butter (Whole Foods carries this)

- ground cinnamon

instructions:

 wash and dry apricots.

 slice apricots in half.

 remove the pits/seeds.

 fill centers with artisana coconut butter.
(please do not ruin my concoction and use any other coconut butter. okay, thanks :) once you taste this little dollop of heaven, you'll know why.)

sprinkle with cinnamon.

and voila!

a sweet, simple, savory, summer snack.

 enjoy!

chocolate chip cookies: gluten-free, dairy-free

I am constantly trying to find great gluten free, dairy free desserts. These chocolate chip cookies - which are both of those things - are so incredibly delicious, and so quick and easy to make!

They are courtesy of Elana's Pantry. Check out her website - she has some amazing recipes for all sorts of foods and for all sorts of dietary restrictions!

gluten-free, dairy-free chocolate chip cookies

ingredients:
(makes 24 cookies; I usually cut this in half to make 12!)
2 1/2 c. almond meal/flour
1/2 t. sea salt
1/2 t. baking soda
1/2 c. grapeseed oil
1 T. vanilla extract
1/2 c. agave nectar (you can mix in a little honey here as well)
1 c. chocolate chunks (Whole Foods carries this Enjoy Life brand that I love)

instructions:
1. put dry ingredients in a large bowl
2. stir together wet ingredients in a smaller bowl (I whisk them together with a fork)
3. mix wet ingredients into dry (again, whisking with a fork)
4. form 1/2 - 1 inch balls and press onto parchment paper lined baking sheet
5. bake at 350 degrees for 7-10 minutes

Trust me, you will not miss the gluten or the dairy of traditional chocolate chip cookies. In fact, I challenge you to a taste test to see which you prefer. Yes... They are that good.

And the best perk? Since there are no eggs, you can safely eat as much dough as you want... which, trust me, you will want to do.

Enjoy!

vanilla bean coconut ice cream with carob powder

I just came up with the most simple, delicious concoction.

vanilla bean coconut ice cream with carob powder

I'm not a huge fan of vanilla ice cream, but my boyfriend had bought me some. So, I decided to get creative and try some toppings.

mashed sweet potatoes

So I pretty much just made up this recipe. I love sweet potatoes in every form, so I decided to experiment with making mashed sweet potatoes! Not only did they turn out so delicious, they are super hell so healthy, and so easy to make!

mashed sweet potatoes

ingredients:

• sweet potatoes
• salt, pepper
• garlic powder
• coconut milk

basil chicken, roasted carrots, and raw zucchini "noodle" salad

I am all about quick, healthy dinners. Everything I make is gluten-free, dairy-free, and soy-free, and I always buy organic when I can. Sometimes if I go to Trader Joe's, I will literally walk through and just get whatever they have that is organic and make it work for dinner! That's what I did this week.

basil chicken, roasted carrots, and raw zucchini "noodle" salad

This is what I came up with. Not gonna lie - I pretty much just make up recipes as I go! Sometimes they work. Sometimes they don't. This one did!

vegan chocolate smoothie

So, my first recipe post on this blog was for my original chocolate protein shake. I have since learned that whey protein is full of dairy, and dairy is not great for me. (It is also not great for a lot of people, although they may not even know it.)

Since I have been on this journey of healing, I have drastically changed my diet. Turns out all the dairy I was consuming was completely depleting my immune system. So, no more dairy for me.

But I couldn't give up my favorite way to start the day! I know, super cheesy, but I really am obsessed with these.

coconut chips

Coconut water, coconut milk, coconut sugar, coconut flour, coconut flakes.

There is no shortage of coconut products out there these days, and they are a great alternative for the gluten-free, dairy-free, soy-free, vegan conscious!

One of my favorite things to make are coconut chips. They are delicious by themselves, but you can also use them as a topper on a variety of other foods such as salads, sweet potatoes, and smoothies. And depending on how you flavor them, they can either be a salty or sweet snack!

Of course there are a variety of brands of coconut chips you can buy in the store, but I like to make my own. It's cheaper and healthier. Here's how I make mine:

toasted cinnamon-sugar coconut flakes

1. You only need four ingredients:
coconut flakes, coconut sugar, ground cinnamon, and sea salt.

gluten-free, vegan, raw macaroons

Recently I have developed some food allergies and have had to change my diet drastically to a gluten-free, grain-free, soy-free, dairy-free, basically fun-free diet!

I must say I have been doing pretty well and haven't missed much of the old stuff much except... dessert! I have a huge sweet tooth, so I have had to search for desserts that I can have.

I have found a couple brands of gluten-free, vegan macaroons that I really like from Whole Foods. But of course they are pretty pricy. So I was looking at the ingredients and realized that I already had all the ingredients, and they would be pretty simple to make myself!

So I decided to experiment with some of my own recipes using my Vitamix.

I made two kinds to start out:

(left) dates, peanut butter, shredded coconut, coconut flour, chocolate chips, cinnamon, vanilla, sea salt
(right) dates, shredded coconut, coconut flour, chocolate chips, cocoa powder, cinnamon, honey, vanilla, sea salt