Sweet Treats for Valentine's Day

Hello there, wellness lovers!

Well... as you know, Valentine's Day is quickly approaching... and I thought I'd share a few fun recipes for sweet treats that I've had saved on Pinterest for ages now!

Hopefully these are some new recipes that you haven't seen before! I think every single one would be perfectly appropriate for Valentine's Day. I hope you enjoy!

 

 Cream-Filled Chocolate Cupcakes

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Raw Pomegranate "Cheesecake"

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 Chocolate Covered Strawberries

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Raw Chocolate Hearts

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Raspberry Lemon "Cheesecake"

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 Coconut Butter Cups

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Raw Raspberry Cream Filled Chocolate Candies

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Coconut Klondike Bars

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Aren't all of these photos absolutely beautiful?? There are really some talented ladies out there! :) Happy Valentine's Day to you and yours!

xoxo,
Ashley

Peppermint Patty Truffles

Greetings wellness lovers!

I hope you have all been having a great month! My apologies for being MIA... it's been quite a busy month, well year... actually! My husband and I, omg... "husband" is so cool so finally say that, after almost 7 years!... just came home from our week-long honeymoon, and officially tied the knot just before that!

Photos to come...

Anyways... today I have a fun holiday recipe to share with you, by my lovely sister Alyssa, to surly put you in the mood for holiday decorating and preparations!

Peppermint Patty Truffles
by Alyssa Craft, Pure Living for Life

Hello there!

I have a special recipe to share today: peppermint patty truffles!

I decided to get a head start on my holiday recipes this year... and I have a confession. I LOVE York Peppermint Patties. I always have. However, as I am sure you can relate... I am not exactly a fan of the fact that they contain high fructose corn syrup, artificial flavoring and who knows what else...

These peppermint patty truffles are made with only four ingredients: coconut oil, honey, peppermint extract and dark chocolate. (For the maximum health benefits, make sure all these ingredients are organic.) I topped mine with crushed traditional candy canes, but if you are feeling extra healthy feel free to omit this or substitute with your own topping... get creative!

 

Prep time: 30 mins

Total time: 30 mins

Serves: 15

Ingredients

• ½ cup coconut oil
• ¼ cup honey
• ½ tsp peppermint extract
• 1 cup dark chocolate chips
• 2 candy canes, crushed

Instructions

1. Combine coconut oil, honey and peppermint extract in a bowl. Mash until well-mixed.
2. If mixture is not easy to form into balls, then put in the freezer briefly.
3. Scoop out 1.5 to 2 tsp of mixture and form into balls.
4. Place in the freezer while melting chocolate in a separate bowl over the stove.
5. Let chocolate cool a little bit.
6. Dip the frozen balls into the chocolate, sprinkle with candy cane topping. Let cool.

I hope you enjoy this recipe, and feel free to stop by and say hello anytime!

 

Happy holidays!

Alyssa

Pure Living for Life

Raw PB and J Popsicles

Well, hello there wellness lovers!

The other day, I was browsing the reading list of my favorite blogs, and practically melted when I came across a recipe for Raw PB & J Popsicles by Amy from Fragrant Vanilla Cake!

Ever since finding popsicle molds at TJ Max at the beginning of summer, I've been having all sorts of fun creating my own 'ice cream' pops by freezing leftover banana soft serve...

But I had definitely not thought to make peanut butter and jelly-inspired pops!

Thank you, Amy... for sharing your recipe with us all!

Here it is!

Raw PB & J Popsicles
Makes 6

Jelly:
1 cup raspberries
4 large medjool dates
1 tsp pure vanilla extract

PB ice cream:
5 large frozen bananas
1/2 cup raw peanut butter
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
stevia to taste

6 standard sized popsicle molds

To make the jelly, combine all ingredients in a food processor and process until smooth. Set aside. To make the PB ice cream, combine all ingredients in a high speed blender and puree until smooth, using the tamper to press it down into the blades. Pour into a bowl.

To assemble, take 6 popsicle molds, and alternate peanut butter ice cream and jelly until you have them filled (I used a spoon to carefully spoon the fillings in). Freeze overnight, then remove from the molds (you may need to run warm water over them for about 30 seconds to loosen) and enjoy!

If you are not yet familiar with Amy's raw vegan recipes... you should  check out her blog! (I've been reading it for years!)

Have a lovely day!

xoxo,
Ashley

P.S. If you haven't yet acquired popsicle molds, here are several options via Amazon!

A Dreamy Valentine Dessert!

Hello everyone!

I’m Max from Fork the Cookbook. Ashley’s been so kind to allow me to guest post on her Taste for Healthy and I have a treat for you! Valentine’s day is around the corner and I’m sure everyone is busy searching and pinning recipes for this occasion. Well, look no further as I have a dairy-free, soy-free, gluten-free AND sugar free dessert for you this Valentines day!

I love forking recipes. Nope, forking is not a dirty word! It merely means to create a variation from original recipes. On my quest to live a little better, I’ve been forking recipes so that I won't miss out on treats and feel better at the same time. We change recipes to suit us all the time, Fork the Cookbook's focus is on making it easy for us to tweak recipes and keep track of what others have done differently to our recipes.

Here’s an easy floating island recipe I’ve forked to be healthier. Floating island or snow egg is a French dessert consisting of poached meringue floating on vanilla custard. I’ve only used 2 eggs, almond milk and vanilla beans to make this simple dessert. The egg whites are beaten with honey instead of sugar and cooked gently in hot almond milk. I’ve made the custard with egg yolk that I’ve saved from making the meringue, almond milk, honey, vanilla and a touch of xanthan gum to thicken it. I finished this off with some fresh passion fruit for its tang and crunch.

Healthy Floating Island or "Snow Egg"

This is a truly refreshing dessert, one you can whip up in advance if you want to serve it cold. One bite of this pillowy soft, almond flavoured meringue will make you and your loved one feel as if you’re on cloud 9...

Do check us out at Fork the Cookbook and let's fork our way to a healthier us!

Peppermint Dessert Freeze

Greetings!

Today I wanted to share with you a favorite new treat! It is perfect for this most wonderful time of year! And, it can be enjoyed by everyone! It's dairy-free, soy-free, and gluten-free.

Peppermint Dessert Freeze
(makes about 4 small servings)

Ingredients:
1. 2 frozen bananas (in halves)
2. 1.5 cups almond milk
3. 1 cup ice
4. 1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract (natural)
5. 4 tablespoons chocolate chips + more for garnish, optional

Directions:
Blend frozen bananas, almond milk, ice, until smooth. Add 4 tablespoons of chocolate chips (I used dairy-free). Blend on low, just enough to break the chips into smaller pieces. Serve in adorable glasses.. and garnish with additional chocolate chips if desired.
















Disclaimer: I am not saying that chocolate chips are healthy. I live by the 90/10 % diet. 90% percent of the time I eat amazingly healthy. 10% of the time I eat chocolate... well maybe only 2%. ;) Learning about the importance of not depriving yourself in my studies this year at Integrative Nutrition this past year has inspired me to start enjoying (organic, dairy-free) chocolate more!

I hope you are enjoying the beginning of the holiday season!

P.S. 'Taste for Healthy' now has a Facebook page! I am so excited to connect with like-minded wellness and nutrition enthusiasts!

Tropical Mango Banana Sherbert!

It's almost Friday!! How is your week going? ♥

I am so excited about events have happened so far! I feel like I need to 'pinch' myself because I cannot believe reality... :)

1. Integrative Nutrition mailed me my official certificate to begin supporting clients!
2. My health coaching website has officially launched!
3. I welcomed my first client into my 6-month program!!!
4. Last night I met Joshua Rosenthal, the founder/director of Integrative Nutrition, & fellow IN students/grads in Hollywood!!! It was amazing to connect with so many positive, like-minded people!!

Ahhhhhhhh! I hope I can keep up this pace! ;)

The W Hotel was perfect for an IN meet-up!

Anyways... yesterday, I made a delicious treat by accident! (I was craving cold + sweet, so I just grabbed some fruit from the freezer and threw it into the food processor! All of the sudden, I realized that I had just made "Tropical Mango Banana Sherbert!" ♥

Ingredients:

• 1/2 banana, frozen
• 2 slices mango, frozen
• 1 tablespoon coconut milk
• blueberries, dried or fresh 

Directions:
Place banana and mango into food processor, add coconut milk. Blend for about 1 minute, until the mixture has a smooth consistency. Scoop out with an ice cream scoop. Top with blueberries (or fruit of choice!)

Makes 2 servings.

I hope you have an amazing rest of the week!! ♥

P.S. If anyone would like to "like" my new Facebook page, I would ♥ the support! (And I gladly return the favor!) http://tinyurl.com/6g4awyy

P.P.S. Is anyone in California going to WorldFest this weekend?! My mom and I are going on Sunday! :)