Pumpkin Pancakes

‘Tis the season! Pumpkin Pancakes–great for cozy mornings…or comforting dinners! Perfectly spiced, naturally sweet to celebrate everyday or holidays.  (All gluten free, refined sugar free, and dairy free too!)

1 cup rolled oats
2 Tbsp flax seed
4 Tbsp gluten free flour
1⅛ cup unsweetened almond milk
½ cup pumpkin puree
1½ tsp cinnamon
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
Pinch cloves
1 tbsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla
1 Tbsp coconut oil
1 egg
¼ cup coconut sugar
¼ tsp sea salt
Stevia, if desired

Toppings: Chopped pecans and Maple syrup

  • Process oats, flax seed and flour in food processor or blender to a fine powder.
  • Add remaining ingredients to blender and process until well mixed. Sprinkle and mix in additional stevia for sweeter pancakes. Batter will be thick.
  • Preheat a nonstick pan over low/medium heat. Once hot, add small amount of coconut oil and spread around hot pan.
  • Make pancakes, scooping about ¼ cup batter on the pan for each one, flattening and spreading out batter as needed. Cook for 2-3 minutes or until nicely browned. Flip. Cook for another 2-3 minutes on the second side and until pancakes are not doughy.
  • Top with chopped pecans and maple syrup (or try Maple Syrup made from xylitol if you’re carefully watching blood sugars).

Makes 10-12.

Freeze pancakes and reheat in the toaster for a quick, easy breakfast.

Check out the amazing benefits of pumpkin (beyond lattes and decor) and other pumpkin recipes.

Enjoy the beautiful, crisp season…and share the goodness!

4 Steps to Instant and Delicious Salads and Dressings

Instant Delicious Salad and Dressing Ideas – in 4 easy steps

Instant Delicious Salad Dressing Ideas

Dressings make a salad! But who always has time to make dressing? Most of them use ingredients you can’t pronounce and don’t want in your body. Salad dressings typically contain lots of preservatives, sugars, and poor quality, less-than-healthy oils. Whether it’s sweet or savory you prefer, here are 4 steps for practically instant salad and dressing ideas, to make your greens delicious and something you look forward to!

Salad Ingredients

1- Gather and prep salad

  • greens – spinach, romaine, green or red leaf, butter crunch, and/or cabbage (pre-washed greens make this instant!)
  • veg toppings: tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, onions, carrots, broccoli/cauliflower,
  • fruit toppings: berries, pomegranate, apples, citrus
  • protein: nuts, beans, lean meat or fish, organic cheese
  • herbs and flavors: garlic, basil, oregano, sea salt, pepper or pepper flakes (honey or fruit juice if you like your dressing a touch sweeter)

Dressing

2- Find your favorite pairings of olive oil and vinegar

3- Splash onto salad (I prefer to serve dressing on the side to prevent soggy salads. Shake or pour on desired amounts of oil and vinegar on each salad. Or, in a small bowl or shaker jar, make a larger quantity.)

4- Toss and enjoy

Pairing — Salad Dressing Ideas

The right combination makes flavors pop. Be creative. You just might be amazed at what works and is delicious! Here are some ideas to get you started from a few of my favorite places:

Queen Creek Olive Mill – Queen Creek, AZ

  • Rosemary olive oil and cranberry white balsamic
  • Meyer lemon olive oil and pomegranate white balsamic
  • Basil olive oil and strawberry white balsamic
  • Garlic olive oil and balsamic
  • Blood orange olive oil and prickly pear balsamic
  • Chili olive oil and peach white balsamic
  • Lime olive oil and white balsamic

Eighteenninety grille and marketplace – Granbury, TX: house favorite – lime olive oil and cranberry pear white balsamic

The Olive Tap’s – Perfect Pairings – extensive list

 

What’s the best ratio? It depends on your taste buds, but start with about 2-3 parts oil : 1 part vinegar

 

Here’s a quick, elegant and festive Pomegranate Salad and dressing idea to get you started:
Mixed greens (spinach and red romaine), pomegranate arils, onions, pecans, feta (sub avocado for dairy free)

pomegranate salad and dressing ideas

 

OR try this Beets and Greens Salad to play with different oil and vinegar combos.

 

Now, share the goodness.
Perfect for everyday, holidays and parties, and gift ideas.

 

 

Beets & Feta with Greens

As delicious as beets are “solo,” they make a great addition to salads. Here’s one of my favorites…and it’s super easy to make!

Beets and Feta with Greens

Romaine, chopped
Sweet onions, chopped
Beets, cooked and chopped
Goat feta*
Fresh garlic, minced
Sea salt and pepper

Layer salad veggies in serving bowl(s). Top with crumbled feta and garlic.
Dress with lime juice and olive oil OR balsamic and olive oil and toss.

 

A bit of ginger also adds a nice touch.

*Goat or sheep feta is usually easier to digest OR make Dairy-Free replacing with avocado or even chopped macadamia nuts.

Rainbow Stir-Fry

Stir frys! Super versatile way to get in lots of veggies! Check this out and tweak it to make it your favorite!

Rainbow Stir Fry

1/2 onion, chopped
1/2 red or yellow pepper, chopped
1 cup chopped carrots
2 cups chopped broccoli
1/2 cup petite peas
3 Crimini mushrooms, sliced
3-4 large Rainbow chard leaves, chopped
1/4 cup cashews, chopped
Protein of choice (I used tuna for a change)

Sauce:
1/4 cup San-J Gluten Free Teriyaki Stir-fry and Marinade
1/4 cup water
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbsp sesame oil
1 tsp raw honey

Combine sauce ingredients and stir, shake or blend until well mixed.

In large skillet, saute onions, add carrots and broccoli and cook until veggies just begin to soften. Add peppers, stir-fry and soften briefly, then add mushrooms, continuing to heat. Add peas, protein, cashews and sauce to desired taste. Continue to stir and heat to desired veggie “crispness.” Finally, add chard, stirring well and heating until chard just begins to wilt.

Serve over brown rice or quinoa.

Baked Zucchini

Fast – Easy – Fresh – Different – Veg Variety – Flavor Adventure

easy zucchini recipe

Baked Zucchini

1- Wash and Slice zucchini, horizontally into strips, about 1/4″ thick.

2- Spread strips onto baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

3- Mist with a little fresh olive oil (spray) and sprinkle with sea salt, pepper, garlic and Italian seasoning blend…or a blend of fresh, chopped herbs.

4- Bake at 350 just until tender, flipping half way through. About 15-20 minutes.

5- Add a protein, beans, another veg.

Then, enjoy with family or friends!

What to do with Asparagus?!

garlic asparagus

Add some veg variety! Here are a few tips and variations:

1- Try fresh garlic

2- Invest in an oil mister bottle! Much cleaner and fresher oil than the commercial oil sprays

3- Use parchment paper for an easy clean up

4- Bake, broil or grill until just tender

5- Skip the tough, thick stems!

6- Sprinkle with just a touch of (Organic) Parmesan/Romano, IF you’re doing dairy. YUMMM!

 

 

 

 

How to Make and LOVE Kale Salad

I seriously NEVER even wanted to try Kale, let alone did I ever think it would become one of my favorite salads. Kale is waaay more than the ugly plate garnish, we tend to know. 🙂 Here’s how to make a super easy kale salad…and LOVE it!

kale salad health benefits antioxicants lowers inflammation cancer fighterMediterranean Kale Salad

2 bunches Dino/Tuscan Kale, “de-veined,” washed and chopped (Dino/Tuscan is a more mild variety)
(OR make it super easy:  1 bag washed, chopped. Be sure it’s really clean and fresh!)
2-3 Roma Tomatoes, or grape tomatoes, chopped
1 can Garbanzo beans, rinsed
2-4 Garlic cloves, minced (to taste, I LOVE garlic, so I use 4!)
1/3 cup Olive oil (extra virgin, cold pressed)
1/3 cup Lemon juice
Sea salt
Cayenne pepper
*Grated Parmesan

1- Prep veggies: wash, dry, chop

2- Rinse and drain beans (makes them much easier to digest) and heat.

3- Make dressing by combining garlic, olive oil and lemon juice in an 8oz jar. Shake to mix well.

4- Place kale into large salad bowl and pour on dressing. Sprinkle with sea salt and a pinch of cayenne, both to taste. Toss well, to coat all greens. Get your hands in there and squeeze it by the handfuls for a minute or 2 to soften the kale (OR…I prefer to divide kale and dressing into batches and pulse-chop in the food processor, so I don’t have to cut or squeeze it. It becomes a softer texture in smaller pieces.)

5- Portion into serving bowls and top each salad with tomatoes, warm beans and a sprinkle of Parmesan* (to soften and melt just a bit.)

Fabulous!!!

Serves 2, with a little left over for lunches

 

*Dairy free version – top with avocado slices. YUM!

Sweet Potato Fries

sweet potato friesI hadn’t had fries for so long, I almost forgot how yummy they were. ….and these are EVEN better!

Sweet potatoes
Garlic powder
Onion powder
Chili powder
Cayenne
Sea salt

1- Scrub and slice sweet potatoes into desired sized strips or wedges.

2- Mist/Spray lightly with olive oil and sprinkle lightly (or heavily!)  with each of the spices to desired spicy-ness.

3- Bake at 450-  25-ish minutes or until tender, stirring or flipping the fries halfway through bake time.

Enjoy!

 

12 Secrets to Living Your Healthiest Year Yet – Week 1

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Though we’re just days away from August, it’s not too late to still meet our health goals (resolutions) for the year. Yes, I know, most of them could be long forgotten, BUT there’s still hope! With 5 months left of 2016, there’s still plenty of time to make some real progress!!

16 years ago, facing my own health crisis, I finally had to come face to face with “what really is health?!”  With horrible cystic acne, miserable digestion and food sensitivities, fever and unable to work (and hardly even function!) for 3 months, extreme fatigue and a host of other symptoms, I knew health was waaay deeper than I understood or had been trained in college and professionally. Especially when doctors gave me an anti-depressant and told me to go live my life! Though I can’t share my full story here, I’ve been healed and my health restored. With it came a whole new understanding and appreciation of health, wellness and wholeness…as well as a tool chest full of gems I want to share with you to encourage and support you on your journey! …and hopefully make it just a little bit easier for you.

SO, whether it’s shed a few pounds, build some muscle, find the root issue(s) of symptoms that have bothered you for too long, “eat better,” lower your cholesterol, manage your blood sugars, or do a complete makeover… following these 12 steps can lead you into a whole new place of health! We’re so phenomenally put together that we just can’t separate out the physical, emotional and spiritual components of our lives. As we nurture our body, mind and spirit, and bring them into a place of balance, then we can experience full living and real health.

Now, let’s get back on track.  We’ll start with 2 biggies that make a HUGE impact. Be looking for what you can implement to help you towards your 2016 goals. Come on! You can do it!

1- Nourish – (Even I need a review on this now and again!)

Give your body the building blocks it needs for life and health. Explore nutrient-dense, delicious options that naturally eliminate lifeless, empty-calorie foods. Enjoy the beauty, benefits and endless possibilities of foods in their most natural form: lots of fresh, green leafy,  colorful veggies & fruit, nuts & seeds, good oils (omega 3s & coconut oil), beans, whole grains, and lean, quality (antibiotic & hormone free) protein. Add in flavor-packed herbs and spices, loaded with extra antioxidant and healing properties. Make the investment now and enjoy good health for a lifetime! It’s easier to “maintain” health than to “regain” it.

2- Detoxify your lifedetox cleaners environment emotions

Eliminate the “junk” from all areas of life.  This may be food, but think just a little deeper to household products and cleaners, synthetic bath and body products, pollution, clutter, unorganized stacks of “stuff,” a job you don’t enjoy, unhealthy relationships, etc. Going just a bit further, this even includes toxic emotions you’ve held on to—fear, guilt, bitterness, unforgiveness, shame, negativity and unthankfulness.  Let it go!  Work through the hurt. Let it heal. You won’t miss it and you’ll be healthier! This is a step you can’t rush…and it’s often on-going!

Two simple tips, yet very profound and FULL of healing potential, as you walk through the depth of what’s loaded in just these concepts. Much more to come on each of these in the weeks and months to come.

Now, it’s your turn:

  • What one thing will you do/add/change this week to nourish your body?
  • What one thing will you detox from your life this week?

Be looking for Week 2’s Secrets!

Want some personalized accountability and support for your goals? You don’t have to do it alone!

I’ve missed you!!!

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It’s been watravel collage 2015_16aaaay too long!

Whether I met you one-on-one, at a class, a dessert tasting or while you were enjoying a slice of Innocent Indulgence, it’s GREAT to reconnect with you.

Much has happened as I’ve transitioned out of the kitchen and dessert production (yes, I miss eating them too!), into a super refreshing sabbatical, 3 weeks in Alaska, 5 months in Florida and road trips with friends including stops in VA, NC, TN, CA, TX, AL and LA.  Now, I’m about to launch into the next Phase of Innocent Indulgence…with a whole NEW name and a whole NEW look coming VERY soon.

My passions have stayed the same: “inspiring you to radiant living” and “who knew healthy could taste so…guilty?!” I want your health to be at its absolute best, so you can fully live out your destiny and LOVE your life. BUT, the new focus will give you so many more resources to keep you walking towards your health goals and a fulfilling life. I’ll be sharing more of my story facing health challenges and transitioning into true health and all the tips I’ve learned from those times and my professional career, so you too can experience the wellness, benefits…and simplify (and shortcut!) the process.

Be looking for:

  • Simple and quick tips that will bring you results
  • Recipes
  • eBooks and other educational resources—easy to read and easy to do
  • Meal ideas
  • One-on-one coaching sessions (via phone, Facetime or Skype to keep it convenient so distance is never an issue!)
  • Classes – live and video
  • Basic, essential supplements
  • Cleanses and detoxes
  • Kitchen and pantry revamping
  • Beauty and household lifestyle tips
  • Food sensitivity testing, reports and personalized tools
  • Corporate and group wellness sessions
  • Tips for balancing emotional and spiritual aspects of life affecting health
  • And so much more

AND you’ll still be able to indulge in your favorite Innocent Indulgence desserts, as I’ll be publishing some dessert recipes in the very near future!

I want our resources and tips to be MOST helpful for you. So, let me know!  What would be most helpful to you right now? Where do you find yourself getting stuck or “falling off the wagon?”

Either reply to this email/”contact me” with your thoughts…and let me know how you’re doing! I can’t wait to hear from you!

Have a wonderful week!

–Alisha

 

PS:  Even though it’s July, it’s not too late to get back on track to hitting your goals for 2016. Find out how in next weeks’ 12 Secrets to Living Your Healthiest Year Yet.

 

Be sure to join us on social media with more frequent tips and updates!!