Coconut Popsicles

Well since I’m on a coconut theme lately, let’s keep it going with some refreshing, healthy, candida fighting Coconut Popsicles!

I’m sure you have heard of the many health benefits attributed to the versatile coconut but here are two more to remind you:

Vitamin Rich: coconut milk contains an abundance of vitamins C, E and B which boost your immune system and contribute to glowing, elastic, healthy skin!  Coconut oil is a great way to keep your skin healthy, especially with the extra sun exposure we get in the summer time.

Lauric Acid: “Coconut milk is rich in lauric acid, a medium-chain fatty acid that is abundant in mother’s milk. According to the National Center for Biotechnology Information, lauric acid has many germ-fighting, anti-fungal and anti-viral properties that are very effective at ridding the body of viruses, bacteria and countless illnesses. Lauric acid may also reduce cholesterol and triglyceride levels, which lowers heart disease and stroke risks.”  Quoted from The Health Benefits of Coconut Milk by Tanya Brown, Demand Media

Full of good for you fats, fiber, vitamins, minerals and anti-oxidants, coconut milk, meat and oil are all excellent additions to your healthy diet and skin care routine.  And these popsicles are a delicious way to get those health benefits!

This one is super easy, all you need is a Popsicle mold, like the ones in this post.

Tovolo brand popsicle molds.

Once you have your popsicle mold, figure out how much mix it will hold, mine has 4 molds and will hold a shy 1/3 cup in each so I make up about 1 1/4 cup of mix.

I use canned coconut milk as the base or use my previous post and make your own!  Then I add a few drops of stevia, some vanilla extract and about 1 Tablespoon dutch cocoa powder.  Whisk to combine, pour into the molds and wait!

I have also combined coconut milk with cardamom, cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla with a touch of stevia for a chai flavor. Awesome!

Coconut milk with lime juice is also yummy.

How about fresh mint with or without dutch cocoa powder for a refreshing treat?

And, for a cool pick-me-up try mixing some espresso (powder will work too) into the coconut milk with stevia and your favorite extract: vanilla, almond, coconut…?!

I’m sure you can come up with more Candida diet friendly frozen treats using flavorful, healthy coconut milk as the base.  Stay cool and enjoy!

Vanilla Almond Pancakes with Lemon Curd

The ones on the left were my first batch made with thick batter, the ones on the right made from thinner batter came out just right.

Honestly I was a bit skeptical about making pancakes, but my first thought when taking a bite of these was, “Oh man, these taste like pancakes!”  True story.

This recipe was found by a client of mine who is in the process of figuring out what exactly she should be eating in order to heal her digestive system.  Every few weeks her doctors seem to discover something else, want to do more testing and we keep having to change her diet.  Instead of giving up and getting frustrated, she’s getting creative! She sent me a link to these pancakes on Elena’s Pantry, a gluten free food blog worth checking out even if you and gluten get along fine. The original recipe is here, but of course, I had to change a few things!

Ingredients:

2 eggs
¼ cup almond milk (this is just a place to start, add as much as you need to reach proper pancake consistency.)
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 ½ cups blanched almond flour ( I used whole, raw and toasted almonds and ground them up in my coffee grinder)
½ teaspoon celtic sea salt
½ teaspoon baking soda
neutral oil for sauteing: sunflower, veggie oil, coconut, ect

A little bit of stevia goes a long way, add it while you whip the eggs.

1. Whip eggs, almond milk, a touch of stevia and vanilla until smooth.
2. Add almond flour, salt and baking soda and blend again to incorporate dry ingredients into batter.
3. Let batter sit while you get the skillet ready.
   

   The batter came out very thick. I made one batch with this batter but the second batch, thinned out with more almond milk was much more like real pancakes.

4. Warm sunflower oil in a large skillet over medium heat
5. Ladle pancake batter onto skillet, smaller is better and easier to flip.
6. Pancakes will form little bubbles, when bubbles open, flip pancakes over and cook other side
7. Remove from heat to a plate
8. Repeat process with remaining batter, adding more oil to skillet as needed

Makes at least 12 pancakes

I used a cast iron skillet to make these pancakes.  This is a lot of batter, I made as many as I wanted to eat and then put the batter in the fridge to use later.  The next morning I heated up the skillet, thinned the batter with almond milk and had panckes in just a few minutes!

Thinner batter is better!

And if you want something to put on top of your pancakes, try making lemon or lime curd.  I found a recipe in How to be a Domestic Goddess by Nigella Lawson and tweaked it just a bit.  This took about 30 minutes start to finish.  I made the curd the night before and it went perfectly with my pancakes in the morning!

Lemon curd and the recipe from Nigella

To make lemon or lime curd, melt 6 tablespoons of butter on low in a sauce pan while you gather the rest of your ingredients.

Whip together: 1/2 cup of citrus juice, in this case, lemon, seeds and bits removed, with the zest of one lemon (zest first, juice second) and three large eggs.  You can add some stevia now and then adjust for final flavor at the end.

Quickly add your lemon and egg mixture to your melted butter on the stove, whisking to incorporate.  Turn the heat up to medium and continue to whisk until a custard forms.  Add stevia and adjust for desired sweet/tart ratio. You can add up to a tablespoon of agave to help take the edge off all the stevia if you like.

Put the curd into a jar and let it cool before putting the lid on and refrigerating.  It will keep for a week or so and makes a great topping for pancakes or perhaps a coconut cake?!

Pancake breakfast on the porch, life is good.