Healthy Cinnamon Toast Crunch Crackers

Growing up, my parents were actually pretty good about buying low sugar cereal (before I was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, which ruined all my fun ha) but on occasion my Mom would surprise my sister and I with our favorite cereals as a treat.  Cinnamon toast crunch and Lucky Charms were the front runners.

I decided to experiment a little with this recipe and make a cinnamon toast crunch version.  You will not be disappointed in these, I pinky promise.

What you will need:

• 3 cups of blanched almond flour
• 1/3 cup of organic coconut sugar
• 1 tsp of baking powder
• 1 egg
• 1 tbs of cinnamon + extra to sprinkle on top
• dash of salt
• 1/4 cup of melted ghee

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees
2. Cover two baking sheets with parchment paper
3. In a medium sized bowl combine the almond flour, coconut sugar, baking powder, cinnamon and salt.  Mix together. 
4. In a separate bowl whisk together the egg and melted ghee. 
5. Combine all of the ingredients and mix until dough starts to form.   Roll the dough into a ball.
6. Lightly spray two more sheets of parchment paper with olive oil cooking spray.  Place the dough in between the two sheets.  Using a roller pin and roll the dough out until it is about 1/8 inch thick (the thinner the better).
7. You can either slice the dough up evenly with a pizza cutter (to make square crackers) or you can use a classy double shot glass like we do. 
8. Gently remove the sliced crackers and place on the parchment lined baking sheets.  
9. Mash together the leftover dough, roll into a ball and complete the above steps again until you have used up all of the dough. 
10. Sprinkle the crackers with cinnamon.
11. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until crackers are nice and golden. 

Tips:

• The thinner you roll out the dough the better. 
• If some crackers look more done than others before baking time is completed, remove those and then continue baking the others.  
• Allow crackers to cool before enjoying.  
• Make sure you keep these in an airtight container to keep them fresh and crispy.  

These easy to make, crunchy, crispy, extra cinnamon-y and good for you crackers are a giant hit with my boys ( husband included) and have quickly become a regular snack around here.  You can eat these plain or cut them into smaller squares and pour a little almond milk over them and happily enjoy a healthier bowl of cinnamon toast crunch.

Recipe makes about 80 crackers.  The whole batch has 40 grams of carbohydrate and each cracker has less than .5 grams of effective carbs.

What the Heck is Ghee? + How to Cook With It

Ghee.  Every single time I say it I feel like I am saying a word in baby language/gibberish. 

Have you heard of ghee yet?  I have recently started using it in a few recipes and I can not get enough.  It gives baked goods and certain dishes that delicious sweet buttery flavor that I have been missing out on since cutting out dairy.

So what is ghee?  Ghee is clarified butter, which has had all the casein and milk solids removed (these are the things that upset your tummy).  So if you have a dairy intolerance ghee is a great alternative to regular butter and other highly processed cooking oils.  Ghee has also been used in Ayurvedic medicines to help treat a number of ailments such as acid reflux, digestive issues, eye disorders and more.

How do you cook with it?  You use it just like you would any other cooking oil or butter.  I like to toss a little in a pan and stir fry veggies and cauliflower rice with it.  I have also used it to replace coconut oil in a few baking recipes and I love the variety of flavor it produces.  It is very concentrated and a little goes a long way, but that buttery punch of flavor you get from a small amount will keep you completely satisfied.

Have you ever cooked with ghee before? 

Turning 89 Years Old Deserves A Celebration

This past weekend was seriously awesome.  Thank you to all of you who wished me a Happy Birthday on Friday.  My boys made my birthday so special and it was the best birthday to date, without a doubt.

The older I get the more I am realizing just how precious family really is, because one day you will only have the memories and those moments spent with your family are truly priceless.  Yesterday was my Grandpa's 89th birthday and 89 years is definitely something to celebrate.

I call my Grandpa "Poppy" and Max calls him "Peapaw."  Ever since I can remember, Poppy has been the kindest most patient man that I have ever known.  He treats my Grandma (Meama) like a princess and to this day he still opens every door for her and does the dishes after every meal they have together.  He also was the first person to ever introduce me to music.  He taught me how to play the piano and the flute.  Okay so I only know two songs on each instrument but still.  He never judged me no matter what hard times I was going through and always made me feel like the most loved granddaughter whenever I went to visit.  I love him so much and feel so blessed to have him in my life still.  Here are a few picture from his birthday celebration...

Max and Peapaw singing Happy Birthday.  Hey when it's your birthday you are totally allowed to sing happy birthday to yourself.

Ronin being himself and acting completely uninterested in everything going on around him. Love this serious little bulldog baby.

My grandparents are too cute and brought gluten free cupcakes with them.  They were delicious and I ate way more than I should have.  Woopsie.

 Proof that ADD must run in the family...

So thankful for this Poppy of mine.

One Year Older, Yikes!

I recently snapped this picture with my iphone and it basically captured my week perfectly.  This is Mom life at it's finest my friends.  I am wearing my gym clothes (so hot, I know) with Ronin on my back so I could get house cleaning done and Max sprinting up and down the hall pretending to be Buzz Lightyear.  If pictures had sound this would be quite a chaotic sounding one. Good times! 

Well today is my birthday...oh hey shout out to me ha!  I plan on getting dressed in actual clothes and I am headed to the beach for lunch, ice cream and a little family time.  Tonight I am going out with my husband, HALLELUJAH for kid free dates!  I can't wait to put on heels and an outfit that I don't have to worry about sticky fingers ruining. :)

Have a wonderful weekend!

Flourless Lemon Zucchini Muffins

Sometimes late at night, while the husband and I are watching our favorite shows (I sound like an old person right now) I get these baking ideas.  One night I got this idea about making a vanilla cinnamon microwave cake.  I was so pumped on it until I realized I actually sprinkled in (a lot of) cayenne pepper instead of cinnamon.  Woopsie.  The husband was thrown off slightly that night.  Okay so most of the time my ideas flop and I just wind up annoying my husband because I make him rewind our show since I missed it while I was "creating." BUT sometimes the little late night creations are gooood and he forgets all about the not so good baking attempts.  Last week's spur of the moment idea turned out to be a total success that every single boy in my house loved. If you follow me on Instagram (@delightedmomma) you probably saw the late night lemon zucchini loaf I posted about.  Loafs are awesome but muffins are more realistic with boys who do not get the whole "please slice a pretty slice" concept.  So here is the muffin version...

What you will need:

• 2/3 cups of coconut flour
• 5 eggs
• 1 tbs of vanilla
• Juice from 2 lemons
• 1/4 cup of melted coconut oil
• 1/3 cup of melted honey
• 1 cup of shredded zucchini (squeeze out excess water before measuring)
• Zest from one lemon
• 1 tsp of baking soda

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. In a medium sized bowl mix together the lemon juice, melted honey, vanilla and eggs. 
3. In a separate bowl mix together the coconut flour, baking soda and lemon zest.
4. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredient and mix well.  Slowly stir in the melted coconut oil and the shredded zucchini.  
5. Pour muffin batter into baking muffin cups and bake for 25 minutes. 
6. Enjoy! 

 * Makes 11-12 muffins

These are moist, light and oh so good!



See also:
Lemon Bars (Paleo)
Lemon Poppyseed Muffins
Flourless Zucchini Brownies

5 Beauty Benefits of Witch Hazel

Which hazel has been used for medicinal and beauty purposes for ages.  It is a wonderful all natural, inexpensive and eco friendly astringent that has many uses.  Today I am going to share 5 beauty benefits you may or may not have heard about before.

1. Use it as a toner to help fight acne and inflammation.  Use a cotton swab and apply it to your skin before using a moisturizer. It is extremely mild and a great alternative to harsh toners.

2. Use it to help reduce bruises.  Make an ice cube with witch hazel (make sure you clearly label) when you have a bruise gently apply the ice on the bruise.  I have personally used this method and it's basically magical how much it helps.

3. Treat razor burn with it.  Apply a small amount of witch hazel to a cotton swab and apply to the irritated skin. 

4. Use it to reduce puffy eyes.  Place cotton pads over eyes soaked in cold witch hazel for 5 to 10 minutes.  This one is also a personal favorite remedy.  Bye bye bags.

5. Use it to sooth sunburn. Put it in a spray bottle and simply spray on sunburned skin.  Instant relief and faster healing.

And there you have it!  Please let me know if you try witch hazel for any of the above uses.  I would love to hear your experience. 

*You can find witch hazel at your local drug store or health food store. 

See also: The beauty benefits of baking soda 

Latest Life Snippets

I feel like doing a little happy jig at the moment because it's Fridayyyy!   I have been completely neglecting my regularly scheduled Friday posts due to the craziness of life right now but since I am slightly addicted to my iPhone, here are a few snippets of life lately according to my Instagram (@delightedmomma)...

1. Max giving a thumbs up for Friday in the backseat.

2. After two years of nothing our little grapevine has finally decided to start producing.  So proud of these tart little grapes.

3. Before every meal we always say a prayer and a few days ago Ronin followed Max's lead and put his hands together while we prayed.  He now does it regularly and every time it makes my heart burst.

4. Organizing and realizing I probably do not need to buy any more nail polish for awhile.  And that's not even half of it, but the Instagram picture frame is only so big.  Funny thing is I have all these polishes and zero time to paint my nails ha.

5. Late night baking, which resulted in a super moist lemon zucchini loaf made with coconut flour.  I plan on turning this creation into muffins (muffins are just more convenient) and I will share the recipe next week.

6. Checking out the progress of our new house!  In less than two months we get to move in and we are all so excited!  

Have a wonderful weekend!