Almond Coconut Irish Cream

We are officially on holidays and couldn’t be happier; sitting here sipping my coffee and homemade Baileys, anticipating the days to come and reflecting on the amazing year that was had. It’s these simple moments before the day begins that I really want to savour more often. The calmness and joy that comes from sitting and enjoying a cup of java rather than rushing out the door with a cup in hand. And with the holidays amongst us, your regular cup of joe can become much more festive with this quick and easy clean Irish Cream.

For the last two years, I have been loving my homemade Coconut Baileys Irish Cream, but this year wanted to try a recipe that didn’t involve stove time and one that was a bit lighter on the calories. Here comes my newest version, Almond Coconut Irish Cream.

It’s healthier, cleaner, dairy-free, paleo-friendly, vegan friendly and pretty amazing in my opinion. It’s easy to double or triple the recipe and makes for a great gift giving idea too!

Almond Coconut Irish Cream (yields 16 oz)

  • 1/2 cup Irish Whiskey
  • 1/2 cup + 2 Tbs canned coconut milk
  • 1/2 cup vanilla almond milk
  • 2 tsp vanilla
  • 1/4 cup espresso or strong coffee, cooled
  • 2 tbsp maple syrup or 2 medjool dates work great too (add more or less to your liking)
  • dash of cinnamon
  1. Put all the ingredients into blender and mix
  2. Pour the Homemade Clean Irish Cream into a bottle/ airtight container and store in the fridge for 2-3 weeks
  3. Shake well before serving

Happy Holidays! xx

Tom Yum Soup

Well it has been quite some time since I have posted, my sincerest apologies. 2017 has been a very exciting and busy year, from becoming engaged, planning a wedding, getting married and then honeymooning! It has been the best, but I have missed being in the kitchen and connecting with all my dear followers, but now I am back. 🙂

I promise 2018 will bring lots of new things and I will post an update soon on all the fun we have been having, but in the meantime, I am finding inspiration again in the kitchen and wanted to share. Even though, there was some debate in my head on whether to post with pictures or without as my camera is donezo and these photo’s aren’t great, but this dish is too good not to share.

For the month of October, we were away in Bali, enjoying all the honeymoon bliss and boy, were we ever inspired with all the delicious food and drinks that were had. We were absolutely blown away in every way. From their local Indonesian fare to some of the best Italian food we have ever had, the food in Bali was incredible. Wow wow wow! Not to mention all the local and plant based food they served; it really inspired me to pay more attention to my food consumption and habits.

Last week, we were hit with a cold spell in the city and I was craving warm and spicy dishes to warm the soul. I decided to finally give one of my favourite Thai dishes, a try. Tom Yum,  was super easy to make and turned out amazing that I found myself going back for seconds and could have gone back for thirds. This is definitely becoming part of our weekly rotation.

The ingredients in this soup easily blend together for some amazing flavour. One thing to note is do taste test as you go, add a little bit of this and a little bit of that if you need, don’t be shy here, this is how I developed such an amazing soup. If you want it more spicy add in more chilli, prefer it less creamy skip a can of coconut milk, if it is too sour add in more sugar. The great thing about this dish, is once you get the broth portion to your liking, you can add in whatever you like in terms of veg or protein. Don’t be scared off by the number of ingredients, it is SO GOOD!! I also chose to make mine extra brothy, so feel free to add more veg or less liquid if you prefer.

Tom Yum (yields 6-8 servings)

  • 1400 ml no salt added vegetable broth
  • 2 cans coconut milk (1 regular and 1 light)
  • 1 tsp of sugar (your choice, I used cane)
  • 3 tbsp tom yum paste
  • 1 tbsp lemongrass paste or the lower third of lemongrass stalk cut into matchsticks
  • 1 tbsp ginger, grated
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 2 tbsp chilli garlic sauce
  • 1 tsp Himalayan sea salt
  • 2-4 tbsp lime juice
  • 2 tbsp fish sauce
  • 1 small bunch of green onions, finely chopped
  • 1 red pepper, thinly sliced
  • 1 zucchini, sliced into half mooons
  • half a cup of cherry tomatoes, halved or quartered
  • 8-10  mushrooms, sliced
  • Thai rice noodles
  • 2 cups of shrimp, I used cooked but raw would be best
  • handful of cilantro

Tom Yum IngredientsTom Yum Ingredients

  1. Pour broth and coconut milk into a large saucepan and set over medium. Whisk in sugar, tom yum paste, lemongrass, ginger, garlic, and chilli-garlic sauce.  Cover and bring to a boil
  2. Add onion, pepper, wait 5 minutes then add carrot, zucchini,  mushrooms, tomato and cook, stirring occasionally, until veg is cooked through, about 7-10 min
  3. Stir in lime juice, fish sauce and salt
  4. While the above is cooking, boil rice noodles in a separate pot for 5 minutes (according to package but not to fully soft), drain and rinse
  5. Stir in cilantro, rice noodles and shrimp, cook for 3 minutes
  6. Serve topped with fresh cilantro, and enjoy!Tom Yum Soup

Keep Cozy! xx

Strawberry Coconut Face Scrub

There are a ton of amazing masks/scrubs out on the market, Perk Naturals and Skin Essence are two of my favourites. However, I do like experimenting at home with simple ingredients that I have on hand. This always works well when I run out of product or if I want to give my skin a little break. I love my matcha mask, but lately have been experimenting with combinations that are a bit more scrub-like. All you need are some basic ingredients and a few minutes to spare.

First off, you need to choose the base, your exfoliant, which is real simple – two options, sugar or salt. I prefer sugar as it is less abrasive and I typically lean towards brown sugar as it is usually what I have on hand and it’s best for sensitive skin since it is the softest of the sugars. Salts will give you a real good scrub if looking for a deep exfoliation.

Next, you have to select your preferred oil. Lots of options here; I do recommend one of the following: avocado oil, almond oil, extra virgin olive oil or my favourite coconut oil. Oh the wonders of coconut oil, it really is a beauty wonder. It is naturally antibacterial and packs a ton of antioxidants and free radicals that prevent all the bad stuff…ahem aging. 🙂

Lastly, add in a fruit or vegetable of your choice (coffee grounds are also amazing, stay tuned for details on this). Again, there are so many options here, all adding different amazing properties to your scrub, but do note that adding in fruit or veg will lower the shelf life and  you will want to keep it refrigerated vs. in the shower. Kind of annoying, I know, but you can easily make these for one or two time uses.

For this particular scrub, I went with strawberries, since I had a ton of fresh Ontario strawberries on hand (’tis the season!). They are the best for evening and brightening your skin tone while also toning. Plus, its fragrance is beyond lovely; it’s good enough you may want to eat it.

Side note here, if you have left over strawberries mash some with baking soda and this makes for a great natural teeth whitener. 🙂

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Now, the how to. Super simple, dice up your strawberries and then mash them down. Add in melted coconut oil and brown sugar. About 1 tbsp of each. All depends if you want it more oily vs. scrubby, less oil if you want it more scrublike. Then seal in an air-tight container and in the fridge.

Stay tuned for the dish on my other favourite scrubs. 🙂

Happy Scrubbing! xx

 

 

Chipotle Sweet Potato Noodles

I love Mexican flavours and try to often think of interesting ways to incorporate the flavour profiles outside of the beloved taco. Even though, I could eat taco’s every single day!

After a little inspiration from Pinch of Yum, this Chipotle Sweet Potato Noodle recipe is a new favourite dish added to the weeknight rotation!IMG_3283

Sweet, spicy, smokey, hearty and fresh; this noodle recipe is simple and healthy and an easy go-to recipe to whip up. The chipotle dressing and sweet potato noodles make for an amazing base that you can simply add any toppings of your choice and you are set for a delicious meal. I worked with what I had on hand, peppers, tomatoes, jalapeno, kale, avocado, pepitas, goat feta, and cilantro. However, this would be equally as awesome with some black beans and roasted corn. And you can easily omit the cheese to keep this vegan friendly.

Here’s the dish –

Sweet Potato Noodle Bowl (yields 4-6 servings)
  • olive oil
  • 2 sweet potatoes
  • 1 red pepper, diced
  • 1 jalapeno, diced
  • 1 tomato, diced
  • 1 avocado, diced
  • 1 cup chopped cilantro
  • 1 cup chopped greens – kale, spinach, arugula, etc (I love black kale!)
  • 1/2 cup raw pepitas
  • 1/4 cup goat feta or cojita (or opt for no cheese)

Chipotle Lime Dressing:

  • 1/3 cup olive oil
  • 2-3 tablespoons water
  • juice of one orange
  • juice of one lime
  • 2-4 individual chipotle peppers, canned in adobo sauce
  • 1 clove garlic
  • 1 teaspoon agave or honey
  • pinch of Himalayan sea saltFullSizeRender (8)
  1. Heat a little bit of olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add chopped peppers and saute until soft.
  2. Pulse the dressing ingredients in a food processor until smooth. Taste and adjust to your liking.
  3. Remove, wipe skillet and add a little more olive oil over medium heat. Add the sweet potato noodles and toss for a minute or two until softened (no more than 5). Also, toss in a 2 TBSP of the dressing to coat noodles.
  4. Once slightly cooked, toss the noodles, peppers, kale, cilantro, and pepitas together.
  5. Toss with the salad ingredients and top with tomato, avocado and crumbled cheese.

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Dig In. xx

Overnight Oats

I know Overnight Oats are old news, but I am obsessed with them. They are so easy to throw together and ultra filling! Especially, when you have busy mornings and don’t have time to whip something up.

Simply, mix ingredients together in a jar, let it set over night (6-8 hours), portion out and top it off with your favourite toppings! You can easily adapt this recipe to suit your taste and you really can’t mess it up. What’s your favourite oats combo?

oats

Overnight Oats (yields 2-4 servings)

  • 2 cups large flake oats (not the quick variety)
  • 2 cups unsweetened almond milk
  • 2 tbsp chia seeds
  • 1 tbsp maple syrup
  • ½ tsp salt
  • ½ tsp vanilla extract

To top it off:

  • Fresh raspberries/blueberries
  • Chopped nuts
  • Hemp hearts
  • Almond/Nut butter
  • Cinnamon

 

 

Happy day! xx