Lemon Blueberry "Cupcakes"

It was while making these cupcakes I had the idea for this blog!

Ingredients:

• 3 cups organic unsweetened dried coconut shreds
• Zest of one organic lemon
• ¼ cup fresh squeezed organic lemon juice (I just used the lemon I zest-ed)
• 2/3 cup organic coconut palm sugar (the recipe calls for 1/2 cup of maple syrup, but that is not on my diet)
• ½ tsp. sea salt
• ½ tsp. baking soda
• ½ cup frozen organic blueberries

Preparation: 

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line 6-8 muffin cups with liners.
2. Place the unsweetened coconut in an 11 cup food processor.  Process 5 minutes (my high-powered blender only took 3 minutes).
3. Let the food processor rest for 5 minutes – so it doesn’t overheat.
4. Scrape if necessary, and turn back on for 5 minutes, or until it is liquidy and you can hear it splash.  For picture support of this process, see this post.
5. Add the zest, lemon juice, coconut sugar {maple syrup} and sea salt.  Process until it comes together. At this point, the liquid became pretty clumpy, so I added unsweetened SO Delicious brand coconut milk 1 tbsp at a time until it was more smooth.
6. Add the baking soda, and process just until incorporated.
7. Divide batter into 6-8 muffin cups. I think it's because I used sugar & not syrup, but the batter was almost like a smooth, softer toffy texture. Top with 1 Tbs. frozen blueberries on each cupcake.
8. Bake for 25-27 minutes.  I knew they were done when the looked like caramelized on top & the blueberries were cooked. 
9. Chill before you serve for the best consistency – although I did really enjoy them warm out of the oven, they were just a little liquid-y. I tried a chilled one and I was a little like eating a lemon bar...with blueberries :-)

Yummy Rating (1 being the worst & 10 being the best/closest to traditional recipe): 7

Why? The sweetness is spot-on. One of these is plenty & cures that sweet tooth! This is 100% on my RepairVite program, no cheats! I will be making these again! 

Did you try these? What do you think?

I'm BACK! Why the change?

Why hello, bloggy-land! It has been quite some time, and I'm so excited to be back -- better than ever...or at least healthier than ever!

What was that? Why the change, you say? I'm glad you asked!

Well, you see, it all started when I got pregnant with Brynlee Ann back in December 2010. I began attempting to eat healthy, and then this fun little thing called morning sickness set in and all attempts were out the window thrown up in a trashcan! As soon I discovered I could keep food down (at least some of it...), I fell victim to the belief that I could eat whatever I wanted because as soon as she was born, as soon as I began breast feeding, as soon as {fill in the blank} that weight would fall off...NOT! Or at least not for me, that is.

I can not remember a more discouraging feeling than coming home from the hospital (5 days post delivery) and stepping on the scale to find myself 5 lbs heavier than the day I delivered...{in the spirit of honesty} a whopping 235 pounds. From there, I hit road bump, after road bump. I began Weight Watchers and enjoyed that for 3 months, but my milk supply was dwindling and Brynlee Ann wasn't gaining weight, and oppositely, I was not losing weight....except 10 pounds the first month. Brynlee Ann soon was no longer able to nurse and I was not able to provide for her -- typing this out, I realize a lot deeper how much that actually affected me. After coming to terms with that {and gaining the 10 pounds + more back}, I, now weighing 243 pounds, decided to give Body by Vi (a nutritional, meal replacement shake diet plan). The "challenge" was to drink 2 shakes a day + eat 1 regular meal for 90 days. After just a week, I had lost 10 pounds again...water weight? I stayed on this plan for another 1-2 months with not another pound shed. I was also visiting the gym regularly during this time, so maybe I was gaining muscle...not sure. Either way, discouraging. By the time Brynlee Ann was a little over a year old, I was fed up with "fad dieting." Basically, I gave up. My Scentsy business was keeping me so busy, I barely had time to notice that my weight was not changing...I'm not sure I even stepped on a scale for 6 months.

Heading forward to the end of 2011... I have a great relationship with Brynlee Ann's pediatrician, and one day I was in there changing Scentsy wax, she began to tell me about a doctor she was seeing who was helping her & her husband get healthy. This sparked my interest, but it wasn't until after the New Year that the scale & holiday pictures scared me silly. As Scentsy slowed down after the holidays, I took the month of January off to work on myself -- my marriage, me as a mother, and me as a person. I finally made an appointment with my AMAZING Dr. O and began "treatments." The concept is practically a "whole body health" approach. This is not a diet, not a fad, it is a heart/mind/body/soul change. We began with chiropractic work while I had several tests run {full blood panel + saliva/hormone test}. After all the tests were run, we found out some really interesting things about the inner workings of my body and I began taking vegetable based enzymes to assist my body in regulating several things. After about 2 weeks of getting used to my new "pill" regimen, we added a huge eating plan.

On March 19, I weighed in at an unbelievable 253.6 pounds...I have never been so honest about my weight, but the time is now to be real and share the hardships and triumphs during this time. I began my RepairVite diet on March 20. The easiest way for me to describe this diet, is Paleo eating for those with autoimmune disease {I do not have this, it's just the most closely related diet I have found}. I have cut out, cold turkey: caffeine, dairy, nuts, grains, eggs, pork, and sugar.

So why blog now?

My hope is to share great recipes, weight lost/healthy lifestyle milestones, a peak into the window of our crazy busy life, and more! I hope that you will join me in the goal to have a healthier lifestyle. Weight does not tell how healthy someone is, their eating habits do. Someone who is 120 pounds eating fast food several times a week and/or cooking with processed/pre-prepared foods, is just as unhealthy as someone 250 pounds doing the same thing. I'm so glad to say I no longer fall into that category of unhealthy.

What's the with name?

In this diet, the best substitute I have found for foods I crave is coconut products - coconut oil, coconut palm sugar, coconut flour, and unsweetened shredded coconut. I've also just realized we're a family of nuts! ha ;-)

So on with the show....