No Bake Carrot Cookies {Grain, Dairy and Refined Sugar free}

Hey! 

I hope you're enjoying summer. I have a really yummy recipe for you today! They don't look very appetizing, but trust me they are delicious! Here is what you'll need:

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup finely chopped or shredded carrots
• 6 medjool dates (about 1/3 cup)
• 1/4 cup chia seeds
• 2 tablespoons coconut oil
• 2 tablespoons coconut flour
• a little vanilla
• a pinch of salt

Directions:

Mash the dates with a fork in a medium sized bowl. The dates I used were really moist and soft, so they were easy to mash. If yours are really dry you can soak them in a little bit of water prior to mashing.

Add the remaining ingredients to the mashed dates and mix together with your fork. 

Roll bite sized pieces of dough into balls. You should end up with 8-10 no bake cookies.

Refrigerate in an airtight container. 

Enjoy this super simple, quick and healthy sweet treat! 

Love,

Megan 

Cabbage Spring Rolls {Gluten Free}

Hey! 

Long time no post! I have been crazy busy, but I finally have a free Saturday and an extremely delicious recipe to share with you! 

These spring rolls are so good. We have been making them daily for the last few weeks. I am finally getting around to posting them! 

The fun thing about this recipe is you can really play around with the ingredients. Since the main ingredient in these spring rolls is, well obviously cabbage, I like to add chicken for more protein and to make them more filling, but they are delicious without. You'll need:

• 1 boneless skinless chicken breast (optional)
• 2 eggs
• 3 cups chopped cabbage
• 1 cup carrots (shredded or thinly sliced)
• 1 tsp sea salt or to taste
• 2-3 tsp sesame oil
• 1-2 tsp pomegranate balsamic vinegar
• 8-10 spring roll rice wrappers
• 2-3 tbsp coconut or olive oil

Directions

• If you're using chicken, cut it into small bite sized pieces. Add it to a large frying pan along with the oil and cook on medium heat. 
• Once the chicken is done, scramble the eggs in with the chicken. 
• When the eggs are done cooking, add your chopped cabbage and shredded carrots. 
• Cook vegetables until desired or until limp. I don't cook the vegetables all of the way, I like them slightly raw.
• Turn off the burner and add your sesame oil, pomegranate balsamic vinegar and sea salt. I don't have exact measurements, just follow your taste buds. 
• Fill a pie pan or cake pan with warm water and soak one sheet of rice paper for about 30 seconds. 
• Add a scoop of the cabbage mixture on top of the rice paper and wrap up like a burrito. 
• Repeat until all of the chicken and cabbage mixture is gone.

Like I said, you can play around with the ingredients, the measurements aren't exact. 

This recipe makes enough for 2-3 people. Only requires one pan. Simple, healthy, inexpensive ingredients and extremely delicious. 

Try out the recipe and let me know what you think, this is definitely one of my family's favorites! 

God Bless!

Megan

Apple & Cabbage Salad

Here is what you'll need:

• 1 part chopped cabbage (purple or green)
• 1 part diced organic red apple
• fresh lemon juice to sprinkle over the salad

This salad is so simple, but extremely delicious! All you have to do is chop up the cabbage and apple, then simply sprinkle with a little lemon juice. 

The cabbage is great for bone, eye and brain health, helps the body detoxify, has anti-inflammatory properties and can help prevent cancer.  Apples are extremely rich in important antioxidants, flavonoids, and dietary fiber! The lemon is high in vitamin C and is the perfect ingredient to complete this salad. Enjoy! 

God Bless! 
Megan

Chia Seed Pudding + Health Benefits

We have a chia seed pudding recipe and a few health benefits to share with you today! 

• Chia seeds are packed with antioxidants!
• High in protein
• High in Omega-3 Fatty Acids
• Excellent source of fiber
• Contain tryptophan, an amino acid which helps regulate appetite and sleep
• Contain Calcium, phosphorus, and magnesium which are all very important for bone health
• and the list goes on! 

Okay, now for the recipe. 

• 1 cup organic milk or coconut milk
• 1/4 cup chia seeds
• Vanilla extract and stevia to taste

Directions: 

Mix everything together in a small bowl and refrigerate for 30 minutes or until it becomes a gel-like consistency. 

You can add things like dried or fresh fruit, nuts, spices, pumpkin puree and anything else your heart desires. :)

God Bless!
~Megan and Becky~

Coconut Date Cookies {gluten, grain, nut & refined sugar free}

These cookies are so delicious! They are really rich, so if you're craving something sweet, these are a much healthier alternative to a cookie filled with refined sugar.

You'll need:

• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup unsweetened shredded coconut 
• 1/4 cup unrefined date sugar (I like THIS kind)
• a pinch of sea salt
• a pinch of baking soda

Mix everything together in a small bowl. On a parchment lined baking sheet, place a spoonful of cookie batter an inch apart from each other and place in a 350* oven for 10 minutes. 

Yields around 5-7 small cookies.

Enjoy! 

Megan

Natural Cleaners

I am extremely sensitive to synthetic fragrances. We used to use Windex as our all purpose cleaner, as soon as I smell it though, I get an instant headache; which usually takes most of the day and a lot of fresh air and water to recover from. I tried making some natural all-purpose cleaners and all of them were complete failures. We ended up buying a few natural all-purpose cleaners from the grocery store and I am so pleased with them. I wanted to share them with you today. 

The first one is by Seventh Generation

I really love this one, it is completely free of fragrances and my favorite part is on the back, it says, " If swallowed, drink plenty of water." It doesn't say anything about calling poison control! :D

It leaves our bathroom sparkling clean and I am so happy with it.

The second one is by Earth Friendly Products

This cleaner contains orange oil, which is really great for cleaning. The ingredients are plant based and I am really pleased with the performance of this cleaner. 

If you are looking for a natural, all-purpose cleaner, I highly recommend both of these. I found them at the grocery store, but Amazon carries them as well. 

What are your favorite natural cleaners?

God Bless! 
Megan

Our Plant Starts for 2015

Hello! 

Because of our really short growing season here, over the last month or two we've been starting all of our seeds inside to get a jump start on the growing season. Hopefully we'll have everything big and healthy by the time the ground is warm enough to begin planting. I wanted to share with you a few of the plants, herbs and flowers we've started from seed... ;)


Here are some pictures of some wild flowers that'll go in some baskets outside my bedroom window. Last year I had pansies in the baskets and I absolutely loved them. Waking up to a bunch of happy flowers outside my bedroom window just made my day. ;)

Okay, now we got a little carried away with the dahlias and didn't need to plant them this early... We have at least another month before we can plant them outside. ;)

Artichokes are in the front. Honestly, you don't get much off of them and they take up a bit of space, but they are a lot of fun to eat and I enjoy growing them. 

Garlic... I love garlic and its health benefits are incredible! It will stay inside all year. I am planning on doing a post on how to grow garlic indoors all year around. 

...and asparagus, one little, lonely asparagus. We originally planted at least a dozen different  asparagus plants in the pot and so far, only one has made it...

Beets... honestly, beets taste like dirt, however, beet-greens cooked in butter and fresh garlic is really delicious! 

Lavender, I love lavender, especially tea, which I'll also be doing a post on. ;)

Here are our peppers. Red bell peppers, cayenne and habanero...

A whole bunch of herbs and spices. ;) 

And of course, hanging baskets! 

Tomatoes and corn, heirloom of course! 

Lemon cucumbers...

We have sunflowers, zucchini, ginger, kale and turnips started in the house as well. We still need to get some organic non-GMO potato starts. Sugar snap peas, green beans, carrots and parsnips, we'll start in may probably... other than that, that is pretty much what we're growing this summer...  

Our flowers aren't organic, well some of them are, all of our herbs, spices and vegetables are either organic heirloom seeds or non-GMO... 

So, can anyone say green thumb? Every window in our home that gets sunlight is filled with plants. :D

So far we've started everything from seed or bulbs, which I think is pretty neat. 

I'll update you soon with more pictures. 

God Bless! 

Megan