Creamy Creamy Coconut

I love coffee in the morning, I saw an Ecard once that read 'I go to sleep happy knowing I get to have coffee in the morning', yep that pretty much sums it up. I also love creamer, I would rather skip coffee than have it without the flavored creamer. As I have stated before I am a smidge of a health enthusiast and I know that there is nothing healthy about creamer and there isn't even one single real ingredient in it. This is always in the back of my mind when I drink a cup, especially if I am a little heavy handed and put more creamer than usual and my cup of coffee is especially tasty. I have tried the natural creamers and it just wasn't tasty enough for me, I also tried light Vanilla coconut milk and same results, so I decided I was going to play scientist and make my own. I really like the Almond Joy creamer so I was like I can make that no prob! For the first batch I of course headed to Pinterest for some inspiration, I saw two recipes and pinned both. I really should have read them before pinning though, one called for two raw eggs. Really, is that even safe? Really? So I decided I was going to do half this recipe (minus raw eggs) and part of the other recipe, this is what I got: 1Tbsp coconut oil, 1 can coconut milk, 1 cup almond milk, 3 Tsp Truvia, and lastly 1Tsp pure vanilla extract. I combined all ingredients in a pot on the stove and mixed it up. The coconut oil never really combined with all the other ingredients (maybe I should have partially hydrogenated it or something, but remember I am not a real scientist). Anyway it smelled fabulous and I even stuck my pinkie in for a little taste, it tasted really yummy, I thought I did it on the fist try and commenced to pat myself on the back. I revved up the keurig and made a cup of coffee, much to my chagrin, Houston we have a problem. You know when you're a kid and you want apple juice but Mom wants you to have milk so you mix the two? Well that is exactly how my coffee looked, it had a strong resemblance to egg drop soup. Back to the old drawing board. I did almost everything the same but this time I left out the coconut oil and added about 2Tbsp of vanilla. It was pretty dang good! It isn't quite as flavorful as the fake stuff but I actually enjoyed it and it was made with 100% natural ingredients. It is approx. 20 calories per tablespoon. I really don't know how long it lasts but one of the pins recommended not keeping it for more than 2 weeks, I am storing mine in a glass jar in the fridge. For all the health benefits I will be making the switch to coconut creamer.
Till Next Blog,
T.Sadd

Simply Delicious

NeverHomeMaker

I actually pinned two variations of this combo and tried both. The first one is Avocado Egg Salad and the second is Paleo Snack: Egg, Avo and Tuna. Eggs and avocados are both nutrient rich and delicious. An egg is a nutritional power house; eggs have 13 essential vitamins and minerals, high-quality protein, antioxidants and not to mention they are only 70 calories! Avocados are considered a super food, they contain protein, fiber and the heart healthy fat (omega 3 and 6) that we all need in our diet. The first recipe calls for mayo but we are not huge mayo eaters in my house, so I substituted it with Skotidakis Jalapeno Greek yogurt that they sell at Costco, it is found in the dip aisle. I love this stuff! I literally use it for everything: in tuna salad, baked over chicken, as a dip with veggies or chips and as a salad dressing. We have a deep love for Costco, this love was instilled by my dad who has been a member since 1987. When we go on vacation we will more than likely visit the local Costco. We have visited Costco's from San Diego to Saskatoon from San Francisco to Dundas, Ontario. Since I found this Skotidakis Jalapeno Greek yogurt I have seen it in all the Costco's we have visited so chances are your local Costco will probably carry it. It only has 60 calories per serving (2 Tbsp). The egg salad I made on a whole wheat 100 calorie english muffin, one hard boiled egg, 1/4 avocado and 1 Tbs of the Greek yogurt for a total of 280 calories. The paleo snack I used a hard boiled egg, 1/2 an avocado, 1/2 can of tuna and 1Tbsp of Greek yogurt for a total of 305 calories. Healthy, simple, delicious; yes you can have it all!
Till Next Blog!
T.Sadd

P.S. Check out the neverhomemaker.com blog, she has tips on how to make perfect hard boiled eggs!