High Protein Molten Chocolate Lava Cake (Gluten-free, Grain-free, Refined sugar-free)

On September 3, 2018 By The Golden Graham GirlIn Breads (Quick), Cakes & Loaves, Gluten-free, Grain-free, High-protein, Nut-free, Nutritious Noshes (Snacks), Special Occasion Desserts, Specialty Diets1 Comment

More than a mouthful…let’s just read that title again: High Protein Molten Chocolate Lava Cake. It sounds too good to be true, doesn’t it? Especially when you consider that it contains NO gluten, NO grains and NO refined sugar. But I’m here to tell you that it’s real and it’s more than good. Oh yes, this recipe is downright divine. It’s got a perfectly soft and moist cake around the edges, and a soft, luscious, melt-y chocolate center. Just like any perfectly respectable lava cake should. I hope the photos speak for themselves. But don’t just take my word for it – make it for yourself!

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(High Protein) Healthful Cream Cheese Frosting (or Glaze)

On August 27, 2018August 27, 2018 By The Golden Graham GirlIn Condiments, Sauces, Spreads & Toppings, Gluten-free, Grain-free, High-protein, Low-fat, Nut-free, Nutritious Noshes (Snacks), Specialty DietsLeave a comment

It’s the little things…how many times have you heard that phrase? But it’s true on so many levels and in so many contexts. It’s the little rituals that you have with your loved ones that have the most meaning and hold the most space in your heart. It’s the little adjustments in training and nutrition that set the gold medallists apart from the silver medallists. And when it comes to food, it’s the little touches of flavour and presentation that can take a meal from merely mediocre to masterful.

I like to think that this healthful cream cheese frosting or glaze is one of those little things. It’s the perfect little something extra that can be added to enhance just about any dessert, including protein muffins, carrot cake, cinnamon buns, apple pie…oh my! Heck, it’s so good for you, you could even put it on your oatmeal. No judgment!

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Low-carb Hot Cocoa

On August 27, 2018 By The Golden Graham GirlIn Dairy-free, Gluten-free, Grain-free, Low-fat, Nutritious Noshes (Snacks), Paleo, Specialty Diets, Vegan, Vegetarian1 Comment

It feels like it’s been a while since I’ve posted a recipe. Long, too long (say that in your best Sean Connery voice). I’m one of those weirdos who still likes hot beverages even in hot weather (don’t worry if this makes you a weirdo, too; we can be weird together). Actually, apparently it’s not actually all that weird. Some of the hottest places on earth (the Equator; African nations) drink hot, HOT coffee and other hot beverages to encourage the body to sweat to help with this body-cooling mechanism.

So, here’s to sweaty days and sweaty nights, and I swear this low-carb hot cocoa is actually really great on cold winter days and nights, as well. With fewer than fifty calories per mug, it’s basically perfect all of the time. Unlike “regular” hot chocolate, it’s also completely sugar-free, and also dariy-free, gluten-free and vegan. And you can make it without breaking a sweat.

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How-To: Make Healthful Meals FAST!

On June 4, 2018 By The Golden Graham GirlIn How-To, Nutritious Noshes (Snacks), Random, Uncategorized1 Comment

One of the top challenges I am asked about is how to prepare healthful meals QUICKLY (or fast, but that’s not grammatically sound and I am nothing if not a grammar nerd!). So, I thought I would write a post (and create an Instagram video series) on my top five tips for quick and easy meals that are also delicious AND good for you! This is a great addition (if I do say so myself) to my How-to series, including How-To Plan and Prepare Healthy Meals and How-To Make & Eat Healthy Snacks at Home and On the Go!

With no further ado, let’s go with my top five tips, and I’ve even tried to order them from least expensive (in terms of both money AND effort) to most expensive:

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Coconut Lime Yogurt Delight

On April 17, 2018April 26, 2018 By The Golden Graham GirlIn Custards, Mousses & Puddings, Gluten-free, Grain-free, High-protein, Low-fat, Nut-free, Nutritious Noshes (Snacks)Leave a comment

Is it time for a taste of the tropics? I tell you, this is the LONGEST winter I have ever seen in Calgary. Sure, sure, we’re the Great White North, but this is getting a little bit ridiculous! We had a snowfall warning today for up to 20 cm (that’s the better part of a foot, Imperialists!) and it’s the middle of April. I mean I know that we have a reputation for dog-sledding ten months out of the year, but that’s just a stereotype, not reality. Although I do like the joke about Canada’s four seasons: almost winter, winter, still winter and road construction (ba-doop-ching!). Perhaps the travel agent business is actually the business to be in, catering to cabin-fever-crazed Canucks looking to get away from our perpetually white landscape (and generally pasty skin for the Caucasian part of our medley mosaic). In any event, I am in the business of delicious, healthful treats to keep your mind off of the weather and keep you from hibernating in a parka spooning with a tub of Ben and Jerry’s. Without further ado, I bring you: Coconut Lime Yogurt Delight!

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No-bake Paleo Almond Butter Bites (Dairy-free, Gluten-free, Grain-free, Paleo, Vegan)

On January 5, 2016January 5, 2016 By The Golden Graham GirlIn Dairy-free, Frozen Delights, Fudge, Gluten-free, Grain-free, Nutritious Noshes (Snacks), Paleo, SWYPO Goodies, Truffles, Bites & Balls, VeganLeave a comment

Welcome to the second installment of the SWYPO* Series. I’m clearly on an almond butter roll, after the Flourless Almond Butter Muffins. Now we aren’t even baking – it’s time to enjoy the natural, rich sweetness of almonds in a creamy cool treat that might even get you thinking about fudge. Just the size of a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup, but without any gut- and hormone-disrupting refined sugar, milk solids, chocolate or well, peanut butter!

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Flourless Almond Butter Banana Muffins (Dairy-free, Fruit-sweetened, Gluten-free, Grain-free, Paleo, Refined sugar-free)

On December 23, 2015 By The Golden Graham GirlIn Dairy-free, Gluten-free, Grain-free, Muffins & Cupcakes, Nutritious Noshes (Snacks), Paleo, SWYPO Goodies1 Comment

Welcome to the first installment of the SWYPO* Series. These fluffy, light and moist muffins will have you scratching your head in disbelief. How can they be SO airy with NO flour? How can they have such a delicate, sweet flavour with NO sugar or added sweeteners of any kind? With just a handful of wholesome ingredients, these muffins come together in one bowl. You can whip them up any time. Starbucks, step aside. There’s a new muffin game in town.

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Welcome to the SWYPO* Series

On December 23, 2015 By The Golden Graham GirlIn Nutritious Noshes (Snacks), Paleo, Random, Specialty Diets, SWYPO Goodies2 Comments

Courtesy of whole30.com — Courtesy of whole9life.com

That’s right folks, it’s time for a wink and a nod to the concept coined by Whole30 founders Melissa & Dallas Hartwig of “Sex With Your Pants On” concoctions that attempt to mimic the deliciousness of a “real deal” junk food treat with only Whole30-approved ingredients.

DURING your Whole30, these baked (and no-bake) goodies are explicitly off limits, and for good reason:

…If you continue your Whole30 program eating Paleo pizza, Paleo ice cream and Paleo pancakes, well… all it makes you think about is how less-than-stellar this version is, and how delicious the other version would be. Just like… well, you know.

The problem is, if you continue to have sex with your pants on, it’s inevitable that at some point you’re gonna want to take your pants off. And during your Whole30, that spells trouble…

Do you really want to spend the entirety of your Whole30 obsessed with all the stuff you can’t have, and eating the same foods you’ve been eating all along? We sure don’t! If you come out of your program with the same habits, patterns and food choices you had when you started, what are your chances for long-term, life-changing success? After all, those very same habits, patterns and food choices are what got you into trouble in the first place!

See more at http://whole9life.com/2011/10/sex-with-your-pants-on/.

So, what exactly am I doing? Well, I’ve set out, deliberately and intentionally, to create goodies that use only nourishing and nutrient-filled real, whole food ingredients that are compliant with the Whole30 program and yet are incredibly delicious, better-for-you desserts and sweet treats. Some are so good, in fact, that I’d dare to call them SWYPOFF (Sex With Your Pants Off)! Because there are going to be times in your life after your Whole30, that you’re going to want or need (i.e. to share with friends or family or to mark a special occasion) a certain special something. But after all you’ve learned from your Whole30 about healthy food choices and their impact on your life, you’re not often going to want to stomach (literally and figuratively) the laundry list of gut- and mood-disrupting and downright unpronounceable ingredients that can show up on processed options, or even in your own (or your mother’s own) homemade, from-scratch baking (there’s a time and place for those treats, too).

Still wondering whether a treat is worth it and whether you should just go for it and have the REAL DEAL? Check out: http://whole9life.com/2011/04/whole9s-guide-to-nutritional-off-roading/

And if you’ve made up your mind that one of my SWYPO goodies is just the ticket, then I hope to see you back here soon! (But not DURING your Whole30).

Questions? Comments? Criticisms? I take them all! Comment below or send me an e-mail per my Contact Information in the side panel.

Whipped Chocolate Protein Frosting

On October 22, 2015October 21, 2015 By The Golden Graham GirlIn Condiments, Sauces, Spreads & Toppings, Gluten-free, Grain-free, High-protein, Low-fat, Nut-free, Nutritious Noshes (Snacks)1 Comment

A thick, rich and creamy chocolate frosting that is delicious? Easy. But what about one that is HEALTHY, HIGH IN PROTEIN, and FREE OF REFINED SUGAR and this-can’t-be-good-for-me-but-it-really-is? Yes, oh yes. This is the perfect topping for any of my cakes, and especially my latest and greatest Healthy Single-Serving Mocha Microwave Mug Cake. But of course, no one would be the wiser if you just wanted to eat it straight off of the spoon. And I certainly wouldn’t blame you.

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Healthy Single-Serving Mocha Microwave Mug Cake (Gluten-free, Grain-free, High-fiber, High-protein, Refined sugar-free)

On October 21, 2015 By The Golden Graham GirlIn Breads (Quick), Cakes & Loaves, Dairy-free, Gluten-free, Grain-free, Nutritious Noshes (Snacks)1 Comment

If you’re anything like me, you have a hard time sharing desserts. Now you have the perfect excuse NOT to: this is, by definition, a single-serving dessert. A.k.a. – one person! Never mind that this recipe actually creates three perfectly moist, fluffy mini-mug cakes. That just means three times the dark chocolate and subtle coffee flavour all for little ol’ you! And when it’s free of gluten and refined sugar but high in fiber and protein, you can eat it all down to the very last bite! Use the modern miracle of the microwave to whip this up in mere minutes!