Coconut Macaroons with Raw Honey

I love Coconut Macaroons, and I love them even more when they are healthy! These little cookies are easy to make and taste delicious – without any processed sugar! You can eat these macaroons without the guilt!

Ingredients:

7 Egg Whites

3/4 cup Raw Honey

1/4 teaspoon Sea Salt

4 1/2 cups Unsweetened Coconut Flakes (measure after you blend the coconut flakes together – see Step 1 for instruction.)

Instructions:

Step 1) Blend the large coconut flakes together to make them into small pieces. Don’t over blend them to become powder, you just want to blend them well enough so the coconut flakes won’t be too big in the cookies. Set aside.

Step 2) Beat egg whites until stiff peaks start to form.

Step 3) Slowly add in raw honey as you continue to beat the egg whites. Keep moving the bowl to make sure that the honey gets mixed in very well.

Step 4) Take the blended coconut flakes and fold gently into the egg whites mixture.

Step 5) Put batter in the fridge for about 20-30 minutes. This will allow for the batter to thicken up, making it easier

Step 6) Preheat the oven to 250 degrees and grease cookie sheet with a little bit of coconut oil to prevent sticking.

Step 7) Spoon the batter in small spoonfuls onto the cookie sheet and back in the over for about 45 minutes, or until the macaroons are slightly browned. Let macaroons cool for about 5 minutes before you remove them from the cookie sheet.

Notes:

Make sure you remember to put the batter in the fridge, otherwise you will have difficult batter to work with and they will turn out to be flat macaroons. They will still taste good, but they just don’t look the same.

These are healthy macaroons, but they are still high in calories since coconut is naturally a high calorie food. My point? Eat in moderation, just like anything else.

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Tags: coconut macaroons, Dessert, gluten free, healthy recipe, Recipe, sugar free

“Low Calorie” doesn’t mean “Healthy”

Everyone seems to be obsessed with the term “low calorie”. Companies market their product as a “low calorie” meal or snack, which as a result, leads consumers to believe they are buying a healthy product. Unfortunately for us, “low calorie” doesn’t mean that it is “healthy”! This concept is a huge misunderstanding that I would like to clear up for everyone.

When Low Calorie doesn’t mean Healthy

I went searching for what consumers thought was a great low calorie snack for weight loss. Here are some of the most common low calorie snacks consumers suggested to others, and my suggestions of healthy alternatives.

•JELL-O Brand Gelatin and Pudding Snacks- The low calorie snack packs make this product easy to consume on a daily basis, which is concerning once you read the label and see what ingredients are listed in the product. They may be labeled as sugar-free and fat-free, but there are tons of artificial sweeteners and unhealthy ingredients you just shouldn’t be putting into your body.

Alternative- You can make your own Pudding using Dr. Oetker’s Organic Pudding mix. You can make a small batch and divide it into small serving size containers to enjoy throughout the week. This product still contains sugar, but I think this is a better alternative than the snack packs mentioned above, but still should be used only in moderation.

•Quaker® Rice Cakes - What’s not healthy about a low calorie snack that is gluten free containing 9 grams of whole grains in it? Lots of sugar and corn syrup. Once you add the sugar and corn syrup (among other things) to the healthy ingredients, it’s no longer healthy.

Alternative- If you are looking for a yummy whole grain, check out Arrowhead Mills® Organic Puff cereals. You will find that there is only one ingredient in this product, just how it should be! They taste fantastic plain or with your choice of milk.

•Popcorn- These are usually full of ingredients that are anything but real butter. Lots of chemically altered ingredients and additives.

Alternative- Buy popcorn with nothing added or make it yourself.

•Frozen Desserts- Consumers recommended Sugar-Free Fudgsicles, Low-Fat Ice Cream Bars from The Skinny Cow®, and Sugar-Free Ice Pops. Notice a common theme here? Companies are selling frozen desserts in small quantities and replace the sugar and/or fat with even more harmful artificial ingredients and tell you that they are now healthy because they have fewer amounts of calories. Sadly, a lot of consumers fall for this gimmick.

Alternative- I love Organic Blackberry Sorbet Bars by Julie’s Organic. Natural ingredients with no sugar or artificial sweeteners added. You can also try making your own healthy desserts, such as frozen grapes!

•Dannon Light ‘n Fit Non-Fat Yogurt- This is made with Splenda®, and goes along the same line as the gelatin and pudding snacks.

Alternative- All Natural Yogurt or Greek Yogurt with no added ingredients.

•100 Calorie Snack Packs- These low calorie snack packs were highly suggested by consumers, mainly due to taste and because it’s a “mindless alternative”. You can choose from cookies, crackers, and chips. Low calorie? Yes. Healthy? Not one bit. The company just provided small portions that are prepackaged and sold as low calorie. These products are full of sugar, which creates fat in your midsection. Not something you should do for fat loss, right?

Alternative- There are plenty of healthy crackers or other snacks to much on, without all of the processed ingredients, additives, and preservatives.

•Fiber One® Chewy Bars- Consumers suggested this low calorie snack because they taste like a candy bar. Not surprised, considering these snacks contain a lot of sugar and high maltose corn syrup (a sneaky way of adding a cousin of “high fructose corn syrup” into products).

Alternative- Looking for a chewy bar that tastes delicious? Check out all of the Fruit and Nut Bars by LÄRABAR®. Most of the flavors are made with healthy ingredients, with only six ingredients or less. The Pecan Pie flavor, for example, only has three ingredients; dates, pecans, and almonds. You wouldn’t believe these are healthy and low calorie once you taste how delicious these bars are.

•Campbell’s® Healthy Request® Soup- The soup may only have 90 calories per serving, but with two servings per can, most people are going to eat more than one serving. 180 calories still isn’t all that bad, but considering there are 410 mg of sodium per serving, that means you would be consuming 820 mg of sodium in just one serving. This soup may be marketed as “Heart Healthy”, but that still doesn’t make this soup healthy for you. It’s crazy how marketing works sometimes.

Alternative- Make your own homemade soup. Even if you buy an Organic or All Natural Soup with very few ingredients (think Amy’s Kitchen soups), you are still going to find more sodium than you bargained for.

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Image Credits: arrowheadmills.com; larabarstore.com

Tags: all natural, artificial ingredients, Dessert, gelatin, Healthy, Healthy Alternative, healthy snack, jell-o, Lara Bar, low calorie, low calorie snack, Nutrition, Organic, Popcorn, pudding snacks, snack, soup, sugar, USDA Organic

Skinny Tip #4

Skinny Tip #4

Want a dessert? Try fresh Organic strawberries! Put Organic whipped cream on top if you are feeling naughty ; )

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Tags: Dessert, Healthy, Organic, organic strawberries, organic whipped cream, skinny tip, stawberry

Sorbet Bar-Organic Blackberry by Julie’s Organic

This sorbet bar is absolutely amazing, and I have nothing but good to say about this frozen dessert!

First of all, it tastes great. And not only does it taste great, but it has great a great texture (almost like a fruit smoothie, but thicker since it is a sorbet bar). I bought this Sorbet Bar for an event, and people were shocked that this was not only Organic, but actually Healthy! For some reason people have this horrible misconception that Healthy Food has to taste bad. This is another reason why I started this Blog. I want to raise awareness to others to let them know about great tasting products that are actually good for you (or at least better than the competitor!).

The best part about this treat, is that it is pretty much guilt free. It is made with real fruit, and  it is cholesterol free. For those who are lactose intolerant, this is also labeled as non dairy. Also, a very obvious comment is that it is certified organic.

Anyone who is on a diet, this is a great suggestion considering it is well under 100 calories. This is something you can enjoy with out feeling deprived as well as something you will not feel guilty for indulging.

Enjoy!

Serving Size: 1 Bar

Calories: 60

Where to Buy: Health Food Stores, Grocery Stores, or visit juliesorganic.com

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Tags: 60 calories, cholesterol free, Dessert, frozen, frozen dessert, fruit smoothie, guilt free, Healthy, low calorie, non dairy, Organic, real fruit, sorbet bar, tastes great, under 100 calories