Tag: desserts

Chocolate mint cookies Chocolate Mint Cookies
Home · Sweets and Treats

Chocolate Mint Cookies

Featured zhealthyhousewife2 Comments

Sugar-Free, Keto, Thm

Do you have a certain smell, taste or sight that is directly connected with Christmas? I do. Except its not just one. It’s like a 304!

I love the Christmas tree (the real one, with the REAL smell) all set up right after thanksgiving. I love the Christmas music softly playing in the background whenever I cook or bake. I absolutely love the Christmas tree lights on after all the kids go to bed, when I can actually sit and enjoy it, and the cozy soft glow that it gives off. Somehow, everything seems better around Christmas time.

There is an array of different cookie recipes that I love to bake around Christmas time, but these taste just like Christmas to me. I came up with the recipe last year when I was playing around with some ideas. One evening, as I was scrounging through the cupboards for something sweet (does anyone else do that???), I found an old box of Girl Scout cookies. Mint thins! I smelled them to make sure they were good still…they weren’t. So, I decided to make some chocolate mint cookies, inspired by an old bad box of Girl Scout cookies! The clincher was, they were going to be the healthy version so that I could thoroughly enjoy them!

Staying “on plan”

You see, I have a hard time staying on track with my health and fitness around the holidays. Is it only me? I feel like thanksgiving always starts it off for me, because I always end up baking enormous amounts of pies, cheesecakes and the like. Its not that I am a binger on all that is junk, but my messed up thinking always gets me in the end. I start to think, “well, thanksgiving is this week, so I guess I will have one of those cookies,” or, “I have to have a homemade roll with my dinner!”. That thought process just continues for a couple of weeks, when finally I am ready to get back to eating “on plan” again. Then it is Christmas week, and the whole process begins again.

I know I am not alone on this. I’ve talked to so many of my friends who struggle with this too. And don’t get me wrong, it’s not the end of the world if you take advantage of the wonderful bounty of deliciousness around the holidays. However, if it becomes the “norm”, then it can be.

So with all of that being said, wouldn’t you love to start incorporating healthy options to your holiday traditions? Try these guys on for size! I would love to hear some of your family traditions, your favorite cookie recipes etc, but especially how you liked these Chocolate Mint Cookies!

So grab a cozy blanket, a glass of milk (or cashew milk-one of my favorites), and put on that old Christmas classic movie, and enjoy one of these timeless cookies…with none of the guilt! Feel good about serving healthy options this Christmas!

Heres the recipe! I hope you enjoy them!

God Bless!

-Zaneta

Chocolate mint cookies
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Chocolate Mint Cookies

A Christmas Favorite! Sugar-free, Keto, THM

Course Dessert
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 13 minutes
Servings 30 cookies
Author Zaneta Francis

Ingredients

  • 3 Eggs At room temp
  • 2 sticks Butter (unsalted) Softened
  • 1 1/2 cups Sweetener I love gentle sweet, monkfruit or an erythritol blend
  • 1 tsp Xanthan gum to thicken and bind
  • 5 drops Vanilla creme stevia
  • 1 1/4 tsp Mint extract
  • 2/3 cups Cocoa powder
  • 3 tbs Pyrure Stevia blend
  • 1/2 cup Sour cream
  • 2 cups Almond flour It works better with the fine ground almond flour
  • 1/2 cup Oat Fiber This is another trick to make it bind together

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees

  2. In Mixer: Blend together the softened butter and all sweetener until creamy.

  3. Add in room temp eggs and mix until fluffy

  4. Add in vanilla drops and mint extract. Continue to mix.

  5. In seperate bowl, mix together remaining dry ingredients.

  6. Add Dry ingredients to wet ingredients. Mix until well mixed together.

  7. Once Mixed together, leave mixture in bowl. Place in Fridge for 20-30 minutes.

  8. Once chilled, place round 1 inch balls of dough onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Slighty press down on dough.

  9. Bake in oven for 12-14 minutes.

Banana Creme Pie Z’s Banana Creme Pie
Home · Sweets and Treats

Z’s Banana Creme Pie

zhealthyhousewifeLeave a comment

With Chocolate Crust

No sugar added, Low carb

Bananas everywhere!!!

I recently had bought a bunch of bananas because they were on sale. However, because of our home addition that we started last week (long story), the house has been “opened up” quite a bit…which has caused the house to be very warm during the days. Thus, turning all my newly bought bananas brown!

I usually make a banana bread (try my Banana Walnut bread here….https://zhealthyhousewife.com/2018/01/07/banana-walnut-bread/), which is good…but I wanted to make something yummy and sweet. I wanted to make a pie.

So, I was debating on what to make, when my husband came into the kitchen and suggested that I make a banana pie with chocolate crust. Thus started my brain wheels spinning!

I looked through my cupboards and gathered together what might taste good in a banana pie, and because I only had a couple of hours until my nephews party started, I needed to come up with something fast!

banana creme pie

My brother in law requested for me to bring some sugar-free desserts, so I decided to make this and my other popular recipe: Z’s Double Strawberry Cheesecake.

Here’s the recipe for that one…https://zhealthyhousewife.com/2018/06/19/zs-double-strawberry-cheesecake/.

So I made both of these bad boys, and brought them over! Needless to say, they were a hit! Everyone loved them both…but my husband said that his new favorite was the Banana Creme Pie!

Bananas for the win!

I am usually not a fan of banana anything, but I actually thoroughly enjoyed this pie! This pie was definitely win, win!

My favorite part was the chocolate crust!!! The crust was to die for! So chocolatey and perfectly thick!

Also, topping it with Lily’s dark chocolate chips was a perfect finish! (here’s a link where you can buy them…)

What I am not a big fan of though, is using products that are processed. I just have to say, straight up…I did use a box of Jello sugar-free vanilla pudding mix in this recipe! I know! BAD GIRL!

I am sure there are ways you can tweak it to not have that processed stuff in it, but because of my lack for time and no opportunity to go to the store for special ingredients, this is what I used.

I usually like to stick to healthier choices. But,I think it’s ok to indulge every once in a while! EVERY ONCE IN A WHILE GUYS!

After all, it’s always better to choose things foods that won’t spike your blood sugar…even if occasionally it is processed or contains Sucralose.

Note: Eating foods containing Sucralose on a daily basis can have major health detriments. I would not suggest eating it very often.

The Recipe

Again…this bad boy was made in my Vitamix Blender!!! So stinkin’ easy! I have been spoiled rotten with that machine, and frankly, I am in love with the ease that it allows for making pretty much anything! If anyone wants to buy one…check out my main page on the sidebar! (I’ll get a small commission if you buy from my site:).

This pie was a hit, and I know that it will grace our tables many times to come!!!

I hope that you will enjoy this pie as much as my family and I have!

God Bless! -Z

Z’s

Recipe Image

Ingredients

    Crust:
  • 4 cups almond flour
  • 1/4 cup packed brown sugar substitute
  • 1/8 tsp salt
  • 1/8 cup golden flax meal
  • 1 stick butter
  • 1/4 cups unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 2 eggs
    • Filling:
  • 3 cups heavy whipping cream
  • 1 box Jello sugar-free vanilla pudding mix (instant)
  • 20 drops vanilla creme stevia drops (or 1 tsp vanilla)
  • 1/3 cups Gentle Sweet
  • 1/8 tsp xantham gum
  • 4 medium ripe bananas

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  2. Mix all crust ingredients in medium bowl until well mixed.
  3. Lightly grease a pie pan (I used Pam baking spray).
  4. Place crust mixture in pie pan and firm down with fingers.
  5. Bake for 15 minutes.
  6. In blender:
  7. Whip up heavy whipping cream in blender until firm. Add the rest of the filling ingredients until smooth and creamy.
  8. Add filling to cooled pie pan and place in freezer until firm (about 3 hours).
  9. Garnish with bananas, whipped cream and Lily's dark chocolate chips.
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https://zhealthyhousewife.com/2018/06/28/zs-banana-creme-pie/

 

Z’s Lemon Cream Cheesecake
Sweets and Treats

Z’s Lemon Cream Cheesecake

zhealthyhousewife3 Comments

Sugar-free, THM-S, Keto

Like a Drink of Lemonade

This cheesecake is divine! So refreshing and yummy, like a summer afternoon drink of lemonade!  to be honest, I am not much of a lemon fan. I usually pass up lemony desserts. I actually made this for my husband because I had a bunch of extra lemons.

You see, I had done the Master Cleanse, and ended up stopping a day early. So needless to say, I had a ton of extra lemons to use up. I hate to waste food, so I ended up thinking, “I should make something for my husband!”. This is the recipe that came to mind!

I have to admit that I really didn’t think I would like it, but I tried it always. Boy am I glad I did! It seriously is one of the most refreshing desserts I have ever had!

It is delicious!!!

I am so glad that I tried it! I am learning that you always have to at least try things! You may have written foods off when you were younger, like I have, but you never know if your taste buds have changed! Mine have for sure!

Easy as Pie!

This recipe cannot get any easier! I made it in my Vitamix! I seriously cannot say enough about how easy it is to make things when you have a good blender!

Yes please!

I just added the whipping cream and whipped it up (seriously in a matter of 5 seconds!), and then added my cream cheese, sweetners and vanilla’s to it, and blended! It seriously only took a minute!

I say “vanilla’s” because I added in a “secret ingredient”, that in my opinion, made this amazing!

Any of ya’ll ever heard of the Vanilla Creme stevia drops? If you haven’t used this before, it will change your world! Such a creamy vanilla taste, with none of the aftertaste that I have come to hate about stevia! I even love to add a couple drops to my coffee in the mornings!

You can buy them here (click link above). If you click the link above, I will get a tiny commission. Thanks!

This is a little slice of heaven right here!

I originally wanted to make a pie, but it turned out so simple, creamy and delicious that I felt it would be wrong to try to make it anything but this yummy and refreshing cheesecake! Maybe one of these days I will make this cheesecake into a pie too! We’ll see. 😉

The Recipe

This was such an easy cheesecake to make! If you ever want a pretty and decadent dessert that makes you look like a genius dessert maker, but takes all of 20 minutes total to make…this here is your ticket!

You can even dress it up with some whipped cream, more lemon slices or just eat it plain! It’s so easy…why not?!?!?

Hope y’all enjoy it as much as my family and I did!

God Bless!

-Z

Recipe Image

Ingredients

  • "!For the crust:"
  • In medium bowl add:
  • 2 cups almond four (I used finely sifted)
  • 2 tbs brown sugar substitute
  • 1 tbs Super Sweet blend
  • 1/8 flax meal
  • 1 stick melted butter
  • "!For the Filling:"
  • 1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
  • 2 8oz bricks of cream cheese
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla cream stevia drops
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla
  • Juice of 3 fresh lemons (I just cut mine in half and squeezed into the blender with the other ingredients)
  • 2 tbs Super Sweet blend
  • 3/4 cup Gentle Sweet

Instructions

  1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.
  2. In Medium bowl, mix all the ingredients for the crust (I use my hands, but you can use a spoon or spatula).
  3. Place in greased (I used Pam Baking Spray) Springform pan.
  4. Press down with your hands until spread out evenly and firm.
  5. Bake for 12 minutes or until edges are golden brown.
  6. Let cool completely.
  7. "!For the Filling:"
  8. Whip the heavy whipping cream first, in your high speed blender (or a stand mixer).
  9. Add in the softened cream cheese and remaining ingredients.
  10. Blend or mix until smooth.
  11. Spread mixture evenly over the cooled crust.
  12. Place in freezer for 3 hours or until firm.
  13. Garnish with sliced lemons or whipped cream. Or leave plain!
  14. Enjoy!

Notes

The longest part about this baking process is the waiting for it to firm up in the freezer! It is so easy to make!

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https://zhealthyhousewife.com/2018/05/17/zs-lemon-cream-cheesecake/

 

double choco chip cookies Z’s Double Chocolate Chip Cookies
Home · Recipes · Sweets and Treats

Z’s Double Chocolate Chip Cookies

zhealthyhousewifeLeave a comment

Sugar-free, gluten-free, THM-S, Keto

Chocolate Perfection

These cookies are divine! Absolute chocolate perfection! Remember how I posted a couple of weeks ago how much I love cookies? I do. And these just make me want to eat cookies for every meal! And the great part? No guilt! No sugar and no gluten! They are just a mouthful of chocolate bliss!

My second child, Justus does not prefer chocolate. I asked him to help me take some pictures and to taste test my recipe, and he was hesitant. He was like, “mommy, do I have to?”. But, after he tasted them, he asked for more!

He said, “mommy’s chocolate cookies are the only chocolate I like!”.

He readily helped me with the rest of my photography and asked for more at the end. I had so much fun having him help me, and the pictures turned great with him as my little “cookie model”.

eating cookies

Finding Joy in the Little things

I have found that I absolutely love food photography, and I especially love writing! I think it is important as moms to find a hobby or something constructive that brings you joy.

Finding joy in the little things, like taking photos of food or my kids enjoying the food I make…that’s just priceless.

I encourage you to find your “niche”. Find something that inspires you, and do it! I’m sure I will be writing a post on this subject soon, and there I can ramble and rant about how important finding hobbies for yourself can be.

Seeing these little faces light up after sinking their teeth into something delicious can be one of the highlights of my day. Capturing these faces is even better, because I can keep the memory alive.

 

 

 

Back to the Recipe

You can make these cookies plain chocolate chip cookies, if you prefer. Just take the cocoa powder out. They have the same taste, just less chocolatey.  these cookies are super easy to make, and I have found that whipping them together in the stand mixer takes only a couple of minutes. Then I just put the whole stand mixer bowl in the fridge to firm up, and go about my house chores. By the time I do a load of laundry and help the kids with school, they are ready to throw on a cookie sheet and bake!

They come out oh-so-gooey and perfect! After you allow them to cool, they firm up and get the perfect texture!

justus and choco chip cookie

double choco chip cookies

Mmmm….

 

 

 

 

 

justus and the cookie

Now that your mouth is watering, maybe you need to go make some!

Here is the recipe! Enjoy! -Z

Recipe Image

Ingredients

  • 2 sticks of butter
  • 3 eggs
  • 2 scoops (approx. 1/4 c.) vanilla protein powder
  • 1 cup sweetener (I used truvia-not the baking blend, and erythritol)
  • 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 3 cups almsond flour
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 8 oz. bag of sugar-free chocolate chips (I used Hershey's)

Instructions

  1. In a stand mixer:
  2. Add softened butter-Mix until creamy
  3. Add sweetener-mix until fluffy
  4. Add vanilla and mix more
  5. Add protein powder, cocoa and salt
  6. Add in almond flour and mix until evenly mixed
  7. When all is mixed, add in chocolate chips and mix for only about 20 seconds until all ingredients are incorporated.
  8. Stick the mixing bowl full of cookie dough in the fridge for 20-40 minutes until cold
  9. Take out of fridge and form into balls about 1 1/2 inches in diameter
  10. Put on uncreased baking sheet.
  11. Flatten with the palm of your hands, just slightly
  12. Bake at 350 degrees for 12 minutes
  13. Let cool before handling.
  14. Enjoy!
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https://zhealthyhousewife.com/2018/01/24/zs-double-chocolate-chip-cookies/

 

Z’s Strawberry Custard Ice-Cream
Recipes · Sweets and Treats

Z’s Strawberry Custard Ice-Cream

zhealthyhousewifeLeave a comment

Sugar-free, THM-S, Keto, Kid-approved

Ice-Cream…The Easy Treat

Let me just say, that I have not really made a lot of homemade ice-cream, ever. I have no idea why the heck not! It really is very easy, especially if you have a Vitamix blender (shameless plug;).

This post is mostly pictures of my amazingly handsome boys devouring this ice-cream. I couldn’t help myself.

You see, I just got my 50 mm camera lens, and it just takes too good of pictures to not practice with it!

My boys had so much taking the pictures, but they especially loved eating my “prop” strawberries (for my food photography), along with the actual ice-cream. It was awesome to just sit and watch them enjoy this decadent treat, and secretly know how good it was for them!

Also….priceless memories.

DSC_0312

They picked at the strawberries and smacked their lips as they thoroughly enjoyed their treat.

They had no idea that this ice-cream was actually healthy. They eat everything I make for them, but they especially love when mommy makes them treats!

My boys

DSC_0318This my Justus boy. He is 6 years old. He is so silly, and loves attention.  He is my little creative boy. He loves art, and can spend hours playing by himself.

DSC_0317

This is my Josiah David. He is 4 years old. He is my crazy ball of energy, but he has his serious moments. Especially when he’s getting his picture taken.

DSC_0320

This boy! This is my oldest boy, Jesse. He will be 8 years old next month. His sweet heart melts mine almost every day. He is the most caring and loving boy you’ll ever meet.

I know, I know….you’re sitting there going, “holy crap! look at those eyes!” Trust me, they get it wherever they go. They got their handsome eyes from their daddy, who I’m head over heels for. You can see why :).

Blessed

Have you ever wondered how you got so blessed? I do, almost every day. I know that my husband, these boys, my baby girl, and even the ability to stay home with them and make them healthy food…it is all a gift. A HUGE AMAZING GIFT. It truly is. I am positively and amazingly blessed!

DSC_0322

The Recipe

I actually wanted to make a vanilla “custard” ice-cream, but ended up making it into a strawberry version of that. I was looking for something sweet on my fuel cycle (THM week long fat burning diet), and I started to put something together. This is the recipe that came out. So, I guess you could say that it technically is a custard ice-cream.

Custard ice-creams a type of ice-cream that is old fashioned. Its kind of how they used to make ice-cream, before ice-cream became so processed.

“One early commercialization of frozen custard was in Coney Island, New York in 1919, when ice cream vendors Archie and Elton Kohr found that adding egg yolks to ice creamcreated a smoother texture and helped the ice cream stay cold longer. In their first weekend on the boardwalk, they sold 18,460 cones.” -Wikapedia.com

The eggs are what make it a THM S. It’s a great way to eat a scrumptious dessert, while staying “on plan”.

DSC_0308

So, without further adieu….Here is the recipe!

Recipe Image

Ingredients

  • 6 cups unsweetened vanilla almond milk
  • 6 eggs
  • 1 bag frozen strawberries (about 4 cups)
  • 1/2 cup gentle sweet (or preferred sweetener)
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 2 tbs glucomannan
  • dash of salt

Instructions

  1. In your blender: blend the eggs, almond milk and vanilla until smooth.
  2. In a large pot: add blended mixture and cook on medium-high heat until mixture becomes bubbly.
  3. Whisk often while heating.
  4. Before the mixture becomes bubbly, add your glucomannan, sweetener and dash of salt.
  5. Continue whisking until bubbly.
  6. Once the mixture gets frothy and bubbly, turn off heat and let cool.
  7. Once cooled, put in large Tupperware, and stick in freezer for a few hours.
  8. Don't freeze the mixture solid.
  9. Take out of freezer once the mixture has become very cold, but not frozen.
  10. Add mixture to blender and add frozen strawberries.
  11. Blend until smooth.
  12. Serve with extra strawberries or plain.
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https://zhealthyhousewife.com/2018/01/11/zs-strawberry-custard-ice-cream/

 

Banana Walnut Bread
Sweets and Treats

Banana Walnut Bread

zhealthyhousewife1 Comment

Sugar-free, THM-crossover, Low fat, Easy Recipe

This is truly just a recipe post! No rantings, I promise (mostly)!

To be completely honest, Iv’e never really been a big fan of banana bread recipes. This one is the exception!

But, when you have a bunch of overly raw bananas, sometimes you just need to have a healthy and easy recipe to use them in. Enter this Walnut Banana Bread!

Once again, this was one of those recipes that I kind of just made up as I went along. And, if I do say so myself, it is pretty yummy! My husband and kids love this!

The great thing is, it’s guilt-free! Sugar-free and full of nutrition. The walnuts make it a yummy THM crossover, so it is very satisfying!

Look at those yummy looking walnuts! The texture on this bread is amazing!

One of the things that I noticed as I baked this, is that because of the apple sauce inside of it, it takes a lot longer to bake. Be sure to watch the sides as it bakes, and make sure it isn’t turning too brown.

Here you go! Very little ranting, as promised! 🙂

 

Recipe Image

Ingredients

  • 5 ripe bananas
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1/2 tsp butter extract
  • 1 cup apple sauce
  • 1 cup egg white (I use the carton)
  • 2/3 cup brown sugar substitute (or brown sugar truvia-note: that has sugar in it)
  • 4 tbs cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 2 2/3 cup oat flour
  • 5 oz chopped walnuts (plus more for top)

Instructions

  1. Grease 2 bread pans. Set aside.
  2. Mix bananas until creamy.
  3. add in wet ingredients. Mix well.
  4. Add in dry ingredients and mix again until combined.
  5. When all ingredients are mixed, add in walnuts and mix until well dispersed.
  6. Put mixer in greased bread pans.
  7. Bake at 350 degrees for 40-50 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean.
  8. Serve warm.
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https://zhealthyhousewife.com/2018/01/07/banana-walnut-bread/

Enjoy! -Z