This is hands down the most requested drink by my family, friends, and my very picky children. This watermelon cooler is refreshing, hydrating, cooling, and tastes like a tropical drink you’d enjoy on vacation. In my Vitamix blender, I throw in cubes of fresh watermelon, which becomes the liquid portion. I add frozen strawberries, fresh mint leaves, and a squeeze of fresh lime juice.

I often make this recipe to use up a watermelon that is getting too watery before we can eat it, or to repurpose a watermelon that turned out to not be perfectly sweet and crunchy for slicing and eating raw. I often even blend any watermelon, whether it is ripe or not, too soft or too crunchy, as the texture and flavors are instantly remedied and delicious in this drink.

While most of my recipes are clean and wholesome, I wanted to make sure I have a few solid desserts that I can count on that are both sugar-free (refined cane sugar, not the carbohydrate) and grain-free. I am preparing for a Whole 30 type cleanse and I am extremely nervous to cut out gluten, along with all grains! I love dessert. And bread. And gluten. It’s hard to believe that these Chocolate Chai Spice Banana Muffins are grain-free with their perfectly moist crumb. They are baked with a combination of almond flour and cassava flour and are sweetened with honey and creamy chocolate morsels bursting throughout each bite. My kids and friends did not believe me that it is both sugar free and grain free! I challenge you to make these and not eat more than one! It’s just not possible.

The Clean Ingredient line-up

Chocolate Chunks

I have been reliant on Hu Chocolate for some time now. It’s delicious. I do not mess around with my chocolate cravings. This genius chocolate brand has the creamiest and smoothest chocolate made without sugar or dairy. It is a done deal for me! I try to refrain from any sugar or dessert throughout the regular week, saving indulgences for special occasions or the weekend. This is my secret weapon. It has no added sugars and gives me that deep dark chocolate boost I need. Be sure to check it out. Hu Chocolate is found at Whole Foods, Pete’s Grocery, and Thrive Market in both bars and chocolate gems to bake with. If you want to save money, I find that Thrive Market has the best price. It is worthwhile to make an account and order pantry staples from Thrive, as you receive significant savings than from the standard grocery store, especially on specialty items like these. If you start an account with this referral link from me, you will even save 25% off your order. I earn rewards for each new membership, and you save a good extra chunk of money. This is not an affiliated or sponsored post. I am just trying to spread the good word to access clean ingredients at the best possible price. Good, clean chocolate is something we should all have access to :D.

Cooking fats

This recipe is naturally dairy free. I adapted and modified my original Cinnamon spice banana date muffins which are made with coconut oil. I added almond butter to add extra moisture to the cakes, and to complement the almond flour replacing wheat flour. I kept the eggs because I am not excluding eggs from my diet. However, this recipe can easily be made vegan by using apple sauce or pumpkin puree in place of the eggs! Just add 1/3 cup of apple sauce in place of the two eggs. The bananas and ground flaxseeds already do a great job acting as binders in the recipe.

Sweeteners

To sweeten these cakes, I use 1 cup of honey. That’s truly all it needs! The sweet bananas (6 of them!), coconut oil, almond butter and flour all offer a delicate balance of sweetness that is well appreciated by this moist banana muffin. I usually use even less honey if it is only for me because I became so accustomed to cutting out sugar, I find that these are plenty sweet with all of the bananas.

The Grain Free Part

I substituted 3 cups of flour with 1 cup almond flour + 1.5 cups casava flour. The combination makes for a perfectly moist and fluffy muffin. Casava flour is made from yuca root and I love the brand by Otto’s Naturals. There are no added fillers or preservatives, and it is a soft texture with a neutral flavor. You can substitute all purpose flour with casava with a 1:1 ratio in weight. The batter became nicely fluffy while stirring in the baking soda and the muffins baked up beautifully in the oven. These muffins are hard to tell apart from their gluten counterparts!

Chocolate Chai Spice Banana Muffins (Grain- free and sugar free)

These Chocolate Chai Spice Banana Muffins are grain-free with a perfectly moist crumb. They are baked with a combination of almond flour and cassava and are sweetened with honey and creamy chocolate morsels bursting throughout each bite.

5 from 4 votes

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Course Dessert, Snack

Cuisine American, Fusion

Servings 16 muffins

Ingredients

  

• 6 ripe bananas
• 1/3 c coconut oil
• 2/3 c almond butter
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp ginger
• 1 tsp cardamom
• 1/2 tsp cloves
• 1 c honey
• 1/c c chopped dates (optional)
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 eggs *or replace with apple sauce for vegan option
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 1 c almond flour
• 1.5 c cassava flour
• 1 tbsp ground flax seed
• 1 c chocolate chips

Instructions

 

• Pre-heat oven to 350 degree (F).
• In a large bowl, smash the bananas with the coconut oil, almond butter, honey, and spices.
• Whisk the eggs with vanilla powder. Slowly add to mixture.
• Sprinkle in the baking soda.
• Fold in the flour and flaxseeds, followed by the chocolate chips.
• Divide batter into a muffin or cupcake tin. Bake on the center rack for 15-20 minutes.

Keyword banana bread, banana muffin, chocolate, gluten-free, grain-free, paleo, sugar-free, vegan

This turmeric and herb chicken soup is a clean, wholesome, and hearty bowl of comfort to help anyone get through the winter blues or recover from the cold and flu season. This golden soup yields a flavorful and nutrient dense bone broth that is simmered with the beneficial roots of fresh turmeric, onions, garlic, carrots, and potatoes into a creamy bowl of soup with rice and orzo pasta. I use fresh turmeric root which has many healthy benefits you can read about here. Fresh turmeric root is healthful for a number of reasons. As a natural plant based nutrient, it is an excellent anti-inflammatory food source rich in antioxidants that beautifully colors the broth a bright hue of yellow.

Wholesome and clean ingredients

This soup begins by simmering fresh bone-in chicken breasts and legs with nourishing herbs such as cardamom pods, oregano sprigs, bay leaves, parsley, and cilantro to create a bone broth that is nutritious for recovering from the ailments of the endless viral illnesses that are prevalent during the cold and flu season.

I make the entire soup in the Instant Pot. The pressure cooker aids in cooking a very juicy and tender chicken, in only 15 minutes! The cooking process extracts a rich broth from the chicken bones along with the benefits of bay leaves, oregano, and cardamom pods.

Once the chicken is cooked, I remove the breasts and strain the broth to remove the stalks of herbs and cardamom pods. The minced turmeric, garlic and onion are all sautéed in some oil, which helps our bodies absorb all the benefits of the turmeric and herbs. I use two whole turmeric roots and mince them in my bender or on a Microplane zester. Turmeric root’s nourishing health benefits are more effective in this dish as it is better absorbed by our bodies when it is eaten fresh with healthy fats and ground black pepper, as it is served in this soup. The turmeric and garlic add depth to the flavor profile with a little bit of a kick.

The soup then simmers with more root vegetables: diced carrots and potatoes until fork tender. I use colorful carrots because the kids enjoy finding the rainbow in this soup. Kids do eat in color after all. The starches from the potatoes make the broth get just a little creamy, which is the perfect texture for this soup.

I add rice and orzo pasta (or alphabet noodles, depending who I prepare this for). These small grains make this soup a hearty and comforting bowl. The rice or pasta can be omitted or replaced for other grains such as quinoa or lentils to suit whatever dietary restrictions one may have.

The soup is finished with chopped cilantro and parsley followed by fresh lemon juice. These add the perfect layers of flavor to this meal. The savory, earthy, and lemony taste of this soup reflect the Mediterranean flavors I am so fond of. I hope your family enjoys this bowl of wellness as much as mine does. To your health!

Turmeric and Herb Chicken Soup

This golden soup yields a flavorful and nutrient dense bone broth that is simmered with the beneficial roots of fresh turmeric, onions, garlic, carrots, and potatoes into a creamy bowl of soup with rice and orzo pasta.

5 from 2 votes

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Course Appetizer, Main Course

Cuisine American, egyptian

Servings 6

Equipment

• Instant Pot Pressure Cooker

Ingredients

  

For the Broth

• 2 bone-in chicken breasts (yields 2 cups shredded chicken)
• 1-2 chicken legs
• 2-3 sprigs of fresh oregano
• 4-5 bay leaves
• 5 cardamom pods
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 1.5 tsp salt
• 2 tsp ground coriander
• 1/4 tsp red chili pepper flakes optional
• 1/2 onion, quartered
• 3 c water

Soup Preparation

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp minced garlic
• 2 tbsp minced turmeric root, about 2 small roots, peeled
• 3 tbsp minced onion
• 1/2 c diced carrots, about 2-3 large carrots
• 1 c diced potatoes, about 2 large potatoes
• 1 c rice, washed and drained
• 1/2 c orzo pasta or alphabet noodles
• 1/2 c fresh lemon juice, about 1-2 lemons
• 1 bunch cilantro, minced
• 1 bunch parsley, minced
• 1-2 tsp salt, to taste

Instructions

 

For the Bone Broth

• Place the chicken in the Instant Pot and sprinkle all the broth spices, herbs, and onion wedges on top.
• Add 3 cups of water and set the cooker too high pressure for 15 minutes.

To prepare the soup

• Once the pressure cooker has finished cooking and has released pressure, remove the chicken and set aside.
• Pour the broth contents in the pot into a large bowl, with a seive to separate all the stems, leaves, and pods from the broth.
• In the same pot, add olive oil and the minced onion. Sautee until yellow, and then add the turmeric and garlic.
• Before the garlic burns, pour the broth over the mixture. Add 4 cups of water.
• Add 1 tsp of salt.
• Once the liquid begins to simmer, add the rice, potatoes and carrots. Simmer for 5-8 minutes.
• While the soup simmers, pull apart the chicken breasts so the meat is shredded and add it back into the soup.
• Add the orzo or alphabet noodles. Simmer for 3-5 minutes more until the pasta has cooked.
• Turn off the heat, and add the chopped cilantro and parsley, along with the lemon juice.

Keyword broth, carrots, chicken, cilantro, potato, turmeric