Raw by Rae - Nutrient Balanced Treats

Raw by Rae

One of my fabulous fit friends, miss Rachel Dora, was kind enough to send me several flavors of her delicious Raw by Rae nutrient dense desserts!  I was really excited to try these because I have a HUGE sweet tooth (I certainly live up to the name Candy) lol!  As you can tell from my blog, I love eating well.  I think it is very important to eat whole, all natural foods to fuel your body and mind in order to perform proficiently.  But let's be honest, like most people in this world I crave "junk" food too, especially desserts like cakes, cookies, and brownies.  Yet we all know those aren't exactly the best choices for our health and/or waistline.  That's why I love these Raw by Rae treats!  Not only do they taste heavenly, but they are HEALTHY, 100% RAW, ALL NATURAL, REAL food that everyone's body can benefit from.

So far, I have had the opportunity to try 4 flavors:

1) Chocolate Chip Cookie

- Chocolaty goodness; I just love the bites of raw cacao nibs!

2) Pecan Pie

- Sweet southern comfort! Chewy and decadent.

3) Orange Chocolate

- Just the perfect blend of chocolate and orange flavor. Rich and refreshing.

4) Coconut Brownie

- Rolled in unsweetened coconut shavings for a burst of coconut on top of a fudgey "brownie".

There are a variety of other yummy flavors to choose from too, such as; Original Brownie, Banana Split, Pumpkin Spice, Salty Caramel, Cinnamon Roll, Tiramisu, Lemon Coconut, and Mint Chocolate Chip.  Basically, whatever your favorite sweet treat is, Rachel has most likely turned it into a nutrient-packed gourmet dessert.  Although I must say, I recommend making a S'mores or Chocolate Peanut Butter treat!

Every treat is made fresh daily, with completely raw and unprocessed ingredients which allows the abundant amount of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and omega-3 fatty acids to remain in their optimum natural state . All the desserts are dairy free, egg free, gluten free, grain free, and soy free with no artificial sweeteners, no preservatives and no trans fat, which works well with specialty diets including raw, vegan & vegetarian diets.

My first bite of Raw by Rae - The Chocolate Chip Cookie!

An example of the ingredients you'll find in a Raw by Rae treat would be: dates, cashews, flaxseed, cold-pressed coconut oil, maple syrup, cacao, cacao nibs, vanilla extract, and grey sea salt, which is exactly what the Chocolate Chip is comprised of.

Pecan Pie!

Close up of the Raw by Rae Pecan Pie treat.

Packed with raw pecans, which are a rich source for energy, health benefiting nutrients, minerals, anti-oxidants, and vitamins that are essential for wellness, this treat was so moist and delicious!

Having an Orange Chocolate treat with my post-workout breakfast!

 

Here's a close up of the Orange Chocolate! Let me be honest by saying, I was hesitant to try these ones due to the fact that it was orange flavoring, I'm more or a strawberry or blueberry type gal! But, I was very pleasantly surprised by these! They were REALLY GOOD. The orange extract was not overpowering and it was just the perfect mix of cacao and orange. So tasty! Ingredients are dates, cashews, flaxseed, cold-pressed coconut oil, maple syrup, cacao, vanilla extract, orange extract, and sea salt! The texture to me is like a fudgey brownie. Two thumbs up for these healthy treats!

The Coconut Brownie treats makes me smile :)

To order online and have these treats shipped directly to your door, visit www.RawbyRae.com.

Gender Reveal Party!

Gender Reveal Party!

Good morning and happy Monday!!!  Yesterday was my sister's Gender Reveal Party so I have some great appetizer recipes to share with you along with a little how-to guide for making a fabulous homemade gender reveal balloon box.

We made three healthy & easy appetizers:
1) Fruit Salad with Honey Lime Dressing
2) Capreese Bites

3) Sweet Potato Avocado Bites

All three of the recipes were found on Pinterest (Check out all of my boards here.) which we adapted in order to work with ingredients we already had or were more readily available at our local grocery store.  They all provide different flavors for guests to enjoy.  Also, they are all natural, gluten free, vegetarian friendly, and Paleo approved!

Fruit Salad with Honey Lime Dressing

Ingredients:

- 1 pt. container Strawberries
- 1 pt. container Blueberries
- 1  bunch (about 1 1/2 lbs.) seedless grapes (green, red or a mixture of both)

Dressing:
- 1/4 cup honey
- Juice from 2 Limes (about 2-3 tablespoons)

Instructions:
- Rinse strawberries, blueberries and grapes.
- Gently pat the fruit dry.

- Hull strawberries, then cut each in half; if large, cut into quarters.
- Remove stems from blueberries, if any.
- Remove grapes from stems.
- Combine fruit in a large bowl.
- In a small bowl, whisk together honey and lime juice.

- Serve on the side for guests to pour over fruit as they please.
- Keep refrigerated until ready to serve.

Capreese Bites

Ingredients:

- 2 packages of Mozzarella Balls *We used Formaggio Marinated Mozzarella Salad*

- 1 large container of Cherry Tomatoes

- Fresh Basil Leaves

- Toothpicks

Instructions:

- Slide one mozzarella ball, one basil leaf, and one cherry tomato onto a toothpick.

- Assemble neatly onto a serving dish.

- Keep refrigerated until ready to serve.

Sweet Potato Avocado Bites

Ingredients:

- 6 medium sweet potatoes, scrubbed and sliced into ¼-inch thick pieces

- 1 Tablespoon Cumin

- 1 Tablespoon Paprika

- Sea Salt, to taste

- 3 Tablespoons of Olive Oil

- 2 large Avocados, pitted

- ¼ cup fresh Lime Juice

- ½ teaspoon Sea Salt

- Cherry Tomatoes

- Alfalfa Sprouts

Instructions:

- Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

- Add the sliced sweet potatoes, cumin, paprika, olive oil, and sea salt to a bowl. Toss to coat.

- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and spread the sweet potato slices out into a single layer. - Bake for 15 minutes or until tender.

- Scoop the flesh of the avocado into a medium bowl. Add the lime juice and ½ teaspoon sea salt and mash together with the back of a fork.

- Spread the sweet potato slices out of a serving platter.

- Top each slice with a dollop of smashed avocado, half of a cherry tomato, and a sprinkling of alfalfa sprouts.

- Serve and enjoy!

Gender Reveal Balloon Box

My sister really wanted to reveal the gender of their first baby to friends and family with a box filled with balloons.  So, what my big sister wants, she gets!  My mother and I were in charge of creating the balloon box so we got to work on it right away.  We searched high and low for a box big enough and got lucky at Lowes!  I just want to say that the staff at Lowes in Sunrise, FL is wonderful!  They were so incredibly kind and helpful, going out of their way to save us boxes (they compact all the boxes, so my tip to you would be to call ahead in the morning and nicely ask them to hold a box for you!).

We ended up getting a dishwasher box *for free at Lowes* that did not have a bottom/top so we went back the following day and got a refrigerator box which we cut to fit for a custom box top.  While there, we purchased a large roll of brown masking paper to cover the entire box.

After covering the box, we created a uniform heart but folding a piece of paper in half, drawing one side of the heart, then cutting like so.

Next we created several sizes of circles using simple household items such as bowls, cans, and lids which we outlined on various shades pink and blue construction paper.

After that, I printed out the letters (you can write them yourself, but my handwritting is not the best, therefore I decided to print out out the lettering, cut them out, then glue them onto the heart.

Lastly, we decorated the box with cute little baby charms and ribbon that we found (try the dollar store, craft stores like Michael's, Party City, Target, and WalMart for inexpensive decorations).  

And here it is at the party right before the reveal!

And...

It's a GIRL!!!

Congratulations 
Crystal & Jimmie!