Low-sugar healthy recipes Archives - Page 7 of 18

Bran Waffle with Lemon (Dairy-Free)

Bran waffle in your diet is good inspo for healthy and happy eating. It’s a great year-round breakfast or brunch idea.

And if you can’t do dairy, this one you’ll love!

To brighten the a brown waffle color, lemons add sunny yellow and pucker-up tartness. And actually lemons are winter fruits that we celebrate more in summer! 🍋

You would never know that these waffles have bran and lemon in them!

But bran topping or blended in bran is loaded with fiber, and a handful of all bran may be the fiber you need (without all the sugar).

Bran is a whole food and grain which means that the bran, germ, and endosperm stay intact.

In common terms, that means that extra vitamins and fiber are included and not just the starchy carb middle layer found in many ordinary grains.

Bran is also a low glycemic index food that good for anti-inflammatory.

So it’s a good start, and when you mix bran in your waffle batter, you don’t have soggy bran like in cereal. 🥣

Bran also makes for a good foundation for other flavors like citrusy lemon that comes through.

The burst of sour sweetness wakes up!

And when you add another flavor dimension like anise seed or spice, you have one tasty waffle that’s also good for your stomach gut.

You can make pancakes with these ingredients, and if you like crunch and the idea of not waiting for your stove to heat up, you can make fresh waffles.

All you need are a few extra waffle ingredients and a waffle iron.

In case you’re debating whether to get one, I did the same. I wondered if it would be another tool that would take up valuable kitchen space.

And I’m proud to say it was a great investment because waffle irons are not expensive compared to other plug-in kitchen tools. 🔌

Mine gets used regularly, and yours would too!

They also take up little space standing upright like a book 📕 that I discovered when I read the paper instructions it came with.

…I would’ve never thought of that because I’ve only seen them in motion use either sitting on a table or at a self-serve hotel breakfast bar.

And that’s the story of how the waffle idea caught on with me (…and maybe for you too?). 🧇🧇🧇

…Oh, and the best part is if you don’t feel like cooking or waiting for your stove to wake up from cold sleep, a waffle iron is a fast-heating, convenient tool.

It’s as fast heating up as a curling iron for your hair that most of us grew up with.

…Once upon a time, I had a wavy iron. I’m glad that trend died and didn’t resurrect!

…And that no waffle iron hair took its place. 😊

Let’s keep the waffles for the kitchen.

And since they’re so easy to whip up in one bowl in 5-minutes, you can free-zer up your freezer space.

Just think, this weekend or today, a happy breakfast or brunch is served in minutes! 💭 And with a bran waffle stack idea, you have a healthy breakfast that could be a daily one.

The possibility of sweet pairing flavors is endless with easy and sweet one-bowl made waffles.

Like, you can amp up your waffle fries with healthy, savory potatoes with a french fry crunch 🍟. For other one-bowl easy waffles, check out my brunch waffles and recipes.

Lemon Bran Waffle (Dairy-Free)

Course Breakfast, brunch

Cuisine American

Servings 3 waffles

Author Brandy @ Healthy Happy Life Secrets

Ingredients

1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup all-bran cereal
1/2 cup water
1 tbsp healthy oil
1 tbsp anise seeds
1 tsp cardamom (optional)
1/2 lemon

Instructions

Combine water to flour and add bran. Let the bran soften (or you can grind in advance).
Squeeze in lemon and add seeds. If you do not have anise seeds, you can substitute with poppy or chia seeds that will be also be a delight.
Cook waffles until golden brown (usually 3-5 minutes on medium setting on heated waffle iron).

Gut Health For a Happier Life

Gut health is something that rules our happy life. This article is about reminders and what you can do about keeping the gut happy.

…And fermented foods is one way that makes for your healthier and happier life! 😊

Easy steps to make sourdough for gut health. 👣

Like, baking sourdough is one way to take healthy measures to get a happy gut. And a great new year initiative. 🎉

For one, making sourdough is an immersive experience to learn about what fermented foods are.

In the process, you see how easily bacteria in the air (that we often avoid) is created and grows, and these become baked-in prebiotic foods to support our healthy gut bacteria.

I learned about these sides researching and writing articles for health and wellness publications… and going through the baking experience myself like so many during the pandemic.

Sourdough was a trend and maybe still is with you. 🥖

…If you’ve never tried making sourdough, it’s much easier to make (and regular bread too) than it sounds.

Actually… it’s sooo easy in steps, that it fits on the small square infographic image above that I created. ⬆️

…And that’s just one way to promote gut health.

A healthy gut is a happy life connection.

…Where remember, over 90% of the happy hormones (serotonin) is made in the gut.

So if you have a less-than-balanced gut, then the happy moods can subtly run off… but often can be mood restored with TLC (self-care) and Ayurvedic restoration if it’s not caused by a health issue.

…If you don’t know why you have a sudden chip on your shoulder or are more emotionally lately, gut health could be one reason.

So it’s good to ask yourself: what have I been eating lately? And what in my life and lifestyle could have brought this temporary mood on?

The mind-body connection is as real as the happy gut health connection.

And if it’s lifestyle or mood-related, you can get your healthy and happy gut back on with some tweaks…

Eating more fiber from mostly veggies and fruits for morning starters is a good move! 🥕🥦

The fiber ones that are non-digestible are prebiotic. There’s a subset of plant-based foods or produce out there that qualify. 🍏 🍌

Prebiotic foods such as asparagus are abundant in spring. And garlic and onions peak… (see these ones peeking out here 🧅).

Along with probiotic healthy bacteria (like that found in Greek yogurt), prebiotic foods will encourage more good bacteria.

And so, mixing your banana (prebiotic) and Greek yogurt (probiotic) is a good idea. And when you add nuts or seeds and whole fruits, that makes a gut smile even more.

Starting your morning habits after a tall glass of water or ginger water sets you and your body on the right foot.

You can prevent leaky gut, dysbiosis, SIBO, and IBS caused by food habits.

Encouraging good gut bacteria growth in the body is similar to supporting positive, loving thoughts in the mind where you want to crowd out the negative, bad ones.

✋ Avoid Reminders:

Antibiotics destroy the gut microbiome and changing gut health flora. Take antibiotics when absolutely necessary.

Such as, most people wouldn’t take antibiotics for a common cold virus (as it wouldn’t help and is not necessary).

But it’s common to take antibiotics prescribed by a doctor as precaution for a growing bacterial infection. And supplementing with probiotics (including yogurt) help to support the gut damage.

If you think of a healthy gut like a well-run garden (vs. an unbalanced jungle that can turn into weeds ), then you have a good mental picture of healthy balance vs. dysbiosis (gut imbalance).

…And you’re the gardener. 🧑‍🌾

Avoid the skin on foods that are non-organic.

Skin has nutrients but a lot of the modern healthy foods we eat today are sprayed with toxins in the process that negate the benefits and damage the gut.

So eating skin on certified organic foods or ones you personally plant and care for is the only real way to be safer in protecting your gut microbiome.

Stress is a killer. Our bodies naturally clean and detox during sleep, but stress puts wear and tear on our body’s natural defenses and adds a strain on its healthy housekeeping.

Avoiding stress at all costs is the best way.

With stressful seasons and situations that you experience, take daily deep breaths.

It’s amazing how the world looks different after a few deep breathing exercises like: Ujjayi, Lion’s Breath, or 4-7-8.

My favorite way is getting on my yoga mat to let the world and stress melt away. 🧘🏻‍♀️

It’s cathartic.

You can also take relaxing nature walks and experience tears of joy through Ayurvedic living.

The story of your stress is displayed in your gut, starting from cravings and what you eat… down to how food is digested and how it determines your bathroom life relative to other days and seasons.

The moods you think you’re feeling may not be the one your body is actually experiencing.

Remember, you are not your body or mind, but they are part of you.

You can tell signs by what you’re drawn or repelled to in foods, scents, and activities. That’s one way Ayurveda is useful to daily, modern life so you can make changes.

And that’s why I was hooked after I learned about the science …as we’re not prisoners to our situations and moods that are served up… we’re empowered to restore to our healthy and happy, best life and season.

…And we’re better off for it in daily joyful living and living healthy longer.

You can restore your moods and gut in one-fell swoop effort with your healthy moves when you know what to do (and then do it).

Mood foods are a good way to start and most fall in the anti-inflammatory food diet categories that’s catching on.

Anti-inflammatory foods are the ones I focus on, as I found on my healthy living journey that they matter most.

They help to restore gut balance and bigger picture… they’re known to prevent certain common chronic diseases like heart diseases, Diabetes, cognitive decline, and certain cancers.

You can find anti-inflammatory profiles in many beverages, spices, and colorful polyphenol-filled rainbow foods when you look around. 🌈

…Like this butterfly blue tea drink filled with quercetin and other antioxidants that I made from bags of tea I purchased.

Keeping a daily happy gut with anti-inflammatory plant-based foods and creative healthy beverages, you live comfortably, have more energy, and get to fulfill more each day.

…Now that’s something to look forward to! ✨

One gut health pairing idea: a pear granola crumble (substitutable with apple) that’s tasty happy pair-enhanced with cinnamon. Use Ceylon cinnamon for additional anti-inflammatory benefits. 🧡 😋

Pear Granola Crumble

Course Breakfast

Cuisine American

Author Brandy @ Healthy Happy Life Secrets

Ingredients

dry oats
pear
honey
cinnamon to liking
light EVOO

Instructions

Add your layer of oats. And drizzle honey ontop and a drizzle of light olive oil so you get the toasty granola effect.
Add your cut pear slices. Add cinnamon as a divine flavor pairing.
Add another layer of oats and more cinnamon to liking.
Bake until toasted.
For healthy Vata balancing, add orange slices or zest and additional Ceylon cinnamon.

Mango Smoothie Benefits

Mango in a smoothie is one way to start your healthy morning. Learn about the fruit benefits and get ideas for your smoothie.

You’ll learn all about the mango healthy sides here…

First of all, the stone fruit has a good amount of fiber, so it’s a great morning starter to rev up the gut engines… plus the bright taste and sunny color is going to leave you happy. 🌅

You may not have a choice about what side of the bed you woke up on… but you do have a say in turning that wake-up frown, upside down to prepare you for your better day! 🥭

And saying yes to the fruit means adding vitamins and minerals that you may not have without.

For starters, mangos are loaded with Vitamin C that’s a smart morning staple. It’s the vitamin that has stayed constant in health benefits over the centuries. The “C” could stand for “cure” as it has been. And is a great immunity booster.

Plus, it’s water soluble so you can’t take too much.

The fruit is also a good source of Vitamin A good for eyesight and dry eyes if that’s you.

Mangos are inexpensive and found year-round in the U.S so there’s nothing stopping you.

You can get a fresh juice in seconds for less than you would pay for a soda loaded with sugars.

And if you think a mango is loaded with sugar… you’re right. It’s like a pineapple in that way. And mango has more sugar than low-sugar cookies.

…But the 20 or more vitamin and mineral benefits offset the sugar sides as shown in a 12-week study.

The findings include that despite the high sugar amount in a mango, the blood sugar in study participants tested lower as a deemed low-glycemic index food.

That’s what actually counts more than the printed sugar count on a cookie package.

And that news can be a game changer for pre-diabetes, preventing or even managing Diabetes if that’s a concern.

It also is named an anti-inflammatory food… that we like! And is good for everyone to protect against chronic inflammation and diseases.

Because of the polyphenol and fiber counts, eating a mango does good to help offset the gut-inflammatory aspects.

And in my own tests, my skin doesn’t crawl when I eat them… and is probably adding a rainbow glow and erasing lines. 😊

Which btw, you can probably guess what rainbow polyphenols are living in a mango based on its Goldenrod bright orange (paper) color. There was a Vitamin A hint above.

Found in carrots too, mangos have beta-carotene. They also have quercetin (found in apples and onions) as part of the great mango tango.

…And maybe that makes you dance inside a ‘lil 💃🏻 or look at a mango more positively than before.

Or even consider mango as a smoothie starter.

Add a banana and water or milk, and you’ve got a solid mango smoothie!

But you don’t have to stop there…

You can add all the healthy ingredients that help your gut, detox, and provide vitamins and antioxidants on top of mango!

You can pucker up with lemon that’s a winter citrus. It has a summer fruit reputation despite its year-round availability.

And for a third taste dimension, add ginger and turmeric that would make a super mango smoothie, that’s an anti-inflammatory powerhouse.

If you’re food dreaming of a mango drink 🥭, then you may also love mango lassi spiced just right or a mango juice vs. orange juice. Or a tropical green smoothie or morning mango parfait for probiotic gut-health bonus.

The healthy variety of tastes is unlimited!

Greek Yogurt Mango Smoothie Parfait

A morning mango parfait is an easy way to bring a smile to your mornings and weekends.

Author Brandy @ Healthy Happy Life Secrets

Ingredients

mango, pureed
Greek yogurt
blueberries or blackberries (optional)

Instructions

Layer yogurt bottom and add mango puree. Add a layer of contrasting berries if you like. Enjoy!

Green Smoothie – Mango Tropical Blend

Green smoothie drinks is something healthy good. We can turn into a tropical smoothie in the hot months. 🥭 And make it look like a turning unripe to ripe mango.

A green smoothie is one of the easiest drinkable salad meals you can make. You need no cooking skills.

A little imperfect chopping and peeling is about all you need.

Oh, and a little clean up skills never hurts.

And with restaurant prices going up, up, and up, you can save money making your own fresh green smoothies at home.

The cost of smoothie ingredients is a fraction of the cost. You save money when you’re the smoothie maker.

There is no waiting time.

So let’s begin with… these tropical smoothie treats that are made with an easy blender that’s all you need.

I use a Magic Bullet that’s a small, easy blender. It looks like a capsule. You add your chopped ingredients and pulse.

Then you have a delicious and nutritious smoothie with no added sugar. You can let your imagination go wild.

With a Magic Bullet, it’s important to maintain a good seal. The machine comes with a rubber seal ring, but be sure when you’re cleaning that you don’t accidentally throw it out.

And when you replace, get a good, same size one… otherwise you’ll get leakage.

These are a few tropical smoothie drinks that’ll remind you of being poolside or in the tropics somewhere with blue waters:

Pina Colada Avocado – cream of coconut, pineapple. I find this drink is naturally super sweet, so I ground with a balancing avocado and greener banana. You can also add a layer of greens.

Green Mango Smoothie – a mango smoothie stands on its own with benefits. And like a pina colada, it can be sweet so balancing with a kale or spinach layer will tame down the drink.

Adding mango is fruit sweetness so you don’t have to add other fruit sweeteners. It helps to tame the bitter green tastes.

And to give a kick and another dimension is adding cinnamon and ginger. Both spices are anti-inflammatory and contain polyphenols. Ginger is especially good for digestion and cinnamon is great for calming anxiety.

Those small ingredient tweaks take this smoothie from meh hold your nose to drink to to a delicious tall order drink you can enjoyable sip on.

Green Mango Smoothie

This is a two layer smoothie.

Course Breakfast

Cuisine American

Author Brandy @ Healthy Happy Life Secrets

Ingredients

1 mango
milk of choice
cinnamon
spinach or kale
ginger

Instructions

Blend mango and milk until thickness consistency desired.
Add cinnamon for another taste dimension.
Pour about half of the mango smoothie into a drinking glass. Freeze.
With the remaining mango smoothie add chopped greens. Blend.
After the first mango layer is frozen, add the greens layer to the glass.
You can start drinking the greens layer or freeze the glass.
When you pull out, let it melt at room temperature and watch the mango and green colors change.

Cacao Frozen Beverage

Frozen cacao beverage…whaattt? Cold cocoa (vs hot cocoa) is probably not what you think of when you think of cozy Christmas-y holiday vibe drinks in December. ❄️

And not a beverage you would hold with mittens around a dreamy outdoor cozy fire.

…But before you turn away the idea, a frozen HYGGE-cozy flavored and FUN layered cocoa variety can be a welcomed chiller! 🧊 Think of it like an unusual frozen smoothie. And that is great for cooling any stress-irritated moods that can sink in.

Like this one I share how to easily make…

…It’s layered, and looking like a sand art glass (yes?). And one you can imagine maybe finding at a Christmas market or art show.

Oh, except this one is deliciously drinkable made with drink slip away ingredients (and not slipping sand)! 🧋

And this frozen cacao beverage is inspired by dairy-free spumoni ice cream flavors dreamt up from a childhood travel experience in Italy. 🇮🇹

Each layer is frozen and when the drink melts, it’s more fun to watch than a snowman melting. ☃️

You can use anti-inflammatory cocoa like I did with Hershey 100% raw cocoa, and then layer with cherry juice… and then add almond milk with a few drops of Pandan (for natural mint green color) and pistachios.

If you’ve never tasted Pandan 🌱, it’s a plant-based ingredient with a vanilla-nutty vibe that taste mixes well with plant-based milks like almond or cashew milk.

For healthy cocoa, instead of going to the cocoa mix beverage aisle of the grocery store, visit the baking or seasonal aisles instead to find the pure multi-purpose cacao.

The cocoa can be used to make a drink like hot or cold cocoa, or used to bake with and make desserts like healthy chocolate cake, brownies, and cookies.

You want to find an unsweetened, raw cacao that is not alkalized (processed or Dutched cocoa) for the healthy tastes. And this is the best kind to bake with too!

Most marketed drinking cocoa coming in packets or pouches with the options of marshmallows are the processed kind often loaded with sugar.

You can always sweet treat yourself with marshmallows (sugar) ontop at the end. Or simply zhugh with coconut chips or pistachio crumbles.

You can also substitute the cocoa with a healthy coffee milkshake or pure cold brew coffee.

And then after you’ve made your frozen cocoa beverage artwork 😁, you can serve with cocoa desserts like this cocoa brownie cake with cashews and dried raspberries.

Which btw, polyphenol-rich cacao and raspberries are an anti-inflammatory power couple.

…But me-thinks 🧒🏻 that a frozen cacao beverage is just what these healthy un-iced and faceless molasses gingerbread men ordered. The mystery remains… 😊

Oh, and they’d be good to dunk in the your frozen cacao beverage.