UA-141369524-4

No Bake Cookie Rainbow (Gluten-Free)

No-bake cookie recipes are not common, but I’ve got a delicious one you’ll love. And it’s gluten-free and dairy-free.

This dreamy one has rainbow healthy sweet flavors and a rainbow look… like an Italian flag colors. 🇮🇹

No bake cookie that looks like a cake with spumoni tri-colors

It’s a rainbow cookie.

To match, this one has the eat-from-the-rainbow 🌈 polyphenol healthy filled ingredients like matcha green tea to match-ah if healthy is your jam today!

And you can learn more 👇 about what else you can mix in that will make this one low-sugar, but sweet dessert… that’s also healthy gluten-free.

It’s made with delicious gluten-free almond flour.

You don’t need any other flours, but of course you have your choices available to fold in.

Adding regular or all-purpose (gluten) flour is not needed because there’s no baking in this recipe, so there will not be an oven rise…

But this cookie has the look of a cake that doesn’t fall flat!

The cookie-cake illusion is elevated by the interesting flavor layers like in spumoni ice cream… and they share in common no eggs.

You can make a pinkish or bright fire engine red color from   beet juice and graduated green colors from combined green Pandan gel, pistachios, and matcha green tea.

Pandan if you’ve never tried has a strong vanilla, leafy, and earthy tasting quality that matches the bright spring green color. 🍃

And if you’re not a match green tea fan but like the idea of adding matcha, it can definitely drown out the matcha flavor.

Plus adding a healthy light olive oil drizzle is heart healthy good. And each individual layer has healthy raw honey… so there’s plenty of healthy sweetness rolled in.

…You could even call this a Mediterranean diet dessert.

To glue all the layers together, raspberry jam is a great option and is used in this recipe, but you can use another jam like apricot that is traditional, or omit altogether.

And you can make a happy plate of these rainbow cookies that you can share and impress your friends with.

It’s fun to have them wonder if it’s a cookie or a cake… 🍥

AND they definitely won’t guess that you didn’t bake these, but you did make ’em!

The best part is that you can make this shareable dessert without extra prep waiting time.

Because there’s no need to refrigerate in between steps or layers.

And if you have a tendency to forget, you also don’t need to take out ingredients in advance to get to room temps. How sweet is that!?

I mean… it doesn’t get easier than that for impressive tasting and crowd pleasing desserts.

Ready to make this no-bake rainbow cookie?

Print

No-Bake Rainbow Cookie (Gluten-Free)

This is enough to make one cookie or a shared cookie bite.
Course Dessert
Cuisine American, Italian
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 0 minutes
Author Brandy @ Healthy Happy Life Secrets

Equipment

  • plastic wrap
  • 3 bowls

Ingredients

  • 3/4 cup almond flour
  • Pandan gel, several drops
  • pistachios, finely chopped and extra for topping (optional)
  • pinch of matcha green tea
  • 1/4 tsp beet juice
  • 1 tsp almond extract
  • 1 tbsp raw honey
  • 1 tbsp light olive oil
  • water

Instructions

  • Mix almond flour, honey, olive oil, and almond extract. Add enough water so the dough sticks together. There will be crumbles that fall off but can be put back together.
  • Then separate the dough evenly into 3 bowls.
  • Add small amount of beet juice to one bowl to desired color. Add green tea, Pandan gel, and pistachios to another bowl to desired color.
  • When you're happy with your colors in your dough layers, start with the red one at the bottom. Add into a large enough piece of plastic wrap to shape the dough into a 3-d rectange. Set aside. Then unwrap and replace the no added color dough to the same piece of plastic wrap and shape to the same size as the first dough rectangle. Do this step with the green dough and set aside.
  • Add a layer of jam to the top of the bottom layer and the middle layer. Wrap tightly in the plastic wrap.
  • Assemble/stack dough layers starting from the bottom to the top. Zhugh with pistachio bits on top. Then wrap tightly with the same piece of plastic wrap. Refrigerate for a few hours before serving.

 

Vanilla Cookie (Vegan) – No Butter

Vanilla cookie with no butter or margarine is not heard of if you want something delicious.

Like these vanilla whirls 🍥 …

That are healthy cookies (but you would never know it by taste).

vanilla cookie with raspberry jam dollop
Vanilla cookie is cookie that is anything but plain!

Below is this healthy and delicious vanilla cookie recipe using affordable healthy ingredients (PLUS some budget-friendly grocery tips your wallet will love 🛒).

But first things first… what makes this cookie so special is it has NO BUTTER!

…And it tastes so buttery cookie decadent like a cookie should.

These little ones are made like the Stella D’Oro assortment cookies I grew up with. One of the assorted cookies had a fruit filling that look like these (like raspberry hearts  💌 in the middle).

They discontinued making this cookie, but you can make a similar copycat cookie with the recipe below 💕.

That btw is made from plant based (aka Vegan) ingredients. And I already hinted it has a buttery taste. 🌱

So you could use a Vegan butter….

But I found them pricey and they’re not the same butter tastes. Some common vegan butter brands out there are:

Trader Joe’s, Smart Balance, Country Crock, Earth Balance, and Miyoko’s.

So now that I gave you that option, now I can tell you what I used instead of any butter look-alike… 😊

Because who says for a vanilla cookie you need butt-ah (or margarine that I grew up with?) 🧈

Butter types is not what makes the cookie desirable.

For me, it’s more of a childhood fond memory I grew up with (and maybe you did too).

…And maybe you have a buttery tub that reminds you of childhood or home?

But…

BUT-ter memories can stay part of our butterfly journeys that we can change. 🦋

They don’t have to stay as our daily habits for a healthy future if we choose.

And switching to more daily healthy eating ways (to substitute our old ways) is so much easier to do these days.

Sourcing longevity ingredients in a Mediterranean diet is easy.

…Like finding daily olive oil that no one I knew cooked with when I was growing up.

TODAY it’s a norm and an easy switch into healthy tastes.

When you’re grocery shopping, olive oil prices can be even better than butter.

Mostly because you end up using less of the golden liquid.

For $7 you can get 4 sticks of butter or a healthy EVOO bottle.

And if used wisely, you get more out of the liquid gold.

And yes! it can be used for light (more fluffy) cookie dough with the cookie textures we all love!

Which btw, I consider myself a cookie connoisseur (a ‘lil Cookie Monster if you will 🥠).

These days, I only bake my own cookies. I would’ve never have dreamed that would be my grown up destiny.

…But a nice crunch is a nice crunch.

Crunchy cookies like that in commercial cookies are so easy to home bake.

…That and pairing with the perfect low sugar sweet taste (that’s not too sweet and doesn’t make your skin crawl).

So in my mind, it’s the best of both worlds in cookie enjoyment.

Oh and plus, the healthiest cookie on the grocery shelves is not easy to find.

…I used to look at a graham cracker and think it was healthy because it was made with whole wheat. 🌾

…And back then in those days, if I knew how easy cookies were and are to make and bake with 2-3 basic ingredients, I may have made the switch much sooner.

Today, you get to make that decision for yourself. And you can start with an easy vanilla cookie.

In this batch I made, I include basic ingredients like honey (or maple syrup) for the sweetness, non-gluten plant-based flours (like coconut or almond flour), and olive oil (yes, oil instead of butter!).

These ingredient choices cost no more money or time to make and bake than the less healthy ingredients.

So why not?

…And when those around you are complaining about how much grocery costs have gone up.

I look at my grocery receipt total amounts and they’ve gone down. So I’m scratching my head happy because I get everything I want.

So the change is ME and my sourcing shopping mindset and habits.

And that’s something you can easily adopt!…

First, all I do is look for healthier ingredients. Then I get a ‘lil creative resourceful on how to make a delicious taste, texture, and healthy bake!

I have a rough idea in my mind about the final good. But I’m not stuck on the idea. That came from my catering work where I learned to be flexible.

It’s like dreaming up desserts but detaching from the outcome.

And for that to come true, it starts with choosing one ingredient at a time. And then pairing foods that taste good together.

In this vanilla cookie, I chose an extra virgin olive oil and you can use a lighter version or one that is infused with vanilla enhancing sweet flavors for baking cookies.

And even better… come up with infusing your own sweet blend ingredients.

You can squeeze in a ‘lil lemon juice and a capful of flavor extract that you can easily home make.

…With citrus fruity flavors, everything is enhanced brighter. Or you can infuse in zest or tea flavors. 🍋

Lemon goes with vanilla and creates a zesty moment.

You don’t have to visit gourmet specialty food stores or pay a price that you have to think twice about.

That’s the way of the past.

Healthy, delicious and whole ingredients today are comparable in price AND often less pricey.

When I go to the healthy food chains that people nickname Whole Paycheck, I come out saving money.

Healthy foods are NOT for the wealthy.

Like if you use bananas as your mirror… they are often pennies.

So when I’m shopping, I buy what works for the grocery bill wallet while using a planned list loosely.

That works every time and has for years..

…So I’m 100% sure you don’t have to have deep wallets to eat more healthy.

I’m like you and most of us who want good value and ingredients.

You don’t have to feel the effects of grocery bill inflation.

The main mindset I use is that if I don’t like the price I see, I keep looking at other store shelve items… or source online and for substitutes that work (and sometimes turn out even better).

Plus, I do a little research in advance that pays off, but I never go chasing coupons.

And actually, I can only remember using a coupon less than a handful of times in my adult life.

Coupons to me is too much work when you can coupon shop at actual products and prices available… looking for the discount on the shelves.

And having a home pantry full of ingredients to fall back on helps do that too because then you don’t feel like you HAVE to bring back something.

You can use an alternative already in your home.

And you can wait for the nice-to-have food ingredients to go on sale.

And that includes shopping for fruits that often cost less in-season because they have a short perishable shelf-life and their yield is abundant.

The stores can’t sell them soon enough!

And while I may not be balancing your budget, these tips have worked well for me.

And if you’re a green thumb gardener, you have an even greater advantage, as you can grow your own produce grocery store!

Prepared foods are more expensive and they are the ones with less-healthy ingredients.

For healthy, making your own healthy vanilla cookie is one good example. A healthy ingredient like vanilla pods are relatively expensive where I shop, and vanilla extract can also be.

Instead of using either, maple syrup or an infused vanilla tea can be a good sweet flavor substitute.

Honey is another good alternative that’s good in so many ways.

With those substitutes, you can make one mean swirl shape vanilla cookie, like the kind you found in the Danish butter cookie tins (but without the butter and all the sugar).

The best part is you can make delicious cookies with gluten-free flours.

Even if you’re not gluten sensitive, your body is sensitive to the tainted processed gluten flours these days.

For gluten-free flours, you can choose from rice, tapioca, almond, or coconut flour… just to name a few.

Print

Vanilla Cookie (Viennese Whirls)

These sandwich cookies are so pretty and tasty.
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Author Brandy @ Healthy Happy Life Secrets

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup gluten-free flour (e.g. coconut, almond flour)
  • 1 tbsp olive oil (plus more)
  • 1 tsp maple syrup or honey
  • 3 tbsp water plus additional water
  • pinch or salt
  • lemon (optional)
  • raspberry jam (optional)

Instructions

  • Combine ingredients. Use enough water to make a paste that can be piped through a piping bag. Let rest for at least 10 minutes in refrigerator. For gluten-free flours, you will need more water than you would for gluten flours. So if it feels like you're adding a lot of water, don't worry. Use enough for it to hold together without excess dripping water. This will be a soft dough.
  • Add the dough to a piping bag with a star shape decorative tip for Viennese whirls. Make a round loop (like a wreath or rosette).
  • Bake on 325°F/165°C for 12 minutes or until bottom edges are golden brown. For a more even bake or more crunchy cookie: flip cookies over and then bake tops for another 2 minutes.
  • Let cool, and take 2 cookies to make a top and bottom sandwich and then fill middle with jam or add a dollop gem of jam on the top.

Fruit Roll Up – Homemade with Applesauce

Fruit roll up is a happy memory from when I was a kid. 💭

They were a sweet and light snack from the grocery store that melted in the mouth.

It was (and is) a cross between fruit + candy.

They came wrapped up in their own packaging and were attached to cellophane that I liked to play make things with when I was young. They were rolled up like scrolls.

Almost like the Dead Sea Scroll minus the ancient writing.

…And not that far back, my young days was when posters were the rage so anything rolled up meant happy entertainment or enjoyment.

Playing around, I haven’t had a fruit roll up like those until now as an adult. 😋

Decades later and these parchment paper looking treats are naturally preserved…

These were like the ones that ruined me to never want any other fruit roll up wannabes. 😅

A homemade fruit roll up cut up like the ones I had as a kid.

These are the REAL DEAL.

Making these fruit roll ups bring me joy (...and maybe for you too?) because they resembled packaged old-fashioned fruit roll ups that you would buy at the store… minus additional sugar that’s not needed for these.

As thin as they are like sheets of music, these stack up nicely! 🪵…

Thin as paper and pretty as rice paper too.

They’re as durable as leather.

Technically they fall in the leather fruit category but are as smooth and supple as suede.

My mom was a dressmaker, so she played a role in influencing my fabric choices where I learned lighter materials are usually higher quality.

And I’d agree about that with this light leather fruit material…

These feel light and feathery (not leathery) and are very apple healthy! 🍏

This fruit roll up is light.

Plus, they last for weeks at room temperature.

Made with apple they are a great fall snack that can be made year round.

It’s almost like wrapping paper… or maybe it’s an old map or a key to hieroglyphic history. However you want to call it, it’s a SWEEET fruit roll up.

Oh, and kidding aside, the BEST part is (…can you tell I’m getting excited that it just gets better? 😊)…

You can make these in your home oven in one hour and 20 minutes with just 5 minutes of prep time.

How’s that for predictability?

…Seriously it’s that easy!

They are fun (and dare I say relaxing) to make and everyone of all ages will love them! 💕

They make a great sweet snack without any artificial ingredients.

And actually just 2 sweet and natural ingredients that make a perfect duo. 🍏🍯

Using applesauce, you don’t even have to turn the stove on to cook down apples and de-core them… and they will turn out even better. Because for one, the apple fruit roll up will be more even.

…The first time you make them, don’t freak out because they turn transparent on a baking sheet.

Don’t worry, it’s there. 😀

…I tried that once with Aquafaba because I heard you could make meringues that way… and POOF! I wish I could say that was magic, but it was more like a trick. 🪄

They dissolved into thin oven air… but I digress.

These fruit roll ups will turn out… I promise.

These are the proof…

fruit roll up scrolls.

I’m so happy to share these with you through the screen. And I hope they make your day like they did for me the first time I made them. 🍥

(And maybe this will keep the kiddos staying happy and cavity-free as low-sugar goodies with plenty of sweetness… that are substitutable for a certain candy holiday 🎃).

And if you’re into experimenting (like I am gladly doing with sweets), you can try other flavors.

Keep in mind they will take longer to bake with more complex ingredients.

You will know when you touch or look at the baked fruit roll up whether it’s dry and done, or half-baked and almost there….

In this one, you can see here that the dry section is on the upper right area and the rest of the fruit roll up is not done… simply pop it back into the oven.

Change the time but don’t mess with the temperature.

This one took another 20-25 minutes to finish… and was worth the wait. ⏲️

Pumpkin apple fruit roll up
Pumpkin apple fruit roll up

Ready to make these? 😋

homemade fruit roll ups like the ones I had as a kid.
Print

Easy Apple Fruit Roll Ups

These are no fuss-no muss apple fruit roll ups you can bake in under 2 hours. This will make 4 - 4 inch roll ups that are about 9 inches long.
Course Snack
Cuisine American
Author Brandy @ Healthy Happy Life Secrets

Equipment

  • Silpat silicone baking mat on sheet pan

Ingredients

  • 2 4 ounce applesauce cups, unsweetened
  • 2 tbsp raw honey (high quality)

Instructions

  • Thoroughly combine apple sauce in a bowl and add honey. Tip: use a high quality honey with a smooth consistency.
  • Smear the mixture into a thin layer on a Silpat (silicone sheet) laid out on a baking pan. Tip: Use different light to check that there are no "holes" that show up with shadows.
  • Bake on 200°F/100°C for 80 minutes. Tip: if you add or experiment with other more vibrant colors and flavors, they can take significantly longer. You'll know it's completely done, when the fruit roll up is one uniform color and dry throughout to the touch.
  • Let cool completely and then start to peel at one corner and then slowly peel up the entire fruit roll up. Roll up, slice, and enjoy!

Apple fruit roll ups that remind me of my childhood.

Microgreens Are Growing Healthy

Microgreens have been around longer than our modern culture. 

It was a way of food survival during the winter months of the oldest civilizations on our planet… a lot like how modern squirrels have preserved the foraging acorn traditions. 

Baby arugula microgreens are tasty for a salad.
Baby arugula microgreens are tasty additions to a salad 🥗

Which btw… is outdoor entertaining to watch Rocky the flying squirrel in his purposeful scurrying meal prep moves. 🐿️

How they actually feel about their work we’ll never know, but it has kept their species around.

…And to keep ours going, modern food planning is something we do. 

In human life, that’s how it can look with us daily running around in our busy lives… and for me, that’s how it sometimes looked behind-the-scenes as a food service professional in organized chaos prepping and planning weekly catered event challenges in hotel ballrooms and for restaurant parties celebrating Mediterranean food styles.

And even with all the variety of food available to our planet we can be bored with our food sourcing options. 🥬

Daily, we open the fridge and pantry cupboards thinking: “what’s for dinner?” or “what can I have for a little snack?”…sometimes coming up short for a good answer. 🤔

Microgreens can be part of the answer as a healthy and tasty choice.

Here are 5 points that make microgreens a smart choice:

Point #1: Microgreens are food like-able and tasty good.

…Because if they weren’t, why bother?

Children seem to love them as some of the pickiest green eaters on earth.

Many microgreens are smaller, cute kid-size bits and bites like baby arugula, so it’s easier to get a handful of the finger foods than the adult version. 

The young greens also add interest, taste, and texture to any plate.

…And why they’re not more commonly known today is unknown. Maybe like their shape-forms, they still have a wild-like reputation… 🌿

Like, I remember alfalfa sprout microgreens from a school age where I once saw the jungle wild-looking tangly-fine weeds in a friend’s lunch box that made me curious…

And now as an adult, thinking it’s a good idea. 🎉

You grow into new perspectives and healthy ways and today is a great way to spruce up 😋 and vertically beef up a light protein mustardy salad sandwich or the like (…einkorn finger sandwich idea below 🧡). Or to garnish a bowl of beets… 

Point # 2: Microgreens are less bitter.

Microgreens have the reputation of being less bitter that is good news for some people’s tongues who avoid the taste.

That reminds me of green tea…

If you don’t love bitter green tea tastes that can grow stronger if brewed too hot or you picked the wrong flavor for you, then you probably don’t lean toward preferring many bitter tasting superfood veggies and plant greens.

And that’s why certain veggies 🥦🥬 don’t end up on the plate (like green tea in cups)… or in a diet despite their healthy goodness.

…Green teas 🍵 come from the same Camellia Sinensis plant as common black, white, and oolong teas but differ in process where they’re not oxidized like common black teas. 

And what makes the difference for microgreens (and similar to green teas) is the process from the same plant.

Microgreens are harvested early, coming from the same plants as the adult version we see mostly on shelf space in grocery stores. 🌱

So they’re fresh and have different tastes worth trying, often more mild tasting and welcoming to all.

Point #3: Young greens are replenishable, sustainable, and abundant.

…Just like other foods from the soil, nature provides and delivers over and over again..

When we think “fresh” we immediately think of the produce aisle in a supermarket, farmers market, or our backyard garden that produces fastly perishable foods that the soil can replenish. 

If you’re a green thumb growing your own mini-market, you can have microgreens planted, harvested, and eatable within foreseeable weeks (and not months or seasons that is the time most produce take). 🧑‍🌾

That makes microgreens more productive… and where you can have more than what you know what to do with! A good problem to have. ✔️

That would be too easy for getting a meal on the table. 

And that ideal IS microgreens.

When you choose the micro-world of microgreens, you too help our community and local farmers. 

…Those are baby plant little steps that you can take for your health and to support the world. 🪴

Point #4 – Microgreens are often organic without pesticides. 

So much of our plant-based foods are exterior sprayed with pesticides to deter mostly bugs, and that offsets the healthy goodness of the healthiest skin parts of the food. 

We throw away the skin that could have been healthy edible parts. 

And today, reusable composting ways are not yet available for the common household. 

So then we end up creating more waste that adds more plastic bag waste that also attracts unwanted critter nuisances to our community. But what if composting machines were as common as house dishwashing machines? 💭

But that not being today’s standards, with organic microgreens we can eat those problems away as the end consumer. And our bodies are healthier for our choice.

Point #5 – Microgreens are low calories and high in nutrition.

There are few (if any) green plant-based foods 🌱 that aren’t low in calories compared to plant-based (as in factory) foods. 🏭

Fresh microgreens from nature come packed with vitamins and minerals, along with some eat-from-the-rainbow 🌈 polyphenols that make you excited to color your plate and palette with anti-inflammatory food ideas! 🎨

And, mighty microgreens can have 4x (and up to 40x!) more nutrients than their full-grown version.

🎯 Final Points:

Microgreens fit in our consumer micro cultures where we are becoming more customizable specific in food diet preferences that impact food growing ways, and where our farming culture impacts our world. 

Sustainable food and young microgreens are sprouting interest in our fast climate changing world searching for longevity answers where eating anti-inflammatory foods fit.

One way you can be part of the anti-inflammatory solution is by growing your own portable microgreen micro garden that can be indoors (good for those with outdoor allergies or without garden space).

Plus, so many viable options to bring in more microgreens from dream to  life… yasss!

…That’s something to be excited about today. If this resonates with you, could you PLEASE HELP share this message with others so they can join the MICROGREEN movement that’s healthy here to stay.🎉

Go micro GREEN 🌱

🎉🎉 Discover and support local microgreen farms for fresher produce and healthier living.

Oh, and heres’s an easy whole wheat or einkorn (ancient wheat) sandwich in a modern recipe you can use to make finger sandwiches that was an idea I grew up with in the catering party world… and you can use for lunch, brunch, or an afternoon party.

To gain smiles, simply add delicious microgreens like baby lettuce, cucumber, radishes, carrot, and tarragon.

And for dessert 🍥, some sweet herbs and spices are microgreens like anise that you can add to a creme anglaise for pancakes or sweet brunch waffles.

Print

Einkorn Sandwiches with Microgreens

I have fond memories of tea sandwiches from catering menus, and that are part of English afternoon tea events and traditions. Tea sandwiches are usually bite-size and made of spongey-soft bread where the crust is cut off. And flat crunchy bread like these add plate variety. They work well to celebrate the sandwich ingredients in the middle that can be light and/or all veggies.
Course Breakfast, brunch
Cuisine American, british
Author Brandy @ Healthy Happy Life Secrets

Ingredients

  • einkorn flour, salt, and water for the sandwich bread.
  • cottage cheese
  • cucumber
  • scallions
  • carrots
  • beets or radishes
  • lettuce
  • asparagus or favorite veggies
  • spices: dill, tarragon, black pepper

Instructions

  • Prepare the sandwich bread. You can make the bread in advance. Let dough proof: develop air pockets and double in size for for at least 2 hours. Then bake dough in oven in a small sheet pan about 1/4" thick until toasted. Tip: Einkorn wheat flour is not a high gluten (rise) flour, so it won't rise much and will lay more like a flat bread when baked. You need not knead long and can omit yeast. Let bread cool and slice the toast with a serated or bread knife.
    Alternatively if you use regular whole wheat flour, knead a few minutes longer and add about 1/4 tsp of instant yeast (easiest) for a bread that rises. You can cut horizontally into the vertical bread about 3-4 slices to get a similar flat bread effect. Optional: You can turn this into paninis by grilling or baking on a grill pan.
  • Prepare the raw veggies. Thinly slice into flat or close to flat pieces.
  • For the sandwich paste, mix cottage cheese, dill, tarragon, and black pepper. You can processor blend the cottage cheese if you would like a smoother paste.
  • Add paste to the bottom of the sandwich and then layer lettuce, cucumbers, carrots, and others veggies. Add the sandwich bread top. For catering-style zhugh, you can add a toothpicked cucumber slice, or radish and beet and then plate. These easy, new old-fashioned touches show you put in extra detailed care.

Healthy Fat Foods List Over Myths

Healthy fat foods were once an oxymoron. I was working in hotel catering where we had plenty of decadent high fat dishes around.

Food life was easier back then…

All foods with fat were labelled bad back in those pre-extra virgin olive oil days (where these days olive oils aren’t virgins but we look for the label).

Foods were more black and white and good vs bad foods. That wasn’t the healthy nutrition facts and rainbow variety of foods we would evolve into. 🌈

I share the good, bad, and unusual in this article, plus a healthy fat foods list below.

You can make this frozen strawberry smoothie 🍓dreamsicle with ingredient steps below.

Starting with nuts… pre-milennium, nuts were often seen as healthy fat foods in people’s homes on display.

Shelled nuts were sitting on a tray with maybe de-shelled nuts cracked with a nut cracker sitting near by. Cracking nuts in front of a television was an old-fashioned past-time. Oh, that’s nuts! 😊

Then over the years, nuts became the controversial “bad” snacks to be avoided because of the high fat content. It didn’t matter what the fat was. It was and is the healthy kind. But back then, fat was fat.

And you are what you eat was the mantra that was taken literally.

Then the nutty tide gradually turned (thank you research!) yet again where today all nuts are celebrated and valued as one of the healthy fat foods and healthiest snacks available out there.

Nuts are accepted and recommended in a healthy eating regimen. They have high healthy fat and protein content all in the size of a shelled M&M that could be wrapped around a large peanut.

But joking aside, earlier last year I was feeling stuck with my body as I hit a plateau and I couldn’t get my muscle strength back the same way.

I couldn’t do the same strength yoga moves I’d been doing for a decade. As we age, we lose muscle that we can’t gain back. And that’s a fact for both men and women.

We see proof in former male body builders common in American culture who can’t create the same muscle despite their desire and habits to maintain the muscle they had.

And the same effect in an opposite extreme of a lightweight female (myself 😊) who couldn’t do the same.

…So I tweaked up my diet routines.

I started my morning with a little fat and protein along with fiber. This was after I had started a regular fasting habit that you can too. It’s not that hard. If I can do it, you can too!

And I learned one of the best foods to break the fast with is an avocado, that’s a food celebrity loved by most. It’s beloved and celebrated.

It’s also a mild tasting fruit that can taste like a veggie. From an avocado, I could transition into healthy proteins easily that meant a savory breakfast (vs. a sweet one I had to overcome).

A little fat in your system helps to absorb the foods that have fat-soluble vitamins (D,E,A, andK).

So avocado being a neutral food 🥑 is balancing for Ayurvedic Vata, Pitta, and Kapha bodies.

🎉 Btw, there’s a new search feature 🔎 on this blog site so you can easily look up Vata, Pitta, Kapha, and other healthy blog articles.

…And in my tweaks I also added a little healthy fat snack back. I’m guessing you know what that may be. Yup, good ‘ol nuts!

I hadn’t been eating whole nuts as snacks by themselves for years because I thought they made my skin break out due to nut oils, when I believe it was other Pitta reasons now.

It’s funny the myths we tell ourselves.

…Or we go off of one tell-tale experience we had one season.

Plus, with nuts I had to change my mindset from the previous years where nut and fats were deemed as bad. Those were my nut challenges.

And like me, you could ask yourself: what changing mindsets about and around foods would help you reach your goals?

We can constantly be growing our minds to better ways and new lifestyle habits.

And the fact is our bodies are constantly evolving and renewing daily, so you could start a new regimen by testing healthy foods again that you gave up on before or thought you shouldn’t eat because of past sensitivities or reasons.

It’s healthy for us to add as many as possible healthy rainbow foods and variety into our diet if we’re not allergic because each healthy food has a different profile and makeup, even coming from the same family.

In those ways, then you don’t have to worry about whether you are or aren’t getting enough of one nutrient, vitamin, or mineral.

Or wonder if the supplements you’re taking are absorbed or not. You’re covered either which way with the rainbow assortment of foods on your plate. 🍽️

And when I made the healthy changes I did, I noticed a good difference to my thin-frame Vata body where the muscle tone came back and I could attempt to make progress with the strength yoga moves.

Whether your goal is to gain muscle or lose weight, when you eat healthy fats they increase HDL that increases growth hormone which triggers more amino acids that are building blocks for proteins needed for muscle production.

Muscles over flab is fab! 😊

The distinction is healthy fat foods vs. unhealthy fat foods. I provide a helpful healthy variety list below that can be good reminders.

Walnuts is one on the good list for brain health. They’re easy to remember as they’re shaped like our brains.

They have the powerful ingredient that some healthy fats have: Omega 3.

Omega-3 foods are anti-inflammatory. Omega 3 is good because it’s healthy fat that lowers triglycerides  that’s known to be a risk factor for heart disease.

So here is the promised and promising healthy fat foods list (as part of a recipe for a good body and healthy lifestyle):

Avocado – the super food of healthy fats. It’s chameleon versatility is unparalleled to other plant foods. An avocado also has different names like  alligator pear or butter fruit.

You can see why with the leathery skin, pear shape, and silky center texture. It’s unusual and common that blends well with us peeps.

An avocado seed is also one of the easiest seeds to grow as a plant. Like us, they like room temperature without excess humidity.

Seeds – flaxseed, chia seed, sunflower seed, pumpkin,and hemp seed all have different properties so it’s good to mix them in.

Chia seeds are good toward weight loss goals and adding more calcium for stronger bones.

We often forget about sesame and poppy seeds. They look like cute decorations on foods but they are healthy fat foods that can be added to healthy foods like yogurts and salads.

They don’t just decorate a bagel. Transfer them to your healthy adds.

Natural Almond or Peanut Butters – It’s easy to tell if a nut butter is healthy. The fewer the ingredients on the jar, the better. And when you can stir the oil into the nut butter, even better for the better butter. 😊

Nuts – almonds, peanuts, walnuts, pistachios, and pecans are all good common snacking nuts.

Macadamia, Brazilian, cashews, and pine nuts are not as common, but have their own healthy profiles.

Eating a variety for your healthy needs is a good strategy. Each nut is different even though they are healthy fat foods and protein all-in-one. That’s why they’re nutrient-dense.

To salt or not? The unsalted nut versions are better for you because often the salted versions add too much salt. But you could buy a bag of salted and a bag of unsalted and mix the two to your body needs, tastes, and liking.

Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO)– is the good olive oil. The best is usually more bitter.

Finding high-quality, medium-balanced, and a mild extra virgin olive oil for cooking or baking could be your balance.

If you’re going to bake cakes and breads, using an extra virgin olive oil for the monounsaturated fat is a healthy choice over poly or saturated fats.

You can generally tell by the color if it’s light and mild or dark and bold.

The oleic acid oil is one natural healthy profile in EVOO that’s also found in almonds. It’s good for satiating hunger that helps with weight loss.

It also adds Omega-9 food (not as common so you may not have heard of) that can be found in avocados and other foods too that’s good for good cholesterol and lowering bad cholesterol.

Good is good so don’t mess with good.

EVOO also helps reduce the body’s glycemic response reducing blood sugar levels to help protect against known chronic diseases such as diabetes that’s a growing health concern on the globe.

That’s one reason why EVOO is at the heart of Mediterranean diets, foods, and cooking that’s eaten all around the world and in the Mediterranean Diet.

I worked in Spanish, Italian, and Lebanese restaurants in America doing event planning and marketing. These restaurants served authentic dishes where they learned from their countries’ cuisines and cultural cooking techniques.

Olive oil was always at the heart of dishes. Some of my favorite dishes are: paella, watermelon salad, and risotto.

Not being around those types of foods but pining for their tastes, I was inspired from my experiences. I created my own home recipe versions posted in my recipe log that are weekly being added to.

And to keep the party going here and the healthy fat foods list growing… these are a few more healthy fats.

Healthy Dairy – I think this is the new food controversy because of the variety of processes. Also, there are so many vegan and allergy-friendly versions out there these days that taste great.

If you’re not allergic, there are so many benefits to healthy dairy such as protein, probiotic, and vitamins.

One dairy problem is in cheeses because there’s such a wide variety of cheeses to choose from in types and  processes. Some not so healthy.

And some healthy cheeses I worked with in catering party menus were shanklesh, manchego, burrata, halloumi, feta, and pecorino.

We usually knew the cheese sources, whether it was cow, sheep, goat, or buffalo. We just couldn’t point out which goat or sheep it came from.

But when you’re in a store looking at a sea of cheeses to choose from, it’s a guess at mystery cheese. The packaging won’t tell you much… other than thin slices in a package isn’t straight from a farm.

Pasteurized cheeses we identify with thin slices can often have stripped nutrients and other processes that offset the healthy fat profile.

In rural places like Sardinia with a large number of Centenarians, the goats eat wild grasses that have Omega 3 and antioxidants.

So when we don’t have those options or we simply don’t know, the answer again is variety. When you eat variety, you’re more covered. You can switch up your foods and your healthy cheeses.

For a natural Vata body, this is naturally easy because that’s the taste preference.

But if that’s not your natural way or you like what you like today and don’t want to switch, the better alternative is to add more of other foods to what you like. That way you make room and plant seeds.

And as you think about that, you can consider these other common cheeses:

Cottage cheese with reduced milkfat (and remember to read the sodium and sugar content).

Greek yogurt with reduced milkfat (like cottage cheese, read the labels). Sometimes “reduced” has higher sugar. And “no fat” is almost always a gimme for more sugar.

Eggs –  are a complete protein with essential amino acids. Vitamin A, D, choline and most the B vitamins. So that’s why often you can feel a burst of egg-energy especially if you were feeling low sugar or energy before.

If you grew up with the same nuts controversy I did, then you probably got the same downloaded message about eggs and their bad cholesterol.

This could be the mindset you want to overcome. Because with all the egg-cellent healthy benefits, you may find a new way to bring eggs back to your kitchen.

Look for pasture-raised eggs and Omega-3 eggs. Omega-3 eggs can also benefit insulin sensitivity over insulin resistance so that could tip you in eggs favor.

And since we’re talking protein and healthy fat foods, one of the healthiest swimming out there is wild salmon.

Salmon is a fatty fish and wild salmon is one healthy Omega-3 fat fish.
 
From working in Mediterranean restaurant kitchens, I learned some of the most wild caught fishes come from the Mediterranean Sea and the Pacific Ocean in the northwest areas of America. 

Should you eat farm raised salmon? Personally, I wouldn’t on a regular basis for the same reason you wouldn’t order mystery food and put on a plate.

As alternatives or when not available, you can always switch up to another wild white fish as variety. Or bring home cans of smaller fish.

Anchovies are healthy fat foods.
Anchovies from a tin can make great meals like this pesto pizza for one.

Having that backup plan is always calming. In my pantry, I’m prepared with options. And that can be your plan!

As a home baker or cook, you can source practical foods like extra virgin olive oil.

…I also like coconut oil. For controversial oils, it’s a saturated fat but is good in another way as it has a much higher good HDL profile than other oils. It also has a low bad LDL compared to even extra virgin olive oil.

So in moderation, when my tastes change I add a ‘lil oil to my morning coffee and other edibles I can dream up ✨ like dreamy smoothies.

One you may enjoy is this strawberry tropical smoothie that has a little strawberry popsicle and orange dreamsicle blended in one 🍓And a little healthy fat add is up to you! 🎉

Print

Frozen Strawberry Smoothie Dreamsicle Sunrise

This is a reminder of childhood popsicles.
Course beverage
Cuisine American
Author Brandy @ Healthy Happy Life Secrets

Ingredients

  • 3 frozen strawberries.
  • almond milk (or milk of choice)
  • basil, mint, or cilantro.
  • orange juice
  • coconut oil (optional)

Instructions

  • Blend the ingredients. When you add the herby flavor, it gives a third dimension. Mint will be mildest, basil is middle of the road, and cilantro will the the most pungent. Save Money Tip: you can freeze your fresh organic strawberries when they are in season.
  • Pour about 3/4 full, leaving a little room for the orange dreamsicle layer.
  • Mix orange juice and milk about half and half.
  • After frozen, pour the orange layer on top.
  • Freeze again or add crushed ice to the top layer
  • Enjoy!