Anti-Inflammatory Recipes Archives - Healthy Happy Life Secrets

Sheep’s Cheesecake (Basque-Style) – Protein Healthy and Low-Sugar

Sheep’s cheesecake can be made into a protein-filled dessert that tastes like your favorite cheesecake desserts. I know because that’s what’s in this recipe. And the sheep’s cheese cake is lower fat and sugar, for a healthier cheesecake. It’s easy to find in stores (see below tips).

This sheep’s cheese cake plate has cranberries that are also mixed into the cake batter. Cranberries are high in Vitamin C and are good for an anti-inflammatory diet during the holidays (and year-round).

Cranberries are uniquely good for preventing UTIs and seasonally they add a red pop of festive color – that ranges from the bright fire engine red to burgundy shades.🚒 ♥️

You can buy whole cranberries and freeze them for when you want to use them. So the shiny and red fruit berry jewels are hard to turn down.

As is this protein cheese cake.

What makes this cheese cake protein-rich are the ingredients that include sheep’s cheese.

You can expect to easily find 5 grams of protein per sheep’s cheese ounce. At many stores, you can find packaged grocery sheep’s cheese logs, that come in smaller 4 oz size packaging these days. And that will make this regular size 8″ shareable cheesecake.

Or you can use 2 ounces per individual 4″ cheesecake. Doing the math, that’s 10 grams of protein for an individual cake (or 20 grams per 8″ cake).

If you compare the protein in regular cream cheese (commonly used in cheesecake recipes), sheep’s cheese is more than double the protein.

Regular cream cheese has about 1.7 grams per ounce. That’s about 1/3 of the protein as ordinary sheep’s cheese in national grocery store chains.

I found pre-packaged sheep’s cheese in the cheese section at national grocery store chains like Aldi’s and Trader Joe’s.

So that’s a good start (in case you didn’t think it was easy to source).

…And of course, sheep’s cheese comes in all shapes, sizes, pasteurization types, etc.

We’re not talking Blue Zones’ (100 years) healthy living sheep cheese here… which is where this all began for me when I studied up, researched, and wrote about the superfood cheese.

Since then, the idea has wildly grown in popularity and you can find all kinds with the label. Sheep’s cheese is easy to find like pre-packaged Brie or buffalo mozzarella cheeses in stores.

Because otherwise you’d have to pay a pretty penny (or accepted currency) to source sheep’s milk cheese, and/or fly to rural areas like the Sardinian regions to find high-quality, grass-fed sheep’s pecorino cheese.

But the kind you bring home, you can pair with Greek yogurt to get probiotics added back. And even more protein added.

The healthy idea that works in a sheep’s cheese cheesecake like this, is to find a thicker Greek yogurt that has no additional sugar. You can also find a lower fat content yogurt.

And then when you bake the sheep’s milk cheese and yogurt into your desserts like this holiday cheesecake, this helps support a happy and healthy lifestyle.

In an hour, you can have a nice Greek yogurt healthier cake ready.

Since this cheesecake has no crust (like a graham crust on a New York-style cheesecake) and has no flour baked in, you can get baked Basque-style sides that are more decadently burnished-brown without using high baking temps.

This happens when you use a metal spring form cake pan where you can release the sides after the baked cheesecake is cooled.

If you cover the sides entirely with parchment paper (that you may have learned to do with Basque cheesecakes), the cake will be more easy to pull out, but it won’t be connected directly to the cake pan heat. So you compromise the end result bake.

The better way I suggest is to brush neutral/light olive oil (or butter) on the sides. And after baked, don’t release the cake from the spring form until it’s completely cooled when the cake is more stable, and will more easily stay together in one piece, as it firms up.

For interest (I have a catering background), I also added softened ripe pears to the bottom of the cake pan for additional sweet flavors and textures. It helped release the cake and gave a burnished look to the bottom (similar to poached pears 🍐). But that part is optional, as you’ll get the Basque-inspired cheesecake style either way.

But surprisingly by using regular 350°F/180°C temperatures and not the higher Basque cheesecake temperatures, to save energy (but also low and slow is easier to not burn in the oven).

But if you leave it in these lower oven temps for 55 minutes, I think you’ll be happy with your bake’s doneness.

Your cheesecake will have an Old World charm look.

And when you bite into the sweet and tart cheesecake (made even tart-er with cranberries), it’ll be a delight. With a rustic crumbly feel on the tongue as a satisfying texture that’s distinctly baked (no half-bake here 😊).

But if you prefer a more creamy cheesecake with less small cheese-yogurt chunks, then add more milk (liquid) to your batter, or use a less thick sheep’s cheese and/or yogurt.

You have so many options to make your (maybe?) NEW favorite cheesecake 😋

But no matter what you choose as actual ingredients and final texture intent for your high-protein cheesecake, this is a daily cheesecake you’ll have no regrets making. Ready to try?

If you like this, you may also like a cranberry pumpkin trifle, blueberry-peach cheesecake smoothie, and other low-sugar dessert bites.

Basque-Style (No Crust) Cheesecake - High Protein and Low-Sugar

This is an individual-size 4" protein cheesecake made with healthier cheese and lower fat. To make a shareable 8" cake, double the ingredient amounts.

Course Dessert

Author Brandy @ Healthy Happy Life Secrets

Equipment

spring form cake pan

Ingredients

2 oz sheep's cheese
2 oz Greek yogurt (no-fat and no-sugar added)
1 Tbsp milk of choice
1 Tbsp raw honey
1/4 cup seasonal fruit (or jam) of choice or cranberries
cranberry sauce or fruit jam as spread on top (optional)

Instructions

Brush neutral olive oil or baking spray on bottom and sides of (spring form) cake pan.
Combine ingredients in one bowl. Reserve some fruit for the top, so they don't all fall to the bottom of the cake pan. Option: add softened pears to the bottom of the pan.
Bake at 350°F/180°C for about 55 minutes. This will give a Basque-cheesecake feel as the sides turn a darkened brown (pleasantly burnt-ish) color.

Fruit Cake – Low-Sugar (and Using Healthy Coconut Flour Lessons)

Fruit cake is a special dessert. It makes for a great Christmas, year-round, and holiday cake (…when done right that is). It’s a fruity, sweet cake. And this one is all healthy, and low-sugar without added sugar. Recipe below.

…And ok, I know what you may be thinking off the bat… is this fruit cake more on the healthy tasting side (like inedible cardboard where you’d rather eat an oatmeal bowl)?

Oh and btw, is it enjoyable like a chocolate cake? ..because that’s what you’re after!

And I agree.

My thinking, what’s the point of making a sweet treat if it doesn’t taste good?

That weighs on my conscience.

Because I’m a food lover who wore a 10-year food belt planning hundreds of parties in nice hotels and restaurants before I started baking regularly at home.

And my childhood sweet food dreams are daily reminders. 💭

But a fruit cake isn’t one of those dreams that’s usually on my mind (but today is its lucky day).

…Because from what I remember, the durable (fruit cake) ones don’t have the best passed-down reputation (from holiday gifts of the past I think)… I never got one as a house gift but I saw them on store shelves wrapped tightly in the thick plastic wrap 🥮.

…Those are from Christmas past (and maybe still sitting in the back shelves 😀).

…Instead, bring in and out the fresh, new millennial fruit cake, pleeaaase! That’s a happy one to match its naturally sweet celebrational cake name.

And this particular homemade fruit cake is cocoa and cherry pairing, crumbly-soft-texture-cake divine.

If a tasty pairing is like a harmonious modern singing duo or two complementary colors on a wall, then this cake fits right in. 🩷🩵

…But don’t take my word for it, make it yourself and try it… I dare you! 😊

It’s coconut flour and cacao (or unsweetened cocoa) healthy. Another delicious pairing, btw.

And if you’ve not worked with coconut or gluten-free flours much with cake, I’ve got you… some quickie lesson tips below to take out the guesswork.

Gluten-free coconut flour is a smart one to add in, and that you can learn to use for healthy and tasty reasons!

And it’s in this fruit cake, that’s 5-minute prep and 3 one-bowl main ingredients EASY.

You can even mix the cake batter by hand.

…That’s what I did.

Or use your Magic Bullet blender to blend the egg yolk and dry ingredients.

Let the oven do the heavy lifting and magical baking work.

So to begin… pull out all your ingredients.

Nature’s fruit and cocoa is the main sweet needed.

You can also choose your favorite fruits, dried or fresh (if eaten within the week).

You can sub in dried cherries. And tart-tasting acerola cherries (not common) are known for their superfood anti-inflammatory properties.

But here I splurged with Maraschino (dessert) cherries because the amount is so little for such high tasting Christmas celebration holiday time impact, that I made this for.

The sweet cherries are also easy to find year-round at most grocery stores, so you can store in your fridge pantry.

And the glace shiny kind is easy to find and always a sweet crowd pleaser. They’re the classic cherry red on top that looks like an ornament. 🍒

One glace cherry has about 1.9 grams of sugar or about 6 cherries per tablespoon of sugar (12 cherries recipe total), and you can cut this down in your bake to less for lower sugar if you choose.

Whatever you decide, cherries are divine in and on top (as the cherry saying goes)… and definitely better after baked in.

Along with cocoa… or cacao used.

The difference is pure (💯) cacao is minimally processed and unsweetened cocoa that’s anti-inflammatory healthy.

You can use other cocoa powders, but they will likely have additives and sugar.

So there you have your two star flavors (cherry-chocolat-y 😋)for this fruit cake. And you’ll want to add more fruity forward vibes!

Fruit Cake Flavoring:

Getting the flavors to your liking will matter for this fruit cake as coconut flour can be overpowering in taste that is the dominant ingredient and only flour used.

…Unless you’re making a coconut cake where you want coconut to stand out, you’ll want to mask the coconut flour flavor somewhat. 🥥

Like in this cacao-cocoa fruit cake with coconut flour.

That’s easy to do when you follow the recipe and some taste pairing guidelines.

Like when you add almond extract and stronger baking extracts such as orange extract (or even orange zest), you will not taste the coco-nutty flavors.

It won’t be like the busy summer beach air that blows permeating coconut suntan lotion scents your way. 😀

Also when you use complementary flavors on the food wheel, to support the star ingredients and bring them forward, the coconut flavors will step back.

But avoid flavors that won’t work with this fruit cake. Like lemon… or peppermint (that’s not even in the fruit category). Let’s not get too crazy 🤪

You can also use coconut milk that will help support the subtle coconut flour come through a little like a budding flower, but not overpower.

The dried fruits you add also will be supporting.

I used dried apricots and even dried rose (not a fruit). But you can add any dried fruits (pineapple, more cherries, raisins, dates, coconut, etc.) that fancy you at prep time. And even add in chopped nuts and seeds if you want

So then now you’ve got the flavors, and can combine with the flour.

Two Coconut Flour lessons to keep in mind:

In my experience, gluten-free flour like coconut flour will not rise with common leaveners like baking powder and baking soda. So they are not used. And since no gluten-flours are added to this fruit cake, I expect little rise.

And I use a frothy egg white that will be the small leavening lift (like from a ballet flat shoe to flats) in this fruit cake. It won’t be a high-heel like with gluten flours. 👠

And since there’s no table sugar, brown sugar, or any white sugar added, the egg white will not be meringue lifting whites.

That sounds deflating…

But the trick is to use a tall sided baking pan vessel. That way, the cake will be about as tall as you fill it, before it enters the oven. 😉

And, the second lesson is that coconut flour is dry in its properties. Like very dry!

So you will need about 3 cups of liquid to about 1 cup of coconut flour.

These days, you can find coconut flour any and everywhere. For pennies per ounces.

But since it’s a more advanced cake flour to work with (if you’ve never worked with), it’s good to know that it will take lots of liquid like a thirsty camel. 🐫

And that by adding more liquid, you’re not doing anything wrong.

And as you add in more liquid in the beginning, the coconut flour becomes drier (almost like a pasta dough).

It will come together on the other side of the batter.

For the batter, look for a mashed potato consistency with a little bit of lumpiness and grittiness that will be as close to the smooth cake batter as you can get.

And use grit to stick it out until it gets there.

You can measure out the liquid but your best bet is to eyeball it out as daily prep temperature, ovens, and conditions change.

And then you’ll now know what to look for, the next time you use coconut flour.

Soft and wet, the batter will be slowly pourable. And that will help make a fluffy-inside cake (and not a dense cake).

Last step for coconut flour fruit cake:

And then after you’ve got your cake batter and your flavor tastes in your mixing bowl (or easy blender)… 🎉

The last step is to gently fold in the egg whites to your batter (egg yolk, flour, and flavors) with a baking spatula or spoon.

And so… what will this fruit cake batter look like (you ask)?

When you add the cocoa and egg white, it will look like Rocky Road soft serve ice cream. The egg white especially helps smooth the batter some.

Grease cake pans, so the cake doesn’t stick to the pans. Some options: you can use coconut oil, a Silpat, and/or baking sprayed parchment.

Then bake your cake(s) at 350°F/180°C for about 55-60 minutes. You can insert a toothpick to see if it comes out clean. It’s better to over bake this cake a little vs. under bake (where it can fall apart).

And as a summary to using all coconut flour for this fruit cake (and most cake bakes), this is a common question asked…

Question: how will healthier, gluten-free coconut flour impact the cake?

Answer: You won’t get a regular cake rise.

Tip: use a tall sided baking vessel that you can fill with cake batter if you want a taller cake, or add an additional cake pan to compromise (e.g. 2-tiered cake).

With coconut flour, you also won’t end up with the same moist cake crumb that’s in a regular cake made with gluten flours, like all-purpose, cake, or whole wheat flour.

After baked, you can see the inside crumb looks a bit dry and wet. That’s the unique characteristic of coconut flour when nicely incorporated. And it’s perfect for a fruit cake! 🥮

Excited to make this? I’d love to see yours.

Cocoa Fruit Cake

This is a gluten-free delightful cake using coconut flour. This will make one 8" cake.

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Author Brandy @ Healthy Happy Life Secrets

Ingredients

1 cup coconut flour
3 cup coconut milk (or milk of choice), plus more
2 eggs, separated
1/4 cup coffee (optional)
2-1/2 Tbsp cacao powder
1 tsp almond extract
1/4 cup dried fruits (apricots, dates, coconut shavings)
2 Tbsp cherries, halved
coconut oil for baking pan/cake bottom (optional)

Instructions

Separate eggs when cold.
Line a cake pan with aluminum foil (or parchment paper) to easily pull out. Tip: Smear a little coconut oil (or brush a drop of neutral oil to the foil) on both foil sides so it doesn't stick to the pan and the cake bottom.
Mix all the other ingredients to make cake batter, except the egg whites and fruit in a bowl. This is the step where you can pulse your Magic Bullet blender (instead of using a bowl).
Whip up egg whites separately. (If you add table or granulated sugar, you will get more of an egg white rise, but none of those sugars are used in this recipe).
Add fruit to batter. Gently add/fold in egg whites.
Bake at 180°F/165°C for about 55 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean.

If you like this healthier cake, you may also want to try a low-sugar chocolate cake, apple cider vinegar cake, and/or cherry-chocolate-pistachio spumoni ice cream to go along with.

Dark Cocoa Cookie (No-Bake)

Dark cocoa cookie is festive fun when they are decked out bon bon or made into twist candy bow shapes like these just in time for holidays. And festive candy wrappers. 🍬

Dark cocoa cookie that are no-bake balls and candy bow shape.

They remind me of the sweet treat colors in a Swiss Colony catalog.

The good news is there’s no planning needed! Work I dug my heels in for many years where I holiday planned other people’s parties in private venues.

…I know what it’s like to be on my feet for hours in heels, hiking miles in a room. That was good enough exercise where I had no additional trekking outdoors need on the weekend. 😊

And if that’s how you feel no matter what you do all week… while kicking your feet up, holiday bakers can take a break. And make a guilt-free treat.

An enjoyable plate of no-bake Christmas cookies can be the pre or post-Advent fix (along with Advent chocolates).

How does that sound?

If good, holiday party celebration festive cocoa candy bows and balls are quick and no-bake easy.

You decide what shape you make ’em.

Your delightful no-bake cookies can be a joyful respite when you’re tired of standing or doing hours of prep holiday cooking.

Good for people who work all day in kitchens too.

And then the day of the event, the enjoyment flies by. Everyone is happy. You with your prepped plate making something creatively homemade and TASTY.

Because if it’s healthy only, it’s NOT happy. 😊

No one need know that it took minutes to make.

You get to be Mary with the guests.

The reward part is spending time with people, laughing and having a good time, and not having to do any cooking work.

And these dark cocoa cookies are like a delightful break you give yourself where you don’t cook or bake.

Dark cocoa in case it doesn’t ring a bell, are the tastes from the cookie sandwiches that start with “O” and end with “O.” The cocoa tastes different than traditional hot cocoa’s cocoa.

And you can make these with the same ingredient or use regular cocoa (or healthy cacao).

Either cocoa way, the best part is they’re sweet energy snacks in disguise.

They won’t last on a plate long.

Making them is as simple as rolling out the dough…

Then refrigerating for a few minutes to let the dough rest (and dry out a little).

And finally, cutting out your shapes.

Or you can roll the dark cocoa cookie into fun balls… probably blindfolded without refrigerating.

Add your decorations while the dough is still sticky. You can zhugh with powdered gold ginger dust or more (dark) cocoa decadence.

Or use elegant uniform sprinkles and coconut flakes for confetti. 🎉

You can dye the confetti with healthy natural powders like blue spirulina, green matcha, and beet that I’m suggesting here.

With a little magical water ingredient, they will make colors like pastel watercolors.

And if you want the colors to be more vibrant colors, you can use natural liquid gels like Pandan gel that will give a deep green.

Let your color wheel imagination go wild! 🍬

Other ideas: if you like peanut butter tastes, try these healthy peanut butter candy chews or peanut butter cookie that have cocoa vibes.

You can pair your sweets with a festive pistachio layered cacao beverage that you freeze and bring to room temps to watch the naturally sand art unfold.

Dark Cocoa Cookie

This is a no-bake festive dark cocoa cookie you can make in minutes.

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Author Brandy @ Healthy Happy Life Secrets

Ingredients

1 cup dark cocoa
1 Tbsp coconut flour
5 Tbsp oil (coconut or light olive oil)
2 Tbsp molasses
1 tsp coconut flakes
1 Tbsp additional coconut flour for top and bottom

Instructions

Combine ingredients together to make a dough disc.
Refrigerate dough in a closed container or plastic wrap for at least 20 minutes to rest and dry out some.
Add coconut flour to top and bottom of dough to prevent sticking. Flatten dough with palm of hand.
Cut out shapes desired e.g. with cookie cutter.
Plate, serve, and enjoy!

Gingerbread Cookie + Anti-Inflammatory Living

Gingerbread cookie is a non-negotiable for me. It’s a happy holiday cookie tradition.

…For you too?

My healthier (but delectable) recipe version is below (that doesn’t compromise taste!).

This is a sweet tray of puffy and light bread cookies. There are 12 regular cookie cutter size and 10 smaller ones (22 cookies total) that took 12 minutes to bake in 325°F/165°C. B-ready?

These are healthy conscious cookies that you can learn more about below.

Jump to Recipe

…Because I think healthy ingredients are delicious and belong in everything happy food made.

And the first question I ask myself is: does this recipe have any anti-inflammatory food value?

And if the recipe calls for sugar, butter, or flour, how can I get by with as little of it without compromising taste and texture?

…Especially because I discovered adult eczema in 2020, and in 2021 when I ended up in the hospital emergency room from skin inflammation, as a recurring second eczema flareup.

But before those 2 years I was already passionate about an anti-inflammatory diet for prevention reasons.

….And thankfully from health awareness and better lifestyle choices, haven’t felt the irritated skin effects since those stinging first years.

I’ve stayed food conscious and haven’t given up non-negotiable happy sweet foods… that would be a life not worth living (in my opinion).

But I’ve learned how to not tip-the-scales with food. Everything in moderation still (and even more as you age).

…And you can adopt an anti-inflammatory lifestyle if you’re wanting to optimize longevity and be more kind to the body we care for. You and I only get ONE

Reading healthy diet books is something I’ve been passionate about since I was a young adult.

Today I’ve zero’d in on a few for life…

The anti-inflammatory diet is forefront. It makes healthy sense to me and in my life where all signs pointed down that path.

I think for everyone that follows, destiny leads you down your best road.

…And after my real life eczema experience, I was convinced eating and living anti-inflammatory year-round was the #1 plan.

An anti-inflammatory diet includes plant-based foods and a lot of the same foods you’d find on a Mediterranean diet… In case you’re wondering what diets it’s kissing cousins closest to.

I like how the diet has little case “a” for “anti” as it encourages food variety choices in specific food categories. Our bodies opt for (and crave) biodiversity in our biomes.

In anti-inflammatory diets, the biggest difference is the focus is on preventing foods that cause daily inflammation.

…Like granulated sugar and gluten flours are common big offenders… and then as each person is different, there are specific individual foods you learn about with your body, as you go and test.

And as funny as life can be… of course, I turned out loving baking… and SWEETS! Challenge-ON.

And at first I learned the hard way.

Because when you’re first learning to bake, you find ingredients that work foolproof to achieve the cake or cookie you want after it comes out of the oven.

And there’s not usually an easy baking path (or many recipes out there) making treats we’ve come to love out of healthy food substitutes that taste just as good!

So then you end up with powdered sugar for icing or vegetable shortening for texture.

But I slowly learned that didn’t have to be the only way.

Like learning to ride a bicycle or ice skate…

It took time for me to tweak and test and learn what healthy and creative paired ingredients would work to not compromise textures and tastes.

Sometimes it took many fails to find wins in the oven.

And I have high sweet taste bud standards.

…’Cause I was raised on all those processed American sweets that were allowed in my weekly childhood diet.

But then daily I also learned about healthy foods from my mom’s balanced dinner plates of protein, veg, and carbs… and I kept my gourmet ox tail, squid soup delicacy, and trying persimmons at home experiences to my young self.

Because back then, no one my age wanted to stick out. And I knew my food experiences were so different than my classmates.

Especially when I had whole wheat bread sandwiches I wanted to hide on school field trips, when white bread was the glorified lunch bag sandwich.

I survived those times and forgot all about them. The were overshadowed by all the happiness I felt going to the grocery store and seeing food variety and abundance.

…Mostly the kid accepted snack kind that kept me happy for days.

…Like Twinkies, and Ho-Hos.

When I was younger, I would’ve been thrilled if you added a drip sugar IV to my veins,

Cookies especially were my weakness (and still are my faves today).

So as you’d imagine, I’ve tasted a lot of cookies in my years. And on my journey, I went in search for the least fat and sugar (healthiest) cookie! 😋

And then gradually evolved to sourcing sweet ingredients and making my own batch of cookies from scratch.

This is where a homemade gingerbread cookie is still hands-down the one that makes me the happiest with the balance of sugar and spice… and my cookie version is actually more aligned to a Chai tea spices.

…And goes great with a cup of Chai. 🫖

But it’s definitely a cookie in every sense where it has some (but a lot less) butter and sugar.

From taste and texture, you’d never know it has less sugar and less butter than most comparable cookies out there.

And that’s good (for the body’s health) because when you eat less sugar, you crave less.

Because sugar is still fact-fully known to be an addictive substance, like a drug.

Sweet addiction can come from a batch of cookies.

So often I use honey, fruit, and monk fruit that are anti-inflammatory good and work for many bakes.

But not great for a traditional gingerbread cookie.

…So cutting down the sugar and butter is the best bet… and especially if you don’t want to tip-the-inflammatory-scales.

That’s the game I play every time I eat something with sugar. And is the game that many of play to some degree without knowing it.

They’re hidden inside the body and can develop into chronic diseases like Diabetes 2 fastly on the rise.

Balancing blood sugar is at the heart of may health issues.

So every little bit of healthy effort, helps. And for building good habits. Of course the sugar compromise took experimenting with and my sweet desire switch didn’t happen overnight.

But these days, you’ll find me adding granulated sugar rarely… with a few bakes like a small brown packet for scones that makes 8 pieces. It just wouldn’t be the same crunch and joy without.

And adding 1/4 cup sugar plus some candy zhugh for a gingerbread cookie recipe this size to make a worthwhile joyful tray. 🍥

…We’re born with sweet taste buds on the front of our tongues for a reason.

But in my lessons learned, you don’t need to add powdered sugar icing that takes a high amount of sugar to make a little impact. And that adds to sugar addiction points if you’re counting.

You also only need 2 pats (2 Tbsps) of butter and NOT a whole stick for decadently good cookies!

Shifting butter also works toward a better anti-inflammatory mission.

During the year (and out of comfort food weather), I make no-butter cookies subbing in healthy oils like in a buckwheat ginger snap or a no-bake matcha cookie.

Remember “everything in moderation.”

My motto version: enjoy a sweet and then eat some carrots in between. And better yet, bake in some carrots (or your go-to list of anti-inflammatory foods) in your sweets. 🥕

When you use rainbow-healthy 🌈 ingredients that can help lower your grocery bill (I find), you can make your own food dishes and baked goods that make your mouth sing and smile.

And as win-win, you’re winning anti-inflammatory points when you partner with your body’s healthy tastes. 😊

Like when you add anti-inflammatory spices to a lower fat gingerbread cookie. 🫚🧡

Gingerbread Cookie - Low-Fat

This is a delicious gingerbread cookie that is more cake-bread-like and full of warming spices.

Servings 14 cookies

Author Brandy @ Healthy Happy Life Secrets

Ingredients

2-1/4 cups whole wheat and all purpose flour
2 Tbsp butter, melted
1 egg beaten
1/4 cup molasses
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp ground allspice
1-1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp cardamom (optional)

Instructions

Fully combine ingredients to make cookie dough. It will look like moist cookie crumbs.
Add dough to plastic wrap and tightly wrap pace to make a rectangle.
Refrigerate for at least one hour. The longer you let the dough rest, the spices will aromatically meld in (for up to a week in the refrigerator)..
Roll out dough to about 1/4 inch thick. Cut out cookie shapes. This will make about 14 regular sized cookies.
Preheat oven (and refrigerate cookie tray while waiting for preheated oven to heat up).
Bake on 325°F/165°F for 10-15 minutes. Cookie bottoms will have darker baked brown marks.
After cookies have cooled, you can add icing. Icing: melt white chocolate in a double broiler. To make more, add a small amount of refined coconut oil.
Smear white chocolate to tops of cookie and zhugh with decorations while the chocolate is not set.

Cranberry Pumpkin Trifle Dessert – Healthy and Easy

Cranberry pumpkin trifle is a healthy and tasty sweet treat snack that’s good for the gut where Greek yogurt is the white creaminess you can’t wait to dip your spoon in. And it’s a no-bake easy dessert (for brunch?) that you can make with 10-minute simple assembly.

This makes a great in-between dessert (amuse bouche) go-to… with sweet and sour-tart vibes infused. 🧡

This is a tasty way to keep celebrating and still enjoy food with heavy feast menu days that the holiday season is peppered with. 🎉

When I worked in catering planning, building in extra food touch point details won points with hosts and guests.

Like a special dish add or an amuse bouche (mouth amuser appetizer).

And if you’re feeding guests or hosting a party, small details like an across-the-board zhugh topping are a great way to impress them with very little work.

In an individual dessert like a cranberry pumpkin trifle, the multi-layer effect looks inviting to bite into.

The contrasting taste pairings and rainbow-y colors do the work for you.

And goes well on a food table in individual glasses … oui?

And the other reason a trifle is great is it’s just 10-minute prep work.

It can be enjoyed for no occasion at all…

Like for a great breakfast treat as a starter before your activity day, hike, or physical exercise.

Or anytime of day snack.

I like to have them ready for a Sunday brunch.

The ingredients are simple: canned pumpkin, cranberry sauce, Greek yogurt and orange zest.

And if you’re a bit like me, you want to know all the ingredients before you decide to make a recipe.

✅ You want to know if you have them on hand.

Nothing worse than getting excited about a food dish or gathering all the ingredients, and then not having a primary ingredient on hand.

✅ I also look at the ingredient list to see if they are ingredients I want to use for healthy reasons.

✅ And food ingredients that excite. 🥳

Then when all the checks are there, that’s when the prepping can begin.

The party is when it all comes together.

Success is when there’s a tasty pair duo or combo… Or in this case, it’s a pumpkin-cranberry-orange trio. 🎶

You can hand spoon layer the pump-o-cran trifle.

You can use store-bought or pre-store in freezer yogurt and oranges.

The frozen orange won’t be as vibrant fresh as fridge fresh oranges, but it could save you a trip of foraging.

Storing up can last you though the winter. That’s how we can be one with nature 🧘🏻‍♀️ and more like our foraging squirrel friends than we think. 🐿️

Both the pumpkin and cranberry are convenient cans you can store in your kitchen pantry.

It’s a myth that cranberry or pumpkin are seasonal foods. They’re available on middle aisle shelves all the time so you can get when them on sale if you want. And during the end-of-year months, it’s hard not to bump into them near end-of-aisle checkout areas.

And if you’re doing low-sugar, look for frozen whole bags of cran-berries that are wildly healthy like most berries that are full of polyphenol anti-inflammatory goodness.

You can make your own cranberry sauce. And then store the whole berries and extra sauce in your freezer.

Whole pumpkin is similar has similar healthy and easy vibes. It’s adds beta carotene and the antioxidant vitamins A, C, and E to complement an anti-inflammatory diet.

A-C-E was one of my earliest healthy food acronyms I learned that still has longevity (in A-C-E foods and my memory). 😊

And canned (pumpkin) that’s in puree versions ready-to-use is conveniently on most grocery shelves 365 days a year.

It has many healthy uses…

Like pumpkin is also great in a baking recipe. It’s my favorite Thanksgiving pie… maybe you too? And no-baking needed recipes like pumpkin mousse or chocolate trifle with pumpkin.

Year-round, I like to make easy pumpkin pasta sauce.

It’s a good alternate or change up from tomato sauce… and because tomato sauce is acidic.

If you’re trying to reduce heartburn symptoms, then that’s one easy swap you can make.

Also, pumpkin has a mildly sweet taste, pairing well with the same herbs and spices (as tomato sauce) like oregano and basil.

But I like to punch it up with pungent sage too. ⚡️

And if I’m sweet baking with pumpkin, I usually pair with ginger spice.🫚

Pumpkin sauce is also a glowing orangy-color that lights up faces. 🎃

On days you need energy, pumpkin can help you along with a bowl of pasta. And if you make your own homemade pasta (or eat egg yolks) then you’re getting B12, B6, and B2 from the egg yolk that plays well together to create food syn-energy. 🔋

Then with extra leftover pumpkin, you can see how that all comes together in this tasty cranberry pumpkin trifle dessert.

Cranberry Pumpkin Orange Trifle

Tasty and easy to make for holidays and everyday.

Author Brandy @ Health Happy Life Secrets

Ingredients

thick Greek yogurt
cranberry sauce
canned pumpkin
1 orange (Navel and Cara Cara sweet oranges work well)
molasses drizzle or nuts (for additional zhugh)

Instructions

Layer pumpkin, cranberry, and yogurt. Zhugh with orange zest.
Drizzle with molasses or zhugh with chopped nuts (optional).