Pumpkin mousse is a healthy dessert that’s so easy to make in 5 minutes with no baking!
Is it delicious? …Of course! Especially when chocolate is added for a delightful pairing.
But make no mistake this is a luscious creamy dessert scoop THAT NEEDS NO added sugar. Recipe below. 🧡
You can use anti-inflammatory unprocessed cocoa and pumpkin from a can or 100% pumpkin that’s pureed in with A-B-C vitamins and fiber. 🎃
Pumpkin is one of those holiday ingredients that reminds us of fall when we see PUMPKIN EVERYTHING.
Plus, this chocolate pumpkin mousse dessert snack has almond and coconut flours that are gluten-free.
If you want, you can make your own almond flour easily with whole almonds that you add to your chopper tool or food processor.
Almonds are a food kind of healthy fat, so you can have synergistic nutrition absorption with the pumpkin-almond healthy duo (since pumpkin’s Vitamin A is a fat-soluble vitamin that btw, is good for eyes).
…And is a tasty duo with pumpkin-chocolate flavors, using cocoa for the recipe.
Or cacao that’s not a typo for cocoa. 😊
It’s the raw, unprocessed version of cocoa.
But if you can’t find 100% cacao that’s anti-inflammatory healthy, you can use any unsweetened cocoa that’ll be almost as good.
Besides pumpkin that’s the star ingredient for this mousse, another fall flavor incorporated is tart cranberry… thanks to another later American holiday where you can give more thanks to the feast on the table.
And cran-pumpkin together is a glorious pairing in both sweet and sour taste, and punchy fall vivid colors.
Dried cranberries (or Craisins) that are commonly used in salads, are low calorie and high in Vitamin C.
You could use juicy whole cranberries for flavor, but they would make this recipe too wet, and then we would have to add more dry ingredients or flours.
With mostly dry ingredients, you don’t need much flour.
You can adjust the coconut flour based on the creamy perfect mousse texture you want… even though you can’t go wrong here!
After you pull together and hand mix all your ingredients, take an ice cream scooper (or spoon) and test the texture thickness of your choc-pumpkin mousse that can be like soft ice cream scoops.
Your eyes can get big because you’ll want a bite. 👀
And when you get the textures to liking, you can let the glorious and healthy flavors melt in your mouth.
This site is all about happy and healthy living and eating ways and inspiration. If this is your first time here, I encourage you to find out more about me and this healthy recipe blog.
Transformation change such as changes in identity (and realizing that you won’t go back to past and old identities that no longer serve you) lead to personal growth and purpose… if you look deeper within.
That’s what this article is about.
And I believe what this Life is meant for (…while enjoying the perks and good foods that our living planet offers). 🎉
Consider: why would you stay the same as you started as an adult? Especially if you weren’t all that happy in your humble adult beginnings or in your childhood.
Now is your chance to step into the life you deserve and finding your authentic purpose.
That what experience and getting older helps with.
You know the better way now compared to even a few years ago in any growth areas of life that you pay attention to and put intention into.
As adults, one transformation change identity we all grow out of is our childhood identity as a rite of passage.
As you don’t always do what culture asks you to do, but you do what is good and good for you.
You grow away from what everyone is doing as your boss.
You become your own boss.
This can be in personal life matters and business or work.
With the transformation change, you get free to live life differently than the past… making healthy changes in your pivots and start overs.
And the positive changes grow as they last the rest of your life unless you change them.
👉 The no-regret smart way is see that our past led us to better discoveries and our ways today. We are who and we are today BECAUSE of our past that got here. Nothing was wasted.
And that keeps us fearless and pressing onward.
Because making a radical transformation change takes guts.
And being open to life not being what you thought starting out.
Life is the new teacher.
And life is meant to teach you what you’re here for.
The process and year is how you discover what that is…
For me, that became evident when I had life problems in every balance wheel of life area that gave me my first gray hair stress sign at 25. That was not a wisdom hair.
…I didn’t know where to turn.
So that set me on a quest to seek answers and a transformation change and transformational path that I may not have entered otherwise.
And when those problems gradually resolved (that felt like took forever at the time), new season circumstances and challenges took their place.
It was the problems that got me to transformation change. I realized I felt like I was missing something.
When I looked down, all the body parts were there.
My mind was working.
And long story short, I learned that there was a part of me I never knew.
My instincts were as close to this part as I could describe.
But it became more important as life unraveled.
It became my identity as instincts are guiding you toward your destiny and who you will become.
Questioning life is always good… because there’s nothing more important in life than life.
Asking often: am I on the right path?
To get on the right path, I wondered: if everything today is going to be yesterday tomorrow and not matter as much then what is the meaning of this life?
And I realized that the external and everything we see is fleeting.
External things are a temporary vantage point.
We carry us and our vantage point everywhere we go, even on vacations.
The honeymoon happy feelings wear off.
Fleeting happy feelings and getting stuff keep us moving ahead in life until we’re more mature, so we can handle more and get to the fulfilling, fruit bearing stuff that become our life passions in ripe timing.
And that’s where a transformation change into your deeper spiritual sides grows you.
It’s the deeper discovery within and above you that will bring the joy on Life’s journey. And life transformations are the vehicles.
And if ever stuck, we can ask the Universe to help us with our intentions: can you take me higher?
Reminds me of the song lyrics in “Higher” by Creed:
At sunrise I fight to stay asleep, cause I don’t want to leave the comfort of this place, ‘cause there’s a hunger, a longing to escape.
It’s a choice to get insight from our higher selves. This accelerates growth and in areas that may never grow if we stay doing life the same way we’ve always done.
One healthy way is to embrace transformation change. You will change and that’s a great thing!
Don’t listen to those who want to keep you behind, the same, at their same speed.
Listen to the deeper wisdom that’s the higher path.
Those will lead to the highest purposes for our lives here on earth. And you’re only accountable for yourself for your entire life.
I used to be afraid deeper spiritual change would lead me to a life I would hate doing (or life as a martyr), but trust led to letting go… and grander things than I could have imagined.
I’m so much better than when I started my adult journey. There are big life areas where I’m wondering what will happen next like you and everyone else in their life.
And I know I’ll grow more in my transformation change.
There’s no magic age where purpose aligns in our lives, but the sooner we reach up and out, the sooner we get to leave our former caterpillar identities we started out as.
We get to transform to butterflies sooner and enjoy the sweet nectar and honey that comes along.
In yoga terms, we can go from looking down to the ground in caterpillar pose to opening up in butterfly pose and choosing to look out and up.
That’s the wise growth path I know and I hope that helps you on your journey. 🌱 Keep going and growing!
White fish broth is a tasty, light, and healthy meal in itself. You can make this delicious bowl of healthy white fish soup in minutes from frozen fish and spices that can please your taste buds.
White fish filet is one of the easiest fish to source all around the world, and you can find priced and stocked reasonably in grocery stores.
Cod, haddock, flounder, and tilapia are a few of these common white fish choices available around the world. Even though wild fishes like salmon are healthiest (touted for Omega-3), it’s often more pricey and sometimes hard to find.
You can almost always catch a white fish healthy deal and meal to feed a table tonight that’s loaded with protein, vitamins, and minerals even if you don’t live by the coast.
Considering other dinner and meal alternatives, it’s good healthy value.
In choosing white fish, you may not notice fish taste differences in fish coming from packaged frozen fish sections that are usually mild tasting, compared to the fresh seafood counters that have a fresh and more distinct-to-type fishy taste.
Wherever you go, the most important healthy choice is choosing the “wild” factor.
Wild fish is the healthy choice over farm-raised fish.
Emphasizing wild fish, then you can use the organic skin for flavorful fish broth.
Fish broth has type 1 collagen, that’s especially good for skin and hair. And, who doesn’t want that?
When I was younger, I was told to avoid the fish skin, but that’s because we ate wild card fish sources that weren’t wild fish. 🎣
But like most white fishes, the white flesh is still a good source of protein, Vitamin D, and Omega-3 healthy fats.
White fish is also a good lighter choice if you’re trying to lose weight.
And if you’re looking to make quick, easy meals… you can pull frozen fish out from the freezer and have a meal like white fish broth soup in minutes.
A zestful soup with so much flavor with tastefully paired spices and spice blends like tarragon, coriander, and my seafood favorite…
I grew up with memories driving to the Maryland beaches, where Old Bay spice is a nostalgic and distinct taste favorite… and for many others who experienced the layer of strong Old Bay celery salt, paprika, and cloves scent in the already salty ocean air. 🌊
A whiff of the spice reminds me of the middle and end of August before Labor Day when the season changes. That’s also back-to-school time. And it was for me too as an 80s teen growing up in the more simple, and happy-go-lucky years.
Carrying the carefree spirit into back-to-school college years, I returned for summers and even worked at Phillip’sSeafood in Ocean City, MD one summer.
Those were the innocent (as in I didn’t know what I didn’t know) days with an unexpected whole new world ahead. We didn’t spend time on smart phones or the internet that didn’t exist.
…We focused on the physical 3-D life in front and around us and played physical arcade games and enjoying all-you-can-eat crabs as entertainment. 😊
And this 3-D person came home from work smelling like a seafood boil festival.
On the shore, they douse Old Bay on everything… and all seafood. 🍤 Like shrimp, scallops and corn…
Old Bay is also great in fishy broths like the white fish broth (recipe below).
Just adding the seafood magical blend, you’d think you were having a soup from a Maryland seafood restaurant.
And because I planned DC parties in Mediterranean and Spanish cuisine restaurants, I especially like the fishy spice combination with the Spanish spice saffron.
It’s often found in a Paella dish that is not a quick meal, but you can make a saffron white omelet in minutes.
As another idea, you can serve that up with your white fish broth soup.
I share a lot about internal happiness because that’s the forefront journey I’ve been on.
And the number one reason I have found of why people aren’t living happy is an ego block that can steal one’s daily happiness.
An example of this is with people who strive for perfection…
But most people don’t come out and say they are perfectionists. It’s a vulnerable admittance to share. So if you are one or know someone who is, you can probably relate to this.
Where the opposite of perfection is imperfection.
And we’re all imperfect on this planet, so perfection is a pie-in-the sky illusion.
For one, we all forget at some point (maybe regularly) so that automatically shows our minds ability to be imperfect.
Our minds can even foil us to believe that we’re not imperfect if we forget once or twice. That complicates matters.
And that’s due to our ego or an ego block that’s present but invisible to the eye.
If we focus on what’s not perfect, we can obsess.
Or we focus on all the wrongs in this (and our) world instead of what’s right and going well.
…That’s the harmful ego’s way, and we get to flip the script and choose to outsmart our ego.
A common scenario can be where we have what we want in front of us, and then milliseconds in, we want something else… when the perfect thing (whatever it is that we wanted minutes ago), is staring at us in the face and our minds are now telling us differently.
Again, generated by deceiving ego that backfires in its plot line to protect us, as often we don’t need that coat of protection.
AND we don’t need those crooked evil forces that have a hold on us or show up in self-defeating (imposter) ways.
BUT we buy into unless we are aware.
Another way ego slithers into our daily lives is when we do or say things that gets others’ approval instead of the acts that we deeply know in our heart is best and our higher evolved selves would be proud of.
…But it’s not our fault.
It’s our ego construction that’s built that way by design.
This helps us in Life to keep evolving.
Because if things were perfect (or perceived as perfect by us), we would stay the same when we are meant to grow into better beings.
So this is what we should know:
We have an ego in our minds that can creates chaos.
It’s our job responsibility to manage our ego for our better lives.
The ego is one thing that makes us all human on earth.
But the scariest part of it all is that most people in this world walk around unaware of the fact of their 24-7 ego influences… and mostly because it’s not visible like a red traffic sign. 🛑
We can’t see the ego influence in minute by minute play because we think it is us and our thoughts. We buy into the lying ego thought narratives.
And the only way out (and our saving grace) is in our choice to be aware and observe our thoughts and actions… and deliberately choose better or opposite ways.
Positive vs. negative.
Love vs. fear.
Productive vs. unproductive.
Worry vs. faith.
Peace vs. chaos.
Contentment vs. wanting what isn’t meant to be.
Joy vs. self-pity.
Responsibility vs. blaming others…
And if we choose to live uninformed, we stay unaware when poked… like when we were immature children and didn’t know any better.
When immature, we lack knowledge and stay ignorant that our ego will use to pull us in the wrong direction and push our buttons that hurts us and often others.
In nanosecond blinks, we can have a sharp reaction coming from our subtle and deep insecurities.
It can happen so quickly… someone cuts us off or does something to trigger us, or we turn on the negative news that widely opens the door to ego entering.
Unhealthy ego can seem so ordinary to us because when we don’t know that there’s another way to live that’s optimally higher… we keep ourselves living small.
Changing our thoughts daily is healthy.
And I believe 💯% needed for our mental health and for a kinder world to live in.
Like me, you probably weren’t schooled on this. No one you respected growing up taught you this. And if anything you were taught to BOOST your ego because you got praises and awards.
Our biggest defense is constant awareness and to fight off the mood sources that our world around us creates and show up to ourselves as the better half.
Live in a positive mental bubble with both feet on the ground knowing this world is imperfect.
…And you can be part of the solution.
You can bring a smile and more love, help others, and help yourself so you can help others.
Resist your awakened ego that automatically has a mind of its own and can fire itself up any time you’re awake.
…And fuel you with its hidden agenda that can subtly derail your better path in the moment.
And it gets missed…
Because the ego feeds us warped garbage when we’re half-mindlessly scrolling on the phone or watching a show to escape.
…And that’s our common cultural ways.
It’s easy when the world outside is noisy and there are busy distractions for the ego to have its power on us, instead of us being empowered.
…Like when you have an intent to have better eating habits, exercise regularly, or a prayer life and it doesn’t happen.
And not because there’s not enough time or energy in the day, because we all have the same time and we fit in what we want to do at the end of the day (and by the end of the day when our head hits the pillow).
We can have a number of daily excuses… but the bigger overarching reason is because our ego thoughts derailed us… and we allowed that.
When we’re unfocused, rather we choose to prioritize self-care, nature’s gentle sounds, relaxation, and reset centering time to gain our focus back and to hear the nudging whispers that’s our better lifeline.
…And that sends ego (loud thoughts) back packing into the little corner it belongs in…
Until the next time, when you’ve caught on maybe just a little quicker and do the same restore or similar remedy.
Turn your ego weakness (that we all have) into your strength.
Ego is not your friend, it’s a part of you that you can turn to good.
If your ego keeps you up all night (worry thoughts, anxiety, and stress) or keeps you from being daily productive, do something proactively different and healthy to acknowledge and commemorate that ego no longer has a hold on me.
Get those inside warm and fuzzy feelings back.
Today is a new day.
Tell yourself: “I can’t get back yesterday or get back my sleep” but I can live alive today in awareness. Oh, and btw little ego, you’re outta here!”
…Because I’m here now, and I’m choosing to take the fork in the road of the better life.
And the reason I’ve wised up to our ego’s way, besides that I’m a human 😊 is that…
In my own life experience, it was years of personal suffering and beating myself up in self-pity for the smallest things that nooboodddy was thinking about except for moi … and that helped me to see what I see today and in this ripe adult time in my life.
But for yearsss, I walked around with my head in a bubble, letting repeated tapes run in my mind about life situations.
I was anything but present in the moment, and that’s the worst feeling because it sucks the life energy out (when you could’ve spent that time productively exercising or reading a book).
But ego trickster spins the idea that’s how our (as in ego and my) brain works.
“Uh-no thank you,” says my evolved self.
But back then, I didn’t not know how there was a better way or how to shut those lesser ways off (and that’s how it is for most of us living with a blind ego).
Learning to exercise higher thought mind muscles is not as easy as lifting 20 lb weights.
I didn’t know better mind-body ways to help lift myself out of the fog.
So I had no fighting chance in the beginning unaware.
But in this life, there’s higher help that lifts the fog eventually and provides revelation.
…Only after some years passed from that point did it click why some people I encountered in my past acted incongruent at times.
In some of those situations, I felt blindsided by their actions and the ripple effects caused.
…And being fully objective, maybe some people felt that way about me with some of my actions earlier on in life when I didn’t know better and they never told me.
I used to think the unproductive conversations were differences in opinions or personality.
But then there were times when with the same people, we could agree to disagree. So I wondered what made the difference…
And the common intersection I got epiphany on was that the ego was at peace or acting out.
And the fully formed ego theory I now know as truth, I believe is the cause of most people problems (…and yes affects everyone in the world).
…It’s like the close family and friends that talk about their past that they never got past, or who gloat about their former glories in a seemingly storytelling-engaging way… but is ego in disguise.
And you know it’s ego because in those ego moments the high ego has to get their point, story, or agenda across. And it’s not to help others.
All of us who have been around everyday people have come across these situations where we unknowingly helped egg their ego on.
…And then as more proof that ego was the problem, there were situations where someone declared that so-and-so had a high ego (that’s unhealthy) or the high ego person even admitted it themselves.
But our own ego dismissed that information tidbit at the time saidbecause that’s not when the high ego person is acting up… They’re acting cool and humble.
…So our minds dismiss that admission and never files away that piece of information because to the brain receiving, it’s like: what do I do with that information that doesn’t have any attached action or outcome? The statement is misaligned with the action.
So we miss the high ego signs, and keep allowing ego offenders in our lives to keep offending.
Bottomline: what we can do here is work on our own mental health-iness daily, constantly stay aware, and create our own self-happiness life story.
We can keep our own high ego at-bay that’s wanting to burst out.
It’s definitely worth the effort to be on guard of our ego and check in with our thoughts, feelings, actions, and reactions for our peace, so we don’t waste our productivity that includes our day’s joy.
And, have compassion for those who are still unaware.
We can love them and walk away from their toxicity.
Btw, this wasn’t the healthy post of what I was going to share this week, but I felt my spirit encouraging me even when the ego tried to block some words from me.
Apple smoothie is a healthy fall-ish color drink you can smile about… and when paired with the balancing tastes of sweet potato and carrot, you’re also getting a trifecta of anti-inflammatory goodness with vitamins and beta-carotene that’s the orange rainbow compound good for eyes. 🌈
Plus these ingredients are easy to find year-round and is great for season transitions where hot and cold (life on ho-ld) meet. 😊 So that’s pretty much year-round for a year-round beverage option!
For a great breakfast smoothie, it’s as simple as cooking a sweet potato and 2 medium peeled carrots until soft.
Let them cool and then blend with milk and a chopped apple.
…Oh yeah, the apple is the star ingredient.
I chose a Red Delicious apple because it’s a bit more sweet than a green apple.
Red apples are the ones with quercetin that is buzz talk (or you may have heard of).
But green apples, like a famous tart Granny Smith is one of the most anti-inflammatory apples.
…So either red or green, you can’t go wrong when comparing apples to apples. 🍎🍏
And if you want to kick it up a notch, you can add a ‘lil cinnamon to give a better version taste like in cinnamon cereals, but without the added sugar.
…That’s huge!
And you can do the same tasty and anti-inflammatory goodness intentions with an apple smoothie milkshake (recipe below 🧃).
This drinkable shake is a breakfast meal (inside a drink) because it also has eggs.
An apple milkshake is all natural with real apples, eggs, sweet potato and cinnamon.
It’s a egg protein shake that’s bordering on ice cream for breakfast… that puts a smile on old faces especially when it’s hot enough outside. 😋
…Which btw, when you make homemade ice cream… it can be healthy with a few healthy ingredients.
So if you’re looking for a satisfying cool refreshing snack, this could be one to try that meets your hotter moods and sweet tooth.
…I remember as a child when I came home from the dentist after having cavities filled because I ate a lot of sugar… and I didn’t mind because I was always excited to have ice cream for dinner. 🍨
That was the sugar freak in me and still is today in a healthy living way.
And, maybe that’s what it’s like for you or someone in your household situation who wants to enjoy sweet, but lower the sugar intake.
I know I wouldn’t have liked a sophisticated (aka grown up) milkshake taste like apple-sweet potato.
But a vanilla milkshake… oh yes! or maybe even a Vanilla Cinnamon milkshake that’s closer to familiar common ice cream flavors that the little people like. 👧🏻
And then maybe grow up one day wanting to try other flavors they never liked before.
And if that’s what we’re up for, then adding a hint of natural peanut butter enhances the body’s absorption to an apple and sweet potato milkshake dessert snack-meal loaded with fat-soluble vitamins… plus another taste dimension!
Now that’s something to wake up for 🍎
And for a little detox kick, add a little ginger for a natural energy jolt⚡️to your souped up apple smoothie.
On low to medium stove heat in a pot, constantly stir eggs and milk until almost boiling (small bubbles). Then let cool in the refrigerator until cold.
Blend all the ingredients together. Then freeze.
Bring out to room temperature and enjoy! It's best to freeze the milkshake so it sets, and then add any leftover in the refrigerator if you do not finish.
If you want to build a (second) layer of the sweet potato, after you freeze the first layer, you can add the second layer. Easy peasy and you get to mix and enjoy all the flavors together when it has melted some.
