For those of you that have been following the blog for a while know I like to make a celebration out of Grey's half birthday. (Ok, I really love the opportunity to make a celebration out of anything) but half-birthdays have just been a special thing since my little babe hit his first half-bday milestone at just six months old. 

Each year we bake cupcakes and just talk about his year so far and I always write an open letter to my sweet little guy. You can read this years, as he turns 3 and a half, here, as well as reflect back on our previous celebrations. 

As I said in that post, I would share a recipe for gluten free lemon cupcakes that you all could whip up, that is allergen friendly and toddler approved. We Disney-fied it a bit for fun! 

DIrections

Lemon Cupcakes

• 1 1/2 c. gluten-free flour 
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. cream of tartar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 c. softened vegan butter
• 1 cup coconut or date sugar 
• 2 TBSP. lemon zest
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/4 c. vegan sour cream (Follow Your Heart is soy free!)
• 3 TBSP. dairy-free milk
• 3 TBSP. lemon juice from a fresh lemon

Vegan Buttercream

• 3/4 cup softened vegan butter
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
• 3 - 3 1/2 cups powdered sugar (Trader Joes is corn-free!)

Directions 

Lemon Cupcakes

• Preheat the oven to 350F degrees.
• Line a muffin pan with parchment cup liners. 
• In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda, cream of tartar and salt.
• In a standing mixer bowl, or in a large bowl with a handheld, beat the butter, sugar and lemon zest until fluffy. 
• Add in eggs and vanilla. Beat until mixed. 
• In a small bowl whisk together the sour cream, milk substiture and lemon juice. 
• Add 1/2 of your flour mixture into the butter mixture, followed by 1/2 of the sour cream mixture. Make sure to scrape the sides of your bowl as needed. Repeat the process once more.
• Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin pan, filling each liner about 3/4. 
• Bake for 17-19 minutes or until your toothpick comes out clean.

The Frosting

• In a large bowl beat the butter until light and airy.  
• Add in your salt. 
• Add in 2 cups of powdered sugar and mix. 
• Beat in the rest of the powdered sugar about 1/2 cup at a time until the desired consistency. 
• Transfer the frosting to a piping bag with a large tip and frost in a dollop as shown above.

Do you have a favorite cupcake flavor? Grey's changes daily, but such is the life of a three year old. 

Do you do anything special for half-birthdays in your home?

Hello my lovelies! 

With this being a very busy year that included renovating our new home, moving into said home, buying a new business, growing our current ones and raising and homeschooling a busy toddler, I have intentionally decided to slow waaaay down in December. 

It has felt so good.

It's hard for me to lay things down. Especially when they feel like they are 'good' things. Yet I had so many balls in the air that I just couldn't handle all I was juggling and I was starting to get sick more often (which hasn't been the case in our home since we went more natural), and I was just run down and on edge and I finally said, no more. 

Our month has looked a lot like more intentional family time, date nights, traditions new and old, a lot of Christmas movies and baking. All. The. Baking.

We have some exciting news announcing in January, and it's sure to be a new season of busy, so for now I will bake and ice to my hearts content and enjoy every moment of peace this season of our Savior offers my weary heart. 

These Gingerbread Men are gluten-free, dairy-free, extra moist and subtle. 

We served them to family before a night of looking at lights and we got an overwhelming response of these being the "best gingerbread cookies ever!"

So, not to toot my own horn, but I've heard these are pretty good. ;) 

If you're looking for a Paleo/Grain-Free version, you can swap the All-Purpose Flour for Almond Meal. 

Ingredients

• 2/3 c. molasses
• 1 large egg
• 2/3 c. vegan butter
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 3/4 c. coconut or maple sugar
• 3 1/2 c. all-purpose GF flour (almond flour for paleo)
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. sea salt
• 1 TBSP. ground ginger
• 1 TBSP. cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp. ground cloves 

optional: royal icing or allergen-friendly, dye-free white icing. 

Directions
​

• In a large bowl beat butter for 30-60 seconds with a hand mixer until creamed. 
• Add coconut or maple sugar and molasses and mix again until blended. 
• Beat in the egg and vanilla on high speed for 1-2 minutes. Scraping bowl as needed. 
• In a medium bowl, whisk your GF flour, baking soda, salt and spices until mixed well. 
• Add the dry mix into your wet ingredients and bear on low until combined. Your dough will be very sticky.
• Divide dough into two halves and wrap each in plastic wrap, forming into a thick disc. 
• Refrigerate for a minimum of four hours, overnight is best. We did ours for six hours. 
• Once chilled, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a few baking sheets with parchment. 
• Remove one disc of your dough and on a generously floured surface roll out 1/4 inch thick. Use your cookie cutters to make your desired shapes and transfer to your sheets.
• Bake for 10 minutes for medium shape cookie cutter cookies, for smaller cookies, bake for 8 minutes and for oversized or large cookies bake for 12 minutes. 
• Allow to cool for ten minutes before transferring to cooling rack. 
• Allow cookies to cool completely before decorating.  
• Enjoy your little festive friends!

As a mama who strives to make better choices for my family year round, I've been frustrated in years past when it comes to finding a balance of avoiding all that's unsafe for my son's body (food dyes, artificial flavoring, and ingredients I just don't feel great about such as gluten, dairy or possible GMO ingredients) and allowing him to feel like he got to have a fun holiday. 

Now, we are BIG promoters that holidays are NOT about candy. That they aren't about food or treats in general, but as he gets older and participates with family and friends, I do allow him to have fun and have some treats. Thus the inspiration for this post. 

I wanted parents, grandparents, teachers and anyone who will be treating kids to candy this season to a guide to all of my favorites as well as a couple of tips to keep your kids safe. 

Summer and me have a love/hate thang. On the one hand we get swimming, beach days, staycations, all the popsicles we can take, celebrating our independence and sunshine into the late evening

On the other we get temps hitting 115. And all the bugs. 

So I’m all about making happier moments INDOORS when it’s positively scorching outside and getting into the kitchen with my little sous chef was a perfect summer activity.

He loved helped molding the BIGGEST cookie he's ever seen, helping me spread on the cream cheese frosting and placing the berries. When it came to the whip cream dollops, I think he ate more than he placed haha, but such is true with toddlers.

This recipe is extremely kid friendly from prep to enjoying a slice with a tall glass of icy lemonade and we will definitely be making again, fourth of July or not. 

Ingredients
​

• 12-16 oz GF/DF sugar cookie dough (refrigerated)
• 8 oz softened vegan cream cheese 
• 1/8 c sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla 
• Vegan whipped topping (I use almond milk Reddi Whip) 
• 12 oz organic raspberries  2 c. organic blueberries 

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
• Open tube or pack of cookie dough and place on a lightly greased 12 inch pizza pan and roll or press into an even layered circle. (You may use a pie tin or large bowl to get a perfect circle)
• Bake cookie crust 11-12 minutes until lightly browned.
• Cool cookie completely. 
• Beat cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla together until smooth. 
• Scoop cream cheese mixture onto the cookie crust once cooled and spread it to the edges. 
• Use blueberries to outline the pizza and create the blue portion of the flag. 
• Use raspberries to create your flag stripes. 
• Use your vegan whipped cream to create dollops in between rows of raspberries.
• Keep in fridge until ready to serve.

There's something that feels so quintessential motherhood about baking a fresh batch of cookies from scratch with your little one. Grey and I have been trying to make one new recipe a week together, or at least baking a batch of muffins or fresh pancakes on the weekends, to help foster bonding and education on creating food fresh and healthy at home. It also helps in teaching kitchen safety, which you can never start too young. 

This super easy recipe is below and utilizes coconut sugar to cut out refined sugar and lends a warm, spicy note that elevates the traditional oatmeal cookie to a new level. 

We also use organic raisins due to grapes being a highly contaminated fruit when it comes to pesticides and sprays. 

INGREDIENTS:

wet

• 1 C vegan butter
• 1 C coconut sugar
• 2 organic eggs
• 2 tsp organic vanilla

dry

• 2 1/2 C. All Purpose Gluten Free Flour
• 1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. cream of tartar
• 1/2 tsp. sea salt
• 3 C gluten free oats (not instant!)
• 1 1/2 c raisins

DIRECTIONS:

• Preheat oven to 350°.
  
• Whisk all dry ingredients except for raisins and oats; set aside.
  
• Combine wet ingredients, on the low setting,  mix with a hand mixer.
  
• To cream, increase speed to high and beat until fluffy.
  
• Stir the dry mixture into the creamed mixture until well mixed.
  
• Add the oats and raisins; stir to incorporate.
  
• Drop 1-2 TBSP. dough with a spoon about 2-inches apart onto baking sheet sprayed lined with parchment or coated lightly with coconut oil. 
  
• Bake 11-13 minutes on center rack until golden. 
  
• Remove from oven; allow to cook for five minutes, transfer to cooling rack. Enjoy warm or save in fridge for up to one week. 

There is something about Spring that gets me in the mood to bake, bake, bake!

Celebrating Easter and Christ's resurrection is such a holy time and we adore hosting picnics and brunch in celebration. I wanted to make something that embodied spring harvest and the Easter holiday to bring to the table this year and my Carrot Cake Cupakes were born.

Sweet, moist and OH SO DECADENT, these are HANDS DOWN the BEST cupcakes I've EVER made to date. They taste like traditional cupcakes and will be gobbled up by even the pickiest little bunny in the patch. 

The added touch of these dyed chocolate carrots were work but SO SO worth it. They add such a festive touch and hold up quite nice.

The cupcake itself is packed with carrots and cinnamon goodness and are SO moist and flavorful. The mix of coconut sugar and brown sugar help cut down on the refined sugar of a traditional cupcake, and while you could omit the brown sugar, it does help the cupcake have the traditional carrot cake flavor.

The cream cheese frosting is so spot on and I'm so thankful Miss Jones Baking Co. makes a dairy-free, high quality, low ingredient organic frosting. You can't have carrot cake without cream cheese frosting. That would just be WRONG. Wouldn't it? Yes. Yes it would be. (also, not sponsored but its the only frosting I keep in my cupboard so I have to give them praise.)

Grey couldn't keep his sweet little hands off of these, which you'll see below and we are excited to make them again soon. 

INGREDIENTS:

Dry

• 2 C. All Purpose Gluten Free Flour (I use Bob' Red Mill One to One)
• 1 3/4 tsp. Baking Soda
• 3/4 tsp. Cream Of Tartar
• 1/2 tsp. Sea Salt
• 2 tsp. Cinnamon (Ceylon Cinnamon for boosted health benefits)
• 3/4 c. Coconut Sugar
• 1/2 c. Organic Brown Sugar
• 2 C. Grated Carrots (I whipped up 1/2 bag of baby carrots in my Ninja)

Wet

• 1/2 c. Avocado Oil
• 3 Organic Eggs
• 1 tsp. Apple Cider Vinegar
• 1/2 c. Dairy Free Milk (I used almond)

For the carrot toppers

• Dairy Free White Chocolate or DF White Melts (I get these online)
• Orange Food Coloring (You can get dye free, as we opt for)
• Green Food Coloring (You can get dye free, as we opt for)

​DIRECTIONS:

• Preheat oven to 350 and line cupcake tins with parchment cupcake liners.
• In a large bowl combine all dry ingredients, adding your carrots in last.
• Add in wet ingredients and mix very well until a smooth batter forms.
• Pour batter in liners about 3/4 full and bake for 21 minutes.
• Once cupcakes are in the oven, prepare your carrot toppers.
• Melt two small bowls of dairy free white chocolate or melts over the stove top or in the microwave until nicely melted. Add 2-3 drops of orange dye in one bowl and green in the other, adding dye until you reach desired color. 
• Lay out a piece of parchment on a small cookie sheet.
• Spoon each colored melted candy into a small ziploc bag, cutting a small hole in each so that the candy may be piped onto the parchment.
• Pipe the orange in a zigzag pattern, making a carrot shape. Pipe the green at the top, making sure it overlaps the orange to form one piece. Place in refrigerator until ready to use.
• Once cupcakes are done, allow to cool COMPLETELY before frosting. Frost with dairy free cream cheese frosting and add solid candy carrot a top each cupcake.

Share and enjoy!

Happy Easter beautiful friends!  

I got misty eyed with happy tears this morning. I went to the kitchen. where Grey is always eager to help alongside me while I'm recipe creating, baking and cooking. However, today was a little different and was just another glimpse into him growing up so very quickly before my eyes.

As I gathered ingredients for one of the first Italian recipes that will be rolling out on the blog (I have a book in the same vein up my sleeve for 2020) - Grey crawled down the stairs to the living room. I thought he had abandoned ship for legos or super heroes, when not five minutes later, he returns, his akwardly-big-for-him footstool from the bathroom held in front of his little frame as he carried it towards the kitchen.

"Now I can help you!" he exclaimed excitedly as he put the stool down and pushed it against the kitchen island all on his own. 

Guys, WHERE did my baby go? This sweet moment was definitely one for the books this morning. 

We got to work on these and he surprised me again when he asked if he could crack the eggs today. Usually one of the jobs I deem "moms territory", I let him, he did GREAT and I only had to fish out a littttttttle shell. He also sat in as my model to capture a cute photo of the lemons we used. 

Seriously guys, it was the best morning which ended with sharing these DELECTABLE cookies that I remember enjoying around the holidays as a young girl who grew up in an Italian household.

These cookies are crunchy on the outside, moist and soft on the inside. They have the PERFECT hint of lemon and the glaze is sweet without overpowering the cookie to much. 

A great pairing with a warm mug of tea or a strong shot of espresso if you want to enjoy it the way my Grandma did. 

One of my FAVORITE treats as a kid were Rice Krispy Treats. Gooey, sweet and ever-so-addicting, we didn't make them often because they'd get gobbled up in record speed. Surely, my parents didn't want me and my sister high on sugar as much as I don't want my kid zipping around all crazed on sweets. 

But today was another 105 degree day and I was blanking on any preschool lesson since I'm slowly putting together our Fall curriculum, so into the kitchen we went. Educational, I get content for the blog and we get a treat at the end. Sounded like a wonderful way to spend a Thursday to me. 

That, and I found patriotic straws in the drawer and BAM! these became a dessert for Labor Day that is this coming long weekend. 

If you are lacking star spangled straws, fear not, these babies are JUST as festive, beautiful and delicious sans prop. 

And in true Nosh and Nurture fashion these are not the Rice Krispy Treats of our youth. With Dandie's Marshmallows (not sponsored, just love these little things) the marshmallows are corn-free. The cereal I used is an organic brown rice variety that I picked up at Sprouts because I don't care for the additives and folic acid found in the popular mainstream white rice cereal traditionally used in these. 

I also used an organic coconut oil and vegan butter to get them to be ooey gooey and pure perfection. 

I can attest that the little ones will love these as much as I did as a kid. Grey even posed his perfect little hand in the photo and I had a proud food blogger mommy moment haha. He literally gets cuter every day. 

What was your favorite childhood treat and have you found a way to improve upon it now that you're an adult?

In celebration of #NationalWatermelonDay with WTRMLN WTR, these coconutty and creamy watermelon popsicles are perfect for a hot summer day for adults and kids alike. My little guy devours these and we love to enjoy them at home or by the pool. 

INGREDIENTS: 
1  +  1/4  cup  cup  fresh  watermelon  slices 
½  cup  WTRMLN  WTR   
½  cup  coconut  milk 

PREPARATION: 
Puree  1  cup  of  chopped  WTRMLN  slices  with  ½  cup  WTRMLN  WTR  and  pour  into  popsicle  molds  so  molds  are  2/3  full. 
Freeze  for  30  minutes  and  pour  chilled  coconut  milk  on  top  of  frozen  watermelon  blend. 
​Top  with  remaining  watermelon  slices  and  freeze  for  an  additional  30  minutes.  Rinse  molds  under  warm  water  to  release  popsicle, add dried or toasted coconut for crunch  and  enjoy  somewhere  near  a  pool  or  beach.    

Rich, ooey and gooey, this Dark Chocolate Bundt is a decadent treat for your holiday feast.  

Ingredients:
Cake

• 2 C. gluten-free all purpose flour (I use Bob's Red Mill)
• 3/4 c. cocoa powder
• 3/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
• 1 1/2  teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 1/2 cup dairy free milk of choice 
• 2 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
• 1 1/3 cup coconut sugar (I get mine at Trader Joe's)
• 1/2 cup, plus 1 tablespoon avocado or grapeseed oil
• 2 teaspoons organic vanilla extract
• 1 cup dairy free dark chocolate chips

Chocolate Ganache

• 1 cup dairy free semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 3/4 cup corn-free powdered sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon organic vanilla extract
• 5 tablespoons dairy free milk (I use almond)

​
Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray bundt cake pan with coconut or avocado oil spray. 

Sift together flour, cocoa powder, cream of tartar, baking soda and sea salt. Set aside.

In large bowl, stir together milk, water and acv until well blended. Add coconut sugar,  oil, and vanilla. 

Slowly whisk in flour mixture to liquid mix until combined. Stir in 1 cup mini chocolate chips. Pour cake batter into pan.

Bake for 40-45 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in cake comes out clean. Cool for 10-15 minutes before transferring onto cooling rack. 

For the ganache, place chocolate chips and 4 tablespoons of the milk in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on low for 40 seconds, stirring halfway through. 

Mix in additional milk, powdered sugar and vanilla and pour a top cake once cake has cooled. 
​