For the Kids

Pomegranate Italian Cream Soda (Dairy Free)

April 12, 2018 by KimiHarris 4 Comments

This sophisticated Italian Soda is sweetened and flavored with rich pomegranate juice for a refreshing and antioxidant-rich drink. You only need two ingredients (or three for the cream version), with no sugar syrup needed. It’s a lovely and beautiful drink! I especially like it with a drizzle of coconut milk (my husband uses cream or half and half).

Pomegranate works particularly well for this type of drink because it has such a pronounced flavor. Other juices could easily become watered down too much, and so you would have to use a juice concentrate instead. The other possible method is the one I used for this Paleo Raspberry Cream Soda where I started with whole raspberries.

Make sure you buy 100% pomegranate juice, otherwise the flavor won’t be pronounced enough. I used Pom Juice, but you can also use something like this brand.

Another juice I’m eager to try as an Italian Soda is tart cherry juice. It’s also especially antioxidant-rich and with a robust flavor.

If you wanted to try a juice concentrate, you can find anything from blueberry concentrate, black cherry juice concentrate, and even elderberry concentrate. For juice concentrates you will only need a small portion per cup.

This is the Coconut Milk I like to use. It is guar gum free, and it is easy to stir into a drink.

This drink is paired nicely with quinoa pizzas, pasta dishes, and salads.

Pomegranate Italian Cream Soda (Dairy Free)

I eyeball the proportions. Fill the glass 3/4s full of sparkling water, and then finish it with the juice.

Per Serving:

Ice
¾ cup of sparkling water
¼ cup of pomegranate juice
1-2 teaspoons Aroy-D Coconut Milk (or, if consuming dairy, cream or half and half)

Directions:

Fill a cup with ice, and add sparkling water. Add juice, and stir in the coconut milk. Enjoy.

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Black Citrus Ice Cream

October 18, 2017 by KimiHarris 11 Comments

This vibrant ice cream has a deep black color and a tangy and sweet lime flavor! Not only does this gloriously and naturally colored ice cream make the perfect Halloween ice cream, but it also offers benefits as well. Upset tummy? This is what I turn too. This paleo version is dairy-free and egg-free, so it is suitable for many diets.

Black Ice Cream and Activated Charcoal Craze

Have you heard about the black ice cream craze? I know of several high-end ice cream stores that have offered black ice cream as a novelty item, but it’s so easy to make at home. The secret to black ice cream is not black dye (no thank you!), but activated charcoal. Activated charcoal is popular in everything from face masks, toothpaste, supplements, drinks, and food items! (I got this finely ground, food grade activated charcoal powder for a great deal).

What Activated Charcoal Does

While the black color lends itself well to a gag treat for Halloween, it also makes the perfect dessert to serve after consuming food that has unhealthy ingredients in it, or perhaps foods that you mildly react to such as food dye, gluten, dairy, or other trigger foods. That’s because activated charcoal acts like a mop in your digestive track. (Please note, if you are constipated, don’t take activated charcoal! It can make you constipated, or your make your constipation worse because of how it works in the intestine.)

In scientific terms, activated charcoal “adsorbs” certain materials.

“The word adsorb is important here. When a material adsorbs something, it attaches to it by chemical attraction. The huge surface area of activated charcoal gives it countless bonding sites. When certain chemicals pass next to the carbon surface, they attach to the surface and are trapped.” Source: How Stuff Works

Practically speaking, activated charcoal is used as an important part of many water filters to remove impurities, and is even used in hospitals to treat specific poisonings (they use high amounts under supervised medical care, and it is not suitable for all cases of poisoning). You can read more about that use from Poison Control.

My doctor has me using activated charcoal as a supplement, but I’ve also become interested in reports of people finding it helpful in dealing with digestive complaints after exposure to problem foods. I’m not sure if that’s because it adsorbs gas in the digestive tract or the actual food, but it does seem to help with the after effects. When not dealing with an actual allergy, but with foods that cause gas, digestive discomfort, etc., activated charcoal does seem to be helpful for us. We also use it when we have stomach bugs as it helps settle the stomach.

IMPORTANT NOTE: It’s very important not to take medication or supplements with activated charcoal, because it can adsorb them. Time them a couple of hours away from taking activated charcoal or consuming drinks or foods that contain them.

Other Important Notes: A friend commented below that they experienced some “detox” symptoms when adding in activated charcoal, so serve small servings and be aware of any side effects if you have never taken it before. Also, don’t take or eat foods or drinks with activated charcoal if you are constipated or have any health condition that slows food through the intestine. Please read about any side effects of activated charcoal here, and talk to your health care provider about any concerns.

For KIDS: If you serve this to children, you need to keep servings very small! Our kids have had small amounts of activated charcoal before, so I knew they didn’t have any problems with it, but I still wouldn’t serve them a huge scoop of this. This is a lot of activated charcoal, so keep servings small. (I’m always surprised that the ice cream shops who serve this don’t have some sort of warning label on it, considering the fact that it can adsorb medication and make you constipated if you eat too much of it!)

Special Supplies:

You can use coconut activated charcoal or hardwood. I recommend finely ground (the ice cream will have a little texture to it because of the charcoal, but you don’t want it to be overly gritty). As of right now, this 30 dollar’s worth of finely ground activated charcoal powder is only 10 dollars.
My ice cream maker is one of my favorite kitchen tools! I have this ice cream maker.
I love this guar gum-free coconut milk (you can also use the coconut cream).
For zesting a lime, this is my favorite tool.

We had fun coming up with crazy names for this black ice cream: Dementor Ice Cream (Harry Potter inspired), Santa’s Black Coal Ice Cream, Black Dwarf Ice Cream (Narnia), Black Cat Ice Cream, Spooky Ice Cream. Do you have any to add? I’d love to hear!

Black Citrus Ice Cream

Other variations: Use lemons instead of limes for a lemonade ice cream. Or try an orange juice and orange zest for a creamy orange ice cream!

3 cups of coconut milk (I used this guar gum free milk)
The zest of one lime
½-¾ cup of freshly squeezed lime juice (I used the full ¾ cup for extra lime flavor, yum! But if you want it a little more subtle, use the ½ cup).
⅔ cup of organic cane sugar, or ½ cup of honey
¼ cup finely ground activated charcoal

1: Add all ingredients into a blender, and blend until smooth.
2: Optional: Chill in the refrigerator until cold.
3: Pour into ice cream maker and make according to manufacturer’s directions. My ice cream maker takes about 20 to 25 minutes.
4: Serve right away as soft serve, or put into a container and place in the freezer.
5: Remove from freezer 20 minutes before serving.

Printable version:

Black Citrus Ice Cream

This dairy-free, egg-free and paleo version of black ice cream is delightfully limey. If you would like to make a simple vanilla version, leave out the lime juice and lime zest and add 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract instead. Other variations: Use lemons instead of limes for a lemonade ice cream. Or try an orange juice and orange zest for a creamy orange ice cream!

Ingredients

3 cups of coconut milk (I used this guar gum free milk)
The zest of one lime
½-¾ cup of freshly squeezed lime juice (I used the full ¾ cup for extra lime flavor, yum! But if you want it a little more subtle, use the ½ cup).
⅔ cup of organic cane sugar, or ½ cup of honey
¼ cup finely ground activated charcoal

Instructions

Add all ingredients into a blender, and blend until smooth.
Optional: Chill in the refrigerator until cold.
Pour into ice cream maker and make according to manufacturer's directions. My ice cream maker takes about 20 to 25 minutes.
Serve right away as soft serve, or put into a container and place in the freezer.
Remove from freezer 20 minutes before serving.

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A Candy, Cat, and Laughter Filled Birthday Party

October 10, 2017 by KimiHarris 23 Comments

My daughter’s birthday party snuck up on me after several weeks of not feeling the best. I found myself scrambling to make sure we were ready for the party and got out her list of birthday party ideas. Gluten-free cake with homemade buttercream, check. Raspberry lemonade made with sparkling water, check. Cat theme decor? Oh dear. I had nothing! She picked two colors for her birthday – pink and black, and we made a quick stop at Dollar Tree, and I ordered a couple of supplies from Amazon.

Next, she showed me that she wanted to do candy games at her birthday party. Likely much to the shock of some of my readers, I happily took her candy shopping. Sure, we kept the amount and size of the candies limited, but she’s no longer sensitive to food dyes, so we sometimes splurge now! (But we’ve done all dye-free parties in the past – like this one, How to Throw a Frozen Birthday Party without Gluten, Dye or Eggs). I still like my homemade and healthier candies better, but I was happy to buy store bought for her as a special treat. (She ate a couple of small pieces the day of her party and hasn’t had any since. She’s pretty self-controlled!)

Birthday parties appear to my children’s love language, so we try to make it special and memorable. We’ve also learned that we have to make our homemade cakes and cookies sweeter when we serve them to guests as not everyone is as used to our “gently sweetened” baked goods.

Her party was sweet (literally and figuratively) and lots of fun. In fact, she told me it was her favorite birthday party ever! It just goes to show that keeping things simple, but keeping the most important things to your child are what make it fun for both parent and child.

Here’s what we did.

First, our craft which was unrelated to the theme: Mini Terrariums! These turned out so amazing! We bought these little jars from Amazon, and then my husband’s dad supplied us with the rest of the Terrarium supplies from his shop. It was definitely the highlight of the party, and it was fun to send each girl home with their own little terrarium. I made one for myself too.

She chose a Cat and Candy Themed party.

I’m no artist, but I do enjoy arts and crafts. So despite my very apparent deficiencies, I put together some simple decorations. I made this little cat banner using construction paper and this adorable twine .

While not Pinterest perfect, she LOVED it, and that’s what counts.

I recently bought a chalkboard and drew a simple cat outline on it. I also made a little sign for our door that coordinated with the chalkboard and some of the food ideas. Those two things along with streamers and paper pink and black tissue decorations from dollar tree made up our decor.

Food for our Cat Themed Party

Gluten-free cake with buttercream (Vanilla cake with chocolate frosting, and chocolate cake with vanilla frosting)
Raspberry Lemonade made with sparkling water
Cat-themed marshmallows
Mouse strawberries and cheese slices

To go with the cat theme, I used cocoa powder and powder sugar to make a cat outline on the top of the two cakes. I also made a tiny little banner for one the cakes.

For the mice, I used strawberries cut in half lengthwise and then used dairy-free white chocolate chips for the ears (I would provide a link, but I can’t find the brand online, sadly. You could use regular chocolate or white chocolate chips, or sliced almonds). For the tails we used a sweet and sour fruit roll up we got in the bulk section at a local store. We just had to thinly slice them for the tail shape. I’m thinking that any red fruit leather could work! They were pretty cute!

We used Trader Jo marshmallows to make these cat-themed marshmallows on a stick. We used these edible food markers and these adorable Birch Tree Paper straws. We usually use these delicious and slightly healthier marshmallows!

Again, none of it is very amazing or artistic, but she was happy with all of it, and so I was happy with it too.

Candy Party Games

The candy games were so much fun!

First, we played Candy Bingo.

This is like normal bingo, but we used M & Ms for the place markers. You got to keep your M & Ms and the winner got a candy award.

Then we played Candy Pick Up. Each child was given about 20 Skittles, and they had to use straws to suction the Skittles and drop them into a little Dixie cup. This game was hilarious to watch, and the kids got really into it! The winner was the first one to complete it (We gave them 40 seconds total).

Then we played Candy Memory. Under the Dixie cups, we had single pieces of wrapped candies. Everyone took turns picking two cups up to look for a match and then hiding the candy again before the next person went. If you found a match, you got one more turn.

Finally, we had a Balloon Popping Game! In some balloons were two small pieces of candy, in others were a few sprinkles (you can use glitter, but we wanted to something biodegradable). They took turns popping the balloons with wooden kitchen skewers. This was the birthday girl’s favorite game!

This was one of the easiest parties I have planned because we kept the food simple, and the games simple and because I didn’t try to make everything from scratch. I love to have a completely DIY and 100% healthy parties for my kids, but this year, it was important for our soul’s health and our families health that we didn’t overextend ourselves.

We were rewarded with such a nice party where it seemed everyone had a really fun time, a very happy birthday girl, and parents who were only hustling a little bit to get it ready in time. I call that a huge success – candy and all.

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The Best Back to School Recipes

September 4, 2017 by KimiHarris 2 Comments

Today is the day school starts in our household, and we are excited! We are doing a fusion of a Classical Half Day School for my fifth grader, and homeschool for my 1st grader. Our schedule is going to involve a lot more driving time, and meal planning will have to happen at more regular times now.

I’m organizing recipes for meal plans, and thought I’d share a list of some of my most popular and used recipes on my website with you all. Sometimes the oldies are the goodies!