Spring has finally sprung! If you’re like me, you just couldn’t wait for the warmer weather! With warmer weather comes many changes in our daily habits. Our bodies get dehydrated from sweating and therefore we need to drink more water. I don’t know about you but I can go for long periods of time without drinking anything! I have been trying really hard to drink as much water as possible. It’s not that I don’t like water, it’s just that I’m not thirsty and don’t really think of drinking. Drinking water has so many benefits to your skin, hair and health! It helps balance the fluids in our body (we are 60% water!), helps keep cravings at bay, energizes your muscles, moistens your skin (dehydration makes your skin look dry and wrinkly … EEK!), helps relieve headaches and fatigue … and the list goes on and on! Adding lemon wedges and/or fruit pieces can help add some bounce to your water!

So… get yourself a cool water bottle like this snazzy thing and start drinking! The only problem is, now you’ll have to run to the bathroom more often

On another note …I was in a music video this weekend! I had no idea I was going to be asked to be in it and was totally unprepared … but hey … this fashionista can make anything work I’ll let you all know when the video is released so you can check it out and spot me in the video! Meanwhile, here’s a pic from yesterday’s shoot …

Take care everyone!

See you soon…

NattyDee yo

I love baking and always try to find new ways to liven-up a recipe* and make it healthier. For this recipe, I experimented quite a bit with removing the sugar and oil and think I came up with a pretty good end result! I substituted the sugar for organic honey and the oil for milled flax seed!!  I do not recommend making them into muffins as I did, seeing as there is no oil in the recipe the dough tends to stick and you end up with half your muffin stuck to the muffin liner… not cool!!

2 1/2 cups flour
1/2 c unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp each baking soda and cinnamon
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 c honey (original recipe called for 1 1/2 c sugar)
3/4 c egg substitute (or 3 whole eggs)
1/2 c unsweetened applesauce
1c mulled flax seed (original recipe called for 1/3 c vegetable oil)
2 tsp vanilla
2 c packed, grated zucchini
1/2 c mini chocolate chips (optional)

- preheat oven to 350. Spray two 8X4-inch loaf pans with cooking spray.

- in a large bowl, combine flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Set aside.

- in a medium bowl, whisk together honey, egg substitute, applesauce, mulled flax seed and vanilla. Stir in zucchini. Add wet ingredients to the dry. Only stir until the dry ingredients are moistened. Fold in chocolate chips (optional).

- spread batter evenly in prepared pans, Bake for 50 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted in the center of loaf. Cool in baking pans for 5 minutes and then transfer onto wire racks and allow to cool.

These loaves are easy to freeze! I slice mine and put them in zip-lock bags before freezing and only take out what I need. The slices are great for a quick breakfast! The original recipe has 184 calories and 5.3 g of fat per serving (each loaf has 10 servings) but I don’t know the nutritional information after altering the recipe. If I manage to figure it out I’ll add it to the recipe. If you try the recipe and figure out the nutritional information difference, feel free to share it with me!

* The original recipe appeared in the Crazy Plates Cookbook.

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Are you looking for a quick and easy snack that is yummy and good for you? Look no further … Kale Chips are IT! If you’ve never tried Kale and are a little confused as to what to do with it, Kale Chips are a good place to start. Kale is amazing for you, its full of benefits to keep you healthy such as the fact that it’s packed with fiber, iron and antioxidants, it’s fat-free, an anti-inflammatory, supports cardiovascular health, high in calcium (more calcium than milk!), is a great detoxifier and the list goes on-and-on! So if you’re up for a little detoxifying this winter (and who isn’t!) give these Kale Chips a go!

You will need

- Olive oil

- Balsamic Vinegar

- Seasoning

- Parmesan

- Kale

- Aluminum Foil

- Heat your oven to 300 – the lower the temperature and the longer you bake the Kale for, the less likely you are to burn the chips!

- Remove the leaves from the ribs, rip into bite-sided pieces and wash thoroughly. Use a salad spinner to remove excess water.

- Add enough Olive Oil, Balsamic Vinegar, Seasonings and Parmesan to lightly coat all the Kale. Remember, this is supposed to be a healthy snack … don’t drown your poor Kale

- Line a few cookie sheets with aluminum foil and place the Kale pieces in a single layer. Avoid overlaping the pieces as they will not bake properly and come out soggy… ick!

- Put the cookie sheets in the oven. After about ten (10) minutes or so, take the cookie sheets out of the oven and flip all the Kale leaves. Put the Kale back in the oven and repeat this process every ten (10) minutes or so until all the leaves are golden and crisp. Like I said earlier, the lower the temperature, the less likely you are to burn the chips, trust me, I’ve burned a few batches myself!!

- Once you are satisfied with the crispness of the chips, take them out of the oven, gently remove the Kale Chips from the cookie sheets and place them in a serving bowl. I found it helps if you move the foil around and loosen the chips.

And there you have it! Yummy, healthy Kale Chips! Surprise your guests at your next dinner party

See you soon…

NattyDee yo

If you’re like me you love a good cookie – who doesn’t! I have to say Starbucks cookies are pretty darn yummy! The only real problems I have with their cookies is that they are so huge and can get pretty expensive! I searched high and low to find a recipe that comes close to theirs and I think I found one! I altered the one I found a little as I felt the recipe didn’t have enough ginger and then I added a few dark chocolate chips to give the cookies a bit more irrisistability!

Makes 12+ cookies depending on their size

2¼c Flour
2 tsp Baking Soda
¼ tsp Salt
1 tsp Cinnamon
1½ tsp Ginger (original recipe calls for only 1)
¾c Unsalted Butter, softened (1½ sticks)
1c Brown Sugar
1 extra-large Egg
¼c Old Fashioned Molasses
Granulated Sugar – to coat cookie dough before baking

- Heat oven to 375 degrees and place the rack in the centre. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or spray with non-stick cooking spray.

- Bowl #1 – Sift flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and ginger in a medium bowl.

- Bowl #2 – In a large mixing bowl with the mixer on high speed, cream together the butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Switching to medium speed, beat in the egg and molasses then increase the speed to high and beat for about 1 minute longer – until the mixture is no longer clumpy. Scrape the sides of the bowl with a spatual to ensure all ingredients are well blended.

- Add bowl #1 to bowl #2 and mix at low speed. The batter will be pretty stiff. Place some granulated sugar in a small plate or saucer. Take sections of dough as big or as little as you would like your cookies to be – the Starbucks ones use about ¼c of dough per cookie. Roll each dough ball into the sugar before placing on the baking sheet. Space the dough balls evenly as they will spread during baking.

- Using your fingers, press down lightly on each dough ball to flatten it a little. This is where I pressed in some dark chocolate chips, feel free to skip this step or add any ingredient you like.Be creative!

- Bake for 10-12 minutes – depending on the size of your cookies – until the cookies have spread and are firm to the touch. Rotate the cookie sheet halfway through baking time – you can skip this step if you have a convection oven like me . Remove the baked cookies from the oven and let them cool on a cooling rack.

- If only one cookie sheet fits in your oven at once, refrigerate the other cookie sheet while waiting for the other cookies to bake OR roll the remainder of the dough into a log and freeze it in a ziplock bag. Next time you want a cookie sall you have to do is slice off a few and bake them the same way. The dough should stay fresh for up to 6 months.

ENJOY!

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Visit my Official site ~ http://www.nattydee.com/

Follow me on Twitter! http://twitter.com/#!/NattyDeeTV

Like my FaceBook page: https://www.facebook.com/NattyDeeTV

Visit me on BeautyLish: http://www.beautylish.com/NattyDee

PIN Me : http://pinterest.com/NattyDeeTV

INSTAGRAM ~ http://instagram.com/nattydeetv

DISCLAIMER:
I am not affiliated with any of the products or brands mentioned in this video. These are my own honest opinions during any product reviews.

IN THIS VIDEO
Julep Maven – http://www.julep.com/rewardsref/index/refer/id/61532/

Classic with a Twist Maven Subscription

Julep Nail Color is “4-free” and does not contain formaldehyde, formaldehyde resin, toluene, or DBP.

Visit my Official site ~ http://www.nattydee.com/

Follow me on Twitter! http://twitter.com/#!/NattyDeeTV

Like my FaceBook page: https://www.facebook.com/NattyDeeTV

Visit me on BeautyLish: http://www.beautylish.com/NattyDee

PIN Me : http://pinterest.com/NattyDeeTV

INSTAGRAM ~ NattyDeeTV

All music by Amir Hoss : http://www.amirmusic.com/

DISCLAIMER:
I am not affiliated with any of the products or brands mentioned in this video. These are my own honest opinions during any product reviews.