Yesterday I was talking to a friend of mine about how hungry Aria has been recently, I started packing her lunches for daycare to make sure she eats enough. She asked what I pack for her, my response was what I had sent her with the day before.. a quarter of a baked sweet potato topped with ground beef (small bits) and a diced up quarter avocado. She was stunned.

Whether dairy has been a lifelong issue for you or you find out you suddenly can no longer have it, finding a nutrient dense and good tasting milk alternative can be a challenge. Enter: Cashew milk.

I'm a die-hard coconut everything fan. I've found there is some alternative product in just about any category made from coconut. But I like to change it up. I know folks who love Almond milk, but I have yet to fall in love with it as I feel it offers a very distinctive flavor.

Looking for something neutral, I have found hemp milk, rice milk, coconut milk and more recently that cashew milk are great options. Hemp milk and rice milk tend to be of thinner consistency, coconut milk is more viscous and acts like milk in recipes, but cashew milk is creamier.

I love cake.

I would eat it everyday if I could. In my pre-gluten-free days I could supply a village with cupcakes.. but when they started to really disagree with me I put my cupcake tins and frosting bags away for awhile.

Cupcake-making withdrawls are a real thing. I have experienced them. Shakes, sweats, cravings.. the whole frosted mess... just kidding. But I really wanted to do some baking. Now.



With Aria turning 1 year old soon.. (omg.. no, stay little!) I have planned to do a smash cake shoot with her, so I need to make a cake that she can eat.  I'll dive into detail on another post for how we came to find out, but Aria cannot eat dairy/soy and I have an intolerance to gluten and more recently eggs.. So my challenge was to make a cake that is not only gluten free, but egg and dairy free as well. Trial by fire is the best.

What is a plantain? A nice little tropical treat that happens to be a good source of carbohydrates and soluble fiber. No, it's not a banana..

When you start counting your macros (short for macronutrients), ie; carbohydrates, proteins and fats, you start to scrutinize the foods that contain them. I found that I was really putting a little more thought into where they were coming from and how they would fill a block (more on that later) and my plate.

What?!!, no way..
My thoughts exactly when it was suggested to me a little over a month ago. Yes, 10,000 swings.