I’m back! And so glad to be diving into this blog again! It was nice to have a break for the summer to focus on my kiddos, but I’m ready to get back to work!
So what have I been up to these last two months? Lots of trips to parks, beaches, farms, the zoo, playdates, birthday parties and even some adult fun thrown in there, too! Chris and I were given great seats to a Sounders game and we even treated ourselves to a couple date nights as well!
One of the big highlights of this summer was my daughters’ joint birthday party. Both girls have July birthdays nine days apart, so there’s no way I was going to do two separate parties. In fact, I plan on doing joint parties for as long as I possibly can get away with it!
Anyway, I really enjoy all aspects of planning parties, so I had a lot of fun with the girls’ birthday this year. And in the next couple weeks, I’m going to post tutorials and recipes for several things I made for the birthday party. I hope you enjoy them!
Let’s start with dessert. Who doesn’t love a good sweet treat? Well, I’ve got just the recipe for you, and it’s not full of refined sugars, either!
Because we *try* to stick to a Paleo diet, I couldn’t just whip up a box cake from the baking aisle (Oh, how I miss those days in situations like these). I spent several months searching for the perfect recipe that fit the following criteria:
– Follow the Paleo diet
– Didn’t cost an arm and a leg (we needed to feed a lot of people)
– Didn’t use coconut flour (I can’t stand the taste in baked goods)
– Tasted “mainstream” enough that our non-paleo guests wouldn’t find it disgusting
– Didn’t require hours to prepare (Hey, I’ve got two little kids after all…enough said 🙂
So after months of pinning recipes, reading reviews, doing trial runs, I decided to go the even more unconventional route and make a gelatin “cake” in a trifle dish. It was so incredibly easy, delicious, nutritious, and looked great, too!
I made two different “cakes” – Pineapple Gelatin “Cake” with Coconut Whipped Cream and Cherry Gelatin “Cake” with Regular Whipped Cream. My favorite was the pineapple by far, but I would have liked the cherry better if I’d sweetened the whipped cream better. In my attempt to not over-sweeten the whipped cream, it ended up way under sweetened and tasted gross.
Gelatin Recipe 3 cups of organic juice Note: If you’re going to use pineapple juice, it must be pasteurized, as the enzymes in raw pineapple/pineapple juice won’t allow the gelatin to set. I used this brand of fresh-pressed organic pineapple juice and it worked great! I got it at Whole Foods, but I’ve also seen it at Fred Meyer & PCC) ½ cup very hot water (just about boiling) ½ cup cold water 2 tablespoons of Great Lakes Unflavored Kosher Gelatin
(the red can) 3 or 4 cups of fresh fruit – Note: Same as above. I don’t know if canned pineapple is “pasteurized,” but I used organic canned pineapple from Whole Foods and it turned out fine. 1) Put the cold water in a large mixing bowl. 2) Add the gelatin and stir/whisk quickly until the mixture thickens. 3) Add the hot water and stir until well mixed. 4) Pour in the juice and stir until well mixed. 5) Place the fruit of your choice into the dish you’re using for the gelatin. You could use a large trifle dish or a 9×13 dish also works well. 6) Cover and refrigerate for 5-6 hours. 7) Enjoy! Coconut Whipped Cream Recipe 3 cans of full-fat coconut milk, refrigerated overnight (I like Native Forest Organic Coconut Milk because it is free of stabilizers and additives, and the can is BPA-free) Honey (to taste) Splash of Vanilla 1) Carefully open the cans of chilled coconut milk and scrape off the cream into a large mixing bowl. Save the rest of the liquid to add to smoothies later 🙂 2) Mix the cream on high until it thickens, just like regular whipped cream. 3) Stir in vanilla and honey 4) Enjoy!
Along with the main “cakes” in the large trifle dishes, I made an individual smaller one for each of the girls. They loved it!
Leave a comment below and let me know what flavor you’ll make!
