Rachel Kaly, Author at Sweet Simple Living

Healthy Pumpkin Donuts With Sorghum & Honey

October 2, 2015

It is officially pumpkin-everything season, and if you’re like me, you try and make and eat as many pumpkin flavored things as possible. After all, that’s one flavor that you’re only supposed to eat in the fall! And it makes fall all the more special. 🙂 I absolutely love pumpkin bread and wanted to create a healthy recipe that we could enjoy all season long.
This is my second attempt at a pumpkin bread recipe. My first attempt was…not so good. Our teeny tiny oven is pretty difficult to use sometimes. Ryan and I are living in our fifth wheel camper right now while we save for our first house. Its pretty fun, and I truly am enjoying this season of our lives, but I do not enjoy our oven.. I have to cook things longer at a lower temperature to get things to cook all the way through without burning which can be a challenge with some recipes. So that was an issue with baking a thick loaf of pumpkin bread. It also turned out way too UN-sweet. I wanted lightly sweetened, but the previous recipe wasn’t hardly sweet at all which is no good..So I revamped it and swapped my loaf pan for a donut pan. This attempt was much better!
My dad suggested to me that I try using butternut squash instead of pumpkin. I had never heard of this before, but he said that its sweeter than pumpkin. He also told me that butternut squash is all my Nanny ever used in her pumpkin recipes. That was enough reason to give it a shot! So I guess technically these are butternut squash donuts, but that doesn’t sound as good. Haha
The ingredients that make these donuts sweet are the banana, sorghum, and honey!

Disclosure: This post has affiliate links that earn me a small commission but don’t cost you a thing. I only link to products I use and love myself.

Ingredients:
-1 medium butternut squash (or about 1 3/4 cups pureed squash)
-1 banana
-2 eggs
-2 tbs sorghum syrup
-2 tbs honey
-1 tsp vanilla
-2 cups whole wheat flour (I use this)
-1 tsp baking powder
-1 tsp baking soda
-2 tsp vital wheat gluten (I use this)
-1 tsp cinnamon
-1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
-1/4 tsp nutmeg

Directions:
Peel and seed your squash. Cut into cubes and boil until cooked. Puree the cooked squash. (This takes some time so I did it the night before.) Add all ingredients to a food processor and blend until smooth. If mixing by hand, mix wet and dry ingredients separately before mixing them together. Grease your donut pan (Buy one here, they come in handy!) and add the batter. Bake at 350 for about 10-15 minutes. You can eat them as-is, sprinkle powdered cinnamon sugar on top for a sweeter treat, or make a glaze!

*Notes on Sorghum: Curious about sorghum? I didn’t know anything about it until I visited the Amish farms with my parents a few weeks ago. I bought a huge jar of the stuff for just 6 bucks so I had to read a bit about it! Its similar to molasses. Check out the photo below for a few fun facts about it. 🙂 If you don’t have sorghum (which is highly probable) you can substitute any other natural liquid sweetener like more honey, maple syrup, or molasses.

Maple Latte {Naturally Sweetened}

September 30, 2015

In honor of National Coffee Day I wanted to share a delicious latte recipe with y’all!
Ryan got me an espresso machine last Christmas and we loved using it during the cold months. We haven’t used it at all in the past few since its kinda too hot in a Tennessee summer to enjoy a latte, but today I broke it out again in honor of coffee day, and the start of fall. If you like maple, you’ll love this naturally sweetened maple latte! 🙂

Ingredients:
-1 shot of espresso (or about 1/3 cup of super strong coffee)
-roughly 1 cup of milk
-1/2 tbs. real maple syrup (adjust to your sweetness level)
-1/8 tsp. vanilla
-1/8 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

Directions:
Brew espresso or coffee and add to mug. Add the maple syrup, vanilla, and spices, and stir well. Steam milk and pour milk into your mug and top with the milk foam! If you don’t have an espresso machine, you can heat the milk and then add it. 🙂 ENJOY a guilt free fall beverage!

DIY Skin Perfecting Moisturizer

September 27, 2015

This is one of my DIY beauty concoctions that I’ve been using since this past winter so I can definitely vouch for how awesome it is! Let me start out by saying I used to have a problem with acne. It was bad in high school and I started taking medicine for it that didn’t do much…I guess it helped a little but I always had problem skin. I always figured it would go away as I got older but it never really completely went away. I would have good weeks and bad weeks…totally unpredictable. It gradually got to be less of an issue, but I never truly had good skin I was happy with until this past year. I tried so many things and even bought this really expensive “miracle treatment” type of thing before my wedding that was supposed to do wonders, but the results were pretty minimal. I never felt comfortable going anywhere or letting people see me without make-up on.
For the past year I’ve been ditching my commercial products for natural homemade alternatives. This process started really slowly. I started learning about how many toxins are in our everyday products, and I knew that anything I could do to put less of those on/in my body would be a good thing. I had no idea how much better the results were going to be, how much healthier I would be, how much money I would end up saving, and how much fun I was going to have in the process, but I’ve only had positive experiences from it! 🙂
Anyways.. The first thing I started doing was using coconut oil on my face back in December of 2014. After a few weeks of doing this I noticed a significant difference in my skin. It was clearing up and staying cleared up! I attributed this change in my skin to my use of the coconut oil, as well as greatly increasing the amount of water I was drinking. Once I got my first essential oils kit for Christmas I started adding some of those into the coconut oil and I loved it even more. I’m happy to say I’m super comfortable in my skin now and don’t need to wear makeup constantly to feel good about my appearance. I still wear makeup, but much less of it. I don’t feel like I need to hide my skin behind it anymore.
Here’s my favorite skin perfecting moisturizer recipe with info on all of the ingredients!

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links that earn me a small commission, but don’t cost you a thing. I only link to products I actually use and love!

Ingredients:
-Coconut oil (enough to fill your container about 3/4 of the way full)– Coconut oil is super moisturizing, and has been known to help with so many skin issues including acne, eczema, rosacea, fungal infections, and more! It also offers some sun protection.
-Shea butter (I used about a tablespoon, but you can use more or less. I’ve also made this without shea butter, but added it this time for more skin benefits! Plus I love the texture it helped create.) Shea butter is a great natural source of vitamins A, E, and F. It is another oil that helps with sun protection, reduces inflammation, and it also gives your skin nutrients to help produce collagen.
-Vitamin E Oil (I used about 1/4 tsp, but it is an optional ingredient. Use it if you have it, but don’t worry if you don’t!) Vitamin E oil is also very moisturizing and it probably most known for its ability to heal scars or damaged skin.
-Lavender Essential Oil (I used about 15 drops.) Lavender has so many uses, but its great on your skin because it helps with acne, scarring, and wrinkles to keep your skin smooth and youthful. (My favorite brand)
-Tea-tree Essential Oil (About 15 drops) The main added benefit for tee-trea oil is that it prevents and treats blemishes. While blemishes are a more rare occurrence for me now, I do still get one occasionally and I always put tea-tree oil on it! It works better than anything I’ve ever used. The blemish is usually gone within 1-2 days, so I put this oil in all my skin products to prevent them! (My favorite brand)
-Lemongrass Essential Oil (About 15 drops) Lemongrass is overall great for your skin as well. Great for preventing acne, toning and brightening skin, and it smells really good. (My favorite brand)
-Frankincense (About 15 drops) Frankincense is my favorite essential oil. It seems like it helps with every ailment out there! Its so good for your skin. It reduces and prevents wrinkles, heals and prevents scarring, and it has even been proven to kill cancerous and other abnormal cells. Here’s one of many studies that talks about this more in depth.(Side story: This is gross, but I had a wart on my finger that I could not get rid of for almost a year.. I tried every medicine and even tried freezing it off. The stupid pesky thing always came right back. I finally got some frankincense, and applied it daily and it went away after a couple weeks and has never come back!) Frankincense is just amazing. Its no wonder it was one of the wise men’s gifts for baby Jesus. The stuff is awesome, and I will keep putting it in my facial cream foreverrr! (My favorite brand)

Directions: Put all ingredients in a mixing bowl and whip it up nice and fluffy. A kitchen-aid mixer works great. A hand-mixer or hand-blender with whisk attachment would probably work well too. I whipped mine on high for about 45 seconds.

Whipping it incorporates all the ingredients nicely, gives it a super nice body butter texture, and keeps the coconut oil manageable. Those who use coconut oil in the winter know how hard it can be to work with. In the winter the oil becomes so hard and brittle, you almost need a chisel to get it out of the jar. I whipped some up last winter, and even when it was really cold, the oil was in a softer state since it had been whipped.

Enjoy and let me know if you try it! More DIY beauty recipes coming soon!

Jalapeño Bacon Wrapped Meatloaf

September 25, 2015

Every Thursday/Friday I plan what meals I’m going to make for the following week so I can make my shopping list. I struggle sometimes to think of interesting meals so we’re not eating the same thing everyday, so I usually ask Ryan for ideas. Last week in an exaggerated joking tone, he started rattling off over-the-top sounding meal ideas…among those was jalapeno-bacon meatloaf. I thought hey I could do that! I already have an amazing meatloaf recipe from my dad. I don’t care for jalapenos myself, but I figured if I made meatloaf in muffin tins, I could line the cups with bacon, and make a plainer meatloaf for me, and then load up the rest of the meatloaf with spiciness for Ryan. Seemed like a great idea so I tried it, and it was yummy, so I’m sharing the recipe!

Ingredients:
-1 lb. lean ground beef
-10-12 strips of bacon
-1 egg
-1/2 cup rolled oats
-1/2 cup diced onion
-1/2 cup diced bell pepper
-1 cup diced tomato
-2-3 minced jalapenos
-3-4 dashes tabasco
-salt + pepper to taste

Glaze:
-1/3 cup ketchup
-1 tsp mustard
-2 tbs brown sugar

Directions:
Line muffin cups with the bacon, touching the edges as much as you can. Mix up all meatloaf ingredients. Form balls of meatloaf and place inside bacon-wrapped muffin tin. Ours made 11 muffin cups worth.
Bake at 350 for about 15 minutes. Take out the muffin tin and carefully transfer the meatloaf cups to a baking sheet. (This gives the extra grease some place to go, but the meat will have cooked enough to keep the bacon in place wrapped around the meat. If you leave it in the muffin tins, there will be pools of bacon/hamburger grease everywhere…gross.) Finish cooking until meat is cooked through and bacon has crisped up a bit more. Mix all glaze ingredients and brush over meatloaf as soon as its out of the oven!

These would be awesome with some cheddar on top too! Enjoy. 🙂

Low Sugar Apple Pecan Mug Cobbler

September 16, 2015

I’ve been meaning to make some apple-y things since I bought a big bag of winesap apples from the Amish farms last week. My parents were visiting from Virginia and we ventured up to Kentucky where there’s a lot of Amish farms and they all sell different things. (Its so neat and really cheap! If you’re in middle Tennessee, you must go.) Apple-y things are so perfect for fall, which is in 1 week, y’all!! So I was pretty excited to try a new version of my low sugar cobbler except make it quicker in the microwave.
This recipe makes 2 servings of cobbler, and it only has 1 tsp. of coconut sugar per serving. (Plus a tsp. of honey.) Surprisingly I actually thought it tasted really sweet. Lately, since I’ve been making more low/no sugar recipes, my taste buds seem overly sensitive when I eat sweets.. Like, splurge desserts I use to LOVE have seemed like sugar overkill to me. I guess that’s a good thing though. 🙂 Anyways, here’s the recipe!

Ingredients:
Filling:
-1 apple
-1/4 tsp. cinnamon, divided
-2 tsp honey, divided

Crust/Topping:
-1/4 cup baking mix*
-1/4 cup oats
-1/4 tsp. cinnamon
-2 tbs. melted butter
-2 tsp. coconut sugar (or substitute brown sugar)
-2 tbs. milk
-1/4 cup chopped pecans

*(Note: I make big batches of homemade baking/pancake mix that works great, but you can also just use flour with a pinch of baking powder + baking soda, or regular bisquick/pancake mix if you have it)

Directions:
Chop the apple and divide between two mugs. Add a tsp. of honey and 1/4 tsp. cinnamon over each mug and and stir. In a separate bowl, mix the crust/topping ingredients together until all moist. Divide this batter between the two mugs. Microwave each mug individually for 2-3 minutes, depending on your microwave. Enjoy!

Mine didn’t last long. 🙂

Quick & Easy Whole Wheat Pizza Crust

September 12, 2015

Tonight Ryan and I made personal pizzas for dinner. We love doing this! Its really fun to make our own little pizzas and we both get exactly what we want. (Mine always looks something like the photo below. Imagine that, with about 5 times the amount of toppings piled up high with tons of garlic and hot peppers…That’s what Ryan’s looks like.) Such a great dinner for a Friday night!
I got this original recipe from my dad but since it called for bread flour, I modified it a bit since I never have that. This one uses whole wheat flour with vital wheat gluten added to give it more airy-ness. It will still work without the wheat gluten, but will be a bit more dense using whole wheat flour. The original recipe also called for a little sugar which I typically leave out cause its just not needed. Makes it a bit healthier! 😉 Here’s the quick easy whole wheat pizza crust recipe!

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. Purchases made through the links earn me a small commission, but I only link to things I actually use and recommend myself!

Ingredients:
-1 cup warm water
-1/2 tbs. active dry yeast (or 1 .25 oz package)
-2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour (I use this!)
-4 tsp. vital wheat gluten (I use this!)
-1 tsp. salt
-2 tbs. olive oil

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 400. Dissolve yeast in warm water and let it sit 5 minutes. Add salt, flour, and olive oil and knead in extra flour. Let it sit another 5-7 minutes. Oil your pan and pat out the crust! Add toppings and bake for 15-20 minutes.

I like to use cast iron skillets for pizza crust because it makes it extra crispy and never sticks. We also like to brush garlic butter around the crust before baking. SO GOOD!

DIY Natural Peppermint Toothpaste

September 10, 2015

In my quest to rid our home of chemical-filled health and beauty products, natural toothpaste is one thing I’ve been procrastinating in trying for awhile now. I knew it wouldn’t taste as good or be as convenient as a tube of store-bought paste, so I told Ryan I would finally try making some once we completely ran out of ‘regular’ toothpaste. Last night that time finally came so I had to make some! (Side note: We just watched “The Human Experiment” on Netflix last night and it definitely reinforced my desire to go all natural in as many ways as I can! I definitely recommend watching it. It goes into detail about the extreme rise of chemicals in our day to day life (they’re in EVERYTHING..) and how that correlates with the extreme rise in cancers, autism, and so many other sicknesses and diseases..Ugh.) Anyways, here is the recipe I came up with including baking soda and coconut oil for whitening, minerals because they’re great for your teeth, bentonite clay for removing toxins, and peppermint oil for minty freshness!

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. Purchases made through the links earn me a small commission, but I only link to things I actually use and recommend myself!

Ingredients:
-2/3 cup coconut oil
-1/4 cup bentonite clay (I used this one!)
-1/4 cup baking soda
-2 tbs. filtered water
-3/4 tsp. stevia
-10 drops of trace minerals (I used this one!)
-20 drops of peppermint essential oil (My favorite brand!)

Mix all ingredients together very well and you’re done!

As I was experimenting I would whip something up, brush my teeth with it and then add a little more of this or that until I was happy with the taste and the consistency. I will warn you that if you try any natural homemade toothpaste with baking soda, it will take some getting used to. Baking soda tastes SUPER salty, which can be pretty gross when you’re used to regular toothpaste….But I have a really weak gag reflex to anything gross tasting, and I can handle it, so I know anyone can! The peppermint oil and stevia definitely help cut the extremeness of the salty baking soda, and once you rinse, your mouth does feel minty and fresh so I think in a few days I’ll be totally used to it. I’m excited to finally have a natural toothpaste to use that is so much better for our teeth! Have you ever tried making your own toothpaste? Let me know what you try in the comments!

UPDATE: After a few days using this I was kind of dreading it to be honest just because of the salty taste, but I found a solution!! Once I put some of the toothpaste on my brush I would carefully drop 1 drop of peppermint essential oil right on top, and it feels and tastes awesome!! Mouth feels icy cold and fresh afterward from the extra oil, but its not too much. Next time around I may experiment adding more oil to the paste itself, but this is simple and works perfectly. 😀

Low Sugar Fruit Cobbler

September 3, 2015

Ryan and I both have a sweet tooth.. Since we’ve been trying to eat healthier, sugar is something we don’t use much of anymore unless its a splurge. (That’s what weekends are for ;)) So for those weeknights when we are really craving something sweet I’ll make something low sugar or sugar free. I came up with this recipe one night when we were really craving cobbler but I couldn’t find a recipe ANYwhere that didn’t have at least a cup of white sugar in it. Fruit is so sweet by itself so I don’t understand why that much sugar would be needed anyway! So I use a bit of honey and a little bit of coconut sugar for sweeteners in this recipe which makes it much healthier than your regular cobbler and only 345 calories per serving. (Not including the ice cream!) There are tons of fruit options for this too! You can use apples, peaches, pears, or any type of berry. I used strawberries because I have bags of them in my freezer from my parents’ garden and need to use ’em. Hope you like it!

Low Sugar Fruit Cobbler www.sweetsimpleliving.com

Ingredients:

Filling:
-2 cups sliced/chopped fruit
-1 tbs. honey

Topping/Crust:
-1 cup whole wheat flour
-1/2 tsp baking soda
-1/2 tsp cinnamon
-1/4 cup coconut sugar (can substitute brown sugar)
-1 egg
-1/2 tsp vanilla
-1/4 cup melted butter

Directions:
Put fruit in 8×8 baking dish and drizzle honey on top. Mix. In a separate dish mix the dry ingredients. Add wet ingredients and mix. Spoon crust mixture evenly over fruit and bake for 20-30 minutes at 350 degrees.

And in case you’re curious about coconut sugar, I did some research and put together a few facts about it!

Aloe Green Tea Face Scrub

September 1, 2015

Those who know me well know that I’ve been giving up most of my commercial beauty and health products and making my own cheaper and healthier alternatives. So far I’ve been successful in giving up commercial face wash, shampoo, conditioner, lotion, hair products, and even some makeup! (I’m sure I’ll post more on these soon!) Its such a neat feeling knowing that I can easily and cheaply make (or do without) things I was spending so much money on before. Even better when these things contain a fraction of the ingredients, and I actually know what they are, and that they’re great for me. Its a win-win. And its been fun for me too. Ryan has been calling me potion lady as I experiment creating my own things. 🙂

He’s been asking me to make him a face wash lately and tonight I came up with this! He likes face washes to be really scrubby, so I did what I normally do…went straight to Pinterest to read over a dozen DIY face wash recipes and then used all those ideas to come up with my own. The result is a super scrubby scrub that is also super moisturizing so you don’t even need to put moisturizer on afterward. Your face is left feeling exfoliated and super smooth. He liked it!

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. Purchases made through the links earn me a small commission, but I only link to things I actually use and recommend myself!

The ingredients you’ll need are:
-1/3 C. Coconut Oil
-1/4 C. Sugar
-1 Tbs. Aloe Vera Gelly (I use this one!)
-2 Green Tea Bags
-3-4 drops Vitamin E Oil (optional- just really good for your skin!)
-5-6 drops Tea Tree Essential Oil (optional- great for keeping acne away!) (My Favorite Brand!)

Directions:
Cut open tea bags and add the dry tea to the rest of the ingredients, and mix! Super quick and easy. Very customizable too. Add more or less sugar for more or less scrubby-ness, or just adjust the coconut oil. And you’re done!