Sometimes I feel like there should be an extra day in the week to help me take care of all the little things I’m not able to accomplish in the day. Well if I can’t extend the days in a week or the hours in the time, I’ll have to settle for extending my life.
What’s that? Life extension? A study published in the International Journal of Epidemiology suggests the simple act of eating a handful of nuts (10 grams) most days of the week is associated with a lower risk of developing several chronic diseases affecting the heart, brain and lungs. That’s one tasty solution.
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What better way to enjoy longer, better health than by enjoying good foods? Some great ways to utilize heart healthy nuts are by adding them to a morning smoothie, sprinkling nuts on a salad or using raw nut butters on a baked sweet potato.
Nuts are most definitely a staple in my plant-based home. I like to load up on almonds, hazelnuts, walnuts, pistachios, cashews and yes, buttery macadamia nuts. The Vanilla Frosting recipe below uses macadamia nuts (cashews are also a great substitute). These creamy, slightly sweet nuts are packed with vitamin A, protein, thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, calcium and potassium… and if that’s not enough for you, they’re delicious, too!
Try macadamia nuts in all their goodness in these Frosted mini Strawberry Shortcakes!
Ingredients
1 cake recipe
strawberries
Frosting Ingredients
1 cup soaked (and drained) macadamia nuts (can sub cashews)
1/2 cup coconut water (or non-dairy milk)
1/4 cup coconut butter
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon coconut oil (optional)
stevia (or 3 Tablespoons maple syrup) to sweeten
pinch of salt
Directions
Prepare the batter for your mini shortcakes but rather than baking them in a pie pan, press the batter into a mini muffin pan. Bake 10-12 min at 330°F. When finished, allow the muffins to cool 15 minutes or so on the counter top.
Meanwhile, as the shortcakes are baking, begin preparing your vanilla frosting. Place macadamia nuts in a food processor along with the vanilla extract, lemon juice and pinch of salt. Blend a minute or two, add coconut butter and blend another minute. Finally, add coconut water (or non dairy milk) until you’ve reached your desired consistency.
Add whichever sweetener you’d like and be sure to taste along the way to achieve your desired level of sweetness and consistency;.
FullSizeRender_3To finish off these shortcakes, place a dollop of frosting on half of your shortcakes. Now top each of the frosted shortcakes with the remaining shortcakes and add another dollop of frosting. Top with sliced strawberries.
And there you have it, a deliciously healthy dessert that is not only sweet to look at but will satisfy your sweet tooth, too!
JoyfulGoodness 