Book: “Clean Eating with a Dirty Mind”
Title: Vanessa Barajas
Author Website: Clean Eating with a Dirty Mind
I want to share some of my favorite cookbooks that have been getting a LOT of rotation lately! I know a lot of hardcore paleo enthusiasts do not believe in paleo desserts, buuuut hello – I do! While I do believe that God gave us food not only for nourishment, He also gave it for enjoyment (minus gluttony and other food abuses, of course). With that being said, first up is…
“Clean Eating with a Dirty Mind” by Vanessa Barajas. This cookbook, while published in September of 2015, is a new one for me. She calls herself a ‘dessertavore’. I can dig it! I stalked this book on Amazon for several days waiting for the price to drop (I have a hard time paying almost $30 for ANYTHING! lol) and finally found a used version offered through Half Price Books through the Amazon marketplace. While I was checking out, I noticed that it was going to be shipped from a location in my city, so I called HPB, had them put it on hold, and picked it up myself, cutting out the shipping fee and time! When I flipped through the book, I was both impressed and excited. To know that I could enjoy some of my favorite desserts again made me so happy! And not only can I enjoy them, but I can share them with my husband as well.
Some of the recipes that I have tried so far have been the better than box brownies, chocolate fudge cookies, and the molten chocolate lava cakes. Everything has been delicious, albeit a little too sweet. The brownies called for an entire cup of coconut sugar which I’ll definitely reduce when I make it in the future, potentially by a at least ½ a cup. The cookies were delicious and soooo chocolatey – no complaints there. The chocolate molten lava cakes were SO easy to make and so delicious! Oh. My. Gosh. I served them with fresh raspberries and a homemade raspberry sauce. We had guests over recently, one who also avoids gluten, and I thought it would be the perfect dessert to make for them. Later that evening, after company had left, I had a conversation with my husband that went like this:
Me – What are your favorite desserts? (I was flipping through the cookbook planning next weekend’s treat)
Him – This one!
That made me so happy! My hubby listed a paleo, grain free, refined sugar free, dairy free dessert as one of his favorites! Pow pow! We liked them so much that I halved the recipe to make 1 each just for the 2 of us and we had them again 2 nights later.
The following weekend, I made the no bake strawberry cheesecake jars. That required me to purchase some 8 ounce wide mouth mason jars. Man. They were SO good. Cashews for a cheesecake? I admit – I was super skeptical. But, super delicious! I probably needed to add a bit more lemon juice, but overall, loved it and would definitely make it again. My husband, not paleo in the least, actually liked them as well! Another win? I’d say so! I loved the addition of zucchini as well.
There are various sections full of recipes as well:
- Meal Ticket
- Bake My Day
- Confections of a Dirty Mind
- Easy as Pie
- Let Them Eat Cake
- That’s The Way The Cookie Crumbles
- What’s The Scoop?
- Whisky Business
The thing to note about this cookbook is that a lot of the recipes, like the book states on the front, are paleo inspired, meaning you’ll see a lot of dairy ingredients, i.e. butter, heavy cream, etc. She does list subs for these in most of the recipes. For someone like me, one that is actually allergic to dairy (including ghee which made me so so sad!), I am thankful for products like Nutiva’s buttery organic coconut oil. This has been great to use in all of my various recipes as it provides the buttery flavor without the dairy component.
Many on Amazon pointed out the dairy ingredient fact, but there are so many subs and workarounds that I feel it is not a real problem, but is definitely something to be aware of when considering this cookbook. There are some recipes that do NOT have non-dairy workarounds, but those are few and far between and easy to avoid.
In the back of the cookbook, there is a recipe index which is extremely helpful, making it easy to locate recipes as well as a section on which recipes are egg free, dairy free, and nut free. However, in the nut free section, there are recipes listed with almond butter. Almonds are not considered true nuts, and are actually drupes, but they are still avoided by many that have nut allergies.
I like the conversion chart included in the back as well that demonstrates the conversion of teaspoons, tablespoons, cups, and more. Super helpful. You can also find it on her website here – Conversion Guide. She also details what you need to get your kitchen set up for baking these treats as well as types of cake tips to buy for your decorating adventures.
As I make more from Vanessa’s book, I will be sure to share my thoughts. Until then, check out her blog that shares the title of her book – Clean Eating with a Dirty Mind.
Over the past few years, as my husband and I have sought to manage our money well, I have been pretty diligent in looking for ways to save money. He handles the financial aspect of our household (and does a great job at it too!) and so I seek to do what I can to make sure that we adhere to that in the grocery area. When we first met, I did not coupon. He actually introduced me to it! Then I took that and ran with it. It is basically free money. Visiting the websites listed below, clipping paper coupons… free money. And it doesn’t impede upon my daily schedule. A lot of people think that it takes a ton of time to coupon, and it may.. if you’re an extreme couponer. But – I am not that!
In my last post, I referenced the struggle, but also the blessing. What blessing can come out of such heartache? What blessing could come out of an unmet desire?
When I was younger, I knew I wanted children. I used to have a certain number in my head – 8 to be exact. I remember talking to my married, child-raising friends about that number and being told, “Wait until you have at least one, first!” And so I looked forward to that day with great anticipation. I’ve always loved children, even in my years as a child. I couldn’t wait to have my own. I really wanted a son. My husband would laugh at me because most women seem to want daughters, but not me. I wanted little boys. I wanted him to have a ‘mini me’. It really warmed my heart to think about him with a little shadow!
For a long time, I have been thinking about revamping the blog. When I started it about 5 years ago, I was a newlywed and wanted to write about the things that I would be learning about marriage. I wanted to write about how my faith would intersect and what it looked like to be a new wife. I wanted to write about everything that I was learning as a wife in hopes that it would be helpful.
Coooooooooooookiiieeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeees.
I often wish I had a job where I was off for the Summer! As a former preschool teacher, I appreciated those few months that I had to just have some really good downtime. While I miss that, I do not miss the pay. I remember driving around Austin and seeing the marquee signs of fast food restaurants, advertising starting pays of more than I was making as a preschool teacher! But anyway – Summer is coming! As I think through the Summer and what I would like to have accomplished by its end, I think of sewing, reading, and health.
A Learning Wife 