Who else cannot believe the fourth of July is tomorrow?! This year may look a little different than previous years, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t pull out some red, white and blue to celebrate! It’s the kick-off to summer! Woohoo! I love it! My Dad always says that the 4th of July is the start and end to summer because you wait so long for it to arrive, yet once it does you blink your eyes and summer is over! I hate when he says that! Mainly because it’s SO true LOL.
While we’re celebrating the 4th of July, we are also celebrating my 29th birthday on Sunday! Just like I can’t believe it’s the 4th already, I truly cannot believe I’m turning 29. I’m so grateful for my family and friends and everyone who makes me feel so loved on a daily basis. On top of all the amazing people in my life, I somehow have a steady job that allows me the flexibility to be able to be to do all the things I love – like teaching spin and body pump and being able to pour my heart into this blog. I often find myself complaining about my job saying I wish I could do something I love for a living, but I am so beyond blessed to have it because it allows me to do ALL of this and that is almost unheard of!
Year 28 was a really good one! Will and I adopted Lip and became fur parents to the best kitty, I got Mia the Miata (Will fixed up an old convertible for me and that is what I call her lol), I graduated from a 3-year program at my job, WAVE Cycle opened – which is where I now teach spin, I became a certified body pump instructor, and the one that is sticking out the most to me is that I finally got up the nerve to put all my hard work down on paper and release Am I Full Yet?! For years I have been too scared. Always too worried what people thought of me, that I wasn’t good enough to do this. I constantly had the thought of why would anyone care what I’m making. But as the years have passed and as I’ve gotten older and more confident in my own skin, I’ve realized doing what makes YOU happy is so much more important than worrying about what the world thinks. And I am SO beyond grateful that year 28 put that in perspective for me and made me step up for myself. My main goal with this blog is to bring delicious, nutritious, healthy recipes into your life and help you realize there is a way to eat all your favorite foods while still maintaining a healthy lifestyle, but my other goal was to do this to make myself proud and I think I hit that one.
All that being said, let’s now get back to the good stuff – the food, yummy! The world is WILD right now. We are living a reality that we never thought possible. But growth does not come without change. So I challenge you to embrace the change and make memories that we will never forget!
The 4th of July is usually filled with cookouts, BBQ’s, burgers, hot dogs, fireworks (that by the way, my mom used to always tell me were for me hehe) and big family gatherings. Although plans might have to change a little bit this year, that doesn’t have to stop us from having a good time and what better way to embrace this new normal than with new, healthy traditions for your family! And there is no better way to create a new family tradition than in the kitchen!
Enter my no bake, cake balls! Yes, you read that right – NO bake! And thank goodness for that because it has been so hot lately that the last thing I want to do is turn on the oven, so you’re welcome! ;) You’re probably thinking there is no way these can really taste like cake, but I promise you they do and are SO good! I can never only have one! I’m always running back for seconds and this recipe makes plenty of seconds! And the best part is, they are filled with all whole, natural ingredients, so zero guilt! Always! Plus, they are the perfect treat for kids and they are so cute! Bring these to a cookout or just make for fun at your own house and I promise you will serve to impress!
These little cuties are the perfect activity to get a little festive with your family or friends this weekend! Using a little food coloring and colored sprinkles, you can shape these cake balls right into the perfect American flag and kick off your summer right! Happy 4th!!
What You’ll Need:
3 cups almond flour
2/3 cup coconut flour
4 tsp. pure vanilla extract
2/3 cup pure maple syrup
½ cup coconut oil
½ cup unsweetened almond milk
dash pink Himalayan salt
1 ¼ cup white chocolate chips
red food coloring
blue food coloring
red and blue sprinkles
Directions:
In a large bowl, combine almond flour, coconut flour, vanilla, maple syrup, coconut oil, almond milk and salt. Mix well.
Next, scoop half of the cake mix into a separate bowl. We are dividing the mixture into two bowls so that you can dye half red and half blue.
Using your food coloring, squeeze about 5 drops of red dye into one bowl and 5 drops of blue dye into the other bowl. Mix each well, until the dye has fully colored all of the dough. Depending on your preference, you can add more food coloring until your dough reaches a color you are happy with.
Using your hands, roll the dough into 42 marble-size balls. (You’ll need 42 to make the perfect American Flag!) NOTE: These store well in the fridge for up to two weeks, so don’t worry about thinking you will have too many!
Next, place your cake balls on a baking sheet. Make six rows of seven, alternating the rows between blue and red cake balls.
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