Let's talk about Coconut Cake!
My mother, Donalyn, has been eating healthily for 17 years, but it's only been a couple of years since she started eating the Trim Healthy Mama way because she saw how much THM benefited me.
I made her a Trim Healthy Mama cake in the shape of a grand piano, homemade vanilla ice cream, and THM chocolate syrup.
Give me all the details!
First up, you can find the Coconut Cake recipe on page 47 of the Trim Healthy Indulgence book. You can order a copy HERE (remember to use my discount code!)
Here is the cake in the shape of a grand piano:
Step 1 - Batter
Watch this video as I start whipping up the cake batter:
Here are what the piano cake pans look like. I've had mine for 30 years!
Step 2 - Heating the Oil
Next, let's put the cup of coconut oil in the pans in the oven as it's heating up.
Check how I do that here: Step 2 - Coconut Oil
Melting the coconut oil in the pan and then swishing it around to reach the edges really helps the cake from sticking. After coating the pan with oil, I poured the coconut oil into the mixer with the rest of the ingredients.
Step 3 - Batter into Pans
Let's put the batter into the pan now.
Watch the video here: Step 3 - batter into pans
I filled three cupcakes with the leftover batter, placed them in the oven at 350 degrees, and set the time for 30 minutes.Step 4 - Cooling
I poked the cake with a toothpick after 30 minutes to see if it was done and it was! I pulled the cake out of the oven and tipped it upside down onto a pampered chef pad. I let it cool for about 30 minutes and then this happened:
Step 5 - Assembling and Frosting
As the cakes cool, I made the Russian Buttercream Frosting,
page 225, from Trim Healthy Indulgence.
Now, let's assemble the cake. Here are my 30-year-old piano cake decorations:
I took a large spatula and put it under the largest piano cake to lift it onto the piano pedestal. Then I added the frosting.
Now it's time to frost the smaller layer of the piano cake and add it on top of the bottom layer. I added the final decorations and Presto! it's done!
Here are my mother and I with the Coconut Piano Cake:
My mom loved the piano cake and so did all the guests! It wasn't that hard to do, it was delicious and healthy, and the guests loved it!
Here is how I ate the leftovers the next morning:
I love having dessert for breakfast with a THM sipper.
I had leftover THM Cranberry Wassail with it.
I put the leftovers cut into individual serving sizes and put them in a glass pan in my freezer for a day that I need dessert. You could wrap them in parchment paper first.
I don't use aluminum foil or plastic containers, so toxins don't leach into my healthy food and get in my body.
Would you like to bake a heart-shaped Strawberry Cake with me?
Here is the videos to make this delicious cake:
Would you like to learn about making your own design of cake and hiding vegetables in it?
Check out my video blog on how I made this Carrot Cake.
If you would like to know how to eat cake and desserts in a healthy way and, even better, how to balance your blood sugar and stay full and satisfied, I have created a step-by-step guide for you.
You can check out my Firm Foundation THM course:
I hope you have the best time baking your own coconut cake!
Blessings,
It's Strawberry Cake time!
I threw my precious mother an 80th birthday party and made her a heart-shaped pink and red strawberry cake. This cake is sugar-free, gluten-free, and completely healthy and delicious! You can find this recipe on page 65 of Trim Healthy Indulgence.
Click here to buy yourself a copy. Don't forget to use my discount code if you want a digital copy!
Let's Make the Strawberry Cake Together!
Step 1 - Batter
Watch this video where I show you step-by-step how to whip this batter together.
It's quick, simple, and easy!
Step 2 - Your Baking Tray
Here I show you which tray I use and how I add the batter.
It's really not complicated - You can do it too!
Step 3 - Bake!
Bake your cake for 30 - 35 minutes at 350 degrees.
When it's done, use a toothpick to test it. If the toothpick comes out clean, it's ready! Transfer your cake onto a cooling rack and let it cool before you go on to the next step.
Step 4 - Frosting
Now, let's make the frosting!
Use the recipe for the Strawberry Cake Frosting, page 65, from Trim Healthy Indulgence. Take a look at the video below to see what it looks like, and for the clever hack I use to get the perfect pink color!
Step 5 - Decorating
Now that the cake is baked and the frosting is made, we need some decorations!
My favorite decoration for this cake is simply sliced strawberries.
All you need to do is cut the tops of the strawberries and then slice them down.
I show you how I do mine here:
Everything is ready and it's time to assemble the cake! This cake is only one layer, so I can just add the frosting straight onto the cake. Take a look at the video to see what tool I use to make this super quick and effective.
Next, use your strawberries to line the outer rim of the heart shape. You can also use some to make patterns on the top. Here is how I did mine:
This cake was absolutely delicious!
I also made my mother a grand piano-shaped cake using the Coconut Cake recipe on page 47 of Trim Healthy Indulgence.
If you would like to see a video blog of how I did that, visit
here.
I have also made a carrot cake with cream cheese frosting in the shape of a cross, and I have video instructions of how to do that here:
If you would like to know more about how to eat cake and desserts in a healthy way and, even better, how to balance your blood sugar and stay full and satisfied, I have created a step-by-step guide for you.
You can check out my Firm Foundation THM Course below:
Blessings,
I'm all about drinks that are super fast, healthy, quench my thirst, and remind me of paradise, palm trees, and the tropics!
Let's introduce the Bird of Paradise Sipper!
You can sip on this all day long.
You may want to make it in bulk as your family will sneak your drink
because it's so delightful!
This sipper is fast because you only need limes, a healthy sweetener, and coconut flavor.
Let's look at what limes do for you.
My favorite coconut flavor can be found here:
What I love about TH sippers is that they hydrate you without unnecessary calories, keep you satisfied between meals and give you a health boost.
Look what happens when you're dehydrated:
THM has a lot of bird name sippers.
This Bird of Paradise is not an actual bird, but an ornamental plant native to South Africa. The plant is grown outdoors in warm climates and as a houseplant for its attractive foliage and unusual flowers. It unfurls boldly tinted blooms that resemble birds in flight.
A healthy, mature plant can produce up to 36 flower spikes each year.
Birds of paradise flowers last for about three weeks before dropping their petals and dying.
My husband gifted me these two Bird of Paradise plants because he knows how much I love the Trim Healthy lifestyle and is aware of their bird-themed sippers. 
Let's make the sip of paradise together!
This sipper is a cousin to the famous lemon sipper
If you need help with your adrenals, this sipper was created with you in mind! It healed my adrenals in 2013, and it is super refreshing!
Blessings,
I hope this salt lesson will change your mind and not leave you feeling salty!
I am going to share all the reasons that the right salt can change your life! The word salt in Greek is halas and describes the salt we use in our kitchens. Salt is a common household item now, but in New Testament times, salt was expensive and a treasured commodity that was crucial and needed in the home. High-quality salt could only be found in a few places in Israel like the Hill of Salt and in the Dead Sea. Gathering the salt was an expensive process, which made salt very costly. Salt was a commodity so rare that it was used sparingly, highly valued, and not wasted.
Let's learn why salt was so precious back in Bible times.
1: Salt was used as a flavor enhancer.
Salt is one of the most profound taste enhancers in our culinary world. It's vital in our kitchens. Unsalted food is bland, but when salt is added, the flavor is enhanced giving the food a richer and stronger flavor.
2: Salt was used as a preservative.
In Israel, it was hot, so the meat would spoil and rot quickly.
Salt was added to preserve the food.
Did you know that unsalted butter will go bad faster than salted butter?
3: Salt was used as an antiseptic.
Disease and dirt were very common in the ancient world. Salt was used as an antiseptic in areas that were considered contaminated or unclean. Salt in heavy doses would work like a disinfectant to sterilize the environments that needed to be cleansed or to be germ-free to prevent the spreading of disease. Salt was such a powerful cleansing force that the ancient world believed it would assist in freeing the area of infection.
4: Salt was used as a medicinal and healing agent.
Salt used to be poured into wounds to sanitize them from germs, stop bleeding, stop the spread of infection, and speed up the healing process. Salt contained healing properties in a world where medications were rare, so salt was found in the medical bag of doctors.
5: Salt was used as a fertilizer.
Salt was an important ingredient used by farmers to enrich and fertilize their soil to produce larger crops and of higher quality. It improved the soil and resulted in healthier and bigger crops. The best salt nourished the earth.
Let's look at more benefits of sea salt today!
I hope you understand this special salt is not your ordinary white table salt.
Let's look at how to buy your salt.
You can purchase Trim Healthy high mineral salt here:
Redmond salt is simple and doesn't contain any artificial additives or unhealthy pollutants. It's not stripped of beneficial trace minerals. It's sea salt the way nature made it - nothing is added and nothing is taken away. It is unrefined sea salt mined from an ancient seabed where it's safe from modern pollutants. It's pure, unprocessed, and full of trace minerals that give it one-of-a-kind nutritional benefits.
Now, let's look at what the "you are the salt of the earth" verse means in Matthew.
1: Salt as a flavor enhancer.
Our personal presence should also change the flavor of society as we bring the savor of Christ to wherever we go.
2: Salt as a preservative.
Through our influence, we should be a preserving force in a world that is filled with rot, decay, and spoil. God's word working in our lives causes us to be like salt and our presence helps reduce the corruption that is eating away at the world.
3: Salt as an antiseptic.
We are called to be spiritual antiseptic to a world that is diseased with sin. Even a small dose of spiritual salt we carry within ourselves is a powerful disinfecting agent that if scattered in your world will help deter the spread of sin and moral decay.
4: Salt as a medicinal and healing agent.
We should be carriers of physical healing to a world that is suffering from sickness and disease. Be the salt of the earth to help carry healing to those who are struggling physically.
5: Salt as a fertilizer.
Salt of the earth translates as the salt of the soil. We are to enrich the soil and atmosphere around us by making this world a better place to live by positively impacting the quality of life for those around us.
When you are seasoned with salt, you will speak --
Words that flavor life and make it taste better.
Words that bring preservation.
Words that bring healing to the sick.
Words that disinfect and free those who were contaminated.
Words that are so faith-filled, they create a blessed environment around us.
Charity's tips for Real Salt:
1: Drink Salt water first thing in the morning.
2: Put salt in all your TH sippers.
3: Drink salt water before your workout.
4: Add salt liberally to enhance your food.
Do you need an electrolyte drink?
Here is my favorite, but with an added 1/4 tsp of real salt:
Hypertension and high blood pressure are not a real salt intake problem.
It's a salt retention problem. Salt retention happens in the kidneys which is driven by excess insulin. Lowering insulin by getting sugar, refined carbs, and devitalized foods out of your diet will improve your blood pressure and blood sugar levels. If you would like to learn more about this, I have step-by-step actions you can take in my Firm Foundation course that will teach you how to transform your everyday kitchen products, like salt, into an extraordinary mind and body.
I encourage you all:
Don't forget to add mineral salt to your diet... and don't forget to be salt in the world!
Blessings,
I remember the day hearing about Greek Yogurt for the first time!
It's a pivotal moment in my life! You see, I grew up in a household that didn't serve white food because my mother didn't care for cottage cheese, cream cheese, sour cream, kefir, or yogurt. I had no idea what these things tasted like, much less how to use them.
Back in 2012 when I started reading the Trim Healthy Mama book, I bought all those white foods and fell in love!
I lived off of these recipes in the first fat Trim Healthy Mama book:
Cheesecake Berry Crunch page 373,
Peanut Squares page 377,
Frozen Yogurt page 377 and,
most importantly, the Greek Yogurt Breakfast Swirls on pages 250 and 251.
These were so YUMMY, EASY, FAST, and delicious to me! It cemented this lifestyle for me as being so delightful that I could be satisfied forever!
Fast forward to being ten years older and eating healthy for so long, my taste buds and health goals have changed, so I don't eat much dairy anymore at all besides the cultured dairy of Greek yogurt and kefir.
Let's move on to flavored, sweetened yogurts.
I needed a lesson on how to buy healthy yogurt, so I decided to tell you everything you need to know about it!
What is Greek Yogurt?
Greek yogurt is yogurt that has been strained to remove its whey. Greek yogurt has more protein and less sugar resulting in a thicker consistency than regular yogurt.
Why use Plain Greek Unsweetened Yogurt?
Great source of protein
Quick, fast, and easy
Delicious
Creamy consistency
Adds good bacteria and live enzymes to the digestive tract (Great for gut health!)
Versatile and can be used in FP, E, or S settings
Less expensive
Why choose Greek over regular yogurt?
Greek has twice the amount of protein of regular yogurt, has few carbs, and is better for your digestive system.
There are so many yogurts on the market,
so how do you choose?
Find ones that are unsweetened or sweetened with on-plan sweeteners like stevia, xylitol, or monkfruit. Greek Yogurt options are best and can be used in any setting, but regular nonfat yogurt should be considered an E because it still contains whey water.
How much yogurt can I have?
0% Greek yogurt is a great protein source that is a FP, but it does have a small amount of carbs in the way of naturally occurring lactose, (milk sugar) and it's important to be mindful of those carbs without obsessively counting them.
In an S setting if you're using the dairy as your protein source, you can enjoy up to a cup. If you're using another protein source, then it's better to only have up to 1/2 cup of Greek yogurt. (If you are eating dessert right after your meal, this would apply to dessert and meal combined. Meaning it is best not to have a full cup of Greek yogurt as dessert after an S meal, but half should be okay).
In an E setting you do not need to be as concerned with a portion limit since there's no significant fat for the carbs in the dairy to collide with. However, keep balance in mind, sometimes overdoing dairy protein means you may not be including enough veggies which are an important part of THM.
Let's take a look at some good options:
Let's start with my favorite first!
Of course, purist mamas make their own yogurt and you can find all kinds of videos and recipes online, but not everyone is there yet, so let's start with the best store-bought yogurt.
0% Greek Yogurt
Fage is my favorite brand.
My top choice is 0%, but I have also used the one below that has fat in it
because it was on a big sale.
The beauty of these plain and unsweetened Greek yogurts is that you can add any flavor to them and make them how you love them in so many different flavors and variations! It really is fast, easy, and economical!
Let's show you some great ideas for each meal type.
Fuel Pull add-in options:
Whey protein powder or collagen
Almond milk
Up to 1 cup of strawberries, blackberries, cranberries, or raspberries
or Up to 1/2 cup of blueberries
Five nuts or 1 tsp of nut butter or chia seeds or 1 TBLS of pressed peanut flour
On-plan sweetener, extract flavoring, cinnamon, baobab
S add-in options:
Whey protein powder or collagen
Coconut or almond milk or heavy cream
Up to 1 cup of strawberries, blackberries, cranberries, or raspberries
or Up to 1/2 cup of blueberries
Any amount of nut butter, chia seeds, flaxseeds, pressed peanut flour, or nuts
Coconut flakes, Lily's or THM chocolate chips
On-plan sweetener, extract flavoring, cinnamon, baobab
E add-in options:
A cup of any fruit
Five nuts or 1 tsp of nut butter or chia seeds or 1 TBLS of pressed peanut flour
On-plan sweetener, extract flavoring, cinnamon, baobab
Let's move on to flavored, sweetened yogurts.
We've seen TH mamas eating these, but some of the brands had some ingredients change, so THM has changed their stance after reviewing them, the yogurts with the off-plan fibers are Personal Choice now. 
These smoothies seem even better than the yogurts because they don't add tapioca starch, which is an off-plan ingredient.
Of all of the flavored choices above, there isn't a limit on how often you eat them as your Personal Choice item, but be mindful of how you feel after you eat them, use discretion with foods that don't have ideal ingredients. Two Good, Chobani and Triple Zero flavored yogurts are mildly Personal Choice due to the fibers that are near the bottom of the ingredient list.
None of them have added sugar, so the sugars that show up on the nutrition label are naturally occurring from dairy. All of the yogurts listed are FP because they hit the recommended serving sizes for FP. Just watch to see if you get bloated after, as some include tapioca starch, inulin or chicory root (off-plan ingredients).
Here are S, E, or XO yogurt choices that are on-plan:
The So Delicious brand is the very first picture in this blog.
Here are some of my ideas for making your yogurt your way:
Fage 0% Plain Greek yogurt with baobab, stevia, 1/2 cup of blueberries,
TH Creamy Dreamy Hemp Protein powder,
and one tsp of almond butter for an FP snack.
E snack of Fage Greek Yogurt with one apple, cinnamon, stevia, baobab
and one tsp of almond butter.
This is the same thing as last, but with banana instead of apple.
This is a Greek yogurt cup topped with frozen fruit.
Trim Healthy Mama Recipe Ideas from the first book:
Cheesecake Berry Crunch, page 373
Peanut Squares, page 377
Frozen Yogurt, page 377
Greek Yogurt Breakfast Swirls, pages 250 and 251
TH Yogurt Recipe Ideas from Cookbook:
Apple Dip, page 466
Greekie Swirl, page 340
Jigglegurt, pages 345-347
Lemon Creamsicles, page 368
Trim Healthy Table Recipe Ideas:
One-minute Yogurt Bowl, page 445
Pint Jar Oats, page 445
Follow these tips and yummy recipes, and yogurt is sure to become a wonderful addition to your Trim Healthy Mama life!
Would you like to learn more about the Trim Healthy Mama lifestyle? I have JUST the thing for you! You can take my Firm Foundation Online Course which will teach you everything you need to know to get started on THM.
Click on the image below to find out more!
Have any more questions? Feel free to reach out and ask!
Blessings,
