COTTON CANDY NICE CREAM!

Oh my goodness...HELLO!

Here we are. 2018. It has been a hot. minute! Scratch that. It has been a hot TWO YEARS!

Can you believe it?! I've missed you!

So much has happened. SO. MUCH.

Just to recap the time we've been apart in 100 words or less:

I am still acting in New York City! But I am now splitting my time between NY and Cincinnati. Christmas of 2016 (so not last Christmas, but the year before) - my mom had a stroke. She's doing amazing now - she's my hero - but I ended up moving home to Ohio for that entire year to help her recover.

But I'm back in NYC now, and I go back to Ohio at least once a month just to check in and also for  some commercial work! (Gotta love the Proctor & Gamble commercial market!)

Other highlights -- I went to Iceland in summer of 2017 with my best friends.

It was an incredible adventure, and I highly suggest traveling there! And if you'd like me to do a specific blog post about it, let me know! (Teaser: We went snorkeling in 34 degree glacial water between 2 active tectonic plates!!)

And this past summer, my mom and I walked the El Camino de Santiago pilgrimage for 80 miles along the coast of Spain and Portugal in gratitude and celebration of her healing! 

It was truly amazing. We made stops in Fatima and Madrid, too. It was the trip of a lifetime!

I was hoping to meet my future husband, casually along the trail, in a "meet cute" worthy of its own chick flick, but alas, no dice. 

So there you have my life in a nutshell! I'm still following the Specific Carb Diet - and my Ulcerative Colitis has STAYED IN REMISSION ever since I started this blog, 8 years ago! So praise God for that!

OK - onto tonight's recipe!

Do I have a treat for you!!

I have recently found a new favorite food. My fondness for it has reached a level of, well -- let's just say I eat this about 4x a week. It is THAT good!

I'm talking, y'all, about NICE CREAM.

But not just any nice cream ... I'm talking COTTON CANDY NICE CREAM.

First of all - what the heck is nice cream?

Well, it stand for Banana (aka Nana) Ice Cream!

In other words, it's non-dairy "ice cream" that is made out of frozen bananas!

And let me tell you - it is slap-yo'-mama good!

And this particular recipe uses cotton candy grapes. And OHMYGOODNESS, if you haven't tried these sweet little poppers yet, do yourself a favor and RUN - don't walk - RUN to the store and get you some!!

They legitimately taste like cotton candy! And I know, you're probably thinking: how the heck do they make a stinkin' grape taste like cotton candy...well they do!

Even my dad thought they were delicious.

So there ya go.

And they're the star of this recipe.

And oh yeah -- this healthy dessert is gluten free, vegan, paleo AND Specific Carb Diet friendly!

Here's What You Need: (Serves 1 gigantic portion)

4 frozen strawberries

1 1/2 frozen bananas

1 cup frozen blueberries

1 cup frozen pineapple chunks

1/2 cup (not frozen) cotton candy grapes

2 Tbsp cashew butter

3 drops coconut stevia

Tools:

Food Processor

Ziptop freezer bags

Spatula

Directions:

Blend in food processor until smooth. Add more grapes if you need more liquid. You will need to scrape down the sides several times.

I do believe that when we get to Heaven, this frozen treat will be available by the bucket-full. I mean, it's mama from Heaven!

It is hard to describe the fabulous consistency of this blissful treat: it is like whipped ice cream. Truly. It is silky and slurpy and melty and exactly what you need when your sweet tooth is barking.

The flavor is out of this world with the cotton candy sweetness and the sweet pineapple and rich banana.

I honestly could eat this for the rest of my life. No joke.

JOY IN A BOWL, people. Joy in a bowl!

And the best part, is that you can pretty much customize this dessert to whatever fruit you have lying around. Just pop it in the freezer for a couple hours, and then blend away! Just make sure you have at least one banana in the mix to give it some body!

Friends, I hope you jump off the computer and make you some of this delightful dessert!

Have an awesome night!

OH YEAH! One more thing!! I'M NOW ON INSTAGRAM!!!!

In addition to my Facebook Page, I just started an Instagram profile! So hop on over there and let's be friends! My handle is @glutenfreehappytummy

Lastly...I have to fill you in on my new favorite thing in the whole world: FabFitFun Boxes! Beauty, wellness, fashion, and fitness products for only 39.99? YES. PLEASE. The Fall box is valued at over $300, and has products from Vince Camuto, Beauty Blender and Glam Glow! You can get $10 off when you use my code FALLINLOVE at check out too :)

Peach-Banana Swirl (N)Ice Cream! GF, V, Paleo & SCD

Hey Happy Tummies!

I'm ALIVEEEE!!!

Haha. I know, I know. Way. Too. Long.

Labor Day is upon us, people. But honestly, I love it. It's a fresh start. The summer is coming to a close, fall TV is back (Hello, Bachelor!) and it's the tail end of peach season :)

So I wanted to share this little beauty that I whipped up!

PEACH-NANA SWIRL NICE CREAM!

What is Nice Cream? Well - It stands for Banana (Nana) Ice Cream = NIce Cream! 

It's ice cream that is made entirely out of FROZEN BANANAS!

It's gluten free, vegan, paleo AND Specific Carb Diet friendly! 

And SUPPPER EASY!

Here's what you need: 

1 Banana - sliced into coins and frozen > 3 hours
2 Peaches - sliced or cubed and frozen (I got store bought)

Step 1: Put frozen banana coins into the food processor. Blend until creamy. You'll need to scrape the sides several times. (Warning: This makes a loud noise!)

Step 2: Transfer banana ice cream to a bowl and put in freezer while you make the peach ice cream. 

Step 3: Put frozen peach cubes into the food processor. (No need to rinse). Blend until creamy. You'll need to scrape the sides several times.

Step 4: Take banana ice cream out of the freezer, and put your peach ice cream in the same bowl. Swirl together. 

Step 5: STUFF YOUR FACE!

You guys. I cannot begin to express how freaking incredible this was. 

Now, I know what you may be thinking....it's just bananas?

But. My friends. There is magic that occurs when you blend a frozen banana. It truly becomes like soft serve. It is outrageously creamy and smooth, and it melts just like ice cream! 

I even got one of my guy friends to make it. So there's the proof, people. 

This recipe was inspired by one of my favorite NYC treats: Nice Cream from Chloe's Fruit! I always get their banana nice cream smothered with peanut butter! It is SO GOOD! I mean...come on :) 

Alright, be on the look out for another recipe this week!

SO happy to be back blogging again!

Sending massive hugs and love!

Caralyn xox

Also: stay tuned for some exciting news next week! :D eek!!

*******Find GFHT on Facebook so you don't miss a recipe! 

Life Update!

Hey Happy Tummies!

It has been waaay too long!

Just wanted to give a quick little life update.

No, I have not fallen off the face of the planet, contrary to popular belief! :D

I've been super busy filming and working and enjoying the summer!

I feel a little silly posting acting updates, but you guys are like family and we've been on this journey back to health together, and you all have been so supportive as I'm out here going after it, so I wanted to share my latest work with you guys: I played the love interest in Derek Crider's new country hit, "Girl Walks a Country Mile." I know I'm biased, but I absolutely LOVE the song!

You can watch it below, and catch a glimpse of Yours Truly in action :)





The song follows a couple that is falling in love during the summer time.

Here's another behind the scenes shot!

Derek was such a cool guy. If you live in Philly, you should try to catch one of his live shows!

Next, I just finished shooting the pilot episode of Heroes of the Street, where's I'll be playing Autry Colbert!

We shot in Philly and it was so incredibly fun! It was a jam packed week with filming at several locations, and dodging a major thunderstorm that produced a tornado! It was crazy!

I loved all my co-stars, and by the end of the week we were a little H.O.T.S. family:)

I'll keep you all updated on it as the project moves forward, but for now, here's a link to our FaceBook page.


And finally, the summer would not be complete without our annual trip to the lake home in Wisconsin over the Fourth of July! Good laughs were had, beers were consumed (vodka for me), family time on the water was enjoyed -- just what I needed.

And the very last thing is that I just booked another film! It's a short horror film, but it films at the end of July. Looks like this is officially the #BestSummerEver. 

I hope you all have been enjoying the summer so far! I can't begin to express how much I've missed blogging, and how much I've missed interacting with all of YOU! I have every intent on getting better at posting. I have a delicious recipe that I'm going to post this week -- probably Wednesday night. So check back for that:)

Love and hugs to all my Happy Tummies!

Caralyn