I'm a huge advocate of eating seasonally.  While I try and get majority of my food from local farmers, some things we eat make their way by truck or plane.  Sadly, tropical foods just don't grow in Wisconsin (sad face).  These aren't things that I get often, but I don't like to deprive myself of yummy flavors - especially when there is limited time to get these foods in the midwest.  Tropical foods like pineapple, guava and mangoes are foods I try and get once or twice each summer.

I'm always surprised when people tell me they've never eaten mango.  Mangoes are such a delicious and versatile fruit.  I love frozen mangoes in smoothies (and margaritas!), grilled, over ice cream or in a salsa.  As a salsa it can be eaten over grilled chicken, pork or fish - heck, eat it with tortilla chips, if you prefer.

You really only need a handful of ingredients to give you a mouthful of flavor!

There are a couple things to know when preparing mango, the first is peel the skin away from the flesh, and then know that there is a stringy core in the center.  You'll need to cut around it - much like you would cut an apple if you weren't using an apple corer.

Mango Salsa

1 mango, diced
1/2 red onion, minced
a handful of your favorite tomatoes, diced
1 jalepeno, seeds removed and minced (optional - if I'm eating this over fish, I usually leave out the jalepeno)
juice from one lime
1 T fresh cilantro, minced
salt & pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients in a bowl and let sit for 15-20 minutes before serving.

Spoon over your favorite fish or meat and enjoy!

Super easy and very delicious.  I'd encourage you (before the summer is over!) to experiment a little and see if you can find a way to enjoy these yummy fruits.

Enjoy!
XoXo,
Nicole

I never was an ice cream eater, at least not that I can remember.  Sure, as a kid I enjoyed an ice cream cone every once and awhile or we'd have sundaes as a treat on a Friday night - but I didn't eat it every night.  Until about 3 years ago.  I'd like to blame my husband for this, and ironically he blames me for the same thing (clearly we both have an ice cream problem).  Despite how unhealthy I knew ice cream was, I allowed it into my home - with all of it's corn syrupy, creamy, fake-ness.

I am not going to lie to you, this truly became one of my weaknesses - I craved ice cream.  A lot.   When I look back at that time in my life, 3 years ago - I had a lot going on.  My husband and I were purchasing our first home, we were planning a wedding, he had just moved here from Ohio, I had just changed jobs....there was a lot of big stuff going on in my life. 

While I felt like we were eating healthy, I know now that just because I was cooking at home didn't mean I was eating healthy.  We often ate frozen meals (my go-to lunch everyday was a Lean Cuisine) and we weren't eating near the amount of fresh veggies we should have been.  And did I mention the ice cream?  Or the gelato shop around the corner from where we lived?

Oddly enough, I was working out more frequently then I ever had before - but felt like if I ran an extra day that week- I could eat another bowl of ice cream.  Especially if it was ice cream loaded with toppings.  Geez Louise.

Sound familiar? 

Of course the health coach in me has deconstructed each craving and made changes to my diet accordingly.

That being said,  I still craved ice cream every once and awhile. However,  I felt like I needed to give it up because I had become "smarter" and knew that the stuff you buy at the grocery store was not what I should be snacking on.  I decided that I was going to tackle this one by making my own ice cream!  I asked for an ice cream maker for Christmas and got to work - at least if I was going to eat it, I was going to know exactly what was in it. Along with the ice cream maker, my mother-in-law added The Spunky Coconut's Dairy-Free Ice Cream cookbook.

Even though they aren't in season (in Wisconsin anyway), the strawberries at our local co-op looked and smelled declicious this week.  I love trying new flavors of ice cream (Rooibos Tea Ice Cream, anyone?) but this week I went more traditional.

Dairy-Free Strawberry Ice Cream
from The Spunky Coconut

2 c fresh strawberries
1 1/2 c coconut milk
1 c cashew milk
1/2 c honey
2 t vanilla extract
1 t lemon juice
1/2 t unflavored gelatin

Place all ingredients into a high speed blender or food processor.  Puree until creamy and smooth.  Freeze for about one hour or refrigerate until cold. Pour into ice cream machine per manufacurers instructions.  Place in the freezer until ice cream is the consistency you prefer.

Of course I couldn't eat it without toppings.  At least now I skip the broken up Snickers and Twix for fresh berries and organic dark chocolate.

I mean, c'mon, that looks a ton better doesn't it?  We've all got our weaknesses, it's just a matter of learning how to adapt recipes and still enjoy the food the way you used to.   No corn syrup, HFCS or heavy cream here.  This ice cream was made with ingredients I already had in my pantry...ingredients I can pronounce!

What are some of your weaknesses?  How have you been able to revamp them and still feel like you're indulging?

XoXo,
Nicole