by ninaeliseh | Nov 17, 2015 | Blog, Desserts, Health & Fitness, Recipes
After a long day at work this past Tuesday, I came home to a big box sitting on my doorstep. Normally I just order a ton of stuff on amazon for myself, so I was super excited to see something that I didn’t order! Arctic Zero was nice enough to send me a box full of ice cream to try out – low calorie, full of chocolate, GMO free, gluten free… um, YES please! The box came wrapped up in a beautiful bow with a note – I felt like such a princess! Surprise gifts, ice cream, bows, chocolate… men, take note 😉
After opening the package, I found instruction on how to eat the ice cream (wait, there are instructions? don’t you just eat the entire pint as soon as you take it out of the freezer??), as well as 5 different flavors to try: Salted Caramel, Butter Pecan, Key Lime Pie, Chocolate Chip, and Mint Chip.
Normally I would dig in right away, but in order to eat with the best consistency, you need to wait and let it thaw. Ok, that wasn’t happening… Option 2: microwave for 30 seconds. Ok, I can do that.
I decided to try the flavors in the order that I thought would taste the best:
Salted Caramel
Chocolate Chip
Mint Chip
Key Lime Pie
Butter Pecan
After thawing my first pint, I dug right in – and burnt my tongue. On ice cream. Is that even possible?? I must have left the pint in the microwave a bit too long, and the ice cream got a little TOO warm. After it happened, I spent the next 2 minutes laughing at myself, because seriously – only this would happen to me. I guess this is what happens when you live by yourself, are impatient, and love ice cream… it’s like being a child. Even though you are an adult. BTW – who even let me have the title of “Adult?” ANYWAYS. On to the ice cream review, because I know that’s why you are reading this post!
Salted Caramel: creamy, delicious, and exactly what I expected. Not too sweet, and would have been perfect topped with chocolate. Since this is low in calories, I think a little extra chocolate wouldn’t hurt 🙂
Chocolate Chip: Unfortunately, I thought this flavor was a bit bland. The chocolate chips were a nice addition, but the ice cream iteself didn’t have much of a flavor. I only took 2 bites from this.
Cool Mint Chip: Growing up, my grandma would always have mint chocolate chip ice cream in her freezer. So of course, I had high expectations. This flavor was not as sweet, but minty, creamy, and had the perfect amount of chocolate chips in it.
Key Lime Pie: Ok. So, this is not a flavor I would EVER voluntarily choose. Not that I don’t like key lime pie, I just prefer to eat chocolate and peanut butter ice creams. With that being said, this was actually my favorite flavor. The chunks of graham cracker crust, not too sweet, and a hint of tartness from the lime = perfection.
Buttery Pecan: This was my third favorite flavor! Tasted exactly like butter pecan ice cream – and the amount of chopped pecans was perfect!
With delicious treats food, my general rule is always eat first, ask questions later. Ok, probably not the best rule to have if you are trying to eat healthy… but with Arctic Zero, you don’t have to worry. The ice cream is made out of hormone-free whey protein (& lactose free!) + monk fruit, is gluten free, high in protein, low fat, GMO free and low glycemic. Basically, just eat as much as you can after a workout without making yourself sick. The entire pint is only 150-300 calories, so why not? Ice cream for dinner! Again, I don’t know who told me I could adult – I am a child running wild with a credit card, too much freedom and a huge sweet tooth 🙂
After reading all of this, who is hungry for ice cream? Lucky for you, Arctic Zero has VIP Vouchers for 1 free pint OR box of chocolate dipped bars for 5 lucky winners! The VIP vouchers are valid at any retail store that carries Arctic Zero products. There are a few ways to enter (the more you do, the more entries you get!):
- Follow me on Instagram
- Follow me on my blog
- Leave a comment at the bottom of this post telling me what you think your favorite flavor will be
- Repost giveway on instagram and tag @ArcticZero & @FitblondeYogi
Enter the giveaway here
5 winners will be randomly chosen one week from today! If you simply cannot wait and need to go out and buy some right now, you can enter in your zipcode here to find a store near you that carries Arctic Zero (I normally buy mine from Kroger or Whole Foods).
Thanks for reading, and good luck in the giveaway!
11/24 – The contest has ended – congrats to the 5 winners below! Arctic Zero will send an email requesting an address to send you your free ice cream voucher!
- Annamarie V
- Kathy E
- Jordan D
- Evie B
- Elle P
**The product provided for the review was free of charge from the company. The product offered for the giveaway is free of charge, no purchase necessary. My opinions are my own and were not influenced by any form of compensation.
by ninaeliseh | Jul 30, 2015 | Blog, Desserts, Recipes, Sides & Misc, Snacks
More experimenting in the kitchen! I ordered banana flour on amazon, but unfortunately, I couldn’t wait to make this bread before it came in. So stay tuned for some fun recipes in the near future!
One of my favorite things to eat is banana bread. Normally topped with peanut butter, with a side of chocolate milk, but that’s only when I get a little too crazy on the weekends 😉 This is moist, delicious, and super easy to make. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!
Just take a look at the close up of this deliciousness!
Paleo Banana Coffee Bread
Banana Bread Ingredients:
- 3-4 brown bananas, mashed
- 1.5 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/3 cup + 2 TBSP coconut flour
- 2 eggs
- 1/4 cup nut butter (i used almond – I bet peanut butter would be amazing!)
- 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon (optional)
- 1/4 tsp nutmeg (optional)
- 1/4-1/3 cup honey (or any other type of sugar)
- mini chocolate chips (optional – i used enjoy life)
Topping Ingredients:
- 3 tbsp almond flour
- 1/3 cup ghee (or butter) (put in fridge so its cold!
- 1/4 cup of honey (or any other type of sweetener)
- 1/4 cup coffee
- 1/3 cup crushed walnuts
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon (optional)
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Mix all dry ingredients together (spices, flour) for the banana bread & set aside. Mix wet ingredients for banana bread together, then add in the dry ingredients. Pour into a greased bread pan (or line with parchment paper). Mix the topping ingredients together (cut the dry ingredients in with the butter/ghee), then sprinkle on top of bread. [Also optional – sprinkle mini chocolate chips on top of bread before placing in oven] Bake for 60-70 minutes, or until cooked all the way through. Serve warm, topped with nut butter & chocolate chips with a side of chocolate milk. Enjoy!
by ninaeliseh | Jul 14, 2015 | Blog, Desserts, Recipes
Gluten Free Lemon Poppyseed Cupcakes
- 1/2 cup tapioca flour
- 1 1/4 cup coconut flour
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
- 1/4 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 cup butter (take out of fridge so it begins to come to room temperature)
- 3/4 cup coconut sugar (can use any type of sugar)
- 1.5 tbsp poppy seeds
- 1.5 tsp vanilla
- 2 eggs
- white chocolate chips (optional)
Preheat oven to 350 F. Mix all dry ingredients together (minus the sugar) and set aside. Whip the butter, then add in the sugar. Add in the lemon juice, vanilla, and eggs, mixing until all are incorporated. Slowly add in the dry ingredients. If the batter seems a little thick there are 2 things you can do: 1), add a little bit more flour, and make cookies… or 2), add a little bit of milk (almond/coconut/etc) to the mix until the batter thins out for cupcakes!
If making cookies, place dough on greased cookie sheet and bake for 8-12 minutes, or until cooked through. Make sure to space these out a bit from each other, as the dough will spread a little bit!
If making cupcakes, pour into a lined cupcake pan. Top with white chocolate chips for some extra flavor. Bake for 20-30 minutes, or until toothpick poked in the middle of the cupcakes comes out clean.
While your baked goods are baking/cooling down, this is the time to make your icing!
White Chocolate Lemon Buttercream Icing
- 1/2 cup butter
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- juice of 1/2 lemon
- 3/4 cup white chocolate chips
Whip butter with a mixer, then add the vanilla. Slowly add in the powdered sugar. Melt the chocolate chips, making sure to stir them consistently while heating. Add in the melted chocolate chips to the rest of the ingredients and mix well.
Spread the icing on cooled cookies/cupcakes and enjoy!
by ninaeliseh | Jul 5, 2015 | Blog, Desserts, Recipes
Soooo sometimes I like to bake… And also, when I have a bunch of things in my cupboard that I forgot about. When I run into this conundrum, I like to throw all forgotten items together and see what happens. Insert: Baileys salted caramel liqueur, trader joe’s cocoa almond spread, caramel, and eggs that were going to expire soon. End result? A pan of ooey, gooey brownies, topped with chocolate caramel gelato and melted caramel sauce. Recipe is below!
Chocolate Salted Caramel Nutella Brownies
Ingredients:
Directions:
Heat oven to 350 F. Mix all ingredients in 1 bowl, minus the caramel sauce and gelato. The consistency should be a little thicker than a normal brownie mix – If it looks a little runny, add in a little bit more flour. Grease a 9×9 glass pan with butter and pour the mixture in.
Bake for a total of 25-30 minutes. 5-10 minutes before the brownies are finished, take out and drizzle caramel sauce over top, then put back in oven for the remaining time. The caramel should be bubbling a little bit, and the brownies should a little gooey when they are taken out. Serve warm, topped with chocolate gelato, a drizzle of caramel sauce, and a pinch of salt. Enjoy!
by ninaeliseh | Apr 6, 2015 | Desserts, Recipes, Sides & Misc, Snacks
If you are looking for a more “healthy” rice crispy treat, look no more. These treats have dried fruit in them… which, by my definition, makes them healthy 🙂 You can add any type of fruit – I made 1 batch and split into 2 – with dried strawberries & blueberries. These are perfect for spring… or just to make for a special treat!
Rice Crispy Treats with Dried Fruit Dipped in White Chocolate
Ingredients:
6-8 Cups Rice Crispy Cereal
1/3 cup of chopped up dried strawberries (I used steves paleogoods & chopped up into tiny pieces)
1/3 cup of dried blueberries (i used steves paleogoods)
1 tsp vanilla extract
3-4 TBSP butter
1 bag of mini marshmallows (or tall jar of marshmallow fluff)
1/2 tsp salt
white chocolate chips
optional: sprinkles
Directions:
Melt butter in a large pot on low heat – about 3-4. When the butter is melted down into liquid, add in the marshmallows/marshmallow flluff. Stir until all marshmallows are melted down and add in vanilla & salt. Once all is mixed together, add in the cereal, about 2 cups at a time. Keep adding the cereal until you have a nice consistency – if it’s too runny, add a little extra cereal until the marshmallows have covered the rice crispies evenly.
Remove the mixture from the pot & split into 2 bowls. Add in the dried strawberries in one bowl and mix well. Add in the dried blueberries in the second bowl and mix well. Press each mixture into a separate 8×8 greased (i used butter to grease) glass pan. I wet my hands with water so that the mixture didn’t stick to my hands when molding the treats into the pan. Place in fridge for 30-60 minutes, or until the rice crispy treats have hardened up. Once ready, take out of fridge and cut into desired pieces – I cut into rectangles. Place on parchment paper.
For the white chocolate: put white chocolate chips in a double broiler until melted down. Dip rice crispy treats and cover with desired amount of chocolate. Place on parchment paper – top with sprinkles, if you are feeling adventurous ;).Let set until chocolate has hardened (or put in fridge to harden faster). Enjoy!
Check out my other rice crispy recipes below:
Peanut-Butter & Banana Rice Crispy Treats Dipped in Chocolate
Salted Caramel Butterscotch Rice Crispy Treats
by ninaeliseh | Apr 6, 2015 | Desserts, Recipes
These are by far my favorite rice crispy treats made yet – they were a huge hit with my friends & family! Salty & Sweet 🙂
Salted Caramel Butterscotch Rice Crispy Treats
Ingredients:
6-8 Cups Rice Crispy Cereal
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp vanilla extract
3-4 TBSP butter
1 bag of mini marshmallows (or tall jar of marshmallow fluff)
1/2 tsp salt + extra salt for topping
butterscotch chips
Directions:
Melt butter in a large pot on low heat – about 3-4. When the butter is melted down into liquid, add in the marshmallows/marshmallow flluff. Stir until all marshmallows are melted down and add in cinnamon, vanilla, nutmeg & salt. Once all is mixed together, add in the cereal, about 2 cups at a time. Keep adding the cereal until you have a nice consistency – if it’s too runny, add a little extra cereal until the marshmallows have covered the rice crispies evenly.
Remove the mixture from the pot and press into a 13×9 greased (i used butter to grease) glass pan. I wet my hands with water so that the mixture didn’t stick to my hands when molding the treats into the pan. Place in fridge for 30-60 minutes, or until the rice crispy treats have hardened up. Once ready, take out of fridge and cut into desired pieces – I cut into rectangles. Place on parchment paper.
For the butterscotch: put butterscotch chips in a double broiler until melted down. Dip rice crispy treats and cover with desired amount of butterscotch. Place on parchment paper and sprinkle with a little sea salt. Let set until butterscotch has hardened (or put in fridge to harden faster). Enjoy!
Check out my other rice crispy recipes below:
Peanut-Butter & Banana Rice Crispy Treats Dipped in Chocolate
Rice Crispy Treats with Dried Fruit Dipped in White Chocolate
With delicious 
