Another recipe to satisfy my sweet tooth. Yup. Cotton Candy (much to my father's disgust) is one of my all time favorite flavors in ice cream and frozen yogurt. Back in December I was at King of Prussia, enjoying a delightfully delectable cup of Cotton Candy Frozen Yogurt and I just decided, I need to find a recipe for this! And I did. And now, I'm going to share this recipe with you guys, because this stuff is delicious, yet very filling. I love it. 
To flavor this yogurt you can either use Lorann Oils (which is what I used), but for a more natural route, raspberry extract would work just as well. When I went to A.C. Moore, all I could find was raspberry oil- which is the closet thing I could get to cotton candy flavoring. If you didn't know, raspberry is actually the flavoring that is often used to make cotton candy flavor, anyway, so yeah, you could definitely just use raspberry oil or extract. Here's an amazon link to 
Cotton Candy Flavoring 
Raspberry Flavoring
​So after about 3 1/2 hours, this has a soft frozen yogurt texture, which is the perfect time to eat it- but of course you'll probably have leftovers so before eating them just let the mix sit out for about 10 minutes and it will be scoopable again! (I am aware that this is not the perfect frozen yogurt recipe, while the vanilla and the honey help to stop the yogurt from freezing completely, it still does. I'm working on other recipes)
Anyway, without further ado, here's the recipe (I highly recommend it) 

Sugar Free Cotton Candy Frozen Yogurt
Ingredients

• 2 cups Greek Yogurt (Plain or Vanilla)
• 2 tbsp Honey (can substitute with maple syrup or honey)
• 1/2 cup Almond Milk (or milk of choice)
• 2 tsp Cotton Candy Flavoring Oil (or 1 ounce) 
• 2 tsp Vanilla
• Pink and Blue Food Coloring (optional)

Instructions

1. In a medium size mixing bowl add the yogurt and milk. Whilsk until smooth and creamy. Add in the honey and vanilla and mix to combine.
2. Add in the flavoring and mix thoroughly. Add more to taste if needed. 
3. Divid the yogurt into two separate bowls. In one bowl, add two drops of neon pink food coloring (it's not very neon) and in the other, two drops of blue. Mix. 
4. Pour both mixtures into a deep dish and use a tooth pick or butter knife to create swirls in the mixture. 
5. Cover with plastic wrap or foil and put container in freezer and allow to freeze for at least 3 hours. Serve and enjoy!

Delicious, healthy, and easy to make, what's not to love about Chia Seed Pudding? Last summer I was dying to try to make some of this stuff, but my sister convinced me not to. This time, I was not so easily persuaded, and I'm glad I wasn't, because this stuff is spectacular.
Let's talk ingredients, shall we? First of all you'll need chia seeds. Here are only a few health benefits of these little things. 
(Information on Chia seeds from authority nutrition)
1. Chia Seeds Deliver a Massive Amount of Nutrients With Very Few Calories
A 1 ounce (28 grams) serving of chia seeds contains:

• Fiber: 11 grams.
• Protein: 4 grams.
• Fat: 9 grams (5 of which are Omega-3s).
• Calcium: 18% of the RDA.
• Manganese: 30% of the RDA.
• Magnesium: 30% of the RDA.
• Phosphorus: 27% of the RDA.
• They also contain a decent amount of Zinc, Vitamin B3 (Niacin), Potassium, Vitamin B1 (Thiamine) and Vitamin B2.

Despite their tiny size, chia seeds are among the most nutritious foods on the planet. They are loaded with fiber, protein, Omega-3 fatty acids and various micronutrients.
2. Chia Seeds Are Loaded With AntioxidantsChia seeds are high in antioxidants that help to protect the delicate fats in the seeds. They also have various benefits for health.
3. Almost All The Carbs in Them Are FiberAlmost all of the carbohydrates in chia seeds are fiber. This gives them the ability to absorb 10-12 times their weight in water. Fiber also has various beneficial effects on health.
4. Chia Seeds Are High in Quality ProteinChia seeds are high in quality protein, much higher than most plant foods. Protein is the most weight loss friendly macronutrient and can drastically reduce appetite and cravings.
5. Due to The High Fiber and Protein Content, Chia Seeds Should be Able to Help You Lose WeightChia seeds are high in protein and fiber, both of which have been shown to aid weight loss. However, the studies on chia seeds have not noted any effects on weight.
6. Chia Seeds Are High in Omega-3 Fatty Acids7. Chia Seeds May Improve Certain Blood Markers, Which Should Lower The Risk of Heart Disease and Type 2 Diabetes8. They Are High in Many Important Bone Nutrients9. Chia Seeds Can Cause Major Improvements in Type 2 Diabetics10. Chia Seeds Can Improve Exercise Performance as Much as a Sports Drink11. Chia Seeds Are Easy to Incorporate Into Your DietGreat stuff, huh? Yeah. And the next thing you will need is almond milk. Almond milk is great for improvement of vision, weight loss, stronger bones and a strong, healthy heart. It aids in building strong muscles, maintaining a good blood pressure as well as maintaining a properly-functioning kidney.

Honey, which is also a great sweetener because it 

• Helps with allergies 
• is great for boosting energy
• Boosts Memory
• helps to cure coughing
• aids in sleep
• Treats Dandruff.
• Treats Wounds And Burns.

And then, adding vanilla is optional. And that's all you need! Sounds amazing, right? It tastes even more amazing. 
I really love having a quarter or so cup of this stuff for breakfast. The best part is, it's hard to get tired of this recipe because you can top it with anything. The toppings make a difference in the taste! But any way you top this, it will still be delicious. 
This recipe is taken from here. 

Ingredients: 
1 1/2 cups almond milk (I recommend the homemade recipe I posted a bit ago)
6 Tablespoons chia seeds
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 Tablespoon honey
Toppings (coconut, honey, almonds, fresh fruit, etc.)

Instructions:
1. In a sealable jar, mix together all the ingredients save for the topping. Mix by shaking the jar, and then proceed to whisk together the ingredients. The whisking ensures no chia clumps will form.

2. Refrigerate overnight

3. Top and serve 

I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I do,
Anj

UPRecently, my sister and I have gone on a little bit of a health craze. I blame the up and coming spring break. Anyway, this health craze has brought quite the large quantity of almond milk into our fridge. (For smoothies, healthy desserts and my most recent craze- Chia Seed Pudding, but more on that later.) Anyway, I've looked at the nutrition labels and the store bought almond milk has a lot of stuff added to make it sweeter and last longer. 
Me, being me, decided it might be fun to try out making my own almond milk. Personally, I think this attempt was rather successful. My only issue with this homemade almond milk are that there are still tiny tiny bits of almond in it. Never the less, it's a lot healthier than store bought almond milk and I'm sure I wouldn't notice these almond bits in a homemade ice cream, smoothie or in my chia seed pudding. If you drink almond milk, you may want to get a jam strainer or something. The reason there are still little almond bits in my almond milk is because I only have a fine mesh strainer, and it's not quite fine enough. maybe a cheese cloth or something would be more effective. 

UPDATE 4/13/16: I used a cheesecloth over my mesh strainer. It was a little hard to get all the moisture out, you'll have to squeeze it, but after about two strains the homemade almond milk will be silky smooth! I love it! This is great because it's only really two needed ingredients and there is no sugar added and no preservatives or anything. You know exactly what's in it.

Otherwise, I highly recommend this recipe. It will go great with the chia seed pudding recipe that I will be posting in the near future. (GUYS, CHIA SEED PUDDING IS SO SO GOOD.) 
(FYI, I did not create this recipe, I got it offline, enjoyed it and decided to share it with y'all) 
Anyway here's what you'll need: 
1 cup of whole almonds 
3 1/2 cups of filtered water plus more for soaking 
1/2 teaspoon of vanilla (optional) 
Sweetener (Honey, Stevia etc.) 
Instructions: 
Take one cup of almonds and fully submerge them in water for a minimum of eight hours. (I left mine in the water for about a day) 
After the almonds have been soaking in the water for at least a day, strain and add them to a blender along with your filtered water.
Now just mix the almonds and water together on high speed until there are only little bits of almond remaining. About two minutes. (This is the time to add the vanilla and sweetener. Add it until the taste suits you.) 
All that's needed now is to strain the almond bits out. In my opinion, this was the hardest part, probably due to the fact that I didn't have the proper equipment, but whatever. It still works. Anyway, you just need to strain your milk and then you're done! Yay. It was that simple.
(Tip, I strained my almond milk about five different times, and it has considerably less almond bits in it :)
Store in the fridge. 
Thanks for reading and wish me luck in exams, aha, 
-Anj