valentines

Marshmallow Chocolate Covered Strawberry Heart Bouquet with Pink Fluffy Dipping Sauce {VIDEO!}

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Strawberry Hearts BouqetThis beautiful bouquet of marshmallow chocolate covered strawberry hearts makes a unique and tasty gift for your Valentine!

Valentine’s Day is rapidly approaching! I love to create unique treats for the holidays and Valentine’s Day is no exception. What do you give your valentine? I enjoy making things for my loved ones, and these chocolate covered strawberries are no exception. I didn’t want to make just any chocolate covered strawberries, I took it father….much farther! I cut them into heart shapes, stuffed them with Dandies Marshmallows (which are delicious as well as vegan and gluten-free!), put them onto wood skewers and arranged them in a ball jar to make an extraordinary and breathtakingly beautiful bouquet. AND you can eat it!!! It is truly DIY craft meets yummy delectable dessert!

Strawberry Hearts1

And I didn’t stop there! I made a ooey gooey strawberry marshmallow fluff dipping sauce to accompany the berries. Can you say YUM!? This indulgent dessert may look, sound, and taste sinful, but it’s secretly healthy. No worries here. You don’t have to sacrifice taste or your healthy eating habits this year. And Valentine’s Day is NOT one of those holidays that you eat-to-you-pop. You know what I mean?? Haha.

Strawberry Hearts Ingredients

Dandies Marshmallows are stuffed inside these chocolate covered berries, and you get to double-dip into some sticky, sweet and fluffy marshmallow sauce. I adore these marshmallows. I couldn’t stop eating them when I was shooting. They are all-natural, vegan and gluten-free and you can TASTE the difference. PURE. SOFT. FLUFFY PILLOWS OF JOY 🙂

Strawberry Hearts Marshmallows

Strawberry Hearts Marshmallow Sauce2

All you gotta do is DIP IT:) YUMMY!

Strawberry Hearts Marshmallow Sauce

This beats the the whole box of chocolates routine, eh?

And if you need a hot bevy to wash these delicious berries down be sure to check out my Red Velvet Hot Chocolate!

Red Velvet Hot Chocolate3

**For a paleo compliant version omit sprinkles and use coconut shreds, and make your own paleo marshmallows, recipe HERE.

Marshmallow Stuffed Chocolate Covered Strawberry Heart Bouquet

This beautiful bouquet of marshmallow chocolate covered strawberry hearts makes a unique and tasty gift for your Valentine!

  • 1 box of strawberries
  • 1/2 cup chocolate chips (Enjoy Life brand)
  • 1 cup Dandies Mini Marshmallows
  • 1/4 cup of shredded coconut or sprinkles
  • 6-8 wood skewers or wood chopsticks
  • 1 ball jar filled with crushed ice
  1. Cut tops off of the strawberries in a V-shape to make the strawberry look like a heart. (set 3-4 strawberries aside for juicing.)
  2. If needed use a pairing knife to core the strawberry.
  3. Stuff the strawberry with 1-2 mini marshmallows. Repeat for the remaining strawberries.
  4. Melt the chocolate chips over low-medium heat in a small saucepan.
  5. Blend the coconut shreds or sprinkles in a high speed blender to make finer shreds or use sprinkles.
  6. Dip half of the stuffed strawberry in the melted chocolate, then into the coconut. Repeat for the remaining berries.
  7. Place 3 chocolate covered and stuffed berries onto every skewer.
  8. You can use the strawberry leaves at the bottom to make a flower.
  9. Place the skewers in the ball jar filled with ice. The ice will keep the skewers in place.
  10. When you are ready to eat the berries make the pink fluffy dip, do not make ahead.
  11. Melt the remaining marshmallows over low heat.
  12. Once melted add the strawberry juice (about 3 tablespoons) (or natural red food coloring diluted with water), and mix until smooth. Serve with the berry bouquet immediately, enjoy!

Strawberry Hearts Collage

Cricket’s Easy Valentine Cookies

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Crickets Heart Cookies2These easy heart shaped cookies are grain-free and healthy, making them the perfect treat for your furry pup!

Valentine’s Day is almost here and I have three valentine’s this year! My hubby, my little one, and my pup Cricket! These three make my life extra special and bring me so much love and joy!

Crickets Heart Cookies1

I love holidays, and I like to make sure everyone gets something special whenever there is an occasion to celebrate, and this includes my dog Cricket. She is a special and unique member of the family. She keeps us laughing with her funny quarks and antics all the time. We love how she has to circle each way 5 times and “fluff” the covers with her nose before laying down on her much improved spot. We love how she raises her ears and twitches her nose at the excited spotting of a deer or squirrel. And to watch her play in the snow is like watching true and pure joy. If you didn’t see the video of her playing in the snow from my post last week here it is:

We had taken her out to go sledding but after a few trips down the hill we just watched her fly around the snow-laden field until she was tuckered out. It was so much fun!

And guess what? She’s 10 years young, almost 11! She has arthritis in her hind leg due to an accident she had as a pup and the leg would bother her often. It always hurt me to see her hop around on three legs when she was in pain, but her mobility has GREATLY improved (as you can see on the video!) thanks to a superior diet of healthy meats, veggies, bone broth, flax, and other super foods.

Crickets Heart Cookies3

I include homemade bone broth in these cookies because it is a natural source of collagen, something both humans and dogs don’t get enough of anymore sustaining on processed food. Collagen is great for many things including gut health, skin, connective tissue, and joints.

I will have a post on bone broth soon, but until then you can check this one out:

http://www.shape.com/healthy-eating/cooking-ideas/8-reasons-try-bone-broth

These cookies are easy and quick to make, so treat your dog this Valentine’s Day!

Crickets Heart Cookies4

Cricket’s Easy Valentine Cookies

These easy heart shapes cookies are grain-free and healthy, making them the perfect treat for your furry pup!

  • Âľ cup ground flax meal plus extra for rolling out dough
  • 1 pasture-raised egg
  • ÂĽ cup chicken or beef bone broth (preferably homemade)
  • 1 tablespoon chia seeds
  • optional- natural red food coloring (India Tree Brand)
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
  2. Mix all the ingredients, except the food coloring.
  3. Once thoroughly mixed form a ball with the dough and place between two sheets of parchment paper, sprinkle with some extra flax meal to ensure the dough doesn’t stick.
  4. Roll out the dough until it’s about ¼” or thinner.
  5. Use a heart-shaped cookie cutter to make the cookie shapes.
  6. Place of a cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees F for 15 minutes.

Crickets Valentine Collage