Jessica Hamel, creator of our new Natural Coconut Oil Frostings, has always had a sweet tooth and always knew she’d be an entrepreneur. When she took up the sport of ultra-marathoning–as in running, say, 100 miles–not only could she get away with eating sweet snacks, but her body really needed them, to assuage her insatiable hunger from hours of ultra-running in the Boulder mountains. She wanted frosting. All natural frosting.
Inspired by her grandmother, she’d always loved baking. She liked to experiment with original frosting flavorings, but didn’t always have time to make them from scratch. There are lots of canned frosting options in grocery stores, and it would have been oh-so-handy to use them–but have you read the ingredients of those things? Unless Distilled Monoglycerides, Sodium Stearoyl Lactylate, Sodium Acid Pyrophosphate, Polysorbate 60 and GMO corn syrup are your favorite things, you’re not going to want to eat them. Jessica didn’t either. She wanted natural frostings she could eat on the go, but they didn’t exist. So she invented them.
Along with her roommate, she created a company to make and sell all-natural, gluten-free, dairy-free, GMO-free, vegan frosting in 3 gourmet flavors:
Honey Lavender Lemon combines perky lemon with creamy sweetness and floral lavender in a fresh, delicate flavor blend.
Madagascar Bourbon Vanilla is for vanilla lovers who love their vanilla notes amped up.
Mexican Hot Chocolate is a combination of warm cinnamon and bittersweet cocoa, with a subtle cayenne kick on the finish.
Each of these natural frosting flavors has a nice, short list of high-quality, mostly one or two-syllable, number-free ingredients that you’ve actually heard of. They’re even shelf-stable, without any preservatives.
This is frosting, so of course you’ll want to spread them on cakes and cupcakes. But since they’re so handy, you’ll be inspired to use it for snacking, on pretzels, popcorn, fruit, cheese, or whatever (maybe not eggplant, but hey, we don’t want to limit your horizons.). You can even make a very special hot chocolate drink with the chocolate frosting (see below).
We asked Jessica to tell us about some of her favorite ways to eat her delicious natural frosting.
Jessica: I run. To be more specific, I run really, really far. As an ultrarunner, snacktime is an every day, multiple-time-of-day occasion for me. But, also as an ultrarunner, I’ve always cared about what I was putting into the body that powers me for hours on the trail. Now, I’m not going to tell lies here. One of the main motivators for me to run is… cake. I have a major sweet tooth.
Food has always been my creative outlet. It’s my art. Here are some of the ways I snack with my natural frosting throughout the day.
Toast. We’re not reinventing the wheel here, but one of my favorite mid-afternoon snacks is a schmear of Natural Coconut Oil Frosting with a perfect pairing on top. My favorite pairings:
Banana and Mexican Hot Chocolate Natural Coconut Oil Frosting
Blueberries and Honey Lavender Lemon Natural Coconut Oil Frosting
Almonds and Madagascar Bourbon Vanilla Natural Coconut Oil Frosting
A few weeks ago I had the most delightful lemon ricotta cake (may I add… for breakfast) at a coffee shop here in Boulder, Colorado. It was amazing, but there was just one thing missing: Honey Lemon Lavender Natural Coconut Oil Frosting glaze (they used plain ol’ boring powdered sugar.)
I remade the cake just the way I imagined a few weeks later for brunch. Here’s the recipe I followed, but again, skip the almond glaze and instead heat a tablespoon or two of Honey Lemon Lavender Natural Coconut Oil Frosting with a tablespoon or two with water. Heat over the stove for a minute and stir until it has a nice glaze texture. Take a spoon and drizzle it over the cake. Voila!
Now, here’s my real favorite. Ever grow bored with your morning bowl of yogurt or oats? Spice it up with a small mountain of Mexican Hot Chocolate Natural Coconut Oil Frosting flambéed bananas. It’s an easy trick that I’ve used to “wow” friends time and time again. Heat a tablespoon of regular coconut oil in a pan. Add sliced bananas (one-half to a full banana for each serving.) Then add one tablespoon of Mexican Hot Chocolate Natural Coconut Oil Frosting (you may need to add more based on how many bananas you are using) and stir around for a few minutes until soft.
Last, but not least, we’ve all heard the wonders of chocolate milk/hot chocolate for athletes, correct? Here’s the thing: hot chocolate is actually wondrous for everyone. Mexican Hot Chocolate Natural Coconut Oil Frosting is a really easy way to make the best hot chocolate you may have ever sipped. Heat a cup and a half of your favorite milk (I use coconut milk) in a sauce pan on the stove. Add one tablespoon of Mexican Hot Chocolate Natural Coconut Oil Frosting and stir until it is mixed and heated. To make it really dreamy, I use my espresso machine to steam it.
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