Happy 4th of July from Lake Tahoe! This weekend has truly been a blessing. Carlyn and I drove to Tahoe early Friday morning to her parent’s new home on North Shore. It is the longest period of time I have been able to spend with her throughout our entire friendship. She is the busiest girl I know. She wants to be a vet and apparently getting into vet school is even harder than med and law school combined. I have to fight for a sliver of her time between her two jobs, internship, and school – so obviously spending an entire weekend with her and her fam has been extra special. We have gone hiking…
We have tanned…
We have eaten delicious food and made fresh mojitos…
And simply enjoyed the beauty around us..
In 4th of July spirit, I have a recipe that can easily be made red, white and blue! Just add a few red sprinkles or cherry chunks 
Vanilla Cashew Blueberry Cookies
sugar free but delish!
soo creamy
Recipe: Makes ~10 cookies
Dry ingredients -Â
1/2 cup whole wheat white flour
1/2 cup NuNaturals baking blend stevia (can sub in sugar in equal quantities)
1/8 tsp salt
1/2 cup blueberries
optional: dash cinnamon and/or tbsp brown sugar
Wet ingredients -Â
1 tbsp butter, melted
3 tbsp cashew butter
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Directions – Preheat the oven to 350. Combine all the wet ingredients in a bowl and mix well. Combine all the dry ingredients in a separate bowl (except blueberries) and mix well. Add the dry ingredients to the wet bowl and mix with a spatula until well combined. Fold in blueberries. Take a spoonful of cookie dough, roll into a ball, and flatten onto a cookie sheet. Bake for 8-12 minutes.
they were a hit – Â literally gone in 10 seconds
Benefits:
Cashews * may help prevent gall stones and are a prime source of copper, tryptophan, magnesium, and phosphorous. Low copper intake can lead to anemia, osteoporosis, elevated LDL cholesterol (bad), and join problems. Inadequate magnesium can lead to muscle cramps (the kind that wake you up at night in agony), headaches, high blood pressure, and fatigue. While obviously high in fat, most of it is monounsaturated and may help lower triglyceride levels and reduce risk of cardiovascular disease.
Blueberries * have one of the highest concentrations of antioxidants of all fruits and veggies. Their anthocyanidins counteract free radicals, which damage cells and tissues. One study demonstrated that blueberries improve memory and learning capacity in aging animals. They also protect against all forms of cancer, especially colon and ovarian cancer.
You guys are both so beautiful!!! (and I hate to say this, but your bikini photo makes me self-conscious, LOL)
Keep your wonderful friendship and have a wonderful day!!
No! Dont be silly! Every body is different and beautiful. Unique bodies are what makes everyone so attractive and special. How lame if everyone looked the same…
hehe – it was partly a joke.
But thank you so much! love you <3
Wow it looks so pretty there! And you ladies look super cute! What a fun 4th of july
Have a good trip!
Looks like such a beautiful place to spend a weekend
Love your bikini!! And you are the cookie queen! WISH I could find that NuNaturals here!
That picture of you on the beach is fabulous! I bet Tahoe is so so nice. 10 cookies would only last a day in my apartment. Looks like a great recipe!
AWWWW
How fun 
Gorgeous view, too!
And, Lauren, I just love how the majority of your recipes are sugar-free now YAY!!!! A girl after my own heart
You both are gorgeous! I neeed a little getaway preferably with those cookies
Thanks hun
You are too sweet!
Aww lovely ladies. That beach pic is SO nice. It sounds like you had a spectacular long weekend, so glad to hear it! And even better getting to spend it with a great friend.
The cookies look incredible too. I’m excited that YOU used a recipe with the stevia baking blend because I have a bunch of it to use up and I honestly haven’t had much luck with it in other recipes yet… then again, maybe I just don’t like it in general. I think I’m going to have to give it another chance in your cookies though. If anyone can make it taste good, I’m sure you can
And I really do want to make a successful sugar substitute baked good so I don’t want to go with the sugar option either. So it’ s going to happen. As soon as I get blueberries!
omg seriously? I am obsessed with it!! I have been using it alot in all sorts of baked goods – banana bran muffins… carrot cake cookies… vanilla beant tahini cookies.. blueberry cookies…
Dear Lauren,
Can I please have your abs?
AND DANGIT, I’ve already passed my cookie quota this weekend!
Sincerely,
Liza
What a wonderful weekend!! Billy and I were in Tahoe at the end of July last summer, and we had such an amazing time! I want to go back sometime. Tahoe is the type of place I’d love to have a vacation home…but who wouldn’t??
It looks like you had a great holiday weekend!! Those cookies look awesome…
I love the heartiness whole wheat flour gives to cookies!
You’re stinking gorgeous girl!
would these work if you would leave out the sugar or nunaturals baking blend?
Honestly, probably not. Without anything sweet they would probably taste pretty bad – or like scones!
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