You could say that our good friend Ben McLauchlin of Swerve Sweetener is pretty much responsible for the creation of the Eat Fit King Cake. After all, his original king cake recipe, featured in our Eat Fit Cookbook, inspired the Eat Fit King Cake that’s now available in stores across the Gulf South! And if you love king cake, trust us, you’ll love Ben’s twist on Monkey Bread.

Makes 30 servings

For the Monkey Bread
¼ cup milk OR unsweetened almond milk
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
2 cups almond flour
¼ cup unsweetened whey protein powder
1 cup coconut flour
½ cup Swerve, Granular 
1 tablespoon xanthan gum
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
½ cup unsalted butter, cold (or coconut oil)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 eggs

For the Cream Cheese Glaze
4 ounces cream cheese (room temperature)
2 tablespoons butter (room temperature), or coconut oil
1/3 cup Swerve, Confectioners 
¼ cup + 2 tablespoons milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Sprinkles
1/3 cup Swerve, Granular 
Natural food coloring (yellow, green, red, and blue)

Instructions:

For the Monkey Bread
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a loaf pan with non-stick cooking spray or butter.  In a small bowl, combine 3 tablespoons Swerve, Granular and cinnamon.  Whisk to blend and set aside.

Combine milk and vinegar in a small measuring cup or bowl; stir and set aside.

For dough, combine almond flour, coconut flour, protein powder, Swerve, Granular, xanthan gum, baking powder and salt; whisk lightly to blend.  Cut cold butter into cubes and add to the dry ingredients.  Cut in with fork or food processor until flour looks like corn meal.

Add vanilla and egg and mix in until well combined.  Then add almond milk/vinegar mixture; stir until dough is uniform and can be rolled into balls.

Use a cookie scoop or with a tablespoon, roll gently into a ball shape, give each dough ball a good roll in the cinnamon sugar mixture, then place in the prepared pan, filling the pan evenly with dough balls.  Sprinkle 2-3 tablespoons of leftover cinnamon/sugar coating over the top of the dough in the baking pan.

Bake for 20-25 minutes.  Allow Monkey Bread to sit in the baking pan for about 10 minutes before turning it out onto a serving dish or plate.  To do this, place the plate upside down on top of the baking pan, and (while wearing oven mitts), quickly turn the plate and baking pan upside down.  Your Monkey Bread should release from the pan without a problem.

Once monkey bread is on serving dish, drizzle with maple pecan sauce and serve immediately.

For the Cream Cheese Glaze
Place cream cheese and butter in a bowl and beat until smooth.  Using a sifter, add Swerve, Confectioners and whisk until creamy.  Add milk and vanilla, and whisk until combined.  Note: If glaze is lumpy toss, into your blender or food processor.

Spread cream cheese icing onto King Cake, then add Swerve sprinkles.  Repeat with remaining 5 king cakes.

For the Sprinkles
Divide 1/3 cup granulated Swerve, Granular across three medium to small bowls.  Add yellow food coloring to one bowl and mix with a fork until the Swerve is completely yellow.

Repeat with green and purple (equal parts).

Per Serving: 110 calories, 9 grams fat, 4 grams saturated fat, 60 mg sodium, 13 grams carbohydrate (2 grams net carbs), 4 grams fiber, 2 grams sugar, 3 grams protein).

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About Ochsner Eat Fit
Eat Fit is a nonprofit initiative of Ochsner Health, designed to help the community live their healthiest, strongest lives possible. The team of Eat Fit dietitians works closely with local restaurants, markets and other foodservice establishments to identify and develop dishes that meet the Eat Fit nutritional criteria. These items are identified directly on the menu with the Eat Fit seal of approval, making the healthy choice the easy choice when dining out.

Free to all restaurants and foodservice partners, Eat Fit encourages nutritious choices whether an individual is looking to lose weight, feel better or look better, as well as help to manage health issues including diabetes, cholesterol and high blood pressure.

With more than 300 partners, Eat Fit has expanded across the state to include Eat Fit Northshore, Eat Fit BR, Eat Fit Acadiana, Eat Fit Shreveport, and Eat Fit Monroe.  

The Eat Fit team connects deeply within the Eat Fit communities, serving as a resource for all things wellness. Download the Eat Fit smartphone app to find participating restaurants with full nutrition facts of Eat Fit menu items, as well as recipes, community wellness resources, and to connect with a health professional in your area. And check out the Eat Fit Cookbook, a compilation of 125 recipes from 40 Eat Fit partners, at www.EatFitCookbook.com.

Follow Eat Fit on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter and visit www.OchsnerEatFit.com for more information about Eat Fit in your region.

As the world continues to live with the pandemic, economic crisis and the racial/social justice reckoning, we will have to work through a few major things personally and collectively. During difficult times like this, it is even more important to reflect on how exactly your health and well-being are faring. World Heart Day is an excellent opportunity to take charge of your health.

World Heart Day, founded by the World Heart Federation, takes place every year on September 29 and aims to increase awareness of heart disease and stroke. The American Heart Association is a founding member of the World Heart Federation and is helping to amplify this year’s #UseHeart to Beat Cardiovascular Disease campaign. 

WHD is about what you can do to get and keep your heart healthy. The American Heart Association prides itself on the extensive work we do to provide the information to get you to optimal heart health. #UseHeart to get involved.

Here are just a few ways the American Heart Association is using heart to do that:

• The AHA is working to make sure heart and stroke patients understand how COVID-19 could uniquely affect them and are armed with the research and knowledge on how to best protect themselves.
• We are taking care of our own employees and leading with swift action and innovative collaborations to solve for and ease the pandemic while recognizing heroes on the front lines.
• The AHA is carrying out its crucial role of convener by working with organizations, volunteers and a vast network of medical professionals around the globe to make sure that we swiftly and accurately share the latest evidence regarding care for people who contract COVID-19 – for the public, patients, caregivers and health care professionals.
• COVID-19 will also show us the functionality of the U.S. health care system and help us identify what is needed to achieve health equity – accurate health information, access to health care, and optimal public health response regardless of gender, race or ethnicity.

#UseHeart to engage your employees. Employee wellbeing has never been so important and is a key factor in recruitment and retention. #UseHeart to deliver responsibly. Help your corporation deliver against the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). “Ensure healthy lives and promote wellbeing for all at all ages.” – SDG (Source: https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/health/) #UseHeart to create reach and impact. Be part of a worldwide initiative and a global campaign that is easy to activate.

#UseHeart to take part. We are living in unprecedented times. We don’t know what course the COVID-19 pandemic will take in the future, but we do know that taking care of our hearts is more important than ever. So, this year on 29 September, help spread the word by visiting the content hub https://www.world-heart-federation.org/world-heart-day/whd-resources/.

The call to action is to inspire and ask our community, friends, family, to #UseHeart. You can #UseHeart to eat well, drink wisely, get more active and say no to tobacco. We challenge everyone #UseHeart, and share it on social media using #NOLAWHD2020.

Additionally, we are always looking for volunteers, sponsors, advocates, social media ambassadors, and more to help the American Heart Association do the work we do on the local level. We don’t just raise funds to provide for lifesaving research, we are on the ground taking part in so many opportunities to affect change in our community. We’d love anyone who is interested in learning more to contact the local AHA at AHANewOrleans@heart.org or to visit www.heart.org/neworleans. Additionally, you can call our office at (504) 872-3500.

About the New Orleans American Heart Association: The New Orleans American Heart Association fosters collective action through our local programs and partnerships that aim to improve quality of life, increase opportunity, and ensure care for all our neighbors. Every member of our community should be able to achieve well-being supported by the places they live, learn, work, play, pray, and heal.

Written by Coretta Lagarde, Senior Community Impact Director/
American Heart Association