Category Archives: Dessert

December 21, 2012 · 2:00 pm

HOMEMADE PEANUT BUTTER CUPS

homemade vegan peanut butter cups collage

Now that we are into the holiday season I do make a few more treats than normal (though I do feel the need to admit that I generally do not eat many of them).

People tend to think that making candy is complicated…it doesn’t have to be.  Last year the kids and I make homemade peanut butter cups.  These peanut butter cups were made with only three ingredients:

  1. Freshly ground peanut butter
  2. Chocolate chips (I use Enjoy Life chips)
  3. Coconut oil

Melt the bag of chocolate chips over a double boiler along with 1-2 tsp. of oil.

Once melted, pour a small layer into mini cupcake liners and place it in the fridge for approximately 10 minutes.  Place the melted chocolate over the double boiler to ensure that it remains melted.

Top the hardened chocolate with some peanut butter and try to keep it in the center allowing a rim of chocolate to remain around it (this will allow the next layer of chocolate to completely cover the peanut butter).

Cover the peanut butter with another layer of chocolate and place in the refrigerator to harden.

.

This year I used the same method to make chocolate covered pretzels (gluten-free) and peanuts.  My daughter and I broke small pretzel sticks in half and mixed them with the melted chocolate.  We then placed spoonfuls of the chocolate covered pretzels on waxed paper to cool and harden…little chocolate bird’s nests.  We had some left over at the end with a little too much chocolate, so we mixed in some peanuts and made spoonfuls of that.  They have been a total hit with my family!

7 Comments

Filed under Candy / Fudge, Dessert, Gluten Free, Holidays, Kid Friendly, Quick, Recipes, Vegan, Vegetarian

Tagged as , , ,

December 18, 2012 · 2:00 pm

TEACHER / COACH GIFTS

I am in the thick of preparing gifts for the coaches and teachers in my children’s lives and I thought I would share with you what we are gifting food-wise this year.

My daughter wanted to gift her teachers with some body butters, and my son will be giving some of his middle school teachers gift certificates, but we will be giving the coaches in our lives the “healthier” caramel popcorn that I made one month as my Secret Recipe Club assignment.

The original version was loaded with butter and sugar, so I rolled-up my sleeves and did my best to remake the recipe. My family loves the recipe I came-up with and while it is definitely a treat, it is much healthier than the traditional version.

I just air popped the popcorn and will be making it into caramel popcorn tomorrow.  This recipe is SO EASY.  I have made caramel popcorn before where you have to stir and stir and stir and with this recipe you shake it all up in a big brown paper bag…it couldn’t be more simple.

Click HERE for the recipe or HERE for the original post with detailed pictures.

2 Comments

Filed under Dessert, Gifts, Gluten Free, Holiday, Holidays, Kid Friendly, Recipes, Vegan, Vegetarian

Tagged as , , ,

December 10, 2012 · 2:00 pm

THE WORLD’S BEST BANANA BREAD – Gluten Free Version

Worlds Best Gluten Free Banana Bread Recipe (2)

One of the blogs I follow is My Plant Based Family.  I have enjoyed watching Holly’s blog develop and appreciate the fact that after suffering from health issues she and her husband decided to transition their family to a plant-based diet.  She has been open and honest about the diet challenges that she has faced with her older children (her younger children adapted easier to the lifestyle change), which I am sure is something others are going through as they try to make the transition in their own homes.

Worlds Best Gluten Free Banana Bread Recipe (1)

My birthday is at the beginning of November and after celebrating with a nice meal (we enjoyed Mexican food), we came back to our house and enjoyed a gluten-free version of Holly’s World’s Best Banana Bread.  Reading through the ingredients in her original recipe, I felt confident that I could make a GF version and it turned out beautifully.

This has become a staple in our household.

INGREDIENTS

1 cup applesauce (I used my crock-pot applesauce)
1/2 cup turbinado sugar or raw sugar (I used 2 Tbs SweetLeaf SugarLeaf)
3 extra ripe bananas, mashed
1-2 Tbsp nut-based milk
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup King Arthur’s Gluten Free Multi-Purpose Flour
1/2 cup GFree pancake mix
1/2 cup blanched almond flour
1/2 cup vegan chocolate chips (optional)
1 tsp xanthan gum

* VARIATION – add 1/4 cup cocoa powder and 1-2 Tbs more nut-based milk

METHOD

  1. Preheat oven to 350°.
  2. In a large mixing bowl add 1 cup applesauce and SugarLeaf. Mix with wooden spoon.
  3. Add the bananas, plant milk and vanilla then mix well.
  4. Add baking soda, salt, xanthan gum, and flour to a separate bowl and whisk (If using cocoa powder, add it here).
  5. Ad the dry ingredients to the wet and mix well to incorporate.
  6. Add optional nuts and/or chocolate chips.
  7. Pour into a sprayed bundt pan.
  8. Cook for approx. 22-25 minutes until a tooth pick comes out clean.
  9. Allow the pan to cool for 5 minutes
  10. Turn the cake out onto a cooling rack to continue cooling
  11. Once cooled, leave on a covered cake plate overnight.

The cake tastes the best if you allow it to cool completely and then sit under a cake dome overnight (I know it is REALLY hard to wait), but Holly was SO right…If you leave it overnight the texture is infinitely better.

Thanks for the birthday cake inspiration Holly!

Worlds Best Gluten Free Banana Bread Recipe (3)

For a printable version of this recipe click HERE.

5 Comments

Filed under Cake, Dessert, Gluten Free, Recipes, Vegan, Vegetarian

November 20, 2012 · 6:00 pm

CITRUS INFUSED CRANBERRY PEAR SAUCE

Thanksgiving time is a favorite in our household…family begins to gather and it signals the beginning of the holiday season.

I always like to make sure that at Thanksgiving each family member has their favorite dish at our Thanksgiving celebration.  For my husband that means Stove Top stuffing.  For my son that means my mom’s ambrosia.  For my daughter that means apple crumble and for me that means cranberry sauce.  I have always enjoyed cranberry sauce, especially the sauce that my mom always made when I was a kid.  She found the original recipe in the local paper.  The recipe called for fresh cranberries, diced pear, orange juice, and white sugar,

For the past three years I have been working on making a healthier version of the cranberry sauce that did not include sugar.  I tried making it with xylitol (I am not a fan), stevia (it just wasn’t the same), and this year I made my favorite version yet using apple juice concentrate.  This will be my go-to cranberry sauce for years to come.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

INGREDIENTS

Trader Joe’s organic fresh cranberries (8 ounces)
1 container (12 oz.) frozen organic apple juice concentrate 
2 pears, diced
zest of 1 orange
 

Place all of the ingredients in a sauce pan and simmer on low (make sure it does not boil over) until it is reduced to 1/3 of its original volume.

Cool and refrigerate until ready to eat.

 

Images by Tony Tseng

2 Comments

Filed under Cooked Fruit, Dessert, Gluten Free, Holidays, Recipes, Sides, Vegan, Vegetarian

Tagged as , , , ,

October 31, 2012 · 3:45 pm

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

Here is a round-up of some of my favorite pumpkin recipes…my daughter began her day with the oatmeal.  Have a happy and safe Halloween!!!

.

PUMPKIN PIE OATMEAL

.

PUMPKIN PIE DESSERT HUMMUS

.

PUMPKIN RICE PUDDING

.

CREAMY PUMPKIN PIE ICE CREAM

4 Comments

Filed under Appetizers, Beans/Legumes, Breakfast, Dessert, Frozen Treats, Gluten Free, Holiday, Holidays, Ice Cream, Kid Friendly, Pudding / Mousse, Recipes, Vegan, Vegetarian

September 6, 2012 · 1:30 pm

YONANAS

I have been going bananas for YONANAS.  A few months ago I learned about Yonanas through the Dole newsletter.  I looked into the product and when I learned it was only around $50 I thought I would give it a whirl (I was NOT sent this product to review…I paid for it myself).

I adore this product.  It takes frozen fruit and turns it into ice cream!  Bananas and mangoes tend to come out the creamiest, but all of the frozen fruits I try turn into a yummy AND healthy frozen treat.

I have even been known to eat Yonanas for breakfast…why not…it is only fruit!  I used Yonanas A LOT during my 80/10/10 Diet trial.

Have any of you tried Yonanas?

13 Comments

Filed under Dessert, Frozen Treats, Product Reviews, Recipes

Tagged as , ,

September 3, 2012 · 4:00 pm

SRC – PEACH ICE CREAM

I was assigned the blog, Feeding Andy, for my September Secret Recipe Club assignment.  The blog’s author, Peggy, is a culinary student and her blog follows her progress through school as well as her daily exploits working at Louisville mainstay, Jack Fry’s.

I bookmarked a lot of recipes when trying to decide which recipe I would go with.  Some of the finalists were Rice Pilaf, Spicy Pickled Carrots & Asparagus, and Indian Spiced Lentils.  I ultimately decided to make her Peach & Clove Ice Cream after my latest trip to the farmer’s market since the peaches there were so ripe it felt like I was slapped in the face with their wonderful perfume.

What a perfect Summer dessert!

INGREDIENTS

1-1/3 lbs ripe peaches; peeled, pitted and coarsely chopped
1 peach; peeled, pitted and finely chopped
1/2 cup water
1 Tbs. Triple Sec (I dislike the taste of alcohol, so I eliminated it)
1 teaspoon ground cloves (I wanted the flavor of the peaches to take center stage, so I eliminated it)
3/4 cup sugar (I used 2Tbs. SweetLeaf Sugar Leaf stevia/sugar replacement)
1/2 cup Greek yogurt (I used 1 single-serve container of So Delicious Vanilla Almond Milk Greek Yogurt)
1/2 cup heavy cream (I used So Delicious Coconut Milk Creamer)
1/2 cup milk (I used So Delicious non-dairy milk)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
juice from 1 lime (I used the juice from 2 tangerines)
.

Combine the coarsely chopped peaches and water in a medium nonreactive saucepan. Cover and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until peaches are soft and cooked through, about 10 minutes. Remove pan from heat.  Mix in SweetLeaf Sugar Leaf stevia, and set aside to cool to room temperature (or speed-up the cooling process with an ice bath).

Add the cooked peach mixture to your high speed blender with yogurt, cream, milk, vanilla, and tangerine juice. Process until smooth. add the finely chopped raw peach and blend VERY briefly so some chunks of peach remain.  Chill thoroughly in refrigerator, about 6-8 hours (or speed-up the process once again by pouring the mixture into a glass jar and cooling it in an ice bath). Once chilled, transfer to ice cream maker and freeze according to manufacturer’s instructions.

For a printable version of this recipe click HERE.



11 Comments

Filed under Cooked Fruit, Dessert, Frozen Treats, Fruit, Gluten Free, Ice Cream, Kid Friendly, Recipes, Secret Recipe Club, Vegan, Vegetarian

Tagged as , , , , , , ,

July 30, 2012 · 1:30 pm

ONE GREEN PLANET – Chocolate Health Cookies

Check out my newest recipe on One Green Planet…Chocolate HEALTH Cookies.

Click HERE to get the recipe.

5 Comments

Filed under Beans/Legumes, Cookies / Bars, Dessert, Gluten Free, Kid Friendly, One Green Planet, Recipes, Vegan, Vegetarian

Tagged as , , , , , , , ,

July 23, 2012 · 9:51 pm

Ethical Ocean Recipe Contest – Chocolate Molten Lava Cake

I am honored to have been asked by Ethical Ocean to enter the Ethical Ocean Vegan Recipe Challenge where they are looking to crown the vegan recipe of summer.

You can vote every day for 3 weeks and every time you vote you’ll be entered to win a daily prize from Ethical Ocean (the place for vegan and eco shopping). And if you vote for the winning recipe, you’ll be entered to win a Grand Prize – $500 gift card to Ethical Ocean.

Please vote for my recipe HERE!   Pssssst…I truly appreciate your votes!

2 Comments

Filed under Cake, Contests, Dessert, Recipes

Tagged as , , ,

July 23, 2012 · 1:30 pm

SECRET INGREDIENT CHOCOLATE AMARETTO PUDDING

This recipe was created prior to learning about my oat allergy.  While I loved how this recipe turned-out, my body did not.  That being said, if your body does not have any issues with oats, this pudding is for you…it is healthy, lowfat, and free of processed sugar.

——————————————————————————————————-

Trying Wayfare’s puddings at this years Natural Products Expo West inspired this recipe.  I like the idea of using whole grains to thicken pudding since they are essential to a healthy diet and also health-promoting.  What’s better than that?  This pudding is so healthy that I will let my kids eat it for breakfast… after all it is made out of oats.  Hurray for healthy desserts!!!

If you are not a fan of almond extract…go ahead and leave it out.  You will love the chocolaty results.

INGREDIENTS

1 cup gluten-free old fashioned oats
2 cups filtered water
1/2 cup So Delicious Creamer
1 cup So Delicious unsweetened coconut milk
1/2  cup cocoa powder
6 stevia packets
6 dates
1 tsp vanilla
2 tsp almond extract*
 
*Feel free to substitute other flavorings, i.e. mint, raspberry, orange…but start with 1/2 tsp and work your way up from there.  I have not tried any others, so I am not sure how much of each to use.

Place the oatmeal and filtered water in a small saucepan and cook over medium heat.  Once it reaches a boil, turn the heat down to low and allow the oats to simmer until thickened.  Once the oats have thickened, turn off the heat and place the lid on the saucepan.  Let the oats sit for 10 minutes.

Once the oats have thickened, place them in your high-speed blender (I use a Vitamix) with the remaining ingredients.  Allow the mixture to blend for a full 3 minutes, stopping to scrape down the sides as needed (I know it’s a long time…trust me on this).  Once the 3 minutes are up, CAREFULLY remove the lid since the pudding will be VERY HOT!!!

Pour the hot pudding into a glass tupperware and allow it to cool to room temperature before placing it in the fridge to set.

For a printable version of this recipe click HERE.

4 Comments

Filed under Breakfast, Dessert, Gluten Free, Grains, Kid Friendly, Pudding / Mousse, Recipes, Vegan, Vegetarian

Tagged as , , , ,