Coconut Chocolate Pudding

This recipe is sooooo yummy and very quick to make.  It's vegan and you can make it RSF (Refined Sugar Free).

Here are your ingredients:

1 1/2 cups coconut milk or 1 can

3 1/2 cups cold almond milk

7 Tbsp. cornstarch

9 Tbsp. dark cocoa

1/4 cup organic raw sugar (finely ground)

1/4 cup agave

2 tsp. vanilla extract

Pinch of sea salt

Heat up the first 5 ingredients until boiling.  Let it boil for 1-3 minutes.  By then, it should be thick.  Stir in the vanilla and sea salt.  Pour into 8 dessert bowls.  Garnish with a sprinkling of shaved coconut.  That's it!  I love this recipe because it's so quick to whip up, tastes so creamy and chocolaty, it's a lot healthier than store-bought puddings, and serves lots of people. Hope all you skinny cooks enjoy! ;)



Photo and recipe found at:

http://www.foodbuzz.com/recipes/3974896-guest-post-friday-vegan-chocolate-coconut-pudding

All American Apple Pie for the 4th of July

Photo courtesy of Wikipedia

We made this last night at my sons request.  The kids helped peel apples and pinch crust then enjoyed this pie with a little naturally sweetened whip cream. 

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• 1 can unsweetened apple juice concentrate thawed
• 6 cups thinly sliced apples
• 1- 9 inch double crust pie

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Whisk together the cornstarch, cinnamon and 1/4 of the apple juice.
3. In a saucepan over medium heat, simmer the apples in the remaining apple juice until just tender. Add the cornstarch mixture and stir until thickened.
4. Pour into bottom crust and cover with top crust. Bake for 45 minutes or until lightly  browned                           

Hot Chocolate Goodness

In need of something to fight the evening sweet tooth and make you feel like you are camping in the pines? I've been thinking about this for a few weeks and came up with this recipe tonight...enjoy!

Cinnamon Healthy Hot Chocolate

1 cup unsweetened almond milk or other milk of choice (I'm going to try coconut next time)
1 heaping tsp of unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tsp of agave nectar (you may even want to do less, mine was a touch too sweet)

Heat this in the microwave or stove top. Finish with a 1/4 tsp cinnamon and dash of vanilla. The cinnamon enhances the chocolate flavor and the sweetener. Next time I might have to double the recipe or make a whole pot.

Confessions and Chocolate-Zucchini Heaven

We go with friends for memorial day each year to a cabin and we indulge! I decided this year would be no exception and I would take a "free" weekend off to enjoy what I had been missing. And I did!! From the peanut M&Ms to the wonderful cheesecake I ate and overate. I learned a few things about myself. First, moderation is not one of my strong suits when it comes to sugar. It is either all or nothing for me. The nothing is great...the all part, not so good. I just felt gross to put it mildly. The food was wonderful and I have great cooks for friends, but the binge was not kind to me. It has been very easy this week to stay clean of anything white or refined. I noticed how when I eat sugar, I also crave other fatty foods and soda. That nasty little soda craving comes creeping back when I fall off the wagon. So for now I'm back "off-sugar", as my kids call it and enjoying the challenge of making healthier treats again. Somehow I feel like I have to use my brain a little more to face the challenge of making healthy taste good and I realized how much I enjoy that aspect of this resolution.

So with all that said and a ripe banana and my garden full of squash as inspiration these little babies were born. Enjoy!

This has become one of my new blogs to stalk looking for yummy deserts, check her out:

http://chocolatecoveredkatie.com/2011/06/03/theres-a-zucchini-in-my-cupcake/

Chocolate-Zucchini Muffins ( I changed a few things in the original recipe to make it sugarless)

Servings: 12 cupcakes or 36 minis

• 1¼ cups flour
  
• ¼ cup unsweetened cocoa
• 1¼ tsp baking powder
• ¾ tsp baking soda
• ½ tsp salt
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 whole banana, mashed
• ½ cup raw sugar
• 1/4 cup coconut oil (the original recipe uses all applesauce, 1/2 cup, if you want fat free)
  
• 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
  
• ¼ cup almond milk (the hint of nut flavor makes this great!)
  
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup shredded zucchini
• 3 Tblsp honey
• 3 Tblsp Agave
• 1/4 cup Sucanat or palm sugar
  

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease muffin pan and set aside. If using paper liners, lightly spray inside of liners with cooking spray to prevent sticking. Whisk flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon together. In another bowl, cream mashed banana with applesauce, oil and sweeteners. Add in milk, vanilla, zucchini. Stir until evenly combined. Add flour mix to wet mix in 3-4 batches and stir until just combined. Spoon batter into greased muffin pan and bake 18-25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Something about the cinnamon, chocolate, banana mixture if wonderful. Going to try to create a good cream cheese frosting to top these with next time.

Who doesn't like a brownie?

My friend sent me a link to this great blog to make some yummy brownies. 

http://www.elanaspantry.com/brownies/

I tried them tonight and my family loved them.  Try a scoop of Rice Dream to cut the sweetness.

Here is my modified recipe:

Chocolate Chip Brownies
1 (16) ounce jar salted almond butter, smooth roasted
2 eggs
1 cup agave
1 tablespoon vanilla

½ cup cocoa powder

½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup grain sweetened chocolate chips (optional by good)

1. In a large bowl, blend almond butter until smooth with a hand blender
2. Blend in eggs, then blend in agave and vanilla
3. Blend in cocoa, salt and baking soda, then fold in chocolate chips
4. Grease a 9x13 glass dish
5. Pour batter into dish
6. Bake at 325° for 35 minutes

Sunday Dinner Dessert- Apple Cake

I got this recipe from one of my favorite no-sugar blogs. www.thenourishingapron.blogspot.com.
I tweaked it just a bit, cut the icing amount in half and it make a great Sunday treat.

For the cake:

4 cups diced apples (I used three Fuji apples, organic from Costco)

1/2 cup butter or coconut oil (the coconut worked great!)

2 eggs

1/2 cup water

1/2 cup palm sugar

1/2 cup applesauce

1/4 cup maple syrup

3/4 cup honey

2 1/2 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut

For the icing:

1/4 cup butter

1/4 cup honey

1/4 cup maple syrup

2 tablespoons milk or cream (optional, but it does add a nice smooth taste to the icing)

Combine apples, butter, eggs, water, palm sugar, applesauce, maple syrup, and honey in a medium bowl. Combine remaining ingredients in a large bowl. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients. Pour into a greased 9x13 pan. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Prepare icing either during the final minutes of baking or once it comes out of the oven. Put butter, honey and maple syrup in a small saucepan. Over medium heat, bring to a boil. Boil, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes. Add milk and boil 1 minute more. Pour over hot cake.

Cool to warm before slicing. Enjoy! (We didn't get to the cool part, but it was so tasty)

This recipe would be great with maple/cinnamon whipped cream or some of the vanilla ice cream from the next post.

Happy Sunday, have a great week everyone.

We scream for Rice Dream!

When Lanae wants ice cream she just makes it.  I would rather open up the freezer and voila there it is!  Maybe some of you lazy gals like me would like this Rice Dream Organic "Ice Cream".  We mixed the vanilla tonight with "Root Beer" and had floats.  My son said "No sugar is totally fine Mom"!! They have a few different flavors.

http://www.tastethedream.com/products/rd_frozen.php

Soda!!!!!

The dreaded flu season had both us of down for most of February between sick moms, kids and hubbys. So, we are still here and going strong and will post a slew of recipes soon. In the meantime if you sugar addiction comes in the form of anything in a 44oz cup through a straw here is a great new find! They run about a dollar a bottle, come in some great flavors and are sweetened with organic agave. Definately still a carbonation no-no, but once in a while these will keep me on track. With homeade ice cream the possibilities are endless. And, yes for you die hard caffiene junkies they make a cola. Check them out and tell us what you think.

Here is the link: http://www.oogave.com/OOgave/index.cfm We found them at Sprouts.

Ice Cream In January

My oven is out of commission until Wednesday so I had to get creative so my son had a treat at my in-laws house on Sunday night. Make this once and you will love it!

Chocolate Ice Cream

2 cans of evaporated milk (I used 2%, but you can use Fat-Free if you want a lighter treat)
1/2 cup of cocoa powder
6 Tblsp of Agave Syrup

Whisk together about 1/3 can of milk with the other two ingredients until smooth and there is no lumps. Add the rest of the milk and combine well. Put in your ice cream maker and follow the directions.

Makes 5-1 cup servings or 10-1/2 cup servings.

This would be fantastic with brownies. Chocolate Jackpot!

My hunt for the perfect Cheesecake.

I have been looking for a really good cheesecake recipe to Rival my favorite treat in the world "Chocolate Raspberry Mousse" from The Cheesecake Factory. Today I found this recipe on a really good website so I thought you all may like to give it a try if you have a soft-spot for this delicious dessert also.
http://deliciouslyorganic.net/

Maple Cheesecake
Cheesecake freezes very well. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and then a layer of foil and it will keep in the freezer for 2 months. Thaw completely in the refrigerator before serving.
Adapted from Bon Appetit
1 1/2 cups pure maple syrup
17 5 x 21/2-inch whole wheat graham crackers, or gluten free graham crackers3 tablespoons organic whole cane sugar or sucanat
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
3 8-ounce packages cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 cup maple sugar
3 tablespoons whole wheat pastry flour (or 3 tablespoons gluten free flour mix)
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
2/3 cup sour cream
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
4 large eggs, room temperature
4 ounces semisweet chocolate, melted and cooled
Pour maple syrup into a medium saucepan and simmer over medium heat until reduced to 1 cup, about 5-7 minutes. Remove from heat and cool to room temperature. Preheat oven to 375ºF and adjust rack to middle position. Place graham crackers, whole cane sugar and cinnamon in the bowl of a food processor. Process until finely ground. Add melted butter and pulse until crumbs are evenly moistened. Press crumb mixture onto bottom and 2 inches up sides of a buttered 9-inch diameter spring form pan with 2 3/4-inch sides. Bake 10 minutes, until crust darkens slightly. Cool completely. Reduce oven to 300ºF.
Beat cream cheese in the bowl of a mixer fitted with paddle attachment until smooth. Add maple sugar, flour and salt. Beat on medium until blended and smooth. Add 1 cup reduced maple syrup, sour cream and vanilla. Beat until just blended. Add eggs, 2 at a time, and beat just until blended after each addition. Tap bowl on counter to release any air bubbles. Pour filling into cooled crust and pop any bubbles on top with the tip of a paring knife. Bake for 1 hour and 30 minutes, until cake is slightly puffed around the edges (the center will jiggle slightly when pan is gently shaken). Transfer to a cooling rack and cool completely. Cover and refrigerate overnight. When you are ready to serve, drizzle melted chocolate over top. (If you choose to freeze the cheesecake, then drizzle with chocolate after thawing.) The cake keeps for 3 days in the fridge.

Rice Pudding and Laundry

Just polished off a wonderful warm bowl of rice pudding while folding mountains of laundry.

I used about 1 1/2 cups of leftover rice from dinner. I started by putting about a 1/2 cup of milk, some cinnamon, 1 tsp of vanilla and one egg in a pot. Whisk it together and add about 2 tsp of cornstarch and some agave syrup. Cook it, stirring constantly, until it looks like gravy. Take off the heat and add rice and a handful of raisins. Divide into two or three bowls. I put one in the fridge and enjoyed the other one.

Not bad for sugar-free leftovers!

Fight the Cravings

Okay here are some snack ideas to help fight off the cravings (which will go away after a while, I promise!)

If you are craving Candy- Un-sweetened dried fruit (Trader Joes has great pineapple and mango)

Salty/Sweet- "Caramel" Popcorn (pop your fav low-cal air or microwave brand, drizzle with 1Tblsp butter cooked until brown and bubbley with 2Tblsp of Honey) You can also make this caramel and keep some in the fridge for later!

Ice Cream- Freeze chopped up ripe(not overripe) bananas in a ziploc and blend as many as you would like in a food processor or blender. For variation you can top with nuts, cinnamon, "caramel" topping, mix in some strawberries, raspberries. The bananas make the best consistency and are a great "ice cream" base. The Biggest Loser cookbook has a fudge sauce made with Agave and cocoa powder that would be amazing on top.

Chocolate- Unsweetened baking chocolate melted and mixed with honey or agave to taste makes a great substitute

Soda- Most groceries stores sell sparkling 100% fruit juice. Trader Joes has some great varieties. The carbonation isn't the best for you, but it's a lot better than all the sugar for special occasions.

Hot Chocolate/Ciders- There are a lot of recipes for sugar-free hot chocolate, I haven't tried them yet. However, warming up 100% fruit juice with some cinnamon works great, or Good Earth makes a brand of tea that is caffiene-free and is called Sweet&Spicy. It is fantastic to sit and sip at night while watching TV with some popcorn.

My brother in law also says that if you are really having a hard time go brush your teeth.

Please comment with any others you love!

Blueberry Apple Crisp

3 large apples chopped(I used Fuji because they are naturally sweeter and still hold up to baking)
1 small container of blueberries (these are $1 at Fry's right now)
the juice of 1/2 lemon
3 Tblsp of Honey
2 tsp cinnamon
2 Tblsp flour

Combine all of the above in a bowl and then transfer to a greased baking dish (8x8). Crumble together the following:

2 Tbsp butter
2 cups rolled oats
2 tsp cinnamon
2 Tblsp Turbinado sugar (or you could use coconut or palm sugar, Tubinado is minimally refined, but it is the closet thing to raw sugar you can buy in the U.S., I use it very sparingly)

Use the mixture to top the fruit and bake at 375 for about 45 min or until bubbly and apples are tender.
Makes 6 generous portions.

This was sooo delicious and plenty sweet. It takes a bit of work, but a great Sunday dessert! The leftovers will be great warmed up some fat-free fruit juice sweetened vanilla yogurt. (I use the Cascade brand from Sprouts)

Plan out your snacks for the week and leave us a comment. Tomorrow I will put up a post with our favorite snacks and craving busters!)