Peppermint Ice Cream (Dairy-Free)

Merry Christmas Eve!

One of my family’s unofficial holiday traditions is buying tubs of Peppermint ice cream the minute they appear in stores, so a healthy, allergy-free version has been one of my goals since I went dairy-free.

Now we can all enjoy this delicious winter treat without the chemicals and without the dairy!

makes 2-3 servings

Ingredients:

1 cup coconut cream

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 1/2 tsp peppermint extract

1/2 Tbs liquid sweetener of choice

1/4 cup crushed natural peppermint candies

Directions:

1. Add all ingredients to a blender or food processor and blend until smooth.

2. Place the mixture in the freezer (if possible freeze it in your food processor bowl) and re-blend every half hour or so until desired texture is reached.

Note: You can also freeze the mixture in an ice cream maker or according to your preferred ice cream making method.

Cashew Sage ‘Cream’ Sauce

Spaghetti squash is one of my favorite foods. It’s so light and delicious, and it’s the perfect healthy noodle replacement for those of us who are gluten-free. However, because I also cannot eat tomatoes the traditional spaghetti and marinara sauce meal is out of the question, so I was a little at a loss for what to top my spaghetti squash noodles with.

Then I whipped up this creamy sauce that pairs surprisingly perfectly with the lovely squash (surprisingly because I literally just threw ingredients in the blender and hoped for the best).

It’s super rich and creamy, but not heavy like most cream-based sauces, and it’s nice and sweet as well as savory. It would probably be equally delicious on any noodles you want to pair it with.

makes about 4 cups

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cup soaked cashews

1/2 cup almond milk

3/4 Tbs olive oil

1 leek, sliced

1 medium apple (I used Pink Lady), chopped

1/2 cup white button mushrooms, chopped

3 fresh sage leaves

6 Tbs almond milk

Directions:

1. Blend cashews and 1/2 cup of almond milk until smooth.

2. Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the leeks and saute for about two minutes.

3. Add the apples and mushrooms to the pan and saute for about ten minutes, or until tender.

4. Mix the cashew cream and the sage leaves into the pan and cook until the sage is fragrant.

5. Pour the contents of the pan back into the blender and blend with 6 Tbs almond milk until creamy.

6. Serve on top of roasted spaghetti squash noodles or noodles of choice.

I am sharing this post with Wellness Weekend.

 

Peppermint Porridge

Hello and happy December, the official season for holiday-themed foods!

I apologize again for missing the last couple weeks (finals week 😦 ), but to make it up to you I will have two recipes up this week.

And I can promise that because I finally have a full kitchen again. Thank goodness.

This first recipe is a yummy, light holiday breakfast. It tastes exactly like peppermint cookie dough, but it’s totally healthy. If you leave the candy pieces off, of course. 

makes two servings

Ingredients:

3/4 cup canned lite coconut milk

3/4 cup water

pinch sea salt

1/2 cup Scottish oats

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 1/4 tsp peppermint extract

1 Tbs liquid sweetener of choice

Directions:

1. Bring coconut milk, water, and salt to boil in a saucepan.

2. Stir in oats, vanilla and peppermint. Turn the heat to low and cover, cooking for ten minutes.

3. When you have five minutes left, stir in your sweetener. Re-cover and finish cooking the porridge.

4. Serve and enjoy!

I am sharing this post with Wellness Weekend.

Instant Fudge Mug Brownie

I’m so sorry for being MIA these past couple weeks!! It’s that time of year when everything is due at the exact. same. time. I’ve barely had time to breathe.

Hopefully, this will make it up to you. The Holy Grail of fudge brownies.

A warm, rich, chocolatey, ooey-gooey brownie that’s all-natural, all-healthy and ready in under three minutes.

adapted from this recipe

makes one serving

Ingredients:

1/4 cup cooked black beans (if canned, drain and rinse very well)

1 tsp liquid coconut oil

1 tsp unsweetened applesauce

1 3/4 tsp liquid sweetener of choice

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1 Tbs cocoa powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp coconut flour

1/4 tsp oat flour

pinch sea salt

Directions:

1. Blend all ingredients until smooth. You may need to mix the batter with a spoon afterwards to make sure all the liquid is combined.

2. Transfer batter to a microwave-safe dish, such as a ramekin or mug. Microwave on high for one minute.

3. Let cool, then enjoy straight from the dish!

I am sharing this post with Wellness Weekend, Healthy Vegan Friday and Whole Food Fridays.

Snickers Cheesecake

Is that leftover bowl of Halloween candy still staring at you from the hall table?

Is it gone from the hall table and are you now experiencing withdrawal symptoms?

Never fear! These Snickers cheesecakes will squash any cravings you are still harboring for processed candy. They are sweet and loaded with healthy fats to quench your sweet tooth and they serve as a perfect transition back to your normal healthy diet. Slow and steady right?

The title is a little misleading as they don’t really taste that much like cheesecake, but I didn’t know what else to call them. They kind of remind me of those Snickers ice cream bars I loved as a kid. So just basically, healthy Snickers. That’s all you need to know, right?

Mini Snickers Cheesecakes

inspired by this post.

makes about three servings

Ingredients:

Crust:

1/4 cup packed pitted medjool dates

3 Tbs peanuts

1 tsp cocoa

1/2 tsp liquid sweetener of choice

Filling:

1 cup cashews soaked for four hours (or overnight) and drained

6 Tbs water

2 1/2 Tbs liquid coconut oil

1 tsp liquid sweetener of choice

Caramel:

1/2 cup packed pitted medjool dates, soaked for about an hour and drained

6 Tbs water

2 Tbs almond milk

Peanut Topping:

1/2-3/4 Tbs peanuts per cheesecake

Chocolate Drizzle:

6 Tbs allergy-free chocolate chips

1 1/2 Tbs almond milk

3/4 tsp vanilla

3/4 tsp liquid sweetener of choice

Directions:

1. Pulse all of your crust ingredients in a high speed blender until the mixture sticks together when you squeeze it. Line a standard muffin tin with paper liners and press the mixture into the bottom of six cups.

2. Rinse your blender and blend the filling ingredients until smooth. Divide the mixture between the muffin cups.

3. Rinse your blender again and blend the caramel ingredients until smooth. Spread on top of the filling.

4. Top the caramel with about 1/2-3/4 Tbs of peanuts per muffin cup.

5. Melt the chocolate chips in the microwave. Mix in the almond milk, vanilla and sweetener. Drizzle on top of each cheesecake. Place your muffin tin in the freezer for the cheesecakes to set. Let thaw several minutes before serving.

6. Enjoy!

P.S. Sorry for the late post. This weekend was family weekend at my university and I was super busy enjoying all the fun activities with my dad. I hope you all had a delicious Halloween and a fabulous weekend, too!

I am sharing this post with Wellness Weekend, Healthy Vegan Friday, and Whole Food Fridays.

Instant Apple Cake

Have you ever had your outlets spontaneously stop working? And then realize too late that your fridge is in fact plugged into an outlet? It wasn’t a power outage. In a power outage people realize theres a problem and try to fix it. Not so with a single room outlet failure.

Thankfully, my oats and apple butter were unharmed during this fiasco. So I give you instant apple cake.

There are a couple options here. You can add in some chopped apples to better mimic a traditional apple cake, but if that goes against the whole instant part of the recipe or if it’s too awkward using only part of an apple, you can just leave the apples out. It’s delicious either way.

I personally prefer the added apples. You can just slice the rest of the apple as a snack for later or you can garnish the cake with some sliced apples if you wish. But the best part about this recipe, other than that it’s instant, of course, is that it’s breakfast approved!

adapted from my Instant Pumpkin Cookie

makes one serving

Ingredients:

1/4 cup gluten-free oat flour (I ground my own in my blender)

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp ground ginger

pinch nutmeg

2 Tbs apple butter

1 Tbs almond butter

1/2 tsp vanilla

1 1/2 tsp maple syrup

1-1 1/2 Tbs finely chopped apple (optional)

Directions:

1. Whisk all the dry ingredients together in a microwave-safe bowl.

2. Add in the rest of the ingredients (except the apple) and mix well.

3. Fold in the chopped apple.

4. Form the dough into the shape you want and microwave on high for one minute. Allow to cool.

5. Enjoy!

I am sharing this post with Wellness Weekend, Healthy Vegan Friday, and Whole Food Fridays.

Vegan Caramel Apple Ice Cream

Happy fall!

I hope everyone is enjoying the bright, beautiful colors before winter sets in. And before that happens and its much too cold to even consider ice cream, I thought I’d help you send off fall with a deliciously creamy, fall-flavored ice cream.

Inspired by the sticky, caramel-coated apple treats most of us enjoyed at some point in our lives, this version is completely vegan and added sugar free. Plus, no processed sugar gunk to get trapped in your teeth for days.

So take advantage of these last fall days when the sun is shining and the leaves are falling and its still warm enough to eat ice cream to enjoy this caramel apple treat.

makes approximately two servings

Ingredients:

1/3 cup pitted medjool dates

3/4 cup full fat coconut milk

2 Tbs apple butter

1/2 tsp vanilla

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/8 tsp good quality sea salt

Directions:

1. Soak the dates in water for about an hour. Drain, then add them to a high-speed blender along with the coconut milk. Blend until smooth.

2. Add the rest of the ingredients and blend until well-mixed.

3. Transfer to a freezer-safe dish and freeze, mixing every half hour until frozen. (If  you have a preferred method for freezing ice cream, or an ice cream maker, feel free to use it. This is just the method that works best for me.)

4. Enjoy!

I am sharing this post with Wellness Weekend, Healthy Vegan Friday, and Whole Food Fridays.

 

Pumpkin Pie Pudding Cups

Due to the success of my Instant Pumpkin Cookie, I wanted to see what else I could make in the microwave. Pumpkin Pie came to mind, but unfortunately, you can’t make pumpkin pie in the microwave. I tried. The filling just spread out and got weird.

But then I thought, why do you need to cook pumpkin pie anyway? So I created a no-bake pumpkin pie filling.

Though because I did not want to add starches or gelatin substitutes the filling is more like pudding. Delicious pumpkin-y pudding, but still pudding. So pudding cups instead of pumpkin pie.

They’re also really easy to make, especially when compared to actual pumpkin pie, which would make Thanksgiving preparations so much easier. Plus, everyone would get their own little pie! What’s not to love?

adapted from this recipe

makes about five cups

Ingredients:

Crust:

1/2 cup pitted dates

1/2 cup pecans

1 tsp cinnamon

2 tsp maple syrup

4 Tbs gluten-free rolled oats

Filling:

6 Tbs pumpkin puree

3 Tbs coconut cream

3/4 tsp cinnamon

1/4 + 1/8 tsp ginger

1/8 tsp nutmeg

1/8 tsp ground cloves

pinch sea salt

1/2 tsp vanilla

2 tsp maple syrup

Directions:

1. Blend all the crust ingredients until sticky.

2. Line the cups of a standard muffin tin with two paper liners, for sturdiness. Pack the crust mixture into the bottom and up the sides of the liners.

3. Remove the mini pie crusts from the tin and microwave in a microwave-safe container for 30 seconds. Replace into the muffin tin, repacking into the correct shape as needed, to cool. The crusts will harden as they cool.

4. Whisk all the filling ingredients together.

5. Once the crusts are cool enough to hold their shape, remove from the muffin tin and fill with the filling. Place in the fridge for the filling to firm up.

6. Enjoy!

I am sharing this post with Wellness Weekend, Healthy Vegan Friday and Whole Food Fridays.

Cranberry Orange Holiday Energy Bars

Don’t you just love Larabars? I think they’re magical. Five ingredients. Blend. Voila!

But not all the flavors are that magical. Does the chocolate chip cookie dough make anyone else nauseous? And where are the seasonal flavors? (Note: I just discovered they make a pumpkin pie version. Go Larabar!)

This recipe is a holiday-centered take on the Larabar technique. Though forgive me, it has more of a winter flavor profile than a fall one. Yes, I know it just turned October, but you take inspiration when you can get it. Mine came in the form of a yummy bread recipe from the amazing Happy. Healthy. Life. called Sugar Plum Fairy Bread. It looks magical, too, except that it’s bread. So I decided to try a gluten-free version of those flavors.

Winter fruits like cranberries and oranges combine with holiday spices for an easy, yummy holiday-stress pick-me-up. You can even cut them into any shape you want (holiday cookie cutters anyone?)! I stuck with squares because being kitchen-less forces you to embrace the simple things. But simple things can still be loved, right?

inspired by this recipe

Ingredients:

1/2 cup dates

1/4 cup dried cranberries

1/4 cup cashews

2 Tbs walnuts

1 tsp pumpkin pie spice (or to taste)

1/2 tsp orange zest

1 Tbs orange juice

Directions:

1. Blend until mixture becomes sticky and easy to form into shapes.

2. Cut into preferred shapes and enjoy!

(Note: These are pretty sticky! Storing them in the fridge helps, but for more ideas on how to de-stick these, please see the comments below!)

I’m sharing this post with Raw Foods Thursdays, Wellness Weekend, Healthy Vegan Friday and Whole Food Fridays.

Instant Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Cookie

You guys, baking is hard. 

My foray into the world of cooking only began when I became gluten-free so I never learned the proper proportions for baking, i.e. flour to fat to leavening agent. Plus, gluten-free baking throws a whole other wrench into the proportion science: how different flours will react with what ingredients.

I first tried this recipe with coconut flour and it was baaad. It had a weird crumbly pudding texture and a really gross flavor. But I toughed through the failure. You’re welcome.

Meet your new favorite fall treat: A fluffy, cake-like cookie that’s ready in five minutes max, with a touch of pumpkin and ooey gooey chocolate. All you need is a microwave-safe container and a microwave.

Any other oven-less cookie lovers out there? I got you.

adapted from this recipe

makes one serving

Ingredients:

1/4 cup gluten-free oat flour (I ground my own in my blender. I didn’t grind it very finely.)

3/4 tsp pumpkin pie spice

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp baking soda

1 Tbs allergy-free chocolate chips

pinch sea salt

1/4 cup pure pumpkin puree

1 Tbs cashew butter

3/4 tsp vanilla

3/4-1 tsp maple syrup

Directions:

1. Mix the dry ingredients together in a microwave-safe container.

2. Add the wet ingredients and mix well. Pack mixture down until flat and cookie-shaped.

3. Microwave on high for one minute.

4. Let cool, then enjoy!

I am sharing this post with Wellness Weekend, Healthy Vegan Friday and Whole Food Fridays.