Sweets and Treats!

I hope you are ready to be bombarded... ;)

 

 

First up - pumpkin frappachino!  Adapted from Minimalist Baker.  Couldn't be easier.. blend 1 cup ice cubes, 1 cup non-dairy milk, 1/4 cup canned pumpkin, stevia to taste, and 1-2 tbsp instant coffee powder.

 

 

Continuing with the pumkin theme, pumkpin scones, adapted from Iowa Girl Eats.  Used whole wheat flour, applesauce for butter, added 1 tbsp pumpkin pie spice, used stevia for the sugar.  You might want to add more liquid as well.  Yay pumpkin!

 

Yoga cookies... from Keepin it Kind.  These got rave reviews from my friends.  And I must say, they are tastey!  Only change was to use 1/2 cup PB2, and 1/2 cup almond meal for the peanutbutter.

 

Banana Maple bread pudding from the Misfit Baker... made a mini pizzert (1/2 serving), and topped that with the mixture, approximated for a single serving, using sugar free maple syrup.  Good with whipped cream on top...

 

Peach sticky buns!  They aren't so pretty, but they sure were tastey.. adapted from That's So Vegan.  Subbed 1/4 cup water + rum extract for the rum, stevia + molasses for the brown sugar, stevia for the sugar, 2.5 cup whole wheat flour and 1/2 cup white flour, and applesauce for the butter.

 

Single-serving caramelized banana pie type thing..  yes, this was very good.  Adapted from The First Mess.  Made the crust with applesauce.  The ice cream was baked bananas drizzled with sugar free maple syrup, frozen soymilk, vanilla extract, and stevia. Topped with cookie dough..

 

And this beauty from Oh My Veggies.  Guess what you do.. blend frozen banana with frozen peaches.  That's it.  Ice cream, and slightly lower calorie that banana ice cream!

Saturday Dessert Plate #3

Allllright... newcomers would include failed fudge.  Obviously, I won't be posting THAT recipe..

(the white blobs are the cookie dough.  Sorry about that, I was just too tired to fiddle with it.)

But non-fail pb-oatmeal cookies from Chocolawty!  Dang, I LOVE that women.  She's amazing at creating healthy desserts.  And you really can't go wrong with peanutbutter and oatmeal!  Changes:

made a half batch

used corn starch

subbed applesauce for the coconut oil

used PB2

used half baking stevia and half stevia extract in place of the erythritol

Saturday Dessert Plate #2

I think I'll start posting this every Sunday.  Some things remain the same, and some change!
See last time's plate here.

Newcomers and updates:

The candied almonds were completely frozen this time, and the texture was much better.  The taste is still somewhat off, but that *might* be remedied next week... stay tuned!
Made some orange cardamom mousse!  It's not that hard... really.  Chuck into a vitamix: 1 small peeled orange, ~8 oz tofu (I used half silken and half firm because that's what was readily available), 1/2 tsp cardamom powder, a small splash of almond milk, ~1/4 cup sugar free maple syrup, ~3 tbsp stevia (might want to add more, it could have been sweeter), and 3 tbsp cocoa powder.  Blend until smooth - and further.  The texture of this was great, with the help of Mr. V!  Just slightly puffy....  Recipe adapted from Oh My Veggies.
No-bake chocolate-PB balls!  The texture was a bit odd - still needs some work.  But the flavour was all there.  Mix together 2 tbsp brown rice flour (might go with oat flour, or straight up oatmeal, next time), 2 tbsp almond meal, 1  scant tbsp cocoa powder, 1 tbsp stevia  (would add more next time), a heaping tbsp PB2, and enough sugar free maple syrup to make a dough-like substance.  Chill until firm.  Recipe adapted from Chocolawty.

Dessert Plate

Yes, I really did eat all of this.  No, I'm not fat ;)

So, I suppose you want to know what was on my plate of decadence!  (BTW: I work out for 2 hours every Saturday, so I eat dessert.  It all comes out a wash, you know?)

Going from left to right, top to bottom:

1) A PB pretzel bar

2) Single serving pb cookies from Foodie Fiasco (using PB2, and baking - I think microwaved things taste funny)

3) Home made candied almonds.  A work in progress, definately, but here's what I did (adapted from VegWeb).  In a small pot over medium heat, combine 2/3 cup water, 3/4 cup stevia, 1/2 tsp vanilla extract, 1/2 tsp cinnamon, and 1 tsp guar gum.  Bring to a boil-ish and add ~1/2 cup almonds.  Keep stirring, and the mixture will caramelize/reduce, and become more of a coating for the almonds.  At this point I stopped, dumped the almonds onto wax paper coated with nonstick spray, and cooled them.  Next time I will try baking them and see if the coating hardens up.

4) (next row) Lemon pistachio rice crispie bar from Chocolawty!  Woooooooowwwwwwwwwwwww!  These babies are amazing!  The lemon and pistachio is such a genious combination.  Changes: halved the recipe, used lemon zest in place of lemon extract, used sugar free maple syrup in place of rice syrup, pulverized pistachios in my Vitamix for the pistachio butter, used powdered stevia in place of stevia extract, skipped the protein powder (I might have used another flour in it's place, but I can't remember), subbed stevia + soy milk for the honey, used shredded coconut in place of the coconut oil, and skipped the jam (forgot it, actually).

Wow, that was a LOT! ;)

5) Cookie dough from Chocolawty!  This stuff is made with chickpeas.  I FINALLY got up my courage to make a dessert with chickpeas... and I won't lie, you can kind of tell it's not your normal flour and butter.  But that does NOT mean it tastes bad - it's just different.  I will totally be having more chickpea desserts in the future - they're good, in their own right.  Surprisingly good, really.  Changes: halved recipe, stevia + molasses for the brown sugar, used straight up almonds in place of almond butter, and used more stevia in place of the stevia extract.

6) PB pretzel nuggets, store bought goodness.  I REALLY can't get enough of these things.

7) Home made chocolate covered almonds.  You melt chocolate chips in the microwave and dip your almonds in there.  Hm... sounds hard! ;)  Hey, it just struck me, I should do double dipped almonds next time... they WERE a bit skimpy on the chocolate!

AAAAAAAANNNNNND...

8) Whew!  Ok, so I have redesigned these Chocolate PB Pretzel Sandwiches.  You mix PB2, stevia, and soy milk to form a paste, sandwich that between pretzels, and smother it in melted chocolate.  MUCH healthier, and I can now make just the right amount for me! 

What's Up Wednesday #3

Hm... first time making almond cheese!  I made a lightened up version by Healthy Hipster (using lemon juice instead of lime, Italian seasoning in place of curry powder, and sweet potato), and put it on this pizza!  It was pretty good - obviously, not EXACTLY like cheese, but it had an excellent flavour.  I was highly pleased.

Made a single serving chocolate cake from CCK for my b-day!  It was alright, but I think I'm not a HUGE fan of baking in the microwave.  Things just don't turn out as well.  But I made her Reeses Pieces frosting (using sugar free syrup, and PB2), and that was super yum - I ended up just dipping my cake in it.  You have NO idea how long it's been since I had cake with frosting - it was such a treat!

Speaking of my birthday, lookie at what M got me.

I AM NOW THE PROUD OWNER OF A VITAMIX!

That's right... be jealous.  I can't wait to play with my new toy! Squee!!

And oatmeal continues to pour out of my kitchen.  Not literally.  But I did make bottomless oats again, this time Banana Bread flavoured (using maple syrup instead of molasses, and using 1/3 of a banana).  I have found that the oats are best simmered really low with the lid on the pot for about 1 1/2 hours - then they get nice and thick, and no liquid is gone - hence, more food ;) !

(lots of pictures!)

And, I made Chai Oatmeal with the bottomless oats - nixing the fennel, and adding maple syrup, using pre-ground spices, and Foodie Fiasco's low cal cookie butter

Kind-or Sort-of PB Chocolate Pudding

Mmmmm... smatterings of chocolate.

 And peanut butter.

Adapted from Oh She Glows and Chocolate Covered Katie

First up, spray a large ramkin with nonstick spray.  In a small bowl, mix 1/2 tbsp cocoa powder, 2 tbsp mashed banana, a small pinch of salt, 2 tbsp almond meal, and 2 tbsp shredded coconut.  Freeze for a few minutes.
Blend together 1/3 cup silken tofu, 2 tbsp PB2, 2-3 tbsp stevia, 1/2 tsp vanilla extract, and a few tbsp soy milk, to hold things together.  It should be pudding like.  Spread on top of the chocolate layer. 
Melt a handful of vegan chocolate chips, and spread over the tofu layer.  Freeze until solid, and top with cookie dough balls - just shape these into balls, and replace all oil with banana/applesauce.

Oatmeal Cookies!

More desserts are pouring out of my kitchen...
Just because I feel the need to say this.  I feel like I am spinning my wheels with this blog... is that true?  Does anyone really read it?  I've been going for a couple years now, and I feel like my work is just sitting out there.  This needs to change - I'm getting a new camera soon for better photos.  I need to join the blogging community!  Dang it!  I want to share these recipes with people.  This is not just for my own personal enjoyment... What does it take to make a blog popular?  I need to know.. I will learn, and I will grow!  Rawr!!!

Ok, sorry about that...
On to the food!

Chocolate Covered Katie's B-fast Chocolate Chip Cookies!  I made a few changes: added 1 tsp cinnamon, used 2 packets Stevia In The Raw, added 1 tsp baking powder, added pepitas, and used PB2 and a bit of soy milk for the peanutbutter.  They were fun to make, and clocked in at 18 calories per cookie for 23 cookies.  Not bad, eh?  Oh, well, yes, they tasted good too ;)

Sweets: Cookies, Pudding, and Pizzert!

Yum!  I have been doing a lot of sweet cooking/baking recently, as well as normal cooking.  I don't really have any recipes, but I'll just post a list of links.

First up, the Pizzert.  Can I say HOW AMMAZINNNGGGGGG this is?  It's FABULOUS.  Like, I think I will be having this for breakfast for the next few weeks.  Yeah.  It's good.  By Chocolate Covered Katie, the genius for sweets.  Each pizzert will come out to ~250 calories, toppings added in.  It's a lot of food for 250 calories ;)
So far I have made cinnamon + banana + chocolate chips ; cinnamon + banana + pepita;

Secondly, I made Chocolate Covered Katie's Cookie Dough Balls, which were gooood as well.  I followed the recipe to a t, only adding stevia and omiting the sprinkles (the only ones I saw had partially hydrogenated oils... boo hoo)

Lastly, I made HHL's Peanut Butter Banana Pudding.  Yes, it's tofu based.  Yes, it tastes awesome.  No, you can't taste the tofu.  At all.  Seriously.  I made a half batch, used PB2, sugar free maple syrup, and a splash of soy milk.  Blend it all together, and mmm mmmmm.  Yum, high protein puddin'!

Chai-Nana Milkshake & Chia Seed Pudding

So, this isn't much of a post.. no pictures either.  I make Chocolate Covered Katie's Chai-Nana Milkshake for dessert last night.  It was pretty good - better than I would have thought possible!
So, I'll just send you over there...
Just one thing I want to say about it: it's pretty strong, so drink slowly..

And on another note, I tried chia seed pudding for breakfast this morning.  It didn't taste all that great.  I mean, it was alright, but it had a sort of funny aftertaste.  So, I will continue to experiment... Alas, the breakfast challenge continues!

Low-Cal 15 Minute Coconut Macaroons

Me: =D
Thanks to Chocolate Covered Katie... The only thing I changed was to skimp on the coconut milk by
~2 tbsp, and micorwave for 3 minutes instead of 2.

These are like little bursts of coconut...

Low-Calorie Ice Cream

So, I found Chocolate Covered Katie's blog a few weeks ago, and have been polking around it ever since.  It's fun to look at the pretty desserts...
Last Saturday I tried making her Voluminous Ice Cream recipe, and it didn't turn out all that great - it was all crystalized.  Then, last night I made it again.  Weeee!  It worked... and the best part was, I got a whole cup of ice cream for 40 calories.  Not bad, right? ;)
Not to mention this takes about 7 minutes total to throw together.  Essentially, you mix together 1 cup soy milk - I used Blue Diamond Unsweetened Vanilla (don't use Silk almond milk, that's what I did the first time when it turned out bad) -, 1/4 tsp something extract - I used coconut because that's what I have but Katie calls for vanilla -, 1/16 tsp salt, and a sweetener.  The sweetener can be stevia, agave, sugar, whatever.  And then you can add in cocoa powder or whatever flavouring you want.  I also tossed in a bit of banana, just as an experiment.  After all that is mixed you freeze it, then blend it REALLY REALLY well.  I used an immersion blender, which worked fine; Katie used her VitaMix.  Either way, just blend until super smooth.  Refreeze for a few minutes, and then indulge in healthy ice cream.  Pile with toppings...

Sorry, no pictures.. my camera was out of batteries.  But Katie has some really nice ones. 

Yes.  THIS REALLY WORKS AND TASTES LIKE LEGIT ICE CREAM.  BELIEVE IT.  1 CUP ICE CREAM = 40 CALORIES.  It's probably less that $.50 per cup, as well.  :D

Update: Here's a picture..

Chocolate Covered Peanut Butter Pretzel Sandwiches

Yeah, yeah.  I know, these are a DESSERT... they aren't healthy at all.  I will be the first to admit that.  but one needs to eat dessert once a week... at least, I do ;).  I have a large bowl of vegan ice cream smothered in toppings, so sometimes it seems like I really have two desserts - ice cream, and vegan chocolates.  Anyhoo, I made these thingies last night and put a few on my ice cream.  And they are A-mazing.  A-mazing!   A nice combination of pretzel, chocolate, and peanut flavour - plus they're pretty sweet.

I apologize for adding another dessert to the giant realm of vegan desserts... But, seeing as this has been the first sweet thing I have made in years, and it was super yummy, I figured I might as well post it.

Just sayin', these take about 45 minutes - 1 hour of actual work, and then they dry for about 1 - 2 hours... they actually dried while I ate dinner, so I can't say to be precise.  Then I bagged them up and froze them for later.  And, although I made about 50 sandwiches, I wouldn't be surprised if they only last a few weeks - M has a weakness for that type of thing...

Adapted from 17 And Baking.

So, first you mix together 1 cup peanut butter (crunchy or creamy... I used crunchy because that's what we had, but all the recipes that I saw called for creamy... *shrugs*), a scant 2/3 cup powdered sugar, a scant 3/4 cup brown sugar, a smidgen of coconut extract (all the recipes I saw called for vanilla extract, but I don't have any so I was like "well, coconut works too"), and about 1 tbsp soy milk.  Then ball up about 1 - 2 tsp of this mixture and sandwich it between two pretzels.  The pretzels can be the traditional twists, or the checkerboard ones - I used the checkerboard, but all the recipes I saw used twists.  After you finish making the sandwiches, melt 1 - 1 1/2 cups vegan chocolate chips in the microwave - the key here is to go low and slow.  Note: most dark chocolate = vegan chocolate.  Just check the ingredients.  After the chocolate is melted, dunk the pretzels in, lay them on wax paper, and let them solidify. 

And then eat them... but sparingly, my friends.  Do not overindulge - these are NOT healthy by any means.