Tag: dessert

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Dairy-free, Gluten-free Chocolate Pumpkin Dessert Bars

OCTOBER! How the hell are ya?! I’ve missed you so! By this point, my husband is already wondering when I’m going to stop cooking with so much pumpkin. But after he tastes whatever I’m making, he quiets down and remembers how delicious pumpkin really is. I have no idea why I don’t cook with it more throughout the year, but I guess that’s what makes it so damn special.

Y’all know my kitchen is a no-baking zone when it comes to desserts so this is another easy frozen dessert that can be made pretty quickly with some no-fuss ingredients. Much of what I used I already had in my pantry or fridge. These little babies will satisfy your sweet tooth while offering a powerful nutrition punch.

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These bars are very PCOS-friendly! Here are some reasons why:

  • Low in added sugar: no huge spikes in blood sugar and better insulin sensitivity
  • High in dietary fiber and healthy fats: aids in satiety and weight management and reducing cravings and estrogen dominance
  • Loaded with antioxidants and important vitamins/minerals from the pumpkin and cocoa powder
    • Vitamin C: aids in improving progesterone levels (for women with low progesterone) in the luteal phase to improve chances of pregnancy
    • Vitamin A: supports the immune system to help fight inflammation
    • Flavanoids: reduces inflammation in the body to improve egg quality
    • Magnesium: relieves PMS symptoms, improves mood and insulin resistance
  • Good source of tryptophan: may aid in improved sleep quality

A common misunderstanding with PCOS is that we have to completely eliminate desserts or sweets because of the sugar or refined carbohydrate intake, but remember the key is enjoying desserts that are lower in added sugar AND offer nutritional benefit. As you can see, this sweet treat offers so many nutritional benefits! Not to mention, it’s so yummy! I hope you guys enjoy!

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Dairy-free, Gluten-free Chocolate Pumpkin Dessert Bars

Course Dessert
Keyword chocolate, healthy dessert, PCOS, PCOS friendly, pumpkin
Author Liz Bissell

Ingredients

Base

  • 1 cup walnuts
  • 5 dates, sliced
  • 2 tbsp cocoa powder

Filling

  • 2½ cup raw cashews, soaked overnight or for at least 2-4 hours
  • ½ can coconut milk
  • ¾ can coconut cream
  • 2 tbsp cocoa powder
  • 1 tbsp pumpkin pie spice
  • ¾ can 100% pumpkin puree
  • 3 tbsp maple syrup
  • 1-2 pinches coarse sea salt

Topping

  • Handful of dark chocolate chips, chopped

Instructions

  1. For the base, pulse the walnuts in a food processor until finely chopped.

  2. Add the cocoa powder and pulse until evenly combined. Next, add in the dates and pulse until dates are completely blended.

  3. Using a 9 by 9 freezer-friendly dish, spread the date mixture along the bottom of the pan and press firmly down covering the entire bottom of the pan. Freeze for at least 15 minutes.

  4. While the base is freezing, add the cashews, coconut milk, coconut cream, maple syrup, pumpkin puree, cocoa powder, pumpkin pie spice, and sea salt to a food processor or blender. Blend until smooth. Add additional salt as needed.

  5. Pour the filling over the frozen crust and sprinkle the chopped chocolate chips on top. Freeze for 2-3 hours.

  6. Remove from the freezer about 30 minutes prior to eating. Cut into squares and enjoy!

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Peach, Blueberry, & Lavender Crumble

Summer in Michigan is the best time of the year for fresh produce. The fresh blueberries, raspberries, sweet corn, tomatoes, peaches, and herbs! Oh the bountiful herbs! My garden is booming and so are the farmer’s markets. I’m a happy camper. Nothing…I mean NOTHING beats Michigan blueberries in the summer. The flavor is so sweet and tart that I find myself eating them by the handful. The flavor is a world different than blueberries from the grocery store in the winter. So I have been trying to use them as much as possible in my cooking.

Blueberries

Now I’m not a baker. Let me repeat myself. I loathe baking. You end up with a shit ton of dishes, the precision of measuring makes me crazy, it generally seems to take a lot of time. To all those who love and are good at baking, I applaud you. Truly, I WISH I enjoyed baking. Sometimes if I’m really wanting to impress my husband, I’ll bake a cookie skillet or pumpkin muffins in the fall. But considering we’ve been together for over four years now, these moments are less frequent (sorry honey!).  

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When I do make an attempt at baking, it’s usually a pretty easy recipe or some type of a deconstructed baking process that’s less difficult. Which leads me to this berry, peach, lavender crumble. It’s a baking recipe I created for all those in favor of making baking as easy as possible, in addition to anyone who’s as in love with local, fresh produce as I am. I’m always inclined in the summer to step out of my comfort zone with new herbs or flavors that inspire me. I’ve had wild lavender growing in the field of my backyard for quite some time now. I’ve awed at it for years from my back patio and that’s where its ended. I never really knew just what to do with it.

This year I’ve committed myself to harvesting it and using it in my cooking. Since I’ve begun this quest, I’ve found that if used in the right amount, lavender can add a wonderfully subtle floral hint to a recipe, whether that be sweet or savory and trust me, it can definitely be used in both types of flavor profiles.

Now let’s make one thing clear here before moving on. The lavender I have growing is wild lavender, therefore not treated with pesticides. If you want to use lavender in your cooking, you’ll need to grow it wild, find a local lavender farm, or order culinary lavender online. With that being said, this recipe is still delicious if you decide to omit the lavender.

Crumble-ingredients in a bowl

Some of the ingredients in this recipe can easily be substituted for other items that you may have in your pantry instead (i.e. regular sugar instead of coconut palm sugar or regular all-purpose flour instead of gluten-free all-purpose baking flour). I try to keep my ingredients as plant-based as possible, which is why I sometimes explore other types of sweeteners or flours. In addition, my husband is quite allergy-prone so I have to be careful with my ingredients. However, this is not to say that using regular all-purpose flour or sugar are any more/less healthy than the ingredients I use (that’s a conversation for another day ;).

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Here is what I do know about this recipe, it’s very doable for beginners in the kitchen (or fellow non-bakers like myself). Plus, it provides some serious health benefits. The blueberries and peaches pack an antioxidant-punch like no other and provide a great source of potassium, beta-carotene, vitamin C, and fiber. Not to mention, they’re in-season and just plain delicious.

I used a 9-inch cast iron skillet, but you could also use individual muffin tins or soufflé ramekins. The sweetness of this dessert will remind you of why you love everything Michigan summer but the spice blend will leave you craving fall. It’s a perfect end of August, almost September recipe.

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Serve warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream (I used So Delicious coconut milk vanilla bean) and extra lavender for garnish. This crumble also reheats nicely for a mid-afternoon snack 😉

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Peach, Blueberry & Lavender Crumble

Course Dessert
Prep Time 25 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 25 minutes
Author NoshinDietitian

Ingredients

Peach-Berry Mixture

  • 3 peaches, cubed
  • 2 cups blueberries
  • 1 tbsp fresh lavender
  • 1/4 cup all-purpose gluten-free baking powder
  • 2 tbsp organic coconut palm sugar
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/8 tsp cloves
  • 1/8 tsp cardamom
  • 1 tbsp organic agave nectar

Crumble

  • 3/4 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
  • 1/4 cup pecans, roughly chopped
  • 1/8 tsp sea salt
  • 2 tbsp all-purpose gluten-free baking powder
  • 1 1/2 tsp organic agave nectar
  • 1 tbsp refined coconut oil, melted

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray the cast iron with cooking spray. Cube the peaches and set aside.

  2. Add the flour, sugar, cinnamon, cloves, and cardamom to a medium mixing bowl and stir to evenly combine. Add the blueberries, peaches, and agave nectar to the bowl. Stir until all the fruit is coated. Spread the fruit mixture evenly across the bottom of the cast iron.

  3. In a separate smaller bowl, combine the oats, pecans, salt, flour, agave nectar, and coconut oil. Spread the crumble over top of the fruit mixture.

  4. Bake for 55 minutes to an hour until the crumble is golden brown. Serve with ice cream.

Recipe Notes

  • For the coconut palm sugar, I used Wholesome organic palm sugar.
  • For the flour, I used Bob's Red Mill gluten-free all-purpose baking flour.

Enjoy!

-EAB

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8-Ingredient Chocolate Nice Cream Bars

The first (almost) 80 degree day has finally hit west Michigan (79 degrees…close enough) and I couldn’t be happier! I always go through this really funny stage between winter and summer where I stare at my closet and have no idea what to wear. It’s like my brain has been trained for so long to wear warm, heavy clothes and it’s not quite sure what to do. As northerners, I think we hit a point in the spring where we still don’t trust mother nature when it comes to dressing ourselves. I stare at my short sleeve shirts or dresses in my closet and think “what if it starts snowing or a gusty downpour hits?! Sweater it is”. It takes a few days of breaking into a full sweat at work before I finally start to trust that Michigan spring is here.

Now that I have dusted off my shorts and started soaking up some rays, I’m already thinking about cold desserts. I have been dabbling with the idea of trying to make some “nice” cream or “healthier” ice cream. Now let’s not jump the gun here, I still love me the good ol’ regular ice cream, but you know warmer weather is here, which means bathing suit weather y’all…hint, hint it’s time to lose what I call my winter coat.

My winter coat is those extra 2-5 lbs that help keep my organs warm in the winter LOL. Anyone from the northern Midwest should be able to relate to this. I find it to be evolutionary. It’s seems only normal to gain a few pounds in the winter considering I move less outside and enjoy more comfort-based dishes to keep me warm in the winter.

But I’m a firm believer that all foods fit so that doesn’t mean it’s time to cut every food I enjoy out of my diet just to lose this winter coat. However, there are ways to cut calories while still enjoying the beautiful warm weather. These nice creams are a great way to do so! As much as the flavors of Halo top ice cream and other low-fat ice creams are delicious, the artificial sweeteners kill my stomach.

These nice cream bars have whole food ingredients and can be tailored to your specific dietary needs. If you’re dairy-free, sub the chocolate chips for Enjoy Life dairy-free chocolate chips. If you’re gluten-free, sub the whole wheat flour with almond or another gluten-free flour.

And you know what the really NICE thing is about these bars? They take so little time to make and only require 8 ingredients. As far as prep time goes, you can’t really beat about 15 minutes. I always have frozen bananas on hand for smoothies, oatmeal, and now nice cream bars 🙂

Start by making your crust. You want to combine the flour, agave nectar, and coconut oil until they are barely combined. Basically, they need to be able to stick together if you clench your fist and push down into the flour mixture.

Next, take a loaf tin, one rectangular pan, or individual muffin tins would work well too. Pour the crust evenly into the loaf tin and push down until both of the bottom of the tin is crusted. Place in the freezer for 5 minutes.

While the crust is chilling, blend your bananas in a food processor until nice and creamy (about 1-2 minutes). Then add your go-to flavors! I’m a chocolate-lover so that’s where I geared towards, but you can mix and match whatever flavors sound good to you. Once you’ve got your ingredients lightly pulsed until evenly combined, fold in the chopped chocolate chips (save some for topping). Pour the chocolate mixture into your tin and evenly spread with a spatula. Top with the chopped chocolate chips and freeze for about 2 hours.

Once fully frozen, cut into 8-10 pieces and enjoy immediately…preferably on a sunny day on a beach somewhere in northern Michigan 🙂

-EAB

 

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8-ingredient Chocolate Nice Cream Bars

Course Dessert

Ingredients

The Crust

  • 3/4 cup whole wheat flour
  • 3 Tbsp agave nectar (can sub with honey)
  • 3 Tbsp refined coconut oil, melted

The Filling

  • 2 bananas, frozen
  • 2 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1/2-1 tsp pure maple syrup
  • 2 Tbsp coconut milk, unsweetened
  • 1/4 cup dark chocolate chips, chopped

Instructions

  1. Start by preparing the crust. In a medium mixing bowl, combine the flour, agave nectar, and coconut oil using a plastic spatula. The flour mixture should be slightly crumbly, but stick together if you push your knuckles down into the mixture.

  2. Using a loaf tin, spread the crust evenly along the bottom of the tin and press the crust firmly down so there are no holes between your crust. Place in the freezer for 5-10 minutes.

  3. While the crust is chilling, prepare the filling using a food processor or blender. Start by blending the bananas until they are nice and creamy, about 1-2 minutes depending on the strength of your food processor. 

  4. Once the bananas are creamy and well-blended, add the cocoa powder, maple syrup, and coconut milk. Pulse until just combined. Fold in about half of the chopped dark chocolate chips.

  5. Pour the filling over the crust and spread evenly. Top with the rest of the chopped dark chocolate chips. 

  6. Freeze for about 2 hours, cut into squares, and enjoy immediately. Store in the freezer.