Archives for lactose free

Nice Cream Parfait and Bowls

One of my favorite ways to stay cool in the hot Arizona summer, is having a freshly made bowl of nice cream after a run. No, that’s not a type-o, I do mean “N”ice cream. One of the many great qualities about these, is they are good any time of day — at least in my opinion. They also don’t contain any dairy and since frozen bananas are used as the base, you can flavor them with just about anything you want! The “hardest” part is just making sure you have a gallon freezer bag, full of chopped up bananas. 1″ chunks will do.

Below are some of my recent favorites:

Craving a bowl of chocolate ice cream? No problem.

  • 6-8; 1″ frozen banana chunks
  • 1-2 TBSP favorite chocolate protein powder (I used Shakeology Chocolate Vegan)
  • splash or two of nut milk
  • 1 TBSP almond butter

Blend together in a blender on low speed, using a tamper to help mix it together. (A food processor will work too.) It should only take about 30 seconds. Don’t over process, it gets gummy. Place in serving bowl(s) and top with your favorite crunchy or chewy delights!

Need a light and fruity cool down after a hot run? Got you covered.

Cherry Walnut Nice Cream

  • 6-8; 1″ frozen banana chunks
  • 1/3 c. frozen organic cherries
  • 1/3 c. homemade walnut milk (or other nut milk, or water works too!)

Blend together in a blender on low speed, using a tamper to help mix it together. (A food processor will work too.) It should only take about 30 seconds. Don’t over process, it gets gummy. Stir in a small bunch of chopped walnuts and cacao nibs with a  wooden or plastic spoon, while it’s still in the blender — but off the power source. Once it’s well combined, dump into a serving bowl(s). Top with more nuts and frozen cherries. Takes 5 minutes!

Feelin’ fancy? Healthy parfait!

Pink and Green Power Parfait

This one’s a little more fancy, and requires a bit more time, but still quick to make!

Green Layer

  • 6-8; 1″ frozen banana chunks
  • 1/3 c. frozen coconut meat (optional)
  • 1 serving green food (I used 1 package of VIVARISE Lean Green)
  • 2-4 drops liquid Stevia (optional for added sweetness)

Blend together in a blender on low speed, using a tamper to help mix it together. (A food processor will work too.) It should only take about 30 seconds. Don’t over process, it gets gummy. Scoop mixture out into a bowl and set aside while you prepare the other layer.

Pink Layer

  • 5-7; 1″ frozen banana chunks
  • 1/3 c. frozen coconut meat (optional)
  • 1 package raw, organic Pitaya Plus (dragon fruit)

Just like the first layer, blend together in a blender on low speed, using a tamper to help mix it together. (A food processor will work too.) It should only take about 30 seconds. Don’t over process, it gets gummy. 🙂

Create your parfait by layering one filling at a time into your serving glass. I used a single 18 oz. glass and had a little left over of each flavor. So you could split it into two smaller glasses, or just do what I did and big out on the one! Top with whatever sounds good to you! I used some chopped almonds and a pitted date.

I want to try a blueberry one next or maybe even one with lemon and raspberry!

Are you a fan of nice cream? What is your favorite flavor combo or topping?

Carrot Pineapple Cupcake

This weekend I wanted to make a carrot cake, and SWORE I had created a recipe based on my Carrot Pineapple Travelcakes, only lighter and sweeter – perfect to be topped with a vegan cream cheese frosting! Only when I searched the blog (yes, I use my own blog as my personal rolodex of favorite recipes), I couldn’t find it anywhere! Turned out, it was on the old server, before I changed my blog from WordPress.com to WordPress.org hosting. Somewhere in the transition, it got lost! Thankfully, it was easy to copy it over here, so you (and I) can reference it again.

These turned out great and didn’t last long at all at our July 3rd party 🙂 I still didn’t make the cake, but hopefully I can figure out a good vegan cream cheese recipe soon.

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Preheat oven to 350°

Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl:
2 c. spelt flour
1 c. oat flour
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tea. sea salt

Combine in a liquid measuring cup (or bowl):
3/4 c. almond milk
3/4-1/2 c. maple syrup, depending on how sweet you like it
2 tbsp. grapeseed oil
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 flax egg (1 tbsp ground flaxmeal + 3 tbsp water; combine and set aside for 5-10 minutes)

Mix together the dry and liquid ingredients being careful not to over-mix, since spelt flour is delicate (which means it’s easier to digest as well).

Carefully fold the remaining ingredients into the mixture:
2 c. shredded carrots
1/2 c finely chopped walnuts
1/2 c. coconut flakes
1/3 c. dried pineapple

Scoop batter into muffin cups lined with paper, and sprayed with a little bit of cooking spray. This will help the cupcake separate from the paper better and not leave any deliciousness behind. 😉 Bake for 14-17 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.