Category: Recipe

We’re heading into summer and if this spring is any indication of how warm it’s going to be, frozen treats are going to be the thing this year.  And it doesn’t have to be fattening or all about ice cream either.

I actually blame Pinterest for this recipe.  That’s how I came across it.  The page I linked to on there credits Martha Stewart with the original recipe. so I guess we’ll give credit there.

The fun thing about these popsicles is that you can mix and match juice, fruits, etc. to make it to your taste and what you like.  The recipe I am sharing is the combination I used.  Feel free to throw in watermelon or mango or papaya or blueberry or raspberry or whatever your fruit-loving heart desires.  I also used Trop50 Red Orange Juice as opposed to the original recipe’s white grape juice.  The white grape juice makes a very clear mold whereas the Trop50 gave everything a red tint.  But it all worked out.

Freeze up some and give these a try!

Recipe: Fruit Salad Ice Pops

Servings: 8
Time: Prep 15 minutes; Freeze 6 hours

Ingredients:

The motto that I live by is that if it has strawberries…it wins.  I mean, strawberries are the perfect fruit and they aren’t in season too long.  So, while they are in season…it’s best to utilize them as best you can.  Always remember, though, strawberries are one of the dirty dozen and should always be bought organic.

I ran across this recipe for strawberry risotto (yes…you read that right…strawberry risotto) at Whole Foods.  I knew immediately that I needed to make it.  But first…strawberries had to come in season.  They finally are and I am so glad I tested this recipe out.  It’s sweet, berry and citrus goodness.  And the way I make it (yes…I altered the recipe)…low calorie too!

With that in mind, give this sweet risotto a try.  I loved it.

Recipe: Sweet Vegan Strawberry Risotto

Servings: 8
Time: Prep 10 minutes; Cook 40 minutes

Ingredients:

4-1/2 cups unsweetened almond milk
1/2 cup zero calorie baking sweetener (I used Truvia)
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 tablespoons butter (I used Earth Balance)
1 cup Arborio Rice
Zest and juice of 1 orange
1 cup canned light coconut milk (I used Native Forest Organic Light Coconut Milk)
1 quart strawberries (3 sliced, remaining chopped)

Directions:

Heat milk, sugar and vanilla until just simmering in a medium pot over medium heat.  Reduce heat to low, cover and keep hot.

Melt butter in a medium pot over medium heat.

Add rice and cook, stirring often, until fragrant and toasted, about 2 minutes.

Add orange zest and juice and cook, stirring constantly, until absorbed, 1 to 2 minutes.

Add about 1 cup of the milk mixture and continue to simmer, vigorously stirring often, until almost absorbed, about 3 to 5 minutes more.

Repeat process until all of the milk mixture has been incorporated and rice is thick and creamy, about 30 minutes.

Remove pot from the heat and stir in coconut milk; set aside for 5 minutes.

Spoon chopped strawberries into the bottom of small bowls, top with risotto, garnish with sliced strawberries and serve.

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I wasn’t sure what I was going to think of this recipe, but it should have been no surprise that I loved it.  One sweet bite after the next.  The original recipe calls for 2% milk and regular coconut milk, plus regular sugar and butter.  But I wanted to keep it dairy-free so I made my own substitutions.  This also cut the calorie count down by half without compromising the flavor.  Go ahead…you know you want to give this a shot.  It’s fantastic hot, but it can be served cold too.

It’s strawberry season, my friends.  And that makes me one very happy girl.  Strawberries are my favorite fruit…ever.  So, when I found a bunch of organic strawberries at the grocery store on Sunday, I bought them up.  And then…I just needed a reason to use them.

Well, as breakfast is the most important meal of the day, I opted for a little breakfast experiment.  What emerged were phenomenally fruity pancakes that are low in calories and packed with flavor.  Seriously.  I want to keep making these for life.

Recipe: Gluten-Free Vegan Blood Orange Strawberry Pancakes

Servings: 4
Time: Prep 10 minutes; Bake 15 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 cup gluten-free flour (I used Hodgson Mill Multi-Purpose Baking Mix)
• 1 tbsp sugar (I used Truvia)
• 1-1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 cup + 1 tbsp unsweetened apple sauce
• 3/4 cups Trop50 Red Orange Juice
• 1/2 cup strawberries, chopped

Directions:

Preheat griddle to 350°F.

In a bowl, mix together baking mix, sugar, baking powder and salt.  Add the unsweetened applesauce and orange juice.  Mix until blended.  Fold in the strawberries.

Place 1/4 cup of batter for each pancake on the griddle and cook on one side until small bubbles form on the edges.  Turn over and cook until golden brown.

Top however you like.  I garnished mine with a sprinkle of powdered sugar, some sliced strawberries, and warm maple syurp.

~*~*~

These pancakes cooked up light and fluffy.  And, as an added bonus, had a great fruity flavor.  The combination of the applesauce, the orange juice, and the strawberries all came together and created a sweet, delicious, fruity breakfast pancake.  I’m currently eating leftovers I reheated now.  So delicious.

Oh…and two of these will only set you back 132 calories.  And with only 1 gram of fat…indulge.  Trust me.

These are forever going to be made in my home!

So…I’m a sucker for things with apple in them.  Honestly.  It is a very versatile fruit.  So, while pondering a new variety of scones to create for my early-morning gym days, I came up with the idea to take my previous Gluten-Free Apple Cider Scone recipe and step it up a notch by adding chunks of Fuji apple and some candied walnuts.  And why not?  Had I used agave (which I have in my pantry) instead of honey…these would be completely vegan too.  Feel free to substitute!

Recipe: Gluten-Free Apple Cider Scones with Chunks of Apple and Candied Walnuts

Servings: 12
Time: Prep 10 minutes; Bake 15 minutes

Ingredients:

• 2-1/4 cup Pamela’s Products Baking & Pancake Mix
• 1/3 cup sugar (I used Truvia)
• 1-1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tbsp cinnamon
• 1/4 cup candied walnuts (see directions below on how to make your own)
• 1 Fuji apple, peeled and chopped
• 1 tbsp honey
• 1/4 cup + 1 tablespoon unsweetened apple sauce
• 2/3 cup apple cider

Directions:

If making your own candied walnuts, preheat the oven to 325°F.

Roughly chop 1/4 cup of walnuts.  Melt down 1 teaspoon margarine and add walnuts.  Season with ground cinnamon and nutmeg to taste.  Add 1 tablespoon honey (or maple syrup).  Mix together until well coated.

Place nuts on a stick-free baking sheet (I recommend parchment paper) and bake for about 15 minutes or until the nuts start to brown.

Cool for 10 minutes, or until dry.

For the scones, turn the oven up to 375°F.

Mix the dry ingredients together.

Add the applesauce, chunks of apple, candied walnuts, honey and apple cider.  Mix together with a fork.  Dough will be thick.

Drop large, tall dollops of dough (scones will spread when baking) onto lightly greased baking sheet.

Top each with a drizzle of honey and a sprinkling of cinnamon and sugar.

Bake for 15-17 minutes.

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What emerged from the oven were soft, delicious scones that smelled like fresh apple pie.  Even better, when I reheated these at the office, they reheated to perfection in the microwave.  And the taste…just like homemade apple pie (minus the crust).  They are a softer scone (due to the use of apple sauce), but they are the perfect hit of sweetness.  And who doesn’t like a breakfast that tastes like apple pie, right?

For just messing around with ingredients in the kitchen…these came out fantastic.  The addition of the real apple chunks and the candied walnuts just took my original recipe to the next level.  And instead of eggs, the use of unsweetened apple sauce just added to that apple flavor that I love.

Give these a try…and see what you think.

I love having a waffle maker.  Granted…it can be quite time consuming to make waffles from scratch, but the reward is fantastic waffles that aren’t packed with preservatives or “fresh” from a box in a freezer.  Recipes can be created or tweaked to your liking.

The other day, I was trying to come up with something to make that wouldn’t require the use of eggs.  After all…I only had one left and most of my waffle recipes involve at least two eggs.  I also had the remnants of a bag of frozen blueberries in my freezer that I was tired of moving around, so I figured blueberry was the way to go.

After a bit of hunting online, I came across a recipe on Fat Free Vegan Kitchen for Fat Free Vanilla or Blueberry Waffles.  I figured…why not incorporate both?  So, that’s what I did.

Recipe: Gluten-Free (and Fat Free) Vegan Vanilla Blueberry Waffles

Servings: 4-6
Time: Prep 20 minutes; Cook 20 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1-1/4 cups gluten-free flour (I used Bob’s Red Mill Gluten-Free Multi-Purpose Flour)
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon cornstarch
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1-1/3 cups almond milk (I used Almond Breeze Unsweetened Original)
• 1 tablespoon cider vinegar
• 2 tablespoons agave nectar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup blueberries

Directions:

Combine the dry ingredients in a medium-sized bowl.

Combine the soy milk, cider vinegar, and agave in a smaller bowl.  Add the vanilla extract.

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and stir just until all flour is moistened.  Fold in blueberries.

Set batter aside while you heat your waffle iron.

If necessary, spray your waffle iron with canola oil and follow your iron’s instructions for making waffles, cooking until golden brown.

Top with your favorite toppings and enjoy!

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The thing to remember about fat free waffles is that they will cook up to be softer than traditional waffles.  I simply popped mine into the toaster and they crisped right up.

This recipe yielded really good waffles.  They tasted a bit sweet at first, but the more I ate, the more I liked them.  And really…blueberries are the ultimate breakfast fruit.  They are fantastic not only in waffles, but muffins, scones, pancakes, and even cereal.  And with all the health benefits of blueberries, why not feast on them any way you can come up with?

And the good news?  My waffle maker is a waffle stick maker, which means…2 waffles in a serving.  One serving of this recipe meant only 183 calories.  Delicious and it won’t ruin your meal plan for the rest of the day.

It’s a mouthful.  I know.

But trust me…this little experiment this morning turned out to be a delicious mouthful.

Now, I admit…I’m not big on French toast.  I don’t know what it is.  I think growing up I had one too many still-soggy slices that were rushed to the table in an attempt to get us fed and then out the door to catch the bus to school.

But I’m getting ready to head out on vacation so I’m trying to use up things that I have open in my fridge…and as I’ve been using pumpkin recently in a lot of recipes (instead of eggs/oil/butter), I had some pumpkin to use up.  So…this is the recipe I created on a whim this morning.

Recipe: Gluten-Free Cinnamon Raisin Pumpkin Pecan French Toast

Servings: 2
Time: Prep 5 minutes; Cook 8 minutes

Ingredients:

• 4 slices of gluten-free cinnamon raisin bread (I used Udi’s Gluten-Free Cinnamon Raisin)
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup pure pumpkin (I used Libby’s)
• 1 teaspoon gluten-free vanilla
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• Dash of ground nutmeg
• 2 tablespoons milk (I used unsweetened almond milk)
• 2 teaspoon brown sugar (optional…for sweetness)
• Chopped pecans

Directions:

In a bowl, mix together the eggs, pumpkin, milk, cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla.  Add the brown sugar, if using.  Mix well.

Preheat a pan (for about 3-5 minutes).  Spray it with gluten-free non-stick spray or olive oil over medium-high heat.

Dip each slice of bread into the egg mixture and place into the pan to cook until golden brown on one side (about 2-3 minutes).  Turn the slices over and cook until golden brown on the other side (another 2-3 minutes).

Remove and place two slices on each plate, garnish with chopped pecans.

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I added a little pad of butter and some maple syrup to these this morning and they were heavenly.  I absolutely loved the variety of flavors, from the sweetness of the syrup and the raisins to the spice of the cinnamon and nutmeg in the pumpkin.  And that pumpkin flavor was there, but wasn’t overpowering.  Every flavor came out and took the spotlight.  It was a culinary experiment totally worthy of a Top Chef Quickfire Challenge.

Or…at least I’d like to think so.  But…that can be left to you as well.  Go ahead…give this a try.  I promise, it’s a filling, low-calorie breakfast treat.

I’m at it again in the kitchen.

I love an easy, and filling breakfast treat in the morning, especially after hitting up the gym and heading into the office.  Portable and easy to reheat are key.

So, scones are usually my go-to option for this.  And this recipe…I totally invented this afternoon from items I had in my pantry and fridge, crossed my fingers, and hoped for the best.

Thankfully…it all worked out to a delicious end.

Recipe: Gluten-Free Rocky Road Scones

Servings: 12
Time: 20-25 minutes

Ingredients:

• 2 cups Pamela’s Products Gluten-Free Baking & Pancake Mix
• 1/4 cup cocoa
• 1/3 cup sugar (I used Truvia)
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 cup white chocolate chips (I used Ghirardelli)*
• 1/4 cup mini chocolate chips (I used Nestle)
• 1/4 cup chopped almonds
• 5 tbsp pure pumpkin (I used Libby’s)
• 2/3 cup milk (I use unsweetened almond milk)
• Marshmallow Fluff

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375°F.

Mix the dry ingredients together.

Add in the pumpkin and the milk.  Mix together with a fork.  Dough will be thick.

Drop large, tall dollops of dough (scones will spread when baking) onto lightly greased baking sheet.

With a knife, remove the top of each scoop and place 1 tsp of Marshmallow Fluff into the scone.  Recover with the dough.

Some fluff will be visible.

Bake for 15-17 minutes.

~*~*~

I lightened up this recipe by dropping the usual butter and egg combination and using pumpkin instead to bake with.  It creates a great texture.  As these cook in the oven, the marshmallow fluff will bubble out and create a great mashmallow-y look to the top, which toasts a little as they bake.  One bite…and I was hooked.  These were soft, decadent, and had a great rocky road texture and flavor with the different chocolates, the almonds, and the fluff.  Perfection in scone form.

Go ahead…try them.  You know you want to!