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How To Make Dairy-free Ice Cream!

Did you notice the exclamation point in the title? I need you to know how excited I am about this. !! I’ll confess right here that ice cream is probably my favorite food. That I don’t eat. Ice cream doesn’t agree with me, if I can get personal with you. But I think this is definitely for the best because it’s just not good for you. Pasteurized cow dairy + sugar + ice cold = digestive nightmare. But just because I can’t eat ice cream doesn’t mean I don’t dream about it. Yes, of course there are alternative “ice creams” made from soy or coconut. But soy milk is something I avoid (way too processed and hard to digest) and most of the coconut frozen desserts taste like coconut, which I like, but not every time mixed with every flavor. Just an FYI, you can take two cans of full-fat coconut milk, mix it with sweetener to taste plus a drop of vanilla extract and pour it into your ice cream maker and get coconut ice cream. That’s the recipe right there!

But recently I saw a cashew-based ice cream at Whole Foods and a light bulb went off. Of course! Why didn’t I think of that? I use raw cashews all the time in my classes to make non-dairy substitutions for my DF friends. When you soak raw cashews and then blend them with a little water, you have the beginnings of lots of dairy-free possibilities. I even made a cheesecake with blended raw cashews that was to die for. I need to post that one day. What’s great is that raw cashews are pretty bland tasting, unlike coconut which definitely has a pronounced flavor, even when mixed with other stuff. Also, soaked, raw cashews are loaded with protein and much more digestible than pasteurized heavy cream and milk. !!

I wasn’t sure if you all would be interested in knowing how to make dairy-free ice cream since I can’t assume everyone has an ice cream maker. But after an unscientific poll on Facebook, it seemed like enough of you wanted to know. I made three different cashew-based ice creams in the last month and I thought they were all great. My kids had NO IDEA they were made from cashews. And to take it one step further (better), I sweetened two of the ice creams with dates. Dates! This is an ice cream that is cashews blended with dates. Are you freaking out right now? You should beeeeeeee!

The three flavors I made were Buttered Pecan (ok, technically not dairy-free because I used butter on the pecans, but you can use Earth Balance), Chocolate Peanut Butter, and Mint Chip. I loved them all, but let me mention that although these are more digestible and arguably more healthful than regular ice cream, I wouldn’t say they’re low-fat or low-calorie. And I’m sorry if you’re nut-free or cashew-intolerant because that’s the only way to go here. I am posting the recipes for Buttered Pecan and Mint Chip and as soon as I find the scrap paper with my notes for the chocolate version I will revise this post and let you know!

I’m just sorry that we may only have another month of warm weather and therefore not much time left for ice cream. Make the most of what’s left of summer, friends. Hope you enjoy this as much as we did!

Cashew Ice Cream

Pamela

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Ingredients

Salted Butter Pecan:
2 cups pecans
2 Tablespoons unsalted butter or use Earth's Balance to make vegan
½ teaspoon sea salt plus 1 teaspoon for pecans
4 cups raw cashews soaked for at least three hours or overnight and
drained
2 cups water
1 cup Grade A maple syrup (or agave but I’m not a fan since it’s very
processed and high in fructose)
4 vanilla beans split and scraped or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Mint Chip:
4 cups raw cashews soaked for at least three hours or overnight and drained
3 cups water
20 pitted dates
2 Tablespoons pure peppermint extract you may want to start out with 1 Tablespoon and taste the mixture before adding the second tablespoon in case your mint extract is stronger than mine.
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 cup mini chocolate chips or more to taste

Instructions

Salted Butter Pecan:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Melt the butter in a small saucepan and add the pecans, tossing to coat. Spread buttered pecans on baking sheet and sprinkle with 1 teaspoon salt. Bake for 6-8 minutes until toasted, but not burned. Set aside to cool.
Place cashews, water, maple syrup, vanilla and ½ teaspoon salt in a high-powered blender or food processor and process until very smooth.
Pour cashew mixture into ice cream maker and follow manufacturer's instructions. I use a Cuisinart ice cream maker.
Once the pecans are cooled, place them in a food processor and pulse to make small chunks (about the size of a chocolate chip, or smaller) or chop coarsely on a cutting board.
minutes before ice cream is finished, pour in the pecans.
Store in freezer in airtight container.
Mint Chip:
Place cashews, water, dates, salt and mint extract in a high-powered blender or food processor and process until very smooth.
Pour cashew mixture into ice cream maker and follow manufacturer's instructions.
minutes before ice cream is finished, add the chocolate chips.
Store in freezer in airtight container.

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Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Oatmeal Smoothie Recipe

Most of the time we just call this the Chocolate Peanut Butter Smoothie. Mr. Picky says it’s his new favorite and he is usually the one to make it. You should see how many bananas I have to buy to keep up with the acai bowls, banana “ice cream” and the new favorite CPBBO Smoothie. Most cashiers at the grocery store either look at me funny or can’t resist asking me what I am going to do with 6 bunches of bananas.

I was going to wait a while before I posted another banana recipe, but Mr. Picky asked if I would put up this smoothie so his friends’ moms could have it, too. Cute. Smoothies and acai bowls are his favorite after-school snack. I taught him how to safely work the blender and the Vitamix and as long as I’m in close proximity, he’s welcome to give it a go. As opposed to his teenage sisters, who think making a smoothie is too much work. Yawn. I told my daughter who is a junior in high school that she needs to change her attitude that spending 5 minutes to make a snack is hard labor. What is she going to do when she’s (we hope) living away from home in college? And then I said those awful words that made me sound like my parents. C’mon, all together now, “when I was your age…” Yeah, anything that comes after that is going to get the big old eye roll. But really, wouldn’t you have DIED to have a Vitamix when you were a teenager?? Or frozen acai puree?? Or an iPad which pulled up thousands of recipes AND videos? Can we just talk about smart phones for a second? What about the fact that I went to college with a typewriter. A typewriter.

Yep, and that’s why it’s usually just Mr. Picky and myself in the kitchen making smoothies and acai bowls. Which is fine, because I’m soooooo annoying. OMG.

What’s cool about smoothies is that you really don’t need a recipe. We completely eyeball it every time. And Mr. Picky has no idea that I am so on to him that he uses chocolate syrup instead of cacao powder in this smoothie when he thinks I’m not looking. I’m annoying and flexible at the same time. I really don’t care if he squirts a little chocolate syrup in his smoothie if it’s for an after school snack, although we all know that the same antioxidants in raw chocolate don’t apply to Hershey bars or chocolate syrup. Just saying.

But if you did want this for breakfast, I think it’s a perfectly good way to start the day, provided that it’s not the middle of winter. I have a thing about not giving the kids or me really cold stuff first thing in the morning, especially if the weather is cold. It’s just too hard on the digestive system and kids have weaker digestion than adults. But back to nutrients, there’s great protein, healthy fats and complex carbohydrates in this smoothie so you could use this as a meal replacement. Feel free to adjust the flavors to your liking or add protein powder or spinach or ground flax seeds. This is just a guideline. Normally, Mr. Picky and I taste whatever is in the blender and then add a little extra peanut butter or sweetener or chocolate.

Also awesome if you like to plan ahead, make this smoothie the night before and you’ll be sitting pretty come morning!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Oatmeal Smoothie

Pamela

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Ingredients

2 ripe bananas peeled, cut into large chunks and frozen (click here for how to freeze fruit)
½ cup almond milk or milk of choice*
3 Tablespoons creamy natural peanut butter (or raw almond butter for a more neutral flavor)
¼ cup old fashioned rolled oats use oats labeled “gluten-free” for a gluten-free smoothie
2 Tablespoons raw cacao powder or unsweetened cocoa powder or chocolate syrup
Sweetener: add your preferred sweetener to taste such as honey, dates or coconut palm sugar. With unsweetened almond milk and natural cacao powder, 3 pitted dates seems to be perfect for us.
1/2 cup - 1 cup ice depending on how icy you want it

Instructions

Add all ingredients to a blender with the ice on top. Blend until very smooth. Smoothie may be refrigerated overnight or frozen.

Notes

*If you use sweetened almond milk, you may not need additional sweetener.

If it's not too obvious, omit the chocolate for a Peanut Butter and Banana Smoothie. Omit the peanut butter or substitute raw almond butter for a Chocolate Banana Smoothie. Omit the banana for a Chocolate Peanut Butter Smoothie.

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almond milk banana dates peanut butter raw cacao

Chocolate Banana Almond Flour Muffins with Chia Seeds Recipe (Gluten-free & Passover Friendly)

There’s a new (but not really new) diet in town which everyone is talking about called the Paleolithic Diet or Paleo, for short. Sometimes it’s referred to as the Caveman or Hunter-Gatherer Diet and it focuses on the foods humans ate pre-industrial agriculture. The idea is that our bodies recognize certain foods and haven’t evolved to recognize other newer foods so we should stick to what was eaten during the Paleolithic time to be healthy and fit. The diet allows lean grass-fed and pastured meats, eggs, nuts and seeds, fruits and vegetables, coconut, avocado and healthy fats. Easy, right? But the diet does not allow anything processed or refined (like sugar, flour, packaged food), or any grains (wheat, rice, barley, etc.), legumes (beans, lentils), dairy, potatoes or processed oils. I am not encouraging or discouraging this diet, which I think has its pros and cons, but merely giving a quick explanation since I’ve received a few questions about it recently.

As I have noticed more and more people limiting gluten and grains, I have also noticed the increased popularity and use of almond flour, which is finely milled blanched almonds. Almonds, like all nuts and seeds, are gluten-free, low in carbohydrates and high in protein. Whereas nuts and seeds, generally speaking, can be slightly acid-forming, almonds are alkalizing.

A few years ago I found Elana Amsterdam’s great gluten-free website, www.elanaspantry.com, which I think started the almond flour revolution. Elana has since turned paleo, and all her newer recipes follow those guidelines. It’s really because of her website that I was inspired to experiment with almond flour and although I have had mixed results, overall I think it’s awesome once I figured out how to work with it. I think it’s great to add some variety to our diet and I love getting some extra protein into Mr. Picky. Almond flour also comes in handy around Passover, 8 days of no grains or legumes, except Matzoh which can start to get a tad boring after a few days.

I had a really delicious Chocolate Banana Chia Seed muffin at Le Pain Quotidian last year or the year before and I was intent on duplicating it. The muffin was moist with the perfect amount of sweetness and I loved the crunch from the chia seeds. They were kind enough to tell me the ingredients (although not the exact recipe) and I made a tasty version at home with whole wheat pastry flour and maple syrup. The kids thought they were great! When I tried using almond flour in place of the wheat flour, we all went crazy for them. The almond flour version of the muffin was the best — super moist, chocolaty and a little denser, but in a good way. Now when I make these muffins, I always use almond flour!

Before you start substituting almond flour one-for-one for wheat flour, stop right there. It isn’t a perfect substitution. Almond flour has no gluten, but does contain way more fat than wheat flour so there are a few adjustments to be made. I would stop by Elana’s Pantry for a quick lesson on how almond flour works. I also have found that specifically labeled “almond flour” is better than “almond meal” (like Bob’s Red Mill.) Per Elana, I started buying almond flour from Honeyville Grain, which has a very good, fresh product and a very reasonable shipping fee ($4.50 flat rate.

These muffins are not technically Paleo due to the yogurt, although if you can find an unsweetened almond milk yogurt, that would work here. Or you can try making these without the yogurt and just add 1 teaspoon of apple cider vinegar, although I have never done it and can’t guarantee the results. I’m really posting these as a great gluten-free, Happy Passover muffin, although I make these all year. In fact I made these recently and Daughter #2 had a few friends over and they inhaled half the batch in 2 minutes. (I’m telling you, if you want the kids to hang out at your house, you need FOOD.) To make this more of a dessert, you can certainly substitute chocolate chips for the diced dates. The chia seeds are fun and obviously nutritious, but there’s less than 1 teaspoon per muffin so it’s not a dealbreaker if you want to omit them.

As always, I love hearing about your experiments in the kitchen and would especially be interested to know about your experience with almond flour or your favorite Passover treats. Once again, I’m on dessert duty for Passover and I’m getting busy right now. This weekend I will be making loads of Macaroons, both plain and dipped in chocolate, the Lemon Ice Torte which I have been making since 1991, and a raw cashew “cheesecake” which I will have to share another time. There is also a recipe on my site for a (vegan) Coconut Tart with Strawberries which is perfect for Passover and Easter. Lots of delicious options!

Chocolate Banana Almond Flour Muffins with Chia Seeds

Pamela, inspired by Le Pain Quotidien

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Ingredients

1 ¾ cups blanched almond flour not almond meal – I use Honeyville
¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon fine grain sea salt
2 Tablespoons of chia seeds + 1 Tablespoon for muffin tops
½ cup diced pitted dates about 7 dates (easier to dice when they’re cold) (optional, or ½ cup chocolate chips)
4 Tablespoons melted unrefined coconut oil
4 Tablespoons whole unsweetened yogurt
1/3 cup 100% pure maple syrup or honey
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3 medium very ripe bananas mashed

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 12-cup muffin pan with unbleached parchment liners.
In a large bowl, whisk together almond flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, salt and 2 Tablespoons chia seeds. Add dates and break up pieces so they don’t stick together.
In a blender, combine coconut oil, yogurt, maple syrup, eggs, and vanilla.
Pour wet mixture into bowl with dry ingredients and stir until just combined. Fold in mashed bananas.
Divide the batter into the prepared pan. (An ice cream scoop makes this job easy.) Bake for about 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into a muffin comes out clean.

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almond flour bananas chia seeds cocoa powder coconut oil dates eggs yogurt

Healthful Vegan Mint Chip Smoothie Recipe

I quietly went dairy-free recently which made me a little bummed out because I love yogurt and feta and Pecorino Romano cheese. My acupuncturist was begging me for years to break up with dairy once and for all so that I might be able to stop complaining about this and that. Sure enough, without getting too personal, going dairy-free (even sheep and goat) has been a positive move for me and I am pretty motivated to keep it that way.

I still give Mr. Picky raw milk and the girls eat their yogurt and cheese all the same. But when I make something for all of us to share, I’ve been using lots and lots of almond milk, like in porridges and smoothies. I haven’t gotten around to making almond milk yogurt yet, but I’d love to try. In the meantime, I just made this crazy delicious mint chip smoothie that will keep my dairy cravings at bay forever! Mint chip was always my favorite ice cream flavor and I love fresh mint in salads so how could I go wrong in a smoothie? I took my Leprauchan Smoothie from last year with a few tweaks and a couple drops of peppermint extract, presto! It’s so darn good, it tastes like a dessert even though it’s totally healthful enough to eat for breakfast. Except for the chocolate chips. Who cares! It has 4 cups of spinach which you can’t even taste and a couple of dates for sweetness. Not bad at all. In fact, so stinkin’ good!

My kids were even freaking out. This is one of those things you’ll make for St. Patrick’s Day because it’s green and you won’t stop making it. The only thing I don’t love about it is that it’s cold. And cold first thing in the morning when the weather is still a bit chilly is a bummer for your digestive system which has to work extra hard to bring up the temperature of your stomach to where it likes to be. I try not to give the kids cold smoothies first thing in the morning on an empty stomach, and definitely not in the winter. Serving this with warm oatmeal or porridge is a better idea, or after a workout, or when the weather warms up a bit.

But I’d rather see you drink a cold smoothie in the middle of winter than anything with gross green food coloring. I just cringe when I see cupcakes with artificially-dyed frosting or green bagels. If you need some convincing, please read this article from Healthy Child Healthy World about why you need to go dye-free. In the meantime, go get yourself a giant bag of naturally green, chlorophyll-rich, nutrient dense SPINACH and enjoy some delicious St. Patty’s Day pancakes with a mint chip smoothie to wash it all down! 🙂

Healthful Vegan Mint Chip Smoothie

Pamela

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Ingredients

1 cup unsweetened almond milk or milk of choice*
4 pitted dates or sweetener of choice to taste
4 cups spinach leaves
½ ripe avocado pitted and peeled (optional, but good if you are trying to eat more high quality fats)
1 frozen ripe banana cut into chunks (this should be peeled before it’s frozen--click here for tips on freezing fruit)
½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon peppermint extract
2 cups ice
2 Tablespoons chocolate chips or raw cacao nibs
To garnish optional: 2 mint sprigs and some shaved chocolate (I used a vegetable peeled on a dark chocolate bar.)

Instructions

If you have a high-powered blender, such as a Vita-Mix, place all the ingredients EXCEPT the chocolate chips into the blender and process until smooth.
If you do not have a high-powered blender, the dates may not get blended completely and may leave tiny little bits of date in the smoothie. If that bothers you, blend the almond milk and dates together and then strain the mixture. Add the remaining ingredients to the blender (EXCEPT the chocolate chips) with the strained almond milk and blend until smooth. Or just use honey or maple syrup to sweeten instead of dates.
Add the chocolate chips and pulse just a couple of times to break them up a bit. Divide between 2 glasses and garnish with a mint sprig and chocolate shavings, if desired.

Notes

*If you want to use a sweetened vanilla almond milk or other sweetened vanilla milk, you can omit the dates and vanilla extract and sweeten to taste.

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almond milk avocado banana chocolate chips dates peppermint extract spinach vanilla extract

Even Easier Homemade Almond Milk Recipe

I know I’ve already posted a How-to-Make-Almond-Milk-from-Scratch recipe. In fact, I gave you three different versions! But my how-to involves slipping the skins off the soaked almonds before blitzing them in your blender which is really no big deal. The reason I do that is because I went to an ayurvedic cooking lecture many, many years ago and the teacher went into great detail about almonds. Almonds are wonderful and alkalizing and high in protein and good fats, BUT (I was hanging on the edge of my seat when I heard that “BUT”) they can be very hard to digest unless they are soaked. AND the skins can be a little bitter. AND the skins cause wrinkles. Whaaaaaat???? I will tell you no one was listening until she said that and then every manicured brow in the room went up. “Did she say almond skins cause WRINKLES?”

So obviously do you really think I was going to start eating almond skins after that? Silly question. Duh, noooooo. Of course I never did any research as to the validity of that statement and I still haven’t. But I did research how to make almond milk from other sources and everyone says to slip those skins off, perhaps due more to a bitter aftertaste than the wrinkles theory. But your friend Pamela here has gotten much busier since my last almond milk post and I have become practically dairy-free, so I have been making almond milk about twice a week. And there came a point when I decided that slipping those almond skins off was GIVING me wrinkles! Or maybe because I was doing it while watching Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives. Oy. Anyhoo, I decided to see what would happen if I soaked the almonds, drained them and blended them in fresh water WITH their supposedly bitter, age-advancing skins. Gasp. No difference. Same delicious taste and my skin still looks like it did before I drank the almond milk. Life-changing moment!

I also now exclusively use a nut milk bag (I know, sounds nasty, but totally fabulous!) instead of my fine mesh sieve to squeeze out every last drop from the blended almonds. If you don’t have a nut milk bag (gives me the willies every time I type that, but a great product, really!), a fine mesh sieve works great. You just really want to press down on the pureed almonds or squeeze them with your hands as I am convinced that the creamiest part of the almond milk comes from that last squeeze.

I use almond milk all the time, especially to finish off hot breakfast porridges like oats and millet. I use it in acai bowls and smoothies, as well as chia seed pudding and desserts. The girls have been using it over granola and my friend Matt pours it over cereal and in coffee. Just remember, homemade almond milk is pure goodness with no preservatives so it doesn’t last as long as the stuff in a box. What else do you use almond milk for?

Basic Almond Milk

Pamela

5 from 2 votes

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Instructions

Soak 1 cup raw almonds in bowl with plenty of room temperature water for 6-8 hours. (Soaking will make the almonds softer and more digestible.)
Drain the almonds in a colander and rinse with fresh water.
Place the almonds in a blender or Vitamix. Add 3 cups fresh water and blend until the nuts are pulverized.
Strain through a fine mesh sieve, cheesecloth or a nut milk bag into a glass bowl. If using a sieve, use a spoon to scrape the almond meal around and allow as much liquid to drain through.
Transfer to a glass jar and refrigerate, covered for up to 4 days. Add the remaining pulp, sweetened with honey or maple syrup, to hot cereal, granola or fruit.

Notes

Almond milk with coconut water:
Soak almonds in regular water, but use coconut water to blend with the soaked almonds.

Almond milk sweetened with dates:
Follow directions for basic almond milk, but blend soaked almonds with water and 8 pitted dates. You can add a drop of vanilla and sea salt, if you like, but it is delicious just like this. Of course you can sweeten almond milk with stevia or honey or whatever you like, but I think dates are the best! You don’t need to sweeten the remaining pulp if you choose to eat it since it is already sweet from the dates.

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almonds coconut water dates

Harvest chopped salad

Halloween is tomorrow, but to tell you the truth, I don’t make much of an effort to show my “spirit” with cupcakes that look like spiders or swamp slime green Jell-o. Do my kids really need marshmallow ghosts on top of the candy I have not forbidden them to inhale as they trick-or-treat? Silly question! Actually, my only food strategy on Halloween is to make a very hearty , filling dinner, like vegetable chili with brown rice, so the kids aren’t starving while they carry around a sack o’chocolate. Works for me!

If you checked out my post last Thursday, you probably guessed I have bypassed Halloween and gone straight into Thanksgiving mode. Not only have I already taught two Thanksgiving classes, but I am starting to check tasks off my list. Invites — out. Menu — planned. Turkeys — ordered. So if you’re like me and you’re daydreaming about maple-glazed root vegetables instead of witch cakes, let’s get down to business!

The vegetables are really the only part of the menu that I get to have any fun at all. My family and guests would have a rebellion if I didn’t make roasted turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing and sweet potato casserole. So every year I try some new salads and vegetables just to mix it up a bit. This salad is one of my absolute favorites and not just for Thanksgiving. I have made this for other holiday dinners and for friends, and I always save a little extra for me for the next day’s lunch. This salad is the perfect complement to a Thanksgiving meal consisting of lots of cooked food, much of it soft and beige. Not only will all of these colors brighten up your holiday buffet table like little jewels, but you’ll be happy to have something juicy, crunchy and (is this a crime?) healthful to eat. Even though there are apples, pomegranates and dates in the salad, it doesn’t feel too sweet. It’s more like a tart-sweet, a perfect complement to roast turkey.

This salad is also ideal for Thanksgiving since you can prep almost all of it the day before. Oh yeah! No need to squeeze anything into your already monopolized oven or dirty any measuring spoons the day of. You can blanche the beans the day before, roast the beets two days before, chop fennel the day before and cover with a damp paper towel, seed the pomegranate several days before, chop walnuts whenever you want, and make the salad dressing several days in advance. The only last minute item is the apples which you can dice a few hours in advance and keep in ice water in the refrigerator. Just drain and pat dry before adding to the salad. How’s that for a plan!

Harvest Chopped Salad

Pamela

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Servings

Ingredients

6 ounces green beans trimmed
3 stalks celery or 1 bulb fennel diced (I prefer fennel.)
1 cup pomegranate seeds about 1 medium pomegranate
1 large crisp apple e.g. Fuji or Granny Smith, diced (peeled or unpeeled)
1 cup walnuts chopped
3 dates pitted and diced (easier to cut when they’re cold)
1 cup diced roasted golden beets can be done the day before*
Vinaigrette: can be prepared several days in advance
2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 Tablespoons fresh orange juice
½ teaspoon fine sea salt
a few grinds of black pepper
2 teaspoons minced shallot
2 teaspoons 100% pure maple syrup
3 Tablespoons unrefined cold-pressed extra virgin olive oil
3 Tablespoons walnut oil or use all olive oil

Instructions

Prepare a large bowl with ice water. Blanche green beans for 2 minutes in boiling, salted water. Drain and submerge into ice water. Drain, pat dry and slice on the diagonal into bite sized pieces. (Can be done the day before.)
In a large bowl combine beans, chopped celery, pomegranate, apple, walnuts, dates and beets.
Prepare the vinaigrette: whisk all the ingredients in a small bowl. Pour enough vinaigrette over vegetables to coat lightly. Taste for salt and pepper.

Notes

*To roast 1-2 beets, wrap each one in parchment and then foil. Or follow the photos above to roast a pan of several beets. Roast in a 400 degree oven until tender when pierced with the tip of a knife. Large ones can take about 60 minutes. Allow to cool and then peel off the skins.

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apples beets dates fennel green beans lemon juice orange juice pomegranates walnut oil walnuts

Vanilla and chocolate chia seed pudding recipes

Have you ever bought something that you heard people talking about, that you thought you should start eating and would figure out how to get it into your diet soon but never did, only to have that something sit in your pantry forever? That would be a scenario with me and chia seeds a few years ago. I kept reading about these little nutritional powerhouses and I was easily convinced about all their benefits and that I should be incorporating them into my diet, but I hadn’t the slightest idea how to actually eat them. Chia seeds are super high in Omega-3 fats (which many of us don’t consume enough of) and antioxidants. They have almost double the fiber of flaxseeds, as well as lots of protein, calcium, iron and magnesium. What is unique about chia seeds is their gel-like consistency when they are soaked in liquid. They become thick like tapioca and that gel actually helps to keep everything moving very smoothly throughout our bodies.

Most suggestions that I originally encountered for consuming chia seeds were to “sprinkle” them on food, such as oatmeal or yogurt. That was fine for me, but the kiddos and Mr. Picky Sr. weren’t going for it. My next idea was to add chia seeds to cookie dough, which did make for a delicious almond butter and chia seed cookie. But a cookie isn’t going to give you a heck of a lot of chia seeds/nutrition. Finally I heard about chia pudding – an instant, raw, thick and silky pudding of chia seeds soaked in a barely sweetened liquid. Sold! Not only is chia pudding even easier to make than tofu chocolate pudding, but I think it’s even more delicious!

I have two versions to share with you because even though I love the plain Jane vanilla version, Mr. Picky thought it looked like tiny eyeballs and wouldn’t try it. So I added a little cocoa powder to make it chocolate-y and less like, well, eyeballs. Both versions are great. I eat vanilla chia seed pudding for breakfast with berries or diced banana on top and it fills me up for a good long while. Mr. Picky and his buddies love the chocolate pudding after school with lots of different toppings like coconut, raspberries or sliced almonds. Check out the video I did below for The Chalkboard on how to make this delicious concoction. Naturally I used date-sweetened Pressed Juicery almond milk to make it, but you can follow the recipe below.

Now that we’re hooked, I’d love to hear your favorite way to eat chia seeds!

Vanilla and Chocolate Chia Seed Pudding

Pamela

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Servings

Ingredients

1 ¼ cups almond milk
3 pitted dates or sweetener of choice to taste
½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2-2 ½ Tablespoons raw cacao or unsweetened cocoa powder if making chocolate pudding, depending on how chocolaty you like it
¼ cup chia seeds

Instructions

Place almond milk, dates, vanilla and cacao in blender and process until dates are pulverized. A Vitamix does a great job with this. If your blender leaves the dates too chunky, you can strain the mixture before adding it to the chia seeds.
Pour chia seeds into a medium container and add almond milk mixture. Stir immediately to combine otherwise you may end up with blobs of chia seeds. Allow to sit on countertop and stir every 5 minutes. After 15 minutes, it should have thickened.
Cover and refrigerate for at least an hour. I usually do this the night before. Stays in the fridge for as long as your almond milk would. Fun to add toppings like fresh fruit, coconut or chopped nuts.

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almond milk cacao powder chia seeds dates vanilla

Spinach and avocado smoothie recipe (aka “Leprechaun Juice”)

Are you having trouble getting your kids or significant other to eat green food? If so, your big chance is coming up and I don’t want you to miss out. Instead of looking at St. Patrick’s Day as a day of corned beef and cabbage, artificially-dyed green bagels and Irish soda bread, it’s actually a huge opportunity to bust out the healthful greens. Why? Because this holiday is all about green and it would be festive to serve green food. I’m not talking green-sprinkled sugar cookies, but Leprechaun Juice of course!

Leprechaun Juice is what I first called this delicious spinach and avocado smoothie years ago and my kids thought I was a really awesome mom. For all I know, they probably thought I put food coloring in the blender to turn everything this vibrant green or that I picked it up at the 7-Eleven because St. Patrick’s Day is a holiday and I can be fun that way. Well, you and I know each other pretty well by now to know that there ain’t no food coloring in my smoothies let alone my arts and crafts basket (if I actually had one.)

In fact, raw baby spinach gives give this drink its vibrant color as well as more nutrition than almost any food out there (think folate, antioxidants, Vitamins C and K, iron, magnesium and chlorophyll.) Spinach blends really well in smoothies because it’s tender and it doesn’t taste like spinach, especially when you toss some extra sweet bananas and dates in there. Dates and ripe bananas are my secret weapons when I want to use a natural sweetener. In fact, I buy several bunches of bananas at a time which I allow to ripen until they’re super sweet. I peel them and then keep them in the freezer for great smoothies, acai bowls and to dip in chocolate. You might be thinking the most unusual suspect here is probably the avocado. But its richness makes this smoothie as thick and creamy as a milkshake with absolutely no weird flavor. I am truly the president of the avocado fan club. They are full of fresh, high-quality fat, loads of Vitamin E and fiber. And it’s that fat that helps us absorb the fat soluble vitamins and antioxidants, especially the carotenoids in spinach.

Mr. Picky has a cutie-pie friend that walks with us to school every Thursday morning. According to his mom, he rivals my son in pickiness. I don’t think she could have ever predicted that her son would be the one operating our juicer every Thursday morning and the first one to gulp down kale, apple and celery juice. She was really tickled when I sent her a photo of the two “picky boys” slurping their green shakes. One of the best things you can do is not to assume your kids or significant other won’t like something. Worst case scenario here is that if you have no takers for Leprechaun Juice, there will be more for you!

Spinach and Avocado Smoothie

Pamela

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Ingredients

1 cup unsweetened almond milk or milk of choice
4 pitted dates or sweetener of choice to taste such as raw honey or pure maple syrup
4 cups spinach leaves
½ ripe avocado pitted and peeled
2 frozen bananas cut into chunks

Instructions

If you have a high-powered blender, such as a Vita-Mix, place all the ingredients in the blender and process until smooth.
If you do not have a high-powered blender, the dates may not get blended completely and may leave tiny little bits of date in the smoothie. If that bothers you, blend the almond milk and dates together and then strain the mixture. Add the remaining ingredients to the blender with the strained almond milk and blend until smooth. Or just use honey or maple syrup to sweeten instead of dates.

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