Carob Mint Hemp Milk (dairy-free, gluten-free, egg-free, vegan)

One of the things I’ve missed the most over the years is ice cream. I take a water aerobics class at the Y and when we do the “stir the pot” exercise, the instructor always asks people what their favorite flavor of ice cream is and she stopped asking me the third time I said I was allergic to dairy. But now I have an answer be it the Carob Avocado cream from a couple of weeks ago, or this new one I just made. Hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

In your blender, blend:

1 ripe avocado, this provides the fat so that you don’t end up with an “icy” cream
1/4 cup chopped dates
1 cup pear or apple sauce
2 tablespoons of carob OR leave this out and add chips when the cream is frozen, OR if you can, you could add cocoa or melted semi-sweet chocolate
2 large scoops protein powder
2 cups hemp milk*
1/2 teaspoon mint oil or extract

*I used hemp but coconut or soy milk would work just as well. Rice milk doesn’t freeze well as it tends to make an icy mixture rather than a cream.

Blend until smooth. Pour into your ice cream freezer or into ice cube trays to freeze.

TIP: If the avocado gives too much of a flavor or you don’t care for avocado, add some avocado oil to the blender. The oil has very little taste and will give you a creamy texture.

Decadent Carob Cake (dairy-free, gluten-free, egg-free, sugar-free, vegan)

This cake is so moist and fudgy that it doesn’t need any frosting. That doesn’t mean that you can’t put some strawberry cream cheese frosting on it if you want, or even serve it with some non-dairy whipped cream or “ice cream”. I simply serve mine with some of my strawberry jam or some fresh raspberries. So satisfying for those with a sweet tooth.

Grease and flour a tube or bundt pan. In a medium size bowl mix:

2 cups brown rice flour
1/2 cup tapioca flour
3/4 cup carob powder (if you want, you can use cocoa)
1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum
1/2 teaspoon sea salt

In a second bowl mix:

1 cup pureed stewed prunes
1/2 cup apple or pear sauce
1 tablespoon stevia, 1/2 cup agave or coconut nectar, or 1/2 cup maple syrup (if you add the liquids, be sure to reduce the club soda by an equivalent amount)
2 tablespoons vinegar
1 tablespoon vanilla
2 cups club soda

Mix the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Be sure to mix thoroughly and then keep mixing for several more minutes (gluten-free flour needs more mixing than regular wheat flour). Pour into the prepared pan and bake in a 375 degree oven for 45-60 minutes depending on the size of your pan and your oven. Its done when a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean. Cool in the pan for at least 10 minutes before turning out onto a cooling rack and then onto a serving plate.

You could also add some chopped dates, hemp hulls, coconut, or if you can eat them, even some chopped walnuts.

Chocolate Figgy Hemp Cream (dairy-free, gluten-free, egg-free, sugar-free, vegan)

This is a very easy recipe to make if you have a blender or Vitamix. And it turns out not only delicious but silky smooth and creamy. Also, its adaptable to several other types of desserts — chocolate cream pie, fudgesicles (if you have a mold or even ice cube tray with wooden sticks), or pudding.

Put in your blender:

1 ripe avocado (or 1/4 cup avocado oil – the oil has less avocado flavor so doesn’t add any taste to the dessert)
1 cup of mashed figs*
1/2 cup chopped dates (or 4 whole medjool dates)**
1/4 cup cocoa powder or carob powder
2 large scoops of protein powder
2 cups hemp milk***
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Blend until smooth. At this point, you can divide the mixture into pudding cups, fill ice cube trays, or place it in an ice cream freezer. If you make ice cream with it, I suggest that when its ready, put the ice cream into small containers since if you freeze it in a larger container, like I did, you’ll have a very solid block of hemp cream that needs to be thawed before you can use it. If you’re making a chocolate cream pie, pre-bake a ready made gluten-free crust and cool it before you add the pudding to the pie crust.

*You could also use 4 ripe figs, or 1 cup of stewed prunes.

**Whole Foods carries chopped dates with oat flour.

*** Coconut milk or soy milk will also work in this recipe.

Smoothies

I am a creature of habit and one habit I’ve had for a number of years now is my breakfast smoothie. Rarely do I eat anything other than my smoothie for breakfast. I like to make them thick and creamy — almost like a soft-serve ice cream. I never imagined that this would be a satisfying breakfast but it sure fills me up and gets my day going. Here are some of my favorites.

TIP: To really mix it up, double the recipe and put it in an ice cream freezer. Eats more like “ice cream”, very satisfying. I make 4 cups at a time, freeze in 1 cup containers and eat these as a dessert after lunch or supper.

TIP: When making the fruit purees, they don’t have to be perfectly smooth because you’ll be adding them into a blender to make your smoothie and that will complete the puree process. Also, if making the purees with the skin included, be sure you use only organic fruit since you won’t be peeling them and the pesticides are usually found in the skin.

Another TIP: Be sure to mark your containers so you don’t get one out expecting a certain fruit and then find you’ve made an entirely different flavor! Been there done that.

TIP: Change up the flavor of your smoothies by alternating cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, ground cloves, etc., depending on your taste. Use one or several spices. You can also alternate the flavor of your protein powders for entirely different tasting smoothies. I usually use the vanilla flavors but chocolate goes very well with the strawberry and wonderful with prune.

TIP: I usually find these are sweet enough for my taste but add a little stevia, agave or coconut nectar, date syrup or honey if you want them sweeter.

TIP: I also add a scoop of marine collagen for my skin and nails. It doesn’t change the taste however it does affect the texture making it slightly smoother or creamier.

Put in a blender:

1 cup non-dairy milk of choice
1-2 scoops of protein powder
1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon
1 tablespoon ground flax seed (the golden work best since you don’t get the discoloration)
1/2 to 1 cup of frozen fruit (see suggestions below)

Strawberry

Add 6 ounces of frozen strawberries

Start blending on the lowest setting and as the smoothie starts to come together, increase speed. If you find you’ve added too many strawberries (often happens to me!), add milk until you get the correct consistency.

I sometimes like to add some frozen acai, 1/2 a frozen banana or 3-5 pieces of frozen mango. Be sure to adjust the strawberries to account for the other fruit so that you still have 6 ounces of fruit.

2. Fig or Prune

This is one of the creamiest smoothies I’ve found and is also my favorite. It involves some planning since you have to prepare the figs ahead of time but its well worth the trouble.

First, in a saucepan:

10-12 fresh ripe figs (1 pound), washed and stems removed
2 tablespoons of water

24 ounces of dried figs or prunes
1/2 cup of water

Cover the saucepan and cook over a low heat until the figs or prunes are soft. Be sure to stir if you’re using the dried figs to be sure all of them become rehydrated. Cool and then using a potato masher, mash the figs (or you can put them in your food processor and pulse for a few seconds). Place in 1 cup containers (don’t fill completely but leave a little room for expansion), freeze and use as above. Will make 2-3 cups of puree depending on the size of your figs.

3. Pear and Blackberry

Depending on how much you hate seeds, you can either use whole frozen blackberries or cook 2 cups of blackberries in a saucepan with a little water and then put the mixture through a sieve to get rid of the seeds (TIP: I freeze this, when cooled, in an ice cube tray and after it freezes, I put the cubes into a freezer bag).

The pears are much easier. Just quarter and core your pears (my favorites are the Asian or Korean pears but any pear will work), and then pulse in your food processor. Place in 1 cup containers and freeze. Usually, I’ve found that 1 pear will make roughly 1 cup of puree, depending on the size of the pear. Also, I don’t worry about peeling them since the processing will take care of the peel.

This is case, I like to add the 1 cup of pureed pear and then 4-6 whole blackberries or 2-4 of the frozen blackberry ice cubes.

4. Plum, Peach or Apricot

One of the easiest to prepare, just wash and make sure you remove any stems from the fruit, half to remove the pit and pulse in your food processor. Put into 1 cup containers and freeze. Depending on the size, 2 plums will make roughly 1 cup of plum puree, same for apricots, but 1 1/2 peach will make you roughly 1 cup of peach puree. I like to add some raspberry coulis to the peach smoothie.

If you prefer, you can cook the diced plums, peaches or apricots in a little water; this will make the skins more palatable while keeping the fiber contained in the skins. It only takes 5-10 minutes to cook them and you can spice them up at the same time.

5. Pumpkin or Sweet Potato

1 cup of canned or prepared pumpkin or sweet potato
6-8 ice cubes
1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1/4 teaspoon of stevia, 1 tablespoon of agave or coconut nectar, or honey

6. Carob and Cherry

Use a 1/2-3/4 cup of frozen pitted cherries. I add 1 tablespoon of carob powder (you could use cocoa) along with 1 tablespoon of date syrup and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Yummy!

Carrot Cake (dairy, gluten, egg, and refined sugar free)

My husband’s favorite cake is carrot cake, so moist and flavorful. One of my favorites as well since it has so little sweetener because of the sweetness of the carrots. This recipe allows you to add some granulated fructose, stevia, or chopped dates in place of the sugar.

Preheat oven to 350 degree. Lightly grease a large 12-cup bundt pan.

In a large bowl, combine:

2 cups finely grated carrots (one 12 ounce bag of baby carrots)
1/4 cup fructose or chopped dates (or 2 teaspoons of stevia)
4 teaspoons of baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon xantham gum
1 tablespoon vinegar
1/4 cup oil or 1/4 cup applesauce (or pear sauce)

Mix well to combine. Add:

1 3/4 cups Bobs 1 for 1 gluten-free flour
1/2 cup Bobs Sweet Sorghum flour
1/4 cup potato flour
1/4 cup coconut flakes (optional)
1/4 cup raisins, cranberries, currents, etc. (optional)
1/4 cup ground walnuts, sunflower or pumpkin seeds, hemp hulls, etc. (optional)

Mix while adding 1 1/2 cup club soda. If the batter is too thick, add more club soda until batter is the consistency of thick mashed potatoes.

Bake 60-75 minutes depending on how hot your oven runs. Cool on a rack for 10-15 minutes before turning out of the pan. Cool completely before frosting.

Frost with plain cream cheese frosting:

1 8-ounce package of non-dairy cream cheese
1-3 tablespoons of agave nectar, depending on how sweet your family likes frosting (you can also use honey or coconut nectar)
1 teaspoon vanilla

Mix using a hand mixer until smooth and creamy.

Easy Maple Walnut Cake (dairy-free, gluten-free, egg-free, refined sugar-free)

If your family likes a gooey, nutty, sweet dessert, but you don’t have a lot of time to make desserts and they’re hungry for a sweet right now, this one is a great one to try. My husband loved it with the sugar-free vanilla ice cream on top but I’m sure a non-dairy frozen dessert would work just as well. Very easy and quick to make. It took me less than ten minutes to get it in the oven. Should be served hot. Serves 4-6 depending on portion size. Doubles well if you need more servings.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Liberally grease a 5×8″ baking pan. If you don’t have a 5×8″ baking pan, you could make individual cakes in a muffin tin.

Heat in a small saucepan until it boils:

1/2 cup maple syrup (I used my husband’s Maple Grove Sugar-Free syrup)

Mix in a medium sized bowl:

1/2 cup all-purpose gluten-free flour (I used Bob’s Red Mill 1for1)
1/8 cup sweet sorghum flour
1/8 to 1/4 cup of sweetener such as granulated fructose (or you could use stevia but of course not as much, probably 1 tablespoon would be more than enough since this is just to add a little sweetness to the cake); or agave or coconut nectar but then decrease the amount of milk to adjust for the liquid sweetener.
1/2 teaspoon guar gum
1 tablespoon oil
1/2 cup non-dairy milk of choice

Mix well and then add:

1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon softened margarine of choice
1/4 cup non-dairy milk of choice or enough to make it the consistence of soft mashed potatoes

Mix well until margarine is well combined. Pour the hot syrup into the bottom of the baking dish and pour the mixture (or spoon if easier but be sure to cover as much of the syrup as possible). Bake for 20-25 minutes until golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean. If you’re using the muffin pan, check them after 10 minutes.

Place on a cooling rack for 5-10 minutes; loosen the cake from the sides of the pan and then turn out onto a serving plate. Sprinkle the top liberally with chopped or ground walnuts. If you want it nut free, use hemp hulls, sunflower or pumpkin seeds instead of the walnuts. Serve with some non-dairy frozen dessert, whipped topping, or sugar-free ice cream.

Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting (dairy-free, sugar-free)

This is a very easy recipe. In a medium bowl, place:

one container non-dairy cream cheese (Daiya, Kite Hill, etc.)
1/4 cup pureed strawberries
2 tablespoons agave nectar (more or less depending on how sweet your family likes their frosting)
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

With your hand mixer on low, mix; as it comes together, you can speed up your mixer to add more air to the frosting. If the mixture is too thick, add more strawberry puree; if it is too loose, add more non-dairy cream cheese.

Strawberry Cream Pie (dairy-free, gluten-free, egg-free)

My husband doesn’t often enjoy my “special” recipes but this is one he flips over. Its one of his favorite things about strawberry season. Over the years, I’ve tried a number of different pie crust recipes trying to develop a really tasty, flaky, gluten-free pie crust. I haven’t been very successful. I’ve found the tastiest gluten-free pie crust, but not sugar-free, in my local supermarket’s frozen-food section, Wholly gluten-free by Wholly Wholesome. Although not sugar-free, it has a very low amount of sugar, just 2 grams per serving.

Pre-bake pie shell in 375 degree oven following directions on the reverse of the label. Let cool. While that’s cooling make the cream:

Put in a 2 quart pot:

1 1/2 cups rice milk, or your favorite non-dairy milk [DO NOT use soymilk]
3/4 cup granulated fructose or 1/2 cup agave nectar, or 1 Tablespoon stevia

Bring to a boil. While its heating, blend:

1/2 cup of your non-dairy milk with
2 tablespoon cornstarch

When the milk is boiling, whisk in the cornstarch slurry and continue whisking until the mixture thickens. Take off the heat and add:

2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 tablespoons of your favorite margarine

Blend until well mixed and margarine has melted. Cool. When the cream is almost cold, pour into the baked pie shell and refrigerate until thoroughly chilled.

You can either use one cup of strawberry jam as a topping for this cream, or use the following:

In a small pot mix

1 cup mashed strawberries
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Cook, stirring constantly, until mixture comes to a boil. If you remove this from the heat when it starts to thicken instead of waiting for a boil, you’ll have a looser topping like mine above. If you let it boil, you’ll have more like a the strawberry jam consistency.

Top with your favorite non-dairy whipped topping or you can decorate with strawberry cream cheese frosting.

Chocolate Chip Cookies (gluten, dairy, egg, and refined sugar free)

In fact, these cookies have no flour in them at all. Here’s what you can do with the chickpeas you have left over when you use the agua fava (or aquafaba; bean water) in a recipe. These are pretty good although not as chewy as the high calorie version and they can be quite soft. Adding a nut butter, I use tahini since I’m allergic to nuts, gives them a great flavor. I like to freeze them because they taste really good frozen; it adds the chewiness that you get in regular chocolate chip cookies.

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees; cover a large cookie sheet with parchment paper and spray with a non-stick spray.

Put in your food processor

12 oz can of garbonzo beans drained
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/3 cup nut butter or tahini
2 scoops protein powder (I really like the Garden of Eden Vanilla in this recipe)
1/2 cup chopped dates (Whole Foods has a store brand of chopped dates that are coated in oat flour instead of the traditional sugar)*
1/2 cup water
2 teaspoons of baking powder

Blend until the garbonzo beans and dates are pureed into the mixture. I watch until I don’t see any more lumps and then blend it for several more minutes since its not the most pleasant experience to bite into a large chunk of chickpea when eating a cookie!

Stir into mixture 1/2 cup chocolate chips (I use Chatfield Carob Chips) [be sure to check the package for allergens such as dairy and sugar]. Drop by tablespoons (or 1/4 cup measure) onto the prepared cookie sheet and then, with the back of a wet spoon, flatten cookies. Bake for approximately 12-18 minutes depending on how large or small you make the cookies. Makes between 10 to 20 cookies depending on size.

*If you don’t like the taste of dates or they have too much sugar content, you can use 1/4 cup of agave, honey, or coconut nectar in this recipe or 1 tablespoon stevia. If you add one of the nectars, be sure to decrease the water to 1/4 cup.

Tip: I’m really bad about flattening cookies; these work as bars just as well so I usually spread the batter in a 9×9 or 8×10 greased pan and increase the baking time to 20-25 minutes.