Double Chocolate Cookie Dough Kale Ice Cream

We have grown gobs of kale this year, which of course is great in smoothies and in all kinds of savory recipes. My favorite is to serve it as a side ,sauteed in a bit of olive oil with a dash of smoked paprika, apple cider vinegar, and maple syrup. I haven't used it in dessert, though--until tonight. As I was contemplating some chocolate ice cream to accompany our dinner this evening, I saw the kale on the counter and went for it. You can taste it slightly, which lends a good twist to the flavors, deepening the chocolate even. Ever since I worked at an ice cream shop as a teenager, I have always wished for chocolate ice cream with chocolate cookie dough in it. Here it is--a sophisticated version I may not have ever imagined in my youth:

 Double Chocolate Cookie Dough Kale Ice Cream:

1 can full-fat coconut milk
1 cup plain non-dairy milk
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/4 cup chocolate chips
3 Tbsp. sweetener of choice (coconut sugar, maple syrup, agave)
1/8 tsp. stevia powder
2 Tbsp. sunflower seed butter
2 tsp. vanilla extract (or you could sub mint extract for a thin mint-style ice cream)
pinch of salt
5 large kale leaves, cleaned and torn into small pieces  

1/4 recipe chocolate brownie cookie dough balls, broken into small chunks
2-3 Tbsp. mini chocolate chips, optional

1. Blend all of the ingredients, coconut milk through kale, in a Vitamix or other high-powered blender. You don't want any chunks of kale!
2. Freeze in your ice cream maker according to manufacturer's instructions.
3. Once the ice cream is churned, stir in the cookie dough chunks and chocolate chips before serving.

And here are some ice cream lovin' faces (although Emie has yet to try any...)

                            
This recipe is linked to Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays  Allergy-Free Wednesday Wellness Weekend Healthy Vegan Friday.

Banana Cream-Filled Chocolate Frozen Yogurt Cups

Abiline is on fruit strike. Well, she kind of has been since she decided that she didn't like baby food anymore--which was pretty much a month or two after she started eating it.  I make her a smoothie every day to trick her into some fruit consumption (and to add some greens and avocado, too).  When we were at Trader Joe's last week, she picked up a box of chocolate-covered bananas and put them in the cart; I didn't buy them, but I was intrigued by a way to perhaps get her to eat bananas.  Why not try chocolate yogurt-covered frozen bananas?  It seemed easier to me to use mini-muffin cups than to try to dip the bananas in the yogurt.  These mini frozen yogurt cups also have the advantage of being small, which suits my kids who are always insisting, "I want a little bite!" As you can see from the picture, they get melty pretty quick, so I recommend keeping them in mini-muffin liners and peeling back the paper as you eat them so that everyone's fingers don't get too sticky.  Or Abiline and Sawyer actually ate theirs with a fork.  Trust me, we're not usually so refined.

 

For the chocolate yogurt:
3/4 cup plain non-dairy yogurt (I use homemade.)
1 heaping Tbsp. cocoa powder
2 Tbsp. sunflower seed butter
5 pitted dates, soaked for a few hours to soften them, or microwaved for a minute and then drained
1/8 tsp. pure stevia powder (may not be necessary if you use yogurt that has some sweetener in it)

For the banana cream filling:
1 ripe banana
2 Tbsp. coconut butter

1. Prepare a min-muffin pan with cupcake liners.  If you want bigger portions, you could of course use 6 regular muffin cups instead.
2. Prepare the chocolate yogurt by buzzing all of the ingredients in a food processor or blender until totally smooth.
3. Transfer the yogurt to a bowl, clean out the blender or food processor and then puree the banana and coconut butter until smooth.
4. Spoon a generous teaspoon of chocolate yogurt into the bottom of each mini-muffin cup. Top with a generous teaspoon of banana cream filling, and then top the filling with another heaping teaspoon of yogurt. If you are using regular-sized muffin cups, then use 1-2 tablespoons of each.
5. Freeze the cups for a few hours to firm them up. I found that bigger muffin cups take much longer to get totally frozen: about 2-3 hours for the mini cups, but 5-6 for the big ones.


We are having some pretty warm days here now, so it was time this week to bust out the water games. As you can see, the kids had a blast.  Just a $2 pack of paintbrushes from Ikea and a large pot of cold water, and we had some good, clean fun. Or, it was clean until they started to add dirt and make "soup" in the pot.

This recipe is linked to Fit and Fabulous Fridays, Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays, Allergy-Free Wednesdays,  Whole Foods Wednesdays, Tastetastic Thursday  , Happy lil ❤'s are baking,  Wellness Weekend and Fresh Bites Fridays.     

Dark Chocolate Pumpkin Black Bean Brownie Ice Cream

So....black beans in your ice cream probably doesn't sound delicious.  But, it is. Trust me on this one; you have to try this combo. This improbable ice cream recipe began with me trying to make the chocolate pumpkin pudding from The Everyday Vegan without looking at the recipe.  The texture wasn't quite right, I'm sure due to me trying to throw it together from memory after looking over the recipe a few days earlier.  So I decided to try adding some black beans to thicken it up.  Black bean brownies work, so why not black bean pudding?  And why not black bean pudding turned into ice cream with black bean brownies in it?!  Why not indeed.  And there you have it: the thought process that led to this successful marriage of healthy and indulgent.

There are many, many black bean brownie recipes out there. The one I use here is my favorite so far, which I put together after seeing a number of flourless black bean brownie recipes posted recently, but finding none without sugar and without eggs.  I have been giving these to Abiline and Sawyer as a good-for-you treat. Good-for-you treat? These recipes certainly show that those two things really can co-exist.
 

For the brownies:
1 1/2 cups black beans, or 1 can drained and rinsed
2 Tbsp. sunflower seed butter
2 Tbsp. coconut oil
1/4 tsp. sea salt
1 cup pitted dates, soaked for a few hours to soften them, and then drained
(or microwave them for a few minutes covered in water and then drain them)
1/2 cup cocoa powder

For the ice cream:
1 16 oz can pumpkin puree   
1/2 cup (heaping) of black beans
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 cup coconut milk
1/2 cup coconut sugar (Or try subbing dates!)
1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
2 Tbsp maple syrup
1/2 tsp. guar gum (optional, but really gives homemade ice cream a good texture. I got this tip from Dreena Burton's latest cookbook, Let Them Eat Vegan.)
1/3 cup chocolate chips, chopped
2-3 black bean brownies, crumbled or chopped into small chunks

1. To make the brownies, preheat the oven to 350 and oil a 9x9 inch baking pan. Blend all of the ingredients in a food processor until smooth. Spoon the batter evenly into the prepared pan and smooth it out with the back of a rubber scraper. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let the brownies cool completely. This makes way more than you need for the ice cream, which means lots of brownie sundaes.
2.  To make the ice cream, in a blender or food processor whip together all of the ingredients except for the chocolate chips and brownie chunks.  Make sure you get the mixture totally smooth.  Pour into your ice cream maker and freeze according to the manufacturer's instructions.
3. Near the end of the freezing time, right before the ice cream is all set up and ready, gradually pour in the chopped chocolate chips and brownie chunks. Let the ice cream maker stir them in until evenly distributed. If you don't eat all of this ice cream right away, then be sure to take the leftovers out of the freezer 15 minutes before you want to eat them, to soften the ice cream up and make it scoop-able again.

If you think this recipe is a bit off the beaten path, well check this out:

Have you ever seen a man riding a bicycle with a giant remote-controlled shark balloon tied to the handlebars?  The mask just completes the look (thanks polluted Southern California air.). Well, if you saw him--that was my husband.  No further questions please.

This post is linked to Fit and Fabulous Fridays,  Allergy-Friendy Fridays, My Meatless Mondays, Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays, Allergy-Free Wednesdays, Whole Foods Wednesdays, and Wellness Weekend.

Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream Sandwiches

I have fond memories as a kid of eating many a Good Humor bar, so I am certainly not the type to want to deny my children the precious childhood experience of eating frozen treats.  With Sawyer we could buy Trader Joe's soy-ice cream sandwiches, which don't have corn syrup like the Tofutti brand, and are reasonably priced.  Since Abiline can't do soy, we were looking at getting some of the So Delicious coconut milk ice cream sandwiches as a special treat, but they are almost $6 a box!  No way--I will make my own, thank you.  These homemade ice cream sandwiches were part of our St. Patrick's day celebration; sorry I didn't get the recipe on here in time for the big day.  Luckily, you don't really need a special occasion to make these.  The mint chip ice cream is a recipe I posted earlier for my ice cream pie, and it is probably Abiline's favorite: when I open the freezer door nowadays, she exclaims, "Geen peese!"(and that doesn't mean "green peas," although she does like those.)

This recipe is featured on Allergy-Free Wednesdays :o)

For the mint chip ice cream:
1 can full-fat coconut milk
1 cup Silk or So Delicious coconut milk beverage
1/2 cup sweetener of choice (agave, maple syrup, evaporated cane juice)
1 1/2 tsp. peppermint extract
1/2 tsp. spirulina powder
1/2 cup vegan mini chocolate chips (such as Enjoy Life brand) 

Blend the first 5 ingredients in a blender until fully combined, and then freeze in an ice cream maker according to manufacturer's directions. Once the ice cream is getting firm,  2 or 3 minutes before you would normally transfer it to the freezer, slowly add the chocolate chips to the ice cream maker. Once they're all mixed up, place the ice cream in the freezer for an hour or two to firm up. You don't want it too firm, so that you can spread it easily on the cookies--just a bit firmer than it is right after you get it out of the ice cream maker.

For the ice cream sandwich cookies:
1 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour or barley flour (I used half and half)
2/3 cup sucanat, coconut sugar, or evaporated cane juice
1/2 cup cocoa powder
3/4 tsp. sea salt
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 cup non-dairy milk
1/2 cup canola or melted coconut oil
1/4 cup tapioca starch or arrowroot mixed with 1/4 cup water
1 Tbsp. vanilla extract

For chocolate coating:
1 cup vegan chocolate chips
1 Tbsp. peppermint extract

1. Preheat the oven to 350 and line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.
2. In a medium mixing bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, salt, and baking soda.
3. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add the non-dairy milk, oil, starch mixed with water, and the vanilla. Stir the wet and dry ingredients together with a fork or wooden spoon just until evenly combined and moistened. 
4. Form into disks with your hands and evenly space them on the cookie sheets. I got 20 cookies, 10 per pan.  Keep in mind that they spread out quite a bit; mine turned out more monster-cookie-sized, so if you want small sandwiches, you could probably get 3 dozen cookies out of this recipe.
5. Bake for 10 minutes for the larger cookies, turning the pans half-way through. I would do 7-8 minutes if you are doing smaller cookies.
6. Let the cookies cool for a few minutes on wire racks and then transfer them to the freezer for about 20 minutes to cool completely. While they cool, melt the chocolate chips in the microwave, stirring every 30 seconds so as to not burn them. Stir the mint extract into the melted chocolate.
7. Take the cookies out of the freezer along with the ice cream, and quickly spread a big gob of ice cream on half of the cookies and top with the other half.  Spread a layer of chocolate over the top of one of the cookies. Place the sandwiches in the freezer, chocolate-topping side up, for about an hour to harden up. If you are not eating them all right away, then be sure to place them in a  freezer bag for storage.

As for healthier green foods, we have replanted our little patio garden of basil and spinach. Please wish us luck!  Some sort of small animal ate all of the lettuce and kale out of our last garden attempt. 

Padeedledunk with Apple Butter Frozen Yogurt with Sunflower Seed Butter Praline Swirl

My mom's family has a family recipe for apple crisp for which my Grandpa Langlois made up the name "Padeedledunk."  The original recipe consists of lots of butter, white flour, white sugar, and some oats baked over apples or canned peaches. While Padeedledunk is totally delicious in its original form, I have updated the recipe a bit to better fit the diet of my immediate family, which is much heavier on the whole grains and lighter on the sugar and saturated fats.  We served this version to company for dessert this past weekend with some homemade apple butter frozen yogurt with sunflower seed butter praline swirl. (The name for the yogurt makes it sound way more complex than it is, so please don't be put off by that.) While it is a great dessert when paired with the frozen yogurt or just some vanilla coconut milk ice cream, I have been known to let Sawyer eat my Padeedledunk for breakfast. I know, I know; I am just not a sugar-free mom. I believe in treats--that they can be wholesome but still yummy and that in moderation they are an essential part of a healthy, satisfying diet.

For the Padeedledunk:

1 ½ c. rolled oats, ground fine in food processor (a bit chunkier than oat flour)

¾ cup rolled oats

1 cup white whole wheat flour or spelt flour

¼ tsp salt

¼ c. brown rice syrup or maple syrup

¼ c. agave nectar

1/3 c. melted coconut oil or canola oil

4 medium Granny Smith apples, peeled and finely sliced

1 Tbsp. liquid sweetener

1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease an 8 x 8 in. pan. 

2. Combine apples, sweetener, and cinnamon in the oiled pan and press them down.

3. In a medium mixing bowl mix together oats, flour, and salt. Add brown rice syrup, agave, and oil and mix together with a fork until you have evenly moistened crumbs. 

4. Evenly spread the oat topping over the apples. 

5. Bake for 25-30 mins. in preheated oven, until top is slightly browned.

For the frozen yogurt:

½ c. coconut milk

1 ½ c. oat milk

½ c. apple butter

6 oz. plain non-dairy yogurt

2 Tbsp. melted soy-free Earth Balance margarine

¼ c. sunflower seed butter

¼ c. agave nectar

punch of sea salt

¼ c. candied sunflower seeds*

1. Combine the coconut milk, oat milk, apple butter, yogurt, and melted earth Balance in a blender and puree until smooth. Freeze in your ice cream maker according to manufacturer's instructions.
2. In a food processor combine the sunflower seed butter, agave, sea salt, and sunflower seeds and pulse to combine, leaving the seeds in tiny bits.
3. Once the yogurt is frozen, scoop it into a large container for storing in the freezer, pour the sunflower seed butter praline on top, and swirl it in with a spoon. Quickly place in the freezer and re-freeze for about an hour to firm it up before serving.

* To make candied sunflower seeds:

1/2 Tbsp. soy-free Earth Balance, coconut, or canola oil
1/4 c. raw sunflower seeds
1/2 Tbsp. agave nectar
1/8 tsp. sea salt
1/8 tsp. cinnamon

Melt the Earth Balance in a small skillet over medium heat. Add the sunflower seeds and stir around for a few minutes until they start to smell toasty and are browning a bit. Add the agave, salt, and cinnamon and stir around for a few more minutes; be careful they don't burn. Remove the seeds from the heat and allow to cool.

Delectable Mango Raspberry Bars with Sherbet

I was going to make lemon bars for our guests, but I wanted to make ice cream, and I just don't fancy eating ice cream with lemon bars. They are a stand-alone treat in my mind.  I knew I wanted a fruity dessert, not chocolatey, and once I saw the mangoes and raspberries in our freezer, the idea for this recipe hatched in my mind. The bars are a cross between cake and cookie, as they are moist like cake, but dense like a cookie. This is my first time experimenting with using stevia powder in my baked goods. It worked nicely in combination with some 'real' sugar to create the right amount of sweetness without it being overbearing.

Sawyer and Abiline liked the sherbet the best; they don't usually go for cookie/ cake desserts because they are too full for it once dinner is over. While most adults have developed a separate stomach for dessert, when my kids are full, that's it--it doesn't matter how tantalizing the treat is that I place before them. Ice cream seems to be the one exception, though. I think since it melts as they lick the cone, the ice cream just slips between the cracks and doesn't require much belly room.  

For the cookie bar base:
1/4 c. coconut butter (You could probably sub. vegan margarine)
1/2 c. mangoes (I used frozen)
1/4 c. evaporated cane juice, or your choice of dry sweetener
2 Tbsp. coconut milk
zest of 1 orange
1 tbsp. orange juice (Squeeze all the juice out of the orange. You should get about 3 Tbsp. Use 1 Tbsp. in the base and the rest in the topping.) 
1 1/2 c. whole wheat pastry flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt

For the raspberry topping:
1/4 c. frozen raspberries
2 Tbsp. soy-free Earth Balance
2 Tbsp. coconut oil
2 Tbsp. orange juice (leftover from orange used in the base)
1/4 c. evaporated cane juice
1/4 tsp. stevia powder
1/2 tsp. agar powder

1. Preheat the oven to 375 and grease a 9 inch square baking pan.
2. Puree the coconut butter, mangoes, evaporated cane juice, coconut milk, and the zest and juice of the orange in a food processor until smooth.
3. In a medium mixing bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Add the puree from the food processor and stir until the dry ingredients are completely moistened. Spread in the prepared baking pan and place in the preheated oven. Bake for 20 mins, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool.
4.  While the bars cool, prepare the topping. In a small saucepan, combine the raspberries, Earth balance, coconut oil, orange juice, evaporated cane juice, stevia, and agar powder. Heat over medium, stirring frequently, until the margarine melts, all is well combined, and the mixture is bubbling around the edges. Allow to cool a bit before pouring over the bars. Place the bars in the fridge for an hour or two to allow the topping to set. Serve with the sherbet below for a real treat!


For the Mango Raspberry Sherbet 
1/2 c. frozen raspberries
1/2 c. frozen mangoes
1 can full-fat coconut milk
1/2 c. non-dairy milk (I used oat milk)
1/2 tsp. orange extract
1/4 c. agave nectar
1/4 tsp. stevia powder, or more, to taste

Combine all of the ingredients in a blender, and then transfer to your ice cream maker and freeze according to the manufacturer's directions. This stuff hardens a little too well once frozen more than a few hours (I think because of the fruit), so you will need to leave it on the counter for a few minutes before you can scoop it once it has been in the freezer for a while.

This sherbet really helped Abiline cool off--that cool dudette!

This is the face Sawyer makes when his ice cream is too cold. The winter cap seemed a bit dramatic, but maybe he got a brain freeze.

Super Easy and Yummy Granola

Anthony and I love to have granola for breakfast, and Abiline likes it when she gets to eat it out of our bowls. Here is a recipe for a tasty concoction I made a few days ago. It only lasted two breakfasts, so it must have been good!

2 c. crispy rice cereal
3 1/2 c. rolled oats
1/2 c. wheat germ
1/2 c. maple syrup or other liquid sweetener
1/4 c. canola oil
1/3 c. sunflower seed butter
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
pinch of salt

Preheat the oven to 350. Mix the cereal, oats, and wheat germ in a large bowl. Heat the maple syrup, oil, and sunflower seed butter in a small saucepan over medium heat until combined and gooey. Add the vanilla and the salt, and then pour the liquid over the dry ingredients and stir until everything is evenly moistened. Spread the granola on a large baking sheet and bake for 10 mins, then stir and bake for another 10 mins, or until looking a little brown on the edges of the pan. You can add any dried fruit you like, or even chocolate chips, but we actually didn't think it needed any extras.

Strawberry Lemonade on My Mind

I guess strawberry lemonade has been on my mind since it has been so hot lately. Or maybe these recipes were inspired by my impulse purchase of lemon extract a few weeks ago. Last week I made lemon strawberry bars for the kids, and then for my birthday we had strawberry bundt cake with strawberry lemonade ice cream. The bars are one more creation in a series of experiments with how to incorporate beans and avocados into tasty baked goods. The cake I adapted from a recipe in 500 Vegan Recipes, which is an awesome cookbook overall, but I have found that they frequently call for way too much flour in their cake recipes. It is super-moist despite having no oil in it, but we found that it did need some fat to round out the flavor, so the ice cream was born. The cake and ice cream got a thumbs up from everyone, but Abiline was not into the bars, which Sawyer happily munched. They were a bit too dense in texture for her limited chewing abilities, I think, so I would recommend them for the age two and up set.

Strawberry-Glazed Lemon Bars or Thumbprint Cookies

1 c. garbanzo beans
1/2 medium-sized ripe avocado
3 Tbsp. lemon juice
1 Tbsp. canola oil
1 Tbsp. tahini
1 1/2 tsp. lemon extract
3 Tbsp. agave nectar or other liquid sweetener
2 Tbsp. powdered sugar
1/2 c. rolled oats
1/2 tsp. baking powder
pinch of salt
1/2 c. flour (I used kamut, but any other light-colored flour would do nicely to preserve the yellow shade of the chickpeas)

For Glaze: 1/4 c. strawberry preserves mixed with 1 tbsp. yogurt of choice (I used So Delicious plain coconut yogurt)

1. Preheat the oven to 350. If you are making bars, then grease an 8x8 in. pan. For cookies, prepare a cookie sheet with parchment paper or grease liberally.
2. In a blender or food processor, combine beans, avocado,lemon juice, oil, tahini, lemon extract, agave, and powdered sugar and puree until completely smooth. Add the oats, baking powder, and salt, and pulse until oats are completely ground. Add the flour last and puree until smooth. If the batter is too thick for your blender/ food processor before adding the flour, go ahead and stir it in by hand.
3. For bars, just scoop the batter into the pan and bake for 18-22 mins., until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean. If you prefer cookies, then roll the dough into walnut-sized balls, line them on the tray, and indent with your thumb bef0re baking for 8-10 mins, or until just slightly golden on the bottoms. Prepare the glaze while they bake by combining the preserves and the yogurt in a small bowl.
4. Place the baked bars/ cookies on a cooling rack. When completely cool, prick the bars all over with a fork and then spread the glaze over the top. For the cookies, just fill the thumbprints with the jam.

Strawberry Bundt Cake

1 1/2 cups sliced fresh strawberries

1/3 c. agave nectar

1 tbsp. lemon juice

3 c. whole wheat pastry flour

2 tsp. baking soda

2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1/3 c. cane sugar

1 1/2 c. soy or hemp milk mixed with 1 Tbsp. lemon juice

1 tbsp. lemon extract

1/2 c.applesauce

For glaze: 1/2 cups powdered sugar and 1-2 tbsp. lemon juice

1. Add strawberries, agave, and lemon juice to a blender or food processor and puree until smooth.

2. Preheat oven to 350 and generously grease a bundt pan.

3. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the ww pastry flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

4. Add the non-dairy milk, lemon extract, applesauce, and strawberry mixture to the dry ingredients and fold to combine, being careful not to over-mix. Pour the batter into the prepared bundt pan and bake for 40-50 mins, or until golden and a knife inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool completely (I placed mine in the freezer for a few hours) before inverting the cake onto a serving platter. You can then whisk together the powdered sugar and lemon juice to make the glaze. Poke a few holes in the cake with the tines of a fork and pour the glaze over it. Enjoy with the ice cream recipe that follows!

Strawberry Lemonade Ice Cream
1 14 oz. can coconut milk
1 c. rice or hemp milk
1/4 c. lemon juice
1/2 c. strawberry preserves
1/2 tbsp. lemon extract
Just combine all of the ingredients in a blender and freeze in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's directions. Alternately, I have heard it rumored that you can make ice cream in the freezer without the ice cream maker; here's one method you could try.