Mini Grain-Free, GF, Dairy-Free, Sugar-Free, Vegan Chocolate Brownie Bites

I wanted to make something…..a brownie but way healthier…and while I was at it, why not make it grain-free, sugar-free, gf, dairy-free, etc? Why not? I know, I’m a little crazy. :) I like challenges though. :) So I used this fabulous recipe as a reference and then made changes as I needed/wanted. And these beautiful brownie bites (who look just like those heavy calorie and overpriced and over refined ones from your local grocery store are the result. The one with orange on top is a  mini brownie bite with “orange sorbet” (or, better known as a “scoop” (or teaspoon) of frozen orange juice concentrate.  They came out well, my only complaint was that they took a long time to cook and weren’t really very sweet (even for me.) Next time, I’d add in stevia or more agave and reduce some of the milk. Let me know if you try this and what you do. For now, I will include the changes you can make to make it better, too. :) (And next time I feel up to a challenge will experiment some more…and update you if I get better results.) Don’t let this discourage you from trying or experimenting with these though…..they are so close to perfect…especially since they are almost free of everything. but still full of goodness and of course, chocolate. :) Are you ready for the recipe? Ok, here it goes:

Mini Grain-Free, GF, Dairy-Free, Sugar-Free, Vegan Chocolate Brownie Bites

Ingredients:

1/2 c. +  sweet milk or dairy free sweet milk (Reduce to 1/4 c. if wanting a sweet brownie, and add 1/4. c. agave in it’s place)

1/8 t. xanthum gum

1/4 t. baking powder (Kelly’s recipe is grain-free)

1/4 t. baking soda

3.5 T. cocoa

1/2 c. peanut butter or other nut butter or seed butter (tip: if you want a peanut buttery taste, use peanut butter or sunflower seed butter. If you want something that will blend in better and not overwhelm the chocolate flavor, try almond butter or a seed butter etc.)

1/8 t. salt

1 T. agave (or eliminate and add 1/4 t. stevia extract if you want a sweeter brownie)

Combine the above ingredients. Grease mini muffin tins and spoon dough/batter into tin. Baked it at 350 for about 20-30 minutes. Time will vary depending on your oven and if you use the alterations or not.  Also, these are best cold or right out of the the freezer (just be sure to remove them from the pan first because it’s harder to get them out frozen!) You can also try with them with a sweeter ice-cream or something...like I mentioned I used orange fruit concentrate for sorbet…but for most people, I’m guessing another flavor of fruit juice concentrate would be sweeter and more complimentary…like…raspberry. Yum! :) Anyways, whatever wahy you make it, be sure to comment here or email me and let me know how you did it…I’d sure love to know! (even if it doesn’t work out for you…let me know and we’ll see what we can do.) I decided that this recipe had too much of a potential to not post!!! Enjoy and Experiment and let me know all about it! :)

Healthy Homemade Chocolate Frosty! (Dairy-free!) + GF and sugar-free!

Does anyone else crave those old favorite sometimes? I know I do. And often, I try to recreate them. This recipe wasn’t originally intended to be a frosty but as soon as I realized what it’s potential could be (ie. a frosty) I was more than excited. :) It tastes just like a frosty, with a hint of coconut. I even received thumbs up from my non-restricted diet friends..they even had seconds. :) Trust us, it is that good. I am going to give you both dairy-free and dairy-full directions so that you can use what you have and are able to tolerate. :) It is loosely based off this recipe…..

Ari’s Homemade Chocolate Frosty (Just Like Wendy’s!)

Ingredients:

• 1/2 c. honey, agave, or maple syrup


• 1-1/2 c. full fat coconut milk (DF) or (if not DF cream)


• 1-1/2 c. light coconut milk (DF) or (if not DF skim-2% milk)


• 5 T. cocoa

Mix all the ingredients together in a blender. Pour into your ice-cream maker and allow to turn until “frosty”-like. Serve immediately! ;) Enjoy!

I am submitting this to this June 2010's Go Ahead Honey, Dairy-Free Delights

Chocolate Banana “Ice cream”

To make this simple ice-cream, all you need is a little sweetener, water,  cocoa (1/4- 1/2 c.) and four frozen bananas. Add the frozen bananas in chunks, to your ice-cream maker or food processor and then add cocoa and sweetener (preferably liquid) to taste.  Then add water until it reaches the right consistency. Serves 2-4. YUM!

Low-fat Creamy Fruit-Sweetened Banana Coconut Ice-Cream

I was really inspired by Elana’s recipe. Thanks Elana! It looked delicious but I had one slight problem! I have a hard time handling large amounts of fat at once so I set about to make my own version.

First off, I had to make a lower-fat coconut milk. So, I figured out that 2T of full fat coconut milk mixed with about a cup of water in my blender would equal 60 calories per serving and 5 g of fat. And guess what? That is the basic recipe for low-fat coconut milk! Just double or triple it, etc to make a larger quantity.

My recipe:

4-5 medium bananas, sliced thin (see photo)
2 dates, sliced thin
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

3-4 c. l0w-fat coconut milk, homemade

Preheat your oven for 375. In a 9×13 pan, place sliced bananas. Sprinkle dates over the bananas. Pour the vanilla over the whole dish. Throw it in the oven for 20-45 mins (depending on how long it takes for your bananas and dates to caramelize). Watch carefully as you don’t want them to burn!

When they are done, take them out and let them cool a little. Add coconut milk and banana mix to a blender. Blend until smooth. Pour into your ice-cream maker. Best served then and there but left-overs can be stored in the freezer and then defrosted carefully on the counter.

Homemade Low Calorie, Low Fat Peach Sherbet

Mmmm…..peaches. I love summer fruit. I decided to make this recipe after looking at Katrina’s recipe.

1 c. almond milk or your favorite non-dairy milk of choice

1/4 c. fruit-sweetened jam (peach especially)

1 egg white, if desired (helps texture)

4 cups of peaches (peeled and cut up)

1 peach set aside, peeled and cut up

Blend jam, egg white (opt), peaches, and milk in a blender. Add set aside peach slices and don’t turn the blender back on. Just stir. Pour into your ice cream maker. Enjoy!

Let me know what variations you tried…and how it came out!

Homemade (and Sugar-Free) Summer Mango Sorbet!

Homemade (and Sugar-Free) Summer Mango Sorbet

With all my posts about “ice-cream” I thought I should post one you can make yourself! I found this recipe and then altered it to yield more, become sugar-free, etc. This is a really good refreshing dessert perfect for summer days. Plus, this is the first recipe that I've made sugar-free in quite a while that I had people try and give compliments on. They also could not believe it was sugar-free (refined-sugar free that is ;) )!

Yields: About one half gallon

Ingredients:

6 ripe mangoes, peeled and chopped into small squares (the riper, the better)

2/3 c. lemon juice

2 T. and 1.5 t. stevia powder OR about 1 c. agave nectar

3/4 c. pasteurized egg whites (4 large egg whites)

Prepare your mangoes and set them in a big bowl. Add other ingredients. Stir. Fill your blender halfway full of the mixture. Puree. Pour liquid into another big bowl. Fill blender halfway again and as many times as necessary to get all the ingredients mixed together and pureed. Add them to the other big bowl. Mix with a spoon. Taste to see if it’s sweet enough for you. If not, add more sweetener. I prefer this with agave nectar but you may need to play around a bit with the amount according to your tastes. I know the stevia amounts worked fine for me, but it wasn’t really sweet either. That’s why I suggest you taste. Everyone has their preference which is why it’s great that you get to decide. Anyway, pour into your ice-cream maker and follow manufacturers instructions.

Or, if you don’t have one, follow the directions from the original website: “To make the sorbet without an ice-cream maker, pour the mixture into a freezer-proof container, cover and freeze until the sorbet is just firm. Chop the sorbet and process the mixture until smooth. Return the sorbet to the container, cover and freeze until firm.”

Either way, when it’s done it needs to go in a freezable container. (That is if you want to wait that long to eat it! )

This was entered into Amy Green's Slightly Indulgent Carnival (Round One). See it here!