I want to make all things pumpkin

I don't know who all these people are that keep saying they are "so over" the pumpkin craze. Because I am not. I am so not over pumpkin. Pumpkin is a fall vegetable that I love eating at this time of year. And this is a super easy dip that has been causing everyone in my family to look forward to an afternoon snack of apple slices.   

5-Ingredient Creamy Pumpkin Dip

Makes 1 cup
Time: 5 minutes to make plus 30 minutes to chill.

1/2 cup pumpkin puree (NOT pumpkin pie filling)

1/2 cup daiya cream cheese

1 1/2 tablespoons maple syrup (or you can add more if you'd like it sweeter)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp ground cinnamon

Wisk together ingredients.  Once you have it mixed everything, put it back in the fridge for at least half an hour to chill.  If you're in a huge rush you can skip this step but it really is at its best when served ice cold. Sometimes if it's been sitting out for a bit I will pop it back into the the fridge or freezer for a few minutes to chill it down again.  Otherwise if it gets too warm you get that little hint of the fake cream cheese taste.  

Serve with apple slices or graham crackers for dipping.

Paleo chocolate ice cream

If you've never made a paleo "ice cream" before you may be surprised at how quick and easy it is. This is such a tasty treat that has a consistency kind of like soft serve ice cream. Keep in mind you will need pre-frozen bananas for this recipe.  And get out the spoons and napkins before you start because it melts quickly even in an air conditioned house!  

Paleo chocolate ice cream
Serves 2

2 large bananas (broken into chunks and frozen)
1.5 Tbsp cocoa powder
2 Tbsp coconutmilk
1 tsp vanilla (I use alcohol-free vanilla but the kind with alcohol works too


Put the frozen banana pieces into the food processor and run it for a few seconds until it gets pretty broken up. 
It will look like this:

 
Then add the other ingredients and puree until smooth, scraping down the sides of the food processor at least once so the cocoa powder gets mixed in.  Depending on the size of your bananas you might alter the quantities of the other ingredients a bit. And if you like things super chocolate-y, add 1/2 tablespoon more of the cocoa powder, that's how I like it!  Just taste as you go, it's pretty hard to screw it up! This is best eaten immediately, I have frozen it before and the texture isn't as good later on.  Enjoy!  

Chocolate, chocolate, chocolate!

Let's face it, chocolate is a big deal.  Desserts were one of my top worries when I stopped eating dairy. However, I have found other things (like cheese) much harder to replace.  The world of dairy free chocolate is pretty much amazing!   Many favorite treats such as chocolate chip cookies and brownies can easily be made from scratch by simply using an alternative milk, non-hydrogenated margarine, and dairy free chocolate in your favorite recipe.  And nowadays there are so many great non-dairy products available to buy (I recommend clicking on the links below to view the products so you know what you are looking for when you go to the store):   

• Ghiradelli Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips :  Look for the yellow package. Some of their other chocolate chips contain dairy ingredients. These taste way better than the Nestle brand chips I was buying for years.  

• Ghirardelli Double Chocolate brownie mix :  Make sure to buy this specific one, some of their other mixes contain dairy ingredients.  I like the Ghiradelli products because they are easy to find at grocery stores and at Target.

• Cocoa Powder:  You can make any of your favorite recipes using cocoa powder because it is always dairy free.  The only thing to watch out for is that you are buying true cocoa powder, not cocoa drink mix, which usually contains dairy. This is my favorite reasonably priced organic cocoa powder.

• Dark chocolate:  Most bars of dark chocolate sold in regular grocery stores are dairy-free so that's an easy one.  It's only tricky if you are looking for one that is soy-free but  I like this one that is also fair trade and is available in better grocery stores.  

• Rice Dream Bites: Chocolate covered "ice cream" bites (my favorite non-dairy frozen treat)  

• So Delicious Coconutmilk ice creams:   These ice creams do taste like coconut so if that's not a flavor you like, you might not like these.  Their chocolate ice cream flavors camouflage the coconut taste better than some of the other flavors. These are available at regular grocery stores but health food stores typically have a wider selection of flavors.  

• Enjoy Life Ricemilk Chocolate Bar:  This is tasty (I prefer it to a regular Hershey's bar) but it's not the most delicious thing I've ever eaten either. However, I'm including it in my list of products because it's a great option for people who do not like dark chocolate.  They also make a version with crispies in it. 

For multiple allergies, check out the family of Enjoy Life  products (which are free of common allergens including gluten, soy, dairy and nuts). Although I prefer the texture of the Ghiradelli chocolate chips, Enjoy Life ones are still good!  And they also sell a variety of different cookies, bars, trail mixes, and chips, some of which are better than others.  

I've listed my favorite products here but the baking aisle at Whole Foods has a variety of dairy free cookie, brownie, frosting, and cake mixes from brands such as Cherrybrook Farms,  Arrowhead Mills and European Gourmet Bakery Organics.  If you don't mind transfat, Duncan Hines has pareve baking mixes available at regular super markets (check out my FAQ if you are not familiar with using pareve labeling to identify dairy free products).

A last word of advice:  Cocoa butter is NOT dairy so if you see that on a label, don't worry!  

Avocado Fudgesicles

My 3-year-old had never had ice cream until a month ago on the 4th of July.  Part of the reason is that most ice cream has dairy in it, but the main reason is that we eat pretty healthy and I just saw no point in introducing him to something like that before it was necessary.  Before you think I live on Mars or know some magical secret, I never said he hasn't had any junk food before.  In fact, when we took him to the dentist last time they gave him one of those blue Fla-Vor Ice things.  I could have said no but I try to have a general policy that if we are out of the house and my son is offered a food, he can eat it as long as he is not allergic to it.   I was really mad about it though because it is the dentist!  If they can't even back me up on the whole "sugar is bad for your teeth" thing, well then my kids are never gonna believe anything I say!  

Anyway, depending on your definition of ice cream, my son still hasn't had it since the recipe I used was mostly avocado, dates, cocoa powder, and canned coconutmilk.  But to his inexperienced palate, the frozen treat I made was AMAZING.  Actually, my husband and I thought it was pretty great too!  I can't wait to make it again, it was that good.  

Here is the link to the recipe I made at  The Whole Life Nutrition Kitchen.  I followed her instructions and ingredients exactly and was quite pleased with the result. The only point I disagree with the blogger on is that she says you can eat it as a pudding.  I personally could taste a mild avocado flavor before it was frozen so I definitely recommend putting it in the popsicle molds and freezing it before serving. 

Sorry I don't have any pictures to post.  We gobbled them up too quickly!  

Peanut Butter Bars

This is my step-sister Julie's recipe and she is famous among friends and family for making the best peanut butter bars ever. I was incredibly honored when she shared it with me at my bridal shower and I used to guard the recipe as a closely held family secret. But now with the advent of pinterest, there are lots of similar peanut butter bar recipes all over the place. Don't get me wrong, these are still the best! I didn't make any ingredient changes to her original recipe, other than use Earth Balance instead of butter.  It is ahhh-mazing, made either way.   

If you don't care too much what the bars look like, this is one of the easiest desserts ever. If you want them to be picture perfect to give away to friends, like Julie does, they take a tiny bit more work.  

Peanut Butter Bottom Layer
2 cups peanut butter*
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla 
1/2 cup non-hydrogenated margarine, melted

Add the peanut butter, powdered sugar, and brown sugar to a mixing bowl.  Stir the vanilla into the melted margarine and then add both to the bowl.  Stir everything together (the mixture will be stiff). Press into an ungreased 9x11 pan. If you want them to look pretty, make sure to use a spatula to level the peanut butter mixture out so that it is even thickness all the way around (I never do this. Or I have once but it was so long ago I might have imagined it). Also, I do not have a 9x11 pan and so mine never come out looking quite as good as when Julie makes them in the 9x11 pan.  But they still taste great!  

Chocolate Topping
1 pkg semi-sweet chocolate chips (make sure they are dairy free!)  
1/2 cup non-hydrogenated margarine

Melt the chocolate chips and butter in a saucepan over low heat.  Stir until completely smooth and pour over peanut butter layer, spreading with a spatula to make it as smooth and even as you can. Chill in the refrigerator for 3 hours and then cut into bars.  You can really chill them as long as you want, but pull them out of the fridge about 10 minutes before you cut them to make the cutting go a little more smoothly.  


*You must buy regular old peanut butter for this recipe.  No healthy peanut butters that lack added oils or must be stirred.  Think Jiff, Skippy, or Peter Pan...  

Chocolate Frosting

Frosting that's delicious and easy to make? Yes, please.

Basic Chocolate Frosting

2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup cocoa powder (plain, unsweetened)
1/2 cup Earth Balance Buttery Spread (no need to soften but make sure you use the kind in the tub)
3 Tbsp soy or almondmilk
2 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Using a handmixer, blend together the Earth Balance, powdered sugar, and cocoa powder.  When it's roughly mixed together, add the milk and vanilla.  Blend until smooth.




Note:  Putting this frosting into the fridge changes the texture a bit so I recommend making it the same day you plan to frost your cake.


P.S. When my mixer broke during the last test batch, I found out that you can mix this frosting in a pinch using a handblender.  It took a long time to get smooth though...