Vanilla or Chocolate Chia Seed Pudding

I have two exciting things for you this Monday morning:

1. My first ever video recipe!

2. A high protein meatless snack for Meatless Monday: Vanilla or Chocolate Chia Seed Pudding!

This week, I created a video teaching you how to make Vanilla or Chocolate Chia Seed Pudding.  Chia seeds were featured in my first video on 5 High Protein Vegetarian Sources That You May Not Know About.  Now, I’m teaching you how to use them in the video below!

Makes 1 serving

Ingredients:

3/4 cup of Vanilla Almond Milk or Chocolate Milk

1 tablespoon of non-fat Greek yogurt

2 tablespoons of Chia seeds

Sliced strawberries (optional)

Shredded coconut (optional)

Directions:

1) In a bowl, combine the milk (use only one type of milk), yogurt and chia seeds and combine with a whisk.

2) Pour the chia seed mixture in a container and refrigerate for at least 2-3 hours (preferably overnight).

3) When ready to serve, top with sliced strawberries and shredded coconut.

Chocolate Pomegranate Love Nests

I’m really not big on Valentine’s Day.  My boyfriend and I don’t even have plans, but he does love sweets, so I made him a decadent treat.  We were recently in this vegetable market by our apartment and he pointed out pomegranate seeds.  “These would be good for a Valentine’s Day recipe and blog post,” he said. Although he really doesn’t know much about cooking or baking, it was a really great suggestion.  So, I threw the seeds into my basket and sought out to make a dessert.

Voila! These simple, 4 ingredient, no-bake Chocolate Pomegranate Love Nests were created.  The dark chocolate and pomegranate seeds are packed with antioxidants, so this is a Valentine’s Day dessert that you can eat without the guilt! And they look like little bird’s nests, so make them for your love bird…or not.

Makes 6 Nests

Ingredients:

1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1/4 cup pomegranate seeds

1/4 cup unsalted pumpkin seeds

sprinkle sea salt

Directions:

1) Line a muffin tin with parchment paper.

2) Place the chocolate chips in the microwave for 30 seconds. Stir.  Microwave another 30 seconds, and stir again.  Microwave another 15 seconds.  Stir until the chocolate is creamy.  If needed, microwave another 15 seconds.

3) Add the pomegranate seeds and pumpkin seeds to melted chocolate and stir.

4) Pour the chocolate mixture into 6 segments of the muffin tin, so that they are just coating the bottom.  If needed, use a fork to evenly spread the mixture. Sprinkle sea salt on each nest.

5) Place the muffin tin in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.  The chocolate will harden and the nests will pop right out when ready.

 

 

 

Recipe ReDux: No- Sugar Orange Cranberry Oat Bread

This month’s Recipe ReDux challenge really forced me outside of my comfort zone. The challenge was to “show us your new quick bread creation fresh from the oven”. I am soo not a baker, and (I hate admitting this) I had to look up what constituted a “quick bread”. I have much more of a salt tooth than a sweet tooth, so I rarely have the urge to bake. When I was a kid at birthday parties and someone would put plate of cake in front of me, I would politely say, “no thank you”. They would look at me like I had ten heads. Since I’m not great with sweets, I decided to make a more savory (with a hint of sweet) quick bread. This Orange Cranberry Oat Bread has a slight sweet taste from the orange, but also a tart taste from the cranberries. It’s made with mostly whole wheat flour to add some protein and fiber, and tit only contains dates and 1 tablespoon of maple syrup as a sweetener. This bread is a great holiday treat to bring to parties or to make for a holiday family breakfast.

Makes 1 loaf

Ingredients:
1 cup white whole wheat flour
1 cup all purpose flour
1 teaspoon of baking powder
1 teaspoon of baking soda
1/4 teaspoon of salt
1/2 teaspoon of orange zest
1/4 cup orange juice
1 egg
1 teaspoon of vanilla
2 tablespoons of vegetable oil
1/2 cup of pitted dates
1 cup of skim milk
1 tablespoon of maple syrup
1 cup of fresh cranberries
cooking spray
1 teaspoon oats
1 teaspoon of semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Combine the whole wheat flour, all purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in one bowl.
3. In a food processor, combine the orange zest, orange juice, egg, vanilla, vegetable oil, dates, milk and maple syrup.  Grind until smooth.
4. Pour the liquid mixture into the flour mixture and stir until combined.
5. Spray a loaf pan with cooking spray.  Evenly pour the mixture into the loaf pan.  Top the bread with the oats and chocolate chips.
6. Bake in the oven for 35 minutes.
7. At the end of cooking, stick a knife into the center of the loaf to check for doneness.  If there is no residue on the knife, the loaf is cooked. If the knife is sticky, place the loaf back in the oven for 3-5 minutes.

Recipe ReDux: Peppermint Patties

February 21^st is my parent’s 34th wedding anniversary. Pretty awesome, right? It also happens to be my Recipe ReDux day. This month’s Recipe ReDux challenge is to show my “favorite healthy chocolate combo recipe”. I must say that I definitely took some liberties with this challenge because what I created is not really “healthy”. BUT, my homemade Peppermint Patties only have 5 ingredients and they don’t contain any additives… not to mention that they are my mom’s absolute FAVORITE candy. With the combination of Valentine’s Day, my parent’s wedding anniversary, and my Recipe ReDux chocolate challenge, it seemed only fitting to make this delectable treat. And I’m a big believer in indulging every once in a while, so go ahead and make these Peppermint Patties as a weekend treat!

Makes 8-12 Patties

Ingredients:

2 cups powdered sugar

½ teaspoon mint oil (I found this at Whole Foods)

3 tablespoons of vegetable oil

1 tablespoon of water

1 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:

• Combine the powdered sugar, mint oil, vegetable oil, and water in a bowl and mix. You may have to use your hands to mix evenly.
• Separate sugar mixture into 2-3 inch discs (as pictured below). Lay out on a baking sheet or cutting board and refrigerate for 1 hour.
• After an hour, place the chocolate in a microwave safe bowl and microwave for 30 seconds, then stir. Keep microwaving in 30-second increments until the chocolate is melted. It should take about 1.5 minutes total.
• Line a baking sheet with wax/parchment paper. Take each sugared ball and dip into the melted chocolate (I used a spoon to make sure it stayed together). Then place the chocolate covered filling on the parchment paper. Repeat with each sugar ball.
• Refrigerate the finished peppermint patties for at least 30 minutes. The chocolate should be solid when they are ready to eat!
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