Better For You Chocolate Fudge (tofu) Pie

I'm very much a last minute, procrastinator person. Which is odd, because I can't stand procrastinators...
It's not that I mean to be, or want to be unorganized and not plan things, but I do much better last minute.

A friend and I had to make food for a baby shower last weekend, and we didn't decide what we were making til the morning before. '


I do my best work under pressure, what can I say?


Those people that plan things months in advance, and have everything all ready to go the day of an event or what not- I envy them. But, you know, that's just not me... I like the thrill of living on the edge. Or something of that nature.


So, all that to say, I had made this pie in pi day like, 3 weeks ago. Not that that has anything to do with procrastinating, but.....well, yeah, I guess it does.

I had originally intended to share this pie with you ON Pi day. But since I didn't, now all you plan ahead people can plan to make this pie for pi day NEXT year. See what I did there?

Honestly though, Jon didn't believe me that this was a tofu based pie. Which makes me sad. Poor tofu has such a bad rep. So don't be fooled by the fact that this has the stuff in it. You won't know. No one will know. Cross my heart.

It tastes so decadent and rich and is amazingly creamy. I topped ours with coconut milk whipped cream to.
Yes, that was a good day.

Better For You Chocolate Fudge Pie
(Adapted slightly from:Chocolate Covered Katie)

13 oz firm tofu
1 tsp. cocoa powder
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
2 Tbsp. Almond Milk
1/8 tsp. salt
1/4 cup raw honey or agave nectar
1 1/2 cups Ghiardelli semi sweet chocolate chips

In a small pan, stir the chocolate chips over low heat until right before they are completely melted.
Turn off heat, and continue to stir til smooth.

Combine all ingredients (including melted chocolate) in a food processor or Ninja, and blend for a minute or so until completely smooth.

You can either pour directly into a pie plate and refrigerate until firm or if you are using a crust, pour into  completely cooled crust.

I used THIS crust recipe. Any will do though!

For the coconut milk whipped cream:
1 can FULL FAT coconut milk
1 Tbsp. sugar (or more depending on your tastebuds)
1 tsp. vanilla

Place coconut milk in your fridge overnight, or at least 6 hours.
It will get very thick.
Scoop out the thick, creamy deliciousness off the top, and leave the liquidy stuff on the bottom behind.

In a mixer with a whisk attachment, whip the cream for 30 seconds on high.
Add sugar and vanilla.
Whip for another minute or so until you have a light fluffy, whipped cream texture.

Serve with your pie and enjoy heaven on a plate!

Paleo Coconut Lemon Bars

I have been really into lemon these days. Just can't get enough of the stuff!

I tend to go through food phases- not unlike every other person on this world, correct? Another obsession being mustard. 

Any kind, straight from the bottle. 

I just can't help myself when left alone with a bottle of the stuff...this is not weird.

My (mostly) Paleo experiments these days have been pretty successful, which is exciting, and it hasn't been nearly as scary or difficult as I thought it would be to be creative and somewhat inventive! I've actually had a lot of fun with it!

So I made these paleo lemon bars today to satisfy a fierce lemon dessert desire.

They are a little different than the traditional lemon bar, in that the crust isn't your typical shortbread crust. It's more heavy, because it's made with almonds. It also has a slight coconut taste because of the coconut oil...so if you despise coconut, you probably wont really like these.

I halved my recipe, but this is the full 8x12" pan version.

Paleo Coconut Lemon Bars

adapted from Civlized Caveman Cooking

Filling:

6 whole eggs

1/2 cup raw, organic honey

1/2 cup coconut oil

1 cup lemon juice 

Unsweetened shredded coconut (for topping, but optional)

Crust:

Pre-heat oven to 400.

2 cups raw almonds

1/4 cup raw, organic honey

1/2 cup melted coconut oil

2 organic eggs

For the filling:

Whisk together eggs, honey and lemon juice in a pan. Add in coconut oil and turn heat up to medium high and whisk constantly until filling is thickened and bubbling.

Pour mixture into a bowl and refrigerate until the crust is done and cooled completely.

For the crust:

Place almonds in a food processor and grind until they are small chunks. You do not want them in a powder.

Melt coconut oil, and mix honey and eggs with oil.

Stir in almonds.

Pour mixture into greased pan. (I greased mine with coconut oil)

Bake for 15-18 minutes.

Allow crust to cool completely before pouring filling on top, and sprinkling with coconut.

Place in the freezer for at least 30 minutes before cutting.

Enjoy!

Cashew Chocolate Whipped Cream!

So, I don't want to disappoint anyone...but I've kinda done a diet revamp. 

Cake is wonderful, and I still eat it, but something has sort of clicked in me lately that has made me think more seriously about the food I am putting into my body. 

I have heard the 'all things in moderation' phrase a bazillion times, and to an extent, i agree. BUT, everytime we tell ourselves we can eat that processed, hydrogenated fat, artificial flavor laden thing  juust  this one time, it adds up to being NOT just this one time. It adds up to hundreds of times, which in turn, affect our health in the long term.

Obviously, I am no doctor or scientist.

But, I do believe we have the gift of technology and a wealth of information around us which makes life a whole lot easier to learn and become knowledgeable about the world we live in and our amazing bodies we have been given!

That being said, I encourage you to look into ways we can combat sickness and disease through the food we eat! I have been blown away by all the things I thought were healthy for me, and come to find out- its all garbage. Just another ploy for companies too make money off of us consumers.

I'm also trying to get better at shopping for  as cheap as possible while buying as much organic, unprocessed food as possible. Any tips? Sadly, theres no such thing as coupons for fresh produce, cheese and meat. That annoys me!

So, even though I am making some drastic changes in my diet, I don't want to ever give up my sweets. I love them, they love me. We're in love. 

Im just figuring out how to healthify things and make them more nutritious so I'm not just loading up on empty carbs and sugar.

Have you ever had Cashew whipped cream? I know it's huge in vegan land, and I've wanted to do it for awhile now, so today was the pretty exciting day that I actually DID it!

Its really good.

I don't think I would call it whipped cream, more like a mousse. But a little lighter than a mousse.

Whatever, it's chocolate, sweet and made from cashews and coconut oil. Delicious and MUCH better for you than Cool Whip. I'm sure the ingredients in cool whip can be tweaked in a way to make building material strong enough to withstand nuclear war.

This is a multiple step process. So don't be thinking you can just pop out the food processor and whip it together. 

Patience, my friend!

I did play by play pictures to hopefully help you with this multiple step process; I realize they are horrible and gross. Apologies.

Cashew Chocolate Whipped Cream

adapted from Magic Jelly

For the cream:

1 cup raw cashews, soaked overnight 

2 Cups filtered water

2 Tbsp. organic,  coconut oil

2 tsp. organic, raw sugar

1/4 tsp salt

For Whipping it:

 1/4 cup organic confectioners sugar

2 tsp. vanilla extract

4 Tbsp. Vegan margarine

1/2 cup Enjoy Life semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 Tbsp non-hydrogenated shortening or coconut oil (for melting)

Drain and rinse the cashews. Place in your food processor with 1 cup of the water and blend for 1 minute, so you have a thick paste. It will probably be a bit grainy still.

Pour cashew paste and remaining cup of water in a medium sauce pan, and heat through.

Add coconut oil, sugar and salt and stir constantly for 5-10 minutes until it is thickened and gently bubbling.

Allow to simmer 5-10 minutes- don't stop stirring this whole time!

Take off the heat and return to food processor (I used my Ninja, the thing is amazing!), and puree for 3-5 minutes. Once your mixture is completely smooth, pour into a bowl and refrigerate until completely cool.

Once completely cool, pour your mixture into a mixing bowl along with confectioners sugar and vanilla.

Beat with whisk attachment on high for about 1 minute.

In a separate bowl an electric whisk, beat the margarine until pale and fluffy. Add to cashew mixture. Beat the two together for 2 minutes on high. Soft peaks with develop if all is done correctly!

Melt Chocolate chips at 2, 25 second intervals, stirring well in between.

Pour chocolate into your 'cream' mixture and whip it on high for another minute or two.

(action shot, and darned flash went off)

Pour final mixture into a pretty little bowl, and refrigerate for about 30 minutes to firm it up.

Me and my daughter LOVED this.

I hope you enjoy it and I would love to hear about any other variations I could do!

Notes: 

-You can add more confectioners sugar if you want more sweetness. I'm sure you can sweeten with dates, too, I'm just not sure how to. This is all very new to me!

-This cream is a little on the soft side. For a thicker cream, the cashew to water ratio should be 1:1.

-If you don't want chocolate cream, omit chocolate chips.

-You can also do this with almonds!

-If you didnt think ahead of time to soak the nuts over night you can also place them in a saucepan with water and bring to simmer. Turn off heat and allow to cool completely.

-Fantastic with strawberries, bananas, and pretty much anything you can think of. Our favorite was spoon to mouth.

Reese Smore's Bars

I have a problem with people.


More specifically, people in their cars.


I was out running errands the other day, and noticed a man driving next to me, shamelessly digging for gold with his finger halfway  up his nose. 

A GROWN man. 

Do people think their cars are an invisible bubble?! You probably see this all the time....But some of my favorites are the people that are checking themselves out, flashing smiles in the mirror, making sure their nose hairs are all plucked, checking for lipstick on there teeth.

I just feel like if you're on the road with thousands of other people, and in a car that is very 
window-y, you would maybe remember that like, EVERYONE CAN SEE YOU.

So if you're tempted to pick your boogers in your car on a highway, don't do it. I can see you, and It's gross. Super gross.

Now we go from boogers to possibly the best bars in existence.

Just this past summer, when my family would have a fire in the firepit we started making our smores with reeses instead of hershey bars. And we never went back. 
It's nothing earth shattering and I'm sure many of you have done the same....but if you haven't, you are living a sad, sad life.

These bars taste like Reeses smores, except better.

Reeses S'mores Bars
adapted from The Sweet Life
Oven:350

• 1 Cup Butter
• 1 Cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 Cup white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 TBSP. vanilla
• 2 1/2 cups flour
• 2 tsp, baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 2 Cups graham cracker crumbs
• 24-30 Large reeses PB cups
• 3-4 Cups fluff (I did one large container)

Spray a 9x13" pan with cooking spray.

Beat together butter and sugars until fluffy- for about a minute.

Beat in eggs and vanilla. All at once add the flour, baking powder, salt and cracker crumbs and mix on low until combined.

Press 1/2-2/3 of the dough onto the bottom of prepared pan.

Evenly arrange the PB cups and lightly press into the the dough.

Spread fluff all evenly all over the PB cups.

With the remaining dough, break it up in 4 or 5 chunks and press each chunk flat on a lightly floured surface.

Piece all the dough on top of the fluff layer and gently press down on everything to bring all the dough together into one sheet of dough.

Bake for 30 minutes.

Allow to cool for at least 2 hours before cutting. You can dig into them right away, but don't expect nice neat bars....they will be a beautiful disaster.

Enjoy!

Oatmeal Butterscotch Chocolate Chip Coconut Cookie Cheesecake

So, I need to confess.
Diet resolution people annoy me badly.

Every time I hear people talk about their diet/weight loss/work out resolutions it makes me want to yell something. Like, STOP.

Who even follows through with their resolutions, anyway? 
All these people and their little eat lettuce only and run 10 miles a day diets....I mean, does that sound realistic for you?! Do people REALLY think that they can maintain that kind of lifestyle for the rest of their lives? And if they're doing it just to get to a certain weight, what happens when (if) they do get to that weight? They know nothing about healthy, nutritious eating, and most of the time (the people I've watched) just gain it all back cause they haven't made realistic LIFE changes! 
It's like an all or nothing mentality...which, I must confess, up until recently was me.
I hate the word moderation, but it's really the only word adequate for the type of lifestyle that will lead you to success when it comes to your health, and lets face it- your happiness. Who want's to be around a skinny grumpy person??! I think we all agree we like the people best that make good food, enjoy good food and laugh a lot. 
Besides, laughing burns a lot of calories. Well, I don't know if that's scientific...but in my universe it's a good ab workout.

So, seriously, If I hear one more person say they are on a diet, or talk about how all they ate all day was celery and cabbage soup, I don't know what I will do, but i'll think of something not good.

I made this cheesecake today. It's our favorite in my house...if you are one of those non coconut loving people, you can obviously leave it out!

I hope you allow yourself to eat dessert :)


Oatmeal Butterscotch Chocolate Chip Coconut Cookie Cheesecake
Pre-heat oven to 350.

Crust:
1 stick butter
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 cup flour, mounded
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 baking soda
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 cup quick or old fashioned oats
1/2 cup butterscotch chips
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup sweetened shredded, coconut

Cream together butter, sugars, egg and vanilla.
Add in flour, salt, baking soda and cinnamon and mix on low just until combined.
All together add oats, both kids of chips and coconut.
Mix on low until it all comes together.

Press dough into the bottom and 1 inch up the sides of a greased 9" spring form pan.

Cheesecake filling:
3, 8 oz. packages cream cheese, out at room temp for about 30 minutes
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 Tbsp. AP flour
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp cinnamon
3 Tbsp. milk
3 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup butterscotch chips
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup sweetened, shredded coconut

In the same bowl you made your crust with, (it's ok if there is a little cookie dough that didn't get 100% scraped out!) beat cream cheese and both sugars together for 1 minute, scraping down the bowl a few times.
Add in vanilla, cinnamon and milk mixing well, then pour in your beaten eggs.
Mix well, and add chips and coconut.
Scrape down the bowl to get everything combined well if needed.

Pour into your cookie dough crust, and place the spring form pan in a shallow baking dish such as a cookie sheet that has an edge at least 1 inch high.
Bake for 45-55 minutes or until a 2 1/2" area around the outer edges starts to brown and no longer jiggles.

Cool in the spring form pan for 20 minutes before loosening the edges and allowing to sit for another 20 minutes before completely removing the sides. You may need a knife to help loosen the edges a bit.

Allow to chill for at least 4 hours before chowing down!

Cinnamon Roll Fried Dough Balls

I have always been afraid of frying things for whatever reason... I think cause it just seemed scary working with hot oil and stuff. But now that I have done it a few times and have the hang of it I want to fry everything and can't stop thinking about different things to try frying.

These were an experiment yesterday that turned out quite fabulously! My uncle and husband were working at our house when I fed these to them, and they were both RAVING about them. I won't lie, they were pretty tasty.

And by pretty tasty, I mean amazing! And SO so easy!
They would be perfect for breakfast. Who doesn't love fried cinnamon sugar things for breakfast?

Cinnamon Roll Fried Dough Balls
Yield:12

1 cup AP flour
1/8 tsp. baking soda
2 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
3 TBSP. butter
1/2 cup buttermilk
Oil- For frying

Mix flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt together.
Cut butter into chunks and keep cutting with a pastry cutter until it resembles coarse crumbs.
Add buttermilk and mix just until combined. You may need to add a bit more buttermilk- the dough should be pretty moist.
Turn dough out onto a floured surface, and need 5 times.
Press into a 1/2" disc with your hands...NOT a rolling pin.
Moisten surface of dough with water using your hands so the cinnamon and sugar will stick well.

Cinnamon sugar filling:
(these are approximate measurements cause I didn't actually measure)

1/4-1/2 cup sugar
1 Tbsp. cinnamon

Liberally sprinkle cinnamon sugar mixture all over surface of the dough. I used all mine...Basically the more you use, the yummier these things will be!
Tightly roll up dough and slice into 1/2" slices.
With your hand, press down on each disc so it doesn't fall apart when you pick it up to dry it.

Heat oil to around 375.
Drop 3-4 dough balls/sices in at a time and fry until golden brown on each side.

Glaze:
2 Tbsp. melted butter
2 Cups powered sugar
3 Tbsp. milk (more may be needed)

While they're still warm, glaze with a generous amount of glaze and eat!

Chocolate Chip Butterfinger Bars with Peanut Butter Frosting

75% off  halloween candy, anyone?

Usually the week after halloween, the only candy left over that they mark down to 50 and 75% off is all the gross, cheap, fruit stuff. You know, like smarties...and other gross things. I can't think of any other ones they have. But they're not chocolatey so they're not good.

When you have bags and bags of candy in your cupboard, it's impossible to not go crazy with insane combinations of sugary-ness.

Lately I've been doing really well with not having dessert always in the house, and keeping stocked up on plenty of fruit and veggies instead. It's a love hate thing....I love sugar, but I feel SO much better not always eating it. It's amazing how much better you feel when you feed your body clean, whole food! 

That being said- I will never ever ever ever give up my sweets. Ever.

So this is for your inner fat kid.

Chocolate Chip Butterfinger Bars with Peanut Butter Frosting
1 Cup Butter
1 Cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 Tbsp. vanilla
2 eggs
2 1/2 cups AP flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
about 16-18 fun sized butterfinger bars, roughly chopped
2 Cup chocolate chips


Pre-heat oven to 350.
In an electric mixer with paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar.
Add in vanilla and eggs an mix well, scraping down the sides of the bowl.
Turn off mixer and all at once add flour, baking soda and salt.
Mix just until combined, and add in butterfingers and chocolate chips, mixing until everything is mixed together well.
Press into a 9x13" pan and bake for 20-25 minutes. NO LONGER!
Remove from oven and allow to cool completely before frosting.

Peanut Butter Frosting
2 Sticks Butter, softened
1 cup peanut butter
5-6 cups powdered sugar

Beat butter and PB til smooth, scrape sides of bowl and one cup at a time, add in powdered sugar.
Frost cooled bars.

Chocolate Ganache 
2 cups chocolate chips
1/4 Cup cream
In a small saucepan over low heat melt chocolate with cream just before it is smooth. Turn off heat and keep stirring until smooth.
Spread over frosting layer.

Sprinkle with additional chopped butterfinger bars, if desired.

Enjoy!

Peanut Butter Snickers Stuffed Brownies

Hurricanes tend to ruin a lot of plans...
Unfortunately, weather doesn't seem to care about our plans, and we have to roll with the punches. My heart really does go out to everyone who lost their homes and neighborhoods in the storm. I can't even begin to imagine the heartache that comes with losing your home. For a lot of people, the houses they lost were ones they had grown up in, or raised their families in.
I hope that's a loss I never have to experience.

I know houses are just material things, but there are so many memories built into a home. It's more than a building, but a refuge. That place you can't wait to get back to after a hard day, or a long vacation; that place that family gathers for holidays and football games and many great meals, and fun times are shared.

Remember to take time to pray for those families that are hurting.

On a lighter note, I am in a dilemma because of this storm.

Trick or treating was supposed to be this past monday. But, because of the storm, it was cancelled until November 4th.

NOVEMBER 4TH!!!!

Do you have any idea how much candy I have in my kitchen right now, waiting for cute little kids to snatch it up?!

Tons.

And now, I have to have it in my kitchen for another 4 days. And I have to try to not eat it.

Obviously, resisting completely is......well, impossible.
So I've been sneaking a few here and there.

And tomorrow is the day after Halloween  so everything will be 50% off......I''ll just replenish then.

But I made brownies with some of the snickers that have been taunting me and they were some of the best brownies me and my husband EVER had!!!!!

Peanut Butter Snickers Stuffed Brownies
Pre-heat oven to 350

-1 Box of your favorite brownie mix, or THIS recipe doubled, which is what I used!
-1 cup smooth peanut butter
-27-30 mini snickers bars
-1 cup milk chocolate chips

Line and an 8x8" baking dish with wax paper or tinfoil, and lightly grease.
Prepare your brownie batter.
Spread half of the batter into prepared dish.

Place unwrapped (duh) snickers close together onto first layer of brownie batter.

In a microwave safe bowl, heat up peanut butter at 30 second intervals, stirring well until smooth and liquid.

Pour peanut butter evenly, all over snickers.

Carefully pour and spread the other half of your brownie batter over snickers and peanut butter layer.

Bake for 40-45 minutes.

Immedeately spread chocolate chips all over the top and let melt for a couple minutes before
spreading around melted chocolate smooth all over the top.

Allow to completely cool before removing tin foil or paper from pan and cutting into squares!
Enjoy these babies!