Whole Cranberry Sauce with Clementine - Just in time for Thanksgiving

As you are getting ready for Thanksgiving dinner don't forget to add a few plant based options to the menu.  Remember that Thanksgiving is about giving thanks for what we have, like our good health, and not about eating our faces off.   That said, I'm pretty sure you are going to eat your face off, so here is a super quick cranberry sauce that you don't have to feel guilty about.

Whole Cranberry Sauce with Clementine

1 cup of whole cranberries, fresh or frozen
1 cup of water
1-2 tablespoons honey, to taste
juice and zest of 2 clementines (of half an orange or 1 tangerine)








This is so simple that I can't believe that I ever bought cranberry sauce in a can, silly!








Put the cranberries, water, honey, and juice in a sauce pain and bring to a boil.  Let it boil away for 10-15 minutes until the cranberries have all burst open and the sauce is thick enough to cover the back of a spoon.

















Turn off the heat and then stir in the zest.  Chill in the refrigerator until you are ready to serve.  You can definitely make this a day or two ahead.












If you have leftovers try is on some oatmeal for breakfast the next day.

Happy eating, Happy Thanksgiving, and best health,

Dr. G

Pumpkin Spiced Date Caramels

Sooo you may have noticed that there are not a lot of dessert posts on this blog, that is because generally speaking desserts aren't super healthy.  It makes me crazy when I see "healthy" blogs loaded with dessert items.  I mean I get it, healthy people eat dessert too, but come on you still can't eat a cake a week (even if it is vegan) and expect to be healthy. That said, from time to time I will post a few sweet treats and my most important message about all of them is that they are TREATS!  One of the things that I like about these caramels is that they will keep for a few weeks in the freezer so they won't go bad or to waste if you can resist the urge to over indulge AND they are awesome melted on to some oatmeal in the morning.  Oh and if you are going to eat dessert, why not eat one that is a source of potassium, magnesium, and iron?

Here is what we are making:

I covered some in chopped walnuts and some in sea salt here.  But you can really top them with anything, I was thinking that pepitas or pecans might be good too.


Ready to make them?

Ingredients:

12-16oz of medjool dates
2 tablespoons pumpkin butter (pumpkin puree ok here too)
2 tablespoons of melted coconut oil
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
toppings such as:
   sea salt
   walnuts
   pecans
   pepitas
   shredded coconut







While you are getting your other ingredients measured out soak the dates in hot water for a few minutes. They should be soft and gooey when they are ready.  Next pop out the pits of the dates if they are not already pitted.

Now throw the dates, pumpkin butter, and spices into the food processor and pulse it a few times to break up the dates.  Then drizzle in the coconut oil and flip the switch again.  You will probably need to scrap down the sides a few times.  You want to keep processing this mixture until it is smooth and creamy (in a dreamy kind of way).

Everybody in the pool!

















                                             Creamy and dreamy







Now with a spoon or ice cream scoop (since your not using it to scoop ice cream it should just be hanging out in the drawer) scoop the mixture into small balls and place them on a cookie sheet lined with foil or parchment paper.

Sprinkle on your toppings and then put them in the freezer for a at least 4 hours.  Then eat!  In moderation :)



















Pretty darn good and taste very similar to the caramels that you are used to.



In the winter I might make them with peppermint and chocolate...yyuummmm!








Happy eating and best health,

Dr. G

Frozen banana "ice cream"

Who wants dessert?  Recipes for frozen banana "ice cream" have been all over the internet and social media recently.  After some experimenting, I think I have found the best technique to make a super smooth and creamy dessert.  Get ready to scream for ice cream! (aka frozen banana yummy stuff or whatever)

The only prior planning that you need to do for this recipe is to freeze a few bananas (for at least 2 hours). I'm sure you can handle that.  If you keep a few bananas in the freezer for smoothies and breakfast bowls anyway then you don't have to plan at all.  Check out the Breakfast! Vege-style post for more about breakfast bowls.  Unless you like wrestling off frozen banana peels, do yourself a favor and peel and cut up your bananas before you freeze them.

Here's what you need for 2 servings:
2 frozen bananas
1 tablespoon of unsweetened cocoa powder - it's in the baking aisle guys
1/4 cup of almond milk (soy, hemp, cashew, whatever works fine too)

Put the bananas into the food processor or blender first and break them down until they are like banana snow.  Then throw in your cocoa powder and about half of the milk and let the food processor rip again until everything gets smooth and creamy.  If it is too thick or not smoothing out completely add some more milk until it is how you like it.  It should end up like soft serve ice cream.

Scoop it into a bowl and top as you wish;  raspberries and raw cocoa nibs pictured here.  Since you just made yourself a nice healthy dessert try not to top it with a bunch of processed sugary garbage please.

Eat me!

Don't like chocolate ice cream?  No problem.  Skip the cocoa powder and try some of these brilliant ideas:
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
a few frozen berries, cherries, mangoes, or pineapples
chocolate chips or cocoa nibs
nuts
peanut butter
maple syrup
pumpkin puree and cinnamon - if you are lucky this will be posted with some other fall treats soon

Yay for banana ice cream.  Enjoy!

Happy eat and best health,

Dr. G