Dip a strawberry into cream cheese (room temperature works best) and dunk it into a small bowl of brown sugar. Look at you! You’re on your way to makeshift strawberry cheesecake-land. Now let’s add a graham cracker (or crumbs?!) to this this situation and maybe a drizzle of nutella? Mind blown. You just created a perfect snack/dessert!
A few months ago my sister-in-law made some chocolate cookies that had a healthy dose of almond meal in them. I thought they were incredible while my husband and his brothers complained that they tasted “too healthy!” Too healthy?? What?! They tasted indulgent to me. It got me thinking… do I like desserts that taste healthy? If there are healthier substitutions in a recipe does it easily trick me into feeling OK with eating dessert?
Disclaimer: I sometimes have paralyzing food guilt.
(I’m working on it!)
When I substituted coconut oil for the butter in this recipe, I wondered if it was too healthy. But then I gave some to my dad, brother, and husband and two out of the three asked for more before they were done with their first helping. I guess we’re cool then!
So here’s this Dairy Free Mixed Berry Crisp for you! It’s super easy to make (because it’s deconstructed!) and can be made well in advance. The berries have been mixed with balsamic and a small amount of sugar so they’re bursting with juice. They’re not baked! When you spoon them into a bowl, the berry juice will saturate some of the crumbly topping. My mouth is watering just thinking about it. The crumbly topping is slightly savory and nutty because of the almond meal. It mimics graham cracker crust but without the butter. Dollop some whipped coconut cream on top and you’re GOOD TO GO. Dessert for breakfast. Breakfast for dessert.
Say hello to my latest obsession. WHIPPED COCONUT CREAM. I saw this recipe online a few years ago and finally made some! If you haven’t made your own whipped coconut cream, GO DO IT NOW. If you’ve made it, isn’t it incredible?? It’s fluffy, it’s creamy, it’s sweet and it’s become my favorite breakfast/after dinner treat for the past two weeks.
It tastes like whipped cream but it’s completely dairy free.
I have a delicious recipe coming up this week that requires whipped coconut cream so stay tuned!
Here’s what this past week looked like:
Cinco de Mayo dinner for three. We all went a different route.
Sophie Harriet made my Quinoa Tabbouleh Salad
I had a little coconut milk leftover from the waffles this weekend, so I put it to good use with this simple snack. Last night I had a SUPER craving for sugar. I learned that if I eat anything that has onions in it, my brain is like YOU NEED SUGAR RIGHT NOW. It’s weird. Instead of dipping into some ice cream, I put some berries in a bowl, drizzled some coconut milk on top (it was unsweetened). I finished it off with a little sprinkle of coconut on top. It’s so good! I had it again for breakfast this morning but added a banana and a little drizzle of agave syrup on top. It’s kind of my new favorite thing.
Casey & Cooper do not like avocados. I think we already covered this in my Spicy Sesame Guacamole post. Actually…they DO like avocados because I put it in a lot of their smoothies. HA! I’m sneaky like that.
I’ve learned that it’s best not to say anything. Just let them enjoy the smoothie and then maybe mention it to them at a later date. Really, I just need someone else in our household to help me dig into my avocado stash. Whenever there’s a sign that says 4 avocados for $3 I’m there for the taking.
Have you ever put avocados in a smoothie? If you haven’t, avocados make them extra creamy and thick. If you add a bunch of other fruit, you’ll never taste the addition. I’m not a person who generally drinks smoothies for breakfast (they never fill me up!) but this one, with the protein, antioxidants, greens and FRUIT will keep me satisfied til lunch. And yes, I told Casey it had an avocado (right after he finished!) and I got the WHAAAAAAT?!! Told you, I’m sneaky.
