Salted Caramel Sauce

This is what healthy frozen dessert dreams are made of.... YUM! It just happens to be raw as well as delicious too.

 

 

Ingredients:

• 1 cup Medjool dates
• 3/4 cup water (or 1 cup if you are leaving out the liquid sweetener)
• 1 1/2 tablespoons agave nectar or maple syrup (if you are on a strict raw diet it's probably a good idea you leave this out)
• 1/4 teaspoon fresh scraped vanilla beans or gluten free vanilla extract
• pinch of salt

 

Directions:

1. Put all ingredients in a food processor and whizz up until smooth. Its that simple!

I served mine over vegan vanilla ice cream with bashed up almonds and dairy free chocolate sprinkled over the top. I can recommend it, it was delicious! Who would have thought caramel could be so healthy? :)



Why not serve it with my Native Foods Cafe inspired Boogie Bars and dairy free vanilla ice cream? Banana, Caramel, Chocolate Chips, Vanilla, Oats, Almond, Coconut.... what a combination!

Chocolate Shake

Smooth, thick & 'ice'creamy, chocolately, and oh so yummy! oh and can't forget... HEALTHY!

Ingredients:
(makes 1)

• 1 frozen banana
• 1 cup unsweetened vanilla almond/soy milk
• 1 tablespoon raw cocoa powder or carob (more if you like it extra chocolately!)
• 1/2 tablespoon raw peanut butter 
• 1 teaspoon gluten free vanilla extract
• Sprinkling of carob or vegan choc flakes (optional)

Directions:

1. Place the frozen banana in a food processor, and pulse until it resembles frozen soft serve ice cream. (don't whizz it up so much it melts).
2. Add all the other ingredients, and whizz until fully combined. It's that simple! If you want it even thicker add an extra half tablespoon peanut butter).
3. Pour into a chilled glass, pop in a straw (or a spoon might be more appropriate really), sprinkle on a few carob or vegan chocolate flakes and serve. :)

To make it a thick and 'ice'creamy vanilla shake, leave out the cocoa powder and add an extra half teaspoon of vanilla extract. If you need to make it a tiny bit sweeter... a teaspoon agave nectar or sweetened vanilla almond/soy milk will do the trick!

I got super excited today, as the rock star of an actress, Dawn Olivieri, asked me on twitter if I knew how to make a vegan malt shake. I love that people are getting as excited as me over these recipes. So here goes... If you want a malted milk shake, use this recipe, omitting the peanut butter and using 1 1/2 tablespoons barley malt syrup or powder extract instead. This does contain gluten though... so it's not suitable for celiacs, or for people with a gluten allergy.... sorry! But celiacs can still enjoy shake without the malt.... it still tastes reallly really good! :)

Gym bunnies could also add a scoop of vegan/ gluten free protein powder for a yummy pre- or post- workout snack!

Fudgsicles

One of the best things about summer? Why, popsicles of course! And just because you're vegan and gluten free doesn't mean you can't indulge. Even if you aren't, you will still love these fudgsicles, they are super easy to make, and they are heaps healthier for you too! Bonus!

Ingredients

• 5 bananas
• 3 tablespoons cocoa powder
• 2 tablespoons peanut butter
• 1 teaspoon gluten free vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon unsweetened vanilla soy milk

Directions

1. Peel and slice the bananas and freeze them in a ziplock bag for about an hour.
2. Place all the ingredients in a food processor, and blend until they are all combined, and a suitable texture to put in your popsicle mould. It should be soft but not too runny.
3. Spoon your chocolate banana mixture into the popsicle moulds, and freeze until set (mine took about 3 hours).
4. Enjoy... YUM! :)
    



Coconut Ice-Cream

If like me you have a huge sweet tooth (& a bit of a thing for desserts) this ice-cream recipe is for you. It is so simple to make. It's also a way for you to indulge healthily, so you don't need to feel guilty either! I use agave nectar too, as I try to avoid sugar. One downside to this recipe is that you do need an ice-cream maker, but you can pick them up really inexpensively now. Plus, you will love this recipe so much, you will definitely want to make it again and again. It's perfect for a treat snuggled up on the sofa watching a film. It's a bowl of love and yumminess!

Ingredients

• 1 can coconut milk (it's best to avoid lite varieties as this makes the consistency too solid)
• 1/2 cup dessicated coconut
• 1/4 cup agave nectar
• 'goodness' sprinkles of your choice, examples i've used- vegan chocolate chips, fresh bluberries, or cacao nibs

Directions

1. Soak the coconut in the coconut milk for a few minutes in a bowl.
2. Add the agave nectar to it.
3. Take the freezer bowl out of the freezer & assemble and turn on the ice cream maker.
4. Pour in the coconut milk mixture.
5. Now you just have to sit back and let the ice cream maker do it's thing! It's that simple!!!

You can either eat it as soon as it's ready, when it resembles a softer 'frozen yoghurt' style texture, or you can transfer it to a different container and let it harden in the freezer for a while. Make sure you let it thaw for a few minutes before you eat it though.

Then all you need to do is sprinkle on your 'goodies' and serve! And there you have it yummy (&healthy) homemade gluten-free vegan ice cream, and cheaper than a tub from the market too.

I've also made this recipe with fresh mango. Which was a super delicious and refreshing alternative. If you want to give it a try as well, all you need to do is take one mango, puree half of it, & add it to the ice cream maker straight after the coconut mix. Then while it's freezing, cube the other half of the mango and add it in about 2 minutes before it's ready, and it's done. Simple!