30 Healthy Ways To Spruce Up Ice Cream

     So, you have made your own healthy ice cream and want to spruce it up a bit. There are many ideas on the market – take for example the addition of sugar-bomb snickers bites, artificial fruit flavors, sickening neon colors, etc. However, when you took the trouble of making your own ice cream, you certainly want to avoid that kind of additions. Here are 30 ideas for healthy ways to take your homemade ice cream to the next level. If you don't already have a favorite vegan ice cream recipe, try this nut-free vegan ice cream or just use softened, store-bought vegan ice cream as the base.
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Cheesy Vegan Spinach Quiche



     So this is the spinach quiche I talked about in the last post. Don't you think the tomatoes add a nice contrast to the green spinach? And it gets even better with the golden vegan cheese sauce. This pie is just perfect for these last summer days. Take it on a last-minute picnic, enjoy it for your last lazy summer dinner, or serve it on your goodbye-summer party -- it will remind you that it is still summer. . . .
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Oil-Based Savory Graham Crust

     Pie has long been one of my favorite dishes. I remember my grandmother's delicious onion-tomato pies, which she even made for her and her husband's 50th anniversary. And then there is my mom's spinach-and-gravy pies, which my brother often wishes for his birthday. So pie in my life has Continue reading »

Ice Cream Pie Cups

     I know these ice cream pie cups are not the healthiest dessert, but I just had to share them before summer is over – they are so delicious. . . .  Imagine having a cup of ice cream and eating the cup too! This is the grownup version of ice cream cones, I tell you. The cups are perfect as a little something for special guests and served on crystal plates with silver spoons, but they do just as well at backyard parties and grabbed with the hands. They even stand up to ice cream bars with different ice creams and an assortment of toppings. These cups are so versatile, and you can do them as fancy or as simple as you like – you can create your own ice cream pie sundaes, but you can also just have a cup of simple ice cream. If you do not know where to start, try this delicious combo, Nut-Free Vegan Ice Cream topped with my Healthy Chocolate Sauce – yum! Vegans can have their ice cream too!
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Granulo -- the Cousin of Granola

     Granola is a favorite breakfast at many tables, including mine. I well remember my excitement when I first saw a recipe for homemade granola, and I immediately scribbled it down and set to work trying it. Granola has been praised as the perfect food staple, full of fiber and sure to keep you satisfied all morning. However, we all know that most granolas nowadays are loaded with sugar and not too low in fat (including the recipe I found).
     ((Top secret disclosure – I should not say it here, but this recipe can both be made into healthy granola and something like gluten-free grape nuts! Ok, I am not going to say more now, just keep on reading. Post continued . . . ))Continue reading »

Dark Orange-Chocolate Bars

     Chocolate and orange are just the best of friends, and they pair beautifully in these dark orange-chocolate bars. Be careful, they might trap you in their dual snare! This recipe is inspired by my Pineapple Pudding Bars; however, here I chose to cover the orange jelly with a crackly chocolate crust instead of a pudding cover. So basically, this is a crusty orange jelly sandwich – piecrust at the bottom and chocolate crust on the top – the perfect sandwich for chocolate lovers.
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David's Creamy Vanilla Smoothie

     Smoothie is definitely one of my favorite breakfasts, especially in the summer. But it has to be a thick, satisfying smoothie – no icy, watery slushies here. This smoothie is just perfect. It is so thick and creamy, I don't know what to compare it with, so I resign to calling it CREAMY vanilla smoothie. It is actually a recipe my brother David made – he is the smoothie king in our family. He has made this fantastic vanilla smoothie for breakfast several times, and finally I begged him to write the recipe and allow me to share it on this blog. I mean, you will not believe
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Melon Braid (With Step-by-Step Instructions)

     Watermelons are in season and they can be found everywhere. . . . Thinking about it brings me back to previous years, when we had a melon garden. I remember thumping watermelons and tugging cantaloupes to see if they were ready. I remember watching and waiting, coming back time and time again, seeing the melons grow and change color, and finally, bringing the bulging treasures home. But as the summer went on, I also recall reaching a point where we just had melons up to our ears and did not want to eat any more for breakfast, lunch, and supper. Especially was this the case with the watermelons, as we found the cantaloupes more satisfying for a meal. So it was time to try something new and exciting – and that is when I made watermelon bread the first time, dubbing it watermelon braid after its shape.

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10 min. Summer Vegetable Stew

     Here is a crazy recipe I'm sure you've never tried before (I told you I like to turn things upside down!). This stew is not the hearty winter kind – no, it is light and summery, perfect for lazy dinners in the garden. It takes the common summer vegetables of cucumber, tomato, and corn, and elevates them into something out of the ordinary. Continue reading »

Soy Pâté

     Do you like to eat sandwiches? I do. And if you eat a lot of them, sometimes you want something else than peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. But if cold cuts and cheese are not on your list of choices, you don't have much else to choose between. That is where this pâté comes in. It is Continue reading »

Banana Peanut Chocolate Smoothie

     Smoothie is one of my favorite breakfasts and a super delicious dessert. This banana-peanut-chocolate smoothie is probably more in the dessert category than in the breakfast category. It is delicious, creamy, decadent, rich, flavorful, AND healthy. So chocolate lovers, I have good news for you! This is actually a secretly healthy chocolate dessert that is all natural AND delicious. It has only three (3) ingredients and is ready in 5 min. There is no added sugar, and it is gluten-free. What better dessert can there be? Tell me in the comments if you know a better dessert!
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Vegan Ranch Dressing

     Of course, and I can just as well say it now, you can never make vegan ranch dressing. What? But you just told us this was vegan ranch dressing! Yes, but you can never make vegan ranch dressing, you can only try to make something similar, and I will dare to say that Continue reading »

Powerful Pineapple Parfaits

     Welcome to today's adventure! Let me take your tongue on a trip to trifle land. Let me caress it with cream, let me delight it with pineapple, and let me challenge it with crunchy cookie crumbs ... Plunge your spoon deep and dive in ... Continue reading »

Homemade PineAPPLE Sauce

    This is pineapple sauce in the sense of apple sauce. It looks like apple sauce, it tastes (almost) like apple sauce, but it is not apple sauce! The idea actually comes from the filling for my Pineapple Pudding Bars (check it out!) -- I just reduced the amount of corn starch. The sauce is very easy to make and is perfect for those who live in places where apple sauce is not common and for those who just want to try something different! And it is great to make now before the apples are in season.
     Basically, you start by Continue reading »

Homemade Whole-Wheat Flour Tortillas

     Flour tortillas are so versatile. They are not only great for burritos but also for sandwiches. My favorite way to eat a tortilla is Continue reading »

Nut-Free Vegan Ice Cream

     Ice cream is one of my favorite desserts. I still remember the vacation when I was a kid, and my parents paid for an ice cream bar, and we could eat all the ice cream we wanted for supper. I remember being elated, not at all understanding why my parents wanted me to have a slice of good bread before the ice cream -- why don't Continue reading »

Healthy Chocolate Sauce

     Ice cream is just a part of summer. And one of the delicious toppings that belong to ice cream is chocolate sauce – sugary, caramely, unhealthy, chocolate sauce. No way around it ... there is no such thing as healthy chocolate sauce – or is there? Here is a recipe for a healthy version of chocolate sauce that Continue reading »