This ice cream recipe is very versitile and yummy! It's Dairy Free, Vegan, Paleo / Primal friend AND is no sugar added.
Author: FaylinaMeir
Serves: 1 serving
Ingredients
⅓ cup coconut cream or ½ cup coconut milk
⅔ cup water (or ½ cup water if using coconut milk)
100g banana, frozen
40g blueberries, frozen
20g raspberries, frozen
90g strawberries, frozen
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Equipment
A high speed blender like a Vitamix OR a decent food processor
Instructions
Add your coconut cream (or milk) to your blender, add enough water to equal 1 cup of liquid. Add in the rest of your ingredients.
Blend on medium speed using plunger if needed (or scrap the sides down if your blender doesn't use a plunger). If using a food processor, pulse several times, scraping down the sides as needed. Blend until creamy and smooth.
Serve immediately or you can stick this in the freeze for 30 minutes to firm up more if desired.
1 teaspoon molasses (optional but makes it more chewy)
1 tablespoon vanilla extract, only the real stuff please
2 tablespoons neutral oil, I used coconut
½ cup unsweetened applesauce
1 unpacked cup raisins***
Instructions
Preheat to 350°F or 175°C.
This step is optional but if you want softer raisins I would advise it. Mix all your liquid ingredients (minus the egg) and let it soak for 20-60 minutes. You can go overnight but they get really soft and I dislike that. I did mine for only 10 minutes and that was good for me.
Next mix all your dry ingredients in your bowl and then add your raisin mixture and egg. Use a spatula to mix (or a spoon) thoroughly. It is a thicker batter so don't be alarmed.
Line your cookie tray with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Spoon out a rounded tablespoon per cookie and squish them down. These cookies will rise slightly but will not spread outward. I suggest no more than 12 per tray.
Bake these cookies for 12 minutes and move to a wire rack to cool. They get chewier as they cool.
Notes
Variations: * : You can use all whole wheat flour or all all purpose flour it's a person preference. Whole wheat flour will make the cookies more dense. I would do no more than ½ and ½ but that is me. ** : You can use all sugar or you can skip the sugar and just use maple syrup (or honey). Brown sugar would be best but I used evaporated cane sugar and molasses. *** : You can substitute raisins for any dried fruit to mix this up. Try blueberries and craisins, Delicious!
Have you ever wondered how they make vanilla extract, or been curious why they can taste so different from brand to brand? Well some brand actually use chemicals in the processing of their extracts, leading you ingesting poisons you would rather not have, but I have a solution for you! Just make you own like I do. Now that might sound confusing and borderline scary, but once you try this I promise you'll never buy the junky overpriced stuff in the store.
Author: FaylinaMeir
Serves: 2 cups
Ingredients
10 long sized (6-7") vanilla beans (see notes)
14-15 ounces clear and unflavored vodka
16 ounce GLASS container , amber works best
scissors
Instructions
If your beans are older you can snap them, otherwise, use your scissors and cut 10 beans into ½ inch - 1 inch pieces and put them inside a glass container that's at-least 16 ounces and has a tight fitting lid. Pour in 14 - 15 ounces of a clear unflavored vodka. I just use the cheapest vodka at the store, but if you want you can use the more expensive stuff. The important part is to not get flavored vodka or a mix vodka, this will ruin the final flavor and is a waste of good vanilla beans.
After you add the vodka, put on the cap and shake gently to help the process along. You will notice that it will already turn a slightly browner color and you might see little black specs, this is normal and is what will make your homemade extract 100 times better than store-bought in the end. Put your extract in a darker place, away from direct sunlight. An amber bottle will help with this, but since they're hard to find, storing away from sunlight works best. For the first week, try to shake it once a day, I find this helps give the best results.
Minimum time for soaking is 2 weeks, this will give a weaker flavor, but still comparable to something in the store. One month is best for a full flavored extract that is slightly stronger than double strength at the store.
At this point you can strain out the vanilla pods in a coarse mesh strainer (you want the seeds to fall through) or you can leave them in there. After about 2 months time, the extract will not get any stronger. At this stage you will have something super flavorful that makes this more than worth your while. As seen in the video it bests VERY dark and wonderful. The smell is something that cannot be described and the taste is nothing like vanilla from a bottle in the super market.
Notes
Some of you might be saying to yourself that making homemade vanilla extract would cost a small fortune, and you very well could be right. If you go to buy vanilla pods in the store they're usually 2 pods for 10 dollars USD, however, I have been using vanilla beans purchased off the Internet for years now with no issues. I purchase mine on eBay from a VERY well known and respected seller,CLICK HERE, please note that I am NOT being paid to advertise these people, I just like their products. I use grade B or extract grade vanilla, planifolia aka Madagascar bourbon beans. You can use grade a but it does not yield any better results, I have tried it. You can also use Tahitian vanilla but they do tend to be more expensive. I always suggest buying a pound of beans, this saves you a lot of money on shipping and the final product. After shipping it only costs about 31 dollars and will last you many years. Over time they dry out and are only good for extract, but I am on 3 years and the beans still produce an amazing flavored extract. Store vanilla in a tight fitting container, like a quart sized wide mouth mason jar away from direct sunlight. If your vanilla gets white mold of them , obviously throw them away or compost them.
So today I did some grocery shopping and wanted to share it with you guys. I did not shoot a grocery haul video for my produce purchases this week, however, I did want to share my “staples” haul. What do I mean by “staples haul”? Well, these things are dry goods like grain, beans, pastas, etc. That you can stock up on. When you read this list please keep in mind this is a 4 or more week stock of these supplies, some of them will last 2 months or more, so it just depends.
My total for this haul was $129.68 and it was split between two places, here is the breakdown of each place.
Trader Joe’s:
3 bags of brown rice fusilli pasta,organic, $1.99 ea
3 half gallons of TJ almond milk, $2.99 ea
1 half gallon of TJ coconut milk, $2.99 ea
1 19 ounce package organic TJ tofu, $1.69 ea
1 box TJ Joe O’s (like Cheerios) $2.99 ea
1 bottle of organic ketchup $1.99
2 bags of corn spaghetti, $1.39 ea
1 box of TJ bran cereal $1.99 ea
1 HUGE cucumber ,organic 79¢ ea
1 16oz bag frozen kale, $1.79ea
1 160z bag frozen strawberries $1.69 ea
1 16oz jar raw unsalted almond butter $4.99 ea
1 bag brown rice spaghetti pasta ,organic $1.99 ea
1 bag whole wheat fusilli pasta ,organic $1.39 ea
1 160z bag organic seedless raisins, $2.99 ea
total spent: $45.00 even
Whole foods:
4.75lbs organic spelt berries, $9.45
1.92lb organic buckwheat groats, $5.16
3.10lb organic hard white wheat berries, $3.69
2.15lb organic old fashion thick cut oats, $2.99
.02lbs (2 small pieces) ginger chew candy, 12¢ (whenever Daniel and myself go to Whole Foods we get these ginger chews in the bulk bin, 1 each, its always a nice treat!)
.72lb organic wheat bran, $1.00
1.66lb organic garbanzo/chick peas $4.47
7.01lb organic steel cut oats, $9.74
1.97lb organic rye berries, $2.34
1.03lb organic hulled millet $1.74
1 bag unsalted corn chips $2.99
1 32oz bottle organic maple syrup, $19.99 (my big spender item, in a couple months when I need more I’m going to try the TJ brand)
.33lb olives, $3.63
.47lb wasabi peas, $2.35
4 1lb bag non-gmo corn, $1.29 ea
1 1lb bag non-gmo peas, $1.29 ea
1 bag Daiya shredded pepper jack cheese, $4.69 ea
1 large organic French baguette , $1.99 ea
.29lb organic wild rice, $1.74
.25 organic raw wheat germ 25¢
-10¢ for bag refund
Total spent: $84.68
(click link to show recipe, first is whole foods, second is trader joes, keep in mind my card information has been blocked out)
5 medium bananas, very ripe (Should be almost all brown and squishy)
1 cup unpacked brown sugar (dark is better but light will work)
½ cup regular sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
½ tablespoon baking soda
3 tablespoon ground flax + 8 tablespoons HOT water (mix well and let set 5 minutes)
¼ cup grape-seed oil (you can use olive oil if you prefer)
½ cup unsweetened applesauce
1 tablespoon vanilla extract (the real stuff only please)
¼ cup nondairy milk mixed with 1 teaspoon white or rice wine vinegar ***(see note)
2½ cups wheat flour (you may need more or less)
slightly less than 1 cup nuts, chopped **(see note)
Instructions
In a small bowl add your ground flax seeds and HOT water (I cannot stress how important HOT water is), stir well so there are no lumps and let set aside for about 5 minutes. Also preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (180 Celsius or gas mark 4).
In a large bowl, combine your bananas, sugar, vanilla, salt, applesauce, baking soda, oil, and nondairy milk. Using your hands (which I did) or a potato masher; mash until the lumps are less than 1 centimeter (1/4 inch) or til desired smoothness. I like to leave tiny lumps so you get bites of banana, but this is up to you.
Check your flax "eggs", if they are snotty in texture and thick; they are ready to go in the bowl. If they are not, let set another couple minutes, then add to large bowl.
Mix in your flax eggs well. Now start to mix in your flour ½ cup at a time using the folding method. I suggest using a flexible spatula for this. Circle your bowl to scrap the sides down, and cut through the middle until your flour disappears and there are no huge pockets of flour in the mixture. Repeat this for 2 cups total of flour. Now look at your mixture, is it thick, kinda snotty and holds together well? If the answer is yes, then stop. If you think it needs a little more then add the remaining ½ cup of flour. If for some reason your bananas were huge and its still too moist, add ½ more flour. There really is no reason to use more than 3 cups. Once your batter looks ready, fold in slightly less than 1 cup of nuts, your choice; make sure they are evenly distributed.
Get two regular sized loaf pans and spray generously with oil or grease well. Failure to do this will result in a bread you can't pry from the pan with a crowbar, you were warned.
Divide the mixture evenly between the two pans and lightly tap on the counter to remove air pockets. Bake at 350 for about 60 - 75 minutes. A toothpick inserted in the middle of the loaf should come out almost clean (like 90%) if you wait for it to be completely clean, the bread will be crumbly and dry. Good with milk, not so much on it's own. Mine took 65 minutes.
At this point you can store them at room temperature (cool completely before putting in a container) or freeze them. My grandma used to wrap her breads in aluminum foil, then plastic wrap. Don't forget to date them. I wouldn't keep them in the freezer more than 3 months for best results. Thaw at room temperature completely before serving.
Notes
* A word on flax seeds. If you are baking for someone with an allergy you can use regular whole large sized eggs. Egg replacement powder isn't that great of an option here and extra bananas will not work either. Sorry =(
** A word on choosing nuts. I used pecans, which is all I had left. Traditional banana nut bread is made with walnuts, however you can mix and match to your taste. Try a combination of both or go for something different all together. You could also use sunflower seeds or pumpkin seeds if someone is your family has a tree nut allergy. Better safe than sorry!
*** A word on nondairy milk. In this recipe I used a homemade brown rice milk that was just rice and water with some vanilla, however you may use any type of nondairy milk. Be careful if choosing a strong flavored milk like mung bean or hemp milk. These will alter the flavor of the end dish. Also, coconut milk should be avoided unless you want coconut banana bread. (that does sound good though! 😉
