crazy food: grape ice cream

delicious and light. sweet and creamy. you can't really go wrong with something like this. i have always loved snacking on frozen grapes. they are little explosions of frozen flavor. i was sitting there, snacking away, wondering, "why have i never had grape ice cream?" come to think of it.... i've never even seen grape ice cream. i'm sure if there is a play dough ice cream, and a cotton candy ice cream, there is bound to be a grape one. i just have never experienced it. so being the lactose intolerant queen that i am, i decided to do one, with a my own touches.

so here it is folks! vibrant, and beautiful, cold, and delicious....

Grape ice cream

1 heaping cup of frozen grapes (i used seedless black)
1/8 to 1/4 cup vanilla soymilk
1 frozen banana

place all ingredients in high powered blender (such as vitamin, blendtec, ect). Pulse until ice cream texture is achieved. (our blendtec has an ice cream setting, if yours doesn't, pulse until creamy and combined; add more liquid if needed) ice cream should be stiff and still able to form peaks, so add liquid slow!

enjoy!

peanut butter cookies

bd requested peanut butter cookies tonight so i had to try and fulfill. i asked if he wanted my version of a cookie, or the traditional version. he chose mine ; ) i was a bit apprehensive at first, i've seen a few versions of gluten free peanut butter cookies online. i also wanted mine free of refined sugars. you can even go more extreme and try some unsweetened carob chips in yours. try these out. they are sure to impress!

gluten free, refined sugar free, peanut butter cookies:

1 cup coconut sugar
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup creamy almond butter
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp baking soda
dark chocolate chips to taste

preheat oven to 350. cream sugar, nut butters, egg, and vanilla. add soda, mix, add chocolate, combine. form into 1'' ball, slightly flatten, place on parchment paper atop cookie sheet. place in oven for 10-12 mins. allow to cool slightly. enjoy!

hope ya'll enjoy these as much as we did over here, chewy but soft, sweet but salty, these are sure to please. flour? nope, didn't even miss it.

peanut butter cups

ok, as you know i have been mostly dairy free and gluten free for a while now. recently i have also added sugar free. no, that doesn't mean i never eat anything sweet, i've just given up white, powdered, and brown sugar. i cannot tell you how great it has made me feel. i also can't tell you how many people think i'm nuts, or swear up and down that i cheat when no one is looking. i really don't cheat though. the reason being? i've replaced it with something new! you can't cut out something and not replace it for another. especially not sugar! it'll just set you up for failure. i know some body builders have the self control to cut out all sweets. i, however, do not. so i sub things out for healthier options. these peanut butter cups are just that! a healthier sub. to make every now and again for a splurge. once you make them though... i'll bet you'll be tempted to give up the old peanut butter cups for good. they really are that tasty!

(don't mind that some of my oil separated and left little white dots. they still tasted perfect!) alas, i cannot take credit for this recipe. i found it here one of my favorite clean eating sites. she really is amazing! so here is my take on my new roots nut butter cups. pop over to her site, she goes into detail on why this chocolate is better for you. due to where i live, i do not have access to all these ingredients in their raw form. if you do, sub it all out for raw!

peanut butter cups

chocolate:
1/2 cup coconut oil
3 tbs cacao butter
3/4 cup cacao powder
1/3 cup honey
2 TBS coconut sugar
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp vanilla

filling:
1/4 cup almond butter
1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
1 TBS real grade A maple syrup
2 TBS coconut powder
sea salt to taste

directions:
1. in a double boiler melt coconut oil and cacao butter. once melted add remaining ingredients, turn heat down and stir until coconut sugar is less gritty and better incorporated.
2. in silicon muffin cups (due to richness i feel mini muffin cups work best) add thin layer of chocolate to each cup (about a 1/2 TBS to mini cups) and place in freezer to chill. apx. 10 min.
3. meanwhile, make nut butter filling by combing all ingredients. you want the filling to be the consistency of soft molding clay. if it is to wet, add more coconut sugar. form into small balls and press flat. making sure they are small enough to fit in your cups leaving a slight border for chocolate to fill around.
4. remove chilled chocolate from fridge. place balls of pressed nut butter on top of chilled chocolate. add about a TBS of chocolate sauce over each. making sure nut butter filling is covered.
5. place back in fridge to harden. about 1 hr.

enjoy!

since these are so clean, they don't have any of the garbage that normal chocolate has to slow down the melting. so once you pick one up, you've committed to eating it! they melt fast! store in fridge. i hope you love them as much as i did. thank you to my new roots for creating such a beautiful recipe!