Frozen Chocolate Pudding (Advanced Plan)

 If you plan on eating healthy and you don't yet have an ice-cream maker, I highly recommend you get one ASAP.  Here is why.

Anything that has the potential to continue to get you off track, you will need a plan and an alternative for.  And from what I can tell...9 out of 10 people are tempted by ice-cream.

My ice-cream maker helps me with more cravings than just those for ice-cream.  If I'm craving Banana Cream Pie, for instance, banana ice-cream still does the trick.

Today it's chocolate pudding.  More specifically, the "Jello" Pudding Pops my dad bought me and my sisters when we were kids.  Good luck finding a legal chocolate pudding much less a "pudding pop"...it's not gonna happen.  So I made frozen chocolate pudding...reminiscent of those sticks of frozen chocolate pudding that every kid I knew loved with all of their hearts.

Frozen Chocolate Pudding (Advanced Plan)
Free of:  Sugar, Chemicals, Grain, Gluten
Full of: Antioxidants, Good Fats, Protein

1 Cup Xylitol
2/3 Cup Baking Cocoa (unsweetened and organic if possible )
1/4 teaspoon finely ground sea salt
2 cup raw cow's milk* 
2 cup organic coconut milk
4 large free range egg yolks slightly beaten
1 1/2 tbs vanilla (not sweetened)
*(Remember raw milk separates.  I like to try to make this after it has separated and use most of the thick cream off of the top for this recipe.)

Mix xylitol, cocoa and sea salt in a saucepan.  Gradually stir in milk and coconut milk.  Cook over medium heat stirring constantly until mixture starts to bubble and boil.  Stir and boil for another minute.

Gradually stir 1 cup of the hot chocolate mixture into beaten egg yolks.  Stir back into hot mixture in saucepan stirring the whole time.  Boil and stir until slightly thickens .

Turn off heat and leave mixture to cool a bit before placing it in the ice-cream maker.  Mixture should be at least room temp before putting in the ice-cream maker.  (Sometimes I place the saucepan in the freezer just to make sure!)

K.I.S.S. Caprese Salad ( Advanced Plan)

This dish is perfectly delectable.

Some of you may look at this photo and ask "How can something so simple be 'delectable'?"

And my answer to you would be, "Because it's called 'Caprese' (said in my best Italian accent and accompanied with a very dramatic Italian-like hand motion)... and because it comes from Italy...silly."

You should know that this answer makes perfect sense in my head.  Why?  Because any recipe called "Caprese" and originating in  Italy (the region of Campania, specifically) would be deliciously delectable... no matter what it is...right?

Absolutely! 

As a matter of fact, this recipe is a perfect example of "keep it simple silly" cooking and eating. Often times less is more...especially when it comes to healthy food. And just in case you are a history buff, this salad is also referred to as "insalata tricolore", paying patriotic homage to the three colors of the Italian flag...thank you very much! 

Straightforward dishes like this allow you to really taste the food you are eating.  Fresh tomatoes, especially organic and homegrown, should have a very definitive flavor... all their own.  Mozzarella cheese, especially buffalo mozzarella, is undeniably in a class of it's own.  And fresh basil leaves never leave the palate dissatisfied.  Put them all together...and you have "Caprese". 

And boy will you be glad that you do!

Caprese Salad (Advanced Plan)
Free of: pesticides, chemicals, rancid fats, anything fake
Full of: Antioxidant, Vitamin K, good fats, Vitamin E, Magnesium

1 lb.organic tomatoes (my favorite are heirloom)
1/2 lbs raw mozzarella (buffalo if available)
Sea Salt and Cracked Pepper
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp white wine vinegar or balsamic vinegar
1 1/2 tbsp fresh organic basil leaves (chopped or whole)

Slice mozzarella into thin slices and place on bottom of serving dish. Skin tomatoes (I don't always do this) and slice them thinly and evenly.  Lay them on top of cheese arranged in whatever way you find most appealing.  Sometimes I stack them evenly and sometimes I stagger each layer.  Season with sea salt and pepper.  Drizzle tops with olive oil and vinegar.  Garnish with chopped or whole basil leaves.

Bon Appetit!

Spiced and Grilled Peaches with Vanilla Coconut Sorbet (Core Plan)

Oh my! Oh my my my!

A few weeks ago, I announced at work that I wanted to make a dessert with peaches, ginger and cinnamon.  To this my boss replied, "Who are they, you're friends?"   -Sigh!***

I didn't decide to add cardamom until I bought a bag of the fragrant spice a week later.  This may be the best recipe idea I will have for a year so I wanted to save it for an epic vacation dessert.  Yes, I needed to savor it in the perfect setting.


And so...I made this recipe last week on my vacation.  It was heavenly and decadent! And do you think I wrote down one single thing I did?  Ummm... NO!  So tonight, I got a redo. 

This is my new favorite dessert.  I love it with all of my heart.  It's my edible solace at the end of a long day.  The hot peaches are a perfect match for the cold sorbet...making it a sweet melty concoction that is...well, just irresistible.  You can make it in minutes if you have a fast ice-cream maker.  If not you can make the sorbet in any ice cream maker in advance.

Spiced and Grilled Peaches with Vanilla Coconut Sorbet (Core Plan)
Free of: Pesticides, Chemicals, Sugar, Gluten, Grain, Dairy
Full of:  Good Fat, Lauric Acid, Vitamin A, Fiber, Antioxidants

Sorbet:
1 Can Organic Coconut Milk
3/4 cup xylitol
1 tbs organic vanilla extract (pure, not sweetened)
1 vanilla bean (optional)
1/4 cup filtered water
1/2 cup unsweetened coconut flakes

Grilled Peaches:
4 Organic Peaches (Cut in half and pitted)
1 tbs cinnamon
1 tbs ginger
1 tbs cardamom (optional)
Coconut Oil

Place all ingredients for the sorbet in your ice cream maker and proceed according to the manufacturer's instructions until the sorbet is the same consistency as ice cream.

Coat the flat side of the peaches with coconut oil.  Place peach halves on grill (medium heat) flat side down.  Grill for about 5 minutes or so until they become soft and juicy. Mix spices together in a bowl.  Put peaches in individual bowls and sprinkle with spices.  Scoop sorbet on top of peaches and serve immediately.