Amy Vaillancourt-Sals
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Put the Lime in the Coconut

7/28/2012

 
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Mixed it all together and this is what you get! Well, mostly... Oh my, this is so delicious that I had to make one last night. And, now you're looking at it!

I first experienced this amazing key lime pie during a visit to be with my father and second mom in Hawaii. It was my 29th birthday, if I remember correctly. I was astounded when Sally (second mom) whipped up coconut milk, fresh squeezed limes, avocado, vanilla and a few other ingredients and made this decadent treat that was gone in seconds! Guilt free too, because it's vegan, raw, gluten-free, and low-glycemic! Heck, as long as your not allergic to any of the ingredients (which you could probably find substitutions for), anyone of your friends and family can enjoy this dish!

The master minds behind this dish come from Café Gratitude, a raw, vegan, and gluten-free restaurant that began in the Bay Area, and has been making impressive waves! Not only do they provide amazing foods that are delicious and work for everyone, they also name their dishes with traits such as "I am Luscious", "I am Worthy", etc. Their key lime pie is called "I am Awakening". You can find the book where I got this recipe here, and enjoy all the other incredible recipes that are within its pages!

For those of you wanting to try this recipe now (and I highly encourage you), this is how you make it:

Key Lime Pie
Makes one 9-inch pie

MACADAMIA-PECAN CRUST
1 1/4 cups macadamias
1 1/4 cups pecans
6 Medjool dates
1/4 tsp liquid vanilla
1/8 tsp salt

Taking your 9-inch pie dish, grease the bottom with Coconut oil. Using a food processor, chop up dates until they make a paste. Add the rest of the ingredients and process until it has a crust-like dough consistency. Spread the mixture into the dish and press until the crust is spread evenly along the bottom and up the sides. You may form the sides of the crusts how you prefer.

LIME FILLING
3/4 cup lime juice
1/2 cup agave syrup or coconut nectar
1/4 cup coconut milk (better if you crack open the coconut yourself!)
1 cup avocado
2 tsp liquid vanilla
1/8 tsp salt
2 tbsp lecithin
1/2 cup and 2 tbsp coconut oil

Blend all ingredients in a blender (leaving out the lecithin and coconut oil) until completely smooth. Add lecithin and coconut oil and continue blending until completely dissolved. Pour filling into the pie, spreading evenly, and stick the pie (uncovered) in the freezer for 1-2 hrs. Move it to the refrigerator a couple hours before serving, and feel free to decorate with you own personal style. Enjoy!!

p.s. Due to the raw content, this is very perishable. Eat within 3 days or freeze it and it can last at least a week.



Almond Meal Pancakes!!

4/7/2012

 
Do you have a gluten and/or lactose intolerance but love pancakes? No problem! I learned of these pancakes during my switch to a low-glycemic diet. Most flours and gluten-free mixes are super high in starch and sugar, so I feared I would have to bid adieu to some of my favorite breakfast classics. It is, with great honor to supply you all with this recipe; one that has become a major staple to my breakfast regime. Enjoy! Nom, nom, nom...

Almond Meal Pancakes (serves 2)
1 Cup Almond Meal (Trader Joe's carries bags of this at a reasonable price.)
1/4 tsp Salt
1/4 tsp Baking Soda
(Feel free to add spices here: Cinnamon, Nutmeg, go for the Pumpkin Spice, be creative!)
4 Eggs
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
2 Tb honey
(Add berries, other fruit, chocolate chips, etc...)

Viola! Cook 'em up and top with your favorite garnish. Some of my ideal toppings are peanut butter, jam, yogurt, cottage cheese, fruit, maple syrup, etc. Here's a picture of the almond meal pancakes that I made for my last birthday, topped with bananas and young coconut custard:

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Mmmmmm.... so good! Makes me want to have some tomorrow morning... =)

Forever a Sweet Tooth

10/7/2011

5 Comments

 
Some of you may know that when I turned 30 I began eating a low-glycemic diet. I did this for a number of reasons including a desire for more energy, healthy weight loss (I was about 30lbs above average), and improving my mood. To take it even further, I've been trying to eat all organic and little to no processed foods. I had such a remarkable change and can't imagine going back to how I ate before!

In addition, some of you may know about my severe chocolate addiction (and sweets in general). Since eating this way, I've made it a bit of a mission to find recipes that allow me to eat the foods that I love, i.e. cookies, cake, pies, pizza, bread etc. Hopefully, these future posts will help others in their journey to achieve healthy lifestyles while still eating the foods they love!

On that note, Travis and I have a couple of friends who will be visiting us soon. One of our visiting friends has a birthday around the time that they will be visiting, so naturally I'll be making him a cake! He eats a little to no gluten regime. This can be tricky because Gluten Free does NOT equal Low-Glycemic. Many people confuse the two. Gluten Free goods often include flours made of rice (white and brown), tapioca, and potato. All of these ingredients are super high in starch and ultimately convert into sugar as they are processed in the body. Very occasionally I will eat these things and the extreme sugar rush always makes me regret it. So what do I do?

I've been exploring recipes that involve Coconut Flour lately, so when I found out that my friend likes chocolate and peanut butter (who doesn't?! ... expect for those allergic...) I did a google search for "coconut flour chocolate peanut butter cake". This is what I found. I'll post the whole recipe again below for those who want to refer to my post.

These are brilliant!! Who would of thought that black beans would make a base for chocolate cake? Incredulously, I gave it a test run. Like the blogger who posted it said "I kept thinking about this cake for several days so I happily gave in to my chocolate cake craving". I couldn't agree more! Travis and I decided it's for the best to try another test run before our friends get here. This time, putting chocolate chips in the batter before baking and using salted peanut butter! Yumm!!!

Enjoy!! Here's the recipe again. I decided to use honey instead of erythritol and included the change below:

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(The picture is of the ones that I made today!)

Grain-Free Chocolate Cake with Peanut Butter Frosting
Cake Ingredients

2 cups cooked black beans, room temperature (can use canned but rinse very well in colander)
6 eggs
3/4 tsp liquid stevia
2 1/2 tsp gluten free vanilla extract
1/3 cup honey (or agave)
1/4 cup coconut oil, melted over low heat so it’s in liquid form (or melted butter)
1/4 cup + 1 Tbsp dark chocolate cocoa powder
1 1/2 Tbsp coconut flour
1/2 Tbsp milk (almond, coconut, rice, cow etc)
1 tsp chia seed, optional
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp gluten free baking powder
1 tsp baking soda

Peanut Butter Icing Ingredients

1 cup creamy peanut butter (I used salted because I love the sweet/salty combo)
1-3 Tbsp milk of choice (depending on how thick you want your frosting)
1-3 Tbsp honey (or agave) or more to taste, depending on how sweet you want it

For serving, optional

Chopped roasted salted peanuts
Chocolate or carob chips or chocolate shavings

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325F. In a 9-inch round springform pan, grease sides and bottom with coconut oil or butter and line bottom with parchment paper.
2. In a blender or a food processor, add beans, eggs, stevia, vanilla, and honey and puree well.
3. Then add remaining ingredients (coconut oil through baking soda) to blender/food processor and puree well. Make sure they are no clumps!
4. Add batter to the pan and bake for about 27-30 minutes or until your tester comes out mostly clean (ovens vary). Once cooked, remove from oven and let cool. ~You could also make cupcakes and bake for about 21-23 minutes.
5. Once the cake has cooled completely, start your peanut butter icing/drizzle. In a small mixing bowl, combine peanut butter, milk and honey and mix well with a spoon. Add milk a little at a time to reach your preferred consistency.
6. Remove sides of the springform pan and spread frosting over the cake. OR if you want mini cakes like the ones I made, cut the cake round in half horizontally, then use a round biscuit cutter to cut small cake rounds. Spread the frosting between two layers, drizzle additional icing on top, and garnish with chocolate chips/shavings and chopped peanuts. Enjoy!!!

5 Comments

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