A Yummy Summer Dessert

It is still summer. For at least another month! It might start cooling down in September in other parts of the country, but here in the south it will be hot as hades for at least another month. At least.

So there is still time to make and enjoy this yummy summer dessert full of juicy, ripe goodness. Do it. You won't be sorry!

As soon as I smelled the sweet aroma of this cobbler baking in the oven, I knew- just knew- that it would be divine. It most definitely was. We devoured this baby in no time and I'm seriously considering making it again this weekend. So wholesome; so delicious. Mhmmm...



Peach & Blueberry Cobbler

The recipe can be found here at Fitness Magazine's website. Because I used healthier options for every ingredient, I'm just going to share my substitutes with you. If you prefer white sugars and flours in general or are craving them today in particular, feel free to use the original. It is still very low in calories and I'm sure it would still taste fabulous!

Here is a list of the original ingredients that I subbed, paired up with my healthier ingredients:

unsalted butter---->  Earth Balance soy-free
canola oil ---->  coconut oil
reduced-fat milk ----> unsweetened vanilla almond milk
sugar ----> coconut sugar

I think substituting spelt for the whole wheat flour would work out well. Unfortunately, I only have whole wheat in the house right now, so whole wheat is what I used!

The perfect summer dessert!

Serve up a generous portion with your favorite non-dairy ice cream and savor the last days of summer!

<3 K.E.

"Moo"ve over Dairy!

I have another fabulous recipe to share with you today! Having been dairy-free since I was a twelve-years-old, I've miss traditional milk, ice cream, and yogurt for years. I ate cheese for a while until I developed an allergy and now haven't had cheese (not a piece) for about 6 years. Crazy, right? I honestly don't miss it at all. At first it was very difficult because I was a cheese fanatic. The girl who would eat grapes, apple slices, and cheese hunks as a snack. Eventually, I adjusted and now the smell of cheese is repulsive to me. I can smell it a mile away. I do still keep our fridge stocked with cheese options because I am a good wife like that. ;)

SOURCE

Over the years, companies have realized that people with dairy and soy allergies still want and crave the foods they had to give up. First, the dairy-free milks became increasingly easy to find. I've tried most of them by this point: soy, rice, almond, coconut (in that order). Hemp, flax, and sunflower milks are still unknown to me, but maybe someday I'll give them a shot. I want to give you a really quick run down of my experiences with non-dairy milk and the variety of options available.

I was pro-soy when I first became dairy-free and I now have an entirely different opinion which would require at least an entire post on the subject. For now, let's just say I'm not a fan of soy for many reasons. The taste of soy milk is pretty similar to cow's milk from what I remember. 

Rice milk is incredibly runny and doesn't taste a thing like milk. It is like drinking water with a splash of milk. Yuck! Also, right now rice products are under scrutiny for containing high levels of arsenic so do your research prior to purchasing rice milk to make sure your brand of choice isn't implicated in the scandal.

Almond milk quickly became my dairy-free milk of choice. It is thicker and creamier than rice milk, but not quite as thick as coconut or cow's milk, however. The flavor is slightly nutty, but not strong, and I have found that it compliments everything from cereal to smoothies. When I went cane sugar-free six years ago, I was pleased to discover that most brands offer unsweetened almond milk varieties as well.  Unsweetened vanilla almond milk is amazing too! I recommend the Whole Foods' 365 brand unsweetened and unsweetened vanilla almond milk. I've found it has the best flavor of all the brands I've tried and is organic.

Coconut milk is a close second to almond milk with a creamy, fresh taste. There is something about the flavor or texture though that always seems a little funky to me. I haven't figured out what exactly that is, but it isn't a big enough deal to ban the beverage altogether. 

I would never trade my almond milk...(here comes the dreaded but), but lately my sensitive tummy has been just that- sensitive. So I've switched over to coconut milk for the time being. Hopefully not forever, because nothing beats the flavor of good almond milk,  but for now, coconut will do. <UPDATE: I wrote this post prior to meal planning, ended up skipping Whole Foods this week, and Publix only carries Almond Milk...so I'm giving it another try. Fingers crossed. I'm really excited!>

There is are two great brands of coconut milk ice cream that are also cane sugar-free, So Delicious and Luna and Larry's Coconut Bliss. Whole Foods has also started carrying a cashew ice cream that comes in several flavors, including pistachio!

I can also eat yogurt, thanks to Armande yogurt made with almond milk and fruit-juice sweetened. I wish my local Whole Foods had the large containers, but no such luck. Anyway, as you can see, there really is no reason for dairy-free individuals to not enjoy delicious alternatives (which I now think taste a million times better than the originals).

And thanks to the amazing people at Nourishing Meals, I was also able to eat a gluten-free, soy-free, dairy-free "cheesecake" for Easter! It was amazing, rich, creamy, decadent. Even my dairy-eating mother loved it! The ingredient list was simple, it was a relatively uncomplicated recipe. I guess a little disclaimer is in order though, because it didn't really taste like cheesecake. It was its own thing with its own flavor. I highly recommend it. These cheesecake bites are easily one of my favorite desserts to make. Any dessert that is healthy, full of whole foods, and has great texture and flavor is a winner in my book. Head on over to Nourishing Meals and check it out!

The crazy photo I snapped after taking a bite and realizing this was the last one...oops!

And the weekend continues!

I have survived an entire month alone- except for the cat and he doesn't count! The hubby had to attend a month-long class across the country for his job. I was very anti as you can imagine. I haven't blogged very often during that time because, well, I didn't have much to say that didn't consist of whining about him being gone. And I didn't want to publicize the fact that I was home alone. So I went a little MIA. But that means I have loads of posts that I now feel like sharing. YAY! ;)

We took a couple days off this week to recoup from the trip (OK, OK, he needed time to recoup- I just wanted time with him!) and so our lovely, lazy weekend continues. Love days off!

First up, an amazingly delicious recipe from Daily Garnish, one of my daily reads. I'm not sure if you've figured this out yet or not, but I love food. I love to cook, bake, find and create new dishes. Since my hubby was gone for Easter, I was spending it breakfast-dinner with my family. That meant a very early morning drive for me and not much time to prepare breakfast as the kiddos wake up super early to find Easter baskets and hunt for eggs the Easter bunny left us. Knowing my mom has probably missed my kitchen creations since the wedding, I thought I would make up a loaf of banana nut bread for Easter morning. Can you imagine how excited I was to find a recipe on Daily Garnish for Blueberry Banana Walnut Bread? ECSTATIC! I love baking with blueberries. They are loaded with antioxidants and I always buy a giant bag of frozen organic wild blueberries at Costco. In my opinion, wild blueberries are the most tasty in everything from pancakes to muffins to bread. Not only do they have more flavor, but they also have more antioxidants than regular blueberries. Win!

The final product. This is the whole wheat loaf. Check out that gorgeous color!

To give credit where credit is due, I won't be posting the recipe. Instead, I'll link to it on Daily Garnish. Trust me: it is worth clicking through to make this beauty. The only changes I made to my first batch consisted of replacing the whole wheat flour with spelt flour for the sensitive tummies in my family and using 1.5-2 cups of blueberries instead of 1 cup. I think my oven temperature is off (my next project) because I baked this baby for almost double the time on the recipe and it was still a little doughy.

 I made this bread a second time to welcome home the husband Saturday and used whole wheat flour. It tastes just as good, but took even longer to bake. This time, I used 3 bananas instead of the recommended 4 and it was still uber moist and delicious. I also used more berries than the recipe called for, I always add more berries to every blueberry recipe- I just can't get enough! Honestly, I liked the spelt loaf the best, because I think the straight-up whole wheat irritated my tummy, but the taste was definitely still there with the whole wheat loaf. Use whatever flour you prefer, but definitely make this bread! You'll be glad you did.  Oh, and smear it with homemade Maple Cinnamon Almond Butter. A to-die-for combination!

<3 K.E.