"Healthy" Desserts

I love desserts. I grew up with a father who enjoyed his jelly beans and raisinets and cookies and pies all year long! It's easy for me to grab a cookie or piece of chocolate. However, I have recognized how wonderfully satisfying it is to enjoy a "healthy dessert." It's tasty and actually better for me. I have come up with a number of tasy and healthy desserts. Some of them include mango pie with a nut crust. And believe it or not, this is a raw dessert. And I created chocolate cream macadamia squares without eggs or milk or cream! And then I had a craving for chocolate and made my own chocolate covered pretzels...throw in a strawbery for some vitamins! And of course the sweet coconut sticky rice with mangos. And one of my special treats is making three-berry sauce. It can be used as a topping for ice cream or crepes or even sweet sticky rice with a crunchy coconut topping.

The other day I even made a blueberry pie only made with blended blueberries and bananas, with a small amount of maple syrup. You can use any cooked or raw crust. I used a raw nut crust. I poured in the blended blueberries and bananas and put in a few whole blueberries. Within an hour the pie was solidified. There were rave reviews of this incredibly easy dessert.

And here's a recipe for "RAW" chocolate cake. Just don't tell anyone!

Raw Chocolate Cake

2 c. walnuts unsoaked
2 c. sunflower seeds unsoaked
1 c. shredded coconut
1 c. cocoa powder



1 c. soaked almonds
1 c. raisins soaked
2 c. dates soaked
3 c. carrot pulp from carrot juice
1 tbls. pure vanilla
1 tbls. pure orange extract

Blend to a powder walnuts and sunflower seeds. Add shredded coconut and mix in cocoa powder. This is your “flour.”

Blend almonds, raisins, dates and vanilla in food processor. Mix in carrot pulp. This is your wet mixture.

Add dry mixture to wet mixture and blend well.

Form into one large cake or mini cakes.

Nut cream:
1 c. soaked cashews
5 dates soaked
1 c. filtered water

Blend nut and dates with water. This is your “frosting.”

Decoration:
Fruit for decorating

Fruit Ice Cream:
4 cups frozen fruit (mango, berries, bananas, pineapple)
Approx ½c.-¾ c. coconut milk

Blend frozen fruit in food processor or strong blender. SLOWLY add coconut milk. Do not liquefy. It should become creamy and turn into ice cream. This is not a “smoothy.” Only add enough coconut milk to bind.

Served cake with a scoop of fruit cream. Enjoy.

NOTE: You can omit the nut cream and just serve with the frozen fruit cream if you want. It’s equally delicious.

Cooking with Children

I am quite efficient in the kitchen and usually work by myself. However, cooking classes and sharing information with people is one of my greatest pleasures. I have had the opportunity to cook with children on a number of occasions and they are some of my favorite moments. When I get back to Michigan I love cooking with my nieces and nephews. The photo on the left is my niece enjoying my mini pumpkin chocolate muffins. The one on the right is my oldest niece helping prepare a homemade pizza for her and her brothers. Kids get bored easily so it's important to make things that they really like and that they can participate in and be a part of. One of my nephews to this day remembers helping make hummus. It was a fun day! That's what I remember.

One of my favorite "how to" meals with children is making pizza. We even make homemade dough and sauce and the kids can put on the toppings of their choice on mini pizzas. Smiling is good. Laughing is even better. And a little seriousness in the kitchen and awillingness to learn is really wonderful. Cooking can be fun, creative and a great thing to do as a family. It's not how many moments you have, it's the moments that take your breath away and that remind you of warm and fuzzy thoughts.

Some of my favorite moments growing up are in the kitchen. I remember dying Easter eggs or making chocolate chip cookies or even making a salad and setting the table. I was involved. Involving children in the every day activities of cooking, eating and preparing food is important.
Teaching healthy eating habits to children is important. However, making chocolate cupcakes and sharing a moment is equally important. Relating fun to food and experiencing something special is as vital as the vitamins and minerals! Here's to your health, now raise that chocolate cupcake!