Soft Serve Pumpkin Ice Cream - Sugar Free

I love pumpkin...if you haven't noticed yet.  ;-)

Even though it is so cold outside, I was still craving ice cream.  My husband and kids can't have dairy so I was wondering what I could do to satisfy my ice cream craving.  I rummaged the pantry and decided on pumpkin ice cream.  And best of all, it's sugar free.  

 

 

Ingredients:

• 1 cup Lite Coconut Milk (in the can)

• 15 oz pumpkin puree

• 1 packet stevia

• 1 tsp ground cinnnamon

• 1/4 tsp ground ginger

• 1 tsp vanilla (alcohol free)

• 4 cups ice

• Maple flavored agave nectar

 

Directions:

Put all ingredients in the Vitamix in the order listed.  On variable speed, turn on the blade and go from 1 to 10 very quickly.  Use the tamper to work all the ingredients down and blend for about 90 seconds.  Don't blend longer than that or it starts to melt.  Serve immediately. If you wait very long it gets very soft like my picture, but it still tastes amazing!  I top with just a tiny bit of maple agave nectar.

 

I love that agave nectar is coming in so many flavors now!  I even bought blueberry to put on top of berry cobbler.  Can't wait to try that.

Homemade Chocolate Hazelnut Spread (aka Nutella)

I grew up absolutely loving Nutella.  It was something that we only had as an occasional treat since back then you had to get it at an import store.  Now I have the pleasure of having little ones who love it too.  

And who wouldn't?  Nuts.  Chocolate.  Um, YUM!

Best part, I can make it at home with just a handful of ingredients. 

Chocolate Hazelnut Spread (aka Nutella)

2 cups raw hazelnuts

3 tbsp raw coconut oil

2 tbsp walnut oil

2 tbsp baking cocoa

2-4 tbsp honey (sweeten to your preference)

½ tsp sea salt

Put all ingredients in your blender or food processor.  Start on a low speed and work your way up to med-high.  Blend until smooth. 

I used a blend of coconut and walnut oil because it helped to keep a somewhat nutty flavor.  If I would have used all coconut oil, it would have taken it too far from the Nutella flavor.

I started with 3 tbsp of coconut oil and it was really thick, but if you added a few ingredients, it could be rolled into balls for an energetic tasty treat.  Ideas would be coconut flakes, dried cranberries, nut pieces.  Be creative.

I added the 2 tbsp of walnut oil to make it smoother and more nutty.  At this consistency, you could easily use this as frosting for a cake.  I like to stay away from refined sugars and most frosting doesn’t offer much for nutrition and since this is mostly nuts and coconut oil, I feel like it would be a healthy way to add some nutrition to a cake.  

Enjoy, and come back and tell me how you use it.

Jessica Wyman is the Author of Girlfriends Organic Kitchen.  Available now for only $9.95!
Founder of Slim & Vibrant Nutrition School, currently running individual programs.

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Fall In Love With Pumpkin!

Pumpkin Smoothie

I love pumpkin more than a normal person.  This fall, like every fall, I am making tons of recipes with pumpkin.  

 

Since this post is for Vitamix Chicks, I figured what better than a pumpkin smoothie.

Ingredients: 

• 1 cup canned pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling)
• 1 ripe banana
• 1/3 cup pecans
• 1 cups sunflower milk
• 8 cubes ice
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp vanilla
• Dash of ground ginger

Directions:  Add all ingredients to your Vitamix and blend.  Enjoy!

Pear Sauce - Super simple recipe for extra ripe fruit

 

Ingredients:

6-7 small pears (extra ripe)

1 tsp cinnamon

Dash of lemon juice

Directions:

Remove stems and seeds from all pears, leaving the skins on.  Quarter the pears and place in a crock pot.  Cook on low for about 2 hours.  Once the pears are cooked, put them in the blender jar with the cinnamon and a tiny dash of lemon juice.  Start blending on low and gradually increase to high.  Total blending time is about 1-2 minutes.  Put the pear sauce in a jar and refrigerate.  Use within a couple of days.

I like the recipe when I have pears or apples that are bruised or getting too ripe.  The kids love it.  This is perfect for a small batch of overripe fruit so that you make good use of it and create less waste. 

Pumpkin Bisque

• 1 small pumpkin (for eating and save the seeds) - made 2 cups
• ¾ cup dried navy beans
• ½ cup leeks (sliced and thoroughly rinsed)
• 1 tsp ground clove
• 13.5 oz can of coconut milk
• ½ tsp ground clove
• ½ tsp ground ginger
• ¼ tsp thyme
• ¼ tsp pure vanilla extract
• ¼ tsp sea salt
• Pumpkin seeds from the pumpkin
• Parsley sprig (for garnish)

Soup directions:

Blend the cooked pumpkin, cooked navy beans and other ingredients together (except the pumpkin seeds and parsley).  I like to use my high-powered Vitamix blender.  You can use an immersion blender as well.  I just love how creamy the Vitamix makes the soup and it even keeps the ingredients warm while blending.  Directions for cooking the pumpkin and navy beans from scratch are below.

Shortcut Timesaving Tip:  Use cubed and frozen pumpkin that takes only a fraction of the time to cook.  Then you can use a can of navy beans, or great northern beans or cannellini beans (just make sure to rinse really, really well).  Top the soup with store bought pumpkin or pepita seeds.

Pumpkin from scratch:

Cut pumpkin in half and scoop out the seeds and pulp.  Remove the seeds and save for later.  Place pumpkin halves face down in a baking dish.  Add ½ inch of water to the dish.  Bake at 450 degrees for about 45 minutes to an hour.  You will know it’s done with the skin can be pierced with a fork and the flesh feels tender.  Once the pumpkin cools, scoop out the pumpkin. 

*Rinse the seeds and toss in just a tiny bit of olive oil and sea salt.  Bake in a shallow baking dish and turn every few minutes.  Bake about 15-20 minutes. 

Navy Beans from scratch:

Rinse and then soak ¾ cup navy beans for 4-8 hours.  This works well if you start soaking the beans in the morning before starting your day and doing so with hot water from your tea kettle.  Soak in a covered dish.  When you are ready to prepare the soup, cook the navy beans.  Discard the soaking water to reduce flatulence.  Add 3 cups of water, bring to a boil.  Reduce heat, cover and simmer 1 ½ - 2 hours.  

Polenta Cakes with Red Bell Pepper Sauce

Red Bell Pepper Sauce

Ingredients

• 1 Red Bell Pepper
• ½ Red Onion
• 3 large mushrooms
• 1 tbsp miso paste

Directions

Remove stem and ribs from red bell pepper.  Blend all the sauce ingredients until smooth.  If you blend right before serving, the blender will make the sauce warm.  You can make in advance and warm on the stove top before serving.

Polenta

Ingredients

• 1 cup polenta (corn grits)
• 3 cups water

Directions

Bring water to a boil.  Slowly stir in the polenta and turn temperature to low.  Stir frequently until the polenta gets thick (about 30 minutes or less).  Add polenta to a scone pan, I love my cast iron one and lightly oil it.  Bake at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes.  It will slightly crispy on top.

Serve the warm polenta with the red sauce over it.

xoxo,