IT'S ICE CREAM SEASON: THE EASIEST RAW VEGAN ICE CREAM

National Ice Cream Day is this Sunday and if you want to celebrate the greatest holiday ever, without a sugar hangover, we've got the perfect (and simplest) recipe for you! I make this healthy dessert for my family a lot and it's always a surefire hit. 

Ingredients (per serving):

1 Large FROZEN Banana (I freeze several ripe bananas ahead of time so I have them ready. They must be frozen, minimally, overnight to work)

8-10 Frozen Strawberries 

2 Soft Dates

Approx. 1/8 Cup of Water

You will need either a VitaMix or blender. 

Put all of the fruit and 1/2 of the water in a VitaMix. Turn on low and use the tamper to push the ingredients down and blend. If it is very dry, slowly add more water. Be careful not to add too much water, or your ice cream will become a smoothie. A blender will work too but will take more effort. The tamper in the VitaMix makes this extremely easy. If you use a regular blender, you will have to start and stop and use a rubber spatula with the blender turned off to mix it. I have done it, but it takes more time!

Scoop out and serve immediately. You can top with fresh fruit, nuts or coconut shreds if you like a little added texture! Happy (and Healthy) National Ice Cream Day! xx

BACON WRAPPED DATES

This is a recipe I found and adapted from Saveur a few years back, while preparing for a cocktail party. Frankly, this is one of the most delicious things I have ever eaten. Learn how to make this well and you will never need to learn another appetizer recipe again (unless you are serving vegetarians, of course). It is the perfect combination of salty and sweet. It's even yummy enough to be a dessert. And you only need four ingredients! No seasoning or oil! The only thing I would say is use the finest, highest quality ingredients available. The main difference I have found between a good bacon wrapped date and a bad one, is the quality of ingredients. Since there are only four, make them all of the highest quality. 

For each single bacon wrapped date, you will need:

1 Slice of Thick Bacon

1 Date

1 Almond

About 1/2 Teaspoon Goat Cheese

Optional: Toothpicks (Makes for easy serving)

(When making them for a party, I would plan on 2-3 per person)

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. With a small, sharp knife, slice one side of the date lengthwise.

Place an almond inside.

Fill the rest of the date with goat cheese.

Wrap a piece of bacon around the date and secure with a toothpick. 

Repeat the above steps until all of the dates are stuffed and wrapped, placing them on a roasting tray as you go along. Bake about 10-15 minutes, until bacon is completely cooked and golden brown. Cook a few minutes longer if you like your bacon extra well done. If you bacon is burning (looking more black than brown) turned oven down to 425. 

Your guests are gonna flip! xx

5-INGREDIENT, NO-SUGAR, NO-COOK DESSERT (OR BREAKFAST!)

Because I wasn't allowed to eat much sugar as a kid, a lot of our mid-week "desserts" were healthy cereals with fruit. I do like the idea of trying to stay away from sugar - at least during the week - so I carried on the tradition with this dessert that I make when my husband and I are trying to be "good" but still want a treat. He now says he prefers this to any real sugar dessert. I use raw cream (in addition to homemade coconut milk), which is pretty decadent (but I also believe has many healthy properties), but you can use any kind of milk/mylk of your choice. Whatever suits your diet will taste great - I've made it with only almond mylk and it's still really yummy. I keep the 5 ingredients in my house fairly regularly, so I can whip this up in a moment of dessert desperation. Hope this helps to kick off your week. Happy Monday Y'all!

Ingredients:

1/3 cup Nature's Path Organic Qi'a Cereal (It only has 3 ingredients: Organic Chia Seeds, Organic Buckwheat Groats & Organic Hemp Seeds)

2 Organic Dates

1/2 Cup Organic Blueberries

2 Tablespoons Organic, Unsweetened Organic Coconut Shreds

1/2 or More Any Milk or Cream of Your Choice

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Here's how I like to put it together:

Place Qi'a Cereal at the bottom of the bowl. This cereal is very dense - a little goes a long way.

Slice two dates into pieces and add.

Add the blueberries.

Sprinkle on the Shredded Coconut.

Fill the bowl with about 1/2-3/4 cup milk/cream, until it completely covers the cereal. Wait a few seconds for the cereal to soak in some of the liquid and stir. If there are any dry parts to the cereal add more liquid until all of the cereal is covered. Dig in!