Normally I like fudgy desserts, or just a piece of thick chocolate. But this Summer I haven’t been able to get enough mousse desserts, like this one or this one or this one. So naturally I had to try this recipe when I saw it on the Whole Foods website.
I’ve made chocolate and peanut butter tofu mousse before but never a fruit flavor. This came out really well in flavor, although the texture reminded me more of pudding rather than mousse. It’s thick and slightly dense with a sweet, bright flavor to it, perfect for hot Summer nights when chocolate is too rich(I’ve never experienced this myself but I hear some people do—weird).
Raspberry Tofu Pudding(lightly adapted from this recipe)
Ingredients(Makes 6 servings):
-
12oz fresh or frozen raspberries
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1 16oz block silken tofu
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3/4 cup sugar
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1/4 cup corn or tapioca starch
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1/4 teaspoon salt
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Zest from half a lemon
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Chocolate and mint to garnish
Combine the tofu, raspberries, starch, sugar, salt, and zest in a food processor and blend until smooth and homogenous.
Pour into individual dishes and refrigerate until serving. Garnish with shaved chocolate and/or mint.
It does not get much better than this.
If you add in 3/4 cup of cocoa powder, the flavor gets even better. Although—I warn you—the color isn’t as appetizing.
There’s been a recent explosion of s’mores desserts on food blogs lately. Besides making me think “You’re killing me, Smalls,” it’s also made me jealous and hungry for some s’mores(and if you don’t get the quote go out to Blockbuster or Red Box or however people get movies these days and rent The Sandlot). And so I made them my way, with chocolate banana soft serve, original Fluff, and a touch of gluten-free graham cracker crumbs.
These have just the right ratio of chocolate to marshmallow to graham cracker. It’s cool, creamy, and sweet; being from Massachusetts, I wouldn’t recommend anything other than marshmallow Fluff, but you could always use marshmallows or—gasp—an imitation marshmallow crème. Add a scoop of peanut butter, too, for something extra special.
Healthy Frozen S’mores Parfaits
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 0 minutes
Ingredients(Makes 2 servings):
- 2 large frozen bananas
- 3 Tablespoons cocoa powder
- 2 Tablespoons Fluff OR 1/4 cup miniature marshmallows
- 2 graham crackers
Method:
- Throw the frozen bananas into a food processor and turn it on. Blend until creamy.
- Add in the cocoa powder and pulse until it’s mixed in.
- Scoop the chocolate-banana mixture into the glasses.
- Finish with a tablespoon of Fluff or marshmallows and graham crackers. Serve immediately.
Technically the recipe is for 2 parfaits but every time I’ve made this I’ve eaten the whole batch by myself. I’m not sure if it’s because I’m extra hungry or this is just extra good—I assume both. It’s (mostly) healthy anyway so dig right in.
Have you tried these pancakes yet? I eat them probably 3 times a week for breakfast. If that’s wrong I don’t want to be right.
The thing is, they’re healthy, too. On account of the garbanzo bean flour and egg they have 10g of fiber and 18g of protein. Add a little something sweet and that’s a breakfast.
This fruit syrup is simple—no fuss—and only has a touch of honey for sweetness making it plenty healthy, too. So go ahead, pour it on, and pass it over.
Simple Fruit Syrup
Ingredients:
Cook the fruit in a small pot over a low heat until tender enough that a fork easily glides through.
Mash the fruit until smooth and jelly-like. Alternatively, you could puree the fruit in a food processor or blender for an even smoother puree.
Stir in the honey and salt.
Pour into a serving container and serve. Refrigerate leftover sauce for 2-3 days.
You could eat this on pancakes, ice cream, toast—anything! I like the sauce thicker so you get whole chunks of fruit in every bite. It thickens up as it cools to be more like jelly, so you might want to heat it up depending on how you’re using it. It would taste great warm on ice cream, though I think that goes without saying.
As good as peanut butter, fruit, and chocolate are, peanut butter and fruit can be damn good on their own, too. With fruit and yogurt, this is a great snack for a toddler. Or yourself if you don’t want to share; I didn’t. I used a strawberry yogurt and the dip tasted just like a PB&J but the recipe is totally customizable. It keeps in the refrigerator for a few days, too—not that they’ll be any extra.
Fruity Peanut Butter Yogurt Dip
Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 0 minutes
Ingredients(Makes 6-8 servings):
- 1/2 cup fruit-flavored yogurt*
- 1/2 cup natural runny peanut butter
- 1/4 cup powdered sugar
- Fruit/veggies for dipping
*To customize the flavor, use 6 tablespoons of yogurt and 2 tablespoons of any fruit jam.
Method:
- Mix together all of the ingredients completely making sure there aren’t any clumps.
- Move to a serving dish.
- Serve with chopped fruit and vegetables.
I can’t believe the marathon is only 4 days away. I’ve had this recipe from Ashley and Steven bookmarked since I signed up way back in October and just got around to making it. Dried apricots lend this a slightly different flavor from the typical dates. Really, any nuts would be good in this but I like the combination of cashews and almond butter for that Amaretto flavor.
Apricot Marathon Energy Bites
Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup dried apricots
- 1 cup pitted dates
- 1/2 cup cashews
- 2 Tablespoons almond butter
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Combine all of the ingredients in a food processor.
Blend until a paste begins to form. If your dried fruit was stale to begin with, you might have to add a few teaspoons of water to get it malleable.
Press the dough into a square pan and cut into 10 equal portions.
These couldn’t be easier and pack a flavor punch. I think I liked them even more after a few days of sitting on the counter when they were a little firmer, but you can freeze or refrigerate them to keep them softer. And the ingredients sure beat the hell out of store-bought energy bars.
