No Bake Pumpkin Pie Tarts, by Diane

These gluten, dairy, and refined sugar free heavenly bites of deliciousness were a definite hit at a recent Thanksgiving-themed gathering, and I will definitely be making them again! They are a fantastic alternative to regular pumpkin pie, and are quick and easy to prepare. They don't even require precious oven space during holiday prep! And the best part is that they are both healthy and bite-sized, so you don't really overdo it like you would on normal pumpkin pie (or you can feel free to have 5 and still feel relatively ok with yourself!). Bonus- the crust recipe is extremely versatile and will be on heavy rotation for lots of fun future recipes!

Recipe from: http://detoxinista.com/2013/10/no-bake-pumpkin-tarts-vegan-paleo/


Ingredients:

1 cup walnuts
1/4 cup shredded coconut
2 tablespoons maple syrup
1 tablespoon coconut oil, melted
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 cup pumpkin puree
1/4 cup almond milk
1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
3/4 cup Medjool dates, pitted and soaked in boiling water for at least 30 minutes
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves


Directions:

1. Line a standard muffin tin with 8 parchment cups, and set aside.
2. To prepare the crust: pulse the walnuts and shredded coconut in a small food processor until ground into a fine meal. (Be careful not to over-process, or you’ll wind up with nut butter instead!) Add the maple syrup, coconut oil and salt and process again until just mixed, and the dough sticks together when pinched between your fingers. Scoop the dough by heaping tablespoons into the 8 parchment cups and use your fingers to press down and form a crust for each cup. Place the pan in the fridge to set while you prepare the filling.
3. To prepare the filling: simply combine all of the ingredients in a blender, and blend until completely smooth and creamy. Remove the pan of crusts from the fridge, and pour/spread the batter evenly into the 8 cups. Smooth the top, then return to the fridge to set completely, about 4-6 hours.
4. When the center of the filling is firm to the touch, the tarts are ready to serve. Top with whipped cream, if you like!

Raw Dairy Queen "Blizzard", by Diane

In my quest to eat more nutrient-dense foods I have discovered that the more raw I eat, the better I feel. With that being said, there are certain things that I crave- one of them being blizzards from DQ. After thinking on this, I realized that my previously favorite dessert of frozen banana "ice cream" (literally whip them in a blender for 3 minutes and it's like ice cream!) can be turned into a blizzard of any flavor! So tonight I made a mock up of my favorite, Georgia Mud Fudge. DQ's version has chocolate ice cream, fudge brownies, chocolate chips, and pecans. My recreation was obviously not the original but super chocolatey and sweet, and pretty close in flavors! This was pretty much a hit from the first bite!! I had to remind myself of the calories even though it was raw, otherwise I would have made another 4 batches.

You can really go anywhere with this idea, fruity flavors work just as well. The other day I made a cookie dough version by blending raw cacao beans, dates, and coconut flour (or finely ground cashews works well too) in a blender and forming balls that dropped into the banana cream base (with some cocoa powder added in)- yum!

Ingredients:

3 frozen bananas
1/4 cup almond or coconut milk (I like raw but you can use whatever)
2 tbsp almond butter
2 tbsp raw cocoa powder
1/4 cup raw cacao beans
1/2 cup dates
1/4 cup pecans

Directions:

1. Blend the first 4 ingredients in a blender on the highest speed for 3-4 minutes. You will need to stop every few seconds to push the bananas back to the bottom to blend. Add in more milk if needed. (This is going to be your regular base to add anything else to, unless you don't want the cocoa or almond butter in which case just blend the first two ingredients)

2. Drop in remaining ingredients and blend to your desire. I blended for a few seconds only because the chocolatey dates were left in larger chunks reminiscent of the brownies.