Deluxe Banana Split Soft-Serve

Last night I was craving - of all things - a banana split from Dairy Queen.  I don't know about you, but I have wonderful memories of heading to Dairy Queen after school, or on the weekends, or with my mom, for a special ice cream treat.  Sometimes I ordered a Chocolate Dip Cone, other times I ordered a Peanut Buster Parfait (come on...you know you remember it!), every once in a while I would order an Oreo Blizzard; but undoubtedly - at least eight times out of ten - I ordered a Banana Split!  There was just something about the combination of vanilla soft-serve, strawberries, cherries, peanuts, and chocolate syrup that made my taste buds go crazy!

And although Bo and I didn't head out to a Dairy Queen last night, YOU BETTER BELIEVE I got my banana split fix!

To start, I used my recipe for Homemade Peach Compote to create a delicious - but healthy - strawberry sauce.  I honestly think that I could have eaten this straight out of the jar with a spoon and been pretty happy!

Then the real work fun began!  I:

• whipped together a decadent chocolate sauce;
• chopped some salted peanuts; and
• got out all of the ingredients for my favorite Secret Ingredient Soft-Serve.  

After preparing all of the separate components of the Banana Split, it was time to assemble my delectable masterpiece.

Seriously...doesn't that look SO good?!

Deluxe Banana Split Soft-Serve
Serves 2

For the Strawberry Compote:
15 strawberries, diced
1/2T cornstarch
2 packets stevia
2T maple syrup
2T water

For the Chocolate Syrup:
2T dark chocolate chips
1/2tsp coconut oil

For the Banana Soft-Serve:
2 frozen bananas
2T almond milk (or milk of choice)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

For Garnish:
salted peanuts, chopped
maraschino cherry, optional

Directions:

• For the Strawberry Compote: Toss the diced strawberries with the cornstarch to coat.  Place the strawberries, stevia, maple syrup, and water in a small saucepan; bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to medium; continue cooking at a low boil for 5 minutes.  Use a potato masher to mash the strawberries (until a jam-like consistency is formed).  Pour into a small jar and refrigerate until cooled and set.
• For the Chocolate Syrup: Place the chocolate chips and coconut oil in a small bowl.  Heat - in 30 second increments - in the microwave until fully melted and incorporated.  Keep warm until ready to serve.
• For the Banana Soft-Serve: Place the frozen banana chunks in your food processor; process for 1-2 minutes until bananas are broken up and beginning to smooth out.  Add the almond milk and vanilla extract and process until smooth.
• Next, spoon 2-4T (depending upon taste and preference) of the Strawberry Compote into the food processor with the Banana Soft-Serve.  Pulse a couple of times until the compote is swirled into the soft-serve.
• Note: At this point - depending upon whether or not your soft-serve is beginning to get too soft - you may need to freeze it for 5-10 minutes to re-harden.
• Pour the soft-serve into small bowls, drizzle the chocolate syrup on top, and garnish with the chopped peanuts and cherry.
• Enjoy IMMEDIATELY as the soft-serve will melt quickly!

I was even nice enough to make one for Bo too!  

Go ahead - admit it - I have that "Wife of the Year" award in the bag. ;)

Question of the Day:

Do you like traditional banana splits?  If not, what is your favorite ice cream treat?!

Blessings,
Ally and Bo

Chocolate-Covered Katie's Cookie Dough Dip

Sorry to be a little MIA this week.  The studio that I run - Yoga Life - is right near the tail-end of a total website overall.  As such, I have been very busy collaborating with the web designer, creating web content, and learning the strange computer programming based language of HTML.

Needless to say, my brain has been a little bit drained fried the past few days!

Thankfully, Bo and I are heading over to a friend's house tonight for an "Olympic Opening Ceremony" party.  The hosts will be grilling hamburgers and hot dogs, while the guests have all been asked to bring a dip.

Now, being the New Mexican resident that I am (Yes, even though we move all the time we are still NM residents!), when you say "dip" the first few things that pop into my mind are guacamole, bean dip, and salsa.  Unfortunately, both guacamole and bean dip had already been claimed by other party-goers.  And since I figured salsa might be a little overkill, I decided to check out a few of my other favorite bloggers to see what ideas that might have.

Enter: Chocolate-Covered Katie to the rescue!

After reviewing several of Katie's recipes, I quickly decided upon her "Healthy Cookie Dough Dip."  Truth be told, I figured that any recipe that has over 1,000 comments must be delicious...not to mention, reader (and eater) approved!

It took be less than 5 minutes to whip this dip together, and I would be lying if I said I haven't been dipping my greedy little fingers in it all afternoon long.  I am going to pick up some graham crackers to go along with it.  I think the crunch of the crackers and the creaminess of the dip will work great together!

Now, I'm off to teach an "All Levels Flow" class at Yoga Life, and then over to the friends' house to kick off the summer Olympics!

Next time - a smoothie recipe that is refreshing and cool for those hot and humid summer days!

Question(S) of the Day:

Are you going to watch the opening ceremony to the Olympics?!
OR
What is your favorite dip recipe?

Blessings,
Ally and Bo

Dark Chocolate Chip Pancakes with Berry Compote

I am a morning person.  Perhaps my favorite time of day is right before the sun rises.  In those brief moments, it seems like the whole world is quiet, in a state of expectation, embracing all of the potential of the day that is being born.  Maybe that is why breakfast, with a piping hot mug of tea, is my favorite meal of the day.  I wake up excited to greet the final moments of night, and to devour the meal awaiting me!

Although all mornings are special in my book, I have a particularly special love for Saturday mornings.  Usually there is nothing on the calendar that requires you to rush out of the house before noon.  As a result, Bo and I frequently end up lounging in our pajamas until late in the morning (Yeah...that actually means afternoon, or sometimes all day.  Shhhh - don't tell anyone!), sipping on orange juice or hot tea, and devouring a special breakfast/brunch.

This past Saturday I whipped up something extra special...

...with chocolate...

...dark chocolate to be exact!

As you might remember, last Saturday was St. Patrick's Day.  Although our brunch didn't have anything green in it, per se, I decided to serve our piping hot pancakes on green plates.  So there!  You can't pinch me! :)

It is also worth noting that this is the first semi-baking recipe that I came up with on my own!  As I talked about in this post, I have a certain fear of recipe-creating when it comes to baking.  Baking is a science that I don't truly understand, so it was a HUGE success for me when this recipe actually worked!

A HUGE hit with the hubby, these pancakes hit the perfect balance between being sweet, but not too sweet.  Combined with the berry compote, there is hardly any need at all for maple syrup!

Dark Chocolate Chip Pancakes with Berry Compote
Serves 2

2/3 C all-purpose flour
1/2 C bread flour
1/2 C oats
3 stevia packets, divided
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1 banana, mashed
1 C milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 C dark chocolate chips
5 strawberries, diced
1/4 C berries (I used blackberries)


Directions:

• Preheat a large skillet over medium heat (about a six out of ten on the heat scale).
• In a medium mixing bowl, mix together the flours, oats, two packets of stevia, baking powder, and cinnamon.
• Add the mashed banana, milk, and vanilla to the flour mixture.  Mix thoroughly.
• Dollop 1/4 C circles of batter onto the skillet.
• Top with chocolate chips (this ensures that the chips will not "bleed" into the batter).
• Cook until bubbles begin to appear and pop.  Flip, and cook for an additional 1-2 minutes.
• In a separate bowl, place the assorted fruit, and top with one stevia packet.
• Microwave the fruit for 1-2 minutes.
• Top each pancake stack with the berry compote and maple syrup!

Next time - an update on Lola (i.e. her first veterinary appointment, puppy school, and crate training)!

Question of the Day:

White vs. Milk vs. Dark - which type of chocolate do you prefer?!

Blessings,
Ally and Bo

Cinnamon Double (Hot) Chocolate

Normally, I don't post on Sundays.  However, on this particular Sunday I am still at home feeling sick (I don't have a fever anymore, just a bit of a sore throat, and now my symptoms include a RUNNY nose and cough...great...).  Bo is still away for his guys weekend, and since I have a busy week of teaching and travelling ahead, I am trying to lay-low and take care of myself.  I really don't have time to be sick right now...not that my body is listening...

I realize that I sound a little mopey in the post's introduction, but I assure you that this post isn't an Ally pity-party!  Actually, this post is about something that always makes me feel better: hot chocolate.

Last night, while coloring and watching a Twilight movie marathon (thanks for letting me borrow your DVD's Colbi!), my throat was crying out for something warm and soothing.  But I have had so much hot tea since Thursday that I couldn't bear to think about another mug-full of the stuff.  Instead, I decided to whip up some hot chocolate, but not just any ol' hot chocolate, this recipe has cinnamon and double the chocolate, and therefore...double the comfort factor!

Cinnamon Double (Hot) Chocolate
Serves 1

1 T Ghirardelli cocoa (trust me, quality cocoa makes a huge difference!)
1 T brown sugar
1/8 tsp cinnamon
1 1/2 C Almond Breeze Chocolate - unsweetened
1 T maple syrup

Directions:

• Add cocoa, cinnamon, and 3 T of chocolate milk to your mug, and whisk vigorously until thoroughly combined.
• Add remaining milk and microwave for 1 1/4 - 1 1/2 minutes.
• Add brown sugar and maple syrup, and whisk together.
• Microwave an additional 1 - 1 1/4 minutes.
• Enjoy! (coloring and Twilight movies optional)

Up next - a post about Bo and I expanding our family (and no, I'm not pregnant or planning on getting pregnant any time soon)!

Question of the Day:

Hot chocolate vs. hot tea vs. coffee: which one wins in your opinion?!

Blessings,
Ally and Bo

Cinnamon-Infused Chocolate Pudding

First, I should apologize for being MIA these past couple of days.

I'm sorry.

Usually I post pretty regularly throughout the week, but this week a couple of unforeseen developments arose that got in the way of my blogging time.  But enough of that.  Who cares about all that when there are delicious recipes to be shared?! What's important is that I'm back. :)

Some of you may remember my pumpkin recipe extravaganze from early November.  In that post, I gave you several recipes utilizing the YUMM-O ingredient called pumpkin.  Among my favorites was the Pumpkin Spice Pudding.

If you've tried that recipe and loved it, then kudos to you!  If you haven't - perhaps because you don't like pumpkin - then I have a couple of questions for you:

1. How on earth could you not like pumpkin?!
2. Do you like chocolate?!

I am fully aware that these two questions seems completely unrelated, but trust me on this one, there is a connection. 

And the connection is...

Cinnamon-Infused Chocolate Pudding
Serves 2

1 box Mori-Nu Silken Lite Firm Tofu
2 T cocoa (I used Ghirardelli)
4 stevia packets
2 T tightly packed brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2-1 tsp cinnamon
2 T lite coconut milk (or other milk)

Directions:

1. Place all ingredients in your food processor.
2. Process until smooth.
3. Serve.

IMPORTANT:  You must use silken tofu for this recipe!

If you use the other kind of tofu (block, sitting in water) you will have an ooey, gooey, slimy mess!  The total opposite of YUMM-O! BLECK!

For those of you that aren't tofu veterans like me, don't let the fear of the unknown scare you!  This pudding is sweet and creamy, and you can't tell it has tofu in it at. all.  I guarantee you that this pudding could fool even the most ardent tofu-hater.   Silken tofu is your friend!

I ate this pudding for dessert one evening, and topped it off with coconut whipped cream, carob chips, and sprinkled cinnamon.  I also sipped on a mug of Silk Mint Chocolate.  Hmmm, hmmmmm, good!

This pudding is everything you could want in a dessert.  Smooth, creamy, decadant, sweet, and yet healthy too!  It is so good, in fact, that Bo has even asked me to remake this pudding twice: SCORE!

I have a feeling that this recipe is going to be in our dessert rotation for quite a while...

Question of the Day:

How would you dress up your pudding to make it into the perfect dessert?

Blessings,
Ally and Bo

A Thanksgiving Party & Chocolate Pumpkin Pie with Pecan Butter Crust

This Thanksgiving Bo and I decided to stay in Corpus Christi.  With him not getting more than a couple of days off of work, and me teaching as much as I can before Christmas, it made the most sense to stay here for the holiday.  The problem was, we weren't sure exactly what we were going to do for the holiday...

Thankfully, we were invited to a Thanksgiving party!  Twice a week I teach private yoga lessons to Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence, a couple roughly my parents age.  They are a hoot to teach for, and I always look forward to my lessons with them each Wednesday and Sunday!  They have a beautiful home on Ocean Drive, and when I mentioned that Bo and I were staying in down for the holiday they immediately extended a warm invitation for us to come over.   Little did I know that their house is the. place. to. be. on Thanksgiving!

When we arrived at the Lawrence's around 3:30 pm, everyone was hanging out, watching football, finishing up the food, and having a few cocktails.



Bo and I in our Thanksgiving best!


Shortly thereafter, we were asked to take our seats for dinner in the dining area.

Wasn't it just lovely?!  Every place-setting was filled!

Every plate was also filled...YUMM-O!


My plate :)



Bo's plate!

After we ate, and after the Cowboys won (YIPPEE!), Bo and I figured the bulk of the festivities had come and gone.  Little did we know that the fun was just beginning...

Every year the Lawrence's four children organize a pie contest.  But this isn't just any ol' amateur pie contest.  No, the Lawrence children take this contest seriously!  There are rules.  For instance:

• You can't judge your own pie(s).
• No cook can enter more than three pies into the contest.
• If a pie recipe has won the contest for two years, it can no longer be entered into the contest.
• and many more...

This year, 19 pies were entered into the annual Lawrence pie contest!

Here is a shot of the majority of the pies, pre-eating:

And here are a few close-up shots of the pies, pre-eating:

Mr. Lawrence was trying to be funny, so he entered two different kinds of "Frito Pie" into the contest - hahaha!

After all the pies were set up, and the ballots were made, the eating commenced!  Bo really took his judging job seriously!  He ate at least a couple of bites of every. single. pie...and then really took his time giving each one a score between 1-10. 

Here is a look at the pies BEFORE eating:

And here are a look at the pies AFTER eating:

Most of the pies weren't fully eaten, but instead were partially demolished.  Even with over 25 people at the Lawrence's for Thanksgiving, if we would have eaten all of the pies it would have equalled over 1 1/2 pies per person!  Can you say tummy-ache and sugar-coma?!

Here's a closer look at a couple of the partially demolished pies:

So, you might be wondering, what kind of pie did I bring to the party?! 

Well, I brought a traditional pie with a twist, and I must say, considering I made the recipe up myself, I think it turned out pretty well.  I knew that I wanted to bring a pumpkin pie...of sorts...but I wanted it to be a little more special than just plain ol' pumpkin pie.  So, per my usual process, I did a little research, took inspiration from a few other recipes (here and here), and then created something unique and delicious!

 Chocolate Pumpkin Pie with Pecan Butter Crust
Serves 8

For the Crust:

1 C oats (I used gluten free because it is what I had on hand.  You could also use steel-cut oats.)
2 C pecans
2 T succanat (or brown sugar)
3 T ground flax
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 C maple syrup (or honey)
1 T Smart Balance (or butter)

Directions:

1. Grind oats in a blender until very fine.
2. Process pecans in a food processor for 35 seconds.
1. Note: The pecans should be finely processed and be able to clump together.  They should NOT be nut butter.
3. Melt the maple syrup and Smart Balance together in the microwave for 30 seconds.
4. Add all of the ingredients to the pecan mixture in the food processor.
5. Process until smooth.
6. Press the mixture into a pie pan.
1. Note: I prefer to press the crust mixture all the way up the sides of the pan as well.
7. Prick the crust 14-15 times.
8. Bake at 425 degrees for 14-15 minutes.
9. Remove and allow to cool for 10 minutes.

For the Filling:

1 can pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling!)
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tsp unsweetened cocoa
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1/4 tsp salt
2 T succanat (or brown sugar)
1 C chocolate chips
Note: I used carob chips because they are what I had on hand.  However, I would strongly suggest using dark chocolate chips, as carob is an acquired taste that some people may not like.

Directions:

1. Place the pumpkin, vanilla, cocoa, salt, and succanat into the food processor.
2. Process until smooth.
3. Melt the chocolate chips in the microwave, 30 seconds at a time, until completely smooth. 
4. Add the melted chocolate to the pumpkin mixture in the food processor.
5. Process until smooth.
6. Add the filling to the crust.
7. Refrigerate for two hours or overnight.

This crust was really amazing!  Thanks go out to Angela for the inspiration.  Her recipe was pretty amazing, so I only tweaked the flavors a bit to make it work for my recipe.  I will definitely be using this crust again for future pie recipes.  Store bought pie crust - never again!

With a wonderful Thanksgiving having come and gone, I am already gearing up for Christmas!

Question of the Day:

Does your family have any unique Thanksgiving traditions?  If so, I would love to hear about them!

Blessings,
Ally and Bo

Secret Ingredient Soft-Serve

I love ice cream.  So, I eat it about once a week!

WHAT?!  A vegan who eats ice cream?!  Heresy!

Actually, this post is evidence that vegans can eat ice cream whenever they want to.  And this recipe isn't just for vegans; it is husband-approved too!  Even more shocking, this ice cream is healthy!  Yes, you aren't imagining things.  The words "ice cream" and "healthy" were absolutely used in the same sentence.

So what's in this cold, creamy concoction?!

Secret Ingredient Soft-Serve
Serves 2

2 very ripe, frozen bananas
2-4 T unsweetened almond milk (or other milk)
Flavor additions of your choosing (see below for some of my favorites)

Flavor Additions:
Peanut Butter Swirl - peanut butter
Mint Chocolate Chip - mint extract, chocolate chips
Fudge Tracks - peanut butter, chocolate chips, vanilla extract
Cherry Chocolate Bomb - frozen cherries, chocolate chips
Pina Colada - coconut extract, mango chunks, shredded coconut
Chocolate-Dipped Strawberry - frozen strawberries, cocoa powder, chocolate chips

And the flavor additions list could go on...and on...and on...

Directions:

• Place frozen banana chunks in your food processor (before freezing, break up each banana into 4-6 pieces).
• Process 1-2 minutes until bananas are broken up and beginning to smoothe out. (see picture below)

• Add a scant 2 T of milk for each banana (i.e. scant 4 T for two bananas)
• Process until smooth.
• Add flavor additions of your choosing.
• Process until smooth.

Today's flavor is Chunky Peanut Butter Cookie (peanut butter, butter extract, salted peanuts).  YUMM-O!

While I was making this I had an idea for Chunky Butter Pecan soft-serve!  Just swap out the peanut butter for almond butter (or pecan butter from Whole Foods), and substitute the salted peanuts for roasted pecans.  If you ask me, that sounds like the perfect Thanksgiving-esque ice cream!  You could even add a few tablespoons of pumpkin puree!  I know, I know, now I am getting weird!  Maybe I will try it first and then let you know how it goes :)

If you want to get really fancy, you could make some old-fashioned vanilla bean soft-serve (vanilla extract, beans from a vanilla pod) and serve it over the Apple Crumble Bars I made last night!

I borrowed the recipe from Chocolate-Covered Katie (one of my personal favorite blogs)!  She is a genuis in the kitchen!

Last night I served this with a dollop of vanilla yogurt, but it was calling out for some soft-serve.  Too bad I didn't have any frozen bananas on hand at the time (insert sad face here).  Oh well, lessoned learned.  Next time I will be prepared!

Next time - I am feeling a non-food related post...stay tuned!

Question of the Day:

What is your favorite ice cream flavor?!

Blessings,
Ally and Bo

Elvis' Favorite Milkshake

Bo and I have completely opposite eating schedules.  I wake up ravished!  Literally, my stomach is like a hungry monster in the morning, and if I don't give it some food within about 30 minutes of rolling out of bed it gets to growling quickly!  Bo, on the other hand, would be satisfied to wait several hours before eating after waking up.  I can't imagine...

The same opposite hunger schedule is also true for us at night.  Bo and I both like to eat dinner around 5:30-6:00, and then have a little snack later on.  I usually grab a little something around 7:00-7:30.  Bo's hungry monster, however, has only just started to wake up at that hour.  By 8:00 p.m., even with a hearty dinner behind us, Bo is always starving!

Enter last night's scene:

Bo:  Do we have any ice cream?
Ally:  No....
Bo: (insert sad face)
Ally:...but I can make you something!!!
Bo:  What are you going to make me?
Ally:  Something yummy!  Give me a minute!

So here is what I came up with!

Elvis' Favorite Milkshake

Serves 1 hungry husband

• 1 very ripe, frozen banana
• 1-2 T peanut butter
• 1 T unsweetened cocoa
• 1/2-1 T brown sugar
• handful dark chocolate chips
• 1 C milk
• 2-3 ice cubes

Some of you might not know about my uncanny connection to Elvis.  My birthday (January 8th) is actually Elvis' birthday!  Ironically, or perhaps creepily, my mother's birthday (August 16th) is on the day Elvis died.  Weird, huh?  I guess we are cosmically linked to Elvis somehow.  Maybe that explains my intense love of all things with peanut butter and banana (also known as Elvis' favorite sandwich combination).

Any-whoo!  Here is the final, delicious product:

Doesn't it just look delicious?!  I added a few unblended chocolate chips on top for garnish.  Bo slurped it right down and made a specific note of telling me that it was "blog-worthy"!  Thanks, love!

Wouldn't you just love to dig right into this glass of chocolate-peanut-butter-banana-heaven?  Too bad we only had one frozen banana, otherwise I might have had to make one for myself.  But not to worry, I bought six more ripe bananas today, so this milkshake will definitely be in my not-so-distant future!

In other news, we bought new sheets a few days ago!  Our old sheets were scratchy and uncomfortable, so we bit the bullet and bought some new egyptian cotton sheets from Ross.  Although they weren't the exact color we were looking for, the price was right so we decided to go with it.   Bo said he is comfortable enough with his masculinity to sleep in pistachio colored sheets! :)

I must say, the sheets do complement the mandala artwork! 

Up next - a healthy (but more importantly, yummy!) ice cream recipe!

Question of the Day:

Which do you prefer: peanut butter and banana vs. peanut butter and jelly?

 Blessings,
Ally and Bo