Creamy Grape Dessert

Can you believe how FAST the year has gone by?  Geez, I sound like someone's mother (oh yeah, I am).  To be honest with everyone, this has not been a good Perfect 10 year for me but as you can tell by my continual 'keep calm and carry on' posts, I haven't given up.  And in keeping with being honest, I've gained back most of the weight I lost last year - so sorry, I sort of feel like a fraud - but there's no one else who has taken the baton and carried on with helping out all of us.  The Perfect 10 Facebook page hasn't been updated since April, I'm the only one checking and answering questions (free of charge I might add).  The Perfect 10 website hasn't been updated since 2010 I think.  Sorry to have sour grapes - but you all are the only people I can talk to about Perfect 10 - and we're scattered all over the country/world.  I'm almost considering going on Craigslist and seeing if anyone else in the county is trying to work the P10 and if they want to get together and hold meetings!  Do you guys Skype?  Is it possible to do a group Skype?   Would any of you be interested?

This has just been a really difficult year, emotionally, physically and financially.  We cut up our credit cards and are now trying to live just off of what we make - and that's TOUGH!!  
I owe apologies to all the people who have asked 'how do you do P10 Diet on a budget?' and I'd just say 'oh yeah try the farmer's market' - well, now that I'm actually really doing P10 on a budget, I can say: 

THE FOOD THAT IS CHEAP IS NOT GOOD AND
THE FOOD THAT IS GOOD IS NOT CHEAP.

Thanks for listening to me and hopefully not judging me for being a real person and not some diet/workout guru with six pack abs and no body fat.  I'm trying to do all of this without financing, without support, without a personal chef, without a personal trainer and without a net!!  (Oh hey, that's the same way you are all doing it too!!)

Now that we're done with sour grapes, let's change the subject to some sweet grapes!

This is another recipe courtesy of Gina’s Skinny Recipes, her website is www.skinnytaste.com.  You can find a lot of P10-worthy recipes.  She's a wiz at coming up with wonderful recipes that are healthy for you!  

photo courtesy of www.skinnytaste.com

Gina says - This dessert is highly addictive and hard to stop eating! Don't be fooled by the humble ingredients, this is easy to make, very refreshing, and is perfect to bring to a BBQ. This is one of those recipes you'll be making again and again and chances are you probably have all the ingredients in your kitchen. Easily doubles for more people.

Creamy Grape Dessert

Recipe courtesy of Gina’s Skinny Recipes

makes 8 servings

1 lb green seedless grapes, washed and dried well

1 lb red seedless grapes, washed and dried well

8 oz Greek yogurt, full fat

4 oz cream cheese, softened

1/4 cup agave

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Topping:

2 tablespoons coconut sugar, packed

1/2 cup chopped walnuts (or pecans)

Directions:

Cut grapes in half and set aside.

Mix yogurt, cream cheese, agave and vanilla until blended well. Stir grapes into mixture, and pour in large serving dish.

Combine coconut sugar and crushed walnuts. Sprinkle over top of grapes to cover completely. Chill until ready to serve.

Melissa's 30-Second Weight Loss Shake

What a gorgeous picture! 
Endless possibilities!

Don't get all excited now!  The SHAKE takes 30 seconds, not the weight loss....I know, whoever invents that one will be the master of the world!

Remember the Chocolaty Frosty recipe a few weeks back?  Stay tuned for another AWESOME recipe from Satisfying Eats, a terrific blog with grain-free recipes, which are perfect for Stage 1.   Gotta give Melissa a LOT of credit, she works hard to find all kinds of goodies that she shares with everyone - so I want to make sure y'all know these are her creations and not mine, 'cause that would be rude and then all my shakes would taste like shame.

 

Don't forget you can make it dairy free by substituting coconut milk for the heavy whipping cream.  

Once again - be sure to keep frozen almond milk in ice cube trays on hand or you'll have to wait several hours until you can make this! 

 

Chocolaty Frosty

recipe courtesy of Satisfying Eats
makes 1-10 oz Serving

4 cubes unsweetened almond milk frozen in ice-cube trays

1/3 cup heavy cream or coconut milk

2/3 cup unsweetened almond milk

2-4 servings of stevia or preferred sweetener

1/2-1 teaspoon vanilla

 

Add ins: 

2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa

1/2 cup strawberries

1/2 cup blueberries or other fruit (fresh or frozen)

1 scoop protein powder

2 cubes of frozen coffee

 

Pour unsweetened almond milk into ice cube trays and allow to freeze.  Be sure not to fill to the top so that they can be easily removed from tray.   Freeze until solid.

Add 4 cubes of almond milk to blender, Magic Bullet or Ninja.

Add milks, sweetener and vanilla.  Always start with least amount of sweetener first and then taste.

Now is also time to add-in any extras, if desired. 

Blend for 30 seconds or until you can hear that there are no more chunks.

Strawberry Lassi

Whole Foods - that's where you'll find me every weekend most of the time.  It's the only place I can find my full fat Fage Total Greek yogurt (highly recommend!) and my mom likes to go up and down EVERY SINGLE AISLE just in case she might have missed something from last week...

Anywho - the Whole Foods website has tons of great recipes, many of which are P10 compatible or can be adjusted for P10.   I think using Greek yogurt in this will really bump up the protein.  I'm torn between labeling this as a treat, a dessert, a smoothie or even breakfast!  Guess I'll use them all.  You could totally get your kids to partake of the lovely healthy yogurt without their knowledge!   :D

Ice-cold, yogurt-based lassi is a favorite refresher in India. Sometimes made with fresh mango, this delicious version uses strawberries

 

Strawberry Lassi

makes 2 servings

1 cup plain or Greek yogurt

2 cups roughly chopped strawberries

2 tablespoons honey or agave nectar

1 cup ice cubes

1/2 cup milk (regular or almond)

Few pinches ground cardamom (could sub cinnamon or nutmeg)

 

Combine yogurt, strawberries and honey in a blender and pulse until strawberries are pureed. Add ice and milk and blend until smooth. Pour into 2 tall glasses and garnish each with cardamom.

Chocolaty Frosty

This is another recipe from Satisfying Eats, a terrific blog with grain-free recipes, which are perfect for Stage 1.  Check it out and you'll find lots of great things to try!

Now THIS is a summer treat that I bet you've been missing!  Who doesn't totally love a Chocolate Frosty from you-know-where?  Well now you can make your own without the guilt AND if you follow the link back to the Satisfying Eats site, you'll also see you're saving yourself loads of chemicals and harmful additives by making it yourself. 

 

Don't forget you can make it dairy free by substituting coconut milk for the heavy whipping cream.  

Be sure to keep frozen almond milk in ice cube trays on hand or you'll have to wait several hours until you can make this!  If you'd rather have strawberry flavor, try substituting 2-3 strawberries in place of the cocoa powder.

 

Chocolaty Frosty

recipe courtesy of Satisfying Eats
makes 1-10 oz Serving

 

8-9 cubes of frozen unsweetened almond milk

1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk

1/4 cup heavy whipping cream or coconut milk

3 servings Stevia or sweetener to taste

2 1/2 tablespoons of unsweetened cocoa powder

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

 

Add a ingredients to blender or Ninja. 

Blend for 30-60 seconds until smooth, pour into glass.

Enjoy!

Run and hide from any other people that are hanging around your house this summer...

Now enjoy!!

  

 

Chocolate Chiapioca Pudding

Let's continue with this week's 'Ideas with Chia' - here a dessert you'll love!

I loves me some chocolate pudding and I'm also interested in using chia seeds so I was eager to try this recipe.  I have a mixer at home and I'll use it at the drop of a hat so I did a cheater version and put everything in the mixer bowl and just turned it on every five minutes until it was ready.

I can't really tell you how much sweetener to use - it's a Jersey thing...no, but really, it's personal preference.  And I kept adding agave and it just didn't taste right, so I added some Truvia and that did it for me.  Wait until it thickens up a little and add the sweetener, mix, taste and then see what more you'd like to do. 

OH - and guess what else?  I had this after dinner one night and I had energy to get up and go - so out I went grocery shopping - and I also did a lot more chores around the house that night than I usually would so this will give you some 'get up and go'.   Best of all, the Kid, who continually mocks my chia gel ate a big bowl of this and thought it was tapioca - so neener neener on her!

One morning I had forgotten to make a new batch of chia gel for my smoothie so I plopped in some of this pudding instead and it worked just fine!  Pudding Smoothie, anyone?


It tastes better than it looks!



PS:  Isn't 'chiapioca' a cute word!  I can't take credit for it though, I got that from Robert on the WB Facebook site. 

Chocolate “Chiapioca” Pudding

makes 4 servings

adapted from Maria's Delicious and Nutritious Journal

3/4 cup chia seeds

2 cups unsweetened vanilla almond milk

    (or use plain almond milk and add a little more vanilla extract)

 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

pinch of salt

sweetener of your choice (agave nectar, Stevia or Truvia) to taste



In a bowl, mix all the ingredients together and then let the pudding set up for a few minutes.

Stir the pudding every five minutes.

After sitting for 20 minutes the chia seeds will thicken up and it resembles tapioca pudding.

Print the recipe:  Chocolate Chiapioca Pudding

Chocolate Pudding

As I was making this I was reminded that these are all items I use in smoothies (well, maybe not the lemon juice) but I was curious to see how this recipe would turn out.

It certainly was easy - except for the part when the phone kept ringing while my hands were covered in avocado.  I made this in the blender and poured it into ramekins.

NOTE:  Please for Pete's sake use a less ripe banana then I did.  A regular yellow banana would sure taste a lot better.  Both Bubba and Kid said 'dang, there's an overripe banana in this, isn't there?'  :(
But otherwise, this turned out pretty good!

Chocolate Pudding

serves 4

1 cup almond milk
2 tablespoons agave
1 tsp lemon juice
1/4 cup of cocoa
1 avocado, peeled, pitted and cut into chunks
1 banana, peeled and cut into chunks

Add ingredients to the blender in this order, blend until smooth.

Pour into 4 ramekins or small bowls and refrigerate for one hour or until set.

Wait for your family to be freaking out over getting to have pudding and don't tell them what's in it.

1 serving = 1 serving fat and 1/4 serving fruit

Print the recipe:  Chocolate Pudding

Pots de Creme

This is my 'go to' dessert for when I attempt to make a romantic dinner.  It's a a lovely, elegant dessert that looks difficult but is easy to make.  You just have to remember to make it earlier in the day because it takes 3-4 hours to chill in the fridge. 

To get ready to roll, make sure the eggs sit on the counter for a bit to come to room temperature.  Then, make a small pot of coffee double strength - for example,  2 cups of water and 4 scoops of coffee.  You can freeze the extra to make coffee ice cubes for cold drinks.  Also go through your cupboards and see what assorted wine/martini glasses you have.  You could even use non-cute ones, but any small glass containers will make this look so fancy!

picture courtesy of Ree Drummond

Oh by the way, you pronounce Pots de Creme: “Po de Krehm”

Need to chill for 3 to 4 hours before serving

Pots de Crème

courtesy of Pioneer Woman Cooks!

makes 4 servings

1 1/2 cups  semi sweet chocolate chips

4 eggs, room temperature

2 teaspoons vanilla

8 oz strong HOT coffee

Whipped cream

Begin by throwing chocolate chips into the blender.  Crack in four eggs right on top of the chocolate chips.  Add vanilla and a healthy pinch of salt.

Put on the lid and turn on the blender.  As soon as the mixture is blending, remove the circular disk from the blender lid and slowly pour in 8 ounces of strong, HOT coffee.

The mixture will slowly expand and rise in the blender…just make sure you keep it in a slow stream and you’ll be fine.

picture courtesy of Ree Drummond

After you’ve added all the coffee, continue blending for a minute or two (no chocolate chunks left), then turn off the blender.

Now, traditionally, Pots de Creme is served in little “pots", but let's use assorted wine/martini glasses instead. Just pour the mixture into all the glasses, leaving plenty of room to add whipped cream later.

Now place the glasses into the fridge for 3 to 4 hours at least so the mixture will firm up.

Top with whipped cream before serving.



Dark Chocolate and Coconut Dessert Sauce



Sliced apples and bananas with
Dark Chocolate and Coconut Dessert Sauce

 Gee oh boy oh yeah....can't wait for Valentine's Day...(yes, Sheldon, that's sarcasm).  But if you're thinking about treats and want to make sure you can enjoy yourself, try this recipe out!

Don't be fooled by 'makes one cup' because I cut up a plate full of apples and bananas and we still have plenty left over....I also think this would be awesome over pancakes.  How about serving it along with either Orange Cake or Mexican Chocolate Coffee Cake...oh let's just face it.  I'd probably put this on vegetables if I thought my family wouldn't stage an intervention.  I think I'll try this over Greek yogurt.

Notes and stuff: 

use at least 60% cacao dark chocolate - I used dark chocolate chips

Double boiler - no need for fancy equipment, just use a saucepan with boiling water and set a glass/ceramic bowl on top (like Corell - remember that?)  I still have one:

Dark Chocolate and Coconut Dessert Sauce

Makes about 1 cup

8 ounces dark chocolate (at least 60% cacao), roughly chopped

1 cup coconut milk, canned

Gently melt chocolate in the top of a double boiler until smooth; remove from the heat. Meanwhile, put coconut milk into a small pot over medium heat and keep stirring it in the pan until it steams, don't let it boil.  Remove from the heat immediately and let it cool for a few minutes. Then slowly and gently mix the milk into the bowl of chocolate until smooth and well combined.  

If you are going to use it shortly, set the bowl back on top of the warm water in the saucepan to keep the sauce warm and drizzly.

Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.

Let it cool before putting in the fridge.

To reheat, gently stir the sauce on low heat gently until it is warm and serve.

Nutrition:  per serving (about 2 Tbsp): 90 calories (70 from fat), 7g total fat, 5g saturated fat, 1g protein, 9g total carbohydrate (1g dietary fiber, 8g sugar), 0mg cholesterol, 5mg sodium

So good...so warm...so lovely....

Almond Butter Freezer Fudge

Are you totally addicted to almond butter?  I am.  I like it in so many things.  And what's funny is I was never a huge peanut butter fan (well I was huge but that's a different story).  

OMG the other day I saw pictures of myself from last Christmas and cried my eyes out...I kept asking Bubba "is that me?"  I was mortified - all I could focus on was that giant caboose wearing my clothes.  Maybe we should all take out some old pics or clothes and see how far we've come. 

By the way, when I rule the world I will outlaw 'Carol of the Bells'...it makes me nutso - which is a good segue into our recipe - nuts and all...

Last month we made Homemade Chocolate in a very similar way to this recipe and since the holidays are coming up and everyone else is eating all kinds of yummy things, we need a few P10 approved recipes on our list.

That way, when you end up taking a dish to a holiday party, you can take this and eat it and watch others eat it and say 'hey I like that' and they have no idea it's healthy for them!  Don't make this as gifts unless you know it will go right into the fridge or freezer....it will melt...(*sadness*)

Dude - you know what would ROCK?  Next time made the Homemade Chocolate and this at the same time and either layer or swirl them together before freezing...

Almond Butter Freezer Fudge

2 cups raw creamy or crunchy almond butter (unsalted)

1/2 cup coconut oil, softened

3 tablespoons agave

1 teaspoon fine sea salt

Mix all the room temperature ingredients together until smooth and creamy.

Line a 8x8 square baking dish or container with parchment or wax paper, then smooth the mixture in with a spatula, and freeze until solid (about an hour).

Lift the paper to free your yummy treat, then cut into squares and serve immediately.

Store leftover fudge in the fridge or freezer since the oil may melt and de-fudgify your lovely fudge.

Homemade Chocolate

A salty side and a non salty side!

I think we'd all like to thank Paula Nettles for posting this recipe on The Perfect 10 Diet page.  So simple, so quick, so easy, so I can't wait to make some more!!

There was a brief discussion about other sweeteners - you can use agave in this as well.  Experiment until you find what works best for your taste.  The amount of sweetener in the recipe will make this taste like dark chocolate and not the sweeter stuff!

I think another important detail would be what other lovely fun things could you put in your mixture to make your eyes roll back?  I for one, am a huge fan of the salty chocolate so I added some sea salt on top.

Now just because this is P10 compatible doesn't mean you can eat it all in one serving.  Remember to pace yourself and space it out over a few days!  It also might be a good way to get those who don't care for coconut oil (Bubba) to eat some without knowing it!

Homemade Chocolate

1/2 cup coconut oil, melted

1/2 cup cocoa powder

1 heaping teaspoon Stevia, agave or other sweetener
*optional add ins - chopped almonds, chili powder, cinnamon, shaved coconut, etc.

Mix the ingredients together VERY WELL and pour into a 8 inch square flat dish and freeze until solid.  Takes about 15 minutes.

Break apart and store in fridge. Yum!

Italian Dessert Ricotta

Happy Monday!

Before we get started, I wanted to just give a general announcement that for the time being I’m only going to post on Monday, Wednesday and Fridays so that I have time to devote to the Meal Planning project and also because I can’t cook fast enough to keep up with daily recipes and blogging so I hope you will all be patient.  Remember to come to the P10 Recipes Facebook Page to ask questions or share ideas!  If you have a recipe you'd like to share let me know, I'd be happy to post it.  After all, I'm only one small (getting smaller) person and there's so many of us!

This was a nice light dessert.  If you’re not a fan of espresso (by the way, say eSpresso, not ‘expresso’-pet peeve!), it may not be your cup of tea coffee but you could skip the espresso and top with berries if you prefer.  Ricotta is rich and creamy and isn’t just used for lasagna anymore!

Just a couple of tips – make sure the lemon zest is mixed in well or your husband will take a bite of his dessert and go ‘aggggggghhhhh!’.  Also, you could use actual ground espresso beans instead of instant if you prefer, I found the instant type easier to use.

This was a great dessert after having
Cheesy Crust Pizza

Italian Dessert Ricotta

makes 4 servings

2 cups whole-milk ricotta cheese

2 tablespoons coconut sugar

2 teaspoons grated lemon zest

Instant espresso

Make 1/4 cup espresso and put in the fridge to chill.

Using a blender or food processor, mix the cheese, sugar and zest until smooth, at least 2 minutes or so.  Divide the mixture into 4 small bowls or ramekins.  Chill before serving.

When you are ready to serve, drizzle about 1 tablespoon of the chilled espresso over the top of each serving and then sprinkle with a pinch of the instant (or ground) espresso.

Dark Chocolate and Coconut Dessert Sauce



Sliced apples and bananas with
Dark Chocolate and Coconut Dessert Sauce

 This is a recipe I found on the Whole Foods website.  And this is good timing too, because lately I just seem to need an extra bit of chocolate...sometimes life is like that!  And, oh yes, it was totally worth it.

Don't be fooled by 'makes one cup' because I cut up a plate full of apples and bananas and we still have plenty left over....I also think this would be awesome over pancakes.  How about serving it along with either Orange Cake or Mexican Chocolate Coffee Cake...oh let's just face it.  I'd probably put this on vegetables if I thought my family wouldn't stage an intervention.  I think I'll try this over Greek yogurt.

Notes and stuff: 

use at least 60% cacao dark chocolate - I used dark chocolate chips

Double boiler - no need for fancy equipment, just use a saucepan with boiling water and set a glass/ceramic bowl on top (like Corell - remember that?)  I still have one:

Dark Chocolate and Coconut Dessert Sauce

Makes about 1 cup

8 ounces dark chocolate (at least 60% cacao), roughly chopped

1 cup coconut milk, canned

Gently melt chocolate in the top of a double boiler until smooth; remove from the heat. Meanwhile, put coconut milk into a small pot over medium heat and keep stirring it in the pan until it steams, don't let it boil.  Remove from the heat immediately and let it cool for a few minutes. Then slowly and gently mix the milk into the bowl of chocolate until smooth and well combined.  

If you are going to use it shortly, set the bowl back on top of the warm water in the saucepan to keep the sauce warm and drizzly.

Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.

Let it cool before putting in the fridge.

To reheat, gently stir the sauce on low heat gently until it is warm and serve.

Nutrition:  per serving (about 2 Tbsp): 90 calories (70 from fat), 7g total fat, 5g saturated fat, 1g protein, 9g total carbohydrate (1g dietary fiber, 8g sugar), 0mg cholesterol, 5mg sodium

So good...so warm...so lovely....

Mexican Chocolate Coffee Cake

This recipe is courtesy of my P10 buddy Kelley V.  She says she was inspired to create this because "when we're working overtime and the boss always buys donuts....now I will have a sweet treat also!"

Mexican Chocolate Coffee Cake

1/3 cup natural or raw cocoa

1/3 cup + 1 tablespoon coconut flour

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper, to taste

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

6 eggs

1/2 cup agave

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/2 cup extra virgin coconut oil, melted

3 oz unsweetened chocolate (100%)

Preheat oven to 325F.

Line 5x9 inch loaf pan with wax paper. Grease wax paper with coconut oil.

Sift cocoa, coconut flour, cinnamon, cayenne, salt and baking soda into a small bowl.

In a food processor or blender, combine eggs, honey, and vanilla. Pulse a few times to beat together.  Add melted coconut oil and chocolate. Process/blend for 1 minute.

Add dry ingredients to food processor, and pulse to combine.

Pour batter into prepared loaf pan and bake for 1 hour (not a very forgiving cake if you burn it, so you might want to test for doneness with a toothpick at the 55 minute mark).

Let cool completely in the pan. Remove from pan and carefully remove wax paper.


Enjoy!

Five Minute Ice Cream

Fun for kids and moms (yes, even dads).
It's a good way to get those wiggles out and then have a treat.

Let each kid make their own and put whatever flavors they want into it. It would be a great way to keep the kids busy at a summer play date or barbecue, and the adults are likely to have just as much fun with it too.

 
Five Minute Ice Cream
makes 1 serving

1/2 cup whole milk or cream
1 tbsp sweetener
1 tsp vanilla extract
6 tbsp Kosher salt
2 cups ice

1 sandwich size ziplock bag AND 1 quart size ziplock bag

In the sandwich size bag combine the milk, sweetener, and vanilla extract and seal the bag tightly. In the quart size bag add the ice and Kosher salt. Place the smaller bag into the larger bag and seal the larger bag tightly.

Are you ready?  Now shake the bag as hard as you can (without popping it open) until it becomes the consistency of ice cream. Having a dish towel on hand to hold around the bags made it easier as the ice does make your hands very cold quickly.

It should take about five minutes before the ice cream begins to form, but may take a little longer if you have some slower shakers. 

Serve and enjoy. You can also add other fixings into your ice cream such as fruit or candy. You can add them at the end, but they would be just as good in the mixture.

The above recipe makes one serving, to double the recipe, add double the ingredients in the smaller bag and put 3 cups ice and 9 tbsp salt in the bigger bag)