Chocolate-Tahini-Banana "Milk" Shake

I have decided to cut out sweets for a while (with the exception of travel) -- I am still eating natural fruit products (like fruit leathers and such), drinking 100% fruit juice, making raw desserts, and of course eating fresh fruit to satisfy my sweet tooth. I am trying HARD not to consume so much flour and refined sugar. All of those baked goods on top of fruit is really making my body unhappy. Therefore, I am finding all sorts of new ways to keep that little bit of sweetness in my life. The other night I made Michael and I shakes, and they sure turned out yummy. This recipe yields 2 servings.

Ingredients:

2 frozen bananas, peeled

1/4 c. tahini

3 heaping tbsp. cocoa powder

almond milk

Instructions:

- You know the drill... toss everything into the food processor, let run for a few minutes until it turns into a soft serve-like consistency, add almond milk until you've reached a desired consistency, drink/eat with spoons.

I want more of this right now. It had such a smooth consistency and nutty flavor, but not too nutty to overpower the banana and cocoa. I pretty much gulped up the whole thing quickly and then had to watch Michael slowly enjoy his while I wanted more. Why do I do that to myself?

I just made us a couple of individual-sized raw key lime pies. They were OH SO GOOD! Recipe to come :)

Chocolate-Peanut Butter-Banana "Milk" Shake

I was craving a milkshake a couple weeks ago. After having an amazing Reese's Pieces shake from Evolution, I knew I had to have another shake. I didn't have any ice cream (which is probably a good thing) so I improvised! This recipe serves enough for two people.

Ingredients:

2 frozen bananas, peeled

1/2 c. natural peanut butter (I think this is how much I put in...)

4 tbsp. cocoa powder

almond milk

dash of cinnamon

Instructions:

- Using your food processor, blend your bananas until they are a soft serve like consistency. Transfer to a mixing bowl.

- Dump the rest of your ingredients into your mixing bowl and use your hand mixer to mix away!

- I don't have a measurement for the almond milk because I just kept adding until it seemed right. Some people like their shakes thick or thin so just gradually add this in until you are happy.

- Keep mixing with your hand mixer until it is a smooth and creamy consistency.

- Pour into glasses and serve!

Um, I just want to tell you that this was DELICIOUS. I was amazed at the consistency as well as the taste. I wasn't expecting much since I didn't have ice cream. I recommend... no... I am ordering you to go make this right now. You won't be sorry!

P.S. I actually made this again today using just my food processor for all of the steps above. It seemed to work ok except for the fact that the liquids seeped out a little. I definitely recommend using a hand mixer if you have one!

Banana-Blueberry-Lime Soft Serve

San Diego's weather these days has been amazingly beautiful. It feels like summer! I've been eating a lot of summery food -- veggie burgers, fresh fruits and vegetables, and of course ice cream. I've had some frozen bananas in my freezer for a while now, so I decided to make something yummy for when I was sick (and after I ran out of popsicles!). This recipe is for 1 serving.

Ingredients:

1 frozen banana

1/3 c. frozen blueberries

3 tbsp. lime juice

Instructions:

- Throw ingredients into food processor.

- Let food processor run for a good few minutes, making sure to scrape down the sides every so often.

- Serve!

I love putting frozen bananas into my food processor. If you let it run long enough, the consistency really turns out like soft serve. It's wonderfully easy AND delicious!

Mujadara and Banana Soft Serve

Warning: This is going to be a long post.

Mujadara

Ingredients:

1/2 c. uncooked brown lentils

1 c. uncooked rice (I used long grain rice, but you can use brown or white)

1 sweet onion, chopped

1 or 2 tbsp. olive oil

a dash of cinnamon

a few dashes of cumin

Instructions:

- Chop onion (not too finely) and add to a deep skillet with the olive oil. Let this cook for 30-40 minutes on low heat, stirring the onions every so often. Stirring the onions is important so they brown evenly.

- Follow instructions to cook your rice. I used Uncle Ben's long grain rice -- which called for 1 cup of rice boiled with 2 1/4 cup water, then cover and simmer for 20 minutes.

- Add the lentils to another sauce pan and boil them with 1 cup of water. Once the water starts to boil, turn it down and let simmer for 30 minutes.

Whoa, check out this madness

I timed everything so it all finished together. Once everything is done, mix the onions, rice, and lentils (with leftover water) into the onion pan along with the spices. Stir and let simmer for 5-10 minutes. Once finished simmering, plate then eat! Yum!

Well, I practically inhaled this. I probably could've cooked the onions longer but I was impatient and hungry. I should never cook while already hungry, haha.

The good thing about mujadara is that you can customize it to your own needs. Some people make it without rice or spices. I personally like it this way the best. You can also speed up the process by not cooking the onions as long, using instant rice, etc. I think cooking it slowly like this makes all the flavors very strong and delightful!

Banana Soft Serve

("That shit is bananas... B-A-N-A-N-A-S" - made famous by Gwen Stefani but recently quoted by my lovely boyfriend)

Ingredients:

3 frozen bananas

2 tsp. agave

1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

Instructions:

Place ingredients in food processor and let it run for about 5 minutes. Make sure to scrape the sides every so often so every bit of banana gets in the blades.

Scoop out into a bowl and enjoy!

(Sorry for the bad quality picture)

This is one of the best things ever. It's so smooth and creamy and tastes just like soft serve. It's also so simple and easy to change up. I probably didn't really need the agave, but it was still good with it. I was going to add some cocoa powder but decided against it. Just a tip... 3 bananas worth is probably way more than enough for one person. I was already quite a bit full from the mujadara but this tasted so good and I couldn't stop eating it! Good thing it was bananas and not sugar-filled ice cream. Also, about 3/4 of the way through I realized I had already eaten a banana today. I had to stop and put the rest in the freezer. I doubt it'll be as good as when it was first made, but oh well. That makes roughly 3 bananas eaten today. I don't know what happens if you eat too many bananas in one day, but uh, I sure hope it doesn't happen to me!