Beat the heat - Sugar free Vegan Strawberry Ice Cream

Most of you must be wondering about so many beverage recipes coming up here lately. But it is summer time and with seasonal fruits in abundance,  it is very easy to live on milk shakes, juices and smoothies during the hot weather. In few places this is the time for summer school break for kids and that means lot of running around and entertaining the kids. So with less time to spend in the kitchen and frequent need to feed small hungry tummies thought that I will share my quick and easy to make recipes with you all. Most of the recipes are so simple, you can involve your kids to make it or if the kids are little older instruct them to make on their own. Healthy, simple home made stuff ready in minutes. This ice cream recipe is so simple...

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Beat the Heat - Almond Butter Chocolate Milk Shake

Looking for a high protein, low sugar but super delicious milk shake. Then you have to try this out. Power packed with protein rich almond butter, calcium rich raw milk, antioxidant rich unsweetened cocoa and sweetened with xylitol these are perfect to kick start your day. Easy to make and absolutely delicious on a hot summer day. Do try it out and let me know, how you liked it.Preparation Time - 5 MinutesCooking Time - NilServes - 1IngredientsRaw Milk - 3/4 Cup(Since I used raw milk it has little bit of cream on top, so the milk is a mixture of cream & milk)Cocoa Powder - 1 TbspAlmond Butter -2 TbspXylitol - 1 Tbsp or as per tasteVanilla extract - few dropsIce - 4 to 5 (optional)Method1) Place the raw milk, cocoa powder, almond butter,...

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Beat the heat - Strawberry Smoothie

With certain parts of the United States reeling under a severe heat wave, I thought will share with you couple of Beat the Heat Recipes which are simple to make and good for you.Strawberries have very high levels of vitamin C, fiber, folate and potassium than most other fruits like bananas, apples and even oranges. These berries are good for your heart and acts as a shield for cancer protection. But strawberries are one of the most contaminated produce with pesticide. So grab a box of organic one even though it costs a few more bucks because studies show that the antioxidants are more in organic food than conventional ones. Even though strawberries are so good for you be wary of the fructose content and accordingly adjust your intake of fruits.Preparation...

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Ash Gourd(White Pumpkin) & Cilantro Smoothie

Ash Gourd/White Pumpkin/ Winter Melon/Poosanikai what ever name you call this vegetable, these are used widely in South Indian (Asian Indian) cuisine. This pumpkin unlike its yellow counter part is not sweet and tastes very neutral with lot of water content in it. It is believed that including this vegetable regularly in one's diet will help in reducing excess weight. So what are you waiting for? Try this one out and it not only tastes good but is so good for you and let me know, how you liked it.Preparation Time - 10 MinutesCooking Time - NilServes - 2IngredientsPeeled, deseeded and chopped White pumpkin pieces - 1 1/2 CupsChilled Yogurt - 1 CupGinger - 1 inch pieceCilantro (Chopped) - HandfulSalt - 1/2 TspGreen Chili - 1 or to taste (or you...

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Cucumber, Bell Pepper, Scallion & Coconut Salad

 Do you love fresh raw vegetables and include salad as a part of your every day meal. Then this recipe is definitely for you. I try to include at least one raw vegetable dish as part of our meal and in order not to get bored, I try a variety of them. This simple salad is perfect for any body including carb watchers. Made with all low GI vegetables, these are perfect even for people on a diet plan.  Do try this out and let me know how you liked it.Preparation Time - 10 MinutesCooking Time - 2 MinutesServes - 2IngredientsCucumber - 1Yellow bell pepper - 1 (Small)Scallion - 1 bunchGrated coconut - 2 TbspSalt - 1/2 tsp or to tasteLemon Juice - 1 Tsp or to tasteFreshly ground pepper - 1/2 Tsp or to tasteChopped cilantro - 1 TbspTemperingCoconut...

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Sugar free Chocolate Ice Cream using Stevia

The Ice Cream truck hovering our development during the summer months make the kids and adults crave for some of this Sinful treats. I normally don't buy these Ice Creams at all and  I promised to make different flavored Ice Creams through out summer to enjoy and this is one such one.  We no longer use sugar  in our house hold.(even for kids - less work for my kids dentist). I have used Stevia as the sweetener in the Ice Cream recipe and my kids weren't able to find the difference because of the chocolate flavor, but for the adults this was very much pronounced. So I am going to stick on with Xylitol for the rest of my Ice Cream recipes.Preparation Time - 10 MinutesCooking Time - NoneServes - 4 to 8IngredientsHalf &...

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Coconut Milk Pannacotta

Panna cotta (from Italian cooked cream) is an Italian dessert made by simmering together cream, milk and sugar, mixing this with gelatin, and letting it cool until set. This chilled dessert is then served with wild berries, caramel, chocolate sauce or fruit coulis. In this recipe I have used coconut milk instead of cream and xylitol instead of sugar, Agar Agar instead of gelatin and topped with grated trufflemade with Xylitol. This is a vegan version of the Italian dessert and  this is perfect even for people with diabetes. So try it and let me know, how you liked this.Preparation Time - NilCooking Time - 10 MinutesServes - 3IngredientsCoconut Milk - 1 1/2 Cups (12 oz)Agar Agar Flakes - 1 TbspXylitol - 2 to 3 Tbsp or per tasteVanilla...

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Mango Milk Shake

Who doesn't love mangoes? The king of fruits. It is summer time and this fruit is in lot of abundance. But for some reason I find the mangoes from Mexico don't equal the taste of Indian mangoes. They smell great and look great but lack little bit of taste. I love mangoes by the look of it and tend to buy them, but most of it instead of getting consumed as a whole fruit because of the taste factor goes in making milk shakes, lassi (yogurt and mango drink), ice cream   jelly, cakes etc. Also I take the mango pulp out and puree them and freeze them in small bottles to be used during the rest of the season. So let us get on to the first mango recipe for this season, mango milk shake. Very easy to make and tastes great.Preparation Time - NilCooking...

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Pineapple Milk Shake

Looking for quick, delicious and filling milk shake. Try this one out.  Pineapples are rich in Vitamin C & A and a very good source of dietary fiber. Raw milk is a good source of Calcium and protein. Just put them in a good quality blender, blend and drink. Do not filter and discard the fiber. Fiber in these fruits are very important to the body and these fibers make you feel full for a longer time. You can also add chia gel to these milk shakes to fortify them with Omega 3 and 6 and also to give you sense of fullness. (Soak 1 Tbsp of Chia seed 3 Tbsp of Water and let this sit for few minutes). Now add this gel to the milkshake and enjoy.Pineapple is a high GI fruit, so avoid this milk shake if you are diabetic.Preparation Time - 10...

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The Weight Watcher Parfait

 Parfait is a french style dessert made with layering cream, ice cream, yogurt, nuts, fruits etc. This parfait is very unique meaning, I have just used strawberries milk, mixed with chia gel as the main middle layer instead of yogurt and used nuts and coconut as alternate layer, topped with some xylitol sweetened 100% Cacao truffle(grated). So you can have this any time of the day, either as a break fast or as a dessert. With the low GI strawberries and calcium rich raw milk, omega - 3 rich chia gel, they are not only healthy and also tastes great. Much better option than the morning break fast cereal !!! It is a myth that fat makes a person gain more weight, if the fat is from good sources like unprocessed milk, chia seeds, nuts etc the...

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Brownie Trifle

 Can you make brownie trifle little healthy? Once you are in the health food wagon it is very difficult to let go and indulge. That too if you  subscribe to different health food newsletter and every day some thing or other article gets delivered to your mail box. It becomes even more difficult to let go and attack the food. Some times I think ignorance in bliss. Now coming to this quick brownie trifle, I just had one piece of my Black Bean Brownie left and my elder one wanted to have a quick dessert on a Saturday evening. I also had some Yogurt Cream Cheese in hand and few cherries and then this idea of Brownie trifle came up. Who said desserts have to be sinful and healthy food doesn't taste good? Try this out and let me know.Preparation...

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Eggless Sugarless Creamy Chocolate Pudding

Chocolate puddings are traditionally made with milk/cream, eggs & starch (corn) or with gelatin as the thickening agent and sweetened with sugar. But this pudding doesn't use eggs or starch. Neither does it use gelatin. I  have used agar agar flakes as a vegetarian substitute for gelatin. Sweetened with Xylitol and antioxidant rich unsweetened cocoa powder, they are a sure treat to have with no worries about cavities or sugar high and sugar lows. Try this out and let me know, how you liked it.Preparation Time - NilCooking Time - 10 to 15 MinutesServes - 4IngredientsLight Cream - 1 1/4 cup (I get raw milk and the cream settled on top was used along with little bit of milk)Water - 1/4 CupAgar agar flakes - 2 TspXylitol - 5 Tbsp (Taste...

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Tomato & Mint Thirst Quencher

 Summer is synonymous to sweating and sweating  is good in a way as  it does helps the body to get rid of its toxins. But at the same time it results in the body losing precious water as sweat mainly contains water and other vital minerals such as potassium, sodium, copper, calcium and so on, which are needed by the body for its normal functioning.Choose vegetables & fruits with high water content and replenish your body with the loss of fluid. Tomatoes are one such excellent choice when it comes to foods with high water content. Enriched naturally with Vitamin A & C, this not only quenches your thirst but also energizes your body. Tomatoes are low in fructose and this juice will be perfect for people with people with...

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