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 Time - 5 Minutes

Cooking Time - None

Serves - 1





Ingredients



Plain yogurt - 3/4 Cup

Organic Strawberries - 6 to 8

Xylitol - 1 Tbsp or a pinch of Stevia

Ice cubes - 4 (optional)



Method



1) Place the yogurt, strawberries and xylitol in a blender and blend till smooth.



2) Add the ice cubes and blend one more time and serve immediately.

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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 truffle

made 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 - Nil

Cooking Time - 10 Minutes

Serves - 3





Ingredients

Coconut Milk - 1 1/2 Cups (12 oz)

Agar Agar Flakes - 1 Tbsp

Xylitol - 2 to 3 Tbsp or per taste

Vanilla extract - 1/4 tsp

Method

1) Warm the coconut milk slightly and add the agar agar flakes and let this sit for 15 Minutes, till the flakes are softened.

2) Now simmer in the stove on slow to medium heat and add the xylitol to dissolve at this stage. Do not allow it to boil, but simmer till the agar agar flakes dissolve.

3) Once the flakes are completely dissolved, remove from the stove add the vanilla extract and pour the contents into small cups and allow it to set. Chill and serve with chocolate sauce or with some grated truffle on top, with nuts and fruits of your choice.

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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 - Nil

Cooking Time - 10 to 15 Minutes

Serves - 4



Ingredients

Light 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 Cup

Agar agar flakes - 2 Tsp

Xylitol - 5 Tbsp (Taste it and increase the sweetness based on your taste)

Unsweetned cocoa powder - 2 Tbsp

Unsweetened chocolate piece - 2 (100% Dark Chocolate)

Vanilla extract - 1 tsp

Method

1) Soak the agar agar flakes in water and let it sit for 10 minutes till it soften.

2) Heat the water along with the agar agar flakes and once it is hot, add the cream, cocoa powder, chocolate piece, xylitol and simmer till the agar agar flakes are dissolved.

3) Pour them into small cups and allow it to set. Chill it and decorate with almond flakes and serve.

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