Dairy Free

Orange Honey Butter Spread with Melt Organic

5 · Jan 14, 2015 ·

+ Orange Honey Butter Spread Recipe brought to you by Melt® Organic +

This is one of my favorite culinary times of year… Citrus Season! I don’t know about you, but I love the oranges this time of year. They are like candy and I just can’t get enough of them. Which is probably good since we all seem to be fighting the cold and flu war this time of year, a little extra vitamin C is perfect! I thought a lovely Orange Honey Butter would be a great addition to a brunch table, especially when looking for inspiration from Bee Inspired recipes.

Recently, I was invited to try a new product out on the market called Melt® Organic. It’s this really cool “butter like” spread that has all the stuff we love about butter, but it’s packed full of healthier fats and it’s dairy and soy free. I would have to say I was a little skeptical at first. Can this product made out of a blend of organic coconut, flaxseed, canola, palm fruit & sunflower oils really have the taste and creamy texture of butter? I decided to put it to the test.

First test, compound butter… Last Christmas, for my neighbor gifts, I made some lovely compound butters. I whipped together some honey, garlic & berry butters, packaged them up and gave them to my friends and neighbors for holiday gifts. They were a hit.

I wanted to give this idea a go with this new Melt® Organic product. I whipped it up the very same way, I place roughly 6 oz. basically half a container of Melt® Organic into my mixer with roughly 1 heaping tablespoon of orange marmalade.

Then whip the two together really well. Place in a small jar and serve immediately or store in the refrigerator and use as needed. It turned out beautifully!

I whipped up some black cherry butter spread with the other half of my container and I was all set for a lovely brunch.

What I LOVE about the Melt® Organic is that it is GMO-free and it’s helping get my healthy fats in the right way. Here’s the skinny about Melt® Organic…

Ideal balance of Omega 6 and Omega 3 fatty acids – 2:1
Good daily source of Omega 3 ALA’s at 425 mg – 26% RDA per serving
Good daily source of Vitamin E – 15% RDA per serving
Certified USDA Organic and OU Kosher Pareve
Verified non-GMO by the Non-GMO Project
Absolutely no hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oils
Trans Fat Free
Gluten Free
Soy Free
Dairy Free
Vegan
No artificial colors, flavors or preservatives

Not bad if you ask me!

The next test… Baking Cookies.

I mixed up a batch of our favorite Chocolate Peanut Butter Granola Cookies with Melt® Organic rather than butter. They mixed up beautifully and baked even better. My family didn’t even notice the difference.

I noticed a difference knowing that even though cookies aren’t exactly health food, and fat is still fat, I felt better knowing that the cookies they were eating were made from healthier fats. You can grab this recipe HERE, just substitute the Melt® Organic for the butter.

The next test… I sautéd some corn with Melt® Organic and I really liked that much better than butter. You still have the butter flavor without all the yucky fats. My family loved this test too.

All in all, my experience with Melt® Organic has been super positive and we have been converted for sure!

Click HERE to find a store near you that carries Melt® Organic. You can generally find it in the organic dairy section of your local super market. If not, you can always order it online. Grab some and give it a spin, tell me what you think!

MELT® Organic is a line of luscious, organic spreads made from healthy oils for butter lovers seeking a much healthier alternative, available in Rich & Creamy (original), Honey, and NEW Chocolate.

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of MELT Organic. The opinions and text are all mine.

Peppermint Almond Steamer with a Chocolate Twist

2 · Nov 5, 2014 ·

+ This Peppermint Almond Steamer post brought to you by Silk® Almond Milk +

I LOVE it when the weather turns chilly… I can’t say that I’m totally in love with deep winter, but I sure love the turning of the seasons. I especially love the warm drink season for sure!

There is really nothing better then curly up with your sweetie by the fire sharing a mug of some kind of warm treat. A few weeks ago I shared a new warm treat that I discovered and fell head-over-heels in love with…

An Almond Pumpkin Steamer made with Silk® Light Vanilla Almond Milk!

Oh my stars… If you haven’t tried this yet, you NEED to. Run and grab some pumpkin syrup before it’s gone for the season.

Now that we are transitioning from pumpkin season and moving into the peppermint season, I thought I would try a peppermint version of my Silk® Almond Steamer. It’s quite simply… Divine!

I love using Silk® products for my warm drinks. First off, they warm up especially well and you can feel good about indulging in a special treat when you are harnessing the power of plant protein. At 60 calories per serving, Silk® Light Vanilla Almond Milk is happiness in a glass. You heard right—that’s 1/3 fewer calories than our regular almond milk and still 50% more calcium than dairy milk. With a hint of vanilla and plenty of nutty goodness, our almond milk just got even easier to love especially when you pair it with the flavors of the season.

For those of you with dairy issues… Here is a special treat that you CAN have! I’m sure it becomes quite frustrating when everyone is snuggling with cups of hot chocolate. Here is a dairy-free option just for you!

For those of you who would like to up the ante a bit… You can add a little twist of chocolate to your steamer! This will make it so that it’s not dairy-free anymore, but if you like a smidge of chocolate in your steamer, this is the way to go.

I created some chocolate stirring spoons to serve with your steamers…

+ wood bead trivet by the little red cabin +

Won’t these be super cute to serve at a steamer bar?!

I added some holiday embellishments that I found at Target in the gift wrapping section on top of the wood spoons along with some Washi tape. Those are the extra special touches that take your simple treat and elevate it to something EXTRA special!

Chocolate Spoon Directions

Just make up a few of these chocolate spoons by melting some chocolate chips and dipping your spoon in the melted chocolate. On a baking sheet lined with wax paper, place your chocolate dipped spoons and then place the tray in your freezer for 10 minutes, so the chocolate will harden. Then place the spoons in a bowl for your guests.

Then all they have to do is swirl their spoons in their warm Peppermint Steamer to give it a touch of chocolate!

Peppermint Almond Steamer Recipe

2 cups Silk® Light Vanilla Almond Milk

1/4 teaspoon Watkins Peppermint Extract

Warm the almond milk slowly in a small sauce pan over medium heat. Remove from the heat as soon as you see steam, after about 3-4 minutes. Make sure you don’t over heat. Add the peppermint extract and serve immediately.

Garnish with crushed candy canes and serve with chocolate spoons.

For more ideas on how to use the family of Silk® products this Holiday season, visit the Silk® Facebook page and sign-up for the Silk® Club for all kinds of ideas and special offers!

This conversation is sponsored by Silk. The opinions and text are all mine.

Chocolate Berry Pudding Surprise

1 · Oct 28, 2014 ·

+ Chocolate Berry Pudding Surprise +

Who doesn’t love to be surprised?

I ADORE a good surprise!!

This last weekend, I was hanging out with some of my favorite people…

This is my friend Sara Nitta and her sweet family. You may recognize her from The Biggest Loser season 11.

Isn’t she a cutie!! We were sitting around chatting the other day, talking about my blog work and stuff. I told her that I had a fun post coming up with Tofu…

Yes, tofu!

I already had a game plan in play and I was ready to share about my tofu adventure. To be quite frank… I really like tofu. I have never shied away from a dish because it had tofu in it.

I love having a plant based protein in my diet. I love that it can take on whatever flavor profile that you want. Did you know that? Tofu doesn’t have a flavor of it’s own. It’s a blank canvas. It takes on whatever flavor you give it.

Worried about the texture… Don’t!

You can get Mori-Nu Tofu in several different textures. If you like a firm tofu that you can season and pan sauteé, you’ll want to go with an extra firm tofu. You like a lighter, creamier feel? Then I would go with a Silken Soft Tofu. The softer tofu is perfect to add to smoothies, dips and sauces. You can even get a lite Tofu with lower calories and fat, but still packed with protein!

What makes Mori-Nu Tofu from Morinaga special, is it’s innovative packaging. With their special box system, you can keep your Mori-Nu Tofu right in your pantry for up to a year. It’s shelf stable and perfect to keep on hand for all kinds of recipes. Not only is is shelf stable, it’s verified Non-GMO, Kosher, Gluten-Free and doesn’t have any preservatives.

Now, when I told Sara about my Tofu recipe, she immediately said… You should create a dessert!

WHAT!

A dessert? For real?

I had a great savory recipe all ready to go, but this intrigued me. Sara had just returned from a week at Fitness Ridge and she told me about these parfaits that they served for dessert at the resort. She loved them! When she asked what the secret was to this creamy dessert… They told her, the secret was the tofu!

YEA, for real!!

She challenged me to come up with my very own parfait…

This is how I came up with my Chocolate Berry Surprise!

This is such a simple dessert to make… AND, it’s packed with protein so it’s not just empty calories. The funny thing, you would NEVER know that it had tofu in it!

First thing I did was throw my Mori-Nu Tofu into my mixer and mixed it up well. Then I a large Jell-o Chocolate Instant Pudding Mix and then continued to whisk on high speed. The mixture then turned into something that looked like brownie mix. Then I slowly added 1 1/2 cups of cold milk. You could even use Almond or Soy milk if you like to keep it dairy-free. Place the pudding mix into the refrigerator to chill.

Then all you have to do is layer your pudding with berries, granola and Cool Whip for a fun parfait!

Now, thanks to Sara, you have a tasty dessert that is packed full of protein and you can feel GREAT about indulging a bit!

Ready to add a little Tofu into your life?! You can check out all kinds of recipes and ideas at Mori-Nu’s Facebook, Pinterest and Twitter feed.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Mori-nu. The opinions and text are all mine.

Almond Pumpkin Spice Steamer Recipe

6 · Oct 7, 2014 ·

Today, I stumbled upon something AAAAAMAZING!!

A little back story. I’m not a coffee drinker, however I love a good warm drink like hot chocolate, Choffy or a simple hazelnut steamer. I love the fall and I have always felt a bit envious of all you PSL lovers out there. For those of you who don’t speak Starbucks, that’s the iconic Pumpkin Spice Latte that appears at Starbucks this time of year. It has always been so intriguing. I started to think about how I could create my own PSL experience and I came up with this… The Almond Pumpkin Spice Steamer!

Yes, you will thank me after you try this sinfully simple treat!

Two ingredients, three minutes, some optional garnish and you are enjoying the flavors of the season. I use Light Silk Almond Milk. Why you ask? Well, first off it’s…

• 60 calories per serving – 60 calories for 1 whole cup!

• 50% more calcium than dairy milk

• Excellent source of vitamin E

• Absolutely no cholesterol or saturated fat

• Free of dairy, soy, lactose, gluten, casein, egg and MSG

• Verified by the Non-GMO Project’s product verification program

• No artificial colors, flavors or funny business

On top of all of that, it tastes great! I thought it would be the perfect base for my steamer experiment.

The next ingredient can be a little tricky. Getting ahold of some pumpkin spice syrup to add to your steamer. Here are your options…

Sweet talk your Starbucks barista into giving you a cup with just a few hits of the liquid gold (yea, I’m not above that at all!) I have been known to pay for a Tall PSL minus the L.
I have found a lovely Sugar-Free Pumpkin Spice Coffee Syrup by Archer Farms at Target. I’m sure that’s a seasonal item, so go and grab some quick. It’s in the coffee isle at your local target.
You can order some Torani Pumpkin Spice online. Where there’s a will, there’s a way! If you are a pumpkin lover, you can find some pumpkin spice syrup.

Now, all you need to do is pour your Silk Almond Milk into a small sauce pan over medium high heat. Gently warm your Almond Milk until it starts to steam. This will take 3-4 minutes. As soon as you see steam remove from the heat.

Pour into your mug and add a splash or two of your Pumpkin syrup. Start with a little bit and add until you have your perfect pumpkin flavor. Top with whipped cream and some pumpkin pie spice and voilá, you have fall in a cup! If you want to keep this dairy-free skip the whipped cream topping and it’s the perfect dairy-free autumn treat.

For more Silk ideas, visit their Facebook page. For all kinds of Silk fun, sign-up to receive Silk news and special deals right in your in-box! Seriously, check it out! This month they are giving away a CAMERA. Go join the Silk fun!!

What’s your favorite fall treat? Are you part of the pumpkin craze or are you holding out for egg nog?

This conversation is sponsored by Silk. The opinions and text are all mine.

Dairy Free

An Almond Pumpkin Steamer made with Silk® Light Vanilla Almond Milk!

Chocolate Spoon Directions

Peppermint Almond Steamer Recipe

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