Copy Cat Tiger's Milk Bars in 2 flavors - Part 3 - How I refine my formulas

Peanut Butter & Jelly Tiger's Milk Bars!

Tiger Test Batch No. 2 is in the house!

I'm impatiently waiting for the chocolate coating to set up on this newest batch of Tiger's Milk protein bars. I made a few subtle changes to formula No. 1, we will soon see how it went.

See Tiger's Milk bar formula No. 1 HERE.

See my first post about Tiger's Milk bars HERE.


ATTENTION MY DEAR VIEWERS:

This post on my copy-cat Tiger's Milk bars has been given a new home due to the sugars they contain. If you want to see my formulas for these bars, please visit my blog called Beaute and the Feast. Thank you. 

Part 1: http://beauteandthefeast.blogspot.com/2015/11/copy-cat-tigers-milk-bars-part-1-how-i.html

Part 2: http://beauteandthefeast.blogspot.com/2015/11/copy-cat-tigers-milk-bars-part-2-how-i.html

Part 3: http://beauteandthefeast.blogspot.com/2015/11/copy-cat-tigers-milk-bars-in-2-flavors.html

Please note that my goal was to first copy the original...THEN remake them into a healthy and tasty protein bar! The healthy improvements are coming.





...Well, lets see what formulating round 3 yields! Who's gonna eat all these protein bar experiments???

Enjoy!

Leila Cheetah Girl.

Amazing Vegan Hot Fudge Sauce - Sugar-Free, Low-Carb, High-Fiber, Paleo

Amazing Vegan Hot Fudge Sauce

Enjoy this rich, smooth, and chocolaty hot fudge sauce over your favorite ice cream or use as a chocolate fondue. 

The secret ingredient here is soft baked sweet potato. It adds body to the sauce as well as healthy fiber. The quality of this yummy chocolate sauce surprised even us. We are having a lot of fun playing with soft baked yam/sweet potato in our test kitchens. More recipes using these lovely tubers are coming. I created a special section for our recipes containing yams and sweet potatoes called, "I Yam That I Yam". Don't tell me that's corny, I already know.

We love that this is a guilt-free hot fudge sauce. It's sugar-free, dairy-free, high-fiber, vegan, paleo, and contains healthy coconut oil.

Try it,we think you will like it!


Amazing Hot Fudge Sauce Recipe:

2/3 c. of your favorite milk (vegan, coconut, almond, cashew, lactose-free, low-carb...)
1 c. powdered white or golden Lakanto brand sweetener (or erythritol)
2/3 c. dutch cocoa powder
1/3 c. white sweet potato flesh (baked until soft)
3 T. coconut oil (deodorized)
1 pinch sea salt or BioSalt
1 t. real vanilla extract
1 to 2 T. of your favorite sweet syrup (IMO syrup, agave, maple...), optional
A few drops stevia glycerite, if you want it sweeter


Method:

Puree all of the ingredients together until smooth with a stick blender.

Heat and stir the mixture until it reaches 180 degrees F. to fully dissolve the Lakanto crystals.

Cool the mixture 5 minutes.

Taste the mixture to check for sweetness and adjust as desired.

Puree the mixture again on high speed with the stick blender until it is smooth and thickened.

Serve the sauce warm over your favorite dessert.

Store the unused fudge sauce in the refrigerator and gently reheat to serve. Any crystals from the erythritol that form will easily dissolve when the sauce is reheated.

Enjoy,

Leila & Nancy.

Sun Warrior "Warrior Blend" Creamy-Chocolate-Dreamy Protein Shake Recipe + A Chocolate Protein Base Recipe Too!

Hi - Do you want a smoother, creamier, tastier Sun Warrior Chocolate Protein Shake recipe? Do you want to know how to make any Stevia off-flavors disappear?

Sun Warrior "Warrior Blend" Creamy-Chocolate-Dreamy Protein Shake

We have the recipes and the answers for you here!

Our new Warrior Blend Base is a breakthrough recipe strait from the Kitchen Cheetahs Test Kitchens. 

All in one sweep, this recipe greatly improves the texture of plant protein shakes, as well as canceling out any stevia taste issues (chilling the BASE overnight alone helps mitigate objectionable stevia taste ☺️).

Our Chocolate Protein BASE only takes a minute to make, then you have a ready supply of the "BASE" for making tasty & creamy chocolate protein shakes at the drop of a hat! NICE.

By the way - Any flavor of "Warrior Blend" protein powder works well for making this thick and creamy protein BASE, but if you want the chocolate version shown here, then you need to use the chocolate flavored "Warrior Blend" protein powder.

Sun Warrior "Classic" can also be used to make this "BASE". However, rice protein does not soften much, so it won't make as smooth a protein shake as the "Warrior Blend" made from pea protein.

Remember, with this BASE, you can make several smooth & creamy Chocolate Warrior Blend protein shakes. This is very convenient for those busy days.

Sun Warrior "Warrior Blend" Chocolate Protein BASE:

Put in a VitaMix or other high powered blender:

3 c. cold milk of choice (like almond, coconut, cashew...) *


Start blender on med-low and add:

1 c. Sun Warrior Chocolate flavored "Warrior Blend" protein powder

add the protein powder 1/4 cup at a time.

Add:

1/4 t. lecithin

Put the blender lid on tight and switch to the highest speed and blend until the mixture heats up to the desired temperature (from 118 to 155 degrees F). *

For the smoothest texture, use the tamper that comes with the VitaMix blender and heat to 150 to 155 degrees F.

Pour and scrape the finished BASE into a 1-quart mason jar and refrigerate overnight before using in the Creamy Chocolate Protein Shake recipe below.



Tips: 

* Our favorite combination of milks to use for the BASE are 2 cups almond milk plus 1 c. full fat coconut milk.

** 118 degrees F is for "raw"smoothies - heat up to 155 degrees F for the smoothest texture.

The BASE will be cooked at a low temperature and will be steaming at 150-160 degrees F. Some people find this "cooked" pea protein easier to digest. 

Use an instant read thermometer for more accurate results.

NOTES:

1 cup of this prepared BASE contains 1/4 cup of the Warrior Blend protein powder.

Lecithin is a healthy addition and makes it creamier and smoother. Lecithin is especially good for emulsifying the coconut milk.

____________________________________________

Sun Warrior Creamy Chocolate Protein Shake Recipe:

Put in a VitaMix or other high powered blender:

1 c. prepared Chocolate Warrior Blend BASE, well chilled
1 1/2 c. cold almond milk (or other vegan milk of choice)
2 T. coconut milk powder or 1 to 2 T. of your favorite nut butter
2 T. Dutch cocoa powder
2 T. vegetable glycerine
1/4 to 1/2 c. mashed baked sweet potato, yam or banana
1/2 t. real vanilla extract
1/2 t. almond extract
1 pinch cinnamon

Blend everything together on high speed until nice and creamy. 

Garnish with sugar-free chocolate crumbles for added texture and chocolaty flavor and Serve at once.

If you would like a colder, thicker shake, reduce the almond milk called for to only 1 cup and add 4 to 6 ice cubes or cubes of almond milk. Process in the VitaMix to a texture of fine ice crystals.


NOTES: 

The vegetable glycerine is super low on the glycemic scale. Glycerine also enhances athletic performance by preventing dehydration. Cool huh?

The baked mashed yam, sweet potato, or banana both thickens and sweetens the drink and also cancels out the taste of the stevia, which is part of the Sun Warrior protein powder formula.

A fresh batch of our Sun Warrior "Warrior Blend" Creamy-Chocolate-Dreamy Protein Shake.

Enjoy,

Leila & Nancy

The Kitchen Cheetahs!

Flax Pumpkin Pie Nuggets for Health Nuts - High-Fiber, Sugar-Free, Grain-Free (with Vegan option)

This is a strange little cookie. That being said, my daughter and I eat them all the time. 

Flax Pumpkin Pie nuggets for Health Nuts

My recipe uses flax meal instead of flour, which gives these more of a pumpkin pie-like texture inside. You do taste the flax, although it is tempered by the use of the spices and almond extract. These cookies are not overly sweet either, but the chocolate chips totally save the day.

These little nuggets are best eaten warm. Then the chocolate is all oozy and delicious. This is why we warm them up for a few seconds before eating them. There is no sugar to preserve these cookies, so they must be stored in the fridge.

Why do we eat these nuggets? They are super healthy (and we are health nuts in this house). These are basically all fiber. I will eat a few of these for breakfast or a snack and they fill me up if I drink a healthy dose of water with them. These are fabulous for helping your blood sugar levels stay even, again, thank all the fiber for that. I add the protein because, well, I wanted protein in them too!

These cookies have helped me when I have set my mind to slim down a bit. They are ready for any snack attacks if I have them at the ready in my fridge. It doesn't take much time at all to bake up a new batch when we are out either.

If you hate eating flax, you may see these cookies as an improvement for flax, or you may not.

I say, live on the edge and make yourself a half-batch, and see how it goes. Warning: They grow on you (not like a fungus though).


Flax Pumpkin Pie Nuggets

1 29-0z can plain pumpkin puree
1 large egg (can omit for vegan)
1 t. real vanilla extract
1/2 t. almond extract
3/4 t. stevia glycerite
1/2 c. erythritol
1 t. sea salt or BioSalt
3 t. pumpkin pie spice
1/2 t. ground cinnamon
1/2 t. ground cloves
1 t. psyllium husk powder
1 c. plain whey protein isolate (or vegan protein powder)
2 1/2 c. freshly ground flax meal
1 1/2 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips (sugar-free or regular)


Method:

Preheat your oven to 350 F. Line 2 cookie sheets with silicone liners and set aside.

In a medium sized mixing bowl, combine by hand, the canned pumpkin with the other wet ingredients.

Add the eythritol, salt, spices, and psyllium husk powder and mix together very well.

Add the flax meal and combine until uniform.

Stir in the chocolate chips.

Portion dough using about a 1 tablespoon sized ice cream scoop. Place close together onto the cookie sheets (the dough does not spread).

Bake for 12 minutes. the outsides will be set but the insides will remain very soft.

Remove from oven and let cool completely on the cookie sheets.

When cooled, transfer to air-tight containers and store in the refrigerator.

To serve: Place a few nuggets into a plate and microwave them 20 to 30 seconds.

I'm adding some pictures of our dog Moki because he is cuter than these cookies.

Enjoy,

Leila.

Monkey Break Bananas - A fun new way to open up a banana, and sugar-free recipe ideas using them.

Monkey-Break your bananas!

This is a fun post about a way to open and break up a banana without bruising it.

This playful method also keeps the banana from browning and oxidizing so quickly, which is really nice if you want to put the bananas into fruit salad or pies. Most importantly, it's fun to do it this way! Try it, you'll like it.

When my parents lived in beautiful Gardner Montana, a missionary from Samoa came to visit them. This is how this young Samoan ate a banana and my family has been doing it this way ever since.

Now I wonder where the Samoan learned it from...

My mom told me that many island people do eat bananas in this simple, natural way.

We named it Monkey-Break bananas because it seems like a good way for a monkey to do it, seeing that they don't usually carry around pocket knives. Please don't ask about our logic concerning this... Maybe a monkey has actually done this before...

Anyway, Monkey-Break bananas stay fresh much longer than sliced bananas because the cell walls are not smashed during cutting. My parents lived in Fiji for several seasons and they witnessed the Fijians eating bananas in this manner also.


It's not like you don't already know what to do with bananas, but here are some more ideas for you:

You can dip these monkey-break banana strips (or small squares) into gently melted Lakanto Sugar-Free Chocolate and then chill. These can keep 2 to 3 days in the refrigerator... If they last that long!

Try a chocolate banana cream pie (!) with our Sun Warrior Chocolate Protein Pudding. Use only 3 cups total liquid (instead of the 3 1/4 cups) in the pudding recipe so that the pie will be firm enough to slice.) Now we're talkin'...

Serve the broken up bananas over top a bowl of Sun Warrior Chocolate Protein Pudding and pour over some milk (dairy or nondairy). Our favorite nondairy milk is BLUE DIAMOND "Almond Breeze" Almond/Coconut Milk blend (unsweetened!). Look for it in the dairy cooler.

Serve the Monkey-Break bananas with your favorite whipped topping - dairy or nondairy. You can top with crushed gluten-free pretzels if you want... Oh yeah.


The pictures below are of my dad showing how this is done. I thought it would be nice to have his man hands on our blog. I love you dad - you always are teaching us cool stuff!

Our favorite commercial non-dairy milk.

Cool, right?

You can then break up or slice into bite size pieces, as desired. Here they are shown with our delicious, sugar-free Sun Warrior Chocolate Protein pudding.

Enjoy,

Leila & Nancy.

Fully Loaded Chocolate Bombs with Cocoa Nibs, Coconut Oil, Fruit & Nuts (Sugar-Free, Dairy-Free, Paleo) - plus a discussion about healthy fats -vs- sugar & starch.

Fully Loaded Chocolate Bombs.

This is a fabulous chocolate recipe we have kept as a guarded family secret... until now! 

I made these delicious little morsels with my mom during a recent visit with my parents.

This is a super easy and amazingly delicious chocolate recipe. It is based on my mother's healthy sugar-free chocolate formula now being manufactured by a company called Lakanto. 

We extend the Lakanto Zero-Sugar Dark Chocolate with coconut oil, cocoa powder and other goodies. The chocolate retains it's smooth texture, delicious taste, and has a beautiful shiny surface. 

These cute little chocolate bombs are exploding with flavor and a myriad of textures, and are a real pleasure to eat. We have noticed that this chocolate also curbs the appetite nicely. That means if you eat this, you will eat less of that (not good for you stuff).

You  also get the benefits of healthful coconut oil in your diet, while enjoying a low-carb, sugar-free chocolate at an affordable cost. It's a beautiful thing!

2 T. coconut oil is generally recommended daily for health benefits. An added bonus of adding coconut oil is that this chocolate will no longer require tempering! This is what makes working with this chocolate so super simple and fast. You will love it.

At our house, we have to have this chocolate, I can't imagine life without it now. Seriously.

We love that this is truly HEALTHY chocolate. That's why we are sharing this recipe with you. We are passionate about sharing recipes for foods people deeply crave, and we offer them with a healthy twist. Replacing the foods you love with a better choice, while maintaining it's great taste is what we are all about here at Kitchen Cheetahs.

You can add any inclusions to this chocolate that tickle your fancy. Make your chocolate base first and then you can get creative with it. You could try combinations like candied orange with chipotle, coconut flakes with macadamia nuts, dried pears and pecans, salted raisins and roasted, salted peanuts, pistachios with dried pomegranates, cashews and banana chips... We also love it with just cocoa nibs added.

Cocoa Nibs.

Now, I must tell you that during my recent visit, I ATE at my parents house. If you have ever tasted my mom's cooking, you know what I mean! I was not concerned, but still assumed that I would go home heavier then when I arrived. We ate tons of chocolate-dipped figs, figs and cream, and we made gluten-free, sugar-free rhubarb cake (so yummy), and grilled dry aged beef, and spaghetti with my mom's amazing homemade sauce, unique yellow squash "pasta", drizzled with olive oil,topped with cheese, and gluten-free french baguettes grilled with butter and coconut oil on the side. We also ate various salads with homemade dressings, the buttery scrambled eggs my mom is famous for, and her Sun Warrior Protein Pudding, refreshing green drinks, unique mocktails, and my dad's delicious protein smoothies... and more chocolate! It's all kind of a blur now really. A delirious food coma ensued. Sigh.

I get home and got on the scale and to my amazement... I LOST weight! I ate happily at my parents, without a worry. Mom's food was amazing and definitely not skimping on the fat! I was not deprived in the slightest. I ate good protein, vegies and greens, healthy fats, low-carb and sugar-free desserts. I ate a few gluten-free pretzels and that french bread, but basically eliminated grains, starch, and sugar for that week I was there. This validated my belief about fat -vs- sugars...

There are a few books out now that talk about high-fat diets, promoting healthy fats. Interesting, and I like it because eating fat leads to satiety (greater food satisfaction). Our bodies seem to know when we have had enough fat and our appetite quiets down. I think people who eat fats are happier too. I believe it is sugar and starch that generally cause obesity, not healthy fats. The more processed the sugar and starch is (white flour, white sugar, white starch) the worse it is for our bodies. Starch converts to sugar so fast in the body, it can make your head spin. A chemist friend of mine told me that starch converts to sugar in the mouth within seconds. Research shows that sugar leads to body inflammation and inflammation is underlying all disease. I figure that starch leads to body inflammation too. We at kitchen Cheetahs are very concerned about the majority of gluten-free products being marketed that base their formulas on starch and sugar. I'm sure you can figure out why.

The thing is, as a population, we generally know what we shouldn't be eating - but we eat it anyway. Why? Because it tastes good. Because it's easy. Because it's familiar. Because it's there.

The transition to eating healthy is made easier by eating healthy foods that are tasty, easy, familiar, and available. Sounds simple. Once educated, it is simple. I say, start with chocolate!

So have some fun and enjoy this guilt-free treat. Live on the edge and have some with breakfast!

Fully Loaded Chocolate Bombs Formula:

SMALL BATCH:

Chocolate Base:
170 grams (2 bars) Lakanto Zero-Sugar Dark Chocolate, chopped small
30 grams deodorized coconut oil
15 grams dark Dutch cocoa powder, sifted
1/4 + 1/8 t. intense sweetener powder, to taste (a mix of stevioside, monk fruit is good)

Flavorings (optional):
1/8 t. vanilla flavor powder
1/4 t. almond flavor powder, to taste
1/8 t. cherry flavor powder

Inclusions (about 1 1/2 c.):
80 grams (1/2 c.) roasted crispy whole almonds
60 ounces (1/3 c.) whole dried organic Bing cherries
35 grams (1/4 c.) dried organic sour cherries (sweetened has the best texture and taste)
35 grams (1/4 c.) organic raisins
20 grams (1/8 c.) cocoa nibs


LARGE BATCH:

Chocolate Base:
600 grams Lakanto Zero-Sugar Dark Chocolate, chopped small
100 grams deodorized coconut oil
50 grams dark Dutch cocoa powder, sifted
1 1/2 t. intense sweetener powder (a mix of stevioside, monk fruit & CitrusSweet is good)

Flavorings (optional):
1/2 t. vanilla flavor powder
1 t. almond flavor powder, to taste
1/2 t. cherry flavor powder

Inclusions (about 6 c.):
280 grams (2 c.) roasted crispy whole almonds
8 ounces (1 1/4 c.) whole dried organic Bing cherries
120 grams (1 c.) dried organic sour cherries (sweetened has the best texture and taste)
140 grams (1 c.) organic raisins
70 grams (1/2 c.) cocoa nibs


Method:

In a large microwave-safe bowl, melt the chocolate and coconut oil together, pausing and stirring every 30 seconds, until melted and warm. Mix together well.

Prepare one to two baking sheets by lining them with parchment paper or silicone mats and set aside.

Add the cocoa powder to the melted chocolate mixture and mix in well

Add the intense sweetener powder to taste and mix in very well. Taste for sweetness.

Add the flavor powders to taste and mix in well.

Add the inclusions and mix well.

Stir the chocolate occasionally as it cools until it starts to thicken up enough to hold a shape when mounded.

Portion the chocolate mixture onto the prepared baking sheets, in small mounds, using a spoon or a very small ice cream scoop.

Sprinkle the tops of the chocolates with sea salt before they set up, if desired.

Place the chocolates in the refrigerator until they are completely set up.

Store the chocolates in an air-tight container (in the refrigerator in the hot summer months).



Photos of the process:

Gather your ingredients.

Combine the chopped Lakanto chocolate and coconut oil.

Stir chocolate mixture every 30 seconds as it is melting.

Mix in the cocoa powder, intense sweeteners and flavor powders, to taste.

Start adding the inclusions.

Let any refrigerated ingredients come to room temperature before adding to the chocolate.

Stir the chocolate occasionally while cooling.

A silicone-lined baking sheet.

A parchment paper-lined baking sheet.

Drop chocolate mixture into little mounds.

A finished tray of chocolates.

Chocolates with a kiss of sea salt.

Beautiful Chocolate Bombs ready for packaging.

Enjoy,

Leila & Nancy.