French Chocolate Anise Bark Recipe (Copy-Cat Recipe) Gluten-Free

This unique recipe is a copy of a chocolate bark made in a Paris restaurant called L'ARPÈGE. 

Make this lovely chocolate, then close your eyes, take a bite and imagine you are in Paris as you savor this delicious treat. If you want to imagine that you are in Paris anyway... I do know that this chocolate will take you somewhere... To chocolate bliss land.

This delicious chocolate is exotic with many flavor and texture dimensions. We love it. It is also extremely easy to make. You can make a half batch the first time if you are not sure what you think of anise flavoring, which is licorice-like. Trust me though, this is g-o-o-d.

To make this chocolate even better, I recommend my mother's healthy sugar-free dark chocolate formula manufactured by Lakanto. It will be sold at Whole Foods. Call your local Whole Foods store and ask them to order it in , if they don't have it in stock yet. You will love her chocolate!



Chocolate Anise Bark Recipe:

Serves: 12

12 oz high quality bittersweet or dark chocolate, finely chopped (Lakanto Dark Chocolate is our fav.)
2 t. (4 grams) anise seeds, freshly ground to a fine texture in a krups seed mill
2/3 c. (12 grams) dried (pitted) sour cherries
2/3 c. (16 grams) dried apricots, coarsely chopped
2/3 c. (12 grams) roasted salted cashews,coarsely chopped
1 drop star anise essential oil, optional



Method:

Line a cookie sheet with a silicone mat or parchment paper. Chill the cookie sheet a few minutes.

Melt the chopped chocolate in a microwave safe bowl in 45 second intervals until melted and smooth, stirring in between.

While the chocolate is melting, prepare the fruit and nuts and mix together in a bowl.

Stir the finely powdered anise seed into the melted chocolate.

Optionally add 1 drop of star anise essential oil and stir into the chocolate very well, if you want a stronger anise flavor.

Stir half of the fruit and nut mix into the melted chocolate.

Spread the chocolate mixture onto the lined and chilled cookie sheet with a spatula into a rectangle shape.

Quickly sprinkle the chocolate with the rest of the fruit and nut mixture and gently press in so that it's slightly embedded in the chocolate.

Chill the chocolate until it is completely set up, up to 30 minutes.

Break into 12 pieces and store air-tight.


Note: Lakanto's Dark chocolate is sugar-free and delicious and it is formulated by my mom!


Photos of the process:

Enjoy!

Leila.

Chia Blueberry Sauce - Sugar-Free (Healthified)

Try this healthy variation of blueberry sauce.

This is a very delicious and very easy sauce to put together. It is loaded with antioxidants and fiber. Since it is sugar-free, you can enjoy it knowing that it won't spike your blood sugar.

The beautiful thing about this sauce is it seems dessert like and very more-ish, yet it is great as a yogurt topping for breakfast, or on low-carb ice cream for dessert. there are many uses for this versatile sauce. You will not feel deprived, trust us!

We also like that you don't have to cook this blueberry sauce to death. It tastes F-R-E-S-H.

Also note how we keep using a blend of sugar-free sweeteners on this blog. That is because the blends we use are synergistic, which means they enhance each other's sweetening power along with tasting much more like conventional sugar. Cool, right?



Chia Blueberry Sauce Recipe:

2 boxes (22 to 24 ounces total) fresh or frozen blueberries, thawed
2 c. "Old Orchard" brand no sugar added Cranberry-Raspberry Juice
1/4 c. dark chia seeds
1 to 2 t. very finely powdered psyllium husks
4 to 6 T. erythritol, to taste (or Lakanto white sweetener)
4 to 6 T. xylitol, to taste
Fresh lemon juice and/or Vitamin C powder, to taste
Stevia Glycerite, to taste


Method:

In a small saucepan place the blueberries, chia seeds, and 2 c. juice.
Mix together and let thicken 30 minutes.
Barely cook the mixture.
Powder the psyllium husks very finely in a Krups seed mill.
Mix the psyllium husk powder with the erythritol and xylitol.
Add the psyllium mixture to the hot berry mixture and still very will until fully dissolved.
Let berry mixture cool.
Add fresh lemon juice and /or Vitamin C powder to taste.
Add Stevia glycerite to taste.
Chill the berry sauce overnight.
If the sauce thickens up too much, just add more juice to reach the desired consistency.
Use as a topping for cheesecake, yogurt, ice cream, etc...


Variations:

This Blueberry Sauce can be made with less juice and be used as a sugar-free blueberry pie filling!

Or, Make it less sweet and it could become a tasty blueberry Danish Pudding.

Or, mix it with any kind of sugar-free syrup to make a blueberry pancake syrup!

There are lots of options for the blueberry lover...


Enjoy,

Leila & Nancy.

Copy-Cat Outshine Mango Frozen Fruit Bars or Full-O-Fruit Pops

These mango pops are SO yummy! 

You will love me this summer after you make these.

Copy-Cat Outshine Recipe.

In a health food store we often frequent, my daughter and I saw a box of frozen Mango Full-O-Fruit Pops. They were a bit pricey, but...

We bought them, we ate them, we loved them.

I then duplicated them!

This is the recipe I created and they taste just like the ones we bought. I can't find the brand in stores anymore, so I'm glad I can make them at home. Outshine brand is the closest thing I've found in the market now.


I originally used fresh mango to make these but Costco usually carries frozen mango chunks, and using the frozen mango saves time, is less messy and makes putting these popsicles together even easier. My kids beg me to make these and yours will too (Heck, I beg me to make these). Yeah, I just typed 'heck'. Wow.

Do not leave out the fresh lemon juice, it's the key to a balanced flavor.

Taste the mango mixture and adjust the tartness and sweetness to taste. Remember that frozen treats need to be sweeter than room temperature treats.

You can easily make these sugar free by using a combination of erythritol, xylitol, and a very few drops of stevia glycerite. I have not worked out the proportions yet. Using this blend of sugar-free sweeteners gives a more realistic effect.

I also added some extra nutritious ingredients to make these healthier, but all you taste is the yummy mango.





Mango Full-O-Fruit Pops Recipe:

Makes 12.

10.50 ounces  Filtered water
10 ounces  organic mango puree
4 ounces  (1/2 c.) organic evaporated cane juice (Costco carries)
2 to 2.80 ounces  (about 1 large lemon) organic fresh lemon juice
1 t.  Guar gum (a natural healthy fiber thickener)
1/4 t.  Xanthan gum (a natural healthy fiber thickener)
1 Pinch  Sea salt or BioSalt
1/8 t.  Tumeric powder (natural coloring high in anti-oxidants)
1 T.  Udo's Oil (balanced nutritional oil), optional
1 t.  Cal/Mag powder (calcium & magnesium powder), optional

Method:

In a high-powered blender, puree the mango with the water and lemon juice.
Add everything else, with the gums added last, and blend well.
Pour mixture into 12 large popsicle holders and freeze until solid.


Notes: 

The gums mix in better if you first pre-blend them with the other dry powder ingredients.

You may substitute Lakanto's golden zero-cal sweetener (erythritol based sweetener) for the sugar.





Enjoy!

Leila.

Easy Decadent Fruit Salad (Sugar-Free, Gluten-Free & Reduced Carb)

The BEST Fruit Salad

- Great for spring, summer, or anytime you can get your hands on sweet juicy fruits!

Decadent Fruit Salad

This is our favorite fruit salad. 

This wonderful fruit salad is much lower in carbs than any other fruit salad out there, which is a bonus. I kinda don't care though because this salad is so awesomely delicious. I like that is uses NO pudding mix, NO non-dairy whipped chemical toppung, NO Jello, and NO chemical sweeteners or artificial food coloring.

It is so easy and delicious...You'll see.

We like the almond extract flavor to be pretty pronounced here. Peaches, apricots, raspberries, and cherries are also incredible in this salad. I'm not a fan of marshmallows in salad, especially this salad, but do what moves you. I'm going to try it with my newly made sugar-free marshmallows, just for kicks & giggles. Probably just a one-time thing...

For whatever reason, I have actually lost weight when including this salad in my menu. Weird, but I'm going with it :)

Decadent Whipped Cream Fruit Salad Recipe:

1 c. cold heavy whipping cream

1/8 t. cream of tartar

1 t. real vanilla extract

1/4 c. powdered xylitol, powdered Lakanto white zero-cal sweetener, raw honey, or powdered sugar

1/4 to 1/2 t. stevia glycerite, to taste (see recipe on blog)

1 1/2 to 2 t. almond extract, to taste

2 c. sweet red or green seedless grapes

3 c. diced sweet pineapple

3 c.ripe strawberries

4 sweet  tangerines

2 ripe bananas

Method:

Wash and cut up the fruit into bite-sized pieces. You want a total of about 12 cups of assorted sweet, ripe fruits, in season.

Whip the very cold whipping cream with the cream of tartar. The cream of tartar stabilizes the whipping cream. I like to freeze the beaters while I am preparing the fruit.

Add the vanilla, almond extract and  sweetener of choice.

Taste for sweetness and add stevia glycerite to kick up the sweetness a notch, to taste.

Mix the fruit into the finished whipped cream and serve immediately.

Whip heavy whipping cream with the cream of tartar for stability.

Wash and cut up fresh ripe fruit into bite-sized pieces.

Mix the fruit gently into the finished whipped cream.

Fruit salad ready for serving. Transfer to a pretty serving bowl.

Fruit salad ready to eat!

I'm thinking that some homemade sugar-free marshmallows could be good in this salad too - If you are into that sort of thing.

Enjoy,

Leila

P.S. I just tried this salad with my sugar-free marshmallows and it was pretty good...

The BEST Waldorf Salad (Sugar-Free, Gluten-Free)

Delicious Waldorf Salad - 

Perfect for a light lunch or as a sassy side to almost any meal.

Waldorf  Salad

This recipe is more than just the boring mayo stirred into diced celery and apples. This salad has a well balanced dressing that is a bit tangy, a bit sweet and a bit savory. It's perfect. it has been a classic in our homes for a long as I can remember. there is room for some unusual add-ins, like avocado, which tastes amazing. I like to add a touch more seasoned salt to the dressing if I'm using avocado.

When I was pregnant with my 3rd child, this salad got me through the long period of morning sickness. I'm glad it wasn't ice cream or chips that I craved! this salad has a nice balance of  healthful ingredients that my body must of needed then. Anyway, I still love this salad and I think you will too.


Perfect Waldorf Salad Recipe:

2 large red crisp apples, diced (about 2 cups)
4 large celery ribs, diced (about 2 cups)
1/2 to 1 cup crispy pecans or walnuts, roughly chopped
1/2 to 1 cup organic raisins or sweetened dried cranberries
2 large ripe avocados, diced, optional

Dressing:

1 cup mayonnaise (you can mix 50/50 regular and diet mayo)
1/2 c. sour cream (try Kitchen Cheetah's Sour Cream Blend on this blog)
2 t. fresh squeezed lemon juice
1 to 1 1/2 t. seasoned salt, to taste
2 T. raw honey, xylitol, Lakanto zero-cal sweetener, or raw sugar to taste
A pinch of cayenne powder, optional for a bit of heat


Method:

Mix up the dressing ingredients to taste in a medium sized serving bowl.

Wash and dice the produce, add to the dressing and mix well.

Add the avocado if using. Gently mix and check for seasoning and adjust as desired.

I like to sprinkle the nuts and dried fruit on top at serving time.

Make seasoned salt available at the table for sprinkling on top of the salad as well.

Serve immediately.


Notes:

You can make the dressing in advance and store in the fridge until needed. I will even make a bigger batch of dressing to use in multiple salads.

This salad is best eaten immediately once made.


Enjoy!

Leila & Nancy.

Addictive Cream Cheese & Walnut Stuffed Dried Plums (Gluten-Free Confection)

Exotic Sweet Cream Cheese & Walnut Stuffed Turkestan Prunes

Turkestan Stuffed Prunes

There is something so Arabian Nights about these exotic confections...

I have absolutely loved these since I was a little girl. I still love them. These are a wonderful sweet treat. They are really unique with their sweet, fluffy, anise flavored cream cheese centers, paired with the crunchy walnuts - which perfectly compliment the sweet, soft dried plums. You really must try them.

I remember asking my mom to make these often, and I always wanted more anise extract added.

We did not have candy, soda, and chips in our home when I was growing up. My mom did sometimes make honey taffy with me - and occasionally we would get some carob or chocolate covered raisins, or halva, real maple candy or sesame seed candy from the health food store.

Life was good. My mom has always been a great cook, so I certainly didn't suffer from missing out on junk food! She did me a big favor. Thanks mom!

It is true that the foods we ate as a young child become our comfort foods as an adult. It makes you think twice about what you feed your young children, doesn't it?



Turkestan Prunes Recipe:

1 8-ounce package cream cheese or Neufchatel cheese, softened
1 T. raw honey (or vegetable glycerine, or agave syrup)
1 t. anise extract (or a very few drops anise essential oil, to taste)
A few drops stevia glycerite to taste (recipe on this blog)
1/4 c. chopped "Crispy Walnuts" (recipe on this blog listed as crispy almonds)
1 t. "Frosting Thickener" (recipe below), optional
Softened pitted prunes

Method:

Place the softened cream cheese in a medium sized mixing bowl.
Pour in your sweetener of choice and mix together with a hand mixer until creamy.
Add the anise extract, to taste, mixing in very well.
Taste and adjust sweetening to taste with the stevia glycerite (add just a few drops at a time).
Beat in the Frosting Thickener, if using.
Stir in the Crispy walnuts by hand.
With your fingers open the softened prunes (dried plums) and form into boat shapes.
Fill the formed softened prunes with the cream cheese-nut mixture.
Chill in an air-tight container.


FROSTING THICKENER Recipe:

Measure the ingredients by weight

75% Arrowroot starch or tapioca starch
25% Coconut flour


Method:

Mix the starch and coconut flour together.
Grind together as finely as possible in a Krups seed mill (or as long as you have the patience for).
Store in an air-tight container in your pantry.


Note: I like to use 4 drops essential oil of star anise and no more than 1/8 t. stevia glycerite. Start with less stevia and see if it is sweet enough before adding more. At times I also double the crispy walnuts.

Mom's Recipe card

Crispy Walnuts

A unique treat that is quick and easy to make.

Make little cups out of the soft dried plums.

"Come to mamma"

Enjoy!

Leila & Nancy

The Kitchen Cheetahs

Exotic Thai Papaya Cucumber Salad recipe form Fiji

Exotic Thai Papaya Cucumber Salad

My family owned a lovely place in Fiji for several years. The tropical fruit, handmade fresh coconut oil, Fijian ice cream, colorful tropical flowers, fresh fish, and beautiful beaches were amazing, among other things. I would love to be there right now enjoying a baby coconut and some tree ripened mangoes, feet in the sand...

Fiji - the view from our deck

Our family has several recipes that evolved from the time my parents spent living in Fiji, that we would like to share with you on this blog. My mom is always creating, and these recipes have a Fijian, Asian, as well as an Indian influence.

You too can enjoy a taste of the islands!

This beautiful Thai salad is a great recipe to start with. it is so easy and versatile, and so fresh tasting - you will love it!



Thai Papaya Cucumber Salad Recipe:

Salad Ingredients:

Peeled Japanese cucumbers, cut into matchsticks, or julienned
Firm papaya cubes
Mung bean sprouts
Fresh chopped cilantro (lots!)
Clear noodles, prepared according to package directions (like mung bean noodles)
Slivered Napa cabbage
Red Jalapeno rings, to taste (or sweet red bell pepper slivers if you can't take the heat)
Grated carrot, a little for color, optional


Thai Dressing:

2 T. Peanut butter (if Paleo, use almond butter)
2 T. Thai fish Sauce
2 to 4 T. Agave/Vegetable glycerine mix (this sweetener recipe is on this blog), to taste
2 T. Bragg's Aminos
1/4 c. Rice oil
2 T. Fresh lime juice, to taste


Garnish:

Toasted peanuts or roasted cashews (Paleo), chopped


Method:

Prepare the above salad ingredients to fill a regular sized salad bowl, to taste.
Mix the Thai dressing ingredients together, to taste.
Pour dressing over salad and toss.
Serve immediately.


Variations:

You can omit the nut butter completely and substitute with 1 T. raw or toasted sesame tahini.

For a lighter salad, you may also omit the sesame tahini or any other nut butter and just add a teaspoon of toasted sesame seed oil. This is our favorite way to prepare this salad.

The Thai Salad before the noodles were added - you may omit the noodles if desired.

This time I used fresh rice stick noodles - They soak in boiling water 10 seconds and then they are done!

Pour Dressing over and toss well. Serve immediately.

The freshly mixed dressing.

Salad ready to serve.

Salad garnished with peanuts.

Papaya Tree

Enjoy!

Leila

Fijian flowers arranged by one of my daughters.

Tiger Bites - A healthy coconut-apricot sugar-free candy

Tiger Bites - A Sugar-free Candy


I love these cute little confections.  My mom made a similar version of these but I didn't have her recipe, so I recreated this version of them. They are a perfect combination of sweet and tangy. The fresh citrus brightens the flavor and they have a delightful chewy texture. Best of all, they have no added sugar!

There are sorta-similar recipes out there using sweetened condensed milk and powdered sugar. They are flat tasting compared to these.

You can feel good about serving this great tasting, sugar-free and dairy-free version to your family!


TIGER BITES recipe:

1 1/2 c. (12 ounces) dried unsulphured California apricots
3 T. (1.5 ounces) Juice of 1/2 organic orange
Zest of 1/2 organic orange (0.50 ounces)
3 T. (1.5 ounces) fresh lime or lemon juice
1 T. (0.50 ounces) xylitol (or Lakanto zero-cal white granular sweetener)
1/4 t. BioSalt (recipe on this blog)
2 c. (4 ounces) dried unsweetened coconut chips
1 1/2 c. (3 ounces) unsweetened dried coconut, finely ground, for rolling


Method:

Snip the whole dried apricots into quarters and place in a bowl of a food processor.

Pour the orange juice, grated orange zest, lime or lemon juice, xylitol, and salt over the apricots.

Let the apricots soak while you prepare everything else, or about 5 minutes.

Place the finely ground coconut in a shallow bowl and set aside.

Place the BioSalt and half of the coconut chips into the food processor with the apricots.

Blend until the mixture until it starts to look chopped.

Add the rest of the coconut chips and process until it clumps into a mass.

Taste for sweetness and tartness. adjust if necessary.

Use a stainless steel 18/8-size ice cream/portion scoop to portion out half-ounce balls.

Drop the balls in the bowl of finely ground coconut and roll to completely cover the confection.

Seal air-tight and store in the refrigerator.


Note: I drop 4 or so balls at a time into the bowl of finely ground coconut, and then shake and roll  them about until well coated.


Enjoy the sweetness of life!

Leila

The best applesauce I've ever had

Golden Lemon Apple Sauce

This was my favorite applesauce when I was growing up. I have good memories of helping my mom make it. The Golden Delicious apples are perfect for the fresh lemon used in this recipe. Since I love the lemon in it so much, I might add a drop or 2 of organic lemon essential oil to amp up the flavor.

You can add another healthy sweetener of choice, but the honey does taste fabulous!


GOLDEN LEMON APPLESAUCE Recipe:

Ripe organic Golden Delicious apples
Apple juice
Raw honey or powdered erythritol
Fresh grated lemon zest
Fresh squeezed lemon juice
Ascorbic acid powder (Vitamin C)


Method:

Wash the apples. cut out the 'belly buttons" and cut into chunks.
Cook with a little apple juice until the apples are soft.
Run the apples through a colander, to remove seeds and skin.
Sweeten to taste with raw honey or healthy sweetener of choice.
Add some lemon juice, lemon zest, and ascorbic acid for tang, to taste.
You can store the applesauce in Zip-lock freezer bags in the freezer.


Tip:  A good ratio of apples to lemons is 12 apples to every 1 lemon (or more lemons if you like).

Note: It is best to use organic lemons for obvious reasons.


Enjoy,

Leila

Refreshing sweet & savory pear salad

Fresh Pear Salad

Cute Cuddling pears

This is hardly a recipe it's so easy, but that's the beauty of it. It makes for a refreshing side, breakfast or light lunch.

The flavor of the Neufchatel cheese perfectly compliments the sweet ripe pears...and who doesn't love pecans?

Serve this for breakfast, serve this to company, everyone will love it!



FRESH PEAR SALAD Recipe;

Peel, halve and core ripe juicy pears (1/2 to 1 pear per person)

Soften Neufchatel cheese and thin with a little apple or pineapple juice (do not make it runny).

Mix well with a hand mixer.

Frost the pear halves with the soft cheese mixture.

Set pear halves onto a romaine leaf

Garnish generously with finely chopped pecans.

Serve.


Enjoy!

Leila

Best Healthy Pina Colada Recipe (Sugar-Free, Protein-Enriched, Dairy-Free)

Pina Colada

Sugar-Free Pina Colada

Our family loves smoothies. The only problem with that is most smoothies contain a heavy dose of sugar. I like to create healthier options. Since pineapple is naturally sweet, just a bit of stevia does the trick here, with out any weird aftertaste. I like adding protein to our smoothies...and the problem with that is, most protein has "that taste" that protein powder gives you, ruining perfectly good food! Plain egg white protein is very neutral tasting so it does not interfere with the pina colada's taste. Nice.


Fresh Pina Colada (sugar-free, protein-fortified) Recipe:

2 c. fresh pineapple chunks
6 ounces fresh baby Thai coconut flesh
8-10 ice cubes (8 to 10 ounces)
4 T. plain egg white protein powder, optional (like Jay Robb brand)
2 T. coconut milk powder
10 to 12 drops stevia glycerite (like NOW brand)


Method:

Place all but egg white protein in a blender. Blend until smooth, adding the egg white protein at the end (egg white protein makes the drink foamy if added in the beginning).


Variations:

If you don't have fresh pineapple, you may use 1/2 c. unsweetened pineapple juice plus 1 cup purified water instead. (I prefer fresh pineapple for the protein digesting enzymes it contains.)

You can use 6 frozen ice cubes of Thai baby coconut puree instead of 6 ounces fresh baby coconut.

You can prepare baby Thai coconut puree in advance by freezing the puree in ice cube trays, and transferring to zip-lock bags once frozen. I like to use the ice cube trays that make 1-ounce sized ice cubes (the standard size).

You could use a rich canned coconut milk instead of the fresh baby coconut, and omit the coconut milk powder if you don't have it. Start with 6 to 7 ounces coconut milk.


Tip: Never buy "Light" coconut milk. It is just watered down regular coconut milk! As in, they just add about 35% tap water. I can do that myself. Remember, the fat in coconut is a healthy fat and it's a good idea for a person to consume 2 T. a day of the stuff. So save your money and buy the richest coconut milk that you can find.


Enjoy!

Leila

Best way to open a pomegranate

A better way to open a pomegranate! So cool...

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=408961069261624&pnref=story

Enjoy, 

Leila.