Dessert

Chocolate Banana Bread

November 22, 2019 by Holly Yzquierdo 3 Comments

For years I’ve been using the same recipe for banana bread! We love it! The only change we ever made was to add chocolate chips! I love it with chocolate chips but my husband prefers it plain. One of my sons has a sweet tooth like me so we doubled down and made Double Chocolate Banana Bread!

This recipe is just as easy at the original, it only has two extra ingredients, cocoa powder and chocolate chips. I should probably mention straight away that I always use dairy-free chocolate chips. Enjoy Life Foods are my favorite because they are allergy-friendly and come in different varieties from mini chips, chocolate chunks, and dark chocolate.

You can use whichever brand you love!

This Double Chocolate Banana Bread is perfect for chocolate lovers! It’s oil-free except for whatever oil could be in the chocolate chips. I’ll admit, chocolate chips are not a health food. We don’t have them all the time but they really elevate and add a decadent flare to oil-free desserts.

Double Chocolate Banana Bread

1 cup applesauce
1/2 cup raw sugar
3 extra ripe bananas, mashed
1 Tbsp plant milk
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup dutch processed cocoa powder
2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 cup dairy-free chocolate chips
1/2 cup nuts (optional)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350°.
In a large mixing bowl add 1 cup applesauce and 1/2 cup turbinado sugar. Mix with a wooden spoon.
Add the bananas, plant milk and vanilla then mix well.
Add baking soda, salt, cocoa powder, and flour. Mix again.
Add half the optional nuts and chocolate chips into the batter.
Pour into a sprayed loaf pan. Then top with the remaining nuts and chocolate chips.
Cook for 40 minutes, then test every 10 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean.
Remove from pan once cool.

I enjoy this Double Chocolate Banana Bread recipe with a glass of rice milk.

Yield: 12 slices

Double Chocolate Banana Bread

This decadent Double Chocolate Banana Bread is perfect for parties or potlucks! The chocolate lovers in your house will love this plant-based recipe.

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 1 hour

Total Time 1 hour 10 minutes

Ingredients

1 cup applesauce
1/2 cup turbinado sugar or raw sugar (I’ve used agave with a good result also)
3 extra ripe bananas, mashed
1 Tbsp plant milk
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup dutch process cocoa powder
2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 cup vegan chocolate chips
1/2 cup nuts (optional)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350°.
In a large mixing bowl add 1 cup applesauce and 1/2 cup turbinado sugar. Mix with a wooden spoon.
Add the bananas, plant milk and vanilla then mix well.
Add baking soda, salt, cocoa powder, and flour. Mix again.
Add half the optional nuts and chocolate chips into the batter.
Pour into a sprayed loaf pan. Then top with the remaining nuts and chocolate chips.
Cook for 40 minutes, then test every 10 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean.
Remove from pan once cool.

Chocolate Chia Overnight Oats

June 25, 2019 by Holly Yzquierdo 7 Comments

I’m going to let you in on a secret, I’ve got one heck of a sweet tooth and I’m a chocolate lover. When I came up with this recipe, I was looking for a chocolate treat to curb my cravings. This Chocolate Chia Overnight Oats delivers!

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The flavor of these Chocolate Chia Overnight Oats most closely reminds me of the milk leftover after a big bowl of chocolate flavored cereal. My whole life, before going plant-based, I would eat chocolate cereal. Not usually for breakfast, usually at night or as a snack. As a kid Count Chocula was my favorite, later as a teen and young adult, I’d buy big bags of generic chocolate pebble cereal.

You know I have several overnight oat recipes, I thought chocolate would be a great addition and perfect for an afternoon snack or dessert. Of course, you could eat this for breakfast.

You can make it healthier by adding fresh strawberries or more decadent by adding mini chocolate chips! I’m a huge fan of Enjoy Life Foods chocolate chips and use those exclusively in all my baking. I’ve also made these with chopped almonds!

Chocolate Chia Overnight Oats

Ingredients

1/2 Tablespoon Chia Seeds
1 Teaspoon Cocoa Powder
1 Tablespoon Maple Syrup (optional)
1/2 Cup Rice Milk (or plant-milk of your choice)
1/2 Cup Oats
1 Tablespoon Enjoy Life Chocolate Chips (optional)
1/4 Cup Sliced Strawberries (optional)

Choose a jar with a lid, add chia seeds, cocoa powder, maple syrup and rice milk. Stir well.
Dump in oats and give it another stir.
Secure lid and place in the refrigerator. Let it set for at least 2 hours or overnight. Enjoy in the next 5 days.

Yield: 1

Chocolate Chia Overnight Oats

This decadent Chocolate Chia Overnight Oats recipe may be better suited for dessert than breakfast. Rest assured, it's perfect for chocolate lovers.

Prep Time 5 minutes

Additional Time 2 hours

Total Time 2 hours 5 minutes

Ingredients

1/2 Tablespoon Chia Seeds
1 Teaspoon Cocoa Powder
1 Tablespoon Maple Syrup (optional)
1/2 Cup Rice Milk (or plant-milk of your choice)
1/2 Cup Oats
1 Tablespoon Enjoy Life Chocolate Chips (optional)
1/4 Cup Sliced Strawberries (optional)

Instructions

Choose a jar with a lid, add chia seeds, cocoa powder, maple syrup and rice milk. Stir well.
Dump in oats and give it another stir.
Secure lid and place in the refrigerator. Let it set for at least 2 hours or overnight. Top with fresh fruit or chocolate chips. Enjoy in the next 5 days.

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Have you had chocolate oats? Do you think it’s breakfast or dessert?

Chocolate Crunch Bites

December 7, 2016 by Holly Yzquierdo 3 Comments

I love chocolate. Chocolate and peanut butter are even better!

If you know someone with food allergies peanuts can be deadly. There are several peanut butter alternatives that can be used instead. They have a taste and feel similar to peanut butter but no dangerous peanuts.

You can make this recipe with either peanut butter or a safe alternative!

These Chocolate Crunch Bites are peanut-free, dairy-free and gluten-free! They are full of flavor and perfect for a party or cookie exchange! Try these allergy-friendly cookies for dessert.

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You are going to fall in love with these Chocolate Crunch Bites! My son said they taste like a Kit Kat but that wasn’t my intention. I just wanted to combine my favorite snacks into an easy treat with mega flavor.

Before I switched to a whole food plant-based diet my favorite cookies were the chocolate oatmeal no bakes. I think I took some inspiration from those days but I wanted to give them some crunch and some natural sweetness. Besides, that old recipe had a ton of butter, sugar, and milk. The ingredients in my Chocolate Crunch Bites make me much happier.

Use peanut butter or a peanut butter substitute, dairy-free chocolate chips, gluten-free pretzels, granola and dried fruit, all normal pantry staples for me. (All the links in the previous sentence are Amazon affiliate links). That is all!

I wouldn’t say they are healthy, but they are a fun and easy treat to take to parties or cookie exchanges. I’m thinking of giving some as gifts to my food allergy pals. You don’t have to save them for only people with food allergies though, they are so good, everyone will love them.

When it’s time to cook you will want to have all of your ingredients out and ready. I broke my pretzels with my hands but you could chop them with a knife. Measure them after you break them into small pieces, not before. I didn’t want them to get too small and turn to dust.

It’s also important if you are making these for someone with food allergies to make sure all your ingredients are safe.

I choose Enjoy Life mini chips, Glutino pretzels, and Made In Nature dried fruit. You can choose brands you love.

The dried fruit I used was actually a Super Berry blend that also had pepita seeds. You can pick what you love but dried cranberries or dried tart cherries are both winners.

If you have kids who like to help in the kitchen this is one of those recipes they can help with. When I say that, you know it’s a simple recipe because I’m not one of those people who invite the kids to cook with me.

I’ll let them stand on a chair on the other side of the counter and watch, sometimes. Usually, I’m shooing them away, but this recipe they can totally help with.

Chocolate Crunch Bites

Go ahead and make these easy and delicious Chocolate Crunch Bites. This no bake, allergy-friendly recipe will win your family over!

Ingredients

½ cup creamy peanut butter or peanut butter alternative
1 cup dairy-free chocolate chips
1 cup gluten-free pretzels, broken into small pieces
1 cup your favorite granola
½ cup dried fruit

Instructions

Put ½ cup of peanut butter or alternative into a medium sauce pan on low heat. Use a silicone spatula to stir regularly.
Once it starts to melt, add the 1 cup of chocolate chips. Stir often and use the spatula to scrape the bottom. Don’t walk away or it could burn. Keep stirring until all the lumps are gone.
Dump in the broken pretzels, granola, and dried fruit and stir well.
Remove pan from heat and scoop out in tablespoon size scoops and lay them on a cookie sheet, covered with parchment paper.
Place the cookie sheet into the refrigerator to cool and harden. Allow at least an hour before eating. These can be left on the counter for a few hours but store in the refrigerator.

Chocolate Crunch Bites

These Chocolate Crunch Bites are peanut-free, dairy-free and gluten-free! They are full of flavor and perfect for a party or cookie exchange! Try these allergy-friendly cookies for dessert.

Ingredients

½ cup creamy peanut butter or peanut butter alternative
1 cup dairy-free chocolate chips
1 cup gluten-free pretzels, broken into small pieces
1 cup your favorite granola
½ cup dried fruit

Instructions

Put ½ cup of peanut butter or alternative into a medium sauce pan on low heat. Use a silicone spatula to stir regularly.
Once it starts to melt, add the 1 cup of chocolate chips. Stir often and use the spatula to scrape the bottom. Don't walk away or it could burn. Keep stirring until all the lumps are gone.
Dump in the broken pretzels, granola, and dried fruit and stir well.
Remove pan from heat and scoop out in tablespoon size scoops and lay them on a cookie sheet, covered with parchment paper.
Place the cookie sheet into the refrigerator to cool and harden. Allow at least an hour before eating. These can be left on the counter for a few hours but store in the refrigerator.

Fruit Salad with Simple Citrus Dressing

July 21, 2016 by Holly Yzquierdo 6 Comments

Fruit Salad. That is the answer to so many questions. Here are a few of them and let me know if you think of more:

What should I take to the potluck?
What will your (picky) kid eat?
What should I freeze for a icy treat?
What is the one vegan food no one will think is weird?
What will make the other kids jealous at the lunch table?
What should we pack for the picnic?

I know there are more but we have things to do. I think you get my point though, Fruit Salad is a great addition just about any time.

The only problem with fruit salad is the browning that happens when you cut certain types fruit. I’ve got an easy fix for you.

All you need is some vitamin C! Citrus juice does wonders to keep fruit from browning.

Growing up I didn’t eat a lot of fruit. I remember the first time I saw my husband meticulously rubbing lemon juice on apples and bananas. I thought he was insane. It was labor intensive to wipe each and every slice of apple and banana with a lemon wedge (although sometimes the lemon juice went in a bowl and we would dip it).

Don’t worry, I’m not going to tell you to do that. This version has a few more steps but it’s even easier and less time consuming than his way.

Not only does it keep it from browning but your fruit salad will continue to taste refreshing for a day or two (if it lasts that long). I like to store it in a bowl with a lid so I can give it a gentle shake before serving. You can also make fun fruit kabobs for a treat if you have leftovers.

Fruit Salad with Citrus Dressing

This dressing works with many kinds of fruit. We are using strawberries, kiwis, cantaloupe, blueberries and blackberries. The important thing is to use what you like, mango, pineapple and grapes are good choices too! In the fall we use lots of apples.

Ingredients

juice from 2 large naval oranges
juice from 1 pink grapefruit
juice from 1 lemon juice
juice from ½ lime juice
3 pounds of assorted fruit

Instructions

Squeeze juice from oranges, grapefruit, lemon and lime into a bowl or small jar.
Stir juice (or if in a jar with a lid, give it a little shake).
Pour it over the fruit and serve.

Fruit Salad with Simple Citrus Dressing

A simple fruit salad perfect for any occasion

Ingredients

juice from 2 large naval oranges
juice from 1 pink grapefruit
juice from 1 lemon juice
juice from ½ lime juice
3 pounds of assorted fruit

Instructions

Squeeze juice from oranges, grapefruit, lemon and lime into a bowl or small jar.
Stir juice (or if in a jar with a lid, give it a little shake).
Pour it over the fruit and serve.

Notes

Triple Berry Frozen Yogurt Pops

June 22, 2016 by Holly Yzquierdo 1 Comment

When I mentioned my obsession with making dairy-free frozen treats last week I wasn’t exaggerating. Remember the Mango Lime Ice Pops! I’ve been making every flavor of ice pop and frozen treat I can imagine. I’m only limited by my selection of fresh fruit but I’ve also tried a few other options like these Frozen Yogurt Pops.

I love making frozen treats with just fruit but I decided I wanted something a little creamier! I bought Silk dairy-free yogurt alternative and fresh berries to make these treats come to life.

Triple Berry Frozen Yogurt Pops are dairy-free and suitable for vegans. These frozen treats are easily made with a yogurt alternative and fresh fruit.

I wanted to buy vanilla yogurt but my store was out so I went with plain. If you use vanilla yogurt it is already sweetened and you can skip the sweetener. If you use the plain flavor you’ll probably want to add a sweetener like maple syrup or stevia. I recommend you blend everything up first to make sure. If you find sweet berries you may not need much, but sometimes berries are a little sour.

I really wanted to take advantage of the beautiful berry colors (although my white tile floor wasn’t as excited). It’s really hard to measure berries for a recipe so I just estimated amounts and used my Blendtec to blend it all together. You’ll get a vibrant blend of fruity yogurt that is hard to resist. I do recommend a taste test at this point to see if you need to add sweetener. If so start with 1 tablespoon of maple syrup or a packet of stevia and move up from there.

Do your best to get it into your freezer pop molds. After I filled them to 3/4 of the way to the top I carefully dropped blueberries, diced strawberries and halved blackberries into the mold and used a wooden ice-pop stick to push them where I wanted them. This wouldn’t have worked in a juice but since the yogurt and fruit blend was thick and creamy the fruit stayed just where I put it. I also inserted the sticks here too.

The serving size will vary based on your freezer mold size. This recipe should make 4-6 frozen treats.

Triple Berry Frozen Yogurt Pops

Ingredients

½ cup non-dairy yogurt
1 cup of fresh berries
sweetener (optional)

Instructions

Pour ½ cup of non-dairy yogurt into a blender.
Pour in half of the berries.
Blend in blender until smooth.
Taste and add sweetener if needed. I recommend maple syrup or stevia then blend again.
Once appropriately sweet, spoon into freezer molds until ¾ of the way full.
Carefully drop berries into the molds using whole blueberries, diced strawberries and halved blackberries.
Place sticks into the molds and freeze over night.
To loosen freezer pops, dip the molds into warm water then gently pull out the freezer pops.
Store in the freezer until ready to eat.

Yield: 6 Servings

Triple Berry Frozen Yogurt Pops

Plant based Triple Berry Frozen Yogurt Pops

Ingredients

½ cup non-dairy yogurt
1 cup of fresh berries
sweetener (optional)

Instructions

Pour ½ cup of non-dairy yogurt into a blender.
Pour in half of the berries.
Blend in blender until smooth.
Taste and add sweetener if needed. I recommend maple syrup or stevia then blend again.
Once appropriately sweet, spoon into freezer molds until ¾ of the way full.
Carefully drop berries into the molds using whole blueberries, diced strawberries and halved blackberries.
Place sticks into the molds and freeze over night.
To loosen freezer pops, dip the molds into warm water then gently pull out the freezer pops.
Store in the freezer until ready to eat.

Notes

If you use vanilla yogurt it is already sweetened and you can skip the sweetener. If you use the plain flavor you’ll probably want to add a sweetener like maple syrup or stevia.

Mango Lime Ice Pops

June 16, 2016 by Holly Yzquierdo 8 Comments

I’m going to fess up, I have a slight addiction to frozen treats. Yes, that Banana Pudding Ice Cream was just the start! Now my kids have caught it too! I’ve been making loads of vegan ice pops that are out of this world. These Mango Lime Ice Pops are a delicious frozen treat!

Mango Lime Ice Pops are a great frozen treat that is healthy and tasty. These vegan treats are still creamy even without the dairy.

As soon as the temperatures rose above 100 degrees here in Arizona I started making a bunch of different ice pop recipes. We’ve had two strong favorites and I’m sharing one of them today.

This Mango Lime Ice Pop may be one of the most refreshing frozen treats I’ve ever had. It’s made with 4 simple ingredients, mango, lime, coconut water and stevia. It doesn’t get much easier than that.

I love mango but I prefer it with other flavors like my Black Bean Mango Salad. My husband and youngest son will eat mango by itself. I think lime is the perfect addition to mango and once you try this frozen treat you will too.

I used the yellow mangos but you could use the pretty green/red/yellow ones. You could even use frozen mango but I’d let it thaw a little. After cutting up my mango I had about 1 1/2 cups. If you have a little more or a little less it will still work.

Other than the simple ingredients you’ll also need a mold for making frozen treats, unless you are doing the small cups or ice cube method. I have two different molds for making delicious frozen treats but I used this one from Amazon. Don’t forget to buy the sticks unless you are using molds that come with sticks.

This recipe makes four frozen treats with a little left over that we ate right then without freezing it! I will definitely make these again!

I was a little concerned that my kids would think they tasted too “grown up” but they loved them too.

Mango Lime Ice Pops

Ingredients

2 yellow mangos
1 lime (juice and zest)
½ cup coconut water
2 Stevia packets

Instructions

Peel mangos and remove the flesh.
Wash the lime then use a microplane to peel the lime zest.
Squeeze all the juice out of the lime into a measuring cup.
Pour coconut water in the measuring cup (with the lime juice) until it reaches the ½ cup mark. You will use more or less coconut water depending on how much lime juice you have. Pour in Stevia.
Blend in a high powered blender then carefully pour into your treat molds and freeze over night.
To remove the ice pops from the mold, submerge the bottom of the molds in warm water being careful not to get the treats wet.

Yield: 4 Servings

Mango Lime Ice Pops

Mango Lime Ice Pops are a great frozen treat that is healthy and tasty. These vegan treats are still creamy even without the dairy.

Ingredients

2 yellow mangos
1 lime (juice and zest)
½ cup coconut water
2 Stevia packets

Instructions

Peel mangos and remove the flesh.
Wash the lime then use a microplane to peel the lime zest.
Squeeze all the juice out of the lime into a measuring cup.
Pour coconut water in the measuring cup (with the lime juice) until it reaches the ½ cup mark. You will use more or less coconut water depending on how much lime juice you have. Pour in Stevia.
Blend in a high powered blender then carefully pour into your treat molds and freeze over night.
To remove the ice pops from the mold, submerge the bottom of the molds in warm water being careful not to get the treats wet.

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Dessert

Double Chocolate Banana Bread

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Chocolate Chia Overnight Oats

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Chocolate Crunch Bites

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Fruit Salad with Citrus Dressing

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Triple Berry Frozen Yogurt Pops

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Mango Lime Ice Pops

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