dessert

In this episode of “Eat with Intention TV”, Cassandra Bodzak shares her easy, healthy vegan, gluten free sugar cookies for the perfect holiday treat. This recipe features Bob’s Red Mill gluten free baking flour as well as date sugar to make it gluten free and cut the overly processed sugar with a more nutrient dense date alternative.

**This post has been sponsored by Bob’s Red Mill who I am thrilled to partner with as they are my favorite brand when it comes to healthy, gluten free baking ingredients!**

 

Healthy Holiday Cookies

3/4 cup of vegan butter (I used soy free Organic Earth Balance)

3/4 cup of sugar (I split it up — 1/2 cup Bob’s Red Mill date sugar + 1/4 cup regular cane sugar – both organic)

 

1 tbsp of flax meal

3 tbsp of water

 

2 1/4 cups of Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free Baking Flour

1/2 tsp of Baking Powder

2 tsp of Vanilla Extract

1 tsp of Almond Extract

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and line a baking sheet pan with parchment paper. Combine your flaxseed meal and water in a small container and set a side to solidify. In a food processor or stand mixer, combine your sugars of choice with your soft vegan butter until both are thoroughly creamed. In a separate bowl, combine your dry ingredients (flour + baking powder) and slowly start adding them to your sugar/butter mixture. Once they are fully added, toss in your flax egg as well as your vanilla and almond extract. When everything is fully combined the dough should be thick but not crumbly, if it’s too dry add a couple tbsp of water till it combines well. Place your dough in the center of your parchment paper and another piece of parchment paper on top of it. Use a rolling pin (or your hands if you don’t have one) to flatten out the dough on your baking sheet (sandwiched between two parchment papers) and stick it in the fridge for 20 minutes to cool.

After 20 minutes, move your parchment papered dough on to the table and put a fresh piece on the baking sheet for your cookie cutter-ified treats. Take your cookie cutter and get to work, putting them into your oven for 5-10 minutes and baking till the edges turn just slight golden. Let cookies cool before decorating.

You can have as much as you’d like with toppings but for the video, I used a simple vegan cream cheese icing with peppermint bark shavings. The vegan icing was simply 1/2 cup of vegan butter, 1/2 cup of vegan cream cheese and 2 cups of powdered sugar (or till prime consistency).

 

Happy Baking my loves!

xo,

C

 

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Tis’ the season for our favorite flavor of them all… pumpkin spice! Luckily, I teamed up with Lori Corbin from ABC7 news to show you how to get your pumpkin spice on with out all the added sugar and chemicals that come along at some pretty popular chain cafes or restaurants. Making your pumpkin spice treats at home is a sure fire way to get it the healthy way!

 

After all, did you know that pumpkin spice actually does NOT include any sugar?

That’s right. You can make your own Pumpkin Spice at home using just 3 tbsp of cinnamon, 2 teaspoons of nutmeg, 2 teaspoons of ground ginger, 1 1/2 teaspoon of all spice and 1 1/2 teaspoon of ground cloves. Now you can even buy “pumpkin spice” already mixed together for you in the spice section of your local grocery store. Put a little shake of this baby in your morning coffee or mix it into your favorite coconut creamer for a healthy, sugar free way to add a little pumpkin spice to your day.

 

Below are two of my favorite ways to celebrate the season, a savory (and super decadent) pumpkin basil cream sauce for your favorite gluten free pasta and my pumpkin spice donuts — both of them so delicious and simple to whip up that you will have a hard time believing just how nourishing they are for your body! Enjoy!

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PROTEIN + FIBER PACKED PUMPKIN BASIL CREAM SAUCE

1 can of cannelloni beans

1 can of organic lite coconut milk

1 can of organic pumpkin puree

1 tbsp of Pumpkin Pie Spice (more if needed after you taste)

handful of fresh basil and 1 tbsp of dried spice shaker basil

1/2 white onion, chopped and sautéed with olive oil

1 bulb of garlic, chopped and sautéed with olive oil

1 tbsp of EVOO

Salt, Pepper to taste

This simple a decadent Pumpkin Basil Cream Sauce recipe is easy for you to whip up in minutes. If you don’t have fresh onion and garlic on hand to brown in a frying pan with a little olive oil, you can also use onion powder and garlic powder to taste to help with the savory flavor. Combine all your ingredients together in a food processor or high powered blender. Taste the sauce and add more basil, pumpkin pie spice or salt and pepper till you get the perfect sweet and savory balance for you!

Ladle it over your favorite gluten free pasta, I love brown rice penne as shown here but whatever your usual go to is will work fine!

 

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HEALTHY VEGAN PUMPKIN SPICE DONUTS
2 cups of trader joe’s whole grain baking mix ( you can use any baking /biscuit mix – for gluten free try Bob’s Red Mill’s!)
1 cup of organic pumpkin puree
3 tbsp of coconut oil
2 flaxs -‘eggs’ (2 tsp flaxseed meal + 6 tsp of water whisked)
3 tsps of pumpkin pie spice (or to your taste, I like a lot of spice!)
1 tsp of vanilla extract
—— dust top with coconut sugar + pumpkin pie spice OR crushed cacao nibs———
Super easy to make! Whip all ingredients in together in your mixer, place in a pastry bag (or a ziploc baggy that you cut a corner off! 😉 ) for easiest dispensing into your doughnut pan and bake in the oven on 375 degrees until golden on the edges. Plop out on cooling rack and sprinkle your dusting ingredients to your liking! Enjoy! Tag me on your photos when you make them and I’ll repost some of my favs!

I made my FAVORITE gluten free, vegan chocolate cupcakes with my healthy chocolate icing recently for Thrive Market. This recipe not only uses date sugar to sweeten the cupcakes as naturally as possible with REAL food but the icing is also primarily made from sweet potatoes. Check out the video to watch me make the full recipe, you are going to love these babies!

Gluten-Free Vegan Chocolate Cupcakes

Ingredients

For the cupcakes
2 cups chocolate almond milk
2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
2 cups quinoa flour
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup date sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/2 cup maple syrup
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon almond extract
1/2 cup coconut oil

For the frosting

4 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
1/4 cup cashew butter
2 tablespoons coconut oil
1/2 cup sweet potato puree
1/4 cup carob or cacao powder
3 tablespoons date sugar
Pinch of salt
10 to 15 drops vanilla stevia
Unsweetened shredded coconut, for garnish

Instructions

Make the cupcakes
Preheat oven to 375. Combine apple cider vinegar and chocolate almond milk and set aside to curdle.

Using a stand mixer or a large bowl and hand mixer, add together dry ingredients until just combined. Add wet ingredients into the bowl, and mix together until batter comes together. Grease a muffin tin with coconut oil, and fill tins halfway with batter. Bake in the oven for 12 to 15 minutes or until firm.

Make the frosting
In a small saucepan over low heat, simmer chocolate, cashew butter, and coconut oil, stirring constantly. When chocolate begins to melt, remove from heat. In a small bowl, combine cacao powder, date sugar, stevia, salt, and sweet potato puree. Carefully pour chocolate mixture into the sweet potato mixture, and stir together until combined. Refrigerate until cool, stir again.

Frost the cupcakes
Using a piping bag or plastic sandwich bag with a corner cut off, pipe frosting onto cupcakes in swirls. Top with a sprinkle of shredded coconut.

 

Hey loves! I teamed up with Thrive Market to share with you some of my favorite gluten free recipes and these chocolate chip cookies certainly top the list! I loving call these healthy nutella cookies because I made them with both chocolate chips and slivers of hazelnut – two of the main flavors in the beloved nutella spread. However, these delicious cookies are actually vegan (dairy free), sugar free AND gluten free, which make them pretty darn magical on the spectrum of sweet treats! Whip them up for yourself at home and let me know what you think! Tag us on your posts @cassandrabodzak, @thrivemkt and #eatwithintention!

Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Hazelnut Heaven Cookies
Yield: 18 to 24 cookies
Active Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 25 minutes

Ingredients
1 ½ cups gluten-free oat bran
½ cup hazelnuts, chopped
½ cup vegan chocolate chips
2 tablespoon of cashew butter
2 tablespoon of flax oil or coconut oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon of cinnamon
2 flax “eggs”
1 large ripe banana

For one “flax egg”
1 tablespoon flaxseed meal
3 tablespoons water

Instructions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Combine all ingredients together into a large bowl, mixing thoroughly until batter thickens and is completely moistened. Place 1 1/2-inch balls of batter 1 inch apart on baking sheet and lightly press down on each with your palm.

Bake 7 to 10 minutes, until golden on the outside edges. Allow to cool, then enjoy with a glass of almond milk.

I am honored and thrilled to be a part of Well + Good’s Amazing Pumpkin Recipe round up! Who can ever get enough healthy pumpkin recipes?! Not me for sure, so it’s a delight to have my healthy vegan pumpkin balls in the mix with some other fabulous treats like pumpkin pie smoothies and my girl Jordan’s pumpkin chocolate chip bars! Click here and check out these 10 healthy pumpkin recipes so that you can celebrate halloween right this year! Althogugh, let’s be real, I’ll be making them well into the holidays! #Pumpkineverythingplease !

Don’t forget to tag me @gosweetandskinny in your delish pumpkin creations! I can’t wait to see and regram some of my faves! 🙂

Alrighty love bugs, I couldn’t hold out on you any longer. My newsletter subscribers got this vegan, gluten free, pumpkin spice donut recipe a couple weeks ago but I didn’t want anyone to miss out because it is SO good! For the latest, yummiest, exclusive recipes be sure to put your email in the giant box above and you’ll get a little love note from me each week with a mouth watering good-for-you recipe!

So amidst my mission to buy out all the pumpkin pie spice and organic pumpkin puree in New York City this fall, I have been almost exclusively making fall themed treats and these healthy, vegan, gluten free pumpkin spice donuts were the first of the bunch! They are baked, not fried and have a really nice, moist, cake-like texture. Give this recipe a whirl and let me know what fun toppings you decide to drizzle on these babies.

HEALTHY VEGAN PUMPKIN SPICE DONUTS
2 cups of trader joe’s whole grain baking mix ( you can use any baking /biscuit mix – for gluten free try Bob’s Red Mill’s!)
1 cup of organic pumpkin puree
3 tbsp of coconut oil
2 flaxs -‘eggs’ (2 tsp flaxseed meal + 6 tsp of water whisked)
3 tsps of pumpkin pie spice (or to your taste, I like a lot of spice!)
1 tsp of vanilla extract
—— dust top with coconut sugar + pumpkin pie spice ———
Super easy to make! Whip all ingredients in together in your mixer, place in a pastry bag (or a ziploc baggy that you cut a corner off! 😉 ) for easiest dispensing into your doughnut pan and bake in the oven on 375 degrees until golden on the edges. Plop out on cooling rack and sprinkle your dusting ingredients to your liking! Enjoy! Tag me on your photos when you make them and I’ll repost some of my favs! xo!

For those of you who didn’t get this little baby of a recipe a month or so back, sign up for my healthy recipes and happy living inspiration above so that you don’t miss the next one! I send out exclusive, incredibly delicious recipes to my newsletter subscribers sometimes months before they actually make it to the website. I mean, you could have been blissfully eating these vegan, gluten free, healthy chocolate chip hazelnut cookies that are like a little bite out of heaven MONTHS ago! Tsk,Tsk.

Anyways, I couldn’t hold out any longer. They are too delicious, super easy to make and perfect for any ‘ole night of the week to not share. Give ’em a whirl, get creative and tag me on Facebook [facebook.com/gosweetandskinny] or insta when you make them! [ @gosweetandskinny] Can’t wait to see your goodies!

 

VEGAN GLUTEN FREE CHOCOLATE CHIP HAZELNUT HEAVEN COOKIES

1 1/2 cups of GF oat bran
2 tbsp of cashew butter (can use almond or hazelnut but I like the creamy sweetness that cash abutter naturally has)
2 tbsp of chia oil ( can also use coconut but I like the extra omega 3 boost of chia)
1 large organic banana
1/2 cup of vegan chocolate chips
1/2 cup sliced hazelnuts
1 tsp of cinnamon
2 flax “eggs”

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Toss it all in your mixer. Lightly grease your sheet pan with coconut oil and use a mini ice cream scooper or tsp to ration the dough. It will be a little bit stickier than normal cookie dough but should be manageable. Let the cookies cook for 5-10 minutes depending on your oven. Watch them and pull them out when the edges are becoming golden brown. ENJOY! 🙂

Watch me make this super delicious and very vegan chocolate avocado pudding on Shape Magazine’s website. It’s easy to whip up and tastes even better than regular chocolate pudding because the avocado adds such a rich, creaminess to it. Perfect for when that crazy chocolate craving hits and you want something that will really satisfy your sweet tooth with out making you feel guilty!

Vegan Chocolate Avocado Pudding

1 ripe avocado, peeled, pit removed

½ cup soy, hemp, or almond milk

4 tablespoons natural, non alkalized cocoa powder

6 dates, pitted

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Berries (to Garnish)

Vegan ( coconut milk)  Whipped Cream (to garnish)

Now just puree all the ingredients in a high-powered blender and spoon into small bowls or cups, add berries and a dollop of whipped coconut milk, if using, and serve.

Check out my Mango Chia Seed Pudding with Toasted Coconut recipe up on Shape Magazine’s website, I’ll be making healthy recipes on Shape.com all summer long so check back every Monday for another delicious, healthy, summer recipe!

Mango Chia Seed Pudding with Toasted Coconut

1 cup of Silk Vanilla Soy milk
1 ripe mango
1/3 cup of chia seeds
¼ cup of unsweetened coconut flakes

In a mason jar, combine 1 cup of soy milk with 1/3 cup of chia seeds. Mix and let sit in the refrigerator for 4-6 hours. Mix periodically if needed to evenly distribute the chia seeds. Puree mango in a blender, leave a couple slices to the side for garnishing and mix in to chia seed pudding before serving. Place coconut flakes on a baking sheet and broil for just a couple minutes till toasted. Scoop out serving of pudding and garnish with toasted coconut and a slice or two of mango.

Valentine’s Day is just around the corner and whether you are sharing it with your significant other or best friends, who doesn’t like to make a sweet little chocolately something?! These Vegan Chocolate “Caramel” Truffles will knock your socks off and more importantly, your guests socks off when they find out how healthy they actually are for them. Don’t be scared, they are super easy to make too!

Vegan Chocolate “Caramel” Truffles

13 oz container of dates (standard package)

1 bag of vegan chocolate chips (I use Enjoy Life)

2 tables spoons of almond butter

1 tbsp of coconut oil

Optional: unsweetened coconut flakes or crushed cashews for topping

In a food processor, combine all your dates with 2 tablespoons of almond butter. Pulse till the dates are becoming one with the almond butter and you see that caramel consistency. Take your faux caramel out of the processor, pack it in a nice little chunk and put it in the freezer for 5 minutes. I usually clean the food processor while it’s chilling and by the time I’m done, they’re ready! So go get them out, and start rolling little baby balls and placing them on a plate or baking sheet with parchment paper. Put them back in the freezer when you’re all done, so they will stay firm while we’re getting the chocolate ready!

For the chocolate, in a small saucepan add approx. half the bag and tbsp of coconut oil.  You can stir this constantly on a very low heat or I prefer to double boil it, which just means that I put a small soup pan of boiling water on the stove and THEN place my saucepan with chocolate on top of that. This helps the chocolate melt properly without burning as easily as it does on the stove. Either way, stir that chocolate till it’s almost completely melted and turn off the burner. Let the final little chunks melt themselves.

Now the fun part! Go get your frozen balls out of the freezer and stick toothpicks in them so that you can easily dip them in your chocolate. I used really pretty festive ones for V-Day, so I kept mine in but you can always toss these after the chocolate hardens so don’t be afraid to use a normal toothpick. Dip your faux caramels in the chocolate and if you’ve decided on a topping, nows the time to sprinkle it on or roll your chocolates in it after they’ve been dipped. This particular batch I used unsweetened coconut flakes but you can get as creative as you want with it!

Once they’re all dipped, place them back in the freezer for 10-20 minutes for the chocolate to harden and leave them either there or in the refrigerator till you’re ready to serve! These babies are best enjoyed firm and cold!

 

With Valentine’s Day right around the corner, this is a great little recipe for a quick, festive treat that won’t have you laboring over the stove! You can also modify it depending on whether you want it to be vegan or not. I’ll give you both options!

strawberries + cream tarts
6-8 strawberries
1 package of philo dough shells

1 container of tofu cream cheese (vegan version)
1 cup powder sugar (optional how much you use)
1 container of mascarpone (if your are not doing the vegan version)

3 tsp of balsamic vinegar

1 tbsp of agave/stevia

First, defrost your little philo dough shells! These little babies are accidentally vegan most of the time but be sure to check the box because I’m sure there are all different brands. Just let them sit on a plate while you wash and slice your strawberries. Place your sliced strawberries in a bowl and add the balsamic and sweetener, mix it all up and let them sit. This will give them a sweet and  tangy taste and make them must more interesting to eat! Now, if you’re not going the vegan way, just pipe your mascarpone in to the little shells, the dollup should be about the size of a hershey’s kiss at most. For my lovely vegans, take your tofu cream cheese, put it in your mixer and slowly add the powdered sugar to taste. I said 1 cup but you really only need enough to turn the cream cheese taste into a slightly sweeter and more refined ‘cream’ taste! I use powdered sugar because no one wants their creamy filling to have little granules in it. Yuck!  Once all your baby shells are filled with cream filling, place three strawberry slices on top and you’re good to go!

Wasn’t that easy?! It’ll take you 15-20 mins TOPS – and the best part is that your guest will absolutely think they are the cutest, tastiest thing ever. Everybody wins!

 

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Merry Christmas from my kitchen to yours! I hope you are having a fabulous evening enjoying delicious food with your loved ones!

These adorable little Santa men I made were an easy, delicious and healthy dessert! Just slice open strawberries, carve a little out in the middle and let them dry a bit on a paper towel. In a separate bowl, mix some tofutti cream cheese and powdered sugar till you get an icing like consistency and then place into a pastry bag (or plastic bag) and let it sit in your fridge for a 10-20 minutes. Pipe your icing in your little strawberries bodies and stick some vegan chocolate chips for eyes, it’s strawberry hat and a little extra icing on top! Voila! Adorable little Santa men!

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