Experience Nutrition

Tag: healthy desserts

  • A New View of Healthy Eating: Daily Healthy Recipes by Melanie Albert: Chocolate Avocado Pudding. Arizona Navel Orange.

    by Melanie A. Albert, intuitive cooking expert, author, speaker, Founder & CEO Experience Nutrition Group, LLC

    I’m so honored to be presenting monthly cooking classes at the Humana Community Center in Mesa, Arizona. Today’s theme was superfoods. One of my very favorite superfoods is raw cacao, so we prepared the very simple Avocado Chocolate Pudding. We topped the pudding with hydrated goji berries, raw cacao nibs, and hemp seeds. Everyone in the class loved the simplicity of making the pudding, it’s smooth texture and how healthy it is.

    A few fun photos from today’s class:

    Today I was very fortunate to have a few left-over perfectly ripe avocados. When I returned home from the cooking class, I made a small batch of the Chocolate Avocado Pudding. I had fun mindfully plating it with some of my favorite superfoods and a sweet Arizona navel orange. After the recipe from “A New View of Healthy Eating,” scroll down for today’s dessert creation.

    Simple Recipe from “A New View of Healthy Eating”

    Chocolate Avocado Pudding

    Incredible, rich, and creamy vegan chocolate pudding will delight everyone. Make it for dessert or an after-work or after-school snack. Once you’ve made this avocado pudding, experiment by adding some extras, such as bananas, raspberries, blueberries, strawberries, homemade nut milk, and freshly ground spices, like cinnamon and nutmeg.

    SIMPLE INGREDIENTS

    • 4 ripe avocados
    • 8 Medjool dates, pitted and sliced
    • 2 tsp vanilla extract or 2 vanilla beans, scraped
    • ½ cup raw cacao powder
    • 2 cups water

    SIMPLE STEPS

    1. Place all ingredients in high-speed blender.
    2. Blend on high for about 2 minutes.
    3. Stop and scrape down sides of blender, if needed.
    4. Blend for another 2 minutes or until completely pureed and smooth.
    5. Refrigerate for 1-2 hours.
    6. Enjoy topped with fresh fruit, nuts, and seeds.

    Avocado Pudding Mise en Place

    Blend All Ingredients in Food Processor

    Prepare your Plating Mise en Place

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    Fun Chocolate Pudding Plating

    Another look at the final Chocolate Pudding Plate…

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    Having fun with the raw cacao…maybe a little too much…but tasty!

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    If you’re interested in learning more simple culinary skills and healthy recipes, Melanie’s book, “A New View of Healthy Eating” is available.

    If you’re interested in a Workshop, Cooking Class, Team Building Event, or Retreat, contact Melanie: Mel@MelanieAlbert.com

     

     

     

  • A New View of Healthy Eating: Daily Healthy Recipes by Melanie Albert: Superfood Sweet Potato Brownie

    by Melanie A. Albert, intuitive cooking expert, author, speaker, Founder & CEO Experience Nutrition Group, LLC

    This week I had the wonderful opportunity to lead an amazing Cooking Challenge Team Building with Visit Phoenix. For dessert, I decided to prepare the Sweet Potato Brownie and jazz it up with a raw cacao sauce and goji berries. This dessert is full of so many healthy ingredients, the sweet potatoes, raw cacao, and Arizona Medjool dates. It’s plant-based, gluten-free, and dairy-free. And, it tastes great. Not too sweet. Chocolatey. Just right.

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    PHOTO CREDIT: www.facebook.com/cassiescouture

    Excerpt from my book, “A New View of Healthy Eating”

    Chocolate Sweet Potato Brownie

    Delicious vegan, gluten-free chocolate dessert made with a sweet root veggie, the sweet potato. This brownie is always a favorite at kids’ and adults’ cooking classes. It’s one of those desserts we can even eat for breakfast!

    SIMPLE INGREDIENTS

    • 2 medium to large sweet potatoes
    • 12 Medjool dates, pitted
    • ⅔ cup raw almonds, ground
    • ½ cup brown rice flour
    • 4 tbsp raw cacao
    • 3 tbsp maple sugar
    • Pinch sea salt

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    SIMPLE STEPS   

    • Pre-heat oven to 350 F.
    • Peel sweet potatoes, cut into chunks, and steam in a bamboo steamer for about 20 minutes until they become really soft.

     

     

    • Once sweet potatoes are soft and beginning to fall apart, remove from steamer.

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    • Mix sweet potatoes and pitted dates into food processor and blend.

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    Put remaining ingredients into a large bowl and stir to combine.

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    • Add sweet potato/date mixture to other ingredients and stir well.

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    • Place mixture into 8-inch by 8-inch parchment-paper-lined baking dish.

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    • Cook for about 20 minutes.
    • Test doneness by pushing a toothpick into the brownie. The brownie is ready when a toothpick comes out dry.
    • Allow baking dish to cool for about 10 minutes.

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    • Remove the brownies from baking dish.
    • Cool for a few minutes and cut into squares.
    • Enjoy!

    I had so much fun plating this Sweet Potato Brownie for our guests at the Visit Phoenix Team Building Cooking Challenge. Add a swipe of raw cacao agave sauce, goji berries, and a few walnuts.

     

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    PHOTO CREDIT: www.facebook.com/cassiescouture

    ACTION: Make a healthy chocolate dessert and share your creation with us on Facebook, www.facebook.com/NewViewHealthyEating

    For more amazing simple healthy recipes, you can buy Melanie’s Book, “A New View of Healthy Eating: Simple Intuitive Cooking with Real Whole Foods”

     

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    PHOTO CREDIT: www.facebook.com/cassiescouture

     

  • A New View of Healthy Eating Recipes: Spiritual Adrenaline Holiday Dessert Guide: Fruit Sorbet

    By Melanie A. Albert, intuitive cooking expert, author, and speaker. Founder & CEO Experience Nutrition Group, LLC

    Thanks so much to Tom Shanahan and Spiritual Adrenaline for inviting me to be part of the Spiritual Adrenaline Holiday Dessert Guide. I am honored to share my ideas for healthy holiday desserts with you and hope you and your family enjoy creating and eating the delicious “good-for-us” desserts. The Raspberry Cara Cara Orange Sorbet is absolutely one of my very favorite refreshing desserts and is a perfect light dessert for the holidays. Have fun experimenting with making your own sorbet.

    Excerpt from A New View of Healthy Eating: Raspberry Cara Cara Orange Sorbet

    For most of my life I ate refreshing sorbet only at restaurants. Now with this simple sorbet process, I enjoy making it at home with local, seasonal fruit. I especially love sorbet with freshly harvested Arizona oranges. Intuitively create sorbet with fruits that are local and in season and experiment with different fruit, spices, and herbs to create sorbet year-round.

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    Sweet, refreshing sorbet features organic raspberries, local Arizona Cara Cara navel oranges, and a touch of nutmeg. Cara Cara oranges are one of my favorites, with their rosy interior and sweet taste. Pair this refreshing sorbet with shaved organic dark chocolate.

    SIMPLE INGREDIENTS

    • 4 cups fresh organic raspberries
    • 5 tbsp agave nectar
    • ½ Cara Cara navel orange, juiced
    • Pinch sea salt
    • Pinch freshly ground nutmeg
    • 70% organic dark chocolate bar, shaved

     SIMPLE STEPS

    1. Blend all ingredients in high-speed blender.
    2. Pour into frozen sorbet maker and process for about 15-20 minutes until thickened, soft, and creamy.
    3. Sprinkle shaved dark chocolate on sorbet.
    4. Serve and enjoy.

     5 Tips to Make Your Own Unique, Delicious Sorbet

    1. Peak sweetness. Use high-quality, fresh organic fruits at their peak of sweetness. The freezing process in making sorbet reduces the sweetness of fruit.
    2. Experiment. Have fun making sorbet with all types of in-season fruit. Berries (blackberries, blueberries, raspberries, strawberries), stone fruit (cherries, peaches, plums), bananas, grapes, pears, oranges, and pineapple.
    3. Natural sweetener. If the fruit tastes tart, add a sweetener such as agave nectar or coconut sugar.
    4. Citrus. Add a squeeze of citrus to balance flavor or add acidity.
    5. Accent. Experiment with spices such as freshly ground cinnamon or nutmeg, fresh herbs such as basil or mint, citrus zest, or vanilla.

    A New View of Healthy Eating Book is available now, with 54 simple recipes and 84 simple culinary techniques in 9 delicious whole food categories.

    Join our e-mail list to stay in touch with recipes, culinary methods, and events.

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    Share your sorbet creations with us on our Facebook page: www.facebook.com/NewViewHealthyEating

  • A New View of Healthy Eating Recipes: Spiritual Adrenaline Holiday Dessert Guide: Vegan Chocolate Cream Pie

    By Melanie A. Albert, intuitive cooking expert, author, and speaker. Founder & CEO Experience Nutrition Group, LLC

    It is my honor and pleasure to be part of the Spiritual Adrenaline Holiday Dessert Guide. Thanks so much to Tom Shanahan for coming out to Arizona to enjoy these delicious, healthy desserts with me. The Vegan Chocolate Cream Pie (with Soy) is a favorite for people of all ages. It is so decadent. And, the best thing is that is a really healthy dessert that is simple to prepare and perfect for the holidays.

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    Excerpt from A New View of Healthy Eating: Vegan Chocolate Cream Pie (pages 162-163)

    Enjoy creating vegan, gluten-free chocolate recipes with fruit, raw cacao powder, nuts, natural sweeteners, and even sweet potatoes. If you are a chocolate lover or have a sweet tooth, try these “good-for-us” chocolate desserts.

    Vegan Chocolate Cream Pie

    Try this simple chocolate dessert recipe that everyone enjoys. This gourmet-quality pie is so much fun to make and is beautiful and delicious every time I teach it in my private and group cooking classes. Learn to quickly and easily melt chocolate chips right in your oven. If you have extra chocolate pie, cut it into small pieces and freeze for snacks.

    SIMPLE INGREDIENTS

    Crust

    • 2 cups raw pecans
    • ¼ cup maple sugar
    • 1 ½ tbsp coconut oil
    • ½ tsp sea salt

    Filling

    • 2 ½ cups vegan dark chocolate chips
    • 2 packages organic soft silken tofu (260g packages)
    • 1 tsp vanilla extract or 1 vanilla bean, scraped
    • Pinch of sea salt

     

     SIMPLE STEPS

    Make the Crust.

    • Pulse pecans and maple sugar in food processor.
    • Add coconut oil and sea salt.
    • Pulse to combine well.
    • Press and shape mixture into the bottom of a 10-inch springform pan.

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    Melt Chocolate Chips.

    • Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
    • Pour the chocolate chips in a single layer onto a flat baking sheet.
    • Place in the oven to melt for no more than 3-4 minutes or until melted. Be careful that you don’t burn them.

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    Blend the Filling.

    • Place tofu, vanilla, sea salt, and melted chocolate chips into a food processor.
    • Blend until smooth.
    • Pour mixture into pie crust and chill for at least 30 minutes.
    • Top with fresh fruit and nuts.
    • Enjoy!

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    If you enjoy this recipe, there are 54 simple whole food, plant-based, gluten-free recipes in A New View of Healthy Eating book.

    Join our e-mail list for recipes, culinary tips, and events.

    Visit us on our Facebook page, and share your healthy holiday desserts: www.facebook.com/NewViewHealthyEating

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  • A New View of Healthy Eating Recipes: Spiritual Adrenaline Holiday Dessert Guide: Chocolate Sweet Potato Brownie

    By Melanie A. Albert, intuitive cooking expert, author, and speaker. Founder & CEO Experience Nutrition Group, LLC

    I am so honored to be part of the Spiritual Adrenaline Dessert Guide and would like to thank the inspiring Tom Shanahan for inviting me to share my healthy recipes for the holidays with you. If you have never cooked a brownie with sweet potatoes, I invite you to give it a try. It is sweet, chocolatey and a perfect complement to your holiday celebrations. Enjoy!

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    Excerpt from A New View of Healthy Eating: Chocolate Sweet Potato Brownie (pages 164-165)

    Delicious vegan, gluten-free chocolate dessert made with a sweet root veggie, the sweet potato. This brownie is always a favorite at kids’ and adults’ cooking classes. It’s one of those desserts we can even eat for breakfast!

    SIMPLE INGREDIENTS

    • 2 medium to large sweet potatoes
    • 12 Medjool dates, pitted
    • ⅔ cup raw almonds, ground
    • ½ cup brown rice flour
    • 4 tbsp raw cacao
    • 3 tbsp maple sugar
    • Pinch sea salt

    SIMPLE STEPS   

    • Pre-heat oven to 350 F.
    • Peel sweet potatoes, cut into chunks, and steam in a bamboo steamer for about 20 minutes until they become really soft.
    • Once sweet potatoes are soft and beginning to fall apart, remove from steamer.
    • Mix sweet potatoes and pitted dates into food processor and blend.

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    • Put remaining ingredients into a large bowl and stir to combine.

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    • Add sweet potato/date mixture to other ingredients and stir well.
    • Place mixture into 8-inch by 8-inch parchment-paper-lined baking dish.
    • Cook for about 20 minutes.
    • Test doneness by pushing a toothpick into the brownie. The brownie is ready when a toothpick comes out dry.
    • Allow baking dish to cool for about 10 minutes.

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    • Remove the brownies from baking dish.
    • Cool for a few minutes and cut into squares.
    • Enjoy!

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    A New View of Healthy Eating book is available NOW! Buy your copy today and I’ll gift wrap and ship it to you or your friends.

    Join our e-mail list and stay up-to-date on events, classes, culinary techniques, and recipes.

    Share your version of the Sweet Potato Brownie with us on our Facebook page: www.facebook.com/NewViewHealthyEating
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  • A New View of Healthy Eating Recipes: Spiritual Adrenaline Holiday Dessert Guide: Aromatic Apple Crisp

    A New View of Healthy Eating Recipes: Spiritual Adrenaline Holiday Dessert Guide: Aromatic Apple Crisp

    By Melanie A. Albert, intuitive cooking expert, author, and speaker. Founder & CEO Experience Nutrition Group, LLC

    It is such an honor to be part of the Spiritual Adrenaline Holiday Dessert Guide. Thanks so much to Tom Shanahan for coming out to Arizona to experience these healthy holiday recipes. The Aromatic Apple Crisp with Freshly Ground Spices is one of my very favorite desserts for the holidays, as it brings back childhood holiday memories of cooking with my Mom and Grandmom.  The natural aromatherapy of the freshly ground spices – cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, and nutmeg – is an incredible mindful experience of the cooking. Enjoy preparing and eating this delicious dessert.

    Excerpt from A New View of Healthy Eating: Aromatic Apple Crisp with Freshly Ground Spices (pages 126-127)

    DESSERT: Aromatic Apple Crisp with Freshly Ground Spices

    This apple crisp is one of my all-time favorites. From cooking with local organic apples to mindfully hand-grinding and enjoying the aromatherapy of freshly ground warming spices, from the aromatherapy of the apples sautéing in the spices to memories of eating pies when I was a child, this dessert (or breakfast) is outstanding. Enjoy the process of setting up your mise en place, cooking, and enjoying this dish with your family and friends.

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    SIMPLE INGREDIENTS

    Topping

    • 1 cup rolled oats
    • ½ cup almonds, walnuts, or pecans, sliced
    • ¼ cup maple sugar
    • 1 tsp cinnamon, fresh ground
    • 1 tsp nutmeg, fresh ground
    • 1 tsp cardamom seeds, fresh ground
    • ½ cup grapeseed oil

    Filling

    • 8 apples, sliced
    • 3 tbsp grapeseed oil
    • 4 tbsp maple sugar
    • 1 tsp cinnamon, fresh ground
    • 1 tsp nutmeg, fresh ground
    • 1 tsp cardamom seeds, fresh ground
    • ½ tsp cloves, fresh ground
    • 1 orange, juiced and zested
    • 1 lemon, juiced and zested

     SIMPLE STEPS

    1. Prepare your mise en place.
      • Hand-grind all spices in mortar and pestle.
      • Hand-squeeze and zest the orange and lemon.

    Prepare topping.

    • Mix all dry ingredients for topping until well combined.
    • Pour in grapeseed oil and mix.

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    3. Cook the apple crisp.

    • Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
    • Place sliced apples in a large sauté pan.
    • Turn heat to medium and add remaining filling ingredients.
    • Cook until apples slightly soften; stir occasionally.
    • Pour cooked apples with sauce into 8-inch by 8-inch baking dish.
    • Top with oats topping.
    • Bake on middle oven rack for 20-30 minutes.
    1. Enjoy!

    If you are interested in more simple whole food, plant-based, gluten-free recipes that are healthy and delicious, my book, A New View of Healthy Eating is available.  I’m happy to gift-wrap for your family and friends.

    Come on over to our Facebook page and share your holiday dessert creations, www.facebook.com/NewViewHealthyEating

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  • A New View of Healthy Eating: Really Enjoy Chocolate!

    By Melanie A. Albert, intuitive cooking expert, author, and speaker. Founder & CEO Experience Nutrition Group, LLC

    The last 3 days we’ve been shooting videos with recipes and concepts from my new book, A New View of Healthy Eating and with my friend Tom Shanahan of Spiritual Adrenaline. In fact, we shot 27 videos, including 13 cooking videos. One of the things I noticed was that we prepared quite a few different amazing dessert recipes with chocolate including:

    • Chocolate Avocado Pudding
    • Vegan Chocolate Cream Pie with Soy (Tofu)
    • Chocolate Sweet Potato Brownie

    In light of the focus on chocolate, I’d like to share with you some valuable information about chocolate and some photos of these amazing desserts.

    Excerpt from A New View of Healthy Eating

    4 Ways to Enjoy Chocolate

    Dark chocolate is distinguished by the percentage of cacao solids in the bar. The higher the percentage of cacao in a chocolate bar, the lower the amount of sugar.

    1. Dark Chocolate Bar: Made with 70% cacao. If you are new to the bitter taste of dark chocolate, start with a 55% cacao chocolate bar. As you become accustomed to the flavor, try chocolate with higher levels of cacao.
    2. Raw Chocolate: Raw cacao is extracted from fermented cacao beans, which are dried without roasting or roasted at low temperatures.
    3. Cacao Nibs: Cacao bean crushed into little pieces. Try a few cacao nibs and experience their bitterness. Add nibs to smoothies or chocolate desserts.
    4. Cacao Bean: The actual bean or seed. It’s definitely an acquired taste; try a bite.

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    If you’d like the recipes for the incredible (really!) tasty and healthy chocolate desserts, my new book, A New View of Healthy Eating is now available: 

    If you’d like to stay up-to-date with recipes, culinary tips, and events, join our e-mail list.