dessert

Almond Coconut Irish Cream

We are officially on holidays and couldn’t be happier; sitting here sipping my coffee and homemade Baileys, anticipating the days to come and reflecting on the amazing year that was had. It’s these simple moments before the day begins that I really want to savour more often. The calmness and joy that comes from sitting and enjoying a cup of java rather than rushing out the door with a cup in hand. And with the holidays amongst us, your regular cup of joe can become much more festive with this quick and easy clean Irish Cream.

For the last two years, I have been loving my homemade Coconut Baileys Irish Cream, but this year wanted to try a recipe that didn’t involve stove time and one that was a bit lighter on the calories. Here comes my newest version, Almond Coconut Irish Cream.

It’s healthier, cleaner, dairy-free, paleo-friendly, vegan friendly and pretty amazing in my opinion. It’s easy to double or triple the recipe and makes for a great gift giving idea too!

Almond Coconut Irish Cream (yields 16 oz)

  • 1/2 cup Irish Whiskey
  • 1/2 cup + 2 Tbs canned coconut milk
  • 1/2 cup vanilla almond milk
  • 2 tsp vanilla
  • 1/4 cup espresso or strong coffee, cooled
  • 2 tbsp maple syrup or 2 medjool dates work great too (add more or less to your liking)
  • dash of cinnamon
  1. Put all the ingredients into blender and mix
  2. Pour the Homemade Clean Irish Cream into a bottle/ airtight container and store in the fridge for 2-3 weeks
  3. Shake well before serving

Happy Holidays! xx

Grilled Peaches

Peaches are a summer favourite when it comes to fruit, especially Niagara peaches; nothing else quite compares. And every so often I like to spice things up by throwing peach halves right on to the grill – which is a real treat! Grilled peaches are the perfect way to jazz up a weekend brunch/breaky or if you want to impress guests with a sweet and smoky dessert.

I like to keep mine simple with a light drizzle of pure maple syrup as the peaches are the real winning treat already. However, if you are looking for something super delicious and indulgent, grilled peaches  topped with your favourite type of ice or whip cream is the way to go! I personally love them topped with Luna & Larry’s Coconut Bliss “Naked Coconut” – YUM!

Also, another favourite dish for grilled peaches when looking to use them as part of your main dish, is to pair your grilled peaches with ricotta, basil and a drizzle of EVO and your favourite balsamic vinegar (see here my spin on the classic Caprese).

Grilled Peaches

For more of my favourite items to grill – check out my post Grill On and please share what you’re grilling up this summer! #delsdish #delsgrill

Happy Long Weekend! xx

 

 

Coconut Banana Muffins

For the love of coconut, when a friend of mine shared this muffin recipe I literally went bananas. How did I not think of this sweet little treat sooner, however within hours I was baking my own batch. Warm from the oven, I knew these would be a household winner. And sure’y, they were!

A twist on a traditional banana muffin, these are sweet and bright, delectably comforting and easy peasy to make! They are my new go to muffin recipe and I’ll be sure to experiment ways to make them more coconutty. 🙂

Coconut Banana Muffins (yields 12-18)

  • 1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1⁄2 teaspoon salt
  • 4 ripe bananas, mashed
  • 1 cup earth balance buttery spread or unsalted butter, melted
  • 1 cup cane sugar
  • 2 large egg
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1 1/2 cup sweetened flaked coconut
  1. Preheat oven to 375°. Line muffin cups with paper muffin liners.
  2. Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl.
  3. Whisk together bananas, butter, sugar, egg, vanilla, and 1/2 cup coconut in a large bowl until combined well.
  4. Fold in flour mixture until flour is just moistened.
  5. Divide batter among lined muffin cups and sprinkle with remaining coconut.
  6. Bake until muffins are puffed and golden, about 25 minutes.
  7. Transfer muffins to a rack and cool slightly.

Coconut Banana Muffins

Enjoy! xx

Raw Key Lime Pie

“You attract what you are.” – Dr. Wayne Dyer

And I’m happy to say many of my friends are like minded when it comes to food, lifestyle, interests and health. We spend A LOT of our time exchanging views, best practices, hidden gems and favourite recipes. With that being said, I would be remiss if I didn’t share their best ideas. 🙂

Which leads me to introduce, my friend Kieran Darcy, who I’m thrilled to say will guest blog with some of her favourite dish’s, along with some of her beautiful photography. You’ll quickly notice, her skills are much better than mine (she is a very talented photographer) and gets it right every time. Please check  out more of her amazing work here.

Kieran had my mouth watering when she first told me about her Raw Key Lime Pie recipe. And with each week she had a new variation to share and that’s when I knew I had to have her dish about it!

Without further ado, here’s Kieran’s Dish –

A few months ago I decided to make a key lime pie for my dad’s birthday. I don’t know why, but I’m glad I did. I started googling ‘raw key lime pie’ to find something that would suit his celiac & diabetic needs and came upon this. The amazing thing about this recipe is that it’s really just a launching pad for any dessert you want to make. For any of you who don’t like following instructions or baking, this is the dessert for you.Raw Key Lime Pie

Let’s take a moment and appreciate the fact that the main ingredient in this dessert is cashews. Maybe I’m just ignorant, but I had no idea what they were capable of. Sorry cashews, I underestimated you. Since mastering the key lime pie I have adapted the recipe to make pumpkin, chocolate-orange, chocolate-raspberry, and lemon pies. With the lemon pie I added some Astarte blueberry-lavender preserve to each slice when serving – Sooo good!Raw Pumpkin Pie

This dessert has become a staple for every family gathering and I get to pretend I’m a really great baker when all I’ve done is blended. Easy, healthy, and delicious. I will say that attaining all of the ingredients is a bit pricey but you won’t need to buy them every time.  So take this recipe and make whatever you want with it. Cover it in nuts, fruit, add peanut butter, make different flavour layers, increase the crust measurements…Do whatever you want.Raw Chocolate Orange Pie

Raw Key Lime Pie

Crust:
  • 1 cup dried dates
  • ½ cup whole almonds, coarsely chopped
  • ½ cup whole pecans, coarsely chopped
  • ¼ cup unsweetened shredded dried coconut
  • 1 Tbsp coconut oil
  • Pinch of sea salt
Filling (Key Lime):
  • 2 cups cashews
  • ¾ cup fresh lime juice
  • ½ cup maple syrup
  • ⅓ cup melted coconut oil
  • 1 tsp matcha powder (optional for color only)
  • 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
  1. Put all the crust ingredients into a food processor, and process until the ingredients can just stick together. Pie Crust
  2. Press the crust mixture into the bottom and up the sides of a 9­inch pie dish
    Pie Crust
  3. Place all the filling ingredients in your high-speed blender or food processor and blend until the filling is completely smooth and creamy.
  4. Pour the filling evenly over the pie crust, smooth with a spatula.
  5. Place the pie in the freezer covered to set for at least 3 hours, or overnight if possible.
  6. Let the pie sit at room temperature for 10 minutes and garnish before serving. I used coconut and lime zest on the Key Lime variation.Raw Pumpkin Pie

Enjoy!

Coconut Matcha Pops

Transferring your warm Matcha Latte into something cooler for summer.

  • 1 400ml can of full-fat coconut milk
  • ½ cup of alternate milk- I used almond/coconut blend
  • 2-3 tsp. Matcha powder
  • Up to ¼ cup agave nectar (other sweeteners will also work)
  1. Mix matcha with couple tbsp of your alternate milk to create a paste. 
  2. Once the mixture is smooth, add remaining milk.
  3. Mix agave, matcha mix and coconut milk and freeze up to 4 hours.

These Pops are a great way to keep cool on those hot summer days without the guilty feeling. Coconut Matcha Pops are a sweet treat you can indulge in while still giving yourself the healthy goodness of our beloved Matcha. YUM!