Nutella Peanut butter Graham Non-Dairy Ice Cream

Ok So I'll admit I have an addiction to making ice creams. It's insanely easy, so much fun, and absolutely delicious! Not all my Ice creams turn out good (like the mint Julep non dairy one that took me forever and never actually froze up! I didn't even bother posting about that one!) but when they do turn out well, I feel its my non-diary ice cream maker duty to inform my lovely readers. I think I'll make it a weekly habit this summer to post a non-dairy ice cream recipe. What do you guys think about that? I know it will certainly make my husband happy!
        This recipe was inspired by my Husband's love for peanut butter and my love for Nutella. Of course we added a cookie for crunch. Because the BEST ice creams always have a crunch factor. We had some grahams so that's what I threw in. Now, Nutella isn't actually non-dairy. I particularly don't mind that. But if you do and you really want to make this 100% non-dairy, feel free to make your own version of Nutella as opposed to buying the store bought version.

Ingredients

1. 1 can of full fat coconut milk (to get the closest to real ice cream don't use the light version)
2. 1/4 cup unsweetened Cocoa Powder
3. 4 tbs raw honey
4. 1 tsp vanilla extract
5. 4 tbs coconut cream - This will make your ice cream creamy and also add some sweetness. This stuff has a lot of sugar so you can omit and just adjust your honey if you don't care to use this. It is also very calorie heavy so if your concerned with that, I would suggest omitting.
6. 4-5 cracked graham crackers. (leave them in chunks)
7. 1/4 cup peanut butter I use this one. It's the best tasting peanut butter I've ever had!
8. 1/4 cup Nutella (or you can make you own non-dairy one following this recipe)

Directions
    Combine your coconut milk, honey, coconut cream, and vanilla and whisk till everything is incorporated. Add your cocoa powder and whisk until it's all incorporated.  Pour your mixture into an ice cream maker and mix according to the directions adding in the graham crackers during the last 5 minutes of mixing. Mean while, pop your peanut butter and Nutella (in separate bowls) into the microwave for a quick 30-50 seconds so it's a more liquid consistency. Pour them into your ice cream maker at the same time. Only let the mixer go for another 2 min max. You don't want the peanut butter and Nutella blending in too much. You want to aim for a swirl effect. Your ice cream will seem melted because you heated the extras. That's ok. Just transfer your ice cream mix to a container and freeze for an extra hour before serving. Enjoy!!

Non-Dairy Strawberry Shortcake Ice Cream

I like Ice cream. No I mean REALLY like ice cream. So much that I think the first little argument my husband and I had was over the fact that I polished off his Ben and Jerry's Milk and cookies in one whole sitting. Yes, I like ice cream THAT much. So when I gave up most dairy products including ice cream I had come up with some replacements like frozen Kefir, which I made here. While I find frozen Kefir delicious, and refreshing, it's still not ice cream. Oh how I've longed for the creamy texture and soft sweet taste of full fat milk based ice cream. This recipe is creamy, sweet, and so close to traditional ice cream that my husband requested I make a Milk and Cookies inspired version next! I'll have to play around with that idea! For now this strawberry shortcake version hits the spot.

Ingredients

1. 1 can of full fat coconut milk (to get the closest to real ice cream don't use the light version)
2. Strawberries quartered and smashed (I used about 20)
3. 4 tbs raw honey
4. 1 tsp vanilla extract
5. 4 tbs coconut cream - This will make your ice cream creamy and also add some sweetness. This stuff has a lot of sugar so you can omit and just adjust your honey if you don't care to use this. It is also very calorie heavy so if your concerned with that, I would suggest omitting.
6. 4-5 cracked graham crackers. (leave them in chunks)

Directions
    Combine your coconut milk, honey, coconut cream, and vanilla and whisk till everything is incorporated. Add your strawberries and whisk well mashing any larger chunks of berries you see as you go.  Pour your mixture into an ice cream maker and mix according to the directions adding in the graham crackers during the last 5 minutes of mixing. Enjoy!

Makes 6 servings, approximately 250 calories per serving

Taste the rainbow

I love love love rainbow cookies. I could eat a whole tray and not even realize what just happened. So I'm not really sure how I stumbled upon the Spoon Full Of Sugar Etsy shop, maybe Pinterest, most likely yes. But when I saw this Valentine's day version of rainbow cookies I just ordered them without even really reading the fine print. See when it comes to rainbow cookies I don't really think, I just do. And I'm so glad I did because after I ordered, I realized these cookies are gluten free. I don't have any allergies to gluten (as I know of). Aside from a mild lactose intolerance I really don't have any food allergies.  But even without the gluten these rainbow cookies did NOT disappoint. There really was no decipherable difference between these and regular rainbow cookies, (and I have had my share of rainbow cookies!) The customer service Chris offers is also one I would put at the top! They came super fast and all wrapped up in such pretty packaging. Even a little hand written note!  To top it all off she's local in Brooklyn! If anyone is looking for gluten free goodies I highly recommend Chris's shop! I hope to try out her other goodies as well!

1 Banana, 2 Banana, 3 Banana 4...

I found this recipe recently via pinterest It sounded interesting so I had to try it. Since Mr. "I don't like fruit in my dessert" was lingering and I knew the word "Banana" would scare him off, I decided to tweak a few things. First I split the Nutella into 1/2 cup Peanut butter and 1/2 cup Nutella. Mr. "I don't like fruit in my desserts" loves peanut butter and I figured this might entice him little. Then I took it one step further since I had these mini peanut butter cups on hand, I figured why not! I love a little crunch in my ice cream. I also only used 5 bananas because that's all I had. The result was creamy and very ice cream like and I will definitely be doing this again! Now I have to find a way to add strawberries in without sending Mr. "I don't like fruit in my desserts" for the hills!

Tip: if your going to add chocolate chips or nuts, into your mixture make sure to freeze it first for 1hr or so or until its thick but still mixable. If not your chips will just sink to the bottom

P.S. I'm dyeing to try out this one!

3:00 Pick me up....and some thoughts...

God its been a long time since I've done a pick me up post....truth is I just haven't really had any fun treats at 3:00 lately!  And I also had made a vow to myself NOT to post every day. After reading some blogging tips over at Grit and Glamour's Blog recently, I realized not only does it totally wear me out juggling a full time 9-6 job, a jewelry line, a boyfriend, a dog, freelance work, and blogging daily, (all things I love but there's not enough time in the day to devote to all) but honestly if its hard for me to keep up with all the wonderful blogs I'm reading over on bloglovin' then it must be the same for everyone else!

To keep my sanity and also not to overload my readers, I was going to take a cue from the lovely Vahni of G&G and schedule myself. Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and possibly a floater day.... (lets see how long I keep this up...I don't do well with schedules)...Anyway this can be my floater day, so here it is my quick little floater post my 3:00 pick me up. Yummy Emeralds cocoa roast 100 calorie pack Almonds. No guilt deliciousness!

After talking my "schedule" out loud with my boyfriend he suggested I let him blog occasionally as the male voice of Myglamourology. Would you readers like that? Not sure what he would post about, but it might be interesting to see! Would love to you know your thoughts!!

Don't forget to enter my GIVEAWAY for a Justina Leigh Bracelet AND a mystery prize!!

I'll take my cupcake anyway I can get it!

Recently on a trip to the grocery store I was perusing through the cereal isle for something semi healthy (fiber, bran, and all that good stuff) but also tasty. Chocolate Cheerios and Special K Chocolatey delight were getting a bit old. Then I stumbled upon this, Cupcake Pebbles?? For real??? YES IT IS, my eyes did not deceive. I snapped a photo then promptly left the isle, its such a shame I had forgotten coffee the first time around because I had to venture back to the cereal isle, and, well, the box just called my name. I have a STRONG affinity for cupcakes and these were something I just had to indulge in (esp. because I really do like Coco Pebbles).

I had decided against blogging about them because there's nothing fashionable or glamorous about sugared carbs with no nutritional value whatsoever (seriously it has 0g of fiber!) BUT when I thought about it over my nightly indulgence last night, I realized something. The average cupcake has about 400 calories or so (also no nutritional value), that's almost half my daily budget!! The cupcake cereal on the other hand has only 160 with a cup of skim milk! So why not indulge in some super sugary processed carbs, its better than the 400 calories right? I really can find the rational in everything can't I? haha

 

3:00 Pick me up!!

SO Delicious Cultured coconut milk!! Do I have to say it again? How much I LOVE coconut! Seriously anything coconut related I <3. Recently I've been reading about how healthy coconut milk is for you. It packs tons of electrolytes, potassium, magnesium, and hydrates your body and it's good for your skin!! This yogurt is all natural, dairy free and soy free. Since I'm a bit lactose intolerant I've been trying to find some alternatives but I don't love soy yogurts, so this is just perfect! I sprinkle some Kashi COCO beach granola on top and it's the perfect treat. The calories are a bit high for my usual low cal treats at 140 but its healthy and yummy so I'll skip the extra snack at the end of the day! Have this for breakfast with a few pineapple chunks and you'll be starting your day off right!!

Happy Snacking!!!

xx M

3:00 Pick me up!!!

When I blogged about The Cosmo-Tini Sorbet I realized that most glamourous city gals dont have room for giant kitchen appliances like an ice cream maker!! Then I remembered these Wine Cellar Sorbets I disovered back in November in a small organic shop on Bedford ave in Brooklyn. SOOO yummy and SOOO refershing and Ridiculously GLAMOROUS!!!! Check out where you can find them near you here www.winecellarsorbets.com

HAVE SOME COSMO-TINI SORBET!!!!

Photo Credit: Epicurious.com

In Honor of SATC 2, and the un-official start of summer memorial day weekend of course!!

Its really such a shame my ice cream maker (yes I have one) is being stored at my parents house or I'd be making this asap!!! But if you happen to have one handy here's the recipe I found on Epicurious

• 2 cups sugar
• 2 cups water
• 5 1/3 cups fresh or frozen cranberries (not thawed; 24 oz)
• 1/4 cup vodka
• 1/4 cup fresh lime juice
• 2 tablespoons Cointreau or other orange liqueur

Special equipment:

• Special equipment: an ice cream maker

 

DIRECTIONS

Bring sugar and water to a boil in a 3-quart heavy saucepan, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Add cranberries and simmer, uncovered, until berries are collapsed, 8 to 10 minutes. Pour through a large sieve into a bowl, gently pressing on solids to extract liquid (without forcing pulp through), and discard solids. Cool syrup, then chill, covered, until cold.

Stir in vodka, lime juice, and Cointreau and freeze in ice cream maker. Transfer to an airtight container and put in freezer to harden.

3:00 Pick me up!!

Low Fat brownie sundae!!! Photo Credit: Shake it app for iPhoneSo I made these for dessert last night and they were amazing! Using the Fat free No pudge fudge brownie mix (original), some ice cream (I'd say stick to a low-fat low cal one to keep this treat "skinny") My fav. Ice cream (unfortunately not low-fat, but organic!) happens to be Coconut Bliss. As I've stated before I LOVE coconut and this non dairy non-soy, gluten-free ice cream is made from delicious organic coconut milk! And Last but not least my new fave topping: Photo Credit: Shake it app for iPhoneChocagave - this stuff is amazing! A good for you twist on chocolate syrup made from agave nectar, also gluten-free, dairy free, vegan and low fat. It tastes amazing!! It was the perfect ending to this decadent (not so fattening) chocolate treat! Now for those of you in an office don't get huffy bc you think these must be made at home bc...hold your breath!....No Pudge fudge can be made in single servings too!!! Just put two Tablespoons of mix into a small container with 1 tablespoon of fat-free vanilla yogurt mix well and microwave for one minute! Now that's really perkin up that 3:00 lull!

3:00 Pick me up!

3:00 again! Need a Treat! Try an interesting twist on chocolate. Chocolate and bacon OH MY!! I LOVE LOVE LOVE Vosges chocolates! They are the most delicious, glamorous, and beautiful chocolates ever! (oh and they make great gifts....hint hint). Check out their other great chocolates here. www.vosgeschocolate.com

3:00 Pick me up - Skinny Cow!

Its 3:00 o clock again!! Time for a pick me up!A friend of mine (thanks LJ) told me I just needed to blog about the Skinny Cow Ice Cream treats. Of course I told her! But def NOT without trying them! And after a run to the grocery store and a chocolate and peanut butter ice cream sandwich later I can say I'm def a lover of the skinny cow!!!! You would NEVER think these are 150 calories each! and since I'm an obsessive calorie counter and have a strong affinity for snacks and treats, this is one that will most definitely be stocked in my freezer! Thank you Skinny Cow for keeping our waistlines glamorously thin and our taste buds totally satisfied!!! Check out their other great skinny products here www.skinnycow.com

Check out these buns!!!

A co-worker of mine brought these in all the way from Bucks County Pennsylvania today! The gooiest, most delicious sticky/Cinnamon buns ever from the famous Fritz Bakery!!! Best breakfast ever! Most certainly not the most healthy but you gotta live every once and a while!!