Luscious Tofu Chocolate Mousse

A decadent chocolate dish from my favorite clean eating recipe book, The Eat-Clean Diet Cookbook by Tosca Reno. Now isn’t this a sexy valentines dessert? And healthy too!

Ingredients

• ¾ cup / 180 ml dark chocolate chips or dark chocolate bars, broken into pieces
• 12 oz / 336 g silken tofu* at room temperature, drained
• ½ cup / 120 ml warmed skim milk or soy, rice or almond milk
• 1 tsp / 5 ml best-quality vanilla

*NOTE: You must use silken tofu for this recipe.

Preparation

1. Melt chocolate chips in a double boiler or in the microwave. Make sure to let the chocolate melt slowly. Stir until chocolate is uniformly smooth.
2. In a food processor, combine tofu, melted chocolate, warmed milk and vanilla. Process until smooth. Place tofu mixture in fine-mesh strainer or sieve, pushing through with the back of a wooden spoon, into a medium decorative serving bowl. Serve from the bowl or ladle into individual serving bowls. Chill and serve.
3. Feel free to serve with some White Chocolate Raspberry Hearts (from my other cooking blog!)

Roasted Red Pepper Hummus

Ingredients:

• 1 15 ounce can garbanzo beans or chick peas
• 1/3 cup tahini
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 4 tablespoons fresh cilantro leaves
• 1/2 cup roasted red peppers, or  Vegetable Spread

Place all ingredients in a food processor and mix until smooth and well combined.

Detoxifying Tomato Soup

This is a very light and lovely soup. If you want to take a few days and simply stick to smoothies and juices this soup makes a great dinner. It’s also nice to have even when you’re not detoxing. I love to fill up my tummy with a big bowl of soup before dinner. That way, I know I’ll eat less of the more fattening stuff, and still feel full and satisfied. And, you can’t beat a big healthy bowl of onions and tomatoes.

Ingredients:

• Approximately 4 cups of tomatoes, washed and chopped
• 2 large carrots, peeled and chopped
• 1 large onion, peeled and chopped
• 2 cups low sodium organic vegetable broth
• 2 cups water
• 2 teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes

In a large stock pot boil all ingredients. Bring to a boil. Turn stove to low, and simmer for about 30 minutes. Place all ingredients in blender, and blend until smooth. Top with cilantro, basil or crushed red pepper. Enjoy!

xoxo,

Jess

Beet Juice!

I’ve been juicing and guzzling smoothies for a few weeks now. I can’t say I’ve been only doing those two things, but I’ve certainly been combining them with very healthy food choices. Some whole vegetable soups, some nuts and sprouted bread, some cooked vegetables and wholesome salads. I’m starting to feel like it’s all making a difference. I haven’t been weighing myself too much lately. But, I’m starting to feel lets just say, better. A little lighter, a little more energy a touch happier. Baby steps……

I’ve been experimenting with lots of flavors for my juices and have to say, that not only is this one lovely to look at it’s also nice to drink! I really like adding lemon into most of my juices by the way. It adds a nice spark, a bit of tartness.

Ingredients:

• 2 large carrots, washed and chopped
• 1/2 lemon peeled and chopped
• 1/2 large beet root, chopped
• 1 large pear

Directions:

Place everything in your juicer and enjoy!

 

Banana Oat Snack Cake

This one comes from The Kitchn! I think it’s delish for breakfast, a snack or dessert.

• 2 large, very ripe bananas
• 1 teaspoon vanilla (optional)
• 2 cups rolled oats
• 1/2 teaspoon salt (optional)
• 1/4 cup pitted, chopped dried dates
• 1/4 cup chopped nuts — such as walnuts, hazelnuts or pecans (I used pecans)
• Grated nutmeg or cinnamon (or both)

Heat the oven to 350°F and lightly grease a 9×9-inch square baking dish with olive oil or butter.

Peel the bananas and mash their flesh in a medium mixing bowl. Mash very thoroughly until no large chunks remain; the bananas should be essentially liquid. (You will have between 1 cup and 1 1/4 cup.) Stir in the vanilla, and cinnamon. Add the oats and stir them in. Stir in the salt, dates, and nuts.

Pat the thick mixture evenly into the baking pan. If desired, sprinkle the top lightly with nutmeg or cinnamon. Bake for 30 minutes or unti the edges just begin to crisp up.

Place the baking pan on a rack to cool. When the pan is mostly cool, cut into bars and enjoy with a glass of milk or tea.

I mashed up some banana and spread it on top of my snack cake- sort of like a frosting, then topped it off with some toasted pecans. This was a delicious touch!

 

Basil Bliss Juice

There’s only a pinch of basil in this juice and I was even questioning myself when adding it in. Basil can have a bit of a bite to it. I don’t always love it so I was hesitating. But then I thought what the heck. I’m trying new things and what do I have to lose. This juice is healthy and if I’m not a fan, I won’t use it again. Well, it became the bell of this ball for me. I’m a such a fan that I named my entire juice over it.

Healthy Benefits of Basil. I won’t list them all because basil is actually a very healthy food and has lots of powerful vitamins. However one of its major benefits is that it’s an anti-inflammatory. Its healing benefits can help relieve the symptoms of people suffering from  rheumatoid arthritis or inflammatory bowel conditions.

Ingredients:

• 2 large carrots, washed and chopped
• 3 large kale leaves, rinsed and chopped
• 1 apple, washed and chopped
• 1 pear, washed and chopped
• 6 leaves of fresh basil
• 1/2 lemon, peeled and chopped

Directions:

Throw it all in the juicer and there you go!