Hello! Happy Friday, everyone!
I am so happy today after reading that Katie raised $3,247 for Japan from her Vegan Bake Sale. I cannot believe that this online event was dreamed up, organized, and finished within 1 week! Katie rules!
My OMG Cookies raised $45...
I've been practicing making them to make sure they come out perfectly! I don't know who the highest bidder was, but I hope that whoever it is loves them :)
My Indian gift basket also raised $30, for a total of $75 raised. I could not have done anything like this myself... Now I am just waiting for the go-ahead to bake my goodies and mail them out!
Something else that has been making me happy is actual Spring Weather. I've been craving a lot of hydrating salads...
Arugula, petite oak, petite gem, and petite tango (from pre-grouped mix), strawberries, chopped walnuts, dried berries, and gorgonzola cheese
Yesss
After I ran out of strawberries, I switched to fluffy gnocchi...
And after I ran out of gnocchi and my fancy lettuce mix, I switched to crisp gala apples and romaine:
And then I had dessert!
I've been getting creative with my banana-soft serve lately...First up is Tropical Margarita Soft-Serve
This was tangy and lime-y and did not taste like banana at all!
1 - 1.5 frozen chopped bananas
3 TBSP liquid margarita mix (I used Jose Cuervo's low-calorie mix)
Sprinkles to garnish
-Add bananas to a food processor and process, adding margarita mix 1 TBSP at a time until you reach desired consistency. Top with sprinkles and enjoy!
Next, I replicated a Wendy's Frosty...
Served with some oven baked curly fries, this was:
1 frozen chopped banana
splash of dark chocolate almond milk
1-2 tsp Hershey's extra dark cocoa powder
pinch of guar gum
Yum- perfect for dipping, if you're into that kind of thing...
Finally, I have been making a Peanut Butter Banana Soft-Serve...
In this was:
1 frozen banana, chopped
1 heaping TBSP peanut butter
1 tsp sugar/agave/stevia
pinch of guar gum
Topped with cool-whip, sprinkles, and sliced almonds, this was a real treat!
Hooray for spring weather!
Bring out the tank tops and sandals!
Do you make banana soft-serve? What are your favorite mix-ins or toppings?
Those cookies were so yummy! I need some cooking lessons this summer, pretty please?
ReplyDeleteAlso, way to go on the fundraising, that's AWESOME. My friend Lauren that lost her best friend and her home needs all of the uplifting news she can get, I'll be sure to tell her :)
Oh, I also need a lesson on how to be a less picky eater! Being a picky eater PLUS being a vegetarian = fail.
ReplyDeletei've yet to make banana soft serve. is guar gum necessary?
ReplyDeleteWhoa- those cookies look pretty amazing already, who needs more practice?
ReplyDeleteWow, all of those salads look delicious! And no, I have never made my own soft serve but I really want to!
ReplyDeleteGreat job on your bake sale!
ReplyDeleteAnd I'm so wanting to try the salad. What's arugula? How did you make it??
I am loving all your salads and apples are one of my favorite salad toppings.
ReplyDeleteoh my goodness - since i don't have access to frozen bananas or a food processor right now, i need to go get some fro-yo after seeing your banana soft serve concoctions! they look amazing. :)
ReplyDeleteThat dessert! had me salivating!
ReplyDeleteMmmm frozen sweets and salads are seriously my kind of food! I purposely eat salads for certain meals so that I'll have plenty of extra room for frozen yogurt, ice cream and smoothies (sometimes all in the same night!) Love all your recipes!
ReplyDeleteI've made banana soft serve a couple of times but not in a long while now - I have to pick up some bananas to freeze, and go and get my blender from my mom's place! I haven't experimented so much with it, just added cocoa and nuts. Your combos are super fun though, and I love the Wendy's Frosty one, that made me smile because it reminds me of a friend of mine in high school who used to get a McDonalds soft serve with french fries and dip it! I thought she was nuts until she forced me to try it and I realized it wasn't half bad!
ReplyDeleteThanks for posting your salads, very inspiring, they look super fresh and crisp. I eat a ton of salads, my favorite right now is grilling some halloumi-cheese and doing a mix salad with that and bulgur topped with a mustard/balsamic dressing.
Also, those OMG cookies of yours look... OMG! I'm penning the recipe to try it at the hospital (can I substitute the chia seeds for an actual egg?) Chia seeds are available here in health food stores but they're super expensive and nothing I can get for my baking at the hospital.
I will GLADLY share my coconut cookie recipe with you - should I send it to the email adress you left in your comment on my blog?
And no worries about not commenting lately, I completely understand! I've been quite busy myself and not blogging as much as usual. And besides, I should be the one apologizing, I SUCK at commenting on people's blogs (guess that's why I leave such obscenely long comments when I do!)