Sweet Announcement

I have a couple fun things in the works for you guys!

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A new recipe…

…and an announcement! Nothing too major, but read on for details. 😉

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Breakfast…hubby style. 🙂

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So I’ve been taste testing my new recipe all day. hehe

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It’s a creamy, dreamy vegan coconut cream pie.

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I’m having some friends taste test the pie before I publish a recipe, but I definitely think I’m going to have to make a second batch before I can publish a recipe.

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Sorry, but I don’t want to put one up that’s halfway done.

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Possibly my favorite component of this recipe is the oat pie crust I made. I kind of just threw some stuff together and hoped it would work. And it did!

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Nom! 🙂

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Can you believe the kale survived that snow/ice storm we had recently!? It’s still growing strong in my garden.

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This stuff is resilient. Nothing like fresh kale from your back yard. 😉 I only wish it grew in the summer.

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I tried something new today – pre-marinated tempeh – coconut curry.

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The flavor was really nice, but I must be used to my lightly marinated version at home because I thought the flavor was really strong. I think I still prefer flavoring my own tempeh, but this was a nice alternative.

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I made some quinoa and put broccoli and kale on top of the quinoa as it finished cooking to steam it without dirtying up another pot.

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I also made a coconut curry cream sauce with some coconut milk.

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The flavor was way off, though. I think I burned the curry powder. hehe. See, I remembered reading on one recipe where the direction was to add the dry spices to cooking vegetables before adding liquids. So, I tried that today. Too bad I guess I didn’t have enough cooking veg because the spices started smoking up! Whoa!!! So yea…I think I messed up my lunch experiment. Hey, you live you learn. 😉 It was still edible and I even had seconds!

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What else for lunch-dessert?

I can’t wait to share this recipe with you guys!!!!!!!!

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Reader Ellen posted on my Facebook wall that I should publish my instant, no-bake granola bar for one today in honor of National Granola Bar Day. Unfortunately, I made a third bar today, but wasn’t happy with the flavor. It needs tweaking. I’m hoping to share something soon, though, promise!

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The granola bars contain PB and I don’t know how he figured it out, but Bailey knew I was using peanut butter. As I was prepping the bar, I heard a bouncing sound behind me. I turned around to see Bailey throwing his Kong around at my feet, beckoning me to place a spoonful inside the toy.

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For a dog that smart and cute, I had to cave. 😉

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I taught a fab Zumba class today after work! We are having more instructor auditions in the next couple weeks, so I’ve been trying to help some of those auditioning in class and after class. I gotta say, having done this last year, it’s so much less nerve-wracking to be on the other end. Phew! Two auditions is enough for me! You can read about my second audition here.

Anywho, I also enjoyed a new class participation record high tonight! I’ve been working really hard to grow my class attendance, so it was nice to see the hard work paying off. 😉

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I had a busy agenda when I got home from Zumba:

  • 9pm – 10pm: shower, practice a new Zumba song, cook and eat dinner
  • 10pm-11pm: bake cookies, make macaroons
  • 11pm-12am: watch Jersey Shore while editing photos and blogging

Hubby and I are going on a lil trip this weekend with some friends, so somewhere between now and 4:30pm tomorrow I need to pack. Hmm…not sure when that’s going to happen. Perhaps I’ll wake up extra early and be able to leave work early? Yikes! Tomorrow should be interesting!

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I had…duh…more vegan coconut cream pie for dinner-dessert. Yes, I ate 3 pieces today and they were fantastic! 🙂

***

So…about that announcement, right? I had a lot of comments on Twitter and Facebook with some pretty wild guesses. Those were fun to read! But, my announcement is that…

I’m going to start working on developing a new set of recipes in a category I’d like to call “Not So Sweet.” See, part of the reason I really enjoy cooking and baking is that I can control what goes into the foods I cook and the treats I bake. At first, when I wasn’t comfortable making big changes or creating my own recipes, I just used to make better decisions about subbing in ingredients – organic for conventional, partial whole wheat flour for all purpose, etc. But lately, I’ve started creating dessert and breakfast recipes the way I like them. While you all know I have a huge, GIANT sweet tooth, I actually really don’t like desserts that are overly sweet (or unhealthy). You know…the kind that gives you a headache after you eat it? Sometimes you really just don’t need that much butter or sugar.

And while I’m typically a give-me-less-of-the-real-stuff kind of girl versus one who likes diet or light versions, I just don’t think treats need as much as what is traditionally used. I don’t want to remove the sugar and fat till the treat in question tastes like cardboard. Rather, my sweets will be for someone with a gentler sweets palate. In general, I’m going to look to reduce sugar and use healthier/more-natural sweeteners (think fruit or less-processed-sweeteners). I’m not going to say the resulting goodies will be “healthy”, but I am hoping to make them “healthier“.

Being someone who likes to eat dessert pretty much every day, I’ve often pondered – just what is it that makes dessert so “bad”? The fats? The sugars? In my quest figure that out, I’ve already started creating a collection of desserts and breakfast items that I would already classify as Not So Sweet, and here are some examples:

And guess what else will be in this category? The Vegan Coconut Cream Pie featured in photos above! Once I finalize the recipe of course. hehe….Oh yea! 😉

I’ve been fascinated with vegan baking because the resulting products always seem to be so much healthier than traditional versions. So, I’ll probably be working on a collection of vegan recipes in addition to some that are not vegan. It almost seems like there’s a big gap between traditional baking and vegan baking, so I’m hoping some of my concoctions fall in the vegan or in that somewhere in between area.

So, if you like full fat and full sugar treats, I support that. Really! 🙂 But, you’re probably going to want to check my recipes before trying them to see if they’re a member of the Not So Sweet group…or plan to add extra sweetener to your version. And if you’re like me and like your sweets sans sugar-headache, then check back for more healthified treat recipes. They’ll be sweet…just Not Soooo Sweet. 😉

So, does anyone have any requests for treats you want me to make Not So Sweet?

33 thoughts on “Sweet Announcement”

  1. That is a ‘sweet’ announcement!!! 😉
    I think you should make a healthy-er chocolate bar! (not a granola bar)
    So excited for this!

    Reply
  2. Love the post, interested about the pie and hooray for your announcement! Not quite a baby but sort of like your baby. I’m excited for you and think it’s a nice touch to your already great blog!! Can’t wait to see what you have up there and hopefully I can get the girls to eat it too!

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  3. I am super stoked about this! That was one of my favorite parts about your doughballs, and everyone who has had them said the same. “I love that they’re not too sweet!” I have been lessening my sugar intake substantially, so this is right up my alley!

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  4. First, that pie looks AMAZING and I cannot wait for the recipe!

    Second, I’m so excited to see what you have in store with the new recipes – so exciting!! 🙂

    Linds

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  5. the The Vegan Coconut Cream Pie looks amazing!

    and i love your not so sweet idea…however, i do love my things, oh so sweet 🙂 i always say, nothing is too sweet for me. lol. But would love to see your not so sweet’s so that I can be inspired!

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  6. Would love for you to make peanut m & m’s not so unhealthy because they have my number everytime I eat them, haha! This is a great idea! Good luck 🙂

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  7. love the not so sweet idea. i’m constantly cutting down on the butter and sugar in recipes to see how much i can scale back and still have it taste good! can’t wait to see what you do. also, my dogs can be outside playing in the backyard and the second they come in, they know if i’ve had the peanut butter out. it’s amazing!

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  8. i cant wait to see the recipie for that pie! lately ive been craving coconut for some reason…my friend & i decided its because of all this cold weather, i want something more tropical 😛
    but yesterday i shared a piece of coconut cream angel food cake with a friend at a local restaurant, and it was soo good. im open to vegan eating, and would love to try your recipe!

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  9. the crust, alone, in your coconut creation looks AMAZING. i’m waiting in anticipation for the recipe!

    also – I’m a new reader of your blog and wanted to let you know I’ve given you a Stylish Blogger Award – announced in my post today since one was given to me. I love your style! Check out my post to accept and nominate your favs, too!

    Reply
  10. Everything we make is always less sweet too. I hate when things are too sweet, I never really enjoy the taste of the food/treat. Glad to hear you are a less sweet dessert kinda girl, like us 🙂

    And that coconut pie looks heavenly!!! Cannot wait for that recipe 🙂

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  11. Can’t wait to see the new recipes! I am a huge fan of no processed sugar and love to see recipes with fruit substitutes. It not only tastes better, but often makes it hard for me to overindulge. It is easier for me to feel my ‘I am satisfied’ cues with the real stuff.

    Reply

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