With a mere 4 ingredients (dark chocolate, coconut milk, xylitol and coconut oil) this low glycemic chocolate pudding is the perfect gluten free treat for Valentine's Day. I'm trying to keep my recipes as delicious and simple as possible and this dessert fits that bill. I hope you all enjoy it as much as my family did.

If you find yourself averse to using xylitol (and please don't feed it to your dogs!) then feel free to experiment with this recipe and try using alternative sweeteners. Just be sure to leave a comment letting us know what you used and how it worked out.

I cannot take credit for the method in this recipe. Recently, I was going through a stack of gluten free magazines. I found a nice recipe for a Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free Chocolate Raspberry Pie in Living Without and decided to experiment with it. The result? This Easy Chocolate Pudding recipe. Sometimes my tinkering takes me in unexpected directions. I set out to make pie and end up with pudding --that is the fun of the process.

When I was a little girl, my mom and dad used to pack canned Del Monte chocolate pudding in my lunch. I loved it. This brings back those school lunch memories without all of the sugar and processed chemicals.

Finally, I want to thank Chocolate Covered Katie for inspiring the photo in this post. Very little of what we do is original.

Happy gluten free, dairy free Valentine's Day.

You can whip up this primal-friendly chocolate Mocha Mousse in just a few minutes. All you need is a food processor and the gluten free, dairy free ingredients below.

I plan on serving this Mocha Mousse in little ramekins to our New Year's Day guests. As always we will have an assortment of people with a variety of food allergies and food restrictions. For those that cannot have eggs I will be serving my Vegan Nut Free Gluten Free Brownies. For those that cannot have chocolate, I will make Gingersnaps. I will be sure to have something for everyone at our little New Year's Day dessert gathering.

Here's to a wonderful 2012 for everyone, filled with fun, food and good health!

A call to all the Paleo experts out there. Would you eat this mousse?

Do you think it's a Paleo dessert, or is that term an oxymoron? How do you define Paleo and what are your Paleo health goals for 2012? Leave a comment and let us know!

Strawberry Sorbet is the perfectly refreshing dessert for any summer meal.  This sorbet recipe is loaded with wholesome strawberries, which have numerous health benefits.  Strawberries are thought to be a cancer fighting food as well as high in vitamin C, anti-inflammatory and good for the cardiovascular system.  Research has also shown that strawberries can help to regulate blood sugar and decrease the risk of type 2 diabetes.

I'm highlighting this sorbet recipe (previously posted several years ago) because it's hot here (96 degrees in Boulder today), and I'm craving light and healthy food.  So here's how to make sorbet the easy way --take note, this recipe contains a mere 3 ingredients.

Here are some of my other healthy strawberry recipes:

Hey all you vegans out there, this dairy free Piña Colada Ice Cream might be just what you're looking for on a hot summer day.  With a mere 3 ingredients (coconut milk, agave and pineapple), this simple vegan ice cream recipe will appeal to moms too.  I like the quick and easy dimension of the recipe and my boys love the flavor --they've been lapping it up all summer.

After I posted my Coconut Chocolate Chip Ice Cream recipe (which contains eggs) a few weeks ago, I had numerous requests for a vegan ice cream made with coconut milk, so it's high time I posted this.  Enjoy!

We arrived home from the Little League Regionals on Wednesday after our loss in the semi-finals of the tournament.  The boys had an amazing run, winning every game in their pool (my older son, age 12 plays on the team).  The boys played live on ESPN Tuesday night (the semi-finals) and lost by one run in that game.

Here is our team video which one of the dads on our team made:

If for whatever reason you aren't in the mood for ice cream but still want something cooling and tropical I have a scrumptious Piña Colada Protein Shake if you're in the mood for a high protein smoothie.

Here are more healthy ice cream recipes from other food bloggers:
-Very Berry Breakfast Ice Cream from Shannon of Nourishing Days
-Dairy-Free, Sugar-Free Strawberry Coconut Ice Cream by Ali of Nourishing Meals
-Coffee Ice Cream (Gluten Free, Dairy Free, Refined Sugar Free) from Shirley of Gluten Free Easily

This high protein, dairy free Chocolate Mousse is made with anti-oxidant rich dark chocolate and contains no dairy products --a double win. I've also used coconut palm sugar rather than agave to sweeten it.  Many people do not like agave nectar, believing it is an overly processed sweetener (the agave nectar I use is pure and organic).  I don't mind agave, though I thought the palm sugar would be a nice alternative sweetener for those that do.

Summer is moving along for us over here.  The boys made over $300 at their lemonade stand last weekend during the Mapleton Hill rummage sale.  They ran the stand with 2 other friends and baked tons of cookies from scratch for their little business.  I was so proud of them.  Maybe at their next stand they'll sell this high protein, dairy free chocolate mousse!  I would love that.

If you can't eat eggs, check out my vegan Mocha Mousse recipe.  And if you would like more information on agave nectar, see my post called The Great Agave debate.  It contains a lot of useful information and the comments section of that post is chock full of good stuff!

The winner of last weeks giveaway for More Than Alive products is Kristi W!

For other chocolate mousse/pudding ideas check out recipes from these groovy bloggers:
-Coconut & Raw Cacao Pudding dairy-free, vegan from Kelly of The Spunky Coconut
-Gluten-free No-Soy Dairy-free Chocolate Mousse Recipe from SeaMaiden of Book of Yum
-Easy Chocolate Mousse from Kelly of Celiac Chicks

Update: (i) Dagoba dark chocolate is no longer formulated dairy-free (as a reader below kindly pointed out to me), to make this dairy free I recommend trying Ghirardelli Semi Sweet Chocolate Chips or 365 Dark Chocolate Mini Chunks; (ii) coconut fat is the semi-solid found on the top of a can of coconut milk; (iii) finally, feel free to try making this mousse with agave, if you do, please stop by and leave a comment to let us know your results.

I was thrilled to have the darling Kelly and her adorable family over for dinner during one night of Hanukkah a couple of weeks ago.  We made a delicious meal using various recipes from each of our cookbooks and websites, and then had the absolutely scrumptious dessert pictured above: Banana Coconut Cream Pie (made by Kelly, a recipe from her 2nd book) with Sunbutter Ice Cream (made by me, another recipe from Kelly's awesome 2nd book).

Kelly also brought over some of her Chai Granola for me which I devoured for various breakfasts with almond milk over the next couple of days.

I can't say enough good things about Kelly's second cookbook, Grain-Free Baked Goods and Desserts; I'll be holding a giveaway of a signed copy of it this Thursday!

Before she and her family came over, I sat down on the couch with her book and read it cover to cover.  I have marked many recipes that I want to make from it, though the Sunbutter Ice Cream was top of my list.  I had not ever had Sunbutter before I made this ice cream and am now a big Sunbutter fan.  I actually think Sunbutter tastes better than peanut butter and is the perfect substitute since peanut butter is not entirely the healthiest of treats (think mold).  Sunbutter (made from sunflower seeds) is more nutrious than peanut butter and also helps those that are avoiding peanuts due to allergies.

I've been eating Sunbutter with celery for breakfast and snacks as well.  Yum!

Here are some other ice cream recipes you might like:
-Chocolate POMerdoodle Ice Cream from Shirley of Gluten-Free Easily
-Fresh Mint Ice Cream (Dairy-Free, Soy-Free, Vegan, Cane-Sugar-Free) from Sally of Approvchar
-Chocolate Espresso Ice Cream (gluten free, dairy vegan, vegan) from Ellen of I Am Gluten Free

I recently fell in love with Georgia Pellegrini's book Food Heroes and will be giving it to various friends for the holidays.  I am also giving away a copy to one lucky winner on my Food Heroes post from Monday. It's a great read and has wonderful recipes.  The recipe below is my adaptation of Georgia's grandmother's fruit pudding, which I think you'll enjoy.

This light and easy to eat dessert is a perfect Christmas pudding.  It's basically made with dried fruit and eggs and won't leave you and your Christmas guests with the typical high carb hangover that often results from holiday treats. Enjoy and thanks Georgia!

Fruit PuddingNote: There is a print link embedded within this post, please visit this post to print it.
8 dried apricots
4 prunes
1 teaspoon cinnamon
pinch celtic sea salt
1 cup water
3 eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
¼ cup chopped pecans

1. Place dried fruit, cinnamon, salt and water in a saucepan and bring to a simmer
2. Cook at a simmer for 30 minutes until fruit is reconstituted
3. Place fruit mixture, eggs and vanilla in a Vitamix and puree until smooth
4. Dish mixture into ramekins, then top with pecans
5. Bake ramekins at 350° for 30 minutes
6. Remove from oven then cool and serve

Here are some more gluten-free pudding recipes that you may enjoy:
-Crockpot Bread Pudding Recipe from Stephanie of A Year of Slow Cooking
-Avocado Pudding from Karen of Cook4Seasons
-Tapioca Pudding from Kate of Gluten Free Gobsmacked

I recently wrote an article for Natural Solutions Magazine which was featured on the cover, if you can believe that (I can't!).  The subject is my gluten free journey, and also provides information on the various high protein flours that I use.  You can find a copy of Natural Solutions at any Barnes & Noble in the country.  My article is in the November issue of Natural Solutions (which hit newsstands a couple of weeks late), in case you'd like to take a look at it.

Let us now praise all things pumpkin.  I'm kinda obsessed with gluten free, dairy free pumpkin dishes right now, hence the vegan Pumpkin Ice Cream here, and the Pumpkin Bars earlier this week.  And let us not forget the Pumpkin Pie Muffins of last year either.

This pumpkin pie ice cream is a delicious fall treat whether served at Halloween or Thanksgiving.  For more information on pumpkin mania, check out this funny article from Esquire called Some Pumpkin Flavoring Best Avoided this Halloween.

Here are some more yummy pumpkin dessert recipes you may enjoy:

The winner of Mondays giveaway for a 3 pack of Hemp Bags from Hands On Hemp and a beautiful hard cover book called Core Truths from The Organic Center is Lanell!

Today I'm giving away two copies of Dr. Alan Greene's book, Feeding Baby Green. So, two winners will be picked at random and get one copy each. Everyone, everywhere is eligible. To be entered leave a comment below. This giveaway will end at midnight on November 3rd, 2010.

Update: This giveaway has now ended and the winners were Rachel and Anita!

This Chocolate Ice Cream is perfect for summer's end, which usually corresponds with the upcoming Labor Day holiday (stay tuned for a Healthy Labor Day Recipe Roundup post later this week!); the added spices warm up this vegan gluten free dessert for chilly Fall nights approaching.

My recipe is based on one from Elise of Simply Recipes --she has a great traditional Mexican Chocolate Ice Cream recipe that uses cream and eggs, which you might like to take a look at.

A lot of people often ask me what kind of ice cream maker I use for my recipes. I received this question from Rebecca W on my Cherry Strawberry Ice Cream post:

I have been looking through your Amazon store to see what kind of ice cream maker you recommend but I can't find one. Do you have any suggestions? Thanks!

The ice cream maker I use seems to have been discontinued, so I cannot really recommend it. So, my question to everyone is what's your favorite ice cream maker? If you could link to the product online that would be great! Thanks everyone!

Given how hot it's been around here lately, the boys have been jonesing for ice cream, and I'm more than happy to indulge them with my homemade, frozen treats.  They've been asking for a chocolate cherry ice cream, which may be coming here soon.  For now, enjoy this gluten free, dairy free Cherry Strawberry Ice Cream.

Cherry Strawberry Ice CreamNote: There is a print link embedded within this post, please visit this post to print it.
1 (13.5 ounce) can coconut milk
1 (10 ounce) package frozen strawberries
1 (10 ounce) packages frozen cherries
¼ cup agave nectar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon almond extract

1. Blend all ingredients in a Vitamix
2. Pour into ice cream maker and process according to instructions
3. Serve

The recipe for this gluten free, dairy free Cherry Strawberry Ice Cream is based upon my Strawberry Vanilla Bean Ice Cream, which was based upon my Strawberry Sorbet recipe.

It's giveaway season here at Elana's Pantry again. Today's giveaway is a Ball Canning Discovery Kit from Jarden Home Brands.

To be entered leave a comment by Wednesday, July 27th and let us know what kinds of foods you would be preserving with this kit, if you're not the preserving type, let us know what you would store in them.

UPDATE: this giveaway has ended and the winner was Tracy.

Have a great weekend everyone!