Since making my New Year’s Resolution to eat healthier this year, I have significantly cut down on snacking, especially on fried foods or foods that are calorie dense but not necessarily nutrient dense. But I do love snacking and therein lies the problem of how will I curb my cravings for the sweets and carbs that I so love. In this quest to eat healthier, I decided I could not forgo my beloved snacks and therefore started a mission to create my own healthier ones.
Recently I posted the Almond Butter Breakfast Bars recipe to help me get a good start to my day and I’ve realized that I love incorporating almond flour into my recipes. These Almond Cacao Energy Bites are a perfect balance of cacao powder, almond flour, and dates. The cacao powder provides the perfect balance of chocolate and nutrition as it’s filled with antioxidants and magnesium!
The almond flour of course provides protein and a nutty flavor that balances out the sweetness in these bites. The dates also add quite a bit of sweetness to these bites and are known to have a high sugar content but are fairly low on the glycemic index and have a high fiber content. These energy bites are the perfect way to satisfy my sweet tooth and stay healthy. Try them out for yourself and you will love them just as much as I do.
From my kitchen to yours, enjoy these delicious Almond Cacao Energy Bites!
A few days ago, my brother and sister-in-law were blessed with an adorable little baby! Throughout her pregnancy, we had nicknamed the baby Blueberry and called him as such. It is in honor of his birth that I dedicate this recipe to my little munchkin. He is so adorable and cute, I’m so excited and lucky to be his aunt!
In the spirit of welcoming the new baby, I made these loaves in mini pans but you can absolutely bake them in a regular 9×5 loaf pan.
Last week, a friend was kind enough to share lemons from her lemon tree and they are absolutely amazing. The juice from the lemons were the perfect complement to brighten up these lovely blueberry loaves. In addition, I added a little yogurt and replaced the sugar with honey to give it just a hint of sweet without overpowering it. The addition of these two ingredients makes the loaves even more fluffy and light.
Pair it with coffee or chai to complement a slice of this delicious loaf for breakfast, snack, or dinner. Once you’ve baked them, they will keep at room temperature for up to 1 week and in the fridge for up to 2 weeks. Though, we’re pretty good about making sure they are eaten pretty quickly!
From my kitchen to yours, enjoy these delicious Lemon Blueberry Mini Loaves.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease with cooking spray 4 mini loaf pans and set aside.
Combine flour, salt, and baking powder and mix well to incorporate.
In a separate bowl, add eggs and whisk until you start seeing bubbles and the eggs are light and airy. Add in yogurt, honey, oil, and lemon juice. Whisk well to combine.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix until completely combined.
In a small bowl, combine the blueberries with the remaining 1 Tbsp flour and toss to coat all the blueberries evenly. This process will help prevent the blueberries from sinking.
Gently fold the blueberries into the batter with the lemon zest. Be careful to not over mix.
Transfer the batter to loaf pans and bake for 30 minutes.
Remove from the oven and let cool for 10 minutes.
Loaves will keep at room temperature for up to 1 week and 2 weeks in the fridge.
Notes
**To make 1 large loaf, use a 9x5 loaf pan and bake 50 minutes at 350 degrees F.
One of the best things about the Fall season is pumpkin bread. The spices and the aroma when you are baking it compares to no other. It makes me feel so warm and cozy and ready for the winter.
I love this pumpkin bread recipe because:
It’s moist
Easy to make
Isn’t too dense
Has all the Fall spices: Cinnamon, Ginger, Cloves, & Nutmeg
Fun to make with the kids
Here’s a little trick….. to keep it moist, I added applesauce to the batter. You can’t taste it but it makes the pumpkin bread so much better!
The girls have been eating it in the mornings with breakfast and I love having a slice in the afternoon with my cuppa chai. It’s perfect to snack on any time of the day! And with the holidays right around the corner, make an extra batch for a relative or neighbor. What a great gift to give too!
If you like this Pumpkin Bread recipe, try out….
Diwali has always been a special festival growing up in my family… in fact for most Indian families. It’s the Festival of Lights, where we celebrate faith and hope and wish that everyone has a bright future, happiness and prosperity in their lives.
Everywhere you look, Diwali takes over with lights and colors. Rangoli designs are a prominent component of Diwali, with the idea that it brings strength, good luck and genorosity. Keeping in mind that very foundation of colors and brightness, I decided to bring the spirit of rangoli to my mithai (sweets) for Diwali this year.
Coconut ladoos are very popular in Indian and the best part is, they are very easy to make. The basis of each ladoo was kept the same with the main ingredients being coconut, almond flour/ground almonds, and condensed milk. The ratios vary based on the flavor and additions of the ladoo.
Here are the flavors I decided to go with:
Mango (seriously, how could I not include this flavor?!)
Lavender (because it’s a new obsession and the flavor and colors are so amazing!)
Rose (the colors, the fragrance, and the taste are so pretty, it makes me feel like a princess when I’m eating this!)
Mojito (…..yep. No alcohol, but that hint of lime and mint….YUM!)
Coconut Almond (the original cannot be overlooked!)
Some tips to make it easier for you when you make this:
Use a non-stick skillet to make these. It prevents the mixture from sticking and makes the process that much easier.
Make them vegan! Use vegan condensed milk and coconut oil instead of ghee to roll the balls.
You can use frozen grated coconut. Just leave it out for a little bit to thaw and bring to room temperature.
If you don’t want to use or don’t have almond flour available, substitute with the same amount of almonds and grind them up into a flour. It’s an extra step but easy and a perfect swap.
When buying almond flour, make sure you buy the almond flour and NOT the blend. I almost did that. The blend has a mixture of rice and other ingredients that would change the taste of this dessert.
If you end up making any of these delicious ladoos, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram at @bitofspice146. I would love to see your creations!
Heat a non stick skillet on medium flame and add the condensed milk. Cook while stirring for 1-2 minutes until it thins out. Be careful it doesn't burn.
Add in the coconut and mix to combine well. Cook for an addition 1-2 minutes and you will see the water separating.
At this point, add in the almond flour and mix. Keep stirring until it starts to form into a dough.
Remove from heat and let cool for a couple of minutes.
When it is still warm but not too hot to handle, grease your palms with ghee and roll into truffle balls.
Refrigerate for 30 minutes to let them set.
For the Lavender Ladoos:
Heat a non stick skillet on medium flame and add the condensed milk. Cook while stirring for 1-2 minutes until it thins out. Be careful it doesn't burn.
Add in the lavender powder and purple food color.
Add in the coconut and mix to combine well. Cook for an addition 1-2 minutes and you will see the water separating.
At this point, add in the almond flour and mix. Keep stirring until it starts to form into a dough.
Remove from heat and let cool for a couple of minutes.
When it is still warm but not too hot to handle, grease your palms with ghee and roll into truffle balls.
Refrigerate for 30 minutes to let them set.
For the Mojito Ladoos:
Heat a non stick skillet on medium flame and add the condensed milk. Cook while stirring for 1-2 minutes until it thins out. Be careful it doesn't burn.
Add in the mint powder and lime sugar and mix well. Also add in the green food color if using
Add in the coconut and mix to combine well. Cook for an addition 1-2 minutes and you will see the water separating.
At this point, add in the almond flour and mix. Keep stirring until it starts to form into a dough.
Remove from heat and let cool for a couple of minutes.
When it is still warm but not too hot to handle, grease your palms with ghee and roll into truffle balls.
Refrigerate for 30 minutes to let them set.
For the Mango Ladoos:
Heat a non stick skillet on medium flame and add the condensed milk. Cook while stirring for 1-2 minutes until it thins out. Be careful it doesn't burn.
Add in the mango pulp and mix.
Add in the coconut and mix to combine well. Cook for an addition 1-2 minutes and you will see the water separating.
At this point, add in the almond flour and mix. Keep stirring until it starts to form into a dough.
Remove from heat and let cool for a couple of minutes.
When it is still warm but not too hot to handle, grease your palms with ghee and roll into truffle balls.
Refrigerate for 30 minutes to let them set.
For the Rose Ladoos:
Heat a non stick skillet on medium flame and add the condensed milk. Cook while stirring for 1-2 minutes until it thins out. Be careful it doesn't burn.
Add in the Rooh Afza and Rose water and mix well.
Add in the coconut and mix to combine well. Cook for an addition 1-2 minutes and you will see the water separating.
At this point, add in the almond flour and mix. Keep stirring until it starts to form into a dough.
Remove from heat and let cool for a couple of minutes.
When it is still warm but not too hot to handle, grease your palms with ghee and roll into truffle balls.
Refrigerate for 30 minutes to let them set.
Notes
*If using frozen shredded coconut, make sure to thaw it out to room temp to avoid extra moisture in the final product. *If you don\'t have almond flour, substitute with almonds 1:1 ratio and grind into flour *To make this VEGAN, use vegan condensed milk and switch the ghee and use coconut oil
I love a traditional banana bread but I also love changing out the fruits and making different types of loaves. This Spiced Pear Loaf gives me a peek into the fall with its hints of cinnamon, cardamom, and ginger; the sweet pear chunks added in… oh so delicious!
This bread uses milk and oil in addition to the pear chunks to give it just the right amount of moisture. Use a 1:1 ratio of whole wheat flour and oats for a healthy balance of carbs, and just enough brown sugar to combine with the warm spices to bring fall home any time of the year!
Use this loaf for a snack during recess, packed in your lunchboxes, or even as a sweet treat post meals. So delicious and scrumptious, you have to try it out! From my kitchen to yours, I hope you enjoy this delicious treat!
Rakhi is here and I wanted to make it special for the girls’ cousin Krish. Traditionally, a sister ties a Rakhi (similar to a friendship bracelet) on their brother’s hand and feed them their favorite sweet. In return, the brother gives his sister a gift as a token of love and both promise to honor and protect each other.
It’s a really great festival to celebrate siblings and I wanted Krish to feel special. So I asked his mom what his favorite desserts are and she said anything with chocolate (my kind of kid!). I set my brain to work and really thought about different desserts I could make for him.
When I first thought of this fusion recipe, I was excited, nervous, and skeptical of how it would turn out. As I started making it though, I saw this was going to be one of my best creations yet! What is a Chocolate Samosa?
A chocolate samosa is a delicious fusion of sweet chocolate (and your favorite add-ins) with a crust of a samosa. Traditionally, a samosa is a savory snack made of a roti dough crust and filled with a potato pea mixture which is deep fried.
I took the concept of a samosa, and gave it a pie crust filled with Nutella. Let me just say, I felt like complete bliss eating this delicious dessert!
To make these beauties, I made my pie crust and kept the dough in the fridge for an hour to keep it cool. When making pie dough, you have to use cold butter and ice water but if the dough starts getting to room temperature, it can get sticky and hard to handle.
Once I pulled it out of the fridge, I divided it into 13 portions, rolled them out and cut them in half to make the samosa cones. Fill them about 3/4 of the way with Nutella then seal the seam. Freeze these for an hour (you can even keep them in the freezer up to 3 month) then when you’re ready, bake them for 15 minutes! Add-Ins
I did straight up Nutella for this one but who’s to say you can’t make other creations? Here are a few ideas:
Coconut
Toffee
Almonds and sea salt
Pistachios
Cashews
White chocolate and hazelnut
Try it out and enjoy this delicious creation for Rakhi, Diwali, or any day you’re in the mood for some samosas and chocolate!
From my kitchen to yours, hope you fall in love with these Chocolate Samosas like I did!
Add flour, sugar and salt to food processor and mix for 30 seconds to combine everything.
Add in 1/2 the butter and mix for 30 seconds.
Add in the remaining butter and mix for another 30 seconds.
Add in 1/4 of the ice water and mix for 30 seconds to 1 minute. The dough should just start to combine.
Add in the remaining ice water 1Tbsp at a time until the dough starts to form into a ball. Pulse while doing this, don't keep the processor on.
Take the dough out of the processor and roll into a ball by hand. Cover in saran wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.
Take the dough out of the fridge and divide into 13 equal portions.
Roll out eat portion to about 6" diameter.
Cut in half and fold into a triangle. Line the edge of one side with a little milk and fold the other edge over. Press firmly to seal the seams. This should give you a cone shape. Repeat with the rest of the dough.
Fill each one 3/4 of the way with Nutella (or your favorite filling).
Dab the edge of the top of the seam with milk and seal the samosas closed.
If you don't want to use them right away, freeze for up to 3 months.
Preheat oven to 350ºF.
Brush the tops of the samosa with milk.
Bake for 15 minutes.
For the topping:
Warm chocolate chips in a microwave safe bowl for 30 seconds. Remove and stir the chips and place back in the microwave for another 30 seconds. Repeat this process a total of 3 times.
After the last time warming the chocolate, add in the milk and stir until you have a smooth chocolate sauce. Using a fork, drizzle over the samosas. Garnish with pistachios.
From as far back as I can remember, my brother and I have always loved oreos. Dunking them in milk, twisting them and eating the cream first, in shakes (mostly from fast food places), or hiding in the pantry and eating them (so my kids don’t catch me).
Don’t Judge. A mom’s gotta do what a mom’s gotta do!
So many years later, cookies and cream remains our favorite flavor; definitely a go to for me.
Monday is Raksha Bandhan which is a big festival for Hindus. In a nutshell, this is a celebration between brothers and sisters where we promise to protect and honor each other. The sisters usually feed the brothers their favorite dessert after tying a Rakhi (kind of like a friendship bracelet) and receive a gift from their brothers as token of love (my favorite part).
Traditionally, I’ve done Indian sweets but my brother has never been a big fan of them. Don’t get me wrong, they’re delicious, but just not what he prefers. As I was sitting at the table planning Rakhi, I knew without a doubt in my mind I was going to make something with Oreos in it for him.
This Oreo Cheesecake is one of my favorites because it is not too sweet, is very easy to make and I don’t have to deal with a water bath. I know the cheesecake masters are probably gasping and worried that I haven’t used a water bath, but to be honest, I don’t think this one needed it!
It is very creamy on the inside with chunks of cookie in each bite and the cookie crust just finishes off this amazing cake.
I know Cheesecake is not a very traditional Mithai (dessert) for Rakhi, but it’s all about what my brother likes and I think I hit this one out of the park.
What event will you make this delicious Oreo Cheesecake for?
From my kitchen to yours, enjoy every bite of this cheesecake!
15 Oreo cookies with cream filling, Original not double crust
1 1/2 Tbsp butter, melted
For the Filling:
12 oz cream cheese, softened at room temp
1/2 c + 2 Tbsp granulated sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 egg
15 cookie halves, filling removed, crushed into chunks or pieces
Instructions
For the crust:
Line springform pan with parchment paper, close the spring and cut around the edges removing excess parchment paper.
In a food processor, blend the cookies into a fine crumb. Add in the butter and pulse 5-6 times.
Line cheesecake pan and press down with your fingers evening out the crust.
Set in fridge until filling is ready.
For the filling:
Preheat oven to 325ºF.
In a large bowl, beat cream cheese with sugar until smooth. Add in egg and vanilla and beat until it is just combined.
Fold in the cookie pieces being careful not to let in too much air.
Fill cheesecake pan with the filling.
Tap onto your counter a good 3-4 times to remove any air bubbles.
Bake 20-22 minutes
Cheesecake should be a little jiggly when you remove from the oven. Let it cool completely (about 30 minutes) before covering with foil wrap and refrigerate over night or at least 6 hours before serving.
One of my very good friends, Diana, has a plum tree that produces an abundance of plums every year. One of my favorite memories is when Sanaya was just over a year old, we had gone to her house and she let us pick plums in her backyard. We had so many plums in our hands, I had walked away to put them in a basket. When I came back, Sanaya had eaten half a plum (most of the juice was around her mouth and on her clothes) and was holding another she was getting ready to dive into. It was one the best afternoons ever!
We are a fruit loving family and we don’t discriminate (well, unless it’s mangoes – then everyone has to fend for themselves while I devour them). At any given time, there’s always fresh fruit in the house and I love that my girls share mine and hubby’s love for them. In honor of Diana’s plum tree (which I heard may not be around much longer and I almost cried), I got creative and added a little spice spin to these crumble bars.
I love this recipe because it is so easy to come together. For the filling, I stayed true to Salted Mint‘s filling. I tried out a few different variations but I love this one the best because it is simple, adds the warmth of star anise and cinnamon and tastes amazing!
For the crumble, I added hints of ginger and cardamom (I seriously felt like I could call this a Chai Spiced Plum Crumble because of the similar spices used). And the best is I can use the same mixture for the crust and crumble!
For the oats, I used old fashioned oats and mixed it by hand. You can absolutely pulse it in a food processor until you get a crumbly mixture. Here is the food processor I love and use:
I don’t think anyone can stop eating just one bar! These are so crumbly, flaky, sweet, tart, and have just a little hint of spice which just warms your insides up!
This recipe makes about 16 squares in a 8×8 baking pan. Notes:
To store, place in a sealed container and keep in fridge for up to 1 week or in freezer for up to 2 months.
Keep the skin on the plums! I wasn’t sure about this when I first started experimenting but it just becomes a part of the jam and you can’t even notice it!
From my kitchen to yours, I hope you enjoy these delicious plum crumble bars!
The amazing taste of ground nuts, just a hint of sweet, and the nostalgic flavor of halwa that any Indian can recognize. This Pear Halwa Cake has become so popular in my household, I’ve actually been making it almost on a weekly basis. Continue reading “Pear Halwa Cake”→
Popeye muffins are one of the girls’ favorites. I started making these when the girls were too young to eat leafy greens but old enough to eat more than pureed meals. They were an instant hit then, and luckily they still are now. Vibrant green, sweet and soft…. you can’t go wrong with these!
My absolute favorite food on Earth is mangoes. I can’t think of a time that I didn’t like them. I love hearing stories from my mom about how I could go through a case (about 10-12 mangoes) in a sitting when I was a kid. Nowadays, I probably would end up with a tummy ache but I’m willing to give it a try. Continue reading “Mango Berry Bread Pudding Yum “→