Diary of a Nutritionist

Well, what I thought would be an easy decision turned out to be  much more of a difficult process than I had imagined.  Truth be told, there were many recipes that were so creative and/or so delicious sounding, that I had difficulty choosing just four winners.  I ended up selecting (2) final recipes that I think would be healthy alternatives for my friends, family and clientele, who are in the process of transitioning from their favorite mainstream treats, and then (2) recipes that I have not tried, and would like to enjoy myself. I looked for creativity and wholesome ingredients.  I am personally not a fan of soy products or protein powders so I did not select recipes that used these ingredients, as creative as they may have been.  For more information on protein powders, Gena at Choosing Raw wrote an incredibly thorough article about protein isolates- of which I am in accordance.  I highly recommend you check it out.  She knows her stuff!

The NuNaturals NuStevia Contest Winners:

—–~Beverage:

1.  Lavender-Vanilla Steamer, by Vegaholic

“I think it would be good in a lavendar-vanilla steamer (heat milk of choice on the stove, add some lavendar buds and steep for 5-10 mins. Add vanilla stevia to taste. Relax and enjoy!) or in the buttercup squash pudding I had for breakfast this morning (place 1/2 cup baked squash in blender with cinnamon, 1/2 c milk of choice, slice of fresh ginger, and stevia to taste. Blend until completely smooth and fluffy. So good!!!)”

*Both of these recipes sound great.  Personally, I would love to steep lavender buds in 1/4 cup hot water for 5-10 minutes, whilst I made my make my own sesame seed milk.  I would then combine 1 cup of my strained “milk” with the 1/4 cup of lavender steeped water, and gently warm on the stove– Adding Vanilla NuStevia to taste, of course!  (Be careful not to warm too much!) This beverage sounds like it would be a wonderfully, relaxing addition to any hectic, cold day.

—–~Uniquely Sweet Side Dish

2.  Vanilla Kelp Noodles,  by Brandi B.

“As weird as this may sound, I would love to try the vanilla in my kelp noodles with unsweetened almond milk, stevia and dried currants.”

Brandi, I have yet to try a kelp noodle and this recipe was both unique and intriguing.  What I like about the kelp noodles is that no cooking is required and they are entirely seaweed based– even the preservative sodium alginate, is a natural salt that is also seaweed derived.  This recipe sounds like it would make a sweet side dish to any salad.  I cannot wait to try this!

—–~Wholesome biscuits for my scone-loving family and friends

3.  Sweet, Orange, Vanilla Biscuit,  by Valgal123

Makes four biscuits

1c almond flour
1-2T coconut flour
1/4t salt
1/4t baking soda
2-3T dried cranberries
8-10 drops of vanilla stevia
1 egg
1T coconut oil
1t lemon juice or orange
1t orange zest
1/4t orange extract

Preheat oven to 350
Melt the coconut oil. Whisk egg and add the oil, stevia, lemon juice,orange zest and/or orange extract. Mix the dry ingredients in a separate bowel.
Combine the wet with the dry and stir in the cranberries. The batter shouldn’t be thin and runny. If it is add a touch of coconut flour. Spoon out the batter onto a parchment lined baking sheet into four biscuits. Bake for 10-12 minutes.

Valgal123, this sounds like it would be a nice alternative for folks who enjoy heavier baked goods, like scones and rich pastry breads.  The flavors sound delicious and I can imagine them melting together beautifully.  I would suggest only using locally farmed organic eggs

—–~Raw Dessert Tart

4.  Raw Apple-Carrot Tart, by Kate

“I’d love to turn one of my new tarts into a raw treat by making the crust with almond meal and dates (just enough dates to hold the crust together), and top it with grated apples and finely grated carrot. Throw in a couple of raisins, and sweeten it up with stevia”.

Kate, while I only enjoy fruit (like apples) alone, this raw treat sounds very creative and inspiring!  The combination of dates, raisins, carrots and stevia would make this quite the sweet treat.  I would love to know how it comes together for you!

Thank you everyone for your amazing entries!  For anyone who would like to try NuNaturals Vanilla Stevia, I highly recommend you check out their website.  I look forward to experimenting with many of these creative recipes– I will be posting them as I experiment.

IMPORTANT:  Winners, please contact me asap at lauren@inpurebliss.com so that I can inform NuNaturals.  I hope to hear from all four of you soon!  Congrats on your creativity!   -Lauren

As for my own recipe… I just concocted a banana, coconut, avocado, carob pudding and it tastes awful! I am definitely missing some Vanilla Stevia (which I ran out of this morning)…  (But I am eating it anyways)… What is your favorite recipe disaster?