In the mood for naturally gluten free dessert with a hint of springtime flavor?

Make this Orange Blossom Rice pudding!

Growing up one of my favorite snacks was rice pudding. Something about it being light and creamy with thick, chewy grains was so satisfying to my 8 year old self. 

Today, it’s a snack I rarely indulge in.  Yet what is great about this nostalgic treat is that it’s not too light and not too heavy. During the spring months, that’s exactly the kind of dessert you want to enjoy!

This rice pudding recipe is your standard rich and creamy base with a twist. To add some brightness to the recipe, I’ve added in a dash of orange blossom. I drew the inspiration from a Persian rice custard a friend made during a brunch get-together. This recipe is naturally vegetarian and gluten free. 

Orange Blossom Rice Pudding

Ingredients

• ½ Cup of Arborio Rice (I recommend Arborio, but any short-grained rice is acceptable)
• 4 Cups of Whole Milk
• ⅔ Cups Heavy Whipping Cream
• ⅓ Cup Sugar
• 2 Large Egg Yolks
• 1 Teaspoon Vanilla
• 1 Teaspoon Orange Blossom
• Cinnamon

Instructions

1. Bring the 4 cups of milk to a boil in a medium sized pot. Be sure to watch the pot closely so the milk does not boil over. 

2. While the milk is boiling, combine sugar, heavy whipping cream, egg yolks, vanilla and orange blossom together. Mix to combine and set aside so the mixture can come close to room temperature. 

3. Add rice and cook for about 20 to 25 minutes. Taste test your rice to ensure the grains are fully cooked in the middle. The middle of the rice grain should not be hard. 

4. Remove the rice from the heat. Now here comes the fun part! Spoon out about a cup of the whole milk and rice mixture, trying to scoop more milk than rice. Slowly pour the milk mixture into the sugar, heavy whipping cream and egg yolk mixture. This process should be done very gradually, mixing as you go. You don’t want to pour in too much of the hot mixture and scramble the yolks, so take your time. 

5. After you’ve added the full cup of hot milk, your sugar, heavy whipping cream and egg yolk mixture should be warm. Pour this mixture into the pot with the rice and milk.

6. Bring the liquid to a simmer, mixing to ensure the eggs do not scramble. Do not let the mixture start to boil. At this stage the mixture should start to thicken up. Add a little extra milk as needed. The mixture should be creamy, but still viscous. Remember, when you refrigerate the pudding it will thicken up. Cook for about 8 minutes.

7. Set aside to bring to room temperature, before refrigerating. Top with cinnamon and serve.

Check out other recipes on the Yoga District Blog!

The post Orange Blossom Rice Pudding appeared first on Yoga District.

With rich coconut flakes, dark chocolate cake and crunchy pecans, what’s more decadent than a German Chocolate cake?

This month’s vegan gluten-free recipe is a little reminder that sometimes it’s OK to indulge. That’s just part of life, there are times to indulge and there are times not to indulge.

The key is responsible indulgence. Balance.

So, now that we’ve given ourselves the freedom to indulge every now and again, let’s get back to the cake! This vegan gluten-free variation of German Chocolate Cupcakes uses a little bit of science to get us an airer cake. Non-vegan cake recipes or even cakes with gluten typically rely on eggs and the gluten in flour to give the cake structure. While the process of creaming butter and sugar gives your cake that nice airy feeling(1). So, we took it back to your elementary school science class and used vinegar and baking soda to get our rise in this recipe. The frosting consistency is pretty true to form with vegan butter, which can be found at most grocery stories. 

We hope you’ll get a chance to whip this up and possibly share it with someone you care about during a day when many are eating chocolate, Valentine’s Day!

Vegan Gluten-Free German Chocolate Cupcakes

• Prep time: 30 Minutes
• Cook time:  26 Minutes
• Yield: 1 Dozen

Ingredients

• ¾ Cup Unsweetened Cocoa Powder (Not Dutch Processed)
• ½ Cup Oat Flour
• 1 Cup Gluten-Free Flour
• 2 Teaspoons Dark Roasted Coffee
• 1 Teaspoon Salt
• 1 Cup Sugar
• 2 Teaspoons Vinegar 
• ½ Teaspoon Baking Soda
• 1 Cup Oat Milk
• 1 Teaspoon Vanilla
• 1/4 Cup Vegetable Oil
• 2 Tablespoons Canned Garbanzo Bean Liquid

Icing

• ½ Cup Vegan Butter
• ½ – 3/4 Cup Coconut Milk (½ for a thicker icing and ¾ cups for a drizzle)
• 1 Cup Coconut Flakes
• 1/4 cup Pecans (Optional)
• ½ Cup Brown Sugar
• ½ Cup White Sugar

Instructions

• 1. Preheat the oven to 350 °F and oil your cupcake pan with vegan butter. 
• 2. Combine dry ingredients, cocoa powder, oat flour, gluten-free flour, dark roasted coffee and sugar, with a whisk or using the slowest speed on a stand mixer. (Cocoa powder tends to clump together so you may want to sift the ingredients before to ensure there aren’t any clumps.) 
• 3. Combine vinegar and baking soda. After the mixture stops foaming, stir the vinegar until most of the baking soda is dissolved.
• 4. Pour the mixture into the cup of oat milk and let sit for 2 minutes. Add vanilla to the mixture. 
• 5. Melt about ½ cup of coconut oil.
• 6. Add oat milk and coconut oil and mix for about 3 minutes or until all ingredients are fully incorporated by hand or with a stand mixture on low. The mixture should be liquidy.

• 7. Next “beat” in your imitation eggs (garbanzo bean liquid) for about 30 seconds by hand or with a stand mixer on high. 
• 8. Pour mixture into cupcake pan.
• 9. Bake for about 18 minutes at 350 °F.

• 10. While your cupcakes are baking, it’s time to start on your icing!
• 11. In a small saucepan cream all ingredients and leave on medium-high heat, stirring occasionally so the sugar does not burn. 

• 12. When the mixture starts to boil, lower the temperature so the mixture can thicken for about 6-8 minutes. Stirring occasionally, so the sugar doesn’t burn. 
• 13. Remove the icing from the heat and set aside to cool. 
• 14. After the cupcakes are done baking, let them cool in the pan for about 10 minutes and then remove each cupcake and place them on a cooling rack or a plate to cool further.
• 15. After cooling it’s time to ice your cupcakes. Or if you want to get fancy pipe out your frosting!

Check out other recipes on the Yoga District Blog!

Sources

1. How to Prevent a Dry or Dense Cake, https://sallysbakingaddiction.com/prevent-dry-dense-cake/#:~:text=Room%20Temperature%20Butter%20%2F%20Don’t%20Over%2DCream&text=Most%20cakes%20begin%20with%20creaming,and%20produces%20a%20fluffy%20cake.

The post Chocolate for EVERYBODY appeared first on Yoga District.

I think we can all agree on two things this summer. One, it’s hot and two, we could use some levity.

So this week, I whipped up something for you all that is light and cool. Enjoy these homemade popsicles!

An Ode to the Homemade Pop

Homemade popsicles are a low calorie fun way to squeeze in some fruit intake. Similar to last month’s Light Summer Nacho’s, these popsicles are another kitchen sink recipe. Below I offer you a creative take on a Pina Colada popsicle and a satisfyingly tart Raspberry Lime popsicle. Remember the recipes I’m sharing are just a start. Once you have the basics of these popsicles down you can create your own recipe with what you have in your house. Grind up those old blueberries or peaches you have sitting around. Why not? 

You have a few options for popsicle molds. I went ahead and purchased a BPA-Free popsicle mold. For a more economical approach you can use recyclable cups or dixie cups, and popsicle sticks. If you don’t care about a traditional popsicle shape then there are a few household items that make great DIY models. You could try ice cube trays, used small yogurt containers, or muffin tins lined with foil wrappers. 

Summer Popsicles 

Simple Syrup 

An important base to this recipe is simple syrup. The most common ratio for simple syrup is 1 to 1, but you can adjust for a sweeter syrup by adding more sugar.

Ingredients

• ½ Cup Sugar
• ½ Cup Water

Directions

1. Add the sugar and water to a pot and mix until the sugar is completely dissolved. 
2. Let the water and sugar boil for about 6 minutes. 
3. Set aside to cool. 

Raspberry Lime Popsicles 

Yield: about six popsicles

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 Cup Raspberries
• 2 Cups Raspberry Lime Spindrift or other Sparkling Water
• 3 Tablespoons Simple Syrup
• ½ Cup Raspberries
• 1 Handful of Mint 
• 1 Tablespoon of Sugar

Directions

1. Add 1 ½ cup raspberries, Raspberry Lime sparkling water and 3 tablespoons simple syrup to a blender.* 
2. Chop up the remaining raspberries and mint, as finely as possible. 
3. Here you can either sprinkle sugar onto the raspberries or for sweeter popsicles you can create a quick raspberry and simple sugar syrup by heating the simple sugar and raspberries for 6 minutes on the stove. 
4. Pour your blended mixture into the popsicle mold leaving enough space to add the additional raspberries. 
5. Top with raspberries. There should be additional space to allow for expansion of your popsicles. 
6. Freeze.

*Note: If you have a NutriBullet, then the carbonation in the sparkling water will cause a mess. So be careful!

Pina Colada 

Yield: about six popsicles.

Ingredients

• 1 Cup Pineapple 
• 1 Cup Coconut Milk
• 1 Cup Coconut Water
• 1 Teaspoon Cardamom 
• 3 Tablespoons Simple Syrup
• ⅓ Cup Pineapple for Garnish

Directions

1. Blend 1 cup pineapple, coconut milk, coconut water, cardamom and simple syrup together. 
2. Chop up the ⅓ cup pineapple. 
3. Pour blended mixture into the popsicle mold leaving enough space to add the additional pineapples. 
4. Top with pineapple. There should be additional space to allow for expansion of popsicles. 
5. Freeze.

Check out other recipes on the Yoga District Blog!

The post Taste the Chill, Homemade Popsicles  appeared first on Yoga District.

During a crisis, sometimes benign and routine actions keep us grounded and nourished so we are available to fight for justice.

In these moments I go back to food staples that use items already in my pantry. Something that will provide shelf-stable and easy nourishment.

Today that’s granola. It’s a simple and incredibly versatile recipe that can easily be adjusted based on your needs.

The Formula: Oats + Add Ins + Fat + Sweet + (touch of salt)

Follow the basic structure but try any combination of your favorites. Or do what guides most of my cooking and use whatever you have! 

Oats: gluten free always an option

This recipe uses rolled oats.  For more information about different types of oats check out our Overnight Oat Bar recipe.

Add Ins

• Nuts: walnuts, pumpkin seeds, pistachios, pecans, or sliced almonds
• Seeds: sunflower, hemp, sesame, or chia
• Dried Fruit: cranberries, apricots, cherries, blueberries, or coconut 

Fat (choose one)

• Coconut oil
• Butter
• Olive oil

Sweetener (choose one, or play around with a combo)

• Brown sugar
• Maple syrup
• Honey
• Agave

Pinch of salt

Homemade Granola

Ingredients

• 3-4 cups rolled oats (not quick-oats)
• 1 cup raw walnuts
• ½ cup raw pistachios
• ½ olive oil
• ⅓ cup maple syrup
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• ½ tsp ground cardamom
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ½ cup dried cranberries
• ¼ cup dried apricots

Directions:

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. 

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Our goal is to lightly toast the oat mixture and bind the sweeteners into clumps. This happens by keeping the granola at a low temperature and baking it slowly. 

Combine the oats, nuts, oil, maple syrup, and dry spices in a large bowl. Use a spatula to scrape the sides so the mixture is evenly coated. 

Press the mixture onto the baking sheet trying to keep the oats in clusters if you  that is preference.

Bake for about 20 min, check the baking sheet and turn it t for an even toast. Bake for an additional 20-25 minutes until the oats are golden brown and pleasantly wafting into your cooking space.

Cool on a counter/cooling rack and sprinkle the dried fruit on top. Letting the residual heat soften and almost caramelize the granola into clusters.

Let the pan sit until fully cooled (incredible important especially if you like clustered granola)!

Transfer to a big jar or well-sealed reusable container. Store at room temperature. 

Enjoy with yogurt, kefir, fruit, or however you like your granola (see below photo for serving suggestion)!

After enjoying this delicious granola, then feel free to try our Baked Apple Oat-Granola Bars.

The post Homemade Granola appeared first on Yoga District.

Looking for a cool fun summer snack? These lemonade popsicles are just the thing! Lemonade mixed with coconut milk and your favorite fresh fruit will keep you refreshed all summer long. A perfect treat for the kids too!

Make these popsicles your own! This recipe has three simple ingredients. I’ll walk you through how to choose them so you can make your favorite combination!

Creamy Lemonade Popsicles

Servings: 8

Time: 15 mins to prep, freeze overnight

Difficulty: easy

LEMONADE

Homemade Lemonade is the preferred lemonade to use for these popsicles. You can use my super easy and delicious lemonade recipe provided below. It makes an entire pitcher, but if you’re just using it for popsicles then divide the recipe into fourths.

I suggest using Meyer lemons for your homemade lemonade. They have a softer sweeter taste however regular lemons work just as well.

Store bought will work. I tested this recipe with store bought lemonade. Out of all of my popsicle versions, it created the most diluted lemon flavor.

COCONUT MILK 

When I was testing this recipe I noticed that the type of coconut milk is important. For the creamy white (as seen in this picture above), you need to use full fat unsweetened coconut milk. You can buy this in a can. I like the 1/2 lemonade and 1/2 coconut milk look, but you can add more coconut milk if you want your entire popsicle to be white and creamy.

You can use a less-fat coconut milk but you will not see the thick white creamy section of the popsicle. It will separate from the lemonade more so that most of your popsicle will look like a slushie rather than a creamsicle. The only thing that changes is the texture but the flavor is the same.

FAVORITE FRESH FRUIT

Use your favorite fruit in these popsicles! You can have fun with it by mixing a few different fruits together. Strawberries and blueberries are great matches to lemon. Just make sure you cut up the fruit so that it’s bite size!

INGREDIENTS

1 cup Lemonade (Meyer Lemons preferred) See Simple Lemonade recipe below

1 cup Full Fat Coconut Milk

Fresh Fruit (optional) cut into bite size pieces

DIRECTIONS

In a blender, combine your lemonade and coconut milk together. Blend about 30 – 60 seconds until the mixture is homogeneous.

In your popsicle mold, add in your fruit. Pour your lemonade coconut mixture into the popsicle molds all the way to the top.

Make sure to only add in a few pieces of fruit so that your handle/stick can go all the way into the popsicle.

Add in your popsicle handles. Freeze overnight.

SIMPLE LEMONADE

Copyright © 2019 Nicole’s Tasting Spoon

Check out other recipes on the Yoga District Blog

The post Cool Summer Treat: Creamy Vegan Lemonade Popsicles appeared first on Yoga District.

Breath in the scent of chocolate, taste a hint of honey and breath out sheer joy. Being indulgent never felt so good…try these healthy treats!

Eating well is a form of self-care. Yet it’s not always easy to meet your sweet cravings and still eat wholesome.

Want something a bit sweet then read on for a few of our favorite healthier recipes!

Why Try These Recipes?

To eat wholesome desserts seems like an oxymoron.  But really it’s a license for creative baking.  A chance to try new flavors and open up your palate to a different type of sweet taste.

We have reaped the delicious benefits from these beloved recipes and we now share them with you!

Be Creative & Make These Recipes Your Own!

Please remember you can always alter any of the recipes we recommend to suit your dietary needs and preferences.

We are under the impression that all of these recipes are Gluten- Free and use no butter or processed sugar.  

To make these recipes Vegan, modify the sweetener from honey to a vegan alternative of your choice like maple syrup or agave. Use only dark chocolate (55- 85% percent cacao) and make sure it’s void of ingredients that are derived from milk, such as whey, casein, milk, milk fat, and milk solids.

Healthy Treats:

Minimalist Baker

COCONUT BUTTER

Coconut butter makes for a great topping over apples, bananas, oatmeal, or as a non-dairy creamer for coffee or tea. Honestly, it’s a versatile condiment enhancing the taste of a lot of food so feel free to experiment.

Remember coconut butter is not the same as coconut oil!

Rather than spend the 10+ dollars coconut butter usually costs at many grocery stores, try making your own for around $3.99 (price of a standard bag of unsweetened shredded coconut).

Minimalist Baker’s Coconut Butter Recipe here

Tips:

• This recipe works best with a high-powered food processor rather than a blender.
• With a lower-powered food processor, you may need to use a spoon to push the coconut down towards the blade more often (plus it may take more like 20 minutes rather than 8 minutes).
• Due to the size of your food processor you may need to make this recipe in batches.
• Mix in any additional add-ins you want. The Minimalist Baker suggests a bit of sea salt or vanilla extract.
• Store at room temperature and enjoy! It will solidify if kept in a cool environment.

Minimalist Baker

CHOCOLATE COCONUT BUTTER CUPS

Want to elevate the typical peanut butter cup to new heights?

Have more coconut butter than you know what to do with especially after making the recipe above?

Then try this recipe, which only calls for 5 ingredients (or 2 if you decide to not make your own chocolate).

Minimalist Baker’s Dark Chocolate Coconut Butter Cups Recipe here

Tip: If you don’t make your own chocolate, use 1 1/2 cups of finely chopped dark chocolate.

Ambitious Kitchen

OATMEAL BANANA COOKIES

If you are looking for a dairy free, gluten free, nut free, vegan treat AND are a fan of bananas and oatmeal, this may be the recipe for you!

Ambitious Kitchen’s 2- Ingredient Banana Oatmeal Cookies Recipe here

Tips:

• Mix the bananas and oats with your hands or a spoon.
• If you want a smoother consistency, you can put the oats into a blender or food processor before combining them with the mashed bananas.
• Feel free to add in additional mix-ins such as dried cranberries, chocolate chips, coconut flakes, etc. Get creative!

Gimme Some Oven

NO BAKE ENERGY BITES

Sometimes using an oven is not an option.  Maybe you don’t have time to wait for something to bake or it’s too hot outside to even fathom turning on the oven.  Either way, we have you covered with these delicious no bake energy bites.

Gimme Some Oven’s No Bake Energy Bites Recipe here

Substitutions:

• Exchange the peanut butter for another type of nut butter (almond butter, cashew butter, or sunflower seed butter, etc)
• Use Vegan Chocolate Chips or leave the chocolate out of these bites
• Agave replaces honey nicely in this recipe  

For further recipe exploration check out the food blogs that provided the above recipes:

Minimalist Baker’s food blog with 30 minute or less plant-based recipes that use 1 bowl and 10 ingredients or less

Ambitious Kitchen is healthy living blog with creative recipes that sometimes use unique ingredients

Gimme Some Oven is lovely food blog with a collection of creative and easy recipes that are perfect for sharing with others

Eat indulgently healthy and be creative in the kitchen!

The post Something a Bit Sweet appeared first on Yoga District.