When Life gives you Lemons....

Make Lemon Bar Roll Ups!

Picnic season is officially here and this month we are reinvent one of our favorite summertime desserts: lemon bars! While Lemon Bars are an ooey gooey treat, they are definitely not picnic basket friendly. Try our version, Lemon Bar Roll Ups, that taste just as good without the mess, eggs and added fat. Plus they can be prepared in about 15 minutes!

Lemon Bar Roll Ups

Ingredients:

1 Package of Crescent Rolls

2 Meyer Lemons thinly cut into rounds

1 Meyer lemon only to be used for the juice

½ cup of powdered sugar

¼ of stick of butter (melted)

Preheat oven to 350 F. Slice 2 Meyer lemons into 1/4” rounds, then gently slice off the rinds and cut each slice in half.  

On a separate clean surface un-roll all of the crescent rolls and divide them into their triangle shapes. Brush each piece of dough with a generous amount of butter and then sprinkle a 1/2 teaspoon of powdered sugar over the butter.  Cover the powdered sugar with a small squeeze of the unsliced lemon.

Lay out two halves of the sliced lemon onto the dough and follow the crescent roll instructions to roll up the dough. Place all of the Lemon Roll Ups onto a non-stick baking sheet and bake for about 10-15 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool for about five minutes and dust with more powered sugar to finish.

Makes 8 rolls.

Reinvented Caramel Sauce

Reinventing kids classics is what we do best! We take the foods kids love and make a super healthy version the entire family will enjoy.  This month we’ve decided to reinvent a sweet autumn-inspired treat; something that adult and kids alike just can’t get enough of.  It’s a sweet and sticky condiment that pairs well with apples, sundaes and pies.  This month’s Halloween inspired recipea is a nutritiously delicious reinvented caramel sauce!

We’re going to turn your every day fat and sugar infused caramel sauce into a low fat, sugar and dairy free decadent dessert!  Sounds impossible right?  Well we’ve got a secret ingredient: DATES aka: nature’s candy.  Dates are not only sweet and delicious they are packed with fiber, iron and other essential nutrients.  Who knew you could feel so good about serving your little ones a dessert as decadent as Peas of Mind’s re-invented caramel sauce?

Ingredients:

• 20 pitted dates
• ¾ cup of water
• ½ cup of canned coconut milk
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
• a pinch of salt to taste

Method:

In a saucepan bring dates and water to a boil. Cover and let simmer for about 10 minutes or until dates are tender.  Pour into a blender (a hi-powered blender is recommended but a food processor can be used, you may just need to simmer the dates for longer).   Blend dates, water, vanilla extract and salt then slowly add coconut milk and blend until smooth and creamy adding water if necessary.  Add more salt depending on desired saltiness of caramel.  Use as a dip for fruit and cookies, atop ice cream, dolloped on your favorite desserts or directly from the blender…it’s that good!

Makes ¾ cup of caramel

Valentine's Day Reci-pea

Valentine’s day is a day overflowing with love, hearts, flowers, all things pink and CANDY, CANDY, CANDY! So on a day when candy, chocolate and cookies are supposed to be consumed for every meal how do you make sure that your family is eating healthy but still enjoying the holiday? Simple, you make this month’s reci-pea: St. Valentine’s Vegan Cornbread Muffins!  These sweet treats can be consumed as a healthy dessert or a yummy breakfast because they are low in fat and contain applesauce instead of butter and eggs.  We’ve also added beets, which not only turns the muffins a festive shade of pink, they add vitamin A and C.  Vitamin A is important for healthy bone development and vitamin C helps the body heal. Have a happy and healthy Valentine’s Day and enjoy!

St Valentine’s Vegan Cornbread Muffins:

• ½ cup white cornmeal

• ½ cup whole-wheat pastry flour

• ½ teaspoon baking soda

• ½ teaspoon salt

• ¼ cup applesauce

• 2 medium beets (should be about ¼ cup when puréed)

• ½ cup soymilk or other milk of your choice

• ¼ cup agave nectar

• 2 tablespoons canola oil

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

Cut and wash beets (do not peel). Place beets in a pot and cover them with water.  Boil over medium heat for 20 minutes or until beets pierce easily with a fork.

Once the beets are cool enough to handle, gently rub the skins with your fingers until the skin peels off.

Roughly chop beets and place them in a food processor.  Add enough water to pulse into a smooth puree.  Continue to pulse until beets are very smooth.  I opted for the easier option of buying precooked and peeled beets from Trader Joes (this speeds up the recipe quite a bit).

Lightly grease a muffin tin with pan spray.

Combine white cornmeal, wheat flour, baking soda and salt in a large bowl; stir in the beet purée and applesauce, soymilk and agave.

Pour mixture into a muffin tin.

Bake for about 15 minutes. (To make sure they are fully cooked check by inserting a toothpick to see if it comes out clean). 

Makes 6 Muffins.