Healthy Dessert | Dana Artinyan, RD, LDN

Red Velvet doesn’t have to mean cake and artificial food dye. Beets lend the most beautiful reddish-purple to these protein bites, along with an earthy taste. Keep these bites in the freezer for a healthy, nutrient-packed-but-treat-worthy snack!

I know you’re probably already celebrating, but tomorrow is National Nut Day!! On this joyous occasion what else would you want to do besides eat some nut-tastic foods? Well, the ladies of Recipe ReDux are equally as ~~nerdy~~ excited about nuts so they tasked us with sharing a nut-filled recipe for this month’s post.

And who doesn’t also love a delicious protein/energy bite? They are a great way to disguise nutrition as a dessert. Us dietitians love to pull that shit. Healthy dessert? Me? Nahhh.

Well, if there’s one thing I don’t want in my dessert or any of my food, it’s artificial food coloring. I don’t understand why we need it. I mean nature is full of amazing colors and flavors and I quite prefer the natural-ness.

Which is why I’ve never been a big fan of red velvet cake. While true red velvet cake utilizes beets for the red color, most bakeries take the shortcut and use red coloring. And sadly, I can guarantee you that many Americans would choose an artificially-colored red velvet cake over a beet-colored cake. [Sighhh]

This recipe relies on the nutritious and humble beet to provide both a sweet and earthy flavor as well as a gorgeous color. I mean, just look at the number the beets did on my hands ^^.

Red Velvet Protein Bites

Keep these frozen as they maintain their texture best that way. These only have 2 tablespoons of sweetener for the entire recipe but pack lots of protein and healthy fats from the almonds (almond meal and almond butter).

Ingredients:

1 cup vanilla protein powder, such as Gold Standard Natural
1/2 cup almond meal
1/2 cup oats
2 small beets
2 Tbsp. honey, preferably local
2 Tbsp. cocoa powder
2 Tbsp. almond butter
2 Tbsp. coconut milk
1/2 tsp. sea salt
1/2 cup dark chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Wash beets well and chop ends off. Then, dice beets and spread on a baking sheet. Bake until soft.
Add beets to a food processor and process until smooth. Then add all remaining ingredients EXCEPT for dark chocolate chips and process until well-mixed.
Line a tupperware container with plastic wrap, then pour beet mixture into the container.
Heat chocolate chips in the microwave for 1-2 minutes, stirring every 30 seconds until melted.
Using a fork or spoon, drizzle chocolate over beet mixture. Stick the container in the freezer for 30 minutes, then cut into 1″ squares and store in freezer.

For more deliciously nutty recipes, check out these Cookie Dough Protein Bites, Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Hazelnuts or one of my all-time favorite nut butter recipes, Toasted Coconut Cashew Butter.

Oh, and did I mention all the amazing nut-filled recipes from fellow ReDuxers? Click the link below for those (and look for even more tomorrow)!

Mmm, booze. Who doesn’t enjoy a cocktail ~~every night~~ on occasion?

Well, the folks at Recipe ReDux challenged us to go beyond the cocktail and use our favorite alcohol as a recipe ingredient:

From plain Jane vanilla extract to fancy-pants elderflower liqueur, we like to keep a little liquor in the kitchen. Show us how you like to cook, bake or mix-it-up with spirits, extracts and other alcohols. A splash of vodka makes summer sauces shine – and liqueurs brighten desserts: What’s your healthy recipe with spirit?

I thought of about a thousand and one different recipes that I wanted to make, most of which involved raki, an unsweetened, anise-infused alcohol (similar to the Greek ouzo) that is the national drink of Turkey (where my dad is from).

After a failed search for raki, however, my plans changed. It became all about the bourbon, specifically, Maker’s Mark.

I will admit that I generally only like to drink clear alcohol (e.g. vodka, gin) but for desserts, bourbon can’t be beat for the amazingly rich, deep flavor it lends.

Now I love a bourbon caramel sauce over bread pudding (see my recipe for Bourbon Caramel Cake Pudding), but I wanted to lighten it up. I promise you, you won’t even miss the bread pudding on this recipe.

I don’t even like Old Fashioneds, but when you reduce all the ingredients to a sauce…perfection!

Bourbon Old Fashioned Reduction Over Bruleed Stone Fruits

You’ll want to put the sauce over EVERYTHING — ice cream, pancakes, waffles, into coffee, etc. Feel free to use whatever stone fruits you have on hand.

Ingredients:

5-6 stone fruits, such as plums, peaches or nectarines
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup bourbon, such as Maker’s Mark
2 Tbsp. sugar
Juice of 1/2 orange

Directions:

Set oven to Broil.
Cut stone fruit in half lengthwise (along the pit, like you would an avocado)
Remove the pits
Lay, cut side up, in a casserole dish.
Sprinkle cut side of fruit with 1/4 cup sugar.
Broil for 5-10 minutes (make sure to check constantly), until you get a nice golden crust on the fruit.
While the fruit is in the oven, add bourbon, 2 Tbsp. sugar and orange juice to a small saucepan. Heat on medium until the mixture reduces to about 1/4 cup.
Drizzle “bruleed” fruit with Old Fashioned Reduction.