Eight Treasure Porridge Dessert

A traditional Chinese dessert analogous to rice pudding. The eight treasures refers to the 8 different nutritious ingredients that go into it. It is traditionally eaten on Laba festival (December 8th on the lunar calendar). Ingredients can be easily substituted but just remember there should be 8 main ingredients (for namesake), and you should adjust the time at which the ingredient goes into the pot to ensure everything is cooked just right at the end. Other common ingredients include jujube, chestnuts, dried dates, dried longan meat, other dried fruits, peanuts, almonds, walnuts, melon-seed meat, pine nuts, lotus seeds, sesame seeds, kidney beans, black bean, and many others.

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Healthier Cake Balls

Still very versatile and heavily addictive, this recipe was made healthier by using organic cake mix, and bittersweet chocolate and shortening instead of chocolate flavored confectioners coating.

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Lime Fruit Salad in a Mold

This sparkling lime gelatin salad is embedded with luscious bits of pineapple, cherries, grapes and pears, and takes only minutes to prepare! Allow several hours for Jell-O® to set. I serve this with cream cheese and/or mayonnaise.

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Azteca Cocoa Rice Pudding

The Aztecs believed that cacao seeds were the gift of Quetzalcoatl, the God of wisdom who was hated by the other gods for giving cacao to humans. The seeds had so much value they were used as a form of currency. Originally prepared only as a drink, chocolate was served bitter and spicy. Often this gift from the gods was reserved for royalty and religious leadership. It was believed to give strength and so was added to a soldier’s rations. Later it was seen as an aphrodisiac which made it much more popular. I have used their spirit as inspiration for this sweet and spicy rice pudding.

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Slim Fit King Cake

I wanted to make a Mardi Gras King Cake for my friends because we are expatriates in Malaysia with no bakeries that can make them, and some people we know have never even tried one! However, I wanted to make it lighter too, so I made some substitutions and created my own cake that appears and tastes decadent, but is actually quite light. Bakeries in Louisiana do standard cinnamon-sugar fillings, but they do all kinds of other fruit/pudding fillings, too, so I decided to go fruity. Laissez les bon temps rouler! Add some edible beads for further decoration if you can find them!

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Drunken Berries

Beautiful summer dessert using fresh berries and a splash of pear liqueur. Enjoy a la carte or a la mode. Exceptionally lovely on the Fourth of July. Serve berries by themselves or over vanilla gelato, with a small amount of excess liquid – but should not be a berry soup.

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Orange Spice Garbanzo Cake

Spicy and moist, you won’t believe this cake contains garbanzo beans (chickpeas). The batter is runny so don’t worry. Other spices can be added or substituted (cloves or mixed spices). Less sugar can be used or a suitable sugar-substitute.

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Red Wine Poached Pears with Chocolate Filling

This red wine-poached pear with chocolate recipe is a perfect dessert option for the holidays, cold winter nights, or as a show-stopper to impress your friends. Just don’t let them know how easy it is to make! Serve with a savory cream like marscapone, crème fraiche, or Devonshire cream. Can be made ahead of time and refrigerated.

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Banana and Peanut Butter 4-Ingredient ‘Ice Cream’

I make this for my family all the time! This is a great recipe for vegan/vegetarian diets, just replace the peanut butter with organic peanut butter or another nut butter. Substitute water for milk if desired. The more milk you add, the thinner and soupier your ice cream will be. Serve with sliced fresh fruit or handmade whipped cream.

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Grilled Bananas

The first recipe I created all by myself. A great, easy, and healthy dessert! This recipe can easily be customized by adding new toppings according to favorite tastes. Serve with ice cream!

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Sugar Free Peach and Banana Cobbler

My own creation! This recipe is good for diabetics, but can easily be made as a non-diabetic dessert by using real sugar instead of a sugar substitute. This dessert is not super sweet, allowing the natural sweetness of the fruit to come through. If you like sweeter desserts, double the amount of the sugar substitute or sugar. You can use whatever sugar substitute is your preference.

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Tropsicles

My 19-month-old son loves yogurt and squishy fruit but they’re soooo messy. This way he can get both in a cool treat with no unnecessary sugar, and I can just hose him off afterward!

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