Coconut Panna Cotta with raspberry sauce

Panna Cotta has been on my brain lately.  Most recipes call for dairy so I swapped that out with coconut milk.  They also all call for sugar of some sort.  If you lookup sugar free recipes they usually call for Honey.  I'm pretty sure that even if it's raw it still affects your blood sugar.  With my oldest exhibiting signs of type 1 diabetes I'm definitely avoiding all sugar for all of us!  This mean mama isn't even allowing bananas.  She'll get over it though.  :) So I swapped the Honey for Stevita brand Stevia.  it doesn't have a bad after taste like some brands and only has a few fillers.  The fillers are also things I consider ok to use in my diet…

I figured out the hard way that no matter how big of a rush you are in, don't put your panna cotta in the  fridge when they are hot...  They all separated and I had to start over,  thankfully I had a quick and easy dessert to substitute since these wouldn't be ready in time for dinner with my husbands grandmother and Aunt! Thank you Chia pudding! Anyways this dessert is 100% guilt free and actually healthy!

The sauce is best made right before serving your dessert, or before you serve dinner would be fine too.

So while this dessert sounds fancy and hard it's actually really simple.  If you can make jello you can make this.  Enjoy!

Coconut Milk Panna Cotta With Berry Sauce- Serves 6

1/4 cup cold filtered water

1 packet unflavored gelatin or 2 1/2 tsp bulk gelatin

3 1/2 cups coconut milk

pinch of sea salt

Stevita Stevia to taste

1 teaspoon vanilla (check label to make sure its grain free and sugar free)

Metal bowl filled halfway with ice cubes

4 cups fresh or frozen berry of your choice

2 Tbls fresh squeezed lemon juice

Fresh mint to garnish


Place cold water in small bowl, sprinkle gelatin onto and mix together.  Set aside to setup.

Place your dessert bowls, glasses, etc. on a tray with a lip

In a medium saucepan, combine the coconut milk, salt and stevia.  Over medium heat bring to a very gentle boil and then remove from heat immediately.  Whisk in vanilla and gelatin mixture.
Place pan on top of ice cubes and whisk mixture until it is room temperature.

Divide mixture between bowls and cover with plastic wrap.  Carry to fridge carefully and place in a flat spot.  Let chill 5-6 hours or overnight.

Right before dessert place berries, lemon juice in a blender and liquify.  Add water and stevia as needed to get your desired consistency.  You can strain the sauce at this point to remove any seeds, but it isn't vital.

Serve over chilled dessert and top with mint leaves.

Enjoy!!!

Beef stroganoff with sweet potato fries

I had a hankering for Beef stroganoff but definitely needed it to be kid friendly and Dairy free on top of Grain free and Sugar free.  So I decided to do some research (Thank You google!) I decided to do a variation of two recipes and add a little of my own flare.  :)

   

Replacing the sour cream in a standard recipe was easy and thanks to Trader Joe's Coconut Cream I didn't have to work real hard for it either.  That's always a plus.  I don't have many "convenience foods" anymore so I hold on to the few I do find.  

Through looking at all the different recipes I noticed that while most suggested pasta, others said potatoes or rice  That's too much sugar and not enough nutrition for me.  

I settled on Sweet Potato Fries for a little French Canadian Flare.  I remember one of my best friends in high school having meals served over fries thanks to her french-canadian mother  I was so envious!  I usually steer clear of sweet potatoes but this seemed like a nice treat and I was just finishing a cleanse so I was Hungry!  Homemade ones are not as laborious as you'd think and much tastier than the frozen brands plus no preservatives or additives.  (always a plus right?)

If you are still steering clear of sugar or extra carbs another great alternative is Kelp Noodles.  I buy them at the local health food store and they don't have much flavor but add a lot of good nutrients and the kids love them.  Win win in my book!  Riced cauliflower and zucchini noodles are great too.

I also did ground beef and sirloin steak for this recipe so the kiddos (and older folks) had something to eat that they could chew easily.  You can make it either way or with a little of both to please the masses.  Enjoy!!

So here's Beef stroganoff with Sweet potato fries:  

3 or 4 medium sweet potatoes

olive oil/ grape seed oil

cinnamon

sea salt

black peeper/ cayenne

garlic powder

1 lb Beef sirloin cut into strips or 1 lb ground beef

coconut oil

1 onion chopped 

8 oz mushrooms, sliced

2-3 cloves garlic, minced

1 Tbsp arrowroot powder (optional)

1 cup beef stock (preferably homemade, you can use homemade chicken stock too)

coconut aminos (soy free, gluten free "soy" sauce)

1/2 can Trader Joes coconut cream or cream from the top of one can of native forest coconut milk

1 1/2 tsp thyme

1/2 tsp rosemary

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

I would start with the sweet potato fries so they can get into the oven more quickly…

      Cut potatoes however you like, the bigger the longer they will take.

Preheat oven to 400-450 degrees again the higher temp they'll be done sooner just don't put them close to the bottom at the higher temp.

Mix them with olive oil or grape seed oil, cinnamon, sea salt, garlic powder, black pepper any other spices you want.  Bake for about 30-45 minutes mix periodically so they don't burn.  They should finish as the stroganoff does…

While Sweet potatoes bake, put 2  T of coconut oil in skillet over medium heat.  Add onions once pan is hot, sauté for 5 minutes.  When almost done add garlic and mushrooms.  Sprinkle with a little sea salt to release the moisture from the mushrooms.  Once all are cooked through move to a plate while you cook the beef.  

Add 1 Tbsp of coconut oil to skillet and cook sirloin, just a few minutes aside so it's browned  It doesn't need to be cooked through yet.  Move to a plate to rest.  If using ground beef add 1 Tbsp coconut oil and cook until browned and cooked through.  Move to bowl.

Put the veggie mixture back into the skillet veggies, add the coconut cream, coconut aminos and broth and spices.  Whisk it until smooth.  Stir until thickened. Add the beef back in and cook over low heat 7-10 minutes.  Don't overcook or the sirloin will get chewy.  

Serve over Sweet potato Fries, Kelp noodles or riced cauliflower.

ENJOY!!!

OPTIONAL:

If you want your sauce to be more gravy like add up to 1 Tbsp of arrowroot powder to 1/4-1/2 cup broth.  whisk into the mixture the last 2 minutes of cooking.  I did not use this and it all tasted and looked great for me :) 

  

Beef Stroganoff served over sweet potato Fries

Beef Stroganoff served over Kelp Noodles