Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Vegan Valentines Day menu, gluten free lentil meatballs, strawberry banana ice cream recipe and more.....

Valentines Day Menu

I let the kids choose the valentines day menu, hubby and I had a delicious vegan valentines dinner at Sage's Cafe on Saturday night so Valentines Day was a family meal.  The kids wanted Spaghetti, I think that is a perfect  centerpiece of a valentine menu. 

If you think about Lady and The Tramp and the spaghetti dinner scene, what could be more romantic than a Spaghetti valentine meal?

I decided to make the valentine menu a little more hearty by adding some delicious gluten free lentil meatballs to the spaghetti.  This turned out to be a hit with the whole family, everyone loved the gluten free lentil meatball recipe!  I am going to share with you our simple valentines day menu.

Valentine Gluten Free Lentil Meatball Spaghetti Recipe


Delicious Gluten Free Quinoa Pasta
This makes a DELICIOUS meal!  These noodles look like white pasta, let me assure you, they are not!  These are delicious, gluten free quinoa noodles.  This gluten free pasta has a good amount of protein and a similar texture and taste to wheat pasta.  




Valentine Dessert Recipes
Raspberry Banana Ice Cream Recipe
Gluten Free Chocolate chip Cookie Recipe
Low Fat Chocolate Sauce Recipe


We all decided we needed to have a red or pink valentine dessert, so we chose Raspberry Banana Ice Cream.  This raspberry banana ice cream recipe is about as healthy as ice cream gets!!  It is sweetened with dates and it contains only fruit and coconut milk.  It was SOOOO Delicious!!  I couldn't believe how decadent this raspberry banana ice cream was.  The kids loved it as well, we had left overs so I poured it into popsicle molds and the kids had healthy fruit popsicles for later.




Gluten Free Chocolate Cake Recipe


My son's scout troop was having a Cake contest for the Blue and Gold banquet.  As I was trying to figure out a cake recipe to make my daughter BEGGED me to make a gluten free chocolate cake recipe.  She said that there wouldn't be any other gluten free cakes there for her to eat and she REALLY wanted to be able to have some dessert.  I was very concerned about making a gluten free cake recipe.  Gluten free cakes tend to be crumbly, dry and they generally aren't very good. 

Finally, I decided I could try to come up with my own gluten free chocolate cake recipe and just cross my fingers it would turn out okay.  Well, it turned out MORE than okay, it was FABULOUS!!!    I know you probably hear many gluten free bakers claim that their recipes are 'just like gluten containing food.'  Well this time it really was!!  I was absolutely blown away at how amazing this gluten free chocolate cake recipe turned out!! 


This Gluten Free Chocolate Cake Recipe Won Second Place and was the MOST eaten cake on the table!!!!



When I say no one knew this was a gluten free chocolate cake, I mean it!  It was moist and delicious!!  So, on to the recipe.....

Amazing Gluten Free Chocolate Cake Recipe


Vegan Fondant Icing Recipe
 
I must state first that I DO NOT believe this is a healthy vegan fondant icing recipe by any stretch of the imagination!!!  However, I created this vegan fondant icing recipe to ice the cake for the Blue and Gold Banquet.  I personally would not make this for my family, we strive to eat a whole foods diet that is low in sugar.  However, on special occasions when we are serving other people I will make unhealthy vegan recipes to serve others.  At times I believe it is important to expose people to the fact that vegan food can be every bit as decadent and delicious as the food they are used to without the devastating impact.
 
This vegan fondant icing is RICH and VERY sugary.  I personally couldn't eat it so I ate a little cake without icing but for those who are used to sugar foods you will certainly enjoy this recipe.
 

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