Healthy Desserts for the Holidays

​My family has given up sugar and gluten about 80 percent of the time, with a guilt free treat now and then. It has shifted our energy, mood, and overall fitness with those  two shifts. 

My daughter Sage (age 14) has been my assistant for four years at my “Grain Free Sugar Free Desserts” workshops in San Francisco.

We teach the community how to make raw chocolate bark with raw nuts, truffles, and also fondue with fruit. We use coconut oil, butter, coconut shreds, raw cacao nibs, cacao fat, and 100 percent raw chocolate bars. We also make lemon blueberry pound cake with coconut and almond flour. And Sage taught me how to stuff strawberries with homemade sugar free whipped cream. 

For my sugar substitute I use Lakanto Golden brown sweetener. It is made from monk fruit and erythritol. It is the only natural sweetener that I have found that looks, smells, and tastes like brown sugar. I buy it on Amazon.com. It is cool to the tongue and had a 1:1 ratio to sugar. In Asia it is used for joint pain, colds, arthritis, diabetes, and lung issues. It has zero calories and is rated 0 on the glycemic index. 

I hope this helps you during the holiday season
Sincerely,
KJ Landis 
-Author and Creator of the Superior Self series 
-CPT, CFI 
-Nutrition Educator 
Recipes 
In all of the recipes. use organic ingredients when available and affordable.

Chocolate Bark, Fondue, and Truffle Base

6 Tablespoons salted butter
1/4 cup Xyla or Lakanto (natural sweeteners)
2 Tablespoons coconut milk
1 4-ounce bar of 100% chocolate, broken into pieces

 

1. Put a small pan or small soup pot on medium heat.
2. Add the butter and sweetener to pot. Stir until sweetener completely dissolves.
3. Add coconut milk and stir vigorously
4. Add chocolate pieces.
5. As the chocolate begins to melt, lower to low heat and continue stirring until smooth. Sometimes the chocolate is completely melted and mixed in, but has a grainy look within the smoothness, but that is fine. It depends on the country of the chocolate's origin.
6. Once everything is done melting, you are ready to enjoy!
7. For fondue, leave the pot on the lowest fire setting or on the table if the room is warm. Begin dipping your fruit or vegetables into the chocolaty goodness! For adventurous types, try dipping broccoli or carrots in the fondue!
8. For truffles, use a teaspoon and drop a teaspoon or more of the chocolate into mini candy molds or mini cupcake liners. Press shredded coconut, nuts, or dried fruits on top. Place in freezer at least one hour. Makes 18 truffles.
9. For bark, line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Place nuts, seeds, or dried fruits on paper, then pour chocolate on top evenly covering the goodies. Freeze at least an hour. Enjoy!

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Stuffed Strawberries

1 dozen large strawberries
1/2 pint heavy whipping cream
optional chocolate sauce, see recipe above
 

1. Wash and dry strawberries.
2. Cut stems off.
3. Use a straw and pick out center of strawberries.
4. Using an electric mixer or whisk, whip cream in a bowl until stiff peaks form.
5. Spoon whipped cream into a large plastic bag.
6. Squeeze all of the whipped cream into one corner of the bag and cut off corner with a scissors.
7. Pipe the strawberries with the whipped cream by sticking the corner of the bag into the strawberry hole and squeeze.
8. If using chocolate sauce, drizzle sauce horizontally across strawberries. Enjoy!