Alani Nu. Pumpkin Cream Energy Drink Review.

 

I've done a few reviews from this brand (search them on my blog) and today I'm trying the pumpkin cream. I wanted to post this on Halloween but I misplaced the photo but found it today.

This is delicious, I love the pumpkin flavour and the addition of the cream, its a lot like a creamsicle but I felt it could've tasted a bit more pumpkin. I might buy it again but I'd drink it if offered and I rate it 4/5.

Banana Muffins Recipe.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 3 large bananas, mashed
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/3 cup butter, melted

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Coat muffin pans with non-stick spray, or use paper liners. Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; set aside.
2. Combine bananas, sugar, egg, and melted butter in a large bowl. Fold in flour mixture, and mix until smooth. Scoop into muffin pans.
3. Bake in preheated oven. Bake mini muffins for 10 to 15 minutes, and large muffins for 20-25 minutes. Stick a toothpick in the middle and if it comes out clean, they are done.

*Baking time depends on your oven, these are just suggestions, follow the toothpick trick and bake accordingly.*

*For my Youtube video, I failed to use butter (I did margarine) and I cooked them for the large time of 20 min, when the muffins were in fact not large.*

Sweet Potato Risotto Recipe.

INGREDIENTS

1. 2tablespoons olive oil
2. 1large onion, finely chopped
3. kosher salt and black pepper
4. 2small sweet potatoes (about 1 pound), cut into 1/4-inch pieces
5. 2cloves garlic, chopped
6. 1cup Arborio rice
7. 1cup dry white wine
8. 1/2cup grated Parmesan (2 ounces)
9. 2teaspoons chopped fresh oregano

DIRECTIONS

1. Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until soft, 3 to 5 minutes.
2. Add the sweet potatoes and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, for 1 minute.
3. Add the rice and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes. Add the wine and cook, stirring frequently, until absorbed.
4. Measure 3½ cups of water. Add ¾ cup at a time and cook, stirring occasionally and waiting until each addition is absorbed before adding the next. It should take 25 to 30 minutes for all the water to be absorbed.
5. Stir in the Parmesan and oregano.

Baking Pan Conversion Chart.

Strawberry Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe.

Ingredients:

• 1 box (18.25 oz) strawberry cake mix, like Duncan Hines
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 large eggs
• 1/3 cup vegetable/canola oil
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 and 1/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350F. Line large baking sheet with parchment paper or silicone baking mat. Set aside.
In a large bowl, mix together the cake mix and baking powder. Set aside. In a smaller bowl, whisk together the eggs, oil, and vanilla by hand. Add the egg mixture to the cake mixture and stir to form a dough- stir vigorously until all of the pockets of dry cake mix are gone. Gently mix in the chocolate chips.
Drop rounded balls of dough, about 2 Tablespoons each, onto prepared baking sheet. Stick a few more chocolate chips on top of the cookie dough balls if you want them for looks, if desired. Make sure the balls of dough are taller than they are wide. See here for more details.
Bake for 10 minutes – do not let the cookies get brown. Allow to cool on baking sheet for 3 minutes; they will be very soft at first. As they cool, the tops may settle down; press them down gently with your fingers if they are not sinking much. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container for up to one week.

Creamy Coconut Mojito Ice Pops Recipe.

 

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 (13.5 ounce) can full-fat coconut milk
• ¼ cup pure maple syrup
• ¼ cup packed fresh mint leaves
• zest of 1 lime
• 1 tablespoon lime juice
• 1 vanilla bean
• 2 tablespoons rum

DIRECTIONS:

1. Add the coconut milk, maple syrup, mint, lime zest and lime juice to a small saucepan. Split the vanilla bean lengthwise and scrape out the seeds. Add both the seeds and the pod to the saucepan. Set the pan over medium heat. Cook, stirring frequently, until everything is combined and the mixture is warm, about 2 to 4 minutes. Remove from the heat, cover and let sit for 25 to 30 minutes (this infuses the flavors into the milk!).
2. Pour the mixture through a fine mesh sieve to remove the mint leaves and the vanilla bean pod (you can discard both).
3. Stir the rum into the strained mixture.
4. Pour the mixture into the ice pop molds to fill. Freeze according to the manufacturer’s directions.

You can absolutely just leave out the rum if you want to make these virgin ice pops! Also, feel free to use a splash or so of vanilla extract in place of the vanilla bean.
Depending on the brand of coconut milk you use, your ice pops may be a slightly different color (i.e. off white). I’ve also had problems with certain brands where the milk separates while freezing. See the post above for more info.
If you want info about my favorite ice pop molds, be sure to check out this post (in the recipe notes)!

Cook Nourish Bliss. Inspired by my friend Caroline, who told me about a coconut mojito ice pop she had this summer!

Frozen Banana Creams Drink Recipe.

Yield: serves about 4 total time: 15 mintues

Ingredients:

• 4 frozen bananas
• 1 can cold full-fat coconut milk
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 bananas, sliced

Graham crumbs

• 2 tablespoons coconut oil, melted
• 1 cup graham cracker crumbs
• pinch of salt

Coconut whipped cream

• 1 can full-fat coconut milk, refrigerated overnight
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, if desired

Directions:

Add the frozen bananas, coconut milk and vanilla extract to a blender and blend until pureed and thick and creamy. Add some sliced bananas to the bottom of each glass. Pour the mixture into glasses and top with the coconut cream and graham cracker crumbs. Add the extra sliced bananas on top!

graham crumbs
Mix the graham crumbs and coconut oil until the crumbs are moistened and piece-like. Stir in the salt. Set aside.

coconut whipped cream
Take the can of coconut milk out of the fridge. Open the can and discard the liquid (save it for a smoothie!), then scoop the firm coconut meat into the bowl of your electric mixer. Beat on medium-high speed until completely whipped and thick. Beat in the extract if you're using it. Set the bowl in the fridge until ready to use.

Recipe: Peaches N Cream Popsicle.

INGREDIENTS

3 cups peach nectar (100 percent peach juice)

¾ cup heavy cream

¼ cup brown sugar

1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger

pinch fine salt

DIRECTIONS

1.       Whisk together the peach nectar, cream, sugar, ginger, and salt in a large bowl until smooth.

2.      Pour the mixture into 10 3-ounce or 8 4-ounce ice-pop molds, dividing evenly. Insert ice-pop sticks and freeze until firm, at least 4 hours and up to 4 days.

Recipe: Strawberry Buttermilk Popsicles.

Strawberry Buttermilk: 

1 pound strawberries, hulled

1 cup buttermilk

1 cup plain Greek yogurt

½ cup honey

¼ cup sugar

pinch fine salt

DIRECTIONS

1.       Puree the strawberries, buttermilk, yogurt, honey, sugar, and salt in a blender until smooth.

2.      Pour the mixture into 10 3-ounce or 8 4-ounce ice-pop molds, dividing evenly. Insert ice-pop sticks and freeze until firm, at least 4 hours and up to 4 days

Recipe: Cinnamon Rolls

Ingredients

• 1 packet instant (or rapid rise) yeast* (2 1/4 tsp)
• 1 cup (240 ml) unsweetened plain almond milk
• 1/2 cup (112 g) Earth balance (vegan butter), divided
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 3 cups (408 g) unbleached all purpose flour*
• 1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 cup + 1 Tbsp (63 g) organic cane sugar, divided*

Instructions

1. In a large sauce pan (or in a bowl in the microwave at 30 sec increments), heat the almond milk and 3 Tbsp Earth Balance until warm and melted, never reaching boiling. Remove from heat and let cool to 110 degrees F (43 C), or the temperature of bath water. It should be warm but not too hot or it will kill the yeast.
2. Transfer mixture to a large mixing bowl and sprinkle on yeast. Let activate for 10 minutes, then add 1 Tbsp sugar and the salt and stir.
3. Next add in flour 1/2 cup (68 g) at a time, stirring as you go. The dough will be sticky. When it is too thick to stir, transfer to a lightly floured surface and knead for a minute or so until it forms a loose ball. Rinse your mixing bowl out, coat it with canola or grapeseed oil, and add your dough ball back in. Cover with plastic wrap and set in a warm place to rise for about 1 hour, or until doubled in size (see photo).
4. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough into a thin rectangle. Brush with 3 Tbsp melted Earth Balance and top with 1/4 cup sugar and 1/2 - 1 Tbsp cinnamon (to taste).
5. Starting at one end, tightly roll up the dough and situate seam side down. Then with a serrated knife or a string of floss, cut the dough into 1.5 - 2 inch sections and position in a well-buttered 8x8-inch square or comparable sized round pan (you should have about 10 rolls). Brush with remaining 2 Tbsp Earth Balance (melted) and cover with plastic wrap. Set on top of the oven to let rise again while you preheat oven to 350 degrees F (176 C).
6. Once the oven is hot, bake rolls for 25-30 minutes or until slightly golden brown. Let cool for a few minutes and then serve immediately.
7. Optional: Frost with dairy free cream cheese frosting or a simple mixture of 1 cup (112 g) organic powdered sugar and 1-2 Tbsp (15-30 ml) almond milk.

Recipe: Pancakes

• 3/4 cup milk
• 2 tablespoons white vinegar
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons white sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder

• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 egg
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted
• cooking spray

Combine milk with vinegar in a medium bowl and set aside for 5 minutes to "sour".
Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large mixing bowl. Whisk egg and butter into "soured" milk. Pour the flour mixture into the wet ingredients and whisk until lumps are gone.
Heat a large skillet over medium heat, and coat with cooking spray. Pour 1/4 cupfuls of batter onto the skillet, and cook until bubbles appear on the surface. Flip with a spatula, and cook until browned on the other side.

Recipe: Crepes

INGREDIENTS

• 2 cups flour
• 4 eggs
• 1 cup milk
• 1 cup water
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 4 Tablespoon butter, melted
• 4 teaspoons sugar if you are making dessert crepes, don't add if they are for savory crepes.

INSTRUCTIONS

1. In a large mixing bowl, whisk flour and eggs. Slowly add milk and water stirring until smooth. (I use my immersion hand blender.) Add salt and butter (and sugar if making dessert crepes) and continue beating until smooth.
2. Heat and oil pan to medium high temperature. Pour about ¼ cup of batter into pan and tilt the pan to swirl in a circular motion so that the batter coats the surface evenly. I have a crepe maker that also works great and is super simple to use. Either will work.
3. Cook crepe for about 1 to 2 minutes until the bottom is light brown. Loosen with a spatula, and turn crepe over and cook its other side for about 1 minute.
4. Serve hot and Fill or top however you desire.

Recipe: Shepherds Pie

Ingredients

Mashed Potatoes
5 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
5 cloves garlic
1 tbsp butter
salt and pepper, to taste

Ground Beef
1 tsp butter or oil
1 lb ground beef
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp Montreal steak spice
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp salt

2 (15oz) cans whole kernel corn
3/4 cup grated Mozzarella cheese (optional)

---

Instructions

1. In a medium pot, boil the potatoes and garlic. They're done when a knife stuck into the potatoes slides in easily, and the potato slides off the knife.
   
2. Drain the potatoes, reserving the cooking water. Mash the potatoes and garlic with about 1/8 to 1/4 of a cup of the cooking water. Add more water if needed. Stir in the butter, salt and pepper.
   
3. Preheat the oven to 400F.
   
4. While the potatoes are cooking, heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat. Cook the onions until they're translucent. Add the garlic, and cook for another minute or so.
   
5. Add the ground beef to the skillet, along with the Montreal steak spice, Worcestershire sauce, and salt, and cook the beef until it's browned.
   
6. In a large baking dish — I like to use an extra large bread pan — layer the ground beef, corn, and mashed potatoes, in that order. Top with the grated cheese.
   
7. Bake in the preheated oven for 35 minutes, until the cheese is melted and starting to brown, or until the mashed potatoes are starting to brown.
   

Recipe: Apple Crisp

• • 10 cups all-purpose apples, peeled, cored and slic1 cup white sugar
  • 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 1 cup quick-cooking oats
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup packed brown sugar
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 cup butter, melted
  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degree C).
  
  
  • Place the sliced apples in a 9x13 inch pan. Mix the white sugar, 1 tablespoon flour and ground cinnamon together, and sprinkle over apples. Pour water evenly over all.
  • Combine the oats, 1 cup flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda and melted butter together. Crumble evenly over the apple mixture.
  • Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for about 45 minutes

Recipe: Coconut Cream Pie.

Ingredients

For the pastry

• 1 cup very cold butter cut into small cubes
• 2 ½ cups flour
• ½ tsp salt
• ¼ to ⅓ cup ice water (Only enough to make a dough form.)

For the coconut cream filling

• 3 cups whole milk
• ⅓ cup flour
• ⅔ cup sugar
• pinch of salt
• 1 cup unsweetened fine coconut
• 3 slightly beaten extra large egg yolks
• 4 tbsp butter
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• ¼ tsp pure almond extract

For the vanilla whipped cream

• 1 cup whipping cream
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 3 tbsp icing sugar (powdered sugar)

Instructions

For the pastry (sufficient for 2 pie shells)

1. Using a food processor or a pastry blender cut cold butter into flour and salt until mixture resembles a coarse meal. Small pieces of butter should still be visible.
2. Pour cold water over the mixture and work in by tossing with a fork until dough begins to form. Use your hands as little as possible and work the dough as little as possible.
3. Divide dough into 2 balls, flatten into 2 rounds, wrap in plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator to rest for a minimum of 20 minutes. You can freeze the second round for another time.
4. You can make your dough the previous day but make sure you take it out of the fridge for 10 -20 minutes to warm slightly before rolling out.
5. Roll the dough into a 12 inch round and place in the bottom of a 10 inch pie plate.
6. Trim and flute the edges as desired.
7. Poke a few holes in the bottom of the pastry shell, rest in the refrigerator for an additional 20 minutes before baking at 400 degrees F for 12 – 15 minutes or until golden brown.
8. Cool completely before adding the filling.

For the coconut cream filling

1. Scald the milk in the microwave or on the stove top to almost boiling. Microwave works best as there is no chance of burning the milk.
2. Meanwhile, in a saucepan combine the flour, sugar, salt and coconut.
3. Over medium low flame slowly add 1 cup of the scalded milk, whisking constantly.
4. As you notice the filling beginning to thicken, add another cup of the scalded milk continuing to stir constantly until it begins to thicken again.
5. Add the final cup of scalded milk, stirring constantly. Continue to cook over medium low heat until mixture begins to slightly thicken.
6. At this point remove from heat and pour about a half cup of this mixture onto the beaten egg yolks, whisking constantly.
7. Pour the egg mixture immediately back into the pot, continuing to constantly stir.
8. Cook for an additional two or three until the filling reaches pudding consistency and remove from the flame. The mixture should just be beginning to boil at this point.
9. Stir in the butter, vanilla and almond extract.
10. Cool for about 20 minutes before pouring into the baked pie shell/s.
11. Chill the pie/s completely for several hours or overnight before adding the vanilla whipped cream.

For the vanilla whipped cream

1. Combine the whipping cream, icing sugar and vanilla extract and beat to soft peaks. Spread on top of the cooled coconut cream filling. Garnish with toasted coconut and serve.

Recipe: Salisbury Steak

• 1(10 1/2 ounce) can campbells French onion soup
• 1 1⁄2lbs ground beef
• 1⁄2cup dry breadcrumbs
• 1egg
• 1⁄4teaspoon salt
• 1⁄8teaspoon ground black pepper, to taste
• 1tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 1⁄4cup ketchup
• 1 -3teaspoonWorcestershire sauce, to taste
• 1⁄2teaspoon mustard powder
• 1⁄4cup water

• In a large bowl, mix together 1/3 cup condensed French onion soup with ground beef, bread crumbs, egg, salt and black pepper.
• Shape into 6 oval patties.
• In a large skillet over medium-high heat, brown both sides of patties.
• Pour off excess fat.
• In a small bowl, blend flour and remaining soup until smooth.
• Mix in ketchup, water, Worcestershire sauce and mustard powder.
• Pour over meat in skillet.
• Cover, and cook for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.