Festival Of Food: Tricks For Treats

Welcome to the Festival of Food Carnival. In celebration of autumn and Halloween, we’re sharing recipe ideas for healthy treats, or anything you would enjoy this time of year. Hosted by Diary of a First Child and Hybrid Rasta Mama, you’re welcome to join us next time, or if you have a previously published recipe you’d like to share, add it to the linky below.

I sometimes worry that I may have ruined my daughter for life. See, she eats ‘ice cream’ for breakfast, has ‘pink juice’ for lunch and eats a fair amount of ‘chocolate’. Of course, none of this is strictly true, but it makes her happy, and I’m very happy about it too.

So what are the Tricks for these Treats?

Our ice cream is one of the simplest dishes I’ve ever come across – chopped, frozen bananas, blended up in the food processor. Just a few seconds and it looks like smooth and creamy ice cream. Add honey and peanut butter, or cocoa powder, berries or frozen mango or anything you like really, for a delicious treat that’s still perfect for breakfast.

Pink Juice is another favourite. To you and me it’s normally known as a green smoothie, which is loosely based around whatever we have in the fridge. It normally always includes about two cups of spinach, and apple, perhaps a plum or banana, lettuce or other greens or carrots. Blended to a smooth consistency in the smoothie maker, we add a few frozen berries, and just like that, a ‘pink juice’ that contains more vegetables or fruit than my 3 year old would possibly consume in one sitting.

Our chocolate coconut balls are probably the biggest treat there is. We normally take a batch with us on our forest outings. These are a fantastically sweet mix of dates, raisins, cocoa and oats, and then a mix of – again – whatever’s available. You can use apple juice, but I normally add a bit of the green smoothie (chocolate and spinach? Who knew!), flax seed, coconut oil, dried apricots, dried berries, and so on. Each batch differs ever so slightly in flavour, because I use whatever I can.

These are particularly because I do have a sweet tooth, and what I couldn’t necessarily satisfy with a whole slab of chocolate, I can easily do with just two or three chocolate balls. It’s amazing! And then the energy from it is released slowly, rather than a big hit and then a slump.

Please take a moment to visit the blogs of our other Festival of Food participants. The links in this list will be live by the end of the day, as participants are all in different time zones.

• Jessica from Delicious Obsessions shares her recipe for Lemon Coconut Blueberry Macadamia Nut Muffins, a low-carb, low-sugar treat that won’t leave you feeling guilty. You can also find Jessica on Facebook.
• Abbie at Farmer’s Daughter shares a recipe for Unsweetened Cinnamon Applesauce in the slow cooker, a yummy treat that also makes the house smell amazing. You can also find Abbie on Facebook.
• Lulastic of Lulastic and the Hippy Shake shares a story of urban foraging, and the delicious recipe for the Fruit Leathers she made with the harvest! You can also find Lulastic on Facebook.
• Jennifer at Hybrid Rasta Mama shares a super easy, fix it and forget about it Crock Pot Pumpkin Custard that tastes like warm pumpkin pie filling without the sugar and grains! You can also find Jennifer on Facebook.
• Bianca at the Pierogie Mama justifies why she guards her homemade applesauce from ‘unauthorized’ uses.  You can also find Bianca on Facebook.
• Jennifer from True Confessions of a Real Mommy helps you take your love of all things pumpkin to the dinner table! A gluten free, dairy free, and vegan if you like Thai Pumpkin Soup to warm you up! You can also find Jennifer on Facebook.
• Crackerdog Sam guest posts at Hobo Mama with a slightly sweet, stove-popped Cracker Jack alternative. You can also find Hobo Mama talking about Crackerdog Sam on Facebook.
• Luschka at Diary of a First Child shares her foundation recipe for ‘milkshakes’ – coloured green smoothies – that her toddler loves to have with ‘chocolate’ date balls and banana ‘ice cream’. You can also fine Luschka on Facebook.
• Amy at Anktangle shares a wholesome version of a decadent treat: Chocolate Peanut Butter Granola Bars. They have a classic, no-bake cookie flavor while being gluten-free, sugar-free, and vegan. Nut-free substitutions included! You can also find Amy on Facebook.

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