Special Occasion Strawberry Lemonade Cake - S

    I made this wonderful cake for my Mom for her birthday. It was a hit! We ate way too much of it. Even the non-THMers were caught snitching pieces.

    Don't be intimidated by this picture. You don't have to be a cake decorator to make it. It just might not look as nice ;) My instructions won't include any cake decorating equipment.

Special Occasion Strawberry Lemonade Cake

1 Recipe of Special Occasion Chocolate Cake from the Trim Healthy Mama Book

(Page 384 - omit cocoa powder)

1/2 Recipe of Singing Canary Pudding

(made very thick and refrigerated overnight)

1 1/2 Recipes of Whipped Cream

1 Lb of Fresh Strawberries, Hulled and Sliced.


Bake cake according to directions (remember to omit cocoa powder ) in
two 8'' round cake pans. Allow to cool completely.

Place first layer on a cake plate. Spread a good amount of the Singing Canary Pudding
on top (no more than 1/2 of the amount but that might be a little much). Add a single
layer of sliced strawberries. Place second cake layer on top. Ice sides with the Whipped
Cream. You 'll want it to be fairly thick as this is the only 'icing' the cake will receive.
On top add more Singing Canary Pudding ( try to keep it from getting too close to the
 sides or it will 'bleed' down the cake) and the rest of the sliced strawberries.

If you're going for a good presentation, you might want to just hold the last layer
 of pudding and strawberries for right before you serve. If you do that you
can also add whipped cream to the top when you ice the cake.

If you want to make this patriotic, use blueberries with the strawberries!

Grab a grandson whose birthday is two days after your's, make a wish and blow out the candles!
(Last step is optional)

Happy weekend, everybody!

Coconut Custard Pie - S

Coconut Custard Pie

1 cup of Unsweetened Coconut

4 Eggs

1/2 tsp of Salt

1 can of Full Fat Coconut Milk

(or 1 3/4 cup of milk of choice)

*1/4 cup of Xylitol

1/2 tsp of Coconut Extract, optional

Sweeten coconut to taste and toast in a pie pan in oven at 350 degrees for about 4 minutes, stirring several times. It will not be fully toasted.

In blender add 1/2 of the toasted coconut and all the rest of the ingredients. Blend on low for a few minutes.

Pour into a buttered pie pan and bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. Sprinkle the other half of the coconut on top and finish baking, about 10 more minutes.

If you'd like serve with a few frozen berries. After I took this picture, I smashed them with my fork and put them on top of the pie. Oh My Word! Did that ever take it to another level!

Enjoy!

* You may need more sweetener

Special Occasion Coconut Cake - S

I wanted a coconut cake last year for Easter. It was my first holiday on THM and I knew I would NEED a good THM dessert to keep me from diving for the other Easter goodies we were having. It worked! I'll be making it again this year.

Special Occasion Coconut Cake - S

1 recipe of the Special Occasion Chocolate Cake

recipe from the Trim Healthy Mama Book

(page 384)

omit the cocoa powder

1-2 tsp of Coconut Extract, optional

Mix and Bake cake as directed (remember to omit the cocoa powder!)

I baked mine in two 8'' round cake pans.

1 recipe of Icing for Cake Serene's Superfood Option

(page 385)

omit the cocoa powder

Instead of using stevia extract powder, I would use xylitol or erythritol for 

the sweetener, because you're going to need a little more powder verses 

liquid ingredients to achieve a better icing consistency.

(or you could try powdering a little unsweetened coconut to equal 1/2 cup

I think this would work great.)

Spread a little icing between layers before Icing cake.

1 cup of Unsweetened Coconut

(more or less)

Sweeten with stevia and toast on stove top or in oven.

Press onto side and top of Iced cake.

Low Carb Peanut Butter Eggs - S

   The recipe I promised to some of y'all has now arrived! I know you've been waiting on pins and needles while everybody else gets to enjoy 'the real (fake) deal'. I think you'll find it was worth the wait.

A Note About Ingredients

I did something a little different in this recipe. I used Oat Fiber! Why would you do such a thing, you ask?
1. To achieve a better consistency
2. It's cheaper than more xylitol for a better consistency
3. More xylitol would be too sweet
4. It will help lower carb content and makes a good 'filler'

I'm not sure if oat fiber qualifies as gluten free. There seems to be some controversy on the internet. If you're unsure and don't want to use it you can omit it. I would recommend adding a little more cream cheese and freeze them harder before you dip them.

Dipping Chocolate Ideas

You can dip these in
1. The original Skinny Chocolate Recipe which can be found in the Trim Healthy Mama Book.
2. My version of Skinny Chocolate (everybody has their own version)
3. 85% chocolate bar, melted (probably too thick on it's own and could get very expensive)
4. The Nut Slab Chocolate recipe from the Trim Healthy Mama book ( minus the nuts)*
5. A combination of Skinny Chocolate and 85% Chocolate Bar (This helps a little with the table stable problem and seems to coat a little thicker, depending on what ratios you use)

* I've never tried this. Proceed at your own risk ;)

Peanut Butter Eggs - S

1 cup of Peanut Butter

1/2 cup of Butter

4 oz of Cream Cheese

4 Tbsp of Oat Fiber

5 slightly heaping Tbsp of Xylitol, Powdered

Chocolate of Choice, for dipping

Cream together peanut butter, butter, and cream cheese. 

Add oat fiber and mix well.

Add xylitol, mix again, scraping sides of mixer bowl.

Scoop out dough balls (I used a 2 tbsp cookie scoop) onto

a wax or parchment paper lined sheet.

Freeze for at least 30 minutes, you may need longer.

After dough has chilled or frozen dip each into the melted chocolate and return

 to freezer for about 15 minutes.

Enjoy your own bit of Peanut Butter/Chocolate Heaven!

I would love to get your feedback. Let me know what you think! 

A Very THM Valentines! - S

    Valentine's Day is a very unique holiday. Some people only celebrate with their sweetheart. Some people think it should be celebrated with all the Ladies in their life. Some think all the single ladies should have a special day together. And still others think it's a day to show love to EVERYBODY they know. Due to this, Valentine's day is sort of a free for all, tradition-wise.

So.... I'm just going to throw out random ideas/recipes and ya'll can put them together however you like!

Breakfast Ideas

                            Strawberry Stuffed French Toast

or you could consider something a little different and have

Stuffed French Toast Omelettes

  If you're looking for something a little more traditional you could try a low carb pancake option like this one from Gwen's Nest and top it with Whipped Cream and Strawberries/Raspberries

Low Carb Pancakes

(If you're talented, you could make them in a heart shape! I've never done this, I don't think I'm that talented)




Appetizer Ideas

You could make this plan approved Bruschetta recipe

Fresh Bruschetta   Instead of using bread, make Joseph's Crackers and use a cookie cutter to shape them into (hearts! How Cute!

You could also make this dip...

Special Occasion Salmon Stackers

 * you could also use ham, bacon, or chicken, if you're so inclined*

Mix desired amount of cream cheese with herbs of choice

(some ideas- rosemary, garlic powder, onion powder, italian seasoning, liquid aminos)

Spread cream cheese on Joseph's Crackers (these could also be hearts as described above)

Layer sliced tomato on top of cream cheese mixture.

Layer sliced onion on top of tomatoes.(optional)

Layer smoked salmon on top of onion.

*Alternately, you could finely chop the tomatoes and onion, use canned salmon, and 

mix all ingredients with the cream cheese, then spread on crackers. Not as fancy, but easier*

If you're so inclined... you could take shrimp and arrange them in hearts and put a little homemade cocktail* sauce in the center *so cute*

*For the cocktail sauce you can use THIS basic recipe. 

Substitute the ketchup with THIS THM approved recipe.

Soup

 You could make the Just Like Campbell's Tomato soup from the Trim Healthy Mama Book. It's Red!

Entree

Salmon is pink! If you 're not in the mood for steak - which is a little pink in the center ;), try salmon! There are quite a few salmon recipes in the above mentioned book! If you don't have the book, do an internet search. I'm sure there are a few good one out there! (If you're not opposed to pork, ham is also pink!) 

Now, the most important part of the Valentine's Dinner (for me, at least)

Dessert!

You could try the traditional

Chocolate Covered Strawberries

*some of them I rolled in the Coconut Caramel Crunch from Gwen's Nest*

Or you could try

No Bake Cheesecake

 *I made it in individual cups and topped with berries for a nicer presentation*

For a lighter chocolate dessert try 

Chocolate Mousse

8 oz Heavy Whipping Cream

6 Tbsp of Cocoa Powder

1 Tbsp of Vanilla

4 Tbsp of Xylitol

Whip all ingredients until it's a light, whipped consistency. 

Top with sliced berries, if desired. 

However you choose to celebrate, We here at The Trim Recipe Blog wish you a Very Happy Valentine's Day!

Chocolate Covered Strawberries - S

Here's a quick Valentine's Dessert for you. Hope you enjoy!

* I rolled some of these in the Coconut Caramel Crunch recipe from Gwen's Nest*

Chocolate Covered Strawberries - S

1 batch of My Skinny Chocolate

Strawberries, washed, dried and chilled in fridge

The secret to this is getting the chocolate to the right consistency for dipping.

I mix up the chocolate and set it in the freezer for 1 minute. 

(I set the timer, because in one short minute, I can forget all about my purpose in life and wander away chasing a stray butterfly)

This freezes fast so you want to be careful.

After one minute,  stir the chocolate and return to freezer. 

Repeat until desired consistency. 

If you get it too thick or too hard, melt it and start the process over!

When you're chocolate is how you want it, dip berries in one at a time and place on wax paper

to set up (I just learned the wax coated paper plates work REALLY well for this, too!). 

Stick in the freezer for a few moments.

ENJOY!