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Roasted Blueberry and Lemony Yogurt Popsicles
In my opinion, it isn’t summer until you make the first frozen treat of the season! I’d love to say I have the energy and time to bust out the ice cream maker every week throughout the summer. I don’t. Homemade ice cream is good, but just so much work and there are so many steps. Honestly, popsicles are my favorite! Always an easy way to celebrate the season and all of it’s beautiful, fresh offerings. I also love that if you are smart with your ingredients you can make popsicles that will work for just about everyone at your party, no matter their eating style or preferences. No need for an ice cream maker or anything besides popsicle molds and you can even skip on those, just pour these into paper cups, add a popsicle stick and call it a day. Easy!
If you haven’t been able to tell by the 5 years of posts up until now, I am slightly obsessed with roasting. OK a lot obsessed. It’s my easy answer to bringing out the best in foods. Fruit or veggies, there is just something about roasting, even in the dead of summer, I refuse to deny myself. Especially when it concerns fruit, roasting brings out the inherent sweetness, it provides pretty bursts of color and flavor and it’s a simple way to maximize all that juicy, saucy, sweet goodness. So yes, I am complicating something meant to be simple, by adding the extra step with the oven here, but you have to just trust me on this one.
These popsicles have the perfect mix of sweet and tart, one of my favorite combos. I tend to go light on the sweetness myself, so if you want them more sweet than tart, you may want to add a bit more coconut sugar when roasting and/or more maple or honey. I like to barely fold in the roasted berries, to keep the gorgeous swirls of purple, violety blue.
I opt for my homemade coconut yogurt to keep these popsicles dairy-free/vegan, but you can also go with Greek yogurt, regular yogurt or goat’s milk yogurt. I just suggest whatever you choose, to go with full fat if you can, this give you the rich creaminess and the extra fat which cuts down on the icy factor.
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Lettuce Wrapped Grain-free Sweet Potato and Broccoli Veggie Burgers with Cilantro Sauce
I think we can all agree that with summer nipping at our heels, there are certain foods that conjure up feelings of quick, light bites perfect for our busy summer schedule that we all tend to pack solid. Quick meals that can be eaten outside on the deck or around the pool are usually on the menu in our house. I know for me, I think of burgers. Besides tacos, it’s the quintessential food that you can eat with your hands without much fuss. Unfortunately, if you can’t have grains this means rolls are either out of the question or you have to find a grain-free alternative that doesn’t require tons of prep.
I, for one, prefer to simply go without the rolls, after all it’s all about the burger, not matter what kind. I adore a good lettuce wrapped burger. I find that crunch is a great fresh texture. I also love a good homemade veggie burger. With the right ingredients and toppings, it can be a meal on it’s own. So many store-bought veggie burgers are loaded with legumes or grains/gluten, soy, gluten and other things we some of us may not be able to have. The list of ingredients can be quite long and by the time you’ve found a comfortable seat at the store to sit down and read through them all, you get to the end, only to find it just won’t work for you.
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How-to Make Coconut Milk Yogurt
I have been meaning to try making my own dairy-free yogurt for some time now and I just kept putting it off. From what I have heard and read from many people, it can be frustrating at times and can require some trial and error. I have also learned that there really are lots of different ways you can do it. I decided to just dive right in and do some trial and error of my own for this How-to Make Coconut Milk Yogurt tutorial, so I can share my thoughts and results with you guys.
The differences in the various results aren’t quite distinguishable enough in photos, so I decided against a side-by side comparison as I did with the whipped coconut cream, instead I thought giving you the details on all the many options and sharing my thoughts and results would be just as effective. Of course, there are many more options than I even share here, but these are the ones that I tested. That said, I really do recommend trying things out for yourself, yogurt is funny that way, what works for one person, may not work for another, whether it be the type of milk you choose, the starter, the temperatures you are culturing at, etc. So, play around, find what works for you and go with it. I hope I gave you enough information and options here to help start you down the fun road of educated guesses when yogurt making.
I do have to say that I am not vegan, nor am I allergic or highly sensitive to milk. I just choose to limit my dairy intake. When selecting a yogurt starter or probiotic powder, please always check with the manufacturer on the origin of the culture, most are made on dairy and therefore will contain trace amounts of dairy that will not work if you have a severe dairy allergy/intolerance or if you are vegan. Cultures for Health makes a certified vegan/dairy-free yogurt starter and I really love their products and customer service. Likewise, many probiotic powders and capsules can contain dairy, so be careful there too, though it is quite easy to find those that are dairy-free/vegan. If you are ever unsure it is always best to check directly with the manufacturer.
OK let’s get into it… How-to Make Coconut Milk Yogurt
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