Just Fudge It!

Just Fudge It!

1 14 oz. can of sweetened condensed milk

2 C chocolate chips

1 cube butter

1 tsp vanilla

1 scoop Blendfresh Sprouted Fiber Blend

1 C broken walnuts (optional)

Microwave ingredients and pour into a 11x7 pan lined with foil that is sprayed with non-stick spray.  Refrigerate until cool, then peel the foil from the back and cut into small pieces.  This is definitely a treat to be enjoyed in small amounts and shared.  It is more filling than most fudge (because of the fiber), so there is a natural tendency to be satisfied more quickly and eat less.  Whew!

Ok, I promise that's the last treat recipe for a while, but I had to sneak it in cuz the picture I took was too perfect!  Happy New Year!

Scottish Toffee Pudding Cake

Scottish Toffee Pudding Cake

1C pitted dates

1 C water

1 tsp baking soda

Combine above ingredients in your blender jar and blend until smooth, then extra 90 seconds (or use Hot Soup setting on your Blendtec).  Then add to jar:

1/4 C butter (1/2 stick)

3/4 C sugar

2 eggs

1/2 tsp vanilla

Blend until creamy and lastly add:

3/4 C flour

 and blend just until mixed.  It should be thin like batter.

Pour into a greased 11x7 pan and bake at 350º for 30-40 minutes.

When it's done, set the cake to cool for a few minutes while you make the toffee sauce (below).  Once a little cool, slice the cake into about one inch cubes.  Separate cake pieces with a fork to pour the sauce in between each one and around the edges.

"The Sauce"

3/4 C brown sugar

1/2 C butter (1 stick)

3/4 C heavy cream

Add above ingredients to sauce pan and heat until thick without boiling.  If you have any sauce left over after pouring between the pieces, just pour it on top.  If you make and slice the cake ahead of time, you can make it piping hot again if you pour the sauce on it just before serving.  Optionally, you can save some sauce to do a drizzle on the plate as well.  For the photo above, I did a drizzle with some of the heavy cream that was left.

Note:  I love this recipe.  It is an old, Scottish family recipe of Chef Brad, the Grain Chef who I met at the BYU Education Week classes on whole grain nutrition.  He has many great recipes,and most of them are much healthier!  I actually attended a private cooking class at the Bosch Kitchen Center with a personal trainer friend when this was revealed.  Fun memories.  

There's no question that this is a "treat" best made only once or twice a year.  I have tried to modify it and make a healthier version, but it's my family's consensus that it's just not worth it.  The Sauce really can't be modified well, and using whole grain flour instead just changes the texture.  My advice: make this as dessert, THOROUGHLY ENJOY YOUR SMALL PORTION, and invite friends  over to help you finish it so it doesn't stay in your kitchen after that first night.

If you want to feel a little better about it, add a scoop of Blendfresh Green to the batter (you won't taste it with everything else going on), and when your done, drink a tall glass of water with a scoop of Blendfresh Spouted Fiber Blend to bind with some of the fat and minimize the damage!

And Bliadhna Mhath Ùr (Gaelic for Happy New Year!)

"Perfectly Chocolate" Cake

"Perfectly Chocolate" Cake

Add the following to your blender jar (use Wildside if you have a Blendtec blender);

2 C sugar

1 3/4 C flour

3/4 C cocoa powder

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1 scoop Blendfresh Green (optional)

1/2 - 1 scoop Blendfresh Sprouted Fiber blend (optional)

Pulse a few times until the dry ingredients are well mixed.  Then add;

2 eggs

1 C milk

1/2 C coconut oil

2 tsp vanilla

Mix for about 40 seconds in blender, then add

1 C boiling water

Mix together and pour into a sprayed a 9x13 pan.  Bake at 350º for 35-40 minutes.  As an option add up to a cup of walnuts.  

For frosting I like to sprinkle a 1/2 - 1 Cup of chocolate chips on top of the cake as soon as it comes out of the oven.  After about a minute the chips will be melted enough to spread over the cake with a butter knife and cool as cake topping.

The Blendfresh Green scoop you will not notice the taste of.  It will just add nutrition to what could possibly be a dessert of very little nutritional value - just a fun treat once in a while, which this should be.  If you add 1/2 scoop of Fiber you probably won't notice it, but if you add a whole scoop of fiber you may want to add 3 Tbsp of water to keep your cake from becoming dry.  Use this rule of thumb with any cake or baked item that you want to add the extra Fiber to.

This is my adaptation of the "Perfectly Chocolate" Chocolate Cake from the Hershey's Recipe Collection Cookbook, 2008.

Better-than-other Cranberry Sauce

Fresh Cranberry Sauce

1 C water

3/4 C sugar

3 C fresh cranberries

1 scoop Blendfresh Reds (optional, but tastes better!)

Zest of 1 orange

In a medium sauce pan bring water and sugar to boil.  Add fresh cranberries and reheat back to boiling.  As they heat, the cranberries will begin to pop open, releasing natural pectin which will thicken the sauce.  It's a fun, festive sound!  Continue to cook about 10 minutes.

Remove from heat and stir gently as it cools.  Sauce will continue to thicken.  Add the zest of an orange for color and flavor, then add a scoop of Blendfresh Reds and stir to combine.  Serve in a nice bowl.  

I like to make this right as the dinner is being placed on the table so the sauce is fresh and warm, but it can be made ahead and refrigerated for convenience.  It goes nicely with a salty meat like turkey or pork, and makes a delicious sandwich spread too.

This is a fun twist on the traditional Ocean Spray recipe I've been making for years.  It has slightly less sugar, the added citrus texture, plus a whole new set of flavors from adding the 12 fresh dried fruits and vegetables found in Blendfresh.  

This is the first year I have added Blendfresh to the recipe and several people at our family dinner asked what I had done differently this year because the cranberries were so good.  Thank you very much Blendfresh :)

Click here to learn more about Blendfresh or click here to get your own Blendfresh.

Protein Pancakes with light berry drizzle

Protein Pancakes

1/2 C rolled oats (preferred NOT quick oats)

1 C whole wheat flour

1 scoop Blendfresh protein powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp sea salt

Blend the above ingredients together to mix in a Wildside jar.  Then add to the jar;

2 C very warm water

1 Tbsp coconut oil

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1 scoop Blendfresh Red (optional)

Blend until it makes a smooth batter, you may add a little extra water if it's too thick.  You can pour straight from your blender jar onto a hot griddle.  I like to use a cast iron skillet (it adds trace amounts of iron to your foods) with coconut oil on it to keep food from sticking.  Watch for my post on coconut oil and why it's so good to add it to your recipes.  This recipe makes 12 hearty pancakes.  Two will be very filling, so the recipe easily serves 6 people.

Light Berry Drizzle (syrup)

1 1/2 C fresh (or frozen) raspberries

1 Tbsp maple syrup

Add the ingredients to your Blendtec Twister Jar if you have one.  This makes a smaller batch and you can use the Twister lid as a spatula to scrape down the food that hits the sides of the jar.  Pour it straight onto pancakes.  This is about the right amout of berry syrup for three people.  Some of the people at my table prefer maple syrup and so I make a small batch so I won't have any left over. 

If you double or triple the recipe, you can make this in a regular blender jar.  (It will be too small of a batch to gain speed in a large jar if you are just making a single batch).  If you are making a larger batch, you can use the hot soup setting and the blender blade will spin so fast that it actually uses friction to heat the syrup and you can serve it hot over the pancakes.  Yum!  If you are thinking about getting a better blender with some of these cool features click here.

This is the Blendtec Express Pro (see the led screen says "Gibbs Fam"?!).  It is holding the smaller Twister jar used to make the berry syrup.

Alfredo Sauce with a "healthier" spin

Disclaimer: This recipe is delicious, and yet please understand the goal.  This is not what I would call a "healthy" recipe.  This recipe is for moments we are intensely craving pasta with alfredo sauce, and this is a very tasty way to make it better for you, but I would not recommend this recipe often as being "good for you".  It's just better than the traditional recipe because of the added fiber and whole grain.  That said, let's make some yummy pasta alfredo!

Alfredo Cream Sauce

1 cube butter

3/4 C heavy cream

1/3 C parmesan cheese

1 scoop Blendfresh spouted fiber blend

Cook: 1/2 box Barilla whole grain spaghetti

Cook pasta.  In a separate pot gently melt butter, then add heavy cream and stir until very warm and blended (do not boil or cream may separate).  At the last moment quickly add parmesan and Blendfresh fiber and whisk to blend.  Pour immediately over cooked pasta and mix together.  The parmesan will melt and the fiber will begin to thicken immediately, so you want them on the pasta as that happens so it's easier to work with.  You can still add it after it thickens, but it will become very thick, not like a traditional sauce.

Serve with steamed broccoli.  To make a complete meal serve with a protein.  In this picture I show turkey seasoned with Blendfresh Orange.  As an alternate, try kidney beans added to pasta for a vegetarian meal.

How do I get "THE DEAL" on a Blendtec blender?

"THE DEAL" from Blendtec

Get the Total Blender for $99 refurbished ($329 at Costco)

Get the Express Blender for $199 ($649 at Bed, Bath and Beyond)

Get the Express Pro Blender for $599 ($1500 at Bloomingdale's)

Keep reading - here's how!

Get your deal!  Everyone's asking me how to get the big savings on their Blendtec purchase, so I have the steps to take listed below.

1.  Click here for the ordering website.  Then you'll choose how you want to purchase;

2A.  Join the Club (lifetime membership for $10 gets you huge discounts on Blendtecs and accessories, and $10 off every bottle of Blendfresh.  There is no minimum monthly order required unless you purchase a discounted blender)  OR

2B.  Join as a Consultant ($35 year let's you earn commission promoting Blendtec and Blendfresh with a new business opportunity and you get access to all the same savings as a Club Member).

3.  Select your blender model and from the shopping page and click on the subscription button to see the discounted price (includes shipping).  Scroll down to add accessories if desired at the discounted Club price.  

4.  Select your Blendfresh foods.  Choose any combination you like as long as it totals the right amount for your blender*.  90 day money back guarantee on all Blendfresh foods, just to make sure you love them!  It's the easiest way to eat healthy every day.

*If  you are purchasing the Refurbished Total Blender model for $99 ($329 suggested retail), you commit to buy one bottle of Blendfresh totaling at least $29 per month for 12 months.  

*If you purchase the discounted Express Blender for $199  (suggested retail $599), you commit to buy two bottles of Blendfresh totaling at least $69 per month for 12 months.

*If you purchase the discounted Express Pro Blender for $599  (suggested retail $1500), you commit to buy two bottles of Blendfresh totaling at least $69 per month for 12 months.

5.  Complete your order and then count down the days until it arrives!  This will be the beginning of a new, easier, healthy way to eat and live.  I'm excited you're choosing to follow this path and I can't wait to hear how Blendtec and Blendfresh benefit you personally! 

6.  Stay connected.  I really care about the success of my customers. Email me a quick hello and I'll send you recipes and a link to join my next Blendfresh Lifestyle Facebook group.   Through recipes and videos I'll teach you how to make the most of these great tools and really make them a part of your life.  It's easier than you think, especially when you have someone to guide you.  If you have questions at any time, email jenn@coachjenngibbs.com and I'm happy to assist. 

Click here to order

and congrats on making a commitment to your health!