DIY Wednesday: Dairy-Free Chocolate Ganache

December 2, 2015December 2, 2015 / ktbuchs87 / 1 Comment

After DIY Wednesday: Dairy-Free Chocolate Ganache a week off, DIY Wednesday is back! I know you missed it and were totally lost without a fun DIY to fill your Wednesday. At least that’s what I would like to think.

I’m SUPER excited about this DIY because I didn’t think it was going to work and it did and it is amazing. If you don’t know what a ganache is, then you obviously don’t spend enough time in bakeries or watching the Food Network. A ganache is a glaze, sauce, icing, or filling that is typically made with cream and chocolate. It can be used for cakes, cupcakes, truffles, or donuts. Basically, anything that is delicious can be made even more delicious with ganache. DIY Wednesday: Dairy-Free Chocolate Ganache | Life Healthfully Lived

Ganache used to be one of my favorite things. It isn’t super heavy or super sweet like typical frostings and it really lets the chocolate flavor shine through. And let’s face it, chocolate is the reason many of us get up in the morning. Wait, is that just me? Oh well, it’s true and I ain’t ashamed of that.

So you can imagine how excited I was when I was able to make it without dairy but still just as delicious. I figured I would share this one with you right as the holiday season is upon us because this will definitely come in handy for all your baking needs. You can use it as a frosting or icing for you cooking, as a decadent hot chocolate drink, as a filling for pastries or sweet breads, or stick it in the fridge for a rich and creamy mousse and a simple dessert. The possibilities are endless and with just a few ingredients you can have this on hand at all times. That is a very good thing!

Dairy-Free Chocolate Ganache

1 cup full-fat coconut milk, unsweetened
2 oz unsweetened baking chocolate (I used Baker’s brand)
2-3 tbsp maple syrup, honey, molasses, whatever liquid sweetener you have on hand

Using a microplane or fine grater, grate the 2 oz of chocolate into a medium bowl until you have a little pile of chocolate shreds. Set bowl aside.
Get a small to medium saucepan and pour the coconut milk in. Heat the milk over medium heat and whisk frequently. You don’t want the milk to boil or scald. Whisk in the maple syrup or other sweetener and whisking until you get a light simmer. This should take about 10 minutes
Remove the milk from the heat and get your bowl with chocolate shreds. Slowly pour in the sweetened warm milk, whisking the whole time. Keep whisking until the chocolate is completely melted and everything is smooth.
You can use the ganache right away or you can store it in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week.

DIY Wednesday: Dairy-Free Ranch Dressing

November 18, 2015 / ktbuchs87

I have lived in Illinois my entire life, so I am a Midwest girl through and through. I think a big stretch of farmland is beautiful, I can drive in most snowy conditions, and I know malls are the best way to shop for everything. The other thing that my Midwestern upbringing has taught me?

Ranch dressing belongs on everything.

Raw vegetables? Instantly better doused in ranch. That boring old salad? Drench it in the white stuff. Chicken fingers and nuggets were made for dunking into the nectar of the Midwest gods. I’ve even dipped french fries, meatloaf, and sausage into ranch. Don’t judge until you try it.

Unfortunately, the combination of ranch dressing on all the food and frying everything possible has made the people of this part of the country just a little less healthy. When I changed the way I ate, I begrudgingly quit my ranch habit. After a short (read: longer than I thought) adjustment period, I actually started to enjoy the flavor of my food without the aid of ranch dressing.

But there was still that fat Midwestern kid inside that wanted to swim in a vat of ranch. I decided to fix it.

I made this dressing with full-fat coconut milk and my DIY ranch seasoning and was shocked with how much it tasted like traditional ranch. It was a little runny at first, but after a few hours in the fridge it thickened up nicely. I tend to like a more watery ranch, so I let it sit out a few minutes before I use it.

The fact that it’s so easy to make this dressing and the fact that I love it on everything have made it a weekly staple. Try it on roasted sweet potatoes or mixed into mashed potatoes. It is amazing with carrots and celery sticks and is wonderful whisked into a frittata. I even made a topping with mashed potatoes and this ranch and spread it on top of my lentil loaf.

So if you have been missing ranch dressing in your healthier lifestyle, try this dairy-free version. I promise you won’t be disappointed!

Dairy-Free Ranch Dressing

1 cup full-fat coconut milk, unsweetened
2-3 tsp ranch dressing seasoning, add more or less to your taste
1/2 tsp celery salt (sea salt will also work)
1 tsp roasted garlic (you could also use garlic powder)

Put all the ingredients into a blender and blend for a few minutes until everything is combined.
Pour into an airtight container (like a mason jar) and put in the fridge to thicken. Keep it stored in the fridge for up to a week.

That’s it. Easy Peasy, time to put ranch on all the things and not feel like the fat Midwestern kid you might just be at heart!

Have a great day everyone!

DIY Wednesday: Coconut Chips

November 11, 2015November 11, 2015 / ktbuchs87

I’m not a huge snacker, but every now and then the snacking bug will bite and I can’t seem to stop grazing. Luckily I try to only keep healthy snacks around the house so I’m not binging on cookies and chips, but store bought healthy snacks can be full of unnecessary ingredients.

While some people might crave sweet snacks or salty snacks, I usually crave a combo. I love the mix of sweet and salty. Kettle corn is a weakness and Garrett’s Chicago Mix (it will never be anything else to me)? Forget about it.

I have seen coconut chips in the stores and online for awhile now and they always sound really good. A nice mix of sweet and salty, healthy fats from the coconut, and the satisfying crunch of the baked chips. A snacker’s dream. Not so dream like? The cost. A tiny bag of coconut chips at the store can cost almost $15. Ain’t nobody got time for that.

Good for you and me that it’s really easy to make your own at home! A few things, don’t worry if you don’t like the flavor of coconut these do not have a very coconutty taste. You will also want to make sure that you get the coconut flakes and not shreds otherwise you’ll end up with a pile of shriveled and burnt coconut shreds.

These come together fast and don’t require many ingredients, so if you feel a snack attack coming on you’re only a few minutes away from these sweet and savory coconut chips!

Coconut Chips

2 cups unsweetened coconut flakes, not shreds
2 tbsp coconut aminos, you can also use liquid aminos, soy sauce, or tamari
1 tbsp maple syrup, honey could also work
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp smoked paprika

Preheat the oven to 350
Dump the coconut shreds into a large bowl. Add in the rest of the ingredients and stir to coat everything.
Place some parchment paper or Silpat onto a large baking sheet and spread the chips in an even layer.
Bake for 5 minutes and stir the chips. Bake for another 2 minutes, watching carefully so the chips don’t burn.
Remove from oven and let cool…. or dig right in if you can’t wait!

Make sure to keep an eye on the coconut chips in the last few minutes because these can go from golden and delicious to charred very quickly. Store them in an airtight container for up to a week…. if they last that long!

DIY Wednesday: Cream Of Celery Soup

November 4, 2015November 4, 2015 / ktbuchs87

This might not seem like a DIY post at first glance, but trust me it’s a good one. Have you ever made a recipe that called for a can of whatever cream soup? Mushroom, chicken, celery, broccoli… They are used frequently in casseroles and other baked dishes to add a creamy flavor.

They’re also full of preservatives, MSG, artificial colors, and other not so good for you things. But they are SO convenient. Open a can, dump in, and go about your business. I get it, sometimes you need dinner to be fast and things like cans of cream of soup make the process smoother.

Which is why I made this DIY post. You can have the same convenience of the canned stuff but the nutrition benefits of homemade. Make a big batch of this cream of soup and freeze into batches. That way when you need to use it, you can pull out one serving and move on with your life. Simple right?

I made cream of celery for this version, but this formula will also work for mushroom and chicken. Just make sure if you do chicken, you cook the chicken before you add it to the soup. You also might want to add a carrot or two to the chicken version.

This soup is really easy to make, so whenever you meal prep for the week just add this into the mix. Another plus? This homemade version tastes WAY better than that red and white can. 🙂

Cream Of Celery Soup

2 1/2 cups celery, diced
1/2 cup onion, diced
1/2 cup leeks, sliced
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 cups vegetable broth or water
1 cup full-fat coconut milk
1/2 tsp celery salt
and pepper, to taste

Heat a little olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Saute the onions and leeks for about 10 minutes, until they’re soft.
Add in the garlic and celery and stir to mix together. Cover the pot and cook for another 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Remove the lid and pour in the 3 cups of broth or water and season with celery salt. Bring the pot to a boil and then lower to a simmer. Cook until the liquid is reduced by about half, about 15 minutes.
Remove the pot from the heat and puree the soup until smooth. You can do this in batches in the blender or use an immersion blender. Return the puree to the pot and add in the 1/2 cup coconut milk. Stir to combine and heat over low heat, but don’t let the soup boil. Taste and add salt and pepper as needed.

You can use this soup right away, but it will thicken up even more once it cools. Let the soup cool completely before you freeze it into batches.

DIY Wednesday: Plantain Chips

October 28, 2015October 28, 2015 / ktbuchs87

Snack foods are one of the biggest things that people buy in the store rather than make themselves. It is just so easy to buy those prepackaged and prepared foods to grab and go rather than create a snack for yourself.

I’m not going to completely knock bought snacks, there are a few healthy options out there. But for the most part, they are full of sugar and other ingredients that have no need to be in food or your body.

That leaves us with making our own snacks and often people default to cut up fruit and vegetables, especially if they are trying to be healthier with their choices. While fruit and vegetables are a great snack option, they can get a little boring after awhile. Boredom with food can lead to unnecessary snacking or choosing something not quite as healthy.

So what do you do? You leave it to me! Well, don’t leave it to me to actually make your snacks because there is no way I could get snacks to you personally every day even if I wanted to. No, leave it to me to come up with some tasty snacks that you can make on your own and will fuel you through your day.

Plantains chips are kind of a trendy food/snack right now. Plantains have been around for a very long time and are usually grown in warmer climates like South America. They are part of the banana family and actually look like bananas, but they are much starchier. Which makes them amazing for baking and making things like chips.

These plantain chips are really easy to make and you can make a big batch to snack on throughout the week. You also probably have all the ingredients other than the plantain in your kitchen right now. Just one big note: Make sure you get a greener plantain rather than a yellow or yellow/brown plantain. The yellow variety is sweeter and while tasty, it won’t make the nice crispy savory chip that the green variety will.

Plantain Chips

1 to 2 large green plantains, peeled
half a lime
1/2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp salt, divided
olive oil

Slice the plantains very thinly. The thinner the slice, the crispier the chip!
Place the plantain slices in a large bowl and squeeze the lime juice over them. Sprinkle with the chili powder and 1/2 tsp of salt and then toss to coat them
Place a paper towel onto a large plate and set aside. Heat a little olive oil in a medium cast-iron or non-stick skillet and once the oil is hot layer the plantain chips in an even layer with plenty of room. You may have to work in batches.
Cook the chips until the bottom is golden brown and then flip over. Watch carefully so you don’t burn the chips. Once they are cooked move them to the plate. Take another paper towel and blot the top of the chips and while they are still hot sprinkle with the rest of the salt.

Simple and crispy chips that are a fun twist on regular chips but will still satisfy your snack craving! You can keep these in an airtight container for 2 to 3 days, if they last that long!

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