Strange But Good: Mexican Chocolate Cake

December 20, 2013 By Laura

Dessert is my favorite part of a fiesta.

Christmas counts as a fiesta, no?

I made this for Thanksgiving, but it would be fantastic for a Christmas dinner, too. Or New Years. Or just for breakfast.

When you read the ingredients in this cake, you’ll see that it actually wouldn’t be so bad to have at breakfast. It’s full of healthy fats and protein, and sugar-free! This brings me to the strange. The healthy fat in this one is avocado. It’s good, I swear.

Between the avocado, eggs, and yogurt, this is one of the lightest, moist cakes you’ll ever have. It’s the perfect end to a heavier dinner. You could eat half of it without blinking an eye. ~~Not that I would know.~~

The almond, cinnamon, and cayenne are the Mexican part. If you’re concerned about the cayenne, you could leave it out. It’s not overwhelming; it simple gives the smallest hint of “hmmmm” at the end of a bite.

The icing on this cake was yet another healthy fat addition. I whipped coconut cream into a pillow-y spread for the cake. Don’t worry if it doesn’t seem stiff enough at first – it will firm up as it settles.

You can have fun with the flavors here. I added vanilla and cinnamon, but a liqueur like Frangelico or pie spice would be excellent as well.

I know several of you made these Chocolate Avocado Cookies or these (Vegan) Blood Orange Scones… vouch for me! You really can’t taste the avocado.

Mexican Chocolate Cake

1 small avocado
1 egg
2 egg whites
1 C xylitol (or other sugar substitute)
3/4 C Icelandic yogurt (or Greek)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp almond extract
1 C all-purpose flour
1 C whole wheat flour
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp cayenne
1 C unsweetened vanilla almond milk
Coconut Icing

Preheat oven to 350. Prepare a bundt pan.

In a small blender, mix the avocado and eggs until smoother. Stir in xylitol, yogurt, and extracts until combined.

Whisk together dry ingredients. Gradually add dry ingredients to the wet.

Once combined, add in milk and beat well.

Pour into bundt pan. Bake for 45 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

Cool for 10-15 minutes in pan and then transfer to wire rack to completely cool.

Eat as-is, or ice the cake with whipped coconut cream frosting. I used this recipe for the coconut cream whip, only I subbed more xylitol for the sugar, and added vanilla and cinnamon.

Note: Like most cakes, the flavors improve after that cake has a day to rest. Do wait to frost it until the day of.

How have you enjoyed making co-workers, friends, or family stare with strange but good creations this week? The link up rules can be found here or by clicking on “Strange But Good” in the menu bar above. In short, I want to see what concoctions have earned you weird looks from co-workers, family and friends! Post your Strange But Good creations, grab the logo below for your blog, and link up here.

Remember to use #strangebutgood in any Tweets and Instagrams of your creations. 🙂

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My mom took home a couple of slices and called the next day (at breakfast) to tell me it had gotten even better! I think day 2 is the perfect storm for this one.

Avocado. Would you bake with it? Have you ever?

What is your favorite dessert for the holiday season?

Sriracha. The New Pumpkin.

December 11, 2013 By Laura

I’m ahead of the “trendy” curve.

This is a first.

According to this article, sriracha may be the new pumpkin. Many of you saw the chips. They have now gone so far as to turn it into a vodka flavor.

Why does EVERYTHING good need to be turned into vodka? I like a good drink, and I admit that a sriracha Bloody Mary sounds good… but PB&J? Really?

The point was going to be that I like sriracha before it was cool. Before the pumpkin obsession. Before even the bacon obsession. So there. ~~Pass me a pumpkin-bacon-sriracha martini.~~

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This WIAW felt like it was going to be “meh” after a rushed food prep. Looking back it didn’t turn out too badly. I’m pressed for time, but having quick proteins has helped – on busy weeks I rely on no-salt deli turkey and rotisserie chicken. With a few simple flavor adds, semi-homemade tastes pretty good! Read on for my eats, and then check out Jenn’s blog for everyone else delicious creations!…

Portland is Delicious

December 9, 2013 By Laura

Portland, it’s a good think you’re tasty.

And sunny. Yes, I said sunny.

A belly full of warm food and a sunny, blue sky is the only way I survived this arctic weekend. My little sister, Alli, moved to Portland a few years ago and I hadn’t had the occasion to visit. Apparently they hit record lows the couple of days I finally decided to pop in. It was so cold my teeth hurt.

This was my view coming in:

The snow did melt, and the sun came out to stay! The first order of business was to eat. Alli collected me from the airport and we went right to Tasty ‘n Sons where we ordered everything #yolkporn we could find….

Strange But Good: Whiskey Bacon Brownies

December 6, 2013 By Laura

Strange is the new normal.

It is with my dessert-making, anyway.

For some reason I can’t get enough whiskey and bacon in my desserts this season. If you choose a spirit laced with notes of caramel and vanilla, it perfectly compliments a sweet dish. It also is strangely good with bacon. Sweet and salty, ftw!

These brownies are of the fudgy variety. I do love a cake-like brownie, but the richness of my add-ins called for a decadent dense chocolate background.

Even if you don’t do bacon or booze, these would be an incredible dessert. The cocoa powder gives them a deep flavor, and makes them no quite as tooth-achingly sweet as morsels would. Each bite is thick, rich experience. ~~Just how I like my dates.~~

Bonus: If you make extra bacon and reserve the fat when cooking, you’re well on your way to making a Whiskey-bacon Apple Pie.

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Whiskey Bacon Brownies

1 stick (1/2 C) salted butter
1/4 C unsweetened applesauce
1 C (200g) sugar
1/2 C (100g) light brown sugar, packed
1½ tsp vanilla extract
4 eggs, room temperature
1/2 C plus 2 T (60g) unsweetened cocoa powder
1 C (120g) all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 C + 1 T good-quality whiskey (I used Balcones Baby Blue)
1/2 lb sliced bacon

Preheat the oven to 350° F. Prepare a 9 x 13” pan.

In a medium-sized pot, melt the butter over medium-high heat. Whisk in the sugars and apple sauce, stirring until fully incorporated. Remove the pot from the heat, then quickly whisk in the eggs (work fast so they don’t become scrambled egg brownies). Whisk in vanilla.

In a medium bowl, sift together cocoa powder, flour, baking powder, and cinnamon. Stir the dry ingredients into the wet, stirring just until incorporated.

Stir in 1/4 C of the whiskey then pour the batter into baking pan. Bang the pan on the counter a couple of times to release some of the air bubbles.

Bake for 20-25 mins, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of your brownies comes out clean. Brush the top with remaining 1T of whiskey (this is optional, but really brings out the whiskey flavor).

Allow the brownies to cool slightly before cutting.

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Remember to use #strangebutgood in any Tweets and Instagrams of your creations. 🙂

***

A word of advice: make these fresh and get them out of the house ASAP. I couldn’t be trusted with them alone!

Do you bake with booze? How about bacon?

What’s your favorite #strangebutgood baking add-in?

Insta-Mallow + WIAW

December 4, 2013 By Laura

Instagram is everywhere.

No judgment – I’m 100% addicted.

There is a printing company in the UK, Boomf, that has developed an app allowing Instragrammers to print their images onto marshmallows.

So you can take a picture of your food, print it onto another food, and eat it. Would that be considered leftovers?

The service isn’t available in the U.S. yet. They’re trying to work out how to get it through customs.

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I didn’t eat any marshmallows for WIAW, but still managed some good stuff. I’m out of town the rest of the week, so this is one of those “eat everything in the fridge” days. Read on for my eats, and then check out Jenn’s blog for everyone else delicious creations!

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Breakfast:

As always, the day began with my apple cider morning cocktail. Still searching for a new amino powder I like…

Breakfast was a little random. A delicious banana-peanut butter fluff wrap, heated in the microwave. The peanut butter fluff was a mix of peanut flour (from iHerb – use discount code USO924 for $5-10 off your order!), vanilla protein powder, cinnamon, vanilla, and Stevia. With a side of turkey because it was going to go bad.

Mid-Morning Snack:

I am oddly addicted to this Matcha bar found at Whole Foods. It’s almost buttery with its healthy fats! Really good pre-workout fuel with a side of almonds.

Lunch:

Shredded rotisserie chicken (naked from Whole Paycheck) mixed with kale and a really random “dressing.” It was the end of a cottage cheese container, mashed avocado, nutritional yeast, apple cider vinegar, cumin, smoked paprika, garlic power, and pepper. I mixed it up the night before and used half here and half in the next snack.

I discovered the toaster at work, so I’ve been loving hot Ezekial sesame toast. Today’s was slathered my favorite Roots spinach hummus (also a Whole Foods find).

Mid-Afternoon Snack:

The other half of the afore-mentioned cottage cheese mix was used in a turkey salad with broccoli slaw. I’m pretty surprised and how good the cottage cheese mix was, now that I think about it. I wish we had a toaster oven at work so I could crisp it up…

And then I had a pity party. I’m getting a cold. Extra water, green tea… and a Snickers should fix it, right?

Dinner:

Dinner was rotisserie chicken tossed with BBQ sauce, with a side of roasted mushrooms and crisped kale.

I turned my roasted buttercup squash into dessert, tossing it in a sauce of peanut flour, cinnamon, Stevia, and almond milk. And chocolate chips.

Dessert:

Pumpkin-Zucchini Bread Batter was my midnight snack. It was another “use all the foods” creation that turned out better than expected! I love using protein powder in these – it really lends to the batter consistency.

Pumpkin Zucchini Bread Batter

1/2 C shredded zucchini
1/2 C Greek yogurt
1/4 C Pumpkin purée
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ginger
1/2 scoop vanilla protein powder (I use Growing Naturals rice protein)

Mix everything together and top as desired. I went with a cocoa powder sauce, popcorn, and cacao nibs.

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I’m headed to San Francisco for work, and then to Portland to see my sister for the weekend. Any good Portland restaurant recs?

What would you like to print your Instagram pics on? I want Insta-bacon!

What is the strangest clean-out-the-fridge dish you’ve ever made?

Thanks for Bacon + Easy Cranberry Kale Salad

December 1, 2013 By Laura

I spoke too soon.

I’ve often said I need a 5 second delay on my mouth.

This Thanksgiving I ate turkey, and I liked it. My uncle brought the most deliciously moist (yeah, I said it) smoked turkey. So partially I take back what I said about not liking Thanksgiving food. I still passed on the green bean casserole and the stuffing.

First let’s back up. I headed to my mom’s house on Thanksgiving morning to drive the family to my grandparents house in north GA for the festivities. They said they were ready to go, but when I got there only the dog, Honey, was ready.

We finally did get on the road and made it the party without incident (I did have to swerve to miss a kitten in the middle of the road).

The good thing about being late everywhere is that everything is ready when you arrive. We had quite the spread! The turkey didn’t fit on the counter so it’s off to the side, along with a table this size filled with desserts. I’m lucky my whole family likes food as much as I do!

After pre-gaming with cheese crackers, I stacked round 1 with my kale salad, turkey, mac ‘n cheese, sweet potato souffle, pumpkin beer bread (recipe coming!), and had a side of my grandmother’s turnips and ham and a glass of rosé wine I brought back from Napa.

Round 2 looked about the same, but with a deviled egg someone had forgotten in the fridge. 😉

There was PLENTY of dessert too… I brought 4 different desserts, so I’m going to be sharing some fun sweet recipes just in time for Christmas. Yes, I use Thanksgiving to test desserts for Christmas parties.

Today’s sweet treat is from Gabby’s recipe for a gluten-free Apple-Bacon Crisp. I followed her recipe, but added a twist… where she sautes the apples in the bacon pan, I also added 2 tablespoons of whiskey.

The whiskey I used, Balcones Baby Blue, was a smooth addition. The blue corn whiskey from Texas is one of my favorites with its slightly sweet vanilla-caramel taste and notes of candied citrus and baking spices. My other modification was to use hazelnuts in the topping. The rich taste played well with the coconut flour.

It. Was. Awesome. I am thankful for Gabby and her #strangebutgood bacon idea. I scooped it on to my dessert plate with glee.

The leftover whiskey was great to have on hand for the weekend, too. I went to the Tech–UGA game with my cousin and friends Kathleen and Matt. We were all smiles at the tailgate and the first half of the game.

Then the second half happened, and we realized Tech is as bad at football as we feared. ~~It’s a good thing they’re smart.~~

Kathleen and I, pre-loss

Whiskey is a good wound heal-er. 😉

If you’re like me, you need a ~~very short~~ break from the heavy food, so today I’m also sharing the easiest kale salad you’ll ever have. It’s simply dressed, and you can make it the night before. It’s pretty marvelous.

This was my healthy contribution to Thanksgiving, but kale salads are also one of my favorite things to make during my weekly food prep. Their hearty leaves only get more delicious as they soften in the dressing and the flavor soaks in.

This dressing is light, but doesn’t lack in flavor. It is zesty and garlicky with a little heat on the end. If you really like it hot, add red pepper flakes to the top. I did.

Cranberry Kale Salad

2 medium bunches destemmed kale, finely chopped
3 large garlic cloves
Juice from 1 lemon
2 T extra virgin olive oil
1/2 tsp marjoram
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp cayenne
1-2 handfuls dried sweetened cranberries, for garnish
Parmigiano Reggiano, to taste (omit if dairy-free)

In a mini food processor, process the garlic, lemon, oil, marjoram, pepper, and cayenne until smooth. Taste and adjust flavors, if needed.

Pour the dressing onto the kale and massage it into the kale with your hands. Allow to soften in fridge at least 30 mins, or overnight.

Just before serving, top with cranberries and cheese.

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I’ve been craving greens after the brown fest that is Thanksgiving!

What was the best dish from your weekend?

Are you punctual, or are you the last to arrive? I’m trying to get better… but it hasn’t taken yet.

A Relaxing Weekend

November 25, 2013 By Laura

This weekend was relaxing.

My version of relaxing… which is active relaxed.

This was the first weekend in a long time where I didn’t HAVE to do anything productive. I still did lots of things, but it was nice to not have a set agenda.

Friday night I had an impromptu dinner with my mom at local Italian restaurant Double Zero. We had a great time catching up and eating. I hadn’t seen her since my competition!

My favorite dish was the grilled octopus with pancetta hash, asparagus puree, and citrus vinaigrette, but the lamb farro was a close second. It was a smoke and braise lamb shoulder with apricots, figs, fresh ricotta, and a poached egg. Next to all that the beet salad was underwhelming.

This next morning I woke up ravenous, so I threw together some quick pancakes. I am not the Pancake Queen, so I was surprised when they turned out to be quite good!

I posted this Almond-Chocolate Pancake recipe here. The topping was the icing on the (pan)cake. I used Lorann Oils Irish Cream flavor in it!

Then it was off to the gym for a glute workout with some of my teammates. I normally workout solo and forgot how much fun it is to have a gym morning with friends!

After the workout we stood around talking about food (of course), and my friend Rachael revealed she hadn’t been to Whole Foods before! I suggested a post-workout trip and off we went. 2 hours later, we were full of samples and hot bar boxes and Rachael learned why we lovingly call it “Whole Paycheck.” She Instagrammed her finds – have you ever tried any of these items? Black bean pasta and no-salt mustard are awesome!

Saturday night I had a friend date with Kat. I’ve been looking forward to catching up with her for weeks! We talked and laughed for hours. You know those friends who just “get” you? That’s Kat.

We ate at the bar at Kimball House. Their cocktail program is incredible! Their take on a Manhattan used cola bitters – coolest thing ever! The food was ok… I’d go back for a pre-dinner drink or a nightcap.

Their take on a Manhattan with cola bitters, sautéed mushroom salad, and beef tartar

I took an “artsy” shot! Sort of:

Sunday was a beautiful day in Atlanta. It was sunny and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky! I decided to go for a run and enjoy the weather… as soon as I stepped outside I realized that – despite the sun – it was in the 30s. About a mile into it I thawed out and enjoyed myself.

I love the trees with the red leaves. They look like they’re on fire!

When I returned I had a lot to do in the kitchen. All fun creations! It was kombucha-brewing day. I have been brewing my own for over a year now. It’s really easy, especially if you have a starter kit (you need a “mother” called a scoby). Mine was from Brooklyn Kombucha, but you could also beg a friend who brews for a scoby.

This week’s flavors are cranberry-ginger-lemon and blackberry-lemon-mint.

I also did some baking for the Sunday evening end of season party at my training gym, House of Payne. I’ll share my #strangebugood brownie recipe next week. 😉

This is what happens when a bunch of competitors get together for a post-season party. It’s ok… we’re bulking…

There were plenty of green veggies, clean sweet potato casseroles, and protein. That pic just wasn’t as much fun.

I am so thankful to have found Steve and his gym. This group of competitors is top-notch. Everyone is kind and always willing to lend a hand. They are funny, genuine people who I am proud to be associated with.

Linking up to Katie’s MIMM again – I’d say this “relaxing” weekend was pretty marvelous!

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I’m 100% enjoying food freedom again. Bulking season is my favorite.

When was the last time you had an agenda-free weekend?

Have you been to Whole Foods? Do you remember your first time?

A Day of Food at 4 Days Out

November 6, 2013 By Laura

Change is often slow.

The bane of my impatient existence.

Change does come to those who stay the course. When I started training for competitions I had some muscle tone, but was underweight and had literally run my ass off. I posted about my journey here so I won’t rehash. What I will say (again) is that there is NOTHING you can’t accomplish with hard work and the unwavering belief that you can do anything you want to if you want to badly enough.

Yes, I’m still small for Figure; I know I have a long way to go. This weekend’s show is the most competitive one I’ve ever done and I know I won’t place. That doesn’t lessen my excitement to have the experience, and to be around so many inspiring competitors. AND – regardless of the outcome – I’m pretty damn proud of this progress in about a year and a half.

Competing isn’t easy. Some days I don’t want to get up and do cardio or eat healthy food or hear snarky comments from people… but it is worth it. The good days and the personal satisfaction outweigh the bad.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: find something you’re passionate about and go do it to the fullest extent. It could be running, lifting, painting, writing code… whatever! You will be more fulfilled and SO MUCH happier – it has made all the difference for me.

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Enough inspirational mush! This WIAW I am 4 days from my 3rd figure competition! Bring on the lean protein, complex carbs, and yes… the asparagus.

Read on for my eats, and then check out Jenn’s blog for everyone else delicious creations!

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