A dear friend of mine in grad school always insisted that people need comfort food during a move to help ease the craziness. And she said, neither one of us knowing she was echoing Dr. McDougall, that comfort food meant starch. Potato salad. Potato chips. Pasta. Oatmeal cookies. Tortillas. Burritos. Bread. Pretzels. You get the idea.
Now that I eat whole starch as a matter of course, I guess I’m pretty much always eating “moving food.” But of course I’m not always disrupting my everyday life with a big move. During this crazy life changing move of mine, I’ve taken to a low fat, sugar free, starch based dessert that reminds me of the inside of a Nestle’s Crunch candy bar. Or if I make it with my version of Living Oatmeal, it’s kind of like the inside of a 3 Musketeers bar. And if I add the optional orange zest there is the slightest suggestion of the inside of a Cadbury Chocolate Orange Creme Egg.
It doesn’t look very pretty. It’s just a little bowl of glop. If you wanted to fancy it up you could roll it into balls or flatten into little discs and refrigerate them. Or make them into these little heavenly bites:
But for a quick and comforting treat, I like the glop approach, alongside a cup of rooibus tea spiked with a little vanilla extract.
So here it is folks: a comforting fat free vegan starch based sugar free dessert that will bring you back to the days of eating soft filled candy bars with just a little crunch. Glop never tasted so good. And a Heavenly Bite isn’t bad either.
Crazy-Easy Low Fat Vegan Candy Bar Innards Dessert
I really don’t measure when I “make” this, but here’s what goes in it.
about 1/3-1/2 cup of a combination of gluten free oats, Living oatmeal and dehydrated buckwheat groats
a few splashes of almond milk
about 3 tablespoons of carob (or cocoa powder)–almost (but not) as much carob powder as grains
optional, but awesome, so I always add if I have it:
a healthy dash of powdered ginger, or healthy grating of fresh ginger
a pinch of orange zest
Put the oats and buckwheat groats in a small dessert bowl. Drizzle a little almond milk over them. Just a little. Dump the carob powder, ginger and orange zest (if using) on top. Work the mixture with a spoon. At first it will seem way too dry, but eventually, the carob powder darkens and a chocolaty and carob-y colored glop starts to form. If you need a few more drops of almond milk to achieve this, splash it in. When it’s all dark brown and gloppy and sticking to the spoon, taste. You are probably done if you can’t stop licking the spoon.
Heavenly Bites
Take a small spoonful of glop and flatten it into a cookie about the diameter of a banana slice. Put a tiny bit of almond butter on top of it. Put a slice of banana on top of that. Put another smidge of almond butter on top. Put another little glop cookie on top of that. Place on a plate lined with wax paper and pop them in the freezer for a few hours. When they are frozen transfer to a plastic freezer bag, or your mouth. They seem very hard, but soften up enough to eat really quickly.
Notes: if you do this with carob, the sweetness of the carob is enough to achieve a sort of “dark chocolate” semi-sweet effect. If you do it with cocoa powder, and I have to imagine this, you might need a little sweetener or date or dried fruit or banana mashed in so it isn’t too bitter. Let me know what works if you go the chocolate route.
Lots of people say that the best things in life are free. I think that’s true. But I also believe the best things in life happen when I allow myself to be kind of crazy. I had both of those in one package the other morning when I got the idea that I could transport the rest of my garden starts, a hose, some leaf mulch and a chair in an old shopping cart left over from the Co-op’s stuff at the yard sale the couple of miles to my new house. Wearing my straw hat and sunglasses and my old corduroy overalls, with Romeo patiently at my side, we rattled all the way there, battling old sidewalk made treacherous by the roots of beautiful old trees and decades of winter ice. I also got an experiential glimpse into what my friend Ashley must face in her wheelchair every day. And for good measure, we probably woke everyone up along the way. It was clear this had been a one way trip once I got there, but I didn’t know how I would get the shopping cart back to be picked up by the Salvation Army the next day. I lucked out when a friend called and suggested that when she and her husband came to town, they’d pick me up, and pick the shopping cart up, put it in the back of their rig and drop us both off back at the blue house.
Deciding to try this dessert is kind of like deciding to push my belongings to my new house in a shopping cart. I had to be a little crazy. I had to entertain unlikely possibilities and to be willing to have things look a little silly and outrageous. I had to be stubborn. I had to be willing to tire myself out to see if it would work, and of course, I had to be willing to laugh at myself along the way. If you can manage any of that, you are ready to treat yourself to this visionary dessert. You’ll get to have a candy bar without the candy bar, or even the chocolate. Or a tiny ice cream sandwich without the ice cream. And perhaps, like me, you’ll be able to see how an old shopping cart, in the right light, looks almost exactly like a magic carpet.
PS: Me and Romeo in front of the new house (without the shopping cart):
{ 21 comments… read them below or add one }
Oh, this looks really yummy and a fun treat that the kids can make during the summer. My goal most summers is to find ways to not turn on the oven.
Thank you Kathy! I hope your kids enjoy this. 🙂 I have that same goal about keeping the oven off during most summers. 🙂
Do you think it would work to shape it into cookies and bake it or maybe dehydrate the cookies? These look amazing.
Too yummy sounding…Must. Eat. Breakfast. Soon….
Love the picture of your new porch inhabited by you and Romeo!
xoxo
Nicole
Oh thanks, Nicole!! I bet your making a yummy and healthy breakfast yourself! So glad you enjoyed the picture of us on the new front porch. xoxo
Darn, I really wanted to see that shopping cart! 🙂
Thanks for the reminder that I can make something sweet, yummy and healthy from my own small pantry on the road. I always have oats and some sort of non-dairy milk, as well as bananas, and other fun and healthy additives. I am back on the straight and narrow, avoiding chocolate and cookies.
I made a small bowl of “glop” after reading this and it was yummy. But it never made it into the freezer with banana slices! Just too yummy. Maybe next time, and it will be nice to have a cold treat to combat this heat wave we’re having! 🙂
Thanks for continuing to inspire me.
You’re welcome, Pam–I am honored–and thanks for trying out the glop and finding it delicious! Mine pretty much never makes it into the freezer either. But it’s good that way too. Stay cool as you can. And sorry, no record of the infamous shopping cart trip but the words! LOL xo
I always love how you’re able to make delicious treats without fat or sugar! It’s truly an art. Candy bar innards were always my favorite, anyway – so this would be a perfect, guilt-free treat. And the mini bites look delish!! I would eat all of them at once, if I know myself at all… Bananas and chocolate are a heavenly combination.
I can totally see you pushing that shopping cart 2 miles!! It’s an efficient way of getting your stuff there without using a car or multiple trips. If only you had a picture of that, though… Stay crazy. 🙂 xoxo
PS – your new house looks lovely! Lots of plants, and a homey front porch.
Thanks so much, Veronica! Yes, the candy bar innards are usually the best part. 🙂 Even if you ate all the heavenly bites in one sitting, you’d still e good to go. Thanks for being able to envision the shopping cart caper, and for your lovely words about the new place. I love it!! You made me laugh out loud with your admonition to stay crazy–will do!! 🙂 xoxo
Wow Maria…this is BRILLIANT! Thannnnk you, for sharing this delicious bite of heaven indeed…cannot WAIT to make these…YUMMY looking treats!
The photo of you on your new front porch is just wonderful…may you and Romeo have many, many, happy& healthful years of bliss there!
xoxox d.
Hi Donna! So very happy to know this dessert appeals to you–enjoy!! And thanks for the kind words about the photo and your warm well wishes for many happy and healthful years of bliss at our new place! xoxo
I made these and they are great, but I had to add some sweetener. I don’t know if Dutch cocoa is different from carob, but without sweetener I was a bit overwhelmed with the bittrness of the cocoa taste. Make sense? But they were really fab.
Thanks for posting this, Deb–it makes perfect sense. I suspected anyone using cocoa powder would have to add sweetener. Carob is naturally sweeter than cocoa. So glad you tweaked to your satifactions and found them “fab”–Yay!! 🙂
What are dehydrated buckwheat groats? I have only seen the regular kind. Absolutely love the pic of you and Romeo on the porch! What a lovely house! Someday, I will drive through your town just to see the the lovely vintage homes:)
Hi Kelly! Thanks for your question. dehydrated buckwheat groats are simply raw buckwheat groats that have been soaked overnight, rinsed, and then dried in the food dryer or dehydrator (hence the name) for another 8-10 hours. It’s something you have to do at home, which I have mentioned in other posts. Here’s where I first learned how to do it on Choosing Raw blog: http://www.choosingraw.com/buckwheat-cereal-and-almond-milk/. It makes the groats easier to digest and gives them a soft crunch. Very tasty! You could probably try and do them in a low oven if you don’t have a food dryer, but not for nearly as long–maybe not even an hour. I’ve never done it that way, though, I’m just going on what I’ve read. There might be something in that link about it. Hope this helps!
ps: thanks too for nice words about vintage homes in Moscow–there are some really lovely ones here. 🙂
I love how easy this recipe is! Many of my desserts feel sort of haphazard — a mish mosh with no particular precision — and they’re often the most delicious.
Thanks Gena! Here’s to our delicious desserts made of mish mosh with no particular precision. 🙂 Mish mosh–love that phrase!! 🙂
Hi Maria, this looks yummy!!!
I think I will use it as topping on banana icecream and maybe make a few balls and dehydrate them, see how that goes.
If I use almond milk for this, what do I do with the rest? I mean: is the fat content so low, it is o.k. to use it in bigger amounts?
I have been keeping my diary in Cronometre to get a feel of the fat I eat. Seeing there is fat in fruits and vegetables, sometimes even saturated fats, I have been avoiding nuts and seeds, nut milks, so as to keep my fat intake low. Once you make almon milk or open a store bought pack, it won’t keep very long. How do you solve that?
I was reading through your past posts to catch up on all the info. I am in November 2013, so still a while to go 🙂 but I did think to myself that you live in a lovely area. The houses are free standing (ours are all built in a row) and they are so pretty. Your new porch is so romantic. We don’t have that in The Netherlands, but we all dream of them 😉
I hope the move goes well and that it doesn’t wear you out.
Hugs,
Véronique
Hi Veronique! I think it’s a great idea to use it as topping for banana ice cream. I use my almond milk in my “big bowls” of oats, etc., which I eat every day, and sometimes in non-dairy sauces. The kind we can get in the store here lasts a while when open. I often solve the problem of going bad by making my own in small one person batches. So only 1/2 cup of nuts or even 1/3 to 4 or 5 times the water. Or I make it when I know I want to use it in the next few days for a variety of things. I use almond milk because it’s relatively low in saturated fat and easy for me to digest. It’s my personal favorite. But you could use soy or rice or some other non-dairy milk too. I am very intolerant of dairy so I don’t eat any of it anymore. But that’s me. Everyone’s body and needs are unique to them.
Thanks for the lovely compliment on the new front porch and the best wishes for the move. It IS wearing me out, but that’s the nature of the moving beast. 😀 I’m happy as can be, and resting as much as I can, and that helps a lot. 🙂
What is dehydrated buckwheat groats? do you dehydrate them yourself? sounds yummy i think. hope to hear from you. thanks,
rosalie
Hi Rosalie–thanks for your question. Here is the answer I gave another reader, Kelly, about how to make your own: dehydrated buckwheat groats are simply raw buckwheat groats that have been soaked overnight, rinsed, and then dried in the food dryer or dehydrator (hence the name) for another 8-10 hours. It’s something you have to do at home, which I have mentioned in other posts. Here’s where I first learned how to do it on Choosing Raw blog: http://www.choosingraw.com/buckwheat-cereal-and-almond-milk/. It makes the groats easier to digest and gives them a soft crunch. Very tasty! You could probably try and do them in a low oven if you don’t have a food dryer, but not for nearly as long–maybe not even an hour. I’ve never done it that way, though, I’m just going on what I’ve read. There might be something in that link about it. Hope this helps!