Borrowed this beautiful pic from The Tart Tart Blog.
Warning it is pure food porn. Read at your own risk
Warning it is pure food porn. Read at your own risk
"Hun... what are you doing?" The husband sounded alarmed while watching me rummaging through the fridge.
"Oh... nothing. Just feeling a bit peckish." I said in my best received pronunciation keep-calm-and-carry-on voice.
Truth was I wanted a dessert. Something so sinful it would count as a double cheat.
It was December 2014. I just came back from my 1 month highly charged carb trip in India and I wanted something creamy sweet like ice cream or berry cheese cake. My higher brain region defeated was just shaking its metaphorical head and was about to surrender to the urge of immediate gratification until something from my long-term memory signalled for my immediate attention. I remembered a cranberry parfait recipe a female fitness model came up with and she posted it on a body-building website sometime in 2012.
Now professional body-builders need to be good in loosing body fat before competition which they call the cutting phase. She was able to eat that dessert almost every day during her cutting phase and it helped her to endure a very plain calorie restricted diet. So I decided to come up with a primal version. She used low-fat cream cheese and stevia for her creamy dessert. I decided to use Italian ricotta cheese from Marks and Spencer. Ricotta is usually made from whey from sheep's, goat's or buffalo's milk and therefore most likely grass-fed. It has a naturally light sweet flavour is low in fat in comparison to other cheeses.
"Oh... nothing. Just feeling a bit peckish." I said in my best received pronunciation keep-calm-and-carry-on voice.
Truth was I wanted a dessert. Something so sinful it would count as a double cheat.
It was December 2014. I just came back from my 1 month highly charged carb trip in India and I wanted something creamy sweet like ice cream or berry cheese cake. My higher brain region defeated was just shaking its metaphorical head and was about to surrender to the urge of immediate gratification until something from my long-term memory signalled for my immediate attention. I remembered a cranberry parfait recipe a female fitness model came up with and she posted it on a body-building website sometime in 2012.
Now professional body-builders need to be good in loosing body fat before competition which they call the cutting phase. She was able to eat that dessert almost every day during her cutting phase and it helped her to endure a very plain calorie restricted diet. So I decided to come up with a primal version. She used low-fat cream cheese and stevia for her creamy dessert. I decided to use Italian ricotta cheese from Marks and Spencer. Ricotta is usually made from whey from sheep's, goat's or buffalo's milk and therefore most likely grass-fed. It has a naturally light sweet flavour is low in fat in comparison to other cheeses.
Instead of cranberries I wanted to add a bit low-GI sweetness by using mixed frozen berries. Also I don't care much for cranberries. They taste like Donatella Versace's scorn. Using mixed berries in the dessert would also give it a nice boost of vitamins and anti-oxidants. And because I wanted it all I decided to throw some crunchiness in there by adding crushed cashew nuts. The last two magic ingredients, cinnamon and vanilla extract, would give the parfait the an extra omph in fragrance and sweet aroma. They will trick the brain in thinking that the dessert is richer than it is and feel just as satisfied.
This dessert has stuck with me until now. There are sometimes still times when I want to indulge especially when the menses are close. If I wanted to I could have a serving every night without wrecking havoc on my body fat percentage. Good thing that was never necessary.
This dessert has stuck with me until now. There are sometimes still times when I want to indulge especially when the menses are close. If I wanted to I could have a serving every night without wrecking havoc on my body fat percentage. Good thing that was never necessary.
Frozen Berries Vanilla Ricotta and Cinnamon Cashew Nuts
a là Lory MartinPrep time:
Rest time:
Total time:
Yield: 1 serving
Ingredients:
1/2 cup Ricotta Cheese from Marks and Spencer
1/2 cup Frozen mixed berries
1.5 Tbs Dry roasted cashewnuts
1 generous pinch of Vietnamese ground cinnamon
2-4 drops of vanilla extract, the non alcoholic flavouring kind
- Mix ricotta and 1-2 drops of vanilla extract thoroughly, cover and refrigerate for 10 minutes.
- Toss frozen berries with remaining 1-2 drops of vanilla in a small bowl. Let stand at room temperature for about 5 minutes.
- Add cashews and cinnamon in a mortar and crush the cinnamon into chunky pieces
- Scoop the ricotta into a small rice bowl or short wide mouth glass. Top with cinnamon cashews, then with berries and serve.
- Toss frozen berries with remaining 1-2 drops of vanilla in a small bowl. Let stand at room temperature for about 5 minutes.
- Add cashews and cinnamon in a mortar and crush the cinnamon into chunky pieces
- Scoop the ricotta into a small rice bowl or short wide mouth glass. Top with cinnamon cashews, then with berries and serve.
If you have come up with your own fool-the-sugar-craving dessert let me hear all about it. And if you like we can post it on this blog.
