Doctor’s Tip: Two tasty plant-based holiday desserts
Chocolate Raspberry Tofu Pie
This is a relatively healthy holiday dessert from eatingwell.com. It does contain quite a bit of sugar, but don’t feel too guilty for splurging a few times over the holidays. If you’re a purest, you could try substituting date paste for sugar if you make your own crust, but date paste would likely change the texture of the tofu/chocolate part.
Following are the ingredients:
1 ½ cups of vegan semi-sweet mini chocolate chips (Enjoy Life brand available at Natural Grocers and Whole Foods)
12.3-ounce package of firm, shelf-stable silken tofu (unrefrigerated—Mori-Nu brand in foreign food section of City Market)
1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup raspberries, fresh or frozen (thawed), plus more for garnish
½ cup confectioners’ sugar
1.9-inch graham cracker pie crust
Directions:
· Put chocolate chips in a medium microwaveable bowl. Microwave on medium for 1 minute. Stir, then continue microwaving on medium, stirring every 20 seconds until melted.
· Place tofu in a food processor or blender and process until smooth. Add the melted chocolate, maple syrup, and vanilla. Process again until smooth. Add raspberries and confectioners’ sugar and process until very smooth; scraping down the sides as necessary. Spread the mixture into the crust. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours, until firm. Garnish with raspberries.
Makes 10 servings. Nutritional data per serving: 310 calories; 15 g fat (6 g saturated, 6 g monounsaturated); 0mg. cholesterol; 43 g carbohydrate; 31 g added sugars; 5g protein; 3 g fiber, 153 mg sodium, 210 mg potassium.
Pioneer Gingerbread
This is from the Fall/22 edition of Forks Over Knives magazine.
Ingredients:
3 cups spelled flour (Natural Grocers)
1 Tbsp. baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
· 1 tsp. ground ginger
· 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
· 1 tsp. ground allspice
· ½ tsp. ground nutmeg
· ½ tsp. ground cloves
· ½ tsp. sea salt
1 cup pure maple syrup
½ cup applesauce
¾ cup molasses
2 Tbsp. white vinegar
Directions:
· Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line a 3-qt. Rectangular baking dish with parchment paper. In a medium bowl whisk together the first nine ingredients (through salt).
· In another—large—bowl stir together the remaining ingredients. Add 1 cup boiling water; stir to combine. Slowly add flour mixture while stirring just until combined. (The batter will be quite thin.). Pour batter into a prepared dish.
· Bake 35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in dish 20 minutes. Remove gingerbread from dish. Cool completely on a wire rack.
· Serve with a vegan lemon sauce (find recipe online) or plant-base “whipping cream” available at most grocery stores.
Have safe, healthy, happy, tasty holidays!
Dr. Feinsinger is a retired family physician with special interest in disease prevention and reversal through nutrition. Free services through Center For Prevention and The People’s Clinic include: one-hour consultations, shop-with-a-doc at Carbondale City Market and cooking classes. Call 970-379-5718 for appointment, or email gfeinsinger@comcast.net.