The unexpected and imminent quarantine period has served all of us in various ways — giving us a much-needed break from work, time to binge on those Netflix shows, catching up on precious family time and workouts — while the rest of us shy away from extensive workouts and spice up our lockdown with culinary skills. However, paying less attention to exercise calls for some cut-backs on luscious eating!
Fret not; you can satiate your sweet tooth with a combination of nutritious ingredients right from your kitchen — even icy ones to beat the heat eating up into our summer days! Here’s a quick list of wonderful dessert ideas for your and your family’s cravings for a sugary bite:
Granola, Peanut Butter & Dark Chocolate Banana Pops
The perfect summer saviour, these pops are a delight to prep with your little ones — I mean, who doesn’t like an icy stick in this heat? Here’s how to go about this:
All you need is:
· 2 bananas, cut into half
· 1/4th cup creamy peanut butter (let this sit out so that it’s not too jammed up)
· 1/4th cup dark, milk or white chocolate (play with your palate — or your little ones)
· 1/3rd cup Rice Power Cereal Mix from Gouri’s Goodies
· 4 craft sticks (or popsicle sticks, if you have them)
Method:
1. Insert a popsicle stick into each banana piece and spread each with peanut butter. This is a fun one for the kids — with their child-friendly knives!
2. Place them on a lined baking tray and let them freeze for about 15 minutes until solid
3. Melt the chocolate until then
4. Dip each stick of banana and peanut butter into melted chocolate and immediately sprinkle with the cereal. (You could do one, and let the children take care of the rest of them — while you watch!)
5. Place them back on the tray and freeze once again for 20 minutes at least, before consuming
Peanut Butter Cereal Blondies
Who doesn’t like an easy to carry dessert? Just grab these while walking around the house, or even better, on your post-dinner walking routine (around the house compound, of course!) and let it settle in without glutton regret. Here’s how:
All you need is:
· 2 Eggs
· 1 Cup unsweetened peanut butter
· 3/4th cup brown sugar
· 1/4th cup butter, melted
· 2 tsp vanilla
· 1/4th cup all-purpose flour
· ½ tsp baking soda
· 1/4th tsp salt
· ½ cup cereal mix — we had Happy Millet on hand and it added a subtle crunch. However, Rice Power Cereal Mix or Mighty Oats Cereal Mix would be perfect too!
· ½ cup chocolate chips
Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 170 degrees Celsius and grease the bottom of an 8-inch pan with parchment paper
2. In a bowl — mix together the eggs, peanut butter, sugar, butter and vanilla. Add the flour, baking soda and salt and mix together. Stir in cereal and half the chocolate chips
3. Bake for about 30–35 minutes, or till a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
4. While the bars cool, melt the remaining chocolate chips. Drizzle the melted chocolate mix over the blondie mixture with a few more tablespoons of the cereal mix. Cut into bars once completely cooled!
Almond Shortbread Cookies
Sweet, sugary and nutritious, these cookies are a delight in any kitchen. Very easy to prepare and crumble in the mouth goodness — make sure to add this to the kid’s cooking list.
All you need is:
· 225 gm butter
· 3/4th cup sugar
· 125 gm of flour
· 1 tsp vanilla
· 70 gm ground almonds
Method:
1. Beat together the butter and sugar until smooth
2. Add the flour, vanilla and almonds and beat for another 20 seconds
3. Shape them into small balls and place on a parchment-lined baking tray
4. Bake them for 30 minutes at 175 degrees Celsius. Dust with sugar once cooled
5. These cookies keep well for about 2–3 weeks in an airtight container!
Chocolate Fudge
Summer is here and we do not want to spend more than a few minutes in the kitchen till we can run back to our air-conditioned rooms! This super easy chocolate fudge made with condensed milk is the perfect dessert preparation to beat the heat and store for the days to come!
All you need is:
· 1 can Condensed Milk (400 grams)
· 350 gm semi-sweet chocolate chips
· 1 tsp vanilla extract
Method:
- Butter a square pan and line with parchment paper for easy removal of set fudge. Set aside. In a microwave-safe bowl, heat chocolate chips and sweetened condensed milk, on high for 1 minute. Remove from microwave. Let sit for 1 minute, then stir to combine. If needed, heat an additional 30 seconds. Stir until chips are completely melted and chocolate is smooth
- Stir in vanilla extract. Pour fudge into prepared pan. Let fudge cool completely before cutting into 1-inch squares. (you can place in the refrigerator for 1 hour to speed up the process.) Store in an airtight container. Fudge does not need to be kept refrigerated.
Upside-Down Honeyed Oats Cake
A cake during lockdown?! I’m sure this one is as exciting as the thought. What’s more? Filled with nutrition, this upside-down cake is your answer to a sweet fill while yet not binging on sugar!
All you need is:
- 95 gm Gouri’s Goodies Mighty Oats Cereal Mix
- 50 gm Gouri’s Goodies Happy Millet Cereal Mix, finely ground
- 25 gm Ragi Flour
- 56 gm Nut Butter (Either Almond or Peanut)
- 50 gm Honey
- 2 Eggs
- 62 gm butter, melted
- ½ tsp baking powder
- 1/4th tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp Vanilla Essence
- 1–2 Tbsp Coconut Oil
- Honey, to drizzle
Method:
· Lightly roast the Mighty Oats cereal, finely ground Happy Millet and the Ragi flour at 150°C for about 5 minutes. Preheat the oven to 180°C and grease an 8″ pan — don’t be stingy or your cake won’t turn out!
· In a mixing bowl beat the eggs and add in vanilla. Mix in the melted butter, nut butter and honey
· Gradually fold in the Ragi flour as well as the baking powder and soda, making sure everything is incorporated
· Stir in the coconut oil a tablespoon at a time, using just as much as you need
· Drizzle the base of your greased pan with a little more honey, then sprinkle the Mighty Oats cereal mix over it so it forms an even layer
· Pour in the batter over the cereal mix and pop it into the oven for about 25–30 minutes, or until a knife inserted into the centre comes out clean
· Let it cool about 5 minutes, then turn out into a serving plate or cake stand. Eat plain, or with softly whipped cream, or ice cream — just eat!
Oatmeal & Chocolate Brownies
There is never less want for a perfect brownie. While we LOVE traditional brownies — gooey, chocolatey and delicious — a simple twist can make these brownies simply nutritious and irresistible for your lockdown period (more nutrition, less weight gain). All you need to do is:
· Prepare your ingredients — 2 Cups of Oat Flour, 1/4th Cup of Sugar, ½ Cup of Almond Butter, 1 Cup of Vanilla Yoghurt, 1/3rd Cup of Cocoa Powder & 1 tsp Baking Soda
· Set aside a mixture of the oat flour, baking soda and cocoa powder
· Mix almond butter, yoghurt and sugar in a separate bowl. Mix the dry and wet ingredients until you have a thick dough-like result
· Line a muffin tin and scoop the dough into each muffin-casing. Bake for 15-minutes in a pre-heated oven at 180 degrees Celsius and you have a tray of tasty nutritious brownies on your hands. Voila!
As the saying goes, ‘Desserts are the fairy tales of the kitchen- a happily ever after to supper’. We do believe Terri Guillemets on this — but we also believe nutrition is important. Find your best combinations to make a simple dessert nutritious. A little research goes a long way. And don’t forget, too much of anything is rarely a good thing!
Written By Gouri Gupta
Week 18, May ’20
