Pineapple Pomegranate Popsicles

Yesterday the pavement on our driveway was oozing and bubbling. Today the weather was slightly cooler – just enough to solidify the lava flow – but it was still blazing. My feet burned stepping out on the wooden planks of the porch and the metal clip of Owen’s leash was hot to the touch.

We’re Mainers. We’re supposed to be prepared for any weather, so we did what we do best: we coped. (Actually, Owen is reportedly from Arkansas and I was born in Massachusetts, but we’ve got squatters rights.)

Owen sat by the pool to beat the heat.

I sat next to him, dunked my feet and ate a wonderfully refreshing Pineapple Pomegranate Popsicle. And played Angry Birds.

What?

Now, you know you want to be as cool we are (or at least as Owen is), so you need the popsicle recipe.

First, you need these:

Because store-bought popsicles are full of sugar, high fructose nastiness or other bad-for-your-body sweeteners. Not that I’m judging. Except that I am.

Pineapple Pomegranate Popsicles

Ingredients

• 2 c. cubed fresh pineapple (canned won’t yield the right amount of sweetness)
• 1 – 1-1/2 c. Pom juice
• 1/2 c. ginger beer (I use Reed’s Extra Ginger Brew, which is sweetened only with pineapple juice and honey)
• 2 Tbs. lime juice

Directions

1. Place pineapple chunks in a blender. Pour in Pom juice until just covered. Add ginger beer and lime juice. Blend until smooth.

2. Pour into ice pop molds. Leave a little room at the top for expansion as the pops freeze. (Also, the ginger beer makes it frothy. You may need to scoop out some of the foam and pour in more of the mixture.)

3. Freeze for four to six hours.

4. Enjoy! You may need to run the molds under cool water to get the popsicle out.

But it is so worth it!

Sorry. This picture is actually of a watermelon-mango popsicle I made a few weeks ago (it sounds better than it was). I didn’t take any pictures of the Pineapple Pomegranate ones because I was too busy eating them, but they are a deep red with swirls of pink froth running throughout.

Beautiful on the inside and the out!

Like this guy:

Stay cool!

Pineapple Coconut Milk Ice Cream

Creeeaaaak! Poof!

That was the sound of me opening my WordPress account for the first time in almost two weeks and blowing the dust off of my dashboard.

I don’t really have an explanation or any excuses, so let’s get down to business.

This morning I was chopping fresh pineapple and thinking about all the cool treats I could make to counter the temperatures that were bursting through the 100 degree mark like an angry bird on a mission. (The previous sentence contains a hint as to where I’ve been for two weeks.)

My house, today.

Many people don’t feel like eating in the heat. I look at extreme heat as an opportunity. A delicious,  refreshing excuse to eat homemade popsicles, smoothies and ice cream.

My pineapple idea hit me harder than a Mack truck hits a moose. Not that I’m a moose. Although if I keep eating ice cream, it will become a distinct possibility. But who cares? How good does Pineapple Coconut Milk Ice Cream sound? Pretty moose-worthy, right?

So here’s what I did:

First, I ran to Facebook and posted this:

Then, oh, about nine hours later, I concocted this:

Let me assure you that the consumption was as spiritual as the conception. So, if you’re looking for a little religion in your life, try this:

Pineapple Coconut Milk Ice Cream

Ingredients:

• 1 can coconut milk
• 1 c. cubed fresh pineapple
• 1/3 c. unsweetened shredded coconut
• 1 tsp. vanilla (gluten-free, of course!)
• 1/4 tsp. xanthan gum (optional, but it adds thickness)
• 1/2 c. finely chopped pineapple (optional, but highly recommended)

Directions

1. Combine first five ingredients (coconut milk through xanthan gum) in a blender and blend until smooth. Refrigerate for about an hour for best results. (But you can proceed to Step 2 if you’re desperate.)

2. Pour mixture in ice cream maker and use as directed. I have a Cuisinart and it’s awesome. If you don’t have an ice cream maker, you could probably use these instructions, developed by the fabulous Chocolate-Covered Katie:

Mix the ingredients together in 1 or 2 shallow plastic containers. Freeze. (You could also use an ice cube tray.) Once frozen, pop the blocks out of the container (I thaw for 30 seconds in the microwave first) and blend in your Vita-Mix. (If you don’t have a vita-mix, you’ll probably have to thaw longer, but you can still get a yummy ice milk.)

3. While the ice cream maker is doing its thing, spread the finely chopped pineapple on a dish in a single layer and pop it in the freezer. Add it to the churning ice cream five minutes before it’s done. (If you are using the Vita-Mix method, omit.)

4. Enjoy! I sprinkled mine with some additional shredded coconut because I’m fancy that way.

Oh, and if you’re feeling guilty, don’t worry. T and I did a three-mile walk with nearly-full pack this evening, so I’m sure I sweated out some of those moose-inducing calories.

Probably.

By the way, I also made Pineapple Pomegranate Popsicles today (say that three times fast). It was probably the best popsicle I’ve eaten and that includes lime Freeze Pops. Any takers for that recipe?

How about you? What do you do to beat the heat?

My NAVI Breakfast

Greetings!

Yesterday was Day Ten, the final day of the Sugar-Free Challenge. Minus that little (unintentional) slip up on Day One, I’m going to call it a success.

Want to know what I’ve missed the most? Ketchup.

Yep, ketchup. And I can’t imagine that’s something I couldn’t make myself if I really wanted to. Maybe I’ll try it someday. Or maybe there’s a sugar-free brand out there somewhere. Anyone ever heard of one?

In celebration of ten (almost) sugar free days, I’m going to reveal this NAVI (New And Vastly Improved) breakfast I’ve been going on about.

Let me start by telling you about my old stand-by breakfast. I love cold cereal. I’m a cold cereal freak. If I could walk hand-in-hand along the beach with cold cereal, I would.

One of the hardest things about going gluten-free for me was finding new cereals. Believe me when I say the options become much, much more limited. And when you cut sugar out of the mix, it gets even tougher. I found a couple of brands that I really liked. This was my one of my favorites:

Check out the ingredient list:

Three ingredients. Three.

Is it sugar free? Technically, yes. Not-so-technically, this is a carb-fest. It’s basically just corn. Corn is a grain.

Let me say that again: corn is a grain. Not a vegetable, as so many people firmly believe.

Now consider that, due to my dairy sensitivity, I no longer drink milk. Instead I pour either rice or soy milk (or more likely a combination of the two) over my cereal. More carbs. Soy has some protein, but rice milk? Not so much.

Corn and rice for breakfast. Grain and grain. Carb and carb. And without even the benefit of the fiber, were the grains whole.

The straw that broke this camel’s back came when the camel looked up the glycemic index of “cornflakes”. The glycemic index ranks foods from 1-100 according to the impact they have on blood glucose levels. Higher ranked foods can spike blood glucose, while low glycemic foods keep it steadier. A diet based largely on high glycemic foods can lead, over time, to diabetes and other ailments.

Examples of high glycemic foods? Bagels, muffins, white bread, white pasta and, of course, sugar. Basically, the typical American diet.

Another example of a high glycemic food? Uh, corn flakes. They comes in at a whopping 74. Ouch. The suggested target is 55 or under. Even adding fruit and nuts, as I always do, isn’t going to do much to level out that blood glucose spike.

So, what’s a cereal-loving girl to do? Especially one who loathes hot cereal. Oatmeal, with all of its lovely fiber, comes in at about a 54, which is decent. (Let me clarify that by saying quick or slow-cook oats are a 54. Instant oatmeal, which is processed and usually loaded with sugar, is an 84 – not good.)

The problem is, I detest oatmeal. I find it too hot and heavy in the mornings. (Wait, what?) And cold oatmeal sounded gross.

I decided to try quinoa. It’s lighter than oatmeal, might be okay cold and has a GI rating of 53. I got to work experimenting with a couple of different versions. Here’s a sneak peek:

Quinoa is easy enough to make. It comes in red grain or white, but they taste similar. You can buy it by weight, or in a box. I use this brand:

Just boil one cup of quinoa in two cups of water for about ten minutes. I prefer to let mine cool, but you can eat it hot, too. Makes about four servings, so you have breakfast for the next three days as well! Of course, the fun part is how you dress it. I’ll share my two favorite versions here, but feel free to play around and add what you like.

Version one:

Summer Breakfast Quinoa
Top with sliced almonds, a generous dollop of cold coconut milk (for sweetness) and fresh raspberries.

I also like to add a bit of soy milk.

I probably should have shown you a picture of what the quinoa looks like, but I was too busy smothering it in luscious toppings. Trust me, it’s under there in all of its low glycemic glory. You can see the small, round grain peeking out in spots.

Version Two:

Autumn Breakfast Quinoa
Top with chopped walnuts, pureed pumpkin, cinnamon and a generous dollop of cold coconut milk. Sprinkle with nutmeg and a few dried cranberries.

Don’t forget the soy milk!

Delicious!

How about you? Would you ever consider going sugar-free? Have you ever tried quinoa? And, most importantly, do you want to hear more about food on Mowenackie?