Big Bowl of Love’s Cristina Ferrare shows us that healthy can taste great! Executive chef of the Golden Door Spa , Dean Rucker, joins CF to show us all how to cook smart and enjoy every moment of it! With the tease of a healthy chocolate cake….how could we not be curious?
What’s on today’s menu?
- Lemon Mashed Potatoes
- Halibut with Lemon Garlic Spinach
- Warm Flourless Chocolate Cake
Loving this episode! CF and Dean did a wonderful job showing that healthy food can look and taste fabulous. Each time I go to a spa I sit and enjoy the decadence and feeling of well-being I have as I sit spa-side to enjoy a healthy lunch. Now, I can bring that feeling to my OWN home! A few candles, some lemon water…the perfect at-home spa experience. I may have to pick up Dean’s cookbook. Can’t wait to try the chocolate cake!
Now for a few BBOL tips:
- Canned unflavored pumpkin can be used in place of cooked yam.
- To find a more natural alternative, use honey in place of sugar.
- Orange and chocolate make a great combo!
- Be sure to use semi sweet dark chocolate for this recipe.
- You can keep the cakes in the frig until closer to entertaining. They only take about 10 minutes to cook.
- Agave is a great alternative to honey because it dissolves in cold.
- Berries will get bitter if you over blend them because you are breaking up the seeds.
- To remove seeds from the mixture, be sure to strain them.
- Cooking the lemon rinds with salt and sugar for about 5 minutes helps to pull the bitterness out of them. Then rinse and re-boil with just water. Do that twice and be left with a perfumy sweet lemon flavor…without the bitterness.
- Hands all stinky from garlic? Rub them on your stainless steel sink to remove the smell.
- Garlic will have a harsh flavor if you cook it too long.
- Add touch of red pepper flakes to the spinach for a kick!
- Is your fish fresh? Should have a sweet ocean smell or nothing. If there is a strong odor, not good. You should be able to press on it and will be firm and pop back up.
Here are a couple of my OWN suggestions:
- Add a little thyme or garlic to your mashed potatoes to make it your OWN!
- When you are cooking up your lemon mixture, make a little extra for a great cup of tea.
- Caramelize a ½ cup of sugar, ½ cup of soy milk, 4 tablespoons of coconut oil, and 1 tablespoon of vanilla extract to create a sweet topping which adds a little bad to your good!
- Make a few extra cakes and freeze them. Perfect for last minute sweet cravings.
- Crumble up one of your little cakes. It makes a little frozen yogurt seem decadent!
Guiltless cooking that you are sure to enjoy!
Links to recipes:
http://www.oprah.com/own-cristinas-big-bowl-of-love/Warm-Flourless-Chocolate-Cake-Recipe