Servings: 6–8
Preparation Time: 35 minutes

Ingredients:

• 3 or 4 large bananas
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 4 tablespoons organic dark brown sugar
• 1/2 cup shredded coconut
• 3/4 cup cane sugar
• 2 cups buttermilk
• 2 cups whipping cream
• 1 teaspoon rose water
• pinch of salt
• 1 cup yogurt
• organic powdered sugar, to taste
• chopped pistachios

Directions:

Cut the bananas in rounds. In a deep skillet, heat unsalted butter. When the butter melts, add in the brown sugar. When the sugar has dissolved in the butter, toss in the banana pieces and coat them well.

When the bananas are cooked and glossy (this only takes a few minutes), add in shredded coconut. Blend it in well, take the bananas off the heat, and set them aside to cool.

Now on to the ice cream part. I decided a sweet lassi rose ice cream would be great with the bananas. This is what I did to prepare it:

In a large bowl, mix cane sugar and buttermilk. Whisk it together well until the sugar is blended in, add in whipping cream, rose water, and salt. Pour everything into an ice cream maker and process as usual. Put it into the freezer until you’re ready.

Next, we make something called shrikhand. Take the yogurt and place it in a yogurt strainer suspended over a glass. Let it drain for at least 4 hours or until it’s slightly thickened. Mix in a bit of powdered sugar to sweeten it slightly.

Putting It All Together

On the bottom of a small, slender glass, place a spoonful of shrikhand. Add a sprinkling of finely chopped pistachio nuts, 3 pieces of the cooked, coconut-coated bananas, 2 scoops of sweet lassi rose ice cream, and another small sprinkle of chopped pistachio nuts. Repeat the process in other glasses until everything is used up.

There it is. When a spoon is dipped in, one gets all the flavors of a banana split without the traditional shape. With the butter and coconut flavor, a small dessert goes a long way. It’s rich but not heavy. So this is my version of a banana split.

Recipe and photo submitted by Kathy, Sonoma, CA.

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Pineapple, Coconut Salad

Servings: 4
Preparation Time: 5 minutes

Ingredients:

• 15 ounces pineapple (fresh or canned), in chunks
• 1/3–1/2 cup shredded, unsweetened dried coconut
• 1/2 cup sour cream (yogurt, if preferred)
• 1–2 tablespoons Healthy Traditions honey, to taste
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 tablespoon arrowroot
• pecans, optional

Directions:

Place pineapple in a bowl (drain off extra juice) and add shredded coconut. Mix the sour cream (or yogurt), honey, vanilla, and arrowroot together and pour over the pineapple.

Marinate in refrigerator to moisten the coconut and allow the flavors to blend. Sprinkle with chopped pecans just before serving, if desired.

Recipe submitted by Janet, Springtown, TX.

Recipe prepared by Sarah Shilhavy and photographed by Jeremiah Shilhavy.

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This is a great quick and easy dessert for those “Oh-my-goodness-I-need-to-make-a-dessert-and-I-have-less-then-an-hour-to-make-it!” moments. Its prep will be done in five minutes, chill time can be as quick as half an hour or less (stick it in the freezer), and it’s no-bake, no-cook, rich, creamy, and naturally dairy-free and gluten-free. Sounds pretty good, huh?

The texture is great—a lot like fudge. Firm and silky, yet it melts in your mouth as soon as you take a bite. It’s very creamy too; you’d never know it didn’t have a speck of dairy in it.

The crust is a nice touch. I like using pecans. It adds a tiny bit of crunch, and the strong nutty flavor of the pecans stand out, yet infuses nicely with the strawberry vanilla cream. When making this part, be sure to blend just until it turns into a meal (the video will show you how). If you blend too long you could end up with a nut butter!

With all that said, I’ll admit that I do NOT like nuts. So this is saying a lot. It doesn’t taste like cashews at all.

The taste of the pie is all in the quality of ingredients you use. Use raw, unsalted organic cashews, high quality alcohol-based vanilla extract, and fresh, perfectly ripe, organic strawberries, Healthy Traditions creamy, raw honey, and coconut oil (Gold Label for a coconut taste, Expeller-Pressed for no coconut taste). Don’t skimp on anything here; use the highest quality stuff you can get.

And last but not least, let the video take you through the recipe step-by-step and enjoy a slice of the pie yourself. You’ll have to make it, of course. I’m not sharing.

Sarah 🙂

Strawberry Cream Pie – Gluten-Free and Dairy-Free

Servings: 8 servings
Preparation Time: 5 minutes

Ingredients:

Crust:

• 3/4 cup crushed pecans or walnuts
• 1/4 cup dried, unsweetened, shredded coconut

Filling:

• 2 cups fresh strawberries
• 1 cup raw cashews
• 2 tablespoons vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup raw honey
• 1 pinch salt
• 1 cup coconut oil, melted

Directions:

Grind crust ingredients in food processor and press into bottom of a 9-inch pie plate, building up the sides slightly.

Place all filling ingredients into blender and blend until smooth and creamy. Carefully pour on top of crust and refrigerate for 3 hours.

Recipe submitted by Christel, Plantation, FL.

Recipe prepared by Sarah Shilhavy and photographed by Jeremiah Shilhavy.

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