Tag Archives: pudding

Food, Going Healthy

Coconut Carrot Cream Soda Zevia Pudding Recipe

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Are you looking to add something new, exciting, and different to your list of healthy treats? With the help of my favorite (and only one I drink) soda brand, Zevia, I have just the recipe for you. If you think making pudding with soda sounds impossible, prepare to be amazed.

Maybe amazed is a bit extreme, but either way, this pudding is delicious (confirmed by Avery), and healthy enough to eat for breakfast.

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I’m proud (and lucky) to team with Zevia to help spread the word about their #ClearlyDifferent campaign to let the world know they are now Non-GMO Project Verified and color-free. That’s on top of being zero calorie, sugar-free, and having no artificial anything! I wrote a post about this a few months ago if you’d like to read more.

Want to give up your beloved sugar-laden soda in place of healthy alternative like Zevia but fear having withdrawals from a certain flavor? Never fear, Zevia has 15 flavors all rocking the healthy specs mentioned above. Seriously, making the healthy switch should be no problem. Here, let Avery help you out….

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If you’re still confused, she can help again. Just follow her lead and put it to your lips to take a drink. The following burst of healthy deliciousness will take care of the rest. Since her first taste of #TheNewSweet of Zevia, she’s all smiles every time I bust one out.

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But hold on just a minute. Technically, you don’t have to drink Zevia, they have plenty of recipes to prove it. And today, I’m adding one more to the mix. It’s one I have never seen anywhere else and am totally happy with how it turned out. I used Cream Soda Zevia to create a creamy vanilla pudding with a healthy dose of carrots and coconut.

You might think it’s difficult to make, but on the contrary; the only hard part is waiting for it to chill. Which, trust me, really is hard!

Coconut Carrot Cream Soda Zevia Pudding

by RC Liley

Prep Time: 10 min

Ingredients (Approx. 32 Ounces)

  • 1 ½ cups steamed carrots (about a 1 lb bag of baby carrots)
  • ¼ cup cold water
  • 1.5 Tbsp. Great Lakes Grass-Fed Gelatin
  • 1 Can Zevia Cream Soda
  • ¼ cup shredded unsweetened coconut
  • 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
  • 1 tablespoon cinnamon
  • Dash of sea salt
  • Optional: 5 – 10 drops pure liquid vanilla stevia for extra vanilla sweetness

Instructions

1. With carrots still hot from being steamed, add all ingredients to blender or food processor and blend until carrots are pureed

2. Dissolve gelatin in the cold water

3. With blender/processor running on low, pour in the gelatin and turn up the speed to completely mix it in.

4. Pour into heatproof container and chill in fridge at least 6 hours, preferable overnight.

5. The pudding should be solid, like jello, after sitting. You can eat it like this or use electric or hand beaters to whip it into more of a pudding consistency.

6. Top with extra cinnamon and enjoy your healthy, dairy-free, egg-free, and delicious vanilla pudding!

*Alternatively, you could use a 15 oz can of pumpkin puree, just make sure to heat it before putting in blender so the gelatin will bind once added.

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Now, go grab a six-pack or two (or three or four) of Zevia and try this recipe along with several others. Don’t forget to simply drink and enjoy too. While you’re savoring your soda, share a pic of you enjoying Zevia, share it by tagging them on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram with hashtag #ClearlyDifferent. If they share your pic, they’ll, as they say, thank you with a soda high 5!

Please let me know how it turns out if you try the recipe, and remember to share it with your little ones. Also, make sure you have extra Zevia to drink while cooking!

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Note Avery’s bottle with the #ClearlyDifferent soda that’s free of color!

Food, Going Healthy

Going Healthy: Pumpkin Black Bean Chocolate Pudding *Easy and Healthy*

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Since I’ve started eating a whole foods based diet and avoiding most processed foods, many of my unhealthy cravings have vanished. To those reluctant to switch, I promise, it gets easier if you stick with it. Plus, you’ll look better and feel amazing!

I used to have ice cream and boxed cereal on a daily basis, and although the ice cream was usually a lighter version, it was loaded with either sugar or artificial sweeteners along with other chemicals to attain that “perfect” consistency.

The cereal I had seemed healthy, but even those whole wheat biscuits have to undergo processing to be transformed into pretty little shreds of wheat compacted together to get their shape. To me, that’s not really in its “whole” form anymore.

One thing I am unable to shake, though, is how these things are consumed; with a spoon (and cup in my case). So, I still have my cup and spoon, but you’ll usually find organic carrots that I diced and put in the freezer along with frozen organic wild blueberries. The carrots satisfy my desire for crunch and the blueberries are just awesome.

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Yes, I like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and this cup has been with me since I was a little boy. It’s the perfect serving size and I’m pretty sure everything tastes better inside my turtle cup!

I simply love eating cool, creamy, and/or crunchy food with a spoon and cup. I’ve nixed the ice cream a long time ago, and only eat the Ezekiel Sprouted Grain Cereal for my boxed choice.

Think Grape Nuts, only a lot healthier! I love it plain with almond milk or as a crunchy topping to my homemade puddings/purees. Like, for instance, this super healthy and scrumptious chocolate pudding made with black beans and pumpkin.

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Here’s all you need to make your own healthy pudding to savor guilt free…

Pumpkin Black Bean Chocolate Pudding

Ingredients

  • 1 15oz. can pumpkin puree (I use the Farmer’s Market Pumpkin Puree in a BPA-Free can)
  • 1 15oz. can black beans, drained and rinsed (I used organic, BPA-Free canned beans)
  • 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1/2 tsp pure stevia powder (if you are not a fan of using all stevia, use only 1/4 tsp and add 2 tbsp raw honey or more if you want it really sweet)
  • 1/2 cup milk of choice (I used unsweetened coconut milk from the can and have had success with unsweetened almond milk too)
  • pinch of baking soda
  • dash of sea salt
  • *Optional: 1 tbsp natural peanut butter and/or 2 scoops high quality chocolate or vanilla protein powder (Sunwarrior makes a great protein powder)
  • *Optional #2: Add 1 or 2 digestive enzyme or probiotic capsules to help digestion and bloating because you will want to eat a lot of this!

Directions

  • I like to keep things simple and easy; add all ingredients to your food processor and mix until you have a creamy consistency. I pulsed it a few times and then let it run non-stop for almost a minute.
  • Put into an air-tight container and chill in the fridge until ready to devour.

Here are what the cans I used look like…

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And then you transform these into this!

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What do you think? Does this sound like something you’d try or are you repulsed by the combo?

If you make this, please let me know how you like it and if you made any changes. I bet adding banana and shredded coconut would seriously up the flavor profile!