Today we welcome Kym from Free Spirit Eater back to Easy Eats. Kym was
a blog intern a few months back, and I’ve asked her to give us some healthy
recipes to keep us going in our new year! Check out her Mahi Mahi Tacos and
come back next Wednesday for Kym’s rich chocolate Valentine brownies!
—————–
By Kym Fajardo -
Panna Cotta has long been a favorite dessert of mine. But a dessert packed with
milk, butter, eggs and sugar has no room in my New Year’s resolution.
Still, alas, I long for its chocolatey, gelatinous, creamy flavors to melt in my mouth
and bring me up when life feels down. Chocolate is a go-to for so many of us after a
long, stressful day, so it’s a no brainer as to why it’s the first to tempt us to fall off
the diet wagon.
But with this chocolate panna cotta recipe you can satisfy your sweet tooth while cutting calories! This recipe contains almond milk instead of the traditional whole cow’s milk, and substitutes gelatin with agar agar. Agar agar is believed to give the sensation of being full, which helps with portion control. It has no taste or odor, sets more firmly than gelatin, can set at room temperature, and is derived from red
algae rather than animal by-products. Another reason to feel good!
Guilt Free Vegan Chocolate Panna Cotta
Makes 4 servings
2 cups of unsweetened almond milk
½ teaspoon of vanilla extract
¼ cup of unsweetened cocoa powder
¼ cup of coconut oil
¼ cup of agave nectar or honey
4 teaspoons of agar agar powder
Combine almond milk with agar agar in a sauce pan and let sit for 5 minutes until dissolved. Combine cocoa powder, coconut oil and agave nectar or honey in a bowl.
Add vanilla extract to milk in sauce pan, bring up to a simmer and reduce for 8 minutes. Add chocolate mixture to sauce pan, stir for 30 seconds and pour into greased ramekins.
—————
Kymberlee Fajardo is a freelance food culture writer & photographer currently residing in Northern New Jersey with her soon-to-be husband, Chef Tim. A former NYC culinary school graduate and line cook, she uses her professional culinary training to create guilt free dishes using fresh seasonal ingredients. Follow Kym’s weight loss journey paired with healthy recipes and fitness tips on her blog Free Spirit Eater.
Or reach out to her via Twitter or Facebook.
