low-fat

Desserts, Recipes, Snacks

Lightened Up Date Shake

Living in Southern California my entire life, I grew up going to Palm Springs every Easter with my family. Every trip to palm springs always included a quick stop by the date gardens in Indio to get a date shake. Since you guys know I love “healthifying” comfort foods, today is the day for a Lightened Up Date Shake. Traditional date shakes consist of full fat vanilla ice cream, whole milk, and dates. My recipe still consists of 3 ingredients, but adds up to nearly a fraction of the calories! Plus it’s vegan, gluten-free, lactose-free, paleo, and low-fat!

A traidtional date shake adds up to:
Calories: 626
Fat: 25.3g
Sugar: 77.5g
Fiber: 4.5g
Protein: 13.2g

And my Lightened Up Date Shake totals:
Calories: 330
Fat: 1.25g
Sugar: 57.5g (all natural unrefined sugar)
Fiber: 8g
Protein: 3g

Not all sugars are created equal. Say a candy bar (refined sugar) has the same amount of sugar as a banana (natural sugar). They process through your body completely different. Whole fruit has a lot of fiber, which actually slows down your body’s digestion of glucose, so you don’t get the crazy insulin spike (and crash) that candy causes. That also means your body has more time to use up glucose as fuel before storing it… as fat.

That’s the #1 reason why I love using Medjool Dates as a sweetener in baking and other recipes versus regular table sugar!

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Lightened Up Date Shake
Serves 1

3 Natural Delights Medjool Dates, pitted
1 frozen banana
1/2 cup unsweetened original almond milk
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Remove pits from dates. Blend blend blend until smooth and creamy!

Tip: To make this more filling as a meal replacement, try adding 1/4 cup of dry rolled oats to the blender!

Huge thank you to Natural Delights for supplying the dates for this recipe!

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Dinner, Lunch, Recipes, Vegetarian

Portobello Pizza

Hoppy Monday all!
Last week I had the opportunity to attend the Bard Valley Natural Delights Medjool Date Summit in yuma, AZ! I had incredible time learning about the harvesting process and taste testing delectable recipes that I MUST share with you guys! I also met some new friends that I already miss since departing on Friday! Wahhhh. I’ll be giving you guys a full rundown of the blogger summit later this week. I cannot wait to tell you about my trip!

Today’s recipe is a Portobello Mushroom Pizza!
Loaded with veggies, this pizza is low-carb, gluten-free, and super filling!
Bon Appétit!
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Portobello Pizza 9
Portobello Pizza 1
Portobello Pizza 2
Portobello Pizza 3
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Portobello Pizza
Serves 1

2 large portobello mushrooms
1 tomato
1/4 cup reduced fat mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 tsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp minced garlic
pinch of salt
pinch of pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Chop onion and mince garlic. Pour olive oil into a saucepan over medium high heat and add onions and garlic. Cook onions and garlic until they are slightly browned. Dice tomato and add to the saucepan along with salt, pepper, and lemon juice. Bring the sauce to a simmer and cook for 3-5 minutes. Remove gills from the portobello mushrooms by scraping with a spoon. Place portobellos on a baking sheet coated with nonstick cooking spray. Pour the sauce into each portobello and top with cheese. Bake for 12 minutes. After 12 minutes, set oven to broil for 30 seconds to 1 minute to brown the cheese. Remove from the oven and enjoy!
Tip: I suggest lining your baking sheet with foil and coating the foil with nonstick cooking spray for an easier cleanup. The portobello mushrooms tend to get pretty juicy will cooking!

In a hurry? You can always use organic tomato sauce in place of the homemade sauce! I would recommend about 2 Tbps of store-bought sauce per portobello pizza.

Vegan? Use a vegan cheese substitute such as Daiya Mozzarella Style Shreds!

Portobello Pizza 8
The Rabbit Food Pyramid Breakdown
Produce: portobello mushrooms, tomato, onion, garlic
Whole Grain: none
Protein: reduced fat mozzarella cheese
Plant Based Fat: olive oil

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Dinner, Lunch, Recipes, Vegan, Vegetarian

Miso Tempeh Wrap

Don’t forget you still have until Midnight tonight (July 11) to enter for your chance to win some Spirulina & other goodies from Nutrex Hawaii!

Speaking of Hawaii, my grandparents go to Hawaii every year for my grandma’s birthday on July 6th. This year, my grammy celebrated with her friends at a raw vegan restaurant called Maui Kombucha in their “Eat More Rabbit Food” shirts and Carrot Logo Leggings!
I died when she sent me these photos! Isn’t she the cutest?!

Eat More Rabbit Food MauiFrom left to right: My grammy Gail (76), Barb (86), and Carol (72)

Barb’s husband Don is 100% vegan, so she is pretty much vegan/vegetarian.
As for my grandma and Carol, they’re big time veggie lovers!
My grandma said that the owner brought out free kombucha shooters for the table when they arrived haha, how fun!

 

I loveee food blogs, especially when I cannot decide on what to make for dinner. Yes, bloggers read blogs too! While browsing around, I was totally inspired by (and drooling over) the lovely Kathy Patalsky’s recipe for Kale Avocado Wraps w/ Spicy Miso-Dipped Tempeh. I knew I had to try it, so I made all of the ingredients in proportion with the Rabbit Food Pyramid guidelines, and dinner was served! I love showing you guys how easy it is to make other recipes Rabbit Food Pyramid friendly!

Miso Tempeh Wraps
Miso Tempeh Wraps
Miso Tempeh WrapsI even made the Miso Tempeh again the next day, subtracted the wrap, and added 1/2 cup of cooked brown rice to make a salad/rice bowl!

Miso Tempeh WrapsSince I didn’t have miso paste on hand to make Kathy’s Chipotle Miso Dressing I used a shortcut Low-Fat Miso Sesame Seed Dressing by Galeos. Not exactly the same as her dressage, but the results were excellent, and the nutrition stats are awesome! 1 Tbsp Galeos Miso Sesame Seed Dressing = 25 calories, 1g fat, 4g carbs, .5g sugar, and only contains 8 ingredients that you can actually pronounce! Not too shabby!

Miso Tempeh Wraps
Recipe adapted from Kathy Patalsky
Serves 1

1 medium whole wheat or sprouted grain tortilla
3oz tempeh
1 1/2 cups kale
1/4 cup chopped tomato
1/4 cup sliced red onion
1/4 avocado, sliced
2 Tbsp Galeos Low-Fat Miso Sesame Seed Dressing, divided
a pinch of ground chipotle
pinch of fresh ground pepper

Rinse and dry chopped kale. Massage with 1 Tablespoon of miso dressing. Chop tomato and onion and add to the kale, set aside. Slice avocado and set aside. Lightly spray a skillet with nonstick cooking spray. Cook tempeh in 1 Tablespoon of miso dressing over medium heat and sprinkle with a pinch of pepper and chipotle. Allow the tempeh to cook on both sides for about 2 minutes each. Transfer the tempeh to the tortilla and add kale, tomato, onion, and avocado. Wrap tightly together, cut in half, and enjoy!

Try: Kathy’s Chipotle Miso Dressing on her blog Healthy. Happy. Life.!

The Rabbit Food Pyramid Breakdown
Produce: kale, tomato, and onions
Whole Grain: whole wheat tortilla
Protein: tempeh
Plant Based Fat: avocado
Catherine and Kathy DisneylandKathy and I on Splash Mountain at Disneyland! This photo was taken before we got completely soaked!

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Dinner, Lunch, Recipes, Vegan, Vegetarian

Beet Burgers

In celebration of 4th of July I had to keep the tradition going with a veggie burger recipe!

These burgs are seriously filling. Loaded with brown rice, black beans, beets, oat bran, and jalapeños to add a little heat! They’re also gluten-free, vegan, low-fat, and will give your average beef burger a run for its money.

I hope that everyone has a fun and safe holiday!
For all of my international bunnies, happy Thursday to you tomorrow!

Beet Burgers
Beet Burgers
Beet Burgers
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Beet Burgers
Beet Burgers
Beet Burgers
Beet Burgers
Beet Burgers
Beet burgers
serves 4

1 can low-sodium black beans
1 cup cooked brown rice
1/4 cup finely chopped beets (I used canned)
2 Tbsp diced jalapeños
2 Tbsp oat bran
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp salt
2 Tbsp Medjool Date BBQ Sauce or BBQ sauce of your choice

Toppings:
4 slices of Monterey Jack cheese or vegan cheese
1 Tomato, sliced
1 Red onion, sliced
Kale or lettuce

Strain beans but do not rinse. Place beans in a food processor and pulse until mashed but not puréed (you want some texture/chunks in there. Transfer beans to a mixing bowl. Strain beets and place beets in the food processor and pulse until finely chopped. Measure 1/4 cup and add to the mixing bowl. Add the diced jalapeños, brown rice, oat bran, chili powder, paprika, and salt and fold until well combined. Divide the mixture into four and form patties. Line a baking sheet with foil and spray with nonstick cooking spray. Place the patties on the foil lined baking sheet and place in the fridge for 1 hour. This is an important step in getting the right consistency. After the patties have been chilled, Preheat oven to 375. Transfer the baking sheet to the oven and cook for 30 minutes. Remove the patties from the oven at the half-way mark (15 minutes) and baste with barbecue sauce (do not flip the patties). Place the baking sheet back in the oven and continue baking for the remaining cooking time. If you wish to add cheese, set the oven to broil during the last minute of cooking, place cheese on each patty and broil for about 30 seconds. Serve on a whole grain bun, in a fresh lettuce wrap, or on “grilled portobello buns” and enjoy your holiday!
Note: Make sure to chill the patties in the refrigerator before baking.
Spicy Tip: Beet Burgers aren’t super spicy, but if you want them a little more mild, remove seeds from the  jalapeños or try using green chillies.
Shortcut: I used precooked brown rice and heated it in the microwave before adding to the recipe to save me a few minutes. I also used canned beets and black beans!
Warning: Do not grill on a barbecue, they can fall apart!

Looking for other veggie burger recipes?
Chickpea Patties
Black Bean Burgers

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Desserts, Recipes, Snacks, Tips, Treats, Vegan, Vegetarian

Frosty Light

Hi honeybunnies!

I had a super fun photoshoot with my friend Brett yesterday to photograph all of my new RFFMBT shirts! After traveling to San Francisco, Denver (twice), Palm Springs, Nebraska, Iowa, and Monterey,  I’ve finally had some down time to get the ball rolling on my shirts! Ohhhhhh my goji I’m so excited I can’t even stand it!!! I did Brett’s hair and make-up yesterday (she looks like the ultimate rffmbt bunny!) and then we blasted some top 40 hits while taking pictures. We had so much fun that I ended up with over 500 pictures! Oopsiessss! Now I have lots of sorting and editing to do in order to get my store up and running. Hopefully (cross your little bunny paws) that the new inventory will be ready for the store this weekend or early next week! Of course I will definitely notify you guys in a post as soon as they are up!

Eat More Rabbit Food Shirt Promo
So I’ve seen this recipe for a healthy Frosty Shake floating around the interwebs recently, and this morning my friend’s mom (Brett’s mom, actually!) posted it on my Facebook! It was pretty much a sign that it needed to be tried. I had all of the ingredients on hand, so I decided to go for it. The end result? Not up to RFFMBT standards… It was a little too icy and bland for my taste, so I took to the kitchen to perfect a Frosty Light for you guys!

Frosty Light
Did you know, that a small Original Chocolate Frosty from Wendy’s has a grand total of 290 calories, 7 (g) fat, and 40 (g) of sugar? Yes 40 grams of sugar! OMG! Ya, I had no idea either. I’m usually really good when it comes to reading nutrition labels, but when I indulge in ice cream I usually avoid the label and enjoy. So when I do look up the nutrition information for things like this, sometimes my jaw drops! I forget how much sugar restaurants add!

Behold the Chocolate Frosty Light! Only 5 ingredients (well 6 if you count ice cubes) that you probably already have in your kitchen! Score! I’ve used a frozen banana for natural sweetness, almond milk for that rich creamy texture, and chia seeds for thickness! Chia seeds in a “Frosty?” You betcha! Chia seeds swell to about 10 times their natural size when combined with liquid, resulting in a thick gel-like texture. Blend them thoroughly in your Frosty Light and get a nice ‘n’ thick smoothie and an added bonus of healthy Omega-3s and fiber. Trust me, after they’re blended up you won’t even know they’re there!

Chocolate Frosty Light
Serves 1

1 cup original unsweetened almond milk
1 frozen banana
1 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 tsp chia seeds
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
8-10 ice cubes

Combine all ingredients in a high powered blender and blend until smooth.

Frosty Light

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