After coming off of a two-week virtual tour for my own new cookbook, Fresh From the Vegan Slow Cooker, that included my guest posts on several wonderful blogs (thanks again to all the amazing bloggers who hosted me!), I’m happy to “turn the tables” today by hosting a guest post about transforming your sweet tooth by the wonderful Chef AJ who, in addition to sharing this tremendous information and her yum-tastic recipe for Peanut Butter Fudge Truffles, is also allowing me to give away a copy of her fabulous book, Unprocessed.
To enter the giveaway, leave a comment at the end of this post. For more chances to enter you can do any or all of the following and then leave another comment telling me you did so:
- follow me on Twitter
- follow Chef AJ on Twitter
- spread the word about this giveaway (with a link to it) on Facebook or Twitter
I hope you enjoy this informative guest post by Chef AJ, her delicious (and easy!) recipe for Peanut Butter Fudge Truffles, and a giveaway of her amazing book, Unprocessed! Now I will turn things over to Chef AJ….
Transforming Your Sweet Tooth
By Chef AJ
As little as 100 years ago, Americans ate about a pound of sugar a year. We now eat, on average, 150 pounds a year! That means that some folks are literally eating their weight in sugar, every single year. )And since I don’t eat any, some of you are probably eating 300 pounds a year! J) The American Heart Association says that if we choose to consume sugar that we should consume no more than 5% of our total daily calories (approximately 5 teaspoons a day for most of us) from processed sugar a day. But if most of us are consuming 22 teaspoons of sugar every day (roughly 365 empty calories) how is it even possible to satisfy your sweet tooth and stay within these recommend guidelines? The answer is to use fruit, like dates.
Dates are a whole food which means that they have vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals, antioxidants, micronutrients, fiber and water. All refined sweeteners have none of these beneficial qualities and have been linked to the development of numerous diseases. The date fruit is one of the oldest cultivated tree crops, and has been grown for thousands of years. By using whole dates, it is possible to satisfy your sweet tooth, healthfully and deliciously, without ever using sugar. Even though dates are a high sugar fruit, research shows that they are still the most favorable sweetener, and do not raise blood glucose or triglycerides. (I have the medical journal article if you need it).
One of my favorite ways to us dates in a dessert is with these decadent peanut butter fudge truffle that is easy to make and contains only 5 ingredients.
Peanut Butter Fudge Truffles
INGREDIENTS:
One batch of Chocolate Fundue*
Chopped peanuts
METHOD: Chill FUNdue until firm. Using a small retractable cookie scoop, drop FUNdue into crushed peanuts and coat evenly. Bananas are also delicious when dipped in FUNdue and rolled in crushed nuts and then frozen.
For a lower fat version, substitute one can of rinsed and drained cannellini beans for half of the nut butter.
*Chocolate FUNdue
Also delicious when made with raw almond butter, raw sunflower seed butter or tahini
INGREDIENTS:
1 cup peanut butter* (no salt or sugar)
1 cup date paste*
1/2 cup raw cacao powder or good quality cocoa powder
1/2 cup unsweetened non-dairy milk
1 Tablespoon alcohol-free vanilla extract
METHOD:
Place all ingredients except for the milk in a food processor fitted with the “S” blade and process until ingredients are incorporated, scraping down sides if necessary. Slowly add non-dairy milk, a little at a time until desired consistency is reached. You can eat this immediately or chill for a firmer texture.
*raw almond butter, raw cashew butter, raw tahini or raw sunflower seed butter may be substituted for the peanut butter.
DATE PASTE
Make sure you always have some on hand to create a healthy dessert in no time
INGREDIENTS:
One pound of pitted dates
One cup of liquid (water, unsweetened non-dairy milk, unsweetened fruit juice)
METHOD:
Soak dates in liquid overnight or for several hours until much of the liquid is absorbed. In food processor fitted with the “S” blade, process dates and liquid until completely smooth. Store date paste in the refrigerator.
These recipes are from UNPROCESSED copyright 2011
Be sure to leave a comment at the end of this post for a chance to win a copy of UNPROCESSED — the contest closes Thursday, September 27 at midnight. The winner will be announced on Friday, September 28. Good luck!
UPDATE: THIS CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED. CONGRATULATIONS TO THE WINNER!!!
{ 75 comments… add one }
I’m just now for the first time in my life trying to eat whole, unprocessed food and not so much sugar and flour. I’d love all the help I can get! 🙂
These truffles look amazing! They’d be perfect for a potluck! I just heard Chef AJ on Victoria Moran’s Main Street Vegan Radio and added her book to my Amazon wish list.
I already follow Robin on Twitter
I already follow Chef AJ on Twitter
I tweeted about the giveaway.
Love Chef AJs black bean soup…do not miss the salt one bit! But I need more help!
[Following @GlobalVegan!] =)
This recipe looks yummy, healthy and simple to make. My mom always served dates with cereals and oatmeal when I was growing up in the 1950s; it’s nice to see a spotlight on this fruit. Perhaps chocolate “fundue” is a base for other recipes in this cookbook?
I am from the “Steel City” too, and the obesity rate is pretty high here…I agree with the previous post, this kind of recipe is good news for folks like us 🙂
[also following @therealchefaj]
Thanks!
What a great guest post to share! These sound fantastic!
thanks for this giveaway!
Yum! I’d love to win a copy of Unprocessed. I’ve been experimenting with sweetening my homemade baked goods with ground-up raisins or dates — which works surprisingly well, and my body is MUCH HAPPIER than when I eat refined sugar.
That date paste is such a great idea! I can think of tons of uses for it.
I’d love to win a copy of this book! 🙂
Thank you for hosting this give away! If I had a twitter account I would follow you for sure, never know when there are Gary news 😛
I’d love to win!
I already follow you on Twitter.
I am now following @therealchefaj on Twitter!
Wow this looks so delicious!
I’m already following you
And also Chef AJ on Twitter!
Those truffles look amazing! Thanks for the giveaway. 🙂
I already follow you on Twitter (I’m @kelmishka).
I followed Chef AJ!
The timing on this post is perfect! I’ve lost quite a bit of weight as a vegan. Had some stressful events this summer, gained some weight, and am trying to get back on track. Thanks, Robin!
I already follow Robin on Twitter. 🙂
Thanks for the introduction! Now following Chef AJ on Twitter.
Chef AJ’s book would be great to have, those truffles look so good!
Would love to win this. The truffles look really good.
follow you on twitter @cherrycobbler
following chef AJ on twitter @cherrycobbler
I would love to win this book!
Going “unprocessed” is definitely one of the best things we can do for our health!
I already follow you on Twitter. My handle is @wholify
I’d love to get a copy of this book! It looks so useful and informative.
Looks great!! 🙂
Yum–this looks fabulous!
Hi! Great recipe and thanx for putting on the contest too! Great way to spread the word of great vegan eats – these look incredible too! My twitter handle is @Mandoo322 and I follow you both and check your blog/website daily as well – also, have you FB and share lots of your posts there with my friends….Thanks for all that you do!
A.H
These look delicious! I really hope I win the cookbook! >.< Thanks for the giveaway!
Those look so good. And I don’t have most of the ingredients in my house. Darn it, looks like I’m grocery shopping tomorrow!
I cannot believe that people eat so much sugar! Every time it is said, I just can’t believe it. I am happy to say that I ate 1/2 teaspoon of sugar today and that’s it! I hope I can keep that up! Thank you for the giveaway!
I follow @GlobalVegan on Twitter!
I also follow Chef AJ @therealchefaj !!!
Annnnnnnnd, I posted this entry on Twitter. Tweet Tweet! Thank you!
Unprocessed! Just what I need for myself and my two kids and my husband. For me less sugar–I am still addicted to coffee with sugar–would be the key to being less moody, I am sure. Thank you for giving us a chance to win!
would love a copy of this book, I’ve had my eye on it for a while! Thanks for the give away!
I also follow you on Twitter already.
Sounds like a great book. I haven’t ventured much into sweets even though have been vegan for several years.
Sounds like an interesting (and tasty) read !!
I would love to win. This book looks fantastic.
They look great! They remind me of something my late sister-in-law used to make; they had rum in the recipe and a cherry in the middle. I think she said it came from the back of a Sucrest sugar bag. Maybe your healthy recipe could become a holiday classic.
I need to beat my sugar addiction, and those truffles look fantastic!
This is one cookbook I really want! It looks fantastic and I can hardly wait to see what gems are included inside!
I love date-based treats, to make and to gobble up! I think I could eat these by the plateful…thanks for sharing the recipe!
thanks for a chance to win this book. being a vegan has opened my eyes out other vegan-eating lifestyles and i’m certainly very interested in eating less processed foods and have already made some changes already 🙂 but i do have a sweet tooth, so how great would this cookbook be for me?! fingers crossed!
I like to use prunes to sweeten things, too. When I make smoothies – or even (vegan) milkshakes, I add prunes to the blender, and they finished product is always sweet enough. Even a chocolate milkshake with cocoa or carob, prunes do the trick! No sugar needed!
I would love to have AJ’s book!
Thank you for hosting this give away! I am so enjoying reading your blog
Looks yummy!
I’ve seen some of Chef AJ’s videos, fun! These recipes look wonderful – simple and delicious. Ummm…date paste! I could almost eat it all by itself!
I enjoy your blog, Robin!
I would love to win this book because even though I am vegan I do still eat a lot of processed foods!
These recipes are tempting to try when they have healthy ingredients; it’s wonderful to know we don’t have to make or eat junk any longer. We have choices. This book would make a great addition to my vow to remove salt and sugar from my life.
Book looks amazing! I don’t use twitter, but I am following Robin on FB. You Rock!
I already follow you on Twitter!
I follow Chef AJ on Twitter!
And, I tweeted the giveaway! *fingers crossed*
Although I used to eat closer to nature, I reduced that healthy habit while going to nursing school as a single mom. Now that I’m out, I’d love some new ideas to get back into the swing of things! The truffles look great and I’ll have to keep my eye out for some dates to make them. Thank you!
I’d love to win!
Awesome giveaway, thank you!
I follow you on twitter
I follow Chef AJ too
I would love to have Unprocessed!
Would love this cookbook!
I’ve heard great things about this cookbook!
I follow you on twitter (@mgonyeo)
I follow Chef AJ on twitter (@mgonyeo)