Cake, Batter, and Bowl

Pineapple Ice Cream Sundaes

Desserts

It’s my birthday tomorrow and I’m turning the big 3-0!  I’m not exactly sure how this happened so quickly, but I’m excited for the future and by the fact that Apolinaras promised to bring home my favorite carrot cake cupcakes from Petsi’s Pies!

Speaking of birthdays, I realized that I never posted the dessert I made for Apolinaras’ birthday last month. He actually doesn’t have much of a sweet tooth, and I usually make this cake by Paula Deen for him that features pineapple and coconut, but this year he said he didn’t even want a cake since he was still in cutting mode for his bodybuilding. I couldn’t take no for an answer though and decided to whip up something healthy that he would still enjoy. I combined fresh pineapple with low-fat cottage cheese, lime juice, and sugar, ran it through my ice cream machine and then made mini sundaes layered with toasted coconut and fresh strawberries. You can definitely taste the cottage cheese, which Apolinaras really enjoyed, but I have to admit I prefer the real deal. But, it’s a nice light treat for those days that you’re craving something sweet but don’t want to undo the progress you made in the gym!

Pineapple Ice Cream Sundaes
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:
4 cups chopped fresh pineapple (one pineapple, my 4 cups were 25 ounces)
2 cups low fat cottage cheese
Juice of one lime
3/4 cup sugar (or to taste)
1/2 cup toasted shredded coconut
2 cups chopped strawberries

Directions:
Place pineapple, cottage cheese, lime juice, and sugar in a food processor and pulse until sugar is dissolved and mixture is smooth. Place mixture in the fridge and chill until cold, about 2 hours. Place mixture in the ice cream maker and churn according to the machine directions. Transfer to a freezer-safe container and freeze for at least 2 hours before serving. Layer pineapple ice cream with toasted coconut and strawberries to make mini sundaes. Makes 8 servings.

Nutrition: 192 calories, 2.2g fat, 2.3g fiber, 8.5g protein per serving
Cost: $0.92 per serving

Sugar Cookie Dough Decorations

Happy 4th of July! I wanted to whip up a fun treat to celebrate the holiday this weekend and while I was mulling over the red, white, and blue color scheme, I was reminded of the Chicago Cubs Dessert Sushi I made last year. Suddenly a light bulb went off – I should...

Pink Lemonade Sorbet

We lived in California when I was 3 years old and one of my favorite pastimes was picking lemons from the tree in our backyard. I actually only vaugely remember the lemon tree (apparently my mom had to routinely stop me from picking too many at once), but freshly...

My First Video: Peanut Butter Cookie Dough Brownie Tart

I have a special post today – my very first video! I’ve been thinking about making recipe videos for some time now, so when Pixability, the company Apolinaras works for, offered to make a wrapper that would open and close the videos for my blog (How cool is that?...

Vanilla Joe-Joe Strawberry Cheesecake

We have a drawer at work filled with snacks that help get us through the day. There are usually choices like pretzels, granola bars, nuts, chocolate, etc, but you’ll always find Trader Joe-Joe’s Vanilla Sandwich Crème Cookies (with real vanilla bean speckles!) because...

Strawberry Cheesecake Filled Yellow Cake

Have you had any baking disasters? I’ve had my fair share, and naturally, they all tend to occur when I’m making a treat to share at a party. One time the pecan crust just fell off the sides of a cheesecake I had made for a lab birthday celebration. Another time a...

Caramel Mocha Crunch Cookies

I ran my very first 5K last weekend! After being inspired by the book Born to Run and many runners including my half-marathon champion Dad and bloggers like Shannon and Elina, I decided to try jogging on the treadmill in January on a whim. Even though I’ve always been...

Orange Cardamom Chocolate Bars

I fell in love with cardamom a few years ago when I started drinking chai and have found it’s also lovely in baked goods. While perusing the fridge this weekend for something to satisfy my sweet tooth, I noticed the low-sugar orange marmalade my hubby enjoys and was...

Strawberry Lemon Mini Bundt Cakes

Apolinaras always gives me the cutest sad puppy dog face when I'm whipping up treats to bring into lab for birthday celebrations. If I'm making cupcakes, I always save a couple for him to enjoy, but I can't just cut into a pie or cake and give him a slice before it's...