santa's got a sweet spot for mamacita's holiday G-hoppers

watch me now - to the mullies with holiday G-hoppers on youtube

the kids and i cooked (or should i say mixed?) this craziness up together this past sunday, november 30. i finished editing the video on tuesday, december 2nd, our lovely 14 year wedding anniversary. 

it's a special video because of the sweet timing + it truly captures the energy, the fun and the unpredictable adventures we're having cooking together in the kitchen. this recipe was developed with gumption (no recipe to lead the way, just concepts i have learned over the last 2+ years of clean food experimenting). i'm so very proud of it.

enjoy and make this recipe stat... cuz eating these g-hoppers will surely hit your sweet spot.

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it came upon a midnight clear...

when lindsey (santa's mamacita) took on the 52 new foods no-bake holiday cookie challenge, she immediately knew what delicious dessert concept she wanted to tweak.

she loved two types of ice cream: mint chocolate chip and pistachio.

her favorite birthday + college dessert = grasshopper pie (the house dessert at her northwestern KKG fraternity house).

mamacita's first idea was an ice cream xmas tree cookie. she envisioned rolling out the cacao dough, stamping out xmas trees, topping them with the holiday green ice cream and garnishing them with crushed dye-free candy cane... pretty and festive yummies. however, the xmas trees and icing seemed a bit tedious and not so easy peasy.

like a bolt of lighting, a glorious idea came to life: "what about mini grasshopper pies!?" alas, lindsey couldn't find dye-free candy cane, so, with santa's nice 52 new foods list in her head, she thought, "but of course!  i'll yank some gorgeous pomegranate seeds out from their fridgy-bed!" 

away to the kitchen, mamacita flew like a flash, donned her red apron and gathered her reindeer & stash. she sprang to her food processor, to her team gave a whistle, and away they all flew like the down of a thistle.

merry christmas to all (you filthy animals) and to all a good night!

to the mullies with holiday g-hoppers 

inspired by 52 new foods: avocados, pomegranates & raw cacao

raw cacao crust:

2 c raw almonds (soaked overnight, rinsed and drained)

2 c raw cashews (soaked overnight, rinsed and drained)

(click here to find out why i like to soak my nuts)

1.5 c organic raw cacao powder

12 pitted medjool dates (for the 12 days of christmas of course)

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 c sun dried goji berries (soaked in water for 10 minutes to soften. rinse and drain)

1/2 c almond butter

1 tsp sea salt

raw g-hopper ice cream:

4 organic avocados

2 c organic coconut butter (i found my jar at AWH)

4 tsp pure mint extract

2 tsp vanilla

12 T (3/4 c) pure maple syrup or coconut nectar

large handful of fresh mint leaves (stems discarded)

pinch of sea salt

note #1: the raw cacao crust recipe is enough to fill either 2 full pans of mini g-hoppers or 1 pan of mini's and a pie crust. i made a french silk ice cream pie with it (we haven't taste tested yet, so i'll get back to you on that classic filling!) i have doubled the avocado recipe (the video shows us making a single batch as i.had.no.idea what the final product amount would be!) i figure with the holidays, you need the double batch amount! if not, just cut both of these recipes in half. 

note #2: not a fan of mint? well, i gotcha bunny! omit the mint leaves + extract and process in pistachios. play with your nut amount! i would start with a 1/2-1 cup and taste test from there. no need for salt probably either, as pistachios are salty indeed. also, i would also use a vitamix (or any powerful blender) if you would like it smooth vs chunky.

using a large bowled food processor, process the nuts together until you have a small, uniform mince. add in all ingredients and process until smooth and thick play-dough like consistency.  your kids will have a ball with naming this concoction...

clean the food processor.  add in all of the ice cream ingredients and process until smooth.  

assembly: using a 1 inch ice cream scooper, place balls of pie crust into each cup.  cover your finger with a plastic baggie and press to form a mini pie mould. (super funny stuff to do... i have such potty humor... and let's face it, kids think this is absolutely gross-hilarious!) clean your ice cream scooper (aka pooper scooper) and scoop out your g-hopper ice cream into each cacao cup.  smooth tops with a butter knife or spatula and garnish with crushed pistachios, pomegranates, crushed dye free red/white peppermint candy, mini chocolate chips... so many festive options!!! be creative!!!

FREEZE OVERNIGHT!!!!!!!  

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i hope this post and the many other #52newfoods simple recipes this holiday season inspire you to get cooking just one day a week with your kids - the lovely & manageable premise of the 52 new foods challenge cookbook. 

the mullies kitchen = my training room and we're adding more weight every week!

note to self: don't fret or give up when those kitchen performance "plateaus" hit... it takes a bit for that new muscle memory to take hold (believe me, i know).

go food revolution + team 52 new foods = december's blog of the month!!!!!

happy happy no-bake holiday partying with your kids!

to the mullies we go...

xoxoL



ps

special props to my dear friend jenn who lovingly came up with "holiday hopper" and i added in the g (is for grasshopper) spot. silly, creative, foodie friends are the best.  love + thank you jenn!!

pps

a lot of peeps have been asking me who puts together these lovely videos.  i do.  just me and my iphone with just shy of 3 GB's of memory:)  here's the challenging part: i unfortunately only have a 16 GM phone (i can't even get the new apple update at this point) and i have to delete all pics and videos off my phone to have space for a new video undertaking.  so i know i can shoot about 1.5 GM's of photos and video before i begin editing through imovie (or else i don't have enough space to save the finished product to my phone and upload!)  aahhhhhhhhh!  needlesstosay, i have developed quite an easy process:  shoot what i'm doing in the moment = exactly how cooking with kids shakes out = thumbs ups + thumbs downs + endless comedy + love + a family cooking legacy + fun.