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No bake... Coconut Ball Dessert

I love desserts like many, many people do.
I especially love cake. Birthday cake,
chocolate cake, vanilla cake, graduation cake,
holiday cake, retirement cake,
the occasion doesn't matter.
Cake is cake. Right!?!

I loved baking cake so much one year
that my family banned me from making
cakes. Yes, banned me from making cakes.
Crazy right!?  What kind of messed up family
is that right!?   Well, I will say that they were
4 layered cakes with pies baked inside them
and such. A little extreme I guess.

I will happily say that I'm allowed to make
cakes now especially during holidays. Yay!

I must want to eat some cake I guess
because today I wanted to share a no-bake
coconut ball snack dessert.
.... not a cake... go figure!?!!

When you are cooking for immediate
family that have special diets-
it's definitely not easy.
In my family we have both Celiac and
Diabetes that I have to consider when
cooking. Yep, that's right-
both sugar free and gluten free. Yikes!
Most food is not too tough
but when it comes to desserts-
it's definitely not an easy task.

Here is a no-bake dessert snack that is both
Gluten free and sugar free.  :)





recipe:
~ 3 cups of unsweetened shredded coconut
~ 6 TBSP of coconut oil
~ 1/4 cup of sugar substitute  (20 TBSP)
    ( I like stevia because it's made from
     a natural plant--- called stevia)
~ 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
~ sprinkle of salt

gently blend all the ingredients together using
a fork or spoon and roll into balls
or whatever shape you think you'd most enjoy.

You don't have to refrigerate them
to harden or anything...
but you can if you'd like them a little chilled.

You can also garnish them with chopped nuts
or sunflower or even sesame seeds if you wish!



Zestfully,  Let's Cultivate Food

Easiest yogurt pops EVER!

Take your favorite yogurt.
Scoop it into little cups or little popsicle trays
and freeze.  Now, talk about easy.
When you are ready for one...
all you have to do is turn it upside down
and say abracadabra...
or run some hot water on the side of the one
you want to snack on until it easily falls out.
(20-30 seconds or so)
I like to add some more fruit of whatever the flavor is...
My favorite is adding smashed bananas into the strawberry
banana flavored yogurt.  Add some banana, yogurt, banana
and yogurt.... you get the idea.

​
Keep it cool,  Let's Cultivate Food

Watermelon Lemonade!

Watermelon is perfect for summer.
Everything about this drink screams out.... summer!

From the color to the refreshing watermelon to the chilled
sweetness of the watermelon and slight tartness of the
lemonade combination- you can't go wrong with this drink.

Again, it's SO easy to make.  Your family and friends will be
so impressed that they'll look at you twice!

Let me share with you not only how easy it is to make
watermelon lemonade but a few simple tricks that will
really WOW your family and friends as well.

First start off with some cut watermelon.
You can purchase a whole watermelon or you can purchase
already cut watermelon in a clear container from the supermarket.
There's always a debate which is cheaper...
whether to buy the whole watermelon or to buy it already cut.

If you were to literally analyze the weight of the inside, red,
edible portion of the watermelon compared to the price per
pound of a whole watermelon...

THEN.... buying already cut watermelon is more often than
not cheaper simply because most people are going to throw
away the whites and rind of the watermelon which is a huge
portion of the watermelon that accounts for the extra $ per pound.

Anyways,  take some cut watermelon cubes and throw it into
your blender and blend it for about 30 seconds. Yup, that's all it takes.
Make sure you add a little bit of water, maybe about a 1/4 cup -
otherwise it might not blend/mix well.

If you wish to have the watermelon not as pulpy- feel free to run
the blended watermelon through a strainer.  Otherwise,
just add your blended watermelon to your choice of lemonade.
I often prefer Crystal Light lemonade but feel free to use any kind
that floats your boat!

Before you blend all your watermelon cubes, take some of it
(depends on how many people you will be "chilling" with)
and place the cubes into a cup or bowl and throw it into the freezer.

As you serve your summer watermelon lemonade--
you can drop some of the now frozen watermelon cubes and use it
in place of ice cubes. Using the actual watermelon as frozen cubes
will not only keep it more flavorful and enjoyable but it will also
not water your drink down!  Your friends will truly be impressed!

If you add a little wedge of watermelon or lemon or even mint as
a garnish... it looks really nice as well.

Cheers to summer drinks!,  Let's Cultivate Food

CATERING menus

Not only do occasions these days seem endless

but so are menus for catering.

What is your occasion?

Does your occasion or party have a theme?

Is your occasion a bridal shower?

A baby shower? A graduation party?

A holiday party? A retirement party?

An office function? A super bowl or fantasy sport party?

Regardless of the occasion-

Let's Cultivate Food would not only happily cater 

your event but we love themes and making the food

personal to the occasion or person.

We even make food signs relating to the occasion

and or the food often using food puns even!

Below are a few of the most relished menus.

We can personalize any of the below menus

along with substituting items and or creating

special diet menus as well.

Members of the Let's Cultivate Food team

have diabetes, are gluten free and vegetarian

so we're experienced on a daily basis

if you need to take that route!

MOST POPULAR MENUS:
(Menu options also change with seasons)

HORS D’OEUVRES   

Individual cups of Veggie Crudite with homemade sriracha mayo

Caprese Skewers

Let's Cultivate Food's Dumplings with homemade soy and duck sauce

Shrimp Cucumber Avocado appetizer

Chicken Satay skewers in a Thai peanut sauce

ASIAN FUSION FLAIR 

Spicy pork belly mango slaw lettuce wraps

Mac and cheese stuffed egg rolls with sriracha sauce

Exotic veggie stir-fried rice with pineapples

Fresh raw spring rolls

Chicken Tikka Masala

TACO BAR PAR-TAY 

Ground Beef with 12 spices

Shredded BBQ Chicken

Greens (chiffonade romaine and cabbage)

Guacamole, Salsa, Sour cream, shredded cheese, 

Flour and corn wrappers

Taco spring rolls

TUSCANY FLAVORS

Meatball sub on a stick

Classic Caesar salad with croutons and homemade dressing

Sun dried tomato & roasted pepper crostini

Stuffed Shells with a homemade marinara sauce

Rigatoni with arugula and veggies tossed in red sauce

AMERICAN PICNIC

Loaded Potato Salad with bacon and shredded cheddar

Grilled Cheese bites

Seasoned Killer Corn 

Muffaletta sliders 
      (ham, salami, pepperoni, provolone, olive salad, hot peppers)

Homemade coleslaw

Please email for pricing, 

detailed  information on the food items, 
possible substitutions and any questions!

email: letscultivate@gmail.com

What is Balsamic Vinegar made of?

I've been told that in Italy- where true Balsamic Vinegar
comes from-  it isn't used as an acidic ingredient for salad dressings
like it is here in the USA.  They use it more as a condiment on
grilled meats and of course drizzling on strawberries.

There are 3 different kinds of balsamic vinegar. 

Aceto balsamico tradizionale,  commerical  and lastly condimento. 

The Aceto balsamico tradizionale is the most pure and true for it is 

heavily regulated and takes on the underlying flavors of the wooden 

oak or chestnut barrels that the grapes are stored 

in after it is pressed into vinegar. Oh, by the way--- 

balsamic vinegar is boiled down sweet white grapes.  

This type was even used for medical purposes back in the day.

The mass marketed commercial balsamic is not aged like the 

aceto kind.  Many times the commerical type is labeled 

balsamic vinegar of Modena and a pinch of brown sugar is added 

to every cup of vinegar. 

The last type called condimento is kind of the in between 

one where it's not as  expensive as the Aceto but a higher quality 

than the commercial kind. 

  

                                   

The biggest difference between wine, wine vinegar and 

balsamic vinegar is that the grapes are pressed into make 

balsamic vinegar before the grapes start to ferment like the way 

it is before making wines.

Balsamic vinegar is really good when you mix a few drops 

with olive oil to smear your good, earthy and crusty bread 

into along with your flavorful soup and adding garlic to it is 

also another flavorful option.

​
Zestfully,  Let's Cultivate Food