My friend and fellow blogger, Megan Gilmore, from the popular blog Detoxinista just launched her first cookbook this week, Everyday Detox: 100 Easy Recipes to Remove Toxins, Promote Gut Health, and Lose Weight Naturally. I was lucky to be able to review this cookbook before it went to print and I’ve been eagerly anticipating the hard copy on my doorstep. Just like on her blog, the recipes in her debut cookbook are unfussy, whole foods based, and feature short ingredient lists. I’ve been a fan of Megan’s for years and I’ve always admired her ability to take a handful of simple, whole foods ingredients and turn them into something practical for everyday life. While Megan doesn’t ascribe to any particular dietary label, she creates many vegan, paleo, vegetarian, and gluten-free recipes. About 75% of the recipes in Everyday Detox are vegan or can be made vegan by swapping out the sweetener or leaving out the cheese. All of the recipes are gluten-free. There are around 50 gorgeous photos shot by Nicole Franzen.
The book’s chapters include: 1) An easy approach to detoxing; 2) stocking your detox-friendly kitchen; 3) liquid nourishment; 4) morning favorites; 5) salads, dressings & sides; 6) soups, sandwiches & wraps; 7) casseroles & comfort foods; 8) sweet treats; and 9) back to basics.
Detox-based cookbooks tend to make me think of hard-core fad diets and cleanses, but thankfully Megan’s approach is much less drastic. She encourages you to practice daily healthy habits and believes in eating whole foods (ie., unprocessed, refined-sugar free, chemical additive free) on a day to day basis – making a lifestyle change – rather than teetering on the extremes and cyclic nature of dieting. Megan doesn’t believe in calorie counting because she says it “doesn’t take into account the quality of foods we’re consuming nor the body’s ability to digest natural foods versus processed ones.” Instead of looking at the calorie count on a label, she says to ask yourself a few questions: Where does the food come from? Is it in its natural state? How many ingredients does it contain and do you recognize those ingredients? Better yet, she says, select foods with no label at all. I love that last tip. The recipes in Everyday Detox are also based on the principles of food-combining and how food-combining can impact digestion (which is something I admit that I’m not overly motivated to follow), but whether you want to learn more about food-combining or not, the recipes can be enjoyed simply because they are healthful and delicious.
Today, I’m happy to share a recipe from her cookbook for all of the almond butter lovers out there! I couldn’t help myself and added a homemade chocolate topping and Maldon sea salt flakes. It was a hit with our friends!
Salted Almond Butter Freezer Fudge
Yield
21 pieces
Prep time
Cook time
0 minutes
Chill time
1.5 hours
Total time
This almond butter fudge is lightly adapted and shared with permission from Everyday Detox (2015) by Megan Gilmore. I also threw on a homemade chocolate coating for a snappy burst of chocolate in each piece, and a garnish of flaked sea salt. Be sure to keep this fudge in the freezer because it melts at room temperature.
Ingredients
For the freezer fudge (lightly adapted from Everyday Detox):
- 1 1/2 cups raw smooth almond butter
- 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons virgin coconut oil
- 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
- 1/4-1/2 teaspoon pink Himalayan sea salt or other fine sea salt, to taste
For the chocolate topping:
- 3 tablespoons virgin coconut oil
- 1.5 tablespoons pure maple syrup
- 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
- Pinch of pink Himalayan sea salt or other fine sea salt
- Maldon sea salt or other flaked sea salt, for garnish (optional)
Directions
- Lightly grease a standard size loaf pan (9"x5") and line with a piece of parchment paper cut to fit the length of the pan.
- For the fudge: Spoon the almond butter into a large mixing bowl.
- In a small pot, add the coconut oil, maple syrup, and salt (only the fudge ingredients here). Heat over low, until the oil is melted. Slowly pour the wet mixture into the bowl with the almond butter, stirring as you go. Stir until completely smooth and combined. It'll be quite runny at this stage.
- With a spatula, spoon the almond butter mixture into the prepared pan. Smooth out. Place the pan, uncovered, on a flat surface in the freezer. Freeze for around 1 hour, or until the fudge is solid.
- For the chocolate topping: In a small pot, add the oil and melt the oil over low heat. Remove from heat and whisk in the maple syrup, cocoa powder, and salt until smooth. I like to place the chocolate sauce in the fridge for several minutes until thickened slightly.
- Slice the frozen slab of fudge into about 21 (1-inch) squares and place on a large plate lined with parchment paper, about a half-inch between each piece. Spoon the chocolate sauce on top of each square (a scant 1 teaspoon per square). Place back in the freezer until the chocolate is solid. Sprinkle on some flaked sea salt, if desired.
- Break apart the squares of fudge (if the chocolate pooled at the bottom) and enjoy immediately. Return leftovers to the freezer.
Nutrition Information
(click to expand)I also tried out the Strawberry Basil Blast smoothie a few times. I change it up a bit using half the avocado and lemon juice. It’s also good without the fresh basil (I don’t always have it handy because I love to kill me a basil plant), but I do recommend trying the basil version first. I’ve made a cherry-basil combo in the past and it really is awesome in a smoothie! This smoothie will be on heavy rotation throughout the summer.
Some other recipes on my must-try list include: Raw Falafel Wraps, Enchilada Stuffed Cabbage Rolls, and “Beef” and Broccoli.
Thanks to Megan for letting me share this almond butter fudge recipe today. Be sure to check out Everyday Detox which is hot off the press this week!
Great recipe :) I think you’d also be interested in checking out Ingredients for Change on Facebook for plant-based recipes and my videos on Youtube: http://youtu.be/TFCznK9GnHc I’m also on Instagram as raashmis. Hope you like it! :)
Yum, these looks fantastic! They would wouldn’t last long in my house!
Oh wow, this looks delicious!! I used to read Megan’s blog ALL the time back when I was getting started with my own (and when I had more time to be reading blogs every day… sadly, that time seems to be getting more and more scarce!) and I had no idea she now has a book out. It sounds fantastic! I’m a huge sucker for cookbooks and have a feeling this one might just have to be the next in my collection. ;)
Sounds SO good! Himalayan pink sea salt is my favorite :)
Can’t wait to try this recipe!
Oh my gosh, this looks fantastic! I want some now! :)
I usually like a sweet bite after dinner, and this is perfect, since it stays in the freezer. I was out of almond butter, but made my own by processing whole, roasted/salted almonds in the food processor (did not add additional salt to this layer). I’m going to enjoy these with some toasted coconut on top. A winner! I think I might like it even better with peanut butter, which I’ll try next time!
Wow, that looks amazing.. especially the chocolate pouring on the fudge took my breadth away.. looks bliss
I made the fudge yesterday and it is truly amazing! Tastes like salted butter caramel :-)
I only reduced the salt a bit, as we Europeans are not used to the salty fudge ;-) and I didn’t have time to do the chocolate topping, but will definitely try it.
A BIG THANK YOU from Germany for all the great recipes! xxx
it looks always so good!!
YUM! I can’t wait to dive into the recipes in Everyday Detox. I love how simple this recipe is and it looks sinfully delicious! :)
Looks delicious! Thanks for sharing :)
nikkisplate.com
I made a batch of this for the teachers for Staff Appreciation Lunch at my daughter’s school. Turned out super yummy & the vegan staffers especially appreciated it! The fudge did get a little soft when left out for a while at room temperature, but turns out, when you spread that soft fudge on an apple it’s like a whole other dessert! Score!
So easy & decadent. You only need a little piece!
Wow.. fudge is looking so yummy. thank you for the delicious recipe.
These sound delicious and relatively easy, not to mention wholesome. Going to need to bring to the next party I go to! Thanks for sharing!
I don’t generally bake or rather “make” any kind of sweets that require exact measurements because it never seems to turn out quite right for me. I dared to make these because they looked amazing and seemed easy enough. These turned out sooooo well and were soooo easy to make. I love that not baking is required and these are all ingredients that I already had except the cocoa powder ( I actually substituted carob powder and the results were great). I made them for a party and they were a huge hit, the guests couldn’t believe there was not dairy or refined sugar. Will definitely be making these again. My only qualm was that the glaze for the top didn’t have the consistency that it does in the pic, and I even tried refrigerating for a few minutes but that just seemed to make it too thick, I may have not mixed it well enough or it could have been that I used carob.
This almond butter fudge is to die for!! Just made this for one of my nutrition classes, it was a huge hit :-) Bonus that it’s so simple too!
This is amazing!!! I need to try it! You never seen to amaze me!
Danielle
http://www.blushblossom.com
This fudge is FANTASTIC! Cannot wait to try it. :)
Congrats to ur friend, Megan on the cookbook.. I am pretty sure she must have done a great job, can’t wait to lay my hands on it