A Calculated Whisk

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You are here: Home / Archives for no-cook

Cantaloupe, Corn, and Zucchini Salad with Lemony Pesto

August 5, 2019 By Becky 2 Comments

This cantaloupe, corn, and zucchini salad with lemony pesto is a perfect no-cook recipe for hot summer nights. It’s vegan, gluten free, and dairy free.

What’s fresh, fast, raw, and super delicious? 

Cantaloupe, corn, and zucchini salad with lemony pesto, that’s what!

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Filed Under: dinner, gluten free, recipe, vegan, vegetarian Tagged With: basil, cantaloupe, corn, dairy free, no-cook, pesto, salad, summer, zucchini

Cherry Pico de Gallo

July 2, 2019 By Becky 4 Comments

Cherry pico de gallo

This cherry pico de gallo is an easy, sweet twist on your favorite fresh salsa. It’s great with chips or on top of grilled meats!

Cherry season! It’s my favorite time of the year. This is your moment to make this simple cherry pico de gallo, which goes well with pretty much everything and will disappear faster than anything else at your Fourth of July cookout.

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Filed Under: #30MinuteMondays, appetizer, gluten free, paleo, recipe, vegan, vegetarian, whole30 Tagged With: cherries, dairy free, grain free, no-cook, salsa, summer

No-Bake Gingerbread Buche de Noel

December 19, 2016 By Becky 5 Comments

This post contains affiliate links.  As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. 

No-Bake Gingerbread Buche de Noel (Yule Log) #glutenfree

This gluten-free, no-bake gingerbread buche de noel is an icebox cake yule log that’s beyond easy to make and tastes amazing. No one will guess you didn’t even turn on your oven!

A few years ago when I spent my first Christmas with Ben’s family in Chattanooga, we started a tradition of making a yule log cake. These cakes are the modern-day version of an actual yule log, a giant piece of wood that for centuries was placed on the hearth and burned for all of the 12 days of Christmas in many European households. Since we don’t have a hearth or even a fireplace and since I really like cake, I’m glad this tradition went the way it did.

No-Bake Gingerbread Buche de Noel (Yule Log) #glutenfree

Every year for the past three years we’ve made this Chocolate Peppermint Roll from Joy the Baker, but this year I laid eyes on her Chocolate Peppermint Icebox Yule Log Cake. My ears perked up, because “icebox cake” means no baking is involved. I like to make Christmas cakes with my three nieces and while they all love baking, it’s a lot of work to bake both the cake and the meringue mushrooms while making sure everyone gets a turn to do everything at each stage of the process. I wanted to roll with the icebox idea but change up the flavor profile, so I created this no-bake gingerbread buche de noel.

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Filed Under: dessert, gluten free, recipe Tagged With: cake, Christmas, ginger, holiday, no-bake, no-cook, winter

Vanilla Bean Cheesecakes with Figs and Raspberries

August 25, 2016 By Becky 8 Comments

Vanilla Bean Cheesecakes with Figs and Raspberries

These vanilla bean cheesecakes with figs and raspberries require no grains, dairy, eggs, or cooking! They’re the ideal cold sweet treat for the end of summer. Thank you to Rodelle for providing products for this recipe!

I’m back, and I brought mini cheesecakes! Vanilla bean mini cheesecakes made with cashews and topped with fresh figs and raspberries, that is. And you don’t even need to cook or bake anything! These little cheesecakes are so satisfying on a summer evening. The no-bake crust is just sweet enough, with a hint of chocolate and an almondy crunch, and the cheesecake layer is super-smooth and studded with vanilla bean seeds. On top are fresh raspberries and figs sitting like frosted jewels. The combination is so addictive that I know these will vanish from your freezer just as fast as they did from mine!

Vanilla Bean Cheesecakes with Figs and Raspberries

Here’s how these vanilla bean cheesecakes come together. First, you need to soak your cashews in hot water for an hour and soak the pitted dates in hot water for at least fifteen minutes. (Want to soak all your stuff the same amount of time? A little extra won’t hurt the dates!) Then, you’re going to pulse dates, almonds, and a little bit of cocoa in the food processor to make the crust. The chocolate isn’t a dominant flavor, but gives the crust a little extra something. I don’t like it when my desserts taste too much like dates, and the cocoa also helps mask that flavor a bit. You grease a muffin tin, line the cups with a little parchment paper handle like in the photo below, and pat a dollop of crust right into each cup.

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Filed Under: dessert, gluten free, paleo, recipe, vegetarian Tagged With: cashews, cheesecake, dairy free, egg free, fig, grain free, no-bake, no-cook, raspberry, summer

Cherry Berry Ice Cream Loaf

July 3, 2016 By Becky 4 Comments

Cherry Berry Ice Cream Loaf

This show-stopping ice cream loaf is easy to put together with fresh strawberries, blueberries, and cherries and store-bought ice cream.

Happy Fourth of July! I realize I’m getting this dessert idea out to you at the very last possible minute, but this is so easy and elegant that I just had to share. Plus, it doesn’t have to be patriotic. You can swap in whatever fruits and whatever flavors your prefer and enjoy this ice cream loaf technique all summer long.

Cherry Berry Ice Cream Loaf

Here I used vanilla bean and lemon ice creams. The lemon ice cream is super refreshing, and plays really well with the fresh summer fruit. The blueberries, strawberries, and cherries were so beautiful that I couldn’t bring myself to cook them as I had originally planned, but using raw fruit makes this ice cream cake taste fresh and almost light, plus it cuts down on the prep time.

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Filed Under: dessert, recipe, vegetarian Tagged With: blueberry, cherry, fourth of july, ice cream, no-bake, no-cook, strawberry, summer

Cashew Chia Cacao Nib Pudding

July 3, 2015 By Becky 30 Comments

 
This cashew chia cacao nib pudding is paleo, gluten-free, and easily made vegan. It’s also a snap to make and surprisingly satisfying!

Happy fourth of July weekend! I made you a healthy dessert packed with superfoods: chia seeds, cacao nibs, honey, and cashews. Well, I am not totally sure that honey and cashews are superfoods, but they’re not bad, right? I think this pudding would be a welcome change on a weekend when desserts are often pumped full of artificial colors and flavors. (Although, if you do need something naturally red, white, and blue, may I suggest my pico de gallo de frutas? Just use blueberries instead of kiwis.)

Since this pudding is a make-ahead dessert, it’s perfect for having guests over. While you’re out grilling lamb burgers and mixing drinks (agua fresca, perhaps?) these perfectly-sized treats will just be gelling in the fridge.

Cashew Chia Cacao Nib Pudding (Gluten free, Paleo) | acalculatedwhisk.com
This was my first time using chia seeds and cacao nibs, and I loved them both. I wasn’t sure how I’d feel about the cacao nibs since they’re unsweetened chocolate, but while I wouldn’t necessarily eat a handful plain, they were perfect in this pudding. Some of the cacao nibs are blended with the cashew and chia base to deepen the chocolate flavors of the entire pudding, and some are sprinkled whole on top. This gives each bite of cashew chia pudding this craveworthy chocolatey crunch. It’s so good! Read More…

Filed Under: dessert, gluten free, paleo, recipe, vegan, vegetarian Tagged With: cacao nibs, cashews, chocolate, dairy free, egg free, grain free, honey, maple syrup, no-bake, no-cook, primal, pudding

Lemon Mousse with Raspberry Coulis

February 16, 2014 By Becky 10 Comments

We had another snowstorm today.  I was planning to cook something really appropriate for a snowed-in situation, like some sort of stew or casserole that warms you from the inside out, but then I changed my mind. I’m tired of snow food (and, obviously, snow).  I am ready for spring!
When I taught elementary school, I used to read my kids the Frog and Toad books by Arnold Lobel. In one of the stories, around this time of year, Frog’s father tells him that spring is just around the corner. Taking his father’s statement literally, Frog goes peeking around all sorts of actual corners in search of spring, to no avail. Finally, he pokes his head around the corner of his own house to find his parents planting their garden, birds chirping, and the sun peering out from behind the clouds. In February and March, I feel like Frog in that story. Spring may be just around the corner, but it’s really hard to see.

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Filed Under: dessert, gluten free, paleo, recipe, vegan, vegetarian Tagged With: ACW original, coconut milk, lemon, mousse, no-bake, no-cook, raspberry, raspberry coulis, raw

Salted Pepita Chocolate Bark (Great Gift Idea!)

November 23, 2013 By Becky 2 Comments

Here’s another post with an easy idea for a great gift: salted pepita chocolate bark.  I brought little baggies of this to work last week, and everybody loved them.  My coworkers were convinced that I bought the bark somewhere fancy.  No one needs to know that this gourmet treat takes only minutes to make!  I wrapped mine up in little cellophane treat bags, but you could also pack a bunch up in a nice holiday tin for a more sizeable gift.
If you missed my first post in the great gift ideas series, check it out.  When you’re done making vanilla salt, come back here to read about the bark.  See you in five minutes!
Done?  If not, you can substitute any coarse or flaky sea salt here, but the vanilla salt really takes this over the top.  The pepitas provide a nice crunch and a pop of color, and the combination of vanilla bean, salt, and dark chocolate is absolutely amazing.
I like to make this right before bed, then leave it out to harden while I sleep.  When I wake up in the morning, it’s ready to break into pieces.  Because of this routine, Ben calls this “breakfast chocolate”.  I can assure you, however, that it’s delicious any time of day.  I’m planning on making some more so I can put out a big bowl of it on Thanksgiving, for those of us who like to nibble on something sweet while waiting for the turkey.  Enjoy!

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Filed Under: gluten free, paleo, recipe, vegan, vegetarian Tagged With: ACW original, candy, chocolate, dairy free, DIY, fall, five ingredients or less, gift, make your own, no-bake, no-cook, pepitas, vanilla salt, winter

Make Your Own Almond Milk

August 12, 2013 By Becky 2 Comments

Here’s how to make your own almond milk at home. It’s paleo, vegan, and easy to make–and the results are way more delicious than store-bought versions!

Do you drink coffee?  How do you take yours?  Have you ever had to switch the way you make your morning coffee?
One of the hardest parts about the whole30 for me has been adjusting what I put in my coffee.  I used to put lots of 2% milk and a little agave or stevia, plus sometimes a few drops of vanilla.  It wasn’t that hard eliminating the sweetener, because I love the simple synergy of milk and coffee.  Since I also love coconut milk, I thought that might be a great choice for my morning cup.  But coconut milk is terrible in coffee.  It’s too thick.  Even light coconut milk in a carton is too thick (and has icky things like carageenan added to it).  Coffee shouldn’t be viscous, so coconut milk is out.

The next thing I tried was almond milk.  It’s hard to find unsweetened almond milk without too many additives, but the Whole Foods brand wasn’t too bad.  And when I put that almond milk in my coffee, it was fine.  I had to put a lot more almond milk than regular milk, because you can pour in a lot of almond milk before your coffee stops looking (and tasting) totally black.  Anyway, coffee with store-bought almond milk is okay, but I figured I could do better.

This homemade almond milk is easy, and you can add a little whole30-friendly sweetness by putting in a few dried apricots (or dates).  The ingredients list is short and wholesome, and the result is much more delicious than what you find at the store.  Creamy and subtly sweet, this homemade almond milk is by far the best nondairy milk I’ve found to go with my morning coffee.  Of course, it’s also great on its own or blended into smoothies.

This recipe makes lightly sweetened vanilla almond milk; just omit the vanilla and dried fruit if you would like to make plain almond milk.

Ingredients (makes about 2 and 1/2 cups; adapted from Choosing Raw):

1 cup raw almonds
Water for soaking
3 cups water
Pinch of salt
2-4 dried apricots or dates, pitted and soaked in hot water (optional)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (optional, omit for Whole30)

Equipment:

Cheesecloth or a nut milk bag

Soak the almonds in water to cover for at least two hours, or up to eight.  Drain and rinse the almonds and discard the soaking water.  Place the almonds, 3 cups of water, salt, apricots or dates, and vanilla in a blender.  Blend on high speed for a minute or so until smooth.

Line a sieve with cheesecloth and place over a large bowl, or place a nut milk bag over a large jar, securing it with a rubber band.  Pour the almond milk into the sieve or nut milk bag.  Allow it to drain for up to an hour (or if you are impatient like me, squeeze the cheesecloth or bag to remove as much liquid as possible).  Discard pulp, or save to use in smoothies.  Store almond milk in the refrigerator for 2-3 days, and shake before using.

This post contains affiliate links.  If you make a purchase on Amazon after clicking one of my links, I receive a small commission (the price you pay is not affected).  Thank you so much for supporting my site!

Filed Under: drinks, gluten free, paleo, recipe, vegan, vegetarian, whole30 Tagged With: almond, almond milk, dairy free, five ingredients or less, make your own, no-cook, pantry essentials

Hi, I’m Becky!

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