Choco Banana Tofu Panna Cotta

Have you ever had tofu in your dessert? Before you say "yew" think again..This is my first trial with tofu as a dessert ingredient. I watched this episode in Food Network where they made honey lemon Panna cotta and I had an instant urge to make something similar but healthy. So I saw some other recipes where they substituted heavy cream with Tofu..I thought it was very interesting and surprisingly I had tofu in my pantry..so I came up with this yummy and healthy panna cotta recipe that you will definitely enjoy!!!

Servings : 4-5


Ingredients:

Tofu - 1/2 lb

Banana, ripened - 1 no

Milk, 2% - 1 cup

Cocoa powder - 3 Tbsp

Sugar - 1/2 cup

Vanilla Extract - 1/2 tsp

Gelatin powder - 1 pouch

Method:

1. Add tofu, banana, cocoa powder, sugar and half the milk in a blender and blend it to a smooth liquid.
2. Add the gelatin powder to the remaining milk and let it dissolve for a few minutes. 
3. Mix the blended liquid with the gelatin mixture and heat up in a pan. When the mixture starts to froth remove from heat before it starts boiling. 
4. If you want a smooth panna cotta strain the liquid in a strainer to remove any lumps. If you are like me who likes little surprises, just add the mixture to individual serving dishes and refrigerate for at least an hour to cool down. 

Serve chill and enjoy.
I was surprised that I couldn't taste the tofu at all..The banana and chocolate masks the tofu really well..

If you want to make it more interesting, try adding chopped nuts or chopped chocolate chips to the mixture right before refrigerating.
This is a guilt free dessert that you can enjoy anytime!

Perfect porridge

Here's a perfect alternative to your boring breakfast oatmeal. Personally, I hate eating oatmeal for breakfast. But this yummy porridge will make you forget that you're eating oatmeal!

 Ingredients:

Oatmeal - 1/2 cup

Milk - 1 1/2 cups

Sugar or Splenda - 1 Tbsp

Honey - 1 tsp

Strawberries -  3 nos

Banana - 1/2

Salt - 1 pinch

Method:

1. In a tall microwavable bowl, add oatmeal, milk and salt and cover with a plastic wrap. Poke the plastic wrap with a fork a couple of times for venting.
2. Microwave for 3 minutes until oatmeal is cooked and mushy and wait until it cools down
3. In a blender, add the cooked oatmeal, fruits, honey and sugar and blend for a few minutes.

I used frozen strawberries and fat free milk and it tasted very good. It will be even better with 1 or 2% milk. You can use any kind of fruits you like and I would be very interested to know what other fruits will work well. I might try blueberries next time since I have it already!!