RunAmok Mama's Strawberry No-Mores!

5/8/2015

A fun, tasty "S" for Trim Healthy Mama...

Our family just loves strawberries - no matter how I serve them... but when I take the few extra minutes to "dress them up", everyone is certain we have arrived at "elegant"... and THAT, of course, is what RunAmok Farm is all about!

Elegance.

Ok, so that last part may be stretching it, slightly... but these strawberries are delightful and pretty enough to take to a potluck!

INGREDIENTS

20 (or so) fresh Strawberries
8oz 1/3 less fat Philadelphia Cream Cheese
1/4 C THM Super Sweet Blend, *powdered)
1/3 tsp Simply Organic Almond Extract
2 squares Baker's 100% Cacao, grated
1 TBS heavy cream or half & half, optional

*NOTE: Powdered sweetener is easy to make. Simply placed your sweetener into a coffee grinder or blender and pulse for a few seconds at a time until product reaches desired consistency.

QUICK TIP: Unless you want a "cloud" of ground sweetener to filter through your entire kitchen, let it settle for a minute before opening the lid. You can thank me now.

DIRECTIONS

BERRY PREPARATION:

1. Rinse strawberries and remove the stems.

2. With a paring knife, carefully cut from the tip of the berry down toward the base - but not all the way through. Then make a second cut, from the top to the bottom, forming an "X".

3. Spread the berries apart, slightly, being careful not to tear them.

4. Place berries in the fridge while you prepare the filling.

FILLING:

1. In a medium bowl, mix cream cheese, THM Super Sweet Blend, and almond extract until smooth and creamy.

2. Add grated chocolate into cream cheese mixture and mix thoroughly.

*To "grate" the chocolate, I cheated here. I added the squares of baking chocolate to my blender, along with a tablespoon of cream and then pulsed until the chocolate was a "fine" consistency.

NOTE: The cream mentioned in this step is optional. You can still pulse your chocolate just fine without it, so if you do not have cream on hand, don't worry.

ASSEMBLY:

1. Add mixture to a piping bag, or if you do not have one, you can improvise using a Ziplock bag with a corner cut off.

If you are taking to a potluck and want these to be really "beautiful", then you should use a piping bag.

2. Place tip of bag down inside each strawberry, squeezing gently, with a bottom-to-top motion.

3. Serve immediately, or chill in refrigerator for up to 6 hours.

NOTE: These would probably hold up longer than 6 hours... but I don't recommend trying to hide them in the fridge longer than this.

They tend to mysteriously disappear.

RunAmok Mama's Strawberry No-Mores! "S" for Trim Healthy Mama.

tammy timbes

5/8/2015 01:42:17 pm

Could you use unsweetened chocolate instead of cacao?

Jaque

5/9/2015 02:09:50 am

Hi Tammy,

Yes, they should be interchangeable in this recipe. Hope you enjoy!

Christie Lankford link

5/23/2015 02:25:07 am

Could you use the Ghiradelli 86% Cacao Intense Dark Chocolate Squares or the Nestle Toll House Cocoa Powder? Also, could you use Vanilla Extract instead of Almond Extract? These look so good! Love the idea to add a blueberry on top for red, white, and blue!

Jaque

5/25/2015 04:54:57 am

Feel free to play with the recipe - It is very versatile and easy to tweak. :)

rosemary

5/23/2015 04:53:25 am

Yummy easy to make

Jaque

5/25/2015 04:56:24 am

These are quick and easy... and they do NOT last long! ;)

rosemary lasura link

5/23/2015 04:54:40 am

Yummy looks easy enough to make

Beth

5/23/2015 05:10:46 am

Can I use Truvia and leave out the chocolate and cream and this still be an S ?

Jaque

5/25/2015 04:59:49 am

Hi Beth,

Yes, you could substitute with Truvia -- but you may need to play with the amounts a bit, to reach that perfect "sweet" for you. Also, leaving out the cream will change the texture somewhat, so may be more difficult to pipe into the strawberries. If you have half and half, that would work in place of the cream...

Either way, the cream cheese makes this an "S", so whether you use cream, half and half, or just go with the cream cheese, you will have an "S" treat. :)

martha

5/23/2015 10:22:27 am

i didn't see a print button; did i miss it?

Jaque

5/25/2015 05:01:00 am

Hi Martha,

I am sorry - I don't have a "print" button at this time. I am working on some new features, so should have this capability up and running next month.

nomabarton@gmail.com

5/23/2015 03:21:00 pm

These look so good and would be so good to fix and take for the ladies meeting at Church. Thanks !

Jaque

5/25/2015 05:01:36 am

Definitely a fun treat for a social! Hope you all enjoy!

NancyT

5/23/2015 09:13:17 pm

great idea!!

Jaque

5/25/2015 05:02:44 am

Thank you! :)

Alma Simakowicz link

5/26/2015 01:32:07 am

Can you use sugar ? How would it change the recipe ?

Jaque

7/2/2015 07:43:02 am

Hi Alma,

You could definitely use sugar for this recipe -- But I generally write my recipes with the "Trim Healthy Mama" plan in mind, so the recipes are weight-friendly.

Sugar would taste just fine (you would need to play with the sugar amount a bit, as the stevia sweetener is sweeter.)

suzy hunter link

5/28/2015 12:15:23 am

I am allergic to artifical sweeteners, could i use powdered sugar instead and how much?

Jaque

7/2/2015 07:45:48 am

Hi Suzy,

Stevia would not be considered an "artificial" sweetener (I cannot tolerate those either!) but as the stevia plant is related to ragweed, *SOME* people with ragweed allergies also experience a sensitivity to stevia as well.

You can use a powdered sugar, in place of the stevia - but the stevia sweetener I used above is much sweeter... so you will need to play with the sugar amount, to find that "perfect" sweet for your taste buds. :)

Elizabeth

6/13/2015 12:46:36 am

How many of these can I eat in one sitting and remain in S territory?

Jaque

7/2/2015 07:49:36 am

Hi Elizabeth,

You could eat quite a few - A full cup of strawberries can be eaten in an S setting... and the other ingredients fall into S... Remember though, these ingredients are calorie-dense. While we do not need to meticulously count calories on THM, we do need to be conscious of unnecessarily loading with excess calories.

In other words, eat a delicious amount of these - but don't go too awful crazy with them or eat them EVERY day... or you might experience a stall in your weight-loss. ;)

Poly

2/2/2016 05:05:15 am

Since these are an S setting, could you use regular cream cheese instead of 1/3 less fat cream cheese?

Comments are closed.

RUNAMOK MAMA

Precision-run households may find my introduction as the "RunAmok Mama" a tad alarming, so I'd like to offer a quick assurance that my life is more an exercise of controlled chaos than sheer pandemonium! Most of the time. ~ Jaque

RunAmok Mama's Strawberry No-Mores!

RUNAMOK MAMA

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