I believe one of the best things about THM is the ability to MAKE IT YOUR OWN! Don’t like sweet peppers in your soup? Just swap it out for another FP veggie. Don’t like quinoa in your soup? Just substitute another approved E grain! Versatility, mamas!
I’m going to share a few things I’ve made my own, and I’d love to see yours! These are all recipe that I’ve tweaked to become my all time favorite flavor (and MAJOR weakness!), Salted Caramel.
Seriously, if I ever come across something that’s Salted Caramel I HAVE to try it. There’s just something about that perfectly sweet/salty/creamy combo!
#1 Sweet Dreams Cookie Bowl Oatmeal (FP), THM cookbook, page 249. I don’t have any pictures for this one.
Now, I LOVE the combo of PB and Chocolate, but sometimes…I just need a change of pace.
I follow the recipe directions but do these tweaks to make it my own:
1. Omit the cocoa powder & pressed peanut flour, replacing with an equal amount of powdered almond butter. (I use this one.)
2. Double the salt.
3. Add butter & caramel flavoring & vanilla extract to taste. (I haven’t measured, but I’m guessing 1/8 tsp. each, with a little more caramel than butter & vanilla.)
4. Use the lesser amount of sweetener, I do sometimes use even less, since without the cocoa powder you don’t have that extra bitterness.
I do enjoy my oatmeal better warm, so I make it ahead of time in glass storage containers, and just pop it into the oven to heat it up. By the time I’m ready for the day it’s at a perfect eating temperature.
#2 Mouthwatering Meringues (Ultra FP). THM cookbook, page 317 (follow mixing and baking instructions in recipe.)
1. Replace the banana flavoring with 1 1/2 teaspoon caramel flavor & 1/2 teaspoon butter flavor.
2. Add 1/4 t. salt along with the sweetener.
3. Increased the sweetener slightly since I have a sweet(er) tooth!
One recipe yielded 1 1/2 gallon jar. I used a large open star piping tip & a pastry bag top pipe these onto the parchment paper.
I love these because they’re an Ultra-FP, so they can be paired with ANYTHING!
#3 Ultimate E Bars, Trim Healthy Table, page 432 (follow recipe directions.)
1. Omit cocoa powder, replacing with an equal amount of powdered almond butter.
2. Replace pecan extract with an equal amount of butter flavoring
3. Decrease vanilla to 1/2 teaspoon.
4. Add 1 1/2 teaspoons caramel extract in place of the remaining vanilla.
5. Increase salt to 3/4 teaspoon, or to taste.
That concludes my first post of tweaks for making Trim Healthy Mama my own! I hope to do a few more posts like this in the coming months.
For the caramel & butter flavorings, the best I’ve come across are THM’s Natural Burst brand.
I buy the powdered almond butter & vanilla at my local health food store, but they can be found online.