Sweet Nostalgia

While shopping at this teeny tiny vegan grocery store, Side Car for Pig's Peace, a friendly saleswoman recommended these Rice Bran Crackers claiming they make a great substitute for graham crackers and are safe for my limited diet. 

Excited to try them, I popped one in my mouth as soon as I got in the car. They didn't exactly taste like a traditional graham cracker but had a familiar taste I couldn't quite recognize. After a few more bites, it hit me...

They tasted like those Salerno butter cookies from back in the day. Remember how you could stack them on your finger? Such a yummy after school treat with a cold glass of milk or lemonade. Even though they're not stackable, the rice bran crackers are a healthy trade off -  they're free of saturated and trans fats and they make a great snack paired with a cup of Huckleberry tea. (This is a black tea, so probably not a night time snack.)

So on my continual quest to find delicious and somewhat healthy desserts, I unintentionally re-created the ice-cream cake roll experience. How many of you remember these old fashioned cakes while growing up? Depending on your generation the cakes might have looked like this:

Or this:

 This was the closest image I could find to the kind we had when I was a kid, but I think it was called Rainbow cake, or it had a 70's looking rainbow on the box:

And if you lived across the pond, you might be more familiar with the Arctic Roll:

Here's what I used to make the modern day (somewhat healthy) version of the ice-cream cake roll: 

Amy's GF/DF Organic Chocolate Cake

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Vanilla Maple Arctic Zero

Just cut a small slice of the Chocolate cake and spread some Vanilla Maple ice cream on top. (Let the ice cream soften a bit before attempting to spread it, otherwise it will mash up the cake.) Depending on your appetite (and tolerance for sugar) you could slice another small piece of cake and make an ice-cream sandwich. Either way this chocolaty, creamy treat will satisfy your sweet tooth and may bring back some pleasant memories.

While on the subject of sweet past times, here's something else that might tickle your memory bone. Remember Pine Brothers Cough Drops?

These were soooo good, it was hard not to eat them like candy. After a few moments in your mouth, they would turn soft and gooey and the flavors would come alive. These are back on the market and I just picked some up at Bartell's drug store. They are also available at CVS stores. The honey tasted slightly different, not as honey like as I remember, but the cherry flavor was spot on. Of course, there's a BIG downside here...they are made with corn syrup. Probably shouldn't even post something like this on here but when you're battling a sore throat/cough a drop or two won't send you over the edge...

...as long as you don't end up shoving them into your mouth by the fistfuls. Did I mention black licorice flavor is coming soon??? Dangerous.

All we need now is a healthy version of the Carnation Breakfast Bar and all will be right in this world.