Food and Beverage
Bring On Dessert with Better-for-You Sweets
Last Updated on July 17, 2024 by Daily News Staff
(Family Features) If healthier eating holds a prominent spot on your list of goals, you may feel it’s necessary to eliminate some of your sweetest favorites. However, committing to a nutritionally friendly way of life doesn’t have to leave desserts by the wayside.
Instead, rethinking nighttime treats with better-for-you ingredients like California Prunes as a quick substitution can make healthier eating easy. As a versatile ingredient that can replace added sugar, fats and eggs in all kinds of recipes, prunes can also add nutrients important for bone and gut health.
Plus, the copper in prunes inhibits bone breakdown, while boron plays a role in calcium metabolism and polyphenols can help decrease bone breakdown through their antioxidant power. As a fruit that’s high in vitamin K, which helps improve calcium balance and promotes bone mineralization, prunes are also a “good gut food,” meaning a single serving (roughly 4-6 prunes) can help support a healthy microbiome.
They’re easy to use in recipes that can become favorites in your household such as these Chocolate Energy Balls. Enjoyed as an easy, on-the-go snack, they’re a perfect way to refuel for an adventure, recharge after a workout or to simply savor as a healthy snack.
Chocolate lovers rejoice: This rich, delicious, gluten-free, grain-free Chocolate Covered Prune Fudge Cake is naturally sweetened using prunes instead of added sugar. If brownies are more your style, prunes can also take the place of eggs in these Vegan Brownies for a family-friendly treat that won’t wreck your eating plan.
To find more better-for-you desserts, visit californiaprunes.org.
Vegan Brownies
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 25 minutes
Servings: 9
Prune Puree:
- 16 ounces pitted California prunes
- 1/2 cup hot water
Brownies:
- nonstick cooking spray
- 6 ounces unsweetened chocolate
- 1/2 cup California extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 cups light brown sugar
- 10 ounces California prune puree
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1/4 cup cocoa powder
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- flaky sea salt, for garnish
- To make prune puree: In blender, combine prunes and water. Pulse to combine then blend until smooth, pourable consistency forms, scraping sides, if necessary.
- Store puree in airtight container in fridge up to 4 weeks.
- To make brownies: Preheat oven to 350 F. Line 9-by-9-inch baking pan with parchment paper then lightly grease with nonstick cooking spray.
- Using double boiler, melt chocolate and olive oil. Whisk in sugar and prune puree; mix until dissolved.
- Into large bowl, sift flour, baking powder and cocoa powder. Gently fold in chocolate and prune mixture then add vanilla.
- Spread batter in prepared pan, sprinkle with flaky sea salt and bake 20-25 minutes, or until top starts to look dry and brownies are just beginning to pull away from sides of pan.
- Cool in pan. Remove then cut brownies into 3-inch squares.
Chocolate Covered Prune Fudge Cake
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 55 minutes
Yield: 1 cake (8 inches)
Cake:
- Coconut oil spray
- 14 tablespoons butter, chopped
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 3/4 cup cocoa powder
- 10 soft, pitted prunes, chopped small
- 1/3 cup maple syrup
- 6 eggs
- 1/2 cup coconut sugar
- 1 cup almond meal
Ganache:
- 1 cup full-fat coconut milk
- 1 1/3 cups dark chocolate morsels
- To make cake: Preheat oven to 300 F. Lightly spray bottom and sides of 8-inch springform pan with coconut oil spray. Place round piece of parchment paper in bottom of pan and lightly spray with coconut oil spray.
- In small saucepan over low heat, place butter and vanilla. Use sieve to sift cocoa into saucepan. Stir with spatula until completely smooth. Remove from heat and set aside.
- In bowl of food processor fitted with “S” blade, place prunes and syrup. Top with cooled butter mixture then process until smooth. Transfer to large mixing bowl, scraping all chocolate mixture from food processor with spatula.
- In bowl of stand mixer fitted with whisk attachment, whip eggs and coconut sugar on high speed 7 minutes, or until tripled in volume.
- Add one-third of egg mixture to bowl with chocolate mixture. Using spatula, gently fold together until completely combined. Add almond meal and remaining egg mixture to bowl and gently fold to combine.
- Pour batter into prepared pan and bake 55 minutes, or until set. Once cooked through, transfer cake to cooling rack and cool completely in pan.
- To make ganache: In top of double boiler, melt coconut milk and dark chocolate until completely smooth. Pour prepared ganache over cake. Serve immediately for molten fudge effect or allow to completely set.
Chocolate Energy Balls
Recipe courtesy of Meg van der Kruik on behalf of California Prunes
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 30 minutes
Yield: 24 pieces
Prune Puree:
- 16 ounces pitted California prunes
- 1/2 cup hot water
Energy Balls:
- 1 cup old-fashioned or gluten-free oats
- 2/3 cup toasted, unsweetened shredded coconut
- 1/2 cup creamy natural nut butter (peanut or almond)
- 1/2 cup pecan meal
- 1/2 cup prune puree
- 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- To make prune puree: In blender, combine prunes and water. Pulse to combine then blend until smooth, pourable consistency forms, scraping sides, if necessary.
- Store puree in airtight container in fridge up to 4 weeks.
- To make energy balls: In mixing bowl, stir oats, coconut, nut butter, pecan meal, prune puree, cocoa powder and vanilla until completely combined.
- Cover and chill in refrigerator 30 minutes. Once chilled, use small cookie scoop or measuring spoon to measure equal-sized amounts of mixture then form into balls by applying gentle pressure to dough using palms. Do not roll as balls will break apart.
- Store covered in airtight container in refrigerator up to 1 week.
SOURCE:
California Prunes
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Last Updated on April 22, 2026 by Daily News Staff
SAN DIEGO, CA — The award-winning JOEY Restaurant Group is continuing its U.S. expansion with the debut of its first San Diego location, JOEY La Jolla, opening April 23, 2026. The new restaurant will be located at Westfield UTC, one of Southern California’s premier retail and lifestyle destinations.
A New Dining Destination for La Jolla
Set in the heart of La Jolla, the 10,600-square-foot restaurant is designed to deliver a vibrant, upscale-yet-approachable experience. Guests can expect a seamless blend of indoor and outdoor dining, complete with a welcoming fire feature, lush landscaping, and a covered patio that opens into an expansive, modern interior.
Inside, the space features a lively bar and lounge area, complete with a DJ booth for select evenings, a curated wine wall, and contemporary art installations. The dining room centers around a striking olive tree beneath a wood canopy, creating a warm and immersive atmosphere ideal for everything from casual lunches to late-night gatherings.
Elevated Cuisine Meets Global Inspiration
JOEY Restaurants has built its reputation on globally inspired dishes and high-quality ingredients—and JOEY La Jolla is no exception.
The menu will showcase a wide range of offerings, including:
- Premium steak cuts like Bone-In Prime Ribeye and Tomahawk
- Fire-torched sushi and fresh seafood
- Shareable plates and handcrafted bowls
- Signature creations like Truffle Udon Carbonara
The beverage program is equally robust, featuring a curated wine selection and handcrafted cocktails such as the Good Life Margarita and Woodsmoked Old Fashioned. Guests can also explore “JOEY Supers,” a creative take on the classic highball with a refreshing twist.
Leadership Behind the Experience
The culinary and beverage program is led by an award-winning team, including:
- Matthew Stowe, Executive Chef and Top Chef alumnus
- Jay Jones, Bar Development Leader and Hall of Fame inductee
- Jason Yamasaki, Group Sommelier
Their combined expertise is expected to elevate JOEY La Jolla into one of San Diego’s standout dining destinations.
Soft Opening and Reservations
Diners eager to get an early look can reserve a table during the restaurant’s limited preview period from April 18–22, ahead of its official grand opening on April 23. Once open, JOEY La Jolla will offer full-service dining daily, including lunch, happy hour, dinner, and late-night service.
Hours of Operation:
- Sunday–Thursday: 11 AM – 12 AM
- Friday–Saturday: 11 AM – 1 AM
Location:
4489 La Jolla Village Drive, Suite 1600
San Diego, CA 92122
A Strategic Expansion into Southern California
According to company leadership, the move into San Diego marks a significant milestone in JOEY’s broader growth strategy. With its strong culinary culture and coastal lifestyle, La Jolla provides an ideal backdrop for the brand’s signature blend of hospitality, design, and globally influenced cuisine.
As San Diego’s dining scene continues to evolve, JOEY La Jolla is positioned to become a go-to destination for locals and visitors seeking a dynamic and elevated dining experience.
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Festivals
Presqu’ile Winery Partners With LAND to Bring Contemporary Art to Santa Maria Valley
Presqu’ile Winery and LAND are partnering to bring free, site-responsive contemporary art to the Santa Maria Valley estate in Santa Barbara Wine Country.
Santa Barbara Wine Country is about to get a fresh reason to linger a little longer. Presqu’ile Winery has announced a new collaboration with Los Angeles Nomadic Division (LAND), the nationally recognized nonprofit known for taking contemporary art out of traditional museums and galleries and placing it directly into the environments that shape it. The result: curated, site-responsive works—some created specifically for the property—installed across Presqu’ile’s Santa Maria Valley estate.
A winery becomes an open-air gallery—at no cost
Under the partnership, Presqu’ile will serve as a host site for LAND programming, opening its estate to the public for free. Visitors can expect contemporary art integrated into the vineyard setting, with select installations shaped by the landscape itself. The goal is simple and ambitious at the same time: expand no-cost access to contemporary art along California’s Central Coast while creating a cultural experience that feels inseparable from the place it inhabits.
LAND’s approach is rooted in the belief that art should be experienced where people actually live, work, and gather. Rather than building exhibitions around white walls and controlled lighting, LAND supports projects driven by place—work that engages the environment, the community, and the lived experience of the artists creating it.
“Nourishing reciprocity” between art, landscape, and community
Laura Hyatt, Director of LAND, emphasized how the Central Coast setting opens new creative possibilities for artists.
Hyatt noted that collaborating with Presqu’ile gives artists the opportunity to engage with the region’s natural beauty and unique ecology—placing artworks in what she described as “nourishing reciprocity” with the landscape and the visitors moving through it. She also highlighted the long-term potential of the partnership, which allows for deeper exploration over time, expands LAND’s geographic reach, and strengthens connections between Southern and Central California.
For Hyatt, the collaboration is personal as well: her family has roots in the area going back five generations, adding another layer of community connection to the work LAND hopes to cultivate.
A shared mindset: tradition, experimentation, and a sense of place
Presqu’ile framed the partnership as a natural extension of what the winery already does—balancing tradition with experimentation. In the same way winemaking can honor time-tested methods while still pushing toward new expressions, contemporary art can offer new ways of seeing familiar processes and landscapes.
Matt Murphy, co-founder of Presqu’ile Winery, said the family’s appreciation for the visual arts made the collaboration an easy “yes.” He pointed to the opportunity to create “fun, compelling and unexpected” ways for the community to engage with both the installations and the estate itself—and to experience Presqu’ile through each artist’s creative lens.
What happens next
In the near term, LAND will install artworks developed through its programming on the Presqu’ile property, with public access remaining free. The collaboration is designed with community benefit at its center, positioning the estate as a cultural and agricultural destination—not just a tasting room.
Looking ahead, Presqu’ile has submitted plans for approval to develop expanded spaces intended to support free public art, cultural programming, and community gathering. If approved, those improvements would signal a long-term commitment to integrating arts and culture into the estate experience and welcoming future partners whose work aligns with Presqu’ile’s values of openness, creativity, and place-based expression.
Additional details—including participating artists and installation timelines—will be announced as the collaboration progresses.
About the partners
Presqu’ile Winery
Presqu’ile (pronounced press-keel) is a family-owned estate winery in Santa Maria Valley on California’s Central Coast. Founded in 2007, the winery produces cool-climate wines from its sustainably farmed estate vineyard and from a select group of growers across Santa Barbara County. The name—French Creole for “almost an island”—reflects the Murphy family’s Gulf Coast heritage and the winery’s deep emphasis on place.
Los Angeles Nomadic Division (LAND)
Founded in 2009, LAND is a nonprofit arts organization dedicated to connecting people and places through site-responsive public art and programs. Over 15 years, LAND has presented more than 500 artists across 300+ programs and exhibitions, ranging from large-scale sculptural commissions to billboards, roadside screenings, workshops, and city-wide video presentations—reaching millions of people.
Why it matters
This collaboration isn’t just about adding art to a winery—it’s about rethinking where art belongs, who gets to access it, and how landscape can become part of the creative process. For the Central Coast, Presqu’ile and LAND are setting the stage for a new kind of cultural destination: one where a walk through the vines can also be a walk through contemporary ideas, made visible in the open air.
Source: Presqu’ile Winery
Organization: Los Angeles Nomadic Division (LAND)
- Presqu’ile media contact: diana@solterrastrategies.com
- LAND media contact: kyle@hellothirdeye.com
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Food and Beverage
Casamigos Introduces New Pre-Mixed Margaritas (Classic Lime + Spicy) Ahead of FIFA World Cup 2026
Casamigos is getting an early start on FIFA World Cup 2026™ watch-party season—and it’s doing it with a little friendly rivalry. The tequila brand announced a new World Cup campaign starring Gabrielle Union and Keegan-Michael Key, pairing the two as playful “hosts” who go head-to-head over a simple match-day question: are you Team Classic or Team Spicy?
The campaign tagline says it all: “Rivals at the game, Casamigos at the Bar.” The idea is less about picking sides forever and more about leaning into the competitive energy of the tournament—then coming together once the final whistle blows.
Team Classic vs. Team Spicy: the new bottled margaritas
Alongside the celebrity-led campaign, Casamigos introduced new pre-mixed margaritas in two flavors:
- Classic Lime
- Spicy
Both are designed for “pour, serve, and get back to the game” hosting—no extra ingredients, no shaking, no measuring. According to the brand, each pre-mixed margarita is 20.5% ABV and made with Casamigos Tequila, orange liqueur, lime juice, and natural flavors.
Casamigos says the bottles are meant to keep hosting simple during the tournament’s full 90 minutes (plus stoppage time), whether fans are gathering at home, meeting up at the bar, or celebrating in host cities.
What Gabrielle Union and Keegan-Michael Key are bringing to the campaign
Casamigos is leaning into Union and Key’s chemistry to capture what makes World Cup fandom so fun: the passion, the pride, and the rivalries that can get loud—without getting personal.
Union, who said she grew up playing soccer, is firmly Team Spicy, noting she loves “a little heat,” and that the best part of the sport is how it brings people together.
Key, a longtime World Cup viewer, is Team Classic, saying the “classic rivalries” already provide all the spice he needs.
World Cup activations and limited-time packaging
Casamigos is an Official Tequila Supporter of the FIFA World Cup 2026™ and plans to activate in host cities throughout the tournament with fan-first experiences. The brand also noted that its pre-mixed margaritas will feature limited-time FIFA World Cup 2026™ packaging.
For shoppers, the new pre-mixed margaritas are available in:
- 750ml bottles (about 10 cocktails)
- 375ml bottles (about 5 cocktails)
Casamigos lists 110 calories per serving and a suggested retail price of $21.99 MSRP, with both flavors best served chilled.
What to watch for
The World Cup is still months away, but brands are already battling for a spot on your watch-party table. Casamigos’ move is a clear bet on convenience: bottled margaritas that keep the vibe high without turning the host into the bartender.
And if you’re the type who treats every match like a personal derby, Casamigos’ message is basically this: talk your trash during the game—then toast like friends afterward.
Source:
Casamigos Spirits Company (PRNewswire), March 19, 2026.
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