RAW THUMB PRINT COOKIES!

 Another healthy dessert recipe!

Last night after dinner, I cleaned the kitchen and then sat down to relax. Not two minutes later I jumped up and headed back for the kitchen. It’s not unusual for a recipe to just piece itself together in my head. It’s happened many times and I can never ignore them. In fact not too long ago I was lying in bed tossing and turning, it was in the wee hours of the morning and once again an idea for a recipe popped in my head. Of course I couldn’t ignore it, so I got up and went to the kitchen.

 THIS IS WHAT HAPPENED:

Frying pans, cookie sheets and mixing bowls galore.

Flours, egg re-placers, almond milk and more!

Gluten free pancakes was what I was going to make,

the best ones ever, for my tummy’s sake.

I whipped up a batter, so confident indeed,

they’d make it to a cook book that everyone would read!

I poured the batter in the pan and on a cookie sheet,

which one would be better? Which one would I eat?

The ones in the frying pan stuck like glue,

they tasted even worse and were very hard to chew.

The ones on the cookie sheet tasted like crap,

so terrible indeed I wouldn’t feed the cat.

I tossed them out in a hurry, the kitchen was a mess,

I tidied up as best I could and finally got some rest!

Yeah, yeah, I know, pancakes on a cookie sheet? What was I thinking? Luckily this time I had success, but this time instead of pancakes, they're cookies! They're raw, refined sugar and wheat free, nut/seed free and delicious!

EQUIPMENT: Food Processor

INGREDIENTS:

#1 2  cups wheat free oatmeal,divided.

Great for a snack, dessert or even breakfast!

#2 8 medjool dates (pitted)

#3 ¾ cup organic shredded coconut

#4 ¼ cup real maple syrup

#5 ¼ teaspoon sea salt

#6 1 -2 teaspoons of cacao nibs

#7 A little extra shredded coconut

WHAT TO DO:

#1 Put 1 cup of oatmeal in the food processor along with the dates, process until crumbly.

#2 Add coconut, salt and maple syrup, process again.

#3 Add the other cup of oatmeal and process until combined.

Yum!

#4 A tablespoon at a time, roll them into balls. Place them on a cookie sheet and press your thumb into the center of them. 

#5 In the center of each cookie sprinkle a few cacao nibs and a bit of coconut.

#6 That’s it! Eat them as is or put them in the freezer for a short while to firm them up a bit.

#7 Enjoy!

NOTES:

#1  I used wheat free oats, so I’m not sure they’re entirely gluten free. However, I have an intolerance to gluten and these oats don’t bother me. If you have celiac disease, please take care to find gluten free oats or pass on the recipe. I totally understand.

#2 I use organic shredded coconut because regular shredded coconut contains additives like sulfites. Sulfites show up in a lot of foods, the best way to avoid them is to eat organic whenever possible.http://www.livestrong.com/article/534368-sodium-sulfite-in-food/

#3 Makes about 12-16 cookies

#4 Store leftovers in the freezer.

#5 Since these cookies are nut/seed free, they’re great to pack in school lunches!

RAW BOWLS WITH BANANA CHERRY "ICE CREAM"

Eating healthy should be fun, filling and satisfying and no one should never feel deprived. Therefore I believe dessert is very important, provided it’s also healthy!  Fortunately healthy desserts do exist and they’re every bit as satisfying as the unhealthy ones! So what make this particular dessert healthy? Almonds, medjool dates, carob powder, maple syrup, bananas and cherries! That’s what! 

Raw Bowl with Banana, Cherry "Ice Cream"! Yummy!

 

Check out the nutritional facts of these awesome foods!

 http://www.livestrong.com/article/360031-nutrition-facts-about-raw-almonds/

http://www.livestrong.com/article/289969-nutritional-facts-of-medjool-dates/ 

http://www.livestrong.com/article/261451-what-are-the-benefits-of-carob-powder/ 

http://www.livestrong.com/article/270564-pure-maple-syrup-nutrition/ 

http://www.livestrong.com/article/528665-nutritional-facts-of-a-medium-size-banana/ 

http://www.livestrong.com/article/489645-cherry-nutritional-data/ 

The Raw Bowl recipe I’m sharing with you is a variation of Alicia Silverstones "Raw Balls" which can be found in her book “The Kind Diet”. http://www.amazon.ca/The-Kind-Diet-Simple-Feeling/dp/1605296449

EQUIPMENT: Food processor, muffin tins

INGREDIENTS:

½ cup almonds

½ cup medjool dates

½ cup almond butter

½ cup carob powder

½ cup real maple syrup

½ teaspoon vanilla

¼ teaspoon sea salt

1 frozen banana

¼ cup frozen cherries

Splash of almond milk

½ teaspoon carob powder (optional)

A sprinkle of chopped walnuts (optional)

WHAT TO DO:

#1 Take a ripe spotted banana, peel it, chop it, put it in a freezer safe container and place in freezer , preferably overnight.

#2 In a food processor combine the almonds and dates (make sure you remember to remove the pits form the dates). Process until well incorporated and crumbly.

#3 Add in almond butter, maple syrup and carob powder, vanilla and sea salt. Again, process well.

#4  Now take a muffin tin and flip it upside down. Take about ¼ of your dough and mold it over the bottom of a muffin cup. (you may want to put parchment paper over the muffin cup first, to prevent sticking). If you’re using large muffin cups like I did, you should have 4-5 muffin cups covered.

#5 Place muffin tin in the freezer and freeze for about an hour.

#6 Rinse food processor. Place frozen banana in processor and process until crumbly. Add cherries and process again. Add a splash of almond milk to help move things along. Process until smooth.

#7 Add optional carob powder.

#8 Remove muffin tin from freezer and carefully peel dough off the muffin cups.They should be pretty pliable, so it will be easy to mold them into more of a bowl like shape.

#9 Add a scoop of the banana, cherry “ice cream” and sprinkle with walnuts.

#10 enjoy!

NOTES: 

#1 These are big bowls! If you want smaller bowls, simply use smaller muffin tins.

#2 I suggest filling all the bowls with "ice cream" and freezing leftovers pre-assembled .

CHICKPEA NOODLE SOUP

I always used to think there was a long grueling process involved in making homemade soup. I have since learned that this is certainly not the case. The recipe I’m going to share with you is similar to chicken noodle soup minus the chicken. It’s warm and comforting on a cold day, it’s also vegan, gluten free and pretty darn healthy. It’s definitely one of my favourites and it’s super easy and quick to make. 

INGREDIENTS:

8 cups of water

Delicious Chickpea Noodle Soup! Mmmm!

2 vegetable bouillon cubes

½ teaspoon garlic powder

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 carrots thinly sliced (a mandolin works well for this)

1 cup of frozen kale

2 -398 ml cans of chickpeas rinsed and drained

1/4 package of fettuccine or spaghetti rice noodles broken so they’re about 3 or 4 inches long.

1 teaspoon sea salt

WHAT TO DO:

#1 Fill a large pot with 8 cups of water and bring to a boil

#2  Add vegetable bouillon cubes, garlic powder, olive oil and carrots. Boil for 5 minutes.

#3 Add chickpeas, salt and noodles. Let simmer on medium heat. A minute or two before noodles are cooked through, add the frozen kale.

#4 Continue to simmer on medium heat until noodles are cooked and kale is warm.

#5 Enjoy!

NOTES:

#1 Spinach can be used instead of kale.

#2 I used kitchen shears to cut the fettuccine noodles. That way I could make them all pretty much the same length.

#3 Regular or whole wheat noodles can also be used, however, rice noodles make this soup gluten free!

#4 You might want to check the vegetable bouillon cubes you use to make sure they are in fact vegan and gluten free. I used GoBIO organic brand.

ROASTED LEMON & BASIL POTATOES

I've tried roasting potatoes before and they've always turned out flavourless, undercooked , burnt or just plain boring.  So, I decided to try something new, start fresh and forget about all my other potato disasters!  I let my creativity flow and my kitchen instincts take over.  These potatoes are now an awesome side dish that go with just about anything.  Their tangy deliciousness allows them to be enjoyed plain or dipped in ketchup.  :)

INGREDIENTS:

2 - 3 new potatoes

1 slightly rounded tablespoon of coconut oil

1 lemon, freshly juiced

All the ingredients you'll need

1 1/8 teaspoon sweet paprika

1 1/4 teaspoon basil

1 teaspoon sea salt

WHAT TO DO:

pre heat oven to 400 degrees

#1 Chop potatoes into chunks,  put them in a medium sized casserole dish.

#2 Add coconut oil and mix around until potatoes are coated.

#3 Add  fresh lemon juice, mix.

#4 add spices and salt.

#5 mix until potatoes are coated in oil, lemon and spices. Spread out evenly  in the casserole dish.

Deliciousness!

#6 Put potatoes in the oven for about an hour give or take. All oven temperatures seem to be a bit different, mine runs a bit hotter . Make sure to mix them around every 15 minutes or so to prevent them from sticking to the bottom of the dish.

#7 Remove from oven and enjoy!

NOTES:

#1 New potatoes and red potatoes have less starch than other potatoes like the russet .

#2  This recipe serves two but can easily be doubled or quadrupled in size.
#3 There are claims saying coconut oil is the healthiest oil, however, I still try to limit my intake. I just don't believe all the hype about it.  So as long as I don't chow down on this everyday, I think it's a nice treat to indulge in once in a while! :)