the miracle cookie: chocolate almond + hemp

the first time I tried this recipe I actually only made a half batch as my expectations were that they'd be an "ok" cookie. There is absolutely no flour of any type, so I thought they'd turn out really "wet" and seem uncooked - that, and I've never really been almond butter's #1 fan. It's so super awesomely great for you, so I've always told myself I like it, but on toast, it just wasn't doin' it for me.

But these cookies will change every perception you've ever had about cookies. And almond butter. I've called them the miracle cookie because not only are they completely g-free, they have no flour, sugar, or butter... and taste amazing. AMAZING! They are chewy, and sweet and perfect. Just like me! ha ha... well.. at least the sweet and perfect part.. ha ha ;-)

Another reason these cookies are great is that they have 3 great all-natural sources of protein; almond butter, egg whites + hemp hearts.






1 cup all natural unsalted almond butter, stirred well
3/4 cup Sucanat
2 egg whites
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp sea salt (non-iodized)
1/4 cup hemp hearts
3 oz dark chocolate (I use Enjoy Life's Mega Chunks)

Preheat oven to 350 F & line cookie sheets w/ parchment

Mix together almond butter, Sucanat, egg whites, baking soda, sea salt and hemp hearts until well combined

Add in dark chocolate chunks

Now, I like to make sure all the cookies bake evenly & like them looking uniform, so I use our espresso  scoop to portion the dough into balls, put them on the cookie sheet and then flatten, but you could use an ice cream scoop or just freehand it! :-)

Bake for 10-12 mins, let cool & ENJOY.




adapted from: clean eating magazine, march/april 2010

all-natural chocolate + salted peanut butter cups (packed with protein!)

These. are. delish! No, really! They taste like Reese's Peanut Butter Cups minus all of the odd "natural flavoring" taste (read: artificial flavors created by scientists in a lab).

But wait.

There's an added bonus to this delicious, all-natural package. Yes, thats' right: protein! Anyways.. enough talking, on to our treats!

"Grease" your pan. I use a mini cupcake pan, but you could also use this super cute silicone mini peanut butter cup mold. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, combine:

1/2 cup all natural peanut butter (i like Mara Natha)
1/3 cup chocolate protein powder
1/4 cup plain all natural greek yogurt
1 tsp organic vanilla extract
a squeeze of honey to sweeten

Mix with spatula until combined.

Spoon mixture into pan, taking extra care to flatten on the top & trim neatly around the edges. (Ok, maybe this part isn't that important, but I'm a bit of a perfectionist! ha)

Now, this next step is optional. I like the extra bite that sea salt adds, so I add a couple cranks to the top.  

Put tray into freezer for 20-30 mins until PB hardens up.

Line a baking tray with parchment paper and put it into your freezer (a soon to be home for your chocolate-ified cups).

About 5 minutes before I'm going to take the tray of PB cups out, I'll start melting my chocolate (Enjoy Life's mini chocolate chips). I use a "double boiler" -- well, no, not really a double boiler, but a pot with an inch of water on medium-high heat, and then sit a metal bowl on top of the pot. Then I stir. Stir, stir, stir. Once the chocolate is melted, you're ready to coat  your beautiful little PB cups.

Take the PB cups out of the freezer, and one at a time, remove them from the mold and cover with chocolate. The way I found to work best was to use one of those little corn "skewers" to hold the PB cup and an icing knife to coat (ha ha ha corn skewers.. how nerdy, right?! oh well, whatever works! ;)
As each cup gets coated, put them onto the tray that's chilling in the freezer until set.

Once they've hardened, store them in an airtight container or freezer bag & empty your mail box because you're about to get a whole lot of fan mail! (from friends & fam who are lucky enough to enjoy these little gems, of course! ;)

chocolate spelt banana bread with pecan cinnamon crumble

Everyone loves banana bread.

When I was training for my first marathon, Sundays were the "long run" training day where we would work on endurance and run anywhere from 12 to 32 kms depending on the training week. 32 km? No, that is not a typo! ha ha hence the name... "LONG" run! About halfway through the run, the cravings would start; besides fantasizing about chocolate milk, I would dream of a big, warm slice of my dad's banana bread. 

While I obviously have a bit of a love for banana bread, I'm definitely not in love with the white, refined sugar, processed white flour and butter or oil that traditional recipes are loaded with. 

So what's a girl to do??  

Of course, spend hours searching for the perfect recipe and then carefully planning an overhaul. Extreme Makeover: Banana Bread Edition! ha ha

Let's get started!

preheat oven to 350 F. Grease loaf pan with coconut oil + set aside. 

get a big bowl + sift dry ingredients:

1 1/2 cups spelt flour
3/4 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp cloves
1 tsp cinnamon 

mix wet ingredients in bowl #2:

3/4 organic raw cane sugar
1/2 cup coconut oil 
1 free-run egg
2-3 over-ripe mashed bananas
3 tbsp "buttermilk" [note]

// buttermilk //
While my fridge was (not surprisingly) not home to a spot of buttermilk, I decided to use the amazing powers of google to find my own substitute. I came across a recipe for diy "conventional" buttermilk & just upgraded the ingredients; apple cider vinegar for white vinegar and soy for milk (you can also use almond milk). It's easy peasy lemon squeezy -  in a small cup, mix 1/4 tbsp of apple cider vinegar with 2 3/4 tbsp of soy and let sit for 5 mins and voila! Vegan Buttermilk 2.0.

add wet ingredients to dry + mix well.

pour batter into loaf pan.

now, normal banana bread would be popped into the oven at this point & patiently awaited. but we're not making normal banana bread, we're making brilliant banana bread. so,

chop:

1/4 cup pecans
1/8 cup organic raw cane sugar 
1/4 cup organic chocolate chips

sprinkle on top of batter + bake for 40-45 minutes or until a tester comes out clean.

make yourself a big mug of tea and prepare for banana bread bliss! :-)