Chocolate Coconut Crust

For my birthday last Wednesday, June 5th, I decided to try a new pie recipe.  I basically made Chocolate Covered Katie’s Oreo Cookie pie.  I didn’t have a chance to get to the store to buy gluten free oreos, so I just used 6 chocolate chip and double chocolate cookies I had in the pantry.  It was very tasty and especially with this crust I made.  The chocolate and coconut flavors went great with the cashew cookie pie!

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup almonds
• 1/4 cup rolled oats
• 2 tbsp cocoa powder
• 15 dates
• 2 tbsp coconut oil, melted

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325F and grease a pie pan with non-stick spray.
2. In a food processor, grind almonds into a powder.
3. Add rolled oats and cocoa powder and blend until broken down.
4. Add dates and coconut oil and continue to blend until everything is mixed together.
5. Transfer crust to the prepared pie pan.  Press crust down evenly and firmly along the bottom and sides to create crust.
6. Bake for 15 minutes.  Allow to cool before filling with your favorite pie recipe.

You might have extra crust.  I probably had enough to make a whole other pie.  If you want you can half the recipe above or do what I did and save the extra “crust” as a crumbly topping for yogurt bowls!  I love chocolate and coconut flavors together!

Also, this crust is very crumbly and I found it is best with a no-bake pie.  Since the pie recipe I used stays in the fridge, it helped the crust stay firm when eaten.

PB Chocolate Chip Avocado Cookies

Yesterday, I posted the recipe for the Double Chocolate Avocado Cookies.  Today, we are changing the recipe up a little and including some peanut butter!

This recipe was adapted from here:

Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup mashed avocado
• 2/3 cup peanut butter (I used Peanut Butter & Co. Mighty Maple)
• 1 flax egg
• 1 tbsp agave
• 3/4 cup GF rolled oats
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 3 tbsp mini chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350F and line a baking pan with parchment paper.
2. In a bowl, combine avocado, peanut butter, the flax egg, and agave and mix together.
3. Stir in the oats and baking powder.
4. Gently fold in the chocolate chips.
5. Roll the dough into balls (about the size of 1 tbsp) and place each on the prepared baking pan.
6. Bake for 18-20 min.

These taste just like a peanut butter cookie except with some secret healthy ingredients!

I made 23 cookies.  I am roughly estimating that each cookie yields approximately 70 calories and 2g protein.

Double Chocolate Avocado Cookies

Chocolate and avocado… Do I even need to say more?  Wait, actually I do.  When I came across the recipe for these cookies, I thought I was in heaven.  But then I found these Chocolate Avocado Cookies were based on another cookie that included Peanut Butter!  Peanut butter, chocolate chips, and avocado!!!  Obviously I couldn’t decide which cookies to make first.  Since I am on a holiday for Memorial Day I decided to make both!  Today I will post the recipe for the Chocolate Avocado Cookies and tomorrow I will post the recipe for the Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Avocado Cookies!

This recipe was adapted from here:

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup almond milk
• 2 flax eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup mashed avocado
• 4 tbsp agave
• 1/4 cup coconut flour
• 2 tbsp cocoa powder
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 2 tbsp mini chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375F and line a baking pan with parchment paper.
2. In a large bowl, combine almond milk, flax eggs, and vanilla extract, avocado, and agave and mix with a fork.
3. In a small bowl, combine all other ingredients except the chocolate chips and mix together.
4. Stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients.
5. Fold in the chocolate chips.
6. Roll the dough into small cookies (about the size of a tablespoon) and place on prepared baking pan.  Gently flatten each ball with a fork.
7. Bake 15-18 minutes.

These cookies were amazing!  They held together perfectly, but were still incredibly soft.  I have always loved soft cookies over crunchy cookies!

I made 21 cookies.  I am roughly estimating that each cookie yields approximately 35 calories and .5g protein.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake

This Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake was like eating a huge soft chocolate chip cookie in cake form.

Even though this is a sweet dessert recipe, it has a healthy secret ingredient…chickpeas!  But trust me, unless you were told there are beans in this recipe, no one would ever guess.

I adapted the original recipe quite a bit.  Instead of using oil, I used a mashed banana.  Since banana gives natural sweetness I cut back on the amount of sugar.  I also cut back on the chocolate chips, but you can use however many chocolate chips you want!  I cut back on a lot of the sugar because I eat so clean that too much sugar is too sweet for me so I recommend checking out the original recipe too and adapting the sugar to your taste buds. I found the amount of sugar and chocolate chips I used in my adapted recipe to be perfect for me.

This recipe was adapted from Chocolate Covered Katie:

Ingredients:

• 2 15oz cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 1 cup GF rolled oats
• 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1/2 mashed banana
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup coconut sugar
• 3/4 cup chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350F and grease a 10-inch springform pan with non-stick spray.
2. Place oats in a food processor and pulse a few times.  Alternatively, you can use quick oats.Combine all ingredients, except chocolate chips, in a food processor and blend until well combined. (You may need to do this in batches if you have a smaller food processor. I had to mix mine in two batches.)
3. With a wooden spoon, stir in chocolate chips.
4. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for about 40-45 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
5. Once it is finished baking, allow to cool for 10 minutes, then remove the cake from the pan and place on a wire rack until completely cool.

This cake is best eaten warm, either right from the oven or slightly warmed in the microwave.

If you love giant, soft chocolate chip cookies, you will love this dessert.  I can’t wait to make this tasty treat again!  And since it is such a simple recipe with very minimal cleaning, I will definitely be making this dessert A LOT!  Plus, it is a dessert you can eat guilt-free since it contains those healthy chickpeas!

Based on slicing this cake into 8 pieces, each piece yields approximately 279 calories and 8.5g protein.

Avocado Brownies

I absolutely love putting avocados in desserts!  It makes them super creamy and adds some healthy fat.  I usually put avocado in chocolate pudding but this time i wanted to try putting avocado in a different dessert, brownies!  These brownies were eaten so fast, everyone loved them!  I have to go buy more avocados to make this tasty treat again!

This recipe was adapted from here.  I made a few changes to the original recipe.  Here is how I made my Avocado Brownies:

Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup GF rolled oats
• 3/4 cup black beans
• 1 mashed avocado
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder
• 2 tbsp ground flaxseed + 6 tbsp water
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup raw sugar
• 1/4 cup mini chocolate chips, divided (or more!)
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp baking powder

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350F.  Grease a 9×9 inch square pan and set aside.
2. In a small bowl, mix together the ground flaxseed and water and set aside.
3. In a food processor, process the oats into a flour.  Add the beans and process until very smooth.
4. Add the mashed avocado, cocoa powder, flaxseed mixture, vanilla extract, and sugar to the food processor and blend until smooth.
5. Melt 2 tbsp of the chocolate chips in the microwave.  Add to the food processor and blend.
6. Add the salt and baking powder and pulse until they are incorporated.
7. Stir in the other 2 tbsp of chocolate chips.
8. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and use a spatula to distribute it evenly and make sure it is smooth.
9. Bake for about 25 minutes.  Allow to cool before slicing.

I know the combination of black beans and avocado may sound unusual, but don’t be scared off!  You cannot even taste the black beans, all you will taste is creamy chocolate!  And of course you can always add extra chocolate chips into the batter before baking!This recipe yields 9 brownies.  One brownie yields approximately 128 calories and 3g protein.

Fudgy Red Velvet Brownies

Even though Valentine’s Day is practically over, here is a dessert that is perfect for this holiday.  Red Velvet seems to be very popular around this time of the year. Unfortunately, many recipes that are named Red Velvet (brownies, cookies, cake, etc.) are usually filled with red dye food coloring.  Food coloring can come with a lot of health risks including cancer, birth defects, allergic reactions, hyperactivity, and other behavioral problems.  Check out this website for more information.  Food coloring is definitely fun to use to turn food vivid fun colors, but it is not worth these health risks.  I would much rather color my food naturally.

Today I am posting a recipe for Red Velvet Brownies.  This recipe uses beets to naturally color the brownies red.  However, my brownies still came out looking like regular chocolate brownies, which I think is either because I used canned beets or it might be because of the amount of cocoa powder used in this recipe.  Some people might prefer there brownies to look regular and others might miss that red velvet color.  I recommend trying to use fresh cooked beets to get that red color.  If that doesn’t work, I’m sure you could try reducing the amount of cocoa powder or maybe leaving it out completely, but then your brownies won’t taste chocolatey.

This recipe was adapted from here:

Ingredients:

• 1 cup red kidney beans
• 1/2 cup cooked beets
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp almond extract
• 3/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/8 tsp baking soda
• 4 tbsp applesauce
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 3/4 cup raw sugar
• 1/2 cup ground flax

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350F and spray an 8×8″ pan with cooking spray.  Set aside.
2. In a food processor, puree kidney beans and beets.  Transfer to a large bowl.
3. Add the remaining ingredients and stir until smooth and well combined.
4. Spread batter evenly into prepared pan.
5. Bake for 40 minutes.  The brownies are done when a toothpick comes out slightly clean.

These brownies are fudgy!  If you don’t like fudgy brownies I guess you can try cooking them a little longer, but I cannot vouch for these results.  I like fudgy brownies so I found these to be perfect!I love that these brownies are tasty and you are getting some healthy nutrients. Beans and vegetables in a dessert!  And you cannot even taste it!  I’ll take that kind of dessert any day.

Based on 9 servings, each brownie yields approximately 128 calories and 4g protein.

Banana Walnut Cookies

If you have a dehydrator, this is a great recipe to make a simple, raw, and nutritious cookie!

This recipe was adapted from here.  I quadrupled the recipe so I would have extras.

Ingredients:

• 4 bananas
• 1/4 cup walnuts
• 1/4 cup raisins
• 1 tsp cinnamon, or to taste

Directions:

1. Mash bananas.
2. Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix together.
3. Spoon into 40 cookies on a dehydrator sheet.
4. Dehydrate at 115 for 8-10 hours.

After my cookies were finished in the dehydrator, I let them sit out on the counter for a day and the next day they were the perfect consistency.  These are also great portable snacks to pack and take with you for work, school, traveling, etc.

It would be fun to try adding different ingredients in these cookies, like chocolate chips, peanut butter, or different nuts!

If you don’t have a dehydrator, I’m sure you can still make this cookie in the oven at a low temperature.  I haven’t tried these in the oven myself though, so I am not sure what temperature the oven should be set at or for how long.

You could also just make a single serving of this recipe and eat it straight out of the bowl for a tasty snack!  Maybe even add in some peanut butter 🙂

Based on making 40 cookies, each cookie yields approximately 32 calories and <1g protein.

Apple Crisp

Last but not least, Christmas Eve ended with dessert!  I love apples.   I’ve always wanted to try an apple crisp but usually when I just bake an apple for myself it is always easiest just to chop one apple, bake it, and sprinkle it with cinnamon.  A perfect snack/dessert on a cold winter’s night.  However, it is not an apple crisp.  With all the dishes that were made for Christmas Eve, I wanted a lighter dessert that would be more on the healthy side.  Since I was making dessert for the family, I knew this would be a perfect time to try out a real apple crisp.

This recipe was adapted from here:

Ingredients:

• 3 large apples, sliced (I used Fuji)
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 2 heaping tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
• 3 tbsp agave or maple syrup (divided)
• 1/3 cup almond flour
• 1/2 cup GF rolled oats
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 pinch salt
• 1 tbsp coconut oil

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350F.  Lightly grease an 8×8 glass baking pan.
2. In a large bowl, toss sliced apples, cinnamon, nutmeg, and 1 tbsp of agave.
3. Pour apple mixture into glass baking pan and bake for 10 minutes.
4. While apples are baking mix the rest of the ingredients in a bowl. (Melt coconut oil before adding to easier mixing.)
5. When the apples are ready, remove them from the oven and sprinkle the topping mixture over the apples.
6. Place back in the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until golden brown.

You can enjoy this right away, or top with Coconut Ice Cream for Apple Crisp A La Mode.This was a very easy dessert to make and the entire family absolutely loved it!  I cannot wait to bake it again!  In fact, I was so excited to try it myself that I forgot to take a picture.  Good thing I plan on making it again and will post a picture in the future.

Christmas Eve 2012 Dishes:

• Rosemary Citrus Maple Tofu
• Broccoli and Rice Casserole
• Cauliflower Mashed Potatoes with Sage Gravy
• Sweet Potato Casserole
• Apple Crisp

This recipe makes 4 servings.
Based on using Fuji Apples, Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free Rolled Oats, and agave, 1 servings yields approximately 293 calories and 4g protein.

 

Chocolate Banana Avocado Pudding

One of my favorite desserts to make is this Chocolate Avocado Pudding.  Whenever, I am craving something sweet and chocolaty, but want to keep it healthy, this is the dessert I turn to.  The avocado gives it the perfect creaminess and the chocolate gives me the sweet flavor I am craving.

I recently came across a recipe that included a banana into this pudding.  I love bananas and could just imagine the extra creaminess and sweetness this fruit would give the pudding.  Plus, the recipe includes cinnamon and that is one of my favorite spices; especially this time of the year!

This recipe was adapted from Edible Perspective:

Ingredients:

• 1 small avocado
• 1 medium banana
• 3 tbsp dark cocoa powder
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon maple syrup

Directions:

1. In a food processor, blend avocado and banana until smooth.
2. Add in the rest of the ingredients and continue blending until everything is incorporated, scraping down the sides of the processor as needed.
3. Pour into 2 dessert glasses and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or overnight.

The longer this pudding sets, the thicker it gets.  I also think the banana flavor merged in perfectly the longer it set as well.  I loved the hint of banana in this pudding!  I can’t wait to make this delicious treat again!This recipe makes 2 servings.
Based on 1 serving, this recipe yields approximately 204 calories and 3g protein.

Walnut Pumpkin Pie

Happy Halloween!  Since it is Halloween, I have got to keep the pumpkin recipes going and what a perfect time to make a delicious pumpkin pie!

Since I do not eat a lot pretty much all of the typical Halloween candy, I figured I should make a pumpkin pie.  A no-bake, vegan, gluten free one of course!  Plus, I had to try out this recipe before Thanksgiving because I wanted to make it again for Thanksgiving if it was a success.  I am so happy it was, because this pie is filled with healthy omega-3’s, vitamin A, and fiber.

Some other benefits of this pie:

1. Super easy to make, just mix everything in a blender.
2. Which means super easy to clean up, just the blender and a few measuring spoons.
3. You don’t have to stay at home waiting for it to bake, just put it in the fridge and you can run errands outside the house.

This recipe was adapted from Healthy Happy Life.  She lists quite a few alternative ways to make this recipe so definitely check out the original recipe to suit your taste buds and preferences.  Here’s the recipe I used:

Crust Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup raw walnuts
• 1/2 cup gf rolled oats
• 2 tablespoons organic coconut sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt

Filling Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup almond milk
• 1 tablespoon chia seeds
• 1 15oz can pumpkin puree
• 1/2 cup organic coconut sugar
• 1/2 cup raw walnuts
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
• 1/4 cup organic virgin coconut oil (melted)

Directions:

1. To make the crust, mix together all ingredients in a food processor until well blended and mixture holds together.
2. Press crust into a greased pie pan and set aside.
3. To make the filling, mix together almond milk and chia seeds. (This is done first to allow the chia seeds to form a gel in the almond milk.)
4. In a blender, combine pumpkin, coconut sugar, walnuts, salt, and pumpkin pie spice.  Blend until smooth and creamy.
5. Add in the almond milk and chia seed mixture.  Blend until incorporated.
6. Add in the coconut oil.  (Do this quickly, and make sure the coconut oil is very warm so it does not harden too quickly in the pumpkin mixture, unless you have a vitamix and can add the coconut oil with the blender on a low setting.)
7. Blend until everything is combined.  You may need to scrape down the sides of the blender as needed.
8. Pour filling into prepared pie pan.  Smooth the filling with a spatula so it is smooth and even.
9. Place in the refrigerator and let it sit for at least 4 hours, but the longer it sits the more it will firm up. (I let mine sit overnight.)

I chose to make a crustless pie.  I was never the biggest fan of the crust part of the pie, I would rather just eat the filling!  However, this pie was not the firmest and probably would have held together better with the crust, so I think next time I will make the crust too.  If you prefer no crust and want a firmer pie, try adding more coconut oil, probably about 1/3-1/2 cup.)

Walnut Pumpkin Pie before slicing!

This pie tasted so good!

What a great treat to celebrate with on Halloween!

–

Based on using original Silk PureAlmond Milk and cutting the pie into 8 slices:

1 slice with no crust this recipe yields approximately 228 calories and 2.5g protein.

1 slice with crust this recipe yields approximately 298 calories and 4g protein.