Flourless Fudge Cookies (50 calories, dairy-free, gluten-free)

Hey all,

Ron and I were snowed in!!! Hurricane Nemo brought a foot and a half of snow…. and about 2 hours of shoveling.

While we were bundled up, I tried to find more fitness and health tips on Pinterest. I found  a cookie recipe and an in-home workout—How about Jillian Michaels 30 day shred? So fun!

I had a blast doing this video! It was a short 20 minute workout that really gave me a solid, quick workout. I also really liked Michaels energy. She is tough, informative, and fun. What an inspiration! Considering we were in the middle of a blizzard (and I had just finished a writing assignment), this was a healthy, fun distraction.

After my workout, I decided to make cookies. I found a Flourless Fudge Cookie recipe that consisted of only cocoa powder, egg whites, and confectioners sugar. The end result is a fudgey, rich cookie without the flour or fat. To lower the calories even more, I substituted half of the sugar for stevia, making the cookies 50 calories each and lower in sugar!  I also added cinnamon and a touch more instant espresso. The only cocoa powder I had on hand was Dark Chocolate, so they would have to be deep and dark in color and flavor. But could they be good? Let’s see….

Oh, yes. I am a big fan of these uber chocolatey cookies! They come out slightly crisp on the edges with a soft, fudgey middle. And my additions didn’t change the taste. I have a feeling we will be seeing alot more cookies in this household!

Flourless Fudge Cookies

• 1 and 1/8 cup stevia
• 1 and 1/8 cup confectioners’ sugar
• 1 cup dark cocoa powder, dutch process
• 2 tbsp instant coffee
• 3 large egg whites
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease one cookie sheet.  Blend all ingredients together in a bowl until smooth. Use a heaping tbsp for each cookie. Bake for 8 minutes, until tops of cookies are firm.

Apple Fritter Rings (a non-Paleo treat!)

Hey all,

To celebrate losing my first few pounds, I decided to treat myself with a light, fun, and seasonal snack: Apple Fritter Rings. Ron and I made these Sunday afternoon for a snack after shopping, and wooo, these Fritter Rings are so yummy! You get all the delicious flavors of a fritter (sweet, cinnamon, and spice) in the healthy ring of an apple.

I have to admit, the Rings shown are not gluten-free (I ran out of gluten-free flour!) and they are fried. But I am sure this fun snack or dessert could be made with any standard gluten-free all purpose flour, and the rings themselves are so light that even a little coconut or vegetable oil will keep these treats within a healthy range. They taste wonderful drizzled with a little maple syrup or sprinkled with powdered sugar. Happy Fall, everyone!

Pumpkin Applesauce (slow cooker!)

Hey all,

Goblins, ghosts, and ghouls–oh my! Halloween is near! I am so excited! Have any of you bought Fall decorations yet? I just bought a  few things for the apartment: pumpkins and a tres chic decorative lantern I bought at Target for $2.50, woooo!

The cutest part of decorating though was when Ron asked, “So when are we going to get our Christmas stockings?!” I hadn’t even thought about getting stockings for our little apartment, but why not? How fun.

And things are good on the health front! I’ve made some small changes to my overall lifestyle. I bought  Lavender-scented Tom’s of Maine natural deodorant that doesn’t contain all the metals that are bad for the thyroid (love it, by the way!), and I now have hypoallergenic makeup and organic shampoo. I also bought a Brita to filter all the water I drink, I try to not eat as much grains and sugar, and I stick to one cup of coffee a day. I’ve tried to workout a couple times this week, and I plan on working out more in future weeks. We are even thinking about purchasing a bike trainer, so we can cycle in the house during the winter. (You can find them relatively cheap, actually!) Anyway, this is all to say that I’ve lost a little weight, rather than gaining (I swear I’d wake up and be a pound heavier for no reason!) and I overall feel better.

Speaking of feeling better, I decided to make one of my favorite fall foods this week:  Slow Cooker Pumpkin Applesauce. Of course, I have a deep love affair with my slow cooker. Who doesn’t like a one pot tool? And Pumpkin Applesauce is a major comfort food for me. There’s something about this healthy, smooth & spicy sweet treat that I just love. You can spoon Pumpkin Applesauce on yogurt or ice cream, put it into a smoothie, or even add a bit to a squash soup. And it is much better than the store bought– it has a more tart, silky smooth consistency. What’s not to love? I make this applesauce with almost no added sugar (just a touch of  maple syrup and dried cranberries), a squeeze of orange juice, and a healthy amount of cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice (who doesn’t love cinnamon and pumpkin pie?). Say hello to your new favorite fall food!

Pumpkin Applesauce

• 3 lb bag of apples, washed and roughly quartered (I prefer organic Gala apples)
• 1/2 cup pureed pumpkin
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1/3 tsp pumpkin pie spice
• 1/3 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract
• 1 tsp maple syrup
• 1 1/2 tbsp dried cranberries
• 1 tsp orange juice (or lemon juice)

Combine all ingredients in the slow cooker. Cook on high for 2 hours (lid on), stirring frequently. When the apples are soft and becoming sauce-like, take off the heat and let cool. Remove the cinnamon stick, and use an immersion blender or standing blender to blend and pulverize the apples and pumpkin into a smooth sauce. Store in a jar for up to 2 weeks.

Peppermint Cocoa Energy Bars (adapted from Oh She Glows)

Hey all,

Yes, Ron and I are STILL on the east coast and eagerly awaiting our return to the Best Coast. (Are we there yet? No offense, New Englanders.) We also just finished our summer jobs and have been celebrating by going on a major tv and movie binge: Vampire Diaries! Bones! The Lucky One! In between dissertation work and jobs, we haven’t had much time to break in our new tv and sofa that we bought to outfit our new apartment. As you can see, we now have been firmly planted on our couch for days, and it’s been….glorious. Of course, the lack of exercise isn’t so glorious, and I’ve been trying to eat a little bit healthier after all this sitting (and after a major food fest at a great Italian restaurant for my friend’s birthday!).

This morning I saw that the lovely vegan blogger Angela from Oh She Glows recently posted a No-bake Peppermint Patty Energy Bar made with dates. Considering I had an entire bag of dates to eat before we leave, I became excited! Chocolate mint bars made from healthy, light ingredients? Of course I’m intrigued! Could they be good? Well, in the immortal words of Ron (who snuck a bar when I wasn’t looking), “Mmmmm, these taste like a chewier Mint Chocolate Clif bar!”

I adapted Angela’s Bars by adding a ton more cocoa, peppermint, and almond milk (double the amounts!), using less nuts with a combination of cashew and almond butter instead of walnuts and almonds, implementing plastic wrap instead of parchment paper, and blending vanilla protein powder with fiber powder instead of unflavored protein powder. Considering this recipe has no added sugar, these bars are delicious and guilt-free, friends! They are chewy, chocolatey, and minty–perfect for an after-dinner treat or post workout snack. I love the chocolate chips, too. They make these bars very rich and decadent. To store, wrap each bar with a little plastic wrap, and place all bars into a zip-lock bag into the freezer. (That way, they’re even more cool and minty fresh!) Thank you, Angela, for another delicious treat!

Skinny Banana Crisp with Coconut Cream

Hey all,

Ron and I are going back to California to visit our families and take a break from our busy schedules for an entire month! It’s going to be great food, fun times, and lots of hugs. Of course, that means here in our New England apartment we are trying to eat EVERYTHING in the kitchen, including fruit: clementines, apples, and bananas, to be exact. I saw that my bananas were actually going brown, and I didn’t want to make Banana Bread or Banana “Soft Serve” (you know, frozen bananas that are processed til smooth and look like melted ice cream?). Hmmmm. How about I make a healthy Banana Crisp that includes dried fruit and all the other fruit we have lying around the kitchen? Could a banana crisp be as delicious as an apple crisp? I think the half-empty glass baking pan says it all.

I made this eclectic crisp with some of my favorite ingredients. I used cinnamon, honey, oats, oat flour, coconut oil, stevia, and light butter for the skinny crisp topping……(Mmmmm). For the fruit on the bottom, I used mostly bananas with one small cut up apple, 2 clementines, and dried cranberries. I served the crisp sprinkled with flaked coconut and finished with a dollop of (melted) coconut cream. (Coconut cream is the cream of coconut milk whipped with a little white sugar.) So delicious! Ron and I loved this crisp! And the Coconut cream tastes so decadent. I might like this better than whipped cream made with cow’s milk. I am definitely going to try Whipped Coconut Cream at my next dinner party! Cheers!

Banana Crisp

Fruit on the bottom ingredients:

2 bananas, sliced

1 large apple, washed and chopped

2 clementines, peeled and sectioned

1/8 cup dried cranberries

1/8 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp honey

optional: 1/8 tsp pumpkin pie spice

the Topping:

1/4 cup almond flour

1/3 oat flour

1/2 cup oats

3/4 tsp cinnamon

1/8 tsp salt

1/4 cup stevia and brown sugar (mixed)

3 tbsp coconut oil

3 tbsp light butter

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Grease an 8×8 cooking dish with coconut oil or Pam. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, combine fruit, cinnamon, and honey. Spoon into baking pan.

In a second medium bowl, cream the oat flour, oats, almond flour, stevia, salt, and cinnamon with the butter and coconut oil. Sprinkle the oat crumble over the fruit in the baking pan, and bake for 30 minutes, or until golden brown. While the crisp bakes, make your  coconut cream. I suggest the coconut cream recipe from the lovely vegan blogger Oh She Glows. Let cool and serve with Coconut Cream! Yum!

Baked Apple Smores (my new favorite!)

Hey all,

I am so excited for fall that I’ve begun dreaming of fall foods (as well as fall-themed pinups, of course!)

In the midst of my day-dreaming, I created my new favorite (healthy) everyday fall dessert: Baked Apple Smores. (Okay, I know it’s not fall yet, but I love apples and Smores! Who doesn’t??) And last week I made the mistake of not having any of my usual “healthy” desserts on hand, and after having a vodka soda… or two… with friends, I was a little less careful about my eating when I came home. So less disciplined, in fact, that I made a batch of chocolate chip cookies and ate three! Bah!

How about making Smores with apples and adding cinnamon and coconut on top? That’s right–Baked Apple Smores with cinnamon, spice, and everything nice!

I baked open face, cored apples with dark chocolate chips, mini marshmallows, tiny smidgeons of butter and coconut, and cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice for some added sweet and spiciness. These are so fun for the fall! I also love that they’re kid-friendly, healthy, nutritious, and indulgent (without all the guilt!). I am making multiple Baked Apple Smores and storing them in tupperware for dessert at night during the week. Yum!

DIY Strawberry-Dark Chocolate Syrup (lots of fruit!)

Hey all,

Remember how I said I’m lowering my sugar intake? Well, I decided to start by making over my recent Homemade Dark Chocolate Syrup. MMMMM, remember how rich and dark it is?

I love this stuff, but I could definitely make it a little healthier–how about blending the syrup with equal parts strawberries to make a Dark Chocolate-Strawberry Syrup?

Image from Alloveralbany.com

I blended the strawberries with the syrup one day just to see how it would taste. The results? Wonderful! I may like this syrup better than the Dark Chocolate Syrup! (It’s actually dinner guest approved, too–I poured some of the syrup on top of a brownie and my guest immediately asked where I got the delicious cocoa berry syrup!) The strawberries cut through the dark chocolate and make it an even sweeter berry chocolate sauce. They also thin the syrup a bit, which makes it more squeezeable and spreadable. In fact, I bought a squeeze bottle just for this syrup! I knew this would be a staple in my house. (A low sugar chocolate syrup that’s half fruit? Yes, please!)

Homemade Dark Chocolate-Strawberry Syrup

1 cup of my Dark Chocolate Syrup

1 tsp cocoa powder

3/4 cup frozen strawberries

Directions:

Blend together. That’s it! Eat with ice cream, greek yogurt, and more!

Homemade Mocha Fudge Brownies (with black beans)

Hey all,

Things have been turning around for me this summer. I don’t know if I told you, but Ron and I have had some not-so-great summer adventures.  First, when we came back from that national conference a few weeks ago, Ron woke up with 15-20 bug bites. We were convinced we had bed bugs in our hotel room and might have brought them home! We had multiple days of cleaning, steaming, and fumigating our entire apartment ourselves. Things came to a close when we realized that the previous tenants had a carpet beetle infestation–bugs that look like bed bugs but are much less invasive. Sigh of relief.

Then, literally a few days later, Ron’s computer stopped working. After trying EVERYTHING (re-formatting, resetting his computer PRAM), he reluctantly had to give his expensive Mac up to the genius bar.

I also ended up having Chronic Hives all summer. (Yes, I have had hives this whole time! 3 months of summer.) In fact, I still have them! I can’t wear fragrance, I can only use sensitive skin everything, and I have to take 3 antihistamines a day. I’m actually going in for blood-testing this week to make sure everything is okay.

After all that, my point is that Ron and I have had a strange summer. But, things weren’t all bad, and we’re actually having a great time! We moved in together, which feels SO much better than having to constantly pack our stuff and move one place to the next. One of my jobs ended, too, and everything feels just a little less stressful. Life is good! Life’s a beach!

Anyway, now that things have slowed down, we had two dinners this week (two nights in a row!) to show our friends our new place! We created two dinner menus and desserts. The first night we made dressed-up brownies from a box–I added a cream cheese and sweetened condensed milk swirl. But when Ron and I both woke up feeling blah from too many brownies and red wine, I decided to try and make things a little healthier. How about Extra Fudgey Mocha Brownies? Made with-gasp–black beans!

These fudge brownies are SO good. I cannot stress that enough. (Ron is obsessed with them!) And at 100 calories per square, you can’t beat ‘em. They have an interesting texture–too smooth and dense (not cake-like) to be a brownie, but not quite oily enough to be a fudge. It’s something in between! A guest who tried them said, “You’d never know these had black beans in them! They taste like a dense mousse!”

I adapted Melissa d’Arabian’s Black Bean Brownie recipe to make these squares of heaven. I replaced the necessary oil with applesauce (using only a tsp of coconut oil), used Oat flour instead of regular flour, used dark chocolate chips instead of semi-sweet or milk chocolate, used all Stevia in the recipe (no sugar), added extra vanilla and instant coffee, and added 3-4 dates to the recipe. I also used Trader Joe’s Cocoa powder, which has more cocoa solids and is a darker chocolate than Hershey’s Cocoa powder. These brownies pack quite a punch of protein with black beans, oat flour, and eggs. (And don’t forget the fiber from the beans, dates, and oats!) I think I’m going to freeze these and see how they taste cold. Definitely try these! You won’t be disappointed. And enjoy!

Mini Apple Bucklecakes (light, high protein)

Hey all,

My weight loss is moving a little more slowly than I’d like, and I’ve decided to kick things up a notch and be a little better about my sweets intake. How about I start making more fruit-based recipes and lower my chocolate and caramel intake? I want to find recipes that feel indulgent (without all the sugar and maybe with some fruit!). I had some apples going ripe–how about an apple bread? Or an apple cake? Here’s what I came up with!

These little beauties I adapted from Jamie Eason’s Apple Cinnamon Protein Bars. I used oat flour instead of almond flour and greek yogurt instead of cottage cheese. If you don’t have oat flour, you can make it yourself at home by simply processing oats in a food processor until fine. I also chopped my apple (instead of grating it), and added a touch of molasses, pumpkin pie spice, and a tbsp of oats into the batter. These bucklecakes are only 70 calories! Great, right?  I’m thinking of having these as a dessert or snack with greek yogurt. They’re hearty and taste like a naughty treat! (But are oh-so angelic.)

And if you’re still on the fence about buying protein powder…I vote you go and buy some! I’m no doctor (okay, well, technically I will be a doctor of philosophy (PhD) in a couple of years!) but I do know that extra protein keeps me feeling fuller longer. I also found a number of great-tasting, low sugar protein powders that contain stevia, a naturally occurring root that tastes sweet,  instead of aspartame. And protein powder is so versatile! You can throw it in smoothies, syrups, puddings, and even in cookies or cakes to boost flavor and sweetness. What’s not to like? Enjoy!

Mini Apple Bucklecakes (light, high protein, adapted from Jamie Eason)

Ingredients:

• 4 scoops vanilla protein powder
• 1/2 cup oat flour
• 1 tbsp oats
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
  
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
• 1 tsp molasses
• 3 egg whites
• 1/4 cup stevia
• 1/2 cup greek yogurt
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1  1/2 apples, finely chopped

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prep a 12 serving muffin pan with 12 cupcake liners and spray each liner with non-stick spray. Set aside.

In a large bowl, combine protein powder, oat flour, oats, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and pumpkin pie spice. Whisk together and set aside.

In a smaller bowl, combine egg whites, stevia, greek yogurt, molasses, and vanilla. Whisk until well incorporated and then add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix again.

Fold in chopped apple and mix until combined.

Pour batter into the prepared cupcake tins and bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. let cool and serve!

Almond-Chocolate Chip Thumbprint Cookies (almond flour, gluten free, low sugar)

Hey all,

I did it. I jumped on the Almond Flour bandwagon. I had to! I was so curious! Plus, as a woman with a sedentary job, I do try and watch my carbohydrate-intake. I’m not a crazy low-carb person… I just try to not have bread, pasta, and rice at every meal! I also am not going to be “grain-free” just for the hell of it.

In fact, here’s an academic tidbit from me that teases the new Paleo, grain-free Diet craze: many of the recommended foods on the “Paleo” plan are in fact relatively new foods to western civilization. Many of these foods weren’t available around the globe. Tomatoes, peppers, squash, potatoes, avocados, pecans, cashews, and blueberries are all New World crops, while grains have been around for more than 20,000 years. And the racket about humans not being “adapted” to eat grains because of lectins, but able to eat lentils and kale? And no fermented foods on the diet, like wine? That’s snake oil, too, my friends. Humans’s adaptability to food–no matter where you live and what climate produces the crops available– is the hallmark of the species. Cavemen lived off of fermented foods (people picked rotting/fermenting produce off foliage on a daily basis—this isn’t hard to imagine!), and there is solid evidence that different tribes of cavemen ate grains 30,000 years ago. Different tribes also consumed different crops depending on their location (wow! read up on your anthropology, folks.). Also, lectins are in multiple food groups–not just grains–and you typically denature lectins through cooking, such as in cooking beans. There is nothing “old”, ancient, or “Paleo” about this diet plan. I do like this diet, though, and I think it has its merits. You’re eating less caloric grains—-essentially following a low carb, higher protein, and high healthy fat diet. This diet is a smart choice for people who have sedentary jobs.

BTW, here’s a hilarious quote from an anthropologist describing an actual Paleolithic diet if tried today:

You really want to be paleo? Then don’t buy anything from a store. Gather and kill what you need to eat. Wild grasses and tubers, acorns, gophers, crickets- They all provide a lot of nutrition. You’ll spend a lot of energy gathering the stuff, of course, and you’re going to be hungry, but that’ll help you maintain that lean physique you’re after. And hunting down the neighbor’s cats for dinner because you’ve already eaten you’re way through the local squirrel population will probably give you all the exercise you’ll ever need.
—Dr. Britta Hoyes

(Funny, right?)

Anyway, I love nuts and OF COURSE, a flour actually derived from nuts would taste delicious in the form of a cookie! Why not try Almond flour? I spotted this recipe for “Grain free” Chocolate Chip Cookies (The Urban Poser blog) on Pinterest, and decided these were just too cute not to try! Well, I can officially say these cookies are Ron and BB-approved!

I made these tonite after eating some leftover Peruvian food from a dinner we went to last night. (I’ve told you my dad is half Peruvian half white, right? I’m a 1/4 Latin American, love it!) And Ron and I liked them alot! These cookies are dense, crumbly, nutty, and sweet. They’re definitely a different “taste” than regular cookies—but in a good way! Like always, I made some changes to their recipe. I swapped the coconut oil and coconut milk for vegetable oil and cow’s milk, and I used a combination of oat flour and almond flour (rather than all almond flour). I also used a combination of stevia and honey with dark chocolate chips. (You could definitely make these completely no sugar added cookies (aside from the chocolate chips) if you use all stevia.) Finally, I added a pinch of cinnamon in the recipe with cinnamon and sugar on top! I really like that these cookies don’t use eggs or butter and are relatively low in sugar (for a cookie!)

As I mentioned though, they are a bit too crumbly, but that’s because my particular brand of Almond Flour isn’t ground fine enough for baking (it’s an almond meal/flour). I might try adding an egg to hold them together more? I also read on multiple blogs that Honeyville Almond Flour is the way to go for more fine almond flour that’s proper for baking. They sell bags of their almond flour online! I might have to invest.