Go Bananas

I made these cookies to bring for the girls at the Haney to Harrison Relay. They are bite-sized cookies that do not contain any added sugar, dairy, flour, or eggs - woopie! Because they are not overly sweet, they make a wonderful everyday cookie & taste wonderful with almond milk, tea, or hot cocoa. No sugar crashes post snack attack with these puppies! Oh and did I mention they are SUPER easy to make...

Healthy Bite Sized Cookies

Ingredients:

1.5 large, ripe bananas, mashed
1/2 teaspoon vanilla bean paste or 1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp coconut oil, warm (or olive oil)
1 cup rolled oats
1/3 cup almond meal (ground almonds)
3 tbsp coconut, finely shredded & unsweetened (I don't use this)
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp fine grain sea salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/3 cup vegan chocolate chips or dark chocolate bar chopped

Directions: Preheat oven to 350F. In a large bowl mash the bananas and then mash in the vanilla and softened coconut oil. Set aside. In another bowl whisk together the oats, almond meal, shredded coconut, cinnamon, salt, chocolate, and baking powder. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir until combined. The dough is very loose and does not hold together well, but don’t worry about that. I took a couple tsp of the dough in my hand and gently formed a ball and squeezed it together as much as I could. Place 1 inch apart on baking sheet. Bake for 14 minutes until bottoms are golden. Let cool for about 20 minutes to set. Makes about 17 bite-sized cookies.

Nutritional info: (Approx. per bite, makes 17 bites): 59 kcals, 2.8 grams fat, 1 gram protein, 2 grams sugar, 1 gram fibre.

Chickpea Burgers

After an action packed weekend of H2H (short post coming soon) and hitting up the North Shore trails yesterday I needed a chill night at home tonight.  It was filled with music, recovery and good eats. I made dinner with some of my favourite foods - I'll call these Chickpea Burgers (without the buns).

Ingredients:

• 1.5 cups cooked chickpeas (1 regular size can)
• 2 tbsp chopped red onion (recipe called for this but I skipped it)
• 2 large garlic cloves, chopped (I crushed mine and used 3 cloves)
• 3-4 tbsp flour, to thicken mixture for shaping (I substituted Coconut flour which is gluten free and contains more fiber)
• 1/4 tsp cumin
• 1/4 tsp coriander
• 1/4 tsp chili powder
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

 

Preheat your oven to 400F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper to avoid sticking. Combine the chickpeas, onion, garlic, flour, spices, s+p and olive oil in a food processor and blend until everything well combined and smooth. The mixture should make 8 small balls or patties which you can form with wet hands. Bake in the oven for approximately 30-35 minutes or until they are golden brown.

I ate mine in a gluten free wrap with hummus, tomatoes, lettuce, little bit of feta cheese and avocado.  You could also serve them in a pita or wrap or on top of a salad.

They also taste really good served like a bunless burger.  I put hummus directly on them and top with lettuce and tomatoes.

~Enjoy~

Banana Ice Cream

Last week I was hanging out at home craving something sweet. I went to the freezer to get a frozen strawberry fruit bar only to realize I had none... but I had a bunch of frozen bananas with no propose. So I used the Google machine to see what you can make with frozen bananas that is quick and easy. I found love - or what others call Banana Ice Cream. I love it because its so simple and fast to make plus you can experiment with tons of different ingredients. This should get you started:

Approximately 1 serving:
1 frozen banana
1 teaspoon of agave nectar
1/4 cup of almond milk
1 teaspoon of chia seeds
sprinkle of cocoa nibs

Helpful hints:

• Peel Bananas, cut in half and freeze in zip lock baggies 
• Make your own Almond milk by soaking almonds over night in water and then running through your juicer with water. Fresh, natural and delicious 
• Trying adding frozen blueberries, mangos, strawberries, raspberries or avocados 

Homemade almond milk (you could use water/regular milk/soy milk/store bought almond milk)

















Combine in a food processor and blend

















Blending took me about 3-5 minutes

You will end up with a nice smooth consistency

Top with fresh fruit or chia seed & cocoa nibs

NOM NOM NOM - A healthy, quick, tasty & inexpensive whole food treat

Leftovers can be put in the freezer and added to your morning smoothie. If you liked this recipe, try this one for Raw Chocolate Pudding made with my favourite food - avocados!

~K

Yummy in my Tummy!

Do you have a sweet tooth?  Me too! Thought I'd share the recipe to one of my favorite treats ~ Raw Chocolate Pudding.

Its vegan (moo moo), gluten free (woot woot), sugar free (bop bop) & super easy to make (yippee). And it tastes much better than real pudding.

This recipes makes two servings.

Ingredients:
1 medium ripe avocados
1 tablespoon coconut oil
1 tablespoon vanilla

1/2 cup agave nectar

1/8 cup raw cacao powder (raw) 

small pinch of salt

1/2 cup water (recipes calls for this but i don't use it)

1/4 cup almond butter (recipes calls for this but i don't use it)

Garnish with;
strawberry slices 

chai seeds

lime zest

mint leaf

Combine avocados, cacao powder, coconut oil, vanilla, salt and agave nectar into a blender and process until smooth and creamy. I add a bit of chai seeds, lime zest, fresh berries and a mint leaf as a garish because I love the fresh taste it adds!  It only takes about 10 minutes to make & you can eat it right away too.  I hope you try it & enjoy.

Experiment with alternate ingredients as well - I sometimes change the avocados to frozen blueberries or bananas.