Raw Mango Coconut Bites

When the weather gets warmer, I'm always craving a cold treat to cool off. I love making smoothies or anything that has fruit because in my opinion, there's nothing more refreshing than that! I went to Trader Joe's the other day and stocked up on a bunch of frozen fruit, which called for some experimenting. I was a little skeptical about trying a mango and coconut combination, but it turns out they actually go so well together. With only a few natural ingredients and no added-sugar, these mango coconut bites are the perfect healthy and refreshing summer snack.

Ingredients

Coconut Crust:

-1/2 cup almond flour

-1/4 cup unsweetened shredded coconut

-7-8 pitted Medjool dates

-1 tbsp coconut oil

-1/4 tsp cinnamon

Mango Layer:
-2 cups frozen mango cubes, slightly thawed (or fresh mango)

-2 tbsp coconut oil

-1 tsp vanilla extract

-1/4 cup unsweetened almond milk

-optional topping: unsweetened shredded coconut

Directions: Combine all ingredients for the crust in a food processor and blend until a slightly sticky dough forms. Press the dough into the cups of a muffin pan, about 1/4 of the way up (mine evenly distributed into 9 cups). Put that in the fridge while you make the mango layer. Combine all of the ingredients for this layer into the food processor and blend until a smooth mixture forms. Take the muffin pan out of the fridge and distribute the mango mixture among each muffin cup, smoothing the top with your finger or a spoon. Top with a little bit of shredded coconut if desired, and put in the freezer until firm. I like to let them thaw on the counter for a few minutes before I eat them.

Raw Chocolate Coconut Almond Butter Cups

My first time making a raw dessert was a success! These came out so good, I probably could have eaten the entire batch in one sitting. I pretty much winged it (wung it?) when it came to measurements (so you may need to make some adjustments here and there), so I was surprised that they came together perfectly. The best part about these is they're full of nutrients! The different nuts, cacao powder, and dates almost make it like a granola bar, but much healthier (and tastier) than what you find at the grocery store.
I used raw almond butter for one batch, but for another batch I used Cookie Dough Cracked Nut Butter, a paleo-friendly nut butter spread made with all-natural ingredients (raw pecans, almonds, unsweetened coconut flakes, coconut oil, spices, etc) and they tasted amazing as well! Just wanted to share this because this is one of my favorite nut butters that I highly recommend trying!

Ingredients for base:
-1/2 cup cashew meal*
-1/4 cup almond flour*
-2 tbs unsweetened coconut flakes
-3 pitted dates
-1 tbs agave (or honey/maple syrup)
-1 tbs unsweetened cacao powder (or cocoa powder)
-pinch of sea salt

Ingredients for top:
-1/2 cup almond flour*
-1/4 cup oat flour*
-3 tbs raw almond butter (or other nut butter)
-1.5-2 tbs coconut oil, melted
-1.5 tbs agave (or honey/maple syrup)
-1/2 tsp vanilla
-1/2 tsp cinammon
-pinch of sea salt

*If you don't have almond flour, cashew meal, or oat flour, you can just process almonds, cashews, or rolled oats in a food processor until they become a flour.

Directions for the base: Combine all ingredients in a food processor and pulse until it becomes slightly sticky. You may need to stop and scrape down the sides a few times. Press into a mini muffin or regular muffin pan so each is filled about half way. Place in the fridge while you make the top.

Directions for the top: Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix well. It should become like a sticky dough. Start with 1.5 of melted coconut oil, and if it's too dry add another 1/2 tbs. Press the dough on top of each of the bases so it is distributed evenly. Then put back in the fridge for 30-45 minutes or until they are firm. Pop them out of the muffin pan and enjoy!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Bread Bars

Hope everyone had a great new year! Naturally here in New England we had a snowstorm to start off 2014, so I was stuck inside all day. As much as I hate being cooped up inside, it was a good opportunity for my sister and I to bake these chocolate peanut butter banana bread bars because they take a little bit longer to make with all of the different layers. It was so worth it though-- I can’t think of a better combination than banana bread, peanut butter and chocolate!

Banana Bread Layer
Ingredients:

-1 cup oat flour (rolled oats ground into a flour)

-1 tsp baking powder

-1 tsp baking soda

-1/2 tsp sea salt

-1/4 cup coconut oil, melted

-1/4 cup sugar-free maple syrup (can use regular)

-1/3 cup almond milk

-1/2 tsp vanilla extract

-2 ripe bananas, mashed

-1 tsp cinnamon

Directions: Preheat oven to 325. Mix dry ingredients in one bowl, wet ingredients in another, and then mix wet into dry. Pour into a baking pan sprayed well with non-stick spray (we used a 9” round cake pan..a square pan would probably be better). Bake for 30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool for at least 20 minutes.

Peanut Butter Layer

Ingredients:

-1/4 cup natural peanut butter

-1 tbs coconut oil, soft but not melted

-2 tbs almond meal

-2 tbs sugar-free maple syrup

-pinch of sea salt

Directions: Mix ingredients and spread evenly on top of banana bread layer. Put pan in the freezer for 45 minutes to an hour.

Chocolate layer:

-1/3 bag of dairy-free chocolate chips

-1/2 tbs coconut oil

Directions: Heat oil on medium-low until melted. Then add the chocolate chips and stir until completely melted. Pour on top of peanut butter layer and freeze for an hour. 

Cut into squares and enjoy! :)

*These are vegan-friendly and have no added sugar. They can be gluten-free if you use gluten-free oats for the flour, or a different gluten-free flour. They're also dairy-free if you use dairy-free chocolate chips, such as Enjoy Life brand. 

Healthy Gingerbread Cookies

Whenever I'm really stressed out from school, I always find myself in the kitchen. Besides working out, baking is the one thing that always makes me feel better. It makes no sense because I'm putting off all the work I have to do, which will just make me even more stressed out, but taking a break never hurts! So tonight is one of those nights--I'm just a few days away from being done with my first semester of grad school, so naturally instead of working on the paper worth 30% of my grade, I baked some cookies. At midnight...on a Saturday night. Totally normal. They're similar to my healthy snickerdoodle cookies recipe, but in the spirit of Christmas being 2 weeks away, I came up with a gingerbread version. I seriously can't get enough of gingerbread lately! Just like my other cookies, these are paleo, vegan, and gluten-free.

Ingredients:
1 cup almond flour
2 tbsp melted coconut oil
1/4 cup baking stevia (or honey or agave)
1/8 tsp baking soda
1 tbsp blackstrap molasses
1 tbsp unsweetened vanilla almond milk, or milk of choice
1 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp each of nutmeg and ground cloves (I didn't measure any of the spices, this is just a guess)

Directions: Preheat oven to 350 and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Combine almond flour, stevia, baking soda, spices and sea salt in one mixing bowl. Mix the coconut oil, milk, and molasses in a separate bowl. Then pour the wet ingredients into the dry and mix well. Form the dough into balls about 1 tbsp big. Then place on the baking sheet. Flatten each dough ball slightly. Bake for 8-10 minutes. They will be very soft when they come out of the oven, so let them cool for a while before transferring them from the baking sheet. Enjoy!

Healthy Snickerdoodle Cookies

So I'm not going to lie, I've actually never had a real snickerdoodle cookie before! So I'm not exactly sure what they taste like. When I made this recipe, I actually didn't really have a flavor in mind. After I tasted them, I decided that they must be snickerdoodle because they had a sweet, buttery taste and when I typed snickerdoodle into google that's how it's described..haha. So if anyone ends up making these, let me know if I was right! Either way, they're delicious. They're also paleo, vegan, and gluten-free. There's no eggs, no dairy, and no grains, so they're very allergen-friendly!

Ingredients:
1 cup cashew flour (you can also grind up cashews in a food processor, or try almond flour)
2 tbsp melted coconut oil
1 tbsp unsweetened applesauce
1 tbsp unsweetened vanilla almond milk (or milk of choice)
1/4 cup baking stevia (or sweetener of choice)
1/8 tsp baking soda
1/2 tbsp vanilla extract
1 tsp butter extract (use more vanilla extract if you don't have this, but I highly recommend using it!)
pinch of sea salt
cinnamon

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Combine cashew flour, stevia, baking soda, and sea salt in one mixing bowl. Mix the coconut oil, applesauce, milk, vanilla extract, and butter extract in a separate bowl. Then pour the wet ingredients into the dry and mix well. Form the dough into balls about 1 tbsp big, and sprinkle with cinnamon. Then place on the baking sheet. Flatten each dough ball slightly. Bake for 8-10 minutes. They will be very soft when they come out of the oven, so let them cool for a while before transferring them from the baking sheet. They end up being soft on the inside, and firm on the outside!

Healthy Avocado Grilled Cheese

Grilled cheese is a favorite comfort food as well as a quick and easy meal to make when you don't feel like cooking.  The traditional grilled cheese sandwich is high in calories and fat, and low in fiber, since calls for bread, butter and processed cheese.  Because of this, if you go for the grilled cheese when you're hungry and trying to make a quick meal, it's not going to fill you up and may cause you to want to eat more! However, with a few tweaks, a grilled cheese can be made healthy, filling, and just as delicious.  Adding avocado to a grilled cheese is a great way to incorporate heart-healthy monounsaturated fats, and it also contains fiber and other good nutrients.  In addition, I used coconut oil instead of butter. Coconut oil is a saturated fat-- however, it's mainly made up of medium chain fatty acids which are converted into energy rather than getting stored as fat, unlike butter, and it also does not impact cholesterol. Coconut oil has many other benefits that I won't get into, but I highly recommend cooking with it regularly!

Ingredients:
2 slices of bread (I used a paleo coconut flour bread; I recommend using Ezekiel bread or an 100% whole grain bread)
3-4 tbsp low fat cheese of choice (I used low fat mozzarella. Low fat swiss and goat cheese are also good choices)
1/2 avocado sliced
1/2 - 1 tsp melted coconut oil
Non-stick cooking spray
*Feel free to add any other vegetables such as tomato, red peppers, etc.

Directions: Coat a pan with non-stick cooking spray and put on medium heat, or heat up a counter top grill. Spread the melted coconut oil on the 2 slices of bread. The bread I used was smaller so I only needed 1/4 tsp on each slice, but you may need to do 1/2 tsp on each. Form the sandwich so the first slice is coconut oil side down, then layer on the cheese, followed by the avocado, and then place the other slice of bread on top with coconut oil side up.  Place on the pan or grill.  If using a pan, flip when toasted and a golden brown color.  Make sure the cheese is melted.  Enjoy!