Buckwheat Chocolate Chip Cookies ~ Gluten Free, Vegan

These cookies are beautifully soft and the BEST cookies I have ever made, even better than the unhealthy refrigerated cookie dough things we used to get as kids!

And the fact that these are healthy AND fairly cheap to makes these a necessity to bake right now. Right. Now.

Recipe adapted from the Buckwheat Chocolate Chip Cookies here. 
Yields about 2 trays worth of cookies

Ingredients
Dry: 
1 1/4 cups buckwheat flour, or quinoa flour
1 1/4 cups garbanzo bean flour, or gluten-free all purpose flour
1 tsp. sea salt
1 tsp. baking soda
1 1/2 cups dark chocolate chips (or Enjoy Life brand)

Wet: 
2 1/2 tbs. chia seeds + 1/3 cup filtered water
3/4 cup coconut oil, melted
1/4 cup applesauce, or additional coconut oil
1 cup + 2 tbs. coconut sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract

1. In a small bowl or cup, mix together the chia seeds and 1/3 cup water. Set aside for about 5 minutes and stir every so often until the mixture takes on a gel-like consistency. 

2. In a medium bowl stir together the melted coconut oil, applesauce, coconut sugar and vanilla extract. Once the chia seeds and water form a thick gel, add them to the other wet ingredients and blend on high (with a hand mixer) for several minutes. 

3. Mix together the dry ingredients. Stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and mix until just combined. 

4. Chill the dough in the fridge for 2 hours or overnight, until all the dough is chilled and firm.

5. When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350 degrees and form into the size cookies you'd like. Bake for 9-13 minutes. Enjoy! 

Gluten-Free Pumpkin Muffins (with Quinoa Flour)

Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free, Sugar-Free, Nut-Free, Paleo, Vegan

Adapted from the recipe for Gluten-Free Pumpkin Muffins made with Quinoa Flour over at KeepItSweetDesserts.com. (The author writes that she slightly adapted from Espresso and Cream who had adapted from With Style & Grace.) the recipe looks great, and I adapted it with the ingredients I had on hand. I substituted chia seeds for the eggs, and added a bit of coconut oil to give it some healthy fats. The resulting muffins are moist, fluffy and light, all without eggs or gluten!

Ingredients: 
Dry
1 1/2 cups quinoa flour
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. baking soda
3/4 tsp. cream of tartar
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. sea salt
1/8 tsp. ground ginger

Wet
1 cup canned pumpkin 
3/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
2 tbs. chia seeds + 1/3 cup water
1 cup erythritol (or sweetener of choice, more if you like sweeter muffins)
pinch of stevia
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Instructions: 
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray a muffin tray or mini muffin tray with coconut oil. 
2. Stir the chia seeds and water together in a small cup, and let sit for about 5 minutes until the chia seeds absorb most of the water. Mix the wet ingredients together in a medium bowl, and add the chia seeds in once they are gelled. 
3. Mix the dry ingredients together in a measuring cup. 
4. Add the dry ingredients into the wet and stir until just combined. 
5. Fill the muffin tins to the top.
6. Add chocolate chips or any toppings you would like (raspberries, blueberries, raisins, pumpkin seeds, etc.)
7. Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes. Let cool and enjoy!

Store sealed in air-tight container at room temperature for a few days, or in the freezer. 
This recipe filled a mini muffin tray and half of a regular-sized muffin tray. 

Healthy Gluten Free Cinnamon Rolls

Gluten Free, Refined Sugar Free, Nut-Free, can be vegan

These cinnamon rolls are delicious and full of warm sweet cinnamon flavor! These do not rise much or get very fluffy, but even with the denser texture these cinnabons hit the spot. They have more gooey cinnamon sugar filling than many recipes call for, but since that is one of the best parts about this dessert I increased, and might experiment with increasing it even more. The icing recipe also makes extra, but since the icing is my favorite part about any dessert, I increased it to really make sure these were well-frosted and not skimping with thin drizzly stuff like many other recipes out there. 

Cinnamon Rolls Attempt #1: 
Adapted from the Grain Free Table's recipe over at Foodbabe.com, here.

Cinnamon Rolls Attempt #1

With this recipe the dough seemed really dry and crumbly and would not mix in a good part of the remaining dry ingredients. To fix this I decided to add in 1 egg. It turns out that was a bad idea, as the dough became too wet/sticky and wouldn't roll properly when I attempted to roll them into a log. It just kept sticking to the pan and breaking. I tried to roll as much of it as I could, and arranged them in make-shift half-bun, half-pieces in the pan. It ended up being more like a monkey bread kind of dessert than actual cinnabons, and it was still delicious! This goes to show if you have problems along the way, don't give up, and even if the end result is different than what you planned it can still be a success. We made these to celebrate Christmas, and a wonderful Christmas it was indeed. 

Cinnamon Rolls Attempt #2: 
Adapted from the recipe at Detoxinista.com here. 

This recipe turned out really well and tasted just like a glutenous cinnabon! The use of arrowroot starch and coconut flour made for a lighter texture, less heavy than the previous version, so this is what we'll use going forward. I modified it by adding more of cinnamon/coconut sugar filling, and adding a decadent cream cheese frosting! If you can't tell from the pictures, cream cheese frosting is one of my favorite things ever, which I'll only have on special occasions, if I make it myself with safe ingredients and without refined sugar. The end result tasted so good and decadent I think my husband may ask for it too frequently!

Ingredients

Dough

Dry: 

• 1 1/2 cups arrowroot starch/flour
• 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons coconut flour
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/4 cup coconut sugar

Wet: 

• 1/2 cup melted coconut oil
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 eggs (for vegan version replace with 3 tbsp. chia or flax seeds + water to form a gel)

Spice Swirl

• ½ cup coconut sugar
• 3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
• ¼ teaspoon Celtic sea salt
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted (or coconut oil)

Frosting

• 8 oz. organic cream cheese (or greek yogurt, or dairy-free cream cheese, try to avoid soy still)
• 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
• 1 tablespoon erythritol, or pinch of stevia (or coconut sugar)
• 1 tablespoon coconut sugar
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• squeeze of lemon juice
• Thin to desired thickness with non-dairy milk 

Instructions:

1. In a medium bowl mix together the dough dry ingredients.
2. Melt the coconut oil in a 2-cup glass measuring cup. Stir together the wet ingredients in the cup. 
3. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry making sure there are no lumps. 
4. Chill the dough for 20 minutes. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. 
5. Stir together the the cinnamon/coconut sugar filling ingredients and set aside. 
6. Once the dough has chilled, roll it out onto a tray lined with parchment paper and greased with coconut oil (we don't want the dough to stick!). 
7. Sprinkle the filling onto the rolled out dough. If you like the gooey cinnamon filling as much as I do, sprinkle more cinnamon and coconut sugar on top. 
8. Roll the dough into a log, folding each section over at a time by carefully rolling up the parchment paper. 
9. Cut the log into sections and place in a greased 8x8 dish. 
10. Bake at 350 for 25 minutes. Cover the dish with foil so they don't get brown.  
11. Make the frosting by heating the cream cheese gently in the microwave or stove-top. Stir in the remaining ingredients, and adjust the taste/sweetness to your liking. 
12. After 25 minutes, take off the foil and bake for 5-10 more minutes until lightly browned. 

Dollop on the frosting and Enjoy! 

There will be extra icing, and you can use that as a dip for fruit or the other rolls.

I happen to LOVE cream cheese frosting, so we used it all. no regrets. ;)

Cinnamon Rolls Attempt #1 - so much gooey, cinnamony, cream cheesy goodness!

Triple Chocolte Brownie Pudding Cake ~ Secretly Healthy

Vegan, Gluten-Free, Sugar-Free, Nut-Free, Oil-Free

Adapted from the AH-Mazing recipe over here at ohsheglows.com! 
Growing up, the Brownie Pudding Cake recipe from the Betty Crocker cookbook used to be my absolute favorite dessert! We made it so many times in my household, and I so loved the chocolatey combo of brownies and gooey pudding underneath. The flour, eggs, white sugar and brown sugar were integral to the recipe, and for years I couldn't think of a way to healthify this classic dessert. The brilliant blogger at ohsheglows.com cracked the code though and made a brilliant recipe for it though thank goodness! I adjusted her recipe by not using oat flour, by combining pudding mixture before putting on the batter, and a few other things. In the future I might increase the cocoa and sweetener amounts, or add more chocolate chips. 

To put this recipe over the top, I went back and added a chocolate ganache topping to the brownie! It made this absolutely divine and added the perfect touch and deep chocolatey richness to balance out the smooth pudding and moist brownie. 

How is it still healthy? 
Pumpkin. Quinoa Flour. Omega 3's (from chia/flax). Raw Cacao Powder (antioxidants). Organic. Gluten-Free. Fiber. Protein. Enough said. 
I hope you enjoy this recipe!

Ingredients: 

Dry Ingredients

• 2 cups quinoa flour (or experiment with a different gf flour)
• 3 tbsp. coconut flour
• 1 cup erythritol (or coconut sugar)
• 10 pinches stevia
• 2/3 cup raw cacoa powder (or cocoa powder)
• 1 tbsp. cream of tartar (corn-free substitute for baking powder)
• 1/2 cup Enjoy Life chocolate chips
• 2 tsp. cinnamon
• 1 tsp. ginger
• 1/2 tsp. nutmeg
• 3/4 tsp. sea salt (to taste)

Wet Ingredients

• 2 flax eggs (2 tbsp ground flax seeds mixed with 6 tbsp. water)
• 2 chia eggs (2 tbsp chia seeds mixed with 4 tbsp. water)
• 2 1/4 cups unsweetened almond milk
• 2 1/4 cups unsweetened pumpkin puree (can also sub with apple sauce)
• 1 tbsp. pure vanilla extract

Pudding Ingredients

• 2 tbsp. cocoa powder
• 1/2 cup erythritol (or coconut sugar)
• 2 1/2 cups boiling water

Chocolate Ganache Sauce

• 1 1/3 cups dark chocolate chips (Enjoy Life brand, or dairy-free)
• 3/4 cup non-dairy milk
• 1 tbsp. sunflower seed butter (or nut butter)

*Use as many organic ingredients as possible


Directions

Brownie: 
- Spray a 9x13 inch pan with coconut oil and pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees. 
- Mix the flax and chia "eggs" together in a cup, then leave for about 5 minutes (in the fridge, optional) to set up and form a gel. 
- Stir together all the dry ingredients, gf flour, coconut flour cocoa powder,  in a large bowl, making sure there are no lumps in the mixture (cocoa tends to clump a lot). 
- Stir in the wet ingredients: almond milk, pumpkin, chia/flax eggs and vanilla, into the dry ingredients and gently mix until thoroughly combined. The batter should be thick like brownie batter. You can choose to mix the chocolate chips into the batter, or to sprinkle them on top. 
- Spread the batter into the pan. 

Pudding: 
- Stir the cocoa powder and erythritol together in a large bowl. Pour in the boiling water and stir until everything is dissolved. 
- Pour the cocoa/boiling water mixture on top of the brownie batter. It will look like a complete disaster and like you totally ruined the recipe, but you didn't! It's okay, and all part of the plan!!
- CAREFULLY place the pan in the oven. 
- Bake for about 35 minutes, or until the brownie looks fully cooked and not wet on top. 

The brownie will bake and rise to the top, and the cocoa/water mixture will turn into a lovely silky pudding on the bottom - magical!
Let the pudding cake cool for a bit so the pudding has time to set up. 

Prepare the Ganache: 
- While the brownie is cooling, heat the chocolate chips in a microwave at about 30 second intervals until the chips melt. 
- Stir in the non-dairy milk and sunflower seed butter. You may have to heat it up again and continue stirring to make everything melt and incorporate. Adjust the amount of milk, chocolate or sunflower seed butter to how thick you'd like it. 
The sunflower seed butter adds a thicker richness to the sauce, but it could be left out and substituted with more chocolate if preferred. 

Serve with the Chocolate Ganache sauce, or dairy free ice cream, or coconut whipped cream, and Enjoy! :)

Dairy-Free Vanilla Ice Cream

2 frozen bananas
3/4 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk
1 1/2 tbsp. pure vanilla extract
1 tbsp. chia seeds
Optional: sea salt, sweetener, dates, cinnamon, nutmeg or other flavor to taste

- Combine everything in a blender. Adjust the flavors to your tastes. 
- Let sit in the freezer to firm up. 

Vegan Beet Brownies

Sugar-Free, Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free, Oil-Free, Nut-Free, Soy-Free

When traveling I like to bring my own healthy foods so I don't have to pay for or depend on what's available at the airport. I experimented with making bars that have vegetables, protein, fiber, and that taste good, and these were the result! Beets are packed with nutrients, the chickpeas and quinoa flour provide a great protein source, cinnamon helps regulate blood sugar, and I even added a zucchini for good measure. These will be a good breakfast, snack, dessert, or mini travel meal. 

Health Benefits of Beets:

• Beets are packed with vitamins and minerals including potassium, magnesium, fiber, phosphorus, iron; vitamins A, B & C; beta-carotene, beta-cyanine; and folic acid.
• Beets help detoxify the body by boosting liver function, purifying the blood, and can prevent various forms of cancer.
• Beets help mental health and can also lower blood pressure.
• Beets are full of fiber, contain only 60 calories per cup, and have potent anti-inflammatory effects.

Health Benefits of Chickpeas:

• Plant protein source containing 15 grams of protein per cup
• Rich in soluble and insoluble fiber
• Rich in vitamins and minerals: A one-cup serving of chickpeas provides 50% of daily potassium needs, 2% vitamin A, 21% calcium, 13% vitamin C, 69% iron, 2% sodium, 55% vitamin B-6 and 57% magnesium. They also contain vitamin K, folate, phosphorus, zinc, copper, manganese, choline and selenium.
• Low glycemic index of 28, providing slow burning energy and not spiking blood sugar.
• Much more! Reference the sources below for the full articles

Raspberries & Blueberries sprinkled on top

Dry Ingredients:

• 1 ¼ cup quinoa flour (or gf flour of choice)
• 1 ¼ cup cocoa powder
• ¾ cup erythritol or sweetener of choice
• 1 tablespoon (or less) stevia powder
• 1 ½ tablespoons baking powder
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon mineral salt
• ½ teaspoon cinnamon

Wet Ingredients:

• 3 steamed beets
• 1 raw zucchini
• 1 can organic chickpeas
• 3 tbs. chia seeds mixed with 6 tbs. water
• ¾ cup non-dairy milk (I used flax milk)
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  Berries (optional)

1. Preheat the oven to 355 degrees.
2. While the beats are steaming, measure out and stir together the dry ingredients in a large bowl.
3. Blend together the wet ingredients in a food processor until totally smooth.
4. Gently stir the wet ingredients into the bowl of dry ingredients.
5. Smooth out into 2 9x13 inch pans. Top with berries, chocolate chips or any other toppings.
6. Bake at 355 for 30-40 minutes depending on your oven. Let cool on a wire rack before cutting.

All packed and ready for traveling!

Recipe revised from: http://www.theroastedroot.net/fudgy-paleo-beetroot-brownies/

Sources:

http://www.care2.com/greenliving/8-beet-benefits-aphrodisiac-brain-booster-more.html/2

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2014/01/25/beets-health-benefits.aspx

http://www.fullcircle.com/goodfoodlife/2012/05/10/6-health-benefits-of-eating-beets/

http://www.naturalfoodbenefits.com/display.asp?CAT=2&ID=86

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/280244.php

Fudgy Zucchini Black Bean Brownies

Vegan, Gluten Free, High Protein, High Fiber, Oil Free, Refined Sugar Free

This recipe is adapted from the Fudgy Black Bean Brownies at Desserts with Benefits. Her site is AMAZING with the tons of healthy dessert recipes, so I highly recommend checking it out!

With any recipe I make, and especially with dessert recipes, I'd like for it to have a good protein source, veggies, plenty of antioxidants and be highly nourishing as well as tasty. This recipe fits the bill, as it is high protein from the quinoa flour and adzuki beans, high fiber from the beans and zucchini, has omega 3 fatty acids from the chia and flax seeds, and is even low in fat. It's as if you were having a healthy dinner of quinoa, beans and zucchini, except in fudge brownie form!! .. Ok maybe not, but either way these are nutritious and delicious.

These brownies have the allusive crusty top with fudgy bottom/center (very hard to do with a healthier brownie) and it tastes as good as the box versions.

Ingredients

Dry:

• 1 ½ cups Granulated Erythritol* (or dry sweetener of choice)
  Pinch Stevia
• 1 ½ cups Regular Cocoa Powder (unsweetened)
• 1/2 cup Quinoa Flour (can also sub garbanzo bean or brown rice flour)
• 3 tsp Baking Powder
• 1 tsp Baking Soda
• 1/2 tsp Salt

Wet:

• 2 tbs Ground Flaxseed
• 2 tbs Chia Seeds
• 6 tbs water
• one 15.5oz can Adzuki (or Black Beans), drained and rinsed well
• 1 ½ large zucchinis, rinsed and chopped
• 2/3 cup Unsweetened Nut Milk (I used Silk Cashew Milk, to make Nut Free use flax milk or rice milk)
• 1 tbs frozen blueberries
• 2 tsp Vanilla Extract
• frozen raspberries to sprinkle on top (optional)

1. In a large measuring container or dish, mix together the dry ingredients making sure there are no lumps.
2. Mix together the flax seeds and chia seeds in the water and let sit in the fridge about 5 minutes until it thickens and forms a gel-like consistency.
3. In a food processor (or blender if need be), puree the beans, zucchini, blueberries, and vanilla extract in the nut milk.
4. In a large bowl, mix together the dry and wet ingredients by stirring in ⅓ of the dry at a time. The batter should be quite thick.
5. Sprinkle the crushed frozen raspberries on top of the brownie. (optional, but they make it look really pretty!)
6. Spray a 9x13 in. pan with coconut oil, then spread the batter into the pan.
7. Bake at 350 degrees for about 40 minutes, or until a knife can be inserted and the brownie is not still gooey at the bottom.

Let the brownies sit in the fridge over night so the texture sets and they get the right fudge texture. Enjoy!!

Can you believe these have zucchini, beans with healthy protein/fiber, and chia and flax with omega 3's?!! Amazingly healthy, and delicious!!