Dark Chocolate Chia Seed Pudding

I love chocolate.  I reallllly love chocolate.  I seek out ways to consume it without going crazy with calories and sugar, and this recipe definitely hits the mark.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 c. Almond Milk (unsweetened)
• 2 tbsp. Chia Seeds
• 2 tsp. Stevia in the Raw
• 1 1/2 tbsp. Dark Cocoa Powder (I used Hershey Special Dark, unsweetened)
• 1 tsp. Vanilla Extract

Instructions:

• Whisk all ingredients together in a small bowl
• Refrigerate 2-3 hours until the Chia Seeds have expanded and the mixture thickens

Blood Orange and Dark Chocolate Chip Muffins

Blood oranges are my current obsession.  My wonderful husband picked some up for me the other day, and I immediately decided I wanted to bake something starring them. The following recipe was adapted from Mountain Mama Cooks.  I changed a few ingredients to increase the nutritional stats and decrease the unhealthy fats.  They came out soft and fluffy, and just the perfect amount of sweet.

Ingredients (makes 12 standard sized muffins):

• 1 cup All-Purpose Flour
• 1 cup Whole Wheat Flour
• 1 tbsp. Baking Powder
• 1/2 tsp. Salt
• 1/2 cup Sugar
• 1/4 c. Egg Substitute (I use Better n' Eggs)
• 1/2 c. Coconut Oil, melted (cold-pressed, extra virgin!)
• Zest of 2 blood oranges, separated
• 1/2 cup Freshly Squeezed Blood Orange Juice
• 1/4 cup Skim Milk (I used Lactaid this time, but I usually use So Delicious Unsweetened Coconut Milk)
• 1 tbsp. Nonfat, Plain Greek Yogurt
• 2 tsp. Pure Vanilla Extract
• 1/2 cup Dark Chocolate Chips (I used Ghirardelli 60% Cacao Bittersweet Chips)
• 1 Tbsp Coarse Sugar

Instructions:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees
• Line a 12-cup muffin pan with paper liners
• In a medium bowl, whisk together flours, baking powder, and salt
• In a large bowl, whisk together sugar, egg substitute, coconut oil, zest from one orange, orange juice, milk, greek yogurt, and vanilla until well combined
• Add flour mixture to egg/sugar mixture and stir until just combined
• Fold in chocolate chips
• Evenly divide the batter in the 12 muffin cups
• In a small dish, combine the coarse sugar with the zest from the other orange, and rub the zest and sugar together in your ingers to release the oils in the zest and mix into the sugar
• Sprinkle the tops of the muffins with the zest/sugar mixture
• Bake 18-20 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean

Gluten Free, Paleo, Pumpkin Apple Bread

I've been wanting to try using almond flour for awhile to make my baked goods gluten free and paleo.  This bread seemed like the perfect way to do that, but when I went to the store to buy almond flour, I was astounded at how expensive it is.  I wound up buying a bulk amount of raw almonds and grinding them in my Magic Bullet to make my own flour, and the result was delicious!

• 1 cup pureed pumpkin
• 4 large eggs, beaten
• 2/3 cup honey
• 3/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 2 Gala apples, peeled and diced
• 5 cups almond flour (made in my Magic Bullet!)
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tbsp cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350F and spray 2, 9x5 loaf pans with cooking spray
2. Mix the wet ingredients in a large bowl, then add the apples
3. In a small bowl, combine dry ingredients
4. Add the dry to the wet and mix until combined (it will be thick)
5. Pour/Scoop into loaf pans and bake for 30-40 minutes

Vegan Pumpkin Zucchini Bread

I find myself wanting to bake at the randomest times.  Take for example, this evening...I had an insanely long day at work, but still felt like baking when I got home.  I hadn't made a bread in awhile, so I decided to throw some stuff together, and it came out pretty delicious!

Ingredients

• 2 c. Whole Wheat Flour
• 1 c. Quinoa (ground into a flour)
• 1.5 tsp. Baking Powder
• 1.5 tsp. Baking Soda
• 1.5 tsp. Cinnamon
• 0.25 tsp. Nutmeg
• 0.25 tsp. Allspice
• 1 tsp. Salt
• 1.25 c. Stevia in the Raw
• 0.75 c. Unsweetened Applesauce
• 1.5 c. Pumpkin Puree
• 1 tsp. Vanilla Extract
• 2 medium Zucchinis (shredded)

Instructions

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, quinoa flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and salt

In a large bowl, mix Stevia, applesauce, and pumpkin puree

Add the vanilla

Add the dry to the wet and stir until just combined

Cut the tops off of 2 medium zucchinis

Coarsely grate the zucchini into the bowl

Fold in

Spray 2, 9"x5" loaf pans with cooking spray, and divide the batter evenly

Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.  Let cool, and slice

Wishful Thinking?

Perhaps I am being a bit preemptive, seeing as it is still August, but all week I have been craving the flavors (and weather) of Fall.  Fall has always been one of my favorite seasons for an exhaustive list of reasons, some of which include:  new school supplies, a new school year, new clothes, beautiful colors, amazing weather, the return of sweatshirts, pumpkins, spices, Halloween, and all sorts of delicious fruits and vegetables.  This is the first year in 20 years that is not a "back to school" year!  Crazy, but I'm enjoying it so far!

So I decided today that maybe if I start thinking like it's fall, it will start to feel like fall sooner!  I made these delicious and virtually guilt free Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies, and they came out fantastic!!!  They are a bit more cake-like than I usually like cookies to be, and they're sort of more like muffin tops, but the flavor is just incredible!

The Recipe:

• 1 cup canned pumpkin
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1/4 cup egg beaters
• 2 cups whole wheat flour (unbleached)
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon almond milk
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

1. Combine pumpkin, sugar, applesauce, vanilla, and egg beaters. In a separate bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, ground cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Dissolve the baking soda with the almond milk and stir in. Add flour mixture to pumpkin mixture and mix well.
2. Add chocolate chips.
3. Drop by spoonful on greased cookie sheet and bake at 365 degrees F for approximately 10 minutes or until lightly brown and firm. 

 

Happy Almost-Fall!