Friday, February 28, 2014

Nanaimo Bars Revisited


These are delicious no bake bars. They were so good I made them again for some co-workers.  I posted these once before.  
Get the recipe here.

Wednesday, February 19, 2014

Easy Vegan and Gluten-Free Brownies

 


Very chocolatey and surprisingly good!  I will be playing around with some vegan baking recipes.  Here is the first of many!


Easy Vegan Brownies

Serves 8

Ingredients:

1/2 cup coconut oil
1/2 cup Truvia Baking Blend 
2 large flax eggs (2 tbsp flaxseed + 6 tbsp water)
1 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/2 cup dutch process cocoa powder
3/4 cup almond flour
optional add ins: 1/3 cup walnuts or chocolate chips or a mixture of both!

Instructions:

Preheat oven 350 degrees and spray a 8 standard size with cooking spray or place a paper liner in each.
Prepare flax eggs* in a small bowl and let rest in the fridge for 15 minutes
*(grind your flaxseed and slowly add the 6 tablespoons of water whisking with a small whisk until blended)
Place coconut oil in large bowl and melt in microwave.  Then stir in flax eggs, Truvia, vanilla, baking powder, salt and cocoa powder. Whisk to combine then add almond flour stir until just combined then fold in nuts or chips if using.
Scoop batter in muffin tin filling each until 3/4 full and bake on the middle rack for 20-25 minutes.  Do not bake too long because they will get very crumbly. 
Cool completely on a rack
Store in airtight container or they can be frozen.


Fat Flushing Soup


Baking has been very limited lately...
I have been juicing, eating well and trying to get healthy!  This is one of my favorite soups for dinner.  Please give it a try you will love it!




Fat Flushing Soup
http://skinnyms.com/fat-flushing-soup/



Yields: 8 servings | Serving Size: 1 cup | Calories: 137 | Previous Points: 1 | Points Plus: 2 | Total Fat: 1 g |
Saturated Fat: 0 g | Trans Fat: 0 g | Cholesterol: 0 mg | Sodium: 75 mg | Carbohydrates: 28 g | Dietary Fiber: 8 g |
Sugars: 7 g | Protein: 8 g
Ingredients
1 medium sweet potato, peeled and cut into 1" cubes
3 carrots, peeled and sliced
1 stalk celery, diced
1 small yellow onion, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
Kosher or sea salt to taste
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/8 teaspoon allspice
1 teaspoon paprika
1 bay leaf
2 (15 ounce) cans black beans, rinsed and drained (optional, the beans are for added protein)
2 cups vegetable broth, low-sodium
1 (14.5 oz.) can diced tomatoes (no salt added)
4 cups baby spinach, loosely packed
(I also add a some red pepper flakes)

Directions
Add all ingredients, except spinach, to the slow cooker. Cover and cook on low 6 to 8 hours, or until the
vegetables are tender. Add spinach, stir and continue cooking just until wilted, approximately 5 minutes.
Serve and enjoy! Tip: If you prefer a thicker stew, after 5 hours of cooking, simply remove 1 cup of soup, along with
ingredients, mash ingredients with a fork, return to the slow cooker, stir and continue cooking 1 to 3
hours.

Stovetop Method:(I do the stove top method)  Follow the same instructions above for prep, cover, and simmer until veggies are
tender, approximately 2 hour. Stir every 15 minutes to prevent sticking. Add spinach at the end of
cooking time, remove from heat, cover and allow spinach to wilt before serving

Sunday, February 2, 2014

Bale Bars: Baked Sunday Mornings



I have been MIA from the baked group lately!  
Thought that I would get back into the swing of things with the easy recipe.  I assume these are called Bale bars because they resemble bales of hay?  Whatever!  Well, they were easy and there was no baking involved...always feel like I am cheating when I don't have to bake! Just had to do some chopping, melting, pressing and chilling.  Easy Peasy!   Peanuts and pretzels are covered with a white chocolate, caramel, peanut butter mixture then pressed into a pan and chilled until firm.  I had extra white chocolate so I did a little drizzle. 

 I had the same problem some of the other bakers did....my bars were very crumbly.  I don't know if it is because I halved the recipe and didn't calculate right?  Not really sure.  But I think that maybe the recipe has too much crunchy stuff and not enough sticky stuff.  They look alright and I tasted a small corner and they taste very peanut buttery.  We will see what the rest of the family thinks!


Well anyway....here they are! 
Recipe here
Enjoy!
Until next time!