Healthy Mocha Cherry Chocolate Cookies - Gluten Free

I ran out of cookies yesterday so I knew it was time to make MORE!  However, I wanted something different, and I didn't want to go to the store to get any ingredients....so I went pantry shopping! :)  I found some dried cherries and dark chocolate chips which got my mind thinking mocha cherry chocolate cookies!  I've never made this flavor before so I was going on complete inspiration.  However, inspiration in this case turned out to be divine!  These are healthy and heavenly!  How does it get any better than that? I started by using my favorite bean and oats "base" which makes a super healthy and flour free treat....then I added in all the yummy flavors of java, cherry and chocolate!  How could anything go wrong with those flavors mingling together? :)  

 

Ingredients:

1 can organic black beans
1 cup old fashioned gluten free oats or 1 cup gluten free flour
2 eggs or egg substitute
3 tablespoons real butter or coconut oil
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons pure unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon mocha or instant coffee
Sweetener - 1 cup unsweetened applesauce plus 1 tsp pure white stevia powder or 1 cup sweetener of choice
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup dried cranberries
1/2 chopped walnuts (optional)


Directions:

Preheat oven 350 degrees.
Place all ingredients except the chocolate chips, dried cranberries and walnuts if using in a food processor and process until very smooth. I ran mine for about two minutes. Fold in chocolate chips, cranberries and walnuts.  Using a rounded tablespoon, drop the cookies onto a lightly greased or parchment-lined baking sheets about 1 inch apart. Bake about 15 minutes or until the cookies are slightly firm and no longer look wet in the center. Rotate pans halfway through. Cool before eating! :) Makes about two dozen cookies.

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Healthy Chocolate Chip Cookies - Gluten Free

I love making desserts using beans! They taste amazing and even allow me to have dessert for dinner if I choose. How's it get any better than that? :0) These cookies are chewy, moist and healthy enough to eat all of them in one setting without guilt or sugar highs! LOL!

Want canned beans without the funky aftertaste? Try Eden Organics beans! They taste so much better than any other brand I have tried and don't leave that weird aftertaste that you can get with canned beans. Even compared to other organic canned bean brands, I still notice a difference. Their cans are BPA free so I wonder if the different can lining is the difference here. Let me know if you have any thoughts here! Also, what's your favorite canned food brand?

Also, check out my Black Bean Banana Brownies....YUMMO!

Ingredients:

2 cans Eden Organic Garbanzo Beans
1 cup Old Fashioned Gluten Free Oats
1 cups organic apple sauce (apples are on the dirty dozen list, use organic here!)
4 tablespoons unsalted organic butter
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract (make your own!)
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons aluminum free baking powder
1/2 teaspoons sea salt
Sweetener of your choice - 1 teaspoon pure white stevia powder PLUS 1 additional cup applesauce or 1/2 - 1 cup of the following: raw honey, agave, maple syrup or sucanat
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat oven 350 degrees.
Place all ingredients except the chocolate chips in a food processor and process until very smooth. I ran mine for about two minutes. Add chocolate chips and pulse three or four times until just incorporated. Using a rounded tablespoon, drop the cookies onto a lightly greased or parchment-lined baking sheets about 1 inch apart. Bake about 15 minutes or until the cookies are slightly browned and no longer look wet in the center. Rotate pans halfway through. Cool before eating! :)

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Apple Cinnamon Roasted Veggies with Walnuts

I love roasted veggies and have experimented with many recipes and techniques. So I'm very excited to say that I may have found my favorite roasted veggie recipe! It's amazing with a sweet apple glaze and cinnamon roasted walnuts. How can veggies get any yummier than this?

Ingredients:

1 pound red potatoes, cubed
1 pound sweet potatoes, cubed
1 pound carrots, peeled and cubed
1 cup apple cider
3 tablespoons honey or agave nectar or use stevia to taste for a sugar substitute
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
Fresh ground black pepper to taste
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped
1 tablespoon butter
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions

Preheat oven 400 degrees.

Divide potatoes and carrots in half and place on two large rimmed baking sheets. Whisk cider, honey or sweetener, salt and pepper in a small bowl. Pour cider mixture over vegetables dividing evenly between both pans. Toss to coat. Bake for about 45 minutes or more until vegetables are glazed and golden brown.

Meanwhile, place chopped walnuts in a small skillet over medium heat. Keep stirring nuts for several minutes until lightly brown. Remove from heat and add butter, cinnamon and a dash of salt. Stir until butter is melted. Let stand to cool.

Once vegetables are roasted, sprinkle with walnuts and eat up!

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Butternut Squash, Spinach and Blue Cheese Salad

Anything with spinach and blue cheese is a winner for me. However, there's something EXTRA special and yummy about this dish. Maybe it's addition of the sweet roasted butternut squash or how all the flavors mingle together. I'm not sure, but it's heavenly and a new favorite of mine!

Ingredients:

1 small butternut squash, cubed 1 inch
2 tablespoon butter or coconut oil, melted
1 small red onion, diced
8oz bag baby spinach
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
4 oz. blue cheese, crumbled
Sea salt and ground black pepper to taste

Directions

Place cubed butternut squash on a large rimmed baking sheet and toss with 1 tablespoon of the melted butter or oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast at 400 degrees for about 30 minutes until golden brown, tossing occasionally. Remove from oven and place in large bowl when slightly cooled.

Meanwhile, heat the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions and cook about 7-8 minutes, stirring occasionally until golden brown. Turn off heat and immediately add spinach and apple cider vinegar. Keep tossing spinach mixture until slightly wilted and warm. Remove from heat. Add spinach mixture to squash when roasted. Sprinkle with blue cheese crumbs and add salt and pepper to taste. Toss gently to mix and enjoy!

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Curried Butternut Squash Bake

If you like butternut squash, you have to try it with curry. It's simply delicious and adds a wonderful unique flavor that's pretty amazing. In fact, I made it for my last MOPS meeting and it went over wonderfully!!! So it's great for a potluck or for a weeknight side dish.

Ingredients:

1 large butternut squash, cubed
1 onion, chopped
3 large eggs
1/2 cup coconut milk
1 teaspoon curry powder
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 cup raisins
1 cup unsweetened coconut flakes

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 2 ½ quart casserole dish. In a large pot, combine squash and onion; add water to cover. Bring to a boil over high heat and cook about 15 minutes or until squash is tender; drain well. Spoon squash mixture into a large bowl. Set aside and let cool.

In a small bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, curry powder, salt, and pepper. Add to squash mixture. Working in batches, spoon mixture into blender or food processor; blend until smooth. Pour into prepared baking dish. Bake 20 minutes. Remove and sprinkle with raisins and coconut. Bake another 20 minutes until center is set.

Raw Mango Chocolate Bon Bons - Dairy and Gluten Free

These bon bons are a triple delight with a mango layer, vanilla cashew layer and chocolate layer. They require bon bon molds or ice cube molds to make. However, you can easily make a triple mango "ice cream" cake out of this recipe by using a pie pan or an 8 inch spring form pan. How fun!!!

* If using this recipe for a "cake", you'll want to start with the chocolate layer first, the vanilla layer second and the mango layer last.

Mango Topper

12 oz frozen mango, thawed
1 small banana, really ripe
1 tablespoon coconut oil, melted (optional)
Pinch stevia or honey to taste

Place all ingredients in a food processor, and puree until smooth. Pour into molds filling only 1/3 of the mold. Chill in freezer to set.

Vanilla Filling
2 cups cashews
1/2 cup raw honey
One lemon, juiced
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a food processor, process cashews until finely ground. Add remaining ingredients until smooth. Once mango layer is set, carefully fill another 1/3 of the mold with the vanilla filling. Place in freezer to set.

Chocolate Crust

1 1/2 cup almonds or almond flour
7 large pitted dates
3 tablespoons cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

If using whole almonds, grind them in a food processor until finely ground. Add remaining ingredients to almond flour and process into a dough. Add a tiny bit of water if dough is too dry. Once vanilla layer is set, carefully fill the remaining 1/3 of the mold with the chocolate crust layer. Place in freezer to set.

Once chocolate layer is set, remove from freezer. Let stand a few minutes to soften and carefully remove from molds. Serve immediately or place back in freezer until ready to eat. Will keep in freezer for 2-4 weeks.

Black Bean Banana Brownies

I've experimented with many black bean brownie recipes and this is my absolute favorite. It produces moist brownies with dense texture and full rich chocolate flavor. The banana adds an additional twist of sweetness and interest of flavor that's unbelievable. These are so healthy and delicious....you have to try them!

Since these are made with black beans, they are perfect for a snack as the protein really fills you up keeps you going. I've also sweetened them with stevia so you won't get a sugar crash! :)

1 can black beans
1/2 cup old fashioned rolled oats
1 large ripe banana
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/2 teaspoon pure white stevia powder (or to taste)
2 large eggs
1 tablespoon coconut oil, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon sea salt
1 cup walnuts, chopped (optional)
1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips (optional)

Preheat oven 325 degrees. Rinse black beans. Place beans, oats and banana in a food processor. Pulse several times to break mixture down. Add applesauce, stevia, eggs, coconut oil and vanilla to food processor. Pulse several times to mix well. Add cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and sea salt to food processor and mix until batter is completely mixed and broken down. Carefully remove blade from processor and gently fold walnuts and chocolate chips into batter if using. Pour batter into a lightly greased 9x13 pan. Bake at 325 degrees for 25 minutes or until center is firm.