Tag Archives: yummy

Jul 29 2011

Easy Cocoa Protein Granola Bars

I really like granola bars because they’re a quick snack that you can have on the go. As much as I enjoy those chocolate dipped peanut butter granola bars, they’re really not that healthy. I’ve made granola bars before, but there’s just something about these ones that stand out above the rest. This recipe makes anywhere from 6-9 granola bars/cookies depending on how big you make them. Enjoy! :)

Easy Cocoa Protein Granola Bars

Dry Ingredients:

  • 1 cup rolled oats
  • 1 tbsp ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 cup protein powder (I used Bodylogix Vanilla Protein Powder)
  • 1/2 cup sliced almonds
  • 1/4 cup dried cranberries
  • 2 tbsp ground flaxseed
  • 1/4 cup cocoa powder
  • pinch of sea salt
Wet Ingredients:
  • 1/4 cup honey
  • 1/4 cup natural peanut butter (or any nut butter of your choice)
  • 3 tbsp vanilla almond milk (or any milk of your choice)
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • about 1/4 cup of your favourite dark chocolate (try to keep it above 70%)
Method:
  • Prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper, or a non-stick baking mat. Set aside.
  • Mix all dry ingredients in a bowl, and set aside.
  • In another bowl, mix all wet ingredients, and microwave for about 25 seconds.
  • Stir all wet ingredients together until incorporated. The peanut butter and almond milk may separate a little bit, but that’s okay! If everything isn’t completely melted and in liquid form, just microwave it for a few more seconds.
  • Add all dry ingredients into the bowl of wet ingredients, and stir until a dough forms.
  • Form a small handful of dough (about 1/3 of a cup) into either a bar or a cookie shape, and place on the prepared baking sheet.
  • Repeat this with all of the dough until you have used it all.
  • Place baking sheet in the fridge for about 20 minutes to allow the bars to firm up, and then they’re ready to eat!
  • Bars can be kept in the fridge for up to a week in an air tight container, however the quantities of this recipe are small enough where the bars can easily be finished within a couple of days! ;)
Yummy! :)

Yummy! :)

Jul 28 2011

Strawberry Banana Parfait Smoothie

One of my favourite things about smoothies is that you can make them taste like dessert. Orange creamsicle smoothies, banana cream pie smoothies, pumpkin pie smoothies, and the list really can go on and on and on… They’re so versatile. As with alcoholic shots/drinks, you can also make the smoothie in layers so that it’s more pleasing to the eye… Today I decided to play around with my smoothie, and came up with a parfait smoothie! The version I made today is a bit of an “adult smoothie”, however you can omit the alcohol all together if you want to make it more kid/non-alcohol drinker friendly. The best part is how simple it is to make!

Strawberry Banana Parfait Smoothie

Bottom Layer Ingredients:

  • 1/4 cup frozen strawberries
  • 1/4 cup pomegranate juice
  • 1/2 shot of vodka
Top Layer Ingredients:
  • 1 chopped up frozen banana
  • 1/4 cup vanilla almond milk (or milk of your choice)
  • 1/2 shot Galliano Smooth Vanilla
Method:
  • Blend all bottom layer ingredients together, and pour into a tall glass.
  • Blend all top layer ingredients together, and pour on top of the bottom layer.
  • Sprinkle the top with a bit of vanilla sugar, and serve with a straw or a stick to stir it all together with!
  • Begin happy hour, and enjoy! :)
strawberry banana parfait smoothie! :)

strawberry banana parfait smoothie! :)

May 23 2011

Cocoa Irish Oat Cakes

When I was trying to find a new cracker recipe on the Whole Foods app for the iPhone, I came across a recipe for Irish oat cakes. The original recipe seemed a little boring, and it used butter (which I try to avoid), so I decided to make my own version of the recipe inspired by the original. These little guys go great with some raspberry honey that I purchased from The Bee & Me tent at the Milton Farmers Market this weekend. I also used the honey in the recipe instead of just plain liquid honey.

Here’s my take on Irish Oat Cakes, with a little cocoa! :) Enjoy! :)

Cocoa Irish Oat Cakes

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup oat flour (you can purchase this already made, or you can simply grind rolled oats in the food processor/blender until it resembles flour)
  • 1/4 cup whole wheat flour
  • 1/4 cup cocoa powder
  • 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 tbsp raspberry honey (or regular liquid honey if you like)
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp baking powder
  • 1 egg white (use two if dough is too dry)

Method:

  • Preheat your oven to 325 F.
  • Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, or a silicon baking mat, and set aside.
  • Add all ingredients into a bowl, and mix together.
  • The mixture will be quite crumbly, so once it’s all mixed together well, transfer the ball of dough to the baking sheet and roll/press it flat. It should be about 1/4 of an inch thick. If the edges are starting to crumble off, just use your fingers to press the dough back together.
  • Once the dough is flat, use a knife to make lines in the dough where you’ll want to cut it once it’s done.
  • Bake for about 25 minutes. The edges will be slightly darker (but not by much), and the dough will feel dry to the touch.
  • Remove from the oven, and use a knife to cut into each line. Set aside to cool completely before eating.

    Yummy :)

    Yummy :)

May 17 2011

Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Oatmeal Cookies

Waking up this morning, I was presented with a few dilemmas:

  1. There are three bananas on the counter coming up to that point where they’re past their prime, and I already have about 20 bananas in the freezer for smoothies. (I believe my husband thought I was a bit strange when he saw that the freezer was filled with bananas…)
  2. I have a nice, nasty little cold right now, which makes me crave sweets as a comfort food. I’m trying to eat healthy, so I don’t want to go out to get junk food.
  3. Because I’m sick, there’s no way I’m going to go out and get junk food. I’m surprised I can even get off of the couch for more than five minutes.

The solution: healthy cookies with bananas! These turned out so soft, and so yummy… There’s no butter, no eggs, no junky stuff, and barely any sugar. They’re filled with a whole bunch of flavour and goodness! This recipe makes 12 medium-sized cookies, about an inch thick. They almost have a cake-like texture, very similar to a chocolate crueller or something. I am embarrassed to admit that I’ve already eaten four of these. Anyways, here’s the recipe, enjoy! :)

Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Oatmeal Cookies

Dry Ingredients:

  • 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
  • 1/2 cup oat flour
  • 1/2 cup quick cooking rolled oats
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/8 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
  • 1 tbsp ground flax-seed
  • 2 tbsp chia seeds
  • pinch of salt
  • 1/2 cup cocoa powder

Wet Ingredients:

  • 1/4 cup honey
  • 1/4 cup vanilla almond milk (or milk of your choice)
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 2 tbsp organic cane sugar (this obviously isn’t a wet ingredient, but is mixed in with them anyways)
  • 1/4 cup natural creamy peanut butter
  • 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 ripe banana

Solid Ingredients:

  • 1/2 cup carob chips (you can use regular chocolate chips if you like, I just really LOVE carob chips.)
  • 1/2 cup crushed walnut pieces (this is optional also, so feel free to omit if you don’t like walnuts.)

Method:

  • Pre heat your oven to 325 F for convection ovens. (If not using a convection oven, pre heat to 350 F)
  • Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a Silpat (or any silicone baking mat), and set aside.
  • In a bowl, sift together all dry ingredients.
  • In another bowl, mash the banana, and add all wet ingredients to the mashed banana.
  • Pour the wet into the dry.
  • Add the solid ingredients, and stir together until everything is combined.
  • Because it’s a dough that’s a bit on the dry side, I like to get my hands right in there and mush it all together, so don’t be afraid to get your hands dirty!
  • Using your hands, shape pieces of the dough into balls about the size of a golf ball (or a little bigger), and press into a patty that is about 1 inch thick. These don’t really spread while baking, but you also want to make sure that they maintain that cake-like texture because it’s pretty darn good!
  • Once all of the dough is shaped and on the baking sheet, pop it into your oven and bake for about 20-25 minutes. Make sure to check the cookies at 15 minutes. The bottoms of the cookies will be slightly darker than the rest of the cookie. If it’s looking a lot darker, take them out!
  • Allow to cool for about 15 minutes, then eat and enjoy! :)
  • Note: I made these in a convection oven, so my cooking time was longer. (Lower temperature, slightly longer cooking time, however they cook perfectly even.) So if you don’t have a convection oven, keep it at 350 F, and cook for 10-15 minutes.

    Three tasty (and guilt-free!) cookies with an almond milk latte. Now that's a tasty snack! :)

    Three tasty (and guilt-free!) cookies with an almond milk latte. Now that's a tasty snack! :)

May 17 2011

House Cake Project – Joe’s Peanut Butter Cup Birthday Cake

Last year for Joe’s birthday, I made him this cake. The layers were a tasty combination of:

  • rainbow bit sponge
  • vanilla cream cheese frosting
  • sliced strawberries
  • cheesecake {no crust} with strawberry preserve swirl
  • vanilla cream cheese frosting
  • sliced strawberries
  • rainbow bit sponge
  • strawberry preserve glaze on top of cake

So this year, I had to think of something different for him. The sweets that I’ve always known he loves are cheesecake, stale candy (don’t ask, it’s weird, right?), and peanut butter cups. One thing I also know he doesn’t love is fondant. I’m okay with that, because a lot of people don’t really like fondant. I will even peel most of it back when eating cake. (I’ll eat some of it though, especially if it’s a tasty brand like Virgin Ice Rolled Fondant! You can get it at the Bulk Barn for about $15 per 4 lb tub.)

I decided I was going to make him a peanut butter cup cake. (Not “cupcake”…) I didn’t shape it like a peanut butter cup, instead I allowed the cake to represent the flavours of the peanut butter cup. Here’s what I did for the cake:

  • Sponge is rainbow bit (of course)
  • Frosting in between layers is a mixture of vanilla and about 3 tbsp natural creamy peanut butter.
  • Frosting on outside of cake is milk chocolate.
  • Side of cake is decorated/coated with cut up Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups.
  • Top of cake is decorated with “blobs” of vanilla-peanut butter frosting, and topped with more peanut butter cups.

Note: With the cake flavour, because I used a chocolate frosting with MANY peanut butter cups, and because the frosting on the inside of the cake was so rich, I wanted to make sure the cake had a light flavour to help balance it out. It’s a pretty heavy cake, even with the vanilla sponge being used instead of peanut butter or chocolate.

Simple as that! Now here’s a few pictures of this tasty mess!

In all of it's peanut butter filled glory...

In all of it's peanut butter filled glory...The top :)

The tasty, tasty side... *drools*

The tasty, tasty side... *drools*

Apr 24 2011

Spicy Lentil Veggie Burgers

Lentil veggie burgers :)
Lentil veggie burgers :)

Well, for some reason, WordPress is giving me a hard time when I try to format my posts. So today, you all get to see the picture of the finished recipe before reading the actual recipe. Which I don`t quite like, but that`s okay. Either way, here`s my post!

…
 

 Before I share this recipe, it should be noted that these are not meant to replace meat burgers. They don’t taste like, or look like, meat burgers. One of the things that threw me off of not eating meat was that when I tried to eat things in the place of meat, I often expected those things to taste so similar to meat that I wouldn’t notice a difference. This recipe is much closer to a falafel than anything else, and is just as tasty! However, if you are looking for a veggie burger that tastes like a meat-less burger, you could easily stick this between to halves of a bun. I really enjoy eating these over a bed of lettuce, or on a wrap. This recipe makes anywhere from 8-12 patties.

Also: If you have more raw food in your diet than cooked, this recipe can also be eaten raw. I have actually saved some of the recipe pre-mushing to eat as a meal on its own. It tastes wonderful raw, and I suggest you try it with some salad! :)

Spicy Lentil Veggie Burgers

Ingredients:

  • 1 can of lentils, drained and rinsed well
  • 6 cloves of garlic pressed through a garlic press
  • 2 stalks of celery, finely diced
  • 8 green onions (green and white parts), finely diced
  • 5 tbsp hot sauce (I used Cholula Original Hot Sauce)
  • 2 tbsp ground flaxseed
  • 5 tsp whole grain Dijon mustard
  • 3 tbsp tomato sauce (any type works really, or you can cut up 1 whole tomato into small pieces)
  • 1 tsp chili powder
  • 1 tsp ground turmeric
  • 2 tsp ground cumin
  • 2 tsp curry powder
  • 1 cup whole grain couscous (prepare by combining 1 cup each of couscous and boiling water in a bowl. Stir with a fork, and allow to stand for a couple of minutes.)
  • Light cooking spray

Method:

  • Pre heat oven to 375 F.
  • Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, and set aside.
  • In a large bowl, mix all ingredients together and mush with your hands until everything has a mushy (raw ground meat) consistency.
  • Form the mixture into balls of whichever size you like, and carefully press each ball into a patty about 1 inch thick.
  • Set the patties aside.
  • Spray a pan with cooking spray, and place on the stove with medium heat. Allow to heat up fully for a minute or two. (Applying food to a preheated pan prevents the food from sticking to the pan.)
  • Cook a few patties at a time so that pan isn’t crowded. To cook each patty, simply place them on the pan and allow to cook for about 3 minutes. Then carefully flip them over, and allow to cook for 3 minutes on the other size. Set aside on the prepared baking sheet. Repeat this until all of the patties are done.
  • Now cook the patties in the oven for 20 minutes total. (10 minutes, flip over, 10 more minutes.)
  • Allow to cool slightly before serving.
  • Eat, and enjoy! :)

 

This recipe was adapted from the “Meatless Lentil Burgers” on cleaneatingmag.com. Click here to view the original recipe!

Apr 4 2011

Strawberry & Date Jam

After making apple butter so many times, I decided I wanted to try some other fruit spreads. I wish I would have known how messy this jam was going to be… So be warned: this will splatter while cooking! Luckily the taste more than makes up for the mess… :D

The dates add a thickness to the jam that makes it taste quite rich, with a sweetness that isn’t too much to handle. The lemon zest and spices add a little “something else” that you won’t find in many other jams. I love fruit spreads, and find this to be pretty unique when compared to other ones I’ve had. I enjoyed some of this jam on some whole wheat bread with goat’s milk cheese, but you could really put it on anything!

This recipe filled one 310 ml jam jar. Enjoy! :)

Strawberry & Date Jam

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups strawberries, cleaned with the tops cut off
  • 1/2 cup pitted honey dates, finely chopped
  • Juice and finely grated zest of 1 lemon
  • 1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
  • 1/4 cup sugar (you can add more if you like, but I found this to make the jam pretty sweet!)
  • 2 tbsp liquid honey

Method:

  • In a deep pot (trust me, it splashes…), place all ingredients and stir over medium heat for about 5 minutes.
  • Using an immersion blender, puree the contents of the pot, and adjust the temperature to high heat.
  • It will come to a rolling boil pretty quickly, so you need to keep stirring or the bottom will burn. If you have a heavy bottom pot, use that.
  • Continue to stir the mixture for 20-25 minutes. I don’t use a thermometer, I judge it by eye. When the mixture is thick, it’s ready to come off the stove. A good way to judge the right thickness is to pull the spoon through the middle of the mixture. Once it’s at a perfect thickness, the mixture will fall back together quite slowly. Also, when you scoop some of it up on the spoon, and tip the spoon upside down, it will “glob” off of the spoon instead of pour off nicely. For me, with the quantities of ingredients I used, it was good to remove from the heat after 25 minutes exactly. Once it’s done, remove from heat and stir a few more times until it’s cooled slightly.
  • I didn’t make a recipe for preserving, and haven’t attempted to do so yet, however if stored in a sterile glass jar (old jam jars are great), or in a clean and sterile container, you can keep this in your fridge for up to 1 week. If you like, you can also freeze this for however long you’d keep jam in the freezer, but I’ve never really been a fan of freezer jam in the past. If you do preserve jams, you can preserve this and store for as long as you normally would any other jam.
Mmmmmmm!!!!!!!! It tastes best after having sat in the fridge over night... So fruity...

Mmmmmmm!!!!!!!! It tastes best after having sat in the fridge over night... So fruity...

Apr 4 2011

Strawberry Chocolate-Chip Frozen Yogurt

I feel a little strange calling this frozen yogurt, because it’s not very similar to that stuff you get at the grocery store. It’s not soft and mushy like ice cream… It’s actually closer to an Italian ice in texture, or even similar to a strawberry sorbet… Somewhat… Regardless, it’s still technically “frozen yogurt”, as there is dairy (yogurt) involved as a main ingredient. (Italian ice doesn’t have any dairy.)

This tastes pretty great, and I can imagine that in the hotter summer months ahead, it will be quite an enjoyable form of refreshment. Also, using non-fat yogurt cuts the fat almost completely! If you prefer using another liquid sweetener over honey, you can and I’m sure it will taste just as good! :) Here’s the recipe, enjoy! :)

Strawberry Chocolate-Chip Frozen Yogurt

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups non-fat plain yogurt
  • 1-2 cups frozen strawberries (this varies depending on how much strawberry flavour you want!)
  • 2 tbsp cocoa powder
  • 2 tbsp liquid honey
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • Roughly chopped dark chocolate (I used about 4 squares of a large Lindtt dark chocolate bar)

Method:

  • In a blender (or with an immersion blender), blend all ingredients except the chopped dark chocolate. Blend until smooth.
  • Stir in the chopped dark chocolate, and then pour into a couple semi-shallow plastic dishes (I used two Glad containers, about 2 inches deep)
  • Place in the freezer, and allow to harden for about 45 minutes.
  • After 45 minutes, remove the containers and stir contents until smooth.
  • Repeat this process (freezing, and removing every 45 minutes to stir) until the desired consistency is reached.
  • The frozen yogurt can be stored in these containers, or you can scoop it back into the original yogurt container. Make sure it’s covered with a lid after the whole “freeze-then-stir” process is finished.
  • Note: You can store this for many weeks in the freezer. After it’s been frozen for a day or two, it will be rock solid. Simply allow the frozen yogurt to soften slightly on the counter for 5 minutes or so prior to serving. To serve, you can also shave pieces of the frozen yogurt off of the top in layers if it doesn’t come off in one big scoop.
mmm... There it is... ;)

mmm... There it is... ;)

Apr 4 2011

Strawberry Lemonade

I’m on a bit of a strawberry kick obsession it seems, but can you blame me? They’re so good! I’ve been dealing with frozen strawberries all winter, so I’m pretty anxious for strawberry season to visit us all here in Ontario.

When making things like smoothies or juice, frozen strawberries are actually a pretty good substitute. Not only are they picked and frozen at their freshest point, but they (like other frozen fruit) take the place of ice cubes without watering down your drink. That’s pretty awesome.

To get back on topic here, I usually don’t like things like lemonade to be honest. I’d much rather have a tall glass of water with a few slices of fresh lemon to provide just a hint of lemon flavour. However, there are times where I just want a glass of something sweet. I don’t like store-bought lemonade because it’s usually way too sweet, so I decided to make my own. :) Here’s my recipe for some strawberry lemonade! Enjoy! :)

Strawberry Lemonade

Ingredients:

  • 3 big lemons
  • 1 cup frozen strawberries
  • 3 cups cold filtered water
  • sugar to taste (I only put about 4 tbsp of sugar into my lemonade because I don’t like it that sweet)

Method:

  • Roll the lemons between your hands and the counter a few times before squeezing the juice from them. (This softens the lemons a bit, allowing the juice to be squeezed out much easier. I also keep my lemons in the fridge, so if you do too, take them out of the fridge about 20 minutes prior to making this.)
  • Squeeze the juice from each lemon with a juicer (I just have a simple citrus-juicer, and it works great!), and pour the lemon juice into a juice jug.
  • Add all other ingredients into the jug, and with an immersion blender simply blend everything together until smooth. (If you just have a regular blender, you can use that too!)
  • Pour into a glass, and enjoy!
  • Note 1: You may need to shake/stir the juice a bit before serving as juice tends to settle when sitting for a while. Not that it will be an issue, ;) but try to consume within a few days of making the juice.
  • Note 2: Try it with other frozen fruit! Melon, blueberries, raspberries, banana… And for something really interesting, toss in a few cinnamon sticks and a few drops of vanilla extract. There are so many options! :)
Refreshing... :)

Refreshing... :)

Apr 4 2011

Balsamic Marinated Strawberries With Goat Cheese On A Whole Wheat Baguette

Some very good words: sweet, fruity, rich, creamy, decadent, tangy, spicy…

Some very good foods: strawberries, goat’s milk cheese, whole wheat baguette, balsamic vinegar, cinnamon, nutmeg…

I know it’s not quite strawberry season, so I can’t get strawberries locally, but I just couldn’t resist grabbing some on my way home today anyways. On the weekend, I had a salad that consisted of simply: strawberries, goat’s milk cheese (so smooth and creamy!), candied pecans, and lettuce. It was so good that I’ve been craving something with a goat cheese and strawberry mixture constantly since eating that salad. I usually enjoy a strawberry or raspberry balsamic vinaigrette with my salads, but wanted something more filling for my pre-dinner snack. So I decided on this! Two things I can promise you: this is simple, and this is tasty.

Balsamic Marinated Strawberries with Goat Cheese on a Whole Wheat Baguette

Ingredients:

  • Skim goat’s milk cheese (less fat and calories than regular goat’s milk cheese!)
  • Whole wheat baguette
  • 1/2 lb strawberries (this will serve quite a few people, but if it’s just for you that’s okay, the left overs can be used to make some jam! Recipe coming soon! ;) )
  • About 4 tbsp raspberry balsamic vinegar (you can use regular balsamic vinegar, however I really love the taste of this stuff… I’ll post a picture of it at the end of this post!)
  • About 1 tbsp organic raw cane sugar (or any type of sugar you like)
  • 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
  • Pinch of ground nutmeg

Method:

  • Wash the strawberries, and then thinly slice them. Place in a bowl.
  • Add the balsamic vinegar, sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Stir, cover, and place in the fridge for about one hour.
  • Lightly toast as many slices of the baguette that you want, and spread some of the goat’s milk cheese on each slice.
  • Place a few slices of the marinated strawberries onto each slice of the baguette, and enjoy! :)

There’s nothing more to it! So simple, so tasty… Such an interesting blend of flavours! :)

You need to taste this! It tastes like it should be bad for you... But it's soooooo good! ;)

You need to taste this! It tastes like it should be bad for you... But it's soooooo good! ;)

The balsamic vinegar I really like :)

The balsamic vinegar I really like :)