The not too bad for you Everything Cookie

I have had the worst sweet tooth lately. I am having a hard time keeping my hands out of the cookie jar, so today I decided to whip up something that I could feel not too bad about eating. I found a recipe on a nice blog called Healthy Endeavors and adapted it to what I had in my cupboard. Here is what I came up with.

Everything Cookie - makes 40

1 C organic rolled oats
1 C spelt or whole grain whole wheat flour
1 C almond meal
1/4 C shredded coconut
1/4 C raisins
1/4 C grain sweetened chocolate chips
1/4 C chopped walnuts
1/2 t salt
1/2 C agave nectar
1/2 C canola oil
1/2 t vanilla

Heat oven to 350. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper and set aside.

Mix dry ingredients in large bowl and set aside. Mix wet ingredients in small bowl. Combine wet and dry ingredients and stir to combine.

Form 1" balls of dough and place them on cookie sheet. Press down with your hand or the bottom of a glass to flatten cookie. Bake approximately 12 minutes or until lightly golden brown.

A serving of 2 cookies (35 grams) is 169 calories, 2.5 g of sugar and 1.5 g of fiber. Not too bad when you compare these cookies to a similar serving of Chips Ahoy (40 grams) with 190 calories, 13 g of sugar and 1g of fiber.

(And, BTW, even my oldest, who hates coconut, liked these. Go me!)

Chocolate Zucchini Bread - yum!

I read a wonderful blog called Kalyn's Kitchen on an almost daily basis. Kalyn blogs on South Beach diet recipes, so her recipes generally fit into my eating plan. She bakes on a regular basis and yesterday's post made me drool - Chocolate Zucchini Bread (I love all things chocolate AND zucchini).

Now, Kalyn, being a South Beach enthusiast, bakes with a lot of Splenda. I don't use Splenda because it tastes gross and leaves a bitter aftertaste. When I looked at her recipe, I realized there was very little liquid in it, so agave nectar would work well as a replacement. I also decided to give the bread a little nutritional boost by replacing half of the whole wheat flour with almond meal. The resulting bread is yum, yum, yummy and the texture is perfect.

Chocolate Zucchini Bread (makes 12 generous servings)

2 eggs

1/2 C light agave nectar

1/2 C dark agave nectar

5 T canola oil

1 t vanilla

1/4 C buttermilk (or make your own with 1/4 t white vinegar added to 1/4 C milk)

1 1/2 C grated zucchini (about 1 large zucchini)

1/2 C almond meal

1/2 C whole grain whole wheat flour

1 t baking soda

1/4 t baking powder

1/2 C cocoa powder

1/4 t salt

3/4 C chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350F/175C. Spray a loaf pan with nonstick spray and set aside.

In a small bowl, combine the eggs, agave, brown sugar, oil, vanilla, and buttermilk. Stir in the grated zucchini. Set aside.

In a larger bowl, mix together the flour, almond meal, baking soda, baking powder, unsweetened cocoa powder, and salt. Mix the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, and stir just enough to combine. Then fold in chopped walnuts.

Scrape the batter into loaf pan that has been sprayed with nonstick spray. Bake 45-50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the bread comes out clean. Let bread cool in the pan, then slice and serve.

Sometimes I get it right...Apple Banana Pineapple Cake with Mascarpone Cream Frosting

Last night my husband chewed me out. "You NEVER buy dessert anymore! What is the problem? I keep asking for some dessert. Buy some d**n dessert!"

He's right, I don't buy dessert anymore. I don't eat it (I am not that virtuous - I eat dark chocolate and almonds if I need a sweet fix) and he doesn't need it. He has been begging me for months to bring him a cake, a pie, anything really, but I have resisted.

After the confrontation last night I promised him I would make him a sweet treat tonight. I had intended to make a Gluten-Free Banana Walnut Cake, but in the spirit of cleaning out my fridge/pantry (in anticipation of moving), I realized mid way through the recipe that I didn't have everything needed. OK, time to improvise. I think I am getting good at this improvising thing, because this turned out pretty good. Even David, who is suspicious of anything that looks remotely healthy, gave this cake a huge thumbs up as he shoved this entire piece into his mouth in one bite.

Score one for Mommy.

Apple Banana Pineapple Cake (serves 20)

1/2 c dark agave nectar (or honey)
1/3 c canola oil
3/4 c mashed banana (about 2)
3/4 c unsweetened applesauce
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 t vanilla
2 t fresh squeezed orange juice
1 t orange zest
1 1/2 c whole wheat flour (make sure it is whole grain)
3/4 c almond meal
1 t cinnamon
1/2 t nutmeg
1 t baking soda
1 1/2 t baking powder
1/2 c crushed pineapple
3/4 c walnuts, roughly chopped

Preheat oven to 350. Line 9 x 13 pan with parchment paper and spray with cooking spray. Set aside.

In a large bowl, combine agave and oil. Cream until light. Add banana, applesauce and beat until mixed well. Add eggs, vanilla, orange juice and zest. Mix until combined. Add all dry ingredients and stir until smooth. Add pineapple and nuts and mix gently to combine.

Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake 30-35 minutes or until golden brown. Allow to cool for a few minutes in the pan, then lift out using parchment paper and allow to cool completely.

To serve, cut into squares and frost liberally with Mascarpone Cream Frosting.

Mascarpone Cream Frosting (makes 4 cups)

6 oz mascarpone cheese, at room temperature
3 T agave nectar (or honey)
1 t vanilla (or vanilla powder)
1 c heavy cream, chilled

Mix first three ingredients in small bowl until well combined. Set aside. In a large bowl, whip heavy cream until firm peak form. Add cheese to cream and mix lightly to combine. Keep refrigerated until ready to use.

Frosted Sugar Free Oat and Walnut Cookies

So I am finally back at it in the kitchen and decided that we needed cookies. Yes folks, sometimes you just need a cookie. But in the spirit of taking care of myself I have attempted a sugar free cookie. There is nothing synthetic or fake about these cookies and they are pretty decent. They are an amalgum of two recipes: the cookie are adapted from a recipe in Baking with Agave Nectar and the frosting is a modification of a frosting from a neat-o blog called Simply Sugar and Gluten Free. Enjoy.

Frosted Sugar Free Oat and Walnut Cookies (Makes 28)

Cookies
1/2 C firm tofu
1 T water
1/2 C butter
1 C dark agave nectar
1 t vanilla
1 C sprouted spelt flour
1/2 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
1 t cinnamon
1/2 t cloves
1/2 t nutmeg
3 C rolled oats
1 c walnuts, chopped

Preheat open to 350. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.

Add tofu and water to a food processor and pulse until pureed smooth. Set aside.

Add butter, agave and vanilla to bowl and mix with hand mixer until fluffy (about 1 minute). Add tofu and blend well. Add remaining ingredients and mix well to combine.

Drop batter by heaping tablespoons onto prepared baking sheet and flatten with the back of a spoon. Bake until lightly golden brown (about 12 - 15 minutes). Remove to a cooling rack to cool completely.

Eat cookies plain (Chris' preference) or frost with the following tart frosting (note that Chris wants more agave next time, but I like it as is):

Frosting
4 oz cream cheese at room temperature
1 t dark agave nectar
1/2 t vanilla
pinch salt
1/2 C cold heavy cream

Whisk cream cheese, vanilla, agave and salt until smooth and light. In a seperate bowl, mix heavy cream until stiff peaks form. Stir 1/4 of the stiffened cream ino the cream cheese mixture. Gently fold the remaining cream into cheese mix until combined. Refrigerate until ready to use.

My yummy and healthy submission for the Feasting on Art Recipe Contest

A few days ago I submitted a recipe to a recipe contest - a first for me (for those who have asked, I submitted my marinara recipe to Taste of Home). This got me thinking that maybe there were other contests out there that might appreciate my particular take on healthy eating. My search for such contests lead me to a lovely blog called Feasting on Art.

The fine folks at Feasting on Art are seeking submissions which utilize the ingredients depicted in the painting Strawberries by Renoir (http://www.feastingonart.com/2010/02/feasting-on-art-recipe-contest.html). Inspired by the painting and a recent muffin recipe that I ate (not made) whose primary ingredient was almond meal, I starting thinking about cake. Mmmmm....cake. I don't eat much cake these days and it would be wonderful if I could use the flourless muffin recipe, strawberries and lemons and come up with cake. A good tasting, delicious and not-too-bad for you cake at that. A tall order, to be sure, but I was up to the challenge.

I started by researching sponge cakes make with almond meal (a sponge is about all I am up for at the moment - I don't have time to frost anything these days). I found a few, even one on a low GI blog, but these all used granulated sugar. That is a no-no for me, so I made a few calculations, tweaked the proportions and put together this recipe. This is my first shot at this cake, and I have to admit that it is a winner right out of the gate. I highly recommend you try it. Even my kids gave it two-thumbs up.

(My apologies in advance to our friends at Feasting on Art - my photography skills are sorely lacking, but the recipe is delish - so I hope that makes up for my dismal picture).

Almond Lemon Sponge with Agave Cream and Strawberries (serves 8)

Sponge
1/4 C butter, softened
1/3 C light agave syrup
4 eggs, divided
3/4 C flour
1/2 C almond meal
rind from 2 small lemons, grated
juice from one small juicy lemon (or use two if the lemons aren't very juicy)
pinch salt
2 1/2 t baking powder

Agave Cream

1/3 C heavy whipping cream

1 T light agave syrup

Heat oven to 400 f. Lightly grease and flour one 9" round cake pan. Set aside.

Beat butter in a medium bowl with a hand mixer until fluffy, about 1 minute. Add agave syrup and 4 egg whites. Whip until well incorporated and fluffy, about 1 minute. Add the remaining ingredients and mix to combine.

Pour batter into prepared cake pan. Bake until lightly golden brown (around 15 minutes). Do not overbake.

While the cake is baking, prepare the Agave Cream by beating heavy cream and agave syrup to soft peaks.

Let cake cool into pan. When cooled, cut into 8 slices. To serve, garnish with Agave Cream and fresh sliced strawberries.

The nutritional analysis on this recipe is as follows (includes agave cream and two strawberries per slice as garnish)

Calories -236
Calories from Fat -116
Total Fat - 12.9g (20%)
Saturated Fat - 5.7g (29%)
Trans Fat - 0.0g
Cholesterol - 115mg (38%)
Sodium - 106mg (4%)
Total Carbohydrates - 26.3g (9%)
Dietary Fiber - 1.6g (6%)
Sugars 1.6g
Protein 5.6g

If I made the same recipe using all white flour and sugar (instead of almond meal and agave), we would be looking at 252 calories, 36.5g of carbs, 1.1g fiber and 16.3g sugar. Vastly different, especially where the sugar is concerned. Compare this to a similarly sized lemon square, and you will save 22g of carbs and 33g of sugar per serving. Not too shabby if I do say so myself.