Chocolate Energy Bars -- sunflower seeds and wheatgrass go completely mute

My husband and son managed to go through an entire batch of these in 5 days. So, today I'm getting crafty and making a double. That's what happens when you live with chocolate lovers. And honestly, these taste that good. But you don't have to worry about devouring them because there is nothing in here you shouldn't eat. Good tasting, and good for you, too!

ingredients:

1/2 cup raw sunflower seeds

1/2 cup raw hemp hearts

1 cup raw cacao powder

1 tbsp ground vanilla bean

3/4 tsp sea salt

1/2 tsp stevia powder

1/4 cup ground flax seed

1 cup shredded coconut
1/4 cup wheat grass powder

1 cup pitted honey dates

1/2 cup coconut butter

1/2 cup coconut oil

directions:

1. combine the first set of ingredients (up to not including the dates) and process until fully powdered

2. add the  pitted honey dates (check for pits) and pulse until completely chopped

3. add the coconut butter and pulse until combined

4. add the coconut oil and pulse until combined

5. press into a silicone pan (I use 2 square ones), and score into pieces

6. chill or freeze until set

7. break along score marks and store in airtight containers in the fridge

Old-School Chocolate Energy Squares -- vegan, raw, nut free

ingredients:

1/2 cup raw sunflower seeds

1/2 cup raw hemp hearts

1 cup raw cacao powder

1 tbsp ground vanilla bean

3/4 tsp sea salt

1/2 tsp stevia powder

1/4 cup ground flax seed

1 cup shredded coconut
1/4 cup wheat grass powder

1 cup pitted honey dates

1/2 cup coconut butter

1/2 cup coconut oil

directions:

1. combine the first set of ingredients (up to not including the dates) and process until fully powdered

2. add the  pitted honey dates (check for pits) and pulse until completely chopped

3. add the coconut butter and pulse until combined

4. add the coconut oil and pulse until combined

5. press into a silicone pan (I use 2 square ones), and score into pieces

6. chill or freeze until set

7. break along score marks and store in airtight containers in the fridge

Chocolate and Peppermint Energy Squares -- V 2.0 -- more peppermint, no sesame. Yum!

ingredients:

1/2 cup raw sunflower seeds

1/2 cup raw hemp hearts

1 cup raw cacao powder

1 tbsp ground vanilla bean

3/4 tsp sea salt

1/2 tsp stevia powder

1/4 cup ground flax seed

1 cup shredded coconut
1/4 cup wheat grass powder

1 cup pitted honey dates
25 drops peppermint essential oil

1/2 cup coconut butter

1/2 cup coconut oil

directions:

1. combine the first set of ingredients (up to not including the dates) and process until fully powdered

2. add the  pitted honey dates (check for pits) and pulse until completely chopped

3. add the coconut butter and pulse until combined

4. add the coconut oil and pulse until combined

5. press into a silicone pan (I use 2 square ones), and score into pieces

6. chill or freeze until set

7. break along score marks and store in airtight containers in the fridge

Fruity Superfood Berry Energy Squares -- perfect for school

Raw, organic, vegan, sugar free, gluten free, superfood fruity energy squares. A good snack to grab on the go. Delicious, addictive, and fantastic. I put twice the quantity of goji and golden berries in this batch as I usually do. Additionally, the lemon and orange extract boost the fruity-ness of the equation. Since I can't do peanut butter for stuff I'm sending with my son to school, I'm going all berry-splosion on his ass. Kapow!!!!

ingredients:

1 cup raw sunflower  seeds

1 cup shredded coconut

1/4 cup organic sesame seeds

1 tsp orange extract
1 tsp lemon extract

1/4 cup flax meal

1/4 cup wheat grass

1 tbsp maca powder

1/4 cup hemp hearts

1 tbsp ground vanilla bean

1 tsp ceylon cinnamon (if you don't have ceylon, skip this part, because saigon or korintje won't work)

3/4 tsp sea salt

1 cup pitted honey dates

1 cup goji berries

1 cup golden berries

1/4 cup extra virgin coconut oil

1/2 cup coconut butter

directions:

1. in a food processor, combine the raw almonds, pumpkin seeds, shredded coconut, sesame seeds, flax meal, wheat grass, vanilla bean, ceylon cinnamon and sea salt

2. turn on and process until it resembles sand

3. add the dates, goji berries, and golden berries and pulse and then process until ground up

4. add the coconut oil, and pulse

5. add the coconut butter, and pulse

6. divide between 2 square silicone pans, score into pieces, and  chill

7. when fully chilled, break along the score lines, and store in airtight containers in the fridge.

Chocolate Orange -- yes, be jealous!! -- another school snack

Chocolate and Orange? What the what? It's just, I wanted to!!!

ingredients:

1/2 cup raw sunflower seeds

1/2 cup raw hemp hearts

1/4 cup ground sesame seeds -- black

1 cup raw cacao powder

1 tbsp ground vanilla bean

1 tsp ceylon cinnamon

3/4 tsp sea salt

1/2 tsp stevia powder

1/4 cup ground flax seed

1 cup shredded coconut

1 1/2   tsp orange extract or 1 tsp peppermint extract

1 cup pitted honey dates

1/2 cup coconut butter

1/2 cup coconut oil

directions:

1. combine the first set of ingredients (up to not including the dates) and process until fully powdered

2. add the orange extract and pitted honey dates (check for pits) and pulse until completely chopped

3. add the coconut butter and pulse until combined

4. add the coconut oil and pulse until combined

5. press into a silicone pan (I use 2 square ones), and score into pieces

6. chill or freeze until set

7. break along score marks and store in airtight containers in the fridge

More fantabulous School Muffins -- nut free, gluten free, grain free etc

These days, my son eats a peanut butter sandwich for breakfast, and takes a muffin in his lunch, instead of the other way around. This adjustment is due to the nut-free nature of school. These are great. But instead of calling them breakfast muffins, I call them school muffins. These ones are quite sweet, and he thinks they are delicious. I pack his lunch with a muffin, some steamed broccoli, little cubes of cheese, and a couple of nut-free superfood energy bars. Maybe a chocolate school cookie. Super yummy, and keeps him going all day.

ingredients:

2 cups warm water
1/4 cup extra virgin coconut oil
1 cup pitted honey dates
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar

1 tsp sea salt
1 tbsp ground vanilla
1 tbsp ceylon cinnamon
2 tbsp carob powder
black pepper

1/4 cup ground chia seeds
1/4 cup ground sesame seeds
1/2 cup ground flax meal
1 cup shredded coconut, ground
1 cup pumpkin seeds, ground

4 eggs

1/2 tsp baking soda


directions:

preheat the oven to 345

1. combine the dates, coconut oil, and warm water and let sit for 15 minutes
2. puree with with a hand blender
3. add the eggs, apple cider vinegar, sea salt, vanilla, cinnamon, and carob, and blend again
4. stir in the baking soda, chia seeds, sesame seeds, flax meal, shredded coconut, pumpkin seeds
5. scoop the batter into prepare muffin cups
6. bake at 345 for 45 minutes

Superfood Energy Bars -- a vegan, gluten free, sugar free, high energy snack

1 cup raw almonds

1 cup raw pumpkin seeds

1 cup raw sunflower seeds

1 cup shredded coconut

1/4 cup ground black sesame seeds

1/4 cup flax meal

1/4 cup wheat grass

1 tbsp ground vanilla bean

1/2 tsp sea salt

1 cup pitted honey dates

1/2 cup goji berries

1/2 cup golden berries

1/4 cup extra virgin coconut oil

1/2 cup organic coconut butter

directions:

1. in a food processor, combine the raw almonds, pumpkin seeds, shredded coconut, sesame seeds, sunflower seeds, flax meal, wheat grass, vanilla bean, and sea salt

2. turn on and process until it resembles sand

3. add the dates, goji berries, and golden berries and pulse and then process until ground up

4. add the coconut oil, and pulse

5. add the coconut butter, and pulse

6. divide between 2 square silicone pans, score into pieces, and freeze

7. when fully chilled, break along the score lines, and store in airtight containers in the fridge.

Chocolate Cookies -- what's not to love

My husband gave these the two thumbs up, and by the rate at which they disappeared, I think these are probably in his top 10 cookie fave list. Then again, they are chocolate. What I like about them is that they are without sweetener other than dates. And they are chock full of things that keep your blood sugar stable even with the datey goodness.

1/4 cup extra virgin coconut oil (organic and unrefined)
1 cup pitted honey dates
1/4 cup water
2 eggs

1/2 cup raw cacao
1 tbsp ground vanilla bean
1/2 tsp sea salt

1 cup shredded coconut
1/4 cup ground flax
1/4 cup ground black sesame seeds
1 cup almond flour
1/2 tsp baking soda


directions:

1. combine the hot water and dates, then puree with an immersion blender. Add the coconut oil and puree again. Finally, add the eggs, and process with the immersion blender until smooth.

2. stir in the raw cacao, vanilla bean, and sea salt. If you are nuts like me, you can add a little black pepper.

3. mix in the shredded coconut, ground flax, ground sesame seeds, and baking soda

4. finally stir in the almond flour.
5. scoop into an airtight container and chill
6. roll into balls when chilled
7. flatten and bake at 345 for 12 minutes
8. cool on a wire rack
9. store in an airtight container when cool

After mixing up the cookie dough, I realized I had no time to bake them, so I put the dough into an airtight container and stored it in the freezer. When I was ready to bake them, I took the dough out and let it soften a little. It's easier to roll into balls when it's cold. Anyway, this dough stores well in the freezer, and makes good cookies.

Enjoy!!!

Lemon Date Squares -- the whole foods, lemony, vegan, delicious, low sugar version.

Well, I was trying to figure out what would make an elegant dessert for mother's day.  One that would make all the moms happy. Chocolate cake? Too heavy for lunch. Coffee cake? Too prosaic. Well, inspired by an article in the Globe and Mail of all places, I came up with this lemony date square, to be served with lemon coconut milk ice cream.  Yes, I am amazing. Bow down. Just kidding. But this simple and elegant dessert rocks. Seriously. But only if you like date squares. Which we do.

ingredients:


date filling:

2½ cups honey dates, pitted and chopped
2 cup water
¼ cup lemon juice
1 tbsp ground  vanilla
pinch sea salt
a little black pepper

ingredients:

crust:

1 cup shredded coconut

2 cups almond flour

1 tsp ceylon cinnamon

1/2 tsp sea salt
(hey if you're like me and you are a fiend for black pepper you can add some to this too)
1 tsp ground vanilla

1/4 cup extra virgin coconut oil

1/4 cup coconut sugar

2 tbsp lemon juice

directions:

crust:

1. combine the ingredients for the crust. Use a fork. Add the liquid last after everything else has been successfully mixed together

2. in a greased glass 8 x 11 pan: line with parchment and firmly press 2/3 - 3/4 of the mixture, reserving 1/4 - 1/3 as topping

directions:

date filling:

1. combine the chopped dates, lemon juice, vanilla, sea salt, black pepper and water in a pot and simmer for 5 minutes or until the dates are nice and soft and melty.

directions:

combining the two:

preheat the oven to 300

2. evenly spread the date mixture onto the pressed in crust from above

3. sprinkle the date mixture with the crumbly remains of the crust ingredients

4. bake at 300 for 60 minutes

parchment lined and greased 2L baking dish

the crust pressed in

date filling spread on the crust

remaining crust ingredients crumbled on top

after baking

plated with lemon coconut milk ice cream

Delicious seeds! freezer cookies

The cool thing about freezer cookies -- other than their temperature of course -- is how simple they are and how convenient they are. The beauty of these is that you can make up the dough, roll it into log shapes, and leave those in the freezer well wrapped until you need them. Then you just have to slice 'em and bake up. Presto!!

Plus they taste really good.

ingredients:

1 cup pitted honey dates

1 cup sunflower seeds

1 cup pumpkin seeds

1 cup shredded coconut

1/4 cup ground chia seeds

1/4 cup ground sesame seeds

1/2 cup ground flax seeds

1 cup pitted honey dates

2 eggs

1/4 cup extra virgin coconut oil

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp sea salt

1 tbsp ground vanilla bean

1 tsp ceylon cinnamon

black pepper

directions:

1. in a food processor, combine the pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, ground chia, ground sesame, ground flax, and shredded coconut, as well as the baking soda, sea salt, ground vanilla bean, ceylon cinnamon, and black pepper. Process until finely ground.

2. move the ground seeds into a bowl

3. Put the pitted honey dates in the food processor, and pulse until finely ground

4. add the coconut oil and eggs, and pulse to fully mix

5. add the wet ingredients to the bowl of ground seeds, and mix thoroughly.

6. roll the dough into two long logs on parchment paper, and shape carefully. Logs should be appropriate cookie diameter.

7. put the dough in the freezer until you need it

8. when frozen, remove from freezer, cut into disks, and bake on a lined baking sheet at 345 for 12-14 minutes

9. store in an airtight container when fully cool.

More Magic Muffins -- super yummy gluten free, sugar free goodies

I've been enjoying making muffins from ground up seeds. Today I decided to make muffins from ground up almonds too. I kept the date and sesame and lotsa vanilla. Yummy and breakfast friendly.

ingredients:

1/4 cup extra virgin coconut oil

2 cups water

1 tbsp apple cider vinegar

1 cup shredded coconut

1/2 cup flax meal

1/4 cup chia seeds

1/4 cup ground sesame seeds

1 tsp sea salt

1 tbsp ground vanilla bean

2 cups raw almonds

1 cup pitted honey dates

1/2 tsp baking soda

4 eggs

directions:

preheat the oven to 345

1. in a food processor, process the almonds to a fine grind

2. add the dates and process again

3. mix in the ground vanilla, sea salt, flax meal, ground chia seeds, ground sesame seeds, and baking soda

4. in a bowl, pour hot water over coconut oil to melt

5. add the apple cider vinegar

6. put the ground nut and date mixture into the hot water mixture and mix well

7. add the eggs, and mix well

8. scoop into 24 prepared muffin cups and bake at 345 for 35 minutes