Sneaky Baker's Cookie

Sneaky Baker's Cookie

Cookies!! Yes, that's right, cookies!! I wanted some cookies so I made them!! Don't judge me... But wait, you can't judge me too much because these aren't regular cookies... these are sneaky cookies. I snuck (I don't like the word sneaked so I don't use it) some good, healthy ingredients in there and substituted in some better ingredients. They still aren't necessarily "good" for you per se (especially if you eat too many... which I did while baking them) but they are definitely more healthy than traditional cookie recipes. Like I said when I first created this blog, my goal is to develop healthy recipes and make bad recipes more healthy. So, this recipe is as healthy as I want to go when it comes to cookies. Instead of a pound of butter (cringe...), I opted to use coconut oil [no cholesterol]. I also used Kamut flour instead of the evil bleached wheat flour. I also threw in some sunflower seeds and hemp seeds along with the chocolate chips and raisins. I hope you're salivating by now. Here's the recipe. Yield: 18-20 cookies.

Ingredients

2 cups Kamut Flour

1 cup virgin coconut oil

1 1/3 cups packed brown sugar

1 cup rolled oats

2 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp baking powder

2 eggs

1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1/4 cup raisins

1/4 cup sunflower seeds (if desired replace 1/4 cup chocolate chips for 1/4 cup more sunflower seeds or raisins)

2 tbsp shelled hemp seeds

1/4 tsp salt


Directions 

1) Preheat oven to 325°F. 

2) In a medium size mixing bowl, combine Kamut flour, baking soda, baking powder, oats, salt and hemp seeds. Mix well. Set aside.

3) Melt coconut oil by placing jar/tub in hot water. When melted enough to pour, measure the coconut oil into a large mixing bowl. Sit bowl on a small pot with hot water in it (to make sure the oil doesn't solidify).

4) Whisk brown sugar, vanilla and eggs into the coconut oil. When thoroughly mixed, add the dry mixture, chocolate chips, raisins and sunflower seeds. Stir well (you may need to use your hands if the mixture is too stiff to stir).                                            

5) Lay a piece of parchment paper on a cookie sheet. Use a spoon and your hands to measure dough into small balls (1" diameter). Place them on the cookie sheets spaced far enough to avoid touching while they spread out. Measure all the remaining dough into balls; do not let the dough sit in the bowl (otherwise the coconut oil will solidify and the dough won't stick together well). If you don't have more than one cookie sheet, place dough balls on piece of parchment paper while they wait to be baked.

6) Bake for 12-14 minutes. Immediately remove cookies from the baking sheet and place on rack to cool.

7) Enjoy!!!




So, there you have it. Sneaky Baker's Cookies. Next time around I think I may add a 1/2 teaspoon of instant coffee to the mix. I think it would taste great. Side note: Kamut is not gluten free. Don't be fooled. It is wheat. However, for those with wheat sensitivities, you may find Kamut easier to digest than regular wheat flour. Ok, so, don't forget, if you try this recipe out, please give me some feedback. 


Cheers!!

Power Quinoa Salad

Healthy but Tasty Quinoa Salad

Oh, Quinoa... how I love your complete protein goodness. I became quinoa crazy the other day. I made such a large batch that I've been eating this stuff for 3 days. Mmmmmm. Anyway, after a week of eating not-so-good food, I decided to load up a salad with nutrients. But I wasn't finished there. I decided to add an antioxidant as well... green tea. I actually cooked the quinoa in green tea. Strange, you say? It would be too bitter, you say? None of the above, my friends. It turned out beautifully. The tea added a unique and subtle flavour to the quinoa that livened it up a bit. I also went fibre and protein crazy with seeds. This salad is packed with hemp hearts, chia seeds and sunflower seeds. The bottom line, this is a healthy but very tasty meal. Without further ado... the recipe.  
Serves 4 - 6 people.

Ingredients

1 cup white quinoa (mix 1/2 cup of white and 1/2 cup red for a more nutty flavour)

2 cups water

2 bags of quality organic green tea

1 tbsp chia seeds

2 tbsp shelled hemp seeds

2 tbsp hulled sunflower seeds

1/3 tsp dried dillweed

2 tsp dried parsley

1/4 cup apple-cider vinegar

3 tbsp lemon juice

1 large carrot

100g sunchokes (Jerusalem artichoke) (if unavailable, use 1 more carrot or 1 stick celery)

3-4 medjool dates

1 small red bell-pepper

1/2 small red onion

Salt and Pepper

1/4 tsp sugar

Directions


1) Boil some water in a tea kettle. Add 1 cup of boiling water to a medium saucepan and steep the tea bags in it for 5 minutes. Remove the tea-bags.

2) Add one cup of cold water, quinoa, sugar and 1 tsp salt to the pot. Turn stove to high and bring to a boil. Once boiling, turn stove to low, lid the pot and let cook for 15 minutes. Let sit 5 minutes after cooking and then fluff the quinoa with a fork. Once quinoa has cooled, transfer to a mixing bowl.

3) Cut carrot, (peeled) sunchoke, (pitted) medjool dates, red onion and red pepper into small cubes. Add to mixing bowl.

4) Add the remaining ingredients to the bowl and stir the ingredients together. Add salt and pepper to taste. If you feel like it needs more of a kick, add 1-2 more tablespoons of vinegar.

5) Enjoy!!


So, there you have it. My Power Quinoa Salad recipe loaded with fibre, protein, essential minerals and antioxidants. The best part? No oil. In fact, I don't think anything in this salad is necessarily unhealthy (just don't use too much salt). Give it a try and send some feedback my way. 


Cheers!!

Avacado, Date and Sun Dried Tomato Salad w/ Grapefruit Balsamic Reduction

Well folks, it's salad time again. I have a bit of a sweet tooth so I enjoy sweet bits in my salad. I was having a late-night refrigerator raid last night when I stumbled upon some medjool dates that I completely forgot that I had. Happiness set in quite rapidly when I decided to create a salad today with those delicious little morsels of sweet-tooth heaven. For the past week I've had the hankering to create a funky balsamic reduction as well. So I did... and now I present it to you. I wanted to incorporate the full spectrum of tastes in this dish. There are sweet, bitter, sour, salty and savoury elements to this salad. I hope you enjoy it. Serves 2-3 people.

Ingredients

Balsamic Reduction:

1 cup Balsamic Vinegar of Modena

1 cup juice of ruby red grapefruit (freshly squeezed)

1 tablespoon of sugar (don't like sweet reductions? then don't add sugar)

Salad:

1 head of Green or Red leaf lettuce (Romaine would work as well)

1 ripe avacado

6-7 strips of sun dried tomato

2 medjool dates

salt and pepper

2 tsp lemon juice

2 tsp olive oil

Directions

Balsamic Reduction:

1) Put balsamic vinegar, grapefruit juice, and sugar in a medium saucepan. Whisk ingredients together and bring to a boil. Immediately turn to medium heat and whisk frequently. (Warning: do not put your head over the pot to inhale the vinegary fumes, I learned the hard way. Made my eyes bulge and start watering).

2) Reduce the mixture by about 75% or until it coats the back of a spoon like a light syrup. Take off heat, transfer to bowl, let cool to room temperature and then refrigerate until needed.

Salad:

1) If using dry sun-dried tomatoes, reconstitute them by soaking them in a bowl with warm water for 20-30 minutes before salad preparation. If using jarred sun-dried tomatoes in oil or brine, simply rinse the pieces.
 
2) Pit and cut up the avocado into 1/8 inch cubes and put into bowl. Pit and cut up the medjool dates into thin slices and put into bowl. Finely chop the pieces of sun-dried tomatoes and put into bowl. Add 1 tsp of lemon juice and a pinch of salt and mix well. Set aside.

3) Using a salad spinner, tear lettuce into bite size pieces, rinse and spin dry (if you don't dry the lettuce, the dressing will not stick to it). Put into bowl.

4) In another small bowl, whisk together olive oil and 3 tablespoons of the balsamic reduction. Pour over the salad, season with salt and pepper, and toss.Try a piece, if it's not flavoured enough, drizzle on more balsamic reduction and toss again. Plate the dressed lettuce.

5) After another quick mix of the avocado mixture, top the lettuce with it. If you'd like, drizzle a small amount of the reduction over top of the whole thing.

6) Enjoy!!



So, there you have it. My avocado, date and sun-dried tomato salad. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the medjool dates tasted a bit like candied pecans. I personally don't care much for the crunchy pecans in salads but I do like the flavour so this worked beautifully. I hope somebody who reads this will try to make it and give me some feedback. I liked it but I felt as if there could have been 1 more element added that would have made it a bit more well-rounded. If someone does try it out, please let me know your thoughts. 

Cheers!!

Thai-Style Coconut Shrimp Polenta Cakes

Thai-Style Coconut Shrimp Polenta Cakes

So, my favourite family of all time inspired me to make this dish. I copied the base recipe that was taught to me but I added a few of my own touches. With their permission, I was able to share the recipe with you today. These are polenta cakes turned Thai. Typical polenta recipes call for whole milk and/or chicken stock to help flavour them. Instead of either of those, I chose to use coconut milk and water. Using the coconut milk adds the bulk of the flavour so seasoning and sauces are not really necessary but, at the same time, a simple Thai peanut sauce would be very welcome. I also decided to cook the polenta with coconut oil to give it more coconut flavour. So, here is the recipe. I hope you enjoy it. Can serve 3-4 people.


Ingredients

2 cups water

2 cups coconut milk

1 cup organic yellow cornmeal

1/4 cup chopped green onions

100g cooked shrimp

1 tsp sea-salt

1 tbsp coconut oil

1-2 Thai chilies (more if you like spicy food)

Directions

1) Rinse the shrimp and chop into small pieces. Set aside.

2) Heat the water, coconut milk, salt and finely chopped Thai chilies (with seeds) in a medium-size saucepan and bring to a boil.

3) Slowly whisk the cornmeal into the saucepan. Turn the heat to low and continue whisking until the mixture is smooth and creamy (about 4-5 minutes).

4) When the polenta is creamy, remove it from the burner and add the chopped cooked shrimp and chopped green onions. Mix the contents thoroughly.

5) Pour the polenta mixture into a 9 x 9 inch casserole dish. Cover and place in refrigerator to cool and set (approx. 20-30 minutes should work).

6) When polenta has set, remove from the refrigerator and cut into pieces with a knife.

7) Add coconut oil to a large non-stick frying pan. Set heat to medium-high. When the oil is hot, transfer the polenta cakes to the frying pan.

8) Fry until the polenta cakes are golden-brown on each side.

9) Enjoy! 

So, there you have it. The coconut shrimp polenta cakes recipe that I appropriated and modified. You can serve it with peanut or sriracha sauce if you like but it is also fantastic on its own. Thank you so much to my favourite family for letting me post this recipe. 


Cheers!!

Bruschetta with Olive and Avacado Tapenade on Munich Sourdough

Bruschetta with Olive and Avacado Tapenade

This is my modified version of an Italian classic, Bruschetta, which is usually served as an appetizer. I like to eat it as an entire meal. 2-3 slices and I am satisfied. It is usually made by rubbing garlic and extra-virgin olive oil on roasted bread and then topping it off with diced tomatoes and various other ingredients. To me, the traditional way is boring so I felt like switching it up. Instead of diced tomatoes, I decided to whip up a tapenade with some olives I had kicking around in my fridge and an avocado that I completely forgot I had. I used all organic ingredients and a Munich Sourdough loaf (double-baked rye sourdough). I also happened to measure everything, for once, so now I can share the recipe with you. You don't have to use Munich Sourdough. I chose it because I enjoy the density and flavour of it; however, any unsliced loaf of bread would do. This recipe can serve 2-3 for a dinner or 6-8 as an appy.

Ingredients

1 Loaf Munich Sourdough

1 cup of olives (Kalamata or Sicilian)

1 medium size avocado (medium-ripe is best)

1 tablespoon capers

3 cloves garlic

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

3 teaspoons lemon juice 

1/8 teaspoon black pepper, or to taste

200ml crushed tomatoes 

2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh basil (if desired)

2 cups of shredded mozzarella (if desired)

Directions

1) Pit and mince the olives and put them in a mixing bowl.
 

2) Finely mince the capers and peeled garlic cloves and put into the bowl. 

 

3) Remove the pit from the avocado and scoop out the flesh. Mince the avocado to approximately the same size as you did the olives. Put the avocado in the bowl.

4) Add lemon juice, olive oil and pepper. Stir the ingredients well. 

5) Cover bowl with plastic wrap and put it in the fridge for at least an hour (the longer the better to let the flavours mingle).

6) When you are ready to prepare, preheat oven to 425F.

7) Slice bread into 3/4" thick slices and place on baking sheet (baking stone if you have one).

8) Put bread in oven for 5 minutes or so (or until edges start to brown).

9) Remove bread from oven. Mix the finely chopped basil into the crushed tomatoes and spoon some of the sauce onto each slice of bread. If desired, sprinkle mozzarella onto each piece of bread.

10) Place bread back in oven for 4-5 more minutes (or until cheese is sufficiently melted).

11) Remove bread from oven, let sit for a few minutes, and then spoon some tapenade onto each slice.

12) Enjoy.


So, there you have it. My Olive and Avocado Bruschetta recipe. Give it a try and leave some feedback for me. Any suggestions and opinions are welcome. 

Cheers.

Healthy Food Mood

Healthy does not have to be synonymous with tasteless in terms of food. For instance, even with traditional bad-for-you recipe's, you can make it "healthier" by substituting all of your ingredients from conventional to organic. Boom, you've removed all of the harmful pesticides and toxins that go along with your heart-stopping buttery richness. That aside, this blog is not only going to feature bad foods made healthier. I'm also aiming to create a collection of foods that will nourish and energize the mind and body without forsaking taste and richness. With each picture that I post, I will hopefully be able to post a recipe shortly after (modifications must be made from time to time). At that point, I'd encourage all readers to try out the recipe and tell me how you made it better or what you believe was wrong/missing from it. I wont pretend to be a professional chef because I am definitely not. I'm just a foodie tired of paying too much money to fulfill his cravings. Buon Appetito!!