Eat Well, Feel Well: #zucchinilicious

Zucchini Coconut Flour Bread

I've always wanted to try zucchini bread and I stumbled upon yet again a recipe on Detoxinista's website.  CHECK IT OUT!  It's a fantabulous website.

I love how it looks like meat loaf but trust me, it is far from being so.

Detoxinista's Paleo Coconut Flour Zucchini Bread

Yields 1 loaf or 12 muffins!

3/4 cup coconut flour

6 eggs at ROOM temperature

1.2 cup pure maple syrup

1/4 cup melted coconut oil

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp ground nut meg (I used fresh grated :])

3/4 tsp baking soda

1 1/2 cups shredded zucchini, tightly packed

Preheat oven to 350F and grease a loaf pan and line it with parchment paper.  If you are making muffins, line a muffin tin with baking cups.

In a large bowl, combine the coconut flour, eggs, maple syrup, coconut oil, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg and baking soda and mix using a whisk.  The batter will be thick like a cake batter.  

 Stir in the shredded zucchini 

Scoop the batter into the loaf pan and level the top with a spatula or divide the batter evenly into 12 lined muffin cups.  Bake the loaf for 45-50 minutes until golden and firm on top.  For the muffins bake for 25-30 minutes.  Let the loaf cool for 15 minutes before removing it from the pan.  Transfer to a wire rack and cool completely.

This loaf is super moist!  For best shelf life, store it in the fridge in an airtight container for up to a week.  Trust me it won't last that long.

Slathered some almond butter, greek yogurt and blueberries on top.

Enjoy!

Eat Well, Feel Well: #coconutflourcookies

Coconut Flour Chocolate Chip Cookies

Yum yum yum cookie time!  It's been such a long time since I've baked and I definitely miss doing it all of the time.  Then again, it's my fault... darn you TV shows...  Anyway, I found a recipe on Detoxinista as per usual these days, and it was a healthier version of chocolate chip cookies and I wanted to see how John would like them.  He's in love with my usual not so healthy chocolate chip cookies.

Recipe from Detoxinista

Made approximately 12 cookies

1/3 cup coconut flour

1/4 cup melted coconut oil

1/4 cup maple syrup

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 tsp salt

2 eggs

1/3 cup dairy free chocolate chips

Preheat your oven to 350F and line your baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a medium bowl, whisk the coconut flour, coconut oil, maple syrup, vanilla, salt and eggs until everything is combined.  The batter will be runny at first, but just be patient, the coconut flour will absorb the moisture.  Add in the chocolate chips and fold them in.

 

Use a scoop or just a heaping table spoon and scoop the dough onto the baking sheet.  Use your hands to flatten the cookies because they will not spread like your conventional cookie. 

Bake for 12-14 minutes until the edges are golden.  Let them cool on the sheet for 10 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool.

These cookies were sensational and disappeared immediately, so I made another batch the next day.  The reason why the two pictures above are slightly different was because I wanted to experiment a little and also I made a silly silly mistake in the first batch.

For the first batch, I had melted 1/4 cup of coconut oil and once that had occurred, I ended up with a lot more then 1/4 cup of coconut oil.  In result, I had to eye how much coconut flour I put in and ended up with the left picture.  The taste and texture were great luckily.

For the second batch I followed the recipe to the tee and before the oven smooshed them down just a tad just because I noticed the batter was much more wet then the first.  They did in fact spread and was comparable to my usual cookies in the aesthetics.  

Please give these a try!  These were tasty, grain free and healthier then the usual cookies AND they were John approved :).

Enjoy!

Eat Well, Learn Well, Feel Well: #bakedpancakes

Baked Pumpkin Pancakes

It's Friday!!  It was a beautiful morning and I had the hugest craving for pancakes, not just any pancakes.  Pumpkin!  So I was on Detoxinista's website and found these lovely pancakes that were baked!  I was so intrigued, I had to try them.

Recipe from Detoxinista

Serves 1

1/4 cup almond butter

1/4 cup pumpkin puree

1 egg

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp pumpkin pie spice*

1/4 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 tsp honey

*I did not have pumpkin pie spice (a mixture of cinnamon, nutmeg, allsplice, and ginger), so I used a pinch of cinnamon, a pinch of cloves and a pinch of nutmeg.

Preheat your oven to 350F and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

In a bowl, combine all of the ingredients and mix until smooth.  Use a 1/4 cup to scoop the batter on the parchment lined baking sheet.  This made 3 pancakes for me.

Bake for 10-12 minutes (mine were in for 10), until the pancakes are fluffy and golden brown.  The awesome thing about these is that you do not need any excess oil and you don't need to flip them either!

Serve with maple syrup, fruits and peanut butter!

Out of the oven.

All dressed up!

Fluffy, soft and moist.  A taste of Autumn in my mouth on this lovely Spring day.

Enjoy!

Eat Well, Learn Well: #bababababanana

Banana Bread Walnut Cookies

***Disclaimer: I am not responsible for how many you eat, they're just really delicious.  Haha just kidding!  But they are delicious ;)

The innards!  It's like a hybrid of banana bread, muffin top like cookie. 

With only a few ingredients, and NO ADDITIONAL SWEETENER good for them Asian parents.  I guarantee they would like them!

VEGAN Banana Walnut Bread Cookies

Recipe adapted from Detoxinista <3

Made 11 and 3/4 of a cookie

1/2 cup creamy unsalted and unsweetened Peanut Butter (can use other nut butters)

1 Banana, mashed (1/2 cup)

3 Tbsp Ground Flax Seed (I used Omega Crunch with cinnamon)

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/4 cup raw walnut pieces

Pinch Sea Salt (I did not use any)

Preheat your oven to 350F.  In a medium bowl, combine all of the ingredients.

Let it sit for 10 minutes so that the flax can gel up the batter.

Using a cookie scoop, drop it on a baking tray lined with parchment paper.

Bake for 10 minutes, making sure to turn the pan around halfway through for even baking and colouring.  

Let the cookies cool for about 10 minutes before transferring them onto a wire rack.

Amazeballs... these are fantastically delicious.  Just like banana bread, muffin tops the size of a cookie.  

"It's so fluffy I'm gonna die!"  (From eating all of them).

Enjoy!

Eat Well, Love Well, Learn Well: #coconutty

Coconut Panna Cotta (Dairy-Free!)

This delightful dessert was what I made for Valentine's Day!  Definitely a favourite and it's super simple to make!

I should be studying right now, but I need a break and I wanted to share this quick post with you all!

I purchased these gelatin sheets from Community Natural Foods.  They're super easy to use so the conversion with gelatin powder to sheets is 1 (0.25oz) envelope= 1 Tbsp of powdered gelatin= 3 sheets of leaf gelatin.  

To use: soak the sheets in water for about 10 minutes and then squeeze the excess water out (it will be super jelly).

This recipe is from Detoxinista

Yields 4

1 (13.5oz) can full fat coconut milk

1/3 cup maple syrup

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 1/4 tsp grass fed gelatin (I believe I used about 2 and a half sheets?  I will double check)

Method

In a small saucepan, gently heat 1 cup of coconut milk and vanilla over medium-low heat whisking occasionally to prevent it from burning the bottom.  DO NOT BOIL.  As it is heating, add the bloomed gelatin sheets and whisk until it has dissolved.  Remove from the heat and whisk in the maple syrup and the remaining coconut milk.

Pour into 4 ramekins and have it set in the fridge for at least 4 hours.

Now the recipe said to remove these from the ramekins, to place them in a shallow bowl of hot water for 1-2 minutes, then flip it onto the plate.  I would go with a minute or even less or else you will get some liquid because the heat was too much for it.  

Serve ASAP!

Super duper easy!

Yum...

Enjoy!

Eat Well, Learn Well: #themcookies

Harvest Breakfast Cookies

Last week, my cookies senses were tingling and I stumbled upon this recipe.  Healthy cookies say what?!

These lovely cookies contain bananas, pumpkin puree, raisins and lovely spices!  Also, these are made with coconut flour which is gluten free, rich in fiber, high in the GOOD fats, low in digestible carbohydrates which does not spike up your sugar levels, and it is packed with protein.  Also, coconut flour gives these cookies a softer, more fragile texture.

This lovely recipe is from Detoxinista

Yields 12-16

1 cup Mashed Banana (approximately 1 and a half or 2)

1/2 cup Pumpkin puree (I also tried mashed up papaya; turned out great)

4 soft Dates

1/3 cup Coconut Flour

2 tsp Cinnamon

1/4 tsp Ginger (I used fresh)

1 tsp Baking Soda

2 tsp Apple Cider Vinegar

1/2 cup Shredded Unsweetened Coconut

1/2 cup Raisins

Preheat the oven to 350F.

Combine the banana, pumpkin purree and dates in a food processor or blender and blend away until everything is blended well.  Add in the coconut flour, cinnamon, ginger, baking soda and vinegar, and blend away until a thick batter is formed.

Pour the batter into a bowl and fold in the raisins and shredded coconut.  Scoop the batter onto a lined baking sheet.  Flatten them into the shape you want because they will not spread out like usual cookies.

Use a silpat if available; if you are using parchment paper, keep your eye on them because the bottoms may burn.

Bake for 20-25 minutes (I did 15-20), until the edges are golden and the center is not too soft to the touch.

Let these cool before you transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.  

These last in the fridge for up to a week!

P.S. These were boyfriend approved!

Enjoy!