Coconut Banana Bread

Adding protein powder to this banana bread brings a tropical flavour and an extra protein boost!  

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Coconut Banana Bread

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup coconut flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 scoop Genuine Health fermented vegan proteins+ coconut flavour
• 2 very ripe bananas, mashed
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 1/2 cup coconut oil, melted
• 4 eggs, whisked
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• Unsweetened shredded coconut

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350
2. Combine all the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients.
3. Then add the wet to the dry ingredients.
4. Pour batter into a greased loaf pan and sprinkle with shredded coconut
5. Bake for 40-45 minutes or until a fork inserted into the middle comes out clean

Sweet Potato Crust Quiche

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Sweet Potato Crust Quiche

Ingredients:

• 2 medium sweet potatoes, cut thinly (I used a mandolin slicer to make them super thin)
• 8 eggs
• 1 small onion, diced
• 1 garlic clove, minced  
• 1 bell pepper, diced
• 1 cup sliced mushrooms
• 2 cups spinach
• Olive oil
• Sea salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375
2. Arrange sweet potato a circular pattern to form a “crust” for the quiche in a pie dish or circular pan (I used my cast iron skillet). You will want the sweet potato to overlap slighlty as it will shrink as it cooks.
3. Drizzle sweet potato with olive oil and salt and pepper
4. Bake for 20 minutes
5. While sweet potato crust is baking, cook the veggies: Add olive oil to a medium skillet and place over medium high heat.
6. Cook until the onion and garlic are soft and fragrant
7. Add the mushrooms and bell pepper and cook until soft and add spinach last and cook for 2-3 minutes until wilted  
8. In a bowl, beat eggs and combine with veggie mixture
9. Pour over the sweet potato crust, and place back in the oven
10. Bake for 30-40 minutes or until egg sets. Remove from heat and allow to cool for a few minutes before cutting

Chocolate Peppermint Crinkle Cookies

These Peppermint Chocolate Crinkle Cookies are a delicious and healthy holiday cookie recipe for mint chocolate lovers! If you are not a chocolate peppermint fan, omit the peppermint extract and you will have a healthier version of classic crinkle cookies ready for the holiday season! 

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Chocolate Peppermint Crinkle Cookies

Ingredients: 

• 1 cup almond flour
• 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 tsp baking powder
• ¼ tsp sea salt
• 2 eggs
• ½ cup pure maple syrup
• ½ cup coconut oil, melted
• 1 tsp peppermint extract
• ¼ cup coconut palm sugar
• ¼ cup coconut flour

Directions: 

1. Pre-heat oven to 350F.
2. In a large bowl, combine almond flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt. Mix well.
3. In a small bowl, combine eggs, maple syrup, coconut oil and peppermint extract.
4. Add wet mixture to dry and mix well.
5. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate until the dough is firm enough to roll, about 20 minutes.
6. Using a table spoon, measure even amounts of dough and roll in your hands to form balls.
7. Mix coconut sugar and flour together
8. Roll dough balls in sugar + coconut flour mixture and place on a parchment lined baking tray
9. Bake for 15 minutes until cookies crack. At this point, cookies might look undercooked. Just leave them on the baking sheet until they cool completely and they will firm up as they cool
10. Enjoy! 

Healthy Ginger Snaps

My mom makes the absolute best ginger cookies. I do not know what she does to them but they are seriously the best I have ever tasted (yes, better than Starbucks Ginger Molasses Cookies). My aunt swears she has a secret ingedient and won't tell anyone the actual recipe because they only turn out when she makes them! 

Though these ginger snaps do not compare to hers, they are a pretty darn good alternative, free of refined sugar, flour and oil! 

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Healthy Ginger Snaps

Ingredients:  

• 1/4 Cup Coconut Oil, melted
• 1 Egg
• 1.5 Cups Almond Flour
• 1/4 Cup Coconut Flour
• 1 Cup Coconut sugar + more for rolling
•  2 tsp Baking soda
• 1/2 tsp Salt
• 2 tsp Ginger powder
• 2 tsp Cinnamon
•  2.5 Tbsp Organic Molasses

Directions: 

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper
2. In a large bowl, beat together the melted coconut oil and egg until well mixed. 
3. In a medium bowl, stir together the almond flour, coconut flour, coconut sugar, baking soda, salt, ginger and cinnamon. Stir until everything is very well mixed and there are no little clumps of flour.
4. Stir the flour mixture, along with the molasses into the oil mixtures and stir until a slightly sticky dough forms.
5. Place the dough into the refrigerator for 10 minutes, to allow to coconut flour to absorb some of the moisture.
6. Once the dough has chilled, Roll 1 Tbsp sized balls and roll the balls around in coconut sugar. Place onto the prepared baking sheet and slightly flatten down.
7. Bake until the edges begin to go darker brown and top is nice and crackly, about 10-11 mins. The cookies will feel VERY soft, but they will firm up once cooled.
8. Let cool completely on the pan 

Simple Kale Chips

As I wrote in my blog post "10 Ways to Eat More Greens (that aren't eating salad)" Kale Chips are a great snack and also a way to get your daily boost of greens! This is a simple recipe but you can change it up with any flavours you like! 

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Simple Kale Chips

Ingredients: 

• 1 big bunch of kale 
• 2 tbsp olive oil 
• sea salt and pepper to taste 

Directions: 

1. Preheat your oven to 350 F.
2. Wash the kale thoroughly, drain and pat it dry.
3. Cut the stems off of the kale leaves and cut the leaves to obtain chips of similar size.
4. Place the kale in a bowl and massage the oil into them.
5. Season to taste with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. 
6. Place the kale in a single layer on a baking sheet bake for about 30 minutes, until crispy. Check on the chips about every 10 minutes and toss them to make sure none of them overcook.

Chia Seed Pudding (3 Ways)

I love chia seed pudding. Its such and easy, grab and go snack or breakfast and chia seeds are an amazing source of fiber, protein, and Omega-3 fatty acids! Three flavours for everyone's taste so pick your favourite or make all three! 

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Chia Seed Pudding (3 Ways) 

Ingredients: 

• 1 cup unsweetened almond milk (or milk of choice)
•  ¼ cup whole chia seeds
•  1.5 tbsp pure maple syrup or honey

Chocolate flavour: Add 1.5 tbsp of cocoa powder 

Vanilla flavour: Add 1 tsp of pure vanilla extract 

Chai flavour: Add 1 tsp of pure vanilla extra, 1 tsp of cinnamon powder and a pinch of cardommon powder

+ toppings of choice (fresh or frozen fruit, coconut, cocoa nibs etc.  

Directions: 

1. Mix all ingredients in a bowl or shake up in a mason jar
2. Cover and leave in the fridge overnight (or for at least 1 hour).
3. Top with toppings of choice before serving 

Cauliflower Crust Pizza

I love pizza! When I was in Italy, I ate it (and gelato) almost every day! For someone who is sensitive to dairy and gluten it is funny that pizza and gelato are two of my favourite foods. But in Italy for some reason, I had no problem eating them… I guess fresh ingredients can really make a difference.

Anyways, the actual point here is, I love pizza but it’s not the best thing for you so I like finding healthier versions of pizza to make at home. I have tried many cauliflower crust recipes that I found online but a lot of them contain cheese in the crust to hold the cauliflower together but adding cheese in the crust AND as a topping can really add on the fat and calories (and make it too much for those of us who are dairy sensitive). So I have adapted this recipe to only include cheese if you choose to top your pizza with it (use can use dairy free cheese or I used goat's milk mozzarella which is easier to digest than regular mozzarella). Also with the crust being made of cauliflower, it is really high in fibre and vitamin C so you don't really need to add extra veggies on top (unless you want to!).

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Cauliflower Crust Pizza

Ingredients:

• 1 medium head of cauliflower (about 8 cups of small florets)
• 2/3 cup almond or oat flour
• 2 tsp dried oregano
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 eggs
• Toppings of choice

Directions:

1. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
2. Chop cauliflower into small florets, then steam until fall-apart soft. Drain fully.
3. In a medium sized bowl stir the almond flour with the oregano, garlic, and salt.
4. Preheat oven to 450 F. Once cauliflower cools a little, place it in a clean dish towel or cheesecloth over a sink or bowl, and squeeze out as much moisture as possible. At least 1 cup of water should come out – You want it as dry as possible.
5. Place the squeezed-out cauliflower into a medium bowl and add in two whisked eggs. Mash cauliflower and stir well.
6. Then stir in the flour mixture. Form into a ball (or two for smaller pizzas), and place on top of the parchment-lined baking sheet. Pat into a circle and spread the circle to about 1/4 inch thick.
7. Bake 25 minutes, or until lightly browned with crispy edges.
8. Remove and add toppings of choice. Bake an additional 8 minutes. Allow to cool slightly before slicing and enjoy!

Paleo Peach Muffins

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Paleo Peach Muffins

Makes 12

Ingredients:  

• 4 eggs
• ¼ cup melted coconut oil
• ½ cup unsweetened almond milk
• ¼ cup pure maple syrup
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• ½ cup coconut flour
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon sea salt
• 1 cup diced peaches (about 1 large peach) 

Cinnamon Nut Topping:

• 1/3 cup diced peaches
• ½ cup chopped walnuts (or nuts of choice) 
• 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
• ½ teaspoon cinnamon

Instructions: 

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and place paper liners in muffin tin
2. In a medium mixing bowl, mix together the eggs, coconut oil, almond milk, maple syrup and vanilla extract until well blended. Add in the coconut flour, baking soda, cinnamon and sea salt and mix until smooth. Fold in 1 cup of diced peaches.
3. Fill muffin liners ¾ full with your peach batter and bake for 15 minutes.
4. While baking, make the cinnamon nut topping: Mix together diced peaches, chopped nuts, maple syrup and cinnamon. Set aside.
5. Once the 15-minute timer goes off, take the muffins out of the oven (they won't be fully cooked yet!) and add a heaping teaspoon or two of topping over each muffin.
6. Put back in the oven and bake for 15-20 minutes until muffins are golden brown and cooked throughout. Let sit for at least 15 minutes before serving.

Enjoy!

Superfood Hot Chocolate

Did you know there is a difference between cocoa and cacao powder? Cacao is the purest form of chocolate you can consume, which means it is raw and much less processed than cocoa powder

Cacao benefits:

• High source of antioxidants: As a potent antioxidant, cacao can repair the damage caused by free radicals, protects your nervous system and may reduce the risk of certain cancers
• Boosts your mood: Cacao can increase levels of certain neurotransmitters that promote a sense of well-being
• It is rich in minerals: Magnesium, iron, potassium, calcium, zinc, copper and manganese • It is an excellent source of monounsaturated fats, cholesterol-free saturated fats, and fiber

Cocoa on the other hand refers to the heated form of cacao that most people use and is used in most conventional chocolate goods. Unfortunately, heating changes the structure of the cocoa bean, reducing the enzyme content and lowering the overall nutritional value

So remember when you hear that chocolate is good for you, it's referring to the health benefits present in the cacao bean and you aren't reaping any of those benefits when the product is processed or sugars are added to it!

Try this superfood hot chocolate to get all the benefits from the cacao plus added nutrition from maca (hormone balancing) and cinnamon (blood sugar balancing). 

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Superfood Hot Chocolate

Ingredients: 

• 1 cup almond milk (or milk of choice)
• 2 tbsp cacao powder
• 1 tsp maca powder
• ½ tsp cinnamon
• 1 tbsp pure maple syrup (or more to taste)
• 1 tbsp coconut oil

Instructions:

1. Add almond milk to a medium-sized sauce pot and bring to a boil
2. Lower to a simmer and add cacao powder and stir
3. Add in maca powder and cinnamon and continue to stir
4. Stir in maple syrup until well combined
5. Add coconut oil and stir until melted and mixture is nice and creamy
6. Serve immediately

Cacao Coconut Energy Balls

These energy balls are a super healthy replacement for packaged/processed protein/energy bars. They are a quick hit of energy for pre and post workout and are a nutritious snack to have on hand for when you might reach for something sweet during that 3pm crash. 

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Ingredients:

• 10-12 medjool dates, pited
• ½ cup raw almonds
• 2 tbsp cocoa powder
• 2 tbsp melted coconut oil 
• ¼ cup unsweetened coconut + more for rolling

Instructions:

1. Place the dates and almonds in a food processor and process until well combined
2. Add the coconut oil and cacao and blend again until a dough begins to form
3.  Roll tablespoonfuls of the mixture into snack sized balls
4. If desired, roll into more coconut
5. Place balls in the fridge for at least 30 minutes before serving
6. Store in the fridge or freezer in an airtight container

Enjoy!