Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Fantastic Recipes To Try Out

I am thrilled with the smoothie recipe that I tried this morning. It was so tasty that I have to share.

Did you know that Papaya is known for its soothing effects on upset digestive systems?

Stomach Soothing Papaya Smoothi
e
1 cup cubed ripe papaya
6 frozen strawberries
1/2 cup plain soy milk
1 TBS lime juice
1 tsp agave nectar or honey
1/4 tsp grated fresh ginger

Puree all ingredients in blender until smooth

(If you don't like ginger leave it out.)

For my smoothie I substituted the soy-milk for the fage yogurt (Greek) I wanted a little more protein in my breakfast. I used agave nectar and the juice of a whole lime didn't measure it.

WOW it was one of the best smoothies ever.

Definitely a keeper recipe and regular one around my house. I then had a few handfuls of the Healthy Granola that I made last night. What I liked about this breakfast is the sugar was just right and I didn't get a high from it. I am very sensitive to sugar and so smoothies are a tough thing for me with all that fruit. I found that I had my breakfast at 8am and it lasted me all the way through to 1230pm. Which was pretty cool that I didn't feel like I needed a snack mid morning and it lasted me that long.

As for my lunch - YUM!
Bagel with Hummus and Veggies - I added sliced avocado to it. There is something that I love is sprout and avocado on a bagel. I had this awesome spinach and artichoke humus dip I picked up from Costco and it made the sandwich very tasty. Hubby came home for lunch today and I made him the same sandwich except he wanted wheat bread. I put cheese and turkey on his sandwich. He is not going completely meatless with me. But he did eat the same with a few simple modifications.

I was searching the Internet this morning as I usually do looking for recipes and articles to read. I found this very healthy cookie recipe that is the BOMB!

Nikki's Healthy Cookie Recipe - OK it is not me, just so you are aware. This is the name of the recipe, it is just ironic that the recipe has my name in it. What intrigued me about the recipe is that it is made with no eggs, sugar or flour. Oh I love that. Healthy to the core and so I had to make it for snacks in the car for tomorrow. I am heading on a girls day trip and wanted something yummy to eat to keep me on track. Here is the recipe, try it you may just get addicted to them.

Nikki's Healthy Cookie Recipe

You can use unsweetened carob, or grain sweetened chocolate chips, or do what I did and chop up 2/3 of a bar of Scharffen berger 70%. I sort-of shaved half the bar with a knife and then cut the rest into bigger chip-sized chunks. You can make your own almond meal by pulsing almonds in a food processor until it is the texture of sand - don't go too far or you'll end up with almond butter. And lastly, the coconut oil works beautifully here, just be sure to warm it a bit - enough that it is no longer solid, which makes it easier to incorporate into the bananas. If you have gluten allergies, seek out GF oats.

3 large, ripe bananas, well mashed (about 1 1/2 cups)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup coconut oil, barely warm - so it isn't solid (or alternately, olive oil)
2 cups rolled oats
2/3 cup almond meal
1/3 cup coconut, finely shredded & unsweetened
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
6 - 7 ounces chocolate chips or dark chocolate bar chopped

Preheat oven to 350 degrees, racks in the top third.

In a large bowl combine the bananas, vanilla extract, and coconut oil. Set aside. In another bowl whisk together the oats, almond meal, shredded coconut, cinnamon, salt, and baking powder. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir until combined. Fold in the chocolate chunks/chips.The dough is a bit looser than a standard cookie dough, don't worry about it. Drop dollops of the dough, each about 2 teaspoons in size, an inch apart, onto a parchment (or Silpat) lined baking sheet. Bake for 12 - 14 minutes. I baked these as long as possible without burning the bottoms and they were perfect - just shy of 15 minutes seems to be about right in my oven.

Makes about 3 dozen bite-sized cookies.