Clean Dark Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

I have had this recipe bookmarked for a long time - my neighbor's treats are always so yummy, I knew this recipe would not disappoint!  I did make a few changes to make the recipe healthier and cleaner.  The addition of the chocolate chips makes this a great dessert! The kids love it too!  I liked this recipe much better than the previous one I posted.  Maybe because the bananas were more ripe, it was very moist and tasty!

1 c sucanat
1/2 c natural applesauce
2 eggs
2 c whole wheat flour
3 medium bananas mashed (very ripe!)
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp. sea salt
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 c dark chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Cream sugar and applesaucel. 
2. Beat in eggs. 
3. Add bananas and beat until well mixed. 
4. Blend in vanilla. 
5. Add all dry ingredients and blend until well mixed.
6. Fold in  chocolate chips.
7. Bake in a loaf pan lightly greased. 
8. Bake at 350 degrees for an hour or until middle is cooked. Check with tooth pick.
9. Let sit 1 minute on cooling rack before taking out of pan.
10. After the bread is out of the pan let cool on rack until completely cooled. 
11. I sliced and wrapped each slice in a piece of plastic wrap for grab and go snacking/desserts!

Chocolate Macadamia Crispy Squares

Well, it's been a rough 10 days with the stomach flu around here! I literally couldn't even **think** about cooking or eating anything - but, everyone is back on track now just in time for family to arrive for Easter!

This recipe came from the newest edition of Clean Eating Magazine.  I've modified it a bit to suit our tastes.  These are a great healthy, clean, chocolate rice crispy treat! The original recipe called for hazelnuts, I don't like them, so I subbed chopped raw macadamia nuts instead. Next time I might try raw almonds and almond butter in the recipe!

Ingredients:
1/2 cup raw macadamia nuts, coarsley chopped
1 1/2 cup unsweetened brown rice cereal
3/4 cups rolled oats
2 1/2 oz. dark chocolate (70% cocoa or greater) chopped into chunks
1 cup unsweetened dried pitted dates (Medjool or honey) I used raisins insted, pureed until smooth
1/2 cup unsalted hazelnut butter or your favorite unsalted natural nut butter.  I used natural peanut butter because I wanted a chocolate peanutbutter treat - but I think almond butter would be an awesome healthy alternative!
2 T raw honey

Directions:
1.  In a mixing bowl combine chopped nuts, rice cereal, and rolled oats.  Mix thoroughly.
2.  In a double boiler melt chocolate.
3.  Add pureed raisins, nut butter, and honey to chocolate and mix until fully combined.
4.  Using a wooden spoon, fold the chocolate mixture into the cereal mixture. Make sure this is thoroughly combined.
5.  Press into a glass baking pan. Mine is 8x8. Press the mixture down firmly with clean hands to compact mixture. 
6.  Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 30 minutes or until the mixture is set.
7.  Cut into 1 1/2 inch squares.  Squares can be stored in refrigerator 3-5 days.

Nutrition Information:
 Calories 110, Fat 6 g, Carbs 13g, Fiber 2 g, Sugars 7 g, Protein 2 g, Cholesterol 0mg

Sprouted Spelt & Maple Shortbread

A delicious recipe from Jenny at The Nourished Kitchen. I've been wanting to make this since I first ordered my sprouted flours, but I am just getting around to it today.  We don't have access to some of the raw dairy items that Jenny talks about on her site, so I have to improvise a bit.  This turned out delicious and is a great clean substitute for your normal shortbread recipe.  It is really important that you use Grade B maple syrup.  It's a tad bit more expensive but is nutrient rich. Also, if you don't have sprouted spelt, you can use normal spelt flour (or any whole grain flour).  This is absolutely delicious, and would be perfect with a cup of tea!  The maple flavor is quite subtle and the typical shortbread consistency is maintained.  Enjoy!

Ingredients:
2 Cups Organic, Sprouted Whole Grain Flour
¼ Real Salt or Celtic Sea Salt Omit this if you are using salted organic butter
1 Cup Organic Butter from Grass-fed Cows, Softened Subbed Organic Sweet Cream butter (salted)
¼ Cup Organic Grade-B Maple Syrup
Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 ° F.
2. Whip the maple syrup and butter together until the syrup is thoroughly incoroprated into the butter.  
3. Add the flour and salt and mix thoroughly.
4. On a floured surface, roll the dough into a disk and place it on a silicone backing mat lined cookie sheet  or preheated baking stone.  
5. Prick the dough slightly with a fork and gently score the disk into 6-8 individual portions or as desired. 
6. Bake for 15 minutes or until the shortbread is slightly golden.

Almond-butter Dark Chocolate Chip Cookies

These are ridiculously easy to make, and are tastier and healthier than regular peanut butter cookies!  I have been dying to try this since my neighbor told me about this recipe.  My cookies are a little crumbly, so I'm wondering if it had to do with the consistency of my almond butter.  Maybe I didn't stir it completely enough - I will try a different brand next time.

Ingredients:
1 cup unsalted almond butter, stirred well
3/4 cup Sucanat
1 large egg
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp sea salt
3 oz dark chocolate (70% or greater) chopped (I used "Theo" organic chocolate.  Try to find one without soy that is just pure chocolate)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a medium bowl, stir together first 5 ingredients until blended.
Stir in chocolate.
Drop dough by rounded tablespoons onto parchment-lined baking sheets. leave 2 inches between as these spread a bit.
Bake for 10-12 minutes or until lightly browned

Clean Healthy Brownies

I wanted to bake a dessert for my parents and my uncle who were bringing dinner over and staying to babysit so I could go to work while hubby was away.  I decided to try sneaking some healthy food by my dad.  He definitely didn't complain, and I must say these were really yummy! I will admit they probably don't fully replace the traditional gooey chocolatey brownie, dripping with sweetness - but they are really flavorful and have good sweetness and satisfy the chocolate craving.  I found this recipe on the back of my Sucanat package and modified it just a bit.  

"Marilu's Effortless Brownies" (placed on the package courtesy of Marilu Henner)
Ingredients:
1 1/2 sticks butter or margarine (package says preferably soy, I used organic sweet cream butter)
12 ounces semi sweet baking chocolate
2 cups organic sucanat
1 T vanilla extract (used pure vanilla instead)
5 large cage-free organic eggs, beaten
1 1/4 cups unbleached flour (I used whole wheat flour with 3T ground flax seed added)
1/2 t salt (used celtic sea salt)

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350
Grease a 13x0 inch baking pan
In a 3 qt saucepan, melt the chocolate and butter over low heat until fully combined
Remove from heat, stir in Sucanat
Beat in the eggs and continue beating until fully combined
Stir in the flour, flax seed (if you want), and salt until just blended
Spread batter in pan.
Bake for 30 mins, until a toothpick inserted 1 inch from the edge comes out clean

Cool in the pan. Cut. Serve

Blackberry Wildflower Honey Ice Cream

My kids LOVE ice cream....and man is it packed with sugar.  I got  this recipe from  Nourished Kitchen.  We don't have access to raw milk, which admittedly makes me a bit nervous (I know, I know I should not be scared of it! I'm taking baby steps), but I did buy fresh creamline whole milk and used the separated cream in addition to organic heavy cream to make this! It gave me a chance to finally use the ice cream maker we got as a wedding gift six years ago! I think it was best right out of the maker as a soft serve, but we had extra so I froze it in an airtight container.  The kids thought it was super yummy!  It's far less sweet than traditional ice cream, but the honey does add some nice flavor and a hint of sweetness.

Here are my modified instructions:

Ingredients (yields approx one quart)

• 3 Cups Organic cream
• 1 Cup Organic whole milk (or use more cream to make a creamier ice cream)
• ½ Cup Organic Raw Wildflower Honey
• 4 Egg Yolks from cage-free hens
• 1 Cup Fresh Blackberries (I couldn't find any organic)

Instructions:

1. Mix cream and milk together.
2. Rapidly whisk in the honey and continue to whisk until the honey is fully incorporated.
3. Whisk in egg yolks and continue mixing until the entire mixture is uniform.
4. Pour mixture into your ice cream maker.
5. Add berries.
6. Mix according to your ice cream maker’s instructions (this took 30 mins in my ice cream maker, it was still not really solid so I stuck in the freezer for an hour or so before dinner)
7. Place in freezer to harden. (liked it better as soft serve but still yummy the next day as a fully frozen treat)

Clean Chocolatey Goodness Cookies

This recipe came from Clean Eating Magazine's Web Recipes . Oh my goodness these are so yummy. I used organic dark chocolate and as many other organic ingredients as I could.  You'll have to head to a health food store for the sucanat.  Whole Foods is where I got mine, but I suspect most other health food chains will also carry it.  Amazing chocolate flavor - and NO FLOUR! I couldn't believe it.

INGREDIENTS:

• Olive oil cooking spray
• 6 oz dark bittersweet chocolate, broken up
• 3 large egg whites
• 1 1/2 cups Sucanat, divided
• 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa
• 4 1/2 tsp arrowroot powder

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 375°F and lightly mist 2 baking sheets with cooking spray.
2. Place chocolate in a microwavable bowl and heat on high until chocolate melts, approximately 2 minutes, stirring once halfway through. Set aside to cool slightly.
3. Using an electric mixer on high speed, beat egg whites until they form soft peaks. Gradually beat in 1 cup Sucanat and continue beating until mixture appears creamy. Add vanilla.
4. In a separate small bowl, combine remaining 1/2 cup Sucanat, cocoa and arrowroot powder, then beat into egg whites on low speed.
5. Stir in warm chocolate and continue stirring gently until mixture thickens.
6. Place rounded tablespoons of batter onto prepared baking sheets and bake for 10 minutes. Cool on sheet pans for an additional 10 minutes before transferring to racks to cool completely.

NUTRIENTS per cookie:

• Calories: 90
• Total Fat: 3 g
• Sat. Fat: 1.5 g
• Carbs: 16 g
• Fiber: 1 g
• Sugars: 14 g
• Protein: 1 g
• Sodium: 15 mg
• Cholesterol: 0 mg