Spiced Zucchini Smoothie (vegan)

 With the warm weather, garden veggies and my vitamix not fully broken in I came up with this recipe. It's delicious, filling and just leaves you feeling great! I've brought this into work the last two days since I don't get a lunch break and it lifts my mood and fill my tummy. This smoothie is slightly sweet and very reminiscent of a nice slice of zucchini bread in flavor. With that in mind, do something good for yourself and get blending:)

-1 small zucchini(~5 inches), quartered, stem removed

-1 apple quartered and cored

-1 cup of water

-1/2 cup of oats

-1/4 cup walnuts

-1/2 banana

-1/2 tsp vanilla extract

-1 tsp cinnamon

-2 dashes of nutmeg

Optional- 1 cup of ice if you would like some crunch

Directions: Add all ingredients to your blender (chop them finer if it isn’t powerful). Turn on high for 30 seconds or until all ingredients are well incorporated. If you add Ice add it at the end and pulse to your desired crunch size.

Carrot Cake Souffle (flour-free,paleo, plantains)

Light and fluffy like a souffle when warm, soft and moist when cold, this recipe will please any carrot cake lover. It sure did with my family. At first bite my mom declared she wanted the recipe and my brother came back for seconds. With no flour or sugar, and very little oil this is probably the healthiest and most delicious you'll ever make. It's super good by itself and would be even better topped with organic cream cheese or cashew cream (omit lemon zest and juice).

Ingredients
-3 carrots (2 blended, 1 shredded)
-2 eggs
-1/4 cup date syrup
-1 plantain
-1/4 cup cashew flour
-1/4 cup shredded coconut
-3 tbsp coconut oil
-1 tsp vanilla extract
-1/2 tsp baking soda
-1/2 tsp baking powder
-1/4 tsp salt
-1/8 tsp nutmeg
-1/8 tsp allspice
-1/2 tbsp cinnamon
Optional add-ins: raisins, pecans and walnuts

Directions: Preheat oven to 350F and grease an 8x8 pan. To your blender (hopefully vitamix) add the date syrup, eggs, oil and 2 of the carrots, blend until liquefied. Add the plantain,cashew flour, shredded coconut, vanilla, baking soda, powder, and spices and blend until the plantain is incorporated. Shred in the last carrot and stir in any additions. Pour in the baking pan. Bake for 40 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean.

Soft Chocolate Chip Cookies

In case you couldn’t tell, we have an abundance of ripe plantains at my house right now. Not something I’m complaining about. That little tidbit and my sister’s boyfriend inspired this creation. How? You may ask,well, it all started when he found out I recently made s’mores and he wanted to know if there was anything I didn’t make. I realized there wasn’t much left; croissants, donuts and few other things that I want to create before the end of summer but what really got me sad was that I remembered I hadn’t developed my own chocolate cookie recipe yet. Not wanting to disappoint myself I got to baking these yummy treats.

I’ll admit they are no nestle tollhouse cookies, but they are extremely delicious. They received approval from my whole family and my sister has been bugging me to post the recipe for the last couple days. These cookies are soft, sweet and enclose warm, gooey chocolate. They taste nothing like plantains but are full of fiber, refined sugar-free, diabetic friendly and gluten-free. They are also higher in protein than your average cookie, so get baking you beast youJ

Ingredients:

-1 ripe plantain

-1 tbsp Kerry-gold butter, soften

-2 tbsps date syrup

-2 tsp vanilla extract

-1 egg

-1/4 tsp salt

-1/2 tsp baking soda

-1/2 tsp baking powder

-1 cup cashew flour

-1/4 cup chocolate chunks (I used my homemade chocolate, but 100% dark or cocoa nibs also work)

Optional: walnuts, raisins, or whatever floats your boat

Directions:

1.       Preheat oven to 350F and line a baking pan with parchment paper.

2.       Place everything in a food processor, except the cocolate chips and blend until well combined.

3.       Stir in chocolate chips and pour out batter into cookie-shaped rounds onto the parchment paper.

4.       Bake for 15+ minutes, if they pass the toothpick test they’re done.

5.       Enjoy! (These are so good warm with a cold glass of milk)

Surprise Brownies! (Chocolate Zucchini "Bread", sugar-free, grain-free, vegan )

Have picky eaters and an abundance of zucchini? Try this amazing recipe. (Although, I guess it’s less of a bread and more like a fuggy brownie) It’s chocolaty, nutty and tastes unbelievably decadent. It’s also vegan, grain-free and sugar-free but you’d never know. Another great thing is that is a great way to get some vegetables into the diets of even the pickiest eaters. They’ll really never detect the veggie if you don’t tell them. True story: this morning I asked my dad if he wanted to take any chocolate zucchini bread to work and he said, “you mean the brownie from last night? Those had zucchini in them? Sure!”.  I also gave some cold ones to my grandmother and she couldn’t believe they had zucchini, no flour and no sugar in them.

As long as you have a food processor this recipe is super easy. Just dump everything in the base except the zucchini and turn it on as you shred the zucchini in. If you don’t have a food processor you’ll have to mash the plantain and shred the zucchini by hand but that’s about it. It’s really not that much work though, and the results are well worth it. I wish you luck as you embark to discover yet another amazing way to use plantains.

Ingredients:

-1 ripe plantain, the blacker the better

-3/4 cup cocoa powder

-1/4 tsp salt

-1/2 tsp cinnamon

-dash of nutmeg

-1/2 tsp baking soda

-1/2 tsp baking powder

-2 tbps nut butter (I’ve found doing half almond butter and half peanut butter makes it so you can’t taste either and it also make it a complete protein source)

-3 tbsps olive oil

-1 medium zucchini (~3/4 cup shredded) chopped to fit your food processor

-1/4 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Optional add-ins: cocoa nibs, raisins, almonds or honey

Directions:

1.Preheat oven to 350F and grease an 8x8 baking pan.

2. In a food processor add everything listed above the zucchini. Make sure the shredder blade is on and add the zucchini as you turn the machine on. Blend until everything is well incorporated. (If you don’t have a processor, finely shred the zucchini into a bowl, mash the plantain and stir everything together)

3. Taste the batter (don’t worry it’s egg-free) and try not to eat it all. Add honey or date syrup (or whatever else you think it needs) depending on the ripeness of your plantain.

4. Stir in any other add-ins and pour into the pan. Bake for twenty minutes, cover with aluminum foil and bake for 20 more minutes (until a knife comes out clean). The center probably won’t ever get done. Eat it warm as a molten brownie or let it cool and eat it as fudge. Enjoy!(pairs excellently with a glass of milk)

Clean Eating Smores! (and Healthy Graham Cracker Recipe)

This creation has been a long time coming. From the very first time I was introduced to the square marshmallows of trader joe's I knew I had to make my own. Since I was making marshmallows, I figured I might as well go-all-out and make my own s'mores.I must say I was not disappointed (and neither were any of my experimental taste testers). My parents, grandmother, aunt, sister and two friends were extremely impressed about how good they were. The marshmallows were light, super fluffy and sweet. My grandmother, a marshmallow connoisseur, was amazed at their deliciousness. The chocolate was so decadent, just pure heaven and what I felt made the s'mores. And finally the graham crackers just brought it all together. They are a bit fluffier than store bought but it is not a bad thing at all.

Besides being half the price of store bought and delectable, these bad boys are also healthier too. They have no corn syrup and I only use honey and dates for sweetness so they are also diabetic friendly. The gelatin in the marshmallows promotes healthy joints, nails, hair and skin. The chocolate has healthy fats and antioxidants. To bring it all home the graham crackers are full of fiber, making them filling and great for digestion.

I will say this recipe is quite a bit of work but you will be so proud of yourself in the end. I certainly was:) I even built the fire to roast them over (with a little help from my dad of course). It's also very messy, just as all s'mores should be, and they will certainly have you coming back for s'more.

Marshmallows: I used this recipe but used only 1/2 cup of honey, added a dash of cinnamon, and a tablespoon of vanilla to cut through the honey taste. Make sure to let them dry out a day or more if you are going to roast them.

Chocolate: Just substitute vanilla for mint extract in this recipe.

Graham Cracker:

Ingredients:
-2 3/4 cups whole wheat pastry flour
-1/4 cup white whole wheat flour
-1 tsp baking powder
-1/2 tsp baking soda
-1/2 cup of date syrup
-2 tbsp honey
-2 tbsps cinnamon
-1/2 tsp salt
-1/2 cup grass-fed butter
-1/4 cup milk

Directions

1. Sift together the flours, baking powder and baking soda; set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, cream together the butter, date syrup and honey until light and fluffy. Add the seasonings. Stir in the sifted ingredients alternating with the milk and vanilla. Cover dough and refrigerate overnight (optional).
3. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Divide the chilled dough into quarters. On a well floured surface, roll the dough out one quarter at a time into a 5x15 inch rectangle. Divide into rectangles using a knife. Place rectangles onto parchment lined cookie sheet. Mark a line down the center of each one, and prick with a fork. 
4. Bake for 13 to 15 minutes in the preheated oven. Remove from baking sheets to cool on wire racks.

Cheddar Jalapeno Zucchini Fritatta

This delicious dish was inspired by the bounty of summer gardens. We received a large number of jalapenos from our cousin in Florida's garden and a nice ripe tomato from our neighbor. Additionally, our own garden has been sprouting a new zucchini every day. Not wanting to waste any of it I decided to combine it with some  farmer's market eggs and created a super tasty crust-less quiche. It's nice and light so you can enjoy the long hours of summer sun after you finish dinner. It is also mildly spicy and cheesy. This had my dad coming back for seconds and thirds (which never happens*) and with all the fresh vegetables in it why stop him?

*for real though, he has always stopped at one, maybe one and a half servings but he loved this, he literally said he could "eat this all day"

Ingredients:
-2 tbsp olive oil
-1 vidalia onion finely chopped
-2 jalapenos minced
-2 cloves of garlic minced
-1 bell pepper chopped
-1 zucchini cubed
-1 large tomato diced
-1/4 cup frozen corn kernels
-1/4 tsp salt
wet ingredients:
-6 eggs
-1/4 cup milk
-1/3 cup shredded grass-fed cheddar cheese
-1 tsp mesquite seasoning(optional)

Directions:
1. Heat cast iron over medium heat while you prep the onions, jalapenos, and garlic.
2. Add the olive oil to the pan. Wait 1 minute and add the onions, jalapenos, and garlic.
3. Once the onions start to turn clear add the bell pepper and zucchini, cook until the zucchini starts to turn clear.
4. While the zucchini cooks combine all the wet ingredients in a bowl and whisk until combined.
5. Add the tomatoes, corn and salt to the pan, stir in and cook for three minutes.
6. Preheat the ovens broiler and pour the egg mixture on top.
7. Stir the pan twice and cook over medium heat for 8 minutes, until the bottom starts to set.
8. Transfer the pan to the oven and broil for 4 minutes, until it becomes golden brown.
9. Remove from the oven and let sit for 10 minutes before serving. Slice, serve and enjoy.
*it will probably be runny still but that's most likely

Itailian Sweet Potato Fries

If you love sweet potatoes and you're tired of them baked or boiled try them lightly fried. These bad boys are sweet, salty, crispy and flavorful. What more could you want?

Ingredients:
-3+ tbsp olive oil
-4 cups thinly (1/8th inch) sliced sweet potato rounds (1 very large sweet potato)
-1/2 tbsp Italian seasonings
-1/2 tsp garlic powder
-1/2 tsp salt
-1/4 tsp ground pepper

Directions: Preheat a cast iron skillet on the stove top. Add the 1 tbsp of the oil to the pan and heat for 1 minute. In a bowl toss the seasonings, remaining oil and sweet potato rounds until they are well coated. Pan fry the rounds until tender. Serve warm. This pairs excellently with zucchini risotto.

Grace, Not works

Hey Guys! I just wanted to take a little time and share a little gift that God gave me today. I woke up this morning with my mind whirling around all the things I "have" to do and all the things I have been doing that I shouldn't be and all sorts of other stressful things and soon found relief in the Word of God. As I read my daily devotional I came across Ephesians 2:8-9.

8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast.

And as I contemplated this verse I felt a sense of peace come over me. It's all going to be okay. Focus your mind on Jesus and that's all you need. Now matter how much you do, or don't do, as long as you have faith in Jesus's grace you can get through the struggles of the world. Be they real or self-imposed. 

This verse is really humbling for me because I do take pride in my accomplishments. It's a great reminder that when judgement day comes, all our worldly accomplishments won't mean anything. While this may seem discouraging for those trying to reach certain goals I choose to look at as peacemaking. To me, it means that even if I don't make all the goals I set for myself, I still will have worth. I am and will always be a daughter of the King of Kings. Just like all those others who have faith in He who gave his son to us. Thanks for reading this and may you have a peace-filled and blessed day. 

FYI: To all those who as looking for a great devotional, I highly recommend this one. (Its the one I used called Jesus Calling)

Salsa Fresca

Sorry for the long break but I was at the beach and as a result there are lots of fantastic recipes to come.

This recipe is a key example of how necessity is the mother of invention. We didn't have any salt or olive oil but we did have lots of limes and a new spice blend I wanted to try. I soon found out that was all I needed. It turned out to be a sweet, spicy, crisp and bright salsa. We had it with chicken, corn and pan fried sweet potatoes. This is wonderfully easy and delicious so get choppin and enjoy!

Ingredients:
-2 large tomatoes diced
-1 bunch cilantro minced
-the kernels from one ear of corn
-1 jalapeno minced
-1 tbsp mesquite seasoning (from world market)
-1 small onion chopped
-3 limes juiced
-2 tbsp garlic minced

Directions: Chop and dice the ingredients as needed. Mix in a bowl and serve fresh. You can also refrigerate this for several day as it gets more delicious with time:)