Chocolatey Brown Rice Treats

These treats were inspired by a recipe posted in the Vitamix '13 days of Christmas' album.  You can see

the original here.

 The recipe was for Granola balls, but I had half a box of brown rice crisps that I wanted to use up, so I figured I'd give it a try with my own substitutions.  It worked out really well!  

Here's what I did...

To my Vitamix, I added 1/4 cup of coconut milk

This is the brand I used

  Then I added 1/4 cup of coconut oil

and 1/3 cup of coconut palm sugar

I broke up half of a 70% cocoa chocolate bar (about 50g as it was a 100g bar)

Then I added 1/2 cup almond butter

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract and 1/2 teaspoon Celtic sea salt

And blended it all on high speed for a couple of minutes.  The recipe said 5 minutes, but mine didn't need that long

I dumped it all into a bowl, using a spatula to scrape the sides of the container

Then I added 1/2 cup of shredded coconut (unsweetened) and 3 tablespoons chia seeds

and 4 cups brown rice crispies

 These are the ones I used

Then I stirred it all together until the crispies were all completely coated

And patted it all into a silicone pan (9x9 I think) lined with plastic wrap

Then I placed it in the freezer for about 45 mins. and then cut it into squares. 

Chia Banana Date Cookies

I found this recipe while searching for interesting things to bake with chia seeds.
I decided not to make many changes since it's the first time making the recipe and it sounded different from what I'm used to in a cookie recipe.  I did go the gluten-free route and used coconut flour, so I knew there'd be extra liquid needed.  I figured I'd use the amount called for and then add extra when I saw how dry the mixture was.  I ended up adding a couple of extra tablespoons of water and one more egg.  

I won't lie and say they're the best cookies ever, but they're actually quite tasty and I like the ingredients, so I'll muck around with the recipe and next time add some chopped nuts (probably walnuts) and some chopped dates or maybe raisins for texture and a little more sweetness.  I would also (and meant to, but forgot) add cinnamon and ginger for a kick.

Here's what I did...

I ground 4 tablespoons chia seeds in my spice grinder and dumped this into a large bowl

 Added 4 tablespoons coconut flour

I added 2 tablespoons rolled oats

 Into my Vitamix, I added half a ripe banana (next time I'll use the whole thing) and 2 pitted Medjool dates

 I added 1 large egg, a tablespoon of water and 2 tablespoons of raw honey and 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

 Then I blended it on high speed for a few seconds until well-mixed

 I added 1/2 teaspoon Celtic sea salt to the bowl

And mixed the dry ingredients together with a spatula

Mixed all the ingredients together and as expected, it was a stiff, dry blob :-)

 So I added an extra egg and 2 tablespoons of water and this mixture seemed more managable

Dropped it by teaspoonfuls onto a parchment-lined baking sheet and baked at 350F for 20 minutes

Not the prettiest cookie, but quite tasty!  As I said, I'll tweak it in the future and I'll report back :-)

Flourless (Gluten-free) Almond Butter Muffins

I'm still on my quest for good gluten-free recipes for my Mum, so I was very happy to come across this recipe.

It sounded very similar to those cookies that only need eggs, peanut butter and sugar that I've made in the past.  The first time I made them, I really didn't believe they'd turn out but they were wonderful.  What I loved about this recipe was that it didn't call for refined sugar and that I could sub. almond butter for the peanut butter.  Also, I got some lovely organic, free run eggs in my CSA share last week, so this was the perfect use for some of them.  These turned out beautifully and will definitely be added to my 'keeper' recipe file.

Here's what I did...

Into my stand mixer, I put 1/3 cup maple syrup, 1/3 cup raw honey and 2 teaspoons baking powder

 I mixed them for about a minute on setting #3 and then added 1 1/4 cups almond butter

In a separate bowl, I mixed together 4 eggs, 2 tsp. vanilla and 1/4 cup water

I added the egg mixture to the almond mixture and mixed for another minute. Then I added 1 tbsp. raw cacao powder and 1/2 tsp. Celtic sea salt.

I mixed this very well (about 2 minutes), scraping down the sides a few times. 

I didn't have any mini chocolate chips, so I took about 1/4 cup of 62% cocoa chocolate chips and whirled them in my mini food processor.

I placed liner in a muffin tin (didn't spray them) and poured the mixture in until they were about 2/3 full.

Then I sprinkled about 1 tsp. of chips into each liner

I baked them for about 26 minutes at 350F.  Mmmm! :-)

FLOURLESS ALMOND BUTTER MUFFINS

1/3 cup maple syurp
1/3 cup honey
2 teaspoons baking powder
11/4 cups almond butter
4 eggs
1/4 cup water
1 tablespoon vanilla
1 tablespoon raw cacao powder

1/2 tsp. Celtic sea salt
mini chocolate chips (or choc. chips chopped in a food processor)

In a stand mixer (or with a hand mixer) mix together maple syrup, honey and baking powder.  Add the almond butter and mix well.  In a separate bowl, whisk eggs, water and vanilla.  When well-combined, add to the almond mixture and continue to mix for another minute or so.  Add the cacao and salt and mix until smooth.  Preheat oven to 350F.  If you don't have mini-chocolate chips, just pulse regular-sized chips in a food processor until desired size.  Some of mine turned into crumbs, but it didn't make any difference.  The finished product was still great.  Fill muffin tins with liners (I needed 18 in total) and pour in batter until each is about 2/3 full.   Sprinkle about 1 tsp. of chocolate on top of each muffin.  Bake for about 26 minutes (my oven is slow, so maybe yours will take a little less time) until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean.  Allow the muffins to cool for about 5 minutes in the muffin tins and then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.

Protein Breakfast Bars

 Perry mentioned to me lately that he has been feeling really hungry in the mornings.  He hates to get up extra early to eat breakfast before he leaves for work, so I thought I could make him some sort of 'energy' bar that has a good amount of protein in it.  I think this one fits the bill.  It has healthy fats (virgin coconut oil and almond butter), a little fruit (banana) and lots of seeds and other goodies.  I tasted one a little while ago and it's really delicious.


Here's what I did...

I peeled a banana and put it into a bowl

 Mashed it with a fork

 Added 1/2 cup raw honey and 1/2 cup organic almond butter

 Mixed it all together and added 1/4 cup virgin coconut oil (which is pretty liquid at this time of year)

 Meanwhile, I toasted 1/2 cup coconut flakes in a small pan

 Added 2 cups rolled oats and the coconut to the mixture

 Then I added 2 tbsp. chia seeds, 1 tbsp. brown flax seeds and 1 tbsp. golden flax seeds

 Then I added 1/4 cup hemp seeds, 2 tbsp. maca and 1/2 tsp. Celtic sea salt

 I added 1/2 cup 62% cocoa chocolate chips and 1/4 cup pumpkin seeds

 Mixed it all together and then added 1 cup puffed quinoa

Gave it a final mix and pressed it all into a 13x9" glass baking pan.  Popped it into the freezer for a couple of hours

Cut it into bar shapes and wrapped and froze them individually.

Thank you to my dear friend Teresa for typing this recipe out for me :-)

Protein Breakfast Bars

Put in a bowl and mix:

1 banana mashed

1/2 cup raw honey

1/2 cup organic almond butter

1/4 cup virgin coconut oil

1/2 cup coconut flakes toasted in a small pan

2 cups rolled oats

2 tbsp. chia seeds

1 tbsp. brown flax seeds

1 tbsp. golden flax seeds

1/4 cup hemp seeds

2 tbsp. maca

1/2 tsp. Celtic sea salt

1/2 cup chocolate chips

1/4 cup pumpkin seeds

Mix it all together and add 1 cup puffed quinoa.

Press it all into a 13 x 9" glass baking pan.  

Freeze for a couple of hours.

Cut it into bar shapes. Wrap and freeze them individually.