'Beautiful You' Girls' Night Out

Last night I was honoured to be a part of Johanna Quinn's charity event, 'Beautiful You' dedicated to celebrating women and our beauty.  Johanna did a wonderful presentation and discussed the role of the media in how we perceive ourselves.  It was truly eye-opening and I had lots of "Yep, that's the way I think" moments during her speech.

I was thrilled that Johanna asked me to be a part of the planning of the event and that I could contribute some yummy and healthful goodies for the ladies to snack on while mingling and getting to know each other.

All proceeds from the free event went to Free Them which is a charity near and dear to Johanna and her husband Jeff's hearts.

 Johanna made these delicious chocolate dipped strawberries

 Our friend Stephen did most of the arranging of platters, candles and flowers to make the room look beautiful

 

There was the opportunity to buy balloons containing raffle tickets

 

 

And these pretty packages contained the prizes to be won

 

The lovely ladies from Shelter them selling beautiful Rwandan craft items

 Johanna giving her presentation

The audience enjoying listening to Johanna speak

Some of the healthful snacks I made, along with Johanna's strawberries and Stephen's flowers

  

The guests received one of these pretty boxes containing a yummy vegan brownie made by the lovely Melissa

It was a great turnout and a wonderful time was had by all.  Can't wait for Johanna's next fundraiser (similar to this one).

As promised, here are the recipes for the treats I made.

Maple Chia Cookies

·      ½ cup gluten-free rolled oats

·      1 tablespoon virgin coconut oil

·      3 tablespoons maple syrup (look for darker, B grade syrup)

·      1 teaspoon vanilla extract

·      2 tablespoons freshly ground flax seeds (golden or brown)

·      3 tablespoons chia seeds

·      ¼ teaspoon each baking soda, baking powder and Celtic sea salt

·      Preheat oven to 350F and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

·      Blend oats in a food processor until flour-like. 

·      Add oil, syrup and flax and blend until smooth. 

·      Transfer to a large bowl and mix in remaining ingredients.

·      Drop teaspoon-sized amounts on cookie sheets (2 inches apart).

·      Bake 14 minutes, then transfer to wire rack to cool.

Chewy Peanut Butter and Oat Cookies

·      1 cup organic peanut butter

·      1 cup organic coconut sugar

·      2 pastured eggs

·      2 ½  cups gluten-free oats

·      ½ teaspoon Celtic sea salt

·      ¼ cup organic raw cacao nibs

·      Preheat oven to 350F

·      Cream almond butter and coconut sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer at medium speed for about 2 minutes.

·      Add eggs and mix for another minute.

·      Add the rest of the ingredients and mix until well-combined.

·      Using a 1 tablespoon cookie-scooper, scoop mounds of dough onto 2 parchment-lined cookie sheets.

·      Flatten dough with your hands (no need to worry about them being close together as they won’t spread).

·      Bake for 14 minutes, rotating cookie sheets halfway through baking time.

Makes 36-40 cookies.

Oatmeal Spice Cookies

·      ¼ cup gently melted coconut oil

·      ½ cup coconut palm sugar

·      1/3 teaspoon Celtic sea salt

·      1 large pastured, organic egg

·      2 cups gluten-free rolled oats

·      2 tablespoons chia seeds

·      2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

·      2 teaspoons ground ginger

·      Preheat oven to 350F.

·      In a large bowl, mix all ingredients until well-combined.

·      Dollop, using 2 teaspoons onto parchment-lined cookie sheets.

·      Bake for 15 minutes and then allow to cool for 5 minutes.

·      Remove to wire racks to cool completely.

 

Seed Cookies

·      1 ½ cups gluten-free rolled oats

·      ½ cup raw honey

·      ½ cup almond butter

·      ¼ cup raw sunflower seeds

·      ¼ cup raw pumpkin seeds

·      ¼ cup raw cacao nibs

·      2 tablespoons chia seeds

·      1 teaspoon Celtic sea salt

·      Preheat oven to 350F.

·      In a large bowl, mix all ingredients together until well-combined.

·      Onto 2 parchment-lined cookie sheets, dollop mixture using a tablespoon-sized cookie scooper.

·      There's no need to leave space between cookies as they do not spread.

·      Bake for 16 minutes, rotating trays halfway through baking time.

 

Chocolate Macaroons

·      3 organic eggs

·      ½ cup raw honey

·      ¾ teaspoon Celtic salt

·      6 cups unsweetened coconut flakes

·      ¼ cup cocoa

·      Preheat oven to 350F.  

·      In a large bowl, whisk together egg, honey and salt.  

·      Stir in coconut flakes and cocoa until well-mixed.

·      Using a cookie scooper, scoop onto parchment-lined cookie sheets.

·      Bake for 18 minutes.  

·      Allow to cool on wire racks.

Lemon and Lavender Cookies

·       ¼ cup plus one tablespoon virgin coconut oil

·       ½ cup maple syrup (look for grade B)

·       1 teaspoon vanilla extract

·       zest of one organic lemon

·       juice of half an organic lemon

·       ½ cup flaxseed, freshly ground

·       1 cup brown rice flour (could use buckwheat or oat flour)

·       1 tablespoon lavender flowers, roughly chopped

·        

·       preheat oven to 350 F.

·       In a double boiler, gently melt coconut oil

·       In a large bowl, mix together coconut oil and maple syrup.

·       Add vanilla, lemon juice and zest and mix.

·       Add flaxseed, brown rice flour and lavender and mix until well blended.

·       Using 2 teaspoons, dollop onto a parchment-lined cookie sheet.

·       Bake for about 18 minutes or until set.

·       Allow to cool on wire racks.

 This is the lavender I used (found at Homesense)