Chocolate Chip Cookies

 Chocolatey, peanutty, mouthwatering vegan and gluten-free Chocolate Chip Cookies!  Another recipe made with aquafaba!

Chocolatey, peanutty, mouthwatering vegan and gluten-free Chocolate Chip Cookies! Another recipe made with aquafaba!

We seriously emptied out the pantry when creating these cookies!  I would have added walnuts if I had them, next time!  In place of eggs I used my new favorite ingredient from last week…aquafaba!  Read up here on aquafaba and for the BEST CHOCOLATE CAKE EVER!  I was impressed once again with the consistency aquafaba lends to baked goods, very similar to using eggs!  For a peanutty flavor I added organic peanut powder similar to PB2.  If you’re not familiar with powdered peanut butter it’s peanuts that have been dehydrated and pressed.  The end result is a powder that contains less fat and calories than peanut butter.  I honestly don’t get the concept of powdered peanut butter as my favorite part of peanuts is its healthy fat content, but my mom left it at my house and I needed to use it somehow!  It was a good way to sneak in the flavor without making the cookies too dense.  You can also add it to smoothies and sauces in addition to baking with it.

  Chocolatey, peanutty, mouthwatering vegan and gluten-free Chocolate Chip Cookies! Another recipe made with aquafaba!

Recipe adapted from Chocolate Covered Katie

Chocolate Chip Cookies
 
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Chocolatey, peanutty, mouthwatering vegan and gluten-free Chocolate Chip Cookies! Another recipe made with aquafaba!
Author:
Recipe type: Dessert
Cuisine: Vegan
Serves: 24-26
Ingredients
  • ⅔ + ½ cup oat flour
  • ¼ cup powdered peanut butter (similar to PB2)
  • ¼ cup brown sugar
  • ¼ cup coconut sugar
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • ½ teaspoon cinnamon
  • ¼ teaspoon sea salt
  • ¼ cup aquafaba
  • ¼ cup milk of your choice (I used soy milk)
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • ⅓ cup raisins
  • ½ cup vegan chocolate chips
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
  2. In a large bowl combine oat flour, powdered peanut butter, baking soda, cinnamon and sea salt.
  3. In another bowl stir together aquafaba, milk, olive oil and vanilla.
  4. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and stir until well combined.
  5. Fold in raisins and chocolate chips. Form into a ball, cover and refrigerate dough for 10-15 minutes or until chilled.
  6. Use a tablespoon to drop cookies evenly onto cookie sheets. Bake 6-8 minutes or until slightly golden around the edges.
  7. Let cool and enjoy!

Chocolatey, peanutty, mouthwatering vegan and gluten-free Chocolate Chip Cookies! Another recipe made with aquafaba!

I intended to bring these over to our neighbors, but they didn’t last long enough!  They were a hit in my house and I hope they are in yours too!  I will make another batch, I promise :)

Kale Salad Balance Bowl

Kale Salad Balance Bowl with black beans, harissa roasted sweet potatoes and sweet tahini dressing for a balanced dinner in a bowl!

Kale Salad Balance Bowl with black beans, harissa roasted sweet potatoes and sweet tahini dressing for a balanced dinner in a bowl!

Balance bowls, buddha bowls, nourish bowls…call them what you want, but what’s not to love about a heaping bowl of wholesome and nourishing food?  This bliss bowl has me pretty much obsessed, I could eat it every day!  Prep the ingredients once for multiple meals all week long!

Kale Salad Balance Bowl with black beans, harissa roasted sweet potatoes and sweet tahini dressing for a balanced dinner in a bowl!

I sound like a broken record, but stock your refrigerator with healthy food and you will eat healthy food!  This one was easy to adapt for kids as well, I simply roasted a small tray of sweet potatoes without the harissa as it is a bit spicy.  You can mix and match the ingredients as you please.  Throw in tofu instead of beans, sub crunchy romaine for kale, butternut squash in place of sweet potatoes…get creative with it!  I had cooked quinoa lingering in the fridge, so I threw that in too.  You pretty much can’t go wrong!  To optimize the nutrition of your bowl make sure it contains leafy green veggies, clean protein and lots of color!

Kale Salad Balance Bowl with black beans, harissa roasted sweet potatoes and sweet tahini dressing for a balanced dinner in a bowl!

My go-to black bean recipe is this one here, made in the crockpot!  Super simple and way better than canned beans!  I seasoned the roasted sweet potatoes with powdered harissa, which is blend of cumin, coriander, chili powder, garlic and sea salt.  If you don’t have powdered harissa, season sweet potatoes with a dash of each or just add cumin and sea salt which would taste great as well!

Recipe adapted from Food52

Kale Salad Balance Bowl
 
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Kale Salad Balance Bowl with black beans, harissa roasted sweet potatoes and sweet tahini dressing for a balanced dinner in a bowl!
Author:
Recipe type: Main
Cuisine: Vegan
Serves: 2
Ingredients
For the roasted sweet potatoes:
  • 1 large sweet potato, peeled and cubed (~1½ cups)
  • drizzle of olive oil
  • ½ teaspoon powdered harissa
  • sea salt to taste
For the sweet tahini dressing:
  • ½ cup tahini
  • ½ cup water
  • 2 tablespoons Bragg's Amino Acids (or tamari/soy sauce)
  • 2 tablespoons agave (or maple syrup)
  • 2 tablespoons toasted sesame seed oil
  • 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon miso paste
For the salad:
  • 3 cups kale, destemmed and chopped
  • drizzle of olive oil
  • sea salt to taste
  • 1 cup cooked black beans (or canned beans, rinsed and drained)
  • ½ cup cooked quinoa (optional)
  • 2 tablespoons dried fruit such as cranberries or raisins
Instructions
Roasted Sweet Potatoes:
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Toss cubed sweet potatoes with a drizzle of olive oil, transfer to a baking sheet and sprinkle with powdered harissa and sea salt. Bake for 20-30 minutes or until tender when pierced with a fork.
Sweet Tahini Dressing:
  1. Add all ingredients to a high speed blender and blend until well combined and emulsified.
Salad:
  1. In a bowl, drizzle kale with olive oil and add a dash of sea salt. Use hands to massage kale until well coated with oil.
  2. Add beans, massaged kale and roasted sweet potatoes to a bowl. Toss in cooked quinoa and a few dried cranberries if desired. Drizzle with dressing and enjoy!

The recipe for the sweet tahini dressing makes roughly 1 1/2 cups, store in an air-tight container for later use!

Kale Salad Balance Bowl with black beans, harissa roasted sweet potatoes and sweet tahini dressing for a balanced dinner in a bowl!

Chocolate Sheet Cake

Chocolate Sheet Cake…

Gluten-free, vegan and topped with velvety chocolate frosting made from avocados!  There’s a secret ingredient to this one-bowl cake that makes it super fluffy without using eggs.  Can you guess what it is???

Chocolate Sheet Cake, gluten-free, vegan and topped with velvety chocolate frosting made from avocados! There's a secret ingredient to this one-bowl cake that makes it super fluffy without using eggs. Can you guess what it is???

I am a true believer that everything comes into your life at just the perfect time.  For instance, this amazing chocolate sheet cake.  This past week I didn’t want to “adult” any more.  One kid with pink eye, the other kid with a fever, sick husband, computer problems, house problems and zero sleep.  Let me tell you, the struggle has been real!  Just when I couldn’t take it any longer this chocolate sheet cake entered my life.  Now, I know I shouldn’t drown my first world problems in an ooey gooey chocolate cake, but sometimes it’s necessary!  (and any dietitian out there that says they never do it is lying, we’re all human!)  Just don’t make a habit of it :)

Anyway, there is so much amazingness about this cake I don’t even know where to begin!  First, it’s gluten-free.  Second, it’s simple to make.  Dump all the ingredients in one bowl and stir…done and done!  Third, the chocolate frosting is made with avocados.  Yes, avocados!  Lastly, it’s vegan.  Instead of eggs I used aquafaba.  Aqua who?  Aquafaba, the brine from canned chickpeas.  (Don’t stop reading!)  I know it sounds weird, but this “juice” is the perfect egg replacement for vegan baking!

“Aquafaba generally refers to the liquid in a can of chickpeas, and is a revolutionary new vegan egg replacer which can be used in recipes like meringues, confectionery, and baked goods. It’s probably in your pantry right now!”  www.aquafaba.com

This month’s Recipe Redux asked us to share a recipe with an ingredient that we’ve been wanting to try out.  I’ve seen the world “aquafaba” floating around the web, but never really paid much mind to it.  I’m not sure why I haven’t tried it yet, but now it is my new favorite ingredient!  To replace one egg, use 3 tablespoons of aquafaba.  Don’t like the taste of chickpeas and afraid it will ruin your recipe?  Don’t worry, it doesn’t have the flavor of chickpeas, or any flavor at all!

Chocolate Sheet Cake, gluten-free, vegan and topped with velvety chocolate frosting made from avocados! There's a secret ingredient to this one-bowl cake that makes it super fluffy without using eggs. Can you guess what it is???

Recipe inspired by Dr. Axe

Chocolate Sheet Cake
 
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Chocolate Sheet Cake, gluten-free, vegan and topped with velvety chocolate frosting made from avocados! There's a secret ingredient to this one-bowl cake that makes it super fluffy without using eggs. Can you guess what it is???
Author:
Recipe type: Dessert
Cuisine: Vegan
Serves: 12
Ingredients
For Chocolate Sheet Cake:
  • 1 cup all-purpose gluten free flour
  • 1 cup oat flour
  • 2 cups coconut sugar
  • ¾ cup cacao powder (or cocoa powder)
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1½ teaspoons baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon sea salt
  • 1 cup soy milk (or milk of your choice)
  • ½ cup olive oil
  • 6 tablespoons aquafaba
  • 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
  • 1 cup strong brewed coffee
For Avocado Frosting:
  • 2 ripe avocados, halved and pitted
  • ½ cup cacao powder (or cocoa powder)
  • ½ cup maple syrup
  • 2 tablespoons coconut oil (melted)
  • ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • pinch sea salt
  • ¼ cup powdered sugar (optional, depending on how sweet you like it!)
Instructions
To make Chocolate Sheet Cake:
  1. Grease or spray a 7x11 baking dish with all-natural cooking spray, set aside. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
  2. Add dry ingredients to a large bowl and stir. Add in wet ingredients and mix with a hand held mixer or stir by hand until light and fluffy.
  3. Pour batter into baking dish and cook for 30-45 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean. Note: Cooking times may vary depending on glass vs metal dish/pan and oven.
  4. Let cool.
To make Avocado Frosting:
  1. Scoop out avocados, place in a food processor and puree. Add cacao powder, maple syrup, melted coconut oil, vanilla, sea salt and blend until well combined scraping down sides as needed. Option to add powdered sugar if needed.
Frost cake, slice and enjoy!
    Nutrition Information
    Serving size: 1 Calories: 405 Fat: 17 Carbohydrates: 63 Sugar: 37 Fiber: 5 Protein: 5

     Chocolate Sheet Cake, gluten-free, vegan and topped with velvety chocolate frosting made from avocados! There's a secret ingredient to this one-bowl cake that makes it super fluffy without using eggs. Can you guess what it is???

    I love this cake.  

    Sometimes happiness is in the form of chocolate!

    Chocolate Sheet Cake, gluten-free, vegan and topped with velvety chocolate frosting made from avocados! There's a secret ingredient to this one-bowl cake that makes it super fluffy without using eggs. Can you guess what it is???

    Here’s to a happy weekend and a better start next week!

    Don’t forget to check out the other recipes from The Recipe Redux Crew!

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