Alton Brown's Oatiest Oatmeal Cookies Ever

Alton Brown's Oatiest Oatmeal Cookies Ever  Rating: 7

There is something magical about the butter in this cookie.  This cookie has a perfectly light, crisp texture.  The taste is solid!  I used to be disappointed when I bit into a cookie and found raisins rather than chocolately goodness but I'm not like that anymore.  These were great.  Neal made them and he liked them the best but I ate them the most! 

Do not over bake these or the flavor is off and the raisins are too hard.  These are gluten-free if you are sure to buy oats that are not processed in a gluten contaminated facility.

Tofu Peanut Butter Pie

Tofu Peanut Butter Pie  Rating: 10

If a picture is worth a thousand words...

This was great!  thick, creamy, sweet, smooth, crunchy--it was great.  I served this up with only a couple of hours of chilling and it didn't hold together.  But the next day it was set just right. 

Topped it with crushed pretzels and a dark chocolate drizzle and served it in a chocolate graham cracker crust--a total cheat and worth it.  I used a 14 oz. block of soft tofu instead of a 16 oz. one because that is what I had and I reduced the sugar to 2/3 cup of demerara sugar.  I'd even reduce it more next time if I used the same brand of natural peanut butter because it runs sweet for my taste.  No body knew there was tofu in it, not that I hid that fact from them.

UPDATE (9/13/12): We've made this once again.  We used a touch less PB, maybe 3/4 cup and still about 2/3 cup demerara sugar and it was still sweet and creamy enough for us.  And this is what it looked like before we ate it!

Power Me Up Pumpkin Sesame Cookies

Power Me Up Pumpkin Sesame Cookies  Rating: 9

I really like these cookies and have made them before.  It's pretty much a pumpkin spice cookie.  They are packed with nutrition and one holds me up for a good while.  I can't say that about any other cookie.  They are not low calorie.  The recipe uses unrefined sweeteners and are just sweet enough.  And they come out pretty.  Black sesame seeds would also be pretty but a little more pricey.  My kids love them and we call them Sesame Sprinkle Cookies to keep it fun and simple. Keep these refridgerated. 

Secret Chocolate Cake

If you are going to make a treat anyway, might as well add some nutritious ingredients as well.  This chocolate cake is made with...

Beets!  In all their ruby-red glory, beets!  There is a summer variation, provided as well, using zuchinni.  This recipe is originally from Simply in Season.  I came upon it when I subscribed to their weekly recipe.  You can do so also.  It is a great way to get thinking about seasonal eating, which I urge.  They only display their recipe for one week so you'll have to wait for it to come around.  Adaptations are also online but I found this link to be the closest match.

Secret Chocolate Cake  Rating: 8

In making this cake, I used whole wheat only and I was still happy with it.

To avoid sabotaging my efforts, I served it with unsweetened applesauce, as suggested, instead of sugar laden frosting (which is a beautiful thing of its own).  My family and I were pleased with the combination.

Did I detect beet?  Only because I made the cake did I very faintly notice the trace of beets but it still tasted really good and I truly do not think a single unknowing soul would think the cake was off.  I'd certainly make it again.  When your mother tells you to eat your beets, you can now say, "Yes, please."  So enjoy all that vitamin C, folate, and potassium love.

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip and Bean Cookies (SELF version)

In honor of Chocolate Chip Cookie Week we consented to our four-year-old's request and baked cookies but with a twist.

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip and Bean Cookies (SELF version)  Rating: 6

These were not your decadent chocolate chip cookie but they were okay.  A couple of things to consider, they don't change shape when baking.  I had to flatten them with the bottom of a cup measure before placing the second batch in the oven. 

They are best right out of the oven and become drier as time passes. 

They have no weird bean taste but they don't taste buttery sweet like a traditional chocolate chip cookie.  My kids don't know the difference but I do and I still enjoy them but I know there is a better bean cookie out there so I will keep looking.

Seriously Healthy Ice Cream

Just one ingredient needed.  Don't bother pulling out the ice cream maker.

So creamy, satisfying, and easy!  On rare occasion bananas in our house actually reach that brown spotted stage when they are super ripe and getting almost mushy soft.  That, my friends, is when I contrive to gain my family's adoration by peeling the banana, dividing it into 6ths (so they are easy to process and so I know how much banana I am using), and storing them in a quart size freezer bag in our freezer. 

Then I say, "Do you want ice cream tonight?" --sweet treats being only occasional in our home.  Then they laud me tremendously!  That Bible verse, Proverbs 31:28, "Her children arise up, and call her blessed." --yeah, it's because of this ice cream.

Seriously Healthy Ice Cream  Rating: 10

I sometimes make this with just the banana and love it.  Her idea for adding nut butter (I use peanut butter) is great!  Depending on what I've eaten that day and where my calorie count lies, I will add or subtract extra ingredients.  I really like it with peanut butter, dark chocolate chips and chopped walnuts best.  You can have fun with this but the calories add up quickly so do behave.  All you need is your food processor!

I love giving my family healthy foods that feel decedent.  I mean who wouldn't hand their kid a banana?!  It's fruit! Win-Win!

Black Bean Brownies

I love sneaking healthy foods into meals, snacks, and treats for my family.  When my son glugs down a berry smoothie, I want to throw my head back and produce one of those evil laughs (much like Ursula does in Disney's The Little Mermaid), knowing I have slipped in some kale or spinach or whatever!

I do it all the time--kale in muffins, squash in oatmeal, flax in yogurt, spinach in smoothies, tofu on pizza, and too many to list in spaghetti sauce.  I feel like a freakin' evil genius!

Anyway, you've seen me slip protien packed beans into desserts and smoothies before, so of course I would make these brownies!

Black Bean Brownies  Rating: 3

We actually shared these with four other adults and the ratings were all over the place but never above 7.  It's chocolatey but you can taste beans and the texture is wierd.  The texture is what really bothered most people and none of them finished the brownie which, might I add, was small to begin with.

I did use raw sugar and instead of 3 eggs, I used 2 with a chia egg.  A chia egg is 1 Tbsp. chia seeds mixed with 3 Tbsp. water, give it 10-15 minutes to do it's thing and you have a omega-high gelatinus goop that serves as an egg. 

The kids ate these up but that, my friends, is inexperience at its best.  And until they gain more culinary experience, I will continue to slip healthy foods in any way I can.  Bwahahaha!

Dark Chocolate Bark with Pistachios and Dried Cranberries

This was very well received by a group of friends we had over for tapas and dessert.  I can only make this to share with others so I do not binge on the entire recipe.  I came pretty close to that when I made this around Thanksgiving.  Thanks for helping me out this time pals!

Dark Chocolate Bark with Pistachios and Dried Cranberries  Rating: 10

We use dark chocolate chips for this sweet.  Use salted pistachios if you like the salty/sweet combo.  Go ahead and double the orange zest.  You will not be sorry you did.  We use dried cranberries instead of cherries.  I love fresh cherries but anything else just makes me think of cough syrup.  I have a friend that feels the same way about black licorice, apparently.  She eats Twizzlers!  But she is a good person so I will try to look past that little foible, if she will try to see past my judgmental nature.

Also, we line the baking sheet with parchment paper instead of foil.  It turns out well without worrying about wrinkles and cleans up easy.

Andy's Cranberry Apple Pie with Walnut Crumb Topping

Our local library has a copy of Apple Pie Perfect: 100 Delicious and Decidedly Different Recipes for America's Favorite Pie by Ken Haedrich and this is the first of his pie recipes we have done but we have many others bookmarked. 

Andy's Cranberry Apple Pie with Walnut Crumb Topping  Rating: 8

You'll have to hunt down the recipe yourself due to copyright laws.  The directions were easy to follow and produced a good pie.  We used only Jonigold apples because they were on special this week and are a decent baking apple.  We made our usual substitutions of demerara sugar for the regular granulated sugar and whole wheat for all-purpose flour.  I can't believe I'm saying this but I think the crumb topping was overly generous.  The cranberries made for a pretty pink slice.

If you are wondering where I found cranberries now that the holidays are over, I freeze them.  Lots of them.  They are easily added into the recipe straight from the freezer.

I did use my preferred whole wheat pie crust recipe: Giddy Gabby's Single 9" Whole Wheat Pastry Shell (Rating: 10), despite the irksome name.  It always produces a wonderful crust and now that we have a food processor, it is quick to create.  This crust can also be used for savory quiches and the like.

We made it to share with company and this is what was left the next day.  Honestly, I know that is mostly due to my addiction to sweets.  But we and our friends gave it an 8 so there you have it.

Today is Bean Day!--Four Recipes

No, really!  It is National Bean Day in the good ol' U.S. of A.  I have a suspicion that it is always on the eve of Flatulence Day.  But remember beans are good for you (see here).  In fact this is the sixth post of our young blog and four of those posts have included legumes in some way.  To have fun with this food holiday I served beans all day long! 

We started the morning with Southwestern Tofu Scramble (Rating: 8) which I have made several times since our move to healthier eating.  It's quick and a great way to get protein and veggies in before your day even gets going. Served it with a bit of salsa.

I'd say this is a pretty safe way to introduce yourself to tofu if you haven't.  The seasoning is nice.  Don't think "eggs" when you put it in your mouth because it is not.  Think, "I am eating something new (tofu) and my mouth gets to explore!"

For lunch we had basic Black Bean Quesadillas--corn tortillas, black beans, corn, onion, cheddar.  With a bit of full fat sour cream.  Easy, quick, yum.

Dinner was a new dish for us.  We ate Italian Sausage and White Beans (Rating: 10).  Yes, our first 10 rating for the blog!  Woohoo!  We all gobbled it up.

We used some chicken and basil sausage we had in the freezer from Sprouts.  I also only used 2 links because that's what we had, we tend to use meat more as a condiment and we had plenty of bean protein this day. Also I used fire-roasted tomatoes because I love myself that much, slipped about a cup of finely chopped kale in because it was our only leafy green today, and used my homemade vegetable stock instead of chicken/wine.. Super yummy and easy! 

And dessert! What?!  You put beans in your dessert?!  Yes! Yes! Yes!  I've done it once before in some awesome pumpkin sesame cookies and again tonight in our Chocolate-Chip Blondies (Rating:8) from Chocolate Covered Katie.  We used dark chocolate chips.  They were best when completely cooled and did not taste like beans.  Neal didn't even know they had beans in them until I told him.  They were not overly sweet or decadent and for a healthier blondie Neal and I were both pleased. I wanted to up the chocolate chips but I always want to do that.

She has some fun recipes I'd like to try because I like sweets and hers always have a twist, like beans.  Her recipes are healthy but often high calorie because Katie need to keep weight on, not lose it.  So beware if you are trying to drop pounds.

Anyway, it was a fun, fiber filled day and if you know what is good for you, you won't be coming by our house tomorrow as we "reap the rewards" of celebrating Bean Day.