Chocolate Energy Bars
This is a recipe from Superfood Cuisine by Julie Morris. It’s very healthy and tastes good too. A lot of the ingredients she uses can be found at Whole Foods (by the vitamins) or at your local health food store. The brand is Navitas Naturals. Pricey, but you have to figure you’re eating your vitamins! I love eating these in the morning for an energy boost.
1 ½ cups soft Medjool dates (about 16, pits removed)
¼ cup raw almonds
¼ cup raw cashews
¼ cup cacao powder
3 TB cacao nibs
6 TB hemp seeds
1 TB chia seeds
2 tsp maca powder
1 tsp mesquite powder (optional – enhances the chocolate flavor)
2 TB of favorite raw nuts or seeds (I used almond and cashew)
¼ cup of favorite dried fruit (I used cranberries, cherries, goji berries, and goldenberries)
Grind all ingredients except last 2 TB of nuts and dried fruit in a food processor until a coarse dough has formed (may take a couple minutes). Pinch the dough between two fingers an dmake sure it sticks together easily so that bars don’t end up crumbly. If the dough is too dry, add a little bit of water, about ½ tsp at a time and blend again. Add the last 2 TB of nuts and dried fruit and pulse several times until just a coarsely chopped, to give you a nice texture.
Place a large piece of Siran Wrap on a flat surface. I put mine in an 8x8 baking dish (or larger if you double the recipe). Pour the dough out on top of the plastic. Wrap it up tightly, then press and pound into a compact 1 inch thick rectangle. When solid, remove the wrap and cut into bars. I place mine in the freezer for about 30 minutes before cutting. Store in the fridge, or in the freezer for long-term storage.
For variation, you can add hemp protein, a tsp of freeze dried wheatgrass powder, or a bit of chlorella to boost protein and nutrition even further. I added wheatgrass and you can’t even taste it. My kids love these, and so do I.
Garlic Lemon Chicken
· 3 garlic cloves, minced
· 1 ½ TB fresh rosemary leaves stripped from stems (or about ¾ TB dried)
· ½ TB grill seasoning blend (like Montreal Seasoning) or Kosher salt and black pepper
· 1 lemon, juiced
Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Cut up chicken and place in a 9x13 baking dish. Add garlic, rosemary, olive oil, and seasonings to the dish. (I use salt and pepper. I fill ½ TB with about ¼ pepper and ¾ salt.) Toss and coat the chicken, then place in the oven for 20 minutes. Remove from oven and add the lemon juice and chicken broth. Return to oven and turn the oven off. Let stand for 5 minutes, then remove from the oven. I serve this with rice. Spoon the pan juices over the chicken and rice and serve. This makes about 4 servings.
I’ve only made this with fresh rosemary leaves, as I had this growing in my garden this summer, but I think it would taste OK with dried as well.
*I adapted this recipe from a Rachel Ray recipe.
Chocolate Chip S’Mores Pancakes
This is from Silvana Nardone’s cookbook, “Cooking for Isaiah.” These are REALLY good! Everyone raves about them when I make them. My only complaint is that the recipe doesn’t make enough pancakes. The recipe calls for “Silvana’s Pancake Mix.” The recipe for that is in the cookbook, but it says you can use any pancake mix. I think Namaste’s Waffle and Pancake Mix would work. If you are not GFCF, you could probably use Aunt Jemima’s Original pancake mix.
2 cups Silvana’s Pancake Mix
¼ tsp salt
2 TB packed light brown sugar (I use organic or Domino’s)
2 eggs (I omit and use an extra ¼ cup of rice milk)
1 ¼ cups rice milk (*If egg free, use 1 ½ cups)
1 TB unsulphured molasses
1 TB honey
2 TB vegetable oil (I use canola or olive oil)
½ cup chocolate chips (I use Enjoy Life)
Marshmallow Sauce
1 cup marshmallow fluff (I use Suzanne’s Ricemellow Crème from www.vitacost.com)
2 TB boiling water
In a large bowl, whisk together the pancake mix, salt, and brown sugar. In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, molasses, honey, and oil. Add to the dry ingredients and stir until just combined. Fold in chocolate chips. Heat your griddle or skillet. I use Earth Balance Soy Free butter to grease. Pour about ¼ cup of batter per pancake and cook until golden and set, about 2 minutes per side. To make the sauce, I just add hot water to some fluff and stir until it is the desired consistency.
*I sometimes use 1 cup of rice milk and ½ cup of unflavored carbonated water/seltzer water. This will make the pancakes fluffier.