No Bake PB Drop Cookies

Simple. That’s the only way to describe these. Actually that’s not true. One can also call them delicious. Mike prefer to call them ‘amazeballs’. I shared them at work (what was I thinking?!) Everyone loved them which is a good sign! But it means there were less cookies for me *sad face* But I’ve been even sadder ever since they disappeared. I was away from home for a few days, eating out, eating really poorly and aside from vegetables, all I could think of was these damn cookies. They take 5-10 minutes to prepare. An hour to cool and 5 more minutes to drop onto a pan. They taste like delicious little protein cookies but with better texture and dare I say even tastier! The oats lend a little crunch to them, the coconut gives them flavor depth and more texture and the honey is just perfectly sweet but not over powering. There is no added sugar (honey is the only sugar!) and if I had children, I would feel more than comfortable giving them these as a treat. Hell, they could even make them themselves! Well … with maybe a little supervision. What wasn’t simple about this recipe though, was what to call them! 

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Vegan Raw Chocolate Pudding

Hey, I’m not going to lie to you; I like pudding. I think the same goes for most people. It’s delicious! But it isn’t healthy. By any stretch of the imagination. I actually found this pudding more satisfying than regular chocolate pudding. There’s no added sugar. There’s no dairy. It’s all healthy, digestable fats. This is healthy stuff but I can assure you, aside from a slight flavor distinction, you won’t know it’s good for you – and I’m willing to bet good money your kids won’t notice either! That and it better be good for me because I ate it ALL. (don’t judge)

Coconut Sweet Potato Muffins

Holy smokes, where have these muffins been all my life? I like muffins to begin with but these are moist and light, not dense and heavy like some muffins. They have a great flavor, savory and not too sweet. It was a spontaneous decision to make them and I’m so glad I did. I saw the recipe on Pinterest, knew I had all the ingredients on hand and of course I had just finished cleaning my kitchen, so the timing was perfect. They came together in under ten minutes, which is really my idea of the best kind of baking. You can adjust the ingredients to use what you have on hand or to make them vegan if that’s what you prefer. The ingredients are simple and easy to come by. The recipe only makes 9 muffins and I’ll double it next time. A healthy treat for your and your family. I’m sure your kids won’t be disappointed!

Peanut Butter Cups

Mike and I met online in 2009. When we arranged our first date, he shyly asked if he should bring me flowers or something. I told him he can’t win me over with measely flowers. The way to this girl’s heart is through Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups! No word of a lie, the man brought me a bag of Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups and to this day it’s always my special treat (or his way of sucking up for something) So when Mike’s 36th birthday rolled around and I was totally stumped for a treat, this conveniently popped up on Pinterest. I thought it was pretty fitting and it turned out to be the best thing I have ever made. No bake, 5 ingredients, less than an hour total to make. I need to tweak it to perfect it, figure out how to make the process less messy (I’ve only made them once) but I certainly couldn’t wait to share with you. Not with the Christmas holidays coming! I couldn’t possibly let you go the season without one more awesome treat to add to your repertoire! So here it is. I’ll come back and amend it as I adjust the recipe but you need to make them. No excuses.

Raw Cashew Cheesecake

My head just exploded. It blew up with the possibilities of this amazing cake. The combinations I can make and the places I can take it. Holiday dinners, potlucks, birthday smashes, Wednesdays, baby showers … just don’t take it to the weekly meetup of the NASTies (Nut Allergy Support Taskforce) This cake is justifiably the most healthy dessert out there. It is comprised of all raw, unprocessed ingredients, no dairy, no sugar and virtually all of the calories and fat come from nuts, and dates, and honey and coconut oil. It’s a refreshing dessert as it comes out of the freezer and you never have to turn the oven on. Brilliant for those hot summer days that are coming our way! I had to double this recipe because my springform pan was too big. Shame right?

Peanut Butter Raisin Bars

I hate nuts. It’s true, I have a really hard time eating them in whole form. And up until recently I refused to eat anything that had nuts in it. Peanut butter has always been an exception to that rule. At least for the last decade or so. I’ve been trying to expand my horizons a little bit and get past the texture that a bite into a nut offers. The Lemon Curd Bars and my mom’s Almond Chicken were big stepping stones for me. I didn’t need to force myself to try these bars though. Gluten and dairy free and free from added sugar, this quick treat will put a smile on the face of any kid, big or little.

Lemon Curd Bars

Holy F-Bomb. That’s really all I should put here. But for the sake of not leaving you with the inkling of a curse (regardless of how positive it is!) I will lay it out for you. These are AMAZING! It would be so easy to make these 100% organic if you wanted to and even if you aren’t gluten free, you will still love them. I promise. Guaranteed to be a crowd pleaser! It was really hard to keep Mike out of the lemon curd until the base was cooled. He kept dippin’ his fork in it. Can’t blame him really, it would have been just as easy to throw some cool whip on it and eat it as is. These bars could hardly get any healthier. All of the fat is derived from natural ingredients like nuts, eggs and coconut oil. The WW points are high but I feel justified knowing that the ingredients are natural and healthy fats.

Mixed Berry Crisp

I know you’re going to love this recipe. I know this because I made it twice in 24 hours and have plans to make it again in three days. I know this because I served it to my family and friends of my family and everybody loved it. But the most important reason you’ll love it? It’s low fat, low calorie, and gluten free. I would actually be happy making this for dinner, instead of dessert. Or maybe breakfast.

Baked Oatmeal

I’ve never been a fan of oatmeal and porridge. The texture throws me off. In high school I went on a 3 week canoeing trip in the Yukon and the breakfast menu every day consisted of oatmeal. Needless to say, my breakfasts were made up of several packages of fruit leather. You have to eat a lot of fruit leather to get the same amount of food as you would with a bowl of oatmeal. I just could not eat it. With the berries and seeds/nuts in this dish though, I can easily overlook everything else. This is the perfect Sunday morning breakfast. (OR dessert if you throw some vanilla ice cream on it!) It comes together so easily and we devoured the whole thing. The original recipe says this serves 6-8 but unless you’re putting it in a small ramekin and calling it a breakfast side dish, it’s not right. I’ll compromise and say it serves 4.

Fresh Strawberry Sauce

This post was originally titled “Angel Food Cake with Fresh Strawberry Sauce” But it was less about the Angel Food Cake and more about the Strawberry Sauce, so I omitted the cake part. Let’s be honest – if I want Angel Food Cake, I’m just going to go buy one and put all my love into the sauce. The great thing about a standard Angel Food Cake is that they’re almost virtually fat free. When trying to control what you eat, watch your calorie and fat intake and still satisfy some cravings, this is really a great option. The serving sizes are large as a typical cake is usually 1/12 or 1/16, but this cake is 1/6! I don’t know how accurate that will be once I make a GF version, but we shall see. The strawberry sauce is super easy to make, and you can use any fruit you want. I usually use strawberries and blueberries. Fat free and delicious? I’ll take it!