Almond Butter Zucchini Cookies

A Visit to Quadra in August = Zucchini
Now what to cook!
How about Cookies?
I usually make some healthy 'cookies' for my lunch
I don't want butter
I don't want sugar
I don't even want flour
I just want something a little bit sweet to go with a cup of tea sometimes
Is that too much to ask?
Of Course not!
My cookies usually include rice flour, egg whites and stevia
Pretty standard
But since I had Zucchini
and Zucchini bread is super fabulous
why not throw some in the mix
Here is the invented Recipe
If you make some you COULD throw a few raisins or Choc chips
maybe some nuts or things that you think 'MAKE' a cookie
I think for some people having some chocolate chips in a healthy cookie bring happiness
Feeling satisfied with your food is huge
Being on a Diet forever....not realistic
Making healthy changes to the way you eat should not be something that lasts a few weeks or months while you get 'bikini body ready'
This is just silly
You sort of need to find a way to eat healthfully....and that is just the way you always eat
Eating mostly healthy but eating the things you love too
This is how I would like to live
AND
This is how I would like my kid to understand how healthy eating works too
That feels right

*Pre Heat Oven to 400 Degrees*

COOKIES
1/2 cup Almond Butter
1/4 Cup Hot water
4-5 squirts liquid Stevia
2 tsp Vanilla Extract
1/2 Cup Liquid Egg whites
2 Cups Grated Zucchini

1 Cup Rice Flour (you could use oat flour, spelt flour for fun)
1 tsp Baking Powder
1 tsp Baking Soda
1 tsp Cinnamon

Method:
In a large Bowl mix almond butter with hot water until combined.  Add the remaining wet ingredients in order listed.
In another bowl whisk together the dry ingredients.
Add Dry to wet

Spoon onto silicone lined cookie sheet with tea spoon.
Bake in Oven 20 minutes
Cool
Enjoy!!!
xoxo
Ashie Girl

Nut Free Grain Free Sugar Free Muffins

Can this really be right?
Yes ...yes it can
The recipe I modified used coconut flour which I think would give you more of a cupcake
might be pretty yummy!
Right now
I am trying to take gluten out of my diet to see how my body reacts
sort of started out with wondering if Candida was a problem
Then just thinking that a break from Rice, Carrots, Oatmeal, and Fruit (sugar) might be a good idea
So far I can tell you it sucks
I have a weird rash on my chin
My tummy is in a bit of turmoil...but seems better every day
I think I am a pretty healthy eater and I guess it is hard to say that my body is reacting this way just because of the few things I have eliminated
But I can't help but think my body is detoxing
On the plus side my craving for Sugar and carbs have gone away
I think I usually balance these cravings by mostly choosing healthy alternatives
BUT I would often find myself really wanting to binge on big bag of pretty orange carrots or a crunchy stack of organic brown rice cakes...like I said I think these are healthy foods ...but it never really made me feel very well
I do think that the sugar ratio of carrots is often somewhat exaggerated
but if you eat enough of them....
anyways
I think I am feeling a lot better
the thing is thinking that maybe I will have to stick to eating this way
I mean ....I am already sort of a food freak among my peers
(ahhhemm sort-of haha)

Here is a recipe for lovely Zucchini Muffins
They made me happy
Without making my tummy crappy
Pretty with earl Grey tea
OH I also considered giving up tea
caffeine is not the greatest thing for us
SO THAT didn't work at all ....Not ready to give up my Lady Grey
One torture at a time

Muffins:
1/2 Cup Quinoa Flour
1/2 tsp Baking Soda
1/4 tsp Sea Salt
1/2 Cup Zucchini, peeled (I used about 1/2 Medium sized Zuc)
6 Stevia Tabs
1 TBSP Vanilla
2 Large Eggs
1/3 Cup liquid Egg Whites

Method:
Pre-heat Oven to 350 degreesPut all the Goodies into your blender Blend until smooth pour into muffin cups Bake 20 minutes

 Vanilla Frosting:
Greek Yogurt
Stevia to taste
Vanilla Extract...I used about 1/2 tsp

Enjoy xoxo
Ashie Girl

Copy Cat MAry's Crackers

These are yummy
And
I promise as easy to make as baking a batch of cookies
You can make these exactly how YOU like them
.....add some sea salt
.....maybe even Freshly ground pepper
BUT get crazier than that!
It's experimenting time
Try throwing in your favourite nuts, seeds or dried fruit
add Herbs too like Thyme, Oregano, Parsley
your options are endless

The base of these crackers are simple and super good for you
Cooked rice
And cooked Quinoa
If you have leftovers this is a great way to use them up

Pre Heat Oven to 350 degrees
Ingredients: 

1 Cup Cooked Brown Rice
1 Cup Cooked Quinoa
1/4 Cup Pumpkin Seeds
1/4 Cup Sunflower Seeds
1/4 Cup Chia Seeds
(add some sea salt if you like...I always find crackers way TOO salty this is the main motivation for making me own)

In your food processor combine Cooked Rice & Quinoa until it is kind of a mushy ball.
Add Seeds and a bit of water
This is pretty sticky stuff!
WOrd to wise start soaking your food processor bowl and tools as soon as you are done with them
trust me you wont want them to sit

Cut a piece of parchment paper the size of your baking sheet
Next using a rolling pin and some plastic wrap, roll out the mixture
Try to get it as thin as you can
Place the parchment onto your cooky sheet and bake for about 15 minutes
Pull you cracker pancake out and flip it over and bake another 10 minutes
Next put your hot cracker pancake onto a cutting board
Using a big knife cut into cracker squares
OR you can even use your hands to just break it into bite sized pieces
Bake your CRACKERS another 10 minutes or so until the pieces are nice and crispy
Let cool completely before storing

Enjoy
xoxo
Ashie Girl

Muscle Girl Cookies

1 Cup Oat Flour
1 tsp Cinnamon
1/2 tsp Ground Ginger
1 tsp Baking Powder

1/4 Cup Sunflower Seeds
1/4 Cup Pumpkin Seeds
1/2 Cup Raisins

1 Ripe Banana Mashed
1 small Apple, Grated
2 Carrots, Crated
1/2 Cup Egg Whites

Pre Heat Oven to 400 degrees

In a medium sized bowl combine first list and stir till combined.
Add the second list of ingredients and stir to combine

In another bowl mash Banana, add other ingredients and stir together

Add all ingredients together.  Mix together.

Using a teaspoon scoop small mounds onto silicone matt on baking sheet
Bake 20 mins or until golden brown

Perfect Protein Pancakes

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup egg whites
• 1/4 cup Oat flour (made with Steel Cut Oats aka Pin Oats) you can make or BUY
• 1/4 cup Plain no Fat Greek Yogurt *
• 1/2 teaspoon liquid stevia 

*You can subsitue Low fat Cottage cheese instead of Greek Yogurt.  You will need to put the wet ingredients into your food processor or hand blender to create a smooth batter.  This creates an even fluffier pancake.

Directions:

Mix Your Egg White, your stevia, and your Greek Yogurt till combined.  Add Oat Flour and stir it up.  Using a non stick pan make pancakes! 

This makes about 2 Pancakes.  Nutrition:  183 calories and 18 Grams Protein 

Enjoy!

xoxo Ashie Girl

Raw Rolls adventures in Cauliflower Cous Cous and Epic Fails

Sometimes the whole making raw food thing is a real adventure
I mean
I look through reams of recipes, food blogs as well as food pictures for inspiration
Once I see something I want to try
I collect all the ingredients
Then try and find extra time to try it out
Take pretty pictures
and hopefully make something that is a good post that I can share
sometimes I attempt things and they are such a flail
sometimes it is because I am being foolish thinking I have enough time
to play around creating
I rush through it and really make a mess
I thought this time was one of those times
BUT somehow an epic fail...
Became a very yummy lunch and a recipe I thought quite worthy of a blog post
The original idea came from a recipe for Cauliflower cous cous
The idea was to blend up cauliflower with a bunch of other tasty ingredients
then wrap them up like a sushi roll using thinly mandolin sliced cucumber
I realized mid wrap I really actually was going to need some nice wooden tooth picks to hold these lil babies together
BUT none were to be had so the roll came apart and failure began to be a clear
ALAS
IF in doubt
wrap it in Nori !!!
A Flail became Beautiful
I made one wrap completely raw
and the next I snuck a bit of leftover short grain Sticky Lundenberg sweet rice
These were so yummy

BY THE WAY
friends
YOU should really know that Cauliflower is voted one of the worlds HEALTHIEST FOODS
I am certainly trying to eat more of it!
This is a recipe that might help you included it in your meals another way other than steaming it
and having it stare back at you from your plate as if to say
 YYYYaaAAWWWWWnnn....
Hey ...I am Caulifower...I am LIKE so white and sorta boring and blandish...
instead
you will experience
BAM
Raw Cauliflower Nori Power ROLLS
Yeahhhh!
Better right?

Recipe:
Cauliflower Cous Cous:
3 Cauliflower florets
1 TBSP Organic Thompson Raisins
1 Handful of Parsley
1 TBSP Lemon Juice
2 TBSP Tahini
Pinch of Salt & Pepper

Put all the ingredients in your food processor and pulse until cous cous like consistency

The recipe I wanted to do was this

BUT it Turned out like this:

SO next I improvised 

And made some Nori Rolls

One Raw with Green snap peas, Avocado, Cucumber

ALSO one with a bit of Lundenberg short grain Brown Sweet Rice

as well as all the other goodies 

This was SO yummy 

with a bit of liquid Bragg's amino's and hummus for Dip

SERIOUSLY SERIOUSLY Ridiculous!!!! Carrot Soup Cooks in the Vitamix

Do you understand what this means!?
Making soup in a blender!!!
FOOLS
HEAVEN IS NOW ON EARTH!

No sautéing!
Simmering!
OR Big mess porting Hot liquid to the blender
because you are super impatient and waiting for the soup to cool
IS Borring

So in the midst of a sleepness night
I decide to drown myself in a pile of recipe books and Food Mags
After all if you cant sleep one has to seek comfort

Flipping through raw food ideas and the Vitamix cookbook that came with the blender I discover that you can actually cook soup in the blender
You put all your ingredients in
YOu switch the sucker on
and let er Rip for 5 -6 mins until ......
wait for it...
The soup is steaming and cooked
FRIG!
okay clearly I need some sleep and I have gotten to that giddy stage of being exhausted
(whaaaa already ????  ......should be a fun day)
But this news is just So so SOOOO great I wanted to post it straight away with the recipe

CARROT GINGER VITAMIX SOUP

4 Medium Carrots, halved
1/4 small Onion, peeled
4 Garlic Cloves, peeled
2 TBSP Raw Pumpkin Seeds, preferably soaked for at least 8 hours
Pinch of salt & pepper
1 TBSP Ginger Root
1/2 small Apple
2 TBSP Miso
2 Cups Water

Add the list in order into your hot rod blender
Turn machine on high
let it go for 5 mins
YOu NOw HAve SOUP!!!!
enjoy Buddies

xoxox
Ashie Girl