Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Cookies

For the past two years I have tried, tried, and tried again to tweak the Nestle Tollhouse Cookie recipe to be.....hmmmmmm, maybe a bit less "bad for me".  I have made a few batches of cookies that went straight into the garbage.  Some of the batches were edible.  Others were eaten only by me.

Imagine my excitement when I came across this recipe last fall.  It at least had whole wheat flour.  And the cookies were not flat pancakes.  I decided to give them a try.

I am so glad I did.  (Well, maybe I'm not.  I ate 14 of these little bad boys the other day.  That is not an

exaggeration - or lie, if anything I am underestimating the number I ate that day.  I try to keep it under 10.)  I have played around with this recipe a bit - replacing the sugars and butter - and they are still delicious, and not at all like a pancake.  So, if you want the regular version of these cookies, click on the link above the picture.  If you want my made-over recipe, read on.

Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Cookies

{printable recipe}

3 cups whole wheat flour

1 1/2 teaspoons aluminum-free baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt

1 cup coconut oil (not melted)

1/2 cup Turbinado sugar

1/2 cup Sucanat*

1/2 cup agave

2 cage-free, organic eggs**

2 teaspoons vanilla

semi-sweet chocolate chips (I use about 1/2 bag of the chunks or 1/3 bag of the mini-chips.)

* I have been using coconut sugar in place of the Sucanat.  I have also used more Turbinado and less Sucanat.  Play around with it but keep the total sugar to about 1 - 1 1/2 cups.

**I am going to try using flax seeds or chia seeds in place of the eggs in the future.  I'll let you know how that goes.  

{I have tried this recipe using flax seed as eggs.  So yummy.  I couldn't tell a difference - for real!  You can check out how to substitute them here.}

Preheat the oven to 350.  

Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a bowl.  Set aside.

Beat coconut oil and sugar together in large bowl, or in bowl of a stand mixer, until creamy.  Add eggs and vanilla.  Beat to combine.

Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients in two batches and mix.  Add the chocolate chips and stir to incorporate.

Using a cookie scoop (about 1 tablespoon), scoop dough and place on nonstick cookie sheet.

Bake for 7-8 minutes.  Remove from oven and allow to cool on pan for 2 minutes before removing to cooling rack.

I made a double batch of these cookies the other day and lined a baking sheet with wax paper/parchment paper.  I scooped balls of dough onto the sheet and then placed it in the freezer until the balls were solid. Then I put the dough balls (is there a better name for them???) in a ziplock bag.  Now we can pull them out and bake a few at a time.  I'll just cook them a minute or two longer.

Berry-Coconut Green Smoothie

My kids have been asking for this smoothie ALOT lately.  I must admit, it's pretty tasty.  I don't really like it for breakfast, it can be a bit sweet for me, but I do like it for a snack in the afternoon.  Miss Pink wanted me to make her one for lunch (how could I say no??)

I must say that I was pretty shocked when Miss Pink started to eat the strawberries BEFORE they went in the smoothie.  The girl thinks that she is allergic to fruits and veggies and will only eat them in a smoothie.  Hmmm, maybe she is remembering that she actually likes strawberries???  Maybe.

 For your slurping pleasure, here is the recipe.  It was inspired by a recipe I found in this book.  I highly recommend it.

Berry-Coconut Green Smoothie

1 cup coconut milk (the kind in a carton, NOT a can)

1-2 generous handfuls of spinach

1 ripe banana

3-5 strawberries, with leaves on

1 cup frozen blueberries

Place all ingredients in blender and blend until smooth.  If smoothie is too thick, add more milk until desired consistency is reached.

(Note:  If you are using a standard blender, blend the spinach and milk first until smooth, then add the fruit.)

Chocolate Zucchini Cake

I hosted book club at my house last night which meant I needed to come up with a dessert.  I decided to experiment with a recipe that I really love.  It looked sort of funny when I pulled it out of the oven and I almost grabbed the boxed brownies from the basement (I have one random box still down there - not sure how it survived the purge a few months ago...), but I decided to serve it anyway.  The ladies loved it, so since it passed their test, I thought I would pass the recipe onto you.

Chocolate Zucchini Cake

(Inspired by a recipe from the Davies)

1/2 cup coconut oil, melted*
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup organic sugar
1/2 cup brown rice syrup
1/4 cup Sucanat
2 eggs, organic cage-free
1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 cup fresh kefir

2 cups grated zucchini
2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour (pastry or finely ground)
4 tablespoons cocoa

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

3/4 cup chocolate chips  (I used these chocolate chips, but these would work as well)

Place oil, butter, sugar, brown rice syrup, and Sucanat in large bowl and mix until well combined.  Add eggs and vanilla, mix until just combined.  Stir in zucchini.  In another bowl whisk together dry ingredients, except for chocolate chips.  Add dry to wet, mix well.  Pour into greased 9x13 inch pan.  Sprinkle with chocolate chips.  Bake in 350 degree oven for 40 minutes.  Cool before cutting.

* I have made these with 1 cup of coconut oil and NO butter and they turned out great.

No Bake Cookies

 I went to a retreat a few months ago where I was able to learn how to "cook" raw food.  Three amazing women shared some of their recipes:  Raw Melissa, Green Smoothie Girl, and Gluten-Free Desi.  I ended up buying some of their cookbooks and am soooo glad that I did.  The recipes I have made have been delicious.  I was desperately in need of chocolate yesterday, so I whipped up some of these No Bake No Bakes from Raw Melissa's cookbook "FAVES".  They are so yummy, and taste so much like regular "cooked" no bake cookies.

Raw Melissa's No Bake No Bakes

makes 15-20 cookies

4 cups rolled oatmeal

1/2 cup almond butter (I used Kirkland organic peanut butter)

1/2 cup coconut oil

1 tablespoon vanilla

6 tablespoons cocoa powder

3/4 cup agave

1/2 - 3/4 teaspoon salt

Mix by hand in a bowl.  Drop by spoonfuls on a wax paper lined cookie sheet.  Put in freezer until hardened.  Eat and enjoy.

**Once mine were hard, I put them in a ziploc bag in the fridge.  Next time I might try mixing the dry ingredients together first and then adding the wet.

The kids like them too.  I have a hard time finding "healthy" snacks that they will eat.  Especially since we have eaten so much candy the past few weeks.  Hello!  Comfort food!  I think these will become a staple.

I hope you enjoy!!

strawberry smoothie

 Miss Pink requested a smoothie for lunch.  She gulped her green smoothie down at breakfast so I decided to make her a strawberry smoothie.  Of course she didn't touch the smoothie, but I enjoyed it.  I think I'll have to make it again for an afternoon pick-me-up.

Strawberry Smoothie

4 ounces water

1 orange, peeled

1 cup fresh strawberries, with stems

1/2 cup frozen blueberries

Put everything in blender, blend and enjoy.

To make it "green" you could always throw in a handful of spinach or chard.

perfectly delicious popcorn

Coconut Oil

+

 Popcorn

+

Salt

=

 A Perfect Afternoon Snack

My kids favorite afternoon snack right now has to be this popcorn.  The original recipe suggests using canola, peanut, or grapeseed oils because of their high smoke points.  We no longer use any oil in our house unless it is coconut oil, extra virgin olive oil, flax oil, or small amounts of butter.  So, I made some adjustments to the original recipe.  I hope you enjoy it as much as we do.  (Microwave and movie theater popcorn don't even come close!)

Perfectly Delicious Popcorn

3 tbsp coconut oil*
1/3 cup popcorn kernels
1 tsp original Himalayan crystal salt (OHCS)**

Heat the oil in a 3 quart saucepan on medium high heat.

Put 3 or 4 popcorn kernels into the oil and cover the pan.

When the kernels pop, add the rest of the popcorn kernels and the salt.  Shake the pan to evenly distribute the salt and oil over the popcorn.  Cover, remove from heat and count to 30.  Doing this heats the oil to the right temperature, then waiting 30 seconds brings all of the kernels to a near-popping temperature so that when they are put back on the heat, they all pop at about the same time.

Return the pan to heat.  Once the kernels start to go crazy popping, gently shake the pan by sliding it back and forth  over the burner.  Try to keep the lid slightly ajar so that the steam can escape.  Once the popping slows to several seconds between pops, remove from heat and dump popcorn into a bowl.

Using this technique, we rarely have old maids.

*If you would like to learn more about why we use coconut oil versus other oils go here.
**We have been using this salt for a year now.  I can eat an entire bowl of popcorn by myself and my fingers don't get puffy like they do when I eat regular salt.  To find out more check this out.

more please!

My kids have to drink a green smoothie every morning.

Somedays it is a battle (think a world war).

So imagine my surprise when the kids slurped theirs down this morning and asked for MORE!

The first recipe is the one they had this morning.

The second is a chocolatey favorite.

(Note:  The smoothies I drink are much greener than this.  I drink the second one as a healthy snack.  Both of these recipes are kid-friendly.)

Miss Pink really enjoyed her green smoothie popsicle.

The Yummiest Green Smoothie EVER!  (as named by my kids)

1/2 cup water (add more if too thick)

1 large handful spinach

1 clementine

1 ripe banana

7-8 strawberries

1/2 cup frozen blueberries

1 "squirt" flax oil

Place all ingredients in blender.  Blend until smooth.

So did Mr. Orange.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Green Smoothie

1 cup chocolate almond milk*

1 large handful of spinach

1 heaping tablespoon all-natural peanut butter (or almond butter)

1-2 ripe bananas**

4-5 ice cubes

*if using regular almond milk add 1/2 tablespoon cocoa and 1/2 tablespoon honey.

**can use frozen bananas, just omit ice cubes.

Place almond milk and spinach in blender and blend until smooth.  Add remaining ingredients and blend to desired consistency.

What is a Green Smoothie??

pumpkin muffins

Mr. Orange was sneaking muffins right out from under me!

The kids have been asking to have something besides green smoothies and toast for breakfast.  We agreed on pumpkin muffins (they still have to have their smoothie gone before lunch).  I found this recipe last year and we all loved it.  This year we have changed some of our eating habits and have cut out refined sugars and flours.  I tweaked the recipe today and this is what we came up with.  They must have turned out pretty well because the kids and I ate 12 of them in 45 minutes!  I hope you like them as much as we do!!!

Pumpkin Muffins

1 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1 tsp aluminum free baking powder
1 - 15 oz can pumpkin (NOT pumpkin pie filling!!!)
1/3 cup olive oil*
2 large eggs*
2 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1/4 cup sucanat*
1/2 cup (a little less than...) agave
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp himalayan salt or sea salt

Preheat oven to 350 F. Line mini-muffin pan with muffin cups or spray with cooking spray.

Mix together pumpkin, oil, eggs, pumpkin pie spice, sucanat, agave, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl until smooth.  Mix together flour and baking powder and add to pumpkin mixture.  Mix until just combined.

Add about a tablespoon of batter to each muffin cup so that each cup is about 3/4 full.  Bake until puffed and golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the middle of the muffin comes out clean, 18 minutes.  Makes about 3 dozen muffins

I would really like to make these free of animal products, so next time I am going to try making them with chia seeds instead of the eggs.  I'm also going to try making them with agave (to replace all of the sugar) and coconut oil in place of the olive oil.  I'll let you know how that goes.  Enjoy!!!