Olive Oil Chocolate Truffles

Who doesnt love a decadent, smooth, rich chocolate truffle??  The perfect serving size, portable, and the timeless taste of this sweet treat, making for a dream worthy dessert.  The best parts?  Obviously gluten/grain free (thats a duh on that one), and with no extra refined sugar added (though, there is sugar in the chocolate bars already of course).

And the combination of chocolate and olive oil?  A longstanding one, with a lengthily line of devotees.  Get ready to hop on in line after sampling these creamy, oh so dreamy, super easy to make treats.  And these Chocolate + Olive Oil truffles in particular?  Bakery quality good.  Dont take my word for it though, try them yourself.  Better yet, serve them to crowd and watch them be wowed.

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So Yum and Healthy Carrot Banana Pancakes

Hi all,

As you can see, I’m having a bit of a pancake moment yet again ;-).  No surprise, eh?  These pancakes are one of my best variety for several reasons: grain/gluten free, lactose free, and no refined sugar.  Also, super easy to make, light and fluffy, low in calories, and ultra healthy.  Did I mention they are lightly sweet (naturally) and totally delicious?

They taste awesome topped with berries and maple syrup.  Get excited, and enjoy!

The perfect anytime entrée.  Whether for a quick and tasty breakfast, a sugar free but satisfying dessert-like snack, an easy meal to make while camping, or refusing to sacrifice your love of pancakes in the mornings while wishing to keep it on the leaner side, these are for you 😉

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Matcha Blackberry Chocolate Chip Pancakes

Its been a while since a pancake posting has appeared, so here goes.  As those who read this blog know, I am a passionate pancake lover, to be sure.  Not only are these easy to make, they are gluten/grain free, lactose free, and without refined sugar.  They taste just like any other (albeit awesome) pancake.

And the Matcha?  You cant taste it.  Yet, Matcha packs a nutritional punch.  It enhances ones sense of calm, is high in antioxidants, increases stamina, boosts memory and concentration, is said to help clear skin, detoxifies the body, and more.  Its worth getting your hands on some of this stuff.

So, how to make the pancakes…

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Roasted Cauliflower with Vegan Cheese Sauce

Ever heard of a comfort food dish that’s…

  1. low in calories
  2. a light meal
  3. ultra healthy
  4. easy to make
  5. vegan, gluten free, and nearly raw
  6. yet homey, delicious, and satisfying, totally masquerading as something calorie laden and tasty.

Not so much?  Well, now you have.

Behold, the summer dinner of your dreams.  Fitting in nicely with all the criteria above.  Get excited, foodie friends.  This is one of the better dishes Ive whipped up in a while.  Man oh man, you just might find yourself eating this weekly.  I know I may.

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Tofu Chocolate Pie or Mousse

Love chocolate mousse or whipped chocolate pie?  But without all the cream, calories, and sugar?  I have just the thing for you, right here.  And with summer right around the corner, the deal is even sweeter.  This chocolate pie clocks in at just 150 calories per slice (out of a pie cut into 8 slices).  Upon tasting the finished product, you’ll be stunned its made from tofu.  Light, sweet, decadent, chocolatey, this one satisfies and satiates that chocolate hankering anytime youre feeling it, but without the overload of calories, fat, and sugar that a typical chocolate pie/mousse does.

This recipe is gluten/grain free, dairy free, and very low in sugar.

Without further ado, here is how to make this light, lovely, and delicious chocolate mousse/pie:

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Vegan Raw Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough

Nostalgia, a smidge of rebellion, and the most delicious of sweet treats are what’s behind the eating of raw dough, if I say so myself.  Come on, so many of you can recall as a child sneaking spoonful’s of the raw dough (brownies, cookies, you name it) of whatever mom or dad was baking up, just before they slid it into the oven.  “Raw eggs!”  Your alarmed parent would most certainly caution loudly.  To which, as a child, you rolled your eyes and snorted, “who cares?  Ill be fine,” and continued spooning the raw dough into your mouth.  Yes, that was me 😉

Well, with this cookie dough, get excited.  There are: no dairy products, its low in sugar, gluten free, and low in calories.  Doesn’t get much better than that, folks.  Actually wait, it does.  You can whip this up in 5 minutes flat.  And yes, it tastes like actual raw chocolate chip cookie dough.  Dont believe me?  Try it yourself.  You’ve been warned though, this stuff is awesome and thus, quite addictive.

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Honey Mustard Creamy Chicken with Bacon

Who doesn’t love that combo?  Honey mustard…bacon…chicken…mmmm.  Sounds like a Cobb salad to me.  Always a tasty treat to be sure.  Something about this melding of flavors is so savory, mouthwatering, homey, and just delicious.  Much like the pairing of chocolate and peanut butter, a match made in heaven.

This recipe is light in calories, but packs a homey, comfort food, satisfying punch.  Its gluten free, and without refined sugar.

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Chickpea Chocolate Chip Blondies

Happy Sunday, all!

Turns out, sometime blondes do have more fun.  At least, in the vein of these particular goodies they do.  This past weekend, I discovered a delightful new baking ingredient that’s changed my life over the last 24 hours.  Replacing flour in baking goods with ground up chickpeas.  I know, sounds somewhat sketchy.  I was hesitant myself.  How could ground up beans possibly result in that cakey, delightful texture I so adore in all things cake, pastry, and cookie?

Shockingly though, they rivaled precisely that.  The texture of these blondies are in fact: cakey, slightly nutty, sweet, decadent, absolutely delicious.  I couldnt stop at just one.  More like just…four 😉

I can assure you, trying this recipe (which is super easy and ready in minutes, might I add) will have you never turning back.  These are SO good.  I already made not one, but two batches of them this weekend alone.  That’s how awesome these babies are.

So, the blondies: gluten/grain free, dairy free, vegan, and low in sugar.

Dont take my word for it though.  Whip up a batch for your own sampling pleasure!

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Blueberry Ricotta Pancakes

Inspired by and adapted from the book “Hungry for Change: Ditch the Diets, Conquer the Cravings, and Eat Your Way to Lifelong Health,” by James Colquhoun and Laurentine Bosch (which was excellent, by the way.  I recommend reading this if you are interested in the topics of health and nutrition.  Its an easy, quick but informative and inspiring read), I give you these fluffy, light, absolutely delicious blueberry ricotta pancakes.

Grain/gluten free, and low in sugar, these are basically great for you.  Yet they totally hit that pancake hankering spot one feels on weekend brunching mornings (at least that’s my quintessential weekend (and actually, weekday as well) morning ;-)).

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Roasted Squash, Goat Cheese & Pomegranate Salad

Culinary Crafts by Brooke and Maxx is up and running once again.  This past weekend was spent engaged in much slicing, dicing, stirring, and sampling in the kitchen together.  While the both of us are devoted dessert die-hards, we tend towards eating healthier for the remaining picture of what makes up each of our diets.  Thus, this salad was the decided upon entrée for our lunch this past Sunday.

I know, I know, winter and cold weather typically call for all things comfort.  Homey and delicious.  Salads are for summer time, right?  Not this one though.  This salad in particular is just that.  Warm, comforting, and totally hits the spot.  Its also easy to make, really heathy, and quite light.  Throw this one together for a filling, satisfying and super yummy lunch or dinner.

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