Homemade Larabars

Medjool dates are delicious all on their own as a healthy snack, but why not incorporate them into a healthy bar recipe, which is refined sugar free, dairy free and gluten free? There are many commercial date based bars available, though many are expensive, and others contain preservatives or for some strange reason added sweeteners. Dates are more than sweet enough on their own, and they certainly do not need any added sugar!

There are many different bars flavours to make, but they all start with a base of dates, nuts and a little bit of water.

Date Bar Base:
2 cups of dried dates (make sure they have the pits removed and are sugar free)
1/8 - 1/2 c water
1 c nuts - I often use almonds as a starter, but any kind will do. Peanuts have a very strong flavour so will alter the bars' taste significantly.

1) In a food processor with "S" blades add in all nuts and blend until coarse
2) Add in all dates to the nut mixture and puree until a paste forms. You may need to scrape the sides of the food processor during the mixing process.
3) Add water slowly as necessary so that dates form a paste (you may not need any water depending on how soft the dates are). The paste should not be overly wet, so add water very slowly
4) Line a Pyrex pan with waxed paper and spray with non-stick cooking spray
5) Press mixture into lined pan and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
6) Remove from pan using liner and transfer to cutting board.
7) Cut into pieces and wrap individually in plastic wrap, or store in a container with waxed paper between layers.

Alternatively these can be formed into balls rather than into bars, and can be rolled in oats, coconut, cocoa powder or anything else to help prevent them from sticking to one another. Store in a container in fridge, with waxed paper between layers.

Mix Ins:
Start with base, and add or omit the following:

Cherry Pie
- add 1 c dried cherries
- add in 1/2 c cashews
- omit 1/2 c dates

Chocolate Coconut Brownie
- add 1/2 c dried coconut
- add 2 tbsp cocoa powder
- add 3 tbsp dark chocolate chips (optional)

Apple Pie Delight
- add 1 c dried apples
- omit 1/2 c dates from original base
- add 2 tsp cinnamon
- use pecans as the nut for the base

Gingerbread Men - I recommend pecans and almonds
- add 1/2 tsp ground ginger
- add 1 tsp cinnamon
- add 1/2 tsp nutmeg
- add 1/8 tsp ground clove
- add 1/2 c nuts
- add 2 tbsp molasses (optional)

Mocha Madness
- add 2 tbsp ground roasted coffee beans
- add 2 tbsp cocoa powder
- add 1 tsp vanilla extract

PB & J
- omit 1/2 c dates
- use peanuts as the base nut
- add 3/4 c dried cherries or other dried berry

Black Forest Cake - I recommend almonds
- omit 1/2 c dates
- add 3/4 c dried cherries
- add 2 tbsp cocoa powder

Tropical Paradise
- omit 1/2 c dates
- add 1/2 c dried pineapple
- add 1/4 c dried coconut
- add 1-2 tbsp lemon or lime zest
- use 1/4 c (or more) macadamia nuts as part of the nut base

Old Fashioned Oatmeal-Raisin Cookies
- add 3/4 c steel cut oats or old-fashioned oats
- omit 1/4 c nuts
- add 1/2 c raisins
- add 1 tsp cinnamon

Carrot Cake
- omit 1/2 dates
- add 1/4 c raisins
- add 1/4 c dried unsweetened pineapple
- add 1/2 c pecans
- add 1/4 c fresh grated carrots
- add 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- add 1/4 tsp ground ginger
- add 1/4 tsp nutmeg

Apricot - I recommend cashews
- omit 1/2 c dates
- add 3/4 c dried apricots

Lemon Pie - I recommend almonds
- add 2 tbsp lemon juice
- add 2 tbsp lemon zest
- add 1/4 c dried coconut

Berry Cobbler - I recommend pecans or walnuts
- omit 1/2 c dates
- add 3/4 dried berries (blueberry is delicious!)
- omit 1/4 c nuts
- add 1/2 c steel cut or old fashioned oats

Pumpkin Apple Zucchini Muffins

Fall is such a great season, crisp air, crunchy leaves and the return of pumpkins, squash and the scent of cinnamon everywhere. I happen to like fall because it's when my husband and I celebrate our birthdays, but also more importantly because of the food! I love root vegetables, especially squashes, and also the excuse to drink my own weight in fresh apple cider! While getting coffee the other day I noticed some delicious looking pumpkin muffins, donuts and cakes at several coffee shops, but when I looked up the nutritional information I saw just how much butter and sugar went into them! Since I have somewhat of a disdain for sugar, it prompted me to put my apron back on and get some kitchen chemistry rolling! Today's feature is a muffin filled with nutritious elements, that actually tastes delicious! I used some alternative ingredients to come up with a healthy and tasty pumpkin treat!

The base of this recipe is pumpkin, which is a great vegetable! Pumpkin, like carrots is full of carotenoids, which give these vegetables their classic orange colour. Carotenoids are important for eye health, and the body uses them by converting them to vitamin A. A specific carotenoid, beta-carotene has also been linked to reducing cancer risk by helping to destroy free radicals in the system. Imagine, battling cancer while enjoying a delicious muffin! Beta-carotene is also a proven wrinkle fighter, so pumpkin helps keep you looking young too! Pumpkins, as well as other squashes are extremely high in fibre, which can help with healthy weight maintenance, by keeping you full longer and keeping a healthy digestive tract. Since pumpkin is very filling, and low in calories (only 50 calories in a cup of mashed pumpkin) it's a great way to stay full longer. Pumpkin is also a great post-workout food, because it's super high in potassium (about 560mg in a cup), which is even higher than bananas (which are also an excellent source of potassium). Potassium is an important electrolyte for your heart and body muscles, which is lost in sweat. Instead of grabbing an energy drink after exercise, consider something with pumpkin! 

This recipe is also refined sugar free, as it is sweetened with honey, and I used homemade flours to keep it even healthier. This recipe can be easily made with regular flours too if you're intimidated by using homemade flour, but it recommend checking my post on homemade flours and see just how easy it is to make them! 

In this recipe I also used diced apples, I even used the cores! Yuck you say? When they are copped small and cooked you won't even notice the texture. Be sure to remove the seeds however, they are difficult to chew & digest and there is some truth to them being poisonous (although 150lb person woud need to eat about 150 of them in one sitting for them to be toxic). The cores are high in pectin, which is great for digestive tract health, and warding off cancers like colon or rectal cancer, as well as is high in fibre, which again is great for weight loss!

1 & 3/4 c pumpkin purée (not to be confused with pumpkin pie filling if you're using store bought, which is full of sugar, spices and additives. Be sure to get pure pumpkin, or make your own!)

2 eggs

2 c grated zucchini

2 c finely diced apples (~2 med apples)

1/3 - 1/2 c honey or agave nectar

2 tbsp lemon juice or white vinegar (acid reacts with baking soda & baking powder to make muffins rise)

1/4 tsp clove

1/4 tsp nutmeg

2 tsp cinnamon 

3/4 c quinoa flour

2/3 c almonds - puréed

1/4 c flax seeds

1/2 c bran

1 c oat flour

2 tsp baking soda

2 tsp baking powder

1) preheat oven to 350 degree

2) In a large bowl, mix together all wet ingredients (including apples & zucchini),except lemon juice.

3) Add puréed almonds (don't just use almond flour, because you need the fats and oils in the almonds for this recipe too. If you don't want to purée almonds, add 1/3 c coconut oil, nut butter or butter to the recipe). Mix well. 

4) Add baking soda & baking powder, spices & lemon juice, mix well.

5) Add remaining ingredients to bowl and mix well. 

6) Add batter to greased muffin tins, or loaf pans, filling to 3/4 full. These muffins won't rise much, but they need a bit of space to expand. 

7) Bake at 350 for 30 mins (muffins) or 45 mins (loaves) or until a tooth pick comes out clean. 

Quinoa Breakfast Bake & Alternative Flour

In my recent attempts to eat cleaner and less processed I've started making my own flour. What!!?! If you're starting to think that's crazy and way too high maintenance, hold on for a second and keep reading. Not so long ago I felt the same way, and tried to continue baking with healthier flour (such as a whole wheat variety), but what I found is that most flours labeled as multigrain and whole wheat actually have a whole lot of bleached white flour in them too! Part of the reason behind this is gluten, which helps make breads and cakes so fluffy and light. I thought about buying some fancy flours, but found that 1) they were incredibly expensive and 2) many of them were highly processed and bleached as well (I'm guessing in an attempt to make them look like regular flour?). In any case I decided to do some research and start making my own flour. Turns out all it really takes is some grain or nuts or beans... (pick your favourite!) and either a coffee bean grinder or a food processor.

Making flour from grains is insanely easy. I've thus far made flour from rice (both white and brown), nuts (almonds, cashews and coconut - is that even a nut?), quinoa, oats, bran, dried chickpeas...the possibilities are endless!

My tips for making flours:

• Start small! There is no need to empty and entire 10lb bag of rice into your food processor and see how things go! Start with slightly less than the equivalent 
• When making flour use slightly more base than you need in flour. I used 3/4c of quinoa to make just over 1/2 c of quinoa flour. 
• When blending nuts (including coconut), don't over blend, otherwise you will end up with nut butter because of thenhighbfatbcontent of nuts. 
• Since wheat contains gluten using alternative flours means you'll probably need extra baking powder or yeast to help make things rise (if you're substituting in alternative flours for wheat flour in other recipes).

Quinoa Breakfast Bake (makes 1-2 servings)

This recipe can also easily be used as pancakes if cooked in a pan!

1/2c quinoa flour

2 tsp baking powder

1 egg

2 tsp vanilla

1 tbsp coconut oil

1/2 c apple sauce

1 tbsp agave nectar or honey (optional)

Milk/Soy Milk (more as needed for batter consistency)

1) Preheat oven to 400 degrees. 

2) Mix all dry ingredients together in a medium bowl. 

3) In a small bowl whisk eggs and vanilla until frothy.

4) Pour egg mixture into dry ingredients, add remaining ingredients and mix well. If necessary add milk to make batter more watery (batter should be more liquid than cookie dough, but slightly stickier than traditional pancake batter).

5) Pour batter into a small pan or metal bowl, lightly greased with coconut oil. Bake for 12-18 minutes or until the top becomes golden brown and a tooth pick comes out clean when inserted. 

6) Top with fruit or another favourite topping (like Fruit Compote) and enjoy! 

I mixed and baked mine in a metal bowl, which I often do in the mornings to save time and make it an easy and quick breakfast. These can also be made in muffin cups (though they don't really rise so fill the cups quite full). They store in the fridge for about a week and freeze/thaw really well!