Getting your just desserts

Are you ready for some GOOD FOR YOU WHILE ALSO YUMMY RECIPES? Then keep reading on!

The past few weeks I have been  slowly transitioning to a raw diet.  By raw I mean raw veggies, no meat, little to no sugar or oils, I did not give up boiled or scrambled eggs as I'm a die hard protein addict and all the fruit I can stand.  No sodas or dairy.  Today, I backslid a little, needing something to help me swallow some nuts and upon seeing that my sam's choice water had INGREDIENTS besides water in it I  decided what the heck, it's that time of month I'll wash it down with some chocolate milk. BADBADBADBAD idea. I gagged.  The milk came back up. (mmmm chemically fake chocolate milk second time around, True Moo my ass!) I can still taste the CHEMICALS in it.  You know you're on the right track when you can taste the things in food and drinks that you couldn't taste before.  You thought it was normal, even good. It isn't.
This s a tough lifestyle change; one you can't just jump into and expect to stick with it.  I indulged once or twice a week on some sugary things or some bread, only a mouthful though, just enough to make me think oh...blech....and blech indeed it was.  I can taste the bad stuff in my former diet.

 It's unnerving.

My calorie count is much lower because it's an all you can each non-starchy fruits and veggies diet.  However, I gained weight at first.  Then I lost it plus and extra pound or two.  I have more energy. I dont' feel full, but I feel satisfied if that makes sense?

I found all kinds of cookie and cake recipes that will knock your socks off.  The carrot cake is not cooked at all, the banana cookies and chickpea cookies are baked.  They do have a bit of sweetener in them, namely either Organic Maple Syrup or Dark(as dark as you can find it) Raw Honey.

Here's the banana oatmeal cookies,
Ready?  This is a really difficult, I'm tellin ya.
Base recipe:
4 slightly over ripe banana
1/2 cup old fashioned (not instant) oatmeal
See, hard as it can be!  Now start adding stuff (or not)
1 tablespoon either honey or maple syrup (optional)
1 dash cinnamon (to taste) (optional)
1/4  cup chopped walnuts (optional)
1/4 cup raisins or cranberries (optional)
Turn them into double chocolate chip cookies by ommitting the cinnamon and adding a tablespoon of cocoa and 1/4 cup organic chocolate chips

Mash bananas until they're kinda soupy, stir in oatmeal and any, or all,  optional ingredients.  Put on a parchment paper lined pan and place ina 350 degree oven no longer th an 12 minutes. Let them cool and enjoy.
If you need a bland diet then the banana cookies are for you.  Experiment.  Just look carefully at your add ins for things you can't pronounce.  If you have no idea how to pronounce it or what it even is you don't need to be eating it. You certainly don't want to be putting it in your children or grandchildren's mouths.


Mmmmmmmmmm Carrot Cake!

Cake:

1 cup shredded raw carrot
1 cup raw walnuts
1 cup raw medjool dates, pits removed
1 cup dried unsweetened coconut
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon Chinese Five Spice
1/3 cup raisins
1/3 cup chopped raw walnuts
Icing:

1 cup raw cashews or macadamia nuts (I prefer cashews)
2 tablespoons virgin coconut oil
2 tablespoons maple syrup or honey
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
pinch salt
1 tablespoon water, add more as needed
Carrot Cake:

Fine chop the carrots into a quick "shredded carrot" in the food processor, then scoop into a bowl. Puree 1 cup walnuts in the food processor. Add in 9 mejool dates into the pureed walnuts, and then blend into a sweet paste. Add walnut/date paste into bowl with the grated carrots, stir and mash in together, and add in dried coconut, vanilla & five spice. Then add in raisins, 1/3 cup chopped walnuts. Mix until well incorporated. Shape the carrot cake with your hands onto a plate, it will be easy to shape into a cake mold. Chill in the fridge to help firm up.

Icing:

Blend all ingredients together in a high speed blender or food processor. It may also help to soak your cashews for an hour prior to making for easier blending, if you soak the cashews, expect to use less water in blending.

First: it isn't as easy as it looks.  Second I added a tablespoon of honey to the cake part of the recipe, not a lot,but I felt it needed something.  third, medjool dates are freaking expensive!  I bought bulk dates out of a barrel at The Fresh Market for more than half the price of Medjools and had enough left over to nibble on.  I'm almost willing to bet figs can be subbed for the dates. Fourth add a dash of cinnamon to the cake part of the recipe. Fifth: You absolutely  MUST MUST MUST use a food processor for this recipe.  I killed my blender. Poof! Up in a little cloud of smoke. (not a small one either!) Sixth: I bought and grated my own coconut, froze the milk in an ice cube tray for later use)

NO Flour Chocolate Chip Cookies!
Are you ready for this one?  My family ate every last one of them before they realized they were completely flourless and totally healthy for them.  YOU MADE THEM WITH WHAT?


1¼ cups canned organic chickpeas or cannelli beans (whie kidney beans), well-rinsed and patted dry with a paper towel
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
½ cup + 2 tablespoons organic almond butter (or other organic nut butter.  I love almond butter, it's quite versatile)
¼ cup honey or agave or maple syrup
½ cup organic chocolate chips
I also added 1 tablespoon of chia seed and 1 tablespoon of ground flaxseed

Directions
This is another blender killer.  High powered food processorsonly need apply for this awesome recipe)
Preheat your oven to 350°F  Combine all the ingredients, except for the chocolate chips, in a food processor and process until very smooth. Make sure to scrape the sides and the top to get the little chunks of chickpeas and process again until they're combined.
Put in the chocolate chips and stir it if you can, or pulse it once or twice. The mixture will be very thick and sticky. (this line isn't kidding....it's a lick your fingers AND the bowl type recipe)
I just spoon dropped them then flattened out a little with the bottom of the spoon on a parchment lined pan. They don't do much rising. Bake for about 10 minutes. They will be a little soft so they're not milk dippin cookies, sorry, but I'm sure milk would still go well with them...if I drank milk that is.

This recipe called for salt and baking powder.  I omitted both and the cookies were delicious and eaten within an hour or so.

So there you have it.  My current favorite Just Desserts!