Chocolate Peanut Butter Hummus

I have a 5 year old chocolaholic. I can't blame him, I was and still am one as well. I like treating him to chocolate treats but I can't just let him eat candy bars for breakfast so I created this recipe for chocolate peanut butter hummus he can have on his morning toast, drip pretzels into in the afternoon, spread on pancakes for dinner (pancakes are more of a dinner food here, I don't take time to do morning pancakes all that often).

I present to you: Chocolate Peanut Butter Hummus.

It's oil-free, it's vegan, it's tasty, and it's not *super* junky.

So here's the recipe:

1 can rinsed black beans
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/2 cup maple syrup
1/2 cup PB Fit (peanut butter powder)
1/4-1/2 cup water

Put everything in a food processor or a quart-sized jar. Start with 1/4 cup of water and add water if necessary. Blend until the beans are smooth.

Enjoy on pretzels, toast, a spoon, or whatever sounds good to you.

Thank you for reading,
Julie

GF Vegan Pizza Crackers

My kids love pizza (who doesn't?) but I hate the extra questionable ingredients in pizza flavored snacks. I set out to make some of my own. The end result - they're tasty AND nutritious!

Before I get started though, I have to tell a funny story about my 6 year old. The other day he had some peanut butter sandwich crackers that someone had given him. He was eating them in the car and clearly thinking about something. He finally piped up with, "I know how to make these crackers."  I think to myself, "Sure, take two crackers and stick them together with peanut butter." Thankfully I kept my mouth shut because his idea was even better. "First you make the crackers. Then you make the peanut butter. Then you spread your peanut butter on one side of a cracker and stick the other cracker to it." I had a proud moment when I realized my 6 year old thinks crackers and peanut butter come from my kitchen, not just containers at the store.

And on to the recipe . . .

GF Vegan Pizza Crackers
Yields:   crackers / Time: 10 active minutes, 15 minutes bake time
For a printable version, click here.

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup Tomato Juice
• 2 Tbsp Balsamic Vinegar
• 3 Tbsp Olive Oil
• 1 Tbsp Flax Meal

• 1 cup *GF Oat Flour (you can grind your own by putting GF oats in a blender and blending until floury) 
• 1 tsp Salt
• 1/2 tsp Baking Powder
• 3 Tbsp Nutritional Yeast
• 1/2 tsp Onion Powder
• 1 Tbsp Italian Seasoning
• 1/2 tsp Garlic Powder

*You can also sub in all purpose flour for a non gluten-free version. The batter definitely comes out more like dough, you can't stir it to the very end as I did with the GF version. Roll them out nice and thin as they puff up in the oven.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Mix first 4 ingredients in a measuring cup or small bowl.

Mix dry ingredients in a bowl.

Stir liquid ingredients then pour into dry ingredients and mix. I find that a rubber scraper mixes this best.

Press out on a piece of parchment.

Cover with another piece and roll to 1/4 inch thick. (I use the foil backed parchment, just personal choice)

Remove top parchment paper and lightly tap in the edges so they aren't significantly thinner than the rest of the dough.

Score into cracker sizes with a pizza cutter. Transfer bottom parchment paper and cracker dough to a baking sheet.

Bake for 12 minutes.

Remove from oven and either flip the crackers individually or turn the whole parchment paper with crackers over and release the crackers upside down on the baking sheet and separate them.

Discard the parchment and bake the crackers for another 9-10 minutes, until the edges just start to brown.

Cool on a cooling rack and enjoy.

Have you ever made crackers? I have several go-to recipes that we really enjoy. I love knowing what goes into my kids' snacks and they get pretty excited when I offer to make them.

Thank you for reading,
Julie


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Homemade Chocolates

Today I did a little experiment combining several ideas into one and it was a raging success so I'm here to share it with you.

About 10 months ago, I gave up processed cane and beet sugars. This, in addition to my mostly plant based diet (I do cook with oils), means I make a whole lot of my own food to stay within the parameters I've set for myself. That's just fine with me, I've never felt healthier. Unfortunately, I've also become a bit of a chocolate snob but as long as I have a few minutes to cook it up, I have a wonderful go-to recipe for tasty dark chocolate. Today I'm going to share with you how you can make your own amazing chocolates using just a handful of ingredients that no pantry should be without.

First, let me entice you to read on:

Yes, that's a peanut butter cup. Yes, I made that myself. Yes, I did it in under 10 minutes including cleanup. Yes, you can too.

Not into peanut butter cups? How about a homemade Almond Joy?

BTW, when was the last time you thanked a blogger for eating 6 decadent chocolates just so she can get a good photo? Just know, I took one for the team today.

Now for those of you who aren't into filled chocolates. Get yourself one of these and crank out a few of these:

This chocolate can also be poured over ice cream and it solidifies just like Magic Shell.

I could go on and on about how versatile this recipe is (banana + peanut butter + chocolate) but I bet you want me to just go ahead and post the recipe so here it is:

Estimated cook time: <10 minutes + 30 minutes in the freezer

Ingredients for the Chocolate:

• 1/4 cup organic unrefined coconut oil
• 1/4 cup organic cocoa powder (please buy fair trade)
• 1/8 cup organic maple syrup
• 1/2 tsp organic vanilla extract (optional)
• pinch of sea salt (optional but I like what this adds quite a bit)

Optional fillers:

• 3-5 drops doTERRA essential oils such as wild orange or peppermint. (Please only use essential oils that can be taken internally, this does NOT include those you can purchase at the grocery/drug store)
• 1-2 Tbsp full fat coconut milk (from the can, just use the thick stuff up top) for a milk chocolate flavor and texture
• Natural peanut butter (the stuff with sugar would be too sweet in my opinion plus the natural stuff rolls into a ball easier)
• Coconut + an almond
• Banana
• Peanuts
• ?!?!? use your imagination!!

Directions (printable recipe here):

Put mini muffin papers into 8 mini muffin tin holes. If you don't have the muffin tin, you can just use two muffin papers together for each candy and put them on a freezer-safe plate or tray.

Combine ingredients for the chocolate in a small pan over medium-low heat.

Stir constantly until all ingredients are combined and mixture looks smooth then immediately remove from the heat.

Pour a little dollop into each muffin cup. I think these were each filled a little less than 1/4 of the way.

Add your filling.

Peanut Butter: Roll small balls of peanut butter in your hands. If you're using the natural stuff, this should be no problem at all. Put the PB ball in the center of the chocolate.

Coconut & Almond: Sprinkle some shredded unsweetened coconut across the surface of the chocolate. Gently press in one almond per candy.

Now pour the remaining chocolate into the 8 cups.

Optional: I like to sprinkle a little coconut on the ones containing coconut since I know not everyone is a fan and don't want any surprises. If I make several different varieties at once, I try to use some system to tell them apart once they're finished.

Pop the tray in the freezer for about 30 minutes. When they're firm, you can eat them right away or store them in the refrigerator.

Warning: If you're sensitive to caffeine, these are NOT a good late night snack unless you want to stay up all night crafting. I won't judge.

Thank you for reading,
Julie

Almond Joy Hot Chocolate - Vegan Style

I love hot chocolate, as do my kids. I hate buying it when we're out and about though because it is either cow's milk based, full of sugar, expensive or all of the above. When we're at home though, all bets are off and I've become a master at busting out fantastic plant based hot chocolates. Today I got a little extra creative and totally nailed this recipe on the first shot. I was just making it up as I went along and am so glad I documented what I used so I can recreate it.

Almond Joy Hot Chocolate
*Vegan / Plant Based

Ingredients

• 4 cups of your favorite unsweetened plant based milk - I used organic rice milk
• 1/4 cup raw cocoa powder
• 1/4 cup liquid sweetener such as organic agave or pure maple syrup (I used maple)
• 1/4 tsp Almond Extract
• 2 Tbsp Creamed Coconut such as this one

Optional Topping to be loaded into a whipper

• 1 Can Full fat coconut milk (you won't use the whole thing)
• 2 Tbsp Agave

Directions

Heat all ingredients together over warm heat until the creamed coconut has dissolved. There will be some little pieces of coconut floating in there.

Pour into a mug and enjoy.

Optional - I added a bit of coconut whipped cream (full fat coconut milk from a can + agave + vanilla in my whipper) and a sprinkling of toasted coconut on top.

HOLY MOLY!!!! (I've been saying that all day long, this stuff is so amazingly good)

Thank you for reading,
Julie