Superfood Chocolate Cookies

Superfood Chocolate Cookies

Avocado Cookies? Yuck!  I know, I get it.  They don't sound good. Even to someone like me who loves avocado chocolate pudding, and makes cookies with pureed beans in them. But I promise, if I didn't tell you there was avocado in these you would never, ever guess.  You would just think they were super fudgy little bites of dark chocolate goodness. It's no secret that I love to sneak healthy ingredients into baked goods so that I can get my kids, especially my daughter to eat fruits and vegetables without having to actually take a bite of a fruit or vegetable, so although there is chocolate and honey in the ingredients, I still think they provide a good amount of nutritious fuel for my family's active lifestyle.  These are best made in a food processor so that the ingredients combine smoothly, and then stored in the freezer to maintain freshness.  I made them small so they could be bite sized, but I am sure you could make them a little bit bigger and even add mini chocolate chips to them as well.  The combination of avocado, almond butter, and eggs, along with the rich chocolate, cocoa and honey, make them the perfect sweet treat that is also full of vitamins, fiber and protein. And they are great served with a thin layer of peanut butter on top, or as a little cookie sandwich! 

Salmon Patties

Salmon Patties

 On very rare occasions, I am left alone to fend for myself for dinner.  Last night my husband and son where out of the house, busy with evening activities, and my daughter was home sick with a belly ache.  Usually I would just have a bowl of soup while my daughter ate cereal, or have some cheese and crackers, or a simple salad.  But last night I was really hungry and wanted something warm and interesting. I had half a dozen ripe avocados in my fridge, and with no party to make guacamole for, and way too much Halloween candy sitting around to entice anyone with (avocado) chocolate pudding, which is absolutely delicious, (simple chocolate pudding, raw vegan chocolate pudding), I knew my meal should include an avocado, so as not to waste good food. I have used avocado as a mayonnaise substitute many times in salmon or tuna salads, but I didn't feel like eating a cold sandwich.  So I thought, why not add a little cheese, an egg to bind it, and some flavorful spices and fry it up into a patty?  I knew as soon as the underside started to brown and the aroma filled the kitchen, that I had a winner.  A simple to make, super nutritious, quick dinner that is perfect for one or two people.  I like to think of it as a cross between a tuna burger and a crab cake, and the recipe can definitely be amended with different spices, finely chopped vegetables, fresh salmon, canned tuna, or even breadcrumbs.  I ate two of them with some cut up tomatoes on the side, but they would be great on a roll like a burger, or with a side salad or a little rice or quinoa. I'm looking forward to the left over one this afternoon when I get back from a walk, and am sure it will taste just as good as it did last night.  So next time you find yourself wondering what to make for dinner, and you have a ripe avocado handy, grab a few pantry items and get cooking!  Quick and easy can also be healthy, and honestly, if I'd taken the time to dress up my plate a bit better and present it differently with some garnishes, I can guarantee it would pass as something you might eat at a fancy seafood restaurant.

High Protein Guacamole

High Protein Guacamole

School may have started here in Pennsylvania, but it still feels like summer outside, and my vegetable garden is still alive and well, so a recipe like this is perfect for today.  I actually made this for a July 4th party, but despite the avocado, most of the other ingredients are currently in or have been in my garden in years past.  This is basically your average guacamole recipe with the exception that in place of one avocado, you add in pureed edamame, which adds a huge protein and nutritional boost to this already healthy dip.  Since soy beans don't have a strong flavor of their own and when pureed are nice and creamy like an avocado, they mix in perfectly and everyone who tried this dip at the party loved it and asked for the recipe.  If you don't want to use soy but want to add protein, you could easily substitute pureed fresh or frozen and thawed green peas.  One cup of green peas has 8g of protein, less than half of the 17g in soy beans, but still significant. So get dipping and enjoy the summer weather while it lasts!

Cilantro and Lime Dressed Salad with Polenta Croutons

Cilantro and Lime Dressed Salad
with Polenta Croutons

If you are like me, there are nights when you want a wonderfully delicious dinner, but don't want to slave away in the kitchen for hours.  This simple meal takes care of that by using store cooked chicken and bagged salad as the base for a healthy homemade meal you can serve up as your own.  Rotisserie chickens are a quick, convenient and inexpensive way to add quality protein to your diet without a lot of extra work.  I pulled apart the chicken earlier in the day and while the polenta was broiling in the oven, quickly reheated the chicken on the stove with some lemon juice, so that every bite tasted as if the chicken had been marinating for hours.  Obviously a simply dressed salad with fresh organic vegetables is a fantastic base for any nutritious meal, but sometimes you need a little more than vegetables and protein.  That is where the organic polenta comes in. A perfect, gluten free source of carbs, the polenta roasts up into crunchy and chewy croutons unlike any you have ever tasted before.  My son and my husband couldn't get enough of them and I cannot wait to try them again with all sorts of other dishes. So get cooking!

Southwest Salad with Avocado Lime Dressing

Southwest Salad with Avocado Lime Dressing

Sometimes a simple dinner is exactly what is needed at the end of a long day.  The night I made this I was cooking only for myself, but I wanted something healthy and satisfying.  I just didn't want to spend more than 10 or 15 minutes in the kitchen preparing it.  I had eaten the same salad mix in a bag a few days before and although I liked the ranch style dressing that came with it, I wanted to make something I knew would be not only more nutritious, but more flavorful as well.  So I got rid of the dressing packet and got out some fresh ingredients from my fridge and whipped up this delicious meal.  Because the salad base is mostly cabbage and kale it held up well with the creamy avocado dressing and honestly tasted just as good, if not better, as leftovers the next day for lunch.  I know that corn is not the most nutritious "vegetable" and has been vilified in the news recently as a contributing factor to high spikes in blood sugar, but I wanted some carbs in my salad and I figured organic corn was a decent pick. I added black beans for protein, although cut up chicken or salmon would have worked as well.  The secret is in the dressing, which tasted so creamy you would think it is bad for you, but it is just the perfection of an avocado adding healthy fats and flavor to a delicious dinner salad.

Happy Avocado Month

Healthy Avocados!!

So February is National Avocado Month and since avocados are one of my favorite foods and something I eat almost everyday, I had to get in a post, before the month was over, dedicated purely to this nutritional powerhouse. Everyone knows that avocados are good for you.  There are so many different ways in which to eat them: chopped up on top of a salad, sliced up and on a sandwich or a taco, mashed into guacamole, or just plain (with hot sauce like I prefer)... but my new favorite way to eat avocados is as dessert.  Yes, dessert.  More specifically as a decadent chocolate pudding that tastes better than any other pudding you have ever eaten.  I swear.  This new recipe is basically just a simplified version of my original  raw vegan chocolate pudding, but quicker to mix together and more pure in flavor. Both of my kids love it and my husband who was a bit skeptical of the first attempt, didn't even know at first that this was basically the same thing.  It is that good.  And with only four healthy ingredients, it is a dessert you can eat anytime, all the time. So Happy Avocado Month, for one more day... but please, remember to eat them all year long.  They are one of those fabulous healthy foods that are available all year, not matter where you live or what the temperature is outside.

Christmas Guacamole

Christmas Guacamole

I was not planning on turning this quick Christmas day appetizer into a post on my blog, but after my mom commented that my ingredients all set out on the counter looked so pretty, I thought, why not? Guacamole is not a hard dish to make, but I thought I would share my go to combination because it always seems to be a crowd pleaser.  I was lucky I was able to get any photos of it at all to be honest since it was the one appetizer that got completely devoured on Christmas day.  I don't always add in red pepper, and in the summer I usually add in fresh tomatoes, but I thought the combination of the dark green jalapenos and the bright red bell pepper made it an especially festive addition to our Christmas spread.

Meatless Monday, Mexican Style

Enchilada Lasagna 
served with crispy kale chips and carrot sticks

This is a vegetarian Mexican spin on a traditional lasagna that I came up with last year.  It is so hearty and delicious that even my meat loving husband frequently requests that I make it.  The choice of beans, tomatoes, any additional veggies or spices, even the cheeses can be switched around depending on what you and your family prefer or what you happen to have in your pantry.  This is my go to combination when I want to feed everyone and warm the house up in the process.  So give meatless a try this Monday and let me know what you think!!!