Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies

Hello, hello. Let's talk about being healthy for a bit, okay? As I was scrolling through my past posts, I realized I wasn't really fulfilling my slogan of "an attempt at healthy living". It was time to live it up. As summer began, my diet became a little cray cray and I completely disregarded exercise. I'm beginning to develop a summer routine though. This post will be a bit of a lecture, so if you're rolling your eyes, please just skip down to the recipe! :) 

Flourless cookies? Damn straight, homies. I swear this isn't some sort of BS. Now, the lecturing is about to begin. I'll go through why flour and gluten were cut out of my diet; benefits of honey (yes these are sugar free); and a little bit of my recent exercise routine, HIIT. 

A few months ago, I began cutting all wheat/gluten products out of my diet because I had stumbled across an article about gluten sensitivity, which I boldly self-diagnosed as a problem in my life. Since I stopped my gluten intake, my overall energy levels have increase and my stomach no longer hurts from the wretched bloating. Now, there are mixed professional beliefs out there; some believe taking gluten out of a diet is more detrimental than keeping it in the diet, while others believe that cutting gluten out can improve overall energy levels and health. I'm no professional, but from my experiences I do believe that cutting as much gluten as possible out of your life will help with fatigue, headaches, and bloating. With that being said, you can freely enjoy these cookies, that is, unless you've got peanut allergies.

Now we're onto the benefits of honey. While there are many uses of honey, I'll be focusing on my favorite benefit.

I am one of those people who is allergic to everything outside, basically most of nature-- anything from grasses to hamsters. Lucky me, right? What I'm trying to say is that honey can potentially ease your agonizing allergies (it would be great if honey could fully get rid of allergies though!). How this works is through suppression immunotherapy, which is a method of alleviating allergies through gradually introducing allergens to your body system. Normally, when your body is exposed to allergens, an allergic reaction occurs. 

Let's say a little speck of pollen, or antigen, enters your body through your nostril. This antigen triggers your white blood cells to produce antibodies that help defend your body from the antigen, or the "invader". What then happens is an allergic reaction; the antibody destroys the antigen through promoting the production of chemicals that kill off the antigen. As this is happening, you are experiencing an allergic reaction. For many of us, the luckier ones (let's attempt to be positive, shall we?), we only have irritating reactions that include but are not limited to: watery eyes, itchy throat, runny noses. Others who have it worse can often experience life-threatening consequences. 

Okay, so now that I've given a little bit of an explanation of what an allergic reaction is, I'll very briefly go over how honey reduces allergic reactions through suppression immunotherapy. By introducing local pollens to your body through local honey, allergic reactions eventually become less severe and more tolerable. This method is most commonly known through shot treatments from allergologists, but eating small increments of honey each day can also result with the same effect.

Despite the many benefits of honey, there can be complications as well. For more information on this sweetener, click here.

If you're a true peanut butter lover, I know you'll love these. They're so incredibly soft in the middle, with a little crispy outer edge. Mmm, enjoy!

Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies Recipe: makes 16, adapted from myrecipes
1 cup all natural creamy peanut butter
1/4 cup honey
1 large egg
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 325 F (160 C). Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. Stir together the peanut butter, honey, baking soda, and salt. Add the egg and incorporate until smooth. Drop by the Tablespoons, two inches apart on the lined baking sheets.
3. Bake for 12-14 minutes, or until cookie edges brown. 
4. Cool on baking sheets for 5 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let the cookies cool for about 15 minutes. Cookies best eaten within 2 days.

Notes:
- I used 1/2 cup creamy and 1/2 cup crunchy peanut butter for more of a crunch ;)
- If using all natural peanut butter/homemade , make sure the peanuts were roasted/toasted
- Feel free to add in 2/3 cup chocolate chips!

With Love,
Grace 

Works Cited:

"Allergic Reaction Causes and Triggers: Foods, Medicine, and More." WebMD.com. Ed. Laura J.  

       Martin. WebMD, 14 Aug. 2012. Web. 17 June 2013. <http://www.webmd.com/allergies/guide

       /allergic-reaction-causes>.
Gardner, Karen. "What Are the Benefits of Honey Made Where You Live?" Livestrong.com. 

       Livestrong, 27 June 2011. Web. 17 June 2013. <http://www.livestrong.com/article/479702-

      what-are-the-benefits-of-honey-made-where-you-live/>.

News Medical Staff. "Suppression Immunotherapies." News-medical.net. News Medical, n.d. Web. 

       17 June 2013. <http://www.news-medical.net/health/Suppression-Immunotherapies.aspx>.

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Almond Butter

I've been on this almond craze lately and just can't get enough of it...hand me a jar of almond butter and a spoon, all of it will disappear. Why hadn't I thought of making this earlier? Taking in a big spoonful of this almond butter brings me down Memory Lane. mmm the good ol' days.

Now don't get me wrong, I absolutely love my days now too, but there's been this exponential increase in responsibility that I'm not sure I'm ready to face. C'mon schools, what you should be teaching us should include things such as: paying taxes and bills, buying and renting property, renewing passports... perhaps even a bit of home ec. education? Thank you very much. 

Life skills, becoming street smart, using sharp knives... 

Back to almond butter though. With all this summer free time in my hands, I've been able to get bunches of cardio into my schedule. This almond butter has been by far, my favorite post-workout snack. There's just something oh-so-special about homemade nut butters! 

After I toasted the raw almonds, our home was filled with the warmest nutty aroma evahhh! Look at those cute little cracks in the nuts.

Let me just briefly explain each step: 

1. Unprocessed state.
2. Chopped almonds.
3. Oils starting to come out.
4. Almonds taking on its butter/liquid-y form.
5. Down below is the beautiful butter created after that massive load of hard work. ha ha

I really do hope you enjoy your homemade almond butter!

Ingredients: yields approximately 1 1/2 cups
2 cups raw or toasted whole almonds
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 tsp cinnamon (opt.)

Directions:

1. If using raw almonds, toast over the stove for about 15 minutes on low fire, or until your home is filled with a nutty aroma and the nuts begin to split. If using pre-toasted almonds, go ahead and skip to step 2.
2. In a food processor, process the whole almonds until the desired consistency. Do not be discouraged at any point if your almonds are taking a while to get to its liquid state--just keep processing! 
3. Once the almonds are almost in its butter form, add in the salt and continue processing until salt is thoroughly incorporated into the almond butter.

Notes:
- If you desire to sweeten your almond butter, add some honey. However, this will dry out your almond butter, so you will need to add some oil.
- You can always make raw almond butter, although I find that it is not as tasty as the toasted almond version.
- Do not over toast the almonds; it will result with a more bitter butter.
- My almonds did not become almond butter until about 20 minutes later. Your processor may result with varying times. 

With love,
Grace 

Dark Chocolate Bark

 

I've recently been on this chocolate crave. Within the past week, I've adopted at least five different brands of dark chocolate (now that school is over, all I do is eat and sleep) into my home. As I've cut refined sugars out of my life as much as possible, the darkest chocolates have slowly become sweet. Most days, I'll be perfectly content with solely dark cocoa powder in my oatmeal -- no sweeteners.

So let me now introduce you to my new favorite chocolate bark. Spicy mama, meet my lovely reader. When I took my first nibble of the bark, my taste buds were pleasantly surprised. 

Chili and bittersweet chocolate is a relatively new concept in the western world, albeit it is well-known to many South American cultures. To many people, bittersweet and dark chocolate is too...bitter (for lack of a better word). With the delightful heat however, the chocolate becomes somewhat intriguing. 

My favorite part about the bark is that the chili is undetectable while you're indulging and then BAM!  It reveals itself after you go nomnomnom.

 Anyways, enjoy!


Recipe: serves 6
6 oz bittersweet chocolate
1/4 cup pistachios
7 apricots, chopped into 4ths
1/4 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
coarse sea salt for sprinkling

Directions:

1. Line a baking pan with parchment paper. Combine pistachios, apricots, chili powder, and cinnamon in a bowl.
2. With a double boiler, melt the chocolate (or melt in the microwave with 30 second increments, stirring between each increment). Stir in the pistachio mixture.
3. Pour the pistachio-chocolate mixture onto the lined baking pan. Use a spatula to even out. Sprinkle with salt and refrigerate until hard, and then break into pieces.
   

Notes:
- My entire batch was about 250g
- Store in an airtight container
- If you are feeling ballsy, up the chili powder to 1/2 tsp cinnamon

With love,
Grace

Also, I just created a Facebook page (here) and would really, really love it if you could go like it! Thanks!

Healthy Cinnamon "Ice Cream"

Rise and shine...for those of you on the other side of the world. You may be able to tell from all my posts that breakfast is my favorite meal of the day. 

But, ice cream for breakfast? Yes! It's über healthy, too. If you're a regular blog surfer, you probably have a good guess as to which one ingredient this is made of -- frozen bananas! 

I'm yet to explore all the different varieties I could try with the ice cream.The few that I already have in mind are: nutella-peanut butter, blueberry, vanilla bean, and chocolate. Let me know if you try any different flavors!

What I really love about this breakfast is that it keeps me going for the entire morning. Two bananas is more than enough and is plenty to share. I was just feeling a bit selfish this morning (but I did share a few bites) so I ate most of it myself.

This is another recipe like this one that I've had a miserable experience with. The first time, I didn't slice up the bananas before freezing. Long story short, the banana didn't blend, so I let it thaw and ate it, which turned out to be ridiculously bitter. Anyone else have this happen to them?

If you're planning on making your lovely momma waffles or a tall stack of pancakes for Mother's Day, this would be a healthy alternative to the regular milk-based ice cream to put on top.

 Hope you enjoy this very simple treat!

Vanilla Coconut Rice Pudding

Summer's quickly approaching and graduation is in only 19 days. I've begun thinking about how I'll keep blogging and cooking/baking in college. Perhaps I'll befriend a bunch of upperclassmen and use their kitchens....I really don't know. Any suggestions?

Vanilla bean and coconut combos have always been able to cozy up a warm and fuzzy feeling. Before I could even help myself to another serving two days later, I found out that my mom had eaten the other portions. Sigh..

What I love about this particular rice pudding is that it's not too sweet or rich.You need to make this!

Coconut Vanilla Bean Rice Pudding adapted from here
Recipe: serves 6 - 8
1 1/2 cups of water
3/4 cup basmati rice
1/4 tsp salt
3 1/2 cups milk
1/2 cup coconut milk
1/4 cup sugar
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise with seeds scraped out.

Directions:
1. Boil the water, salt, and rice in a heavy saucepan over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to low and simmer until the water has been absorbed. 
2. Add the both the regular and coconut milk, sugar, and vanilla bean and seeds to the pan. Increase the heat and and stir continuously to avoid burning. Stir for about 35 minutes until the rice is tender and the mixture is thick and creamy. 
3. Remove the pudding from the heat and divide evenly into bowls. The pudding can be served warm or chilled. 

Notes:
- This can be made 2 days ahead of serving time
- Add toppings if you wish. Dried berries are very good with it!
- Instead of discarding the bean after you've cooked with it, wash it off and store it in sugar to make vanilla-infused sugar

With Love, 
Grace

Simple Avocado Snack

I went across the river over the weekend and bought a bagful of avocados from the Avocado Lady. Her avocados are seriously the cheapest in all of Shanghai. New favorite food vendor.

Thank you, Avocado Lady, for allowing me to make the most delicious and healthy snack.

When I think back to my elementary and middle school years, I get quite ashamed of myself for one simple reason-- I did not like avocados. To clarify, I did like guacamole, but I thought guacamole was made of guacamole. awkard...

Half an avocado is one serving. Remember all the debate a few years back with nutritionis telling people  avocados were bad for their health, and then telling people that they were actually good? WHFoods helps list healthy facts about avocados; you should go read it!. Here are three:

1. Avocados promotes a healthy heart.

2. Avocados contain anti-inflammatory benefits.

3. They promote blood sugar regulation.

Rise and Shine!

It's finally the weekend! I threw this together as a quick breakfast to energize up my Friday. This post was kind of a spur of the moment; I actually just enjoyed the colors of the photos a little too much, so that's what I'm really sharing. It's one of those recipes that make you feel silly for posting because it's just too simple...that obviously didn't stop me though. Hope you enjoy it as much as I did :)
Although I have AP mocks to study for, I'm off to explore Shanghai for a bit before returning to my duties.

The Raw Brownie

 Sarah from My New Roots said she'd change my life with this brownie, and now it's my turn to change your life.

Reading about raw brownies had me double-taking the title. What could be better than a dark chocolate brownie that's good for you, yet ridiculously simple to make? I am truly grateful that I found this recipe. While a gooey, hot out-of-the-oven brownie is still enjoyable, this one is a life saviour in the sense that it allows for the daily splurge whilst acting as a saving grace for your health and diet. Although the ingredients for this brownie are potentially expensive, I can genuinely say that it has become my go-to recipe. Oh right, you like no-bakes right?

Oatmeal Raisin Cookie Larabars

Have you had Larabars before? Well I haven't. I have read a lot of blogs that have hyped about them though. After stalling for a many weeks, I finally had enough of everyone's mushy gushy talk and decided to make copycat ones. If you're like me and have never had them, you are missing out. Whether these even taste like the real things, they are a new go-to snack.

My favorite part about these is the slight tartness of them. I only had unsweetened golden raisins, so I opted for these. No regrets!

The best part is eating them straight out of the fridge as an after-school snack. Actually no, I'm about to tell you the best part. They're packed with nutrition and superfoods: walnuts, raisins, cinnamon, and oatmeal.

If you're wondering about the texture, they're a bit like a a chewy granola bar, but with a cookie dough texture. In fact, I would probably choose these over cookie dough.

Now that it's finally spring break, I'll be able to catch up on sleep and cook a whole lot of food. I'll also be waiting in anticipation as I hear back from colleges.