Lemon Poppyseed Streusel Bars with Strawberry-Lemon Yogurt Filling

My so-sweet Abiline is approaching two years of age and has turned into the tantrum monster. Every day this past week I have been caught off guard by yet another raging blow out.  Given her performance the last few days, I am not sure why I deluded myself into thinking that running errands with the kids this morning was a good plan. I made the mistake of taking them to Ikea to get a new, higher bathroom stool so that Sawyer can wash his hands by himself.  It seemed so simple, but the task was complicated by the incessant squabbling, hitting, whining, and then me clutching to my cool while seething through my teeth.  In the future, when I have to put my child[ren] in time out as we are leaving for an outing, I should probably reconsider even going.  Or is that too drastic?  I need to be able to get things done, but today I just had one too many days of being the public spectacle interrupting the tranquility of everyone's shopping trips. Why is it that everyone else's kids always seem so mellow? Ugh. And I still have to do the grocery shopping today after nap-time....

I suppose every day is a struggle in its own way, and I can either get all sour about it, or make lemonade.  I have tried going to the store by myself after the kids go to bed at night, and you know what? I usually feel lonely; I don't like it anymore than when I tackle the job with my two bundles of loveable chaos. So what is the key to an enjoyable shopping trip? Not well-behaved children, or no children--just patience, I think. Oh how I wish I had more of it!

But on to the recipe, perfect for a day when I am trying to make lemonade out of this lemon of a morning!

 

For the lemon-poppy seed crust/streusel:
2 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup oat bran (Or more rolled oats. I have not seen gluten-free oat bran, so using more GF oats may be your best bet if you're going for a GF treat.)
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. sea salt
3 Tbsp. poppy seeds
zest of 2 lemons
juice of 1 lemon
1/4 cup coconut oil
1/4 c. agave nectar or maple syrup
1 tsp. lemon extract

For the strawberry-lemon yogurt filling:
1 1/2 c. plain non-dairy yogurt (I used homemade.)
3-4 strawberries
1-2 Tbsp. sweetener of choice, or stevia to taste
juice of 1 lemon
1/2 tsp. lemon extract
3/4 tsp. guar gum (optional, for thicker filling)

1. Preheat oven to 350 and oil a nine inch square pan.
2. In your food processor, grind the rolled oats into flour. Add the oat bran, baking powder, and salt and pulse to combine. Add poppy seeds and lemon zest and pulse a few times to mix them in to the rest of the dry ingredients. Then add the oil, agave, and lemon juice, and pulse again until the mixture is crumbly and evenly moistened.
3. Press 1/2 of the dough into the bottom of the prepared pan, and reserve the other 1/2 in a bowl. Clean out the food processor work bowl and add the filling ingredients; blend until smooth and then spoon the yogurt filling evenly over the bottom crust.
4. Sprinkle the remaining streusel evenly over the filling. Bake in the preheated oven for 20 mins. Let the bars cool completely before cutting, or else they will be messy.  

Yes, this was another tumultuous outing--what made us ever think that the kids would ride quietly in a bike trailer together? Luckily, we still have a baby seat on my bike, so we can separate them when things get ugly back there. 

 

This post is linked to Allergy-Friendly Fridays, Fit and Fabulous Fridays , My Meatless Mondays,  Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays , Allergy-Free Wednesdays, Whole Foods Wednesdays, and Wellness Weekend.   
 

Dark Chocolate Pumpkin Black Bean Brownie Ice Cream

So....black beans in your ice cream probably doesn't sound delicious.  But, it is. Trust me on this one; you have to try this combo. This improbable ice cream recipe began with me trying to make the chocolate pumpkin pudding from The Everyday Vegan without looking at the recipe.  The texture wasn't quite right, I'm sure due to me trying to throw it together from memory after looking over the recipe a few days earlier.  So I decided to try adding some black beans to thicken it up.  Black bean brownies work, so why not black bean pudding?  And why not black bean pudding turned into ice cream with black bean brownies in it?!  Why not indeed.  And there you have it: the thought process that led to this successful marriage of healthy and indulgent.

There are many, many black bean brownie recipes out there. The one I use here is my favorite so far, which I put together after seeing a number of flourless black bean brownie recipes posted recently, but finding none without sugar and without eggs.  I have been giving these to Abiline and Sawyer as a good-for-you treat. Good-for-you treat? These recipes certainly show that those two things really can co-exist.
 

For the brownies:
1 1/2 cups black beans, or 1 can drained and rinsed
2 Tbsp. sunflower seed butter
2 Tbsp. coconut oil
1/4 tsp. sea salt
1 cup pitted dates, soaked for a few hours to soften them, and then drained
(or microwave them for a few minutes covered in water and then drain them)
1/2 cup cocoa powder

For the ice cream:
1 16 oz can pumpkin puree   
1/2 cup (heaping) of black beans
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 cup coconut milk
1/2 cup coconut sugar (Or try subbing dates!)
1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
2 Tbsp maple syrup
1/2 tsp. guar gum (optional, but really gives homemade ice cream a good texture. I got this tip from Dreena Burton's latest cookbook, Let Them Eat Vegan.)
1/3 cup chocolate chips, chopped
2-3 black bean brownies, crumbled or chopped into small chunks

1. To make the brownies, preheat the oven to 350 and oil a 9x9 inch baking pan. Blend all of the ingredients in a food processor until smooth. Spoon the batter evenly into the prepared pan and smooth it out with the back of a rubber scraper. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let the brownies cool completely. This makes way more than you need for the ice cream, which means lots of brownie sundaes.
2.  To make the ice cream, in a blender or food processor whip together all of the ingredients except for the chocolate chips and brownie chunks.  Make sure you get the mixture totally smooth.  Pour into your ice cream maker and freeze according to the manufacturer's instructions.
3. Near the end of the freezing time, right before the ice cream is all set up and ready, gradually pour in the chopped chocolate chips and brownie chunks. Let the ice cream maker stir them in until evenly distributed. If you don't eat all of this ice cream right away, then be sure to take the leftovers out of the freezer 15 minutes before you want to eat them, to soften the ice cream up and make it scoop-able again.

If you think this recipe is a bit off the beaten path, well check this out:

Have you ever seen a man riding a bicycle with a giant remote-controlled shark balloon tied to the handlebars?  The mask just completes the look (thanks polluted Southern California air.). Well, if you saw him--that was my husband.  No further questions please.

This post is linked to Fit and Fabulous Fridays,  Allergy-Friendy Fridays, My Meatless Mondays, Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays, Allergy-Free Wednesdays, Whole Foods Wednesdays, and Wellness Weekend.

Nut-Free Raw Brownies with Chocolate Hemp-Seed Butter Filling

Overall, we would certainly call ourselves healthy eaters in the Holden household, (Abiline requested kale for dinner last night), and--in my opinion--chocolate is part of a healthy diet.  Take these raw brownies for example: they are a great way to eat super-nutritious seeds and buckwheat. And with the dates and banana in there, I almost count this as a serving of fruit for Abbie (who reaches for veggies while turning up her nose to almost any fruit not in smoothie form). The raw brownie idea is certainly not new, but they seem to always be made out of nuts, which of course doesn't work in our allergy-friendly kitchen.  Fortunately, the seeds worked well in this recipe; both Sawyer and Abiline devoured these brownies for snack today and protested when I said we were going to give some of them to a friend.  Of course we talked about how it is good to share, but I was secretly pleased that the kids liked the brownies enough to grab for the bag and look worried at the prospect of losing them.

For the brownie layers:
1 1/4 cup raw buckwheat groats
1 cup raw, shelled hemp seeds, pumpkin seeds, and sunflower seeds (I used about 1/3 cup of each, but this is variable depending on what you have on hand.)
3 Tbsp. cocoa or carob powder (I did 2 Tbsp. cocoa and 1 Tbsp carob, as I like the fruity accent the carob gives.)
pinch of sea salt
1 cup dates, soaked for an hour to soften them up, then drained
1-2 Tbsp. agave nectar, as needed to bring the dough together 

For the chocolate hemp-seed butter filling:
1/2 cup raw, shelled hemp seeds
1/2 medium banana
1/4 cup raisins, soaked for an hour to soften them up, then drained
2 Tbsp. cocoa powder, or 1 Tbsp. cocoa powder and 1 Tbsp. carob powder, if you like the carob undertone like I do

1. Grind the buckwheat and seeds to a fine powder in your food processor. Add the cocoa powder and salt and pulse to incorporate. Add the softened dates and 1 Tbsp. agave and buzz until everything is well-combined, and you have a dough that is moist and holds together well when you press it into a ball.  If it is dry, add additional agave until it holds together.
2.  Line a workspace with parchment paper. Remove the dough from the food processor work bowl and divide it into two equal portions on the parchment paper. Use your hands to press each piece of dough into a rectangle about 7x10 inches, a bit smaller than your standard piece of computer paper.
3. Make the filling by buzzing all of the ingredients together in your food processor until smooth. Spread the filling evenly over one of the brownie layers and place the other rectangle on top to make your brownie sandwich. Using a sharp knife, cut into even squares. These are pretty rich; I made about 1 1/2 dozen squares.

 Here is Abiline's "Please give me more brownie!" face. By the looks of it, she had already had enough...

This recipe is posted to Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays ,Allergy-Free Wednesdays , Whole Foods Wednesdays and Wellness Weekend.

Great Green Granola Energy Bars

Abiline loves granola, which is wonderful because my wee little lassie needs dense foods like that; you can pack a lot of nutrition into granola. At Whole Foods they sell a green granola in the bulk section that goes for $11 a pound. Abbie loves green foods, so I have been tempted to try it, but there is really no justifying spending that kind of money on cereal.  So, here is my try at making my own green granola, complete with avocado, spirulina, limes, kiwi, pumpkin seeds, and hemp seeds. What did I leave out that's green? Spinach?  That just seemed like it would make everything soggy.  But, if you dare, go ahead and throw that in, too!  First I made the granola, which tasted great with some coconut milk on it, but was a bit too avocado-y for me when eaten out of hand.  Really, it tasted great before I baked it, so if you want to enjoy it raw, please dig in. I decided to turn the baked granola into bars that I could take on the go, and those I found to be quite more-ish right from the pan. I just love when healthy food is yummy; it makes me feel that God really loves us and made a way for us to be both happy and healthy too.

For the granola:
3 cups rolled oats
1/3 cup flaked coconut
1/2 cup raw, shelled pumpkin seeds (or half pumpkin and half hemp seeds)
1/2 cup crushed banana chips (optional)
3 Tbsp. vegan protein powder (optional) 
1 medium, very ripe avocado
3 Tbsp. coconut oil
1/4 cup brown rice syrup or agave nectar
3 Tbsp. dry sweetener, such as coconut sugar or sucanat

1 tsp. spirulina (Next time I think I would use 2 tsp. to enhance the greenish hue.)
pinch of sea salt
juice and zest of 2 limes

For the granola bars: 
2 1/2 cups of the prepared granola
1/2 cup of raw, shelled hemp seeds
2 very ripe kiwis, peeled
juice and zest of 2 limes
1 Tbsp. agave nectar

1. To make the granola, preheat the oven to 350. In a large mixing bowl, combine the oats, coconut, pumpkin seeds (I crushed mine a bit in the food processor first, but you can leave them whole if you like), protein powder, and banana chips.
2. In a food processor, blend together the avocado flesh, coconut oil, sweeteners, spirulina, salt, and lime zest and juice. Pour the liquid over the oat mixture and stir to evenly coat. At this point you can just stash it in the fridge and eat as is.  If you want it crunchy, spread the granola out onto a large rimmed baking sheet and bake for 15 mins, stir, and then bake for 10-15 minutes longer, until starting to brown up.  Let cool.
3. To make the bars, preheat the oven to 350, oil a 9 inch square baking pan, and place 2 1/2 cups of the granola in it.  In your food processor, blend the hemp seeds, kiwis, lime juice and zest, and agave nectar until totally smooth. Pour the hemp-kiwi mixture over the granola in the pan and stir to evenly coat. Press the mixture down with the back of your spoon. Bake for 20 minutes in the preheated oven. Let the bars cool completely before you cut them.

This recipe is posted on Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays , Allergy-Friendly Lunchbox Love, Whole Foods Wednesdays, Wellness Weekend and Allergy-Friendly Fridays.

Raw Frozen Coconut Truffle "Dove Bars"

When I was around eight years old, my oldest sister was in high school and had a regular job babysitting for a family that lived across the street from my elementary school. She would pick me up from school some days and take me over to play with the little boy and girl she was watching.  I loved going over to their house because they had so many convenience foods that we never had in our home. Why was I so twisted that I thought that TV dinners were a delicacy?  I guess they were just novel to me because I was fortunate to have a mother who cooked dinner every night--which I certainly did not appreciate at the time.  Other than frozen entrees, I loved to raid the miniature Dove ice cream bars this family always had on hand.  When I took a bite of these raw frozen treats that I concocted last week, I was immediately taken back to my memories of those Dove bars.  Of course, these raw frozen truffles have a personality of their own--but they are as rich and delicious as the ice cream treats of my youth.

For the creamy filling:
1 1/2 cups raw, shredded coconut
3 Tbsp. cocoa butter
1/4 cup xylitol or coconut sugar (I used xylitol to get the white color of the filling, but if you have objections to that, I'm sure coconut sugar would work!)
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 Tbsp. coconut milk

For the chocolate coating:
3/4 cup raw, shredded coconut
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/4 c. raw, shelled pumpkin seeds
2 Tbsp. cocoa butter
2 Tbsp. agave nectar, coconut sugar, or xylitol
2-3 Tbsp. coconut milk, or more, if needed to reach a smooth, pliable consistency 


1. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.  In a food processor, puree the all of the creamy filling ingredients until a smooth dough forms that can hold together well. Shape the filling into about a dozen evenly-sized rectangle or egg shapes. Place them on the prepared baking tray and freeze for 10-15 minutes while you make the coating.
2. To make the chocolate coating, clean out your food processor work bowl and add the chocolate coating ingredients, starting with 2 Tbsp coconut milk.  Puree until the coconut and seeds are all ground up; add more coconut milk, as necessary, until you have a smooth, spreadable consistency that you can mold around the filling. 
3. Remove the tray from the freezer and roll each piece of frozen coconut cream in the chocolate coating. This is a bit messy; you will need to use your fingers a bit to mold the chocolate all the way around the filling. Place the finished truffle bars back on the tray and freeze for a half an hour to firm up the coating before you eat them.

Hooray for Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays , Allergy-Free Wednesdays, Wellness Weekend and Made from Scratch Mondays!

I almost passed out from shock when I walked in and saw this loving embrace. I made them hug again so that I could record it for posterity, but this outburst of affection was Sawyer's idea, not mine.  Abiline was so thrilled; she just loves her Ya-ya. 

Ridiculously Simple Any-Fruit Oatmeal Bars

One packaged snack food that I do like to indulge in is Kashi TLC cereal bars. At $3-$4 a box, though, I really need to be making my own fruit and grain bars--plus then I can share them with the kids without food contamination worries. This recipe is based on my Grandma Langlois's fig neaton recipe, which calls for 1 cup of sugar and 1 cup of butter.  Those were true dessert cookies, needless to say, but this updated version is breakfast- and snack-worthy as well.  And a cinch to make!  With two kids, it is way easier to make these at home than to take our traveling circus on the road to Target to buy pre-packaged breakfast bars.

 

1 1/4 cups oat flour or whole wheat pastry flour
1 1/4 cups rolled oats
1/4 tsp. sea salt
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 cup liquid sweetener (agave nectar, maple syrup, brown rice syrup)
1/4 cup canola or melted coconut oil
1/2 cup jam of choice (I used Trader Joe's fig butter in the ones I made today.)

Oil a 9 inch square baking pan and preheat the oven to 350. In a large mixing bowl, stir together the flour, oats, salt, and baking soda. Add the sweetener and oil and mix together with a fork until crumbly and evenly moistened. Press roughly 1/2 of the crumbs into the bottom of the prepared pan. Spread the jam evenly over the bottom crust. Sprinkle the remaining crust crumbs evenly over the jam and press them down a bit. Bake the bars in the preheated oven for  25-30 minutes, until just slightly golden on the top.  Let the bars cool completely before cutting, or else they will be messy.

This recipe is also posted on Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays, Allergy-Free Wednesdays, and Wellness Weekend. Check out all these great recipe collections!

On to the cute pictures! We had a blast being silly at the children's museum in Phoenix this weekend: 

 

Delectable Mango Raspberry Bars with Sherbet

I was going to make lemon bars for our guests, but I wanted to make ice cream, and I just don't fancy eating ice cream with lemon bars. They are a stand-alone treat in my mind.  I knew I wanted a fruity dessert, not chocolatey, and once I saw the mangoes and raspberries in our freezer, the idea for this recipe hatched in my mind. The bars are a cross between cake and cookie, as they are moist like cake, but dense like a cookie. This is my first time experimenting with using stevia powder in my baked goods. It worked nicely in combination with some 'real' sugar to create the right amount of sweetness without it being overbearing.

Sawyer and Abiline liked the sherbet the best; they don't usually go for cookie/ cake desserts because they are too full for it once dinner is over. While most adults have developed a separate stomach for dessert, when my kids are full, that's it--it doesn't matter how tantalizing the treat is that I place before them. Ice cream seems to be the one exception, though. I think since it melts as they lick the cone, the ice cream just slips between the cracks and doesn't require much belly room.  

For the cookie bar base:
1/4 c. coconut butter (You could probably sub. vegan margarine)
1/2 c. mangoes (I used frozen)
1/4 c. evaporated cane juice, or your choice of dry sweetener
2 Tbsp. coconut milk
zest of 1 orange
1 tbsp. orange juice (Squeeze all the juice out of the orange. You should get about 3 Tbsp. Use 1 Tbsp. in the base and the rest in the topping.) 
1 1/2 c. whole wheat pastry flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt

For the raspberry topping:
1/4 c. frozen raspberries
2 Tbsp. soy-free Earth Balance
2 Tbsp. coconut oil
2 Tbsp. orange juice (leftover from orange used in the base)
1/4 c. evaporated cane juice
1/4 tsp. stevia powder
1/2 tsp. agar powder

1. Preheat the oven to 375 and grease a 9 inch square baking pan.
2. Puree the coconut butter, mangoes, evaporated cane juice, coconut milk, and the zest and juice of the orange in a food processor until smooth.
3. In a medium mixing bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Add the puree from the food processor and stir until the dry ingredients are completely moistened. Spread in the prepared baking pan and place in the preheated oven. Bake for 20 mins, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool.
4.  While the bars cool, prepare the topping. In a small saucepan, combine the raspberries, Earth balance, coconut oil, orange juice, evaporated cane juice, stevia, and agar powder. Heat over medium, stirring frequently, until the margarine melts, all is well combined, and the mixture is bubbling around the edges. Allow to cool a bit before pouring over the bars. Place the bars in the fridge for an hour or two to allow the topping to set. Serve with the sherbet below for a real treat!


For the Mango Raspberry Sherbet 
1/2 c. frozen raspberries
1/2 c. frozen mangoes
1 can full-fat coconut milk
1/2 c. non-dairy milk (I used oat milk)
1/2 tsp. orange extract
1/4 c. agave nectar
1/4 tsp. stevia powder, or more, to taste

Combine all of the ingredients in a blender, and then transfer to your ice cream maker and freeze according to the manufacturer's directions. This stuff hardens a little too well once frozen more than a few hours (I think because of the fruit), so you will need to leave it on the counter for a few minutes before you can scoop it once it has been in the freezer for a while.

This sherbet really helped Abiline cool off--that cool dudette!

This is the face Sawyer makes when his ice cream is too cold. The winter cap seemed a bit dramatic, but maybe he got a brain freeze.

Strawberry Lemonade on My Mind

I guess strawberry lemonade has been on my mind since it has been so hot lately. Or maybe these recipes were inspired by my impulse purchase of lemon extract a few weeks ago. Last week I made lemon strawberry bars for the kids, and then for my birthday we had strawberry bundt cake with strawberry lemonade ice cream. The bars are one more creation in a series of experiments with how to incorporate beans and avocados into tasty baked goods. The cake I adapted from a recipe in 500 Vegan Recipes, which is an awesome cookbook overall, but I have found that they frequently call for way too much flour in their cake recipes. It is super-moist despite having no oil in it, but we found that it did need some fat to round out the flavor, so the ice cream was born. The cake and ice cream got a thumbs up from everyone, but Abiline was not into the bars, which Sawyer happily munched. They were a bit too dense in texture for her limited chewing abilities, I think, so I would recommend them for the age two and up set.

Strawberry-Glazed Lemon Bars or Thumbprint Cookies

1 c. garbanzo beans
1/2 medium-sized ripe avocado
3 Tbsp. lemon juice
1 Tbsp. canola oil
1 Tbsp. tahini
1 1/2 tsp. lemon extract
3 Tbsp. agave nectar or other liquid sweetener
2 Tbsp. powdered sugar
1/2 c. rolled oats
1/2 tsp. baking powder
pinch of salt
1/2 c. flour (I used kamut, but any other light-colored flour would do nicely to preserve the yellow shade of the chickpeas)

For Glaze: 1/4 c. strawberry preserves mixed with 1 tbsp. yogurt of choice (I used So Delicious plain coconut yogurt)

1. Preheat the oven to 350. If you are making bars, then grease an 8x8 in. pan. For cookies, prepare a cookie sheet with parchment paper or grease liberally.
2. In a blender or food processor, combine beans, avocado,lemon juice, oil, tahini, lemon extract, agave, and powdered sugar and puree until completely smooth. Add the oats, baking powder, and salt, and pulse until oats are completely ground. Add the flour last and puree until smooth. If the batter is too thick for your blender/ food processor before adding the flour, go ahead and stir it in by hand.
3. For bars, just scoop the batter into the pan and bake for 18-22 mins., until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean. If you prefer cookies, then roll the dough into walnut-sized balls, line them on the tray, and indent with your thumb bef0re baking for 8-10 mins, or until just slightly golden on the bottoms. Prepare the glaze while they bake by combining the preserves and the yogurt in a small bowl.
4. Place the baked bars/ cookies on a cooling rack. When completely cool, prick the bars all over with a fork and then spread the glaze over the top. For the cookies, just fill the thumbprints with the jam.

Strawberry Bundt Cake

1 1/2 cups sliced fresh strawberries

1/3 c. agave nectar

1 tbsp. lemon juice

3 c. whole wheat pastry flour

2 tsp. baking soda

2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1/3 c. cane sugar

1 1/2 c. soy or hemp milk mixed with 1 Tbsp. lemon juice

1 tbsp. lemon extract

1/2 c.applesauce

For glaze: 1/2 cups powdered sugar and 1-2 tbsp. lemon juice

1. Add strawberries, agave, and lemon juice to a blender or food processor and puree until smooth.

2. Preheat oven to 350 and generously grease a bundt pan.

3. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the ww pastry flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

4. Add the non-dairy milk, lemon extract, applesauce, and strawberry mixture to the dry ingredients and fold to combine, being careful not to over-mix. Pour the batter into the prepared bundt pan and bake for 40-50 mins, or until golden and a knife inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool completely (I placed mine in the freezer for a few hours) before inverting the cake onto a serving platter. You can then whisk together the powdered sugar and lemon juice to make the glaze. Poke a few holes in the cake with the tines of a fork and pour the glaze over it. Enjoy with the ice cream recipe that follows!

Strawberry Lemonade Ice Cream
1 14 oz. can coconut milk
1 c. rice or hemp milk
1/4 c. lemon juice
1/2 c. strawberry preserves
1/2 tbsp. lemon extract
Just combine all of the ingredients in a blender and freeze in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's directions. Alternately, I have heard it rumored that you can make ice cream in the freezer without the ice cream maker; here's one method you could try.