Sweet Lemon Tart

Mmmmm this is lemonicious. Maybe not a word but it should be. Lemon is so nice to add to dessert; it makes it light and refreshing and not too sweet. The first time I made this we were speechless eating it, it deserved silence to savour all it's yummyness. Okay, perhaps I am going a bit too far but it really is tasty and I want you to make it. It is also quick, simple and made slightly healthier than your average lemon tart.

I use sucanat or muscavado sugar in the crust. These sugars are not refined and contain natural minerals; less procession is good in my world. I use spelt flour but barley, ground almonds or brown rice flour can be used. Brown rice flour or ground almonds will make a crumblier crust but are gluten free. I only use organic lemon zest to avoid any nasty wax or chemicals.

Make it, savour it, tell me what you think... Crust: 1 cup light spelt flour 2 tbsp maple syrup 1/2 cup cold butter, cut into small bits Preheat oven to 325° Incorporate butter and maple syrup into flour until it forms a dough. Use a spoon and your fingers or my personal favourite and food processor. Butter a pie plate or an 8 inch square pan. I like glass baking dishes. Press the dough evenly into the dish and pop it in the oven for 20 minutes. You now have about 12 minutes to do some yoga poses, write an email to your best friend, dance to your favourite song or read an article... Don't make the filling until the crust is almost done. Now make the filling: 1/2 cup raw honey 2 tsp baking powder 1/2 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice 2 organic eggs zest of 2 organic lemons Whisk all ingredients together. Pull the crust out of the oven after 20 minutes or when it is lightly browning. Pour filling over crust and ever so gently pop it back in the oven. Bake for 25 minutes or until the pie begins browning on top. Remove from oven and let cool for at least 10 minutes. I know you can do it. While you are waiting finish off a yoga pose, do some Reiki or email your mom. Now cut the pie into slices or squares and top with raspberries and a bit of lime zest for contrast if you like. Enjoy every bite and flavour as you savour this treat. Notice how real and vibrant the flavours are. That is the taste of fresh, natural, simple ingredients.

Sweet Spiced Pecans

My housemate made the almond version of these and took them to work pre-Christmas. They were a hit. I think people appreciate the break from all the super sweet candies and chocolates and sprinkle coated cookies. These may be sugar coated but they are not too sweet and they are made with wholesome ingredients, nothing refined. Sucanat sugar is simply dehydrated cane juice, minimally processed.

This recipe was in my December monthly recipes but Angie told so many people about it that I had to post it, so here it is.

Sweet Pecans 1 egg white, whisked 1/4 cup sucanat sugar 1/2 tsp Himalayan salt 1/2 tsp cinnamon or cumin powder a pinch or 2 of cayenne 2 cups pecans (or almonds, walnuts, combo...)

• Preheat the oven to 325°
• Whisk sucanat, cinnamon, cayenne and salt into the egg whites.
• Fold in the pecans until well coated.
• Using a slotted spoon drain nuts a bit before placing them in a single later on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
• Roast for 30 minutes, until the nuts are a bit golden and the coating has dried.
• Remove from oven and cool.
• The nuts will get crunchier as they cool.

Save the egg yolks for the matcha tapioca pudding recipe featured in my January recipes.

Banana Chocolate Super Muffins

I opened the freezer to rock hard black bananas falling on my toes. I figured it was time to make something out of them or toss them. You know how it happens, the bananas get beyond ripe to the point that there is no way you are going to eat them. You really don't want to throw them out or bake at the moment so you toss them in the freezer. Those super ripe bananas are great for baking; they add a lot of moisture and natural sweetness to a tasty baked goody. It's just that once they go in the freezer they often don't leave. I took 4 bananas out of the freezer in the morning to let them thaw. Then I mixed them up with some apple sauce that I needed to use and a bit of matcha tea along with the regular muffin ingredients. I added some cocoa powder, cinnamon for warmth and a bit of agave to sweeten the bitter cocoa. They turned out to be dense, moist, rich and had just the right amount of sweetness. I thought they needed a little something on top, mostly to make a pretty picture. It also tastes good and indulgent with a bit of chocolate drizzle. Banana Chocolate Super Muffins makes 12 muffins 1 1/2 cups mashed bananas 1 cup apple sauce 1/2 cup melted extra virgin coconut oil 1/2 cup honey 3 eggs, beat 1 tsp vanilla 2 cups light (sifted) spelt flour 1 cup cocoa powder 2 tsp baking powder 1/2 tsp baking soda 1 tsp cinnamon 2 tsp matcha tea powder (optional)

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• In a medium bowl mix all wet ingredients.
• In a large mixing bowl mix all dry ingredients.
• Line 1 muffin tin with unbleached muffin cups.
• Mix wet ingredients into dry ingredients. Mix quickly and lightly until ingredients are incorporated. Do not over mix.
• Scoop batter into muffin cups. Use an ice cream scoop to make it easier.
• Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Chocolate Drizzle 2 tbsp extra virgin coconut oil 1 tbsp cocoa powder 1 tbsp agave or honey.

• Melt coconut oil by placing it in a small bowl and then placing that in a larger bowl of hot water.
• Mix remaining ingredients in.
• Add more agave or honey if desired.
• Drizzle on muffins.

Enjoy!

Tip #6 of 13 Tips to A Healthier Me

Make sure you have a healthy snack between meals.

Healthy snacks will keep your blood sugar levels stable, your mind focused, your mood happy, your stress levels low and will steer you away from unhealthy snacks and meals. If you snack healthy, which will keep your blood sugar stable and your mood level, then it will be so easy to choose healthy foods for your meals. If you have an unhealthy snack it is easy enough to say " oh well, I blew it already, might as well just keep eating crappy". Plus you know the sugar filled food will bring you back to that good feeling that you got after eating a chocolate bar for snack time. The only problem, is that the good feeling won't last and you will wake up tired and have to start on the caffeine or sugar to get you going. It takes some perseverance to create new snacking habits so take it one snack at a time and notice how much better you feel.

Picking a healthy snack can be daunting especially with all the marketing and gimmicks out there. Be aware of labels that read "lite" or "natural". Check the ingredients and see what's really in there. The best thing you can do is make your own snack, then you know exactly what's in it. I have one recipe for you today and more coming, including a yummy smoothie and easy to make hummus.

Here is the nutrition info for these yummy, blueberry filled muffins. Make a big batch and freeze them individually for a snack on the go.

Fibre binds to and removes toxins from the body. Toxicity in the body creates an array of symptoms from lethargy to indigestion to depression. A clean body contributes to a healthy mind. Whole grains provide B-vitamins, which help your body and mind deal with everyday stress. B-vitamins are essential to a healthy nervous system. Refined grains such as white flour products are void of B-vitamins.

Oat Bran Blueberry Muffins

1 cup oat bran 2 cups rolled oats 1 cup light spelt flour 1 ½ cups apple or pear juice ½ cup high oleic sunflower oil or melted virgin coconut oil or butter 2 eggs ½ cup honey 1 cup blueberries 1 grated apple ½ cup sunflower seeds 2 tsp cinnamon 1 tsp baking soda 1 pinch Himalayan or Celtic salt

Mix all dry ingredients and wet ingredients separately except for blueberries. Then pour wet ingredients into dry and stir quickly. Stir in blueberries. Grease muffin tins with butter or olive oil and fill with batter. Bake at 425 for 20-25 minutes.

Strawberry Shortcake My Way

I went to the North Arm Farm in Pemberton on the weekend and got a flat of their incredible strawberries. I don't know what their trick is, besides growing organic, but I do know that they are really tasty berries. I would have to say they are second best to wild strawberries. I don't think you can beat those teeny and incredibly flavour filled berries. I got a hand full here.

They hide in fields and on the sides of trails. So subtle, tiny and unsuspectingly bursting with flavour. It does take a whole lot of wild berries to make strawberry shortcake so I stuck with the big ones for this recipe. As a kid we picked buckets of wild strawberries in the family field. I'm not sure how many actually got in the bucket but I recall having wild strawberries on vanilla ice cream. So good.

I was inspired to create this recipe after a client in my group program had felt the after affects of eating too much strawberry shortcake, traditional style. This one is healthy, guilt free and good enough for guests, kids and breakfast. Ryan and I had it for breakfast on Sunday.

Here is the recipe. It is wheat free but not gluten free. I think that brown rice flour could be substituted for the barley flour. Or maybe just use all coconut flour. Let me know how it works if you experiment with this one. If you can't find coconut flour you can use all barley flour, ground almonds or light spelt flour. I got my coconut flour at crystalcoco.com

Strawberry Shortcake, My Way 1 1/4 cup barley flour

1 cup coconut flour

2 tsp baking powder

6 tbsp butter or extra virgin coconut oil, cold

3/4 cup hemp, rice or almond milk

1 tbsp honey

4 cups strawberries

1 can of coconut milk (NOT lite), cooled in the fridge for 30 minutes at least

Preheat oven to 450. Mix the dry ingredients together. Mix in butter or coconut oil with a pastry knife, 2 butter knives or in a food processor. Mix it until the butter is in granular chunks but not blended completely. Add wet ingredients and stir very lightly. Knead the dough a bit until it is fully mixed. Pull off 1/2 cup chunks, round them a bit and flatten them onto an oiled baking sheet. Bake for 14 minutes until they are just browning.

While the biscuits are baking clean, de-stem and cut up strawberries. Open the can of coconut milk and scoop of the top white part leaving the clear liquid behind. Whisk the coconut cream. You can add a bit of vanilla and honey if you would like it to be sweeter.

When the biscuits are done place them on cute individual plates, pile on strawberries and spoon on coconut cream.

Enjoy and indulge in this goodness!

Almond Butter and Banana Breakfast Bars

These bars are easy to make, sweet and moist. They pack up well and are a good healthy snack for kids and adults. I prefer to use almond butter over peanut butter because it offers more nutritionally but I realize that many kids and adults like peanut butter for it's taste and texture and also for it's affordable price. When buying peanut butter always get organic and natural. Certified organic peanut butter is easily available and affordable. Certified organic is important when it comes to peanuts because peanuts are like little filters growing under the ground; they attract and absorb toxins and pesticides/herbicides. So please always buy organic when it comes to peanuts. But do try out the other options like almond butter, which is very high in calcium, sunflower seed butter, sesame seed butter or tahini, hazelnut butter and others. These options are better for you and when it comes to your health, healthier choices pay for themselves in the long run.

Here is the recipe:

2 bananas, mashed

2 cups quick oats

1/3 cup melted butter or extra virgin coconut oil

2 tbsp honey

2 tbsp peanut or almond butter

1 tbsp spelt flour

1 tbsp carob powder (optional)

Mix all ingredients and spread into a small square, oiled baking dish or pie plate. Bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes and allow to cool before cutting. These bars get better the next day. Cut them into squares and store them in the fridge.

To add more protein to the bars mix in chopped almonds or hemp seeds. You can also add dried fruit or chocolate chips if you like. These are great to have on hand to avoid the sugar crashing blues.

Tasty Little Gluten Free Cookies

I kind of made these by mistake, I wasn't too sure what I was about to make and just started playing. I had a bit of brown rice flour and wanted to add something to it to give it more substance and a nicer flavour. I find brown rice flour to be a bit overpowering in cookies if it is the only flour used plus it tends to be a bit dry and crumbly. I had some almonds and thought that would be the perfect match and would make the cookies gluten free. I am doing a cleanse right now and these cookies are actually cleanse friendly, in my professional opinion anyway. ADDED NOTE SINCE PUBLISHING. (I forgot to say minus the chocolate and should have elaborated on what kind of cleanse. I guess I was in a hurry. The cookies are good for first time cleansers that are doing a gentle cleanse and are having a hard time completely changing their diet. They are feeling deprived and really stressed out because of the food restrictions. The stress of that is worse than having some sort of sweet. Although these are not ideal for people that are doing a stronger and deeper cleanse they are much better than falling off the cleanse wagon and binging on some unhealthy foods. I have found that happens a lot. Someone does a cleanse feels very deprived and either fights their way through it and then goes out for burgers and beer or doesn't make it to the end. I hope that clarifies things. )

I also wanted a super easy and super quick cookie recipe. It's perfect for those of you with little time. The prep is less than 10 minutes, actually in 10 minutes you can make the batter, spoon it onto a baking tray, put it in the oven and clean up the dishes. That is less time than it takes to drive to the store and buy some cookies plus with the price of gas it is probably cheaper too. If you add the chocolate that will take another 5 minutes.

Here is the recipe for these tasty little morsels.

1 cup brown rice flour

3/4 cup almond flour (you can grind raw whole almonds in a coffee grinder)

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/3 cup melted butter or extra virgin coconut oil

1/4 cup honey

1 egg, whisked

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

1/2 cup organic chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350

Mix dry ingredients.

Pour in all wet ingredients and mix well. The dough is pretty wet and gooey.

Drop tbsp of dough onto a baking stone or parchment paper on a baking sheet.

Bake for 13-15 minutes until just starting to brown.

Melt chocolate in a double boiler or in a bowl placed in a pot of simmering water.

When the chocolate is melted dip cookies half in.

Allow the cookies to cool and enjoy every bite!

Coconut Oat Cranberry Chewy Cookies

I am always trying to make a better cookie. One that everyone likes, no one thinks is healthy and has the least amount of sweetener possible. Well I have come up with a really good one this round. These cookies are yummy! They have it all chew, flavour, the right amount of sweet, texture and approval of my boyfriend. Okay they are missing one thing, chocolate. I really don't think they need it though, hmmmmm not that it would hurt.

Coconut is nice in cookies because it adds natural sweetness, chew and flavour. Be sure to buy unsweetened coconut and preferably organic. Coconut should really be the only ingredient. I realize that the amount of sulfates in conventional dried fruit is minuscule but I really do believe it is best to avoid harmful ingredients when you can. Those minute bits add up when you get them from several different sources many times a day. Accumulation does matter in the big picture. That is also a reason to do seasonal cleansing, see previous posting. As for the dried cranberries, go organic and get the apple juice sweetened ones for less sugar. That being said do your best and pick the best choice that is available to you, even if that means non-organic. The stress of it all has a worse affect on your body.

I used Nature's Path Millet Rice flakes for these cookies. They have a good crunch and are wheat free for those with a wheat sensitivity. You could use any cereal flakes though.

Okay, here is the recipe, I hope you enjoy it! These won't last long so make a double batch and freeze half if you want to be efficient with your time. They are pretty quick to make. You can add some ground nuts as well if you would like a bit more protein. I would say 1/2 cup or you can add hemp seeds as they are an excellent complete protein and a source of omega-3 fatty acids. Omega-3 fatty acids are good brain food and help you burn fat and lose weight! So enjoy them. Walnuts and ground flax also give you the good omega-3.

Okay really now, enough rambling, get baking.

1/2 cup butter or unrefined sesame oil

1/2 cup maple syrup

1/2 cup rice or hemp milk

2 cups quick oats

1 cup coconut

1/2 cup dried cranberries

1 cup crushed cereal flakes

Melt the butter in a small pot and stir in maple syrup and rice milk. If you are using oil instead you can just mix these ingredients together in a large mixing bowl. Pour the melted butter mixture into a large mixing bowl.

Toss in remaining ingredients and stir until everything is all mixed in. Drop spoonfuls of batter onto a a baking stone or onto parchment paper on a baking tray. Bake at 350 for 18 minutes until lightly golden brown.

Let them cool if you can and enjoy them with a nice cup of tea and a Friend or two.

Get more recipes with this month's collection including spinach dahl and cumin rice, rappini and miso cheese pizza, quick pea soup and almond biscuits, Moroccan stew, healthy corn dogs, blueberry coconut muesli and many more. Sign up at http://www.ahealthierme.ca/rahm.htm

Enjoy your cookies,

Marissa

So good and good for you lemon pie

I wanted to make something a little sweet and as always wanted to feel good about eating it and feel good after eating it. So I pulled out my trusty Tassajara Bread Book. The ultimate bread baking bible with some baked goods recipes. I found a recipe for lemon tarts and I actually had all of the ingredients, well sort of. I had a few bits of flour; some barley, some brown rice and some spelt. I don't often use sugar, but I do use agave nectar, honey and maple syrup. Sometimes I use sucanat sugar, if I want a more traditional baked good. This recipe I opted for agave for it's light flavour and it's sweetness that doesn't put me on a sugar high. It is all natural and when you buy the raw stuff, it's pretty unrefined and tasty. I do have to say that the darker raw agave tastes better than the light agave. It has more flavour, not just super sweetness. I guess it is similar to a dark grade of maple syrup.

I made the recipe from the book, with a few alterations and wow was it ever good. It disappeared fast in my house. It got the double thumbs up. If you would like my version of the recipe you can get it here. Just scroll down to the recipes. The original version, which I am sure is incredible is on page 122 of the Tassajara Bread Book-Edward Espe Brown. I highly recommend adding it to your cook book collection.

Get the recipe at http://www.ahealthierme.ca/freestuff.htm Scroll down to recipes, there is some other fun free stuff on the way down the page.