Toasted Coconut Nut Butter Cookies

If you've read my last post, Chocolate Olive Oil Brownies with Cashew Butter-Cream Spread, you'll know I recently got a Vitamix and since then have been making fresh nut butter on a regular basis. I eat it plain a lot or with fresh fruit (especially bananas!), but I've found it is also a great ingredient to cook with. Which leads me to my latest dish, Toasted Coconut Nut Butter Cookies.

In this dish I have combined raw almonds and cashews to form a thick, creamy butter, along with some toasted coconut for a little crunch and extra flavor. The eggs alone were enough to poof up the cookies, and the nut butter helped them hold a uniform shape, so no flour was needed! They tasted kind of like chunky peanut butter cookies. I decided to drizzle a little chocolate over top too because...chocolate. I feel that chocolate makes every thing better, but if you are a big nut butter fan these cookies are good on their own as well, so feel free to leave off the chocolate sauce if you like. :)

Chocolate Swirled Banana Bread

Okay, so my husband has been asking me for weeks to make him some banana bread, but we've been eating so many bananas lately that they never got ripe enough to work with! I just noticed yesterday that there were 3 overly ripe bananas that needed to be used, so I figured banana bread would be the perfect way to do it!

I tried to switch it up by adding two different flavors swirled together; one chocolate and the other cinnamon. I didn't exactly get the swirled effect I was hoping for, but you can sort of tell there are two different flavors in there...anyway it still tastes good, and that's what matters anyway! It is also quite fluffy for a coconut flour loaf. It is a little dry, but I found it went very well with some fresh banana slices and a glass of milk!

The version I made is mix-in free, but I think it would be lovely with some walnuts or raisins mixed in. I'd also like to note that I prefer a slightly bitter taste to my chocolate, so if you have a sweet tooth you may want to add in some extra honey. Adjust the recipe to fit your personal preference, there's no rules in the kitchen. :)

Almond Flour Mushrooms with Chunky Marinara

I have always been a huge fan of Italian food, specifically pizza and pasta. I remember as a child spaghetti and meatballs was always my favorite dish (and still to this day is one of the best)!

But lately my husband and I have been trying to stay away from having too much gluten products, so spaghetti was a no-no. However, there's no gluten in the sauce! I've come to realize that most of my favorite Italian foods are based around the marinara anyway. I never did like Alfredo sauce, and I can't say I know a whole lot about the rest of the Italian cuisine...

So the question was, what could I serve with marinara?

Mushrooms of course! They are low fat, low in carbohydrates, high in vitamins B and D, and just so delicious and juicy when baked. Not to mention me and my husband are both big mushroom fans. They are just so versatile, and seem to go good with almost any dish.

Raw Avocado Pistachio Fruit Bowls

When I came up with this recipe I had just gotten my new pineapple corer (thanks mom!!), and what better way to test it out than with a new recipe? :D

It worked out awesome by the way. I had never actually cut up a fresh pineapple before this, but I imagine it would have been a big pain with out my corer. If anybody is in need of one, I recommend this one from Amazon. After having the wonderful sweetness of fresh pineapple, I don't think I will ever be able to go back to the canned stuff!

I encourage you not to judge this recipe by the photo. I know it doesn't look very appetizing, but believe me, it is!  It has that wonderful creaminess from the avocado, a little tartness from the cherries, the juicy sweetness of fresh pineapple, and the crunchiness of pistachios...all in one! If you like avocado and pineapple, I'm sure you will love this.

Pistachio Coated Mini Chocolates

This idea came to me when I was trying to think of a healthier alternative to M&Ms. All the recipes for home-made M&Ms I could find included corn syrup, food colorings, or other unhealthy/non-food items. There isn't really a point in making them at home if they are just as bad for you!

I never did come up with any ideas that would work well to make home-made M&Ms...I'm still trying to figure that one out if anybody has any ideas!

In the mean time, these are actually pretty awesome themselves. The pistachios add a slightly crunchy, colorful coating to the chocolates. While they don't taste like M&Ms, they do have a great nutty, salty, chocolatey taste of their own...which is totally okay with me!

Oh, and did I mention they are gluten and dairy-free? :)