Nuts about brownies

I'm in the last few weeks of training for Grandma's Marathon. My long run days have stretched into 17 and 18 miles, and the mileage will keep going up until the big day (26.2 miles!) in mid June. My metabolism is kicking into high gear, and I can feel it! I get crazy, strong cravings, and they are mostly for sweet, naughty treats.

So in my quest for satisfying my body while not filling it with trash, I stumbled upon an e-book from Angela Elliot, a woman who makes "raw" food. If you are new to the raw food world, it basically means that food is eaten in it's most natural state. It is fresh, it comes from a plant, and it isn't heated above 105 degrees, which leaves all of the food's enzymes, vitamins, minerals, and micronutrients intact. The goal of eating this way is to get the most "bang for your buck" from the food you eat.

These brownies are a delicious way to eat something completely decadent without adding any processed foods such as flours, sugars, or other things into your diet. Also, you will be swapping out the "bad" (animal) fats that have been linked with heart disease, etc. with "good" (plant) fats that have been shown to aid in ridding the body of these same maladies (when taken in moderation, of course). Since they are made mostly of nuts, they have a lot of calories, so even though these babies are nutrient-dense, too much can lead to weight gain. The whole point is to have a tasty treat that also gives your body some wonderful nourishment.

Before starting this recipe, you will need to put your cashews and dates in separate bowls and cover them completely with water for at least one hour. This will get them to the proper consistency for the recipe. You also need to have a food dehydrator and food processor. If you don't have these, you might want to think about getting them. The Cuisinart has saved me tons of time, and the value of having power packed food makes the dehydrator totally worth it. The purpose for dehydrating these dishes (instead of just baking it) is they are kept below the heat level that destroys the good stuff.

The actual "making/doing" of these scrumptious bits of chocolaty goodness is quite easy and fast. So don't let the new parts overwhelm you. Give it a go! You won't be sorry.


Ingredients:
3 cups walnuts
2 Tablespoons seed or nut butter (I used sunflower seed butter)
6 dates (soaked and keep the water)
1/4 cup Cacao powder
1/8 teaspoon salt

And for the frosting
1 cup raw cashews (soaked and drained)
2 teaspoons cinnamon
3 dates (soaked and keep the water)
1/4 cup water


Directions:
Process the walnuts into a fine flour in your processor.
Add the rest of the ingredients (including the date soaking water) and process until smooth.
Scrape into an 8X8 cake pan
Place in your dehydrator for 24 hours, at its lowest temperature.

Once the brownies are ready, process the drained cashews, cinnamon, dates (with soaking water) and 1/4 cup additional water until smooth.
Refrigerate for 20 minutes to thicken it up. Spread over brownies.


Notes:
If your dehydrator is the traditional round kind that you can't get a pan into, no worries! Cover the bottom with parchment paper, and scoop out spoonfuls, and shape into whatever shape you wish your brownies to take. They won't expand or grow, so you can put them pretty close together.

I love to top these with fruit! Last night we had some strawberries that I threw in the blender and poured that over the brownies. Can you say yum? This is also sensational with my banana ice cream. Here's that recipe: http://cookingwithrebecca.blogspot.com/2010/04/i-scream-you-scream-ice-cream.html

I Scream, You Scream.. ICE CREAM!

We are having an unbelievably early spring here in Minnesota. I've only lived here for five years, and in that time I haven't experienced an April demanding shorts and flip flops, but who am I to argue? After running around the park with Marisa, or just running in general, I'm ready for a cool, delicious treat. This satisfies that craving, and whips up in a snap. And to top it off, while it fits the bill as a dessert, it's just fruit, so it's good for you!

Do-It-Yourself Ice Cream

Ingredients:
1 banana per serving you wish to make


Directions:
Remove peels from bananas, store in an airtight container in the freezer for at least one hour. (Bananas will keep a couple of weeks this way.)

Take frozen bananas and put in a food processor. Process for almost 10 minutes, taking time to push down the sides and mix it up from time to time. Don't be afraid if it gets a little loud, shakes a bunch, or seems like it will never whip up. It will. You will have a frozen treat the same consistency as soft serve.

Remove this deliciousness and put in individual bowls. Then have fun. Top with chopped nuts, berries, a squirt of chocolate sauce, or cut in some nut butter! When I'm going all out, I dice up some angel food cake* and top it with this ice cream and fresh berries. Yummy, yummy, yummy!

*A note on angel food cake: if you are buying a pre-made cake from the store, be sure to check the ingredient label! Some stores put some pretty wacky ingredients in it, like sodium lauryl sulfate, which is actually a chemical that is used in most soaps for it's foaming effect. Besides being a nasty chemical that you shouldn't be eating, this same chemical has been given the red light from the environmental working group (www.ewg.org)for it's carcinogenic effect on the body when using it as a soap. So please don't feed it to your family!

Crazy Cakes!

I love pancakes, especially when they are topped with real maple syrup. Unfortunately, pancakes do not love me. Whenever I eat them, about an hour later, I feel unbalanced and jittery. I suppose it's from the sugar rush, combined with the fact that traditional pancakes don't contain very much in the way of protein, fiber or nutrients. It's just a bunch of white flour and sugar.

There's no need for tears or sadness though. You can still have your cakes and eat them too! AND you can get more good stuff in them. May I introduce to you...buckwheat!

You can read up some juicy details of this wonder-food here: http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-buckwheat-flour.htm

I like to combine this superfood with fruit and nuts in the batter, to load up on nutrients, fiber, and FLAVOR! This power-packed dish served us well as a carb-loader the night before a long race, so all you runners out there, here is another option to the traditional "pasta feed".


Ingredients:
Buckwheat pancake mix
chopped walnuts (a handful or two)
1-2 chopped bananas
1 pint red raspberries
1-2 handfuls of blueberries


Directions:
Prepare pancake mix as directed on package. Stir in fruit and nuts. (You might need to add a touch more water. You want the mix to be able to pour out a bit, like traditional pancake mix.)

Pour mixture on griddle to form pancakes. When the top gets bubbly, it's ready to flip. These cook up just like regular pancakes.

Top with a touch of REAL maple syrup and enjoy!


P.S. And of course, feel free to use any fruit or nut combination that makes you happy. Frozen fruit works as well as fresh, as long as you defrost it first.

Power Bars

These tasty treats are great for a quick breakfast, an after dinner treat, or a midday snack. I love to have one an hour before a long run. It fuels up my system without making me "full". This recipe was inspired by a similar one I found in Eating Well magazine, but I had to tweak it a bit because the bars fell apart too easily. It's super easy, packed with whole foods, and quite yummy!

Ingredients:

1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
1/4 cup slivered almonds
1/4 cup sunflower seeds (raw, not salted or roasted)
1 tablespoon flaxseeds
1 tablespoon sesame seeds
1 cup unsweetened whole grain puff cereal (like Kashi's 7 Whole Grain Puffs)
1/3 cup currants
1/3 cup dried apricots, chopped
1/3 cup golden raisins
1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons almond butter
1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons honey
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon salt


Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Spread oats, almonds, sunflower seeds, flaxseeds and sesame seeds on a large baking sheet. Bake until the oats are lightly toasted and the nuts are fragrant, shaking the pan halfway through, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl. Add cereal, currants, apricots and raisins; toss to combine.

Combine almond butter, sugar, honey, vanilla and salt in a small saucepan. Heat over medium-low, stirring frequently, until the mixture bubbles lightly, 2-5 minutes.

Immediately pour the almond butter mixture over the dry ingredients and mix well, until no dry spots remain. Transfer to an 8x8 cooking pan and press down firmly into the pan. Refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes. Cut into 8 bars.