Healthy Tasty Chowcleaner recipes, reviews and food chatter

Ever watched Real Housewives of New York City?  Or…I guess just watched or looked at any entertainment anything and you’ve probably seen her.  Bethenny Frankel is the single skinny Housewife that is a natural chef.  Guilty pleasure, I watch the show sometimes and think her sarcasm is hilarious.  When I saw she was coming out with a book, Naturally Thin, I was hoping there’d be recipes!  I already eat pretty much like she suggests, just more than she does.  I’ve made these quite a few times and let me tell you, do not use the Silpat!  It makes for flatter softer cakey cookies.  She suggests using wax paper and really, it’s the only way to go.  With wax paper, the cookies didn’t spread and they have a nice crunch on the top.  They’re still more cakey cookies, but hey, they’re a healthied-up version and it’s something I feel good about giving to my toddler, who loves them.  He’s getting taller now so he tends to get on his tippy toes when I’m not looking and steal them.  I have to remember to push them further away from the edge now.  This recipe only makes 10 big cookies which will probably be gone in no time if you’ve got someone to share them with.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups oat flour
• 3/4 cup rolled oats
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup raw sugar
• 1/3 cup chocolate chips (I used heaping 1/3 cup mini chocolate chips)
• 1 tsp canola oil (I used grapeseed oil)
• 1/3 cup soymilk (I used whole milk)
• 1/2 cup banana puree (1 medium-sized banana)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Method:  

• Preheat oven to 375, combine all dry ingredients, combine all wet ingredients.  Mix together
• Use medium-sized ice cream scoop (I used large but didn’t fill it all the way, Bed Bath & Beyond is always out of the medium sized when I try to buy them!) to scoop onto cookie sheet covered with WAX PAPER!  Bake 12 minutes rotating the pan 1/2 way through cooking (I don’t do that part) or until the edges of the cookies are light brown.

Just for kids!  I would not make these for myself, but of course, since they’re around, I eat them.  These bars are full of banana flavor with the additional nutritional bonus of sweet potatoes!  These are based off of Missy Chase Lapine’s book, The Sneaky Chef.  I love her book but my problem with it is, I don’t want to make a puree of something and keep it in the fridge, and then have leftovers if I don’t use it all and toss it out.  It’s all too much possible waste for me to handle so I never really attempted making her recipes.  Then I decided, that’s dumb.  Like usual, why not just throw in what I feel like putting in if it’s close and it’ll probably work.  It usually does!  I’m actually really excited to try her PB&J muffins my way. 

Ingredients:

• 5TB butter (I used 1/2 butter and 1/2 coconut oil)
• 1/2 cup agave nectar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 jar stage 2 organic sweet potatoes (I used Earth’s Best)…Stage 2 is closer to the amount you want, 1 is too small, if you have stage 1, just use 1 1/2 or 2 jars
• 2 large mashed bananas
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 eggs
• 1/3-1/2 cup oat flour or oats…I used oat flour this time because I ran out of oats
• 1 cup spelt flour
• 1/4-1/2 cup chocolate chips

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 325 and spray 8″ square pan or 11×7 pan
• Melt butter & coconut oil if you are using it over medium heat along with agave nectar and stir with whisk.  Remove from heat and let cool while doing the next step
• In a large bowl, mash bananas, add the beaten eggs, baby food, and vanilla.  Add the slightly cooled butter and agave nectar mixture
• Add oats/oat flour and spelt flour and salt.  For less moist bars, add more oats.
• Bake for 25-35 minutes until they don’t jiggle in the middle anymore and turn slightly brown around the edges
• Allow to cool and then melt chocolate chips and spread on top.  You may also drizzle but to be honest, I think spreading is much easier.  I always make my drizzle chunk or somehow lose control of my hand and make a gorgeous splot on top of whatever it is that I’m making.  I prefer not drizzling but wish I had the skill.  Drizzles are pretty.

My toddler loves them!

I found this delicious recipe on Gwyneth Paltrow’s blog: goop.com.  I enjoy reading the food section of her blog because she always has one healthy meal and a dessert/sweet option.  (I know, I tend to stick to the sweets but they’re more fun to talk about)  She has access to anything and since she cares about her health she seems to find those health-conscious talented foodies and I’m so happy that she shares her findings!  I tweaked it a little since I’m a much lazier cook… I hate sifting (however, if you’re not sifting, you may be using too much flour…or basically, a different recipe alltogether) and making wells and using multiple bowls and stuff so here’s my version:

Ingredients:

• 2 large ripe bananas
• 1/2 c maple syrup
• 1/4 cup brown rice syrup (just use honey or agave nectar if you don’t have it)
• 5 Tablespoons grapeseed oil (or canola or sunflower)
• 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/4 cup whole spelt flour  (you can also use just plain wheat flour)
• 1/2 cup barley flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup walnuts, roasted then chopped (tip: roast more in case you burn a few it seems to always happen in my hot oven and then if none burn, you have extras to put in the muffins or a tasty treat to snack on while baking)
• 1/2 cup raisins

1. Preheat oven to 350 and roast the walnuts for around 7 minutes, then chop
2. Mash bananas and then mix in the other liquid ingredients.
3. Mix flours, baking soda and salt and add to liquid ingredients (I usually put the liquid ingredients in a big bowl, and mix the dry on top of the liquid in the same bowl, I hate doing dishes, it works every time though!!!) 
4. Fold in walnuts and raisins.  Don’t over-mix or it’ll be tough.  I used a spatula for mixing everything.
5. Spray the muffin tin with oil or line with cups.  Use an ice cream scoop to distribute evenly - I do this with every muffin/cupcake that I make.  It’s so much easier!
6. Bake about 25 minutes, cool for a few minutes, and then transfer to a cooking rack.

These made a dense yet fluffy moist batch of muffins with a rich banana flavor.  Enjoy!