Why hello there!

I am so excited to share with you maybe my favorite cookie recipe yet. I really don't make much cookies.  But when I do, I like them to be sort of fluffy and always soft & chewy. I'm not a hard, crunchy cookie type person. So if thats what your looking for, this will not be for you. Just a heads up. ;)

So back to my magical cookies. There once was a place in L.A. that I actually worked at, and lived very close to... Called Mani's Bakery. It probably was the first place I ever learned about anything to do with healthy food. Cause believe me, I had no idea. Your girl used to eat at In n Out and other fast food spots more than once a day. And I could take down a 2 liter of Mountain dew with no help needed. Pretty bad. Which is why it's strange, but good that I am where I am now. A person who can't even handle a normal amount of sugar? Craziness right ? I really can't. My heart starts beating so fast. Now back to Mani's. This place was so popular. Let me tell you. I waited on so many famous people. SO MANY. It was the perfect place! It had a whole section on the menu that was vegan. And that could be made vegetarian. And another half that was not vegan. ALL of it was healthy. They even had separate kitchens in the back for the veg. part and non veg. part. So awesome. But what probably was the coolest was that vegans & non vegans a like could come to a place & enjoy their own food together and all of it was healthy!
The other awesome part was their bakery section. After all it was called Mani's Bakery. 
They had these beautiful cookies, muffins, pies, cakes and more. So good. They were all not sweetened with sugar too. Instead they used fruit juice. So awesome. Very sad this place isn't there anymore. It's still in my dreams <3 And I'll continue to talk about how awesome it was and hopefully someday it'll reappear :)

Ok. So thanks to Mani's. I got inspired yesterday to make a cookie without sugar, butter & eggs. I think thats why I don't bake that much. It seems impossible sometimes to avoid those things. Well what will I replace it with, etc? I have the answers here for you my people! Ok. 

1 cup Sugar = 1 cup mashed bananas
1 cup butter or oil = 1 cup unsweetened apple sauce
1 egg = 1 flax or chia egg (1 tbsp. flax or chia seeds mixed with 3 tbsp water)


Kapeesh?  THAT'S IT. Now the world is yours! Go ahead and make some stuff!

These cookies I made tasted like a soft fluffy cookie/muffin. So good. Please try it!

THE DAILY KALE'S CHOCOLATE DIPPED PEANUT BUTTER COOKIES

• 1/2 cup & 1 tbsp. peanut butter, (I used no salt/no sugar added peanut butter)
• 1 cup mashed bananas
• 1/2 cup unsweetened apple sauce
• 1 chia egg, (1 tbsp chia seeds mixed with 3 tbsp. water)
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1 1/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour (or gluten free flour of choice)

DIRECTIONS: cookies

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Mix together wet ingredients in a bowl. 
3. Mix together dry ingredients in a bowl.
4. Mix both wet & dry together.
5. Spoon out some dough and place on parchment paper lined pan. I wet my hands very lightly and smashed the cookies down to become a cookie shape. Don't overly wet your hand because you don't want the cookie to get to wet from doing this.
6. Cook for 8-10 minutes. Until firm, but also somewhat soft. 
7. Let cookies cool on a baking rack. 
8. Once cookies are cool you can dip them in the chocolate sauce! 
9. Place in freezer for 10 minutes to let the chocolate get set. 
10. Store in fridge & most importantly enjoy your creation! :)

CHOCOLATE SAUCE

• 1/3 cup cacao powder
• 3 tbsp. coconut oil
• 1-2 tbsp. 100% maple syrup
• pinch of salt

DIRECTIONS : chocolate sauce

1. Place all ingredients in a bowl and stir. 
2. Dip cooled cookies half way in sauce and place on a parchment paper, and freeze for 10 minutes to set cookies. Store in fridge to make sure they don't melt.

So I have this rule. 

Anything I make in my kitchen that is a dessert.... Has to be healthy. And I don't mean just saying like, Ohh I didn't use refined sugar so it's okay. Ahem, no. I have some food rules. That is for sure. As in... I don't ever have anything but whole wheat flour products.  Never will I eat white rice, or white pasta, etc. I'm a stickler. And there is more to it also than just being 'whole wheat'. MEH, that is a whole other post. Haha. Bottom line read your ingredients before you buy. And I have completely gone off on a tangent haven't I ! Geez. OK. Back to what I was saying about my desserts are super healthy. Almost to the point where I will jeopardize the consistency of what that specific dessert is supposed to be like. But hey- it still tastes great and has way less bad stuff! Like these bad boy muffins.

I wanted muffins badly yesterday morning. But no, I'm not gonna put a huge amount of sugar and maple syrup or whatever. I think thats crazy and unnecessary. So I don't do it! And by the way- the boyfriend loved them. SO thats alright, alright, alright then! 


THE DAILY KALE'S LEMON POPPY SEED MUFFINS

• 2 cups whole wheat pastry flour (or gluten free)
• 1/2 cup coconut sugar
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. pink salt
• 2 tbsp. poppy seeds
• 2 chia or flax eggs
• 3 tbsp. lemon juice
• 1/2 cup almond milk
• 1/4 cup unsweetened apple sauce
  

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 375
2. Mix wet ingredients together.
3. In a separate bowl mix dry ingredients. Then mix wet & dry together and stir.
4. Grease muffin pan with coconut oil. 
5. Bake for 10-15 minutes.

I don't know about you... but I really love creating. When I say that, I mean it in all aspects. But obviously creating recipes. If your not into it, I hope you'll at least try it out. I'm not noe of those people who sit back and just let others create for me and go about my business. No no. My business is creating. I LOVE IT. I love art in all forms. But now on to what this post is really about. The post title is REAL. and I'm about to let you in on it. I have been loving banana bread for not very long, I'll admit. I love morning pastries & donuts, don't get me wrong. But I've never ventured into the banana bread realm really. Never sounded great or bad. But I tried a vegan/gluten free banana bread recently and was blown away. It was however, kinda dry & way to sweet for my liking. ( I really don't like sweet stuff that much.) If you've read my dessert recipes before, I'm pretty sure you understand that. So look, if you love sugar, then this might not be for you. But it is FOR ME. And that is why, I do this. Cause I'm sick of having to go with the normal recipes for desserts & cakes, etc that ALWAYS have sugar, coconut sugar, blah blah, loads of agave. NO! I'm putting an end to this. Because to me, it's excessive. Like bananas are sweet enough, are they not? Call me crazy- but um, a banana is freaking sweet. I have seen people dip bananas in sugar and I am BAFFLED AT WHY they do this. Totally unnecessary. And I grew up drinking gallons of Mnt. Dew, so believe me- it has nothing to do with anything else besides, I guess, your taste buds. But hey- my heart does not like a lot of sweets all at once. And when I say sweets, I mean like 1 banana in my smoothie- yeah, thats right. I put only half. I get shaky. Sugar is crack ya'll! Lol. On that note, heres a lovely recipe for banana bread ;) No but really, in all seriousness. I'm proud of this recipe :) No added sugar. Just good ole' natural sugar. Like bananas and maple syrup & dark cacao nibs:) 

CHOCOLATE WALNUT BANANA BREAD

• 1 1/2 cups Buckwheat Flour (You can use whole wheat, I don't care- I'm just trying out the GF lifestyle ;)
  
• 4 Bananas
  
• 1 small piece of Vanilla bean or tsp of Vanilla
  
• 1 1/2 tsp of Cinnamon
  
• 1 1/2 tsp Baking Powder
  
• 1/4 cup Almond Milk
  
• 2 Chia Eggs ( 2 tbsp. chia seeds mixed with 6 tbsp. water)
  
• 2 pinches of Pink Salt
  
• 1/2 cup Unsweetened Apple Sauce
  
• 1/4 cup Walnuts (or more)
  
• 1/4 cup Cacao Nibs (or more, up to you :P )
  
• 3 tbsp. 100% Maple Syrup
  

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350. OK. Now. Instead of mashing my bananas with my potato smasher, (Yo, it's hard work! But if thats more your style, by all means.) -I blended those bananas UP! I mean it works for smoothies, so why not?
2. Place your bananas and milk in blender and blend until smooth. Now blend in syrup, apple sauce, chia eggs & vanilla. In a mixing bowl, mix flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. Now combine it with your smoothie mixture in the bowl. Lastly, you want to stir in your nibs and walnuts. 
   
3. Grease your loaf pan with coconut oil and pour batter in and spread the top even out. 
   
4. Bake for 30-40 minutes. 
   

And THEN... E N J O Y. 
I will be enjoying this today, yes. But even more so for breakfast with some coffee. MHMMMM.