Refined Sugar Free Berry Cobbler

     Summertime always reminds me of fresh berries, picnics and berry cobblers. I love having warm berry cobbler with a scoop of ice cream melting on top. But, like most desserts, that is usually full of processed and refined sugars. Thankfully, I've created a recipe free from refined sugars, but still full of flavor and sweetness!

Healthy Vegan Buckeye Bars

     What is better than delicious peanut butter layered between rich, dark chocolate? The fact that it is healthy! Not only is this dessert super delicious and easy to make, its also dairy free, gluten free and refined sugar free!

'Eat Your Heart Out' Valentine's Day Brownies

Valentine's Day is just a few days away, and whether or not you have a special someone this year, you'll want this brownie recipe! Its very delicious, moist, chocolatey, and even fruity! Perfect for impressing someone, showing your love, or drowing your feelings in this Valentine's Day!

These brownies are the perfect balance of sweet, rich, and fruity! The addition of the raspberry makes these chocolate delights something special,  not to mention festive! They are oil, dairy, and practically fat free, as well as being refined-sugar free and vegan. But, just because they are void of a few standard-brownie ingredients, doesn't mean they are any less delicious! And, because they are so healthy, you can feel free to Eat Your Heart Out of them! :)

Ingredients:
1 1/2 ripe Bananas
1 tsp Vanilla
1/2 tsp Salt
4 TBS Maple Syrup
3/4 cup Cocoa Powder
1 1/3 cup Flour
1 TBS Baking Soda
1 cup Water ( You could also use coffee or non-dairy milk)
2 TBS White Vinegar
Jam of Choice (I used Raspberry, but Blackberry or Strawberry would be yummy too!)

First, we need to deal with the bananas. I used frozen ones, and just let them come to room-temp. before using them. Make sure they are really ripe! They riper they are, the sweeter they'll be!

Using a hand mixer, puree your bananas until smooth.

Then add in the Vanilla and Maple Syrup. Mix well together and add in the dry ingredients.

Use a spoon to fold in the dry ingredients. The cocoa powder, flour, salt and baking soda. Mix until about half way combined. It will be dry.

 

Then mix the vinegar with the water( or liquid of choice) and add it to the batter. This will cause the batter to puff up a bit, but don't worry! Thats the point!

Mix well and then pour into the pan. I used parchment paper to line my pan, but feel free to use oil or baking spray to keep the brownies from sticking!

Make sure the batter is even, and then get out your jam. Again, I went with raspberry, but go with what every jam-flavor sounds good to you! You could even do a nut butter or nut-chocolate spread and get a whole different flavor!

Use a spoon to add dots of jam to the top of the brownie batter. You can use a knife to swirl in some of the jam too!

And now, these brownies are ready for the oven! Bake at 350 F for 40-45 minutes. They will smell amazing when done! :)

If you are spending Valentine's Day alone this year, you might just want to dig into the pan now. No judgement here! :)
But, if you are going to be sharing these treats, allow them to cool before cutting.

 

To serve, warm them a bit and top with your favorite toppings! I went with Almond Dream non-dairy ice cream, and my family added chocolate sauce as well! Some warm jam would also be amazing!

 

 

They were delicious! The perfect treat for any sweet tooth, and especially perfect for Valentine's Day! Whether you make these for your family, special someone, or eat the whole pan yourself, you can feel good about eating these browines! Even though they are healthier, doesn't mean they don't make for the perfect Valentine's Day( or any time really) treat!

 

 

 

 

If you enjoyed this post, please share it with your friends and family! Make sure that everyone you love has a great brownie recipe this year!

You can follow the blog via email, Google, Twitter @ SpinachisGood, Tumblr @ justrunningforfood, and Pinterest @ Hannah Plunkett.

I post every Friday!

Happy Valentine's Day!
H. Banana

Healthy Honey Graham Crackers

Graham crackers are one of my favorite snack foods ever! My little brother almost always has a stash of them in my mom's bag or in the pantry, and he isn't the only one who eats them! But, most graham crackers aren't the healthiest choice out there and they are full of things you probably don't want to eat. So, that's why I decided to make healthier graham crackers that aren't full of chemicals and additives, refined sugars and flours! These are full of flavor from the honey, whole wheat flour and cinnamon, you'd never guess they were healthy!

 

There are a lot of graham cracker recipes out there, and I am not saying mines the best (you can be the judge of that!) but mine is one of the simpler ones. I wanted a recipe that was both simple, easy to follow and quick as well as healthy, full of flavor and delicious, so I created my own!

Ingredients:
2 1/2 cup Whole Wheat Flour
1/3 cup Honey
1/4 cup Coconut Oil at room temp.
4 tbs Olive Oil
2 tbs Water (You might need more if your dough is a little dry)
1/2 tsp Baking Soda
2 tsp Cinnamon
1 tsp Vanilla

Start my mixing together the dry ingredients. To keep from having clumps of Baking Soda, spoon it into your hand first and get rid of the clumps before adding it to your mix.

Then add the wet ingredients to the dry, mixing to combine.

It should come into a dough ball, but if it becomes crumbly, like mine did, add water bit by bit until it forms a dough ball.

 

Make sure you add the water while mixing, so parts of the dough doesn't go soggy.

 

Perfect! Now that the dough has formed a ball, we can move on to the next step.

place dough onto a well floured surface and give it a few squeezes to make sure all the crumbs won't fall off.

 

Roll the dough out fairly thin, but not see-through. Make sure it is even so that the cookies will all be the same thickness.

 

 

Cut you dough into desired shapes. I used a circle shape, but feel free to have fun with the shapes!  Use a fork and knife to make the traditional design, or draw any shape you would like!

Bake at 350 F for 12-15 minutes, or until they have gone a golden brown and the house if filled with a delicious cinnamon aroma! Let them cool before enjoying!

 

And we're done! See how simple homemade graham crackers are to make? And not only are they simple, but healthy and delicious as well!

 

I had fun with mine and drew smiley faces on a few of my cookies! They look cute, smell heavenly and taste just like store-bought( or maybe a little better!).

 

I hope you enjoyed this post! If you did, please share this post with a friend and family member! You can follow the blog via email, Google, Twitter @ SpinachisGood and on Pinterest @ Hannah Plunkett.

 

New post every Monday and Friday!

 

Keep healthy and Safe!

H. Banana