Tag Archives: dark chocolate

Dark Chocolate Oat and Seed Snacks

Chocolaty oaty goodness!

Chocolaty oaty goodness!

When I was a kid, occasionally my mom would make Chocolate Chow Mein Noodle Cookies.  I, of course, thought they were the bomb and gave no thought to all the processed ingredients in the noodles or conventional chocolate chips!  I still often feel a nostalgia for some of the “treats” of my childhood but now I have begun to look for ways to make them healthier.  This recipe came out of that nostalgia.

I knew I wanted to keep the feeling of the noodles covered with chocolate but without the unhealthy fat you get from using a fried noodle.  I decided to use Bob’s Red Mill Organic Oats  to take the place of the noodles.  Also,  I wanted to incorporate more protein and healthy omega-3’s in this snack so I added Trader Joe’s Organic Tricolor Quinoa,  Navitas Naturals Organic Raw Chia Seeds,  and  Manitoba Harvest Hemp Hearts.  I added cinnamon for its blood sugar balancing and anti-inflammatory properties and cardamom to aid in digestion.  Finally, instead of using regular milk chocolate, I  switched to Newman’s Own Organic Premium Chocolate Bar, 70% for all the heart healthy flavonoids that come with dark chocolate.  These were VERY  easy to whip up and don’t require any baking!

Everything all mixed up and ready to go in the muffin tins.

Everything all mixed up and ready to go in the muffin tins.

I made sure to press hard on the oat mixture as I added it to each tin so all the ingredients would be compressed and hold together better.

Chocolate oat mixture before it hits the fridge.

Chocolate oat mixture before it hits the fridge.

I have to admit, I wasn’t sure how these would end up.  I worried the oats wouldn’t offer the same feel as the fried noodles.  However, between the oats and the seeds you still got the feel of crunchy, chocolaty goodness!  These turned out super yummy!  Unfortunately, this recipe only produced 7 treats so the next time I make them, I am going to be sure to double the recipe!  (These are best stored in the fridge because the chocolate tends to melt quickly.)

Treats all ready to eat.

Treats all ready to eat.

Dark Chocolate Oat and Seed Snacks

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 cup of oats
  • 2 tbs of quinoa, toasted
  • 1 tbs of chia seeds
  • 1/4 cup of hemp seeds
  • 1/4 cup of dried cherries
  • 1/3 cup of coconut oil
  • 2 tbs of cocoa powder
  • 4 squares of dark chocolate
  • 2 tsp of cinnamon
  • 1 tsp of cardamon
  • a dash of salt, to taste
  • 1-2 tsp of maple syrup, use to taste

Instructions

  1. Toast quinoa in a dry pan.
  2. Shake pan often to keep from sticking and/or burning.
  3. Remove from fire when quinoa is lightly toasted.
  4. Put chocolate, coconut oil and cocoa powder in double boiler and melt over light heat.
  5. Once melted, stir in the cinnamon, salt, maple syrup and cardamon.
  6. Taste to see if sweet enough for your taste. If not, add more maple syrup.
  7. Once combined, stir in the oats, quinoa, chia seeds, hemp seeds and dried cherries.
  8. Stir until all the dried ingredients are covered with chocolate.
  9. Spoon "dough" into lined muffin cups.
  10. Place in fridge to set.
  11. These will keep best in the fridge.
http://www.nourishedrootspdx.com/blog/dark-chocolate-oat-and-seed-snacks/

This post contains affiliate links.

This post was added to Fiesta Fridays.

Tiny Tip Tuesday: 5 Small Changes for Big Health Improvements

Small changes for big health gains.

Small changes for big health gains.

Friends and family are always asking me for recommendations about how to improve their health.  While I want to be helpful by provide that life changing, magic answer, what I try to remind people is that it is often the little things they do on a daily basis that make the most difference.  For most people, just making some small changes can pay big dividends for their health.  Here is a list of five changes I would recommend to almost everyone to help optimize their health.

  1. Eliminate or minimize processed food.  I know most people are VERY busy and have a million different balls up in the air and prepackage food can be easier and quicker to get on the table, however, with very few exceptions, fresh, whole, unprocessed food is a much better choice.  When you eat food in its whole form, you are consuming it the way nature intended, with the vitamins and minerals in the proper ratios and you know exactly what you are getting.  There is no guesswork about what is in an apple but often when I read the ingredient list on processed food, I have no idea what some of the ingredients are.  You would never pick up a mystery substance off the ground and put it in your mouth, so why would you do it just because it is in a “food” box?
  2. Add a walk after dinner.  Introducing a walk after dinner will help you reach the recommended goal of 30 minutes of exercise most days.  It will also help with digestion before bedtime and offers an excellent opportunity to reconnect with your family or friends after a hectic day.
  3. Add just one serving of vegetables a day. Most people fall well short of the recommended 5-13 servings of fruits and vegetables a day.  Trying to reach those recommendations may seem daunting but if you break it into smaller pieces it becomes more attainable.  Start with adding just one extra serving per day.  After a week, add another serving.  Continue with this approach until you have reached the recommendation.  Within a relatively short period of time, you will be reach the daily goal!
  4. Use olive oil instead of fat free dressing.  Summer is the perfect time to load up your plate with vegetables to create a pleasing salad.  However, if you choose to use a fat free dressing, you may be missing the vitamins and minerals those vegetables offer.  Fat soluble vitamins like Vitamin A, E, D and K require fat to be absorbed.  If you don’t consume these vitamins with some fat, your body will not be able to assimilate them.  Using equal parts heart healthy olive oil and balsamic vinegar as your dressing will help your body assimilate all those valuable vitamins.
  5. Ditch the diet soda.  Or any other drink made with artificial sweeteners.  Some studies have shown that artificial sweeteners cause a spike in insulin levels.  Research has also demonstrated daily consumption of diet drinks was associated with a 36% greater risk for metabolic syndrome and a 67% increased risk for type 2 diabetes.  Drink plain water or try some of these recipes for infused water.  Herbal tea, kombucha, water kefir or fermented sodas are all also good choices.

There are so many different small changes you can make to improve your health. These are just a few suggestions to get you started.   What is a small change you have made that has made a big change in your life?

Shared with Allergy Free Alaska, Epic Mommy Adventures, Richly Rooted, Adorned From Above and Real Food Forager.

Dark Chocolate Nut and Seed Bombs

Dark Chocolate Nut and Seed Blasts- Good for your Heart!

Dark Chocolate Nut and Seed Blasts- Good for your Heart!

I have been so intrigued by all the raw truffle recipes on Pinterest.  Every time I see a recipe for truffles or energy balls, I have to click over to the actual website to see how they are made.  I can’t believe how many different versions there are!  After reading so many recipes and dreaming about how yummy they all sounded,  I decided to try to make some of my own.

Since I am always looking for ways to get more nutrition into my kids, I wanted to be sure my nut and seed bombs offered some health benefits.  Given how each nut and seed has it’s own distinct nutritional benefits, I decide to try to incorporate as many different types of nuts as possible.  I used walnuts for their short chain omega-3 alpha linolenic acid to benefit the heart and give copper and manganese.  I include pistachios for their high fiber content and carotenoids.  Almond butter was used for almond’s high vitamin E, manganese, copper and fiber content.  Finally, hemp seeds were included for another dose of omega-3’s

Chopped walnuts for healthy omega-3's.

Chopped walnuts for healthy omega-3’s.

After grinding up the dates, nuts and seeds, I added the melted dark chocolate.  The dough turned a beautiful, rich brown color and tasted so yummy!

Dough all ground up before heading to fridge.

Dough all ground up before heading to fridge.

I found the balls rolled the easiest by squishing them into loose balls and then rolling them in the chopped pistachios.  After they were lightly covered with pistachios, I would roll them into tighter balls.  (Unfortunately, my ball rolling skills aren’t perfect- the balls are a little lopsided but they still taste delicious!)  It also seemed best to VERY finely chop the pistachios.  They adhered the best when finely chopped!

Blasts all ready to eat.

Blasts all ready to eat.

Dark Chocolate Nut and Seed Bombs

Ingredients

  • 20 dates ground into a paste
  • 1/3 cup of almond butter
  • 1/3 cup of hemp seeds
  • 1 3.5 oz dark (70% or above) chocolate bar, melted
  • 1 tsp vanilla almond milk
  • 1/2 tsp sea salt
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp of cardamon
  • 1/2 cup raw walnuts
  • 1/4 cup of pistachios, finely chopped

Instructions

  1. Grind pitted dates in a food processor fit with an s-blade until a paste forms.
  2. Place chocolate in a double boiler over low heat, stirring occasionally until melted.
  3. Add walnuts and pulse until combined.
  4. Add hemp seed, almond milk, cinnamon, cardamon and sea salt. Pulse until well combined.
  5. Add in melted chocolate and pulse until well mixed with the nuts and dates. You may have to stop and scrape the sides a couple of times.
  6. Place food processor bowl in the fridge for about 20 minutes.
  7. Take nut mixture out of fridge and carefully roll the dough into balls.
  8. The balls can be rolled in chopped pistachios or other nuts according to your tastes.
  9. (I found it was easier to lightly squeeze the dough into balls and then roll them in the pistachios and then roll them some more to make the balls stay together.)
  10. Enjoy!
http://www.nourishedrootspdx.com/blog/dark-chocolate-nut-and-seed-bombs/
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A single blast of nutty goodness.

A single blast of nutty goodness.

I love the bright green of the pistachios contrasted with the brown of the chocolate!  It is so pretty!

A whole bowl of nutty goodness.

A whole bowl of nutty goodness.

Feel free to substitute different nuts or nut butters for any of the ingredients.  I think you can never go wrong with a nut.  Enjoy!

Shared with Rock My Vegan Socks, Girl Meets Nourishment, Today’s Creative Blog, The Novice Gardner and Real Food Fridays.

Chocolate Hazelnut Torte

I have not been shy about my love for the The Oh She Glows Cookbook: Over 100 Vegan Recipes to Glow from the Inside Out cookbook.  Every thing I have made from it has been absolutely delicious  so when it came time for me to host book club, I knew exactly where I was going to search for a recipe to serve for dessert.

Finished pie.

Finished pie.

Our book club is fairly simple and until the last meeting not very focused on the book.  If you are the hostess, you are responsible for choosing the book and serving wine and dessert.  Until the last book club, we did not spend much time actually discussing the books we had read.  Most of our time was spent drinking wine and talking about what was going on in each other’s lives.  However, with this meeting, we decided the hostess would be responsible for having some questions about the book to help spark discussion.

I choose Me Before You: A Novel by JoJo Moyes and printed off a list of questions from the web.  This book turned out to be a great choice for our first meeting with questions.   It themes were so universal that even the people who had not read the book were able to participate in the conversation.  It sparked a lot of conversation about how you live your life and the choices you might make around death.  I highly recommend this book.

In the original The Oh She Glows Cookbook recipe, it calls for espresso powder to be used in the filling.  I was out of espresso powder so I decided to omit it from the recipe.  I am sure it would be super tasty with the espresso powder but I thought it was very yummy and decadent without it.  Even though this dessert is dairy and gluten free, it still wowed everyone at book club. It does, however,  take a bit of planning because you need to soak the cashews for at least 4 hours (and overnight is even better) before you can make the filling.  This planning is well worth the end result!!

Some of the yummy ingredients that make up this torte.

Some of the yummy ingredients that make up this torte.

To make the crust, you combine the hazelnuts, coconut oil, oats and maple syrup in a food processor and pulse until you get a coarse crumb.  This coarse crumb is then pressed into the bottom of a nine inch round pan and baked for about 10-13 minutes.

Crust before being pressed into the pan.

Crust before being pressed into the pan.

After removing the crust from the oven, allow it to cool before adding the filling.

Crust before baking.

Crust before baking.

I put all the ingredients for the filling in my Nutri Bullet and gave them a whirl.  I had to stop multiple times to scrap down the sides and add a little almond milk.  The Nutri Bullet worked awesome to turn those nuts, chocolate and other ingredients into a smooth, creamy, yummy  filling.

Filling mixture after being blended together.
Filling mixture after being blended together.

 

Chocolate Hazelnut Torte

Ingredients

  • FOR CRUST:
  • 3/4 cup raw hazelnuts
  • 1/4 cup of coconut oil
  • 3 tbs of maple syrup
  • 1/4 tsp sea salt
  • 1/2 cup gluten free oat flour
  • 1 cup gluten free rolled oats
  • FOR CHOCOLATE FILLING:
  • 1 1/2 cups of cashews soaked overnight or at least 4 hours
  • 2/3 cup of agave or maple syrup (I used maple)
  • 1/2 cup coconut oil
  • 1/3 cup cacao powder
  • 1/3 cup of melted dark chocolate chips
  • 2 tsp of vanilla
  • 1/2 tsp of sea salt
  • 1/2 tsp of espresso powder (optional)

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and lightly grease a 9 inch pie dish with coconut oil.
  2. TO MAKE CRUST:
  3. In food processor, grind the hazelnuts into a coarse crumb.
  4. Add the maple syrup, oat flour, salt and coconut oil until the dough starts to stick together.
  5. Add oats and process until begin to break up but you can still see them.
  6. Press mixture into the pie pan.
  7. Place in oven and bake for 10-13 minutes. (Until lightly brown.)
  8. Allow crust to cool while you make the filling.
  9. TO MAKE FILLING:
  10. Drain and rinse the soaked cashews.
  11. Place cashews and all other filling ingredients in your blender.
  12. Process the filling on high. Stopping to scrap the sides or add almond milk as needed to keep the blender moving.
  13. Once your filling is completely smooth, pour it into the cooled pie crust.
  14. Smooth filling so it evenly covers the crust.
  15. I garnished my pie with shaved dark chocolate and chopped hazelnuts. You can skip the garnish all together or add whatever ingredients appeal to you.
  16. Put uncovered pie in a flat spot in your freezer and freeze for a few hours.
  17. After a few hours, cover pie with foil and freeze for a minimum of 4-6 hours before serving.
  18. When ready to serve, remove pie from freezer about 10 minutes before slicing.
  19. To store pie, cut in individual slices, wrap in foil and keep in the freezer.
  20. Enjoy!
http://www.nourishedrootspdx.com/blog/chocolate-hazelnut-torte/

Pie slice.

Pie slice.

This pie is really very pretty sliced.  (I know this pictured doesn’t do it justice.)  Unfortunately, my kids got a hold of the pie before I could cut a nice slice and take a picture of it.  Just one more piece of evidence about how delectable this pie is!

Enjoy!

This post contains affiliate links.

 

 

Dark Chocolate, Cherry and Hazelnut Bark

Finished chocolate cherry hazelnut bark.

Finished chocolate cherry hazelnut bark.

As you may have guessed from reading my blog over the last few months, I do love dark chocolate.  In fact, in moderation, it is one of my favorite foods.  I am always thinking about ways to incorporate it into my diet. (Read more about the benefits of dark chocolate here.)  When I was little, my mom use to make candy barks for the holidays.   Her bark involved making an amazingly yummy toffee and then covering it in chocolate.  This seemed like more steps than I was prepared for today so I decided to try a bark that felt a little less complicated.  I already had the four ingredients for this bark in my house so it felt like a no brainer to combine them to make a tasty treat.

Ingredients for yum!

Here are the cherries and nuts all ready to be added to the melted dark chocolate.  I roughly chopped the nuts but you can make them as fine as you want depending on your preference.

Chopped hazelnuts and dried cherries.

Chopped hazelnuts and dried cherries.

Even though I used ingredients I already had in my house, I was so excited because for my birthday, I received a cookbook called Nuts in the Kitchen by Susan Herrmann Loomis with all sorts of recipes about cooking with nuts.  In reading the book, I was intrigued by all the benefits offered by each specific nut.  I live in Oregon whose state nut is the hazelnut.  Hazelnuts are everywhere and so delicious. In her book, Susan points out that hazelnuts “contain some folate (or vitamin B9) which helps the body make new protein and red blood cells…Hazelnuts also contain generous amounts of copper and manganese.”  Dried cherries, one of the other ingredients in this recipe, also provide a good source of copper.  Their tart- sweet taste also offers the benefits of Vitamin A and Vitamin C. (And of course, don’t forget all the benefits of dark chocolate.)  I hesitate to call this bark a candy because there are so many benefits to eating it!!

Finished dark chocolate, cherry and hazelnut bark.

Finished dark chocolate, cherry and hazelnut bark.

Dark Chocolate Cherry and Hazelnut Bark

Ingredients

  • about 6.5-7 oz of dark chocolate
  • short 1/2 cup of hazelnuts, chopped
  • short 1/2 cup of cherries
  • Fresh ground sea salt, optional

Instructions

  1. Melt dark chocolate in double broiler on the stove.
  2. While melting, chop nuts to desired size.
  3. Line pan with parchment paper.
  4. When chocolate finishes melting, fold in cherries and nuts.
  5. Pour chocolate mixture onto parchment cover pan.
  6. Spread mixture across pan.
  7. Grind salt on top if using.
  8. Let sit out for at least 2 hours or until hard.
  9. Break into bite sized pieces.
  10. Enjoy!
http://www.nourishedrootspdx.com/blog/dark-chocolate-cherry-and-hazelnut-bark/

A couple of hints:  This bark was packed with nuts and cherries, if you prefer a higher ratio of chocolate to mix ins, I would either melt more chocolate or reduce the amounts of the cherry and nuts.  Also, next time I make this, I will be a little more generous with the salt.  It is sooo yummy with the sweetness of the chocolate that I think a little more would be nice.

This recipe lends itself to lots of experimentation.  I am already thinking of potential ingredients for the next round.  What are your favorite ingredients in candy?

Post shared with A Glimpse Inside, Homespun Oasis, Gluten Free Homemaker and Live laugh Rowe.

Dark Chocolate Covered Seed and Nut Bars

Finished bars all ready to eat.

Finished bars all ready to eat.

It has suddenly gotten amazingly hot and sunny here in the Pacific Northwest.  I LOVE IT!  I am a total sun girl- everything seems better with a little  sun!  The only bummer is our house gets incredibly hot as the day goes on.  As the mercury rises, trying to avoid further heating of  the house with cooking becomes a consuming obsession.  Imagine my joy when I came upon these amazing raw seed and nut bars from This Rawsome Vegan Life while surfing Pintrest (you can find me here on Pintrest).

All the yummies that make up these awesome bars.

All the yummies that make up these awesome bars.

 

These bars have everything you could possibly need for a little pick me up in a busy day.  Healthy sugar from organic dates and raisins, omega-3’s from chia seeds, walnuts and flax seeds and protein from all those seeds and nuts.   Pumpkin seeds further contribute to the omega-3’s but they also give a much need boost of zinc (read here about the benefits of zinc.).The medium-chain triglycerides (MCTs) in the coconut oil provide a blast of increase energy expenditure compared to the same amount of calories from longer chain fats.  And, of course, I couldn’t resist adding a dark chocolate covered topping to increase my antioxidant exposure.  (Read more about the benefits of dark chocolate here.

Dark chocolate squares melting in double broiler.

Dark chocolate squares melting in double broiler.

I put the dark chocolate squares on the stove in a makeshift double broiler while I started the grinding of the seeds and nuts in the food processor.  After the nuts and seeds resembled a course crumb, I gradually added the raisins and dates.  Mixing this all together required some time, with multiple stops to scrape down the sides of the food processor.  I used roughly 2 tbs of coconut oil but you will have to judge the stickiness of your own dough.  The moisture content of the dates and raisins seems to impact how sticky the dough becomes.

All the ingredients before being ground.

All the ingredients before being ground.

 

Melting chocolate for the topping.

Melting chocolate for the topping.

Bars with melted chocolate ready to go to the fridge to harden.

Bars with melted chocolate ready to go to the fridge to harden.

Finished bars.

Finished bars.

These were super easy to whip up and so tasty!  I think they might be my new favorite bar!

Dark Chocolate Covered Seed and Nut Bars

Ingredients

  • 1 cup walnuts
  • 1/3 cup chia seeds
  • 1/3 cup ground flax seeds
  • 1/3 cup hemp seeds
  • 1/4 cup cacao nibs
  • 1/4 cup coconut flakes
  • 3/4 cup pumpkin seeds
  • 1/2 cup raisins
  • 1 cup dates
  • 1-2 tablespoons melted coconut oil, if needed
  • 4 Dark chocolate squares for topping.

Instructions

  1. Melt dark chocolate over double broiler on the stove.
  2. Put all ingredients except raisins, coconut oil and dates in food processor.
  3. Process until you have a course crumb mixture.
  4. Add raisins and dates.
  5. Process until dough starts sticking together.
  6. Add coconut oil as needed to help with sticking.
  7. Put dough in parchment lined pan.
  8. Use your hands to press to uniform depth throughout the pan.
  9. Pour melted chocolate over top of bars.
  10. Spread chocolate.
  11. Put bars in fridge for about an hour.
  12. Once firm and chocolate hardens, take out and cut.
  13. Store in fridge.
  14. Enjoy!
http://www.nourishedrootspdx.com/blog/dark-chocolate-covered-seed-and-nut-bars/

Share a link to your favorite bar recipe!

This post was shared with Gluten Free Homemaker, A glimpse Inside, Homespun Oasis, The Nourishing Gourmet, Rock My Vegan Socks, Food Renegade,  Today’s Creative Blog  and Live Laugh Rowe..

Dark Chocolate Pumpkin Seed Butter Spring Flowers

Dark Chocolate Pumpkin Seed Butter Spring Flowers.

Dark Chocolate Pumpkin Seed Butter Spring Flowers.

All this talk about the benefits of dark chocolate from Tuesday’s post got me thinking about a way to add a little more chocolate to my daily routine. Lately, I have been snacking on pumpkin seed butter spread on dark chocolate scraps leftover from my debacle of trying to make almond  butter flowers.  (Read about it here.)  I have been obsessed with this tasty treat.  I also recently found a really cute flower ice cube tray mold at Ikea and was excited to put it to use. I had seen many recipes for homemade peanut butter cups on the internet  but I thought if  I incorporated pumpkin and flax seeds into my chocolate, it could add a boost of omega 3’s.

Cute mold filled with chocolate.

Cute mold filled with chocolate.

I had a little extra chocolate so I also used a mini muffin tin to make some traditionally shaped pumpkin seed butter cups.  This works great and obviously tastes just as yummy if you don’t have a fancy mold.

Muffin tin with chocolate.

Muffin tin with chocolate.

 

After I filled the mold, I put it in the freezer to allow the chocolate to set up.  Once the chocolate was hard, I added my pumpkin seed butter to the mold and then poured another layer of chocolate over the nut butter.  Be sure to cover all of the pumpkin seed butter.

Hardened chocolate with pumpkin butter.

Hardened chocolate with pumpkin butter.

My pumpkin butter did not hold together too well but I figured it would be okay because the melted chocolate would be able to hold it in place.  I thought about adding more coconut oil or blending it longer but felt it would work fine once the extra chocolate layer was added.  And look,  I was right!!

finished pumpkin butter dark chocolate flowers.

finished pumpkin butter dark chocolate flowers.

Traditional butter cups.

Traditional butter cups.

OH!  THESE ARE SO YUMMY!

Dark Chocolate Pumpkin Seed Butter Spring Flowers

Ingredients

  • 2 dark chocolate bars
  • 1/8 cup of ground flax seed
  • 3/4 cup pumpkin seeds
  • 2 1/2 tbs of coconut oil (more as needed)
  • 2 tbs of honey

Instructions

  1. Place chocolate in a double broiler on the stove.
  2. Add one tbs of coconut oil and allow to melt.
  3. Stir frequently.
  4. While melting, grind pumpkin seeds,flax meal, honey and remaining coconut oil in food processor.
  5. When chocolate melted, put thin layer in bottom of mold.
  6. Place in freezer for about 10 minutes or until hard.
  7. Take out of freezer and place small amount of pumpkin seed butter in the mold.
  8. Pour another layer of chocolate around the pumpkin seed butter. It should completely cover the butter.
  9. Put back in the freezer until hard. (This could take over an hour.)
  10. Pop the flowers out of the mold.
  11. Enjoy!!
http://www.nourishedrootspdx.com/blog/dark-chocolate-pumpkin-seed-butter-spring-flowers/

More finished flowers.

More finished flowers.

These dark chocolate nut butter cups could be made with any nut butter you desire.  In my opinion any nut combined with dark chocolate is a yummy combination!

What is your favorite nut butter- dark chocolate pairing?

This post was shared with Food Renegade,  Gluten Free Cat, Homespun Oasis, The Idea Room,  Rock My Vegan Socks, Today’s Creative BlogUrban Naturale,  Live, Laugh Rowe  and  A Glimpse Inside.

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