Apple Cinnamon Whole Wheat and Oat Pancakes

I don't know why I haven't posted about these before. Maybe because I usually eat them all before I can take a picture. A couple years ago I decided I wanted to make healthy pancakes that still tasted good. Though there were others that were pretty good, these came out on top for me. I just love cooked apple. These are the pancakes you eat when you want something tasty and filling, but don't want to feel slothful afterwards. They almost look like cookies, don't they?

Apple Cinnamon Wheat Pancakes
How I Did It:

1 egg
4 oz unsweetened apple sauce
1/4 cup + 1 tbsp almond milk
1 tsp vanilla
1 tbsp honey
1/3 cup oats, slightly processed
1/3 cup whole wheat flour
1 tbsp flaxseed meal
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1 apple, peeled and chopped

1. Whisk the first 5 ingredients together.

2. Stir in the remaining ingredients, except for the apple. Let sit for 15 minutes.

3. Lightly coat two large frying pans with oil (I used light olive oil) and heat on low.

4. Stir in the the apple and when the pans are heated, pour or spoon the batter in making the size pancakes that you prefer.

5. Cook until small bubbles start to form and the edges look set. Flip, and cook on the other side.

6. Serve immediately,

Chocolate Covered Banana Peanut Butter Bites

I have been wanting to make a simple treat for someone who loves banana and my first thought was adding a slice of banana to a homemade peanut butter cup. I still might try that, but while brainstorming I came up with this idea which is a bit healthier and much more banana focused. They came out as good as I had hoped (the mixing of the different chocolates and flavors really adds to it in my opinion) and were very easy to make. Freezing them thoroughly before dunking them in the chocolate is a necessary step though so make sure enough time is saved for that.

Chocolate Covered Banana Peanut Butter Bites
How I Did It:

2 ripe bananas
3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup milk chocolate chips
1/2 cup dark chocolate chips
1/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/8 cup butterscotch chips
1/4 tsp vanilla extract

1. Peel and slice your bananas. You won't need the 4 end pieces.

2. Scoop peanut butter on top of a slice of banana (be generous) and cover with another slice. Repeat for the remaining slices, matching up similiar sized pieces.

3. Place all "sandwiches" in a parchment paper lined container in the freezer. Freeze at least for a couple hours, if not overnight.

4. When the sandwiches are nice and frozen, pour your chocolate and butterscotch into a double boiler and heat. Stir occasionally to help melt. Once melted, stir in the vanilla extract.

5. One at a time , place a peanut butter banana sandwich into the melted chocolate. Once coated, carefully scoop out with a fork, letting some of the excess chocolate fall off. Place in a container lined with parchment paper. Repeat for remaining sandwiches, only take 2 out to work with at a time and leaving the rest frozen.

6. Once all of the sandwiches are coated in chocolate, cover the container and place back in the freezer until you are ready to enjoy!

Whole Wheat Caramel Apple Cookies

Nothing beats a chocolaty cookie, am I right? Well, while traveling for work last year I had a caramel apple cookie that completely wow'd me. After I was done wishing I had taken two instead of just one, I decided I would have to make my own caramel apple cookies. So I started to look to see if I could find their recipe. Sadly, I couldn't find it or anything that seemed even similar. Skip ahead a year and the fall has brought thoughts of caramel apple cookies back to my brain. Instead of trying to replicate my work cookie, I made my own healthier version and I was pretty impressed with how they turned out.

Whole Wheat Caramel Apple Cookies
How I Did It:

(Makes 10-12 cookies)


3/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 1/2 cups rolled oats
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1/4 cup canola oil
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup + 1 tbsp + 1 tsp granulated sugar
1/4 cup unsweetened apple sauce
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 egg
1 cup diced peeled apples
10 caramels, chopped


1. Whisk together flour, oats, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Set aside.

2. Combine the oil and sugar and stir together for a couple minutes with a spoon. Add in the apple sauce, vanilla, and egg. Mix until well combined.

3. In three parts, slowly stir in the dry mixture until just combined. Add in the apples and caramels and stir just until distributed.

4. Cover and place dough in the fridge for 30-60 minutes to firm up.

5. Preheat oven to 375.

6. Form dough into large balls and place on Silpat (or parchment paper) covered cookie sheet.

7. Bake for about 10 minutes or until they look set and not gooey. Unlike other cookies, I do not recommend under-cooking these, but they do go from under-cooked to slightly too cooked very quickly.

8. Let cool for a couple minutes before transferring to a cooling rack. They are the best fresh (with the gooey caramel), but you can store in an air-tight container in the fridge for up to a week.

Coconut Strawberry Cake

In keeping with the healthy coconut strawberry theme, I give you this addicting cake. This is one of those desserts that is healthy and still tastes really good. It's gluten-free, vegan, and sugar free (aside from natural sugars from the fruit of course), and very refreshing. If you like coconut and strawberry, you will like this easy to make cake!

Coconut Strawberry Cake

How I Did It:

4 tbsp coconut oil, melted and slightly cooled

1 cup almonds, soaked for a few hours in water

4 cups shredded unsweetened coconut

1/2 cup pitted dates, soaked for a few hours in water

3 cups fresh strawberries

1. In a food processor, grind almonds until very fine.

2. To the processor, add 2 tbsp coconut oil, 2 cups coconut, and the dates and process until well combined.

3. Press evenly into the bottom of an 8x8 inch baking pan.

4. Clean out the processor and then place the remaining ingredients ( 2 tbsp coconut oil, 2 cups coconut, and the strawberries, reserving a few for the top if you'd like).

5. Pour the strawberry coconut mixture on top of the crust and even out with the back of a spoon. Slice strawberries in 3rds or 4th and place on top.

6. Cover and refrigerate for a couple hours or overnight before serving.

Gluten-free and Sugar-Free Berry Coconut Oatmeal Cookies

It's easy to make a tasty cookie, it's not as easy to make a tasty cookie that is gluten-free, sugar-free (excluding fresh fruit), no unprocessed nuts/seeds, peanut-free, dairy-free, chocolate free, and full of flavor, but not too sweet (read: barely sweet). I was pretty proud to have come up with these cookies. I wasn't entirely sure how they would turn out, but even as a lover of sweets I enjoyed them.  They are basically a guilt-free cookie that you want to eat.They are dense - more like a bar and there is zero sweetener other than the strawberries and blueberries (which do add a nice amount of sweetness). I like to think of it as handheld oatmeal.

Berry Coconut Oatmeal Cookies
How I Did It:

1 3/4 cups rolled oats
1/4 cup raw almonds
1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp all spice
2 eggs
1/4 cup + 1 tbsp coconut oil, melted and slightly cooled
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup strawberries, chopped
1/4 cup wild blueberries

1. Preheat oven to 375.

2. Place almonds in a food processor and grind into a flour. Keeping the almond flour in the processor, add in 1/4 cup of the rolled oats and process that into a flour as well.

3. In a large bowl, combine the flour/almond mixture with the rest of the rolled oats, unsweeetened shredded coconut, salt, cinnamon, and all spice.

4. In a seperate bowl, mix together the eggs, coconut oil, vanilla until well combined.

5. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry along with the blueberries and strawberries. Make sure the the fruit is well distributed.

6. Form dough into balls and place onto cookie sheet and flatten. They will not expand or rise/flatten so shape them as you wish to serve them.

7. Bake for about 15 minutes or until the edges start to brown and the center looks dry.

Chunky Pineapple Salsa

Believe it or not, I have never made salsa. So easy and it tastes so good when it's fresh and yet for some reason I always just buy it. My first ever salsa product is this pineapple salsa which is perfect for the summer. I have had pineapple salsa before of course, but never homemade and it has always been tomato based. This was pretty good, although maybe a bit too heavy on the pineapple. The spice helped cut the sweetness though and it was pretty tasty with some blue corn chips as well as over some coconut chicken that I had made. I would say this was hot/spicy, but not overly so. Every day you let it sit in your fridge it will loose a bit of heat, so keep that in mind.

Chunky Pineapple Salsa
How I Did It:

1 cup chopped canned pineapple
1 cup canned corn
1/2 red onion, diced
1/2 orange bell pepper, diced
1 jalapeno, diced (removed ribs, keep seeds)
1 serrano pepper, diced (seeds and ribs removed)
2 tbsps lime juice
1/8 tsp pinch of salt

1. Place all ingredients in a bowl and mix until well combined.

2. Cover and refrigerate for about an hour (or more) and then serve with whatever you desire. Keep leftovers covered and refrigerated for up to a week.

Special Blueberry Banana Bread

This banana bread was one of the two desserts I made for Mother's Day. I found it at Gluten Free Vegan Girl. My mom loved it and my sister and I agreed that it would be great for breakfast. Of course, the only one I shared the secret ingredient with was my mom. I have used tofu in vegan frosting before and it really does make for a nice texture (you can't taste it - promise). This bread is vegan, gluten-free and has no added sugar - the sweetness comes from the bananas and blueberries, but it's only mildly sweet. I doubled recipe (per below) and I think that was the perfect amount for a loaf pan and it still cut and served easily.

Special Blueberry Banana Bread

How I Did It:

4 ripe bananas

300 grams silken tofu

2 cups of rolled oats

2 tsp baking powder

1 1/2 cups frozen blueberries

1. Preheat oven to 350. Lightly grease a bread pan with canola oil.

2. With a potato masher, mash together the bananas and tofu in a bowl.

3. In a food processor, grind the oats into oat flour. Pour into the banana/tofu mix along with the baking powder. Stir to combine.

4. Pour into prepared bread pan and spread out evenly. One at a time, push blueberries into the batter.

5. Bake for about an hour or until it doesn't jiggle when you shake the pan and it is cooked through (will remain very moist).

6. Store covered and refrigerated. 

Raspberry and (White, Dark, and Milk) Chocolate Cheesecake

Who doesn't like cheesecake? After not having it for awhile I often think I could take it or leave it...and then I have a bite and remember its creamy deliciousness. This was my first attempt at a real cheesecake and it turned out pretty well. For my first time I wasn't going to try to make something up myself and after much searching around to find what I wanted, I found this recipe from Sweet Anna's. I couldn't have hoped for a better first cheesecake. Or second....or third. It was excellent. Making the raspberry sauce proved to be much more of a pain than I was expecting and I think I would try to avoid that in the future. This definitely doesn't need the chocolate topping for either looks or taste, but it's a great addition.

Raspberry and Chocolate Cheesecake
How I Did It:

Raspberry Sauce
1 (10oz) package frozen raspberries
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1/2 cup water

Chocolate Crust
25 Oreos, crushed
1/4 cup melted butter

Cheesecake filling
2 cups chopped good quality white chocolate
1/2 cup half & half
3 (8oz each) packages cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sugar
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups milk chocolate chips

Chocolate ganache topping
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1/4 cup milk chocolate chips


1. In a saucepan on combine raspberries, sugar, cornstarch, and water. Bring to a boil, making sure to stir occasionally.

2. Pour through a fine strainer to remove the seeds (it's okay if there are some left) and store in the refrigerator until you are ready to use.

3. Preheat the oven to 350. In a bowl, mix together butter and crushed Oreos until well combined. Press into the bottom of your Springform pan.

4. Bake crust for about 10 minutes, or until set. Remove and set aside.

5. Reduce heat to 325.

6. In a saucepan heat and just before it starts simmering remove from the heat and stir in the white chocolate until smooth. Set aside.

7. In a large bowl, beat together cream cheese and sugar until smooth. One at a time beat in the eggs, making sure each is well combined. Beat in the salt, vanilla, and the white chocolate mixture.

8. Wrap the outside of the Springform pan tightly with aluminum foil. Place a jellyroll pan (or roasting pan if you have it) in the oven and getting some water boiling on the stove (for you water bath).

9. Pour half of the cream cheese mixture over the crust. Sprinkle the milk chocolate chips evenly over the filling and then drizzle 5 tablespoons of the raspberry sauce on top of that. With the tip of a butter knife, swirl the sauce.

10. Pour the rest of the filling over the chocolate chips and raspberry sauce and then drizzle another 5 tablespoons of the raspberry sauce on top and swirl it again.

11. Place the uncooked cheesecake in the center or the jellyroll/roasting pan. Carefully pour the boiling water in the jelly roll or roasting pan. If using a jellyroll pan, fill to the top. Otherwise, fill with enough water to reach halfway up the Springform pan.

12. Bake the cheesecake for about an hour until the center looks set, but still jiggles a little if you shake the pan. Remove from the oven and let the cheesecake sit in the hot water for another half hour.

13. Continue to cool (still in the Springform pan) on a cooling rack. Once at room temperature, place in the refrigerator to continue to set and chill for at least 3 hours.

14. While the cheesecake is chilling, you can make the ganache. In a double boiler, combine the heavy cream and chocolate chips. Stir occasionally and remove from heat once smooth. Let cool, continuing to still occasionally to keep the smooth texture.

15. Pour the ganache over the top of the cooled cheesecake, letting some drip down the sides. Return to the refrigerator for another 3 hours or so to let the ganache set.

Remember to store any leftovers in the refrigerator.

Banana Berry Smoothie

What's better than a cold fresh fruit smoothie on a really hot day...or even on an unseasonably warm fall day? I have been playing with different variations and right now this is my favorite. It's so easy - there's really no excuse not to make it. Sometimes I put it right into a glass and sometimes I put it in a bowl and stick it in the freezer for a bit and pretend it's ice cream. Either way, it's delightful and satisfying to the point that I don't even care that I'm not eating dairy or chocolate. Yeah, I said it. If you are craving chocolate, try this banana chocolate ice cream.

Banana Berry Smoothie
How I Did It:

1 frozen banana
7 frozen strawberries
1/8 cup frozen blueberries
2 tbsp almond milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp ground flax seeds (optional)

1.  Break up frozen banana into a few chunk and grind up in the food processor. Add in strawberries and blueberries.

2.  Once the fruit is all finely chopped up, add in milk of choice, vanilla, and flax seeds and process until well combined and smooth.

3. Enjoy!

Hearty Apple Pecan Cake

My favorite desserts (after those with chocolate) are apple desserts. From the simple apple sauce and caramelized apples to fritters, crisps, bars and pies...cooked apples just make everything better. I am the person who always replaces walnuts with pecans in recipes. Same crunch with better flavor (walnuts are just so borrring)! So you can see how when I saw this "breakfast cake" at Oh She Glows I had to try it out. 

I used more apple and apple sauce than she did and I would do the same if I made it again. Maybe I should say when I make it again. Since I'm not vegan, I used honey instead of maple syrup since I prefer that flavor (the extra apple sauce helped moisten up the batter enough). I had it for breakfast this morning and between the whole wheat flour and the pecans, it really kept me full and satisfied until I was ready to eat again (I had slightly more than shown below).

Hearty Apple Pecan Cake

How I Did It:

1 cup pecans, chopped

3 apples, peeled and chopped

2 cups whole wheat pastry flour

1 tsp baking powder

2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 buttery spread, melted and cooled

1 tsp vanilla

1/4 + 1/8 cup +1 tbsp honey (to make this vegan, use maple syrup)

2 single serving no sugar added apple sauce cups

1. Preheat oven to 350. Grease a 8x8 casserole dish and then spread 1 tbsp of the honey along the bottom. You will really have to rub it around as it does not spread as well as maple syrup.

2. Cover the bottom of the dish with a full layer of the chopped apples and slightly under 1/2 cup of pecans. Set aside.

3. In a large bowl whisk together flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt.

4. In a separate bowl mix together the spread, vanilla, remaining honey, and apple sauce.

5. Mix the wet ingredients into the dry. Spread half on top of the apples and pecans. Add another layer of apples and pecans on top, reserving some to sprinkle the top with. Spread the rest of the batter on top and then the remaining apples and pecans on top of that. Press down lightly on the apples and pecans. 

6. Sprinkle with cinnamon and bake for 45 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let sit until just warm before cutting. Store any remaining in the refrigerator.

Chunky Apple Sauce

The first time in September or October that I go out in the middle of the day and still need my jacket always makes me a little sad. I love summer and really hate to say goodbye to those warm sunny days. If the cool days of fall have one saving grace though it is that it's apple season. Crunchy apples straight from the tree...just so refreshing and delicious! And while a plain apples are great snacks, there are so many things you can do with them...and I love them all! So yes, apple desserts are by far my (second) favorite (umm...chocolate).

I have a apple cake recipe I love, two apple crisp recipes (one much healthier than the other), and I have already made myself caramelized apples and of course apple sauce. I have been making apple sauce a couple times a season for a few years now and every year I make it slightly more chunky. This year I belive is the best yet! I left on all of the peals (lots of fiber, oh yeah!) and did mash it at all, just stirred as it breaks down a lot just from the heat and spoon mixing. The result was the very chunky apple sauce you see above. You might think the peel would make it not as good, but apple sauce is one place where I think it is better to leave the peel on. Plus, it takes only 1/4 the time to make if you don't have to peel your apples! The part that takes the longest is waiting for it to cook down. It is well worth the wait though, even if it is after 10 PM at night. I had a bowl right away - it was so tasty nice and hot. I also love it as an after lunch treat, room temperature/slightly cold....or re-heated! I can't get enough!

Chunky Apple Sauce
How I did it:

11 apples (I used mac and ginger gold), chopped
1 cup water
1/4 cup sugar
1 3/4 tbsp cinnamon
1 tbsp nutmeg

1. Throw all of your chopped apples (with the peels still on!) in a large pot on medium-high heat with one cup of water. Put the cover on and let heat up a bit.

2. Once it starts to cook, mix your apples up. Add your spices, mixing well. Add the sugar and mix some more!

3. Cover and let it cook, making sure to stir occasionally. The more aggressively you stir the more the apples will break down. Once the apples are softened and it is the consistency you desire, it is done!

4. Have a bowl warm if you wish and store anything remaining in the refrigerator.

Everyday Chocolate Ice Cream

Okay, so I admit this might not call out to you, but trust me when I say it should! It tastes just like banana chocolate ice cream, but without the diary, fat, excessive amounts of sugars, and all those preservatives and other stuff that I can't pronounce or explain. I should tell you that banana is not one of my favorite flavors, but it just tastes so good mixed with other flavors in smoothies...especially chocolate, of course. You can have this as a smoothie or ice cream and it is great either way!

So where did this come from? Over the summer I tried Starbuck's chocolate smoothie on a whim and it really exceeded my expectations. It tasted just like banana and chocolate and before I was done I had decided I must try to recreate it myself. I have made many different versions, and this is the one I like the best. It works well with just banana and chocolate powder though too. You can also make it with all unsweetened cocoa (since ripe banana is so sweet), but I like the added sweetness. If you do use all unsweetened cocoa, keep in mind it will be much more intensely chocolate.

I have no idea what gunk Starbuck's puts in their version, but I'm pretty happy with mine!

Everyday Chocolate Ice Cream
How I Did It:

(serves one)

1 1/2 frozen very ripe bananas
1 tbsp sweetened powdered baking chocolate
1 tbsp unsweetended cocoa
1 tbsp almond milk
1 tsp vanilla

1. Break up the frozen banana a bit and throw in your food processor. Process until it is just small chunks of banana and then add in all other ingredients. Blend until smooth and well combined.

2. Enjoy as is for a delicious chocolate smoothie or place in freezer for 5 - 20 minutes to turn it into chocolate banana ice cream. That's it!

Blueberry Steel Cut Oatmeal with Nuts

I was really craving a tasty breakfast and the question was how to make a tasty breakfast somewhat healthy and keep me full for a decent amount of time. Well, I have grown quite attached to steel cut oatmeal for its hearty taste and ability to keep me satisfied through the morning. My only real plan was to add blueberries and the rest I just made up as I went along. It turned out so great I had to make record of it. Such great flavor and texture -wow. And one small serving was really filling - and more importantly kept me full!

Blueberry Steel Cut Oatmeal with Nuts
How I Did It

(serves one)

1 1/4 cups water
1/4 cup steel cut oats
3/4 tsp flaxseed meal
1/4 cup frozen blueberries
1 tbsp milk/soy milk/almond milk
1 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp nutmeg
2 tsp brown sugar
1/8 cup toasted slivered almonds
1/8 cup toasted chopped pecans

1. In a small sauce pot, bring water to a boil, reduce to medium heat and add oats and flaxseed meal. Wait about 5 minutes and then add the blueberries.

2. When water is almost absorbed add milk, spices and sugar and mix well.

3. When ready, turn off heat and stir in the toasted almonds and pecans.

White Chocolate Covered Cheesecake Strawberries

Cheesecake and fruit. These were the first two things my friend listed when I mentioned my plan to make him something for his birthday. Immediately I thought of those cheesecake stuffed strawberries that have been all over Pinterest. Yes, of course they look good, but not overly exciting. Not enough cheesecake filling! So, I decided to take strawberries, split them in half, pile on the cheesecake filling, cover them back up and then dunk them in white chocolate. If it were for myself I would have done milk chocolate, but I know he is a fan of white chocolate and I thought it would look nicer anyway. I didn't want to make the filling too sweet since I was also dunking in white chocolate, but you could easily add more powdered sugar as you go along if you find it is not sweet enough for you.

Not wanting to overwhelm him I only made 8, but you could change the ratios to make more or less. They were a bit messy, but he said they were really tasty. The cheesecake filling alone would make a great fruit dip! Okay, I confess...I dunked a strawberry or two in the leftover filling and I was not disappointed.

White Chocolate Covered Cheesecake Strawberries

How I did it

8 strawberries
5 ounces of cream cheese, room temperature
2 tablespoons powdered sugar
1/2 bag good quality white chocolate chips (I use Ghirardelli)
1/2 tablespoon canola oil (or shortening)

1. Wash, dry, and de-stem the strawberries. Set aside.

2. Beat together cream cheese, powdered sugar and vanilla until creamy.

3. Cut one strawberry at a time down the middle, lengthwise, and clean out any of the white in the middle. Scoop the cheesecake filling onto the freshly cut strawberry half and then lightly press the other half on top. Some filling should be sticking out of the sides and the top. This is good. Place on a tray and repeat for the other strawberries. When complete (it won't take long!) place your tray of cheesecake strawberries in the fridge to let the filling harden up a bit.

4. Pour about 1/2 a bag of white chocolate chips and a small amount of canola oil (you could also use shortening, but I prefer oil)  into a double boiler to melt. Do not let any water mix in or you will ruin your chocolate. You don't necessarily need a full 6 ounces/half bag, but you do want to make sure you have extra in there so there is plenty of white chocolate depth for dipping your your strawberry sandwiches will come apart! Take the strawberries out of the fridge one at a time and  holding at the top (larger) end dunk into the chocolate. Place on a tray and repeat for the rest of the strawberries. When done place the tray in the fridge. Once the white chocolate has hardened you can serve or put in an container to store in the fridge.