Almond Flour Chocolate Chip Cookies with Coconut and Pecans

Earlier this year I discovered Almond Flour and have been loving using it in recipes. You can even make it yourself by throwing a handful of almonds in a food processor and processing until it becomes flour consistency.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/4 cups almond flour (or almond meal)
• 1/4 cup dark chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup shredded unsweetened coconut
• 1/2 cup pecans
• 1 egg
• 1/2 tsp baking powder (I used baking soda)
• 1/4 tsp sea salt
• 1/4 cup brown sugar (or substitute)
• 3 tbsps coconut oil (melted)
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 tsp chia seeds (optional)

1. In a large mixing bowl, stir together almond meal, choc chips, coconut, pecans, baking powder, salt and sugar.
2. In a separate bowl, beat egg until uniform in colour and doubled in volume. 
3. Whisk in the coconut oil and vanilla. Add chia seeds if desired. Add to dry ingredients and mix until combined. Chill in fridge for 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 375F. 
4. Shape dough into balls and place on baking sheet. Flatten down slightly to form shape. Sprinkle a little bit of coconut and pecans on top of each.  
5. Bake until edges begin to brown, about 7-10 minutes.  

Adapted from here: http://minimalistbaker.com/almond-meal-cookies-with-chocolate-chips-and-coconut/ 

Sweet Potato & Curry Hummus

I'm currently "in-between" jobs in Australia and spending a great deal of time in the kitchen. We have been hitting up the farmer's markets and last week got a giant bag of sweet potato's for $2. (I should probably mention it was actually my boyfriend's parents who got them while we were at the beach... haha). So I went onto Pinterest earlier this week and searched for anything with sweet potatoes... I found lots of great stuff but I wanted something healthy so I chose to make the hummus.

There were tons of great recipes so I used a combination of a few of them. Hummus is great because you start with a can of chickpeas and then add pretty much anything you like! Garlic, lemon and tahini seem to be a good base with the chickpeas and then add anything else! I'm hoping to try a few more varieties next week too!

Ingredients

• 1 can chickpeas (15oz)
• 1 roasted sweet potato
• 2-3 cloves of garlic (roasted)
• 1 tablespoon of tahini
• 1 tablespoon of fresh lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon of olive oil
• 1/4 cup of water
• 1 teaspoon of curry powder (I used Madras Curry Powder)
• dash of cayenne pepper
• salt/pepper to taste
• Crushed cashews for garnish

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350F
2. Place 1 sweet potato on cooking sheet and bake for 45 minutes or until tender. You can also roast the garlic at this time.
3. Let sweet potato cool and then peel off skin and cut into pieces.
4. Place all ingredients (except water) into food processor and mix on low.
5. Slowly add the water a little bit at a time until it is the consistency you want.
6. Add crushed cashews for garnish.
7. Store in fridge for up to 5 days.

Quinoa Breaky Bites

I absolutely LOVE breakfast and absolutely HATE waking up early to cook it. This recipe is something that you can easily make on Sunday afternoon and keep in the fridge for the week. You can grab one on the way to work, heat it up or leave it as it. They would be great with a little salad for lunch or with some salsa for breakfast.

The best part about them is you can add whatever you have in the fridge! I love goats cheese so I add it in to whatever I can. The original recipe used mini muffin tins for the bites. I didn't have a mini muffin tin so I used a normal muffin tin. The only issue is that the bigger muffins don't stay together as well. I might try again when I purchase a mini tin. This recipe made 12 bites, but only about 8 stayed together well. 

Ingredients:

2 cups cooked quinoa (about 3/4 cup uncooked)
3 eggs
2 egg whites
1 cup zucchini, shredded
1 cup butternut squash, roasted
1/2 cup diced ham
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
1/2 cup goat cheese, crumbled
1/2 cup red peppers, diced
1/4 cup caramalized onions
2 green onions, sliced
salt & pepper

Garnish: cilantro + cheddar cheese

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and mix to combine. Liberally spray a muffin tin with non-stick spray and spoon mixture to the top of each cup. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until the edges of the cups are golden brown. Let cool for at least 5 minutes before removing from the muffin tin.

Enjoy!

Original Recipe from Iowa Girl Eats