unholy doughnuts

These vegan, gluten free, and healthy (size and ingredient-wise) little doughnut bites are a combination of the Whole Life Nutrition's ginger cookies with Elana's Pantry's chocolate frosting. They really taste like little doughnuts! (not as fluffy as the regular bars as I recall, but more dense - like the old fashion ones)

The cookie/doughnut base. Oven! 350.

15 medjool dates, pitted (soaked for 15 minutes in boiling water)
1/4 cup date soaking water
6 tbsp coconut oil
1 tbsp maple syrup (or honey.. I used maple syrup this time)
2 tsp vanilla
1 1/4 cup sorghum flour
1/2 cup tapioca flour
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp xanthan gum
1/4-1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp cinnamon
few pinches of salt

Place the dates into a bowl and pour boiling water over to cover. Soak for 15 minutes.
Drain (and save the water) and place soaked dates into a food processor and add the coconut oil, soaking water, syrup, and vanilla. Process until smooth.

Mix the dry ingredients in a different bowl and whisk together. Add the dry ingredients to the food processor and process until just combined.

Roll into small balls and place on a cookie sheet covered in parchment paper (optional). It helps to have a small bowl of water to wet your hands with as you make the balls, because the batter is quite sticky! Then use your hands or a bottom of a cup to flatten each cookie.

Bake for 11-14 mintues. (Whole Life Nutrition said it makes 16 cookies, but I made small cookies, and I got 30 out of it.)


Ready for the frosting!? This is what really makes it a doughnut and not just a cookie.

1 cup dark chocolate chips (I used enjoy life's chocolate chips)
1/2 cup grape seed oil
2 tbsp honey
1 tbsp vanilla
pinch of sea salt

In a small saucepan, over very low heat, melt chocolate and oil. Then stir in the honey vanilla and salt. Place frosting in freezer for 15 minutes to chill and thicken. Remove from freezer and whip frosting with a hand blender until it is thick and fluffy. Now.. frost things!

Enjoy! (and refrigerate) If you're like me - this will be your first doughnut in a long long time.

strawberries and vanilla coconut creme

Freshly picked strawberries, by yours truly.. and a couple spoonfuls of vanilla coconut creme..

Sorry I haven't been posting.. at all this summer.. but I'm on vacation now - and there will be a flood of recipes and pictures soon :) Do you miss whipped cream? Or maybe you had a dairy allergy forever and never got to try it? This creme recipe is SO delicious (and healthy).. the folks still buying whipped cream are the ones missing out.


I got this recipe (then tweaked it) from a post by Melissa here. It's a simple recipe.. you just blend together all the ingredients, but getting the coconut meat out of the coconut is a little bit of a hassle. But it's so worth it!!

2 cups young coconut meat
1/4 cup honey (agave for the vegans)
1/2 vanilla bean, scraped
2 tablespoons lime juice
2 tablespoons coconut oil
1/4 teaspoon sea salt

Blend ingredients until completely smooth. Chill for 4-6 hours until firm.

There are so many desserts to enjoy this creme with!! You'll probably be seeing it on my blog more often.

delicious baked apples and cashew creme frosting

I used the names of these recipes right out of the book - (I just bought this book.. if you couldn't tell)
These were awesome. And they're probably difficult to screw up...

Oven! 350. as usual.
Part 1 (page 145 if you have the book) But I changed it a little.. of course.
6 large Gala apples - carefully cored.. but mine broke. and I think it looks cool. I did it on purpose.
1/4 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup raisins
1/4 cup honey (brown sugar for the vegans.. that would be a good album name.)
1.0 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
6 tbsp maple syrup

Set the apples in a baking dish. Mix all the other ingredients together in a bowl (save some maple syrup). Spoon the mixture into the apples - pack 'um down.. then pour maple syrup over the top of each apple. Add about 1/2 cup of water to the bottom of the dish and bake for about 30 minutes. 2 or 3 times while they're cooking, spoon some of the cinnamon water from the bottom of the dish over the apples..

While they're cooking.. you can make this ridiculously easy and delicious healthy frosting!!
Cashew Creme Frosting (pg 171.. the author mentions using this on a carrot cake. I'd say it's a must!) This recipe is really awesome. Man.

2/3 cup whole coconut milk
1/3 cup medjool dates, pitted
1 cup raw cashews
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Serve on top of the apples, and devour.

blackberry almond cakes with chocolate raspberry frosting

I love when you convert a recipe so many times it turns into something delicious that's completely your own. I'm back tracking now - so my blog won't be so bare. My boyfriend and I made these after going to a local farm to pick our own blackberries and raspberries. The recipe still needs a little tweaking. . . They were a little dry. But that can be fixed with the addition of some apple sauce, or more honey . . or something. I'll get better at this blogging thing as the days continue.

Here it is: and it's real name is "Chocolate Raspberry Royal"

preheat oven to 350 (pretty much always with me)
the cake:
1 cup tapioca flour
1/2 cup rice flour
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup coconut oil
1/2 cup almond butter
1/2 cup honey
6 tbsp apple sauce
some blackberry juice!

Mix the dry ingredients, then mix the wet ones and add them together.
Pour batter into mini muffin pan and bake at 350 for 9 min.

Frosting:
1/4 cup cocoa powder
2.5 tbsp raw honey
6 tbsp coconut oil
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 handful of raspberries

Mix all the ingredients. Because of the coconut oil, this frosting will harden up at 75 degrees or cooler.
Remove the cupcakes from the oven and let them cool. It's up to you whether you want the frosting to melt, or be something you can actually sink your teeth into. You can tell by the photo -that we just couldn't wait that long.

I use organic ingredients in all my recipes. . and I think you should do the same. It's a tough issue to commit to - but if you think about it, seriously. . we're all spending the same amount of money. Some people pay upfront for healthy ingredients and planet friendly practices, and others pay for it in medical bills and environmental clean up later.