Double Chocolate Zucchini Bread

Recently, I came upon a recipe over at The Kitchn for a very delicious looking Double Chocolate Zucchini Bread. This recipe looked amazing. I lusted after it. I drooled over it. I considered trading my firstborn child to the gods of processed sugars so that I could have just one bite.

Somehow, I resisted the siren song of that recipe and didn’t dive face first into all that sugar, but day after day, the thought of that recipe has haunted me. It calls to me. I dream about it. I want it. GIVE IT TO ME NOW.

I’m a firm believer that when cravings are that strong, you should give in to them… Preferably with a few swaps to make the choice a little bit healthier. In this spirit, I’ve been attempting to paleo-ify this recipe for the past two weeks. I’ve tried several different variations and had more kitchen mishaps than I’d like to admit (my sweet roommate has been so nice about trying each of these breads and telling me they weren’t awful, when, in fact, they really were the worst.) After much experimentation, though, I have a delicious and really not awful recipe to share with you! It is rich and chocolatey and moist (gross word, tasty results!) and full of sneaky vegetables. You can get away with eating a slice of this stuff for breakfast or with your afternoon coffee or for dessert. Even better news: this recipe comes together in 5 minutes in the blender. #winning

Give in to your cravings, friends, you won’t regret it!

What? I’m eating my veggies!

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 c Almond Flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp Baking powder
• 3 Eggs
• 3 tbsp honey
• 1 Ripe Banana, mashed
• 1 c (1 small to medium) Zucchini (scrape out the seeds)
• 1/4 c Coconut Oil melted
• 1/3 c Cocoa Powder
• 2 tbsp Almond Butter
• 1/2 c Chopped Pecans or Walnuts (optional)
• 1/2 dark chocolate chips (I used Ghirardelli 60% cocoa, because that was the option available at my Kroger. If you can get a higher cocoa percentage or fewer additives, that would be better. Ideally, you just want cocoa powder, cocoa butter and a natural sweetener).

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and use parchment paper to line bread pan (or else grease the pan well with coconut oil).
2. Use a blender to grate the zucchini and banana.
3. Add in other wet ingredients and blend until well combined.
4. In a separate bowl, mix together dry ingredients (except chocolate chups and nuts). Mix in wet ingredients until well combined. Alternatively, you could jus add the dry ingredients straight to the blender. You have to watch for clumping (no one wants a clump of baking powder in their food), but I’ve done this and the bread was still delish.
5. Mix in chocolate chunks and nuts (if using).
6. Pour batter in greased pan and bake for 1 hour, or until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean.
7. Serve with a drizzle of honey, coconut whipped cream, raspberries and/or a dusting of cocoa powder, cinnamon and red pepper (sounds weird, tastes good), or just eat it plain!

Taking Back Weeknights: Squash Noodles with Homemade Pesto

Happy Wednesday, all!

If you are at all like me, you start off the week with such good intentions of work-life balance, nightly yoga, and involved, instagrammable dinners, only to get sidetracked by late nights at the office or an out of control to do list. By the time Wednesday night arrives, there are lots of weeks where all I really feel like doing is ordering Chinese food and catching up on Scandal.

Anyone else know that feeling??

The Whole30 helped me to realize that I have an addiction to convenience foods – I’m not addicted to the foods themselves so much as the instant gratification and the not doing dishes. Fortunately for me, I live in a town where there are literally zero restaurants that will deliver. Less fortunately for me, I also live far far away from places like Whole Foods where there are healthy take out options.

I imagine I’m not alone in my weeknight dinner fatigue, so I wanted to share one of the 15 minute or less recipes that is helping me Take Back Weeknights this week. Combine this recipe with one of these quick workouts and you’ll be winning the weeknight game.

The Recipe: Squash Noodles and Homemade Pesto

What You’ll Need:

• A spiralizer (although, this would still be delicious if you just thinly sliced the squash and sauteed it instead of spiralizing). I have a cheap spiralizer like this one that I found at TJ Maxx and bought on a veggie-inspired shopping binge. It works great for squash but doesn’t work with sweet potatoes, so if you are hoping to use the spiralizer for denser veggies, get a stand spiralizer like one of these.
• 1 zucchini or yellow summer squash per person
• 1-2 TBSP of Olive Oil for sauteing
• 1 bunch of fresh herbs: you can use basil, cilantro, parsley or mint. Basil is most common, but I just cut bunches of everything in my herb garden. 2 cups ish total.
• 1/2 cup of olive oil
• 1/4 cup of walnuts, pecans or pine nuts
• 4 cloves of garlic
• lemon juice, sea salt and black pepper to taste
• optional: nutritional yeast to taste (it takes the place of the traditional cheeses)

What to Do:

• In a food processor or blender, pulse nuts, garlic and herbs
• Add in the oil slowly and blend until smooth
• Add salt, pepper and lemon juice to taste (pesto is all about finding the balance that you prefer, so taste lots and don’t hesitate to go outside of the recommended ingredient amounts if that is what your taste buds call for)
• Once you are satisfied with the flavor balance, heat a TBSP or olive oil in a wok or a frying pan and spiralize (or slice) your squash straight into the pan. Season with a little salt and pepper, and let the squash cook through long enough that it isn’t raw, but still holds its texture (timing will depend on how you cut your squash).
• Toss in some pesto (and possibly some nutritional yeast and fresh basil leaves) and devour.

The Workout Roundup: Choose Your Own Adventure Style

• Option 1: Grab your running clothes and your favorite furry friend and go for a run or a walk. I love to run at night (the stars are out! It is cooler and quieter!) with one of my dogs – they love the exercise and are super alert jogging companions #safetyfirst. Beginners, start with a brisk walk or snag this couch to 5K app (and no shame if week 1 turns into month 1 – listen to your body and your doctor, not the schedule on the app!). Everyone: track your outing on MapMyRun and keep pace with the beats in an awesome Songza playlist. Bonus points: throw in some lunges and squats whenever your pup stops to sniff.
• Option 2: Sign up for a free trial of an online fitness studio. I love Yogaglo (first 15 days are free): they have dozens of online classes from many different styles and for all different body types and experience levels. I also think Daily Burn is a great, affordable, basic option because they offer several different series aimed at different fitness goals and experience levels. If you are just starting out, consider the True Beginner series or their solid yoga series.
• Option 3: If you are looking for a fun, fast and potentially butt-kicking workout, check out Greatist’s list of 21 Free Workout Videos on Youtube. These aren’t necessarily for every body, but they are guaranteed to get the endorphins flowing quickly. Also, the Greatist Workout of the Day is a great place to go for quick but challenging, do-anywhere workouts.

Yours in Taking Back Weeknights,

Marisa

Spicy Sweet Potato Hummus

Hi. My name is Marisa and I am addicted to sweet potatoes.

Like… If I could, I’m pretty sure I would eat them at every meal. In fact, there were days during the Whole30 when I DID eat them at every meal and I have definitely made a mid-week run to the grocery store JUST to pick up sweet potatoes. Not milk. Not bread. Sweet potatoes.

It’s excessive.

Given this predilection of mine, you can imagine that when I first heard about sweet potato hummus (through this post over at the Not So Desperate Housewife) I was enthralled in the “come to me, my precious” kind of way.

After some experimenting, I have a recipe for Pure Magic Spicy Sweet Potato Hummus to share with you today! This stuff makes a spectacular finger food for parties or simply a delicious snack, and it is especially awesome because you likely have all the necessary ingredients in your pantry already!

Afternoon delight? Hummus stuffed bell peppers, carrot chips, root vegetable chips, and a big bowl of hummus makes an easy tray for a party or a delicious afternoon snack. #nom

Ingredients:

2 large sweet potatoes, baked in oven at 400 degrees until very tender

3 Cloves of Garlic, peeled

2 TBS Red Pepper Flakes (start with less, and then add it in to taste)

1/4 c Lime Juice (lemon juice will work, too, but I prefer the lime with the red pepper)

1/4 c Almond Butter or Tahini (Tahini is more traditional, but I used almond butter today and it was delish!)

1/4 c Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Ground sea salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Bake your sweet potatoes in the oven at 400 degrees (poke them several times with a fork to vent). They will take anywhere from 45 to 90 minutes, depending on size, so keep an eye on them. Once the sweet potatoes are very soft, set them aside to cool.
2. When sweet potatoes have cooled, cut them into large chunks (to make them a little more manageable for the food processer/blender), add all other ingredients, and run the food processer until smooth. Note: you can use a blender if you don’t have a food processer, you’ll just want to work in batches because blenders tend to get stuck with foods this thick. As you are blending, you’ll want to stop to check the balance of flavors fairly often to find a balance you prefer:
   1. If it is too sweet, add lime and/or red pepper
   2. If it is too salty, try adding a little more tahini or almond butter (depending on how salty your particular brand is). Otherwise, you can add some more sweet potato or some mashed carrots or some canned pumpkin.
3. Serve as a dip with fresh veggies or root vegetable chips, or stuff hummus into mini-bell peppers for an easy finger food. This would also be great as a filling between slices of cucumbers for mini-sandwiches.

Enjoy!

An Ode to Chia Pudding

MM here! As I was preparing meals for the week, I was really missing my old breakfast standby of overnight oats, so I decided to make some chia pudding for breakfast tomorrow.

What are chia seeds?

Chia seeds are tiny edible seeds that come from a plant in the mint family that is traditionally grown in Mexico. Chia seeds have gained a lot of popularity in recent years because they are so full of Omega-3 fatty acids, protein, fiber and anti-oxidants (you can read more about chia seeds from the experts over at WebMD). Chia seeds are not something I eat everyday, but I definitely enjoy a great chia pudding with breakfast now and again!

In the Mississippi Delta (and other such places), where do you get chia seeds?

When I first started buying chia seeds, I really had to hunt to find them and when I did find them somewhere, I would stock up. I had the best luck in the exotic foods aisle of TJ Maxx, and barring that I would buy from Amazon or sneak off to Whole Foods when my work trips would bring me to a big city. In the past six months, though, our local Kroger has beefed up their natural foods aisle and has started carrying chia seeds, which is wonderful (though sometimes I still buy my chia seeds at the TJ Maxx just out of loyalty).

Why would I want to eat this?

If you are new to chia seed pudding, don’t freak out and stay with me! Chia pudding has a texture sort of like tapioca and takes on the flavor of whatever you put in it. I usually make mine with vanilla extract, coconut milk and mango, which is pretty magical. Eating chia pudding is a fairly similar experience to eating one of those vanilla pudding cups that used to come in your school lunches in elementary school, but with zero chemicals and all the healthy sources of energy.

So, how do you make this magical pudding?

There are lots of recipes out there for chia pudding and if you are like me, you might feel a little bit overwhelmed as you try to sift through them all to find one that will be simple, Whole 30 compliant and still delicious. After some reading and some experimenting, I have learned that all chia puddings follow the same basic formula:

2 cups of liquid + 1/4 cup of chia seeds + flavor + time = magic

You can double that recipe, or halve it, but you have to keep the 4 parts liquid to 1 parts chia seed ratio right or you end up with not magic. VERY not magic.

A note on time: All of these recipes require at least an hour in the fridge for the magic to happen. I like to make mine on Sunday evenings and then it is ready to rumble the next morning when I have a case of the Mondays and am in need of a pick me up.

My favorite combinations:

I pretty much always make the same base:

2 c. coconut milk + 1/4 c chia seeds + 1 tsp vanilla extract

And then I mix in whatever sounds most appealing the next day: frozen mango; banana; sliced apples and cinnamon; pecans; shredded coconut; almond butter; coconut manna. THERE ARE SO MANY CHOICES. You really can’t go wrong, as long as you get that ratio right!

Doesn’t that look delish??