So, what's next? Tonya and I will be teaching a 6 week series at Kitchen Thyme in Briarcliff Village beginning Thursday, April 1st. Contact me for more details if you are interested in signing up or if you and a group of friends would like to schedule in-home classes. Hopefully I will be posting pictures soon, so everyone can see how much fun we have.
Now onto the desserts. What I wanted to demonstrate in this class is that rich and delicious desserts do not have to be nutritionally void. I will even go as far to say that the best desserts (yes, best desserts) are full of natural ingredients that are working for your body, not the other way around. You can taste all of the wholesome goodness that is so satisfying you won't have to eat an entire pan of empty calories just to find yourself in a comatose state after your blood sugar has taken a wild ride. Talk about bum deal! Your brain is telling you it tastes good, but your body isn't being satisfied. Of course you're going to keep eating! Nothing is triggering you to stop, except that very quiet voice in the back of your head that you can't quite hear for all of the shouts of tasty glee.
So what makes a "good" dessert? For starters, a real dessert. Many annoying diet "experts" take the approach that you can make a low calorie dessert out of processed ingredients to satisfy your sweet tooth. Maybe use some type of artificial sweetener to trick your body. Your body is much smarter than that, though. Come on. Think about everything your body is doing right now to stay alive as you are reading this. Your brain is sending millions of signals to recognize and comprehend words. To breathe. To pump blood all throughout your body. And you think you can trick it with artificial food?
If you want something sweet, eat something sweet. Just make it real. Then your body will be satisfied and let you off without eating obscene amounts of calories. I know it sounds trite, but have you ever really given it a chance? Honestly? By the way, nothing at The Cheesecake Factory qualifies as "real". I'm strictly talking about using natural ingredients. Ingredients bursting with nutrients and minerals. Let's just dissect the cookies we made during class to prove the point.
Here are the main ingredients of Mesquite Chocolate Chip Cookies (excluding vanilla, baking soda, and baking powder):
Freshly ground whole wheat flour - I grind my flour fresh to order using organic wheat berries grown about an hour south of my house. Why? Because wheat is full of wonderful, but volatile, nutrients. In my research I have read that 90% of 30 nutrients are lost within 72 hours of milling wheat. So compare something made from white flour that has negative nutrients to something made from freshly ground whole wheat, which has 90% more nutrients than even whole wheat flour you buy at the store. Not to mention whole wheat contains tons of fiber that keeps you fuller longer, because you digest it very slowly. Your blood sugar will like that.
I use a Bosch Nutrimill Grain Mill, which was purchased from Amazon.com. I was lucky enough to receive it as a Christmas gift. It will grind any type of grain or dried bean into fresh flour as fine or as coarse as you need it to be. The taste of freshly ground flour is far superior to store bought. I recommend putting this at the top of your list!
Mesquite flour - This is a fun ingredient. Mesquite flour (aka "mesquite meal") is simply pods from a mesquite tree finely ground into powder. Indigenous to desert regions, mesquite trees can be found from central Texas to Southeast California. Typically we think about mesquite flavoring when grilling meats. The soft, smoky aroma of mesquite flour, though, pairs perfectly with chocolate. The health benefits are incredible, too. It's full of fiber, protein, nutrients, and essential minerals, such as, magnesium, iron, zinc, and potassium. Historically, mesquite was an integral part of Native American's diet. It is very low on the glycemic index and actually promotes balanced blood sugar. Add a spoonful to oatmeal or smoothies and you will feel fuller longer. Cross my heart! I like to purchase mine online from Barry Farms. One pound is $6.09 or you purchase 5 pounds and receive a discount. If you don't think you'll use that much, go in with a few friends. FYI, Barry Farms has a recipe for a Mesquite Yellow Cake that I just saw and will be making very soon!
Coconut oil - This isn't the first time you've heard me singing the praises of coconut oil and it won't be the last time either. Click here to read the insane list of health benefits that coconut oil has been found to have. Really, it's insane. One of my favorites in the context of dessert is the fact that it can raise your metabolism. Because of the size of the fatty acid, we actually metabolize it differently than other fats. Eat dessert, burn fat. I like it. I have to point out two others: (1) Improves calcium and magnesium absorption and supports the development of strong bones and teeth (Remember the mesquite flour is high in calcium and magnesium?) and (2) Improves digestion and absorption of other nutrients including vitamins, minerals, and amino acids (Nice compliment to the freshly ground whole wheat flour that is exploding with vitamins, minerals, and amino acids, huh?). So, it seems coconut oil is enhancing the benefits of some of the other ingredients.
Palm sugar - This is a relatively new one for me that I have quickly come to love. Made from the nectar of palm blossoms, palm sugar resembles coarse natural cane sugar, like Sucanat. The flavor is much more complex, though. Really good. The nutritional profile is just as good. It's particularly high in potassium. Check out a comparison to other sweeteners here along with a ton of other information about palm sugar. The cincher on this sweetener is that it's low on the glcyemic index with a rating of 35 making it perfect for diabetics and people, in general, who want to manage their blood sugar levels. That rating is comparable to agave nectar for those who want steer clear of that type of sweetener or just use more of a variety (like me). I have been buying Big Tree Farms SweetTree Organic Evaporated Palm Sugar
. You can also buy round disks of palm sugar that you grate like this
. I haven't tried it before, but I will soon.Eggs - Not just any eggs, but farm fresh pastured chicken eggs from Parker Farms. They're full of vitamins, omega 3's, and protein and are not full of hormones or antibiotics. Great article on Mother Earth News here.
Chocolate - I use 65% organic bittersweet chocolate chips most of the time. I get them from the bulk bin at Whole Foods for $8.99 per pound (I think). Even better would be Dagoba
73% Chocolate Drops, which I occasionally use, as well. Small amounts of chocolate are actually good for you. Dark chocolate, that is. Dark chocolate has 65% or higher cocoa content. Furthermore, bittersweet chocolate contains less sugar giving a more of an intense chocolate flavor, so you can eat less and be more satisfied. The health benefits of dark chocolate come from the high amounts of antioxidants it contains. It can help lower blood pressure, as well, making it healthy for your heart. To receive these benefits from chocolate, you must be choosy about the chocolate you buy. It's tempting to buy the cheaper bags of chocolate chips from the store, but that is not real chocolate. Organic and Fair Trade chocolate is the only thing you should buy. Conventionally grown cocoa is near the top of the list of the highest pesticide using crops. Buying Fair Trade means you are supporting fair prices for the growers, as well as, safe working conditions. We all win. Please read this article on Mother Earth News if you need more convincing. Oats - Oats have similar benefits as wheat providing minerals, nutrients, and lots of fiber. Fiber = fuller longer and balanced blood sugar. It's considered "heart healthy" for several reasons, one being a unique antioxidant that prevents free radicals from damaging LDL cholesterol. Read more here.
Walnuts - Everyone knows that walnuts are good for you. That's old news. They are full of omega 3's and contain one of the highest levels of antioxidants of the nut trees. If you did not get this memo about walnuts, read more here.
Ok, add all of this up and you have medicine, not a cookie! The best part is how good this cookie is. Honestly, there aren't many perfect cookies out there. I'm particular, because I love cookies. This one hits the spot. Chewy, sweet, chocolaty and the unique flavor of the mesquite flour adds an unexpected surprise.
I've focused on the cookies, but I don't want to underscore the chocolate cake and the Roasted Banana Ice Cream. They, too, are unreal good and you can actually benefit from eating them. They are rich and naturally sweetened with pure maple syrup. So, go ahead and treat yourself tonight with these really good, really healthy desserts!
Note to those who attended Thursday night: I felt like the cake we had was slightly overbaked. While it still tasted pretty good, it's nothing compared to a slightly underbaked version. You should try it out and see!
Mesquite Chocolate Chip Cookies
Adapted from Super Natural Cooking by Heidi Swanson. This recipe yields a lot of cookies. I like to make the entire recipe of dough and only bake off half of it and freeze the other half. I prefer doing this over cutting the recipe in half. I just have better results that way. Freeze it either in one big piece or portion cookie sized balls onto baking sheets and freeze individually. Once frozen you can put them in a large zip-lock bag and then only bake as many as you want. Half of the recipe makes a little more than 3 dozen tablespoon sized cookies (my preferred size).
2 1/2 cups freshly ground white wheat or whole wheat pastry flour
1 cup mesquite flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp aluminum free baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup coconut oil
2 cups palm sugar
3 large eggs
1 tbsp vanilla
2 cup rolled oats
1.5 cup 65% (at least) bittersweet chocolate chips
1 cup chopped walnuts
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Sift flours, baking powder, and salt in a medium sized bowl. With an electric mixer, beat coconut oil and sugar until fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, and mix until combined. Then add vanilla. Add the dry ingredients to the wet in small increments, mixing after each addition. Once they are well incorporated, stir in (by hand) the oats, chocolate chips, and walnuts.
Scoop dough onto a parchment lined cookie sheet (your desired size) leaving at least 1 inch between each ball. Flatten each ball slightly. Bake from 8 - 12 minutes depending on the size of your cookies. One tablespoon of dough will back 8-10 minutes. Two tablespoons will bake 10-12. Do not overbake.
Basic Chocolate Cake Recipe
This chocolate cake is from Heidi Swanson at 101cookbooks.com. This is my "special" cake. Or as she describes it, "an everyday chocolate cake that you might not make everyday". It's the cake I make if I want to really go all out. It's rich. It's chocolaty. And it's expensive. I'll be honest. With 1 1/4 cup of pure maple syrup, 3/4 cup of really good organic cocoa powder, 1/2 cup coconut oil, and 10 oz. of really good bittersweet, organic chocolate chips, you may wonder if it's really worth it. It is. Just every once in awhile. It's a dense cake baked in an 8x8 glass Pyrex pan. I love that, too. It's so inconspicuous. The frosting is a light chocolate whipped cream sweetened with maple syrup. It's perfect. Do not overbake it, though. In fact, underbake it slightly and refrigerate the leftovers. You will find that after it's been refrigerated it will get almost truffle-like, because all of the chocolate in the cake hardens up. If you want it to be more crumb-like then just let it sit out at room temperature. Microwaving it, even for only 10 seconds at a power level of 2, will liquefy the frosting. I actually like it that way, because with chocolate and cream it's kinda like ganache.
2 1/2 cups freshly ground wheat or whole wheat pastry flour
3/4 cup non-alkaline/non-Dutched cocoa powder (I use Dagoba
)1 tablespoon baking powder (look for non-aluminum type)
3/4 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
1/2 cup barely melted coconut oil
1 cup real maple syrup, room temperature
2 eggs, lightly beaten
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup coconut milk, room temp
8 ounces good-quality bittersweet chocolate, shaved or finely chopped
Preheat oven to 350F degrees with a rack in the middle. Butter and flour an 8x8 square cake pan (I've also had success using a 9x9 pan, just adjust your baking time). Sift the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt into a large bowl. In a separate medium bowl whisk together the melted coconut oil and maple syrup until it looks like caramel. Whisk in the eggs, vanilla, and then the coconut milk. Pour the maple syrup mixture over the flour mixture and stir until barely combined. Add the chocolate and stir until everything comes together and is no longer dusty looking - avoid over-mixing. Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan and bake for 30 - 40 minutes. This is a cake I like slightly under-baked, so I pull it out when the center is still a bit under cooked - the toothpick doesn't quite come out clean when testing. If you are going to use it for a layer cake - then bake it all the way (clean toothpick). Remove from oven and allow to cool (absolutely completely) in pan before frosting (frosting recipe below). ` `
Chocolate Whipped Cream Frosting
2 ounces bittersweet chocolate (chopped)
1/4 cup coconut oil, room temperature
1/4 cup maple syrup
1 cup heavy cream, whipped to stiff peaks
To make the frosting melt the chocolate in a double-boiler, or in a bowl placed over a pan of boiling
water. In a medium bowl beat the coconut oil until smooth and fluffy. Beat in the maple syrup. Then add the
melted chocolate. Stir until silky smooth - any flecks of butter should be melted. Pour the chocolate
mixture over the whipped cream and fold the chocolate into the cream. Keep going until the chocolate
is well incorporated. Use an offset spatula to frost the completely cooled cake. If the cake is at all
warm, the frosting will weep and melt.
Makes one 8x8 or 9x9 cake.
Roasted Banana Ice Cream
This dairy free recipe is inspired by one on Elana's Pantry. I like to roast my bananas a little differently, though, (in their peel) and sweeten them with a little bit of maple syrup. I must say the riper your bananas are the better. Not only do you get more natural sugars from the bananas themselves, but you get a stronger banana flavor. I often roast the bananas this way to put in oatmeal or just eat by themselves. They taste sinfully good, like banana's foster.
4-5 medium ripe bananas
1 tbsp pure maple syrup (plus more if needed)
1 vanilla bean, split
2 tablespoon coconut oil
1 (13.5 ounce) can coconut milk
Place bananas (peel on) into a 9x11 glass pan. Bake at 350° for 30 minutes until juices begin to seep through the peels. Don't worry, the peels will turn black, but that is ok. Remove the bananas from the oven and allow them to cool until they can be handled. Once cooled, peel the bananas and place the fruit in a blender along with any juice from the pan. Discard the peels. Add the maple syrup, coconut oil, and coconut milk. Run the backside of a knife along the insides of the vanilla bean, scraping out the seeds. Place the seeds in the blender. Blend on high until smooth. Taste to make sure the sweetness is right. Add more maple syrup, one tablespoon at a time, until satisfied. Transfer the mixture to an ice cream maker and make the ice cream according to manufacturer's instructions. Enjoy immediately or place in freezer for later.
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