Gluten Free Lemon Coconut Raspberry Bars

Lemons lemons and more lemons!!!! hahaha :) I have been on a bit of a lemon kick lately, but this was a special recipe I came up with for my amazing belly dancing teacher Darshan! She loves all things lemony and she tries to eat gluten free. I also had some leftover coconut milk from a soup I had just prepared so I figured what the heck... let's make some coconut lemon bars! I am very excited about this recipe because it was another experiment with beans and it came out absolutely delicious with no hint of bean taste!!! These lemon bars are very rich and moist from using full fat coconut milk and extra virgin coconut oil. If you want a little bit lighter version you can substitute lite coconut milk for the full fat milk! 

Rich, moist, sweet and delicious. These lemon bars are healthy decadence!

Lemon Coconut Raspberry Bars

1 15oz can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
3 eggs
1 c coconut milk
1/2 c coconut oil, melted
1/4 c fresh squeezed lemon juice (approx 1.5 lemons)
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 tsp lemon extract 
1/2 c agave nectar
1 1/4 c sugar in the raw
Zest of 1 lemon
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
1 c brown rice flour
1 c raspberries (fresh or frozen)

Preheat oven to 350*F. Grease a 13X9" baking pan with coconut oil and set aside.

In blender or with a hand mixer blend all ingredients except baking powder, flour, and raspberries, until smooth. Pour batter into a large bowl and whisk in flour and baking powder. Mix just until combined and there are no lumps in the batter. Fold in raspberries and pour batter into prepared baking pan. Bake at 350*F for 25 minutes or until knife inserted in center comes out clean. Remove from oven and let cool before cutting into bars.

Makes 36 large or 48 small bars. 

These are best served room temperature. They are moist and delicious!!!!

Enjoy ;)                                                                                                                                                                   

Sunshine in a Muffin!

It was a cold and snowy day in New York and since the sun wasn't shining so brightly I wanted to make some sunshine of my own... and what better way than to bake some awesome muffins? These little lemony treats will put a smile on your face and make you feel like the sun is shining on the darkest of days!!! (Ok... maybe I'm being a little cheesy but that's alright because these muffins also have an awesome lemony cream cheese filling inside. ;) Yum yum yum!!!!!

Lemon Blueberry Sunshine Muffins

1 c whole grain spelt flour (or whole wheat)
1/2 c brown rice flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 c raw cane sugar (Sucanat or Sugar in the Raw)
2 tsp lemon zest (zest from 1 lemon)
1 egg
1/3 c melted butter
1/2 c plain unsweetened kefir*
1/2 c milk
juice of 1/2 lemon
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 c blueberries (fresh or frozen, dust them with a little bit of flour before mixing in to keep them from sinking to the bottom of the batter)
Extra raw sugar to sprinkle on the tops of the muffins (optional)

Cream Cheese Filling:
4oz. cream cheese, softened to room temperature
2 TBL Cane sugar
juice of 1/2 lemon
1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 375*F. Spray 12 cup muffin pan with cooking spray, or line them with paper muffin liners and set aside.

In a large mixing bowl sift together spelt and brown rice flours, baking powder, and salt. Stir in sugar and lemon zest. Make a well in the middle and set aside.

In a small mixing bowl whisk together egg, melted butter, kefir, lemon juice, milk and vanilla. Pour wet ingredients over flour mixture and stir until just combined and batter is moist. Fold in blueberries.

In another small mixing bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Slowly add in lemon juice and vanilla and beat until combined. Set aside.

Place heaping tablespoonfuls of batter into muffin cups. make slight indentations into the batter of each muffin with your finger (or a spoon) and fill it with 1 heaping tsp of cream cheese. Top with another tablespoonful of batter to cover filling. If desired sprinkle the tops of each muffin with a bit of extra raw sugar, this will add a delicious crunchiness to the tops of your muffins! Bake at 375*F for 20 - 23 minutes. Remove from oven and cool before serving.

Makes approx 12 muffins.

There will extra cream cheese filling left over after filling the muffins that you can use as a delicious spread. :)

Enjoy every delicious bite of lemony sunshine!!!!



* Kefir is a pro-biotic yogurt drink, you can usually find it in the dairy section of your grocery store. It's full of good bacteria that is great for your digestive system and it's 99% lactose free!! You can read more about the benefits of kefir here. If you don't want to use kefir you can substitute plain yogurt.

Pumpkin Pie Bars

I have to admit that I am a bit obsessed with the idea of using beans in my baking... I am going to experiment with beans until there are no experiments left to be experimented on. Last fall I was inspired by the bounty of beautiful pumpkins and squashes to choose from. I've never been a big fan of pumpkin pie, but it IS an American tradition, so I decided to take a stab at creating my own healthy, and yes, BEANY bar version. And, as it turns out... I really love these bars (more than pumpkin pie!!!!) The beans give them a very pie like texture.:D

Sugar and spice and everything nice. Pumpkin pie in the palm of your hand!

 Pumpkin Pie Bars

1 15oz. can no salt added garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 c melted butter
1/2 c soy milk (or any other milk you like)
3 eggs
1TBL Vanilla
1/2 c agave nectar
2 tsp fresh grated ginger (or dried ginger powder)
2 tsp fresh grated nutmeg (or dried)
1 TBL ground cinnamon
3/4 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 c raw sugar (Sucanat or Sugar in the Raw)
1 15 oz. can pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
3/4 c whole wheat flour (I use whole wheat pastry flour)


Preheat oven to 350*F. Prepare a 13X9" baking pan with cooking spray, butter, or oil. Set aside.

Blend eggs, beans, milk, butter, and pumpkin in a blender until smooth. Blend in agave, spices, salt, and baking powder. Pour batter into a large mixing bowl and whisk in sugar. Add flour and whisk until combined.

Pour batter into prepared 13X9" baking pan and bake at 350*F for 35 minutes. Remove from oven and cool completely before cutting. (Bars will still be mushy, they set completely when refrigerated.) 
Serve at room temperature or cold.

These will stay good for a week when kept refrigerated.... and are very delicious with whipped cream on top!


Makes 36 - 48 bars. It all depends on how you cut it!



*Feel free to adjust the spices according to your taste with this recipe. I personally like A LOT of spice in my pumpkin bars.

This recipe can easily be made gluten free by substituting brown rice, oat, or any other non wheat flour for whole wheat.

Bananas and Rum!!!

Yo-ho-ho and a bottle of rum!!!!! This recipe came about when I had some overripe bananas, a bottle of rum and a dream... a dream to make some delicious, healthy oatmeal cookies that would remind me of Bananas Foster. There's almost nothing better than that caramelized brown sugar taste drenched in rum... ooohhhh yes... haha!  The experiment was a success and my cookies won the approval of everyone at my work, one woman in particular who is from Jamaica told me they reminded her of home. :) 

The goodness of bananas and oatmeal all rolled into one... with just a splash of rum! Yum yum. ;)

Banana Rum Oatmeal Cookies


Preheat oven to  375*F. Spray cookie sheets with non stick cooking spray and set aside.

Over  medium heat in large saucepan melt the following ingredients:

1 c unsalted butter
1/2 c raw cane sugar (Sucanat or Sugar in the Raw)
1 TBL honey

Stir frequently with a wire whisk while melting. Whisking the mixture while it's boiling keeps the butter and sugar from separating. Please be careful while stirring, caramel mixture will be VERY HOT! Remove from heat, and whisk in:

1 c organic brown sugar

Let hot caramel mixture cool 10 - 15 minutes and whisk in:

1 c mashed overripe banana
1 TBL vanilla
1 egg
1/4 c good quality rum (my pirate boyfriend has taught me Cap'n Morgan's is best ;)

Stir in :

1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
2 1/4 c whole grain spelt flour (or whole wheat flour)

Mix well and stir in:

3 c old fashioned oats (I use Bob's Red Mill brand Thick Cut Oats)
1 c pecan pieces (or whatever nuts you like)
3/4 c raisins

Batter will be thick. Place heaping tablespoon fulls of batter onto lightly oiled baking sheets, one inch apart. Bake for 375*F for 8 - 10 minutes or until lightly browned and cookies are firm but soft. Remove from oven and let cool for 5 minutes before transferring cookies to a wire rack or a plate to cool.

Makes approx 4 dozen cookies (more or less depending on how big you make them).

These are great for breakfast on the go too!!!
 
** Baking tip of the day: Honey absorbs and retains moisture, so your homemade baked goods stay fresher longer. Use a light colored honey for less strong of  a honey taste in your baked goods (unless you WANT them to taste like honey). The darker the color of your honey, the stronger the flavor.

More tips on baking with honey.

Delicious Nutritious Bean Brownies!!!

Have you ever heard of the fabled Black Bean Brownie?  The original recipe I heard of was published in a Weight Watchers cookbook to give dieters a lower calorie version of their favorite treat while staying on their WW program. There are many different variations out there on the internet and I tested and tweaked many to come up with this tasty and healthy recipe. My recipe contains no refined flour and thus it is a delicious gluten free treat you can give to your GF friends! This is one of my favorite treats when I am trying to "be good" on my diet. :)

Moist and chocolatey. The texture of these brownies are more cakey rather than gooey/chewy since I use very little butter to keep the calories low and beans instead of flour. Yum yum! :)

 Chocolate Bean Brownies aka Beanies!

Preheat Oven to 350*F. Butter an 8X8"baking pan and set aside.

In a blender, (or using a hand blender) blend the following ingredients:

1 (15oz.) can no salt added Red kidney beans, rinsed and drained *
3 eggs
1/4 c melted butter
2 tsp Vanilla extract
3/4 c raw sugar (Sucanat or Sugar in the Raw, etc.)
1/4 c semisweet chocolate chips (I use minis), melted
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 tsp baking powder

Once mixture is blended well, pour the batter into a large mixing bowl and whisk in:

1/2 c high quality cocoa powder

Mix until batter is thick and there are no lumps of cocoa powder remaining.

Stir in:

1/4 cup miniature chocolate chips (yes another 1/4 cup... this makes yummy little mini chocolate bites in your brownies)


Pour batter into prepared 8X8" baking pan and bake at 350*F for 25 minutes. Knife inserted in center will come out moist but clean.

Let cool to room temperature before eating. These are best when they are refrigerated for a few hours or overnight to let the chocolate flavor develop. Beanies are best kept refrigerated and they will stay good for a week or longer (if you can stop yourself from eating them all in one day... haha).


Makes approximately 16 large beanies.

Enjoy!!  <3

* I have tried this recipe with numerous different kinds of beans and it comes out good every time with no noticeable change in flavor or texture

** Another note about these brownies. They will become very moist when refrigerated and have a slight wetness to the top. This is normal.

Flavor Variations:

Chocolate orange flavor - Add in 1 tsp orange extract, 1 TBL Orange zest, and juice of half an orange to batter before baking.

More flavor variations to come!!


Nutrition per serving 
150 calories
6 g fat
4 g protein