mmmMonday :: easy peasy Energy Bars

Recently, Jack and I have been trying to eat healthier. Since moderation is not really in either of our vocabularies, we attempt to avoid starch, dairy and sugar Monday through Friday, noon. Once the weekend hits, all bets are off and we gorge ourselves stupid ...well, not really [okay sometimes].

This tends to work fairly well. Come 3pm however, things can get a little dicey. My heart beats a little faster, my eyes get dart-y and I can't concentrate. All my thoughts are stolen by daydreams of macaroons, lemon tarts, cookies, gummy bears and milkshakes - basically, anything and everything I'm trying to avoid. 

These bars are perfect for when you're jonesing for sugar but you're trying to layoff the cookies. I mean, what's more healthy than getting your sugar fix from dates. I don't know if you know this, they're fruit!! 

The original recipe only had three ingredients but since I'm full-time fancy, I threw in some coconut. If you add coconut you'll have to offset it with a few more dates. I added 1/2 cup coconut and then an additional 1/4 dates... so three, because they're massive.

INGREDIENTS 
1 cup pitted dates
1 cup craisins [or raisins]
1 cup almonds

If you have a good food processor, go ahead and throw all the ingredients in and set to chop. I forgot about my beautiful KitchenAid blender and used my chop-o-matic. It did nothing. Actually no, scratch that. It did the almonds and then broke. Just gave up. Enter KitchenAid blender.

I then added the almonds and coconut to the fruit and let it combine for another 2 minutes. It should be fairly sticky at this point. If it's not, blend a little longer. If it still isn't, add more dates or craisins - it should help. If there's still no luck, you probably weren't meant to eat these.

Once the texture is sticky enough to not crumble, roll into a ball and place between two sheets of saran wrap. Roll out to your desired thickness and then slice into bars. These guys may not look like much but they pack a punch so don't make them too big.

Since having these my 3pm sugar rage has subsided and my coworkers no longer avoid my meeting requests.

mmmMonday: CPK Greek Salad

Lately, all I've been able to think about is the leafy stuff. Christmas is far enough gone that I have kicked my need for a diet of breads, cheeses and sweets, sending me on the hunt for all things healthy. 

Under regular circumstances I would be wary to suggest a dish inspired by the cpk as being healthy. I have only eaten there once but I got the feeling this wasn't their forte. But as everyone knows, it's all about modesty. ...modesty and feigning ignorance about the differences between sour cream and restaurant sour cream.

This salad is all about layers. Begin by chopping your fresh veggies into modest chunks and combine in a bowl.

fresh INGREDIENTS

2 cups chopped lettuce

1 tomato

1/2 green pepper

1/2 cucumber

1/4 red onion

2 stalks green onion

*makes two salads

Next, mix the lemon, olive oil, pepper and oregano and immediately drizzle onto the chopped veggies. Set aside to chill. 

dressing INGREDIENTS

1.5 Tablespoons Olive Oil

1 Tablespoon lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

dash of salt and pepper

Put your sundried tomatoes to blanch and then cut into thin strips. Chop up the olives. Set both aside.

fun INGREDIENTS

6 kalamata olives

4 or 5 sundried tomatoes

4 Tablespoons hummus

2 Tablespoon tzatziki 

Spread two tablespoons of hummus on each plate - if you're dangerous, spread more! If you're allergic to chickpeas - skip it. ...unless of course you're allergic to chick peas and dangerous. If that's the case, you know what to do.

Layer a cup or two of the fresh salad mixture onto the hummus. Since I'm part rabbit I tend to be very generous and end up with a  heaping pile. 

Sprinkle the chopped olives and sundried tomatoes overtop your veggie mound.

Finish it all off by drizzling / tossing a little less than a tablespoon of tzatziki over it all. Serve with pita, and/or souvlaki skewers.

Food Friday: Strawberry yogurt bites

This week's food friday is a quick and easy summer snack to cool you down and keep you away from the ice cream*. I first saw this idea on Pinterest [obviously] and knew right then and there that I would be eating them soon - the fact that there were no directions was just a small hurdle to be overcome. 

I mean it's not like you really need directions since the original image is pretty straightforward - dip strawberries in greek yogurt, freeze [for 40 minutes]. That should be it. Directions = done. Problem is, the photo on pinterest makes them look oh-so-perfect and mine turned out a little fugly. 

I did what I could. I used my mini muffin pan to hold them each separately so they didn't freeze together. I used my tea measurement spoon to roll them in the yogurt and then scoop them out for optimal coverage, but they just aren't incased in a round ball of yogurty goodness... it's more like a misshapen lump. Still tasty, but not pretty.

I'm still trying to figure out how to get them pretty. Perhaps the girl has a circular mould that shuts on the top and allows them to maintain that shape... or maybe, she goes into the freezer halfway through the freezing process and rolls them in the palms of her hands. At this point, I have no clue, BUT I will definitely let you know if I figure it out because, I mean, who wants fugly delicious yogurt strawberry balls when they can have pretty ones? Stay tuned...

*Results may vary. This is a day-by-day battle

Food Friday: vegan brownies!

Let's just say these brownies are delicious. I'm just going to put that out there right away... you need to know what you're getting into. Right now you're thinking, I'm going to give these vegan brownies a shot because they're healthy-ish and I want chocolate. But you don't know. You don't know that they are actually the best brownies you will ever have. You are unaware that this no-bake, 4-ingredient brownie batter with a 3-ingredient icing will be the death of any summer-living healthy-eating pipe dream you had. Now you've been warned, so please, enjoy.

BROWNIE   1/2 cup cocoa powder 2 cups hazelnuts 1 cup pitted dates 1/4 cup maple syrup

ICING   1/4 cup cocoa powder 1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp maple syrup 1 medium avocado ...

This recipe is definitely much easier if you have a legitimate food processor. However, my little wannabe did me just fine. If you do have a food processor, pulse the hazelnuts until finely ground into a flour. Next, add in your dates, 1/2 cup cocoa powder and 1/4 maple syrup processing into a thick dough that sticks together.

If you don't have a nice, big food processor, do the same but in bunches that your little wannabe can handle. Slowly but surely. Don't get impatient, it's definitely worth it. I did the hazelnuts first, set them aside and then did the dates. Next I tossed the cocoa and maple syrup in with the dates and then began sprinkling in the hazelnuts. Just when I thought everything was lost, I tossed everything in a bowl and finished up with my hands. It looked perfect. 

Pack the dough into a ball and then roll it out between two sheets or parchment, shaping it to be cut into brownies. With a sharp knife cut the dough into equal sized rectangles. With the extra dough, re-form into a ball and repeat. 

I halved the recipe when I did it, so you'll likely have a lot more to roll our than what's pictured above.

Make the icing by blending the avocado, cocoa and maple syrup. Blend until velvety smooth and adjust the sweetness to your liking. Once the icing is ready, frost the brownies stacking pieces by two. Garnish with crushed hazelnuts.