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Clean Slate: Chocolate Walnut Brownies

Leah Short — Tue, 24 Feb 2015 13:52:52 +0000

I’ve saved the best for last in my Clean Slate series. However, I’d never argue that dessert wasn’t always the best anyway. Have you seen that movie Simply Irresistible with Sarah Michelle Gellar and Sean Patrick Flanery? Super cute movie with a food theme, so I love it. There’s one line where SMG says something like “dessert is the whole point of the meal” and I couldn’t agree more! You will not believe these Chocolate Walnut Brownies are in a clean eating cookbook! I don’t usually like to mess with desserts, but these are a winner. I didn’t share one single brownie. That’s saying something!

So, how’s it taste?

Would you believe there’s no all-purpose flour in this recipe? It’s all almond flour, making these brownies gluten-free! Instead of sprinkling the walnuts on top, as the recipe suggests, I mixed them in. I didn’t want them to get too toasted on top and it worked perfectly.

The brownies were a bit more fragile than brownies made with all-purpose flour, but the flavor more than makes up for that. They’re just perfect.

I was nervous about being able to detect the olive oil in the finished brownie, but you can’t. You also can’t detect the maple syrup, which is what I wanted. I still want them to taste like good old-fashioned brownies, even if they are part of clean eating! Believe it or not, you don’t have to give up decadent desserts!

The dishes you see in the pictures above are part of the Martha Stewart Collection white dishware available exclusively at Macy’s. Fantastic dishware for everyday use, plus they’re dishwasher and microwave safe!

Yield: 16 servings

Chocolate Walnut Brownies

Ingredients:

1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for brushing
8 oz. dark chocolate (at least 70% cacao), chopped
1/3 cup light brown sugar
1/3 cup pure maple syrup
2 large eggs
2 tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. coarse salt
2/3 cup almond flour
1/2 cup coarsely chopped walnuts

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Brush an 8-inch square baking pan with oil. Line with parchment, leaving overhang. Brush parchment with oil.

2. Melt half of chocolate in a heatproof bowl; whisk in oil, sugar, and syrup. Remove from heat.

3. Whisk in eggs, one at a time, then cocoa, baking soda, and salt. Fold in flour and remaining chocolate. Pour batter into prepared pan; sprinkle with walnuts (or fold in).

4. Bake until a toothpick comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Let cool completely on wire rack. To serve, cut into squares.

per serving (1 brownie): 206 calories, 16g fat, 17g carbs, 3g protein, 2g fiber

Source: Clean Slate by the editors of Martha Stewart Living

Disclosure: I received a copy of Clean Slate: A Cookbook and Guide: Reset Your Health, Detox Your Body, and Feel Your Best and the Martha Stewart Collection white dishware at no cost. All opinions expressed here are solely my own, as always. This post contains affiliate links.

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Clean Slate: Barley with Pineapple, Coconut, & Flaxseed

Leah Short — Sun, 15 Feb 2015 23:36:37 +0000

My mindset about food is very familiar this time of year. I’m always trying to clean up my eating from the holiday splurge and it can go well into spring. When the folks at Martha Stewart approached me about reviewing Clean Slate, I jumped at the chance. It’s not a diet cookbook at all. It focuses on clean eating and resetting your health. I’ve never jumped on the gluten-free, dairy-free bandwagon, so I was a tad bit skeptical going in, but not all recipes are that way and some include meat. I decided to test this cookbook by trying out a breakfast, lunch, dinner, and (yes!) dessert recipe. Every recipe has a beautiful photo with it, so it was hard to narrow it down.

For breakfast, I decided on Barley with Pineapple, Coconut, & Flaxseed. Coconut and pineapple this time of year? Yes, please! I can pretend I’m somewhere tropical as I start my morning. In the cookbook, they use millet, which I couldn’t find at my grocery store, so I substituted barley. Using millet would make this recipe gluten-free. I’m a fan of oatmeal, but wasn’t sure about a big bowl of barley.

So, how’s it taste?

This one really surprised me! It’s sweet, tangy and has such great texture! I made the barley ahead of time and scooped out what I needed for each serving. It was a cinch to put together in the morning before work. I already use almond milk instead of regular milk and I loved the maple syrup flavor in this. Fresh pineapple is one of my favorite fruits and it balances out the sweet. It was almost like eating dessert! I can’t wait to get my hands on millet to try it that way. I think this combo would work great with oatmeal, too.

For the next couple of posts, I’ll be sharing what I made for lunch, dinner, and dessert. I’ve got some photo teasers for you to get excited about! I was not disappointed with any of the recipes and I can’t wait to share the dessert with you. I don’t like to mess with dessert, so this was the biggest shocker of them all!

Lunch

Dinner

Dessert

The dishes you see in the pictures above are part of the Martha Stewart Collection white dishware available exclusively at Macy’s. I used the dinner plates, lunch plates, pasta bowls, and dessert plates. Fantastic dishware for everyday use, plus they’re dishwasher and microwave safe!

* GIVEAWAY CLOSED *

Congrats to Brenda, comment #1!
Winner chosen using random.org.

One winner will receive a copy of Clean Slate along with one bottle of Martha Stewart Essentials Multivitamin and one bottle of the Hair, Skin & Nails vitamin. Giveaway is open to U.S. and Canadian residents.

Mandatory: Leave a comment on this post telling me why you want to eat clean! One mandatory entry per person. Multiple entries (except for the optional entry below) will be removed.

Optional entry: For one additional entry, tweet the following: “Win a copy of Clean Slate, a cookbook for clean eating, from @SoHowsItTaste! Enter here: http://bit.ly/1zZu162” and leave a separate comment that you tweeted.

Contest ends Tuesday, February 24, 2015, at 10 a.m. central. Please make sure you enter a valid email address as an alternate winner will be chosen if I don’t hear from you within 48 hours. Good luck!

Yield: 4 servings

Barley with Pineapple, Coconut, & Flaxseed

Ingredients:

2 cups water*
pinch of coarse salt
1 cup barley*
1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk or coconut milk
1/2 cup chopped fresh pineapple
1/4 cup large-flaked unsweetened coconut, toasted
1 tbsp. plus 1 tsp. whole flaxseed (I used ground)
1/4 cup pure maple syrup

*Note: Use millet to make this gluten-free. If you use millet, increase water to 6 cups total.

Directions:

1. Bring water and salt to boil in medium saucepan. Whisk in barley (or millet). Return to a boil. Reduce heat to low, simmer uncovered, until water has been absorbed and barley (or millet) is tender but still chewy, 12 to 15 minutes for barley (30-35 minutes for millet).

2. Remove from heat; let stand 5 minutes then fluff with fork.

3. Serve topped with milk, pineapple, coconut, flaxseed, and maple syrup.

per serving: 316 calories, 7g fat, 56g carbs, 7g protein, 6g fiber

*Nutrition based on using millet, not barley.

Source: Clean Slate by the editors of Martha Stewart Living

Disclosure: I received a copy of Clean Slate: A Cookbook and Guide: Reset Your Health, Detox Your Body, and Feel Your Best and the Martha Stewart Collection white dishware at no cost. All opinions expressed here are solely my own, as always. This post contains affiliate links.

The post Clean Slate: Barley with Pineapple, Coconut, & Flaxseed appeared first on Leah Claire.

Mini Pancake Bites

Leah Short — Mon, 07 Oct 2013 13:01:07 +0000

I made these Mini Pancake Bites over the weekend and I had such good intentions of freezing them for quick breakfasts later on in the week. Somehow about half of them kept disappearing! They are addictive I tell you…and dangerous. They’re so tiny, you think you can just keep eating and eating and eating. Deceptive little bundles of pancakey goodness stuffed with whatever you can dream up.

Read more on Mini Pancake Bites

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No Bake Oatmeal Bites

Leah Short — Thu, 07 Mar 2013 14:35:48 +0000

Ok, let’s all admit we pin things to Pinterest and may never actually get around to making them. I have recipes I pinned forever ago and they’ve just never made it to reality. Not these No Bake Oatmeal Bites. I had the ingredients on hand (which is rare) and made them hours after pinning them. They have all the ingredients I love in a snack: peanut butter, coconut, chocolate chips, but with a (sort of) healthy twist.

So, how’s it taste?

Oh. My. Gosh. Stop reading this and make these. Crazy, crazy good. Remember those unbaked fudge cookies that everyone eats? They’re similar to that, but way better. I liked the different textures of the ingredients, especially the crunchy chia seeds. I put (sort of) healthy above because they really aren’t to me. I know they’re full of the good for you fats and such, but they are pretty high in calorie count per bite…and they’re so insanely good that I had no problem devouring several at a time. So, healthy kind of went out the window with these for me. I also renamed them from energy bites. They didn’t give me a boost of energy, but probably because I sat on my couch eating them like bon bons. Since they are more like dessert to me, I thought a rename was fitting.

You can really play around with the ingredients and make it your own. I used crunchy peanut butter, but you could use smooth or another type of butter. This recipe comes from Gimme Some Oven and there’s a few flavor variations that sound just as scrumptious that I’m dying to try. I’m already brainstorming about a white chocolate chip-cranberry or butterscotch-walnut version! These are great for grab and go, but you’ve been warned of their highly addictive power!

No Bake Oatmeal Bites

by Gimme Some Oven
makes about 15-20 bites, depending on size

Ingredients:

1 cup old-fashioned oats
2/3 cup coconut flakes (toasted if you prefer)
1/2 cup peanut butter (smooth or crunchy)
1/2 cup ground flaxseed or wheat germ
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1/3 cup honey or maple syrup
1 tbsp. chia seeds
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Mix all ingredients in a bowl until combined.

2. Chill in the refrigerator for about an hour, so mixture is easier to work with.

3. Roll into balls in whatever size you prefer. I found it's easier to knead a scoop for a bit and then roll into a ball. If you find the mixture becomes difficult to roll into a ball and won't stick together, rinse your hands with water and try again.

4. Store in an airtight container for up to 1 week. You can store them in the refrigerator or at room temperature. I found I enjoyed them both cold and at room temperature.

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