Naraya Cooking Health Recipe

Gather some of your favorite apples and get ready to enjoy a simple, fun and delicious treat! I'm not sure why I haven't made this yet, I guess it's true that everything has its time. I've seen apple nachos here and there on the web over the last couple years, a quick google search will pull up all kinds of similar versions, but I never put it on my immediate to do list. With all the busyness going on in life right now, I was thinking of something easy to share here and this popped into mind. I'm so glad that the time has come because these are absolutely delicious! A well loved classic, and I can see why. It's fresh, sweet (if using a sweet apple), with bits of chocolate and coconut flakes all topped with warm nut butter and cinnamon. What's not to love?! I easily ate two apples and could've eaten more if in the end I felt like slicing up more. But really two was enough, and maybe one will be enough for you, but I highly recommend going ahead and slicing up 2 per person, just in case. If you don't end up eating all the apple slices, the lemon juice will keep them from turning brown so you can make it with the leftovers the next day. This is also a great way to get in some protein that everyone seems to fuse over about a vegan diet. Where do you get your protein? How many times have I heard that. ;) Have no fear, this treat will give you about 8 grams of protein for every 2 tablespoons of nut butter you use (different butters may vary). Not too bad at all! This is a great snack for kids, as well as adults. I can see myself indulging in this quite often!



If you can circle your apples similar to this, you'll be sure to have a little of everything on every apple slice without causing too much mess when eating. But I sure didn't mind liking my fingers clean and I'm sure you won't mind either!




I was asked if I'd like to try out this gourmet raw almond butter from Dastony, and being that it's from a small family business I said of course. I'm all about promoting small family run businesses, and they deliver a wonderful product that's smooth & creamy! They have a quite a few butters to choose from, even a couple sprouted ones that look delicious, all of which may work well in this recipe. Their butters are 100% organic, stone ground, raw, vegan, and free from additives and preservatives. If you're looking for that special nut butter as a gift or one for yourself to use every day, this is it!



APPLE NACHOS

Today is a a muffin day, a banana chocolate chip muffin day! I had four small bananas, ripe as can be, and decided to put them into these muffins you see here today. I wanted to make them banana nut muffins, but since my daughter doesn't care for nuts I went ahead and added chocolate chips instead. Those are much better in her opinion, and I'm sure many of you will agree! Who doesn't like a little chocolate in their banana muffins!



I based this recipe on my Banana Tea Bread. I did cut the oil a bit, only using 1/4 cup. They came out perfect, all soft and fluffy, and the chocolate chips are a welcome addition. These were even better after being covered a few hours, moist and perfectly tender. I'm super happy to share these muffin here today and know you'll love them too!



Eat them up...YUM!



BANANA CHOCOLATE CHIP MUFFINS

• 1 3/4 cups spelt flour, or flour of choice
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup light flavored olive oil or warmed coconut oil 
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup organic pure cane sugar or coconut sugar
• 4 small or 3 large bananas (preferably overripe), mashed
• 1/4 cup or so chocolate chips (I used Enjoy Life Mini)

Ingredients

Notes:

For the flours: I have given a gluten free option using 2 cups of oat flour. To make oat flour at home, place 2 cups oats in food processor and blend until flour consistency. If using non-gluten free flour, you can use 1 1/2 cup whole wheat, whole wheat pastry or all-purpose flour. I recommend using spelt flour as it bakes up beautifully and has a sweet, nutty flavor. It's my favorite all around baking flour! If you have a mild gluten intolerance you may be able to get away with this flour, although it is not gluten free it is different than most of the wheat flours of today as it's not hybridized.

For the oil, coconut oil tends to harden when temperatures are cooler. If your coconut oil is hardened you will want to warm it gently to a creamy or melted state. I have made these using both consistencies with good results. You could also reduce the oil to 2/3 cup with good results.

Adjust the sugar amount to suit your taste. These would still be great but a little less sweet using 1/2 - 2/3 cup sugar, especially if using the maple syrup.

If you don't have pure maple syrup on hand or you just don't want to use it, opt to use non-dairy milk in place of the maple syrup.

I hope you enjoy these cookies for years to come!

A homemade granola bar with a bit of a chew and a crunch at the same time. Lot's of flavor and full of goodness you can taste in every bite. So colorful too! Be warned, these are delicious and won't last long. But no worries, they're easy to make so you can whip some up in cinch. :)

I originally started these as a no bake granola bar like the recipe at Gimme Some Oven, but felt they were a bit to sticky to handle, even after chilling in the fridge a while. I decided to bake them in order to harden the maple syrup and stiffen them a bit. They came out really good and still have a bit of chewiness but without the stickiness. If you want them a bit crunchy bake for a little longer. They really are a vibrant and delicious treat! This recipe will give you the option to decide if you want to bake or not...a lot may depend on the date paste and how much moisture there is...but you may find that you prefer it unbaked. 

Enjoy!

A little picture tutorial and more...

Hope this inspires something wonderful in your future. Happy Holidays. :)

I love anything pecans, and when you add some chocolate to the mix you've really got a winner! These are a welcome addition to the recipe list and my go to baked cookie. The recipe consists of an almond flour/meal and has a nice lightly sweet flavor, especially from the coconut sugar which gives it a nice caramel flavor. And the salt adds to the delightfulness of these cookies bringing an added touch that will leave you wanting another bite, and another. Pair with a nice glass of your favorite non-dairy milk, or tall glass of water, and enjoy this chocolate chip style cookie...not too crisp, not too soft...just right. They are kid tested and most definitely mother approved! When the craving for a baked cookie comes around this will be the one!

I made this batch with half chocolate chips and half without. The above picture will be what the dough should roughly look like after blending well and before adding in the chocolate chips. I used almond meal in this recipe as I like to make my own. If using almond flour, your dough will be much lighter in color since the skin will have been removed by the manufacturer before processing. I scooped out rounded tablespoons, rolled into about a one inch ball, placed on the cookie sheet and flattened slightly. They will puff up a little when cooking so leave at least a half an inch or so between cookies. 

Also, I'm looking into a silicon mat to use instead of parchment paper. Coconut oil works great too but having a silicon mat handy will be welcome. It may interest you also...you can find out more about them by looking at the reviews in the following link: Silpat Non-Stick Baking Mat

Ingredients

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Combine the first five dry ingredients in medium sized bowl. In a small bowl, add the coconut oil and maple syrup together, heat until warmed and coconut oil is melted. Add in all three wet ingredients to the dry mixture and blend well. Mix in the pecans and chocolate chips. 

Prepare a baking sheet with coconut oil, parchment paper or use a non-stick mat. Scoop out rounded tablespoons full and roll dough into balls about an 1 inch or so in size, place on cookie sheet and flatten slightly with your fingers. Leave about a half inch to an inch between cookies as they will expand when cooking. Sprinkle entire batch with sea salt. Bake for 20 minutes. They may look like they need to cook more but don't worry once they cool they will darken slightly, harden a little and be a perfect cookie. Let cool and enjoy!

Makes about 16 to 18 cookies.

* I make my own almond meal in a food processor. 1 1/2 cups of almonds will easily get you 2 cups of flour/meal. It's super easy...just process for about 4 minutes, depending on your processor. Store any leftover flour in a mason jar or sealed container of choice for later use.

In food processor, place frozen banana pieces and almond butter, blend until a fairly smooth consistency stopping every now and then to scrap down the sides and push the mixture to the bottom of the processor. It took mine about five minutes max, it will depend on your food processor how long yours takes. Serve in bowls and top with, or incorporate, the chocolate pieces and almonds, use as much as you like. Should be eaten right away. Makes one generous serving or two small.

Note: Never throw your bananas away. The ripper they are the much sweeter they are making them perfect for smoothies and ice creams. So just when you think you should throw them out and/or don't feel like making banana bread, unpeel them and put them in the freezer using a container of sorts (I use tupperware), and you'll have frozen banana's whenever you need all year long.

* To make 100% raw use raw cocoa chips...find recipe here.

Try adding a scoop or two of vanilla or chocolate flavor protein powder to really boost the nutritional profile! You may need to add a splash or two of unsweetened almond milk as well.

Seriously so good...Enjoy!

Make you own Almond Butter, it's really easy...find recipe here.

You may also like this Chocolate Banana Ice Cream