Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, is just around the corner and what better way to welcome the New Year but with sweetness? In the Jewish religion, we tend to celebrate holidays and life cycles surrounded by food. For Rosh Hashanah, typically we eat apples with honey to symbolize our hopes and wishes for a sweet and healthy new year for loved ones and ourselves.  So when life calls for celebration and indulgence, it’s important to do so with real ingredients.

Holidays shouldn’t be an excuse to binge on the “bad stuff”. What’s the fun in that if you are going to spend the next week (or more) fighting your sugar cravings back under the rug?

Ingredients:

2 cups almond flour

½ cup rolled oats, blended to flour consistency

¾ cup unsweetened applesauce

2 teaspoons ground flax seeds

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

¾ cup cocoa powder

½ cup water

½ teaspoon baking powder

¼ teaspoon sea salt

½ teaspoon cinnamon

½ cup agave nectar

½ cup brown rice syrup

½ of a 3.5 oz dark chocolate bar (I like Green & Black 70% dark chocolate), chopped

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Grease 8’’ x 8’’ pan

Combine dry ingredients in mixing bowl, except for chopped dark chocolate

Combine wet ingredients in separate mixing bowl

Combine bowls and use electric hand mixer to blend thoroughly

Hand stir in chocolate chunks

Pour into greased pan and bake until cooked – approximately 45 minutes

Allow to cool completely and place in refrigerator to solidify

Enjoy your creamy, fudgy dessert!

My youngest sister, Arielle, is living with me this summer while she works in the garden at Warren Wilson College, about 25 minutes away from my home. Lucky for us, she brings home vegetables and other goodies from the garden a couple of days a week, providing us with delicious, organic, locally grown goodness. Zucchini and squash are very plentiful right now so we have made it our mission to come up with new and exciting ways to use this duo.

Here are two ideas. Both will make your home smell amazing in two very different ways!

Zucchini Bread

Ingredients:

1 cup almond flour

3 cups rolled oats, processed in blender to create flour consistency

1 large zucchini, grated with skin intact

1 cup honey

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon arrowroot powder

2 teaspoons cinnamon

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

hand full of blueberries (optional)

hand full of chopped walnuts (optional)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Grease bread pan

Combine dry ingredients in bowl and mix well

Add honey and mix with spoon until ingredients are completely blended

Pour batter into bread pan

Bake for approximately 50 minutes or until top is golden brown and inside is fully cooked (stick a toothpick to test)

Allow to cool completely before slicing and serving

Rosemary Zucchini & Squash

Ingredients:

1 or 2 stems of rosemary

1 small zucchini

1 small squash

Other favorite spices

Extra Virgin Olive Oil (optional)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Remove rosemary from stem and set aside

Cut zucchini and squash into ½ inch slices

“Thread” zucchini and squash onto rosemary stem and place in small bread loaf dish

Add about ¼ cup of water

Sprinkle rosemary onto zucchini and squash

Add any other favorite spices and a drop of extra virgin olive oil if desired

Cover with tinfoil

Bake until zucchini and squash are tender – approximately 20 minutes

Remove from stems and serve

I recently did the ol’ “switch-a-roo” of my closets. Any girl reading this post knows what I’m talking about – putting the sweaters and other fall / winter garments into storage and filling your closet with sundresses, tank tops and other spring and summer clothes. I always love the day I switch my closet because it’s like going shopping and discovering all these new clothes without having to spend a pretty penny! More importantly, it’s a sign that the seasons have officially turned and that means new foods are coming into season.

Ever notice how a salad seems more appealing to you in the summer than in the winter? This is because our bodies crave cooling foods when it’s hotter outside. Mother nature is telling us to eat foods raw or cold during spring and summer, as they will be more cooling than heavier foods. Foods that are cooked or steamed lightly and quickly can also having a cooling effect. The longer a food is cooked, the more warming it becomes. Make sense?

This blueberry pie is light but savory, and definitely cooling. It’s the first pie I ever made, and I have to say it was pretty easy, especially the clean up part because I only had the blender to clean. Make sure you are using a high-power blender like a Vita-Mix, because it takes a lot of power to turn these ingredients into piecrust and filling.

According to the Environmental Working Group, blueberries are one of the top twelve fruits and vegetables most likely to be contaminated with pesticide residues so it is important to buy organic blueberries. These pesticides are absorbed into the fruits and vegetables, so washing them does not eliminate the pesticide residues completely. A growing number of experts agree that small doses of pesticides can cause permanent damage to human health.

Blueberries provide some of the strongest antioxidant activity among fruits and vegetables. They get their dark blue color from anthocyanidins, which provide blueberries with vitamin C in addition to their antioxidant protection.

Ingredients:

Crust:

1 cup unsweetened muesli

9 – 10 Medjool dates, sliced in half and pits removed

1 cup walnuts

¾ cup shredded unsweetened coconut flakes

Filling:

10 oz frozen blueberries

10 Medjool dates, sliced in half and pits removed

2 bananas

1 avocado

1 tablespoon shredded coconut

Directions:

To make the crust combine the crust ingredients in a high-powered blender and blend thoroughly. Use hands to scoop the batter and press it evenly onto the bottom of a 9 inch pie pan.

Use your thumb to press some of the batter up onto the side of the pan, about ¼ – ½ inch

To make the filling combine all of the ingredients in a high-powered blender and blend completely.

Pour filling into center of pie and use back of spoon to spread it evenly across the crust.

Cover and freeze for at least three hours before serving.

Any extra batter should be frozen separately in a glass container for all-natural ice cream.

My sister loves peanut butter so it only seemed appropriate to honor her birthday with peanut butter blondies. Inspired by the cookbook Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar, I swapped a few ingredients for healthier alternatives.

Let me be clear – this dessert is not a “health food”, but to avoid dessert for eternity is unrealistic for most of us.  When indulging, it’s important to do so with real foods, not chemicals or artificial ingredients and flavoring.

Instead of sugar I used brown rice syrup, which is a great alternative to sugar. It is made by fermenting brown rice with enzymes to disintegrate the natural starch of this whole grain. After straining off the fermented liquid, the substance is cooked to a syrup consistency. It has a mild sweet buttery flavor so it is excellent for a bit of sweetness in your tea, salad dressings, sauces, and of course in desserts. Brown rice syrup takes longer for the body to breakdown and digest then sugar because of the complex carbohydrates components, so your energy levels will remain constant instead of crashing shortly after indulging.

Rolled oats are a great substitute for white flour. Just like white sugar, white flour enters the bloodstream quickly, causing mood and energy spikes and crashes. Refined carbohydrates, like white flour, not only lack any nutritional benefits, but have been linked to a range of health issues including weight gain and heart disease. Whole grains, like rolled oats, remain rich in micronutritents and fiber.

Ingredients:

2 cups Rolled Oats

½ cup organic Peanut Butter

¼ Extra Virgin Olive Oil

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

¼ cup Almond milk (or milk of your choice)

½ teaspoon baking powder

1 cup Brown Rice Syrup

Optional: 1/3 cup peanuts

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Grease 8 x 8 inch baking dish

Use blender or food processor to blend rolled oats to create flour consistency

In medium mixing bowl combine, use spoon to mix peanut butter, oil and brown rice syrup.

Stir in nondairy milk and vanilla.

Stir in flour and baking powder. Blend well.

Transfer dough into baking pan and press into place.

Sprinkle on the peanuts and lightly press them into the top.

Bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until the blondie edges are slightly darkened.

The top will appear soft and that is ok.

Allow pan to cool completely. You may even want to put the pan into the refrigerator for an hour or two before slicing to make them extra firm, but still moist and delicious.

Passover is my favorite holiday. Period. It’s like Thanksgiving, but with singing and telling stories.

I have vivid memories of Seders at my uncle’s house in Boston when I was young. My siblings, cousins and I prepared for the Seder by rolling tinfoil and masking tape into tiny balls and building origami frogs. When it came time to recite the plagues during the Seder, the dining room became Egypt and our parents (the Egyptians) were subjected to all of the plagues including hail, lice and frogs! We acted out plays, sang songs, and of course read the story of how the Hebrews were freed from slavery in Egypt. It was always a lot of fun, even as we got too old to reenact the plagues.

So why would this year be any different? Now instead of rolling tape into tiny balls, I spent hours in the kitchen with my mom preparing the food we would enjoy for my favorite festival. We made a variety of dishes – both traditional and others to accommodate all dietary preferences including matzah ball soup, gefilte fish, honey chicken, brisket, quinoa salad and lots of steamed vegetables. For dessert we had banana bread, date coconut cookies, chocolate covered macaroons and lots of fresh fruit.

I added about 3/4 of a cup of dark chocolate chips to the banana bread. This made the loaf a little more dense, but still very moist and sweet. It was a big hit!

I used almond flour instead of ground oats for the date coconut cookies in order to make them kosher for Passover. They still tasted great, but if you have any leftovers, make sure you store them in the refrigerator because the almond flavor makes them softer than when using the oats.

Buying premade or canned gefilte fish is common. This year we made it from scratch. Turns out it was pretty easy, and with the compliments we got, I don’t think we will ever use the canned stuff again.

Gifilte Fish

Ingredients: (for 1lb of fillets)

1 large onion

1 carrot, peeled

1 lb fish fillets or ground fish (we used white fish fillets)

2 eggs

1 tablespoon matzo meal

¼ cup cold water

¾ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon pepper

½ teaspoon sugar

64 ounces fish stock

Directions:

Cut onion, carrot and fish into 2 inch chunks

Process carrot and onion in food processor until finely minced, about 10 seconds

Add fish chunks and process until very smooth, about 35-40 seconds (If fish is already minced, reduce processing time to 20 seconds)

Add remaining ingredients (except fish stock) and process about 15 seconds, until well mixed

Pour fish stock into large bowl pot and add heat

Use hands to form fish batter into small fillets and add to simmering fish stock. It helps if you moisten your hands first with cold water so the fish batter doesn’t stick to your hands.

Cover and simmer for 2 hours.

Remove cover last 30 minutes to reduce the liquid

Cool and remove fillets from broth and transfer to platter

Garnish with the usual and serve

The coconut macaroon recipe is inspired by ElanasPantry.com. This recipe makes 25-30 macaroons.

Chocolate Covered Macaroons

Ingredients:

6 egg whites

¼ teaspoon Celtic sea salt

½ cup agave nectar

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

3 cups shredded coconut

Optional: ½ of 3.5 ounce bar of organic dark chocolate (70% or higher)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

In mixing bowl use electric mixer to mix eggs and salt until stiff and fluffy

Use spoon to mix agave, vanilla and shredded coconut

Use spoons to place 1 inch size balls of batter onto parchment lined baking sheet

Bake for 15 minutes or until lightly browned

While macaroons are cooling, melt chocolate in small pot. Make sure it doesn’t burn.

Remove pot from flame

Use hands to dip tops of macaroons into liquid chocolate

Place macaroon back on baking tray with parchment paper

Place tray in refrigerator to allow chocolate to harden

Serve

My friend and fellow classmate at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition, Michelle, has a great website and flourishing health coaching business. After a few hours of studying I took a break to do a little web surfing and stumbled across her Red Velvet Coconut Muffins. Holy moly did they look good! I happened to have all of the ingredients already in my kitchen, and they seemed easy enough that I thought I’d take an even longer study break to whip up a batch.

The study break was well worth it – they came out moist and delicious! I followed Michelle’s recipe except I substituted wheat flour for almond flour, because I already had almond flour in my house. I brought half the batch to my sister who is a student at Warren Wilson College about 15 minutes away, and she and her friends loved them too.

I just had to share the recipe with all of you, and Michelle graciously gave me the thumbs up to post her recipe on my website. So enjoy the muffins and if you dig ‘em let her know – she’s working on a cookbook!

Ingredients:

1 cup roasted beets, shredded (about 3 beets)
1/2 cup coconut oil
2 eggs
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 cup almond flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 cup dried, unsweetened coconut (plus more for topping)
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350F. In food processor or with a grater, shred beets. Combine with all wet ingredients in a medium sized bowl. In a large bowl, combine all dry ingredients. Add wet mixture and blend. Spoon batter into muffin tin and fill each cup to the top or even overfilling a bit. Sprinkle with more dried coconut if you wish. Bake for 30-40 minutes.

May be it’s because of my Middle Eastern background, but dates are one of my go-to foods whenever I’m having a sweet tooth. They are so naturally sweet and just two or three can really hit the spot. Combined with coconut and you have one heck of a dessert!

These cookies are one of my best yet! They are sort of like the Samoas Girl Scout cookie, but without the added sugar, refined flours and processed ingredients.

There isn’t much more to say except give these a try! I promise you won’t be disappointed.

Ingredients:

1 cup pitted dates

1/4 cup oats

1/2 cup unsweetened coconut flakes

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon almond extract

2 tablespoons agave nectar

2 tablespoons coconut oil

1/4 cup hemp milk (or milk / milk substitute of your choice)

Optional: Dark chocolate

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Grease cookie sheet

Combine all ingredients in a blender or food processor

Blend thoroughly until cookie batter is free of any large date pieces

Use spoons (or hands) to put 1 inch balls of batter onto greased cookie sheet. The cookies will expand in the oven so make sure there is some space in between each ball.

Flatten softly with the back of a spoon

Bake for approximately 12 minutes – until the edges are golden brown

Allow to cool thoroughly.

Optional: Put half of a 3.5oz dark chocolate bar into a small pot on low heat. Chocolate will melt faster if you break up the chocolate into individual squares before setting in the pot. Once melted, use spoon to drizzle chocolate onto cookies

Put cookies in refrigerator to harden. Any leftover should be stored in the refrigerator as well.

Peanut butter and dark chocolate – I can’t think of a more tasty food combination, so of course I had to come up with a cookie recipe to honor this brilliant and scrumptious partnership.

This pair is an antioxidant and heart healthy powerhouse. Peanuts prevent inflammation and dark chocolate is known to lower blood pressure and prevent blood clots. Satisfying in taste, made with whole grains and added flaxseed, these cookies are nutrient dense and loaded with fiber. Who knew dessert could be this healthy?

This recipe makes about 15 – 20 cookies.

Ingredients:

1 cup oat flour (put rolled oats into blender to create flour consistency)

¼ cup almond flour

splash of maple syrup

¼ cup of Extra Virgin Olive Oil

¼ cup agave nectar

2/3 cup peanut butter (crunchy or creamy works. I prefer crunchy for added texture.)

1 tablespoon hemp milk (rice milk, almond milk or soy milk would work fine too)

2 teaspoons ground flaxseed

1 teaspoon baking soda

¼ teaspoon almond extract

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1.5 – 2 ounces of dark chocolate, chopped (I used half of a Green & Blacks 70% dark chocolate bar)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Grease baking sheet

In large bowl combine agave nectar, maple syrup, extra virgin olive oil, peanut butter, nondairy milk, flax seeds and vanilla and almond extracts. Use electric mixer to combine well.

Add flours and baking soda and continue to blend.

Fold in chopped chocolate and stir with a spoon.

Now this is where it gets a little messy. Use your hands to roll the dough into ¼ – ½ inch balls. I tried using spoons for this at first, but hands just work much better to pack the dough together.

Once all of the balls are placed on the cookie sheet, use the back of a spoon to slightly flatten the balls.

Bake for 8-10 minutes. Cookies won’t look golden brown on the edges because of the color of the peanut butter but they will brown on the bottom when they are cooked.

Allow to cool and use spatula to move cookies baking rack to cool completely.

Meet my friend, tahini. Made from ground sesame seeds, this Middle Eastern staple can be used in spreads, dressings, sauces and cookies! It’s a common ingredient in foods like hummus and baba ghanoush and has a consistency like peanut butter with a very nutty taste. Tahini is a great source of calcium, protein, B vitamins, vitamin E, and essential fatty acids.

Hummus and tahini have been staples in my refrigerator since I was a child. Like most people with Middle Eastern roots, I crave hummus and tahini the way Italians love cheese and pasta.

There are 2 different types of tahini; hulled and unhulled. Unhulled is the better option. Look for unhulled tahini in your grocery store because it is made from the whole sesame seed, thus providing more protein, calcium and vitamins than hulled tahini. Hulled tahini removes the bran portion of the sesame seed.

Although tahini is not a typical ingredient in cookies, I think you will be pleasantly surprised. These cookies have a sweet nutty taste. You won’t find any sugar or processed ingredients in these cookies, so you should feel satisfied after 1 or 2. Made with whole foods, these cookies are about as real as cookies get.

Ingredients: (makes about 3 dozen cookies)

2 cups rolled oats

½ cup sunflower seeds

8 tablespoons tahini

½ cup agave nectar

2 teaspoons cinnamon

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Grease cookie sheet

Pour rolled oats into blender and blend to create flour consistency

Combine all ingredients in large mixing bowl with electric hand mixer

Use spoons to drop teaspoon size batter onto baking sheet

Space cookies 2 inches apart

Bake until edges are slightly golden brown – approximately 10-12 minutes – be sure not to overcook

Allow to cool for 10 minutes before moving to baking rack

Resources:

World’s Healthiest Foods

The Bareket’s will be hosting Thanksgiving 2009 for about 30 people – both family and close friends. Your first response might be “Holy crap! 30 people!” or “Are they crazy?”, but to be honest I really love and enjoy the company of my “family” (those that I am related to by blood and those that I sometimes forget that I am not really related to.). Besides, isn’t that what Thanksgiving is all about? Lots of food, lots of people and lots to be thankful for? It sure is in my house!

Growing up in a family of 6, it was always pretty easy to have a large crowd at any meal – holiday or not, so the idea of 30 doesn’t sound too overwhelming to me, but it’s still a lot of people… and a lot of different taste buds! That’s why I’m starting to experiment with some new recipes NOW! The guests shouldn’t be the guinea pigs (even if they are family)! Some of us are more health conscious than others, so I want to make sure that everything on the menu satisfies everyone!

I wanted a basic chocolate chip cookie that I could use for Thanksgiving, but also for any occasion and these really hit the spot! They are super easy to make and they sure do taste good! These cookies don’t have any wheat or gluten and I substituted honey for sugar.

I spent quite a bit of time in the baking aisle at my local grocery store trying to decide on the “right” chocolate chip, and none of them really got my taste buds groovin’. I finally decided to throw all of the pre-made chocolate chip options out the window and come up with my own “chip”. I added 1 bar of Green & Black dark chocolate to my shopping basket and headed to the check-out counter. Details on that later.

So here is my recipe. It makes about 2.5 dozen cookies.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup rolled oats

1 1/2 cups almond flour

1/2 banana

4 tablespoons Ghee (or organic butter)

1/3 cup honey (or agave nectar)

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 bar ( 3.5 oz) dark chocolate, chopped (I used Green & Black 70% dark chocolate)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Pour rolled oats into blender and blend until they become a fine flour texture.

Combine all ingredients except the dark chocolate in a large mixing bowl and blend well.

Add chopped dark chocolate and stir into batter with spoon. Do not use an electric blender.

Grease baking sheet. Scoop dough and place on baking sheet. Each scoop should be about 1 inch in diameter. The cookies will grow in all directions in the oven so don’t place the balls too close together.

Grease back of fork and use to flatten cookies.

Bake for about 30 minutes or until edges become golden brown.

Let cool for about 2 minutes and use spatula to move cookies to a cooling rack. Let cookies sit until they are cooled completely.

Enjoy!