Healthy Samoas

Prep Time: 15 mins | Total Time: 30 mins | Makes: 11 cookies

It’s Girl Scout cookie season! If you haven’t seen the purple, green, and yellow boxes all around town, you better find them soon before they sell out. Local Hint: check out the base of Highlands…they even accept Venmo! But if you’re like me and want to enjoy the best Girl Scout cookie (obvi the Samoas) all year round, you have to make this recipe. I found this healthy, homemade Samoa recipe on the food blog Eating Bird Food. Only 4 ingredients AND in a side-by-side taste test, some preferred these to the packaged cookies…just saying :)

WHAT YOU’LL NEED:

• 1 cup pitted medjool dates, about 10 dates

• 1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut

• 1/3 cup dark chocolate (for a low sugar option, try Lily’s chocolate chips)

• 1/2 tsp coconut oil

HOW TO MAKE:

1. Preheat oven to 400°F.

2. Toast the coconut: Spread the shredded coconut onto a baking sheet. Place in oven for 3-5 minutes, until coconut is a light golden brown color. Make sure to keep an eye on the coconut, as it burns really easily. Alternately, you can toast the coconut in a pan on the stove top.

3. In a food processor, add dates and toasted coconut. Pulse until mixture is combined and starts to form a ball of dough.

4. Take 1 Tablespoon of dough, roll into a ball and then shape into a round cookie. Using a straw or chopstick punch a hole in the middle of the dough. Move the straw or chopstick around a bit to make the hole wider, if needed. At this point you’ll likely need to reshape the cookie a bit.

5. Place all cookies on a sheet lined with parchment and transfer to the freezer for 5 mins. to harden up a bit.

6. While cookies are in the freezer, add chocolate and coconut oil to a shallow microwave-safe bowl and melt in 20-30 second increments until the chocolate is melted enough to drizzle.

7. Grab cookies from the freezer and dip each one in the chocolate to coat the bottom. Place cookies on the parchment and use remaining chocolate to drizzle over top the cookies.

8. Transfer cookies back into the freezer for 10-15 minutes to let the chocolate harden. Once they’ve hardened you’ll be able to easily remove the cookies from the parchment paper.

9. For enjoying later, store in a sealed container in the fridge for up to one week.

Banana Drop Biscuits (Vegan)

Prep Time: 5 mins  |  Total Time: 20 mins  | Makes: 12 Biscuits

I stumbled upon this recipe by vegan and GF recipe blogger, Peanut Butter & Jilly, last winter and have made these delicious biscuits at least a dozen times since then. Usually, when my bananas start to get a little ripe and look uneatable, I make my go-to GF Banana bread. BUT ever since discovering these little gems, my banana bread making days are history and I’m pretty much addicted to biscuits now. Disclaimer: Only make this recipe if you plan to eat more than desired in one sitting. Enjoy!

What You Need:

• 3/4 cup unsweetened almond milk

• 1 overripe banana, mashed

• 1/2 cup butter, melted (can substitute vegan butter here)

• 1 tbsp maple syrup, the real stuff!

• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder

• 2 cups flour or gluten free flour *if using GF flour: best option is King Arthur, Measure for Measure GF flour. I have also used almond flour, but the biscuits come out a little more dense and flat.

Maple Butter:

• 2 tbsp butter, melted

• 2 tbsp maple syrup

How To Make:

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line baking sheet with parchment paper.

2. In a mixing bowl, mix together the almond milk, mashed banana, melted butter, maple syrup, and baking powder. Then, add the flour and mix just enough until a dough forms. If using gluten-free flour and the dough seems crumbly, add another 1 tablespoon of melted butter and 1 tablespoon of almond milk and work it into the dough. Don't over-mix or your biscuits will be dense.

3. Use a spoon to scoop the dough and drop onto the baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Space evenly and bake in the oven for 12-15 minutes until the biscuits are golden. Option to broil the biscuits at the end for about a minute to give them more color on top.

4. While the biscuits are baking, melt the maple syrup and butter together, either in microwave or on the stove top, to create the maple butter.

5. As soon as the biscuits come out of the oven, drizzle the maple butter over the warm biscuits and enjoy!

Fall Inspired Butternut Squash Soup

Fall weather tends to stir up a few mixed emotions. On one side, the cooler weather is a welcome change of season - winter is closer, ski season will begin, and you’ll soon have that excuse to stay in with a cozy fire and binge watch your favorite shows. On the flipside, the dark, foggy mornings and slight chill in the air sadly means we are officially saying goodbye to summer and those warm pool days, outdoor picnics, and sunny hikes. To help you ease into Fall, this is one of my favorite soup recipes from Love and Lemons. It’s easy, healthy, and doesn’t require a ton of ingredients.

WHAT YOU’LL NEED

• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)

• 1 large yellow onion, chopped

• ½ teaspoon sea salt

• 1 (3-pound) butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cubed

• 2-3 garlic cloves, chopped

• 1 tablespoon fresh sage, chopped

• ½ tablespoon fresh rosemary, minced

• 1 -2 teaspoon grated fresh ginger

• 3 to 4 cups vegetable broth

• Freshly ground black pepper

SOUP TOPPINGS

• Chopped parsley or cilantro or both

• Toasted pepitas or pine nuts

• Crusty bread / croutons

HOW TO MAKE

1. In a large pot, add oil and heat over medium heat. Add the chopped onion, salt, and several grinds of fresh pepper. Sauté until soft, 5 to 8 minutes.

2. Add the cubed squash and cook until it begins to soften, stirring occasionally, for 8 to 10 minutes.

3. Add the garlic, sage, rosemary, and ginger. Stir and cook 30 seconds to 1 minute, until fragrant, then add 3 cups of the broth. Bring to a boil, cover, and reduce heat to a simmer. Cook until the squash is tender, about 20 to 30 minutes.

4. Let cool slightly and pour the soup into a blender, working in batches if necessary, and blend until smooth. If your soup is too thick, add more broth a tablespoon at a time and blend. Season to taste and serve with toppings.

Time: 1 hour
Yields: 6 servings

Healthy Cake Batter Bites

This recipe is a new favorite of my middle school classes. I always get a kick out of watching their roller coasters of emotions when I tell them that 1. we’re making cake batter bites (extreme excitement!) 2. but they are healthy and made with nuts, oats and dates (frowns and skepticism) 3. try them, you will really like these (sheer bliss and they always want more!). As with all my recipes, these cake batter bites are really easy to make as a fun activity for the family or as an after school treat with friends.

What You’ll Need:

• 1/2 cup cashews (or almonds)

• 1/2 cup coconut flakes

• 1 cup oats

• 2 dates

• 3 tbsp cashew butter (or almond butter)

• 3 tbsp maple syrup - or a little more if you want them on the sweeter side. Use your best judgement :)

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• 1 tablespoon all-natural sprinkles (plus more to garnish)

• Healthy frosting (Here is my favorite healthy Cream Cheese Frosting recipe that’s super easy to make) or feel free to use whatever frosting you’d like.

How To Make:

1. Add cashews (or almonds), coconut, oats, and dates into a food processor. Process on high until crumbly.

2. Add in cashew butter (or almond butter), syrup and vanilla and blend again until a dough starts to come together. If that's not happening, add water little by little until a sticky dough forms. Pulse in the sprinkles.

3. Form the mixture into balls.

4. Transfer to a plate, and spread the frosting on top or drizzle (might need to heat up a little to drizzle). Top with sprinkles to finish. Enjoy immediately, or for an even better texture, cool in the fridge for 30 mins or freezer for 10 minutes.

Time: 15 minutes (not including the cooling time)
Yields: 15-20 bites (depending on size)