Baking

Oh peanut butter cookies. You're awesome. I love peanut butter, a lot. In fact these days it's one of my few vices. I know that it has protein and it is vegan and gluten-free and all, but there's something about peanut butter...anything that addictive can't be good for you!  I generally follow a very healthy diet that doesn't involve a lot of bad-for-you foods. I know full well that peanut butter has it's fair share of ups and downs (like contributing to the growth of candida for example which causes mental fogginess, digestive issues and a host of other considerable health problems), and is totally debatable as a 'healthy" food but in my mind if the worst thing you're eating is organic unsweetened roasted peanut butter than you're probably doing alright! Though I generally limit my peanut butter intake to once or twice a week at the most, I have been hooked on it since my childhood. In University I would come home late from night classes and ea...

Ah, zucchini. How do I love the, let me count the ways. Delicious, easy to digest, versatile, colorful and nutritious -- what's not to love?! And there are so many ways to love you. From slices for dipping to raw noodles to this creamy sauce or dip -- zucchini is one vegetable I always have in my fridge. I have loved zucchini since I was a child. I think my first experience which showed me how versatile an ingredient it is came when my friend Francesca had me over for dinner one night. Her father Fred was from Spain and was a wonderful cook. He would make seemingly simple dishes unforgettable. That night Fred made fettuccine pasta with a homemade zucchini cream sauce studded with fried zucchini slices. Zucchini gave the sauce a beautiful pale green color, a lightness and a unique almost bitter yet delicious flavor which I would try to replicate for years to come. In highschool, I always made my own version of Fred's pasta sauce for my little dinners with friends and for parties...

Did you know that you can make a light and delicious muffins without any flour, sugar or butter? Me either, but you totally can! These muffins are the proof! Amazingly tasty, springy and light in texture with just the right amount of softness and crumbliness -- these Elvis-inspired muffins are real winners. Best of all, they morph in flavor depending on how hot they are. Fresh from the oven they taste strongly of banana and peanut butter (um, yum!). But a few hours out of the oven and they taste more like a delicious chocolate chip muffin! Can we agree, win-win? Considering that these muffins involve natural peanut butter and chocolate, they are actually fairly light and pretty darn healthy! Each one has about 1/4 of an egg, 1 tsp of organic peanut butter, 1/3 of a frozen banana and maybe 10 mini vegan chocolate chips. Not too shabby! These would make a deceptively healthy protein and fiber-packed breakfast-to-go, a post-workout snack, or a nice afternoon pick-me-up. I like them whenev...