PROTEIN BITES

ALMOND COCONUT PROTEIN BITES

1/2 cup almond butter
1/2 c honey
2 T coconut oil
1 tsp vanilla or almond extract
1 cup oat flour
1/3 c cocoa powder
1 serving protein powder
1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
1/2 tsp salt

Mix ingredients together.  Scoop onto cookie sheets and chill.  Store in fridge or freezer.

CHOCOLATE PEANUT BUTTER PROTEIN BITES

1 scoop chocolate protein powder
1 T honey
1 T peanut butter
1/2 T unsweetened coconut flakes
add water as needed, will vary depending on protein powder used

Combine all ingredients in a small bowl.  Use a fork to smoosh it together. Add just a little bit of water at a time until mixture is moist enough to form a ball.  Divide 1 serving into 3 balls and roll in coconut flakes.

MAPLE ALMOND BUTTER CHOCOLATE CHUNK COOKIES

Maple Almond Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookies

http://sallysbakingaddiction.com/2016/01/22/maple-almond-butter-chocolate-chunk-cookies/

yield: 12 COOKIES

prep time: 10 MINUTES

cook time: 10 MINUTES

total time: 30 MINUTES, PLUS COOLING

PRINT RECIPE

These are very, very good.  Any chocolate chips would be good.  Was super easy if the almond butter is already made.   Liked that it only made one cookie sheet (less for me to eat :-))  Used brown sugar.  Want to go to Trader Joe's to get some coconut sugar.  Could easily get away with using less chocolate chips if wanted.  I did do the sea salt (just a little sprinkle) was good, but would be good without it too.  Will definitely make these again.

UPDATE: Tried these with different chocolate chips.  Didn't like it like I thought I would.  From now on will stick to what is listed in recipe.  One my last batch I didn't have quite enough almond butter so I used some of the powder peanut butter.  They were still really good.  WinCo has coconut sugar in bulk.

Chewy, soft, completely irresistible 5 ingredient healthier chocolate chip cookies made with maple almond butter, dark chocolate, and not much else!

Ingredients:

• 1 large Eggland's Best egg
• 1 cup (250g) maple almond butter, at room temperature or cold (not warm)1
• 1/3 cup coconut sugar (or light/dark brown sugar or even maple sugar)2
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 cup (140g) chopped dark chocolate or chocolate chips
• sea salt for sprinkling

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C) and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk the egg until beaten. Mix in the almond butter, coconut sugar, and baking soda. Mix everything together very well. Depending how thick and/or cold your almond butter is, you'll have to use some arm muscles. Fold in the chocolate chunks until combined-- save a couple for step 3.
3. Scoop the dough, about 1.5 Tablespoons each, onto the prepared baking sheet. Gently press down on the dough mounds with the back of a spoon. If you find the cookie dough balls are a little oily from your almond butter-- mine usually are-- blot each with a paper towel. Press a couple chunks onto the tops of each cookie dough mound (this is just for looks and those pools of melted chocolate on top!).
4. Bake for 10 minutes. The cookies will look very soft-- that's ok! For crispier cookies, bake up to 12 minutes. Sprinkle each cookie with sea salt immediately after coming out of the oven. Allow the cookies to cool for 10 minutes on the baking sheet before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Cover leftover cookies tightly and store at room temperature for up to 7 days.
5. Make ahead tip: Cookies freeze well up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator.

Additional Notes:

1. I encourage you to use my homemade maple almond butter. If not, you can use commercial almond butter (Justin's brand makes a tasty maple almond butter!). However, the type of almond butter you use will alter the cookies texture slightly. Be sure to stir in any excess oil on top of the natural brands, and get it completely mixed in. Otherwise, your cookies will spread too much. An equal amount of peanut butter or other nut butter can be used instead of almond butter.
2. Instead of coconut sugar, you can use light brown sugar, dark brown sugar, or maple sugar. Do not use a liquid sweetener like maple syrup, honey, or agave.

SALTED MAPLE ROASTED ALMOND BUTTER

http://sallysbakingaddiction.com/2016/01/20/salted-maple-roasted-almond-butter/#more-37485

SALTED MAPLE ROASTED ALMOND BUTTER
The flavor was really good and I loved how it smelled when cooking the almonds.  It turned out pretty dry maybe I needed to add more oil?  I did add at least 3-4 T more oil than recipe called for.  Make sure and do in small batches when blending in vitamix.  I used some of this in homemade pop tarts..was really good.

Infused with maple flavor, roasted to perfection, creamy, sweet, and salty. It doesn't get any better than this salted maple roasted almond butter.

Ingredients:

• 3 cups Diamond of California whole almonds (raw and unsalted)
• 1/3 cup pure maple syrup (not breakfast syrup, the real deal!)
• 1 Tablespoon + 2 teaspoons melted coconut oil1
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• sea salt, to taste

SPECIAL EQUIPMENT

• Quality food processor (I own and love this one, this one, and here's my Vitamix you can use too)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 300°F (149°C). Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl, stir the almonds, maple syrup, and 1 Tablespoon of oil together until every almond is coated well. Spread on top of prepared baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes, tossing once at the 8 minute mark.
3. Allow the almonds to cool for about 20 minutes.
4. Pour almonds into your food processor and pulse/process until the nuts go from whole to coarsely chopped to crumbly to finely ground. If they aren't coming together easily, add 2 teaspoons of oil. (I usually do.) Process again until the almonds resemble a thick and relatively smooth almond butter.
5. Pour/scoop into a bowl and stir in the vanilla extract, then sprinkle with sea salt. Add more sea salt to taste. Store in the refrigerator for up to 3 weeks. But it won't last that long!

Additional Notes:

1. I recommend melted coconut oil, but you can use canola or vegetable oil instead.

LENTIL SOUP

GERMAN LENTIL SOUP

We all liked this. It was posted on the Allred Biggest Loser Blog by Melody. This is what she said about it:

I made this soup for my family, my parents, and my sister's family. Everybody gobbled it up and wanted more, even the kids. We realized that it is actually quite healthy! It's got lots of fiber and nutrients, as well as being relatively low-calorie. Yes, it has bacon in it, but is also makes about 8 servings, so you are only getting a half a slice of bacon, which isn't bad at all. Enjoy!

4 bacon slices, diced
1 onion, diced
3 carrots, sliced
3 or 4 celery stalks, sliced
1 ham steak, cut up
1 16 oz package brown lentils
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp thyme
2 bay leaves
8 cups hot water
2 tsp salt

---2 T lemon juice (the lemon juice makes it!)

In 5 quart pon over medium-high heat, fry bacon until lightly browned (next time I would cook it until almost crisp). Add onions, celery, and carrots and cook until onions are tender, about 5 minutes. Add ham, lentils, pepper, thyme, bay leaves, hot water, and salt. Cover and simmer over low heat 1 hour or until lentils are tender. Discard bay leaves.

Stir in lemon juice.

INSTANT POT LENTILS
https://www.pressurecookrecipes.com/instant-pot-lentils
I really liked this recipe.  Tasted like minestroni soup.  Really good with croutons or crackers.
I soaked and rinsed my lentils.  I also cooked them for about 2 minutes in the instant pot and then rinsed again.  I felt this helped a lot with the gassiness.

2 cups lentils
4 cups vegetable stock
2 bay leaves
2 carrots, roughly diced
2 ribs celery, roughly diced
2 T unsalted butter or olive oil (I didn't use this - just used vegetable stock)
1 # smoked kielbasa sausage (didn't add)
1 onion, roughly diced
1 shallot, roughly diced
6 cloves garlic, roughly diced
14 oz crushed tomatoes
1 tsp cumin seed, ground
1 T regular soy sauce
1 T fish sauce (can substitute with regular soy sauce)

Garnish: (didn't do this)
dash of balsamic vinegar
freshly grated parmesan cheese

Brown sausage in saute more function to heat up Instant Pot.  Wait until HOT appears on the screen (8 min)

Add to 2 T butter or oil or broth - add in sausage and saute 5 min

Add in diced onion, shallots and saute for 3 minutes.  Add in minced garlic, 1 tsp ground cumin and 2 bay leaves then saute another minute.

Pour in 1/2 cup unsalted stock, then deglaze by scrubbing all the flavorful brown bits off the bottom of the pot.  Give it a quick mix.

Add in 2 cups green lentils, diced carrots,, diced celery, 1 T soy sauce 1 T fish sauce.  Pour in 3 1/2 cups stock then give it a quick mix.  Layer 14 oz crushed tomatoes on top of the other ingredients in Instant Pot - do not mix!

Make sure venting position is on sealing.  Pressure cook 10 minutes - natural release 10 minutes.

If you want it thicker, change to saute more function.  Take a little out and put in a bowl to see if you like the balsamic vinegar before adding to the whole pot.

Curried Sweet Potato, Lentil and Chicken Soup

1	large or 2 medium dark-orange sweet potatoes, peeled, cut into 1/2-inch cubes (2 cups)
1/4	cup chopped onion
1/2	cup apple juice
1/2	cup water
2	cans (19 oz each) Progresso® Vegetable Classics lentil soup
1 1/2	cups Green Giant® frozen cut green beans
1	cup finely chopped cooked chicken
2	to 3 teaspoons curry powder

1.

In 3-quart saucepan heat sweet potatoes, onion, apple juice and water to boiling over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low. Cover; cook 5 minutes.

2.

Stir in soup, beans, chicken and curry powder. Heat to boiling. Reduce heat to medium-low. Cover; simmer 10 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are tender. 1 Serving: Calories 220 (Calories from Fat 30); Total Fat 3 1/2g (Saturated Fat 1g, Trans Fat 0g); Cholesterol20mg; Sodium 670mg; Total Carbohydrate 34g (Dietary Fiber 6g, Sugars 6g); Protein 14g Percent Daily Value*: Vitamin A 150%; Vitamin C 6%; Calcium 6%; Iron 15% Exchanges: 2 Starch; 0 Other Carbohydrate; 1Vegetable; 1 Very Lean Meat Carbohydrate Choices: 2 *Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.

DRESSING/MARINADE

I got this off the Food Network. I am going to be using it this week for a passover meal.

1/4 c. balsamic vinegar

1/2 c. olive oil

1 tsp honey

2 garlic cloves or 1 if a big clove (just a reminder you can buy a single garlic at WinCo)

Smash the cloves with the back of knife. Add everything into a container and shake.

CHEF AJ's HAIL TO KALE SALAD DRESSING
This taste like a really good peanut sauce.  I liked it.

Put everything in vitamix:
1 cup raw almond butter (unsweetened, unsalted) can get bulk at WinCo
1 cup coconut or regular water (used regular)
1/4 cup fresh lime zest & juice (about 2) 
2 cloves garlic
fresh, peeled ginger (about 1" or 3/4 oz) - used paste
2 T low sodium Tamari
4 pitted dates (soaked in water if not soft) can get in bulk at WinCo
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes (didn't add)