ChocoCoco Strawberry-Banana Brownie Bites

When Todd and I first decided to do an elimination diet to try to help alleviate his Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA), gluten was the first thing to go. We wanted so badly for gluten to be a sort of scapegoat for his flare-ups. At the suggestion of a co-worker, we had high hopes that eliminating it would really help. However, the lack of gluten didn't make a different from him at all. Regardless, I am eternally grateful for that trial period. That's what really got us to look into diet and how it can affect RA.  What followed the gluten trial was the elimination of meat and dairy, two of the biggest dietary triggers for RA. Google "Rheumatoid Arthritis and diet" and that's what you'll find. Avoid meat and dairy. So, that's what we did. And boy did it help. Then, I discovered nutritionfacts.org and I cannot tell you how instrumental that website was to our vegan journey and still is! I researched eggs, as essentially that was the only animal product we were consuming at that time. I had no idea how inflammatory they were and we eliminated them from our diet immediately. Being completely vegan relieved his worst RA symptoms incredibly. We were both so surprised at how substantially diet impacted him, with regards to the arthritis.

I became very interested in a vegan diet due to the benefits that myself and especially Todd experienced, that I began to research nutrition and food every free minute I had. That's when I really discovered the horrors that are inflicted upon animals, the environment, and surprisingly our own bodies with implementation of an omnivorous diet. I was shocked. 

*Reader Discretion Advised - Strong Language and The Truth* What scares me the most is how our food animal friends come to be on our plates. I can't even really admit that I turned a blind eye to it all, I just simply didn't have all the facts. I suspect that's how most people go through their dietary life and that's very upsetting. The meat and dairy industries work tirelessly to hide their transgressions. Plus, don't you know how hipster bacon is you guys!? I'm not sure about you, but I (along with the rest of the world) yearn for fried, decaying pig carcass strips on EVERYTHING.

At least try to make the connection. Or, read this story on how dead piglets are ground up into a "smoothie" and fed to their mothers. If you still want bacon armed with that little piece of knowledge gold...that's f*cked up. That's a blind eye. Hey, sometimes even I have to get all serious and bitchy up in here.

People! That's really happening. That's not vegan propaganda. Pigs are held in such monstrously, horrible conditions because of our insane demand for bacon and pork, that this is now what has to be implemented to keep other pigs from getting sick. If that completely disgusts you gastronomically (and hopefully ethically), sign the petition at the bottom of this post. Great, now I ruined my day. 

Anyways, I bet you're asking what in the hell my angry little story has to do with these brownie bites. Well, they are made with coconut flour. Which is gluten free. Yes, we're back to the very top of the post now. I can hear my dad now, "Get to the point, Katie." I tend to feel the need to explain everything. You see, the fact that gluten never bothered Todd, means that we have an abundance of different gluten free flours and coconut flour is just one of them. I absolutely refuse to waste them! So, I decided to set out on a coconut flour brownie adventure! 

I'm not even going to try and hide it, when I pulled these bad boys out of the oven and saw that they were all sunken...I was mighty sad. Then I thought...wait a minute...I just made strawberry jam a few days ago and these have bananas in them. Omg, I'm going to fill those sunken bits with jam! And the rest is brownie history. These super gooey brownie bites are made with coconut flour and no oil! Filled with your favorite jam, they delight! 

ChocoCoco Strawberry-Banana Brownie Bites 

Makes 11

Notes: These brownies are very gooey. That's just how coconut flour is, in my experience. 

• Flax Egg:
• 2 Tbsp. ground flax seed
• 1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp. water
• Dry:
• 1/4 cup coconut flour
• 2 Tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 Tbsp. corn starch
• 1 Tbsp. vegan sugar
• 1 tsp. ground nutmeg
• 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp. kosher salt
• Wet:
• 2 ripe medium bananas, sliced
• 1 cup cartoned plain coconut milk
• 1 Tbsp. agave nectar
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract 
• 3 Tbsp. vegan chocolate chips
• Topping:
• jam, of choice (I used homemade strawberry - recipe below)

In a small bowl, whisk together the ground flax and water. Allow to rest in fridge until ready to use. 

In a large bowl, whisk together all the dry ingredients. 

Preheat oven to 375 F. In a medium bowl, mash the sliced bananas very well with a fork. Add the remaining wet ingredients except the chocolate chips and stir until well combined. 

Add the wet ingredients and the flax egg to the dry mixture and stir until just combined. Stir in the chocolate chips. 

Coat a muffin pan with a nonstick cooking spray. Divide the batter evenly, until the cups are about 3/4 full. My batter resulted in 11 brownie bites. 

Bake for 60 minutes at 375 F. Allow to rest in pan for 10 minutes after baking, then remove from pan and transfer to a cooling rack to rest another 10 minutes. 

Pour jam into the top of the brownie bites before serving. 

Listening to: Ok Sweetheart – Traitor

German Word of The Day: Flour --> Mehl (pronounced: mell or meel) I didn't know that one!

Good Deed of The Day: I shouldn't have to convince you to head on over to Care2 and sign the petition to ask the USDA to stop feeding dead piglets to their mothers. It only takes 5 seconds and you'll see me there!LiRecipe Card

[yumprint-recipe id='106']See the post on the Strawberry Basil Jam/Sauce, here.

Simple Black Bean Zucchini Burgers

Sometimes dinner needs to be quick. And easy. Realllll easy, ya dig? Last night was one of those nights. The end of the work week can sometimes be quite tiring, especially knowing there's a busy weekend coming up. So relax, and make these simple burgers with just four ingredients. Zucchini, black beans, flax seed, and some seasonings. Blammy! That's it.

If for some weird reason you still aren't convinced, check out these burgers' sweet stats. A slim 130 calories with 5 grams of healthy black bean and flaxseed fat, 18 complex carbs, 8 grams of fiber (say what?!?), and 7 grams of preferred, plant-based protein. You're impressed. Me too. I normally don't do calorie configuring, but I just couldn't resist. I knew these would be way too awesome on the nutrient scale. Black beans and flax seed? Get outta here, there're some of the healthiest foods around!

That being said, it's very important to have an insane, I'm-gonna-turn-you-vegan, homemade veggie burger recipe in your back pocket. Do not underestimate the power of a mind-blowing homemade vegan burger. I have one of those recipes and it would completely knock your socks off, however, it is super labour intensive. I'm working on keep all the flavor and texture, but making it a bit more user friendly at this time. Then I'll share. 

But this burger? This guy is for when you want something quick, very healthy, and very tasty. Save the laborious, omni-converting burger for when you have the time...and patience. 

Simple Black Bean Zucchini Burgers

Makes 5 patties

Notes: These are soft burgers, they don't really have a "meaty" texture. If you don't have a food processor, the zucchini can be shred by hand. 

• 1 15 oz. can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 medium zucchini (about 2 cups), shredded
• 1/2 cup ground flax seed
• 1 tsp. steak seasoning
• 1/2 tsp. dried parsley 
• 1/4 tsp. liquid smoke (optional)

In a large bowl, add the black beans and mash them with the back of a rounded measuring cup.  

Shred the zucchini (I did this in a flash with my food processor) and add it to the beans. 

Add the remaining ingredients and mix with your hands, until very well combined. Allow to rest for 10 minutes. 

Coat a large frying pan with nonstick cooking spray and heat over low. Meanwhile, form the mixture into 5 patties.

Fry each patty a few minutes on one side, until browned. Flip and brown the other side. They can be fried in batches if they don't all fit at the same time.  

Serve hot and however you like. We did ketchup and whole grain mustard, but I bet a vegan BBQ sauce would be good as well!

[yumprint-recipe id='105']You best be listening to this song. Dad, if you read this post (I'm still not entirely sure if he reads the blog or not), you'll probably enjoy this song.

[soundcloud url="https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/67807103" params="color=59ab7a&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_artwork=true" width="100%" height="166" iframe="true" /]

German Word of The Day: Beans --> Bohnen (pronounced: bone-in)

Good Deed of The Day: This one absolutely broke my heart. Fun fact: Deer is my favorite animal! Sign this petition by former Cornell students to stop the trapping of deer who are then shot in the brain with metal rods. I get that deer are overpopulated and yadda yadda. I get it. But hummm, I wonder who caused that?? Maybe people need population control. Hey, I'm not sayin'...but...you know. Really though? Is this the best way to handle it?

Kalamata Pasta with Chickpeas and Kale

While I was at the store the other day I discovered this ridiculously thick spaghetti. Naturally, I had to try it. On the back of the package it explained that because of it's substantial girth (snicker), it would hold up well in casseroles and heavily sauced dishes. I decided my Kalamata Pasta with Chickpeas and Kale would be the perfect dish to experiment with. 

I liked the thick pasta, though it was kind of a pain to boil. Normally I just shove the pasta down into the pot as the bottoms get soft. No can do with this pasta. Todd didn't like these little buggers because he said they were too "unwieldy, unpredictable, they do what they want and they make a mess." I obviously won't be getting this pasta again! But, it was fun to try out. If you see the thick pasta in your grocery store, be adventurous and try it! 

In this Mediterranean inspired pasta dish, thick spaghetti is laden with salty Kalamata olives, protein-packed chickpeas, fresh tomatoes, and tender kale.

You're going to love it. 

Kalamata Pasta with Chickpeas and Kale

Serves 6

• Pasta:
• 1 lb. thick spaghetti pasta, dry
• Aromatics:
• 1 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1 medium yellow onion, diced
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 tsp. dried oregano
• 1/2 tsp. dried marjoram
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
• Middle:
• 4 medium vine-ripened tomatoes, chopped
• 1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped
• 1 Tbsp. vegan sugar
• End:
• 1/2 cup Kalamata olives, de-pitted and halved
• 1 15 oz. can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 2 15 oz. cans of diced tomatoes
• 1 small bunch of kale, de-stemmed and chopped

In a large soup pot, heat the olive oil over medium-low. Add the remaining aromatic ingredients and saute until the onions begin to brown slightly, about 8 minutes.

Add the middle ingredients and simmer for about 8 minutes. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to boil for the pasta. 

Now, add the olives and chickpeas. Saute for an additional 3 minutes. 

Add the pasta to the boiling water and cook according to package. Then, incorporate the canned tomatoes and the kale into the sauce. Stir well and simmer covered while the pasta is cooking.

When the pasta is done, drain and add to the sauce. Remove from heat and allow to rest a few minutes before serving. 

Serve hot. 

Amen to this song, ladies: Ok Sweetheart – Can't Stop This

German Word of The Day: Kale --> Grünkohl (pronounced: groona-coal) Not sure how I haven't done that one yet!

Good Deed of The Day: Sign this petition to help stop climate change from endangering the Pygmy Rabbit. Author is the Environmental Defense Fund. Damn you, climate change! Look how cute!

[yumprint-recipe id='104']