One Frugal Foodie

At last, the temperatures have risen just enough for me to enjoy a cool and creamy smoothie for my healthy mid-morning treat.  One of my favorite indulgences, yet oh so nutritious, most of my smoothies are made with not an ounce of added sugars.  Rather, ripe fruit takes center stage for a naturally sweet treat.

Unfortunately, my fruit stocks were a bit low, with berry and stone fruit season not yet in full swing (and frozen blueberries at astronomical prices) … but buried deep in my freezer I discovered a baggie filled with melon balls.  A month or two ago I had a rapidly aging cantaloupe on my hands.  Instead of tossing it to the fruit flies, I scooped out the flesh and froze it in the hopes that one day it might serve some purpose.  Well, today was that day. 

Basic Bananaloupe Smoothie

• 1/2 to 1 cup unsweetened almond or rice milk
• 1 ripe banana, small to medium in size
• 1 cup ripe cantaloupe chunks, frozen
• 1/2 cup ice (optional)

Combine 1/2 cup of milk alternative, the banana, and cantaloup chunks into your blender and blend until smooth.  If too thick, add milk alternative to your desired consistency.  Blend in the ice if you desire a frostier consistency.

Makes 1 big serving or 2 modest ones

Optional add-ins:

• If you don’t mind the color, toss in 1/2 to 1 cup of fresh spinach leaves.  Spinach doesn’t touch the wonderful smoothie flavor, yet adds a good dose of nutrition.
• Ground flaxseeds, a tablespoon or two, for some of those great Omega-3’s and a little protein.
• Ground coconut, a tablespoon or two, for flavor and if you are a coconut for health fanatic like myself. (Adds a bit of fat too if you are concerned about the little ones not getting enough)

This recipe is vegan, dairy-free, egg-free, nut-free (if using rice milk instead of almond milk), gluten-free (keep an eye on your milk alternative brand), soy-free (watch for soy lecithin in your milk alternative).

Honestly, I am not a chocolate cookie fan, so I have no idea how I became obsessed with trying to create this cookie.  I think perhaps it was the initial draw of a chocolate covered cherry cookie.  I do love chocolate covered cherries … yet, as it turns out, this flavor combination in a cookie just didn’t work for my taste buds.  So, then the recipe twisted itself around heading toward an impersonation of my favorite coconut brownies … but vegan.

 Well, these Cocoa-Nut Cookies as I like to call them still aren’t hitting the mark.  They came out a bit too crunchy.  I tried lowering the temp, but then they are too flat.  If you would like to take whirl at these, I welcome your enthusiasm and suggestions!

Chewy Cocoa-nut Cookies
1 cup all-purpose flour
¼ cup unsweetened cocoa
¼ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
1 cup white sugar
¼ cup neutral oil (coconut in liquid form, grapeseed, extra-light olive, vegetable, etc.)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ cup regular (full fat) coconut milk
(I added 1 T of ground flaxseed to the coconut milk, but I don’t think this was necessary)
¼ cup unsweetened coconut, ground in a spice grinder
½ cup semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375°.

In a medium sized bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.  In a separate mixing bowl, blend together the sugar, oil, vanilla, and coconut milk.  Beat in roughly 2/3 of the flour mixture.  Fold in the coconut and chocolate chips, and add the remaining flour mixture.  The dough will become relatively firm.

Roll into small balls, approximately 1” in diameter.  Place the cookie dough balls about 2 inches apart onto baking sheets, allowing some room to spread.  Bake for 10 minutes. Allow them to cool completely on wire racks.

Yield 30 cookies