Olive Oil Brownies

If you like over-the-top chocolate flavor, there’s a good chance that you’ll like these brownies. They contain olive oil instead of butter, which makes them dairy free, and also more heart-healthy. And they’re also gluten-free because they use almond flour and brown rice flour. And they are MORE, not less, delicious because of all these things (at least if you ask me :). Nobody seems disappointed when I make these brownies.

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Olive Oil Brownies
Adapted from the Insanely Good Chocolate Brownies in The Longevity Kitchen by Rebecca Katz

Note: Misleading advertising, but this recipe as written makes an 8x8 inch pan of brownies. The 9x13 inch pan of brownies pictured above is made from a double batch of the recipe below.

1/3 cup super fine almond flour
1/3 cup brown rice flour
3 1/2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa pawder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon fine-grain sea salt

4 oz dark chocolate chips (I use 70%)
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil, plus more for greasing pan

2 large eggs
1/3 cup coconut sugar
1/3 cup maple syrup
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/2 - 2 oz dark chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line your baking pan with foil. If you’re making a single batch, use an 8x8 inch baking pan. If you’re making a double batch, use a 9x13 inch pan. Brush the foil with olive oil.

Combine the first 5 ingredients in a mixing bowl, whisk together and set aside.

Melt the chocolate chips in the microwave in a glass or ceramic bowl, stirring once or twice as you go. Once melted, gently whisk in the olive oil and set aside.

Break the eggs into a new mixing bowl and whisk until frothy. Add the coconut sugar, maple syrup and vanilla and whisk again. Add the melted chocolate / olive oil mixture and whisk until smooth and glossy. Add the flour mixture and whisk more time.

Pour the brownie batter into your prepared pan and bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Let the brownies cool before cutting. And enjoy!

Peanut Butter Energy Balls with Buckwheat, Chia Seeds & Dark Chocolate

Snacks have a high bar as far as I’m concerned. They need to offer some healthy fat, fiber and protein, and they need to be compact, easy to eat, low in sugar, and satiating. A successful snack keeps you powered for a few hours without heading for the cupboard where all the chips and popcorn are stored before dinner. Snacks are also where cravings often show up, which is why chocolate and peanut butter are used here.

This recipe is written for natural peanut butter, ie. peanut butter that contains only roasted peanuts and sea salt. Please don’t buy the other stuff - it’s full of refined sugar and hydrogenated oils. If you’re craving more sweetness, you can always add a bit more honey.

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Peanut Butter Energy Balls with Buckwheat & Dark Chocolate

7/8 cup toasted buckwheat groats
2 tablespoons chia seeds (whole)
1 cup natural salted peanut butter (I generally use creamy)
3 tablespoons raw honey
Pinch of fine grain sea salt
3 oz dark chocolate, chopped

Combine the buckwheat, chia seeds, peanut butter, honey and sea salt and stir well. Incorporate the chopped chocolate until it’s well distributed. To form each ball, press the mixture together with your hands to firm it up, then gently roll into a ball. Theoretically, these store in the fridge for quite some time, but they won’t last long at all.

Mustard Vinaigrette

I’m reposting a recipe that I originally posted almost 5 years ago to reflect how I make it now, which is much easier and more scalable. The original recipe called for thinly slicing and pasting 3 garlic cloves in a mortar and pestle, which certainly isn’t insurmountable, but it’s one of those semi-laborious steps that often stops us from making something despite our best intentions. In my current version, I make a double batch of the original recipe, throw everything into a high-speed blender and let the machine blend it into creamy oblivion.

The main benefit of having a tasty vinaigrette in your fridge is self-evident: you’ll likely eat more salads. And, like all recipes, when you make something at home, you get to control the quality of the ingredients. Even the healthy store-bought vinaigrettes use gums and stabilizers, as well as other oils besides olive oil.

The olive oil will solidify a bit in the fridge, so I usually spoon out the vinaigrette that I want into a small bowl and microwave it for 10 seconds.

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Mustard Vinaigrette
Adapted from the mustard vinaigrette recipe (pg 41) in Cook This Now by Melissa Clark

Special equipment:
High-speed blender

6 medium garlic cloves
Rounded tablespoon kosher (coarse) sea salt
1/4 cup Dijon mustard
1/2 cup raw apple cider vinegar
2 1/2 cups extra virgin olive oil

Put all ingredients into a high speed blender and blend it up! This stores well in a 32oz mason jar in the refrigerator.