Vegan Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients:
1/2 cup Earth Balance Vegan butter, melted
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
6 Tablespoons pumpkin puree
1 and 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 and 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 and 1/2 pumpkin pie spice
1/2 cup Enjoy Life mini chocolate chips








Directions:


In a medium bowl, whisk the melted butter, brown sugar, and white sugar together until no brown sugar lumps remain. Whisk in the vanilla and pumpkin until smooth. Set aside.


In a large bowl, toss together the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix together with a large spoon or rubber spatula. The dough will be very soft. Fold in 1/2 cup chocolate chips. Cover the dough and chill for 30 minutes, or up to 3 days. Chilling is mandatory.


Take the dough out of the refrigerator. Preheat the oven to 350F degrees. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.


Roll the dough into balls, about 2 Tablespoons of dough each. Slightly flatten the dough balls because the cookies will only slightly spread in the oven. Bake the cookies for 8-10 minutes. The cookies will look very soft and underbaked. Keeping them in the oven for longer may dry them out. Remove from the oven and press a few more chocolate chips onto the tops, if desired. If you find that your cookies didn't spread much at all, flatten them out when you take them out of the oven.


Allow the cookies to cool for at least 10 minutes on the cookie sheets before transferring to a wire rack. The longer the cookies cool, the chewier they will be. I let them sit out for at least 1 hour before enjoying.












*Recipe adapted from Sallys Baking Addiction.

Raw "Green Monster" Juices

Okay, while looking around for some healthy foods and their benefits, I keep seeing articles for Green Juices or Smoothies.  They sound and look very odd, but apparently have a ton of health benefits.  So what exactly is a Green Monster Juice, and why is it good for you? 

Basically, you take a bunch of fruit and vegetables and blend them into juice form.  The key is using greens like kale, spinach, lettuce, chard, green apple, parsley, celery, lemon, ginger and cucumber, along with other fruits and veggies.   Most people don't get enough fruits and veggies in their diets, especially greens, which are packed with vitamins and nutrients. 

So, why juice? Since your body doesn't have to break down the fruits and vegetables in order to absorb the nutrition, it allows the body to focus on repair, healing, detoxification, and renewal. And as long as you use organic produce, the nutrition you introduce to your body via green juice has very few, if any, of the chemicals and toxins.  It's proven to improve your skin, energy and overall health. 

Taken from an organic health site: "Green juice helps your body return itself to a state of healthy alkalinity. Many foods in the typical diet (like a grande caramel macchiato with an extra shot, a double bacon cheeseburger, and pasta with cheese sauce) are acidic (the opposite of alkaline) foods, meaning that means that the body has to work hard to neutralize the affects of these foods on your blood. If the body is working like mad to keep your blood pH stable, it has less energy to fight assaults like cancer, chronic disease, and other infections.An alkaline body is more immune to disease."

I have a juice everyday for breakfast, and have noticed myself feeling better.  I even crave this drinks, rather than junk food!  I'm happy to say, I'm eating a lot healthier.  Here are a few recipes that I've tried personally.

Tips:
When using water, I pour a little in at a time.  I like my drinks looser and more juice like, so I tend to use about a cup of water per serving.  If you like them more thick and smoothie like, use less water and fruits like bananas for a thickener

If using a blender (recommended) blend ingredients one at a time to prevent jamming.

Blend all ingredients until smooth.  If using a regular blender, make sure to blend for at least 5 minutes to be sure everything is chopped.  Even if it looks smooth, you could get large pieces of spinach in your drink. 

Recipes: (Yields 1-2 servings each recipe)

Creamy Lime Smoothie

1 lime, peeled
1 banana
1 pear
1 tsp agave nectar (or honey)
2 cups fresh baby spinach (or other leafy green)
1/2 – 1 cup water


Green Blueberry Juice
1 banana
4 ice cubes
1/2 cup blueberries
1/4 cup water
1 cup spinach      

Raw Juice 1
1 cup water
1 cup spinach
1 cup red grapes
1 cup blackberries.

Raw Juice 2
1 cup spinach
Juice of 1 lime
1 cup strawberries
1 cup blueberries
2 cups water

Raw Juice 3 (This one is pink!)
4 large strawberries (or 7 small frozen)
1 chunk pineapple
1 bunch of red grapes
Water

Raw Juice 4
1 cup Spinach
1 cup blueberries
1 cup blackberries
1 cup water

Raw Juice 5 (Wicked Green, see photo below!)
1 apple, cored and finely chopped (I used granny smith)
1 3 inch piece of cucumber, finely chopped
1 cup packed spinach
3/4 cup brewed green tea, cooled
1/4 cup mint leaves
2 tablespoons honey

Raw Juice 6
1 cup spinach
1 bunch of red grapes
8 strawberries (I used frozen)
10 blackberries
water

Raw Juice 7
1 cup Spinach & Arugula mix
1 cup raspberries
10 dark cherries