The chickens have been doing their jobs lately, and we have an abundance of eggs at the house! Mom asked me to bake/cook/eat/use them so they don’t spoil, so a custard pie was in order. Being me, I decided to make it a healthy custard pie, of course! (To the disgust of certain friends… =P ) I wasn’t sure how the custard would set using no sugar, but decided to give it a go. The results? Wonderful. It’s not overly sweet or rich, but doesn’t taste like a “healthy dessert” in the least. It’s not low in fat or super low calorie, but it is made with 100% healthy fats, no sugar, and is gluten free.

I adapted a recipe from my grammajane for a coconut custard pie that you whip up in the blender. The original recipe uses Bisquick, which falls to the bottom and bakes into a crust. It’s waaay to easy.

BL&D Coconut Custard Pie
(Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner Coconut Custard Pie… Because I have eaten it for all three meals. =) ) 

• 1 tsp Stevia
• 1/2c. Xylitol
• 1.5 tsp Vanila
• 4 Eggs
• 1/4c. Extra Virgin Coconut Oil
• 1/2c. Oat Flour
• 1/2 tsp. Salt
• Scant 1/2 tsp Baking Powder
• Scant 2c. 2% Milk

Blend in the blender on high for 2-3 minutes, then pour into a greased 9″ pie pan. On top, sprinkle:

• 1 1/4c. Unsweetened, Shredded Coconut, Toasted

Bake at 350 degree for 40 minutes, or until a knife comes out clean.

Oatmeal Raisin Protein Cookies

In the blender or food processor puree:

• 1 14.5 oz can of Great Northern Beans, drained and rinsed
• 2 TB Raw Honey
• 1.5 TB Extra Virgin Coconut Oil
• 1 teaspoon (to taste) Stevia
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
• 1 teaspoon Cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp Ground Ginger
• Dash nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp Salt
• 1 teaspoon Molasses
• 1 Egg
• 1 TB Ground Flaxseed
• 1 TB Ground Chia Seed

• 1c. Oat Flour (grind oats in a coffee grinder, cleaned of course! =) )
• 1/4c. Peanut Flour

• 1/3c. Walnut Peices
• 1/2c. Raisins

Coming next: A healthy coconut custard pie!

It’s been so nice to have a day to catch up and relax. I nibbled on toast with honey and sliced a grapefruit for breakfast, then sat down to do some reading. After that, I conquered my algebra homework, organized some things that I had been putting off and puttered about like a little old lady for a while.

I needed some quick snacks to throw in my backpack for school, and decided to make some high-protein cookies. I was going to make some more Oatmeal Rasin but still have a few of them to eat, and decided on chocolate almond, rolled in coconut. They turned out great, even approved as tasty by the picky little brother.

Chocolate Almond Bites

• 1 14oz can Great Northern/White Beans
• 1 sm Egg
• 1/2c. Oats, ground
• 1/4c. Unsweetened Coconut, ground
• 1/4c. Whole Wheat Flour (sub oat flour for gluten free)
• 1/2 tsp Baking Powder
• 1/4 tsp Salt
• 1 TB Honey
• Stevia and Xylitol to taste
• 2.5 TB Cocoa
• 1/2 tsp Vanilla
• 1/2c. Chopped Almonds
• 3 TB Chocolate chunks (*See below)

• 1/2c. Finely shredded coconut

mixed with:

• 1 tsp Xylitol or 1/2 tsp Stevia

Blend egg, vanilla, honey and beans until smooth in a food processor or with a hand blender. Add dry ingredients and stir until combined. Add almonds and chocolate chunks. Shape into small balls, then roll in coconut mixture. Bake at 350 for about 8-10 minutes.

 *I like to make my own sugar free chocolate… It’s super easy and not bad for you! Here’s how…In a sauce pan on medium heat mix about 1 TB of extra virgin coconut oil with 1 tsp Stevia or sweetener of your choice. Add unsweetened cocoa powder by the heaping teaspoon full until it is the consistency of cookie dough. Place the mixture on a large sheet of parchment paper and fold or cover with another sheet. Roll it out thin with a rolling pin and pop it in the freezer for a few minutes until cooled. Easy as that! Chop it up into chunks or bars, depending on how you want to use it. 

After I came home from work today I needed something fresh and green for a late lunch. I love having warm soups and crusty bread in the winter, but often a crisp green salad sounds like the perfect remedy to a grey, sunless day. I’m supposed to be eating lots of basil via orders from the doc so pesto was first on my list. (Not to mention I can eat that stuff by the spoonful!) I sliced up a romaine heart, half a tomato, added 2 TB or so of feta cheese and a hard boiled egg to make a simple salad. The dressing was easy- Pesto mixed with lime juice and a tiny bit of olive oil. From under the snow I dug out some “fresh” (slightly frostbitten) thyme for a garnish and seasoned it with ground some fresh pepper and coarse salt.

The photos… It is a rather dreary, overcast day so I was a little worried about the light. It ended up just fine, I set up my white board and reflector, set my camera to 400 ISO, f/3.5, using 1/125s. and 1/90s. I used a napkin I bought at the thrift store to add a little color to complement the tomatoes, silverware from the house, and my beaded board to set the scene… I still have yet to find some nice, weathered wood for a backdrop… It would have been perfect for this salad!

All the photos are set up in a gallery below, it’s easier to post them this way. Let me know how you like it compared to individual photos. Click to enlarge.

Oh, previously mentioned Healthy Oatmeal Rasin cookies made with white beans are delish. Sadly, they are pretty ugly and therefore will not be posted until a second, more attractive, batch has been made. Or maybe I already ate all of them… Just kidding, they really are that ugly.

*as you can see from the last photo this salad is worth polishing off to the very last crumb of feta! =)

I used the cinnamon I had plated from the cinnamon-only shoot and added to the plate a few almonds and used a squeeze bottle with a thin spout to drizzle a little honey on the side.

Cut it down to 3 almonds here… There were overwhelming the other ingredients.

Straight on simple… A little boring…

I love the textures in this shot… The rough cutting board, crisp linen, creamy honey…

I played around with the focus point on these two… The first I used the lower left point, the second shot is taken with the center focus point engaged. I like the first one better.

This shot could be improved by swapping out the raw honey for some softened honey, which has a much smoother texture and would have photographed better.

I made up some new healthy recipes tonight in the kitchen… Oatmeal Rasin Walnut cookies made with pureed white beans… Peanut butter… crackers? Cookies? I’m not sure but they are tasty! If I have time some coming up here photos will be taken and some recipes posted =)