Almond Butter Heart-Shaped Cookies

 
 

This is an easy recipe and it is not too hard to shape into heart-shaped cookies.

Ingredients:

2 Cups Almond Butter (organic, if possible)

2/3 cup Xylitol or Swerve

2 Organic eggs

2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. sea salt

1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Stevia-sweetened chocolate chunks (Optional)

Set oven to 350°. Line two cookie sheets with unbleached parchment paper. Mix all ingredients with a hand-held beater until blended and smooth. The batter will be stiff. For round cookies, drop 2 teaspoon size balls, 2" apart on the cookie sheet. Flatten a little with your hand. Bake 10 - 11 minutes. Watch carefully during the last two minutes, as they can easily brown on the bottom.

For heart-shapes, roll 2 teaspoons between your hands to make a "log", bend the log in half, then pinch the bottom of the crease to form a pretty point at the bottom of your heart. Place on cookie sheet 2 " apart. Add a chunk of stevia sweetened chocolate to the middle, if desired. Bake for 10 -11 minutes, watching carefully to avoid browning. Let cookies cool on the cookie sheet for at 1 minute or more, or transfer after 1 minute to a cooling rack (slide the whole sheet of parchment paper).

Beet Humus

Kimberly Roberto (Co-author of Maximized Living's Nutrition Plan) found pink humus at Publix, so we had to try some for Valenspine's Day at the office! A quick check of the ingredients at the store revealed the typical unwanted oils so it was going to have to be homemade. With canned beans and beets, this goes together in a flash in a food processor and is so yummy! The beets are a Core Plan and not Advanced Plan as it is high on the glycemic-index. In this recipe the beets are only used for the color and there is such a small percentage that I feel very comfortable eating this dish though I am on the Advanced Plan.

Ingredients:

2 - 15 ounce cans Organic Great Northern Beans

2 - 4 pieces of cooked beets (organic if possible)

1/2 cup fresh-squeezed lemon

2 - 3 cloves fresh garlic

3/4 tsp sea salt

1 T Olive Oil

1/4 cup sesame tahini

dash of cayenne (Optional)

Put all ingredients in a food processor and process until smooth and pink. If it gets too stiff, you can add a little of the beet juice. Add more beet if it is not pink enough. Enjoy with Mary's Gone Crackers (Core Plan), homemade flax crackers, or raw veggies.