Almond and coconut energy balls

These throw-together snacks are easy to make and store for a filling, quick bite on the go.

Take me to the recipe!

Let’s talk energy balls, shall we? Sometimes called “energy bites,” these sticky, two-bite goodies are naturally sweetened with dates and come together in a food processor in minutes. They require minimal ingredients, can be modified to suit your tastes, and are surprisingly filling for such a tiny treat. Best of all, when stored in the fridge, they last for weeks.

This is the thing I grab when I absentmindedly open the fridge, looking for something (in both food and existential senses).

A couple of notes:

• Make the balls small! The mixture is pretty caloric, so I make them no more than about 1 Tbsp each.

• Do toast the almonds and coconut. That little bit of browning really enhances the flavor and makes the balls less sweet.

• Test your dates before using. If they don’t squish almost effortlessly, they may be a bit too tough or dry. If that’s the case, cover them with boiling (or just really really hot) water and let sit for 5 minutes.

Almond and coconut energy balls

Time: 15 minutes
Yield: 16 balls

1/2 cup raw almonds
1/2 cup unsweetened shredded or flaked coconut
16 pitted dates, rehydrated if too tough or dry
2-3 Tbsp almond butter
1/8 tsp almond extract
Pinch of salt
Water, as needed

Preheat the oven or toaster oven to 350. Spread the almonds and coconut out onto a baking sheet and toast until the coconut is just beginning to brown on the edges and the mixture smells nutty, about 3 minutes. Keep a close eye on the mixture to ensure that it doesn’t burn.

Put the toasted almonds and coconut in a food processor along with the dates, almond butter, almond extract, and salt. Whizz in the processor until the mixture comes together in one large mass, about 4-5 minutes. If the mixture doesn’t come together, sprinkle in about 1/2 tsp of water and try again, repeating about every 30 seconds until you have a large mass.

Scoop about 1 Tbsp of the mixture into wet hands and roll into a ball.

Chill the balls in the refrigerator to help them set.

Tomatillo gazpacho

Make the most of summer produce with a tangy gazpacho that manages to be both light and surprisingly hearty.

Take me to the soup!

The calendar has turned to September, friends. Most years I’m desperate for the fall to come. I’d be happy if it was sweater weather and apple season all year round.

But this year I sort of wish I could freeze time (but also, skip over the next bit entirely). We still have a week before Kindergarten starts for M, which means, I’m not yet worrying about an email from the school saying that someone has Covid. And Z is at the perfect baby stage where he’s sleeping more, crying less (sort of), and has a personality, but isn't yet mobile.

I hate this instinct of mine to imagine that whatever is coming will be bad. Or that if I imagine all the possible bads, that I can stop them from coming. What is that? Did I inherit some DNA from great great great great-grandmother Esther who escaped the pogroms?

Anyway, I’ve been dealing with all this dread by eating gobfulls of not-great food. I’m not even trying to food shame myself. I don’t think anyone would classify my current eating regimen as “balanced.” And I’m certainly not eating only things that taste absolutely delicious. I’m eating for the sole purpose of thinking about something other than my fears. It’s not great, Dan.

Consequently, I’m trying to come up with meals that are a little more veg-heavy while still being fun and tasty and most importantly, simple. Because, though I’m cooking and eating to stop myself from worrying, I’m also deeply committed to worrying and thus, don’t want to take too much time away from the task of imagining any and all worst-case-scenarios. You know, in case I CAN stop them from happening with my imagination.

So, this gazpacho. I used to hate gazpacho. As Lisa Simpson described, it’s tomato soup served ice cold. But when it’s good, it’s oh so much more than that. Our favorite farmstand had tons of beautiful tomatillos, so I bought some and threw them into the toaster oven (but you can obviously use a real oven too) and then threw them into the soup. The rest is really your standard Spanish gazpacho with none of the American faff that we often add. Think veggies at their peak, aromatics, salt, vinegar, and lots of olive oil.

I also realized that, while straining is a pain and you end up throwing out a lot of stuff that you could otherwise eat, it also makes the texture SO MUCH BETTER. So now I strain even though it’s a pain. But you certainly don’t have to. It saves time and this recipe yields a lot more soup when it includes the tougher stuff.

A couple of notes:

• Please don’t reduce the oil content in this soup. It gives the dish its body and staying power. Without it, you might as well open a can of V8.

• Tomatillos are a little sour and as such, give another dimension to the soup. But you can absolutely skip them and use all tomatoes.

• Start with 1/2 tsp of kosher salt. I’ve found that this soup can easily taste too salty if you go overboard.

Tomatillo Gazpacho

Yield: about 3.5 cups (depending on how juicy your veggies are) 
Time: 25 minutes, all active (less if you choose not to strain the soup)

¼ lb tomatillos, husks removed, rinsed of the sticky residue, and halved
1¾ lb heirloom, plum, or other red tomatoes
1 small cucumber, peeled and roughly chopped
1 small zucchini, roughly chopped
3 large scallions, green and white parts roughly chopped
2 Tbsp red wine vinegar
1/2-1 tsp fine sea salt
½ cup olive oil

Preheat the oven or toaster oven to 350. On a parchment or foil covered baking sheet, place the halved tomatillos face down. Bake for 5-7 minutes or until the tomatillos have softened a bit, but aren’t completely mushy.

While the tomatillos are cooking, roughly chop the rest of the vegetables.

Add the tomatillos, tomatoes, cucumber, zucchini, scallions, vinegar, and salt to your blender and blend on high for 2 minutes. 

While the blender runs, add the olive oil in a slow stream until it’s completely incorporated, about 2 more minutes. 

Strain the soup through a fine mesh sieve.

Test for seasoning and add more salt or vinegar if needed.

Chill for 2 hours or up to 1 week.

Homemade granola base

Granola may seem like something that’s easier to buy in a store, but let me set the record straight: Homemade granola is simple, fast, and so much better than most of the commercially made stuff. Also, it makes your house smell amazing.

Take me to the recipe!

Let’s talk about granola and kids. I love granola because it’s a fun topper for lots of different things: yogurt, apple sauce, purees, pancakes, fruit, ice cream, etc. I like to pretend that it’s nature’s sprinkles. But there may be a chunk of kids who think granola is too crunchy or who don’t like the mix of textures. For them, I would add some mini chocolate chips or chocolate covered sunflower seeds and call it “trail mix.”

But granola is a great way to add some whole grains and make a more balanced snack.

I include millet in my granola and also my granola cups because it’s super crunchy and adds fiber, calcium, and iron, which we always need more of in our diet.

This recipe is a base and you can feel free to customize with whatever fruits and nuts you like best.

Also, if making this for a nut-free school snack, skip the nuts and double the fruit, sub in seeds like sunflower or pepitas, OR toast the nuts separately and toss them into an individual portion at home.

A couple of notes:

• If you have trouble finding millet, check the bulk sections of Whole Foods or any health food store.

• When spreading the raw granola mix onto your sheet pan, make sure to leave some holes in the middle of the pan. If you spread it as one large mass, the middle will be undercooked while the edges start to burn. With some holes and thinner spots in the middle, you’ll get a more even bake and better chunks in your final product!

• Be mindful that when the outsides start to brown, the thicker parts may still be a bit undercooked, but that the whole thing will continue to cook and crisp while it cools. Once you see significant browning on the edges, take it out of the oven and let it cool completely. If there are any undercooked spots, feel free to re-toast them in the oven or a toaster oven for a few minutes before eating. But DON’T toast any fruit that you may add. Toasted dried fruit = hard as a rock!

Homemade granola base

Yield: about 3-4 cups of granola, depending on how many nuts and berries you add
Time: 25-28 minutes (5 minutes active time, 20-23 minutes baking time)

2 cups old fashioned rolled oats
½ cup millet
2 Tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
2 large pinches of kosher salt
½ cup nuts (your choice!)
2 egg whites, slightly whipped
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
¼ cup maple syrup
1/3 cup dried fruit of choice

Preheat the oven to 350. In a large bowl, mix together the oats, millet, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Add the untoasted nuts, if using.

In a large measuring cup, mix together the egg whites, olive oil, and vanilla. Pour over the dry ingredients and mix together thoroughly.

Spread out on the mixture on a large sheet pan, leaving gaps and holes in the middle.

Bake for 20-23 minutes, or until the edges of the pan and any edges next to gaps in the middle start browning.

Let cool completely.

Add the dried blueberries (or other dried fruit) and crunch up the baked granola so that you have some chunks and some smaller bits.

Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 weeks.

Almond and coconut baked doughnuts

A healthier baked doughnut that features whole grains, lower sugar, and my favorite flavor combination: Almond and coconut. YES, PLEASE.

Take me to the recipe!

I have bad news and good news: I was diagnosed last week with gestational diabetes. Luckily, I’m in my third trimester and don’t have much longer to go, so what’s a few weeks of monitoring my blood sugar and trying to eat really healthy foods?

I did eat half of one of these doughnuts and it didn’t send my blood sugar soaring (thanks whole grains, coconut sugar, and healthy fats!), so that was another piece of good news. Obviously, if you have diabetes of any kind, you know what works best for your body or are working with your doctor to figure that out, so not everyone will be able to say the same. But I was glad to know that at lease some treats aren’t off the table.

What has made this so hard isn’t the dietary restrictions or even the blood sugar monitoring.

What’s hardest is the added layer of scrutiny over my body when pregnancy already casts a harsh, glaring spotlight. Every routine thing you eat, drink, use on your skin, or take for a headache feels so consequential. And anyone who’s had disordered eating in the past can tell you that it takes a lot of work to STOP feeling like these minor choices are so meaningful.

Ugh. It just feel like I’ve lost myself a little more with this diagnosis. I resigned myself 8 months ago to making all of the changes you have to make when pregnant for the greater, temporary good and I wish it didn’t feel like ever day meant cutting out one more thing that brings me joy.

And now i’ll stop complaining. There are real problems in the world.

But! Lack of a delicious, healthier doughnut option doesn’t have to be one of them!

A couple of notes:

• We’re aiming for a batter that is thicker than pancake batter, but thinner than cookie dough. Depending on how much liquid you get from your banana and egg, you may want to add more flour. Start with an extra Tbsp and keep adding until you’re happy with the density.

• These doughnuts are okay without the topping, but the extra sugar, almonds, and  coconut really take them to a new place. I really don’t recommend skipping them.  

• The brown sugar and coconut oil topping makes a pretty dense mixture and a lot of the topping will fall off. BUT, it’s delicious. If you’d like something a bit smoother and more glaze-like, you can swap in 6 Tbsp powdered sugar, enough water to make a thin glaze (start with ½ tsp and add slowly), and a few drops of almond extract.

Almond coconut doughnuts

Yield: 10-12 doughnuts
Time: about 35 minutes, mostly active

 ½ large, very ripe banana, thoroughly smooshed
½ cup milk (any type will do!)
3 Tbsp full-fat yogurt (Greek or otherwise)
1 large egg
¾ cup coconut sugar
½ tsp almond extract
3 Tbsp coconut oil, melted
1¼ + 1/4 (if needed) cups Whole Wheat pastry flour (regular whole wheat flour or white whole wheat flour work too, but the texture is slightly denser)
1¼ tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
½ cup shredded unsweetened coconut 
½ tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp cardamom

Topping:
3 Tbsp coconut oil
3 Tbsp brown sugar
½ cup toasted coconut slivers
½ cup toasted almond slivers
½ tsp cinnamon

Preheat oven to 375.

Grease your doughnuts pans with coconut or other neural oil and set aside

In a large bowl, smush the banana as much as possible. Add the rest of the wet ingredients except the coconut oil and whisk together.

Add 1¼ cups flour, baking powder, salt, shredded coconut, cinnamon, and cardamom. Mix well.

Add the coconut oil and mix well. If the mixture is too runny (if it looks like pancake batter), add the remaining ¼ cup of flour 1 Tbsp at a time and mix again.

Fill each doughnut tin about 2/3 full. 

Cook both pans (if using 2 doughnut pans) in the same oven for 10-12 minutes, or until the doughnuts just spring back when poked lightly with a finger. Rotate and pans after 5 minutes to ensure even baking.

Let cool.

In a separate small bowl, combine the coconut oil (that should still be rather liquid) with the brown sugar and cinnamon and mix. If the mixture seems too liquid and not spreadable, chill it in the refrigerator until slightly more set.

On a baking sheet, combine the coconut flakes and the sliced almonds and let brown in the cooling oven, abut 6 minutes or until you begin to smell the nuts.

Spread a small amount of the sugar and coconut oil mixture on each doughnut and sprinkle the toasted nuts and coconut over the top, pressing lightly to get them to stick.

Cherry rye muffins

Cherry rye muffins are just healthy enough to feel virtuous without sacrificing flavor or texture. I promise these are worth heating up your kitchen for!

Take me to the muffins, please!

It’s been a minute since I posted something to the blog here and I have no excuse except that… I hate July. Don’t get me wrong, there is A LOT to love about summer. Produce, herbs, ice cream, pick-your-own blueberries, swimming, beach days, later nights, more sunlight, BBQs, a slower pace, vacations, etc. But the bugs and sweat and general malaise that overtakes me when that weighted blanket of humidity settles over the northeast, make it nearly impossible for me to stay productive.

However! I’ve soldiered on behind the scenes and heated my kitchen countless times to get these muffins exactly right.

The rye flour, to me, is just enough to taste the nutty flavor without changing the texture or inhibiting the rise on these muffins.

I also added just enough baking powder and soda to get a good amount of leavening without leaving a weird bitter aftertaste from too much rising agent. A note about rising agents: I’ve been adding the rising agent at the end and letting the batter bubble slightly after learning this technique from the America’s Test Kitchen Cookbook. Does it make a huge difference in these muffins? I’m not sure. But it certainly doesn’t hurt.

I’ve also combined fresh, sweet cherries for moisture and seasonality, but added some unsweetened and unsulfured dried cherries for a concentrated cherry flavor. I haven’t tried omitting either from the batter, but in the coming months, I’m sure frozen cherries could be subbed for the fresh.

How to check fruit desserts for doneness: This can be tricky! When there’s a lot of fruit in a batter, checking with a toothpick or cake tester can be misleading because if you stick it into a piece of fruit, the tester may come out looking wet. Instead, I like to push on the tops of the muffins a bit and feel how firm they are. If the top springs back and maintains its shape after gently squished and the body of the muffin feels lightly firm (like a medium rare steak; you don’t want a hocky puck with no give, but you also don’t want to feel at risk of sticking your finger through the muffin), they’re done.

Also, let the muffins cool completely. Like, really let them cool. I’m the queen of eating muffins too soon and I end up losing half of the crust when it sticks to the baking paper and the muffin can be crumbly when still warm. But if you must, don’t say I didn’t warn you.

Cherry rye muffins

Active time: 20-25 minutes
Total time: 1 hour, 40-45 minutes
Yield: 12 muffins

3 Tbsp butter, softened to room temperature for about 1 hour
¾ cup coconut sugar 
2 eggs
¾ cup full fat plain yogurt
1 tsp vanilla extract
1½ cups AP flour
½ cup rye flour
2 Tbsp flax seed meal
¼ tsp salt
1 cup whole cherries, roughly chopped
¼ cup dried, unsweetened cherries, minced
1½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda

Streusel topping
2 Tbsp butter, softened to room temperature for about hour
½ cup oats
1/8 tsp salt
¼ cup packed brown sugar

Preheat the oven to 400.

In a large bowl, mix together the softened butter (no need to use a hand mixer, just elbow grease and a wooden or silicone spatula) and the coconut sugar.

Add the eggs and mix until fully combined.

Add the yogurt and vanilla extract and mix again until fully combined.

Add the flours, flax seeds, and salt to the wet mixture and mix until no streaks of flour remain.

Add the fresh and dried cherries and mix in 10 times.

Finally, add the baking powder and baking soda and mix just until combined. Let sit while you make the streusel topping.

In a small bowl, mix together the butter, oats, salt, and brown sugar until well combined. I like to use my hands for this.

In a greased or baking cup-lined muffin tin, fill each opening to the top with batter. Top with about 1 heaping tsp of the streusel mixture (I usually eyeball this bit and try my best to make the topping equal).

Bake at 400 for 16-20 minutes or until the muffins are lightly firm to the touch and golden brown on top.