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Healthy cookie dough bites

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If I ask you what the best part about baking cookies is, what are you gonna tell me? I think most people are going to say that their favourite thing is to snack on the dough. Because, let’s be honest, isn’t the dough even better Tham the baked cookie? I, at least think so. But it also is even unhealthier. So, we are taking the classic and making it healthier.

Why is cookie dough unhealthy?

Let’s ask it the other way around? What is healthy about cookie dough. When answering this we are done pretty quickly. Pretty much nothing. Butter is loaded with fats, sugar is sugar and not good for our bodies, raw eggs are harmful and so is unbaked flour. Plus, white flour is not very healthy anyway.

How can I make it healthier?

It already starts with swapping out little ingredients if you want to keep it basic. Instead of white flour use wholegrain. And if you plan on eating the dough raw, toast the flour in the oven before adding it to the dough. Leave out the egg or replace it with apple sauce. Instead of butter you could use a nut butter or margarine. Both, have a lot of fat too, but it is unsaturated fat, which is far better for your body. And last, instead of white sugar use a more natural sweetener. This can be maple syrup, honey, coconut sugar. Yes, they all have a decent amount of sugar too but it comes along other nutrients.

What is in THIS dough?

Not many ingredients. As a base we are using a mix of almond butter, margarine and liquid sweetener. Something like maple syrup works really well here. But also a non-liquid sweetener works such as coconut sugar. When this is blended up it tastes a little bit like caramel to be honest. And it is so incredibly good. Then we are adding in flour. I like to use coconut flour, oat flour (which is finely processed oats) or almond flour. Coconut and almond flour are a little dry so if you do not like their taste at all, I would recommend using another one. You can also use wholegrain flour. But then again, make sure you toast it in the oven at 180°C for about 5 minutes. Then it is safe to eat.

Add-ins

This is such a fun part. It adds a personal twist to the cookie dough. I absolutely love to go for chocolate chips or chopped up chocolate but you can also try something different. You could long for dried fruits such as cranberries or if you are more of a funfetti person, you can add in some sugar sprinkles (but be aware that those are not healthy). You can also add in some chopped nuts or seeds. Or swap the almond butter for peanut butter to make it more peanuty. Whatever you want.

When and how to eat it

There are so many ways to have this. You could either spoon it right out of the food processor, which is legit amazing. You can also roll it into small balls as pictured. Those work as a great snack or dessert whenever you are craving something sweet. You can also add it to your yoghurt, ice cream, nice cream or smoothie bowls. As I said, the options are endless.

This really is ready in 10 minutes maximum. The dough is bests stored in the fridge and enjoyed whenever you want. I hope that you will love this recipe and enjoy it many many times!

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Healthy cookie dough

Packed with healthy fats, chocolate and simple ingredients. Ready in less than 10 minutes and a perfect dessert and snack!

Course Dessert, Snack
Cuisine American
Prep Time 10 Minuten
Total Time 10 Minuten
Servings 12 balls
Calories 114 kcal

What you will need

  • 30 g margarine can sub for coconut oil but won´t be as good
  • 40 g almond butter
  • 60 g maple syrup
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 100 g coconut flour see notes for substitutions
  • 60 g chocolate (chips)

How to

  1. In a food processor or a bowl combine the margarine, almond butter, vanilla extract and liquid sweetener of choice until smooth and creamy. Then add the coconut flour and mix or pulse until combined.

    When using a whole chocolate chop it up into small pieces. About the size of chocolate chips. Add that to the remaining dough aswell and gently mix to combine everything well. This works best by hand.

    Take about 2 heaped teaspoons or 1 tablespoon at a time and roll the dough into small balls between your hands. Place them on a plate and let chill in the fridge for about 30 minutes. Enjoy!

Notes

Substitutions:

Instead of coconut flour you can use almond flour or oat flour (process to oats until they reach a flour-like consistency in a food processor). Or, you can also use wholewheat flour. This can not be consumed in its raw state, so you need to bake this at 180°C for 5 minutes in the oven. 

 

Store the cookie dough in the fridge. It lasts about a week.

Happy cooking,
Enjoy,
Katie // Une Petite Cuisinière

Asparagus and Strawberry Salad

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This salad is like spring in a bowl. So mush freshness, fruitiness but also savoury goodness. Super easy to make, full of vitamins, perfect side dish or light main course. Absolutely in love!

Spring honestly is my favourite season. Everything is starting to bloom and coming back to life. Flowers are so colourful and the markets are full of fresh fruits and vegetables. Including two of my favourites: Asparagus and strawberries.

How we typically eat Asparagus

Asparagus is something very typical in Austria. We usually have it with Risotto, as a side or very very typical with potatoes, ham and molten butter or sauce hollandaise. But while this is good once in a while I feel like it is really heavy and not healthy in the long term. This salad, on the other hand is something very light and refreshing.

Which Asparagus works best?

Definitely a mix! Use some white stalks and some greens because the combination of the slightly different flavours is just super good! If you want, you can also use purple asparagus although I would not necessarily recommend to buy it extra for this. I have tried it out with purple asparagus but it lost its colour while cooking and turned green. So it was a bit of a pity.

How to cook asparagus?

This actually is not as easy as many people think. I mean it is to hard but you just need to know how. Green Asparagus is super easy. You just need to cut off the ends of the stalks and boil it in salted water for about 5-10 minutes, depending on how thick the stalks are. White asparagus is slightly different. It also needs some boiling water, you need to salt it, and add 1 tablespoon of butter and 1 teaspoon of sugar. This takes out the bitterness of the asparagus and makes it really good!

Do you need to peel asparagus?

Depends. Green asparagus does not need to be peeled. Neither does purple one. White one on the other hand needs to be peeled!! Generously! I would recommend to peel it twice. If it is not peeled well it will have strings when eating and that’s not good tbh.

Fruit in salad?

A big YES!!! This is game changing! Especially the combination of strawberries and asparagus is insane! The sweetness of the strawberry pairs perfectly well with the freshness of the asparagus. If you do not have strawberries on hand or do not like them, you can add in raspberries instead, which also must taste really good!

Other add-ins:

Here you can be really creative! What would 100% work well is some kind of cheese like mozzarella, burrata cheese, cottage cheese or feta. Those would make it really good! Also, grilled chicken breast or prawns would take this next level but also hard boiled eggs.

When & how to eat it?

You can have this as a nice side dish and leave it as is or make a little more and add in something like hard boiled eggs for example and enjoy it with some freshly toasted bread or couscous to have it as a filling salad!

I hope that you like this recipe as much as I do and that you will make it many times this spring!

Happy cooking,
Enjoy,
Katie // Une Petite Cuisinière

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Asparagus and Strawberry Salad

Not your average asparagus side dish but much better! Sweetness of the strawberries paired with the taste of fresh asparagus is just heaavenly!

Course Appetizer, lunch, Salad, Side Dish
Prep Time 10 Minuten
Cook Time 20 Minuten
Total Time 30 Minuten
Servings 4 sides
Calories 149 kcal

What you will need

  • 500 g white asparagus
  • 500 g asparagus
  • 500 g strawberries
  • 2 spring onions
  • 1 handful mint
  • 1 handful basil
  • 1 handful parsley
  • 1 lemon
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 tbsp maple or honey
  • 1 tbsp butter or magarine
  • 1 tsp sugar

How to

  1. Bring a large pot with water to a boil. Peel the white asparagus generously (about 2x). Cut the ends (about 3cm) of both, white and green asparagus and throw them away. Cut the asparagus into about 3-4cm sized pieces.

    Add the butter (or magarine) and sugar into the boiling water and salt it. Add in the white asparagus and cook for about 5 minutes. Then add in the green asparagus and cook for another 5-10 minutes, depending on how thick the stalks are. You can test if they are ready by pieking through them with a fork. If they almost fall off the fork, they are done. Then drain them.

  2. In the meantime remove the green part from the strawberries and half them or cut them into quarters, depending on how big they are. Slice the spring onions and seperate the onion rings from each other.

  3. Roughly chop up the basil, mint and parsley.

  4. Add the asparagus, strawberries, spring onions and herbs into a bowl. In a seperate small bowl combine the olive oil, the juice of 1 lemon and the maple syrup. Toss the salad in the dressing and serve!

    Enjoy!

Notes

If you want to have it as a main dish just make more (about half more, so 6 servings for 4 people). You can then also add in other things like hard boiled eggs, feta or mozzarella cheese, grilled chicken breast or prawns! 

3 Ingredient Strawberry Chia Jam (healthy & vegan)

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It is the perfect combination of sweet, creamy and tangy. But instead of a lot of white sugar we are using whole food sweeteners, fresh fruits and seeds to achieve the best taste, texture and color. An essential staple in my household. It pairs perfectly with literally anything from yoghurt bowls, to bread and rice cakes.

An Austrian Tradition

In Austria, where I am from, it is very common to eat jam. And lots of jam with bread and butter. It is an Austrian tradition I guess, and both of my grandmothers have taught me how to make the classic. You will find it on every single typical Austrian breakfast table or in any breakfast restaurant. We love it. Most of the time it is paired with a Semmel (a white bread) and some butter. The go-to breakfast.

Why is jam not healthy?

And because it is so typical and popular I decided to make it a little healthier. But what actually is not healthy in it? I mean there is fruit in it! – That is right. There is fruit in it. But because we cook it, a lot of vitamins get to loss. Not all of them but many. Additionally, when we add lots of sugar and gelatine this is not healthy either. We all know that sugar is not the best friend of a healthy diet, especially not white and refined one. To make it healthier I recommend using a healthy sweetener such as raw honey, pure maple syrup or coconut sugar. These still contain sugar but also other nutrients, such as antioxidants and fibre which helps control the sugar rush in your blood.

Is jam vegan or vegetarian?

The answer might surprise or shock you: no it is not. At least most you can find in a supermarket are not. The reason for this is that they contain gelatine in some form. Either pure gelatine or mixed into the sugar. And gelatine is made from animal bones. This means that it is neither vegetarian nor vegan. When you want to buy one that is vegetarian or vegan you have to carefully study the labels and check that it doesn’t contain any gelatine. What is used in most places is called agar-agar or agartine.

How to make homemade jam:

This actually is really simple. Probably easier than you think. And it does not differ much from regular jam. As a first step you add your raspberries to a pot. They can be fresh or frozen, whatever you have on hand. Depending on ho sweet your berries are and how sweet you like your jam to be, you add as much or as little sweetener as you like. If you want, and it makes it really tasty, you can now add a squeeze of lemon juice. It adds some freshness and brings out the flavours even more. Then we let everything simmer for a little while until the strawberries have softened up a lot. Now it is time to transfer it to a blender. If you really do not like the texture of chia seeds in your jam, add them now but adding them later really adds a nice texture to it! So we are blending it up, adding it back to the pot and bringing it to a boil again. Then we let it cool a bit and you will immediately see how it starts to thicken up. After cooling, transfer it to a jar and store in the fridge for a few weeks.

Does it only work with strawberries?

NO! Definitely not. You can make this jam with any fruit of your preference. I also find it to be super tasty with raspberries, apricots, pineapple or orange. Do it with whatever sounds good to you!

How to best eat it:

So, this really is up to an individual! I personally like it most with a rice cracker and some cream cheese. This combination is just out of this world and makes a great snack or dessert. But in a yoghurt bowl, on a toasted slice of sourdough bread or with some brownies it tastes amazing too! Even with cake it works well! Just use it for whatever you would use normal jam too.

I hope that you like this recipe and that you will try it out soon!
Stay healthy & have fun cooking!
Love,
Katie // Une Petite Cuisinière

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Strawberry Chia Jam (healthy & vegan)

A healthy version of the classic. Quick, simple and so good! Crazily addicting, perfect addition to any sweet meal!

Course Breakfast, Dessert, Snack
Prep Time 5 Minuten
Cook Time 15 Minuten
Total Time 20 Minuten
Servings 15 servings à 2 tablespoons
Calories 83 kcal

What you will need

  • 750 g strawberries
  • 150 g chia seeds
  • 100-200 g pure maple syrup or honey or cocnut sugar (a healthy sweetener of choice)
  • juice of 1 lemon (optional)

How to

  1. Remove the green leaves from the strawberries and then cut them in half or in quarters. Add them to a pot along with the maple syrup and the lemon juice.

  2. Bring to a boil and let them boil until they are soft and mushy, for about 5 to 10 minutes. If you have one that is heat safe, transfer it to a blender or a food processor, otherwise purée it with a hand blender.*

  3. Pour it back into the pot and add the chia seeds. Bring to a boil again and then take it off the heat and let it cool for about 5 minutes. You will immediately see how it starts to thicken.

    Transfer to jars and store in the fridge for up to 5 weeks.

Notes

* you can add the chia seeds before blending if you want a smoother consistency. But adding them after makes it really interesting!

Tomato white wine pasta with pistachio breadcrumbs

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I am gonna be honest. This is addicting! A creamy, fresh, quick, full of flavor and so many nutrients! You won‘t go back to store bought pasta sauces! Plus, its dairy free and vegan because we are topping it with pistachio breadcrumbs. You are NOT missing the parmesan in top! All in all it is just so tasty!

Is Pasta unhealthy?

I honestly love pasta, and despite all rumors it is not unhealthy. Well, at least not as is because it is a great source of carbohydrates. If you make wholegrain pasta, it is even healthier because you get an extra portion of fiber with it! But yes, just as everything else it can be prepared really unhealthy. Not the actual pasta itself but the sauce it comes with. If ypu use a very oil heavy or cream, cheese or butter based sauce such as alfredo or carbonara or one with fatty meat like bacon or salami, it can load up on calories and fats really quickly. But when you pair it with a rather light sauce like a tomato one or one with fresh vegetables it is not unhealthy at all! Also pesto is a good choice. I mean, yes it has cheese but it also has oil, nuts and fresh basil. Oil and nuts are high in healthy fats and fresh basil has so many vitamins!

What is special about this dish?

100% the sauce! Why? Because it is not your regular tomato sauce. And by „white wine tomato sauce“ I don‘t mean that you poor half a bottle if wine into your regular sauce (although this would probably also be super tasty :)). No, its a sauce made of only fresh tomatoes – of all sizes and colors, a good splash of white wine and lots if fresh herbs. And of corse, not to forget the pistachio breadcrumbs. They just take it next level!

Which tomatoes work best for this dish?

I believe that a mix of many different ones work best! A mix of large ones, cherry tomatoes or san Marzanl works best. Also, if you have access to it or can find them, feel free to add yellow, orange or brown tomatoes. The more you add, the more of a diverse, intense and interesting flavor and many different textures! So, use whatever you have on hand! The more different ones you have, the better!

Which wine works best?

As the name says, white wine! This can be a fruitier one or one that is rather on the dry side. This is up to you and what you like to drink! My dad always says „use a wine for cooking that you will also drink with the dish“. So use a good and tasty wine because you will also taste it in the sauce. It is as important to use a good quality product in a dish as it is to drink it. You could, however, also use some sparkling wine because the carbon dioxide will cook down anyway. If you only have red wine on hand, you can use this too but be aware that this will make it more of a heavier dish whereas the white wine makes it rather lighter.

Pistachio breadcrumbs?! What and how?

I have never eaten that before. Neither at a restaurant not at someone’s home! But it is game changing. I know, we all love some parmesan on top of our pasta, but if we are longing for a dairy-free, healthier and vegan option, this is amazing! And so simple. 3 ingredients and addicting! The only ingredients you really need are pistachios (whole grain) bread crumbs, and olive oil. The pistachios are chopped finely and mixed with the breadcrumbs. After they are pan fried in some olive oil to get them crispy and bring out the flavor. If you want a slight cheesy flavor, you can also add in some nutritional yeast (Hefeflocken) if you want but it definitely is not necessary! When putting them on top of the pasta, the add a nice crunch and texture and also some saltines as cheese would do! You need to try this! I swear it is so good!

Is it family friendly?

Yes! 100%! You do add wine, but the alcohol boils away, so even kids can eat it! And it is vegan (if you use vegan pasta of corse) but if you want to add some parmesan or mozzarella on top you of course can do so! Ir if you want some prawns of grilled chicken with it, it works as well. Plus, it is less than 30 minutes, so it‘s a great weeknight dinner!

We absolutely love having this dish in pur house and make it pretty often! Its super tasty, simple, and full of vitamins! I hope that it gives you some inspiration to cook something healthy & tasty!

Happy cooking,
Katie || Une Petite Cuisinière

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Tomato White Wine Pasta with Pistachio Bread Crumbs

Quick, simple, healthy, tasty. Fancier than your average tomato sauce, full of vitamins, 30 minute and tastes so incredibly good!

Course bowl, dinner, lunch, Main Course
Cuisine Italian
Prep Time 5 Minuten
Cook Time 25 Minuten
Total Time 30 Minuten
Servings 4 servings
Calories 627 kcal

What you will need

For the tomato sauce:

  • 400 g tomatoes large ones, can be any color
  • 300 g cherry tomatoes or any other small ones, it is best to mix the colors
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 white onion
  • 1/8 l white wine
  • 1 tsp chili flakes (optional)
  • 2 small branches rosemary and oregano
  • 1 garlic clove grated
  • 1/2 lemon juiced

For the pistachio breadcrumbs:

  • 20 g pistachios
  • 20 g breadcrumbs
  • 1 tsp olive oil

Other:

  • 500 g Pasta tagliatelle work best

How to

For the tomato sauce:

  1. Chop the large tomatoes into about 1cm sized cubes. Half the cherry tomatoes. Finely mince the onion. In a large pot heat up the olive oil. Add the onion and sautée it until it is translucent. Then add in the chopped tomatoes and reduce to medium high heat. Also add the herbs and the garlic clove (and the chili flakes if using) into the pot and give it a stir. Add the white wine and let simmer for about 10 minutes on medium heat. Then add the lemon juice and salt generously and let simmer for another 10 minutes on low heat. Before serving take out the herbs.

For the Pistachio Breadcrumbs:

  1. In the meantime make the pistachio breadcrumbs. Therefore add the pistachios to a food processor and pulse until they have gotten a fine consistency. If you do not have a food processor, chop them up with a knife. Combine them with the breadcrumbs. heat up the olive oil in a pan and fry the mixture on high heat for about 2 minutes, stirring constantly so they do not burn. Take them off the heat and set them aside.

  2. In the meantime cook the pasta according to package instructions. Once done reserve 1/2 cup (about 100ml) of pasta water and drain them. Add the drained pasta, along with the reserved water to the sauce and mix through. Seperate them onto 4 plates and top with the pistachio breadcrumbs and serve.

    Enjoy!