Recipe: Healthy Protein Peanut Butter and Chocolate Chip Cookies

Whilst I'm partial to a cookie (or three) from time to time, I get a bigger kick out of giving them a healthy twist with weird sounding ingredients.

I've made The Londoner's triple chocolate fudgy cookies and loved seeing people's reactions when I revealed that the main ingredient was avocado (insert evil laugh here)...

...and I made a video on some healthy banana oatmeal cookies using just 3 ingredients (with optional extras!) 

So when I saw a recipe for a 5-ingredient peanut butter and chocolate chip cookie made out of chickpeas dancing around Instagram, you can only imagine my flurry of excitement as I rushed out of the door for a round of supermarket healthy cookie sweep. It's no secret that I'm a lover of chickpeas and peanut butter; I'm about to put a ring on it and set up wedding dates as we speak. It's serious and these cookies has only strengthened the obsession.  

These are good. Really good. 

Not only will it hit that cookie cravin' spot but it'll also give you a huge burst of protein too. They're a great pre-workout/post-workout snack and are also great as an after-dinner dessert with a hot mug of (green) tea.

Ready for the recipe?

Of course you are.

CHICKPEA PB & CHOC CHIP COOKIES:

(makes 10 small cookies)

You will need:
1 can of chickpeas (1 and 1/4 cup)

1/2 cup of natural crunchy peanut butter 

1/4 cup honey/agave nectar/pure maple syrup

1/3 cup dark chocolate chips/cacao nibs

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp cinnamon (optional)

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1. Preheat your oven to 175C and line a baking tray ready with some greaseproof paper.

2. Drain and thoroughly rinse the can of chickpeas. Dry up any excess water and throw them into your food processor.

3. Add in the peanut butter (and a pinch of salt if your taste buds fancy it)

4. Swirl in the honey/agave/maple syrup and baking powder into the mixture.

5. Blend until smooth!

6. Transfer to a bowl and fold in the dark chocolate chips (make sure it's 70% or above) or cacao nibs. 

7. Form into small cookie shapes. They won't rise/spread very much so feel free to give it an encouraging pat down or opt for round cookie bites.  Top with a sprinkle of cinnamon or an extra smattering of nuts (optional)

8. Bake for 10-12 minutes before letting them cool for 5 minutes.

9. Tuck in! They're best served when they're still warm from the oven! 

Tip: These cookies are very soft and won't really set although it shouldn't disintegrate when picked up. 

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You'll be hit with a perfect blend of flavours. 

The peanut butter includes a subtle saltiness and a satisfying crunch, the honey mingles in with a dose of sweetness and the cookie crumbles within the first bite before you're met with the gooeyness of the melted dark chocolate chips. You know it's good when the description starts to read as an overexcited love letter. 

With all the flavours combined, you have yourself a perfectly healthy protein cookie.

Let me know how you get on if you decide to make yourself some!

...Now excuse me whilst I whip up a few batches.

Review: Foodilic, Brighton/London

Growing up on Cantonese food, I'm a huge fan of family-style dining; I'm used to our kitchen table groaning from the weight of a lavish spread of food. I can insert some meaningful waffle about the joys of bonding when sharing the dishes amongst ourselves but we all know it's because I want my dish... And some of yours too. I'm impossibly indecisive and whittling down an exhaustive list of choices to just the one is a disastrous affair...

...Which is why my mood is always better if a buffet is included in the day's menu.

Buffet food is notoriously associated with limp chicken balls, curry swimming in its own pool of grease and sauces with unidentified floating objects in. The idea of a healthy buffet had never even crossed my mind so you can only imagine my excitement when I found Foodilic quietly parked on a busy North Street in Brighton.



The decor is clean-cut, simple and reflects the concept of the restaurant. The window display of overflowing towers of salads, high pillars of wholegrains and brimming pot of hot soup is enough to draw your eyes in. If that isn't enough, a tempting exclaim of 'Eat As Much As You Like for £6.45/Takeaway Box for £5' on a pastel-adorned blackboard inviting you inside its humble abode will.

Shall we go in?



Whether you're dealing with a salad-fearing boyfriend, a vastly vegan group or a bunch of meat-eating pals, Foodilic will cater for all stomachs. There's a rich abundance of choices to suit most dietary requirements and for those who are vegetarian, vegan and/or gluten-free. Everything is clearly marked under the title of the dish along with a full list of ingredients, handy for those who wish to avoid any hidden encounters with an offending object.

My personal favourites were the:

Spinach and mushroom soup (soup of the day)
Spinach, pesto and walnut salad (still dream about this)
Kale salad with blanched almonds
Melt-in-yer-mouth beef casserole
Green beans and mange tout with an orange dressing
Roasted butternut squash


I saw others make hills of fragrant cous cous, mop up the remaining juices from the chicken coq au vin with a crusted bread roll and spoon heaving amounts of mayo chicken and apple salad onto their plates.

Once you're done with your main meal, there's also a selection of desserts and juices too. Note, these aren't included in the £6.45 price but I spied a raw walnut chocolate cake that I'll get my hands on next time.

Shortly after our meal, we dragged our full tums over to Small Batch for another sit down and a steaming cup of coffee reminiscing of our stomach's past.

We visited the North Street branch but if buffets aren't for you and you'd rather order a full sized portion of something, there's another Foodilic round the corner on a Western road.

To all Londoners, no fear, you can have a bite over at Pentonville Road (King's Cross) - I hear there's a special 50% off selected items from 7-9pm every evening too.

If you fancy a healthy alternative to your standard sandwich and crisps at lunch, I'd definitely recommend popping into Foodilic to try a bit o' everything. Not only is it filling but you'll be doing your body a whole world of good too.

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to try and recreate that spinach, walnut and pesto salad...

Brighton Food Festival

I can't think of a better way of spending my Good Friday than to stroll along Hove Lawns with a huge spread of street food stalls to choose from. Brighton Food Festival is one of the UK's biggest food and drink festivals and I had been counting down the weeks to go (I wish I was joking).

Jordan and I put on our sunglasses, clambered into our jackets and drove along the seaside in his classic Mini with our excited faces on.

This is our excited face.

Brighton & Hove Food and Drink Festival included the Big Sussex Market, Live Food Show, Sussex and the World Market and the Children's Food Festival (why didn't anyone take me there when I was a kid?) - we were spoilt for choice and walking around three times didn't help us decide any quicker.

Pulled pork with homemade apple sauce? Lamb tagine? Thai street food?

We spotted a freshly baked tomato, olives and cheese loaf for £1.50, declared it ours and tucked in with our eyes tightly shut pretending that we were back in Rome. We weren't but it was still delicious. Carbs, y u so good?




Is it a little chilli here or is just me?

(psst... the chilli stalls didn't escape. I naturally gravitated towards the mango chilli jar - I want to bathe in it)



I spotted this stir fry vegetable stand and it was a little embarrassing how excited I got over it. Huge catering pans brimming with vegetables, spicy bean sauce and cumin for £5? I hit the jackpot. It was seasoned beautifully, ridiculously healthy and satisfied me ol' stomach.

I topped my generous portion with roasted onions, wild garlic and chilli pickles.



Jordan went for a surf 'n' turf wrap filled with grilled buffalo meat and seared king prawns. I took one a few bites and it was gooood. The meat was tender and wasn't overcooked in the slightest.

I also stopped by The Protein Bakery after following them on Twitter the day before. They had a selection of walnut brownies, blondies and cinnamon cookies all filled with protein and after sampling a few, I was sold. I bought the Starter Pack (a walnut brownie and four cookies) for £5 and squealed 'you don't know how excited I am about these!' before running off in search for more food. After checking the ingredients list, they're not the cleanest protein products on the market so it's definitely a treat but it's much better than your generic cookie.



To nurse our full stomachs, we walked along the beach and headed towards the North Laines where I was set loose in Infinity Foods. Word of warning, never go to a health food store (Wholefoods, Holland & Barretts and Planet Organic - I'm looking at you) if you don't have an hour or two to spare. I was running around excitedly grabbing everything and at times, you could catch the odd exclaims of 'raw cacao', 'buckwheat' and 'ooh, chia seeds!!!' dancing around the shop.



 I filmed another 'healthy food haul' which will be going live in the next few days as I spent a bit too much (never too much) and was feeling too giddy to not share it with you. We celebrated with some iced tea at recently opened Bluebird Tea & Co after sniffing all their chai tea leaves.

I opted for an iced matcha latte (10x the benefits of green tea!) and Jordan chose a chai tea latte.

Cheers!

 

I can't think of a better way to end the day... except that we made healthy peanut butter buckwheat/spelt doughnuts when we got back! Recipe coming soon!

If you live nearby or planning a weekend trip to Brighton soon, it's worth checking out the Food Festival website to see if there are any events running! I hear it's the Foodie Festival on Saturday... you'll know where to find me ;)