By Sidonie Maroon, Culinary Educator for The Food Co-op

As cooks, we’re the gatekeepers of our family’s health, and decide how the pantry is stocked. This goes for day-to-day meals, but also for that delightful category, the treat.

A treat’s an out of the ordinary occasion. Not hunger easing like the mid-morning snack, but a respite, a reward and a pleasurable experience. We have the power to influence and change our family’s treats for good reasons, while ensuring that they remain delicious.  

Why Homemade Treats Make Sense

Nutrient-Dense: You decide exactly which foods rich in vitamins, minerals, fiber, and antioxidants to use.

Control: When you make treats at home, you have complete control over what goes into them, so you can avoid preservatives, artificial colors, and flavors, as well as high amounts of sugars and unhealthy fats that are often found in commercial products.

Customization: You can tailor treats to specific diets, such as gluten-free, dairy-free, low-carb, or allergy-friendly.

Portion Control: You determine the size of portions, which can help with weight management.

Reduced Sugar: You can substitute refined sugars with natural sweeteners like dates, bananas, or pure maple syrup and use less of them than found in store-bought.

Healthy Fats: Instead of processed vegetable oils, you can use healthier fats like avocado oil, coconut oil, or nuts in your homemade treats.

Fiber: Whole foods are often high in fiber, which helps feed your microbiome and keeps you regular.

Economics: Buying in bulk, and making homemade is cost effective.

Family: Making treats at home is a fun family activity that gets everyone involved and teaches children about nutrition.

Build A Treat Pantry

Stock your pantry with healthy ingredients, so you can  little by little ween your family off their habitual choices. You don’t need to give up flavor, sweetness, or convenience, but it will take time and effort. Make the switch one small treat at a time. Use pureed dates instead of sugar. Freeze bananas and dip in chocolate and nuts. Use vegetable purees like carrots and squashes. Eat fresh fruit in season. Healthy cookies, cakes, fudge, candy, pies, tarts, you can have them all in moderation, and every bite will count towards the good life, with forethought and know how.  

My Power Pantry

Nuts and seeds: pistachios, almonds, pecans, peanuts, walnuts, cashews, and macadamia nuts, hemp hearts, sunflower, sesame, pepita, chia, flax and psyllium seeds.

Dried Fruits: dates, figs, cranberries, raisins, blueberries, apricots and prunes

Legumes: black beans, navy beans, chickpeas, adzuki beans and mung beans (Use as purees in brownies and cakes.)

Fresh fruits and vegetables: lemons, limes, citrus, avocados, all fresh fruit and berries, carrots, beets, squashes, sweet potatoes and coconut milk.

Whole Grains: All whole grains, I including the pseudo grains — quinoa, buckwheat and amaranth

Misc: carob, dark chocolate, coconut flakes, coffee, tea, eggs, yogurt, milk,

Good fats: good quality butter, olive oil, avocado oil, coconut oil.

Spices and flavorings: cinnamon, ginger, allspice, cloves, cardamom, anise, fennel, black pepper, cayenne, vanilla, sea salt

Make A Treat Recipe Binder

New ingredients and techniques can be off putting and overwhelming. I recommend you make a binder for healthy family treat recipes. Print them and make notes. Try out new recipes that’ll suit your needs, so you can build seasonal go-tos that are easy to make.

Heart’s Love Fudge

24 pieces

Quick 

½ cup pumpkin seeds, toasted

½ cup sunflower seeds, toasted

1 cup dried unsweetened coconut, toasted

¼ cup golden flax meal

¾ cup un-dutched cocoa powder

1 teaspoon cinnamon

2 teaspoons vanilla

½ teaspoon sea salt

½ cup coconut oil, melted

1 cup pitted dates, chopped

Directions

Toast the seeds and coconut together on medium-low heat until the coconut is golden. Cool, and grind into a coarse meal using a food processor. Add the other ingredients to the food processor and process everything into a sticky dough. Press the dough into a loaf pan and chill. Cut into 24 squares. Keep the fudge in the refrigerator. Each piece contains 50 mg magnesium

Black Bean Brownies

Makes one 9-inch square cake

You are not going to believe that these delicious moist brownies are made with black beans! They’re also low in sugar, gluten, dairy and egg free.

1¼ cup sunflower seeds

1 cup carob flour

¼ cup flax meal

1 tablespoon psyllium seed husk powder

¼ cup roasted chicory root

1 teaspoon cinnamon 

¼ teaspoon baking soda

2 teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon sea salt

1 cup pitted dates

1 cup unsalted black beans

¼ cup avocado oil

4 tablespoons water

¼ cup milk

2 teaspoons vanilla extract   

2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

1)    Grease the bottom of a 9-inch square cake pan. Preheat the oven to 350 F. 

2)    In a high powered blender, grind the dry ingredients into a coarse flour. Scrape out the dry ingredients into a mixing bowl.

3)    Add wet ingredients to the blender. Blend until smooth.

4)    Add wet ingredients to dry and mix together with a rubber spatula.

5)    Pour batter into a cake pan and bake for 25 minutes. Cool before cutting. 

Chocolate Quinoa Pistachio Baby Cakes

If you aren’t in the know– quinoa makes an amazingly moist delicious chocolate cake. I believe this recipe is an improvement on the other versions I’ve tried. It’s not so cloyingly sweet, uses coconut milk for creamy richness and flax meal to bind instead of eggs which can toughen a cake. I love using cinnamon with chocolate and especially nice are the chopped pistachios. Having baby cakes already portioned is a plus when I just want a little something and not a big slice-o-cake. The mini cakes can be frozen, or kept refrigerated and buttercream added as needed. Buttercream freezes well and can be kept for up to three months. This has become my birthday cake standard and easily made in a two layer round cake just increase the baking time.    

Ingredients

2 cups cooked plain quinoa no added salt

(I cook mine in a rice cooker 1 cup quinoa to 2 cups water makes about 3 cups cooked quinoa)

1 cup thick canned coconut milk

4 tablespoons flax meal

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

3/4 cup melted butter

1 teaspoon sea salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup natural un-dutched cocoa (light brown color)

3/4 cup dates

3/4 cup finely chopped pistachios

Instructions

1)    Cook quinoa Cool and set aside

2)    Preheat oven 350°F Butter Mini Muffin tin

3)    Melt butter, add all wet ingredients including quinoa together

4)    Chop pistachios and set aside

5)    Sift all dry ingredients together keeping the flax fines

6)    In a food processor: Purée quinoa with wet ingredients until completely smooth

3 to 4 minutes

7)    Add dry ingredients to the wet 1/3 at a time and pulse until well mixed add pistachios and briefly stir in

8)    Fill buttered mini muffin tins 2/3 full and bake on a middle rack for 13 minutes or until firm to touch they will need to cool completely to firmly set up. Pipe buttercream onto cooled cakes.

Delicious Low Sugar Caramel Buttercream

Will make about 2 cups of buttercream– plenty for this cake with some left over.

Buttercream should be served at room temperature. If you're worried about the eggs being at room temperature for a while you can easily pasteurize them.

Ingredients

1/2 cup coconut sugar

1/4 cup of water

2 eggs plus 2 egg yolks (use pasteurized eggs if wanted)

4 softened sticks (1 lb.) of good quality unsalted butter

1 vanilla bean or 1 tablespoon vanilla extract

pinch of sea salt

Instructions

1)    In a heavy bottomed saucepan– Measure out sugar and water, add the scraped out insides of a vanilla bean to it. Cook to the softball stage 240°F on medium low.

2)    Take off heat. Beat eggs and egg yolks together until frothy and thick. Slowly Add the sugar syrup to the beaten eggs while whipping in a standing or handheld mixer, add butter pats plus salt and whip until light and fluffy.

Note: I have also used a food processor to whip the buttercream successfully.

If concerned you can pasteurize the eggs.

Chicory Carob Chia Pudding

Makes 4 dessert cups

Yummy, all the goodness of chocolate pudding with all the goodness of whole foods.

Blend together in a high speed blender until smooth. Chill for 1 hour, or freeze as popsicles.

3 tablespoons roasted carob powder or cocoa powder

1 tablespoon roasted chicory (or 1 teaspoon instant coffee)

3 tablespoons chia seeds

⅔ cup dates, pitted

1 can full fat coconut milk

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

½ teaspoon cinnamon