I love lazy Sundays. Even more so when there is baking involved. These Almond & Coconut Chocolate Chip Cookies are amazing - super gooey on the inside and nice and crunchy on the outside. The almond flour and coconut gives them a little earthiness.

Ingredients: 

• 3/4 cup almond flour
• 1/2 cup all purpose flour
• 1/3 cup turbinado sugar (or brown sugar)
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• large handful dark chocolate chunks
• 1/2 cup unsweetened coconut
• 3 and a half tbsp canola oil
• 1 egg
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1 tbsp milk

Directions: 

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees
• In a large bowl, mix flours, sugar, chocolate, salt, coconut and baking powder together
• In a smaller bowl, whisk together the egg, oil, vanilla
• Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix well - you might be able to omit the milk, but my mixture was a little too crumbly at first, so I added a tablespoon of milk and it did the trick.
• Chill dough in the freezer for 5-10 minutes
• Roll into balls and place on a cookie sheet
• Bake for 15 minutes, or until the edges are golden brown

This weekend was a great mixture of busy and relaxing. I taught two classes yesterday morning and my spin class was pretty full, which was exciting! Last night we went out to meet up with some friends and earlier today we took another picnic to the park before coming home to make these gooey chocolatey delicious cookies. YUM.

Have a wonderful rest of your Sunday!

- Rach

Oh man. These are the bomb. I was eager to bake something all week long and just didn't have the time with my work and school schedule. I had a container of strawberries that was going to go bad real soon, and rather than throwing them away (I absolutely hate wasting food,) I wanted to incorporate them into something. But plain old strawberry muffins are a little boring. So here we have Strawberry & Orange Ricotta Muffins! They're low fat and full of vitamin C.

Ricotta cheese is so versatile, low fat and high in calcium and protein. Why don't I eat it more? The flavor is really mild and gives these muffins some extra density and richness. The ricotta goes perfectly with the fruitiness of the orange and strawberries. Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup white whole wheat flour
• 1/2 cup almond meal
• 2 tbsp coconut flour
• 1/3  cup organic turbinado sugar* + 2 tsp (for topping)
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tbsp orange zest
• 3 tbsp fresh squeezed orange juice
• 1 cup fresh chopped strawberries
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup skim ricotta
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup water

Directions: 

• Pre-heat the oven to 375 degrees
• Add flour, sugar and baking powder in a medium bowl and mix together
• In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, vanilla, ricotta, butter and orange juice until consistency is smooth
• Add the wet ingredients (except the water) and the orange zest to the flour mixture and mix well
• Add in water and mix
• Line a muffin pan with muffin liners and fill each one 3/4 way full
• Sprinkle remaining sugar on top of batter
• Bake for 25 minutes

These muffins have the perfect amount of sweetness. They're dense, yet super refreshing. Give 'em a try!

Rach