Sunday, August 29, 2010

Homemade Bread Crumbs

I am a big fan of homemade breadcrumbs, simply because it is a great way to use surplus bread before it goes bad.  Recently I bought an extra loaf and wasn't sure what to do with all the extra bread.  I think next time I plan to do some healthy bread pudding, but this time I made three bags of breadcrumbs.

The bread that I used was Trader Joe's Sprouted Grain Bread.  So, it is a rather healthy bread full of lots of nutrients.  I took the entire loaf, laid it out and let it go stale.  Then I used my food processor to grind all the hard slices into crumbs and added a nice helping of wheat germ to the mix, to add more nutrients.

Then I put the mixture into labeled ziploc bags and threw them into the freezer.  I figured this was the best way to keep them.

So today I used my crumbs for the first time!

This recipe that I used is a variation on one I found on the Weightwatchers website. I changed a lot in the recipe, so it was basically a jumping off point.  For those of you with access to the website, this is the title.



Preheat oven to 450 degrees

4 six oz. fillets of Mahi Mahi
1 egg white
1 cup of bread crumbs
1/4 package of Hidden Valley Ranch Powder Mix
1/4 c. grated Parmesan
Salt (I used Rosemary Infused FalkSalt)
Freshly Ground Pepper
Spray oil or Olive Oil

Spray baking dish or cookie sheet with Spray Oil or rub Olive Oil on with paper towel.

Place whisked egg white in a shallow wide dish.

Mix the breadcrumbs, ranch mix and Parmesan, and put in a shallow wide dish.

Salt the fish with a tiny bit of salt.

Dip fish in the egg white, completely covering it.

Dip it in the crumbs, completely covering it.

Place on the dish/sheet and place in the oven for 12-14 minutes or until the fish is no longer translucent in the middle.

Salt and Pepper to taste and serve.

Serve with tzatziki sauce, or a nice homemade nonfat plain yogurt dip made with dill, garlic, salt and lemon zest.

UGLY Cookies (2 pts. per cookie)




My son wanted me to make him cookies today.  I really think his insistence came from the smell of the scent pod thingy that I was melting in the kitchen... sugar cookie, go figure.  So I decided I would make some for him that were tasty and healthy.  Unfortunately, asking for them to also be pretty is just asking too much.  It's just too bad I look like I am holding a piece of poop.  Now, onto trying to sell you on these little turds of goodness!

Also this recipe, and this post, are not targeted at my weight watchers or calorie watcher friends.  Instead they are targeted at my whole food friends, who just may fit into the other categories as well.  :)

This recipe is a jump off from the original recipe located at this link:
http://www.ifood.tv/recipe/spicy_tofu_cookies

I will mark the elements that I altered with an asterisk.



UGLY COOKIES

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Mix these dry ingredients together in a bowl:
1.5 cups of whole wheat flour
2 Tbsp. Wheat Germ*
3/4 cup craisins*
3/4 cup chopped dried pineapple*
1/2 tsp. baking soda

Blend these items in a blender:
1/2 c butter, softened
2/3 c. agave nectar*
1 egg
1/8 cup pureed spinach*
8 oz. tofu (I used silkened, and you can even use lowfat tofu if you like)
1 tsp. cinnamon (I used saigon cinnamon)
1 tsp. ground ginger
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg (I used a "nut", it's actually a seed, and a grater)
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla extract (the real thing)

Mix wet and dry ingredients together

Drop by spoonful onto a parchment lined sheets.

Bake for 7-9 minutes, keeping an eye on them. Let the bottoms be golden brown, but no darker.

Yields 3 Dozen Cookies, at just 2 Points per cookie.

Like I said, these are ugly.  But, they taste great and are rather healthy.  Just think about the ingredients: whole wheat flour, wheat germ, agave, spinach, dried fruit and tofu!!!!


My taste tester approves!

Mouth full of cookie!

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Spinach Feta Turkey

 

Ok, I'll be honest here.  This is a recipe for a turkey "loaf".  But, I just think that word "loaf" is so unappetizing.  And, this recipe is not.  So... if you have any idea for a better name for this dish I will be happy to hear it!  I suppose you could actually turn this into a turkey burger recipe.  But, for all intents and purposes I will post the LOAF recipe.  :)

First off, here are the details.  Eight ingredients (counting salt and pepper), two dairy products, protein, whole grains and even your greens go into this little ditty.  Also, this entire loaf equates to 19 points and 12 ounces post baking.

That means for you weightwatcher users:

4 servings= 4.75 pts. per serving
5 servings= 3.8 pts. per serving
6 servings= 3.2 pts. per serving
8 servings= 2.4 pts. per serving

As for the nutrient/calorie breakdown, the calories are 954 for the entire dish and that means:

4 servings=  238 calories per serving
5 servings= 190 calories per serving
6 servings= 159 calories per serving
8 servings= 120 calories per serving

If you want to view the nutritional breakdowns below just double click them.
So, let's get down to business:

Spinach Feta Turkey
 
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Ingredients:

1 lb. Ground Turkey
1 Egg
1/4 C. Italian Breadcrumbs* (you can make your own if you want, see below)
1 Tbsp. Wheat Germ
1 oz. or about 1/4 C. Crumbled Feta Cheese
1/2 C. Frozen Chopped Spinach
Salt (fancy if you like)
Pepper (freshly ground if you like)



Take the first four ingredients, and some of the black pepper, and mix them in a bowl.  I use my hands.  Try not to overwork the meat.
Lay half the mixture in the bottom of a bread pan.

Mix the next two ingredients together.  I like to use a fork instead of a spoon here to help break up the feta chunks. 

Lay the spinach/cheese mixture on top of the first layer of meat and then cover the filling completely all around.  Sprinkled the top with some black pepper and salt.  I used wild garlic salt to add a bit more flavor.
I remembered halfway through adding the top to take a pic.

Throw into the oven for about 45 minutes or until your meat thermometer reads 165 degrees.  When is baked let it cool a little before you serve it.  I like to serve mine with tzatzeki sauce.  It's a cucumber yogurt sauce.  You can make your own with fat free plain yogurt, cucumber, some lemon zest, garlic, dill and sea salt.  That recipe would be about .5 point per 2 Tbsp. serving of sauce.  The tzatzeki sauce I used is 2 points per 2 Tbsp.

My review on this recipe (one I came up with on my own) is that it is easy, full of nutrients, filling and very tasty.  My two year old and my husband adore this dish.  I hope you and yours do as well!

*Breadcrumbs.  If you like, you can make your own breadcrumbs.  It is a great option when you find that some of your bread may go bad before you get to it.  I am currently drying out a loaf of sprouted wheat bread.  It is only 1 point, and 90 calories, per slice.  It is high in fiber and low in fat as well.  I'll post more about that soon!

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Contemplating Pie Crusts

Today while at a WeightWatchers meeting someone asked me if I knew of a low point pie crust.

Well, I did some research and the first thing I did was find a recipe for a regular ole pie crust.  The ingredients within the recipe that would garner points are 2 1/2 cups of white flour (22 points), one cup of butter (48 points) and a tsp. of sugar (.5 points).  The other ingredients are ice water and salt, so they don't count as points.  So the grand total for this pie crust is 70.5 points.  That is 8.8 points per serving with 8 servings.  INSANE!  I am confused as to how this could be so high.  But, I input all the ingredients into the WW website point counter and these are the results.

I took this crust recipe from a pie recipe I found in Dr. Joel Fuhrman's "Eat for Health". 
Eat For Health, Book 2 (2)

Bluevado Pie

Ingredients for the crust:
10 fresh pitted dates, not dried
1 1/2 cups of Familia, original swiss baby muesli (no sugar added)

Ingredients for filling:
10 ounces of frozen blueberries
10 pitted dates, chopped
4-5 bananas
1 Haas Avocado
1 tsp. unsweetened shredded coconut.

So basically, you take the crust ingredients and blend them together with a food processor.  Then press them into the pie pan to make a crust.

For the filling:
Blend all the ingredients in a high powered blender or food processor (except the coconut) and then pour it into the pie crust.  Sprinkle with the coconut, cover it, and freeze it for at least 3 hours before you serve it.

This entire recipe makes 8 servings at about 5.2 points per serving.  That is the entire pie.  The crust by itself is 12 points total, and 1.5 points per serving.

For my non-Weightwatcher readers here are the stats per serving:

264,2 Calories
5.8g Fat
4.3g Protein
53.2 Carbs
13.6mg Sodium

Now, I know you can't use this crust for everything.  It's best to use it in place of a graham cracker crust.  I checked out Keebler's Graham Cracker Crust and it is 3 points per serving (8 servings).  That is double the Fuhrman crust and it doesn't pack nearly the same punch in nutrients that the date/cereal crust does.

These are some nice fresh medjool dates.  I know that I have found those at Giant by my house, and area healthfood stores.  You can call your grocery store ahead of time and inquire as to whether or not they carry these dates.

It's not just the points, the fats, the calories and sugars you should look at here though.  It is also the nutrients.  Dates have some nice attributes.  Want to know what?  Check out this link:

http://www.weight-loss-advisor.com/weightlossarticles/date-nutrition.htm

And then there are the ingredients in the cereal in this crust recipe:


oat flakes
wholemeal flour (wheat, rye and barley)
dried bananas
10.45% dried apples
millet flakes
Vitamin B1 (thiamin)

No sugar, no butter, no white flour.  Not bad.  You don't necessarily have to use this particular cereal either.  You can try different cereal that are no sugar added.  Since this is a baby cereal, I wouldn't be surprised if most baby cereals in the supermarket would work for this recipe.

I did the math for this cereal, which may be easier to find in your grocery store.


With this cereal, your points are 10 per crust, so 1.25 points per serving if you do 8 servings!

So, there is my input on finding a healthier crust.  I take no credit.  It is all Dr. Joel Fuhrman!

Saturday, August 21, 2010

Peacakes

Ok... so, I have another book that I am working out of today.  I told you, I like to collect things!  The recipe today came out of "The Toddler Cafe".



The creators of this book, Jennifer and Matthew Carden (presumably husband and wife) focus a lot on letting kids be kids and working with that while instilling manners and fun into the eating process.  I enjoy some of their ideas and I like their philosophy.

So, here is their recipe which they titled "Lily Pad Pancakes".  If you want to know what type of nutrition you get out of peas check out this website:
http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=55

I did the math on weightwatchers with the little changes that I made and came up with about 6 points for weightwatchers per serving (4 cakes).   This recipe makes about 16 cakes, or four servings.  I also doubled their recipe because I am a big fan of doing the work now and reaping the benefits later.

Here is my altered version of this recipe.

Peacakes
3 Cups of Frozen Green Peas
4 Tbsp. Water
2 Eggs
6 Tbsp. Whole Wheat Pastry Flour (Hodgson Mill brand has only 1 point according to WW)
1/4 Tsp. Kosher Salt
1/8 Tsp. Baking Powder
1/4 Tsp. Freshly Ground Pepper
1/4 Tsp. Onion powder
Olive Oil, as needed (to calculate points I used 3 Tbsp.)



Use a food processor to mix the peas, flour and eggs together until smooth, but still a little bumpy.
Place the salt, baking powder, onion powder, pepper and flour in a bowl.
Add the pea mixture to the flour mixture and mix.

Heat up the oil on medium heat in a nonstick pan (so that you can use as little oil as possible).
Drop the 1 Tbsp. of batter into the oil.
Flip when first side starts to brown, brown other side.

Allow to cool completely on a cooling rack.  

Serve with lemon zest yogurt. Recipe as follows:
Mix 1/4 cup of low-fat plain yogurt with lemon zest from one lemon and juice from half that lemon for dipping. The dip is 1 point.

I served my son's peacakes with sliced red peppers and cubed cantaloupe that consequently tastes AMAZING with the lemon yogurt.


Four peacakes plus the yogurt with lemon equals 298 calories.
If you add the cantaloupe and the red pepper you can add about 40 calories to your total.

My review on this recipe?  It is surprisingly good.  If you don't like peas, you won't like it.  But, if you are not opposed to peas it is rather delicious.  They are soft on the inside and have a good crust. The flavor is strong, but easily complimented.  And, most importantly, you are getting quite the serving of vegetables!

Thursday, August 19, 2010

Crunchy Cream Cheese Pepper Pitas

So, I bought yet another book to help me feed my picky toddler.  I know, I know... It's a problem.  But just remember what I said earlier, I collect things.  It was a good price and I liked the creative layout and wanted to check it out.


 Toddler Menus: A Mix-and-Match Guide to Healthy Eating

It's a clever little book designed with split pages so that you can make your whole day's menu by flipping through all the different pages for breakfast, lunch and dinner.  They mark the pages with a key showing how many servings of fruits and veggies there are.  Like I said, it is rather clever.  And, as promised by the foreward, the meals are tasty enough for adults (at least the one I ate tonight was).

So, as most of you know, I can't use a recipe from a book without making it my own.  So this recipe is really a version of the one they provide.  Instead of tortillas I used whole wheat pitas, and I used spinach instead of sprouts (which would be equally as good).  I also sliced my apples paper thin to make the thing less bulky but just as sweet.  I also added the pepper and spinach into the cream cheese b/c I knew it would be less messy and just as tasty that way.  Also, I was worried my son wouldn't want to eat the spinach, so he got some regardless.

Crunchy Cream Cheese Pepper Pitas 
Makes two servings.

2 Whole Wheat Pitas
1/2 C. Fat Free Cream Cheese
1/2 Chopped Orange Pepper
5 Large Spinach Leaves
1/2 Sweet Apple (Gala or Fuji, or even Granny Smith)
Black Pepper for Seasoning



Lay out your pitas.
Put your cream cheese, a leaf of spinach and the peppers in a food processor and mix.
At this point I recommend not taste testing the cream cheese mixture.  You will want to lick it out of the bowl.  It is very tasty.
Slice your apple very thin into nice slices.
Smear the cream cheese mixture onto the pitas, lay the apples and spinach leaves on top, add the pepper you want.
EAT!
For Jack I folded the pita in half and then sliced it into a few different little "sandwiches" so it was easier for his little hands to handle.

I actually caught my son eating candidly.
He doesn't always close his eyes when he eats... he must have been savoring the meal very intently.
Kid needs a haircut.  Anyway, back to business....

My review on this recipe?
AMAZING!!!!!

Ok, that being said, let me explain.  As I said earlier the cream cheese is very tasty, but that coupled with the crisp apple and the fresh spinach is surprisingly delicious.

Side note: DON"T USE GREEN PEPPERS! Spring for the orange.  It makes this recipe what it is.
Each serving is approximately 3.5 WW points and 322 Calories (according to calculations made on fitday.com).

Monday, August 16, 2010

Facing the Monster


No, I am not talking about my fiercely overweight cat with the same name.  I am talking about the monster called reality.  Here's the thing, no matter how healthy my recipes are, the fact is that I am overweight.  So, in an attempt to overcome the donut of death fat roll that is savoring all my bad food decisions I joined WeightWatchers.  I go tomorrow for my first in person experience.  Fingers crossed.

So I am a bit hungry.  I've watched everything I have eaten all day and I still have some "points" left.  Plus I exercised today.  So I decided to give myself a nice little snack before bed.

Here is what I came up with.  It's filling*, delicious, only 66 calories for the entire lot, and only 1 point for all of it.  Realistically, this recipe is probably 2-3 servings.  I ate it all.  You may too, if you try it out as a late night snack.  It is especially good this time of year because this is when the tomatoes are taking the spot light. 

*If you want an even more filling option, add an oz. of part skim mozzarella.  It will add 86 calories and one point to your total (remember this recipe makes more than one serving).

Guiltfree Snack

2 Medium sized fresh tomatoes quartered
1 Medium cucumber, or 1/3 of an English Cucumber (if you use regular cucumber this is a 0 point snack)
Salt (I would use a bold salt, like kosher.  My preference is the Rosemary Infused Falk Salt that I am having an affair with)
Pepper
Dry Basil to taste
1 tsp. Balsamic Vinegar (see note below)

Cut up your tomato and cucumber.
Put in a bowl together, add salt and pepper, let sit for a moment.
Stir together.  If you have nice fresh tomatoes, you will get a good amount of juice in your bowl.
Spray with vinegar, or mix it in.
Add your Basil.
Eat and feel good about yourself.  Oh, and enjoy the beauty of the colors!

Note:  I use this helpful little item.  I found it at a discount buyout store and snatched it up for 1.00.  It's a balsamic spray.  I only had to use about five sprays to give the tomato and cucumber the level of flavor enhancement I was looking for.  I am not sure where you can buy this.  I can't find it for sale anywhere online.  That means that tomorrow I am going to go back to Ollie's Outlet and stock up on this vinegar spray because it is amazing.  Here is a link to the distributors.  If you are interested I am sure they can point you in the right direction.

http://www.lacollinatoscanausa.com/home.html


My favorite part of this snack was knowing that the dried basil was from my garden, as were the tomatoes.  It's like getting a very tasty paycheck!

Sunday, August 15, 2010

Plugging the Nesco Jerky Making Kit


Ok, let's talk jerky.  I am not too sure it is very healthy once you get down to the sodium levels alone.  BUT, it's jerky!  It transports well, it makes all those Atkins fools salivate, and it tastes damn good.

So as some of you know, I bought a food dehydrator a while back.  I feel sheepish even phrasing it that way.  I think it degrades the deep and abiding relationship me and Mr. Dehydrator share.  After all, I don't want him to feel like he's just an object in my life.  He is so much more than that.

After purchasing Mr. Dehydrator off Amazon every time I went onto their site I would get "you should buy this" ads thrown at me.  I saw the jerky kit ads quite a bit and I wasn't that interested.  Then one day I was using the jerky kit as a fake purchase to navigate to my way to a friend's address I had saved on their website.  Somehow that turned into me getting a jerky kit on my doorstep... still not sure how that happened.  In high school my art teacher used to refer to some of our works as "happy mistakes".  I will now use that term to describe my jerky kit.

Nesco BJX-5 American Harvest Jumbo Jerky Works Kit

I LOVE THIS ITEM!

This kit comes with the gun, three different tips to make thin strips, wide strips and slim jim style jerky.  It also comes with packets of flavoring and preservatives.

So this is my plug.  If you have a food dehydrator, drop the twenty bucks and just enjoy.  The whole process takes less than fifteen minutes to set up and then, depending on what type of meat you make, sometimes only 4 hours to dry out.  Don't forget that one pound of ground beef makes probably around $7.00-$10.00 in jerky.  The pile you see in the pic above was made with 1.75 lb of regular ground beef.  But aside from the savings, my favorite part is that you get to determine what spices take precedent in the end product!

SALT!!!!!!!

I have two very contrasting quirks.  Number one: I am purger.  The minute that I feel that I do not need something it is GONE.  The second quirk I have is that I am a collector.  From shoes and decorative pins, to scrapbooking paper and felt board stories, I have enjoyed amassing odd little caches.  But basically once I am done collecting something, it better earn it's keep or the purging will begin and it's out the door.  Side note:  I have a very understanding husband, and very grateful friends.

The newest objects of my affection, you ask?  SALT!  Oh my heavens... glorious flavor infused crystals of tender taste-popping salt.

A while back a friend of mine lived in Europe for a year.  I was fortunate enough to become the recipient of some of her brilliant shopping and she started my obsession.  She gave me a jar of Rosemary Flavored Falk Salt.  For a while I just let it sit and stew in my cupboard because I was concerned I would never be able to find it again.  What sound logic!  I guess I forgot about this fancy little thing called Google.

After finally pulling my head out of my butt, I started to use the salt and realized that it was such an asset to my cooking.  What wouldn't we all give to be able to add rosemary flavor and essence to food without all the sticks of the herb afflicting your palate and gums?

So, eventually I found my way to Google and realized that this company makes a great assortment of salts.  I perused a few different websites and then made it my goal in life to own it every single salt they offered.  Wild Garlic, Rosemary, Wild Mushroom, Black, Red Chili, Citrus, Natural and Smoke. 

Here are some links to help you add a little extra something to your cooking:
http://www.organicdirect.com/falk-salt-m-668.html

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!

Vegetable Sauce Shells


After many, many hours of steaming and pureeing, portioning and ziploc-ing I have now entered the promise land!  I have two freezers full, to the top, with healthy recipe options.

Tonight's post refers back to two different posts on this blog.  The first was in reference to a Jessica Seinfeld recipe from her book book "Deceptively Delicious" that I posted on June 27 2010.

The second post that I want to reference was a bit more recent, July 16th of this year.  Tonight I choose, again, to use quinoa pasta.  I went to my friendly neighborhood health food store and picked up a few boxes of the pasta after the success I had with the "spaghetti" and meatball dinner I made a few weeks ago. This time I made a dish with their shells.  Here is a link to give you a visual:
http://www.quinoa.net/145/163.html

So, I decided to throw together a little "noodle" dish for the little one and take advantage of many wonderful purees I am now in possession of.  Having the broccoli puree ready, and on hand, made this dish a joy to make.  It was like creating a broccoli-cheese sauce, or soup, in a matter of minutes with very little work.

Vegetable Sauced Shells

1 lb. Quinoa Shells
1/2 c. yellow squash puree
1/4 c. pureed spinach
1/2 c. broccoli puree
1/2 cup skim milk
2 tbsp. butter
1/2 c. sharp cheddar
A couple of pinches of of wild garlic infused salt (I want to make out with this salt, it is so amazing)
Freshly ground black pepper
Pinch of onion powder
Pinch of garlic powder

If you find that you have more sauce than you need, then reserve it more dishes for later!  Here's a novel idea, freeze it!

My review of this version of their pasta is that alone the pasta does have a notably different taste than the regular pasta we are all used to.  BUT, once I added the sauce, it was not a detectable change.  I recommend this product because of the pure nutrition you and your family will get from the pasta alone, even before you add the secret vegetables.

Monday, August 9, 2010

Desperation Breeds Ingenuity


I ran out of milk and tofu and yogurt.  The past few days have been terribly busy, and not only have we been missing trips to the store, but we have been missing out on nutritious foods.

So tonight I decided to redeem some of the day with a green smoothie before bed.  But alas, my fridge didn't hold the ingredients I needed... or did it?

Here is a recipe for a smoothie that went over REALLY well with my son tonight.  I do admit I added some chocolate syrup to entice him, but I do not think it was necessary.

Desperate Measures Smoothie

1 C. enriched vanilla Rice Dream
1 C. low fat cottage cheese (that's right! Cottage Cheese!)
1/2 C. filtered water
1 cube of frozen homemade strawberry juice (I think you could just use apple juice here if you want)
1/2 C. frozen blueberries
1 c. frozen pureed swiss chard
1 frozen banana
1 Tbsp. low fat chocolate syrup (I bet you could replace this with some cocoa and agave, or just agave and leave out the chocolate all together).

Here is an approximate nutritional breakdown using apple juice since it is hard to estimate the values on homemade strawberry juice.  Just click on them to enlarge them if you are interested and they'll be magnified for your viewing pleasure.  This smoothie created three servings and each serving has approximately 218 calories.



It was so tasty that my picky-as-HELL two year old called it "YUMMY!", and then proceeded to pilfer mine when he was done with his.

Here is some nutritional info on low-fat cottage cheese:


And, here is a link to some more of the nutritional benefits of this smoothie's key ingredients:

http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/dairy-and-egg-products/13/2



Life is good.

Wednesday, August 4, 2010

Mint Chocolate Hidden Spinach Cookies (Not too original, but still)

I love this cooling rack.


My husband informed me last night that it might be a good idea to start hiding nutritious items in our kid's food because he is quite the picky eater.  HA.... ahhh... sigh (enter Shy Ronnie Exclamation here.)

Apparently the dude doesn't read my blog.  Jack did have his spinach this morning in his smoothie, but when he asked for cookies the green light went off in my head again.

So we pulled out his favorite cookbook (go figure).


Sesame Street Yummy Cookies: Baking with Kids

So, I took a recipe from this book and made it deceitful.   Some cookbook authors go with deceptive or sneaky.  I will be perfectly honest and admit that I am being deceitful, because I am sure my kid is going to throw a fit when he finally figures out my modus apparatus.  I am not going to call this a healthy cookie at all.  It is just a cookie with some extra benefits.
The Sneaky Chef: Simple Strategies for Hiding Healthy Foods in Kids' Favorite MealsDeceptively Delicious: Simple Secrets to Get Your Kids Eating Good Food

So here is my altered version of this book's Cocoa Crackles.  The result is a bit of a cakey cookie, but at least he'll eat it.

They do taste as good as they look, actually even better!


Spinach Crackles

Preheat at 350.

3/4 c. AP Flour*
3/4 c. WW Pastry Flour*
2/3 c. unsweetened cocoa powder*
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 c. (1 stick) butter, softened
1/2 c. granulated sugar
1/4 c. packed light brown sugar
1/4 c. pureed baby spinach *
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 tsp. mint extract (to help account for that slight green tint)*
1 c. powdered sugar

Mix your salt, flours, cocoa, and baking soda in a bowl.

Mix your butter and sugars in the mixer until blended.  I use my kitchenaid.
KitchenAid KP26M1XNP Professional 600 Series 6-Quart Stand Mixer, Nickel Pearl

Add the eggs, spinach and extract to the mixer and blend until just mixed (don't over blend or they'll be too cakey like mine turned out this time).

Roll heaping teaspoonfuls of dough in a bowl of the powdered sugar until they are coated.  I made mine too big, so go smaller than I did.  I used the pampered chef scoopy thing and I think it was a bit too big for this cookie.  Lesson learned, but it is a good scoop as most people can attest.
The Pampered Chef Medium Scoop #2540

Drop them on the parchment lined cookie sheet, about and inch or two apart.

Bake about 10 minutes, give or take for the size of your cookies.

Let them cool.

Deceive your kids with chocolate, mint and love.

*Elements I altered from the original recipe.