Last week, we talked about the benefits of flaxseed and a few of their purposes. I thought it would be a great use of this week's Meat Free Mondays to go over a few fantastic flaxseed recipes, especially for desserts. Although desserts are not the most healthy thing on the food chart, having a few ways of making them a bit healthier never hurts.

Namely Marly's Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake

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Goodness, cookie cakes are so good, and cookie bars are super fantastic. One of the aspects I love most about this cookie cake is that the only dairy component is the chocolate chips; everything else is vegan! The recipe does call for some ingredients not commonly found in one's pantry- like sorghum and brown rice flours, but most can be purchased at your local health food store. The cake is made in a 9x13 cake pan, so should be more than enough for 10-15 people.

Flaxseed Peanut Butter

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Peanut butter is not a dessert on it's own, but is used in so many desserts that it seemed just as fantastic a recipe as any other dessert. This peanut butter recipe is the simplest recipe I think I have had on the blog yet. As long as you have a food processor or good blender, some peanuts, flaxseed, and salt, you can have peanut butter- and in about three minutes too! I am so happy that I found this recipe while searching for healthier peanut butter options. Peanut butter is not too health (and by "not too" I mean not at all), so having a recipe that changes it up a bit is heavenly. Enjoy!

While you are checking out this peanut butter recipe, I highly recommend looking at some of the other goods at Made to Create. This girl knows her healthy food and has some fantastic recipes to go along with a healthy and active lifestyle.

Chocolate Bundt Cake

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Although I am not usually a fan of bundt cakes, I will make an exception for this one any day of the week. This bundt cake is a rendition of an Eating Well cake that was created by Barr Hogen. The cake serves about fifteen people and takes about two hours from start to finish. The recipe calls for some pretty interesting ingredients like prune puree, rice bran oil, and hazelnuts. The hazelnuts are what caught my attention off the bat. Hazelnuts are another hidden gem in the healthy foods community and, if you have ever cooked with hazelnuts before, you know how incredible they taste in almost any baked good. This cake is sure to be a success at any party, and with 1/3 a cup of flaxseed, you do not have to feel guilty eating it!

Here is one more recipe that did not make the dessert cut, but I just could not leave out. It is maple almond butter, can you blame me?