Our family lives on a budget. That means that sometimes simple things like buying granola bars, needs to go. It isn’t that they are costly over time, but we already buy bulk at Costco, so we might as well make our own and save some cents. Plus, I want clean ingredients and to be able to control sugar content.
After looking at numerous recipes, I found one that with a few tweaks was perfect. You can add anything you want to it, but we keep it pretty simple. Ingredients: 2 cups old-fashioned oatmeal 1/2 cup oat flour (oatmeal that’s pulsed in blender or food processor until rough flour) 1/4 tsp baking soda Less than 1/4 tsp pink salt 1/4 cup coconut oil, melted 1/4 cup honey 1/4 cup real maple syrup, or sugar 1 tsp vanilla extract Optional: 1 tbsp chia seeds 1 tbsp flax seeds top with dark chocolate chips Instructions: 1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line an 8x8 pan with parchment paper, allowing 2 flaps to overhang. 2. Mix oat flour, oats, baking soda and salt in medium bowl. If adding chia seeds or flax seeds, do so now, mix. 3. Melt coconut oil. Add honey + syrup (sugar) + vanilla. Pour into oat mixture. Stir until well coated. Spread evenly into the pan. Press down firmly. Top with chocolate chips, if desired. 4. Bake for 20 minutes. They are done when they are golden and smell like honey. Cool for 10 minutes, then lift parchment paper by flaps and remove from pan. Cut into 8 bars. Refrigerate to cool completely before wrapping. (I use snack size ziploc bags.) They firm up as they cool. *Note: syrup makes them more crumbly but I just love the flavor so much.
3 Comments
.
Y’all know I’m all about my chocolate muffins, but the other day I seriously needed blueberry ones in my life. I couldn’t find a recipe that wasn’t butter, refined sugar, and unhealthy. I ended up finding a recipe, making some tweaks and over the past few weeks have come up with this delicious recipe. Ingredients: 1/3 cup honey and/or maple syrup (I generally do half + half) 2 eggs 1 cup unsweetened almond milk (can use coconut milk) 1 tsp lemon juice 1/2 cup coconut oil, melted (Be sure it’s almost above the 1/2 cup line) 1.5 cups oat flour (grind up old-fashioned oatmeal in the food processor until fine powder) 1.25 cups whole wheat flour (can use gluten-free) .25 cups ground flaxseed meal (can skip this and just add .25 cups of whole wheat flour for a total of 1.5 cups) 4 tsp baking powder 1/2 tsp cinnamon 1/2 tsp pink salt 1.25 cups blueberries (can use frozen) Directions: 1. Preheat oven to 375. Line a muffin tin with liners or spray generously with coconut oil. 2. In a small bowl, mix almond milk and lemon juice. Let sit for 5-10 minutes. 3. In a large bowl, which honey/syrup, eggs and melted coconut oil. 4. In another bowl, mix whole wheat flour, oat flour, flax seed, baking powder, cinnamon, + salt. 5. Whisk half of the dry mixture into the wet mixture. Then add half of the almond milk mixture until just combined. Whisk in remaining dry ingredients + finish by adding the remaining milk mixture. Do not overmix. 6. Fold in blueberries and scoop into pan. Should be VERY full. 7. Bake 18-20 minutes. Make sure the edges are golden brown and they are done in the center. I hope you enjoy these as much as my entire family does. Happy baking! Protein in the AM is key for me. It helps keep me feeling full all day and studies have shown that it helps reduce food cravings. I also struggle with getting veggies in the early part of the day. If you are on the go each morning this is a great recipe to have prepped on Sundays and you can grab and go. Here is one of our go-to, kid-friendly, hubby-approved morning recipes. Ingredients: 12 eggs 1-2 cups of veggies, your choice. I tend to use cherry tomatoes and organic spinach 4-6 slices of turkey bacon, nitrite free bacon OR chicken sausage (just enough to fill the bottom of the cups) 1/2-1 cup of mozzarella or cheese of your choice salt and pepper to taste Directions: 1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray nonstick oil on muffin pan. For this recipe, I'm using a regular size muffin pan. You can do mini l, but your times will change. 2. Precook your meat and line the bottom of each tin. 3. Add veggies. 4. In a bowl, whisk together eggs and pour into each muffin tin. Should be about 2/3 full. 5. Top with cheese, salt and pepper. *Note: feel free to add herbs like basil and any seasoning that you love. I've even done nutritional yeast and it's delicious. 6. Bake 25 minutes or until center is set. They will rise a little.
Serving size is 2 muffins. For my 21 Day Fixers, 2 Muffins= 1 red, 1/2 green, 1/2-1 blue Share with your friends and I would love to see your different variations. I struggle with getting enough veggies in my day. Often times I realize this right before dinner and then I'm clueless on what to make. Enter zucchini noodles, aka zoodles. These have been a game changer for me. I generally just sautée them for 2 minutes in olive oil, garlic and a little lemon, but the other night I wanted something more decadent.
Instructions: In a medium skillet add... 1 tbsp grassfed butter 1 tsp minced garlic 1/4 cup unsweetened almond milk Cook down for 1-2 minutes. Whisk in 1 tsp gluten free flour until smooth. Add 1 ounce mozzarella and 1 tbsp grated Parmesan. Salt and pepper to taste. Toss in chicken (I used leftovers) and 2 zucchinis worth of zoodles. Cook 2-3 minutes. Voila! So yummy! Craving something a little sweet, but don't want to give in to all the sugar? Here is my go-to craving buster.
Ingredients: 2 bananas 1 cup quick oats (If you have old fashioned, do a quick pulse in the food processor) Handful ofchocolate chips Directions: 1. Mash bananas with a fork or muddler. 2. Mix in oats and chocolate chips. 3. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes. Makes about 9 cookies. Short, simple, delicious. These are an addictive, new favorite in our house. They don't have that dense gluten free texture, but are actually muffin texture. Soooooo yummy and kid friendly. Ingredients: 1 cup all natural, smooth peanut butter or almond butter 2 ripe bananas, mashed 2 eggs, room temperature, beaten 4 tbsp honey (Add one more if you have a sweet tooth) 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder 1/2 tsp baking soda 1/4 tsp baking powder 1/4 tsp fine sea salt *Optional: 1 oz. mini chocolate chips Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a muffin tin with liners or oil. 2. In a large bowl, combine peanut butter, bananas, eggs, and honey. Use a mixer until well-combined and smooth. Add cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Mix with spatula until combined, then use mixer until very well-combined. Batter should be soft, thick, and smooth. 3. Divide batter into muffin pan. Shimmy pan to even out batter. Sprinkle optional chocolate chips evenly on top. 4. Bake 22-25 minutes or until muffins spring back when touched in the center. Ingredients: COOKIES: 2 cups fine ground blanched almond flour (I used Trader Joe's) 1/4 tsp fine sea salt 1/4 tsp baking soda 1/4 cup virgin coconut oil, melted 1/4 cup honey 1 tbsp vanilla extract ICING: 1 can full-fat coconut milk, chilled overnight 1-2 tbsp honey or maple syrup Directions: COOKIES: 1. In a medium bowl, whisk almond flour, salt, and baking soda. 2. In a small bowl, whisk coconut oil, honey, and vanilla. 3. Add oil mixture to flour mixture. Stir until well-blended and smooth. Spoon the dough into the center of a large piece of parchment and wax paper. Wrap into a disc shape. CHILL in the refrigerator at least for 1 HOUR. 4. Preheat oven to 325 degree. Line a large cookie sheet with parchment paper. 5. Roll the chilled dough to 1/4-inch thickness between 2 sheets of oarchment paper. Place the rolled out dough into the freezer for 5 minutes. (Makes it easier to cut out shapes.) 6. Use cookie cutters to cut out shapes; transfer shapes to prepared cookie sheet. Chill the cookie shapes for 5 minutes in freezer. (It helps them hold shapes while baking.) 7. Bake 9-12 minutes, or until golden. Cool completely. CHILL DOUGH BETWEEN BATCHES. ICING: 8. Open can of coconut milk and spoon out cream, leave the "milk". You can save it for smoothies or coffee creamer. 9. Whisk or use a mixer to add in honey until blended. Transfer to a piping bag OR a plastic ziplock bag. Chill. Cut corner of ziplock to pipe into cookies. Original recipe from www.powerhungry.com
This recipe has all of my favorite fall/winter flavors and it's made in one skillet. While this recipe has a little more prep work than my usual dinners, it's so worth it. My husband works most nights, so we always save this for a night that he's home. We love to cook together and with him chopping the veggies and me in charge of the skillet, it's a fun date night in activity for us. Plus, it's because of him that we added more bacon and it's delicious. 😍 Ingredients:
4-6 slices of bacon, nitrite and nitrate free, chopped 1 lb chicken breasts, cubed 3 cups Brussel sprouts, trimmed and quartered 4 cloves garlic, minced (2 tsp) 2 apples, peeled, cored, cut into 3/4 inch cubes 1 medium onion, chopped 1 sweet potato, 1/2 inch cubes 2 tsp fresh thyme or 1/2 tsp dried thyme 1 cup chicken broth 1/2 tsp black pepper 1 tsp cinnamon 1 tsp salt 1 tbsp olive oil Directions: 1. In large skillet (we used cast-iron), medium-high, cook chicken cubes for 5-8 minutes with 1/2 tsp salt and pepper. Remove to a plate and set aside. 2. Turn skillet down to medium-low, cook bacon until crisp. Transfer bacon to a paper towel using a slotted spoon. I placed my paper towel on top of the chicken. Leave 1 1/2 tbsp of bacon grease in pan, remove extra. 3. Skillet goes back up to medium-high, add in brussels, sweet potato cubes, onion, and remaining 1/2 tsp of salt. Cook until onions are translucent, 10-15 minutes. 4. Stir in apple cubes, garlic, thyme, and cinnamon. Cook for 30 seconds then add 1/2 cup chicken broth. Bring to a boil and cook until absorbed. (2-5 minutes). Add chicken and the rest of the broth in and cook until it's absorbed as well. (2-5 minutes). Stir in bacon. 5. EAT!!!! Normally my breakfast is pretty boring. I eat scrambled eggs, oatmeal, and drink some coffee (half-caff). ;) I was determined to find something different that would please not just my no sugar added palate, but my husband's desire for some normal food. Lol. i actually made this 2 different ways, one with whole wheat pastry flour and one with gluten free. I also want to try it without adding the sugar, so I will update as soon as I do. I did use coconut sugar which is better on the glycemic index than cane sugar. It's also less sweet, but no one can tell. This recipe is husband approved, regular and gluten free, and toddler approved. Ingredients: WET: 1 tbsp ground flax seed + 3 tbsp water ("flax egg") 5 medium sized bananas, mashed (approx. 1 3/4 cup) 1/4 cup maple syrup 1/4 cup coconut oil, melted 1/3 cup cane sugar or coconut sugar 1 tsp vanilla extract 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar 1 tsp cinnamon 1/2 tsp salt 1 1/2 tsp baking powder DRY: 1 1/2 cups quick oats 1/2 tsp baking soda 1 cup white whole wheat flour OR gluten free flour (I used Trader Joe's) Directions: 1. Preheat the oven to 360 degrees. Lightly oil an 8x8 pan. 2. In a small bowl, stir flax and water. Set aside to thicken and make your "flax egg". 3. Mash bananas in a large bowl. I used a cocktail muddler, but a fork works. Add in "wet" ingredients: maple syrup, melted coconut oil, sugar, vanilla, apple cider vinegar, cinnamon, salt, and baking powder. 4. Give "flax egg" an extra stir so it's fully combined. It will still be a little grainy. Add to wet ingredients. Whisk or use an electric mixer until smooth. 5. Add oats. Stir. 6. In a small bowl, mix flour and baking soda, then add to the rest of the ingredients. Gently fold in with a spatula until combined. Let rest 1 minute. 7. Add to pan and smooth the top. 8. Bake 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick in the center comes out clean. (Our magic time was 38 minutes). The original recipe credit goes to Cesar's Kitchen.
I LOVE cheese and broccoli together. However, it isn't always the healthiest. Same goes for the traditional holiday Casserole with rice, Cheez Whiz, and cream of mushroom soup... NOT healthy. So, I did some research and decided to not completely overhaul this recipe into something unrecognizable, but to make it just as delicious but eliminate the processed yuckiness. Ingredients: 1/2 medium onion, diced 1.5 cups cooked quinoa (I rinsed mine and cooked it in water, but feel free to use veggie/chicken broth for more flavor) 2 heads of broccoli or 1 lb. 1 tbsp butter or oil salt pepper 1 carton of Pacific organic cream of mushroom soup (nothing artificial!!!) 1 cup milk (I used unsweetened almond milk) 1 cup sharp cheddar cheese, shredded. ($ note: it's always less expensive to shred your own) Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a medium or large baking dish with butter or oil. 2. In a large sauce pan, heat butter and add onion. Sauté about 3 minutes or until translucent. Add chopped broccoli and sauté. Add salt and pepper to taste, about 1/2 tsp each. Cook 3-15 minutes depending on how you like your broccoli. I cooked mine longer but it still had a nice crunch. 3. Add in cream of mushroom and milk. Stir in cheddar until combined. Add in quinoa. Stir again. :) 4. Pour into baking dish and top with a little extra cheese. 5. Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes. If you decide to make this in advance and store in the fridge, wait to bake until needed and then cook at 350 for 30-40 minutes. |
Archives
November 2017
Categories
All
|