Toasted Quinoa with Dried Fruit and Nuts

I love looking at pictures of hot cereal. I was doing it the other day and it made me hungry and I wanted to eat all of them. I love hot cereal. It warms me up on cold days and leaves me with a very satisfied feeling. Hot cereal can be eaten anytime of the day but it is usually eaten in the morning. It reminds me of a beginning of a new day and new things to accomplish. Morning is my favorite time of the day. This cereal is delicious. The added fruit and nuts is a great addition. The great thing is it is so healthy Yum!

Ingredients

1/2 C washed quinoa
1 T coconut oil
1 C almond milk
1/2 C water
1 T honey or another sweetener of your choice
1/2 tsp cinnamon
 garnish with dried berries, cherries or pomegranates o a mixture of all of them
sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds
extra milk for on top if desired


Directions serves 2

1. Heat a small sauce pan on medium heat.
2. Pour in quinoa
and oil and stir and toast a couple minutes
3. Pour in milk, water, honey and cinnamon.
4. Let mixture come to a low boil. Turn down the heat to low and let cook about 20 min or until liquid is absorbed.
5. Serve into bowls and pour dried fruit and nuts on top. Pour on a little more milk if desired. Serve.
6. Store leftovers in the fridge in air tight container.

Think Outside the (Lunch)box: Oatmeal Cookies for Lunch

This week we have a special week planned. It's Think Outside the (Lunch)box Week! We’ve asked some of our favorite healthy bloggers to come “visit” our blog this week and give you their ideas for healthy school lunches. School lunch season is fast approaching, and it’s so easy to buy a box of prepackaged goodies at the store and send them with our children, or simply send them the same lunch every day. But is what we send healthy? Or does it even taste good? And goodness knows it's not just he kids' lunches that need improving. What about yours?

Today we are addressing the problem of a sandwich. While they are perfectly good for some of the time, I remember sandwiches in my school lunches often being smashed by the time I ate them, or soggy. (It reminds me of a blog post by Stephanie of nieniediologues talking about eating her children’s lunch when they left it home and finding out it was disgusting by lunch time, even though she had been packing them with care.)

What if we were to give our kids something that had all the nutrients of a sandwich without actually having it be a sandwich? What if we were to give our kids healthy cookies for lunch?

Preposterous, you say.

Yup. Maybe. But these aren’t just any cookies. That wouldn’t do. But with the right (healthy) ingredients you could be the hero of the lunchroom and save us all from the soggy sandwich.

You. The hero of the lunchroom.

Just think about it.

 

Look! A complete meal without a sandwich!

Banana Apple Version

Ingredients
3 eggs
2 T almond milk or milk of your choosing
1 tsp vanilla
1 C raisins or dried fruit
1/2 C nuts (pumpkin seeds, pecans, cashews, almonds etc..)
1 C ripe banana smashed or applesauce or pumpkin puree
1 apple chopped in small pieces or grated zucchini or grated carrots   
1/2 C honey
1/8 to 1/4 C almond butter or peanut butter (optional)
1/4 C coconut oil
2 1/2 C  spelt flour (or any combination of whole grain flours)
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
2 tsp baking soda
2 1/2 C old-fashioned oatmeal

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Version
ingredients above but instead:
1 C of pumpkin puree instead of banana
1 C of dark chocolate chips
omit peanut butter

Directions
1. In a small bowl pour eggs, milk, vanilla and raisins, dried fruit, and zucchini or carrots. Stir them all together. Let soak about an hour to let them soften.

2. Place parchment paper on cookie sheet. Heat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Pour nuts onto the parchment paper and place in oven.  Bake until lightly toasted.

3. After you have let it soak an hour, pour into bowl with banana, honey, apple, peanut butter, and oil. Stir until all mixed together.

4. In a different bowl measure and pour all the dry ingredients. Whisk together. Combine with wet mixture. Stir just until moistened.

5. Put parchment paper on to the cookie sheet. Scoop on the size of cookie you want. Gently flatten cookies before putting in the oven.  Bake for 10 to 12 minutes.      

Come back every day this week for fabulous recipes from some brilliant bloggers. There is a lot more lunch goodness to come!

Chocolate Cherry Oatmeal Cookies

These were an effort to make a granola-bar-like cookie. They are healthy and a treat! They would make a great addition to a school or work lunch--a touch of sweetness without the guilt.

Ingredients

1 1/3 C coconut oil
3/4 C honey
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp almond extract
2 eggs
1/4 C almond butter
4 C whole wheat flour (I used kamut flour.)
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 C rolled oats
1 C dried fruit (I used dried cherries. You could also use raisins.)
1 C shredded unsweetened coconut
1/2 C chocolate chips (optional)


Directions

1. Melt together honey and coconut oil until it's creamy. Combine with all other ingredients in a large bowl.

2. Form into 1-inch balls and place on cookie sheet. Flatten gently.

3. Bake for 10 minutes at 250 degrees Fahrenheit.

Baked Oatmeal

Baked Oatmeal for a quick and healthy breakfast.

It is one of my sweet daughters birthday today. I am so grateful for her and the laughter and love that she brings into my life.  It is so wonderful to have family. My life revolves around them.  

I am teaching a class about cooked cereal tomorrow so, I have it on my mind. I made this over the weekend. It tasted wonderful. The great thing about this recipe is you can make it ahead, and have it all made for a quick breakfast, which my husband and I have enjoyed.. It kept me satisfied all morning.  If you plan ahead it is easier to eat healthy meals.  It could also make a great snack, lunch or dinner.  

Ingredients:

2 C Old fashioned oatmeal

1/4 C flax seeds ground
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ginger (I used fresh)
1/2 tsp nutmeg (Iused fresh)
1/4 tsp ground cloves (I love the smell)
1/4 tsp cardamom *optional
1/2 tsp sea salt w/ iodoine
2 1/2 C milk
1/4 to 1/3 C honey
1 egg
1/4 C coconut oil (melted)
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 C dried  fruit and nuts if desired (I preferred without the nuts)

Directions:

*Heat oven to 350 Grease ramekins it made 8

1. In a bowl mix together, oats, flax seeds, baking powder spices and salt.

2. In a different bowl mix milk, honey, egg, coconut oil, and vanilla until all combined.

3. Mix the wet and dry ingredients together. Fold in the fruit and nuts. (You could let it sit in the fridge over night to soften before you cook it.)

4. Pour into 7-8 ramekins or 2 qt baking dish. Bake 25-35 min. It should turn a nice golden brown. Serve warm with milk and fresh fruit.

*. Store leftovers in the fridge covered with plastic. Heat up when ready to serve. You could also do chocolate chips. It could be eaten warn or cold. I also thought about putting fresh fruit in it next time. Like some chopped up apples. You could stir in a little pumpkin or peanut butter to add some extra flavor too.  There are a lot of possibilities.    

Flax and Mixed Fruit Muffins

I made these over the weekend. They make a wonderful Fall muffin. They were moist and had a great flavor. It has been fun to have extras, to eat this week for a quick breakfast, or to put in school lunches. It is a great way to get flax seed in your food. You could change this recipe around by adding different fruits.

Ingredients: makes about 20-24 regular muffins

1C dried fruit mix of your choice
1 1/2 C hot water
4 C whole grain flour (I used spelt, kamut, brown rice mix)
2/3 C ground flax seed
1 T baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
2 eggs beaten
2 C plain yogurt or vanilla yogurt
1/2 C honey or 1 C sugar
1/2 C coconut oil or oil of your choice
* 1/4 to 1/2 C chopped nuts Optional
Directions: Bake at 350*

1. Pour 1 1/2 C hot water over the dried fruit and let sit for a few minutes.

2. Measure and put dry ingredients in a mixing bowl.

3. In another bowl eggs, yogurt, honey, oil and beat together.

4. Drain the liquid off the dried fruit. Save 1/4 C of the water to the wet mixture.

5. Stir in the wet mixture into the dry ingredients. Don't over stir.

6. Then fold in the fruit.

7. Grease muffin pans. Scoop the muffin mixture into the cups.

8. Bake 15-20 min.

*I read if you cook flax seed at 350 or below it doesn't lose the benefits of Omega 3 that is in it. You can also replace eggs in a recipe with 1 T ground flax seed to 3 T water per egg.

Chewy Mixed Grain Bars

I found a recipe for granola bars, and changed it around. It was fun to add some extra grains in. I also made them not as sweet. You can decide if you want to have them sweeter. I am trying to adjust my families tastes, as well as my own, to crave less sweet. By adding some spices to it, it adds another dimension that I really liked. My applesauce I used was some unsweetened homemade, I had made and put in the freezer. Yes, you can freeze applesauce! It works great.
These were the finished product. You could wrap them up individually, and put them in lunches. Airtight container would be best.
This is what the mixture looks like when I mixed the fruit, applesauce, and seeds together.
Then I added the whole grains, coconut and eggs and poured it onto a jelly roll pan.
Ingredients:

2 1/4 C unsweetened applesauce
1 C dried fruit (I used mangos, blueberries, and cranberries)
2/3 C sunflower
1/4 C pumpkin seeds
1/4 C sesame seed
5 T honey (you may want more?)
1/4 tsp cardamom
1 tsp cinnamon
2 C six grain rolled oats (you could just use oats)
1 1/3 C whole grain flour (I used spelt, oats, kamut equal amounts)
1 tsp baking powder
2 eggs
1 1/3 C unsweetened coconut

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 400. Grease jelly roll pan.

2. Mix in a bowl applesauce, seeds, and spices and stir together.

3. Then add the oats, whole grain flour, baking powder, coconut, and eggs to the fruit mixture. Stir until all mixed together.

4. Pour on to jelly roll pan spread evenly. Bake until golden, about 20-25 min. Cool and cut into bars. You could add your own variations, chocolate chips, raisins, other dried fruits, etc... Have fun with them.

Mixed Grain Apple Date Muffins ( Low Gluten)

These were a fun way to use the apples, that are in season right now. I was really happy with the way they turned out. They are so moist! There was no sweetener used other than the dates and orange juice. The end result was fantastic. I used Teff which is a fun grain, loaded with lots of nutrition. The spices were so good too. :) They are loaded with lots of grains. Daughter # 2 tried them and said "They are good and really moist". If you want them sweeter, you could add a little sweetener. I was excited to not add sweetener this time. :)

2 C Spelt Mixture*
1/2 C 6 Grain Rolled Oats or Oatmeal
1/4 Teff *
2 T Ground Flax
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp cardamom
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt
12 Pitted Dates and 1/4 C Water
2/3 C Rice Milk Or Milk of your choice
1/4 C Fresh Orange Juice*
4 T Coconut Oil or Oil of your choice
1 tsp Vanilla extract
1 egg beaten
2 C Cooking Apples Finely Chopped (Sweeter variety)

1. I measured all the dry ingredients in a bowl. Then I sifted them to make sure all the spices were evenly distributed. Set aside.

2. Mix the dates in with 1/4 C of Water in the blender until all chopped into smooth mixture.

3. Mix the Date Mixture, Milk, Juice, Oil, Vanilla, and Eggs in a separate bowl.

4. Combine the two mixtures together. Don't over stir.

5. Pulsed the Apple cut up in pieces, in my blender. (With the peels on) Until they were small pieces.

6. Fold in the Apples into the mixture.

7. Scoop into muffin pans. I made mini muffins. It made 36.

8. Bake in preheated oven 350 for 10-12 min. Add time if you make bigger muffins.


* Spelt Mixture 5 C Spelt, 2 C Kamut 1 C Brown Rice 1 C Oat Groats. I ground up extra for other baking. :)
* I ground the Teff up in the Coffee Grinder.
*I squeezed it from a Sweet home grown orange. Thanks! Craig and Ellen

Happy Fall!

Granola with a tropical twist

I enjoy trying different versions of Granola. This is a new one, I liked. It was a new twist to use the tropical fruit, and to use applesauce instead of oil. :) I loved the tropical blend I used, that had mango, blueberries and cranberries. I also used a 6 grain rolled oats, that I got from Good Earth. It added a lot of great grains. It had red and white wheat, Rye, Barley, Rolled Oats and Sunflower seeds. It tasted great!

3 C. 6 Grain rolled oats or Oatmeal
1/3 C. Applesauce (I got the flavor with cinnamon :)
1/3 C. Water
4 T. Sugar and Cinnamon Blended together
1 C. Cashew pieces
1 C. Dried Tropical blend ( I used the one with Mango, Blueberries, and Cranberries
1/2 C. Unsweetened Coconut flakes

1. Heat oven to 325

2. Mix all the ingredients together.

3. Pour onto cookie sheet. You can use parchment paper.

4. I like to clump it together a little. (I like when it sticks together while baking.) Stir every 10 min. till cooked to desired texture. I like it to be slightly crunchy. :) After it cools store in an air tight container or ziplock bag. Enjoy! :)

Oatmeal Date Nut Balls

These were sooo good! They were easy too. :) The recipe made 8 balls and I have already eaten 3 of them. :) I love the natural sweetness of them. My daughter doesn't like dates and was pleasantly pleased with them. I think most people wouldn't guess there were dates in them, they are in such small pieces.


1/2 C Oatmeal Old fashioned
1/2 C Dates pitted Chopped fine
1/2 C Cashews chopped up fine (almonds would work too)
1/4 C Peanut Butter (Adams Natural Creamy is what I used)
1 1/2 T Honey

I put the dates, oatmeal and cashews in the blender (or food processor) pulsed till chopped up fine. Then I added the peanut butter and honey. I rolled them in a ball. They stuck together great. You could add mini chips,coconut or another kind of dried fruit. They were tasty!

*I put the dates in whole in my blender. It will depend on your blender if you can do that. My cashews were broken up in pieces, when I put them in.

* I tried them again today. I used almonds instead of cashews added the same amount. I also added 1/4 C of coconut. They were great too. :) I love this new snack.

* I cut the peanut butter down to 1/8 C. and they still turned out really well.

Coconut Apricot Bread

I tried this new kind of bread. I wasn't going for sweet. I put the unsweetened apricots in the bread. If you want a sweeter version put sweetened apricots in it or add more sugar.

1 1/3 C milk you could use coconut milk
1 1/3 C warm water
4 T coconut oil or oil of your choice
1/4 C coconut sugar or another sweetener
1/4 C milk powder
2 T yeast
1 tsp salt
2 eggs (beaten)
1/2 C Chopped up fine dried apricots
1/4 C T finely ground coconut
7 1/2 C Spelt flour mixture

1. Mix Milk, Water, oil, sugar, powdered milk. Let sit about 5 mix till mixture starts to bubble.

2. Mix in eggs, coconut. Add flour 1 cup at a time. Till the dough pulls away from the side and yet is slightly sticky. You don't want it too dry. Don't knead in a machine more than 4 min. With Spelt flour you don't want to over knead.

3. Rub oil on the dough and let rise in a bowl covered with a towel. For about and hour or till double.

4. Rub oil on your hands. Form into loaves. I made 2 nice loaves. I think it will make good french toast. :)

Healthy Pumpkin Muffins

These were some of the best muffins I have made for a while. They were soo moist. My family really liked them. Sometimes when I take out some of the fat, it dries them out. But these turned out great! Low in sugar too.

2 3/4 c. Wheat and oat flour I ground up 3 C. Wheat and 1 C Oat Groats (I had extra)
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. cardamon
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 c. Dates pitted
1/2 c. water
2 c. cooked pumpkin
1/4 c. honey
1/2 c. Coconut oil
2 eggs

1. Mix all the dry ingredients together in a small bowl.

2. In the blender pulse the dates and water together. Till they form a paste or thick liquid. Add more water if needed to be 1 cup total. Set aside.

3. Mix pumpkin, honey, Coconut oil and eggs together till well blended in a bowl.

4. Combine the wet and dry ingredients together till blended. Don't over stir.

5. Scoop batter into greased muffin pan. Bake 350 about 10 min. Don't over bake.

Yields: I made 32 mini muffins

Enjoy! Oh Yum!

Oatmeal cookiest

These are healthy enough you can eat them for breakfast. My daughter loved the dough. :) I made them without egg and they worked out very well. They were nice and moist. Hope you enjoy them.
1 C Unsweetened Coconut
3 C Oatmeal
1/2 C Water
1 1/2 Tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 Coconut oil or oil of your choice
1 tsp vanilla or almond extract
1 C Sucrant or sweetener of your choice
1/2 C Ground Flax
1 1/2 c. Spelt, Groats, Brown Rice, Kamut I ground up 5 C Spelt 1 C Groats, Kamut Brown Rice
1 tsp. Guar Gum (Helps to make it less crumbly, and holds it together. You can get it at the health food store)
1 C. Dried Cherries, Raisins or Chips (I liked them best plain)

1. Heat oven to 350. Toast coconut. Till golden brown around 5-7 min .

2. Mix Oil, Extract and water together.

3. Mix all the dry ingredients together. Then add to wet ingredients. Mix until well blended.

4. Add Cherries, Chips or Raisins if you are adding them.

5. Bake at 350 for 8 to 10 min. Till done.

Healthy Power Bar

It is fun to find healthy options for power bars. I went to a Bosch class recently, and liked this idea. I debated about taking a picture of it. Power bars aren't the best looking thing. Sorry! :/ The other thing I liked about the recipe was the fruit is the sweetener. Sometimes the ones you get in the store are loaded with sugar. :( It was fun to realize I liked dates. :) I like the natural sweetness they give, to food.

You just add equal portions of the following ingredients. I did it as follows.

1/2 C. Walnuts Or pecans, almonds. cashews etc.. ( I like them chopped fine)
1/2 C, Dried Fruit apricots, Cherries etc.. (I used Cherries this time)
1/2 C. Dates Pitted

Then I added

1 Tsp. Cinnamon

2 tsp. Chia or you could use flax * Optional

1T Honey *Optional (If it doesn't stick together, I didn't use it.)

1. Chop nuts

2. I blended in my blender the dates and Cherries.

3. Then I threw it all together in the blender, till combined.

4. Mash into a loaf pan. Let harden. You could put in the fridge. Cut into bars and wrap, in plastic wrap, individually. They will be ready when you are on the run. :) Yum! I like these fast easy and good. You can come up with your own combination. Enjoy!