Magic Bar Bites (Healthier Version)

This recipe was created when I was thinking about how to make magic bars healthier. They are a dessert that is often served at Christmas time especially, but they are eaten all year. These are a healthier version. The flavor is not sacrificed. They are not an exact match, but they come close without all the added calories. Hooray!

 Ingredients

1 C unsweetened shredded coconut
1 C nuts chopped (I used cashews, pecans, walnuts, or almonds would be great too.)
1/2 C spelt flour or wholegrain flour
3 T coconut oil
1 T honey
1/4 C dark chocolate chips (chopped small)

 Directions makes about 14

1. In a small bowl blend together coconut, nuts and flour with a fork.
2. Then blend together the remaining ingredients into the nut mixture.
3. Put the mixture in the fridge at least 15 min to let it harden.
4. Take out of the fridge and form into balls with your hands.
5. Place back in air tight container in the fridge to harden.
6. Then enjoy a mouthful of yummy goodness.

7. Store in airtight container in the fridge.

Try these cashew coconut cookie dough bites

Healthier options for Hostess or Holidays Giving for friends, family, and neighbors

Canned foods

 I heard a sweet story of someone bringing a bottle of canned cherries. (which I love) To a family after their mother died. It has been years since this event happened, but it still is a very clear memory for him. It was a very thoughtful gesture that reminded him of sweet family times. Every time I hear him tell the story it gives me a warm feeling

 If you have canned goods  you want to share this is a very thoughtful gift. That would mean a lot to those who receive them.

Apple Topping

Here is where you can find a recipe for cooked apples. That would be a great gift to give away. It is wonderful to eat plain. Would be great on pancakes or waffles or in muffins. There are lots of options. You could can them or just put them in containers that go in the fridge. 

Candied Nuts

Here is a fun idea. Giving your neighbor some candied or smoked nuts. You could also just give them plain nuts with nothing done to them. Nuts are always a treat in my book. They are a great thing to eat and to share.    

Homemade Fruit Topping or Jam

Here is a recipe for a healthier fruit topping or jam.You could use any kind of fruit. You could also can it if you don't want to make it a freezer jam. I used to love to go to my aunts she always had yummy freezer jams for breakfast. Foods can bring back so many fond memories.     

Homemade Granola

Here is a  yummy granola recipe. It would be a fun treat to package up and give away. A lot of people never make it. It could be eaten plain or in yummy parfaits. Some other granola options: raw granola   maple almond whole grain granola       
 and soaked granola.

Also mulling spices is fun too.

It is fun to think of fun healthy options to give to friends, family and neighbors. There are so many unhealthy options during the holidays it is nice to finds some healthy ones to share.  We can make the world a healthier place. Happy giving.

Have a Nutter Bite (Healthy)

I have always been a fan of Nutter Butter Cookies. I hadn't had them for a long time. Either they changed, or I did because they didn't have the taste that I remembered. So here is my attempt at making a healthy nutter butter treat. I was happy with the end result. I do love peanut butter. Yum!

Ingredients:
4 T peanut butter (natural)
2 1/2 T coconut oil
2 T honey
2 C old fashioned oatmeal
1 tsp vanilla
1/3 C unsweetened coconut
1/3 C  pumpkin and sunflower seeds and almond combination

Direction:
1. Pulse all the ingredients in the blender until it all blended.
2. Pour into a bowl. Make sure it is all mixed up.
3. Form into balls, and , eat , or store in an air tight container in the fridge. It is that easy!

Granola that Clumps together

I hope that you are enjoying this season of giving Thanks! It is a nice time of the year to think of all the things I am grateful for.

I made this granola and was really happy with it. I love how it clumped together. I know it was a winner when my son eats it. He has already had 2 bowl fulls.My husband and son both love eating cold cereal. I love when they eat a healthy version. It is nice to make food that we all enjoy. :) Success! I tried something new and added some fresh nutmeg. Delicious!

Ingredients:

2/3 C honey
1/2 C coconut oil

3 C old fashioned oatmeal
1 C almonds chopped up coarse
1/4 C sesame seeds
1 C sunflower seeds
1 C unsweetened coconut
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp fresh ground nutmeg

* dried fruit optional raisins, dates, craisins etc..

Directions: Heat oven to 250
1. Melt the honey and oil together in a small bowl. On the stove or in the microwave. Set it aside.

2. Put all the dry ingredients in a bowl together. Pour in the honey mixture. Stir till all combined. 

3. Put a parchment paper on 1 cookie sheet.  Pour the granola on to cookie sheet. It will be thick. 

4. Place in the oven. Bake 30 min. Stir a couple times during cooking time.  

5. Let cool on the counter and store in an airtight container. 

Cinnanut Oatmeal

You always win when you make something with oatmeal and cinnamon. :) I love the combination. It was fun to make oatmeal this morning and doing something different with it. It is nice to know that I sent my family off with a healthy breakfast. It is a great way to start out your day. It could also make a great snack. This nut mixture could also be used in other hot cereals too.  

Ingredients:
3-4 T coconut sugar or brown sugar
3-4 T water
1/2 tsp butter
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 pinch of salt
1/2 C walnuts or other nut (finely chopped or coarse if you desire)

4 C water
 2 C old fashioned oatmeal
1 T coconut oil
1 pinch of salt
1 T coconut sugar
Top with: banana, berries or another fruit, more sugar if desired.
milk if desired.

Directions:
1. In a small sauce pan heat up the sugar, water, butter, cinnamon, and salt. Let heat up for 1 or 2 min. Stir in the nuts. Let them cook until the mixture gets nice and thick. Then pour on to parchment paper or waxed paper to cool 
2. In the mean time in a medium sized pan boil the water. Then sit in oats, oil, salt, and sugar. Let it come to a boil again. Turn down the heat and cover. Let cook to your desired preference. I prefer mine with a texture int it.
 3. Scoop the oatmeal into a bowl and then put some of the nut mixture on top. Add other toppings if desired. You can also pour on a little milk as well.

Soaked Granola

Sorry for the lack of posts. I have been on vacation. We had a nice family trip to Lake Powell. I love swimming in warm water, it is a pretty place. It is one of our favorite places to go on vacation. :) Family times are such a treat.

I made this granola and was happy how it turned out. I have been reading more about soaking grains. Here was one site that had a lot of information. I also mixed in the soaked trail mix that I had made.
I poured on some almond milk and it was a tasty meal.

Ingredients:
8 C oatmeal
1 C coconut oil
1 C honey
3 T lemon juice
1 C water or  1 C coconut milk

2 T Vanilla
2 C Shredded coconut
1 C almonds chopped fine

Directions:

1. Soak Oatmeal, oil, lemon juice, water or milk, in a bowl. Covered with plastic. Soak it 6-8 hours or over night.

2. Then pour in the vanilla, coconut, and nuts. Stir until just mixed.

3. Then heat oven to 350. Pour on to 2 greased cookie sheets. Spread it out. Bake 30 min and then let cool. Store in an airtight container. Another great breakfast for your family. I have been putting it in their lunches too. :)

Nuts and Oats Healthy Snack

Oh this is so yummy! I love nut chews that you get in the store. I really enjoy eating a mix of nuts. So I made my own mix with out all the additives. This tasted really good plain, but you could mix it with yogurt, cooked oatmeal, fruit, kefir and the list goes on....:)

Ingredients:
1 C mixed cashews, almonds, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds (chopped up not too small.)
3 Brazil nuts chopped
1 T honey
1/2 to 1 tsp cinnamon
2 T oatmeal
*optional 2 T ground flax or chia (I will try them next time)


Directions:

1. I chopped all the nuts in a food processor, with the oatmeal. They were still in small chunks.

2. Then pour into small pot on the stove, mix in the honey and the cinnamon. I cooked it till it started to stick together well, for a few minutes. You can decide how long you cook it depending on how hard you want it.

3. Then you can just eat as is, like granola, or press down into a pan, and then cut it up , or roll into balls. Whatever way you decide you can enjoy it!

Oatmeal Pie Crust (Gluten Free)

This was fun to make a healthy pie curst. It tastes like a cookie to me. I usually don't like the normal pie crust, I would be happy to leave it behind. My family enjoyed this as well. I was recently wondering if you could make a healthy pie crust. I found a recipe and did some changing and here you go. The cool thing is it is gluten free. For those people who are gluten intolerant, and thought pie wasn't an option. =)
I just whipped some whipping cream and cut up some frozen strawberries and added a small amount of sweetener. I made two. We ate one and froze one, both versions were yummy. I think I may have liked it frozen a little more. You can be creative with what you fill it with. I could easily have made this fuller. I was trying to stretch the ingredients for 2 pies.

Ingredients: Makes 2 Pie shells (One isn't enough. You will want another one.) =)

3 1/4 C Old fashioned Oatmeal
1/2 C almonds (You could use a different kind, or a combination)
1/3C +1 T honey
1/3 C coconut oil
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp cardamom* Optional

Directions:

1. Pour oatmeal and nuts in a blender or food processor and grind into a flour.

2. Pour the mixture into a bowl. Pour honey, oil, and spices in. I then used a pastry cutter, and cut the mixture until it was all combined.

3. Grease pie shell. I then just poured it in and formed it similar to the way you would make a graham cracker crust. Push it up against the sides. Much easier to make than a regular pie crust.

4. Then bake in preheated 350 oven for about 13-15 min. Just until light brown don't over bake.
Then let it cool and fill. I think you could cook it with a fruit or pumpkin filling in it. I did not try it. I will have to try that next. =) Yummy!

Healthy Power Bars in a Ball

This is for some of you that are looking for something healthy to eat during the holiday week end. The other option is eat it after the weekend after you are sick of the candy. =) This is loaded with lots of great nutrition in one ball. It could be a great snack, quick breakfast, or alternative for dessert.

I had a free sample the other day of some kind of "Healthy" bar that felt like it was going to break my teeth. There are a lot of "Healthy treats" or "Power bars" that are not healthy--read the labels. I am finding it is a lot cheaper and safer to make my own. I like all the textures in these balls. I hope you enjoy it as well. The nice thing is when you eat ones of these, it is very satisfying.

Ingredients

3 C Dates
4 C 6-grain rolled oats or oatmeal (the oatmeal would make it gluten free)
1 C Unsweetened coconut
1/4 C Chia (optional)
1/4 C Ground flax
1/4 C Cashews, chopped fine
1/4 C Almonds, chopped fine
1/4 C Sesame seeds
1/4 C pumpkin seeds
2 T Peanut butter
1/2 C Coconut oil
2 T Cinnamon (other spices could be good too)
1/2 tsp Salt

Directions

1. Put dates in a bowl with enough water to cover them. I have some harder dates so I left them in about 20-30 minutes.

2. Drain water into another bowl and pour dates into a blender and blend. You want it to be a paste when you are finished. You can use some of the water you drained off to help make the paste if your dates did not absorb enough. Add a little at a time. You don't want it to be runny. The goal is a thick, smooth consistency.

3. Then pour the date mixture and all the remaining ingredients into the bowl. Mix until all combined. Roll into balls. The recipe made 28 balls. Put them in the freezer to harden on a cookie sheet. I freeze the ones I can't eat right away in zip lock bags.

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!