Dark Chocolate-dipped Fruit for Valentine's Day

Chocolate-covered strawberries are a staple for Valentine's day, but these are some of the most simple ones you can make. Instead of the normal look, we decided to cut our fruit into hearts for little bite-sized treats. Aren't they so cute! I bet you can think of someone who would absolutely love these!

Ingredients
1 C dark chocolate chips
2 tsp coconut oil
Assorted fruit (We used strawberries, kiwi, bananas, and apples. And a few almonds)
Almonds, crushed (optional)
1 tsp Peanut (optional) mixed in with the chocolate. Will make it less smooth.

Directions
1. Cut fruit into heart shapes, if desired, or slice thin. (For the apples, we just left them in slices.)

banana cut into hearts--take off the sides until it makes a point, then take a triangle out of the top

2. Place fruit on parchment paper into the freezer for 15 to 20 minutes, until chilled throughout.
3. Prepare another cookie sheet with parchment paper for finished chocolates.
4. Melt chocolate chips gradually, being careful not to overheat.
5. Mix in coconut oil. This makes it a little smoother and more like dipping chocolate.
6. Dip in fruit, covering entirely. Let the excess chocolate drip off. If desired, roll the fruit in the crushed almonds. Place fruit on the prepared cookie sheet. Keep chilled until ready to serve.

Whole Grain Heart Pancakes--A Healthy Breakfast for Valentine's Day




Whole Grain Heart-shaped Pancakes with Strawberry Syrup and powdered sugar

Heart Pancakes with Strawberry Syrup and Buttermilk Syrup. Mmmm!

So here at Grain Crazy we decided to make Valentine's season start a little earlier so it can last longer. It is one of our favorite times of the year. It is also Britney's birthday, so that makes it extra special to us.   So we are going to bring you some healthier options for Valentine's Day in the next couple weeks.

I used spelt flour for the pancakes, but you could substitute your favorite whole grain flour. I've included both the recipes for Strawberry Syrup and my favorite Honey Buttermilk Syrup. The pancakes are good with one, but even better with both!

Ingredients
Pancakes
2 C whole grain flour (I used spelt.)
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt  optional
1 tsp cinnamon
2 eggs
2 T coconut oil
1 T honey
1 1/2 C almond milk unsweetened

Strawberry Syrup
2 1/2 C frozen strawberries, thawed
1 tsp lemon juice
3 T honey

Buttermilk Syrup
3 T butter
1/2 C honey
1/2 C buttermilk (If you don't have buttermilk, use 1/2 C milk and 2 tsp vinegar)
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 t vanilla
2 tsp almond extract (optional (but so good!))

Toppings
strawberries, cut up
sifted powdered sugar


Directions
1. Heat up griddle to about to about 300 degrees. Grease with oil.

2. Mix all the dry ingredients in a bowl. Stir together with a wire whisk.

3. Add eggs, oil, honey, and milk, Stir until just mixed.

4. Pour the batter on to griddle. Cook until light golden on both sides.  Then take them off the griddle and cut into heart shapes using a cookie cutter. You can then decide what topping you want on them.  

cutting out the hearts

5. For Strawberry Syrup place the strawberries, juice and honey into blender and blend until smooth. 

6. Sift with powdered sugar if desired. 

7. For Buttermilk Syrup, place a saucepan on medium low heat. Pour in butter, buttermilk, and honey. Let the mixture come to a boil for 2 minutes. Take off the heat stir in baking soda, vanilla, and almond extract. Serve over warm pancakes.

8. Place cut up strawberries on top. 

* Cut up bananas would be delicious too.
* I found the squeeze bottle at walmart for 2 for $2.00. It makes it a fun way to apply the syrup.


You might also like to check our Strawberry Vanilla Valentine Pudding. It is such an elegant, yummy dessert!

Whole Grain Raspberry Oatmeal Bars

Valentine's Day is one of our favorite holidays around here! I love thinking about the people I love and I feel like it means spring is coming soon. We decided to dedicate some recipes to the holiday of love this week. We declared yesterday a day of cooking and I got two of my daughters involved in the fun. And, less you think cooking always goes right in this house, only two of our four recipes actually worked. Boo. But we did have two successes.



Our Whole Grain Oatmeal Bars were one of those successes. They have a nice granola-y crunch that is satisfying and hearty.

Ingredients

1 C 6-grain rolled oats (or plain rolled oats if that's easier)
1 1/2 C rolled oats
2 1/2 C whole grain flour (I used a mixture of spelt and Kamut and oats, equal parts)
1 tsp baking powder
3/4 C coconut sugar (or your favorite sugar alternative)
1/2 tsp salt
4 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 C coconut oil, melted (or your fat of choice--the original recipe called for butter)
1 C raspberry preserves (or your flavor of choice) I had some frozen raspberry puree I used :)
1/2 C unsweetened flaked coconut

*A note about coconut oil and coconut sugar. They do not taste like coconut. They are simply fat and sugar alternatives that I feel are better for me.

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Combine dry ingredients in large bowl. Stir in vanilla and coconut oil until crumbly.

3. Set aside 1 C of crumb mixture and press the remaining amount evenly into a 9x13 baking pan.

4. Spread preserves over the crumb mixture. Mix coconut with the remaining crumb mixture and sprinkle over the preserves.

5. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes until coconut is lightly browned. Let cool before serving.