Carrot Cake Bites

I love the ingredients in carrot cake. This is a fun way to get a mouth full of the flavors of carrot cake in a snack bite. They passed the taste test with my 3 year old grand daughter and my husband. Eating one is not enough. I hope you are having a beautiful week. 

Carrot Cake Bites

Ingredients  makes approx 16 bites

10 medjool dates Pitted

1 cup  pecans

1 cup  almonds

1/2 cup shredded carrots

1/3 cup unsweetened shredded coconut

1 1/2 Tablespoon of coconut oil

2 teaspoons cinnamon

pinch of salt 

Directions

Pour all of the ingredients into a power blender and blend until crumbly. It will require you turning on and off the blender to stir with a rubber scraper to redistribute the mixture. Then when process  of blending is complete, roll the mixture into small balls. Store in an airtight container in the fridge. Enjoy

 

Quinoa Nutty Bites

 

 We had a wonderful weekend listening to General Conference. It is always uplifting. We had one of our daughters and her husband come in town for a visit. That was a treat. She is expecting and looks so cute. We had a big juicy turkey with the whole gang. So much to be thankful for. It was a day of Thanksgiving. 

 

 I  love nuts and have fun creating new snacks with them. This is one that I hope you will enjoy. I put in quinoa and chia for extra nutrition. Yum!

1 cup unsalted cashews
1/2 cup unsalted pecans
2/3 cup Bobs Red Mill old fashioned oatmeal (gluten free if desired)
1 C unsweetened coconut flakes
2/3 cup Quinoa flakes
1/4 cup chia
1 C honey

Directions

1. Grease a square pan. 

2. Pulse together all the ingredients except the honey. Keep it slightly chunky. 

3. In a small saucepan pour in honey.  Turn heat to medium high heat and let honey come to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium low and simmer until it reaches 240 degrees. Stir it often. It will turn into a nice thick carmel. Take off the heat. 

4. Pour over the nut mixture and stir until all combined. 

5. Scoop mixture into pan and press down with rubber spatula until all even. 

6. Let harden in the fridge. Cut into squares. I then put them in a ziplock in the fridge so they were ready when I wanted a snack. Yum

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Cranberry Quinoa Salad with Toasted Pecan

Cranberry Quinoa Salad with Toasted Pecans

I have been pondering on happiness lately and realizing I know outside influences can have a big effect on our happiness, yet I feel like we can create happiness inside ourselves no matter what is going on around us.

 I am fascinated by Denmark they are the 2nd happiest country in the world and yet they have winter days with 14 hours of darkness. That really intrigued me.  They have "Hygge"  Danish word, pronounced "hoo-ga", is usually translated into English as "cosiness". Here is more about it. http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-34345791. I love that word "cosiness" I love how this country creates that in their homes regardless of what is going on around them. 

It has been fun working on creating more of that in my home. I have also thought about how I can create more of that inside of me. I know often I may be guilty of thinking someone else is responsible for my happiness, and yet when I stop and think about it I realize that I am the one that is responsible for it. I know other things can add to our happiness but we can create it within us.  What are your thoughts? 

I really enjoy eating for dinner is a yummy salad. In fact often my husband and I will enjoy a salad as our main entree for our dinner. Yum! I LOVE how I can eat so many great vegetables in one serving. This salad is loaded with healthy goodness. I love the pecans in it. I used to think I didn't like pecans and now I really do our tastes can change. 

Recipe

1/2 C pecans chopped up
2 T honey
4 C kale or other favorite greens washed
1 C snow peas broken in thirds
1/2 Cucumber thinly sliced
4 radishes thinly sliced
1 C dried
crasins
1 C cooked quinoa
3/4 C feta cheese

Dressings

1/4 C apple cider vinegar
1 T mustard
1 T honey
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
1/4 C olive oil

Directions

1. In a small saucepan heat to medium low and pour in honey. Stir in the nuts and cook for a couple minutes until all thickened and nice golden color. Pour out to cool on parchment paper or a non stick surface to cool. Make sure the nuts are spread out so they don't stick together in one clump.

2. Pour all the ingredients in the blender for the dressing and blend 1 to 2 min until all combined set aside.

3. Toss all the ingredients for the salad together. Pour on the dressing right before serving or leave dressing off and pour on after serving on to plates. Enjoy!

Pecan Pie Bites (No gluten, Low Sugar)

These are a fun version of pecan pie without all the calories. They only take 3 ingredients to make pecans, honey, and oil. pecans have a natural sweetness of their own so they don't need a lot of sweetener.  They will fill your mouth with a mouthful of yum. A great source of protein too. Read some of the benefits to pecans here. Pecans are loaded with nutritional benefits.

Ingredients

1 C chopped pecans
1 T coconut oil
1/2 T honey or vegan sweetener
1/2 C finely chopped pecans
1/4 C  chopped pecans

Directions     makes 8 bites

1. Put pecans in blender with oil and honey. Blend until smooth. I used the Blendtec twister jar that worked fast. It may require some pulse and stir in another blender until it reaches the right consistency.
2. Stir in the 1/2 C of pecans in a small bowl. Put in fridge until it starts to thicken about 30 to 60 minutes.
3. Take bowl out of fridge and roll into small balls. Roll into chopped nuts. Eat right away or put in fridge to harden. Store in airtight container.

Nutty Bars (gluten free and low sugar)

"Some times you feel like a nut some times you don't.... " This song has been running through my head. I usually feel like a nut. haha I love eating nuts. The funny thing is I used to think I didn't like pecans and now I realize that I do. It is fun to eat different nuts because they all contain different benefits. They are a great source of protein too. The key is to enjoy them but to not go overboard eating them.

I made this mixture of nuts into a bar and was very pleased how they turned out. It is a great combination of flavors. Do you feel like a nut today?

 Ingredients

1 C chopped unsalted cashews
1 C chopped almonds
1 C chopped pecans
1/2 C chopped dark chocolate chips
4 T chia *optional
4 T coconut oil melted
1 T honey
1/2 C chopped dark chocolate chip
1 T coconut oil

Directions    makes about 1 dozen

1. In a medium size bowl pour in cashews, almonds, pecans, chips and chia. Stir until all combined.
2. In a small bowl stir together oil and honey. Stir into the nut mixture until all combined.
3. In a small bowl melt remaining chips and oil in microwave. Stir the oil and nut mixture together. The chips melt a little bit with the warm oil and honey. I liked that.
4. Line a long bread pan with parchment paper. Pour the melted chips on the bottom of the pan spreading evenly. Then pour the nut mixture on top. Spreading it evenly. I used a small metal spatula to flatten the mixture down.
5. Place in fridge to harden. It will take about an hour. Cut into squares and enjoy.
6. Store leftovers in fridge in air tight container. YUM!

Baked Apples with Cinnamon and Pecans

This recipe is a wonderful way to turn your house into a Fall wonderland. It makes it smell so good. They also taste great too. They are so easy to make. They could be served for breakfast, a snack or a yummy dessert. You can choose when you want to have them. It is a fun way to enjoy the Fall. It has the flavors and smells of apple crisp without all of the work,


Ingredients

4 baking apples cored and sliced in half
4 T chopped pecans or other nut
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp cardamom *optional
4 tsp honey (add 1/2 tsp per apple if you want it sweeter)
water to cover the bottom of the pan
serve with almond milk if desired

Directions  heat oven to 350

1. Place apples in an 8 x 8 square pan. If you want to you can slice a thin piece off the bottom for them to sit flat on the pan.
2. In a small bowl combine nut, cinnamon, cardamom and nutmeg. Stir together until they are all combined.
3. Spoon nut mixture on each apple until the mixture is all gone.
4. Drizzle a tsp of honey on each apple. Trying to keep it on top of the apple.
5. Pour a small amount of water on the bottom of the pan. About 1/4" of the bottom of the pan. If the water evaporates while cooking add more water.
6. Place pan in oven and cook about 40-50 min. or until the apples are soft.
7. Serve warm with milk drizzled over the top if desired. you can also drizzle the juices from the bottom of the pan on to the apples.

Crustless Pumpkin Pie (Gluten Free)

Love pumpkin pie. I am not a fan of the crust that comes with it. This is a delicious option, and  the extra bonus is, it's even gluten free. It is creamy and delicious and crustless. Great for the upcoming holidays too.

Ingredients 
 1 15 oz. canned pumpkin
1 C + 2 T almond milk
1/2 C honey

2 eggs
1tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp cloves

Topping

1/2 C chopped up pecans
3 T coconut oil
1/4 C honey
1C old fashioned oatmeal
1/4 C quinoa flour or other whole grain flour * {Or gluten free flour)
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/8 tsp cloves


Directions   Heat oven 350  serves 12

1. Blend in a blender or mixing bowl with a beater pumpkin,milk,honey, eggs, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves..
2. Pour pumpkin mixture into greased square pan.
3. In a small bowl mix together pecans, oil, honey, oatmeal, flour, and spices. Stir with a wire whisk, or  stir together with a fork. Stir until all combined.
4. Sprinkle topping evenly on pumpkin mixture.
5. Place pan  in preheated oven. Bake for 50 to 60 min or until knife comes out clean when inserted in the middle.
6. Take out of oven  and cool on wire rack for 30 min. Cut and serve.
7. You could serve with your favorite topping for pumpkin pie.
8. Store leftovers covered in fridge.
*Choose gluten free flour for gluten free version.

Peanut Butter Nutter Clusters (protein)

I have a new hobby that I am loving. Biking! It is so fun to see things from a bike. I am able to see a lot more than I did when I walked. I am still at the novis stage but it is so much fun. It is fun to do something new. I had ridden bikes before but not to this extent. We live in such a beautiful world. It is a very pretty time of year. Love it!

These are a fun snack. They are loaded with protein and a great snack in between meals when the hungry pains hit or even before that.


Ingredients

1/4 C pecans
1/4 C almonds
1/2 C cashews
1/4 C peanut butter
1/4 C chia
1 T coconut oil
3/4 C old fashioned oatmeal
1/3 C dark chocolate chips

Directions   makes 12

1. In a blender pulse all the ingredients together until all combined.
2. Scoop on to pan lined with parchment paper.
3. Place in fridge to harden. Store in airtight container in the fridge.

Pumpkin Pudding with Candied Pecans (Low sugar & Dairy Free)

 I love this time of year when I start making more pumpkin dishes. I love to eat pumpkin all year long but, I it especially fun when the leaves start changing Fall is here. I noticed some beautiful red leaves as we drove home from our annual Labor Day weekend at the lake. I love being with my family enjoying beautiful scenery and warm water.

This pudding whips up fast and is low in sugar. You will love its wonderful creamy texture. This would be great to serve for the Fall holidays coming up. Enjoy!

Ingredients

4 T honey or  4 T vegan sweetener
2 T cornstarch
1 3/4 C almond milk
1 egg
1/2 C unsweetened pumpkin puree
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 T honey or vegan 1 T sweetener
1/2 C chopped pecans

Directions     Serves 4

1. In medium sauce pan (off the heat) stir honey and cornstarch together until all combined.
2. In a small bowl beat together milk and egg.
3. Place saucepan on medium heat with honey mixture in it. Start stirring. Stir in the milk mixture slowly.
4. Let the mixture come to a boil stirring constantly. Let boil for 1 minute. Turn down the heat to low and let it cook stirring constantly 1 to 2 min.
5. Take off the heat and stir in pumpkin, vanilla and spices.
6. Pour into serving dishes and cover with plastic and let chill.
7. In the meantime put nuts and honey in a small skillet and place on medium-low heat. Stir and let them toast for about 5 min. The honey will nicely thicken. Take off the heat and let cool. Put in small bowl.
8. Garnish chilled pudding with nuts and serve. Yum!

Coconut Date Nut Bites

These are a yummy snack for your family to enjoy together. It is loaded with some great foods as well. It is fast and easy to make. It is a great on the go snack. I hope you  had a wonderful weekend. It has been really cold here. It is a great time to stay inside :)

Ingredients:
14 dates softened
1/4 C pecans
2 T coconut cream (4 T shredded unsweetened coconut)
1/4 tsp cinnamon *optional

Directions:
1. Throw all the ingredients into a blender or food processor. Blend a couple minutes until they are all chopped up fine. Roll into balls and enjoy or store in air tight container in the fridge or freezer. YUM!