Almond Butter Cups (Healthy)

 These are a fun healthy snack. They can be enjoyed all day long. They are loaded with protein and low sugar. They taste great too.  A great little pick me up for your day. Have a great weekend. Spring is coming up quick. Love it.


Ingredients

Bottom layer

1/3 Cup almond butter (no sugar added) (Or nut butter of your choosing)
3 Tablespoon coconut oil
2 Tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 Tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

Top layer

1 Cup almond butter (no sugar added)
1/3 Tablespoon coconut oil
2 Tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Makes about 9 regular or 16 mini cups

1. In a small bowl mix together the first 3 ingredients with a spoon. If needed put in microwave for 15 seconds to soften. It should be a nice smooth consistency.

2. Then stir in the vanilla and cocoa powder until all combined and smooth.

3. Put a spoonful into each cup greased muffin pan, mini or regular size. You can also use muffin cups. (I have a picture of making them with cups and without)  It should just be enough to cover the bottom.

4. Mix together the first 3 ingredients for the top layer. If needed put in microwave for 15 seconds to soften and get a smooth consistency. Then stir in the vanilla until smooth.

5. Pour the top layer by spoonful on top of the bottom layer. Smooth with spoon to completely cover the bottom layer.

6. Place muffin pan in the freezer for. Should harden in 30 min. Take out of muffin pan and store in air tight container in freezer or fridge for easy access for a healthy snack. Enjoy!!

Almond Butter

My daughter had car trouble last night and stalled in the middle of the road. It warmed my heart to have to men come and push it and help her to start it again. There are angels among us. There are good people everywhere that are there to help in our time of need. It makes me very grateful to live in this beautiful world.

I love almond butter. It is a fun treat for me. It is fun when I make it at home. It is easy to make and tastes great. Almond butter can be used on the same things you would use peanut butter for. Enjoy!

Ingredients

1 C almonds
1 1/2 T chia
1 T honey (vegan version use maple syrup)
1 T coconut oil

Directions

1. Pour all the ingredients into the blender or food processor. Blend and pulse until smooth. Serve at once.
2.  Store in airtight container in the fridge.

* I recently got the twister job from Blendtec. It worked so great when I was making this. I love it.

Whole Grain Holiday Wraps with Vegetables (fun appetizer)

Happy Holiday Wraps

Ready to Roll!

All rolled up!

New product

 I got this fun idea for a fun holiday appetizer. I changed it to make it healthier. This would be fun to take to a holiday party or just enjoy at home. It was fun to find a new product at the store "Greek cream cheese" or you can make your own here. If you are feeling ambitious. I think it would be fun to try different vegetables next time too. You can be creative and come up with your creation.


Ingredients
1 8oz package Greek cream cheese, or Greek yogurt, or cream cheese (softened)
1 tsp parsley
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion flakes
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 pepper
1 tsp basil
1/8 tsp red pepper flakes *optional
4 green onions chopped up
1 red pepper diced
3 T dried parsley or fresh parsley chopped * optional
other options: chopped broccoli, or chopped spinach, and dried cranberries
7-8 wholegrain tortilla wraps or I made these
freshly ground pepper

Directions
1. Put softened cream cheese in a bowl. Add the parsley, garlic, onion, salt, pepper, basil, and * red pepper flakes. Stir until it all combined. Set aside.

2. Lay out the tortilla on a clean counter top and divide the mixture evenly on to the tortilla and spread all the way out to the edges. Then evenly distribute the vegetables (You can put on the amount of vegetables you want) on to the tortillas. Then sprinkle on the parsley and pepper if desired.

3. Roll them up. Cover in plastic wrap, and put in the fridge until ready to serve.

4. When ready to serve take out of the fridge unwrap. Slice in about 1/2 inch slices. Place on plate. Serve.     

Healthy Sweet Pocket of Raspberry Jam Muffins (wholegrain)

What are you doing to enjoy your Summer. I having been on a mission to do something fun each day, before Summer vacation is over. Sometimes at the end of Summer I think of all the things that I wish I had done. So that is why I am working on doing something fun each day. It has been a lot of fun. I have created some impromptu gatherings that have been a lot of fun. It has been fun to enjoy family time and the great outdoors. I love to soak up all the outside time that I can. So what do you do in the Summer time when all the world is green ..? (from a song I sang at church when I was younger.) It has been fun to get peoples responses. Make the most of Summer it is slipping by way too fast.

I found a version of this recipe in a magazine and changed it up to make it healthy. It was a great way to use this. The berries tasted great in them. You could use any kind of berries. It had been a while since I had made muffins. It was a nice treat. 

Ingredients:

2 eggs

2 T honey (More if you want sweeter)

3/4 C of rice milk or any kind of milk

1/4 C coconut oil

2 C spelt flour

2 1/2  tsp baking powder

1/4tsp salt

1 1/4 C raspberries (replace with any kind of berry)

1/2 C raspberries preserves all fruit. (You could use any kind of berry)

Directions: Heat oven to 375  makes 12

1.Beat together in a bowl eggs, honey, milk and oil. Set aside 

2. Pour into a new bowl flour, baking powder, and salt. Fold in the wet mixture. 

3. Fold in berries until just mixed.

4. Scoop out one cup of batter and set aside.

5. Grease muffin tins. Pour in the remaining batter into the cups evenly distributing. 

6. Pour 1 tsp of preserves into the center of each muffin tin on top of the batter.

7. Then evenly distribute the 1 cup of batter on top of all the muffins. 

8. Place in hot oven and bake for 15 to 20 min. Cool on cooling rack. Enjoy!

Eating Vegetables and Fruit

What you do in the Summertime. We are almost to Summer. I have been reading the importance of getting a minimum  of 5 servings of fruits and vegetables. Only one out of three people get that many.

I love all the health benefits you get from fruits and vegetables. :) It is good to eat a variety because they all have different benefits. One easy way to get a variety of nutrients is to get a variety of colors. There a great variety this time of year. So enjoy it. A new thing I learned is dark leafy greens like spinach can help in eye health. Interesting! 

It's important to make them easier to eat. One thing I am working on is to have them cut up in the fridge ready to eat. I know that I am apt to eat them more often that way. My son loves them with dip. That is an option too. I find that fruits and vegetables fill me up longer and I don't crave the unhealthy foods as much.    

Vegetable Dip

Ingredients
1 package of hidden valley buttermilk dressing
2 C plain yogurt

Directions
Mix together and eat! 

Almond Butter Treats (Raw)

These are another one of my creations. I have made a lot of different versions. It is fun to experiment and come up with something new. I shared some of these with some friends and they were a hit. So I thought I would pass along the recipe to you. I like to store them in the freezer in a zip lock or air tight freezer container. Then they are ready when ever you want a quick snack. They are very satisfying to me, and I feel like I am eating something healthy too. You really can't go wrong when you combine these yummy ingredients. :)

Ingredients:
5-6 dates (softened) You can soak them ahead of time
1/4 C almond butter or peanut butter
1/2 C old fashioned oatmeal
1/3 C pumpkin seeds unsalted
1/3 C cashew pieces unsalted
2 T coconut oil

Directions:
1. Make sure the dates are soft. You can put them in the microwave with a little water for 30 seconds.If you haven't soaked them. 
2. Pour all the ingredients into the blender and pulse a couple seconds and  stir it and continue the same process until it reaches the desired consistency.
3. Pour the mixture into a bowl and form into balls. Put in the fridge or freezer to let harden. You can eat them soft too. Enjoy!

Here are some other ones:

1. Almond cocoa balls
2. Almond Coconut treats
3. Power Balls

Seeds and Nuts Bites

I am always looking for wonderful foods to have as snacks for my family and myself. I made these yesterday and loved them. There are a lot of variations of this kind of treat out there. This one is a great combination.. I loved adding a few pistachios to them.
Here is one closeup. I liked having them in little bite size pieces.

Ingredients:
2 C nuts cashews, almonds, walnuts, pistachios or ?
1 C sunflower and pumpkin seeds
1/4 C honey
1/4 tsp almond extract or vanilla
1 T coconut oil

Directions: heat oven to 300
1. Chop up the 2 C of nuts. You don't want to chop them too much.

2. Place nuts and seeds on cookie sheets so they are only a single layer. Place pans in the oven and toast the nuts and seeds about 10 min. or until lightly toasted.

3. Then in the mean time place a small sauce pan on the stove and heat up the honey and the extract. Until turns to liquid.

4. Take the toasted nuts out of the oven and put in a bowl or into the saucepan if it is large enough and stir until coated.

5. In a square glass Pyrex pan place parchment paper in the pan. (Or grease pan) Then pour in the mixture.

6. Place back in the oven until lightly golden about 10 min.

7. Let cool about 10 min. Then cut into small pieces. I place the whole piece in the fridge for a little while and then broke them into pieces. I store them in a fridge in a zip lock bag. You cold also wrap them in plastic.

*adapted from this recipe

Soaking Nuts and Raw Trail Mix

Trail mix made with the soaked nuts!
Nuts after they have been soaked and dried in the oven.

I was intrigued yesterday when I started to read why people soak their nuts. I had heard of people doing it, but had never researched it. Here and here are some sites with good information on the subject.Nuts have enzyme inhibitors to aide in the growing process but, the benefits of having that removed before digesting them increases the nutrition benefits of the nut. I love to learn new information.

Some of the benefits I learned:
1. Nuts contain enzyme inhibitors that get released when soaked.
2. Increases amount of vitamins your body can absorb form the nuts. Especially Vitamin B
3. Decreases the phytic acid in the nut that can reduce mineral absorption.
4. Putting the salt in water activates the enzyme that deactivates the enzyme inhibitor.
5. Breaks down the gluten and easier to digest.
6. You want to store raw nuts.
7. Make sure you store them in air tight container. I like keeping them in the fridge.

What I did yesterday, when I made trail mix.

Ingredients:
2 C of each almonds, cashews and pumpkin seeds
3 tsp sea salt with iodine added
enough water to cover the nuts
3/4 to 1 C raw unsweetened large flake coconut
1/2 tsp grated fresh nutmeg *optional
1/2 tsp cinnamon *optional
1/3 C dark chocolate chips chopped in blender into little pieces *optional

Directions:

1. Soaked the nuts separately in their own bowls. Pouring 1 tsp of salt in each bowl.

2. I then covered them with plastic and let them sit 4-5 hours at room temperature. I was not letting them sprout for this recipe.

3. Then put in a colander and drain all the water off.

4. Heat oven to no higher than 150 degrees or you can dehydrate them. Place them in a single layer and let cook until they are completely dried out. No moisture left. I stirred them regularly.

5. Then I cooled them and poured them into a bowl. Then add the coconut and the nutmeg and cinnamon. stir all together. You can also add choc. chips, or dried fruit would be yummy.

6. Store in an airtight container.

*I think next time I will leave out the chips. They will melt when it gets hot. I loved the salty flavoring of the nuts. :) I love this recipe. I can plan ahead and make my own healthy trail mix.