Coconut Seed Clustered Granola (Grain Free)

 Hi, It has been a while since I took the time to put in a recipe. I still love creating recipes. Britney my daughter has been busy creating too. She is expecting her first daughter after 4 boys very soon. We are excited.  She is a busy Mama.  Our family gets three beautiful grandchildren this year. Great things are happening.

I found some coconut clusters at Costco a while ago. They had coconut, seeds and chia in them and I fell in love with them. Well I have a large bucket of shredded coconut, and so I thought it would be fun to try, and make some on my own. My belief is it is always a healthier option to make your own if you are able to.

Well I made this last week for some friends and it was a big hit with my friends and family so I thought it would be fun to share it with you. I love it!

Ingredients

2 Tablespoons Coconut Oil                  

1/4 Cup Honey

4 Cups of Unsweetened Coconut Flakes

1 Cups Raw Pumpkins Seeds

1 1/3 Cups Raw Sunflower Seeds

6 Tablespoons Chia Seeds

Directions

Stove top method 

In a large pot on the stove. Turn the heat to medium and pour in the oil and honey. Stir together and heat until warm. Then stir in the coconut and turn down the heat to medium low. Stir in the coconut in with the honey mixture until the coconut is all covered. The coconut flakes will start to turn golden. Stir in the seeds and continue to stir until the coconut is a light golden brown. 

Take pot off of the stove and pour the mixture on to a parchment paper or greased pan. Spread out and let cool. Store in an air tight container. 

In oven method Preheat oven to 325

Pour all of the Ingredients into a bowl. Stir it until all ingredients are combined. Pour ingredients on to greased cookie sheet. Spread out the ingredients evenly. Place pan in preheated oven. Bake for 13-20 min. Until the coconut turns light golden brown. You can stir the granola halfway through for even baking. 

Take out of the oven and cool. Store in an air tight container.  Enjoy!

Orange Julius

I was talking to my friend Sabrina who always has great recipes. She gave me this one. I love it! It is such a natural tasting orange Julius. I love that it can taste great without the sugar. It is a great way to start your morning, or could be enjoyed anytime of day. Having grown up in California, I loved having fresh orange juice. We used to have oranges growing in our yard. I miss them. Thank you Sabrina, for another great recipe.

Ingredients:
1 orange peeled
1 T unsweetened almond milk or cashew milk
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2  C ice
2 tsp sweetener * optional (depending on how sweet the orange is)
Directions: 1 serving
1. Blend the oranges, milk , and vanilla. Blend until all smooth.
2. Pour in ice and blend until it is at the desired consistency.  Serve. Yum!

Steel Cut Oats

I tried something new today. I bought steel cut oats yesterday. I had been wanting to try them and had never taken the time to buy them. I really enjoyed them for my breakfast this morning. I liked the chewiness of them. I love to eat different textures. It is part of the whole eating experience for me. I felt very satisfied after eating them. They really filled me up fast. I added dried blueberries to it, but I decided I really liked the more natural flavor without the berries. It was less sweet and more natural tasting.

Steel-cut oats come in varying sizes. They are pinhead, coarse and medium and fine. They do take a longer time to cook. They have a nice nutty and chewy flavor. They offer 5 to 7 grams of protein per 1/4 cup serving. One serving adds 4 to 5 grams of fiber.  It also adds about 10 % of the iron you will need in a day. Steel cut oats are raw where as regular oatmeal is steamed as they process it.  

You could make them the night before and reheat them in the morning. You could also soak them the night before. If you make a large batch you could store them in the fridge in an air tight container and reheat when you want them.

This time I made them in the pressure cooker. They were done in 8 min. I quick released the steam and they were ready to go. The moisture would have been absorbed more if I had let the steam release on its own. (I got anxious)

Ingredients:
2/3 C steel cut oats
2 C water or milk or a combination of both
1 T honey
1 T coconut oil
cinnamon and nutmeg to taste preference 
You could add your favorite fruit topping if desired. 

1. Pressure cooker method: Place all the ingredients in a pressure cooker and turn to high pressure for 8 min. Let the steam release on its own if you have time. The moisture will absorb better.


2. stove top method: Toast the oats in  coconut oil let them turn light golden colored. Pour in the liquid and honey. Let it come to a boil and them turn down to low to let it simmer. (You may add some additional liquid if needed) It is done when the moisture has absorbed. They will still be chewy but tender.  It will take about 30 to 35 min to cook. Soaking them cuts down on your cooking time.

3. You could make them ahead the night before or start soaking the oats the night before.      

   

WholeGrain Almond and Fruit Yogurt Muffins

I made these yesterday for my family for breakfast. They were fast and easy to make and I like that. It was fun to put the homemade yogurt into them that I made over the weekend. Store bought will work too. You can switch them up by adding whatever fruit you have on hand. I used some dried blueberries that I had. :) I loved the almond flavoring in them too. It a great way to give your family some nutrition for their day.

Ingredients: 
3 C whole grain flour (I ground up kamut, spelt, oats and brown rice)
1 T baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp allspice
6 T coconut oil
2 large eggs
2/3 honey or 3/4 if you want it sweeter
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp almond extract
1 1/2 C plain yogurt
1/4 C finely ground almonds
3/4 C dried fruit or fresh (I used dried blueberries)


Directions: Heat oven to 350 make 12 large muffins or lots of mini
1. In a bowl measure and stir together the flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and allspice. Set it aside.

2. In a mixing bowl beat together the oil, eggs and honey add the vanilla and almond extract. Then mix in the yogurt. Stir in the dry ingredients. and fold in the fruit and nuts.

3. Grease muffin pans and scoop in the batter. Place in oven. Bake for about 20-25 min for large and 10 to 15 for minis.

Whole Wheat Ricotta Boysenberry Scones

Happy Recipe Redux Day! Where you get lots and lots of healthy recipes from other bloggers on the web. In case you're new here, we post a new recipe on the 21st of each month according to a specific theme. This month's theme is breakfast, and we decided to make scones. Whole wheat, berry, honey, and homemade ricotta cheese (though of course you can use store-bought, but making it is really simple!).

Reasons these scones are great.

1. They use whole wheat. All the way.
2. They are simple and fast to make.
3. They are unbelievably moist, thanks to ricotta cheese.
4. They use boysenberries--one of our favorites. (Are these more of a west coast thing? They are a mix between a raspberry and a blackberry. Other berries would also be fantastic.)
5. They are best fresh, but can be frozen for later. Breakfast on the go!


Ingredients

2 C soft white wheat flour or whole grain flour
1/2 Tbsp baking powder
pinch of salt
2 Tbsp honey
3 Tbsp unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1/2 C ricotta cheese (This link will show you how to make your own. So easy!)
1/2 C boysenberries or berries of your choice
1 egg, beaten
2 Tbsp milk

Spread (Optional)
2 T neufchatel cheese or yogurt cheese or ricotta
1 tsp honey
1/2 tsp vanilla
2 tsp boysenberries or berries of your choice

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

2. Mix dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, and salt) together.

3. Cut in the butter until it is evenly mixed through the dry ingredients. Gently mix in the ricotta cheese, egg, and milk until just mixed. Cut in the boysenberries. Do not over mix.

4. Shape into 1 round, about 6 inches across. Using a bench scraper or large knife, mark circle into 8 pieces. Don't cut all the way through--just about halfway.

5. Bake until golden brown, about 15 minutes. Separate at divisions.

6. For spread, soften cheese. Stir in the vanilla and honey. Fold in the berries. Enjoy!