Trail Mix "Cookies"

Ingredients:
3 ripe bananas
1 1/2 C Oats
1 tsp Cinnamon
1 tsp Vanilla
1/4 Dates, chopped
1/4 C Dried Cranberries, raisins or Golden Raisins
1/2 C Unsweetened coconut flakes
1/4 C Pecans, chopped

Directions:
Smash bananas with a fork and combine all ingredients in a bowl.
Spoon onto an oiled cookie sheet and Bake at 350 for 15 minutes.

Homemade Nutella

Ingredients:
1 C hazelnuts
1/2 C coconut milk
1/3 brown rice syrup
1 TBLS coconut oil
1/4 C cocoa powder
1 TBLS vanilla

Directions:
350 Bake hazelnuts for 8-10 min until browned. Grind nuts in Vitamix (any high power blender) until smooth.  Add remaining ingredients and blend until smooth! YUM!
It's ok to double this recipe too! :)

Chocloate chia-pudding parfait

If you've got some leftover cooked quinoa then this snack comes together very quickly!

Ingredients:
1/2 C cooked quinoa
3 TBLS chia seeds
1 TBLS flaxseed
1 2/3 C almond milk
2 tsp cocoa powder

1/2 C Greek yogurt
Berries
Honey (optional)

Directions:
Mix together the cooked quinoa, chia seeds, flaxseeds, almond milk and cocoa powder.  Allow to sit in the fridge for several hours or overnight. This is your "pudding."
Make your parfait layering "pudding", yogurt and berries in a glass. Top with honey if you would like it a bit sweeter!

Nutty Granola/ Trailmix

We made this as a very simple granola to put on yogurt, but actually heavily salted like it more as a trailmix!

Ingredients:
3 C unsweetened coconut flakes
2 C almonds, chashews, pecans, walnuts or pumpkin seeds (mix and match what you like)
1 tsp cinnamon
3 TBLS melted coconut oil or butter
Salt

Directions:
Mix all ingredients and spread on a cookie sheet.  Bake at 325 for 20 minutes, mixing half way through.
HINT: Double, and spread on two sheets! :) Make it worth your time! Kinda messy but great little snack to take the edge off!

Baked Tortillas Chips

Ingredients:
6 corn tortillas (white or yellow corn is fine)
Olive Oil
Salt

Directions:

Cut a stack of 6 tortillas into fourths.  This many "chips" fits perfectly on a standard cookie sheet (4 by 6) 

Spray with olive oil and sprinkle with salt.  

Bake at 400 for 9 minutes.  Watch carefully because they go from almost done to burned very quickly. 

This is a great alternative to store bought chips! We enjoy scooping salsa with them, dipping them in hummus, breaking them up into Taco soup, or using as a base in Taco Salad.  They go fast so I always make at least 2 batches.

Hummus

Ingredients:

2 can Garbanzo beans, drained

1/3 C tahini

1/4 C lemon juice

1/4 C sour cream or plain Greek yogurt

1 tsp salt

1 tsp cumin

2 cloves garlic, pressed

Directions:

Place all ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth.  You can add olive oil or water to thin out to the consistency you like.  We use hummus in place of Mayo on sandwiches or as a dip with just about any vegetable imaginable.  One of my favorite lunches is pictured below!:)

This is a great "base" hummus too.  If you want more heat, add sliced jalapenos or crushed red pepper flakes.  Other flavors could include sun dried tomatoes or feta cheese.  Store leftovers in a container in the fridge.

Pumpkin fruit dip

Ingredients:
1 pint of whipping cream
8 oz cream cheese
2 tsp vanilla
1/4 C Pure maple syrup
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp ground cloves
15 oz can pumpkin puree

Directions:
Put everything except the pumpkin puree into a mixing bowl.  With the whisk attachment on your mixer combine until the cream cheese is broken up.  Turn the speed to high and blend until thickened. (1-2 minutes) Carefully stir in the pumpkin with a spatula.

This dip is WONDERFUL with sliced apples!  Although my 6 year old thinks it's great with chopped up bananas and eats it more like yogurt! I'm sure many fruits would dip well in this.

Scones

We've made these with cranberries and blueberries.  Both are fantastic!  Filling for a breakfast and even work as a treat :) (At least for my kids!)

Ingredients:
2 C Whole Wheat flour
1/3 C honey
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
8 TBLS butter (1 Cube) softened
1/2 C sour cream
1 egg
1 C frozen blueberries (Or any fruit/ mix you want)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400.
In a bowl combine whole wheat flour, salt, soda, and powder. With a fork mix in egg, sour cream, honey, and butter. Once all mixed together add in the blueberries.
Place dough onto a greased baking sheet and shape into a circle.  (about and inch tall)  Cut into 8 (like a pizza) and separate pieces out so there is room for them to puff up.

Bake for 15 minutes.  They should be slightly golden.  

Drizzle with honey and allow to cool a bit before serving.

Seriously YUM!

HOT PINK SMOOTHIE

Someone put this up in the 30 Day Green Smoothie Challenge I did.  Although not green, thought it would be fun to try.  It wasn't a hit with everyone in the family, but I thought it was worth keeping around. It's a fun pink color for sure! Different than our typical smoothie.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 C coconut water
1 carrot, grated
1/2 beet, peeled and diced or grated
1/4 C cashews
1/4 C dates (if you don't have a high powered blender these won't chop well.  Use honey to sweeten instead)
12 strawberries

Directions:
Place all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.  If you don't have a high powered blender, blend the liquid with the grated beet and carrot first.  Enjoy! :)

Pecan Breakfast Cookies

We made these as an attempt to have something different for breakfast.  We enjoyed them with some fresh fruit and yogurt.  They are kind of a cross in texture between an oatmeal cookie and a biscuit.  I think they are pretty versatile and could fall in the snack or even treat category...although they are not sweet at all. (Maybe as a "cookie sandwich" with that homemade pumpkin ice cream we had at Thanksgiving?...Now We're talking!:)) Either way, glad we came across them.  What would I do without the internet!? : /

Ingredients:
1 C whole wheat flour
3/4 C oats
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 C applesauce
3 TBLS pure maple syrup
2 TBLS butter, softened but not melted
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 C chopped pecans

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 and spray a cookie sheet.
In a bowl, mix together applesauce, maple syrup, butter, egg and vanilla.  Then add in the flour, oats, soda and salt.  Fold in the nuts with a spatula.  Drop onto prepared cookie sheet and bake for 8-9 minutes or until they just start to brown.

We made these again and doubled it!  Cookies freeze well too!

Chips and Mediterranean Salsa

My new love!  This salsa is amazing and highly addictive!  Good thing it's just a bunch of veggies! YUM!

Ingredients:
Chips
   Corn tortillas (homemade are great too!) If you use store bought, just read the ingredients.  White and yellow are great.
   Olive oil
   Salt

Salsa
   3 TBLS lemon juice
   2 TBLS olive oil
   4 tomatoes, diced
   1 cucumber, diced
   1 C coarsley chopped fresh parsley, or Kale leaves
   1 small red onion
   coarse salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 F.  Cut tortillas into fourths, and place on a cookie sheet.  You can fit 6 whole tortillas (24 chips) on one pan.  Spray with olive oil and sprinkle with salt.  Bake for 9 minutes.  Watch closely so that they don't burn.
For the salsa I love this chopped super tiny.  Think, not quite minced!

We had the salsa the other night with our falafel, in pitas!  Let me just say, I got my Fadi's fix! I'm obsessed with this salsa!

Peanut Butter Power Balls

Erin this one is for you!  I got this recipe from a friend at BYU.  They are a great little energy ball and the boys LOVE them before or after soccer games! It's hard for me to forget about them just sitting in the freezer, calling my name!  I love these!

Ingredients:
1 ripe banana
2 C Old fashioned oats
1 C Almond Butter or all Natural Peanut Butter
1/4 C honey
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 C raisins

Directions:
Mix everything in a bowl, except the raisins. Or if you have an amazing food processor you could do that too.  Then stir in the raisins.  Roll into balls and place on a plate lined with wax paper.  Put them in the freezer to set.
So fast! So raw! So addicting!

Granola

I've really been trying to figure out better breakfasts. (AKA NOT cold cereal) I got this recipe from my mother-in-law.  TOTAL winner!  Kyler's new favorite "cereal"! YAY!  

Ingredients:

7 C rolled oats

1 C slivered almonds, chopped (OR 1/2 C almonds and 1/2 C walnuts!)

1 C wheat germ (OR 1/2 C wheat bran and 1/4 C ground flaxseed meal)

1 C sunflower kernals

1/2 C honey

1/2 C olive oil

1/2 C molasses

2 tsp vanilla

Directions:

Combine first 4 ingredients in a bowl.

Combine the rest of the ingredients in a small saucepan.  Heat on the stove top until just beginning to boil.  Add the heated mixture to the oat mixture and stir until well combined.

Spread onto 2 cookie sheets (the kinds with sides:)) and bake at 325 for 20 minutes.  You can stir half way through too if you remember/ have time!

Remove the sheets from the oven and allow to cool completely before storing.  It all fills an empty oats container pretty well too!  You don't need anything fancy to store it in.

For breakfast I use about 3/4 C with a handful of raisins and slice a banana in, then pour in the almond milk!

 Keeps me full and give me energy to chase around 3 boys! Thanks for sharing the recipe mom!

Banana Cookies

One of the strangest recipes I have ever made!  Thanks for the idea JanaRae!

Ingredients:
2 ripe bananas, mashed
1 C unsweetened applesauce
2 C oats
1 tsp cinnamon

Directions:
Mix all ingredients in a bowl and drop by the spoonful onto a cookie sheet.  Bake at 350 for about 20 min.  Longer if you want them more crispy.  We like them soft like banana bread.  This has been a great on-the-go snack.

Apple Carrot Pi-Ky Muffins

Another successful "cooking club" with my kids! This recipe was AWESOME!  We found the idea on superhealthykids.com and changed it up a bit.  Whole wheat, no refined sugar and amazingly yummy!


Ingredients:
1 1/2 Whole Wheat Flour
3/4 C flaxseed meal
3/4 C oat flour (by grinding oats in the blender)
1/2 C honey
1/4 C molasses
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
2 tsp cinnamon
2 C shredded carrots
2 C shredded apples
3/4 C milk
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 C dried cranberries

Directions:
We just mixed everything together with a spatula in a large bowl.

 Spoon into sprayed muffin tins and Bake at 350 for 15 minutes!

Where did the name come from?  My son named them! :)

Sunflower Cookies

My sons school has some great after-school programs offered.  When they sent home the list of Winter activities available he said he wanted to sign up for cooking club and basketball club.  Sadly when I went to register on the morning you could, cooking club was already full.  But I decided to take advantage of this.  So we started our own cooking club after school on Thursdays!  This was the 1st recipe we decided to do for it!  I think it was a hit!

Ingredients:
1 C sunflower kernals
1/4 C ground flax seed
1/4 C coconut flakes
1 TBLS honey
Dash of salt
1/4 C cold water

Directions:
Place sunflower kernals in a blender and grind until it's the texture of a coarse meal.  Place seed meal into a bowl and add remaining ingredients.  Stir with a spoon, then spoon batter onto wax paper.  Cover with another piece of wax paper and roll out with a rolling pin until 1/4-1/8 inch thick.

Take off the top wax paper and use cookie cutters to cut out shapes.  I then used a spatula to transfer them from the wax paper to the cookie sheet.  Place shapes on a cookie sheet (sprayed with olive oil) and bake at 300 for 15 minutes.
We loved these dipped in yogurt!

Awesome find!

A-Z muffins

From applesauce to zucchini, you can add what you like to these basic, but dense muffins that don't need butter, oil or eggs!
Ingredients:
3 1/2 C whole wheat flour
4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
2/3 C honey
2 tsp vanilla
1 banana, mashed
2 C grated zucchini
1/2 C unsweetened applesauce
1 C blueberries

Directions:
Mix wet and dry ingredients separately.  Them mix them together.  Fold in blueberries.  Scoop into muffin tins sprayed with olive oil.  Bake at 400 for 15 min.  Makes 18 muffins.

Granola Bars

My mother-in-law is always helping me to find new great recipes.  Again, I've made some changes from the original and adapted a few things, but another great find for sure!  

Ingredients:

2 C old-fashioned rolled oats

1/2 C sliced almonds

1/2 C sunflower kernals

2 TBLS Whole Ground golden flaxseed meal (OR 1 TBLS each of flaxseed and Chia seed)

2 TBLS sesame seeds

2 C unsweetened whole-grain puffed cereal (puffed red wheat/ puffed brown rice, KASHI Go Lean, etc)

2 C assorted dried fruits (apples, raisins, dates, figs, blueberries, cranberries, cherries, etc)

1/2 C creamy almond butter

1/2 C honey

1 tsp vanilla

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°F.  Spray a 9X13 pan with olive oil.  Spread oats, almonds, sunflower seeds, flaxseeds and sesame seeds on a large cookie sheet. Bake until the oats are lightly toasted and the nuts are fragrant, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl.  Add cereal and dried fruit; toss to combine.

In a small saucepan combine almond butter, honey, and vanilla. Over medium-low heat, stir frequently until the mixture begins to bubble lightly.   Immediately pour the almond butter mixture over the dry ingredients and mix with a spoon or spatula until no dry spots remain. Transfer to the prepared pan. Using a silicone spatula, press the mixture down firmly to make an even layer.

Refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes; cut into 16 bars.  Wrap each bar individually in plastic wrap.

When I make these with dried apples and raisins, I also add 1 tsp cinnamon to the mixture!  Makes a great snack.  They are pretty filling.  Makes 16.

No Banana Smoothie

Ingredients:
1 C apple juice
spinach leaves
2-2 1/2 C frozen fruit mix from Walmart (peaches, pineapple, mangos) just don't use the strawberries.  Save them for other smoothies. :)

Directions:

Pour the apple juice into the blender and fill the spinach up to the top.  Blend.  Add the frozen fruit.  Blend away.

 If too thick, just add more juice.

Lime Time Green Smoothie

Last time I was at Costco they had someone there showing off the Vitamix.  Seen it so many times and love that thing. (Wish I had one)  But what I really wanted was a new recipe for a smoothie.  We like the ones we make, but mostly they are the same. (Strawberries, blueberries and bananas with spinach is a common one in out home)  So this new idea to put lime in was a fun find!  Thank you Costco Vitamix sales lady!  You inspired this next recipe!

Ingredients:
2 C fruit from the frozen "Mixed Fruit" bag from Walmart minus the strawberries (This will help it to stay more green! So without using the strawberries, the fruits you use are pineapple, mangos, and peaches.)
1 C 100% pineapple juice
2-3 very large handfuls of spinach
1/2 banana
1/4 inch slice of lime, rind and all!

Directions:
First I put the juice and spinach in the blender and blend until smooth.  Then I add the other ingredients, and blend well.  Add more juice if it's too thick for you.  The slice of lime will flavor the entire drink!  New favorite in our house!