Sweet and Salty Snack Bars

I love Kind fruit and nut bars, but I'm not a fan of the ingredient list. Of course, I had to find a way to make my own. I've played with this a few times, but could not quite get them to stick together the way they should. This time I increased the "sticky" stuff, and I believe I have something that works! These things taste great, have minimal ingredients, and you can keep them in the freezer for a quick snack whenever you need it! ~ C

1.5 cups raw cashews and raw almonds (You can sub any nut in here that you like, or increase the seeds for a nut free version.)

1/2 cup raw sunflower seeds

1/2 cup raw pumpkin seeds

1/2 cup raisins (or craisins, dried blueberries, etc)

1/2 cup Enjoy Life chocolate chips

1/2 tsp sea salt

1 tablespoon ground flax

1 tbsp chia seeds

1/2 tsp sea salt

1/4 plus two tbsp maple syrup

1.5 tbsp almond butter

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Line an 8x8 pan with parchment paper (Don't skip out on the parchment paper. Trust me.)

Mix the maple syrup and almond butter together until they are well mixed. 

Put all other ingredients in a bowl and toss until mixed. Add in the syrup mixture, and make sure everything is well coated, and that the flax, chia seeds and salt get mixed in throughout. 

Pour into the pan, and bake for 15 minutes.

Allow to cool completely and place in fridge for about two hours before trying to cut. 

Cut into bars, and wrap individually in saran wrap, to make it easy. Store in fridge for a week, or put in a ziploc bag, in the freezer, to grab and go! 

3 ingredient Pumpkin Pancakes

School started today, so I'm in the mood for fall. That means pumpkin season!! This little recipe is quick to whip up, minimal ingredients, and grain free! I hope it's a hit in your family, too!













Ingredients:
1/4 cup pumpkin purée (I used canned)

1/2 banana (mashed)

2 eggs

Optional:

1 tsp Pumpkin spice seasoning

1/2 tsp vanilla 

Chocolate chips

Whisk together all ingredients and pour on to a hot, greased, skillet or griddle, over medium heat. Flip when pancakes start to bubble on top. 

Enjoy!

Sunbutter Banana Chocolate chip muffins

My boys are creatures of habit. They want some type of chocolate chip muffin every.single.morning for breakfast. Their eczema is flaring, so I'm trying to cut out all wheat and dairy again to see if it improves. Since I have a ton of coconut flour in the pantry, I experimented a little to come up with a filling muffin that still has their coveted (demanded) chocolate chips in it. These turned out great, and are going into our on hand freezer rotation! (Did you know that you can freeze any of our muffin recipes, and just thaw or microwave for 30 seconds? Makes preparing lots of muffins at a time well worth it!) ~ C

Ingredients
Wet Ingredients
3 bananas

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 cup Sunbutter* (or any nut seed butter)

1/8 cup applesauce

2 eggs
Dry Ingredients

1/2 cup coconut flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp sea salt
Add Ins

1/2 cup Enjoy Life chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease muffin tins with coconut oil.

• Preheat over to 350 degrees. Grease your muffin tin with coconut oil or use liners. 
• Mix all wet ingredients together in your mixer. Make sure the banana gets good and mashed up in the mixing process. 
• While your wet ingredients are in the mixer, put all your dry ingredients together in a separate bowl and mix together with a fork or spoon.
• Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients in the mixer. Mix until well blended. 
• Add the "add ins" and mix by hand, or on the mixers lowest setting.
• Pour into muffin pan and cook for 25 to 30 minutes. Muffins are done when toothpick inserted in middle comes out clean. 

*Note: Sunbutter may take on a greenish hue in the baking process. Do NOT be alarmed. In fact, your kids may think it's pretty cool. If you want to teach your kids a science lesson, check out this science fair winner on the Sunbutter website!

Homemade Spinach Basil Pesto (Nut Free!)

I like to sneak veggies in anywhere I can. Sometimes it's easy, sometimes I have to get a little creative. One of my favorite easy recipes is Spinach Basil Pesto. This time of year Basil is easy to come by, so I get a few plants, and make a batch to keep in the freezer. Before we started our "real food lifestyle" easy mac was my go to food on my lazy mom nights. Now, I just add some Pesto from the freezer to whole wheat pasta, and my boys are happy! They have no idea they are eating spinach either. I'm not gonna tell.
I've also used this as a base for homemade pizza, rather than tomato sauce. Now, the hubby and I prefer it!
This recipe is so easy to throw together in the blender, and have fresh pesto sauce in minutes. You can use some right then, and then freeze the rest in ice cube trays for later!

So grab the blender, an empty ice cube tray, and go!
Ingredients:
4 cups fresh spinach leaves

2 cups fresh basil

1/4 cup parmesan blend

2 cloves minced garlic

1/2 cup Olive oil

1 tsp Salt

1/2 tsp Pepper

Place all ingredients in Blender (I use my Ninja), and blend until all the leaves are finely chopped. This only takes a minute or so.

 Once it is the right consistency, you can spoon it out into ice cube trays. Place in freezer, and leave until its fully frozen. Usually I just leave it overnight.

Once it is set, you can place the individual "Pesto cubes" into a ziploc freezer bag. These usually keep for about 6 months in the freezer. 

When I make pasta for the kids, I typically add two cubes to boiled, drained whole wheat pasta. You can dress it up with some fresh tomato, and even add some diced chicken for a big kid meal! ~ C

Whole Wheat Blueberry Zucchini Muffins

Blueberries and Zucchini. The two things that we can't get enough of this time of year. Or, maybe I am getting too much and trying to get creative in how I use them? Either way, this recipe is another example of me hiding veggies in my kids foods. They get their muffins, and I get the satisfaction of knowing there is another veggie actually being ingested and NOT spit out. Once again, I am using bananas in place of honey, maple syrup or other sweeteners. Don't worry, your kids won't know the difference.
These are versatile, and can be a great addition to breakfast OR lunch. Enjoy! ~ C

Ingredients
Wet Ingredients
2 bananas, broken into 1 to 2 inch pieces.

1/2 cup applesauce

1/4 cup maple syrup

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract
Dry Ingredients

1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt

2 cups whole wheat flour

1 tsp baking soda
Add ins

1 cup shredded zucchini

1 cup fresh blueberries

• Preheat over to 350 degrees. Grease your muffin tin or use liners. (I love these reusable silicone ones sold by Amazon.)
• Mix all wet ingredients together in your mixer. Make sure the banana gets good and mashed up in the mixing process. 
• While your wet ingredients are in the mixer, put all your dry ingredients together in a separate bowl and mix together with a fork or spoon.
• Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients in the mixer. Mix until well blended. 
• Add the "add ins" and mix by hand, or on the mixers lowest setting.
• Pour into muffin pan and cook for 25 to 30 minutes. Muffins are done when toothpick inserted in middle comes out clean.