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! 

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

Bringing in the New Year with a Tropical Green Smoothie

Welcome to 2015, everyone! Anyone else anxiously awaiting for a hovercraft to materialize on their front step?! Maybe a Back to the Future marathon is in order to see just how far off Michael J. Fox and the gang were in predicting what 2015 would be like. 

Instead, I'm settling for a Downton Abbey marathon accompanied by a cleansing green smoothie to help with the not so great food choices I made over the holidays. I'm going to share my favorite green smoothie recipe here, and I would love to hear yours in the comments. Happy New Year! 

Tropical Green Smoothie Recipe

Ingredients:
- 1 cup whole plain yogurt

- 1 cup spinach

- 1½ cups  frozen tropical fruit mix (mango, pineapple, and strawberries)

- 1 banana 

- ¼ cup water 

Directions: 

Add all ingredients into blender in the order listed. Blend using puree setting for ~1 minute or until desired consistency. Serve with a straw, and enjoy! 

Note: if you notice the greens are not blending well enough, try blending the yogurt and spinach first and then adding the next 3 ingredients. 

Grain Free Cauliflower Pizza Casserole!

I came across a pin of a healthy "Pizza Casserole" on Pinterest,  but could never find an actual recipe for it. (Isn't that the most annoying thing ever? Why pin it if you're not going to tell us how to make it??) Ok, rant over... It looked like it wasn't that difficult, so I threw this together for supper tonight, and was very pleased with the simplicity of it. The best part is that my boys are eating their veggies, without even realizing it!
--C

Ingredients:
4 cups cooked cauliflower, cut into bite size pieces.
1 cup freshly shredded mozzarella cheese
1 cup of your favorite marinara or pizza sauce
Toppings of choice. I used Boars Head Pepperoni

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a bowl mix the cooked cauliflower, marinara and 1/2 cup of the shredded cheese.
Pour into a 2.8 liter (3 quart) casserole dish.
Top with remaining cheese and any additional toppings.
Bake uncovered for approximately 20-25 minutes, until cheese is melted and bubbly.

Creamy Spinach "Alfredo" Chicken Sausage

I have been thinking about making this all day. It's cold, and I want some creamy comfort food! Trying to accomplish creamy, and stick to real food can have it's challenges. But, I was on a mission, and I was determined to be successful!! And, I was! This turned out exactly how I pictured it would! It was pretty easy, and didn't take too long to make, even though I had several things cooking at one time. You could easily add more seasonings to the sauce, according to your tastes. I probably will next time, but this time I was focused on creaminess! (Is that a word?)
Yum, just yum!!!

Ingredients:

1 box (13.25 oz) cooked pasta of choice. I used 100% Whole Wheat
8 oz block of shredded white sharp cheddar
1 cup fresh or frozen spinach (I buy the bagged frozen so I can use as little as I want to)
1 tbsp minced garlic
1 tsp garlic powder
3 tsp tapioca powder/flour (you can sub corn starch or arrowroot powder)
1 1/4 cup plus 3 tsp milk of choice (I used unsweetened almond milk)
1 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
1 package of Bilinski's Organic Spinach & Feta Chicken Sausage** (or sub meat of choice)



For the Meat:
Just heat and slice! I heated in a skillet while everything else was cooking.
For the Pasta: 
Boil as you normally would, then drain and place in a medium bowl that you can add the rest of the ingredients to as they get done.
For the Spinach:
While you have your pasta boiling, heat the olive oil in a skillet then add the minced garlic. When it is just starting to look toasted, add your spinach and saute until it is done. Add to the cooked pasta.
For the sauce:
Combine the 1 1/4 cup milk, garlic powder, salt and pepper in a small saucepan on low heat. While that is heating, have your shredded cheese close by. In a small bowl combine the 3 tsp milk and tapioca flour and mix until all the lumps are out and it forms a paste.
When your milk is heated, slowly add the cheese, stirring constantly to help it to melt and to keep it from sticking to the bottom of the pan. Once you have all the cheese melted, add the tapioca paste and continue to stir over the heat until you reach a creamy consistency. This should only take a few short minutes. If you do not think it is thick enough, you can make another paste 1 tsp at a time, equal parts tapioca powder and milk.
Once you get the creamy texture you are looking for, pour it over your cooked pasta and spinach.
Add the meat, and stir.
That's it, you are ready to eat it up!

**Here is the Sausage I found at our local Harris Teeter. For a sausage, it has a pretty minimal ingredient list. It also tastes fantastic!!

Easy Raw Almond Butter

Do you know how much raw almond butter costs? Seriously, that stuff is pricey! Last time I looked at whole foods it was $17 for a 16 oz jar. Say what!? I was so excited to see they had it, but my excitement quickly diminished when I saw the price tag! So, my $5.99 bag of raw almonds from Trader Joe's is getting some good use. I have made this about 5 or 6 times now, and finally learned the secret to making it a little quicker, and with my Ninja food processor.

All you need is a decent food processor, raw almonds, a little coconut oil or additions you want (salt, honey, maple syrup, coconut sugar, etc).

 I'm sure you can use this same process with any nut, and get the same result, but so far I have only tried almonds.

Ingredients:
16 oz raw almonds

1 tsp salt (more or less to taste, or you can omit)

Optional mix ins (Coconut oil, chocolate)

1) Put your almonds in the food processor and start it up. (Warning, it is going to be loud when you first start it up, but once they break up a little it won't be so bad. I have to warn my kids ahead of time though, so they can cover their ears!!)
2)My Ninja processor is the pulse one, so I let it run for about 30 seconds, then stop to see if I need to stir it up since they seem to stick the the edge the more it processes. I do this on and off for about 6-7 minutes.
3) Once it starts sticking together a little, you want to add any add ins, like salt, coconut oil, chocolate, etc. (see picture below of how it looks when it's starting to stick.)

4) blend again until it is mixed in well, and you have a nice nut butter consistency. The longer you blend it, the creamier it will be. I like it with a little bit of a gritty texture.
5) You're done! See how easy that was?!

I store it in my fridge, and scoop out what I need. It will harden a little when cold, but 30 seconds in the microwave is all you need to soften it back up! This lasts about a week or two, and then it's gone. I love it for my morning and afternoon snack with apple slices! Best stuff ever!

Slow Cooker Cilantro Lime Chicken Taco Bowls

Time to redefine Taco Night! This dish is easy, and can cook while you work, making dinner prep a breeze! 

Ingredients:

2 lbs boneless skinless thighs1 Can Rotel tomatoes 1 cup shredded zucchini (hidden veggies!!)***1 tablespoon chili powder

½ teaspoon garlic powder
¼ teaspoon onion powder
½ teaspoon dried oregano
½ teaspoon paprika
1½ teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
Lime Juice, squeezed from 2 limes

8 oz shredded Monterey Jack cheese ( or white cheddar)

1/2 bunch cilantro

2 cups cooked quinoa (1 cup dry + 2 cups water or broth)

Place chicken in slow cooker (I throw it in frozen) and top with Rotel, seasonings, and lime juice. 

Cook on low for 8 hours or high for 4 hours. About an hour before serving, add the cilantro and zucchini and shred the chicken with a fork to mix it all well. 

Prepare your quinoa, and shred the cheese. Serve with quinoa at the bottom, top with chicken, then top with cheese! Enjoy!! 

*** You could always add corn or black beans, too! We don't eat either due to food allergies, but they would be a great addition if you like them!  

adapted from: http://www.budgetbytes.com/2011/07/taco-chicken-bowls/

Slow Cooker Sweet Potato Chili- kid friendly!

It is Chili season in North Carolina! Cooler temps mean it's time to break out the Crock Pot and let it do all the work for me. I love chili this time of year!

My 3 year old has a bean/pea allergy so we avoid all legumes and lentils. I came across a recipe for sweet potato chili last year, and tried it, but omitted the beans the recipe called for. I've made it several times since then, tweaking the recipe a little each time. I finally got the perfect chili that we will all eat. 

Try it, you will not be disappointed! The sweet potato is the perfect bean replacement, but still gives you a similar texture. I actually double this recipe in my large Crock Pot so I have extra for the freezer.  --C

Ingredients:

1 lb of ground (beef, venison, turkey, chicken)

2-3 sweet potato, peeled and diced into cubes

1- 15oz can of organic diced tomatoes

1- 8oz can organic tomato sauce

1 Homemade Chili seasoning recipe (below)

Chili Seasoning*:

1 TBSP Chili Powder

1.5  TBSP minced onion

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp salt

¼ tsp garlic powder

¼ tsp ground pepper

Instructions:

Line your slow cooker with a liner to reduce clean up, if desired. (Totally worth the money to get these!)

Put meat in bottom of cooker (I put it in frozen, no need to thaw ahead of time!)

Top meat with seasoning, tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, and diced sweet potatoes. Cook on low for 6-8 hours. 

About an hour before eating, take a spoon and mix everything well, making sure to crumble the meat.

**I don’t add cayenne pepper to my chili seasoning, because my hubby and kids don’t like spicy foods. If you do want it spicy, add ¼ tsp cayenne, or more to taste.  I usually just sprinkle a little on the top of mine and then mix it up!

Sweet Potato & Ground Bison Sloppy Joes Recipe

Sloppy Joes are such an easy, quick, and kid-friendly weeknight dinner. While I always have these great aspirations to try something new with ground meat, 9 out of 10 times I come back to Sloppy Joes. ... and why wouldn't I? I know that they are nearly impossible to screw up even when left unattended for 15 minutes while I change a diaper or break up a fight, and  I know my kids will actually eat them, which is most often not the case for dinner at our house these days. 

I like to change them up by adding different root veggies or beans to the mixture. Not only does it add a little fiber and another veg to their plates, it also stretches the meat a little further. 

We currently have a whole bunch of sweet potatoes from our CSA farm share (read about what a CSA is here), so I took some inspiration from a Martha Stewart recipe and 100 Days of Real Food recipe to come up with this fantastic new Sloppy Joe recipe. This is my first time making "Real Food" rules approved Sloppy Joes and I will definitely be using this recipe from now on. 

Note: We like our Sloppy Joes to have a smoky flavor with a hint of heat; if you prefer a sweeter mix, you'll want to cut the amount of chili powder and cumin used. 

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium sweet potato, chopped
2 shallots, finely chopped (OR ½ small onion & 1 clove garlic, finely chopped)
1 pound ground bison (or any ground meat)
1 14.5 oz. can tomato sauce (no sugar added)
1 tablespoon honey
1½ teaspoons chili powder
1½ teaspoons cumin
Dash of cinnamon
salt & pepper

Directions

In a large skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Add sweet potato, cook for about 3 minutes. Add shallot, and continue cooking until both sweet potato and shallot soften, 2-3 minutes.

Add ground meat to skillet and brown until no pink visible, breaking up meat with wooden spoon while it cooks. Season with salt & pepper.

Meanwhile, in a separate bowl, whisk together tomato sauce, honey, chili powder, cumin, and cinnamon. 

Add sauce to browned meat and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, simmer for   5-10 minutes until most liquid has evaporated and mixture has thickened. 

Serve Sloppy Joes on whole wheat buns. 

*Adapted from 100 Days of Real Food Turkey Sloppy Joes & Martha Stewart's Turkey Sloppy Joes.*

Whole Wheat Pizza Crust Recipe

We love making pizza in our house. Until we switched to real food we always started our homemade pizza with Trader Joe's pizza dough. Unfortunately, the Trader Joe's crust uses all-purpose flour for the base, which means we don't buy it anymore. We've tried Trader Joe's whole wheat dough, but we were underwhelmed. In the end, my very talented husband came up with his own very simple whole wheat dough recipe.

Note: This recipe makes a thicker, chewier dough - like hand-tossed thickness - if you want thinner, crunchier crust cut the flour by 3-4 oz or ½ - ¾ of a cup.

Whole Wheat Pizza Dough

Ingredients
26 oz (~5 cups) whole wheat flour (we use King Arthur's white whole wheat) 
1 packet active dry yeast
1¾ tsp salt
2-3 Tbsp olive oil
2 tsp honey
1¾-2 cups WARM water

Directions
Using stand mixer bowl, whisk together flour, active dry yeast, and salt. (Note: you can 'proof' yeast by soaking it in the warm water, but this step is unnecessary unless the yeast is old and you are afraid it will no longer work.) Using the stand mixer with the dough hook at a medium speed, slowly add water, olive oil, and honey. Continue mixing for 5-10 minutes at a medium speed until dough is well kneaded. 

Remove mixing bowl from mixer, cover bowl with dishcloth, and let it rise on the counter for ~30 minutes. Separate dough into two equal sized balls. The dough is now ready to use, refrigerate, or freeze. Bake at 450 degrees for 15-20 minutes. 

If refrigerating, store in airtight container for up to 16 hours. Remove from refrigerator ~30 minutes before using to bring to room temperature. If freezing, wrap tightly in plastic wrap and freeze. Remove 4-5 hours before using, or thaw in refrigerator overnight. 

Grain Free Chocolate Chip Cookies!!

Chocolate Chip Cookies- Grain free and Dairy Free

My oldest is coming home from college this weekend. He says he wants to trick or treat with his brothers on our camping trip, but I'm pretty sure it's because tomorrow is birthday. ;) So, his Nana is making his favorite cake, and the little kids and I made chocolate chip cookies since they are his favorite! These are perfect for satisfying that cookie craving, while following a real food, grain free lifestyle.

Ingredients

1 cup of almond flour

1 tbsp coconut flour

1 egg

1/4 cup melted coconut oil

1/4 cup raw honey

1 tsp vanilla extract or 1 vanilla bean 

1/4 tsp baking soda

Dash salt

1/2 cup of Enjoy Life chocolate chips

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350

Mix all dry ingredients- minus chocolate chips

Mix all wet ingredients

Combine the dry and wet ingredients and mix well. 

Fold in chocolate chips

Drop the cookies onto a lined baking sheet (I actually grabbed about a spoonful at a time, rolled into a ball, then put on the sheet. After I got them all placed, I flattened them out to the thickness I wanted.)

Bake for 8-12 minutes. For softer cookies, less time. For a crispier cookie, more time. 

Enjoy!! 

--C

Banana Chocolate Chocolate Chip Muffins Recipe

Banana Chocolate Chocolate Chip Muffins

My meal prep Sunday, carried over into Monday this week. Such is the life of a busy mom.  Since my 3.5 year old has several serious food allergies, I pack all of his meals for school: Breakfast, lunch and snacks. I needed to restock on breakfast muffins today. I had bananas that I needed to use, but couldn't find a recipe that I had all ingredients for, so I just converted my usual coconut flour pumpkin muffin into a banana muffin recipe. Sometimes we have to improvise! The best part, is that since I was using bananas, I didn't need to add any honey or maple syrup to sweeten them.
So, here is my newly created chocolate banana muffins! #paleo #grainfree #nutfree #dairyfree
Ingredients:
4 eggs
2 ripe bananas
1/4 cup melted coconut oil
1 tsp vanilla or 1 vanilla bean seed
1/3 cup coconut flour
2 tsp cinnamon
2 tbsp dark chocolate powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
Dash of sea salt
1/2 cup enjoy life chocolate chips (optional)

Preheat oven to 350.
Mix all wet ingredients until bananas are well blended. Add all dry ingredients, minus the chocolate chips. Once it is well mixed, stir in chocolate chips by hand.
Pour into lined muffin pan and bake for 30 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in middle comes out clean. 

Enjoy!
--C

Chocolate "Bunny Graham" Cookies Recipe

What's your go to kids snack? My boys typically have popcorn and some type of fruit, or their favorite Annie's chocolate bunny grahams. Since I've been transitioning to all real food, they are missing that chocolate "cookie". I found this recipe for whole wheat graham crackers, that I modified and tried.
Tip: the easiest way to get kids to accept something new, is to get them involved in the cooking process. Little cookie cutters that the kids pick out, and help to cut will help them to take ownership excited about trying something new!
These are not real sweet, but my kids gobbled them right up!

Ingredients:
2 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
1/3 cup coconut sugar
1/4 cup dark cocoa powder
1 t. baking powder
1/2 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt
1/4 t. cinnamon
3 T. honey
1/2 c. water
1 t. vanilla
1/2 cup coconut oil, melted

Place all your dry ingredients in the bowl of your mixer and combine. Add all of the wet ingredients and mix with the cookie paddle attachment until everything comes together. The dough isn’t sticky and is moderately greasy.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Divide the dough in half and roll half out on a floured surface. Roll to about 1/4 inch thick. You can treat the dough like a sugar cookie dough and cut out shapes or you can use a pizza cutter and cut out squares. Place the cut out crackers on a parchment-paper-lined cookie sheet, prick them with a fork, and bake for 8-12 minutes until the edges just slightly darken. They will harden up more as they cool. Store in an air tight container.