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! 

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. 

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!

Whole Wheat Banana Carrot Muffins Recipe

We're attending a Halloween party tomorrow, which presents a challenge when trying to avoid refined sugar and white flour. Since I knew there would be plenty of not so healthy sugary options available to the kids, I wanted to make something that followed the real food rules. Of course, I immediately turned to the Days of Real Food website to find some inspiration. In the end, I decided to adapt 100 Days of Real Food's Whole-Wheat Carrot Applesauce Muffins to make Whole Wheat Banana Carrot Muffins. To make them a little more festive, I'm using Halloween themed cupcake liners. 

Ingredients
1½ cups whole wheat flour (I use King Arthur's white whole wheat)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

½ teaspoon nutmeg

½ teaspoon salt

½ cup butter, softened

¼ cup honey

1 egg 

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 very ripe bananas 

¾ cup shredded carrot (about 1 large) 

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare a muffin tin by spraying each of the muffin cavities or using paper liners.

Mash bananas with fork until smooth and runny. Set aside.

Whisk together dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, & salt) in medium mixing bowl. Using a mixer, combine together butter, honey, egg, and vanilla extract on a medium-high speed until butter is well broken up.

Turn the mixer down to a low speed and slowly add in the dry ingredients. Continue mixing until ingredients are just combined. Next, add the mashed banana and shredded carrot to the mixture and fold in on the lowest mixer speed or by hand with a spatula.

Divide the mixture evenly among each of the 12 (or 24 if mini) muffin cavities. Place the tin on the middle shelf. Bake for 18-21 minutes; if using mini-muffin tin, start checking for doneness around 11 minutes. When done, toothpick inserted into the middle of muffin should be mostly clean with a few crumbs. 

Cranberry Pumpkin Energy Bites Recipe

Am I the only one that struggles to find a use for leftover canned pumpkin? It seems that I rarely pick recipes that use a whole can of pumpkin, so I always end up with some leftovers. Today I used the leftover canned pumpkin to make Cranberry Pumpkin Energy Bites. This is a super simple recipe that does not require you to cook or bake anything.

Cranberry Pumpkin Energy Bites

Ingredients

1/4 cup pecans
1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
1 cup canned pumpkin
1/4 cup dried cranberries
10 Medjool dates
2 Tablespoons chia seeds
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon honey (optional; omit to make vegan)

Instructions
Add pecans to food processor and pulse until coarsely chopped. Add the rest of the ingredients to pecans in food processor and combine until desired consistency - it should start to form a giant ball. Let mixture firm up for 5-10 minutes, and then roll into 1" balls. Store in airtight container in the refrigerator. 

Makes approximately 15. 

Adapted from My Whole Food Life's Pumpkin Pie Energy Bites 

If you are still reading, note the awesome built-in bowl scraper on my food processor. It is so nice to not have to open the food processor and scrape down the sides with a rubber scraper over and over. You can check out the Hamilton Beach food processor here. This one replaced our super nice KitchenAid that I rarely used because it was so heavy ... sadly, the KitchenAid came to its demise when I dropped it from an upper cabinet onto my head and then the floor. Yikes!

Coconut Flour Pumpkin Muffins with Chocolate Chips!

I don't know about anyone else, but pumpkin is not just for fall at our house. I make these muffins year round for my boys, because they are their favorite! You can make these with or without chocolate chips! But as you have noticed, chocolate is in everything I make, if I have a say about it. 

4 eggs
1 cup coconut milk
1/2 cup cooked, mashed pumpkin or canned 
1/4 cup pure maple syrup 
1/2 cup coconut flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 tsp vanilla extract or 1 vanilla bean
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup enjoy life chocolate chips (optional)

Mix together wet ingredients, then add dry ingredients. If you are using chocolate chips, save them for last. Fold them in and pour the batter into a lined muffin tin.
Your batter will be pretty soupy, but it is supposed to be that way! 

Bake at 350 for 30-35 minutes, or until toothpick inserted 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.