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!

Easy Plantain Blender Pancakes (Grain free & Dairy Free)

If you're looking for a quick, easy fluffy, grain free pancake that tastes good, then you've found it! I've been experimenting with plantains as a flour substitute and so far I've been really happy with the results. Using green plantains does not add a plantain flavor, and the end result is a fluffy pancake with a flour like texture.

The great thing about this recipe, is all you need to do is dump the ingredients into a blender, then pour into the pan. Add any toppings as soon as you put in pan and you're all set! 

Depending on the type of blender you have, you may want to blend these at two separate times. First after the plantains and coconut oil, then after the remaining ingredients. 

Ingredients

2 green plantains, cut/broken into 1-2 inch pieces.

2 tbsp coconut oil

Blend

2 eggs

1 ripe banana*

1 tbsp coconut flour

1/4 tsp sea salt

Blend

Pour into frying pan, using coconut oil to coat the pan. I find they are easiest to flip sand dollar size.

Top with chocolate chips or blueberries (or other topping) as soon as you pour into pan. Let sit for a minute or two, to allow to firm on one side, before flipping. 

My kids and husband love these! Hope you enjoy them, too! ~ C

*I've been using a ripe banana in place of honey or maple syrup in my recipes and it's worked out great. No kid complaints here! 

Whole Wheat Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies - Made with RawMio Almond Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Spread

Anyone else out there a fan of all of the different varieties of nut and cookie butters? My personal favorite before switching to a more whole food based diet was speculoos cookie butter from Trader Joe's, so when RawMio offered to send me a jar of their Almond Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough spread I was so excited. My family and I have tried it a few different ways now, including straight off a spoon (because who can resist?!), on toast, and in the cookie recipe I'm sharing today.

This spread is seriously yummy and loaded with all kinds of super foods. I personally like it best when it's in a warmer form since it takes off a little of the edge from the raw almonds and takes on a little more of the dry-roasted almond flavor I love. In order to really highlight the cookie dough flavor of the spread I added cocoa powder to the cookies; the cocoa powder majorly enhances the flavor of the cacao in the spread.

The finished product!

Whole Wheat Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies

Ingredients

Virgin coconut oil, softened 

2 tbsp raw honey (use maple syrup for vegan version)
½ cup RawMio Almond Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough spread
¼ cup cocoa powder
1 egg (use flax egg for vegan version - how to make a flax egg)
1 tsp vanilla
¾ cup white whole wheat flour
½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
¼ tsp salt
½ cup oats

Instructions

1.   Preheat the oven to 350°. Grease cookie sheet or use Silpat to line cookie sheet.

2.   Add the coconut oil and honey to a large mixing bowl, and cream using an electric mixer. Next, add cookie dough spread, cocoa powder, egg, and vanilla to mixture; mix until combined.

3.   In a medium mixing bowl, sift the flour, baking soda, and baking powder together; add salt. Stir to combine. Add the oats to the other dry ingredients, mix until combined.

4.   Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, stirring to combine as you add the dry mixture.

5.   Using a cookie scoop, form tablespoon-sized balls and place the balls on the prepared cookie sheet about 2” apart. Use a fork to flatten the cookies slightly and form a cross-hatch pattern.  

6.   Bake for 9 minutes on the middle rack of preheated oven. Remove from oven and let cool on the cookie sheet for 2-3 minutes before moving to a cooling rack. Let cool completely before enjoying. 

Stay tuned for more recipes using RawMio products.... If you would like to check out more of their products you can head over to their website http://rawmio.com/. 

Note: All featured products were provided free of charge, but the opinions are solely my own. 

Chipotle Black Bean Mango Salad

Lately I have been wanting Southwestern flavors non-stop, so I have been testing all kinds of new Mexican and Southwestern recipes to satisfy the craving. In my hunt I stumbled across this super tasty burrito bowl recipe from Damn Delicious. It is so tasty and a great substitute for my favorite Burrito Bowl from Chipotle, but it's a little heavy to eat as frequently as I want. I really liked the flavor combination and could seriously have eaten her burrito bowl everyday for lunch, so I have been tweaking her recipe and I finally came up with the perfect vegetarian salad I can eat for lunch everyday guilt-free. Here is my newest food obsession -

Chipotle Black Bean Mango Salad

Salad Ingredients: 

2-3 cups chopped lettuce of your choice, washed (I like red leaf or romaine)

1/2 cup black beans, rinsed

1 medium tomato, chopped

1/4 cup chopped mango

1/2 avocado, chopped

1/4 cup yellow or orange bell pepper, chopped (optional)

Cilantro for garnish, to taste (I'm a little heavy-handed with the cilantro as you can see)

Dressing Ingredients: 

1/4 cup plain Greek yogurt or sour cream

1/4 cup salsa of your choice (I like to use a fresh salsa)

1 tbsp fresh lime juice

1/8-1/4 tsp ground Chipotle pepper - more if you like it extra smoky (I use Penzey's) 

I'm heavy-handed with the Chipotle because I can't get enough of the smoky flavor. 

Instructions: 

In a salad bowl, layer the lettuce, black beans, tomato, mango, avocado, and bell pepper (if using). In a small bowl, stir Greek yogurt (or sour cream), salsa, lime juice, and ground Chipotle seasoning together until well blended. Pour the dressing over the layered salad, add cilantro, and toss ingredients until combined and coated with dressing. Enjoy! 

Because we all know I love my gadgetry, I just had to add a little plug for the value of a mango slicer. If you haven't invested in a mango slicer yet, you seriously should! I picked one up for $0.60 at St. Vinny's a few months ago, and we have eaten more mango in the past few months than I think I have in my whole life. It is SOOO handy; I just put it over the stem, press down, and voila - 2 perfect halves of edible mango. After it's cut, I just scoop the fruit out with a spoon, just like an avocado. Here's a photo from today (because I was, of course, making this salad for probably the sixth time in 2 weeks). 

Perfectly Sliced Mango!!

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!

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. 

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. 

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

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

20 Minute Tomato Soup Recipe

Every year when the temperatures start to drop as summer turns to fall I get excited because I know "Soup Season" is upon us once more. Starting in mid-September there is rarely a week that goes by where I don't make soup or chili. This week is no exception.

A few days ago I found myself staring blankly into the refrigerator trying to figure out what to feed the kids for lunch, yet again. Since we've made the switch to minimally processed and unrefined food in our house, lunchtime seems to be a much bigger conundrum than it used to be. My kids used to eat PB&J 5 days/week, and while I still feed them PB&J regularly it's not as mindless as it used to be. We no longer get our bread from our grocery store shelf, instead D makes it from scratch. 

For some reason, the added effort that goes into the homemade bread makes me think twice about using it for PB&J; it's as if I feel like homemade bread deserves something a bit more extravagant than PB&J. So with that in mind, I decided to make the girls grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup for lunch. Seeing as I had two hungry girls waiting for lunch, I did a Google search for "quick tomato soup" and came up with this Rachel Ray recipe. I doubted that I could make a decent tomato soup in 20 minutes, but after a few modifications and a short 15 minute simmer, I had a tasty tomato soup that both girls gobbled up. Here's the recipe:

20 Minute Tomato Soup

Ingredients
32 ounces chicken broth (use vegetable broth to make vegetarian)
1-14.5 oz can diced tomatoes
1-14.5 oz can tomato sauce (no added sugar preferred)
1 cup whole milk
1/2-1 Tbsp Penzeys "Pasta Sprinkle" or a combination of basil, oregano, thyme, and garlic
Salt & Pepper to taste

DirectionsPulse diced tomatoes in food processor for approximately 15 seconds (OR you can skip this step and use the immersion blender before serving). Combine chicken broth, diced tomatoes, and tomato sauce in Dutch oven over medium heat. Bring to a slow boil, add milk and spices. Reduce heat to low, and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Serve with grilled cheese or crusty bread. 

**Also, can I just say how awesome Penzeys Spices is? We're fortunate enough to live in Wisconsin and have access to a brick and mortar store, but even if you don't, you should definitely check out their website or catalog. You will be hard-pressed to find a better selection of quality spices and knowledgeable employees anywhere.** 

Modified from Food Network's "Quick Creamy Tomato Soup"

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.