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! 

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!

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 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! 

Almond Butter Blondies

As usual, I'm waiting until the last minute.. I need a quick dessert recipe for the Fathers Day lunch I'm hosting, and I want minimal ingredients. Off to Pinterst I go... I found a peanut butter brownie recipe that I thought I could modify and make work. This modified recipe is going to be a new favorite!!! We are a peanut free family, so I subbed almond butter, but any nut or seed butter will work.

This recipe is also dairy and soy free. You could sub the whole wheat flour for a gluten free flour as well.

Ingredients

1/3 cup melted coconut oil

1/2 cup raw almond butter 

1/4 cup pure maple syrup

1/4 cup coconut sugar

4 eggs

1/2 cup almond flour or almond meal

1/2 cup white whole wheat flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/8 tsp salt

1 cup enjoy life chocolate chips

1/2 tsp vanilla

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix all liquid ingredients together in a bowl, except the melted coconut oil. 

Gradually mix in the dry ingredients.

Then add in the melted coconut oil, stirring until mixed.

Lastly, fold in the chocolate chips.

Pour batter into a brownie pan.*

Bake for 30-40 minutes until toothpick in center comes out clean. 

 

*I used a greased 9x11 brownie pan, but a square 9 inch pan will work, too.