Oatmeal Raisin Protein Snack Bars

I did something yesterday that left me leaping for joy!!! Not literally, but I was definately excited about my creation in the kitchen! It is going to save me money, and offer a healthy snack and breakfast option for on-the-go mornings.

My oldest little handsome likes to eat the Enjoy Life granola bars. I buy them for him on occasion, because sometimes we just need some allergy friendly "grab and go" foods (which is hard to find). However, at $4 for five bars, I try to limit my purchases. 

Then comes my cooking yesterday. I have been cooking like a mad woman this week! We just got back late Sunday night from a much needed fun-in-the-sun vacation, and the garden yielded bag fulls of zucchini and squash. So I'm sure you can guess what we've been eating this week! Now, these bars do not have zucchini or squash in them, but they were the one thing I've made all week that didn't!! We've had apple and zucchini muffins, chocolate zucchini brownie cake, summer soup, homemade pizza with zucchini and squash toppings. I think I just needed a cooking adventure that didn't include my garden veggies!

Fudge Cream

Fudge pops bring back a wonderful memory of a childhood treat. It wasn't something we had all the time, but when we did, I loved it! As to this day, I still love chocolate! And so do my little handsome boys! And we love to cook and bake all kinds of wonderful treats together. So fudge pops was on my list of things to fix!

As the name implies, fudge pops are meant to be eaten like a Popsicle. However, I have no Popsicle molds. I know, don't judge..how could a mom of little ones not have Popsicle molds?!? Well, to be honest, I did have some, but they got lost somewhere in our packing and moving a couple years ago. But did that stop us! No, sirree! We made fudge cream...poured into a loaf pan to resemble a carton of ice cream. And it did not disappoint. I actually like it better because it doesn't drip everywhere while the little handsomes are eating.

I found a recipe for fudge pops and decided to make it allergy friendly for us. This is a super easy way to fix some creamy chocolate fudge-y ice cream for a hot summer day. That's exactly why I had to fix more for our Memorial Day weekend. The last time I saw the weather, they were predicting record heat in the 90s, with heat index 100-105 degrees. That's hot, and this is sure to be a cool treat for my boys and their cousin that is visiting.

We enjoyed a little today!

Chocolate Chip banana cookies

I wanted to have a sweet treat after lunch today. So on the inspiration of a cookie I made a long time ago that used banana as the base, I whipped these up. Very good for a healthy cookie. My oldest said they were the 'best ever' after he reached for his third cookie! (good thing they were small) Ha!

If you know me and my cooking, I put a sprinkle of this, a tad of that, and a dash of this. But these are pretty much spot on to what I think I added. I wanted to write it down so that I can make my measurements more precise and include in it my normal cookie baking.

So here it is. My healthy(ier) chocolate chip banana cookies! (by the way, this is a very small serving. Made about 9 small cookies.)

 Chocolate Chip Banana Cookies

1 ripe banana (mashed)
2/3 cups of oats
1/3 cup raisins
1/8 cup mini chocolate chips (I use Enjoy life brand to keep them allergy safe for my family)
1 TBSP oil
1-2 Tsp pure maple syrup
sprinkle of cinnamon
pinch of salt

Stir together all ingredients. Scoop in tablespoons onto greased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 for 15-20 min, or until slightly golden brown.

Then enjoy your healthier alternative to a oatmeal chocolate chip cookie!

-Cindy

Who wants pancakes?

Cooked pancakes for my little handsomes! We ate A LOT, and there is still plenty to go around! Guess that's what happens when I make a double batch and it's only us eating them. Our bellies were full, and the food was yummy!

These are great pancakes!!!! (And vegan...although no one would know if you didn't tell.) I have tried tons of recipes, but always go back to these. I just alter this plain, traditional pancake recipe to what I want. I have made them with whole wheat (substititing half of plain flour for WW), blueberry, apple cinnamon, chocolate chip, and even adding flax. My most recent adventure was to leave big pieces/slices of apples for a fritter taste.(I ate most of those, so you can't see them in the picture.) And again, I thought they were a success.

Try them! I think you will agree.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon white sugar
• 1 1/4 cups rice milk (also have used soy)  
• ¼ cup applesauce (or 1 TBSP ground flax with 3 TBSP water mixture)
• 3 tablespoons oil

DIRECTIONS

1. In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. Make a well in the center and pour in the milk, applesauce (or flax) and oil; mix until smooth.
2. Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium high heat. Pour or scoop the batter onto the griddle, using approximately 1/4 cup for each pancake. Brown on both sides and serve hot.

 -Cindy

Pork Tenderloin and Sauerkraut

I love easy meals that I can fix up and let cook all day. So when I saw this idea for a crock pot dinner of pork, sauerkraut, sweet potatoes, and apples, I thought I needed to try it! What a great sounding comfort food for cooler days!

I have to admit, I very rarely use my crock pot, but my dutch oven, well that's a different story! I use it every week for soups, chicken, etc. So out came my trusty kitchen pot and in went the food. I didn't follow the original recipe exactly, but instead used it as inspiration.

Pork Tenderloin and Sauerkraut

one boneless pork tenderloin

3 large sweet potatoes, cut into large chunks

1 large apple, peeled and cut

2 small cans sauerkraut (probably 15oz cans, or somewhere in that area...I can't remember exactly)

1 cup baby carrots

1/2 onion, largely chopped 

garlic

salt

pepper

olive oil

Lightly brown tenderloin in drizzle of olive oil. Place remaining ingredients in dutch oven and season to taste. Pour approx one cup of water in pan to cover potatoes and carrots. Cover, then place in preheated oven at 350 for 2-3hrs.

Enjoy!! If you want to have more of a stew-like meal, you can add additional water prior to baking.

You can see what my meal looked like after combining all ingredients. However, I didn't manage to get a picture after it came out of the oven! Straight to our bellies it went! :)

-Cindy

Lemon Basil Spinach Risotto

I had a friend request a few milk-free recipes, so this is for her! ;)


At our house, my summertime risotto is a hit! Everyone loves the perfect blend of arborio rice and sauteed veggies (zucchini, squash, carrots, tomatoes) with Italian seasonings. Yes it may be a little different than the mushroom risotto you are used to, but I think different is good...sometimes better!

So on the menu tonight was risotto again. This is a little different with the veggies and seasonings, but the cooking method is the same as my zucchini and squash risotto.

Pumpkin Granola

I made another batch of the pumpkin granola last week! I used this recipe as a guide. If you like granola, you will like this. It is perfect for fall, using it as cereal, over my cooked apples (which then tasted like apple crisp), or as a snack. I even added allergy friendly mini chocolate chips for a sweet treat. Yummy!

Chicken Pot Pie with biscuit topping (dairy free too!)

Nothing says fall like comfort foods! And tonight for dinner I whipped up a super quick and easy supper. I had planned on making something else, but last minute changes led to this wonderful comfort dinner!

Cooked apples

Fall like weather here (in 50s and 60s) the last two days and I keep thinking about apples and pumpkins! These are two of my favorites in all my cooking for fall!

So today for lunch I made some cooked apples. I wish I had a picture of them, but we ate every last one! But they were the best apples I have ever made, and will probably be the only way I ever fix them again!! Really!!

Tomato Preserves

Yes, you did read that right...tomato preserves! You know, like strawberry preserves or any other fruit preserves you may like. I don't know many people who've had them, but my Dad's family grew up making them and his mom, my grandma, taught me how when I was a teenager. It's really not hard, just takes a while.
Our garden this year has produced a lot of yellow/orange tomatoes...perfect for making tomato preserves because of their lower acidity, and they look pretty too.



Now, I'm not going to use the red tomatoes, but they were just sitting there after being washed.

Frozen banana treat

My sister sent me this link today about a single ingredient ice cream. Yes you heard right, one ingredient. I liked this idea, because it is very similar to how I fix ice cream for my little handsomes, so thought I would share.

Now, I have not tried making ice cream with only one ingredient as the author of this post suggested. However, we do make dairy free banana smoothies or ice cream often with only two ingredients.

Here's how we do it for the smoothie:

freeze ripe bananas (if we don't eat them before this stage). Blend a frozen banana with rice milk or soy milk (you could use regular milk if you do not need it to be dairy free). Add liquid slowly to get your desired consistency. And enjoy!

Now for the ice cream:

(good to use if you did not freeze your bananas beforehand.)

Take 1/2 banana and mash well. A Ziploc bag works great and the little ones can squeeze and mash it, because we all know they like to help!  :)

Add 1/2 cup rice or soy milk and mix well. If you want it to be a little sweeter, you could add touch of sugar or another sweetener. Place it in freezer and mash bag to stir every 30 min-hr until frozen. We like to do this at lunch, so that it's ready for our afternoon snack. (makes one serving.)

Enjoy!

-Cindy



Let's eat Zucchini

Our garden is growing. And the zucchini is ready....lots of it! We have been eating zucchini everyday! Zucchini for breakfast, lunch, and dinner....even dessert. I wanted to share this dessert with you today.

Zucchini Brownie Cake (dairy and egg free)

1 3/4 cups flour
1/3 cup baking cocoa
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 cups zucchini (shredded)
1/4 cup applesauce
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 water
1/2 cup oil
2 tsp vinegar
1 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips (allergy friendly. We use Enjoy Life brand.)

Combine flours, cocoa, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. Stir in zucchini.

In a separate bowl, combine remaining ingredients with a fork. Mix into zucchini mixture.

Pour into a sprayed 9 x 13 and sprinkle chocolate chips on top.

Bake in preheated oven at 350 until a toothpick comes out clean (35-40 minutes). (Mine has been more like 40...just test it to get your cooking time)

Yield:  a moist cake-like brownie

Something New for Lunch

Lunch around here is usually something pretty simple or leftovers from the night before. Yet today I fixed my little handsomes something new, even for me. We love couscous--for its fast cooking and nutritional value. However, the big container of couscous I usually buy was all out on my last grocery trip, so I opted to buy quinoa. Quinoa noodles are also available, and we have had those on numerous occasions. But the actual quinoa, never had it! So, thought we would give this "super grain" a try.

Quinoa looks like tiny seeds, and you cook it just like rice. (Thus the nice quick convenient cooking I like for lunches or even supper.) Very nutritious! Lots of protein and fiber, easily digestible, low-glycemic index grain for diabetics, and more. You can read about more health benefits here.

I cooked the quinoa, added avocados, tomatoes, salt, olive oil, lemon juice, and a little garlic and basil (really just anything I thought might taste good). I didn't have a recipe or anything for this lunch today, but instead just kinda added things to taste. And you know what, it tasted great. Both boys gobbled it all up. With fruit as a side, I thought this was a quick and tasty lunch! And good for us too.

Next time you want rice or any other grain, try some quinoa. Here's a  recipe that might be good to start with.

quinoa and black beans