peanut butter granola.

Oh my goodness. I found another granola recipe that is to-die-for! It's simple to make and takes just a few minutes to mix up.  This particular recipe is full of delicious peanut butter flavor and tastes delicious in yogurt, with milk, and of course on its own!

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peanut butter granola from eat live run

Ingredients:

1/4 cup oil (I used part canola, part coconut)

1/3 cup sweetener (I used part honey, part pure maple syrup)

1/4 cup peanut butter

1/2 tsp salt (optional)

1 tsp cinnamon

4 cups old fashioned oats 

1/4 cup flaxseeds

1/2 cup dry roasted peanuts (I left out)

1/2 cup sunflower seeds

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 275 degrees F
2. Microwave (or melt on stove 3-5 minutes) oil, sweetener, peanut butter, optional salt and cinnamon.
3. While cooking, mix together the oats, flax, peanuts and sunflower seeds. 
4. Pour hot mixture over the oats and toss well to coat. 
5. Spread out granola onto lined sheet trays (I used parchment) and bake for 40-45 minutes, stirring occasionally and turning tray midway through.
6. Let granola cool completely for that perfect crunch!

vanilla almond granola.

We do love cereal and granola around here but I am just tired of paying for it. If you want the good, healthy stuff it can go up to around $3-5- yikes! The only exception to that was last week when Kroger had Kashi cereal on manager's special for only $1.50- now that was steal!  But sadly... it doesn't happen very often.

Alas, I decided to try my hand at some homemade granola. Let me tell you- it was delicious! It can also easily be adapted for GF eaters by using GF certified oats and can be vegan by using coconut oil and maple syrup. 

It was also super easy to make. It seriously took only about 5 minutes to mix together and then you just throw it in the oven. If you don't have time to stir every 15 minutes, just leave it in and after it cools, break bunches apart as you please. I can't wait to make some different versions of granola!

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vanilla almond granola from sally's baking addiction

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
1/2-3/4 cup chopped or slivered almonds
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
pinch salt
1/2 cup pure maple syrup or honey
1/4 cup melted coconut oil or another liquid oil (i.e. melted butter, olive oil, etc.)
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
1 Tablespoon vanilla extract

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 300F degrees. 
2. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
3. Toss the oats, almonds, cinnamon, and salt in a large bowl. Set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk the syrup or honey and oil together until combined. Whisk in the almond and vanilla extracts. Pour over the oats and toss to coat. Make sure all of the oats are moistened.
4. Spread onto the prepared baking sheet and bake for 45 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes. Allow granola to cool completely. It will get crunchy during the cooling process. 

flourless chocolate chip cookies.

I finally found a chocolate chip cookie recipe that contains only whole foods. I have no issue making (or eating) a good old fashioned chocolate chip cookie with lots of butter, all purpose flour, and granulated sugar but this sounded like a fun and healthier recipe to try. I am also going to be trying another whole food recipe with my friend, Hannah - sweet potato brownies!

You should definitely check out more recipes on http://mywholefoodlife.com/ - I am so excited to try more of her recipes!

Ok, back to the recipe. Oh and you might even have some of these ingredients on hand already! These chocolate chip cookies contain honey OR maple syrup, cashews, vanilla, sea salt, and lots of chunky dark chocolate. That's it, I promise! 

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flourless chocolate chip cookies from my whole food life

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups cashew butter*
• 1/4 cup + 1 Tbsp honey or maple syrup
• 1 tsp vanilla extract or ground vanilla beans
• 1/4 tsp sea salt (omit if cashew butter is already salted)
• 1/3 heaping cup dark chocolate chips or chunks

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. In a food processor, combine all the ingredients, except for the chocolate.
3. Mix it all up until it looks like dough.
4. Stir in the chocolate chips.
5. Drop cookies onto a lined baking sheet. 
6. Bake for 8-10 minutes.
7. Let cool completely before removing from the cookie sheet. 
8. Store in an airtight container or in the freezer for longer keep.

*I made my own using 2 cups of plain cashews. Easily grind them up in a food processor for about 5 minutes or until it is butter-like consistency.

Recipe Credit: http://mywholefoodlife.com/2014/04/21/flourless-chocolate-chip-cookies-2/

dark chocolate chunk peanut butter blondies (gluten free & vegan option).

If you're looking for a gluten free and/or vegan dessert, you're at the right place! Oh and don't be scared of the chickpeas- I promise you won't even taste them. They are hidden by the sweetness of the honey and chocolate and by the creamy, nuttiness of the peanut butter. 

The first thing I love about this recipe is how easy it is to make. It took me all of 5 minutes to whip up! The second thing I love is the natural sweetness and general natural-ness of the recipe- there's no butter, oil, flour, OR granulated sugar. The third thing I love about this recipe is the nutritional value (especially for a dessert). The beans and peanut butter give this dessert some fiber and protein. Being a type 1 diabetic myself, it's always nice to actually have a dessert with fiber/protein to balance out the simple sugars. 

These bars are awesome so don't wait to make them...seriously, get baking now!

 

Ingredients

• 1 can (15 oz) chickpeas or garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
• 1/2 cup peanut butter* (or another type of nut butter)
• 1/3 cup honey (or pure maple syrup or agave nectar for vegan option)
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1/2 tsp salt (I used between 1/8-1/4 tsp)
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 3.5 oz dark chocolate bar, chopped or broken into chunks (OR 1/3 cup plus 2 tbsp chocolate chips [regular or vegan])

*In addition to pb, I added about 1/4 cup Trader Joes Speculoos Cookie Butter which would make these NOT gluten free.  Sadly, it didn't add much to the bars so I will probably leave that out next time anyway.

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Coat 8×8 inch pan with nonstick cooking spray or shortening and line with parchment paper.
2. In a food processor (or blender or magic bullet), add all ingredients except chocolate and process until batter is smooth. Fold in chocolate. 
3. Optional step: eat some batter...you won't be disappointed or feel guilty for eating raw dough because there's no eggs :) Happy day! 
4. Spread batter evenly in prepared pan then stick some chocolate on top. Bake for 15-25 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean and edges are a tiny (key word: tiny) bit brown. I took mine out at 18 minutes. The blondies may look underdone, but it'll be gooey and delicious and will not make you sick!
5. Cool pan for at least 20 minutes on wire rack or trivet. Cut into squares or just eat out of the pan with a fork like I did.  Makes 9-16 servings, depending on how big you slice them.

Recipe Source:

http://www.ambitiouskitchen.com/2013/04/flourless-chocolate-chip-chickpea-blondies-with-sea-salt-vegan-gluten-free-healthy/


More Gluten Free Recipes:

http://boilerbaker.blogspot.com/2014/02/gluten-free-fudge-brownies.html

http://boilerbaker.blogspot.com/2014/01/gluten-free-brownie-cookies.html

http://www.yammiesglutenfreedom.com/

http://thepajamachef.com/2014/01/24/flourless-peanut-chocolate-cookies/

honey beer bread.

[adapted from http://tastykitchen.com/recipes/breads/honey-beer-bread/]

moist on the inside, crunchy on the outside.

a good balance between sweet and savory. 

& a great side to a bowl of soup!

Ingredients:

3 cups all purpose flour

2 tbsp sugar

1 tbsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

2 tablespoons honey

1 can (12 oz) beer (I used corona light)

1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Grease a 9″x5″x3″ loaf pan (I used non stick). Line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper (I didn't do this). Set aside.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.

3. Using a wooden spoon, stir the beer and honey into the dry ingredients until just mixed. (Microwave the honey for 5 to 10 seconds beforehand to make it easier to stir in).

4. Pour half of the melted butter into the loaf pan. Then spoon the batter into the pan, and pour the rest of the butter on top of the batter. Use a pastry brush to spread it around.

5. Bake for 50 to 60 minutes, until top is golden brown and a toothpick/knife inserted in the middle comes out clean.

slow cooker honey sesame chicken

[adapted from http://www.sixsistersstuff.com/2012/01/slow-cooker-honey-sesame-chicken-recipe.html]

I haven't gotten to use my crock pot too much since we got it so I was really excited to try this recipe.  And even better, it was a quick and easy meal to make.  It has some sweetness to it but it's not overkill.  We ate it with leftover brown rice. It was a perfect one course meal!

Ingredients:

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts 

Salt and pepper (I didn't put salt on it since the soy sauce adds enough salt!) 

1 cup honey

1/2 cup soy sauce (I used low sodium)

1/2 cup diced onion

1/4 cup ketchup

2 tablespoons vegetable oil (could also use olive oil or canola oil)

2 cloves garlic, minced (I used 3 cloves)

1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes 

4 teaspoons cornstarch dissolved in 6 Tablespoons water

Sesame seeds

Directions:

1. Season both sides of chicken with lightly with salt & pepper, put into crock pot.

2. In a small bowl, combine honey, soy sauce, onion, ketchup, oil, garlic and pepper flakes. Pour over chicken. 

3. Cook on low for 3-4 hours or on high 1 1/2 – 2 1/2 hours, or just until chicken is cooked through. 

4. Remove chicken from crock pot, leave sauce. 

5. Dissolve 4 teaspoons of cornstarch in 6 tablespoons of water and pour into crock pot. 

Stir to combine with sauce.

6.  Replace lid and cook sauce on high for ten more minutes or until slightly thickened. 

7. Cut chicken into bite size pieces, then return to pot and toss with sauce before serving. 

8. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and serve over rice or noodles.