Monkey Bar Muffins {banana chocolate chip}

These muffins come from one of our favorite dessert recipes called monkey bars. They are sort of like banana brownies and they are really good. However, there is a ton of butter and sugar in them. So, I revamped the recipe a little and made them into muffins. My kids devour these and don't even realize how much better for them they are than the original.

3 Ripe Bananas, Mashed
1 C Honey
1/4 C Coconut Sugar or Sucanat
1/3 C Melted Coconut Oil
2 Tbl Ground Flax Meal
3 Tbl Quinoa Flakes such as these. (You can leave these out, but I swear they are the secret   ingredient.)
1 Scoop Plant Based Protein Powder (Again this is optional, but you may need to adjust the flour)
1/2 C Oats
1 Tsp Vanilla
1/2 Tsp Salt
2 Tsp Baking Powder
2 C Whole Wheat Flour (1/4-1/2 C more if you left out some of the other dry ingredients)
1 C Dark Chocolate Chips (optional, but not really because leaving them out would be crazy!)

Beat together honey, sugar, and oil. Add bananas, eggs, vanilla, flax, quinoa, and protein powder. Mix until just combined. In a separate bowl mix together flour salt, and baking powder, then add to the batter. Mix until just combined and stir in chocolate chips.

Bake @ 350 degrees for 18-20 minutes

Baked Honey Whole Wheat Donuts

These are not Krispy Kremes! As yummy as they would taste, that would mean loading them with shortening, sugar, and white flour, and then frying them. These donuts are still light and sweet, but carry nutritional value instead of being nothing more than empty calories. If you don't have a donut pan, try using a muffin pan. They would still taste just as good. 

 

1/4 C Butter

1/4 C Coconut Oil

1 C Honey

2 Eggs

1 C Almond Milk

4 1/2 tsp Baking Powder

1/2 tsp Salt

1/2 tsp Nutmeg

2 Scoops Plant Based Protein Powder (If you leave this out, just increase flour by 1/2 cup)

2 1/2 C Whole Wheat Flour

 

Beat together butter, oil, and sugar. Add remaining ingredients and mix until well combined. Spoon into donut pan.

 

Bake @ 350 degrees for 15-18 minutes

Immediately enjoy hot with butter and cinnamon sugar. We make our cinnamon sugar with equal parts cinnamon and coconut sugar.

Dairy Free Fudge bars

It's finally warm around here, and my kids are demanding popsicles. Normally, I would have just bought a big bag of otter pops, but since artificially flavored sugar is now out I had to come up with a different solution. While I was in Oregon visiting family recently, my mom and I made some coconut milk ice cream and even though there was a division among everyone as far as who liked it and who didn't, I thought it was great, so I decided to try a popsicle version.

Puree in a food processor or blender...

1 Can full fat coconut milk
1/3 C. Almond milk
1/4 C. Cocoa powder
1/3 C. Coconut sugar

Pour the mixture into popsicle molds, pop them into the freezer for a few hours, and you are done!

Pizza Popcorn

Last weekend it was lunch time and  the kids were all starving. I was craving pizza but only had enough energy for popcorn. So, pizza popcorn it was. We have an air popper, but I'm sure you could make this with the bag kind as well, although I'm always a little worried about the "butter flavoring" they put in it.

 

I did melt a couple tablespoons of real butter to pour on it and sprinkled it with salt and Parmesan cheese. I think some garlic salt would have been really great with it also. Next I spread it on a lined baking sheet and sprinkled it with a mozzarella cheese and chopped turkey pepperoni.   

 

I baked it @250 degrees for ten minutes and then served it up to my kids for lunch without feeling guilty one little bit.

Sadly, it didn't take away my craving for a big slice of greasy cheese pizza, but that's not the popcorn's fault. And it still was pretty good.

Double Chocolate Brownie Cookies {Gluten free}

 

 

A friend of mine posted a link on Facebook a while back for Secretly Healthy Chocolate Brownie Cookies, so of course I was intrigued and had to check it out. Especially since the author of the recipe claimed they were healthy enough to eat for breakfast. It turns out though that she and I have a difference of opinion when it comes to what is "healthy" I also discovered that this recipe had been slightly adapted several times by different people and the recipe actually originates here. What I also found interesting is that the original version was actually the healthiest and each time it was adapted it was made slightly worse.

 

Even though there are already multiple versions of this cookie floating around out there, I am going to add mine any way, because I think its pretty awesome. I also doubled the recipe because the original was really small.

 

2 Cans black beans rinsed and drained

1/4 C Almond Milk (skim milk would also work)

3 Tbs Natural Peanut Butter

1/4 Coconut Oil

2 C Packed Fresh Spinach (OF COURSE)

3/4 C Honey

1/2 C Cocoa Powder

2 tsp Vanilla Extract

2 tsp Baking Powder

1/4 tsp Salt

1/2 tsp Cinnamon

6 Tbs Oat Flour (whole wheat would also work)

2 Tbs Ground Flax Meal

2 Tbs Quinoa Flakes (These are optional if you can't find them, but they add a good amount of protein and fiber. I get mine at our grocery store by the oat flour)

2/3 C Dark Chocolate Chips

 

Combine black beans, almond milk, peanut butter, coconut oil, and spinach in a food processor or high powered blender and process until smooth. Add in the remaining ingredients, EXCEPT the chocolate chips and process again until very smooth and mousse like (2-3 minutes) Stir in Chocolate chips.

 

spoon out about 1 1/2 tablespoons of batter for each cookie onto a cookie sheet and bake @ 375 degrees for 9 or 10 minutes.

 

Yields aproximately 2 dozen. Could be more if you make really small cookies.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



Whole Wheat Crepes {plus a delicious bonus}

We really only use crepes for one purpose in our house, and that is to stuff them with strawberries and whipped cream. We call them Swedish pancakes, because in Sweden they eat them for dessert after a dinner of pea soup. We skip the pea soup and just go straight to dessert for dinner. I would like to try a few savory crepe dishes sometime soon and see how my family reacts to them.

This was my first attempt at modifying the recipe and it turned out great. Next time I want to try using coconut oil instead of butter.

3 Eggs
1 1/2 Tbs Honey
3/4 tsp Salt
3 C Milk
2 1/4 -2 1/2 C Whole wheat flour
1 Stick butter, melted

Combine first five ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Add melted butter and blend to combine. Let sit 30 minutes.

Heat a skillet over medium heat. Pour about 1/4 cup of batter in the pan and swirl it around until very thin (mine usually end up much thicker than they should but my family never complains) cook until top side is dry and flip. Cook another 30 seconds or so and stack on a plate. If you've never made crepes before and need a visual here is a video.

Yields about 18-20 crepes

To make Swedish Pancakes you need a batch of crepes, sliced strawberries, and fresh whipped cream. In the past of course I always made my whipped cream with plain old powdered sugar but since I don't use white sugar anymore I had to come up with a different plan.

Coconut sugar is a great substitute because it has a much lower glycemic index so you don't get the spikes in blood sugar levels that you do with white processed sugar and it also contains many nutrients, minerals, and amino acids. I get mine at one of our local health food stores, but you can also order it on amazon. It is a brown sugar though so it does have a slight molasses flavor. I used a "blonde" variety for the whipped cream which is a little lighter in color and has a more mild flavor. If you look close you can see small specks of brown, but my kids didn't notice at all.

In order to turn the coconut sugar into coconut powdered sugar simply put it in a food processor or blender with a little bit of corn starch (up to 1 tablespoon per cup of sugar) and beat until powdery.

Set up a work station on your counter that looks like this.

Stuff those crepes with strawberries and whipped cream and enjoy every bite!

Oh, and be sure to use paper plates because that makes them really fancy!

Healthy "er" Chocolate Chip Cookies

I wasn't sure how my kids were going react to these because the one thing I am famous for in our house are my chocolate chip cookies. I'm not the greatest cook, but cookies are my thing. I was even prepared to call them brown sugar cookies so they wouldn't expect them to taste like the normal ones.

Obviously I should not have worried!

Even though these cookies did taste really good and are much better health wise than the original recipe, I have a feeling I'm not done tweaking. So, this is just a first draft, but a great one!

1/2 C Butter
1/2 C Coconut Oil
1 C Sucanat or Coconut Sugar
1/4 C Honey
2 Eggs
2 tsp Vanilla
1/2 tsp Salt
1 tsp Baking Soda
2 1/2 C Whole Wheat Flour
Dark Chocolate Chips

No one really needs instructions for how to make chocolate chip cookies, but here they are anyway.

Cream together butter, oil, sucanat, and honey until light and creamy. Mix in eggs and vanilla. Add dry ingredients and mix until well combined. Mix in chocolate chips and bake @350 for 8-10 minutes.

Pineapple Chips

We are loving pineapple at our house right now and really, what's not to love? It's sweet and juicy and reminds me that warmer weather is coming. Usually I just cut it up to eat fresh or occasionally for dinner if we are grilling I will throw it on the grill to eat warm, but this week I was in the mood for something crunchy. Have you ever had the vacuum fried pineapple chips from Trader Joe's? Yum! I'm not going to lie and say these taste exactly like those, because they don't. (Does anyone have any idea how to vacuum fry?) But they certainly have a little more depth to them than simply drying them.

Start by slicing the pineapple very thin either using a knife or mandolin. Don't cut out the center. I cut mine in half so that it would fit on my mandolin. Place on a baking sheet in a single layer. Parchment paper would be great, but I only had 3 inches left on my roll when I took it out.

Brush both sides with melted coconut oil and lightly sprinkle with either Truvia, Coconut sugar or Sucanat.

Bake @ 200 degrees for anywhere from 1 1/2- 2 1/2 hours until golden brown. It really varies by oven so keep an eye on them. The longer they cook the crispier they will become, but you don't want them to burn.

Chocolate Zucchini Waffles (with spinach of course!)

After I made my Double Chocolate Muffins I started thinking about other things I could add zucchini to as well. My kids love waffles and have been really sad that we don't buy the big Sam's Club box of Eggo's anymore, so I decided to give chocolate zucchini waffles a try. I based my recipe off of  this one, which was already pretty good but she did use some white flour and brown sugar. I had to throw in some spinach of course and I usually always add some plain yogurt for moisture and protein. I also doubled it so I could freeze half of them, but my kids will most likely have them eaten by the end of the week so I will either need to get a bigger mixer so I can do a triple batch or just be prepared to make waffles once a week.

 

1 Med-Large Zucchini
1 Handful of Spinach
1/2 C plain Greek Yogurt
2 Eggs
1/4 C Honey or Coconut Sugar (I've done both)
1/4 C Coconut oil melted
1 Tsp Vanilla
1 3/4 C Almond Milk
1/2 C Cocoal Powder
1 tsp Cinnamon'
1/4 tsp Salt
1 Tbs Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Baking Soda
1 1/2 C Whole Wheat /flour

Wash and cut the ends off of the zucchini. If using a food processor than you can just slice the zucchini, but if you are using a blendor it might be easier to grate it first.

Puree the zucchini, spinach, and yogurt in a food processor or high powered blender. Pour into a mixing bowl and add the rest of the ingredients. Mix all the ingredients together until well combined, but don't over mix.

This single recipe yields about 9 round waffles. As you can tell from the picture I have two different waffle irons and I can't believe I ever sat in the kitchen making one waffle at a time. Two is definitely the way to go!

Cold Peas

No this isn't a recipe, but it is a good snack idea or just something healthy to throw on your kids lunch plate.

Frozen peas, aka cold peas at our house.

 



My kids like peas with dinner, but there is something about eating them straight from the freezer that makes them taste even better. I usually forget about it during the winter, but the sun was out today and I remembered how much my kids like frozen peas, so they had some with lunch.

Give it a try, your kids might love them too!

Frittata Muffins

Sometimes even after 31 years a person can learn something new about themselves. I've always claimed to strongly dislike eggs. They make me gag. It turns out that I actually do like eggs though as long as they are in muffin form.

This recipe has been slightly adapted from toneitup.com. If you are looking for some new workouts I can't recommend them enough. I love their site and I love these frittatas, or taddas as my five year old calls them. She and I are really the only ones that eat these. My oldest two weren't in love with them and my husband refuses to even try them because you can see pieces of spinach. One of these days maybe I will be nice and make them for him without the spinach.

8 eggs
1 (6 oz) container of plain Greek yogurt
1 C chopped spinach
1/2 C chopped bell peppers or mushrooms
1/4-1/2 C cheese (I usually just toss in a little sharp cheddar and some fresh Parmesan)
salt and pepper to taste

In a mixer beat the eggs and yogurt on high until well whipped. I just let the mixer run while I chop the veggies. Gently fold in the cheese and veggies and divide into 12 muffin cups. Bake @350 for 18-20 minutes.

I love to make a pan of these for breakfast and then store the rest in the fridge so I can grab one or two for a quick lunch when my day has gotten crazy.

Coconut Lara Bars

I was just recently introduced to Lara bars and while I loved the taste, I did not love the price. After looking at the back of the box and discovering that they were comprised of 3 simple ingredients, it seemed like a no brainer to make my own. There are tons of recipes for home made Lara bars out there but these coconut ones are my favorite. Once again though I have made my own modifications. If I'm going to mix anything in a food processor, you better believe I'm going to throw at least one vegetable in there. This time I went with carrots since it seemed like the best fit for coconut. Or maybe I just like that they both start with C.

This is actually a double recipe compared to most that I found when I googled Lara bar recipes, so if you want to just try them first I would suggest cutting it in half.

1 C raw cashews or almonds or a mix of both
1 C unsweetened coconut
2 medium carrots grated
10-12 large dates, pitted and roughly chopped (I get mine in the produce section at Kroger)

Put the nuts in a food processor and chop until finely ground. Add the coconut and process for another minute. Repeat with the carrots and then add the dates and process until smooth. The mixture will clump together and sort of end up like a sticky dough.

Most recipes say to shape the dough into bar form on wax paper and place in the fridge, but I found that I actually like it in smaller portions (don't get me wrong I still eat several of them at once, I just like the smaller pieces for some reason) so I divide the mixture into one of my fun shaped silicone molds. I put the mold in the freezer for about an hour and then they pop right out. Store them in the fridge between wax paper in an airtight container.

This recipe will make 8 bars or 21 flowers. Every thing tastes better in a cute little flower shape!



No Bake Chocolate Granola

Have you ever made no bake cookies? You know the kind with lots of yummy peanut butter and sugar? Well I found a recipe for no bake granola at eatgood4life, tweaked it ever so slightly and came out with a delicious and healthy no bake granola that tastes so similar to those horribly bad for you but oh so good cookies that I kind of feel guilty for a second each time I eat it. Then I remember it's actually good for me and I do a happy dance.

In a large bowl combine:

4 C quick cooking steel cut oats
2 C brown rice cereal
1 1/2 C chopped dried banana chips
1 1/2 cups unsweetened coconut
1/3 C flax seed meal
1/4 C chia seeds

In a small sauce pan heat until melted and well combined:

3/4 C natural peanut butter (no Jiff here, we don't want all that sugar)
1/2 C coconut oil
1/4 C honey
1/2-3/4 C bittersweet chocolate chips (It depends on how generous I'm feeling that day!)

Pour the sauce mixture over the dry ingredients and mix well. Spread evenly onto one or two cookie sheets, smash it down and place in the refrigerator until hardened. I say one or two cookie sheets because I have done both and if you spread it thinner onto two it is much better for eating in a bowl with milk because it crumbles more. If you want thicker chunks that are better for grabbing out of the bag and snacking on than press it all onto one pan.

After about 30 minutes you can break up the granola with a spatula and put it in an airtight container. It does not need to be refrigerated, but I have found that if you leave it out, the chocolate starts to melt a little and you end up with messy hands. And while there are worse things in life than having melted chocolate on your fingers, melted chocolate on the hands of a toddler that like to dart away from the table and onto the white love seat in the next room is not a good thing!

Double Chocolate Muffins

Muffins are a favorite snack in our house. My kids especially love chocolate muffins or any muffins containing chocolate chips so these are a double win. I happen to like the chocolate muffins because I can sneak all sorts of green stuff into them.

I don't really follow any particular recipe when I make these so I will do my best to give the accurate amounts for each ingredient, but if you see something that needs tweaking, feel free to tweak away.

I do use my food processor to really blend the greens and beans until they are smooth, but I have also used a blender before and that works just as well.

1 can black beans drained and rinsed
1 zucchini washed and sliced
1 large handful of fresh spinach
1 6 oz container plain Greek yogurt
1/4 C almond milk
1/2 C cocoa powder
2 eggs
1 C honey (I've actually tapered down to 3/4 cup for my family but I started with 1 full cup)
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 Tbls ground flax meal
2 Tbls quinoa flakes (these are totally optional)
2 1/4 C whole wheat flour
1/4 C coconut oil
1/2-3/4 C dark chocolate chips

Combine first five ingredients in a food processor and mix until completely smooth. Pour mixture into a stand mixer and add the remaining twelve ingredients (that's everything but the chocolate chips if you don't want to count) mix until moist. If you feel like the mixture is too dry at this point you can add a little more almond milk, otherwise gently mix in the chocolate chips.

Bake @ 350 for 18 minutes.

The Dreamiest Creamiest Hummus ever!

I wish I could remember where I got this tip, but it was during a random search one day. To the person that figured this out, Thank you! You have forever changed my world.

It turns out that in order to make perfect hummus one must add the ingredients to the food processor in the right order. Who would have thought? Certainly not me.

I make this recipe, or some version of it, almost weekly and we all snack on it throughout the day with veggies and Nut-Thin crackers.

1/4 C Tahini
Juice from 2 lemons (yields 1/4-1/3 cup)
2-3 tsp minced garlic
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cumin
2 shakes smoked paprika
1-2 shakes cayenne pepper
2 cans garbanzo beans
1/4- 1/2 can of water

Start by mixing the tahini and lemon juice together in the food processor for a minute or two. It will become lighter and slightly thicker. Next add the seasonings and blend for another minute. Add the garbanzo beans and a 1/4 of a can of water (I don't use the liquid in the cans because it grosses me out for some reason) Let everything blend together a minute or until fairly smooth then check to see if you want more seasonings and add more water if needed. Turn on again and let it do it's thing for a good 3-4 minutes on high.

What you will have when you turn off the food processor is the best homemade hummus ever! No lie!