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!