Homemade Granola Bars

This is a great recipe if you like snacking on something healthy and a bit different. I adapted this recipe from here: http://minimalistbaker.com/healthy-5-ingredient-granola-bars/. Thanks to my friend Kim who introduced me to it, that recipe is great too. These bars turned out nice and moist, sticky and naturally sweet. Try it!  

Ingredients:

1 ¼ cups packed, pitted dates

2 cups rolled oats (or gluten-free oats)

¼ cup + 3 tbsp. organic honey

¼ cup almond butter (or natural peanut butter) 

¼ cup raw slivered, unsalted almonds

¼ cup crumbled pecans

¼ cup unsweetened craisins

¼ cup golden raisins

6 tbsp. raw unsalted pumpkin seeds

3 tbsp. raw, shelled hemp seeds

2 tbsp. sesame seeds (optional)

Directions:

Toast oats and almonds at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes, until slightly golden. Process dates in a food processor, scrape down the sides a few times until a cohesive ball forms. Warm honey and almond butter in a small pot until smooth and runny and pour over the oat mixture. Combine all ingredients together, mix well, using a spoon to break up the dates. Press evenly into an 8x8 parchment lined baking dish and cool in the fridge for about 20 minutes. If the mixture is too sticky, grease the back of a spatula with some olive oil and press down. After cooling, remove from dish and cut into bars or squares. Store in the fridge. 

Gluten-Free Banana Bread

Here's how to make gluten-free banana bread with no refined sugar, oil or butter. This loaf comes out pretty dense but moist and very tasty.

Ingredients:
2 cups sorghum flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
1/2 tsp. pure vanilla
1/2 cup organic honey
2 organic eggs, beaten
3 mashed bananas

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and lightly grease a 9x5 inch loaf pan with a little olive oil. In a large bowl, combine flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. In a separate bowl, mix applesauce, maple syrup, vanilla and honey. Stir in beaten eggs and mashed bananas until well blended. Stir wet mixture into flour mixture, just to moisten and pour batter into prepared loaf pan.

Bake in preheated oven for about 55 minutes, until dark brown and a toothpick inserted into center of the loaf comes out clean. Let bread cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn onto a wire rack.

Pita Chips

When my pita bread went just a little too hard for sandwiches, I decided to make pita chips and man were they ever good. Serve them up with some homemade hummus and you'll be sure to please a crowd.

3 whole wheat pita pockets

2 tbsp. grape seed oil

1/8 tsp. garlic powder

1/8 tsp. dried basil

freshly ground pepper

salt to taste

Preheat over to 400F. 

1. Cut each pita bread into 8 triangles and place on a parchment lined cookie sheet.

2. In a small bowl, combine ingredients (except salt) and baste each triangle with the mixture. Just one side is plenty.

3. Sprinkle with salt 

4. Bake for 6-7 minutes until lightly browned and crispy. Watch them carefully as they tend to burn easily.

Butternut Squash Soup

My mom came out west for a visit recently and brought with her this fabulous recipe for butternut squash soup. The secret is using Granny Smith apples, they add a bit of tartness and the pear adds the perfect balance of sweetness.

1½ large butternut squash (about 4 cups) 

1 small yellow onion, chopped

2 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and diced

1 pear, peeled, cored and diced

2 cloves garlic, diced

3-3½ cups vegetable stock

¼ tsp. cayenne pepper

1 tsp. salt

Fresh ground pepper

Extra virgin olive oil

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Fill baking dish with 1½ cups of water. Cut the butternut squash lengthwise and scoop out seeds. Brush with olive oil and place upside down in pan. Bake 1 hour or until tender.

Sauté onion and apple in a large pot with a little olive oil until softened and onion is transparent. Add the garlic and sauté for 1 minute. Add vegetable stock, salt & pepper.

Add the squash, pear and cayenne.

Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, cover and simmer until slightly thickened, about 20 minutes. Let cool slightly, puree and enjoy.

Delicious!

DIY Rainbow Crayons

Ever wonder what to do with all those broken crayons? Keep them and make these!

Pre-heat oven to 300 degrees and place broken crayons in a muffin tin with foil liners.

Bake for 5-7 minutes and let cool until hardened.

Easy right!?!

Old Fashioned Maple Cream Fudge

It’s been a while since I last blogged! I’ve experimented with many great recipes in the past year but have neglected to post them. Jayden is almost two, we have relocated again and I’m expecting a baby girl in December, so needless to say, it’s been a little hectic around here. I’m attending a baking exchange in November and decided I would experiment with fudge. This recipe turned out so good that I just had to share it with everyone. I hope you enjoy it!

Old Fashioned Maple Cream Fudge

1 cup white sugar

1 cup brown sugar, medium packed

1 cup heavy cream

1/3 cup salted butter

1/4 cup of 100% pure maple syrup

pinch of salt

2 tsp. vanilla

Directions:

Combine all ingredients together except vanilla in a medium saucepan. Place over medium heat, stirring constantly while bringing mixture to a boil. Once the mixture comes to a boil, do not stir. You will be tempted to, but do not stir. Just watch that it doesn’t boil over, adjust heat accordingly. After the mixture has boiled (constant bubbling) for 10 minutes on medium heat, test by pouring a small amount into a glass of cold water. If you can reach into the water and form a soft ball of fudge with your fingers, the mixture is ready to be removed from the heat. If not, boil for a few more minutes and test again. It is crucial that the fudge reach the soft-ball stage, if not, it will not set. Remove from heat and set pot aside for 20 minutes, do not stir.

During the boil (disregard spoon, it should not be in there)

While the mixture cools (or while it’s boiling), line a 5x5” or 6x6” baking pan with wax paper and grease underneath to help the paper lay flat, grease a little on top as well. I used olive oil but butter works well too. You might have to improvise by using a square or rectangular tupperware container if you don’t have a baking dish this small. You don’t want the pan to be too big or the squares will be too thin.

After 20 minutes (this is a crucial step, you must let the fudge cool), add two teaspoons of vanilla and start stirring. You should be able to feel the mixture thicken up after about 5-10 minutes of constant stirring. Look for the fudge to change colour from dark to light brown/tan and watch for the mixture to dull down a bit, it will loose its glossiness once the mixture starts to thicken and cool.

Once you have reached this stage, pour mixture into lined dish and pat down with buttered fingers. Don’t wait too long to pour or the fudge will set in your pot. Refrigerate for an hour or so (or as long as you can stand it). I usually check on it after 30 minutes and press down firmly to help the fudge harden. Once the fudge has cooled completely, cut into squares and enjoy!

The finished product!

"Finger Food" Pancakes for Toddlers

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cups spelt flour (or brown rice flour)

1/4 cup whole wheat flour (or teff flour)

2 tsp. baking powder

3 tbsp. water + 1 tbsp. ground flax (set aside)

1 cup almond milk

2 1/2 tbsp. agave syrup (or 2 tbsp. pure maple syrup)

3 tbsp. sunflower oil (or grape seed oil, or extra virgin olive oil)

1 tbsp.. cinnamon

2 tbsp. grated carrot

1. In a medium sized bowl, whisk together flours with baking powder.

2. In a small bowl, mix water with ground flax and set aside for a few minutes. 

3. In a small bowl whisk together almond milk, sunflower oil (or EVOO), agave (or maple syrup), cinnamon and grated carrot and add water and ground flax mixture.

4. Combine wet ingredients to dry and mix well. If the mixture is too thick add a little water until it's easy to pour.

5.  Heat frying pan over medium-high heat and lightly coat with EVOO. Pour 1 tbsp. of batter per pancake into the frying pan. Cook until each side is golden brown. This recipe freezes well and is a great healthy breakfast on the go!