Cherry Pecan Granola Bars

Slightly sweet, a little spicy, chewy, and crispy! Smells like fall when you bake them. Also reminds me of a cherry crisp pie.

Makes 8 breakfast bars , or 16 snack-size squares.

Ingredients

• 1.5 cups dried tart cherries*
• 3 cups rolled oats
• ¼ tsp salt
• ¼ tsp ground cloves
• 1 cup light corn syrup
• 3 tbsp canola oil
• ½ cup chopped pecans
• ½ cup flaxmeal + chia seed blend

Directions

Line 8x8” baking pan with parchment. Mix dry ingredients together in a large bowl. Bring sugar and oil to a boil in saucepan, and let cook for 2 min. Pour hot sugar over dry ingredients. Mix well to coat. Using wet hands press the mixture into the pan firmly and evenly. Bake 325 for 25-30 min. until golden brown and edges are crisp. Set on cooling rack, and let cool completely before cutting into bars, using a very sharp knife. (A sharper knife will help keep pieces from crumbling apart as you cut). The bars will be slightly sticky, so they will store best if you wrap them individually in plastic wrap (plus they will be ready to take with you when you need a meal/snack on the go!). Keep these refrigerated to keep them fresh longer, and help them firm up. Best when eaten at room temp. though, so that they are softer.

*Cherries are not suitable for a low FODMAP diet. A few Low FODMAP alternatives to try: cranberries, blueberries, strawberries, pineapple.

Nutrition per snack-size square (1/16):

235 kcal

8 g fat

<1 g sat. fat

66 mg sodium

42 g carbs (4 g fiber; 28 g sugar)

3 g protein

Citrus Chard Juice

Makes about 3 cups (24 oz)

Ingredients

• 1 carrot
• 1 lime (peeled)
• big bunch of Swiss chard (enough to fill a large bowl)
• 2 apples (cored)
• 1/2 tsp ground fresh ginger (not the dry spice) (or 1" piece of ginger root)
• 1 medium cucumber

Directions

Add all ingredients to juicer, except ginger, unless using whole ginger root. If using the ground ginger, whisk it into the juice at the end.

Chocolate Banana SunNut Protein Bars with Coconut

I had Phood Nutritional Shake powder to use up, so I conducted this culinary experiment! Although it didn't turn out as I wanted, I like them because they are soft, have only a hint of sweetness, are a little nutty, and I found them to be incredibly filling (and since they are pretty low-cal, this is good if you're trying to stick to a calorie budget while still feeling satisfied). So, considering they aren't so sweet, I think they are perfect as a snack or breakfast bar, because it doesn't make me want to devour them in mass quantity. Still, I would like to tweak the recipe for next time, because I think it could use maybe a little salt, or replace some of the flour with cocoa powder. 

Makes 12 squares/ bars

Ingredients

1 banana, mashed

3 cups oats (quick oats are fine, but if you want more texture, use rolled oats)

1/2 cup Sunbutter creamy sunflower seed butter

6 scoops Phood Chocolate Caramel Nutritional Shake powder

1 avocado, mashed (skin and pit removed)

3 large egg whites (Vegan substitute: 3 tbsp flax meal plus 1/2 cup+1 tbsp hot water)

1/2 cup sorghum flour

1 cup applesauce, unsweetened

3/4 cup finely grated carrot

1/2 cup unsweetened flaked coconut

3 tbsp sunflower seeds raw, hulled (optional topping)

vegetable or coconut oil

Directions

Preheat oven to 325 F. 

Lightly grease a 9x13 baking pan with oil.

Blend banana, avocado, applesauce, egg whites, and sunflower seed butter together in a large bowl. 

Add in the remaining ingredients. Mix thoroughly. Spread mixture evenly into baking pan (it may help to wet a spatula to spread it more easily). Sprinkle sunflower seeds on top, if using. 

Bake for 30 min, or until knife inserted into center comes out clean with just a few crumbs (it will still be moist). Place the pan on a cooling rack until cool. Cut into 12 squares. 

Nutritional Info (via MyFitnessPal) per serving:

286 kcal, Tot. Fat 13 g (3 g sat. fat, 4 g MUFA, 3 g PUFA), Chol. 0 mg, Sodium 143 mg, Potassium 296 mg, Carbs 32 g (Fiber 7 g, Sugars 4 g), Protein 13 g

Carrot Pineapple Loaf

My mom made this for our Easter dinner.
It made with regular wheat flour, but I am posting it in case anyone was wondering how it was made! I'd love to try it sometime with a GF flour.

Makes 4 small loafs

Ingredients

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
• 3 eggs
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup applesauce
• 3/4 cups sugar
• 3/4 cups baking stevia
• 2 cups shredded carrots
• 8 oz can crushed pineapple, drained

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease and dust with flour loaf pans.

Mix flour, baking soda, salt, ginger, baking powder together. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, beat eggs, oil, and applesauce until thickened, about 2 minutes.

Mix in carrots and pineapple. Add flour mixture and stir until just combined. Stir in nuts, and pour into loaf pans.

Bakes 50 min. or until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean with a few crumbs. 

Baked Oatmeal

Directions are basically the same or similar for each variation...  Please see the instructions under "spiced pumpkin" version.

Spiced Pumpkin Coconut (for 4 ramekins)

3/4 cup canned pumpkin

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp cinnamon

Dash of allspice

Dash of salt

2 tsp coconut cream

1 tsp vanilla extract 

2 egg whites

2 cups rolled oats

1 tbsp + 1 tsp coconut flakes (optional; divided among servings)

1/4 cup chopped walnuts (optional: can be mixed in or on top

Directions

Preheat oven to 375. 

Bake 20 min. 

These actually hold together well enough to pop out of the ramekins like little muffins. You could serve them with a little pat of butter (vegan for me), or a drizzle of maple syrup. 

Coconut-Craisin

1 tbsp coconut flakes, unsweetened 

1/2 tsp Truvia

1/2 cup rolled oats

1/4 cup pear or apple sauce

1 egg white

1/4 tsp baking powder

2 tbsp blueberry flavored craisins (or 1/4 cup blueberries)

Coconut oil (for greasing baking dish)

Optional Topping:

1 tbsp Maple syrup + 1 tbsp cashew butter + 1 tbsp soy milk

For the Original recipe, (and more variations) Go here! http://mmmmarleemar.wordpress.com/2014/03/13/apple-blueberry-baked-oatmeal/

Cashew Nut Cream

I used this recipe to make the Vanilla Cashew Cream variation, for my strawberry muffins, but it can be a neutral creamy base for many other ideas. I think it tastes just like regular dairy cream, only thicker. It is not heavy like a nut butter; it's surprisingly light, and has that creamy richness of dairy cream. Using different herb/spice blends, you could probably make this into a variety of different vegan 'cream' sauces. I made this to be used later in a chicken tikka masala recipe, but since I couldn't wait to eat some, I mixed some up with a little vanilla and stevia, to make my breakfast muffin extra special.

Basically all you have to do is soak raw cashews in cold water over night, and then in the morning, drain & rinse them. Then purée them in the food processor with some water until it completely smooth. It's that easy! 

Cashew Nut Cream

Makes about 2 cups 

1.5 cups raw cashews*

3/4 cup cold water

1. Put cashews in a bowl and fill with enough cold water to cover them. Cover and let soak overnight/12 hrs.

2. Drain and rinse cashews. Add to food processor. Start running processor, and slowly stream in 3/4 cup cold water. Continue to purée until smooth, periodically stopping to scrape down sides as necessary. 

*Depending on the recipe you want to use this for, you could sub in roasted cashews, but I would suggest not using salted ones  

Vanilla variation:

For 1 big dollop

1.5 tbsp cashew nut cream

1/4 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 tsp stevia

Recipes using Cashew Nut Cream:

Strawberry Chia Seed Muffins
Chicken Tikka Masala (coming soon)

Baked quinoa carrot oatmeal with raisins and walnuts

Yes, it sort of looks like bird food, as a friend of mine had commented to me, BUT it is tasty, and the texture is more interesting than plain ol' oatmeal.

This was adapted from sweetpeasandpumpkins.com "baked carrot cake oatmeal."

Here's how to make it:

Preheat oven to 350 deg. 

Grease a 9x13" baking pan.

Blend together until well combined:

   • 2 eggs*

   • 1/2 cup puréed fruit (pear or apple sauce)

   • 1 cup flax milk (or any milk of your choice)

   • 2 tbsp canola oil (might be able to use avocado here instead)

   • 1/2 cup light brown sugar (not packed)

Whisk together:

   • 2 cups rolled oats**

   • 1/2 cup puffed millet

   • 2 tsp baking powder

   • 1 tsp ground cinnamon

   • 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

   • 1/2 tsp ground ginger

Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients. Stir in:

1/2 cup shredded carrot

1 cup cooked quinoa

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

1/3 cup raisins

Mix well.

Spread into baking pan.

Bake for 30 min. 

Notes:

*Vegan egg substitute: 

1 "egg" = 3 tbsp hot water + 1 tbsp ground flax seed

**The original recipe called for 3 cups of oats (no millet or quinoa), but I didn't have that, so I threw in the puffed millet and quinoa that I had on hand instead.