Healthy Oatmeal Cookies

It's a rainy day around here…a nice day to have a warm, soft cookie.  Determined to make them healthy, I experimented today and ended up with exactly what I was hoping for: a soft, chewy cookie, without all the bad stuff.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Combine:

• 1 Cup Oats
• 1/3 Cup Flour (any flour will work: whole wheat, white whole wheat, all purpose flour, or grind up oats so it is the consistency of flour; I used Pamela's gluten-free flour)
• 1/3 Cup Honey
• 1 Tbsp Chia Seeds (optional)
• 1/2 tsp Cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp Baking Soda
• 1/2 tsp Vanilla
• 1/3 Cup Apple Sauce
• 1 Tbsp Coconut Oil (any oil or melted butter should work)
• 1/3-1/2 Cup Toppings (I used raisins, chocolate and white chocolate chips)

Drop by spoonfuls on lightly greased baking sheet or use parchment paper.  Bake for 12-15 minutes.

Oven-baked Granola

Here's a healthy, yummy, and easy recipe...just in time for the holidays!  I love making granola because you can always change up the recipe to make it just the way you like it. Enjoy!

3 Cups Old Fashioned Oats
2 Cups Rice Cereal (I used Rice Krispy Cereal)
1/4 Cup Coconut Oil (melted)
1/4 Cup Pure Maple Syrup
1/4 Cup Almonds or Other Nut (I crushed ours)
1/4 Cup Pumpkin Seeds or Other Nut or Seed
2 TBSP Chia Seeds (optional)
1 TBSP Vanilla
2 tsp Cinnamon
3/4 Cup Dried Fruit to be added after baking (I used cranberries and raisins)
1/4-1/2 Cup Chocolate Chips to be added after baking

Preheat oven to 250 degrees
Cover a large baking sheet with parchment paper
In a large mixing bowl, combine all above ingredients EXCEPT the dried fruit and chocolate
Spread on parchment paper and bake for 1 hour, stirring every 20 minutes
When finished baking, add dried fruit and chocolate

Garlic Orange Chicken Stir Fry

Ingredients
For the Chicken:

• 3-4 chicken breasts
• 1 tbsp. coconut oil
• 1/2 tbsp. minced garlic
• 2 tsp. brown sugar
• 4 tbsp. orange juice

Pre-heat oven to 450 degrees. Spray baking pan with cooking spray and place chicken in pan. In a small skillet, melt coconut oil over medium heat.  Add garlic and saute for a minute.  Then, add the brown sugar and the orange juice.  Pour sauce over chicken.  Bake, uncovered, in pre-heated oven for 25-30 minutes or until chicken is done.  Set chicken aside.

For the Stir Fry:

• 2 cups of vegetables (we used fresh asparagus, broccoli, and a frozen veggie blend with carrots, peas, corn, and green beans.  You could use any vegetables you have on hand).  
• 2 cups of prepared rice of choice ( I used jasmine rice)
• Soy Sauce (to taste)
• Garlic and Onion Powder (to taste)
• 1/4 cup of Orange Juice

Saute veggies in pan with a little water and soy sauce.  Cover the skillet loosely with foil and let it cook on medium heat until vegetables are tender (about 8 minutes)
Add cooked rice and cooked chicken to skillet.
Add orange juice and any extra soy sauce, garlic and onion powder, etc.
Loosely cover and continue cooking for an additional 10 minutes on medium.

Feta Cheese Turkey Meat Loaf

I adapted this recipe from Food Network, Giada's recipe.

1 pound of ground turkey
1/2 cup bread crumbs (if making this gluten free, use 1/2 cup crushed gf rice crispies cereal)
1/2 cup feta cheese
1/4 cup parmesean cheese
1 tbsp. minced garlic
1 tbsp. ranch dressing seasoning packet
1 egg, lightly beaten
2 tbsp. milk
salt and pepper, to taste

Preheat oven to 375.
Mix all ingredients, except turkey.
After everything is mixed, gently add the turkey.
Coat the bottom of a loaf pan with olive oil.
Bake turkey for 45 minutes.

Note: A great place to buy ranch dressing seasoning packets without all the bad stuff is from penzey's spices.  See here. 

Potato Broccoli Egg Casserole

I wanted a casserole tonight and started pulling stuff out of my pantry to see what I could make.  This turned out pretty good.  It would be a good breakfast as well.

Ingredients:
6 potatoes, peeled cut into thin slices
1/2 cup water
1 cup of fresh broccoli, cut into small pieces
7 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup plain or greek yogurt
1/4 cup cheddar cheese
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
salt and pepper, to taste
1/2 tsp. parsley
1/2 tsp. paprika

Directions:
Put the potatoes slices and 1/2 cup water in a microwaveable-safe bowl and cover.  Microwave for 9-10 minutes, or until tender.

Coat the bottom of a large dish with olive oil.  Put potatoes in bottom of dish and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Arrange broccoli on top of the potatoes.  Mix the eggs, milk, yogurt, cheeses, and spices together in a bowl and pour on top.  Bake, uncovered for 40 minutes.

Serves: 8

Serve with fresh fruit and bread. Yummy!

Healthy Breakfast Cookies?

 On Saturday morning, our three year old son came running into our bedroom and said, “Mommy, I want some giant bear-sized cookies for breakfast!”  Where he got that term, I don’t know, but looking as cute as he was, I tried to think of a way to make a healthy cookie for him for breakfast.  I began creating my own recipe by substituting healthy options in other recipes. I had my doubts as to whether or not these would turn out.  As soon as they came out of the oven, however, we ate them up so quickly!  Full of ground flax seeds, oats, coconut oil, and yogurt….these are actually healthy breakfast cookies!  We served ours with some fresh fruit and milk.  Enjoy!

Breakfast Cookies

Ingredients:

¾ cup flour (spelt, whole wheat, etc.)
 1/3 cup ground flax seeds
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
½ cup honey
1 1/2 cups uncooked old-fashioned oats
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup filler (raisins, dried fruit, chocolate chips, nuts, etc.)
1/2 cup filler (raisins, dried fruit, chocolate chips, nuts, etc.)
1/4 cup nonfat plain yogurt
2 Tbsp. coconut oil (room temperature)
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350° F. Lightly oil 2 baking sheets or line them with parchment paper.

In a large bowl mix flour together with the ground flax, baking powder, cinnamon, and baking soda. Add the oats and salt, then stir in the raisins and chocolate chips.

In a separate bowl, combine yogurt, coconut oil, honey, egg, and vanilla in a large bowl. Add this mixture to the dry ingredients, and beat together to form a dough.

Drop mixture by rounded teaspoonfuls 2 inches apart on prepared cookie sheets. Bake for 12 minutes or until lightly browned.

Makes 2 dozen cookies

Lemon Chicken and Rice Soup

I had a good bit of chicken and chicken broth left over from my chicken crock pot meal, so I decided to make a soup today. 

Lemon Chicken and Rice Soup

Ingredients:

1 tbsp. butter (optional)

3 cups chicken broth

2 cups water

2-3 cooked and shredded chicken breasts

¾ cup frozen peas

¾ cup frozen carrots or chopped fresh carrots

juice of 2 lemons

1 cup brown rice

Directions:

Melt butter in large pot on stove.  Add chicken and coat in butter.  Add chicken broth, water, chicken, peas, carrots, lemon juice and rice.  Set on low and cover.  Let it cook for about an hour, stirring occasionally.  Add water or milk as needed.  

Crock Pot Chicken and Homemade Chicken Broth

I love our crockpot!  It makes my life a lot easier.  Here is an easy recipe that can help you prepare meals throughout the week since you are cooking a whole chicken.  

Ingredients:

1 whole chicken

1 cup water

celery

onion

garlic

spices (I used garlic powder, onion powder, and Mrs. Dash)

1 bag of fresh carrots (or chopped fresh carrots)

Directions:

Remove giblets from chicken.  Place chopped celery, onion, and garlic inside the chicken.  Pour 1 cup of water into the bottom of the crock pot and add carrots.  Put stuffed chicken on top of the carrots.  Turn crock pot to low and cook for 8 hours. 

When it is ready, remove carrots and chicken. Here is meal number one! Then, pass the remaining broth through a strainer to remove unwanted chicken bones, etc.  Now, you have homemade chicken broth. Refrigerate or freeze the broth. 

Meal Planning: I try to make my crock pot chicken at the beginning of the week and plan meals where I can use the broth and chicken throughout the week.  See Lemon Chicken and Rice Soup. 

Homemade Zucchini Bread

I made some zucchini bread for our family tonight, and it was pretty tasty!  I’ve tried several recipes but I decided to create my own and omit all the brown and white sugars, substitute healthy oils for bad ones, etc.  I wasn’t sure if it would turn out, but it did!  I made ours gluten free this time around!

Healthy Zucchini Bread

Ingredients:

4 TBSP. Coconut Oil (or melted butter)

½ Cup honey

2 eggs beaten

1 ¾ cup whole wheat flour (or see gluten free note below)

½ tsp. baking powder

½ tsp. baking soda

¼ tsp. salt

1 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. vanilla

1 cup grated zucchini (I used one large zucchini)

½ cup raisins (optional)

Directions:

Combine dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon) and set aside.  Beat together coconut oil, eggs, honey, and vanilla.  Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and mix together.  Fold in grated zucchini and raisins.  Pour into greased loaf pan. 

Bake in preheated 350 degree oven for 40 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. 

Gluten Free:

I substituted Pamela’s Baking Mix for the flour and omitted the baking soda and powder since Pamela’s Mix already has that in it.  

Overnight Oatmeal Recipe and Why It's Healthy

I have been seeing all of these recipes for overnight oatmeal and about how we should soak our oats overnight.  My first thought was, “Why would I do this when it’s just as easy to throw your oats in a bowl the next morning?”  Upon researching this topic, however, I have learned that it is actually beneficial to soak our oats overnight.  By soaking our oats, it makes them more digestible and helps our system obtain more of the nutrients in the food. 

With that being said, I may not always remember to do this the night before, but when I can, I will try to do this.  I have been experimenting with different recipes for this, and have actually found it helpful to make it the night before.  It’s kind of nice to wake up the next morning and have my oatmeal mixture all ready.  I just pop it in the microwave for a minute and it’s done.  All of the fruit has already been added, so it’s ready to go! 

I have tweaked several recipes and like this one the best.  This recipe is the right amount for 2 adult serving and 2 kid-size servings.

Overnight Oatmeal:

1 cup rolled oats

¾- 1 cup milk (I used almond milk)

¾ cup- 1 cup plain yogurt (greek or regular works fine)

1 apple (sliced and cut in small chunks)

½ cup raisins

1 tbsp. chia seeds (optional)

1 tsp. cinnamon

pinch of salt

Directions:

Stir everything together in a bowl and place in fridge overnight.  In the morning, you can top it with something crunchy, such as nuts or granola. Or, top it with your favorite nut butter.  It can be served cold or warm. We like to serve ours warm.  

No Bake Oat Treats

I am always trying to find healthy snacks for my kids.  It is all too easy to buy a box of processed food (like gold fish) and hand those out to my kids.  But, the more I learn, the more I realize that these are not nutritious.  I came across this recipe a while back and I am so glad I did!  They have healthy items like oats and flax and they are only sweetened with honey...not refined sugar!  

We are also experimenting with our oldest son's diet right now.  He is only 3 years old and began complaining about joint pains and tummy aches over a year ago. It has been a long battle of experimenting with acid reflux medications, going to different doctors, having blood drawn, undergoing an endoscopy, etc. Gluten intolerances (not celiac disease) run in the family, so we have decided to try a gluten free diet with him for a month and see if we can tell a difference. We are on day 4 right now and he hasn't complained about his tummy yet!  We are praying God leads us in the right direction as we try to figure out what's going on with our little guy's body. It has been quite challenging to try to find snack foods that are gluten free.  I depended heavily on whole wheat flour in the past. So, I am very excited that this recipe does not contain any gluten...yea :)  

Anyone else have experience with gluten sensitivity with a toddler???

No Bake Oat Treats

Ingredients:

I cup oatmeal ( I used old-fashioned oats)

1/2 cup peanut butter (or almond butter, etc.)

1/2 cup ground flax seed (or wheat germ)

1/2 cup choice topping (ex. raisins or chocolate chips or both)

1/4 cup honey

1 tsp. vanilla

Directions:

Stir all ingredients in a bowl until mixed. Roll into balls and store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to on week.  Makes 15-20 balls.  

The first time I made these, I used chocolate chips.  Since then, I have used raisins to try to make them a little less fattening.  They are definitely tastier with the chocolate in them, but are still good with the raisins.  1/2 raisins and 1/2 chocolate may be a good compromise!   

Homemade Crackers

Today I decided to venture out and make some homemade crackers.  It's so hard to find healthy snack foods for our family.  Sure, I would love to be able to always give my children an apple or carrot sticks when they want a snack. But, many times they are pleading for some gold fish, crackers, etc.  After looking at the ingredient list for crackers such as wheat thins, etc., I just couldn't bring myself to buy another box and feed my family processed junk.  So, I came across a recipe today and thought I would give it a try...it looked easy enough!  This recipes originally comes from King Arthur Whole Grain Baking cookbook.

One of our sons seems to be having difficulty with some foods so we are experimenting with different flours, so I am giving spelt flour a try.  To see the benefits of spelt flour, see here.  I decided to stick closely to the recipe since this was my first time making them, but I may try substituting honey for the sugar next time.  I was glad to see it only called for such a small amount, though.  They have a subtle, sweet taste to them.  And, I'm wondering if coconut oil could be substituted for the butter???

After making these, I am so confused as to why the foods we buy have so many ingredients in them!  It would be one thing if the added ingredients were actually healthy, but they are not!  I would love to be able to buy healthy snacks, not spend a fortune, and know that I was not loading my children with food that was bad for them.  Until then...I guess I'll be researching more and more recipes so I can make stuff from home!

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cups whole wheat flour (I ended up using Spelt flour and it turned out great)!
1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt, plus extra for topping
1/4 teaspoon paprika
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 cup water (you might need to add a little more)
1/4 teaspoon vanilla

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.  Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Set aside.

2. Add the flour, sugar, salt and paprika to a medium bowl and whisk to combine.  Cut the butter into small pieces and add it to the bowl.  Using a pastry blender, mix the butter into the dry ingredients thoroughly.  Combine the water and vanilla in a small measuring cup or bowl.  Add to the butter/flour mixture and mix until a smooth dough forms. If the dough is still dry, add a little more water.

3. Divide the dough into 4 pieces.  Work with one piece at a time, keeping the others covered with a towel so they don't dry out.  Lightly flour your work surface and rolling pin and roll the dough into a large rectangle.  Lift the dough and turn it as you roll to ensure it's not sticking.  You want to roll the dough as thin as possible, try to make sure it's 1/16-inch thick at most.  If you want all of your crackers to be perfect, trim the edges of the dough so you have a rectangle with even sides.  Use a pizza cutter to cut the rectangle into squares about 1 to 1 1/2 inches wide.

4. Transfer the dough squares to the prepared baking sheets. You can place them close together because they will not spread.  Sprinkle the squares lightly with salt.  Repeat the rolling and cutting process with the remaining 3 pieces of dough.  Save all of your scraps under the towel to keep the dough from drying out; reroll them all at once to create a final batch of crackers.

5. Bake the crackers, one sheet at a time, until crisp and browned, about 5-10 minutes.  Check the crackers at 5 minutes, and if some of the thinner ones are browning too quickly, remove them from the oven.  The crackers can burn quickly so you want to keep a close eye on them.  Remove crackers from oven and place on a wire rack to cool.  Store the crackers in an airtight container.

An Awesome Book and a Yummy (and healthy) Dessert!

I checked out an awesome book at the library a few weeks ago.  It has been so good that I had to order one for myself.  It is called Discipline: The Glad Surrender by Elisabeth Elliot.  Here is a quote from the chapter, “The Discipline of the Mind”:

“If I am to love the Lord my God with all my mind, there will not be room in it for carnality, for pride, for anxiety, for the love of myself.  How can the mind be filled with the love of the Lord and have space left over for things like that?...Throughout our earthly lives, it is always at the point of need- that moment of crisis when we cast about for some solution or answer or even some escape- that the opportunity is offered for us to choose.  We will accept either the solutions, answers, and escapes that the world offers (and there are always plenty of those), or the radical alternative shown to the mind attuned to Christ’s.”

It’s a short read, but each chapter is challenging and convicting.  Other than the Bible, God really uses books like this to help me grow spiritually.  See the book here.

I also found an awesome recipe that’s actually healthy too!  I love no-bake cookies, but I haven’t made them in forever because they are full of butter, sugar, etc.  But, I saw a recipe from heavenlyhomemakers.com, adapted it a bit and tried it out tonight.  I couldn’t believe they tasted so much like no-bake cookies but with no refined sugar or butter!  Try them out.  I only wish I had doubled the recipe, because they didn’t last long!

1/4 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup wheat germ
1/2 cup oatmeal
1/4 cup chocolate chips or 1 tbsp. cocoa powder

Cook the peanut butter and honey over low heat until melted. Add remaining ingredients. When cool enough to handle roll into small balls and place on wax paper to finish cooling (if you can wait that long).  

Apparently wheat germ is packed full of protein, folate, vitamin B, and fiber.  What a good way to get a serving of it in a yummy cookie!  I bought my wheat germ from publix, but you can get it so much cheaper from amazon...wish I would have known!  See here. 

Note: I have made them with both the chocolate chips and the cocoa powder and they taste great both ways!

My Chocolate Green Smoothie

I really want to like green smoothies, but it's been hard to find one that doesn't taste too "vegetabley" and that my kids will like.

Today, through experimenting, I found one that I actually like!  And, it's kid-friendly too!

Recipe:

1 frozen banana

1 handful of spinach

1 tsp. flax seed oil or ground flax seeds

1/2 cup Almond Milk (or any milk you like)

1/2 cup Water

1 Tbsp. unsweetened Cocoa Powder

1 Tbsp. Almond Butter (or peanut butter or cashew butter, etc.)

Put it all in a blender and voila!  It's pretty yummy...I didn't have to choke this one down!

Note: I used the Ninja Blender.  See here.  It may not be as good as a Vitamix, but I've been pretty impressed with it and it's way cheaper than the Vitamix!

I've also found a good lunch alternative for my children is to make smoothies ahead of time and freeze them into freeze pop molds.  See here.

A good recipe I use for the freeze pops is:

1/2 Cup Greek Yogurt

Handful of Spinach

1 Banana (Frozen or Room Temp.)

4 Frozen Strawberries

1/4 cup juice ( I use apple or orange)

1 Tbsp. Flax Seed Oil

*Additions: Oatmeal can be added, flax seeds, chai seeds, etc.

What's your favorite green smoothie recipe???