Food For Thought: Recipes & Ideas for Healthy Living

Saturday, February 15, 2014

All Natural Crunchy Cinnamon and Vanilla Granola

This recipe is adapted from the Against All Grain blog. I make it in my dehydrator, but you can also make it in your oven if you can get your oven down to 120 degrees. It is great with milk, yogurt, or as a snack on its own! This recipe makes about 2 quarts of granola. Hope you enjoy it!

This recipe was included in the Fight Back Fridays post on Food Renegade, check it out for other great recipes!

All Natural Crunchy Cinnamon and Vanilla Granola
(makes about 2 quarts)

Ingredients:
1 c. raw almonds (all nuts and seeds should be raw, don't dehydrate beforehand)
1 c. raw walnuts
1/2 c. raw hazelnuts
1/2 c. raw pecans
1/4 c. raw sunflower seeds
2 Tbsp coconut oil
3/4 c. honey
1 Tbsp cinnamon
1 1/2 Tbsp vanilla
1 3/4 tsp sea salt (divided)
1/2 c. unsweetened shredded coconut (optional)
Optional mix-ins: 1/2 c. raisins, chocolate chips (I prefer Enjoy Life mini chocolate chips), or other dried fruit.

Directions:
1. Combine the first four ingredients (all four types of nuts) in a large bowl. Cover with water and mix in 1 tsp of sea salt. Cover and place on the counter overnight, or about 8 hours.

2. Place sunflower seeds in another small bowl, cover with water and mix in a sprinkle of sea salt. Cover and place on the counter as well.

3. After the soaking period, drain water and rinse the nuts a few times. Place nuts on a cookie sheet lined with paper towels to dry for a few minutes.

4. Place nuts in a large food processor. Pulse nuts until they resemble the size of oats.

4. Melt the coconut oil and mix in honey and vanilla until well combined. Add to the food processor along with the cinnamon and 3/4 tsp sea salt. Pulse until combined.

5. Stir in shredded coconut, if desired. Line three dehydrator trays with parchment paper or a non-stick dehydrator drying sheet.

6. Spread the oats in a thin layer on the dehydrator trays. Place in the dehydrator and set the dehydrator to 120 degrees for about 24 hours. Flip the granola once or twice during the cooking period.

7. Allow to cool and then stir in your choice of mix-ins, if desired. Raisins or mini chocolate chips work well. Store in air-tight containers in the refrigerator.

8. Enjoy!!

Friday, January 24, 2014

Blueberry Oatmeal Breakfast Cobbler

This recipe is adapted from the Back to Organic blog. The name we gave it is because my husband John kept calling it blueberry cobbler because it tasted so good! It is a great Saturday or Sunday morning breakfast. It makes enough for about 6 servings, so it is nice to make on the weekend and have for leftovers throughout the week. I still have a good amount of frozen blueberries from the summer, which work well in this dish. Hope you enjoy it!

This post is part of the Fight Back Fridays on Food Renegade, a place to share new recipes, ideas, etc. for all of you food renegades out there!

Blueberry Oatmeal Breakfast Cobbler
(serves 6-8)

Ingredients:
2 c. rolled oats
1 c. pecans
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 tsp baking powder
zest of 1/2 lime
3 Tbsp butter
3 medium sized bananas
2 c. blueberries, frozen or fresh
2 c. raw or organic milk
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/3 c. pure maple syrup
Oil for greasing (butter or coconut oil work well)

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Melt butter.

2. Take about 3/4 c. of the pecans and ground very finely, I ground mine up in my vitamix. Mix pecans with oats, 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon, sea salt, baking powder, and zest of a 1/2 lime in a large bowl.

3. Grease a 9x13" pan (or equivalent size) with coconut oil or butter.

4. Slice up bananas and place slices in a single layer on the bottom of the casserole dish. Top with 1 1/2 c. of blueberries.

5. Then, top the blueberries with the oats mixture.

6. Mix together milk, melted butter, maple syrup, and vanilla extract in a small bowl. Pour evenly over top of the oats mixture in the casserole dish.

7. Finally, chop up the remaining pecans and sprinkle the top of the oatmeal with chopped pecans, remaining 1/2 c. blueberries and remaining 1/2 tsp cinnamon.

8. Bake oatmeal in 375 degree oven for about 40-45 minutes, or until golden brown on top.

9. Enjoy!!

Tuesday, January 14, 2014

Chocolate Chip Almond Cookies

This recipe is adapted from Mommypotamus's blog. They are super easy to make and very yummy!!

Chocolate Chip Almond Cookies

(Makes about 16)

Ingredients:

1 3/4 c. Almond meal/flour

3/4 c. Chocolate chips (I like Enjoy Life mini chocolate chips)

1/4 c. Raw honey

1 tsp vanilla

1/4 c. Coconut oil

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp sea salt

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Melt coconut oil

3. Mix together all ingredients in a large bowl until well combined.

4. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

5. Roll dough into small balls and slightly flatten, leaving a couple inches of space between each cookie.

6. Bake about 10 minutes, or until lightly browned. Cool & Enjoy!

Sunday, January 12, 2014

Gluten-Free Spinach Quiche

Many of my readers are looking for gluten-free recipes, so I decided to revisit my Spinach Quiche recipe and make it with a coconut flour crust. This quiche is very light and tasty and I hope you like it! Note: If you don't care for spinach, most other vegetables would work just as well in this recipe or some sausage or bacon as well.

Gluten-Free Spinach Quiche
(serves 6)

Coconut Flour Crust:
2 large eggs
1/2 c. coconut oil
1/2 tsp sea salt
3/4 c. coconut flour

Ingredients:
Coconut Flour Crust (see recipe above)
1 Tbsp dijon mustard
10 oz package of frozen organic spinach (thawed) or fresh spinach
2 c. shredded organic cheese
1 c. organic or raw milk
4 large eggs
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp black pepper

Directions:
1. Prepare coconut flour crust first. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Melt coconut oil and allow to cool slightly.

2. Beat together 2 large eggs and add to coconut oil. Add in coconut flour and sea salt and mix until it forms a dough.

3. Using some more coconut oil, grease the pie plate. Add in the dough and using your hands, press onto the bottom and up the sides of the plate to form a crust.

4. Poke holes all over the crust to allow the air to flow underneath. Bake in the oven for about 10 minutes.

5. If using fresh spinach, heat in a skillet over low heat with a little bit of coconut oil. Put a lid on the skillet and allow the spinach to wilt, stirring occasionally, for a few minutes. If using frozen spinach, but you haven't pre-thawed the spinach, just rinse it under warm water and drain, repeating a couple times until thawed. Then, make sure to dry well with a towel.