Granola Bars!!

So I love granola bars; they are a quick on the go snack. However, I have found MANY bars have sugar in them and obviously most are not gluten free (if they are they are way too expensive). So I have come up with a solution! I made my own! This recipe is SO easy, there is NO cooking involved! I love recipes like that, don't you? Let's get to it!

Granola Bars

1 cup Raisins (regular or golden are fine)
1/4 cup Honey
1/4 cup Peanut Butter
1 cup Toasted Nuts (almonds or pecans work best but you can use a variety)
1 1/2 cup Oats

1. In a small bowl microwave the peanut butter and honey for 30 seconds and stir so it is mixed well.

2. In a food processor, puree the raisins until they become a paste (it will look like fig newton filling). 

3. In a large bowl combine ALL ingredients, mix well.

4. Press into an 8x8 pan lined with wax paper for easy removal.

5. Freeze the bar for about 40 minutes or until set firm, I like to wait until its nearly frozen solid.

6. Remove the bars from the pan and cut into desired sizes, I like to individually cut them, wrap them in plastic and keep them stored in the freezer; taking one out when I am on the run and letting it defrost a little before eating it nice and cold. 

VARIATIONS: 
You can use almost any dried fruit instead of raisins (figs, cranberries, etc.)
Choose the nuts you like and use those instead, I like to roast the nuts in the oven to bring out the flavor more.
Feel free to make these unhealthy by adding chocolate chips or M&Ms if you wish (that will make them NOT sugar free) 






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Flour-less Banana Bread

So if you've been reading my other posts you have noticed that I LOVE baking with oats. Why? Because not only are they inexpensive but they make a great flour substitute as well as adding delicious fiber into your baked goods. In my  Healthy Oat Pancakes recipe, I explained the difference between rolled and steel cut oats. For this recipe I recommend using rolled oats. You can buy them from the huge bins at the grocery store by weight much cheaper than buying pre-packaged brands but they are essentially the exact same. We are going to do something fun with our oats in this recipe-- we are going to put them in the blender to make oat flour! So lets get started!



Flour-less Banana Bread

3 cups Rolled Oats (after blending it should be 2 cups oat flour)
1 1/2 tsp Baking powder
1/2 tsp Baking Soda
1/4 tsp Salt
3 Bananas, very ripe
1 tbsp Coconut Oil
1/3 cup Honey
1/3 cup Maple syrup
1 tsp Vanilla
1 cup Chopped nuts (I used walnuts)
3 tbsp Rolled Oats (for on top)
1/2 tsp Cinnamon (optional, I did not add to mine)

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and get your loaf pan ready. You can either use cooking oil to coat the pan or line it with parchment paper. 

2. In a blender or food processor, put in the 3 cups of rolled oats and blend on high for 1-2 minutes. You might need to stop it and stir it a little to mix in the oats until they are all blended and it looks like flour. 


3. In a large bowl mix together the oat flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and optional cinnamon. 

4. Now in the blender you want to puree your bananas, money, maple syrup, and vanilla. Blend this for a minute or so until it is smooth. 

5. Pour the banana puree mixture into your dry ingredients and stir until just combined. Add your choice of nuts (chocolate chips also work if you want to make it sweeter) and stir in. 

6. Scoop your batter into your prepared pan and smooth the top a little. Add the additional rolled oats on top that we not blended into flour. 

7. Place bread in oven for 35-40 minutes until the top is golden brown. 

8. Let cool in pan for 5 minutes and then remove from pan and let cool for the remaining time on the cooking rack. (I skipped this step and cut right into it to taste it.) 

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Healthy Oat Pancakes

So there has been questions while shopping for oats. Steel Cut or Rolled? What are the differences? I had no idea at first either, I thought one took longer to cook and the other was under a minute. Are the health benefits the same? Lets find out! 

Steel Cut oats are whole oats that are just coarsely chopped. Rolled oats only take a minute to cook but that is because they are processed much more than steel cut oats. Rolled oats are steamed, rolled, steamed again, and toasted. Steel cut oats are a bit lower in calories but when it comes to protein, carbs, fiber, fat, calcium and iron the two oats are equal. Rolled oats do tend to be higher in sugar but steel cut oats sit lower in the glycemic index. So in many opinions the 'healthier' way to go is with steel cut oats just because they are less processed.  

In this recipe feel free to use rolled oats instead of steel cut, I am choosing to use steel cut because they are less processed and I LOVE foods that are closest to their natural state. 


Healthy Oat Pancakes

2 Eggs
1 Banana
1/2 cup Steel cut oats
1/4 cup Unsweetened apple sauce
1 tsp Vanilla
1/2 tsp cinnamon

1. Okay guys, this one is EASY. Put all the ingredients in the blender and puree.


2. Over medium heat grease your pan (I use coconut oil) then pour some batter on the pan. Wait for bubbles to appear just like you would be cooking 'regular' pancakes.

3. Flip pancake and cook until done, probably about only 2 minutes per side. 

4. This recipe makes 4 pancakes, perfect for a quick breakfast for yourself or the kids. Serve with all natural maple syrup, fresh fruit, peanut butter or whatever you like with your pancakes.

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Baked Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal Cups

In the mornings I've usually been in a hurry or running out the door to get to work on time, leaving little time to make breakfast. So having these bad boys ready to grab and go are simple a treat! This is probably the easiest recipe I've made all week. I came home from work the other day and had a sweet tooth craving that would NOT leave me alone. I had been eating lots of berries that day so I wanted to mix it up.

Thank the skies above for APPLES! Apples that come in big bags! Crisp and tart when consumed raw, soft and sweet when baked. 

Apples are grown everywhere and are easy to find year round in nearly every store that carries fresh produce. There are more than 7,500 known cultivars of apples, resulting in a range of desired characteristics. Different cultivars are bred for various tastes and uses, including cooking, eating raw and cider production. 

About 69 million tons of apples were grown worldwide in 2010, and China produced almost half of this total. The United States is the second-leading producer, with more than 6% of world production. Turkey is third, followed by Italy, India and Poland. Apples are often eaten raw, but can also be found in many prepared foods (especially desserts) and drinks. Many beneficial health effects are thought to result from eating apples. According to the United States Department of Agriculture, a typical apple serving weighs 242 grams and contains 126 calories with significant dietary fiber and modest vitamin C content, with otherwise a generally low content of essential nutrients.

Baked Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal Cups

2 cups Oats (I use Gluten Free Rolled Oats)

1 tsp Baking powder (also Gluten Free)

1/4 tsp Salt

1/2 tsp Cinnamon

1 cup Milk (I used unsweetened almond milk but you can use soy, rice or diary)

1/2 tsp Vanilla

1 Egg

1 1/2 Bananas, mashed

1 Apple, cored & diced (I used Ambrosia but you can use any variety)

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. 

2. In a bowl mix the oats, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. 

3. Add the milk, vanilla and egg to another bowl and whisk.

4. In the oats bowl, mix in the banana and the liquid milk mixture.

5. Lastly, fold in the apples. 

6. Spray or line muffin pan and fill each muffin with 1/4 cup of the batter (This should make 12) and bake for 20-25 minutes until they are golden brown. 

7. Let cool in pan 5 minutes, then transfer to cooling rack to completely cool. (This is when I usually sample one)

Other Variations: 

-Adding nuts or dried fruits

-Using green apples for a more tart taste

-Adding honey for a sweeter muffin taste.

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Maple Honey Nut Granola

Let's replace processed sugar with natural, beautiful, sweet, Honey. 

Honey is a fantastic sugar replacement in many baking recipes. It is in liquid form most times and honey is much sweeter than sugar so you will need to use less than your recipes suggests. Below I have listed a great recipe for granola, substituting honey for sweetness. 

Now when I talk about honey, I'm not talking about the crap in the plastic bear shaped bottle.

Raw honey is the most original sweet liquid that honeybees produce from the concentrated nectar of flowers. Collected straight from the extractor; it is totally unheated, unpasteurized, unprocessed honey. An alkaline-forming food, this type of honey contains ingredients similar to those found in fruits, which become alkaline in the digestive system. It doesn't ferment in the stomach and it can be used to counteract acid indigestion. When mixed with ginger and lemon juices, it effectively relieves nausea and supplies energy. Raw foodists love honey for its exceptional nutritional value and its amylase, an enzyme concentrated in flower pollen which helps predigest starchy foods like breads.

Usually raw, unfiltered raw honey can only be purchased directly from the bee farm. Characterized by fine textured crystals, it looks cloudier and contains particles and flecks made of bee pollen, honeycomb bits, propolis, and even broken bee wing fragments. Raw and unfiltered honey and has a high antioxidant level and will usually granulate and crystallize to a thick consistency after a few months. It is usually preferred as a spread on bread and waffles, or dissolved in hot coffee or tea.

However, as most consumers are naturally attracted to buying and eating crystal clear and clean honey, unfiltered honey which looks cloudy and unappealing, is actually my favorite kind of honey to use in baking! Specifically I enjoy consuming Spun Honey. Spun honey just means that the honey is whipped with pieces of the comb so it spreads more evenly and it is lighter in color and thicker than unprocessed honey. Other words for Spun honey include: Creme honey, Clover Spun honey, Cream honey, and Whipped honey. They do sell a great brand of this in most grocery stores (I know Cub has it) called SueBee. 

Now that we learned a little about which honey to purchase and the health benefits of honey, lets put that tasty product to great use with a granola recipe!

Maple Honey Nut Granola

This recipe is EASILY interchangeable with your favorite dried fruits or roasted nuts. I made this recipe to cater my needs of pistachios and golden raisins.





Ingredients:

2 cups oats (I use Gluten Free Oats)
1/2 cup pistachios (shelled)
1/2 cup golden raisins
1/4 cup sunflower seeds
1/4 cup mixed roasted nuts
3 T natural maple syrup
2 T clove spun honey
1 T+ 1 t coconut oil
1/4 t vanilla extract
1/4 t cinnamon (optional, I did not use in this batch)
1 t pink Himalayan salt



1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. 

2. In a medium sized bowl mix the oats, nuts and dried fruits.

3. Add the rest of the ingredients EXCEPT the salt, to the bowl and mix well with a spoon.

4. On a parchment lined baking sheet spread the mixture in an even layer.

5. Sprinkle salt evenly over the top of the granola mixture and bake for 16 minutes. 

6. Let the granola cool so it can set and the clusters will form. I like to portion out serving sizes into snack sized baggies for an on-the-go snack, otherwise store in an airtight container.

This granola is good by itself as a trail mix snack or eaten with fruit and yogurts. 













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