"Almond Joy" Bars! (Clean, No Sugar Added!)

I started my day with a delicious bowl of Almond Joy inspired oatmeal, which totally hit my chocolate craving spot. 

After lunch, while my daughter was napping I had planned to throw some kind of granola bars together. I knew I was going to use oats (duh) and bananas because I have plenty that are pretty ripe. And since the coconut was still out on the counter (oops) I just threw everything together!

Ingredients:

2- Cups Oats

1- Cup unsweetened Coconut

1- 1/2 tsp Unsweetened Cocoa 

(I actually did not measure the cocoa, but it's bitter so don't add too much)

2 Large Ripe Bananas

1/3 Cup Coconut Milk (or milk of choice)

1-1/2 TBS Pure Vanilla Extract

Optional: Almonds, Chocolate Chips

(If needed, add a little pure maple syrup to your mixture.)

Feel free to mix in anything you'd like. I added my almonds on top, but you could mix them in. Or added chocolate chips in, as well. I only laid mine on top with the almonds.

Directions:

Mash up your bananas then mix everything together. If you want your mix-ins on top then wait until later. Prepare your baking sheet or pan. I used parchment paper that I lightly greased. I shaped my mixture into a square and flattened with a fork. I then neatly laid my almonds and chips on top. 

Bake at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes. Let cool for a few minutes and then cut up. I am storing mine in a container in the fridge.

He was in awe and couldn't wait to dive in. ;)

If you're not already a follower, please feel free to become one! And as always, I'd love to hear if you try these and what you think! Have a great day!

Emmelyn is Now Two!

A lot has happened in the past month. We have been super busy, so I have been slacking in the blog world, I apologize for that. 

On April 9th, Emmelyn turned two years old! Hard to believe, but it has come and gone already! 

She had a great birthday party on the 6th with a few friends. I tried really hard to make the menu for her party clean, and I succeeded in doing so... except for the PBJ sandwiches. Even her cake! That was the hardest part... I made three test cakes in the month leading up to her birthday before deciding on my  banana muffin recipe baked as a cake. I made a strawberry cream cheese frosting for it, and called it a day. My family loved it! Especially the birthday girl, who loves bananas and strawberries! 

The Cake!

Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting:

Three blocks of soften cream cheese

1 cup of fresh strawberries, cleaned and stems removed

Pure maple syrup, to taste

Blend up your strawberries then add your cream cheese and maple syrup in. I added the syrup in a TBS at a time until I liked the taste and consistency of the frosting. I probably used about 3 TBS. It may will depend on your strawberries and their tartness.

I forgot to take a picture of the food set up... Oops! But the menu consisted of:

(All I can remember off the top of my head)

Peanut butter and Jelly sandwiches for the kids

Chili

Veggie tray
Salsa roll-ups

Fruit Kabobs (huge hit!)

Tortilla chips

Hummus

Guacamole

No Bake PB Chocolate Balls

Homemade Strawberry Lemonade 

 (What was left of the lemonade)

When Emmelyn woke up in the morning she was thrilled to see all of the balloons!

For the party, I set up a wall for a fun "photo booth," and it was so much fun! All of our guests seemed to enjoy this part and it really fit in with her "dress up party" theme. I had a lot of costumes and such out for the kids to wear, but we also had a playset and bounce house in the back yard and it was such a beautiful day out, no one was inside much. 

 A great start to her party. ;)

 Probably my favorite.

                Sometimes one fork isn't enough!                 Working on her second piece of cake.

Here is a close up of her hairband for anyone interested. I made this a week or so before her party! I love it!

Since her birthday fell on a Tuesday, we celebrated on Saturday. On Monday, we explored the National Harbor in D.C., including the Children's Museum for their 1/2 price Military day. They had a real pig's lung on display for us to touch and play with, what a great surprise! We took a picnic lunch with us and ate it on the Harbor. Afterwards, we found Ben & Jerry's and the four of us shared a banana split! Sometimes you just have to indulge a little.

On Tuesday, we went to the National Zoo in D.C., we were pretty rushed though and didn't get to see the whole thing because Emmelyn had a well baby check up. But, we still had a great time! 

All-in-all it was a great birthday week for my angel bug! 

(My birthday banner letters came from here. I just cut out triangles to place behind the letters and used brads to hold them together)

Stay tuned, we have been refinishing our kitchen (why we've been so busy) and I will be writing a blog post about that, soon!

Spinach Frittata

We love breakfast around here, but sometimes it starts to get old, the same stuff over and over. I made our normal spinach and eggs into a frittata a couple of weeks ago and it was really good!

Ingredients:

9 eggs

Turkey Ham

Spinach

Onions

Cheese (optional)

Olive Oil

Seasonings of choice

Directions:

I sauteed my onions and spinach together in a little olive oil. Chopped up the turkey ham and added it all to a pie pan.  Then mix your eggs up and pour it over the top of the spinach mixture. Add cheese on top if you'd like. Bake at 350, until done. I believe it was 30-40 minutes.

And there you have it, a different way to make your same old breakfast! My family of four had plenty of leftovers and it holds up pretty well the next day.

Banana Coconut French Toast!

This french toast is simply amazing! In my mind, anyway! My kids gobble this one up and ask for more! It's super easy and you really don't need syrup! 

(Don't mind my chipped plate, oops!)

Ingredients:

Banana

Eggs

Vanilla

Cinnamon
Coconut milk (canned or carton)

bread

Whatever else you usually add to your french toast

Here's what you do:

Take that banana and mash it up really good then mix it together with your eggs and remaining ingredients. The amount of ingredients really depends on how much french toast you need to make. I use some coconut oil on my griddle to cook these. They really taste like banana bread to me. So yummy! Hope you like them!

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies (Clean)

My favorite cookies are oatmeal raisin. I just love the spices! So, I set out to create my own CLEAN recipe that wasn't like those "breakfast" oatmeal cookies going around with banana as the sweetener. I wanted more of a REAL cookie. I have succeeded!

Ingredients:

1-2/3 cups oats

1/8 tsp salt

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/8 cup melted coconut oil

1 tsp cinnamon (I actually didn't measure this)

1 tsp vanilla (I didn't measure this)

1/4 cup pure maple syrup (you could use less)

(Add water a teaspoon at a time if needed, I didn't need it)

1/3 cup raisins

Directions: Preheat oven to 325. Mix all ingredients together. Then add raisins. Form dough into balls and place on parchment paper on cookie sheet. Push balls down a little.

Bake for 10-15 minutes. They won't rise.

Dough may be a little crumbly, I just squished it together into balls, although adding a bit of water may have helped this. You could also use this as a granola.

Mine made about 17 cookies and were about 66 calories each. Next time I think I will do a little less maple syrup, since we're used to less sweet things and I know I could get away with it.

Enjoy!

Chocolate Chip Cookies (Clean)

My six year old has been having a whiny bit of a hard time with our transition to 100% (or close to it) clean eating. While I do make lots of delicious muffins and smoothies that are sweet.. and even the occasional kettle corn. When we go to the store, he's constantly whining about not getting his old treats. 

I made it my mission to prove to him that you can eat healthy and have your old "treats" and they can taste just as good or better! Today I gave him a few options and he choose chocolate chip cookies! There is nothing better than a warm chocolate chip cookie! I think I will try this recipe again, with oat flour and raisins instead of flour and chips!

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cups whole wheat flour

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/8 tsp of salt

1/4 cup pure maple syrup (a little more if you like it sweeter)

1/8 cup coconut oil 

4 TBS water (more if needed)

Chocolate chips or mix in of choice. I added coconut to half. 

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325. Mix all dry ingredients in medium bowl. Add wet ingredients, mix well. Add mix ins. Bake for about 10-15 minutes.  

Will make about 20 cookies, depending on the size you make them. 

Enjoy! My kids sure did! 

And my husband said they taste better than the normal kind, I'll take that as a win! 

Oatmeal Banana Muffins (Clean- flourless)

These are my favorite muffins to use as a base or just as is!

We have added apples, strawberries, raisins, and blueberries to them. You could add nuts, chocolate chips, or whatever you'd like, really.

They're super easy, too. Especially if you keep it all in the blender after you make your oat flour. To make oat flour, you just blend your oats. Easy! 

Ingredients:

2- 1/2 cups old fashioned oats

2 eggs

1/4 cup of honey (more if you like it sweeter)

1 cup of Greek yogurt

2 ripe bananas

1 tsp baking soda

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp vanilla

1/4 cup coconut oil (melted)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 

Blend your oats and then add other ingredients to blender. Blend well. 

Pour batter into your muffin tin liners and bake for about 15 minutes or until done. 

Let cool. Mine tend to stick to paper the first day, but not the following days. I store them in the fridge for a few days, if they last that long.

A Frozen Snack!

The kids and I had a lot of fun trying this snack out!

We took bananas, strawberries, and kiwis and dipped them in some Greek yogurt, then rolled them in crushed peanuts, Almonds, and shredded coconut!

Afterwards we froze them for a couple hours. The strawberries and kiwis were kind of sour, but Emmelyn loved them anyway. The bananas were like ice cream. Yum! Next time, I'll probably just make the banana ones, unless Emmelyn wants some strawberries. 

Clean Kettle Corn!

Last night the kids and I had an impromptu movie night, don't you just love those! 

Well, I decided to make some popcorn, and our favorite is kettle corn! 

I had never made my own before, but we make our own popcorn, all the time! 

I use coconut oil in my wok and added in the popcorn and waited for it to pop. You could also you an air popper. I just don't have one, yet. 

While that was working away I melted some clean butter in a sauce pan, added a tiny bit of salt and some honey. I am unsure how much.. maybe a tablespoon, maybe a little more. After the popcorn was done, I poured half into our big bowl and drilled some of the butter mixture on top, and stirred. Then poured the rest of the butter on top, and stirred some more. This was so good and the kids devoured it! 

(Please excuse the poor cell phone picture in the dark.  Take a picture was an afterthought.)

Ingredients:

3TBS Coconut Oil

1/2 Cup Popcorn Kernels 

Butter

Honey

salt

 

 

Blueberry Milkshake (Smoothie)

I made the most delicious blueberry smoothie today, it was so much like a milkshake! Mmm, I could go for another one, just thinking about it! The cottage cheese is really what makes this, I believe. Just try it, you really can't taste it!

Ingredients:

Frozen Blueberries (or fresh)

Frozen banana

1/4th Cup of cottage cheese

Almond milk (until it's the consistency you'd like it to be)

Throw all the ingredients in the blender and you're good to go! It's an amazing snack or dessert! MMMMmmmMMM! Enjoy!

(Clean) Blueberry Cheesecake Muffins

Today, I decided to try my hand at creating a clean blueberry cheesecake muffin recipe. It turned out pretty good and the whole family loves it! They're packed full of blueberries and very moist!

Blueberry Cheesecake Muffins

Makes about 36 muffins

4 Cups Whole Wheat Flour

1TBS Baking Powder

1tsp Baking Soda

1tsp Salt

1Tablesppon Vanilla

3 Tablespoons Lemon Juice

1 Cup Pure Maple Syrup

8 oz softened Cream Cheese

1/2 c Greek Yogurt 

(or blended cottage cheese, this is what I used because it's what I had on hand)

4 Eggs

1/2 cup of Melted Butter 

(I think next time I will try coconut oil here)

1 cup Milk
(I used 3/4 cup of Almond milk because I had it on hand and the rest was coconut milk)

2 Cup Blueberries

Directions:

In a medium bowl combine all dry ingredients and set aside.

 In a large bowl, blend all the wet ingredients together with a hand mixer. (Save blueberries until the end.) Once everything is well combined, mix the cream cheese mixture in with the flour mixture. Mix well. Gentle fold in fresh or frozen blueberries. Fill your muffin papers 3/4ths of the way full. I baked for about 20-25 minutes, I would say. I didn't time it. I just kept an eye on it. 

 

I told you they were PACKED full of blueberries!!!! YUM!

 

Baked Oatmeal is AWESOME!

This recipe has been FLYING around Pinterest! 

I think most all of my friends have pinned it... at least once! ;) 

I am not sure that any of them have tried it yet, though! 

But we have! 

TWICE! 

And it's amazing!

Seriously, it's like eating dessert for breakfast.

First time I made it, I used blueberries. We're a family of 4 and the recipe feeds 6. 

Um, yea, we ate it all! 

My kids devoured it! 

And my son does not like oatmeal!!

The second time I made it I used apples, it totally could have had vanilla ice cream on top, but I suppose that would have defeated the purpose of it being "clean" and "healthy," right?

My son loved the apple version more than the blueberry! (Probably because he doesn't care for blueberries too much) I actually preferred the blueberry because they gave off more moister to the oatmeal where the apples did not. Next time I make the apple version I will add more milk. Other than that, it was delicious as well!

Please follow the recipe link at the top for this amazing oatmeal recipe! You won't regret trying this one out!

I need to make a double batch next time so we have some for the rest of the week!

Carrot Cake Oatmeal (Clean!)

A few weeks back I made this delicious oatmeal and forgot to share it! 

Better late than never, right?

Ingredients:

oats

shredded carrots

nutmeg

cinnamon

pure maple syrup

vanilla extracts
Raisins or nuts (optional)

(You could also use pumpkin pie spice if you had it)

The amount you use really depends on how much you plan to make and your families preference. Honestly, I didn't measure anything, I just threw it together and taste tested. 

Hope you try it!

Since this was such a hit, the next day I made oatmeal the same way, but left out the carrots and added pumpkin puree. (Pumpkin pie oatmeal, what's not to love?) It was pretty good, but I have to say I prefer the Carrot Cake!

Clean Cherry Muffins!

I dream about the weirdest things.

 Lately it's about homeschool and what I need to do around the house. When I woke up this morning I wanted to make muffins and they had to be cherry! Luckily we had bought cherries over the weekend

 I searched for some clean cherry muffins on the web.. didn't find any that had ingredients I had on hand. 

Well, I thought, gee, I've made enough muffins in my life, I can do this! 

And so I got to it!

Oh boy, did these turn out great!! 

So here's what you need:

1-1/2 cups white whole wheat flour
1 cup oats

2 tbs coconut oil

1 tsp baking soda

1 cup unsweetened applesauce

1/4 cup milk, soy, or almond milk (add more if you need it)

1 egg (or two egg whites)

1 cup of cherries (or other fruit)

1/2 cup of honey (maybe a little less)

1/2 tsp of salt

1tsp of vanilla

Mix it all up and bake in muffin tin at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes or so. As always, it depends on  your oven. I'd start checking them around 15 minutes. 

 Should make about 18 muffins!

Enjoy!

Second Week of Homeschool (late)

 We're actually moving into our fifth week of homeschool, but I'm a bit behind here, so bare with me! During the second week of school we learned about Batik fabric and made our own paintings! The kids BOTH loved this one! In fact Emmelyn was SOOO mad when we were done with this one, she threw her first major fit!

In history this week, we learned about tribal masks and why some cultures wore them and we made our own!

 This picture on the right cracks me up with his eyes. ;)

She was a good helper while we practiced counting by two's

We baked some yummy clean oatmeal cookies this week, as well! The kids had a great time helping out in the kitchen and Emmelyn kept stealing bananas as we mixed! It was hilarious!

 I just love how full her cheeks are, haha!

Do you homeschool? If so, when do you start? Are you year round?