QUINOA/RICE CRISPY TREATS

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   Ingredients 

  • 4 cups Crispy Brown Rice Cereal(or any rice crispy type cereal)
  • 2 cups Quinoa Pops (or make your own in a few minutes...click here for instructions)
  • 1/2 cup Organic Golden Flaxseed Meal (or finely ground flax seeds)
  • OPTIONAL:  1/2 cup of nutritional yeast (for more info on this miracle protein, click here)
  • 1 tablespoon butter (or you can use all coconut oil)
  • 1 tbsp of coconut oil 
  • 10 ounces marshmallows (Dandies Vegan Marshmallows or find a fun homemade recipe)
  
  
  
  
  1. Grease an 8 x 8 pa.
  2. In a large bowl, combine brown rice cereal, quinoa pops and flax seed meal.(and nutritional yeast if you are using it)
  3. Melt butter/oil in a medium saucepan over low heat. Add marshmallows and cook until melted, stirring frequently. (Note - if you use vegan marshmallows this will take a while but have patience, they do melt.)
  4. Add melted marshmallows to cereal mixture and stir well.
  5. Press mixture into prepared pan. Hide from your kids until they have the chance to set. Enjoy the praise and feel a little bit sneaky that your little ones are eating crispy treats that aren't total junk.
  
  

NO-BAKE ENERGY BITES

1 cup oatmeal
1/2 cup almond butter
1/3 cup honey or Wholesome Sweetener Agave Nectar
1 cup coconut flakes
1/2 cup ground flaxseed
1/2 cup mini chocolate chips (Enjoy Life brand is best)

1 tsp vanilla

Mix above ingredients and form into 2-Tbsp. size balls. (Makes 20 balls) Refrigerate or freeze --- both ways taste great!
Nutritional value: each ball is 128 calories, 7.7g fat, 13.8g carbohydrates, 1.8g fiber, and 3g protein.

Easy Nacho's

Sometimes a girl's just gotta have her some nacho's! 

This was my dinner tonight.  I can't say it was loaded w/ nutrition but it was delicious nonetheless...and fresh!

INGREDIENTS:

Organic Tortilla Chips
Colby Jack Cheese, shredded (or whatever cheese you like)
Garlic Powder
Sea Salt
(you could also opt out of garlic/salt and use a chipotle seasoning, cajun, etc. Just make sure and check ingredients...STAY AWAY from anything containing MSG or monosodium glumate)

OPTIONAL:  diced red onion, fresh garden tomatoes, fresh cilantro, olives, etc...

PREHEAT OVEN TO 350.  On a baking sheet lightly oiled, spread out your tortilla chips.  Sprinkle on some cheese, garlic powder and a little bit of sea salt.  (don't use garlic salt...garlic salt contains table salt which = bad for you) 

Bake for about 10 minutes or until the cheese is melted.  Take out of the oven and top w/ your favorite fresh goodies like diced tomato, diced red onion, and fresh cilantro.

NUTRITIONAL BOOST:  sprinkle on some chia seeds and if you are wanting to add some protein, add diced tofu w/ the shredded cheese and bake.

Oh Cheese, how I love thee...

How do I love thee?  Let me count the ways...

FRENCH TOAST or BREAD PUDDING? how about FRENCH PUDDING?

This is a quick, throw together breakfast I made the other day.  It's a mix between bread pudding and french toast...and my family loved it!

INGREDIENTS:

Any kind of whole grain bread (this is a great way to get your kids to eat true, whole grain bread!)  Oh, and the dryer, the better.  I happened to have some too-old bread on the verge of going bad so this was a perfect way to use it up!

Any kind of milk- almond, coconut, kefir, fat-free, raw, or mix  (I used kefir and coconut)

1-2 egg whites

Cinnamon...about 2 tsp or so.

Any kind of liquid sweetener...honey, maple, agave

1-2 tsp of Vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS:

Tear up your bread into chunks and set aside in a large bowl for later.  I had about 3 cups or so.

In a bowl, combine milk, egg whites, cinnamon, vanilla extract, and liquid sweetener.  Whisk to combine well.

Pour over bread, stir, and let sit for about 10 minutes (or longer) so the bread soaks up all that goodness.

Heat a large skillet over medium heat.  Toss in a little EVOO, coconut oil, or butter so the bread doesn't stick to pan.

Cook the bread until the liquids evaporate and you are left w/ a mushy consistency..like bread pudding.

DONE!  You can pour a little maple syrup over it or put a dollop (that's a fun word to say) of vanilla yogurt on top...or toss in some dried or fresh fruit!  Either way...it's tasty! 

HOLY HONEY GRANOLA..quick, easy, delicious

This is one of my most favorite recipes.  Toss it on top of yogurt, eat it in a bowl w/ some almond milk for a morning cereal, fill snack bags and toss in dried fruit or m&m's for a fun trail mix...or eat just as it is.  This makes a very large batch.

**Add dried fruit or fresh fruit right before serving.  It lasts longer withOUT fruit.

**BE SURE AND STORE IN AIR TIGHT CONTAINER.  Not sure how long the shelf life is...we have it all eaten in about a week's time.

4 cups of Rolled Oats (old fashioned, quick, steel?  what's the difference??...read info at the very bottom if you are curious which is best for you)
2 cups Flaked Coconut (to make it "clean", you'll have to buy UNsweetened coconut which can only be found in organic section or specialty stores.)
3/4 cup OLIVE OIL
1/2 cup HONEY (you'll add more if you got unsweetened coconut)
2 tsp of ground cinnamon
1 tsp of kosher/sea salt
*OPTIONAL: 2 cups of slivered or shaved almonds
*OPTIONAL:  2 cups of chopped cashews

Pre-heat oven to 325.

In large bowl, combine oats, coconut, cinnamon, salt, and nuts if you are using them.  Stir to distribute.  Add honey and oil then stir until well coated.  Divide into equal amounts on cookie sheets.  (I like to line mine w/ parchment paper but you don't have to)  Go ahead and put both sheets in on different racks.  Bake 10 minutes, take out, give a little stir and then put back in, MAKING SURE TO SWITCH POSITIONS OF THE PANS.  Bake an additional 10 minutes OR UNTIL LIGHTLY GOLDEN BROWN.  Remove from oven and let cool completely before storing in container.

Oats, coconut, cinnamon

Baked to perfection

What’s the Difference Between Steel Cut and Regular Oats?

First, a quick guide to how different types of oat cereals are produced:

Oat groats: All types of oat cereals start out as groats, which are hulled, toasted oat grains.  (Removing the hull doesn’t remove the bran, by the way.)

 

Steel-cut (Irish) oats: These are the least processed type of oat cereal. The toasted oat groats are simply chopped into chunks about the size of a sesame seed. 

 

Stone-ground (Scottish) oats: These are the same as Irish oats but they are ground into smaller pieces, closer to the size of a poppy seed.  Both Irish and Scottish oats have to be cooked before you eat them. Irish oats take about 45 minutes to cook, Scottish oats about half that long (because they are smaller).

 

Old-fashioned rolled oats: These are made by steaming the toasted groats and then running them between rollers to create flakes.   Rolled oats can be eaten as is or cooked into oatmeal (it takes about ten minutes).

 

Quick-cooking oats: These are simply rolled into thinner flakes, so they cook a little faster.

 

Instant oats: These are the most heavily processed. The groats have been chopped fine, flattened, pre-cooked, and dehydrated.  Instant oatmeal usually has added salt and sugar.  I suggest leaving the instant oats on the shelf.  In the time it takes you to boil the water to make instant oatmeal, you can cook some old-fashioned oats in the microwave.  

Are Steel Cut Oats Healthier?

Because they go through some extra processing steps, you might assume that rolled oats would be less nutritious than steel-cut oats, but it turns out that the differences are quite minor.  Steel cut, stone-ground, old-fashioned, and quick-cooking rolled oats are all made from whole grains and they all have approximately the same amount of fiber, protein, calories, and other nutrients. 

In particular, oats are a good source of soluble fiber.  As I explained in a previous article, soluble fiber can help reduce cholesterol and helps keep blood sugar levels steadier—which is helpful for managing and preventing diabetes as well as keeping your appetite in check.

The above information was taken from this site.