Filed under: BREAKFAST | Tags: almonds, appricots, dates, dried peaches, nuts, oats, raisins, sunflower seeds, wheat germ
This is now our go-to breakfast cereal. We’ve made an effort to eat less refined sugar lately and one of the biggest culprits in our diet has been our breakfast cereal even my seemingly healthy raisin bran packs a whopping 19 grams of sugar!!! I guess if I watched the Today Show, I would have noticed that earlier. Better late than never…
- 2/3 C wheat germ
- 1/3 C ground flax seeds (10 seconds in the coffee grinder – you get fiber with your morning Joe as a side benefit)
- 3 C old-fashioned oats (I always add more after mixing it all up, we just like it oatier)
- 1/3 C raisins
- 1/3 C chopped dates
- 2/3 C other dried fruit – I always use chopped dried apples and sometimes dried peaches or apricots
- 1/3 C hazelnuts (half or chopped)
- 1/3 C slivered almonds
- 1/3 C sunflower seeds
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, optional
- In a big Tupperware type container (something you can mix then put a lid on to store), mix the wheat germ, flax, and oats (I add a teaspoon of cinnamon here as well).
- Mix in remaining ingredients, adding extra oats if you want.
- Our 2/3 C measure lives in the muesli for scooping in the morning and replenishing every couple of weeks!
These were sooo good! I was worried that they would come out too carrot-y, but they were GREAT! Next time i would consider adding whole or ground flax seeds, and more carrots and oats.
- 1 1/4 C all purpose flour
- 1/2 C brown sugar
- 2 C oats
- 2 C grated carrots
- 3/4 C raisins
- 1/2 C unsweetened applesauce (no oil!)
- 1 egg
- 1 t cinnamon
- 1/4 t nutmeg
- 1/2 t baking soda
- 1/2 t salt
- Preheat oven to 350 F. Mix together egg, applesauce, and sugar in a large bowl. Combine flour, baking soda, and spices in another bowl.
- Stir dry ingredients into wet ingredients then add carrots, raisins, and oats. (add more oats as needed)
- Bake for 12-14 minutes in preheated oven, or until cooked through. Eat immediately!
This is an adaptation of the ‘Fall Fruit Crumble’ recipe featured recently on Gourmet.com. I almost made this last week, but made a pear tart instead. Compared to that – this felt like a break!
I used the four fall fruits that I had around the kitchen and were on the verge of expiration. The tart apples nicely countered the sweetness of the figs and plums. I think i could have used just 1 t lemon juice.
Fruit Filling:
- 3 tart apples, peeled, cored, and cut into 1/2″ pieces
- 5 Italian plums, pitted and cut into 1/2″ pieces
- 6 black figs, quartered
- 1 Bosc pear (leftover from my pear tart experiment), peeled, cored, and cut into 1/2″ pieces
- 1/2 C sugar
- 1 1/2 T cornstarch
- 3/4 t vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 t lemon juice
Topping:
- 1 C rolled oats
- 1/2 C all purpose flour
- 1/2 C sugar
- 4 T butter, softened
- pinch of salt
- pinch of cinnamon
- Preheat oven to 425F and mix together cut fruits, 1/2 C sugar, vanilla, and cornstarch in a baking dish.
- In a small bowl, combine all the dry topping ingredients, then use your fingers to blend in the butter until the mixture resembles a coarse meal.
- Bake for 20-30 min (depending on your oven – mine took closer to 30), or until fruit is bubbling and topping turning golden brown.
I just ran 17 miles this morning, and these cookies make the perfect post-run treat!
- 3 large, ripe bananas, well mashed (about 1 1/2 C)
- 1 t vanilla extract
- 1/4 C olive oil
- 2 C rolled oats
- 2/3 C ground fiber one
- 1/3 C coconut
- 1/2 t cinnamon
- 1/2 t fine grain sea salt
- 1 t baking powder
- 6 – 7 ounces chocolate chips or dark chocolate bar chopped (or both)
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees, racks in the top third.
- In a large bowl combine the bananas, vanilla extract, and coconut oil. Set aside. In another bowl whisk together the oats, almond meal, shredded coconut, cinnamon, salt, and baking powder. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir until combined. Fold in the chocolate chunks/chips.The dough is a bit looser than a standard cookie dough, don’t worry about it.
- Drop dollops of the dough, each about 2 teaspoons in size, an inch apart, onto a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Bake for 12 – 14 minutes.
Makes about 3 dozen bite-sized cookies. I only eat my bananas while they are still on the green side. This is my favorite thing to do with the overly ripe spotted ones!
Filed under: BREAKFAST, SNACK | Tags: apricots, nuts, oats, peanuts, raisins, vegetarian
This is a simple, two step thing. First, to make the granola, then form the bars. I have made granola a few (three) of different ways in the past and have my favorite recipe prettymuch down. To make the bars, i just added a bit of maple syrup to my usual granola recipe, to make it more sticky. Next time i might add some chocolate chips…
Homemade Granola Recipe:
- 2 C rolled oats
- 1 C peanuts or toasted almonds
- 1/4 C sesame seeds
- 1/4 C flax seeds
- 1/2 C toasted sunflower seeds
- 1/2 C coconut (this time i used the fresh coconut i had hand cut at the beach)
- 1/4 C fiber one (crushed in a coffee grinder)
- 1 t sea salt
- 1/2 C raisins (i like to mix golden and regular)
- 1/2 C dried fruit (dried apricots + craisins)
- scant 1/4 C canola oil
- 1/2 C honey
- 1/4 C maple syrup
- Mix the oat, nuts and grains in a large bowl.
- Measure oil into the measuring cup and swirl it around before pouring into bowl.
- Then measure out the honey in the same, unwashed cup. The oil will help the honey exit the cup.
- Toss everything together until evenly coated and then pour out into a baking pan. I use a large roasting pan, as it keeps everything contained. A cookie sheet with a lip also works, but you have to stir it slightly more carefully if you use that.
- Bake at 300° F for 30 minutes, turning it with a spatula every ten minutes or so. You want everything to be an even golden brown.
- When it is finished cooking, returned the baked granola to the mixing bowl, add the raisins and fruit and stir to combine.
- To form bars, line a rectangular baking dish with wax paper. Immediately pour the warm granola into the dish, cover with another piece of paper, and press down HARD, packing the granola as tightly as possible.
- Let the pressed granola harden cool for at least 3 hours (i let mine sit overnight) before cutting. My pan yielded 14 thick granola bars. For lack of more sustainable packaging ideas, I wrapped them up in some saran-wrap.
if there is one treat that i like as much as oatmeal raisin cookies, it is currant scones. i can justify eating treats that have some semblance of healthiness in the form of oats and dried fruit. i cannot wait to eat one tomorrow morning with my coffee!
- 3/4 C rolled oats
- 1 C white wheat flour
- 1 C all purpose flour
- 1/2 C sugar scant
- 1 t cinnamon
- 1/2 t baking soda
- 2 t baking powder
- 5 T butter, cut into small pieces
- 1/2 C dried currants
- 2 eggs, beaten
- 1 t vanilla extract
- 1/2 C buttermilk + extra for glaze
- 3 T brown sugar
- 1 t cinnamon
- preheat oven to 350°
- mix all dry ingredients in med bowl. using your fingers, incorporate butter until it looks like a coarse meal. throw in currants
- measure buttermilk, whisk in eggs and vanilla, and using a fork, mix into the dry mixture until it forms sticky dough
- turn out dough onto lightly floured counter, and with floured hands, gently form into 8 inch dia. circle.
- cut into 8 slices, and transfer to a parchment-covered or greased) baking sheet.
- glaze scone wedges with extra buttermilk, then sprinkle with brown sugar and cinnamon mixture.
- bake 18 min in preheated oven.
pre-tri carbo loading is so tasty! i have been craving oatmeal raisin cookies for weeks. somehow these are my favorite cookies, even thought they have no chocolate. this is slightly healthified version, but still tastes like a real treat.
- 1/2 C unsweetened applesauce (i substituted about a T of this with molasses)
- 1 egg
- 1 t vanilla (we make our own)
- 1/2 C packed brown sugar
- 1/2 t baking soda
- 1 t cinnamon
- 1/2 t salt
- 3/4 C white wheat flour
- 1 1/2 C rolled oats (slow cook)
- 2/3 C raisins
- 1/2 C chopped walnuts
- mix eggs, vanilla, sugar, and applesauce in a large bowl. add flour, baking soda, cinnamon, salt and mix well. fold in raisins, walnuts, and oats.
- bake at 375 for 11-12 minutes.
- yields two dozen delicious cookies.
i tried making a different recipe one time but this was so easy and good that i am back. I have learned that the trick to good granola is to 1) really bake it long enough and 2) don’t be too afraid of oil. i have always loved the clumpy parts in granola and the only way to produce good clumps is OIL. the batch i made this afternoon i used slightly less oil than the original recipe calls for. I think i might try to make granola bars out of this… stay posted!
ingredients:
- 2 C oats
- 1/2 C toasted almonds
- 1/2 C peanuts
- 1/4 C toasted sunflower seeds
- 1/4 C ground fiber one (instead of wheat germ)
- 1/4 C sesame seeds
- 1/4 C flax seeds
- 1/2 C coconut flakes (i used sweetened)
- 1 t cinnamon
- 1 t sea salt
- 2/3 C honey
- 1/4 C vegetable oil
- 1/4 C flax seed oil
- 1/2 C raisins
- 1/4 C dried apricots, chopped
- 1/4 C dried cherries
directions:
- preheat oven to 300°
- mix dry ingredients except for fruit in a large bowl. drizzle with oil and then honey (the oil helps the honey pour from the cup)
- spread the mixture out onto baking sheet covered with parchment paper and bake for 30 minutes in preheated oven, turning every 10 minutes, so that the whole batch acquires golden brown color.
- when the granola has finished cooking, add fruit to the mix. as it cools and dries, the granola will clump up nicely.
two skinny jenkins 