Dried Fruit Granola Bars

I don't know if this happens to anyone else, but in my family, we have a bit of a dried fruit problem.

It's not the eating that's the problem, it's the buying.  The quantity of dried fruit in our kitchen increases at an alarming rate, until it's practically spilling out of the cabinets.  I don't have an aversion to dried fruit (I'm looking at you, all you raisin haters), but things were getting a little out of hand.

Solution?  Make granola bars, of course.

These bars are pretty versatile.  There's a simple base of oats, oat flour, applesauce, and peanut butter, and to that you add two cups of whatever the heck you want.  Dried fruit, chocolate, nuts, seeds, sprinkles, pretty much every mix-in you can think of will work.  I used 1 1/2 cups of dried figs, dried apricots, dried cranberries, prunes, and yellow raisins (yes, I had all of that on hand), and 1/2 cup of chocolate.  Because chocolate makes everything better, right?

Once that's done, all you've gotta do is spread your batter into a pan and pop it in the oven for about half an hour.

These are not wimpy granola bars.  They make a great afternoon pick-me-up and paired with some fruit and yogurt, one bar will keep you full for hours.

I'm a fan of store bought bars, don't get me wrong, but nothing compares to a homemade snack in both the nutritional and taste department.  You're gonna want to make these bars, guys, don't miss out a recipe this good.

Dried Fruit Granola Bars

• 3 cups oat flour (to make: grind rolled oats into a fine flour in a blend, coffee grinder, or food processor)
• 2 cups rolled oats
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• 1 1/4 cup applesauce
• 1/2 cup honey or agave
• 2 tbsp peanut butter (or another but butter of your choice)
• 2 cups dried fruit, chocolate, and/or nuts of your choice (I used 1/2 cup chopped chocolate and 11/2 cups chopped dried fruit)

Preheat oven to 350F.  Grease a 9x9 square pan.  In a large bowl, mix together oat flour, rolled oats and baking powder.  Add applesauce, honey/agave, and nut butter and mix until completely combined.  Your dough will be wet and sticky at this point.  Mix in all of your desired add-ins until evenly incorporated.  Scoop dough into prepared pan and spread into a smooth and even layer.  Bake in oven for 28-32 minutes, until slightly golden and firm to the touch.  Once cooled, slice into 18 thin bars, and store in fridge until serving time.  Bars will keep in fridge for up to one week.

Happy Friday everyone!  What are your weekend plans?

Quinoa Granola Bars

Is it really already July 21st?  We're one month into summer folks!  How does it feel?

Personally, it's going a bit fast for my liking, but at least it feels like the summer.  I don't know about where you live, but the temperature has be absolutely soaring here. Thank god for cool drinks (link that), pools, and air conditioning.

The 21st of the month means one thing around here: the Recipe ReDux.  This months theme?  Travel snacks.  Foods that you're sure to have on hand whenever you go away.  Ideally, they travel well, can pass through airport security, and won't go bad after hours in a car.  All that is easier said than done, but I came up with a winner recipe this month, I can promise you that.

Whenever I go away the one thing I'm sure to bring is a protein bar.  I wish I could say I'm cool enough to make my own, but that really isn't the case.  I just pick up some packaged bars from the store and throw them in my bag.  I like that they're easy to pack, have enough substance to satisfy me, and also taste pretty yummy.  Basically, I wanted to incorporate all that into a homemade travel snack.

With the result being these Quinoa Granola Bars, my mission was accomplished.

Lets go over my three goals.

1.  A snack that's easy to pack.

I knew instantly that I wanted to make a bar.  You can throw them into a plastic bag, wrap them up in aluminum foil, or do whatever else to package them before simply throwing them wherever.  Bars typically don't need a specific temperature and they done require a ton if space either.  As far as these homemade granola bars go, they're a bit fragile, but you can treat them however you would treat another granola bar in terms of packing for a trip.

2.  A snack that keeps you satisfied

More protein bars use protein powder to pack in some punch.  I don't have protein powder, and have no desire to buy s big jar just to make some granola bars.  I thought hard for a replacement and finally came up with using quinoa.  It adds a bit of protein and also some fiber to keep you full.  I ended up using cooked quinoa in the final granol pa bar recipe.  It sounds a bit strange, but it works like a charm.

3. A snack that tastes awesome

Of course these bars taste great.  They're flavored simply with cinnamon and a nut butter of you choice. I used peanut butter and it worked great.  The simplicity of the bar leaves plenty of room for you to customize it for your liking.  Add chocolate chips, nuts, or dried fruit.  It will all be awesome, I promise.

Quinoa Granola Bars

• 1 cup quick oats (make your own quick oats by quickly blending rolled oats until they break down a bit)
• 1 cup cooked quinoa (see package for cooking instructions)
• 1/4 cup oat flour (grind oats in a coffee grinder until they reach a flour-like consistency)
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1/4 cup applesauce
• 1/4 cup nut butter of choice (I used peanut butter)
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• optional: add-ins like chocolate chips, nuts, or dried fruit

Preheat oven to 350F.  Line an 8x8 pan with parchment paper.  In a large bowl, mix together oats, quinoa, oat flour, and cinnamon.  Add honey, applesauce, nut butter, and vanilla.  Mix until a sticky mixture forms.  If you want to use any add-ins, throw in a handful now, and mix them in.  Press mixture into prepared pan.  Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes.  Remove from oven and let cool.  Once cooled, cut into 8 bars.  Store in an airtight container.  For traveling, put bars in a blastic bag or wrap in aluminum foil.

Revisited Recipe of the Day:

Chocolate Quinoa Fudge Bars

Salted Dark Chocolate Cookies

Salted Chocolate.  It's my favorite.

Well, if we're being honest plain old chocolate is my favorite.  I'll gladly eat that any day.  But, if you reallllly wanna win me over, salted chocolate is that way to go.

Salted chocolate fudge, cookies, brownies, cake...  I want it all!

So it's about time I made something with that beloved combination.  I experimented with it a bit with my Salted Chocolate Mousse Pie, but these cookies were the first baked good I set out to make Salted Chocolate.

And they turned out so, so, so, so good!

These thick and almost cake-like cookies are rich and full of deep chocolate flavor.  The sprinkle of salt on top is the perfect accent to the dark chocolate and makes the cookies 10x better in an instant.

I'm not embarrassed to say that I ate three.

Salted Dark Chocolate Cookies

• 3/4 cup spelt flour
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder (use good quality!)
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/8 tsp salt (use a bit more if using unsalted nut butter) + more for sprinkling
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 tbsp peanut butter or other nut butter of choice
• 1/4 cup milk + 1 tbsp

Mix together dry ingredients (only 1/8 tsp salt) in a large bowl.  Add nut butter to another bowl.  Microwave quickly until drippy.  Add remaining wet ingredients to bowl and mix.  Add wet to dry and mix until a thick and sticky dough forms.  Chill dough in fridge for thirty minutes.  After this time it should be more manageable.  Preheat oven to 350F.  Roll about 1 tsp of dough into a ball and flatten into a cookie shape.  Place on a lined baking sheet.  Repeat until all dough has been used.  Bake for 5-7 minutes, until puffy.  Sprinkle with salt just before serving.  If you're not serving immediately, store in an airtight container.  Makes about 15 cookies.

Revisited Recipe of the Day:

Double Chocolate Cookies

Cookie Dough Eggs

Easter's coming!  You know what that means...

• Colorful Plastic Eggs Everywhere
• Easter Egg Hunts
• Chocolate Bunnies
• and A Whole Lot of Festive Candy!!!

Usually when it comes to Easter sweets, my absolute favorite is a big, fat chocolate bunny, but this year I decided to try my hand at creating a homemade treat.  And if there's one thing that beats pure chocolate in my book it's cookie dough... with chocolate chips!

These, my friends, are Cookie Dough Eggs.

Imagine a big scoop of raw chocolate chip cookie dough shaped as an egg.  Think about what it would be like to shovel it into your mouth.  Now, imagine that it's all totally guilt-free.

Ok, you can stop imagining now... Because these Cookie Dough Eggs are real!

Yes, it's true.  Those delicious treats you see above are big scoops of healthy cookie dough, polka dotted with chocolate chips, just begging to enter your mouth.  And a chocolate drizzel never hurts, either.

Did I mention they only take 5 minutes to make?  Tell me, what have you got to lose?

Cookie Dough Eggs

• 1 cup rolled oats
• 1/3 cup chickpeas
• 3 prunes (dates could be a possible substitution)
• 2 tbsp almond butter (another nut butter could work as well)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 cup chocolate chips
• optional: more chocolate, to melt and drizzle eggs with

Place oats in a food processor and process until broken into small pieces.  Add all remaining ingredients except chocolate chips and process again until all ingredients have benn well incorporated (no chickpea clumps!).  Mixture will look crumbly, but should hold together when you try to shape it.  Add chocolate chips and process one last time until chips are a bit broken up.  From mixture into egg shapes.  If desired, melt down some more chocolate and drizzle the eggs with it.  Recipe makes roughly 10 eggs, depending on size.

Enjoy!

Revisited Recipe of the Day:

Mini Carrot Cake

Chocolate Banana Frosting

In my opinion, frosting is one of the hardest foods to lighten up.  Cake is easy, cookies are medium, and frosting is just plain hard.

I've attempted a healthy frosting many times, and I'll be the first to admit that many trials have ended up in the trash can.  But do not fear, there has been one success.

The Chocolate Banana Frosting I'm sharing today is by far the best one I've ever made.  It definitely made all the failed attempts worth it.

I put almost all the healthy dessert tricks to use for this one.  We've got banana to sweeten, tofu to add texture, and nut butter to add decadence without butter or shortening.  Oh yeah, and special dark cocoa powder for that rich chocolate flavor.

It's not your classic chocolate frosting, that's for sure.  But it is something that should become a classic at your house.  I'm telling you, you need to give it a try!

Chocolate Banana Frosting

• 240 g silken firm tofu
• 1/2 cup nut butter (peanut, almond, etc)
• 3 tbsp regular cocoa 
• 3 tbsp extra/special dark cocoa
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tbsp milk
• 1 1/2 bananas

Combine all ingredients in a food processor and process until smooth and creamy.  It will seem too thin, but that's ok.  Transfer frosting to a container and chill in fridge for at least 24 hours.  During this time, frosting will firm up.  It will also get firmer the longer it sits on whatever you frost with it.  Recipe yields roughly 2 cups.

One more thing...

I had to test this recipe out to see how it held up on a cake, so shortly after making it, I baked my very first leyer cake.  Oh, it was sooooooo delicious!  Here's a sneak peak:

But you're gonna have to wait about a month for that recipe (I know, I'm cruel), 'cause I'm saving it for a very special occasion!  Does anyone have any idea what it is?

Revisited Recipe of the Day:

Chocolate Banana Pancake Squares

Entirely Date Sweetened Nutella

Alright, I admit it.  I love Nutella.

I used to come home from school and shovel the stuff into my mouth by the spoonful.  The two tablespoon serving size meant nothing to me.  Nothing.

I swear, I went through a whole jar in just two days once.  I was literally addicted to Nutella.  Needless to say, it was not healthy.

Luckily, I've stopped that habbit now.  After all, something with the ingredients sugar and oil listed first is not something I want entering my body often.

But that doesn't mean I don't still love Nutella.

The famous chocolate and hazelnut combination is definitely something I still adore.  And why go without something you adore?

I'm a firm believer that you shouldn't avoid your favorite foods just because you fear they're unhealthy.  I love remaking guilty pleasures into healthier foods that you can enjoy whenever you like.  My most recent creation is a completely clean, oil free, refined sugar free, Date Sweetened Nutella.

I'm not gonna lie, it's not just like Nutella, but it's so delicious that I promise you won't even mind.  In fact, you may even forget all about that heavenly spread while enjoying it.  Yes, it's that good.

Date Sweetened Nutella

• 2 cups raw hazelnuts
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup almond milk (or another type)
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup date paste*

Preheat oven to 350F.  Place hazelnuts on a baking sheet.  Roast in oven for 10-15 minutes or until skins begin to crack.  Remove skins from the hazelnuts and place nuts in food processor or high power blender.  Blend until the hazelnuts are broken down into a smooth butter.  This could take a bit of on and off blending. Once smooth, add remaining ingredients and process again until well incorporated and creamy.  Transfer nut butter to a jar and store in the fridge.  Makes about 2 cups.

* Date paste is simply dates that have been blended to form a thick, smooth puree.  To make it, pack a jar with as many pitted dates as possible, fill the jar with water, and then let it sit at least overnight.  The next day, blend the soaked dates in a food processor until they're smooth and creamy.  For a more detailed guide, visit this page.

While everything's OK in moderation, I tend to have some willpower problems when it comes to Nutella.  That basically means that the whole moderation concept sorta flies out the window when I have a jar in front of me.  For that reason, I prefer to make my own healthier Nutella.  It's the perfect solution!  Yummy taste, and I get to eat as much as I feel like.

A world where Nutella is actually a healthy snack?  Now that's a world I want to live in!

Revisited Recipe of the Day:

Double Chocolate Whoopie Pies

Honey Banana Ginger Almond Butter

I like butter.

Nut butter, that is.

Lately I've been experimenting with all types of  unique flavored nut butters, from chocolate to lemon and everything in between.  Not all of them have been tasty, but this one, well it's just plain awesome.

Though the title may be a bit of a mouthful , I hope it clues you in a bit about all that's going on in this unique spread.

It's got the sweetness of honey and banana, as well as the zingy taste of ginger.  All that comes together for one delicious snack.

This almond butter would be great to brighten up your average peanut butter sandwich, but if you prefer a sweet option, it's great on apple slices as well.  Or, you know, directly off a spoon, which, as you may know, is my preferred method of consumption.

Honey Banana Ginger Almond Butter

• 1/2 cup creamy almond butter
• 2 tbsp honey
• 1/2 banana
• 3 tbsp almond milk
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp vanilla
• small slice fresh ginger root
• 1/2 tsp ginger
• 2 pieces candied ginger

Combine all ingredients in food processor and blend until smooth and creamy.  Transfer to a jar or container and place in fridge.

View Nutrition Facts Here

As you can see, in this recipe I used pre-made almond butter.  This was the kind made from only almonds.  If you'd like to, you can use homemade almond butter (an equal amount) as well, just try to make it as creamy as possible so that you get a nice and smooth nut butter as a result.

Some other fun flavored almond butters:

• Almond Joy Spread from Minimalist Baker
• Roasted Almond Pecan Pumpkin Butter from Running to the Kitchen
• Cinnamon Roll Flax Almond Butter from Healthful Pursuit
• Almond Joy Chocolate Spread from The Healthy Foodie

Revisited Recipe of the Day:

Chocolate Banana Hazelnut Butter

Chocolate Banana Hazelnut Butter

Who likes nutella?

I like nutella.  A lot.

Unfortunately, it's not exactly good for me.  At all.  Especially because I'm not a nutella on toast kind of girl.  Nope, I like my nutella pure... and on a spoon.

Because of it's far from healthful qualities I try to limit my nutella cumsumption to very rarely.  Sometimes, though, I crave a little bit of chocolate hazelnut action.  In comes homemade nut butter.

I've had my eye on this recipe for a while, and decided to finally make it a little while ago.  I was rather disappointed with the result though, because it did not taste like nutella.  Nor did it taste better in my opinion.  It wasn't that it was bad, it was just that it wasn't what I was looking for.

But, I did not give up.  Soon afterwards, I whipped up another batch of chocolate hazelnut butter, this time adding a twist of my own.  Banana.  I loved the sweetness it added, and although the resulting spread still didn't taste just like nutella, I loved how it did taste, and would not hesistate to make it again.

Chocolate Banana Hazelnut Butter

• 1 1/3 cup hazelnuts, roasted with skins removed (see notes on roasting here)
• 3 tbsp cocoa powder
• 1/2 large banana
• 1/3 cup milk (I used almond)
• pinch salt
• 1 tbsp powdered sugar (or more, taste to check)

Place hazelnuts in food processor (A vitamix should work too) and blend until they turn into a smooth butter.  This may take some time, and look like it will never happen, but just keep blending and you'll get there eventually.  Once smooth, add in add in banana and milk and process again until smooth.  Add in remainging ingredients and mix one more time until desired consistency is reached.  Transfer butter to a jar and store in fridge.  Your chocolate hazelnut butter may seem thin and drippy at first (which isn't necessarily a bad thing), but it will firm up once it's been in the fridge for a while.

If you've ever looked at the nutirition label on a jat of nutella, you probably know that there isn't much good to be found.  In just 2 tbsp or 37 grams, of the famed chocoalte hazelnut spread there are 200 calories, 11 grams fat, 32 grams carbs, and 21 grams sugar.  Yuck.

Not in this recipe though.  Here's the nutrition label for this one:

A very similar serving size, and yet there's less sugar, less fat, fewer carbs, fewer calories and more protein.  Oh yeah, and it also tastes reeeeaaaalllllly good.  How's that for a great deal?

(By that way, those nutrition facts are for 7 servings)

Revisited Recipe of the Day: 

Nutella Pudding