Cinna-Blueberry Rolls

Do the blues have you down? 

No. Not those blues - these blues definitely shouldn't have you down, they should have you up!

(can you use the literally term to act as an opposite to the hypothetical term?)

Need a way to mix up your regular cinnamon roll?

Enter: the blueberry cinnamon roll. 

Yes, a traditional cinnamon roll (well healthier than 'traditional') with a blueberry bursting filling. 

So let's get down to business - anyone else have the Mulan song stuck in your head now?

(p.s., don't be afraid to do half the rolls in with a traditional cinnamon filling if you're leery about whomever you may be serving not appreciating the mix-up of blueberry)

Make your dough

For a delicious, whole-wheat recipe, look here-

it is done in the bread machine and ubber easy! 

As your bread is mixing up/rising, you can get started on the blueberry compote.

For that:

Turn stove on to medium/high

Add 1 1/2-2 cups blueberries (if using for complete 12 roll recipe, use close to two cups)

+ 3/4 cup water

Heat while mashing a little to aid in the process

Then add:

+ 2tsp. lemon juice

+ 2 TBSP. sugar

+ 2 tsp. cornstarch (or xanthum gum works well!)

Continue to cook until thickened

Keep about 1/2 cup whole blueberries, set aside

Spread the slightly cooled blueberry mixture on the dough, after rolling it out to a ~12 x 16 inch rectangle

Sprinkle with cinnamon, sugar (if you wish) and the remaining blueberries 

It's also about the time you want to be pre-heating your oven...

just sayin'

Now time to roll up the dough/filling...

And cut into cute little rolls

Lovingly place them in a greased 9x13 pan and introduce them to your oven that should be preheated if you listened to be about 2 steps ago...

Bake for around 20 minutes

Remove from oven, and...

DEVOUR! 

Mrs. Barr's delicious treats!

You would be hard-pressed to find a more exciting thing in my life than this showing up when I go get my mail...

PRODUCT REVIEW!

#pumped.

So what was in el' cardboard box o' fun?! (in the excitement of St. Patty's day I thought I'd try some Irish accents... working? Didn't think so...)

Anyways- it was Mrs. Barr's Natural Foods!

What is this you ask? 

Well - they are a company that sells granola (eek!), granola bars, and trail mix.

They try to buy local whenever possible, and support companies of this great country. They also are highly supportive of children and donate 10% of their profits to children's organizations! How awesome is that!?

So the real question.. does it taste good?!

YES!

Look! This granola was called 'Gone Nuts' and it had A TON of nuts in it-not even crushed up little pieces! Woot!

It also was nice and crunchy with big clusters! 

YAY for clusters!!!

I am a HUGE fan!

2 days... 2 bags of granola GONE

And now I'm about to dive into another... so I'm going to keep this short!

Mrs. Barr's Natural foods makes GREAT granola - I can't say about the health of it since the nutritional info was not on the package or online :/ 

But it was full of nuts, oats, and dried fruits - so I know it is at least in the right direction on the health-o-meter

*All opinions are my own, I was only given samples and no compensation. 

Grandy Oats

What time is it?! Product Review time!

And today's winner is.... 

Grandy Oats

...oh don't act surprised, it was in the title people :P

Anyways- Grandy Oats was created in 1979 by two friends, and then passed onto another set of friends - Nat and Aaron that now run the company we have today.

They are a certified organic company that sells many 'oat products' as in-

granola

trail mix

roasted nuts

hot cereal

I was grateful to receive some samples of the granola (seen above) 

They were pretty good, I have to be honest with you - this isn't my absolute favorite granola. But it is very good! Don't get me wrong, I just didn't think the texture was crunchy enough for my likings. 

The Honey Apple Crisp was my favorite about of the bunch!

But now onto the Hot Cereal... 

WOAH!

Loved it. 

All you do is add 6-7 ounces of hot water and put the lid back on and let it sit for a couple minutes. 

I was very skeptical about it thickening, but it did! And it was divine! 

I loved how the only real sweetener was the natural sweetness from the dried fruits (there was a little sweetener on the dried fruits, but very minimal) 

Is this any indication of how much I liked it?!

All their products are made with real, wholesome ingredients and therefore have some great nutritional stats! 

If you're looking for a new granola company to try out - definitely give Grandy Oats a try - especially if you don't like the more crispy/crunchy granola and prefer a more chewy texture. 

Also-the little cups of granola are perfect for 'on the go' breakfast - how easy would it be to throw a couple in your suitcase next time you'll be traveling a few days? 

*All opinions are solely my own, I was not compensated in any way - the only thing I received from Grandy Oats was the samples.

Freaky Food Combos...

Everybody's got them! Admit it! There is probably at least one thing that you eat/do to your food or drink that is a little cooky... I know I do!

But before I get into mine... look at my dad's!

Isn't that sick? I think so anyways....

Wait! You don't even know what it is, do you? Well if you guessed a cinnamon roll, with a piece of melty cheese on top, and then drizzled with icing you would be correct weirdly psychic somehow!

So that's my dad's biggest food habit - putting cheese on EVERYTHING! Honestly. Not just cinnamon rolls... oh no-cookies, rice krispie bars, etc. etc.

Mine? Well I probably have way too many to count...

But a few are:
-ketchup on well a lot! But especially cheetos...
-Ranch on pizza
-Cheese and peanut butter
...yes I just got done making fun of my father, and I don't eat these anymore...but when I was little I used to make myself cheese and PB sandwiches. Just two pieces of American cheese with peanut butter slathered inside. Delicious, no?
-Soggy foods. I just LOVE 'em! Like cereal of course, but also soggy bread (like in french dip sandwiches), soggy cookies (after dipped in milk for way too long!) or soggy crackers in soup.
-Frozen bread. No, not the dough, like just bread that has already been cooked and set in the freezer. Cold, wet, delectable in oh so many ways!

~If you are still reading and haven't blocked my blog from your newsfeed I'm honored. And impressed.

So now that I've poured out my deepest, darkest, weirdest food combinations, let's hear yours! Best one gets a PRIZE!

Cinnamon Rolls

Is there anything more comforting in this world than a warm carb-product. No. No there is not and if anyone would like to argue with me, well then... ok-I'd probably just ignore it because I am very un-confrontational 

But nonetheless! Just look at this....

Mmmmm, right? 

These amazing, soft, gooey and oh-so delicious cinnamon rolls are the absolute BEST cinnamon rolls I have ever had in my life. But, unfortunately I cannot claim them- my sister made these creations. 

The best part? (ok, aside from the taste) is the fact that they are ubber easy to make- she makes them in a bread machine! Sweet huh?!

To get this recipe (and a bunch of other great recipes) go to her website here. She's awesome. And I know-she is my sister after all! :)

BREAD! Alpine Valley Bread #obsessed.

Ok, let's get some stuff straight...
1. I LOVE bread all carbs - but especially some good bread
2. I have dont some great product reviews in my short time blogging and am extremely grateful
3. I would much rather make my own homemade bread than eat bread from a company

And to further clarify: #1 still stands, #2 still stands, #3 is out. the. window.

Yes-I admit-I've found been blessed to have the best bread company EVER come into my life!

Alpine Valley Bread. It's the BEST bread company I have ever come across, not lying. Their bread is so delicious, healthy and smile-inducing. (yes, that is now an adjective)

I don't even know how to explain it - it's just soooo soooo.... ahh! Smile-inducing!

Alpine Valley Bread was generous enough to send me a few different loaves of breads. They arrived while I was away at college so my mother kindly kept them in the freezer until I got home (which was about 1 month). You'd think that would lower their taste... NOPE! Even after a month in the freezer this bread was the most amazing non-homemade bread I have ever had in my entire life. I have been home 5 days and already on loaf #3... little obsessed-maybe?!

Although my family is definitely helping me out though, which right there says a lot about how delicious this bread is because they would not eat something just because it is healthy. But, since we are on the subject, the bread is crazy healthy!

They have both all natural bread and organic bread. On average, one slice has about 60ish calories, 2 grams of fiber and 3 grams of protein plus a little iron. It's very low in sodium (about 3%) and low in carbs as well.

The bread is soft and moist. Makes extremely great sandwiches, but also flavorful enough to just be eaten plain. They have so many varieties, I'm sure everyone will find one (or 20) that they just love. I know I have. Everything that goes into these loaves of bread is delicious and wholesome, and the end product is nothing short of delicious and wholesome itself.

Yum.

Yum.

Yum.

Their Multi-grain with Omega 3 toasted with some pears and Greek yogurt for a delicious breakfast

Some Spelt bread with a peanut butter & honey smoothie makes for one delightful bedtime snack!

So no matter who you are - if you are able to eat bread, GET ALPINE VALLEY BREAD! The sooner the better! Check this out to see where the closest place to pick up these little slices of heaven are to you!

Thanks Alpine Valley Bread Co. for an amazing, delicious product that I am now obsessed with! *These opinions are all my own, the only thing I received from Alpine Vally Bread was their samples. 

Bare Fruit - Cinnamon Apple Chips Review

So it's no secret that I love love love love fruit. Apples are one of my favorite, but sometimes... carrying an apple around gets funny looks. And other times, you just don't have the room.... or maybe you don't want to squirt juice all over the two people sitting on both sides of you on the bus... (yes, I have done this-I was hungry and had to get to class-sorry loyal public transit commuters!) 

This is where a delicious snack of Bare Fruit dried apples come into play! I was recently given a bag of Bare Fruit Cinnamon Apple Chips to sample and blog about (the only thing given was the bag of apple chips, I was given no compensation and all opinions are solely my own).

Bare Fruit Snacks make apple chips in three varieties: Fuji, Granny Smith and Cinnamon (the kind I tried). They also make dried apricots, pears and mango. The company is based out of Washington (imagine that! :P) and they use only Washington Apples. They honestly use nothing other than apples (well and cinnamon in the cinnamon variety) in their apple chips! Amazing!

These apple chips really did taste like a chip in texture... crispy, crunchy, crazy good! I loved how sweet they were and the cinnamon touch was just right. 

The first night I opened them... yes they are pretty much gone! I (and everyone that was lucky enough to be around me when I opened my package and got to try some before they were devoured) LOVED them!

Taste: 5/5 So sweet and fresh! I loved how they still tasted just like an apple... not at all like a dried out piece of cardboard like some dried fruit can taste like.

Texture: 4/5 Great! Without using anything other than apples, Bare Fruit was able to get an amazing crispy bite to their apple chips.

Nutriton: They are just apples people! So 5/5! About 1/2 cup = 1 apple, so roughly 90 calories, and 4 grams of fiber! NICE!

Overall: 5/5 - these apples chips were great! I loved adding them to trail mix, cereal, and of course just eating them plain on the bus - I'm sure the people I was sitting beside loved not getting squirted in the face with apple juice as well. 

So if you love apples, you need to try these apple chips out! They are convenient, delicious and healthy! What's not to love?! ...other than seeing the bare bottom of the bag :(

YUM!

Pretzel Bites

Close your eyes and imagine with me (oh wait...then you wouldn't be able to read this post...hmm) Ok-just pretend your eyes are close and imagine with me!

You're walking through the mall and what do you start smelling? It's warm... freshly baked... sweet (or maybe a tad salty)... Cinnamon-y perhaps... 

PRETZELS!

Soft, sweet, dense, chewy, amazingly addictive pretzels! They are calling you like a long lost friend and you need some, STAT! Maybe salted, maybe coated in cinna-sugar, maybe BOTH! You don't care, you just want them and YOU WANT THEM NOW!

WAIT!

 Don't do it-don't go there! You can't, you shouldn't... you really shouldn't... 

Why? Why you ask? Well-Pretzels are mostly empty calories... especially those 'mall food court' kinds. Most of them are so heavily coated in salt they make up over 25% of your daily sodium needs. If you get them with sugar the calories are through the roof-and don't get me started on the fake cheese you can get to dip them in! To top it off-you can almost bet your bottom dollar that they're made completely out of white flour which will send your blood sugar levels sky-rocketing, and then crashing! 

It's such a shame... pretzels could be such a wholesome snack... 

And they will be! (When the Blissful Baker gets done with them that is!)

Let's just do a little bit of substituting shall we?

...a little more whole wheat flour, a little less sugar, a heck no to the frying in grease part, and there we have it! A snack worthy of our consumption!

I promise you, they are every bit as chewy, soft and delicious as their 'bad boy' counterpart!

Ingredients:

-1 cup warm water (80-90*)

-1 TBSP. salt

-1 TBSP. brown sugar

-3 cups whole wheat flour

-1 small pkg. active dry yeast

-Desired Toppings (ie cinna-sugar, sea salt, etc.)

For Cooling Water Bath: 

-2 cups water

-2 TBSP. baking soda

Directions:

1. Place all ingredients in bread machine as listed (up to desired toppings); If not using bread machine: mix water and yeast-let sit to proof. Then add sugar and mix, add salt. Finally, mix in flour-knead for 6-8 minutes-let rise until doubled (about 1 1/2 hours).

2. After first rise...

Roll your dough into a long snake and cut into bite-sized pieces.

Then we begin the boiling process...

bring 2 inches of water to a boil in pot

boil pretzels for one minute, flip and boil one more minute (if you rolled them into balls, just stir the pot after one minute)

drop the bites into cold water mixed with soda, remove and pat to dry

For cinna-sugar bites:

throw boiled pretzels into a large bag with cinna-sugar (or whatever toppings, sesame seeds, poppy seeds, seasoning blend, etc.) and toss to coat. If using sea salt crystals-just sprinkle those on after placing on your baking sheet

BAKE: After boiled and dipped in cooling bath, and topped (if desired), place bites on a cookie sheet and place in preheated oven set on 425*. 

Bake until golden brown, between 15-20 minutes. 

Place on a cooling rack-they will be EXTREMELY hot-don't try to eat them! I know it is very very tempting.... don't say I didn't warn you!

So gooey and delicious! And way healthier than any Pretzel-Maker variety!

I love topping them with just a pinch (or three) of sea salt...

Look at how soft and chewy they are! Perfect for a party, late night snack, heck-breakfast!

Pumpkin Pie Dip

Mmm... pumpkin pie-creamy, cool, sweat, unbelievable high in fat, calories and sugar (Wait! that wasn't suppose to be in my day dream about pumpkin pie!) Well-I guess that's one of the downfalls of being an obsessive health freak! Even the sweetest day dream of a sweat treat gets interrupted by the nutritional statistics and gets my mind brainstorming the ways I can have taste but not the guilt of my favorite indulgences, which is exactly how this recipe was born!

I knew I wanted something that could crush my craving for some pumpkin pie but was also a tad quicker to make, would give me at least some sort of nutrition and wouldn't cause a sugar crash or saturated fat slump I experience after an unhealthy snack... Hmmm....

A little bit of this, sprinkle and dollop of that later a star was born!

Ingredients: 

1 can pure pumpkin

1 cup yogurt (can use either plain or vanilla, Greek or regular-whatever you'd like!)

1/4 cup light whipped cream

1 TBSP vanilla extract

1 TBSP pumpkin pie spice (if you don't have this-add 1 tsp of : cinnamon, allspice and nutmeg)

I love enjoying this dip on apple slices!

Directions: 

1. Pretty straight forward...add all ingredients except whipped cream to a large bowl and mix well

2. Fold in whipped cream

3. Refrigerate (you can eat it right away, but the flavors will be more enhanced after a few hours)

Oh man... this dip + more whipped topping + pecan crackers = one happy (and healthy!) girl! :)

Nutritional Info (about 1/4 cup which will give you 6ish servings) :

Banana Batter

I have a confession to make... I am a compulsive taste tester... I know, I know it's awful! I can't help it! I always just have to have one bite, just one! It doesn't matter if it is something I'm concocting in the kitchen, or someone else's entree at a restaurant-I must have one bite! However, I've noticed that this compulsion is the strongest in one particular instance, batter. Yes, you read it right-batter! Whenever I'm making anything I love the batter more than the actual finished product in most (if not all instances). Cake batter, cookie dough (kind of like a batter!), pancake/waffle batter, the list goes on and on and on... Batter ROCKS! So today I set out to create a snack that is only meant to become batter-no taking it that last step and creating an 'actual baked product'...psh so overrated! This was a tad difficult though, on a variety of levels:

1st-it had to have something that acted as a 'binding' agent that wasn't harmful to eat raw. I have no guilty feelings sneaking a bite here and there of an uncooked egg-but to create an actual snacks that comprised of eggs...probably not the most brilliant.
2nd-it had to be healthy. Okay, "had to" is a little strong, but as you all know-I'm a health nut freak so of course I was going to strive to make this a healthy dessert/snack that would make my body happy!
3rd-it had to be made with everyday ingredients I had on hand. Living in a small town made getting specialty groceries nearly impossible, add that to the fact that it was Sunday and our local grocery store was close and you have one hungry girl, trying her best to creatively use her on-hand ingredients.

And there it was... my Sunday morning challenge! (It's a good thing I had just gotten home from Church-I was going to need all the help from Up Above possible to make this dream concoction a tasty reality!)

I first started by browsing through some health cookie dough recipes, but they most of the ones I stumbled across used ingredients I did not have in my pantry! Sad. Day. So I decided to improvise! And lucky for you, well and me since I got to eat it-my thrown together, ehh I mean improvised dip was actually DELICIOUS! (Don't act so surprised! :P )

Ingredients:
-1 can garbanzo beans
-1 1/4 cups oats
-1 small (very ripe!) banana
-1/4 cup milk
-2 TBSP oil (or any nut butter)
-1 TBSP flax seed (not particularly necessary, but adds to the health factor!)
-1/4 cup honey (or any sweetener)
-1 TBSP cinnamon

Directions:

1. The first thing you must do is grind your oats and garbanzo beans in a food processor. I know you're probably thinking...beans?! In a sweet snack?! What the heck?! But trust me-when all is said and done you will have NO idea they are in there!

2. After these two are completely combined and smooth add your flax seed, banana and cinnamon

3. Now begin adding your milk, just a little at a time until it reaches your personal desired consistency-I like mine very thick and spoon-able so I kept it at a scant 1/4 cup.

4. Alright-time for the fun! Add your honey-but again only a little at a time, some people desire less/more sweetness, it is all about you! Add honey until it tastes perfect to you! (Remember though that as this dish sits, the banana and cinnamon's flavor will be enhanced-so what may seem a little weak to you now will be perfect in a few hours of refrigeration!)

5. Now the final step..are you ready? Are you!? ENJOY! However, like I said above-you may want to refrigerate this a few hours to heighten the flavors, but really-who can wait?! Have some now...AND later! :)

Nutritional Info (1/4 cup-this recipe makes about 10, 1/4 cup servings)

Look at those stats! This seriously tastes like licking the bowl and/or spoon after mixing up your favorite banana bread recipe, but with nutrition like that packed inside you don't have 'sneak' anything! 

I especially love dipping apple slices into this amazing dip! mmm mmm mmm!