"Date" Newton

If you thought this title had something to do with a romantic relationship between me and 'Newton' you are on the wrong post.

....but if you clicked on this post hoping to find a recipe for a "Fig Newton" like cookie, but with a sweet date filling instead - you are in the right place!

These may seem a little difficult, and I won't lie - there are a bunch of steps.. BUT they are all pretty straight forward and difficult to screw up!

Believe me - I tried... 

I got this idea from - eatliverun.com, but she used actual figs... and, well-I didn't have any, so what's a girl to do? 

SUBSTITUTE and pray it all works out!

First things first-get 2 tbsp. of ground flax seed soaking in 1/3 cup warm water (this is going to act as your egg in the recipe) 

Meanwhile... cream together brown sugar, butter and yogurt

1/2 cup + 2 tbsp. brown sugar

2 tbsp. yogurt

3 tbsp. butter

Then add your flax/water mixture

and 2 tbsp. of milk

Now add your tsp. of baking powder, and 1/2 tsp. each of cinnamon, baking soda, and salt

Add your flour- 1 1/2 cups each of whole wheat flour and all-purpose

Mix until a soft dough forms

Then you can get your filling going while the dough is resting in the frig

In a sauce pan combine 1 tbsp. honey, 1 cup water, 1 cup apple juice (or any fruit juice), and 1 1/2 cup dates

Heat on stove until boil, then allow to simmer for 10-15 minutes

Then puree in blender, place back into sauce pan, add 2 tsp. of cornstarch (already mixed with water) and heat again to thicken

Then remove from stove and allow to cool (about 30 minutes)

Take your dough out of the frig, and roll out to about 1/8 inch thickness

*Preheat oven to 350*

You will want a rectangle that is 12 inches tall (will probably be 20 inches or so wide)

Cut strips of dough that are 4 inches wide (and then of course 12 inches tall)

Place your cooled filling in the center and roll up both sides.

Pinch together to seal the dough and cut into cookie sized pieces

Bake in a 350* oven for 20-ish minutes (until they are golden)

Remove and enjoy with a BIG glass of milk

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cinnamon

2 tbsp. ground flax

1/3 cup warm water

3 tbsp. butter

2 tbsp. yogurt

1/2 cup + 2 T brown sugar

2 tbsp. milk

1 1/2 cups dates

1 tbsp. honey

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup water

1 cup apple juice

2 tsp. cornstarch

Peanut Butter Cookie Granola

Peanut Butter + Granola = :)

Dare I say more?

This recipe requires no commentary, no extra words tell you how amazing it is and persuading your to make it-I mean, you'd be crazy to see a recipe containing the words peanut butter and granola and not deciding to make it within 35.39 seconds 

Just Crazy.

So here's the low-down...

melt peanut butter and margarine

til margarine is completely liquified - then add honey and egg white

combine it with a bunch of other random stuff.. 

throw it on a pan and stash in your 250* oven for 45 minutes or so

and magically it will turn into this!

Ingredients:

1.5 TBSP margarine

1/2 cup peanut butter

2 TBSP honey

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 egg white

1 tsp. baking powder

1 pinch salt

1 cup oats

1/2 cup fiber one cereal

1 1/2 cup crispy brown rice cereal

1 TBSP. chia seeds (opt.)

2 TBSP. flax seeds (opt.)

Preheat oven to 250*

Melt your peanut butter and margarine, then add all ingredients up to salt.

Mix well

Combine dry ingredients together

Pour wet-melted stuff over the dry and stir to coat all

Place on a cookie sheet and bake-stirring every 10 minutes for 40 minutes to an hour; until pieces are 'dry' but not overly brown

Swirled into a peanut butter smoothie? 

Heaven on Earth.

Multigrain Bread

With today being New Years Eve, a lot of people are thinking about their New Year's Resolution... I'm here to help! How you ask....

Maybe your resolution is to save money by making more of the food you consume at home...

Maybe your resolution is to eat healthier...

Maybe your resolution is to reward yourself and eat more delicious, soft, moist, hearty bread! (oh-that's just me? Oh well...)

Even if your resolution did not fall into any of these three categories, I can assure you that you will still enjoy this bread recipe!

1 1/4 cup white flour

1 1/4 cup whole wheat flour

1 cup white whole wheat flour

1 cup old fashioned oats
1/4 cup sunflower seeds
2 tablespoons flax seed

2 TBSP. wheat germ
1 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast
1 teaspoons salt
12 ounces barely warm water

4 tsp. vital wheat gluten

Directions:

1. Proof yeast - add 1 pkg. (2 1/4 tsp.) fast acting (aka quick rise) yeast to 1/2 cup warm water. Let sit a few minutes - if bubbles form, your yeast is good to go!

2. While waiting for yeast to 'proof itself' (hehe- punny joke!) you can get started mixing the dry ingredients together. This includes... well everything but the water. Just throw in all together in a bowl or stand mixer and combine!

3. Add another cup of warm water to your water/yeast mixture

4. Slowly pour water/yeast mixture into dry ingredients and begin mixing

5. As your water becomes fully incorporated you will begin kneading the dough - note: you may need to add a touch more flour or water to get it to the right consistency. This dough should be elastic, not very sticky and slightly heavy

6. Knead for about 6-8 minutes (or 4-6 if using the kneading attachment on a stand mixer)

7. Place in a bowl and cover with a dry kitchen towel. Place in a warmish area and let rise until double - about 1-2 hours.

8. After it has doubled - punch dough down and allow it to rest another 10 minutes

9. Remove from bowl and shape into your loaf. Place in a greased & floured loaf pan and cover again with a dry kitchen towel and allow to rise for another hour.

10. Preheat your oven to 350* F

11. After dough has risen, place in over and bake for 45 minutes (bread should be slightly browned)

12. Cool for at least 30 minutes before cutting - this will help create a nicer texture that won't crumble as you slice it

Peanut Butter Honey Bars

If you can't tell, I'm a little extremely obsessed with granola and its various forms... Granola bars, granola chunks, alright-I though I could come up with a lot more forms of granol when I first started writing... but uh-I've got nothing. 

However, that does not diminish that amount of love I have for granola bars and just plan ole granola people! I LOVE it! ...does the bolding of the word love make it more convincing? 

Right beside granola in my heart, is (as we all know) peanut butter! Well...actually ice cream may be right in between them-but they're pretty close in proximity! 

New flavors and combinations that I can throw in a granola bar are constantly going through my brain.... it's a curse really-I should probably maybe definitely be using my time so oh...I don't know... study for my next Chemistry 109 exam... but what fun is that?!

The newest edition to the granola bar family in my cookbook is Peanut Butter + Honey. Not a new combo by any means-but certainly a delicious classic!

These bars are sweet and crunchy with just a small hint of salt from the peanut butter that leaves you craving more...

Ingredients: 

3/4 cup rice krispies

3/4 cup puffed rice (if you don't have this, feel free to use more oats or cereal)

1 cup dry oats

2 tablespoons flaxseed meal

2 TBSP. nuts (any kind-I used cashews but whatever you want!)

2 TBSP. flour

2 TBSP. soy nuts

1/3 cup honey

1/2 cup peanut butter

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions: 

1. Mix together all dry ingredients & grease a small cake pan (say 8x10 or something around there-doesn't really matter, however thick you want them)

2. Heat honey and peanut butter on the stove (or in microwave if you must... :)

3. Bring to a very low boil and immediately remove from heat 

4. Stir in vanilla extract 

5. Add heated honey/peanut butter mixture to dry ingredients and mix well

6. Place a piece of wax paper/parchment paper over the granola bars in your pan and press down very hard! *

7. Place in frig for a few hours

8. Cut into desired sizes - I made 12 good sized bars

9. Wrap in plastic wrap, or just eat! 

~Bars will stay good for about a week - or you can keep them in the freezer and take out when ready to enjoy. (they will thaw in about 1/2 hour)

*To really make these bars stick together I highly highly recommend jumping stepping on top of your pan to really press the mixture together - you could also get a small child to help you out with this! 

Time to make more!

p.s. - go check out this product review of Beanitos chips and sign up for the giveaway! Who doesn't love free chips?!

Seed Bread

The name of this recipe might be a little bit of a turnoff for some people... In all honesty-I don't really love the vibe the name "Seed Bread" gives off. It kinda sounds like something you'd feed to birds, but don't judge this recipe by the name! I promise you-if you give this recipe an honest try you won't be sorry! 

This bread is very easy to make (thank you 21st century invention-the bread machine!). All you have to do is throw everything in the bread machine and let it do the work for you!

It's also extremely healthy! It uses some of the world's most amazing superfoods- flax seed and sunflower seeds. I'm always trying to find ways to use flax seed-it is full of healthy fats which I always find hard to get enough of! However, sometimes just sprinkling flax seed into yogurt or mixing with peanut butter gets old... and let's be honest-flax is not the most delicious treats in the world. But this bread recipe is! It is so moist and hearty, you can't even taste the flax seed in it (but your body will know the nutrients are there!)

So what are we waiting for?! Let's get down to the recipe so we can all enjoy this soft and scrumptious bread!

Ingredients:

-1 3/4 cup warm water

-3 TBSP. honey

-2 TBSP. butter

-1 tsp. salt

-1/2 cup flax seeds

-2 3/4 cup whole wheat flour

-4 tsp. vital wheat gluten

-1 pkg. yeast (2 1/4 tsp.)

-1/4 cup sunflower seeds

Directions:

1. Add all ingredients to bread machine in order listed (you can wait and add the seeds at the 'mix-in' stage if you bread machine has one, but if not don't worry-the bread will still turn out fine if you add all ingredients at beginning!)

2. Place machine on 'whole wheat' setting and let it do its magic!

3. Enjoy slowly with a drizzle of honey 

Overnight Oats

Yes, I'm joining the bandwagon! I'm sure many (if not all) of you have seen a recipe or two (or ten THOUSAND) for a little thing called 'overnight oats'. But have you tried it yet? NO!? WHAT!? Are you people crazy! Overnight oats are the easiest, healthiest, fastest and one of the most delicious (a close tie with banana pancakes) breakfasts. This simple breakfast is so crazy good for you-full of protein, healthy carbs, healthy fats, fiber, and a bazillion vitamins and minerals! Talk about kickstarting your day!

It's cool, creamy and sweet-not to mention chock full of nutrients! But...it can also be made warm - all you need to do is throw it in the microwave for a few minutes.

So do I have you convinced you need to try it? No?! Wow, you guys are a tough crowd... well maybe this picture will do the trick:

You're ready to try now? ...ya-I thought whipped cream and sprinkles would change your mind :)

Basic Overnight Oats

Ingredients: 

-1/3 cup dry oats (or any other dry 'hot' cereal)

-1 TBSP. flax seed

-1 TBSP. chia seeds

-1 TBSP. wheat germ

-1/2 cup milk (any kind will work just fine!)

-1/2 cup Greek yogurt (but if you only have regular that is fine too! ...man I'm very agreeable today!)

Directions: 

1. Throw everything in a small mason jar and shake to stir it all together! OH WAIT! -be sure to add the jar's lid first! :)

2. Clean up the kitchen if you starting shaking your mason jar BEFORE reading the part about adding the jar's lid

3. Let sit overnight (or at least 6 hours) in the refrigerator

...there are so many variations of this-by adding different milks (almond, soy, chocolate!) or different yogurt flavors. You can also add fruit (fresh, frozen, canned), nuts, or any extracts & flavorings you may be feeling 

For this berry version I added to the basic recipe:

-1/4 cup berry blend frozen fruit

-1 tsp. vanilla extract

-1 tsp. almond extract

-1 TBSP. slivered almonds

topped with whipped cream and sprinkles!

Feel free to mess around with the basic recipe and create some new combos all your own! Leave a comment and let me know your favorite recipe for overnight oats! I'd love to try some new varieties out :)

Nutritional Info:

 

Flax Crackers

Want an amazingly healthy recipe that requires...oh...1 INGREDIENT!? ..yea...I thought so!

These flax crackers only require milled flax seed (well and water-but hopefully everyone has that already on hand!) Of course you can spice these up with (what else-spices!) but that is completely optional!

Ingredients:
-1 part milled flax seed
-1 part water
-spices
   ~ Parmesan
   ~ Garlic/Onion/Seasoned salt
   ~ Brewer's yeast
 
Directions

1. Mix all your ingredients together until smooth & preheat oven to 300*
2. Spread onto parchment paper and cover with another sheet of parchment paper
3. Roll out to 1/8'' thickness
4. Remove top sheet of paper and slide cracker 'dough' onto cookie sheet-with a knife cut into desired sizes (you do not have to separate, this will just make it easier to break them apart later)

5. Bake until the center is no longer soft- around 20 minutes
6. Let cool-they will continue to crispen (...is crispen a word? If not-it should be!)
7. Once cool-break into your crackers



Your nutritional info will all depend on how big you want your serving size and what additional ingredients you add!

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!

Hodgepodge Granola

Hodgepodge...such a fun word! It means a heterogeneous mixture; a jumble and that is EXACTLY what is going on in this granola. It is a crazy mixture of a wide variety of shapes, sizes, tastes and textures that will leave your taste buds guessing what is coming next. Even more than that though, is the fact that it is CRAZY healthy! It combines some of the world's most nutritious grains, topped with spices that have almost magical healing powers!

I love granola with just about anything and everything... yogurt, fruit, ice cream, pudding, smoothies, steak-okay, maybe not that far-just making sure you're paying attention!

Ingredients:

-1 cup oats

-2 TBSP. chia seeds

-2 TBSP wheat germ

-2 TBSP. flax seed

-1 egg white (not pictured-sorry!)

-1/4 cup Splenda (or sugar, or any sugar substitute)

-1 TBSP vanilla (also not pictured, man where was my brain today?!)

-1 TBSP. cinnamon

-2 tsp. ginger

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 300*; Beat egg white until it is fluffy

2. Add sugar & vanilla and mix well

3. Add all other ingredients and stir until each is coated and starting to form clumps

4 Spread onto a parchment lined cookie sheet

5. Bake 20-25 minutes or until granola is beginning to slightly brown and get slightly crispy

          ~Don't worry if your granola isn't very crisp, in my experience it always gets crispy after it is removed from oven and has time to cool

Delicious! Don't you wish you had some of this to top some frozen yogurt with right now?! I DO!

 Nutritional Info (1/8 of recipe-about 1 ounce):