Granola Muffins

What's cute and small? Sweet and crunchy? With a little bit of sass? 

Well me when I was 5! (minus the crunch!) But also these Granola Muffins!

They are a perfect little treat that can be customized to fit any taste palate. Not to mention easy to make... so easy you can even get the children you babysit involved for a fun way to pass the time!

First things first - get you dry ingredients all stirred together (this is a perfect job for little hands)

Then... while the little one(s) are doing that, you can melt up the wet-ish side of things...

When it's warm and all thoroughly mixed together, wait about 3-4 minutes after it starts simmering... then you are ready to pour it over the dry!

You'll mix them together really well and press into muffin tins. 

Then place in a 350* oven for 20ish minutes (sides will be golden brown)

And viola! 

Also a perfect on the go treat for you!

I threw these into the car as they were just cool enough to pack up before I went out and picked up the rest of the kids from school. 

It was a perfect in the car snack! This is due to these Granola Muffin's 3 qualities:

1. Healthy (so I can feel good about feeding them to children)

2. Delicious (so the kids actually want to eat them!)

and

3. More on the chewy side of things instead of crunchy ... aka-not a HUGE mess in my backseat!

:)

So here is the full out recipe-

Ingredients:

(wet)

-1 banana

-1/4 cup peanut butter

-1/4 cup honey

-2 TBSP. butter

-1 tsp. salt

(dry)

-1 1/2 cups oats

-1/2 cup flour

-1/2 cup cereal of choice

-1/2 cup coconut (or any nuts/cereal)

-1 tsp. baking powder

-1/4 cup nuts (or any other mix-in... choco chips, raisins, etc.)

1. Mix dry together

2. Heat wet on stove, mashing banana and mixing well.

3. Let wet simmer on stove for 3-4 minutes, then remove and let cool a minute or two

4. Add to dry and mix well

5. Press big spoonfuls into muffin tin (greased)

6. Place in 350* oven for 20 minutes, sides of muffins should be golden

7. Cool, remove and ENJOY!

Reese's Muffins (healthy!)

We all know I'm a sucker for breakfast...

anytime of the day.

And I'm a sucker for peanut butter...

So in the celebration of Easter (reminds me of Reese's Eggs-YUM!)

My friend and I decided to storm the kitchen and make an explosion of breakfast deliciousness containing peanut butter and chocolate, but in a healthy way! 

(*drum roll*)

REESE'S MUFFINS!

This recipe was inspired by Equal Exchange Cocoa

What is this Equal Exchange company you ask?

Check out my review here-

So back to the recipe!

The wet stuff (cream it all up!) ~

-2 ripe bananas (about a cup)

-1/2 cup sugar (or substitute, or 1/4 cup honey)

-2 egg whites (or one whole egg)

-3/4 cup Greek yogurt

-1 tsp. vanilla extract

-1 tsp. butter extract (optional)

The dry stuff (sift it baby!) ~

-1 cup whole wheat flour

-1/2 cup Equal Exchange Cocoa (or your favorite brand of unsweetened cocoa powder)

-1 tsp. salt

-1 tsp. baking powder

-1 tsp. baking soda

When you're done sifting...

Melt up 1/4 (heaping if you're like me!) cup of peanut butter

Mmmm... 

Use all your self control to not stick your head into the measuring cup and drink that amazing melty peanut butter!

Alright.

Now- add the wet to the dry and fold in 1/4 cup peanut butter chips and 1/4 cup dark chocolate chips

Then fill your muffin tins (will make about 15ish) 3/4 full with batter

Then add a heaping spoonful of peanut butter to each muffin tin and swirl, swirl, swirl!

Ahhh Yeahhh.... 

Bake at 350* for about 15 minutes

Remove

and 

DEVOUR!

Let me hear ya- what's your favorite muffin?

Hit me up with some new recipes friends!

adapted from: Sally's Baking Addiction

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! 

"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

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.

Easy Peasy Breakfast in a Jar

So I'm jumping on the bandwagon and trying out (enter whatever the heck you can think of here)-In-A-Jar!
Anybody else tried this new-found trend?

Well, this morning, I had a little bit of peanut butter left in the jar...

I'd say about a tablespoon or so...

So I threw in the last of my Raisin Bran...

probably a half-cup

Topped it with one sliced banana

Stirred it all around-and DEVOURED!

It may sound strange... but boy oh boy was it nummy! 

If anyone else has some delish ...-in-a-jar recipes-leave the link in a comment below! 

Peace, love and peanut butter.

-Kristen

Attune Foods - Cereal LOVE

Cereal.

Quick, easy to prepare, delicious, satisfying.

What's left to say? It's the perfect meal.... but is there evil lurking? 

Let's take a look-see!

Hmm... 50+% of its weight is sugar? Cool.

NOT!

Alright alright, so point made-not all cereal is the 'perfect' fuel for your body.

But not all cereal is made to sabotage your attempts at living a healthy life.

Enter, Attune Foods

That's their theory, and I like it!

So they were kind enough to allow me to sample some of their products and let you wonderful readers know my thoughts

I was sent

Uncle Sam Original

Sinner's Raisin Bran

And

Erewhon Crispy Brown Rice Cereal (Gluten Free)

Raisin Bran = SUCCESS! 

Why? Well, aside from being tasty, just the right amount of sweetness from the raisins, it also has AMAZING nutritional stats..

Check it-

Yeah Buddy! See that? The sugar? No? 

OH WAIT! That's because there isn't any!

I get soooo annoyed when cereal companies think it is necessary to add sugar... like for reals?! Come on, it is a cereal with raisins- a naturally sweet food-why are you adding more sugar?!

Whatev. I'm over it... (not really)

But anyways - 

This is what the Raisin Bran looks like...

Not huge flakes like you may be expecting-smaller, but still delicious, don't get me wrong!

I added some blueberries on top and devoured that bowl!

So it's no secret I love their Raisin Bran, but what about the others?

Well, the Erewhon Crispy Rice got thrown into my Peanut Butter Granola recipe - and boy oh boy was it a success! Try it for yourself, you won't be sorry!

And the Uncle Sam Original? GREAT!

It had a neutral flavor that allows for you to add whatever kinds of mix-in's you want and have your bowl of cereal perfectly match your taste!

(I enjoy slices of bananas and using strawberry milk, crazy maybe-delicious yes.)

So that's that! 

I'm loving me some Attune Food cereal!

They make delicious products, with minimal-but wholesome ingredients that you can feel good about putting in your body.

No preservatives, no artificial anything, no harm, all yum!

Attune - Simple Ingredients. Simply Made.

(Kristen's addition - Simply DELICIOUS!)

*All opinions are my own, I was not compensated to do this review in any way.