Year: 2013

Homemade Cinnamon Toast Crunch

Melissa King 89 Comments

I made you some Homemade Cinnamon Toast Crunch! One of my favorite things to do is to re-create healthy versions of unhealthy foods.  Cereal is one of those things I didn’t think I could try, but boy was I wrong!

This homemade cinnamon toast crunch came out awesome where homemade cereal is concerned!  I also made this homemade cinnamon toast crunch gluten free and vegan. 🙂

homemade cinnamon toast crunch

Not only does the store-bought cereal contain a lot of processed sugars and additives, it is also not gluten free.  My version is!  I am trying to make all my future recipes gluten free.

This was a big hit with my older daughter.  She will eat my homemade granola, but she liked this even better.  I’m not going to lie, this recipe is kind of involved, but it is worth it.  I promise!

Homemade Cinnamon Toast Crunch

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Prep Time 1 hr, 15 Cook Time 30 min

Why buy cinnamon toast crunch in a box when you can pull it out of the oven?

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350.
  2. Mix all the dry ingredients in one bowl and wet in another bowl .
  3. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix until combined.
  4. Once everything is combined, gather the dough into a ball and wrap in plastic.
  5. Stick it in the fridge to firm up (I waited about an hour).
  6. Once firm, cut the dough in half with a bench scraper .
  7. Put one half on top of a sheet of parchment paper that has been lightly sprinkled with flour.
  8. Take the plastic wrap the dough was wrapped in, and place it on top of the dough. That way, you can roll the dough thin without it sticking to the rolling pin .
  9. Roll the dough as thin as you can. It will probably cover the entire baking sheet. If you want to add the sugar coating, you can do it now.
  10. Just brush the dough with water, and sprinkle the cinnamon sugar mixture on top. I didn’t even do that and it was still good.
  11. Use a pizza cutter to score the dough. I cut mine into little squares, but they were not all uniform.
  12. Once you have done all that, repeat the steps with the second half of the dough.
  13. Bake in the oven for about 15 minutes.
  14. Then carefully flip each piece and bake for another 15-20 minutes.

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Recipe Notes

Watch the cereal carefully, because it can burn easily. Also I stored it in a glass jar in the pantry. It should last at least a week or two. Enjoy!

22 Healthy Snack Bar Recipes Perfect for Lunchboxes

Melissa King 29 Comments

Now that the kids are back at school, it’s time to think about all those lunch box friendly snacks.  Here is a collection of healthy snack bar recipes.

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Almond Butter Protein Bars

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Apple Pie Larabars

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Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Larabars

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Coconut Cream Larabars

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Homemade Clif Bars

KIND Bars

Homemade KIND Bars

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Homemade Nutri-grain Bars

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Key Lime Larabars

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Nut Free Snack Bars

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Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Larabars

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Peanut Butter Granola Bars

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Pecan Pie Larabars

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Pumpkin Granola Bars

Here are a few more from some blogs I follow:

Eat Good For Life  –  Almond Butter and Banana Granola Bars
Sugar Free Mom – Chewy Cocoa Granola Bars
Savory Simple – Gluten Free and Vegan Granola Bars
I Food Real – Quaker Chewy Chocolate Chip Protein Bars
Healthy Family and Home – Raw Hemp and Chia Seed Bars
Knead to Cook – The Best Clean Eating Granola Bars
Real Food Real Deals – Homemade Granola Bars
Inspired Edibles – Blueberry Bliss Breakfast Bars
Sugar Dish Me – A Sister’s Request

22 Snack Bar Recipes

Nut Free Snack Bars

Melissa King 37 Comments

Let’s face it, a lot of schools are going nut free these days.  As a mom of a child with many food allergies, I totally get it.  That’s why I am trying to create some nut free snacks.  This one came out real good and it is so simple to make!

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They were a hit with my daughter and husband.  One of the other great things about this bar is that it is only fruit sweetened.  No added sugar at all!  It almost reminds me of an apple cinnamon KIND bar.  I cooked mine for a few minutes, but I almost thing they can be made raw too.

Nut Free Snack Bars

Nut Free Snack Bars

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Prep Time 10 min Cook Time 10 min

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350. 
  2. Mix the cereal, sunflower seeds, cinnamon, vanilla bean and sea salt in one bowl . 
  3. In the food processor , mix the apples, dates and water until a syrup forms.  It will be slightly thick. 
  4. Get a sheet or parchment paper a little larger than the size of your pan, so you have some hanging out the sides.  I used an odd sized pan.  I think it was a 5X13?  A standard 8X8 pan will work just fine.
  5. Once the syrup forms, add that to the dry mixture and mix well. 
  6. Once everything is mixed, transfer the mixture to your baking pan. 
  7. Make sure the parchment is lining the pan first. 
  8. Once everything is in the pan,  press the mixture down firmly. 
  9. Bake for about 10 minutes. 
  10. When it cools, remove the bars from the pan by grabbing the parchment paper sides. 
  11. Cut into bars or squares with a pizza cutter .

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Recipe Notes

I got about 10 bars out of my batch. These should last a week or two. You can even freeze them for longer storage.

Electrolyte Replenishing Popsicles

Melissa King 34 Comments

When my kids are sick, I really try to push the fluids.  They will almost always eat popsicles.  So why not create a popsicle replacement for Gatorade and Pedialyte?  This couldn’t come at a better time since everyone is going back to school.  Let’s face it, that is where the kids bring home most of their sickness.  Especially around the age that my girls are.

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According to Livestrong, “The body depends on electrolytes such as, chloride, sodium, potassium and magnesium.”  You can get these things in nature with no need for synthetic drinks like Gatorade and Pedialyte.  Milk (in my case we used oat milk), can provide calcium and protein. One banana contains about 422 mg of potassium and 32 mg of magnesium.  Coconut water contains small amounts of sugar and also sodium that the body needs to replenish electrolytes.  Lemons contain calcium, potassium, magnesium and trace amounts of sodium making them perfect for natural electrolyte replacement.  I chose to do mine in a popsicle form because most kids will soothe a sore throat with a popsicle.  If you want to give these pops an added boost, you can add 1/2 tsp of cinnamon.  Cinnamon and raw honey mixed together can help a cold.  You can also skip the popsicle molds and serve this as a drink too.

As you can see here, they are kid approved.  This is how we roll in the Texas heat!

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Electrolyte Popsicles

Electrolyte Replenishing Popsicles

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Prep Time 6 hr, 5 Serves 5 popsicles     adjust servings

Ingredients

  • 1 cup coconut water
  • 1/2 cup milk (I used oat milk, but any milk will do)
  • 1 banana
  • Juice of 1 lemon
  • 2 T raw honey !(If you have a child less than 2 years old, please do not use honey. Sugar can be a good substitute.)
  • 1/2 tsp sea salt

Instructions

  1. Mix everything together in a blender and blend for 2 minutes. 
  2. Pour into popsicle molds .
  3. After about 6 hours they should be ready to eat.

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Recipe Notes

I got 5 pops out of my recipe. That’s it. Enjoy!

Apple Cinnamon Overnight Oats

Melissa King 106 Comments

Apple Cinnamon Overnight Oats.  Fall is just around the corner.  That makes me think of warm smells like cinnamon and nutmeg.

I just love it!  This recipe is like having the fall flavors all wrapped up in one yummy breakfast!  If you have already made my Almond Butter Overnight Oats, you know that this recipe is super easy!

 

Apple Cinnamon Overnight oats

 

This oatmeal has a little crunch in the morning from the steel cut oats.  If you like more of a smoother oatmeal, then rolled oats may be better for you to use.

I make up a whole bunch of these and then just grab and go during the week.  I added no sugar to mine at all, but if you like your oatmeal a bit sweeter, I will put an option in the ingredients.

Check out this video for a pumpkin version of overnight oats.  For more videos, you can subscribe to my You Tube Channel.

 

 

Apple Cinnamon Overnight Oats

Apple Cinnamon Overnight Oats

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Prep Time 5 min

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. Throw all the contents into a jar and mix well.
  2. Stick in the fridge overnight.  

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Recipe Notes

I put mine in small mason jars . They work great! I eat mine cold, but you can certainly heat your up if you like. Enjoy!

Apple Pie Fruit Leathers

Melissa King 23 Comments

My kids love fruit leathers, but they are so expensive at the store.  So now I make my own.  It’s so easy and you can add in whatever fruits and spices you like.  I have peach fruit leathers on my blog already, and now I can add these to the list.

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The house smells amazing when these are cooking, kind of like when I make my crock pot applesauce.  The best part is that you probably already have all the ingredients in your own cabinets!  I used applesauce to make mine, but you can most certainly use real apples and puree them first.  Think about it though.  When your store has a sale on applesauce, you can stock up and make these.  It would save a lot of money and make your kids happy too. I used a dehydrator to make mine, but you can certainly try this in the oven as well.  You just need to keep an eye one them.

Apple Pie Fruit Leathers

Apple Pie Fruit Leathers

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Prep Time 20 min Cook Time 7 hr Serves 20 fruit leathers     adjust servings

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. If using an oven, preheat to the lowest setting or 135. 
  2. Put all ingredients in a bowl and mix well. 
  3. Line your baking sheets with parchment and spread the mixture out evenly. 
  4. Bake for about 4-6 hours, depending on how low the temp your oven will go. 
  5. If you are using a dehydrator , line the trays with parchment as well.  You can use the dehydrator sheets as well, but I think parchment is much cheaper and works great. 
  6. I baked mine in the dehydrator at 135 for about 6-7 hours. 
  7. Once it feels tacky, it’s pretty much done.  I got about 20 fruit leathers out of my batch.  Enjoy!

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