Year: 2013

Grain Free Blondies (Vegan Too)

Melissa King 64 Comments

Grain Free Blondies you guys!!  I don’t know if you have noticed, but I am trying to branch out and create more recipes that are grain and gluten free.

I have already done so with my Grain Free Blueberry Tart and my Healthy Key Lime Tart.

Since the gluten free and grain free diets seem to be a trend nowadays, I thought you may enjoy this recipe.  These grain free blondies may be the start of many more grain free desserts in the future.

 

Grain Free Blondies

 

I under cooked mine slightly because I wanted to maintain a gooey and soft center.  Another awesome thing about these blondies is that they are only sweetened with dates.  I love dates!

Grain Free Blondies

Grain Free Blondies

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Prep Time 15 min Cook Time 20 min Serves 9 squares     adjust servings

Soft and gooey blondies that are grain free!

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350.
  2. Mix all the dry ingredients in one bowl .
  3. In a food processor , grind up the dates.
  4. Add the almond butter and coconut oil and pulse together.
  5. Transfer the mixture to a mixing bowl and add in the eggs, vanilla and milk.
  6. Lastly, add the dry ingredients and mix well.
  7. Cut a sheet of parchment paper and place it into an 8X8 baking dish .
  8. Make sure you have enough paper to stick out the sides so you can easily grab the whole thing out of the pan.
  9. Spread dough evenly inside the dish. The dough will be sticky and using wet hands or a wet spatula can make it easier.
  10. Bake in the oven for about 20 minutes.
  11. Let it cool completely before removing, and then cut the blondies into squares with a pizza cutter .

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Recipe Notes

I stored mine in the fridge. Enjoy!

Lemony Cookie Dough Bites

Melissa King 82 Comments

Lemony Cookie Dough Bites that are vegan and gluten free.  I love lemons.  I put them in my daily juice.  I just love the way they smell and how they seem to freshen a recipe up.

I have plans for a lemon bar, but for now I just made these little bites.  I was inspired by the sweet and lemony taste that sugar cookies have.

 

lemony cookie dough bites

 

Lemons are rich in vitamin C, so they can help protect you from colds and the flu.  Lemons can help cleanse and detoxify your liver.  They also contain 22 anti-cancer compounds and can help slow the growth of cancer.

A lot of people start their day with a large glass of water with lemon to help awaken the digestive system.  These little bites are really simple to make and only call for a few ingredients.

If you want to make the lemon taste even stronger, you can add a couple teaspoons of lemon juice as well.  My daughter and I filmed a short video about making these.  Despite an almost tantrum, I’d say things went well.

For more videos, you can check out my You Tube Channel.

Looking for more lemon recipes?

Lemony Cookie Dough Bites

Lemony Cookie Dough Bites

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Prep Time 10 min Serves 12 balls     adjust servings

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. In the food processor , grind up the cashews and oats into a course meal.
  2. Add the dates, lemon zest, vanilla and water until a dough starts to form.
  3. Roll into balls and stick in the fridge for 30 minutes to set. I got 12 out of my batch. Enjoy!

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Honey Balsamic Bean Salad

Melissa King 29 Comments

I just love cold salads in the summer.  Here is Texas, it’s in the 100’s and way too hot to cook.  Salads are so easy to throw together and don’t cost a lot to make.  You can find many of my salad recipes in this post.  So I was looking for recipes on Pinterest when I came upon The Clever Carrot’s Bean Salad.  If you haven’t checked out her blog, you should.  Her recipes are great and her photos are stunning.  I LOVED this so much, that I wanted to share it with all of you.

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I am more of a baker than a cook, so I often look on Pinterest for things to make during the week.  This salad was so good, I wished I had made a double batch. I made a few alterations to use what I had on hand.

Honey Balsamic 3 Bean Salad

Honey Balsamic Bean Salad

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Prep Time 20 min

Ingredients

  • 4 cups or 2 cans of chickpeas
  • 4 cups or 2 cans of black beans
  • 2 cups green beans halved
  • 1 cup red bell peppers chopped
  • 1/4 cup red onions thinly sliced
  • 2 T chives finely chopped
  • 1/4 cup chopped basil
  • salt and pepper to taste

Dressing

  • 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
  • 2 tsp raw honey or maple syrup
  • 1 tsp dijon mustard
  • 1/4 cup olive oil

Instructions

  1. Drain and rinse beans if using cans. 
  2. Add all the ingredients in one large bowl. 
  3. Add the dressing ingredients in a small bowl and whisk together. 
  4. Pour the dressing over the ingredients and mix well.

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Recipe Notes

Adapted from The Clever Carrot

This makes about 4 servings. It should last about 4 days in the fridge. Enjoy!

PB Cookie Dough Bites

Melissa King 997 Comments

These little bites can be made in  minutes with just a handful of real ingredients.

 

PB Cookie Dough 2 watermark

 

Peanut butter and chocolate were just made for each other and these cookie dough bites are delicious!  This is a great recipe to make with your kids too.  My daughter had a lot of fun rolling these into balls and sticking the chips on.

She was also trying to sneak in bites for herself as well.  🙂  I am a big fan of everything no bake.  Who isn’t? 🙂  These are the peanut butter version of my No Bake Cooke Dough Bites.

PB Cookie Dough Bites

PB Cookie Dough Bites

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Prep Time 10 min Serves 12 balls     adjust servings

Ingredients

  • 1 cup peanuts
  • 1 cup gluten free rolled oats
  • 3 T maple syrup
  • 2 T peanut butter
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 2 T chocolate chips

Instructions

  1. In the food processor , blend up the peanuts and oats. 
  2. Once they are ground into a course consistency, add in the rest of the ingredients except for the chocolate chips.  You may need to soften the peanut butter slightly to get it to blend well. 
  3. Pulse until a dough starts to form. 
  4. Roll into balls and stick on the chocolate chips. 
  5. Place them in the fridge to set for about 30 minutes.  I got 12 balls out of my batch.  Enjoy!

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Homemade Coconut Butter (Vegan)

Melissa King 186 Comments

Homemade Coconut Butter is amazing!If you have been following this blog for a while, you know that I LOVE coconut and coconut butter.

Funny thing is, I used to hate it.  Now my body craves it.  I guess it knows what is healthy. 🙂  I had an obsession with coconut butter ever since my first taste of Nutiva Organic Coconut Manna.

That stuff is the bomb and it melts in your mouth.  It can get quite pricey, so I thought I would make my own coconut butter.  It’s super easy!

 

homemade coconut butter

So easy that I feel kind of funny calling it a recipe.  Kind of like my Homemade Peanut Butter.  Coconut butter just takes a bit longer than peanut butter, so be patient.

Coconut butter can be used a spread or a dip.  If you use it in baking it can add a richer flavor.  Coconut butter is naturally gluten free, grain free and vegan.

Homemade Coconut Butter

Homemade Coconut Butter

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Prep Time 20 min Serves 1 cup     adjust servings

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. In the food processor , blend up the shredded coconut, scraping the sides down every few minutes. Be prepared to be patient. It takes about 20 minutes.

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Recipe Notes

If you use a blender , it takes about half the time, but you have to scrape down the sides more often and it is harder to manage. I liked making it in the food processor much better. I mixed it for a minute or two and walked away. Came back to mix some more a few minutes later. I just kept repeating those steps until I saw a creamy mixture. It took about 20 minutes for me. Super easy! I store mine in a small mason jar . I love mason jars. You can never have enough. I think it should keep for a couple of weeks. I keep mine on the counter top. You can store it in the fridge, but it will harden slightly. That’s it! Enjoy!

Forester Famer’s Market Exposed

Melissa King 46 Comments

This was sent to me by a reader.  I can see how people can be misled by looking at a product like this.

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By looking at the labels and the claims, you would think the ingredient list would be fantastic.  Not the case.  Let me also state that this brand could have products that do not contain these harmful ingredients.  This is just for the chicken breast chunks.

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This is supposed to be just chicken, right?  There are way too many additives in here.  I am amazed that they can call this natural!  Carrageenan has been called a possible carcinogen.  Sugar is highly processed and has no business being in chicken.  Yeast extract is a hidden source of MSG.  Caramel color is also another possible carcinogen.  BHA and propyl gallate may also be linked to cancer.  Since this is not labeled organic, the soy in here may contain GMOs.  Please check all labels.  Even ones that say natural.  I am not sure of a better store bought option.  If any of you know, please leave an answer in the comment section.