Year: 2013

Epic Chickpea Spread

Melissa King 51 Comments

Recently, a vegan bakery opened up here in Dallas.  Reverie Bakeshop is the name, and if you haven’t checked them out yet, you should.  Lots of yummy treats.  Anyway, they sell sandwiches as well.

One of them is a mashed chickpea and avocado panini.  I haven’t tried it yet, but it sounded interesting and I thought I would experiment with my own version.  You really can’t go wrong with avocados in my opinion. 🙂

 

 

This is super easy to make and very versatile too.  It would be great spread on my Homemade Wheat Thins, on toast or even inside a lettuce wrap for a grain free option.  Since everyone is worried about the mercury levels in tuna, this is a decent alternative.

 

We filmed a short video for this recipe.  You can view it below. For more videos, you can subscribe to my You Tube Channel.

Epic Chickpea Spread

Epic Chickpea Spread

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Prep Time 15 min

Ingredients

  • 2 cups or 1 can chickpeas
  • 1 avocado
  • 2 green onions chopped or 2 T minced white onions
  • 1-2 garlic cloves minced
  • 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
  • 1/2 celery stalk chopped fine
  • 1-2 T nutritional yeast
  • 1-2 T lemon juice depending on how much you like
  • salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

  1. In a medium sized bowl, mash the chickpeas slightly with a fork. 
  2. Add in the remaining ingredients and mix well.

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Recipe Notes

This makes about 4 servings. Should last a week in the fridge. Enjoy!

Healthier Peanut Butter Rice Krispy Treats

Melissa King 39 Comments

Who doesn’t have memories of making and eating rice crispy treats as a kid?  Let’s take a look at the ingredients in the store bought version taken off their website.  I couldn’t find the peanut butter ingredients, but here is everything in the original flavor:

TOASTED RICE CEREAL (RICE, SUGAR, SALT, MALT FLAVORING, NIACINAMIDE, REDUCED IRON, RIBOFLAVIN [VITAMIN B2], FOLIC ACID), MARSHMALLOW (CORN SYRUP, SUGAR, GELATIN, NATURAL AND ARTIFICIAL FLAVOR), FRUCTOSE, MARGARINE (VEGETABLE OIL [SOYBEAN AND PALM OIL WITH TBHQ FOR FRESHNESS], WATER, NATURAL AND ARTIFICIAL BUTTER FLAVOR [CONTAINS MILK], DATEM, ACETYLATED MONOGLYCERIDES, BHT FOR FRESHNESS, VITAMIN A PALMITATE, VITAMIN D), CORN SYRUP SOLIDS, CONTAINS TWO PERCENT OR LESS OF DEXTROSE, GLYCERIN, SALT, NIACINAMIDE, PYRIDOXINE HYDROCHLORIDE (VITAMIN B6), THIAMIN HYDROCHLORIDE (VITAMIN B1), RIBOFLAVIN (VITAMIN B2), SOY LECITHIN.

Wow!  That’s a lot of ingredients!  Plus a lot of things I try to avoid.  My recipe contains just 4 ingredients.

Rice Krispy Treats Watermark

I wanted to create a healthier version for my kids.  It took me 3 tries to get it right, but the end product is really good with no added sugar.

Peanut Butter Rice Krispy Treats

Healthier Peanut Butter Rice Krispy Treats

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Prep Time 10 min Cook Time 10 min

Ingredients

  • 4 cups rice cereal (I used Barbara's Brown Rice Crisps)
  • 3/4 cup peanut butter
  • 12 medjool dates (pits removed)
  • 3 T coconut oil (measure after melting)
  • water

Instructions

  1. In a food processor , mix the dates with enough water so a syrup starts to form. 
  2. The syrup should be thicker, almost like a caramel.  I used about 1/4 cup water. 
  3. Once the dates are in a syrup, transfer them to a saucepan with the peanut butter and coconut oil. 
  4. Stir on medium heat just enough to soften the peanut butter and combine all the ingredients. 
  5. Once that is done, add them to a bowl with the cereal and mix until everything is well combined.
  6. Line an 8×8 pan with parchment paper, leaving enough paper to stick out the sides. 
  7. Pack the mixture down tight and stick it in the fridge to set. 
  8. Once it’s set, pull the bars out using the parchment paper and cut into squares with a pizza cutter .

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Recipe Notes

My bars were thick. If you want a thinner bar, use a slightly bigger pan. I got 9 squares out of my batch. They should last a couple weeks in the fridge. Enjoy!

Cashew Cookie Larabar Bites (Vegan)

Melissa King 37 Comments

Cashew Cookie Larabar Bites.  So I have almost made every single larabar flavor there is now.  They are just so easy and taste way better than the store bought versions.

I made the Carrot Cake Larabars the other day and my baby girl loved them so much!  This is huge because she has a G tube and eats a lot of her food through that.

So to have her interested in orally enjoying those snacks was a big deal.  I have had many requests for the Cashew Cookie flavor so I whipped them up today.  I added 1 extra ingredient that I think takes these to the next level.

 

Cashew Cookie Larabar Bites

 

The ground vanilla beans really perk this recipe right up.  They are so good! You can also use vanilla extract, but I would only use 1 teaspoon instead of two.

Looking for more cashew cookie recipes?

Cashew Cookie Larabar Bites

Cashew Cookie Larabar Bites

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Prep Time 10 min Serves 12 balls     adjust servings

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. In the food processor , grind the cashews into a fine consistency. 
  2. Then add in the remaining ingredients and pulse until a dough starts to form.
  3. Roll into balls and place on a parchment lined plate.
  4. Stick the balls in the fridge for about an hour to firm up. I got 12 balls out of my batch. Enjoy!

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Cinnamon Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

Melissa King 17 Comments

It’s been raining here on almost every weekend lately.  So yesterday we finally got around to getting the girls a pumpkin to carve.

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My 4 year old is grossed out by the “guts”, but my 2 year old loved sticking her hands in and pulling out the seeds.  While they were carving, I was cleaning off the seeds to roast.  I got all the stringy stuff off and then gave them a good rinse.  After that, I set them out to dry overnight.  Today I roasted them and they are so good.  My house smelled like Fall.  This recipe kind of reminds me of my Maple Cinnamon Roasted Chickpeas.

Cinnamon Roasted Chickpeas from My Whole Food Life copy

These are pretty addicting.  I made them in under 35 minutes.  Real simple recipe.

Cinnamon Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

Cinnamon Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

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Prep Time 10 min Cook Time 30 min

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350. 
  2. Toss all the ingredients in a bowl and mix until everything is well coated. 
  3. Spread the seeds onto a lined baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes. 
  4. Remove and shake the seeds around and bake for another 15 minutes.

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Recipe Notes

I store mine in a mason jar on the counter. Please wait until they have completely cooled before storing them. Enjoy!

Carrot Cake Larabar Bites (Vegan)

Melissa King 74 Comments

Carrot Cake Larabar Bites.  I know that you all love larabars.  I have had several requests for the carrot cake bar recipe, so I thought I would create you these carrot cake larabar bites.

The flavor of these carrot cake larabar bites of reminded me of my Coconut Cream Larabars and also my No Bake Pumpkin Pie Cookies.

 

carrot cake larabar bites

 

I checked the ingredient list on Larabar’s website and created my recipe based on those ingredients.   I am hoping it tastes similar to the store bought version.

I am not a huge carrot cake fan, but my husband is.  My baby daughter LOVED this recipe.  That was a surprise to me.  Very kid friendly. 🙂  They are also vegan, gluten free and grain free.

Looking for more larabar recipes?

Carrot Cake Larabars

Carrot Cake Larabar Bites

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Prep Time 10 min Serves 12 balls     adjust servings

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. In the food processor , mix the carrots, walnuts and almonds and coconut.
  2. Then add in the cinnamon, salt, dates, pineapple and coconut oil. If the mixture seems slightly dry, add in a bit of water. I didn’t have to add any in mine.
  3. Once a dough forms, roll into balls and place in the fridge to firm up.

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Recipe Notes

I got about 12 balls out of my batch and I ended up flattening them into cookies. Enjoy!

Pumpkin Coconut Mousse (Vegan and Paleo)

Melissa King 41 Comments

Pumpkin Coconut Mousse.  Pumpkin and coconut.  The two flavors are very different, but they go so well together.  I whipped up this light and healthy pumpkin mousse in practically no time at all.

It would be great for Thanksgiving.  A new twist on your typical pumpkin desserts and mousse recipe.  I used a mousse recipe very similar to my Grain Free Pumpkin Tart filling.

 

pumpkin coconut mousse

If you don’t care for the taste of coconut, you can certainly try this recipe using heavy whipping cream as well.

I also already have an Almond Butter Mousse recipe on my blog that is equally delish!  It’s like pumpkin pie without the crust.

Pumpkin Coconut Mousse

Pumpkin Coconut Mousse

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Prep Time 20 min Serves 4 - 6 servings     adjust servings

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. The night before you go to make this, place an unopened can of coconut milk in the fridge.
  2. The next morning, pull out the can and open it.
  3. Scoop out the solid white part and place it in the mixture. You can save the leftover liquid for smoothies.
  4. Using the whipping attachment, whip the coconut into a cream. I did this with my KitchenAid mixer .
  5. While that is whipping, make the pumpkin mixture. In another bowl, combine the pumpkin, spices and maple syrup and mix well.
  6. Once the “cream” is done, gently fold it into the pumpkin mixture.
  7. Chill in the fridge until it is ready to be eaten. Enjoy!

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