Tag: vegan

Homemade Nutri-Grain Bars

Melissa King 217 Comments

Who doesn’t like a Nutri-Grain bar? I made you Homemade Nutri-Grain Bars!  I used to eat them like crazy until I liked at all the ingredients in them.  If you read it as well, you probably know that they are laden with way too many chemicals and artificial dyes.

So naturally I had to create my own homemade nutri-grain bars.  My homemade nutrigrain bars tastes so much better and it’s made from wholesome ingredients.

Homemade Nutri-Grain Bars

Sadly, it took me two tries.

I did some tweaking the second time around and they still didn’t look that pretty, but I thought, what the heck, I will post them!  The second time I learned from my mistakes so hopefully, these will be easy for you to make.

I filled them with pureed dates and also with a fruit spread. I personally liked the dates better as a filling, but use what ever you like.  I know many people have said they filled them with homemade Nutella.  I bet that is amazing too! I’m not sure I trust myself with something like that haha.

Homemade Nutri-Grain Bars

Homemade Nutri-Grain Bars

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Prep Time 30 min Cook Time 13 min

Ingredients

    For the bars

    For the filling

    • Your favorite fruit spread or 12 medjool dates blended up into a caramel with a bit of water

    Instructions

    1. Preheat oven to 350.
    2. In a food processor, grind up the almonds and oats. Measure them before grinding. 
    3. Once they are ground into a slightly course consistency, add them to a bowl with the rest of the dry ingredients. 
    4. In another bowl, add the wet ingredients. 
    5. Add dry to wet and mix just until combined. 
    6. Gather the dough into a ball.  It will be a bit sticky. 
    7. Wrap it in plastic and place in the fridge for about 30-60 minutes to firm up. 
    8. Once firm, cut a piece of parchment paper the size of a baking sheet, and lay it on the counter.
    9. Cut the dough ball in half.  I used a bench scraper to cut mine. 
    10. Take one piece and roll it out onto the parchment, putting some plastic wrap between the rolling pin and dough. 
    11. Roll it until it is about 1/4-1/2 inch thick. 
    12. Spread jam onto the top. 
    13. Roll the second ball of dough the same way onto another piece of parchment. Place that onto the dough with the jam. I made sure all the sides were sealed up. Then slice into squares with a pizza cutter. Bake for about 13 minutes. These should last a week or two. You can freeze them as well.  Remember to save your parchment paper.  You can re-use the same piece over and over again.  Enjoy!

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    Copycat Mary’s Gone Crackers!

    Melissa King 135 Comments

    Copycat Mary’s Gone Crackers is the recipe today.  When you decide to eat a diet of just wholesome foods, it’s hard to find a cracker that fits this criteria.

    It was quite disappointing to read labels and find most crackers contained added sugar or highly processed grains.  I also keep wanted to find a healthy cracker that my picky toddlers would eat.

    I finally found a good one in Mary’s Gone Crackers.  They are organic, vegan, gluten free and non GMO verified.  I love them and so do my kids, but at $4 a box, they can be quite pricey.

    Since we go through them so fast, I thought I would try making a homemade Mary’s Gone Cracker version.  They came out really good!

    You also should try my Homemade Fig Newtons and my Homemade Nutri-Grain Bars.

     

    Copycat Mary's Gone Crackers

    They are pretty easy to make and you can add in your own ingredients to customize your favorite flavors.  It’s also a great recipe to do with your kids.  Not really a lot of messy ingredients or measuring.

    I find when I get my kids involved in the prep work, they are more likely to eat the food.

    For starters, I just did a multi-seed cracker.  I really love their herb flavor, so that will be my next batch.  I also threw some chia seeds because they are so good for you.

    I try to toss them in everything from baked goods to smoothies and in between.  To help keep costs down, I bought all of the ingredients out of the bulk bins at Whole Foods.  Here is my recipe.

    Copycat Mary’s Gone Crackers!

    Homemade Mary’s Gone Crackers!

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    Prep Time 15 min Cook Time 30 min Serves 25-30 crackers     adjust servings

    Ingredients

    Instructions

    1. Preheat oven to 350.
    2. In a food processor , combine the quinoa and rice into a mushy consistency.
    3. Add in all the seeds and salt with a bit of water and pulse until you have a mushy ball.
    4. Get out a sheet of parchment paper about the size of a baking sheet and lay it on the counter.
    5. Take half of the mixture and place it on the parchment.
    6. Using a rolling pin and some plastic wrap, roll out the mixture, putting the plastic wrap between the rolling pin and the mixture. That way, you can roll it out without it getting stuck.
    7. Roll as thin as possible and then transfer the parchment and rolled mixture onto a baking sheet.
    8. Repeat the same steps with the second half.
    9. Bake in the oven for about 15 minutes.
    10. Pull them out and carefully flip them and bake for another 12 minutes.
    11. When they are done, carefully break them into bite sized pieces and bake for an additional 10 minutes or until the pieces are crispy.

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    Recipe Notes

    I got about 25 – 30 crackers out of my batch. They should keep for a week or so. Enjoy!

    Quinoa Salad with Roasted Beets

    Melissa King 15 Comments

    I have been trying hard to get more beets into my diet.  They are so good for you.  I tried blending them up in my vitamix, but couldn’t get them down.  It was not very good.  Maybe they are one of those things you have to get used to?  Coconut was like that for me.  I used to hate it,  but now I can’t get enough!  I stumbled across this recipe on Pinterest.  It’s from Gluten-Free Goddess and it was amazing!  Check out her blog if you get a chance.  Lots of yummy recipes and many are vegan.

    beet salad watermark

    I have made roasted beets in the past and I thought they were delicious.  So I decided to give this a go.  I am so glad I did!  I did change a few things in the recipe, but I mostly kept it as is.  I am not a fan of oranges in salad, so I omitted those.

    Quinoa Salad with Roasted Beets

    Quinoa Salad with Roasted Beets

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    Prep Time 10 min Cook Time 1 hr

    Ingredients

    • 3 cups cooked quinoa
    • 2 beets peeled (greens removed) and cubed
    • 2 T avocado or coconut oil
    • salt to taste
    • 1/4 cup olive oil
    • Juice of half a large orange or 1/4 cup orange juice
    • 2 tsp soy sauce or tamari (I used organic soy)
    • 1-2 tsp balsamic vinegar
    • 1/2 tsp garlic powder
    • 1 T raw honey or maple syrup
    • 3-4 handfuls of baby spinach
    • salt and pepper to taste

    Instructions

    1. Preheat oven to 375.
    2. Place the beets on a lined baking sheet and drizzle with the 2 T coconut or avocado oil.
    3. Sprinkle with sea salt.
    4. Roast in the oven for about 45 minutes.
    5. While the beets are roasting, you can cook the quinoa according to the package instructions. I actually cooked the quinoa the day before.  If you buy your quinoa in bulk, cook it 2 parts water per 1 part quinoa. 
    6. Once the beets are done roasting, let them cool.
    7. Once cooled, combine the beets and quinoa in a large bowl. 
    8. In a small bowl, combine: olive oil, orange juice, soy sauce, balsamic vinegar, garlic and honey.
    9. Whisk into a dressing.
    10. Pour over the beets and quinoa.
    11. Fold in the spinach.
    12. Now salt to taste and that’s it.

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    Recipe Notes

    We got about 4 servings. Enjoy!

    Clean Eating Peanut Butter Cups (Vegan)

    Melissa King 110 Comments

    Clean Eating Peanut Butter Cups.  Let’s face it.  We all need a little something sweet every once and a while.  Who says you need to give up peanut butter cups?  While I will never eat Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups again, I will have a homemade peanut butter cup every now and then!

     

    clean eating peanut butter cups

     

    I made these with homemade peanut butter and also almond butter.  Both worked out well, but I think I liked the peanut butter cups better.  Most homemade peanut butter cup recipes call for powdered sugar.  This does not.  I just dropped some freshly made peanut butter in the middle of these.

    So much better that way and also much less sugar too!  The chips I used are from Enjoy Life.  You can also make your own chocolate with 1 cup coconut oil, 1/2 cup cacao powder and a few tablespoons of liquid sweetener.  Or you could melt a couple of bars of dark chocolate with a bit of milk.  Any way works.

    The Enjoy Life chips have a pretty clean ingredient list and are gluten free as well.  They do contain a bit of processed sugar which is why I gave some other options.  I have tried the chips and the coconut oil chocolate.

    I chopped one of these homemade peanut butter cups and ate it in my 5 Minute Banana Ice Cream.  OMG!  Best.Thing.Ever.  A healthier dessert option.

    If you don’t want to use chocolate chips, you can use my 3 ingredient chocolate recipe in this video.

    Looking for more candy recipes?

     

    Clean Eating Peanut Butter Cups

    Clean Eating Peanut Butter Cups

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    Prep Time 10 min Cook Time 20 min Serves 12     adjust servings

    It's a healthier version of a Reece's Cup.

    Ingredients

    • 1 bag chocolate chips (I used Enjoy Life gluten free and soy free chips)
    • 3/4 cup almond milk
    • Roughly 3/4 cup peanut butter or almond butter

    Instructions

    1. Get out a couple of muffin tins and line them with paper or silicone cups. . I used standard sized muffin pans, but the mini cups would work well too.
    2. Using a double boiler, melt the chips and milk in a glass bowl, stirring constantly to get the lumps out. It makes a great arm workout.
    3. Once the chocolate and milk have combined and are smooth, pour a little bit of chocolate in the bottom of each muffin cup.
    4. Place them in the freezer for about 20 minutes to set.
    5. When they are hard, pull them out and put a dollop on nut butter on top of each one.
    6. Fill the remaining cup with chocolate.
    7. Repeat until all the cups are filled.
    8. Place back in the freezer.

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    Recipe Notes

    I would give them a few hours to set. Actually, I store mine in the freezer as well. I think they would get too soft in the fridge. That’s it!

    Homemade Fig Newtons Recipe

    Melissa King 168 Comments

    Homemade Fig Newtons for you.  Before we cleaned up our diet, Fig Newtons were a big staple around here.  We all know how fig newtons are often touted as a healthy cookie option for kids.  But if you ever looked at the ingredients, most are not good.

    My healthy fig newton recipe is so much healthier than store bought ones and a fig newton you can feel good about giving your kids. These fig newtons also taste better in my opinion. You definitely need to try them.

    Homemade Fig Newtons

    These are made with whole grains and no refined sugars, unlike the real cookies.  The real cookies contain high fructose corn syrup. 🙁  You can also use the recipe as a base to add in your own fillings.  If you filled these with fruit, they would almost taste like a Nutri-Grain bar as well.

    The possibilities are endless.  I also added a little cinnamon to the dough to spice it up a bit.  I think it turned out well that way.  One other thing to note is, using the coconut oil will not make them taste like coconut at all, but it does help add a sweetness to the cookies.

    Another great thing about this recipe is that it freezes well.  So you can make up a huge batch and freeze some for later. I suggest storing them in an air-tight container with a piece or parchment between each row of cookies.  That way, you don’t have to worry about them sticking together.

    Homemade Fig Newtons

    Homemade Fig Newtons

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    Prep Time 1 hr Cook Time 15 min Serves 16 cookies     adjust servings

    A healthier version of the classic cookie.

    Ingredients

      For the cookie

      For the filling

      • 15-20 figs (I used dried Turkish Figs I got at Sprouts)
      • 1 T maple syrup
      • water

      Instructions

        For the filling

        1. In a food processor, grind up the figs, 1 T maple syrup and a bit of water. You want the figs to be the consistency of peanut butter so only add a bit of water. I think I used about 1 tablespoon.
        2. Blend into a paste and set aside.

        For the cookie

        1. Preheat oven to 350.
        2. In one bowl mix all the dry ingredients.
        3. In another bowl, mix the wet.
        4. Add dry to wet and mix only until combined. Be careful not to over-mix. The dough will be sticky and a bit wet.
        5. Gather it in a ball and wrap it.
        6. Put the dough in the fridge for about an hour to firm up.
        7. Once firm, roll the dough onto a floured surface. I tried to roll my dough as square as possible.
        8. Once the dough is rolled out, spread the fig mixture onto half of the dough.
        9. Once the fig mixture is spread, fold 1 half of the dough onto the other and cut into squares. I cut mine into about 2×2 squares and used a pizza cutter to do so.
        10. Place on lined baking sheet and bake for about 12-15 minutes.
        11. I got about 16 out of my batch.

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        Recipe Notes

        They should last a couple of weeks, but you can refrigerate them to make them last even longer. Enjoy!

        Wild Rice, Spinach and Avocado Salad with Sesame Dressing

        Melissa King 22 Comments

        I have a ton of recipes pinned to try on Pinterest.  It had been awhile since I had tried a new one, so I plucked this up and tried it.  This lovely salad comes from Zizi’s Adventures.  She has a beautiful blog full of yummy recipes like this one.  It looked so good I had to try it.  It tasted AMAZING!  We actually made it twice since the first batch disappeared quickly.  I tripled the recipe and changed a few things the second time around.

        avocado sesame salad FG watermark

        This recipe has all my favorite ingredients.  In my world, avocados make everything better.  The original recipe called to cook the greens and garlic, but I like them raw better so that is how I did mine.

        Wild Rice, Spinach and Avocado Salad with Sesame Dressing

        Wild Rice, Spinach and Avocado Salad with Sesame Dressing

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        Prep Time 10 min Cook Time 1 hr

        Ingredients

          Salad

          • 4-5 big bunches of baby spinach chopped (you can do kale as well)
          • 1 1/2 cups wild rice (cooked)
          • 3 avocados sliced
          • 2 cups or 1 can white beans (soak overnight and then cook until soft)
          • 2-3 cloves garlic minced or 2 tsp garlic powder
          • salt to taste

          Dressing

          • 6 T toasted sesame oil
          • 3 T rice vinegar
          • 3 T soy sauce or bragg's aminos
          • Juice of 1 lemon

          Instructions

          1. Cook the rice and let cool. I actually did this the day before. Same with the beans if using dried beans.
          2. In a large bowl, add rice, beans, avocado, garlic and spinach and mix well.
          3. In a small bowl, whisk the ingredients for the dressing.
          4. Pour dressing in the large bowl and mix well until everything is combined.

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          Recipe Notes

          I found the best way to do this was with my hands. This dish is best eaten fresh, but will still be delicious the next day. I makes about 5-6 servings. Enjoy!

          Adapted from Zizi's Adventures