Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

We are on round four of having a dairy and soy protein sensitive baby, so I needed a yummy cookie recipe while breastfeeding, since I have to go off of those too. This has all of my favorites in a cookie.

1 c coconut oil

1/2 c peanut butter

2 eggs

1 c brown sugar 

1.5 c flour

1.5 c rolled oats

2 t vanilla

1 t salt

1 t baking soda

1.5 c chocolate chips

Cream together the coconut oil, peanut butter, eggs, and brown sugar. Add the other ingredients, chocolate chips last, after everything else is combined. Bake at 350 for 11 min

Almost One Bowl Berry Mini-Muffins

My current favorite muffin recipe because of how easy and yummy it is:

Ingredients:

2 cups rolled oats
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

1 cup berries (I typically use frozen mixed berries from Costco)
1/2 cup coconut oil
1/2 cup honey
1 egg

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 and grease a mini-muffin tin.

In a food processor, process the rolled oats into a fine flour. Add the baking powder and salt and pulse to mix in.

Pour dry ingredients into another bowl so you can process the other ingredients (this is why these cannot be called one bowl muffins). Add the rest of the ingredients to the food processor and process until everything is smooth (takes longer if you use frozen berries).

Add dry ingredients back in with the wet ones and pulse until everything is wet.

Spoon into muffin tin, and bake for 15 minutes.

Blender Pancakes

Our current favorite breakfast (because they are yummy and easy and quick).

In a blender or food processor, add:

4 eggs
4 bananas
1 cup coconut oil (or applesauce, or pumpkin purée, or a combo of 2 or 3; just get to one cup total of whatever you use)
1 t salt
1 T cinnamon

Blend together until smooth, then add 2 cups oats. Blend again until combined (you may need to scrape the sides down a little). Cook on a griddle and serve.

Delicious, plus really quick and easy.

*For "Fall" use pumpkin, and add chocolate chips while cooking on the griddle-a big hit for us.

Baked Oatmeal

This is my favorite way to eat oatmeal.  Since I'm not a fan of mushy textures, this has become a common breakfast for me (plus the eggs make it a little more filling). I love that I can mix this all in one 9 by 13 the night before, throw it in the oven without preheating the next morning, and have a warm, nourishing breakfast ready an hour later. The original idea came from here. 


Ingredients & Instructions:

Grease a 9 by 13 pan. Fill the pan with rolled oats an inch or so high (about 5-6 cups). Add the following (to the pan-this is a one pan recipe):

1 t baking soda
1 T salt
1 T cinnamon

Mix those dry ingredients together and then add:

1 cup milk (we use coconut or almond)
1/3 cup melted coconut oil or butter
4 eggs
Up to half a cup of sweetener (maple syrup, honey, brown sugar, etc); we have cut back on our sugar intake recently, so I usually make mine without any sweetener, and then drizzle some maple syrup on top afterwards. But if I'm entertaining (or if you like things on the sweet side) definitely add the extra sweetener now.

Stir everything together well, cover with foil, and put in the fridge overnight. The next morning, pop the covered pan in the cold oven, turn on to 350 degrees, and set a timer for an hour (yes, there is no need to preheat the oven on this). Serve with maple syrup drizzled on top, fruit, nuts, anything you  like on your oatmeal. 

Cucumber Tomato Salad

This is my recent favorite salad, and one of my favorite ways to use tomatoes and cucumbers in season. Simple and yummy.

Ingredients:

2-3 medium tomatoes, sliced thin (a pint of cherry tomatoes cut in half works well too)
1 medium cucumber, peeled and sliced thin
1/2 white onion, sliced thin and rings pulled apart
1-2 T olive oil
1-2 T apple cider vinegar
Salt & Pepper

Mix everything together and serve. The flavor gets better if it sits a while, so if you can prepare it a couple of hours in advance, store it in the fridge and then pull out when ready to eat. Yum!

Crockpot Chicken Tacos

This recipe is a frequent one at our home, and is always slightly different. It's a combination of a whole bunch of different recipes I've seen and is a good recipe for our family's tastes. I keep the spices about the same, but sometimes I don't have peppers or beans so they are left out. This is a good base for our favorite easy, yummy, crockpot tacos.

Ingredients:

2-3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1-2 bell peppers (red, yellow, green, orange, whatever I have), sliced in thin strips
1 onion, sliced in thin strip or rings
1 can blacks beans (or 2 cups cooked)
2-3 tomatoes, diced (or 1 can of diced tomatoes, or 1 cup of whatever salsa we have)
1 heaping tablespoon cumin
1 heaping tablespoon oregano
1 heaping tablespoon chili powder
1 heaping tablespoon garlic salt
Juice of 1 lime (I freeze extra when I have limes on hand and freeze it in ice cube trays; one frozen cube is what I use if I don't have fresh)


Combine everything except the lime juice in the crockpot and cook on low for 6-8 hours (or less depending on your crockpot). When finished cooking, shred the chicken, add the lime juice, and serve on tortillas with any toppings you like. It's also yummy to use for taco salad over chips, or just over rice.

Roasted Carrots, Onions, & Beets

A yummy veggie side dish when beets are in season.

Ingredients:

4-6 large carrots, peeled and sliced thin
4-6 beets, peeled and sliced thin
1 large white or yellow onion,sliced thin
2-3 T olive oil
1 T minced garlic
1 T sage
Salt and pepper (to taste - can add more after roasting if needed)

Preheat oven to 425. Mix everything together and spread on a cookie sheet. Roast in preheated oven about 20 minutes or until veggies are fork tender.

Mini Chocolate Tarts

If you  like chocolate, these are for you. Idea came from here.


Crust:

1 1/4 c almonds
1/2 c unsweetened shredded coconut
pinch of salt
2 T maple syrup
2 T coconut oil, melted

Preheat oven to 375. In food processor, process almonds to a fine meal (not almond butter). Add coconut and salt and process for a few seconds, then add maple syrup and coconut oil and process until combined in  sticky clumps (add more coconut oil and maple syrup if needed). Spoon crust into greased mini-muffin tin, pressing down. Crust should fill each hole about 1/3-1/2 of the way up. Bake for 10 min, or until golden brown. Let cool.

Filling:

1/2 can full fat coconut milk
1 c dark chocolate chips
1 tsp vanilla

In a saucepan, bring the coconut milk to a boil. Pour chocolate chips in a separate bowl and pour boiling milk over. Let it sit for a minute, then whisk together. Add vanilla and continue stirring until smooth. Spoon filling on top of mini-crusts in muffin tin.

Topping:

1/4 c chopped nuts (my favorites are macadamia nuts and pistachios, but almonds and walnuts are delicious too)
1/4 c unsweetened shredded coconut

Toast nuts and coconut on stove-top. Sprinkle on top of filling. Refrigerate mini-tarts until solid, and pop out just before serving. You can freeze them too.

Butternut Squash Soup

This is the first vegetable soup all four of my boys loved and devoured. It's going on this blog for sure. Adapted from this recipe.

Ingredients:

1 small or half a large onion
1-2 tsp minced garlic
1 T chili powder
Salt and pepper
4 cups chicken stock
1 can white beans
1 small to medium butternut squash, cooked and cut into chunks

Directions:

Sauté onions and garlic in a pot. When onions are nice and cooked through, add some salt, pepper, the chili powder, and chicken stock. Bring to a boil and add beans and squash. Simmer for a few minutes (longer is probably better). Before serving, blend with an immersion blender or regular blender. Add more salt and pepper to taste. We love eating this with blue corn chips.

Sweet Potato Spelt Doughnuts (Baked)

I admit it....my kids are sheltered when it comes to food. They helped me make these doughnuts and were absolutely excited and pleased with the end result. To those used to a traditional doughnut, these are very different. But if you want a wholesome, sweet, yummy treat without the crud in regular doughnuts, these are perfect. We sprinkled ours with cinnamon sugar at the end, but you are always welcome to dredge them in some type of frosting. No need here though. Like I said, we are a little sheltered:).

Adapted from this recipe:

Ingredients:

4 cups spelt flour
1 T baking powder
1 t salt
1 t baking soda
1 t cinnamon
1 t ginger powder
1 t nutmeg (about 1/2 of a whole one if your using fresh)
1/2 cup coconut oil
3/4 cup honey (you can add more if you prefer really sweet, but the cinnamon sugar at the end gave us plenty of sweetness)
3-4 medium-small sweet potatoes, cooked and mashed (about 1 1/2 to 2 cups)
4 eggs
1/4 cup milk
2 t vanilla

Mix together the dry ingredients. In a separate mixing bowl (I used my KitchenAid) beat together the coconut oil, honey, and sweet potatoes until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, milk, and vanilla. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet until combined. Spoon mixture into a doughnut pan, or if you don't have one like me, spoon into a Ziplock, cut one corner of the bag, and squeeze mixture out onto a Silpat mat in large circle shapes. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes. Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar (you can even brush a little more coconut oil on first to help it stick) or frost as desired. Soooooooo yummy, and you still feel great after eating:).

Pumpkin Kamut Spice Cake

This cake is moist and mildly sweet-perfect for my sweet tooth that doesn't like things too sweet:). Adapted from a Better Homes and Gardens recipe, mine is much more whole foodish, although I still used a small amount of sugar in the cake and powdered sugar in the frosting. I've been experimenting with kamut and have found I can substitute pretty much directly for whole wheat.

Cake Ingredients:


2 cups kamut flour (or whole wheat)
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 cup coconut oil
2 eggs
2/3 cups sugar
1 cup pumpkin purée
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup coconut milk mixed with 1 tablespoon lemon juice

Glaze Ingredients

3/4 cup coconut oil
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions:

Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and spices. In a separate mixing bowl beat coconut oil and eggs until well combined (I do this in my Kitchen Aid). Add the sugar, pumpkin, vanilla, and coconut milk and combine again. Add the dry ingredient to the wet and pour into a greased 9 by 13. Bake at 350 for 35 minutes.

For the glaze, melt the coconut oil in a saucepan on the stovetop. Add the powdered sugar and dissolve, stirring constantly. Turn off heat and add the vanilla. Drizzle over the cake when the cake comes out of the oven and let both cool together.

Enjoy:).

Carrot Ginger Pasta

This is an adaptation from this recipe, once again because I didn't have many of the ingredients. The final verdict from our family was 2/5ths loved it, 2/5ths liked it, and 1/5th did not like, but he's the 1/5th who only likes pizza and chicken noodle soup right now so he doesn't really count. And since I was part of the 2/5ths that loved it, I think it's blog-worthy:).

Ingredients:

• 1-2 T olive oil
• 1 T minced garlic
• 1/3 of one of those large bags of baby carrots from Sam's Club (sorry it's not more precise but that's how I gauge things sometimes)
• 1 t minced fresh ginger (fresh is always best, but a few sprinkles of powdered would work I'm sure, and I obviously rarely have the "right" ingredients myself)
• Salt & Pepper
• 2 T sesame seeds
• Juice from 1/2 a lemon
• 1 T water
• Extra olive oil, salt, pepper as needed

Directions:

Ina saucepan over med-high heat saute the garlic in olive oil for about a minute. Add the carrots, ginger, and a good sprinkling of salt and pepper. Let the carrots cook for 10-15 minutes until they are fork tender (turn the heat down a bit if they are drying out or starting to brown). Once fork tender, pour everything into your blender or food processor. Add the sesame seeds, lemon juice, and water and blend/process. Add more olive oil as needed to create a sauce, not just paste. Season with more salt and pepper as needed. Serve with pasta, and feel free to add some cooked shredded chicken unless you want a meatless meal.

Butterfinger Bars

This does not fall into the "Whole Foods" category by any means, but you gotta live a little, right? My only complaint about these bars is that unless cold, they fall apart very easily. But I prefer my chocolate cold or frozen anyways, so it all works out for me, and these are so yummy they are worth the mess even if they warm up.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 sleeves graham crackers
• 1/4 c coconut oil
• 1/2 c peanut butter (I use all natural - crunchy or smooth works)
• 1/2 c unsweetened shredded coconut
• 2 T sugar or honey
• Pinch of salt
• 1/2 c chocolate chips
• 1 T peanut butter

Crush graham crackers to crumbs. If you like things super smooth, use a blender or food processor. If you like things more chunky like me, just throw them in your mixer and let it crush them down for you (plus less dishes to wash after:). Add the coconut oil, 1/2 c peanut butter, coconut, sugar/honey, and pinch of salt. Press mixture into an 8x8 glass baking dish for thinner bars, or a bread pan for thicker bars (pre-oiled or sprayed with cooking spray).

Melt the chocolate chips plus 1 T peanut butter and drizzle over the top and put in the fridge or freezer to set up. Make sure to cut into bars before they are frozen solid (speaking from experience, otherwise they break into more of a bark-like dessert...). Keep cold until serving.

 Delicious!

BBQ Chicken Stir-Fry

A few years ago a friend shared a BBQ chicken kabob recipe with me. I was pregnant at the time and it actually sounded yummy to me so I wanted it THAT NIGHT! But I had no skewers. So I turned it into sitr-fry instead. About a year later our family started making lots of changes in the way we ate, moving towards a whole foods diet. My palate changed and the original recipe became way too sweet for me. So I started changing things up each time we ate this meal, and here's our version today....the version we all love (even if my boys end up eating just the chicken, rice, and pineapples!).

Ingredients:

• 2 T olive oil
• 1 red onion, cut into bite sized pieces
• 3 bell peppers (a combination of different colors is my favorite), cut into bite sized pieces
• 1 cup cherry tomatoes
• 1/2 small, fresh pineapple, cut into bite sized pieces
• 1 cup diced cooked chicken
• 1 T + garlic salt (taste test to your liking)
• 1/4 BBQ sauce, mixed with 1/4 c water (if you like things really sweet, you can mix it with orange juice, but that's way too sweet for my palate)

Directions:

Heat olive oil in a large skillet to medium high heat. Add the onion and pepper (you want them sizzling when they hit the pan so make sure it's preheated well) and cook for 3-4 minutes until crisp tender. Add your tomatoes and pineapple, and cook for another 3-4 minutes (I like to wait until the cherry tomatoes are bursting). Add your cooked chicken and garlic salt. Taste test to see if you need more garlic salt. When everything is heated through add the BBQ sauce/water mixture and allow it to cook down for a couple more minutes. Serve over brown rice, quinoa, or even with pasta.

Avocado Pasta

A yummy, quick, satisfying pasta dish we refer to as "Super Hero Pasta" because of the green color (think little boys and the Green Lantern...). The original recipe for the sauce comes from here (so no, I am not claiming this as my original recipe!!!!), but we usually triple the sauce and use spiral pasta and broccoli florets cooked together for an "easy to eat for babies and kids" dinner. I also switch out the cilantro for basil a lot.

Ingredients:

3 ripe avocados
Juice of two limes, or 2 frozen lime cubes (i sometimes freeze lime juice in ice cube trays in the freezer)
1 heaping tablespoon minced garlic
1 large handful cilantro or basil (both are yummy in the end - just produce slightly different flavors)
2 t good salt
1 package spiral pasta
2 more t good salt (for seasoning the pasta and broccoli)
3 c broccoli florets (chopped into bite sized pieces)

Directions:

Cook pasta according to package directions, adding a couple of teaspoons of salt to the cooking water. With about 5 minutes left of cooking time, add the broccoli. Strain everything together.

In a blender, combine the avocados, lime juice, cilantro, and salt. You may need to use the tamper to get things mixing well.

Combine pasta, broccoli, and sauce in a larger serving dish. We eat this alone or with fruit and rolls.

French Toast

Another easy, filling breakfast we eat often.

Ingredients:

• 4 eggs
• 1+ c milk (we use rice or coconut, and I just eyeball the amount - want it thin enough to soak into the bread quickly but not runny))
• 1 t cinnamon
• Whole wheat bread (usually around 10 slices, depending on how much liquid each slice soaks up)

Directions:

Preheat griddle to 350. In a mixing bowl combine the eggs, milk, and cinnamon. Dip each slice of bread and cook on the griddle. Our favorite way to serve is with coconut oil, maple syrup, and fruit.

Simple Pasta

Another quick, simple, yummy, dinner that I can change up according to what I have on hand. If I am using up leftover ingredients (like the chicken, veggies, and pasta) this is a one-skillet meal too:).

Ingredients:

• 2 T olive oil
• 1-2 c (or more) diced yellow squash (or whatever veggies I have...broccoli, zucchini, peppers, onions, or even frozen veggies if I'm really in a bind)
• 1 T minced garlic
• Salt & Pepper
•  1 c cooked, shredded chicken (I'll use leftover after I cook a whole chicken, cook a frozen chicken breast, or eliminate for a meatless meal)
• 1-2 T balsamic or red wine vinegar
• Pasta (leftover or make some; spaghetti, penne, whatever I have on hand)

Directions:

Heat olive oil in a large skillet. Add the veggies, garlic, salt, and pepper and cook until veggies are crisp-tender (varies depending on the veggie). Add the chicken (if already cooked, otherwise cook before the veggies), vinegar, and pasta and heat through.

Savory Quinoa

This is my favorite way to prepare quinoa for hot meals.

Ingredients:

• 3 c chicken stock (homemade is my fave, and chicken broth or water work if I don't have any)
• 2 c quinoa, rinsed well in cold water
• 1 t good salt
• 1-2 t Costco No-Salt Seasoning Mix (or other version)

Rinse quinoa in cold water in fine-mesh sieve. Bring stock to a boil in a saucepan. Once boiling, add the quinoa and spices. Cover and turn heat to low. Cook for 20-30 minutes or until quinoa is fluffy.

Quinoa with Garlic Spinach

This is a great throw together, quick meal, and many of the ingredients can be changed out according to what I have on hand.

Ingredients:

• 1 T olive oil
• 1/2 red onion (or other color onion)
• 5-6 fresh tomatoes diced, or 1 can diced tomatoes (depending on what I need to use up/have on hand)
• 1 heaping T minced garlic
• 1 can or 2 cups chickpeas or white beans
• 5-6 cups spinach (or more!)
• 2 c cooked quinoa (or brown rice)

Heat the olive oil on med-high heat and add everything else. Simmer until everything smells good or longer. Then add LOTS of spinach (I usually fill my pan as full as I can and then add more when everything cooks down). Cover and turn heat to low. After the spinach has cooked down stir everything together and serve over quinoa.

Honey Bunches of Oatmeal

Totally a cheesy name, I know, but Honey Bunches of Oats has always been one of my favorite cereals and it has taken me a long time to make a habit of eating oatmeal regularly (it's so much better for me than the boxed cereal, and keeps our bellies full a lot longer too). So I created my own version of the cereal using oatmeal and named it this to remind me:).

Ingredients:

• Bowl of oatmeal (cook with water or milk)
• 1 T coconut oil
• 1 T raw honey
• Dash of cinnamon
• Good handful of slivered almonds (I like lots of crunch - not a mushy oatmeal fan at all)

Mix together and enjoy.