Oatmeal Cookies with Honey

As I have said before, we changed the way we eat quite some time ago. Well, because of the economy, we have added back in a couple of things: A little rice (I have noticed that rice makes my joints hurt a bit, so we don't eat to much of this.), beans, and oats. I have also been using some lentils and barley in a couple of different dishes. It was a hard decision to make, but I had to do something.

Anyway, I thought that maybe I should start posting some of those recipes on here for the rest of you people. You might enjoy them, you might not. If anything, my Mother might attack them (I am ok with that :).

I hope that you (the readers) will be willing to share any recipes that you have that are NUTRITIOUS! I am raising growing kids and we only want super healthy. (hee hee, my poor kids)In other words, no white flour, no white sugar. The rest I can play with if needed.

Here is a recipe that I have started making for snacks. These are oatmeal type cookies that I have adapted to our style. The original recipe is here Healthy Oatmeal Cookies.

My Version:

Ingredients:
Dry:
1 Cup Almond Flour
1 1/2 Cups Oats
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 Tbsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp Nutmeg (optional)

Wet:
1/2 Cup honey
1/4 Cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil (super healthy oil and you can't taste it after it's been baked)
1/4 Cup Applesauce (You can try canned pumpkin too, yum)
1 Tbsp Molasses (I have substituted real Maple Syrup, it worked)
1 egg (Sometimes it seems that I need one more, just see how wet it is)
1 tsp Vanilla

Add-ins:
1/2 - 1 Cup Raisins, Craisins, Dried Blueberries, or any dried fruit (just make sure it is chopped if it's big like apricots)
1/2 - 1 Cup chopped Pecans, walnuts, or any nut you like. (I stick them in a Ziplock baggy and hit them with a metal measuring cup.)

Directions:
**Preheat oven to 335 degrees F.
I put all wet and dry ingredients together in my KitchenAid Mixer and let it mix it until it is all incorporated. I then add in the Add Ins and mix it by hand. Put the mixture in the fridge for about 30 minutes, it makes it easier to handle (I have forgotten this step a few times and it still turns out great.) Drop by heaping teaspoons onto lightly greased cookie sheets. Press down lightly so you get a flat cookie. Bake for 15-25 minutes.
I get about 24 medium sized cookies out of this recipe. It depends on how much of the add-ins I put in. (Today I got 20)

These cookies were made with canned pumpkin instead of the applesauce. They also have walnuts and raisins in them:



I would love to hear what your favorite way of making these is. So, as you try this recipe, let me know what you do to them. I would really appreciate it.

Quick "Granola" Cookies

These cookies are so yummy. They taste a bit like a Larabar to me. I am planning on playing with these to make a "granola" bar.

Quick “Granola” Cookies
(Original recipe from Lucy’s SCD Cookbook)
1/2 Cup Raisins
1 1/4 Cup Pecans
1 Cup Unsweetened Shredded Coconut
1 Teaspoon Vanilla (I use an equal amount vanilla powder)
1 Tablespoon Softened Butter
2 Tablespoons Honey (I use an equal amount of Agave Nectar)
1/8 Teaspoon Salt

Place all ingredients in a food processor or blender and process until fairly
smooth, but still with a little texture. Form “dough” into balls and place on a buttered cookie sheet. Gently flatten. Bake at 300 degrees for 10-15 minutes (this is what the recipe says, that I got these from, I really think they take closer to 15-20 minutes), or until slightly golden.

Chicken Parmigiano and Blueberry Muffins

I have found this new blog called http://www.elanaspantry.com/. This woman has amazing recipes listed. She doesn't use any flour in her recipes. I have now made two of them and let me tell you, they are awesome. Someday, I will remember to take pictures of the food before we devour it. Here are the two recipes I have tried. The titles are links to Elana's Pantry.

Chicken Parmigiano

4 chicken breasts, boneless (1 to 1½ lbs total)
2 cups blanched almond flour
2 eggs, whisked
6 tablespoons salted butter
2 (7) ounce bottles Bionaturæ® Organic Tomato Paste
2 cups water
1 teaspoon Herbes de Provence
6 cloves garlic, sliced
16 ounces mozzarella cheese

Cut chicken breasts in half for thinner cutlets; pat dry
Dip cutlets in egg, let excess run off then coat with almond flour
Melt butter over medium heat; then saute chicken cutlets until deep golden brown on both sides
Remove chicken and drain on paper towel
(Instead of making my own tomato sauce, I just bought some really good jar stuff) For tomato sauce combine tomato paste, water, Herbes de Provence and garlic in a pan; simmer for 15 minutes
Place ½ cup tomato sauce on bottom of a 12 x 8 inch baking dish
Spread cutlets out in a single layer; cover with remaining tomato sauce, then layer with mozzarella
Bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes
Serve

Makes 12 cutlets - serves 4


Blueberry Muffins

½ cup coconut flour, sifted
½ teaspoon celtic sea salt
½ teaspoon baking soda
6 eggs
⅓ cup agave nectar
⅓ cup grapeseed oil
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 cup blueberries, fresh or frozen

In a small bowl, combine coconut flour, salt and baking soda
In a large bowl, combine eggs, agave, grapeseed oil and vanilla and blend well with a hand mixer
Mix dry ingredients into wet, blending with a hand mixer
Gently fold in blueberries
Place batter in paper lined muffin tins
Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes
Cool and serve

Makes 12 muffins

Revised Sweetened Nut Mixture

So I played with the Sweetened Nut Mixture a bit, to try to cut some of the calories, sugar, and fat. Here's what I came up with:

Revised Sweetened Nut Mixture (the changes are in red)

2 Heaping Cups Pecans
2 Heaping Cups Almonds
2 Heaping Cups Walnuts
1/2 Cup Flax Seeds
1/2 Stick Butter
1/4 Cup Agave Nectar (It's sorta like honey, but way lower on the Glycemic Index)
2 tsp. vanilla powder
2 tsp. cinnamon

It came out just as sweet. It did cook a lot faster on the stove, so turn the heat a little lower. It was good though.

Mom, sorry, but there was nothing I could do about the calories in the nuts themselves. I will tell you though, there have been studies done at Purdue University showing that people who add nuts into a weight loss program have an easier time keeping the weight off than people who don't eat nuts. Probably something to do with the body getting the fats it needs and not feeling deprived.

Sweetened Mixed Nuts - Let's break it down, shall we??

2 Heaping Cups Pecans 1573 calories, 165.5 grams fat, 20.9 grams fiber
2 Heaping Cups Almonds 1648 calories, 145.8 grams fat, 32.6 grams fiber
2 Heaping Cups Walnuts 2892 calories, 275.4 grams fat, 27.5 grams fiber
1/2 Cup Flax Seeds 589 calories, 37.9 grams fat, 29.5 grams fiber
1 Stick Butter 810 calories, 91.7 grams fat, 0 fiber
1/4 Cup Honey 345 calories, 0 fat, 0 fiber
2 tsp. vanilla powder 114 calories, 1.9 grams fat, 0 fiber
2 tsp. cinnamon 12 calories, 0.1 grams fat, 2.5 grams fiber

Grand total: 7,983 calories, 718.3 grams fat, 113 grams fiber

Let's assume 10 servings, hmmmm??

Per serving: 798.3 calories per serving, 71.83 grams of fat, 11.3 fiber

Let's break it down into Weight Watcher points, k??

1 serving = 21 points!!!!!!!

This would mean that if you had one serving of this, you couldn't eat for the rest of the day if you were on a 20-points-per-day-maximum (like I am).

Teeter, I think you have to re-think this recipe. Or someone tell me why it's okay for me to eat this as a snack!!!

Mixed Nut Snack

This recipe is actually a variation on the Flax Seed and Nut Granola. I made this on Monday for #1's Birthday. I thought it would make a good snack before dinner and I was right.


Sweetened Mixed Nuts

2 Heaping Cups Pecans
2 Heaping Cups Almonds
2 Heaping Cups Walnuts
1/2 Cup Flax Seeds
1 Stick Butter
1/4 Cup Honey
2 tsp. vanilla powder
2 tsp. cinnamon

In a large pan (I used a wok) over medium heat, melt butter and honey together. Add vanilla and cinnamon, mix well. Dump in all the nuts and coat well with honey mixture. When coated, add in Flax seed. Continue stirring and cooking until nuts are golden or you think they are cooked enough. Let cool (although they are really good warm off the stove) and then break into pieces.

Salsa Chicken

I made this the other night and it was so yummy. It was the easiest thing I have made in a long time.

Salsa Chicken
6 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 container of your favorite salsa (I use the freshest stuff I can find in the deli section of the grocery store, it's usually by the lettuces and dressings.)

Place chicken into baking pan. Pour salsa evenly over chicken. Bake at 375 degrees for about 40 minutes, until chicken is done.

Top with your favorite toppings: a little cheese and sour cream.

Enjoy!

Rainbow Fruit Salad

I have been told that I need to hurry and post at least five recipes so that it doesn't look stupid under the label "recipes." ;)

This recipe has become a favorite of mine. It is so yummy. I make it at night and we have about 1/3 of it for dessert. The other night I even made some sugarfree whipped cream to put on top of it. The next morning, the rest of the fruit, that's been sitting in the juices, gets dumped into a 2 cartons of non-fat plain yogurt and mixed well. I then sprinkle some Flax Seed and Nut Granola on top of it.

Rainbow Fruit Salad

1 large mango, peeled and sliced
2 cups fresh blueberries
2 bananas, sliced
2 cups halved fresh strawberries
2 cups seedless grapes (I sliced mine in half)
2 nectarines, unpeeled and sliced
1 kiwifruit, peeled and sliced

For honey-orange sauce:
1/3 Cup unsweetened orange juice
2 tbsp. lemon juice
1 1/2 tbsp. honey
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

Directions:
Prepare and combine the fruit. Combine all the ingredients for the sauce in a seperate bowl and mix. Just before serving, pour the sauce over the fruit.

Edited to add: I use whatever fruits I can get or have. The other night I couldn't find nectarines. So, I used 2 apples instead. It was still just as good.

Weight Loss

I know that my weigh in isn't until Wednesday, but I am feeling a bit frustrated. For the last three weeks I haven't really lost any weight, I haven't gained any either. As of today, I haven't lost any this week. Arg. This is really hard! I think that you should be able to lose weight as fast as you can gain it. It only seems fair.

So, I am going to start writing down everything I eat again. I want to make sure that I am making the right decisions. If I am not, at least I will see where I am screwing it up, you know?

Yesterday, I found a recipe for a granola. It has no oats. It was very yummy. I am going to tweak it a bit more to see where I can cut out some of the fat.

Flax Seed and Nut Granola

(from www.mrbreakfast.com)

1 cup flax seeds
1 cup sunflower seeds
1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
1 cup chopped pecans
1 cup chopped walnuts
1 cup chopped almonds
1 stick of butter -- melted [Next time I am going to cut the butter down to either 3/4 of a stick or 1/2 of a stick]
2 teaspoons cinnamon
2 teaspoons vanilla powder (sugar and alcohol-free)[This was a little expensive. From what I have read, you can sustitute extract for powder equally.]
3 packets of Splenda (or other sugar alternative) [This time I used 1/4 C. of honey. Next time I will try it with a sugar substitute for hubby.]

In a large roasting pan, mix together flax seeds, sunflower seeds, coconut and nuts. Drizzle with melted butter. Stir in cinnamon, vanilla power and sugar substitute. Toast in the oven at 325 degees for a half hour, stiring every 5 or 10 minutes.
[I ended up roasting it all in a pan on the stove. I melted the butter and the honey together and then added the spices. I then dumped the nuts and the coconut into the mixture and coated everything really well. I stirred constantly until everything was starting to get all golden.]





We then added the final product to yogurt. It was fantastic. All the kids love it and are asking for more to munch on through out the day.