Banana Blueberry Pancakes

Ingredients:

1 cup almond flour

3 whole eggs

1 tsp vanilla

1 small or medium banana

1 cup frozen or fresh blueberries (we used fresh)

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp coconut oil

1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Directions:

1. Mash banana in a mixing bowl.

2. Add eggs, cinnamon and vanilla.  Mix well.

3. Stir in almond flour.

4. Fold in berries and walnuts.

5. Heat coconut oil in large skillet and spoon pancake batter into skillet.

I have also used this recipe and added diced apples instead of blueberries.

Top with real organic maple syrup!

 Makes 6 pancakes.

Zucchini Apple Spice Muffins

Prep time:  10 mins

Cook time:  20 mins

Total time:  30 mins

Serves: 9

Ingredients

• 1 medium zucchini, shredded (about 1 cup worth)
• 1 apple (I used gala), shredded (less than ½ cup worth)
• 1 cup almond butter
• ¼ cup raw honey
• 2 eggs, whisked
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
• ½ teaspoon ground allspice
• ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
• ⅛ teaspoon ground cloves
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• pinch of salt

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. So you first need to shred your zucchini. Use the shredding attachment on your food processor or take the long and boring route using a cheese grater. Whichever works.
3. Once your zucchini is shredded, you need to remove the excess liquid. What I did was place a couple paper towels down on the counter, throw the zucchini on top, then place another paper towel on top of the zucchini then squeezed. The more you squeeze, the more liquid will come out. Genius.
4. Use more paper towels as needed, but be sure to squeeze until the zucchini feels water-less.
5. Place zucchini in a bowl.
6. Now shred your apple. I left the skin on the apple and zucchini, but you don’t have to if you’re not a fan.
7. Toss together your zucchini and apple in your bowl then add the rest of your ingredients and mix well.
8. Place muffin mix in a greased muffin tin or with muffin liners or silicone muffin liners like I used!
9. Bake for 15-20 minutes of until your toothpick comes out clean after you poke them!
10. Top with a bit of coconut butter and you got heaven on your hands.
11. Makes 9 muffins

Valentine (healthy) Treats

val·en·tine  [val-uhn-tahyn]

 

noun

1. a card or message, usually amatory or sentimental but sometimes satirical or comical, or a token or gift sent by one person to another on Valentine Day, sometimes anonymously.

2. a sweetheart chosen or greeted on this day.

3. a written or other artistic work, message, token, etc., expressing affection for something or someone: His photographic essay is a valentine to Paris.

Valentines day is the biggest candy day of the year! I absolutely cannot stand how every holiday revolves around chemical filled junk. Valentines is about expressing your love and affection for those that mean the most to you. I had to explain to my 15 year old daughter that Valentines is mostly for little kids and their moms finding crafty cute ways so spoil them. For most woman and mostly teenage girls it’s a day of disappointment. That being said how did showing your love for someone become about chocolate, fun dip, and heart shaped pizza? Well because the fact remains  that in America we incorporate food and mostly sugary food into every  social gathering.

How can you make your kids feel special on Valentines without all the junk? And what do you do about the school party where every Valentine has a sucker or pixi stick taped to it? My kids actually brought home more candy from 3 class parties than the three of them collected trick or treating this past Halloween. Insert face of disappointment here.

Special Lunch of love

For my younger kids I packed them a special Valentines day lunch. This one is for Charley who has lots of food intolerances. He has sweet red peppers cut into hearts, as well as cucumbers and red cherry tomatoes, a pumpkin muffin with a cute Valentines LOVE toothpick, strawberries shaped as hearts, sunflower seeds, an apple that I made by cutting a heart out of a green apple with a cookie cutter and placing it in red apple. I also added a cute little card expressing my love and his little gift of a valentines themed lunch box sized hand sanitizer and the holder he has been asking for.

Lucys lunch was a bit different with a sandwich cut with a larger heart cookie cutter, and little watermelon hearts. I also gave her yogurt with fresh strawberries and raspberries in it. Any red or pink fruit and veggie shaped like a heart makes them happy. Try cutting homemade fruit leather in to hearts.

Teacher need love too

Our teachers Valentines were simple and quick. Again we shared a healthily snack and gave them apples that had the message: “you are the apple of my eye” . A friend shared the idea from Pinterest. They had a “plum perfect”  “bananas for you” and “pear”-fact” all very cute ideas! I also received one from a sweet preschooler that said “you’re a’cutie'” can you guess what fruit that was?

Classroom Idea

For my class party at my preschool I had each child bring a piece of fruit to create a “friendship salad” that they helped prepare. Each child washed their fruit then cut it up before adding it to the bowl. In the end we had a beautiful healthy treat that everyone had worked together to make.

Caramel Apple Doughnuts with dairy-free Caramel Topping

At Halloween time I was concerned with my kids feeling left out at their classroom parties which were serving so much junk and refined sugar, it made my stomach hurt just seeing it. I decided to make them a junk food I felt ok about them having. And I can tell you from experience if you put it in a donut shape they will love it no matter what! The caramel tasted like the real thing, but we all agreed the donut would have been just fine without it. Plus by the next day it was so hard it was difficult to eat. So I say skip the caramel unless you’re eating them right away. Or even use it for dipping apples.

Caramel Apple Doughnuts

Gluten free, Dairy free, Refined sugar free, Yeast free, Corn free, Grain free

Yield: 12 doughnuts

Servings: 12

Ingredient

Dry

1/2 cup of coconut flour
1/4 cup finely ground blanched almond flour
1/4 tsp Himalayan rock salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

Wet

6 free range eggs
1/2 cup unpasteurized honey
1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
1/4 cup unsweetened apple sauce
1 tbsp pure vanilla extract
1 batch of dairy-free caramel topping (below)

Directions
Preheat oven to 350F and oil a doughnut pan with a dab of coconut oil. Set aside

Place all dry ingredients in a medium sized bowl and whisk to combine.
In a separate large bowl, combine all wet ingredients.
Add dry to wet and stir to combine. Allow to sit for 2-3 minutes to thicken up.
Place the batter in a piping bag or large ziploc bag with the end cut off the end so there’s about a 1/2-inch opening.
Fill each cavity 3/4 to the top. Be careful not to overfill or the doughnuts will overflow while cooking.
Place in the oven to bake for 20-22 minutes, or until toothpick inserted comes out clean and edges are just beginning to brown.
Remove from oven and allow to cool for 1-2 minutes before grabbing the pan with an oven mitt and tipping over onto a cooling rack. Allow to cool completely (about 30 minutes) before adding caramel topping.

Dairy-free Caramel Topping

Gluten free, Dairy free, Refined sugar free, Yeast free, Corn free, Grain free

A 3 ingredient, dairy-free caramel topping that will take you under 10 minutes to make!

Because this is a natural caramel, it will not hold up well at room temperature. Once you’ve dipped the doughnuts, serve immediately or place in the fridge or freezer. The caramel will melt on you if you leave it out! But don’t worry, the doughnuts will still be just as tasty regardless. If you don’t want a hard topping (exactly the consistency of caramel on a caramel apple) don’t cook the honey as long.

Yield: 1/2 cup

 

Ingredients
6 tbsp unpasteurized honey
2 tbsp roasted cashew butter or other nut butter
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
Directions
Place honey in a small frying pan and heat on medium-low heat for 4 minutes, stirring constantly with a fork or spoon. The honey will begin to foam. Don’t worry, this is good!
Add nut butter and vanilla and continue stirring
for 1-2 minutes, until big bubbles form and the mixture pulls away from the side slightly. The longer you cook it, the harder it will get.
Remove from heat and use immediately before it hardens up.

Apple Cinnamon Muffins

These are super easy and fast to make. As well as a flavor everyone loves.

Prep time: 10 mins

Cook time: 30 mins

Total time: 40 mins
Serves: 9

Ingredients
1 apple, cored and diced I just use whatever is on hand.
1 cup almond flour/meal
3 tablespoons coconut flour
3 eggs, whisked
¼ cup coconut oil, melted 2 tablespoons raw honey
1 heaping tablespoon cinnamon (the more the better)
½ teaspoon baking soda
pinch of sea salt

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Add almond flour, coconut flour, cinnamon, baking soda and salt to large bowl, mix together.
Then add your eggs, oil, honey, and diced apples.

Mix thoroughly.
Place liners in muffin tins, then place batter evenly throughout. Makes 9 muffins.
Bake for 25-30, mine taken the longer side, they are moist.

Zucchini Apple Spice Muffins

 

   This has become a favorite around our house. Again it’s an easy healthy food to grab for a quick breakfast or to put in school lunches.

 I found it on paleomg.com, it refrigerates well and stays super moist!

       Prep time:  10 mins

       Cook time:  20 mins (i have found that i have to cook these a little longer, up to 30 mins)

       Total time:  30 mins

Serves: 9

Ingredients

• 1 medium zucchini, shredded (about 1 cup worth)
• 1 apple (I used gala), shredded (less than ½ cup worth)
• 1 cup almond butter
• ¼ cup raw honey
• 2 eggs, whisked
•  2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
• ½ teaspoon ground allspice
• ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
• ⅛ teaspoon ground cloves
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• pinch of salt

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. So you first need to shred your zucchini. Use the shredding attachment on your food processor or take the long and boring route using a cheese grater. Whichever works.
3. Once your zucchini is shredded, you need to remove the excess liquid. What I did was place a couple paper towels down on the counter, throw the zucchini on top, then place another paper towel on top of the zucchini then squeezed. The more you squeeze, the more liquid will come out. Genius.
4. Use more paper towels as needed, but be sure to squeeze until the zucchini feels water-less.
5. Place zucchini in a bowl.
6. Now shred your apple. I left the skin on the apple and zucchini, but you don’t have to if you’re not a fan.
7. Toss together your zucchini and apple in your bowl then add the rest of your ingredients and mix well.
8. Place muffin mix in a greased muffin tin or with muffin liners or silicone muffin liners like I used!
9. Bake for 15-20 minutes of until your toothpick comes out clean after you poke them!
10. Top with a bit of coconut butter and you got heaven on your hands.
11. Makes 9 muffins