Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

This recipe makes a lot of muffins, 2 dozen to be exact. I had some bananas on the verge of spoiling and when that happens there is only one thing you can do as far as I'm concerned: make banana muffins! I stuck one dozen of them in the freezer after I baked them (and cooled them) so we could have them later on and the family is munching on the other dozen this week. 

Now, while we're on the subject of banana spoilage, here's a little trick to make them last longer: 

The little piece of foil at the top does wonders! Don't freak out too much when the peels start to turn dark though. Research has shown this actually BOOSTS the nutrient content of the banana which is great news for your body!

Now, back to the muffins. My kids will eat just about anything with chocolate chips. Luckily, I found some great tasting dark chocolate chips at Sprouts with a cocoa content of over 50% which is what I used  in this recipe.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease your muffin tins with some coconut oil or silicone cupcake/muffin molds work great too!

3/4 C Unrefined Organic Coconut Oil

1 1/2 C Coconut Sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

4 eggs

4 C Organic flour or Organic Spelt Flour

2 teaspoons Real Salt

2 teaspoons baking soda

6 ripe bananas

1 1/2 C Dark chocolate chips

In a mixer, cream coconut oil, coconut sugar, eggs and vanilla until smooth. In a separate bowl combine all dry ingredients except the chips. Also in another container mash your bananas to add at the end. With the mixer on low, slowly add dry ingredients to wet mixture until just combined. Next, add in mashed bananas until combined. Pour in the chocolate chips and mix just enough to get them all through the batter. Spoon into muffin tins or silicone molds and bake for 20-25 mins. Makes 2 dozen muffins.

5 minute fresh salsa

Seriously people, it doesn't get any easier than this and you will be rewarded with flavor you just can't get from a jar. All you need is a few ingredients and a blender or food processor. This recipe makes about 6 cups. We save some for eating and use the rest in our Mexican style recipes (enchiladas, tacos, over chicken etc). Here's how to do it:

6-7 small to medium tomatoes

2 cloves of garlic, peeled

1 lime (just the juice, squeezed in)

1 onion roughly chopped (into quarters)

1 jalapeño (remove the seeds unless you like it hot!)

1 big handful of fresh cilantro 

Throw it all in your blender or food processor and pulse until you get the consistency you like. It will keep in the refrigerator in an airtight container for a week or so!

CRISPY Sweet Potato Fries

It is the biggest complaint that you hear about sweet potato fries: "I tried to make them and they were SOGGY." Don't worry, my first batch was soggy too. It kept me from making them again for a very long time. However, when I did the Fast Metabolism Diet over the summer to reset my metabolism, the food that I could eat was fairly limited. Sweet potatoes were one of the foods I could have in phase 1 and 3 and I needed something in "fry" form that would console me a little since so many things were off limits. Luckily for all of you soggy sweet potato fry haters out there (which is everyone, right?) I have discovered how to make them crispy on the outside and melt in your mouth soft on the inside. What's the secret?

Arrowroot Powder (find it here)

This recipe is super simple and you'll never buy frozen processed sweet potato fries again after you try this out. First, a few tips:

1.) you will need high quality parchment paper or a baking/pizza stone to cook these. Do not buy the off brand parchment paper or you will have sweet potato fries that you won't be able to eat because they will stick to the paper. No worries if you use a stone though, just throw em straight on there.

2.) Less is more with the arrowroot powder. All you want is a "dusting" over the fries. Add too much and your fries will taste like, well... powder. Spoon a little in the baggie and see how far it goes. You can always add more.

3.) Cook them in batches if you are making a lot. They really need the surface area of the stone or pan to get crispy so don't get them too bunched up.


Preheat the oven to 400 degrees

You will need:

1 Sweet Potato (or more if you are making for a few more people besides yourself)
1-2 spoonfuls of Coconut Oil, melted
1-2 spoonfuls of Arrowroot Powder
Real Salt (or other natural salt) to taste

Peel your sweet potato and cut it into french fry size strips. Put in a Ziploc baggie and toss with arrowroot power until every piece has a thin coating (see above tips). Do this in batches if you have a lot that won't all fit in the bag. Next, pour them in a bowl and coat with melted coconut oil until generously covered. Place on baking stone or pan lined with parchment paper. Cook in the oven for 15 mins and when they're done place them in a container and toss with salt.

I hope these become a family favorite for your crew!

Taco Seasoning- Easy and Delicious!

Have you ever read the back of a taco seasoning packet? Most are full of chemicals, MSG and other things you can't pronounce, not to mention expensive for what you actually get. We have been making this instead for a long time. It's simple, with ingredients you most likely have on hand. The ratios below are enough for a couple pounds of meat, but you can make up a whole batch by multiplying the amounts and then just use as you need it. We use this all the time in tacos, enchiladas and other recipes that need some southwest flair. Once you try it you'll never go back!

2 T Chili Powder

1 T Cumin

1 T Parsley

1 t Garlic Powder

1 t Onion Powder

1/2 t Black Peoper

1/2 t Real Salt

Mix it all up and use as seasoning!

Chocolate Granola Bites

I mean, really. All I had to say was chocolate to get your attention, right? These were so stinkin easy and they are "Aiden approved". THAT is a big deal, because he turns down cupcakes and chocolate chip cookies (weirdo). Anywho, this is a great way to get all the benefits of Shakeology, along with some other whole foods without drinking it in shake form. It's also no bake! It took me all of 10 mins to put this together and stick it in the fridge to harden up a little bit. Keep in mind you can also play with these ingredients. I used cashew butter, but you could use a natural peanut butter or almond butter. Instead of coconut milk, you could use an unsweetened almond milk etc. They don't ever get totally hard and we ended up cutting them into little bites, putting them in a ziploc bag and sticking them in the refrigerator. We made this batch Saturday and there aren't many left!

Ingredients:

4 scoops chocolate Shakeology

2 Cups old fashioned oats

1/3 Cup chopped nuts (optional, and your choice of nut)

1/2 Cup raisins

1 Cup coconut milk

1/2 Cup cashew butter

Instructions:

Grease an 8X8 pan with coconut oil  and set aside. In a mixer, combine cashew butter, coconut milk and Shakeology and mix well. Add in oats until combined. Stir in raisins at the very end until just combined (not too long!). Spread mixture into greased pan evenly. Top with chopped nuts if desired. Stick in the refrigerator to slightly harden and then cut into small bars (makes around 24) or into small bites (makes a lot). Don't eat all at once ;)

Brussels Sprouts: an Intervention

I struggle with nutrition..... period. I absolutely love food and while I love food that is healthy and nourishing, I also love food that is not healthy for you. One of my best friends used to refer to me as a carnie because of my love of fried, delicious fair food.  It doesn't help that I'm a very indulgent person in general, indulgent food, indulgent kitchen appliances, indulgent purses........ you get the picture. Food is something that makes me FEEL good. I love gathering with friends around a meal and making memories, and for the most part I think that is true for a lot of people. I think you should indulge once in a while though. In fact, I think it's healthy to do so. Plus, am I really NEVER going to eat a corn dog again? I think not.

Back to the intent of my post, it is a struggle to get green vegetables in my diet. It's one of the reasons I drink Shakeology, but even with the power packed veggie punch I get with Shakeo, I still need green veggies in my life because the cellulose present in them aids in weight loss and overall health, and that means I have to find ways to cook them where I will actually eat them. Thus, a self proclaimed intervention was born. I have vowed to add more veggies to my diet and to try new things.

Now to the Brussels sprouts. I saw them on sale in Sprouts a few weeks ago and  I have always heard people rave about them. I have already conquered broccoli so I figured it was time to move to the next step. We used a recipe from a good friend of ours and BAM here you have it:

We cooked some all natural bacon and the sprouts all together in the pan and seasoned with salt and pepper. The flavor was delicious! I'm not going to lie though, I did have a texture issue. I think next time we will cut them up in quarters so I can handle them (because you have to feed me like a pre-schooler sometimes to get me to try new things)  Here's the easy as pie (is pie actually easy?) recipe:

Brussels sprouts (as many as you think you'll need

4-5 pieces of natural bacon

salt and pepper

Combine everything in the pan and let the sprouts cook WITH the bacon. Season with salt and pepper and cut up into small pieces if you're a big baby like me.

Hope this helps you get some "green" in your dinner plate :)

Ditch the soda!

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One of the hardest things I've had to let go is my soda habit. Now, I DO still have soda about once a week. Usually on Sundays after church when we go to lunch with my family. The rest of the week though I stick to water, unsweetened tea and THIS little gem. Sparkling water with lemon and/or lime and some truvia stirred in. I know what some of you may be thinking.....GROSS! To each their, own, but I have found that with citrus and truvia it is wonderfully refreshing and the carbonation in the sparkling water gives me the feeling that I'm indulging in a soda. I purchase the La Croix at our local Sprouts, but I've been told it's available in several places. Here's what you need:

1 can La Croix sparkling water
1-2 packets Truvia or Stevia
1/2 Lemon or Lime (or both!)

Pour it in a glass, squeeze in the juice, stir in the truvia and BAM you have a nice little refreshing drink. If you are super motivated or trying to get on my good side like Andrew was you can even add some garnish hehehehehe....

Sweet Potato Pot Roast

     How good does that look? If you are a fellow Oklahoman like me, you know it has been COLD here lately. We have been eating a lot of warm filling soups, chili and now roast. This is the best one I've ever had and I can take absolutely no credit for it. This was all done by my wonderful, supportive fiance` Andrew and boy did he do well! The two things that made this a success? 

1. Low and slow in the oven and not the crock pot  

2. Sweet potatoes

     Now, there is absolutely nothing wrong with cooking food in a crock pot, but for some reason, roasts just don't fall apart for us when we try it. We do however have a lot of luck in our dutch oven. Really though, the sweet potatoes made this meal! I was skeptical of  using them, but it worked out perfectly and gave a great flavor to the entire pot. There are still regular potatoes in here that my kids and Andrew wanted, but honestly, they loved the sweet potato just as much as me. The only thing I would do differently, (as this was the first time he made it) would be to wait an hour or two and then add the sweet potato instead of keeping it in there the whole time. They were so tender they were falling apart and if you like fork tender potatoes you will want to give them a little less time. I would also add more than one and less of the white because everyone loved them. I hope you all try this soon and enjoy it as much as we did!

1 chuck roast (2-3 lbs)

2 cloves garlic

1 yellow onion

1 sweet potato

4 white potatoes

2 carrots

4 Tbl Real Salt

2 t  ground mustard

2 Tbl lemon pepper

2 Tbl black pepper

3 Tbl garlic powder

1 carton beef broth

Preheat the oven 275 degrees (go to 300 degrees if you do not have a convection oven)

Puncture roast with 8-10 holes on top with knife. Chop up garlic cloves and divide among holes. Rub a generous amount of olive oil over the whole roast and season with salt, ground mustard, lemon pepper, black pepper and garlic powder. On the bottom of dutch oven lay 1/2 of the chopped carrots and onions then lay the roast on top. Layer potatoes around the roast. Add the rest of the carrots and onions on top. Add beef stock to come just to the top of the roast and vegetables. If you run out, add a little water to get it to the right level. 

Cook for 2 hrs and 15 mins and then flip the roast over, keeping the potatoes on the side if you can (just make sure liquid is still covering the meat and potatoes don't get wedged underneath). Continue to cook for another 2 hours and 15 mins. The roast should fall apart when you cut into it

Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

I have never met a cookie I didn't like, so when I started changing my eating habits, I had to find healthier versions of some of my indulgences. This cookie has all the cookie texture that people love without the flour and refined sugar and really, who doesn't love a good cookie for the occasional treat?  Enjoy!

Preheat oven to 375 degrees

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup coconut sugar

2 eggs

2 cups almond meal/flour

1 cup old fashioned oats

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon Real Salt

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon pure almond extract

1/2 cup chocolate chips

In a bowl, combine all dry ingredients except chips. In a mixer, cream butter and coconut sugar. Add in eggs one at a time and add both extracts. Slowly add dry ingredients to wet ingredients until combined. Stir in chocolate chips. On a sheet pan with parchment paper, drop spoonfuls of cookie dough. Bake for 12 to 15 mins.