Pre-cooked apples
Ingredients:
5 or 6 large apples, cored and peeled at the top
1/2 cup rolled oats
1/2 maple or brown sugar
1/4 cup multi-grain flour
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup coconut
A handful of mini chocolate chips
Directions:
Combine oats, and sugar in a bowl. Cut in the butter and stir until it is well mixed. Add the rest of the ingredients and using a small spoon fill the inside of all the apples.
Bake at 350F for 40 minutes.
Allow time to cool.
Enjoy!
Mmmmm…good!
Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter
3/4 cup coconut sugar
2 eggs
1 cup pumpkin (either canned pumpkin or homemade puree)
2 cups multigrain flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
3/4 cup chocolate chips
Directions:
Cream together butter and coconut sugar, beat in eggs, stir in pumpkin.
In another bowl combine dry ingredients. Then add to wet ingredients and mix well. Put in greased muffin tins and bake at 350 for for 20 minutes.
Enjoy!!
I created a yummy pumpkin cookie recipe as I have been craving them lately:) You can use fresh cooked pumpkin or the canned pumpkin it doesnt make a difference.
Mercy helping me press the cookies down.
1 cup cooked pumpkin
1 cup coconut sugar
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 egg
1 tsp rice milk
1 tbsp vanilla
2 cups multigrain flour
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 cup chocolate chips
Directions:
Combine wet ingredients in a bowl, mix well. Add dry ingredients to wet mixture and stir until completely combine. Spoon onto a greased baking sheet and bake at 350F for approx 10 minutes.
Enjoy with a warm cup of tea!
May you be blessed beyond measure today!
If you want to make the most of your garden herbs this year here is an easy idea to make them last even longer! I decided to dry my herbs and jar them to use over the winter. It took about two weeks to dry them. All I did was cut them off the plant and place them in a small basket to dry. You can lay them on the counter or hang them, the goal is to allow the herbs to be exposed to air all around them.
Once they had dried completely, I labeled a few jars and crumpled the herbs in them. They smell amazing and will be wonderful to use in various dishes this winter. It made me glad to not have to throw out perfectly good herbs!
Here is another recipe that seems to satisfy my obession with coconut:) It is delicious, I eat it with rice milk for breakfast.
Ingredients:
1 cup almonds
1 cup walnut pieces
1 cup pecans
1 cup shredded coconut
1/2 cup sunflower seeds
1/2 cup ground flax
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup coconut oil
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/2 cup currants, raisins, cranberries (assorted depending on what you like)
Directions:
Mix all the ingredients in a bowl except the currant/raisins and cranberries. spread out mixture on an ungreased baking sheet and bake at 300F for 30-40 minutes or until it has reached your desired “crunchiness”:) Be sure to stir a couple times to avoid burning. Allow to cool for 10 minutes then mix in the raisins. Store in an air tight container, it keep for about 2 weeks.
Enjoy!
I made this salsa today and it was SO simple. I had an excess amount of veggies that I wanted to get rid of so I put them in the food processor and made this salsa. You can subsitute any amount of veggies and I am sure it would taste great. Get creative and experiment!
Ingredients:4 ripe tomatoes
1 green pepper
1 red pepper
1/2 onion
1 hot pepper (optional)
1 yellow mango
1/2 a lemon squeezed
Handful of cilantro
Sea salt
Directions:
Throw all the veggies into a food processor and blend for 10 seconds or until desired consistency is reached. Stir in cilantro, lemon juice and sea salt to taste. Enjoy with nacho chips! I decided to make a few jars because we use so much salsa. I sealed them and will store them in the fridge for up to 6 weeks.
Fresh Basil
I have an incredible recipe for pesto that can be refrigerated or frozen. You can use pesto as a dip or it can be added to spaghetti sauces or pasta dishes. It is simple and quick!
Ready to freeze!
4 cups packed fresh basil
6 sprigs of parsley
1/2 cup olive oil
Pinch of coarse salt
1/4 cup of pine nuts, toasted
1/2 cup freshly grated parmesean cheese
Toasted Pine nuts…Mmmmm….
1. Toast pine nuts at 350C for 5 minutes until lightly browned.
2. Place all the ingredients in the food processor except the parmesean cheese.
3. Transfer to a bowl, stir in cheese, adjust with salt and serve! (It is delicious with crackers, or fresh baguette)
You can refrigerate for up to a week or store in the freezer. If you choose to freeze the pesto, do not add the cheese. When you are ready to use it, thaw and then add cheese at that time. This will allow the pesto to keep in the freezer longer. Enjoy!
Banana Coconut Loaf
Ingredients:
2 eggs
1 cup coconut sugar
1/2 cup butter melted
3 medium ripe mashed bananas
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup shredded unsweetened coconut
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 cup mini chocolate chips (my kiddos love these!!)
Directions:
Beat eggs in a mixing bowl until frothy. Add sugar and melted butter. Stir in mashed bananas and vanilla. Mix dry ingredients into another bowl until combine. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix together well. Pour into a greased loaf pan 9x5x3. Bake at 350F in over for 1 hour. Remove from oven, let it cool for 10 minutes and then remove from the pan. Makes 1 loaf.
Enjoy! (My kids love to eat it with a glass of rice milk:)
I had a question from one of my readers: “how do you get your kids to eat veggies?”. My first response is that it can be hard at times, but I think that parents example has a huge influence on their eating habits. My kids definitely like raw veggies more than cooked ones. I think it is helpful to find out what your kids like and then organize and cater accordingly. Something that I have found helpful lately is cutting up veggies and storing them in the fridge so they are ready for snack and meals. I got this tupperware tray and have loaded it up with all different kinds of veggies that my kids like. It works great for snacks or meal prep.
I don’t know about you but for me lunch and dinner times can be stressful if I am trying to cut up veggies and make things when all three kids are tired and hungry. This little trick of have things already cut up has helped me tremendously. For example last night I decided last minute to make homemade pizza and all I had to do was make the dough, I then spread sauce on the pizzas and allowed the kids to put their own veggies on their pizzas. We also use them for veggie wraps, subs, spaghetti sauce, lasagna and stir-fry, etc.
My kids also like colour, the more colourful the veggies the more likely they are to eat them:) For snacks I always take theis tray out as well as a container of hummus or pesto. The kids eat the veggies sub consciously just because they are out, which is awsome! The more veggies they eat the better. Vegetables are full of all sorts of vitamins, minerals and healthy fats that our bodies need. Make sure that you clean the veggies before you eat them as there can also be a lot of dirt on them.
May you delight in today, enjoying the grace that God pours out on us and our families. May we walk blameless before Him!
Soup stock – we all use it, and most recipes call for it! Whether you add meat or not you can use this recipe as a base for any soup stock. I have been making my own stock for months now and I love it for two reasons:
1. It is cost effective
2. You avoid adding unessessary chemicals and additives
I usually make a few mason jars every couple months to ensure that we have enough onhand. You can make it, jar it and freeze it! (Just be sure that it is completely cooled and allow an inch or so at the top of the jar so that it doesn’t crack – I speak from experience:) I typically use a variety of veggies that I have on hand, make sure you use at least one onion, carrot, celery stalk and bay leaf.
Ingredients:
2 Carrots
1/2 Cabbage
2 Onions
Handful of Kelp
1 Sweet potatos
1/2 Eggplant
3 Celery stalks
1/2 butternut Squash
1 bay leaf
Directions:
Clean the mason jars and allow to dry. Roughly chop all your veggies, throw them in a stock pot with water, bring water to a boil and then simmer for 20 minutes. Do not over cook the veggies or you will loose all the nutrients from the veggies. Remember you just want to simmer them long enough to get the flavors out of the veggies. Once they are done, strain and jar. Depending how cooked your veggies are, I will sometimes add another pot of water to the already boiled veggies and simmer them again for 20 minutes. (just to make a little extra)
Enjoy! I use these in currys, stir-frys, and soups. May you be blessed as you hear his voice and obey his ways!
Passion for Family 