No-Bake Energy Bites

This is just a quick post! I'm running around packing and getting everything ready for a trip to South Texas, yay! I can't believe it's already been 10 years since I graduated high school. I'm looking forward to seeing all my friends and visiting the Academy again. Hoping for a fun weekend!


So when you travel with kids, you MUST have snacks. For this trip I packed:


- Individual hummus cups
- cut up veggies
- various rice crackers
- sliced apples
- individual peanut butter cups
- Babybel cheese
- Laughing cow cheese wedges (Levi LOVES these with crackers)
- pretzels
- rice cakes
 - Individual almond vanilla milk
- Individual So Delicious chocolate coconut milk


That's already a pretty good list, but as I was browsing through Pinterest today these little Energy Bites started calling my name. I'm so glad I decided to try them! Levi has eaten 4 already!


So my rating for these? Another 5. DELICIOUS and so good for you. I did make a couple of changes to the recipe, though. First, I ran out of peanut butter and added almond butter. So it's about half and half of each. Second, I reduced to amount of flaxseed meal to 1/4 cup and added 1/4 cup of chia seeds. I also didn't chill the mixture before rolling into balls. It worked fine. Now, when I make this again I think I will cut down the amount of honey. It was a bit sweet for me. If you have a sweet tooth this might be fine. Levi enjoyed it this way :)


This is the recipe I used. Found on Pinterest. 

No-Bake Energy Bites 

(makes 18-20 bites)

1 cup oatmeal

1/2 cup peanut butter (or other nut butter)

1/3 cup honey

1 cup coconut flakes

1/2 cup ground flaxseed

1/2 cup mini chocolate chips

1 tsp vanilla

Mix everything above in a medium bowl until thoroughly incorporated.  Let chill in the refrigerator for half an hour.  Once chilled, roll into balls and enjoy!  Store in an airtight container and keep refrigerated for up to 1 week.

Next time I might also change things up a bit and add nuts or dried fruit. It's a very forgiving recipe!

Graham Crackers

Graham crackers are a staple in a toddler's diet. I've tried a few gluten free graham crackers, but none of them have really been any good. Since we were going camping - and you can't camp without smores - I decided to try to find a good recipe that we would all enjoy. 

These are amazing! Found them on Pinterest :)

Gluten Free Graham Crackers

2 ¼ cups gluten-free flour mix (see below)
½ cup packed brown sugar
1¾ teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon gluten-free baking powder
½ teaspoon xanthan gum
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
7 tablespoons butter or margarine, cut into pieces
3 tablespoons cold water
3 tablespoons honey or agave
1 teaspoon vanilla

1. Mix together gluten-free flour mix, brown sugar, cinnamon, baking powder, xanthan gum, baking soda and salt.

2. Using your fingertips, work butter into dry ingredients.

3. Stir in 3 tablespoons cold water, honey and vanilla. If dough is too dry, add a little more cold water, a teaspoon at a time.

4. Gather dough into a soft ball. Cover in plastic wrap and refrigerate for an hour.

5. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Lightly grease a cookie sheet and line with parchment paper.

6. Cut two zip lock bags (gallon size) down each parallel side so that each opens out into one long sheet. Roll a piece of dough between the two sheets to about ⅛-inch thickness, depending on how thick you like your graham crackers. Cut into 2 x 3-inch pieces and prick lightly all over with a fork. Remove top zip lock sheet. Take remaining sheet with dough on it and turn it over. Lay it flat, rolled dough side down, onto prepared pan.

7. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until golden brown. If cookies spread and bake together, re-cut while still warm and loosen them. Let cookies cool slightly before transferring to cooling rack.

Gluten-Free Flour Blend

MAKES 4 ¾ cups

1 cup sorghum or chickpea flour
1 cup tapioca starch
1 cup potato starch, corn starch or arrowroot
½ cup amaranth, millet, quinoa or oat flour
½ cup fine brown rice flour
¾ cup sweet rice flour
Mix ingredients together until well blended. Keep refrigerated until used.

These graham crackers were perfect. This is another 5 star recipe for sure. The ONLY thing is, I wish the recipe would state that the crackers crisp up significantly as they cool down. When I first took them out of the oven, they seemed much too soft, so I baked them for a bit longer and it made them crisp up TOO much. My second batch was much better :)  Only bake them for the directed time, no matter what! They should look slightly golden, not really browned in any way. My 1 year old is absolutely crazy for these, AND they made amazing smores!

Meatless Monday

So to change things up, I decided to start reviewing recipes from Pinterest. Regardless of how the recipe was written originally, ALL recipes will end up being gluten free :)

I hope this helps some of you to a) be able to convert some of those popular Pinterest recipes, and b) know what recipes are worth trying!

For "Meatless Monday" I decided to go with Lentil Soup. Warm, comforting, and extremely healthy, it's a great choice for a vegetarian meal. Here is the original recipe (first seen on Pinterest).

Lentil Soup

• 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 carrots, chopped
• 2 stalks celery, sliced
• 1 onion, chopped
• Salt and pepper
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 dried bay leaf
• 1 can (28 ounces) whole tomatoes, with their juice
• 4 cups water
• 1 cup lentils, picked over and rinsed well
• 1 tablespoon wine vinegar (I omitted this)

Directions 

1. In a large pot or Dutch oven, heat oil over medium heat. Add carrots, celery, onion, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Cook until onion is translucent, about 5 minutes. Add garlic, thyme, and bay leaf, and cook until vegetables begin to soften, 2 to 3 minutes longer.
2. Add tomatoes with their liquid, breaking them up with a large spoon. Add water and lentils, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer, partially covered, until lentils are tender, about 30 minutes. Just before serving, stir in vinegar.

I decided I should probably rate the recipes too. Why not, right? The ratings will be from 1-5 (5 being excellent) and it will be based on taste, sight, ease of recipe, and how kid-friendly it is. 

So how do I rate my first recipe? 5 for sure. The taste was wonderful; earthy and warm. It looked beautiful with all the colors of the vegetables mixed in with the lentils. It's a very easy recipe to recreate, and my kids gobbled it up! In fact, they both had seconds. 

Served with brown rice and a fresh salad, this makes a hearty and complete meal. Delish :)

Granola

This is hands down the best granola I've ever had. Every time someone tries it they want the recipe. I'm not sure where exactly this recipe came from, it's just been in my family for years.

You can easily customize this recipe if you prefer different ingredient. Or make it gluten free as I did.


This is the ORIGINAL recipe, with my gluten free modifications included.

Granola


4 cups oats
1 cup brown sugar, packed
1 cup whole wheat flour (I use 1/3 cup millet flour, and 1/3 cup brown rice)
1 tsp. salt
2 cup unsweetened coconut, shredded
1 cup wheat germ (I use 1 cup rice bran or oat bran)
1 cup sesame seeds
2 cups chopped nuts (I use sliced almonds)
1/2 cup canola oil (I use 1/2 cup melted coconut oil)
2/3 cup warm water
2 Tbs. vanilla
1/2 cup honey

Preheat oven to 225 F.

In a large bowl combine dry ingredients. In a small bowl whisk wet ingredients. Mix everything together. Place in jelly roll pans and bake for 2 hours, stirring occasionally, until golden. Enjoy!

Ramen

Such a comfort food for me. I pretty much survived on it through college (which probably explains why I felt SO SICK throughout my college days) and miss it so much sometimes. Not the msg, sodium, or wheat, though. Nope. Needed to come up with my own copycat recipe.

This was my first attempt and it was a good one. Not perfect, but good. Levi loved it :)

"Ramen"

8 oz. Rice noodles (I used pad thai style)
8 cups chicken broth (you could use vegetable)
1 Tbs. GF tamari sauce (or to taste)
1/2 cup mushrooms, chopped
1/2 cup frozen corn
1/2 cup frozen peas
2 Tbs. scallions, sliced
1/4 tsp. freshly grated ginger
1 garlic clove, minced
Sea salt to taste

Combine all ingredients except rice noodles in a pot. Bring to a boil. Add noodles and simmer for a few minutes until noodles are soft, about 3 minutes. Enjoy!

Manic Monday

Another delicious weekend! I don't know why I never remember to take pictures of our Sabbath meals. It's probably because we're all starving and everything's sooo good we just dig in. No thoughts of cameras whatsoever. Take my word for it, though, it's good stuff :)

So Levi loves nuggets. So.much. The good? I found some excellent gluten free nuggets by Applegate Farms. By far the best I've had - and that includes the gluten-filled ones. The bad? They're EXPENSIVE! 

After going through 2 boxes in less than two weeks, I decided I'd try my hand at nugget-making. How hard could it be? Turns out, not hard at all!

Since I was just experimenting, I don't have a very specific recipe, but take heart! I will do it again and write down exactly what I'm doing. For now, here's what I did:

8 chicken tenders, cut into bite-size cubes

In a shallow bowl, whisk 1 egg with a splash of milk. Set aside. 

In another bowl, combine approximately 1/4 cup of each: oat flour, quinoa flour, and brown rice flour. Add paprika, garlic salt, onion powder, and some freshly ground pepper. 

Heat a bit of oil in a saucepan. 

Drop the chicken into the egg mixture, then dredge them in flour mix. Fry in hot oil until golden brown. 

The verdict? DELICIOUS! No, really. These were excellent. I'm never, ever buying chicken nuggets again! Yay!

Here's a picture of my handiwork:

mixed veggies, pasta with olive oil and parm, chicken nuggets, and strawberries

Cheese Crackers!

Finding good gluten free crackers is nearly impossible. They all have a strange texture and even worse flavor. Rice crackers are really good, but sometimes you're just craving a Cheeze-it.

This is the first copycat cheese cracker recipe I've tried, and I'm impressed! VERY easy to make, few ingredients, and fabulous results. David even asked me if I'd put crack in them. He couldn't stop eating them and he's not even gluten free. That's how you know it's good :)

This is the recipe I used.

Cheese Crackers

3/4 C. shredded cheese (I used 1/2 cup cheddar and 1/4 cup Monterrey Jack)
3 Tbs. butter, room temperature
3/4 C. cornstarch
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp xanthan gum
1/2 tsp. baking powder
2 Tbs. milk ( I used whole)
sea salt to taste

- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or lightly grease pan.
- In a bowl, combine cheese, butter, cornstarch, salt, xanthan gum, and baking powder until mixture is crumbly.
- Add in milk and stir until dough forms (I just tossed everything in the food processor and pulsed until combined. I also had to add more milk to form a dough. Maybe an extra Tbs. or so.)
- Sprinkle a small amount of cornstarch on a flat surface. Roll out dough until 1/8-inch thick.

- Cut into squares. Poke each square with a toothpick in the center (I didn't do this)
- Transfer squares to baking sheet. Sprinkle with sea salt.
- Bake for 10 minutes, or until edges are just barely golden.