Tag Archives: almond butter

Chocolate Chip Quinoa Snack Bars

January 20, 2015

IMG_1143In my never ending quest for new snack options for my boys, I have tried some strange combinations.  It can be so hard to find something they like that is not loaded with sugar or additives.  Making my own snacks can be a good option but I don’t always have the time for complicated recipes.  I was so happy when I saw this recipe for Quinoa Bars from My Whole Foods Life .  It was easy and had very few but yummy ingredients.  I love quinoa- every cup has 8 grams of protein, 5 grams of fiber and is a good source of manganese, magnesium, folate, phosphorous and B vitamins.  It is a gluten free seed with some serious nutrition!  I had never tried quinoa flakes before so was curious to see what they were like.  I bought Ancient Harvest Quinoa Flakes.  They were so nutty and yummy that I used them again this am in some chia seed pudding.  I could see a lot of uses for them!

I wanted to make a few tweaks to the recipe but pretty much left it as it was designed.  I decided to add some chocolate chips to these bars to entice my boys to eat them.  I really like Enjoy Life Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips because they taste like regular chocolate chips but are gluten, soy and dairy free- so yummy!  Finally, I had a weird assortment of nut butters that I cobbled together because I didn’t have much of any particular type.  I used  Mara Natha All Natural Roasted Almond Butter, Maranatha Cashew Butter and a tiny bit of a local pumpkin seed butter.

The recipe from My Whole Foods Life was for raw bars but I wanted to try to bake them to see if I could get them to hold together better.  (I often find my raw bars tend to be crumbly.)  I wasn’t sure if it would help but decided to give it a shot.

IMG_1142

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Chocolate Chip Quinoa Snack Bars

Ingredients

  • 2 1/2 cups quinoa flakes
  • 1 heaping cup almond butter (I used a combination of almond, cashew and pumpkin)
  • 1/3 cup maple syrup (you could substitute honey)
  • 1/4 cup coconut oil
  • 2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1/4 cup of chocolate chips
  • 1/2 tsp sea salt

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  2. Place quinoa flakes in bowl with cinnamon, and salt.
  3. Heat nut butters, syrup, coconut oil and vanilla over low fire until well combined.
  4. Stir wet ingredients into dry ingredients.
  5. Add chocolate chips. They will melt if you don't allow the dough to cool. I like them melted so didn't cool the dough.
  6. Spread dough in 8X8 parchment lined pan.
  7. Press down firmly to compress the dough.
  8. Place in oven for 20-25 minutes depending on your oven.
  9. Allow to cool and then enjoy.
http://www.nourishedrootspdx.com/blog/chocolate-chip-quinoa-snack-bars/

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Filed Under: Blog, Snacks

Dark Chocolate Nut and Seed Bombs

July 25, 2014
Dark Chocolate Nut and Seed Blasts- Good for your Heart!

Dark Chocolate Nut and Seed Blasts- Good for your Heart!

I have been so intrigued by all the raw truffle recipes on Pinterest.  Every time I see a recipe for truffles or energy balls, I have to click over to the actual website to see how they are made.  I can’t believe how many different versions there are!  After reading so many recipes and dreaming about how yummy they all sounded,  I decided to try to make some of my own.

Since I am always looking for ways to get more nutrition into my kids, I wanted to be sure my nut and seed bombs offered some health benefits.  Given how each nut and seed has it’s own distinct nutritional benefits, I decide to try to incorporate as many different types of nuts as possible.  I used walnuts for their short chain omega-3 alpha linolenic acid to benefit the heart and give copper and manganese.  I include pistachios for their high fiber content and carotenoids.  Almond butter was used for almond’s high vitamin E, manganese, copper and fiber content.  Finally, hemp seeds were included for another dose of omega-3’s

Chopped walnuts for healthy omega-3's.

Chopped walnuts for healthy omega-3’s.

After grinding up the dates, nuts and seeds, I added the melted dark chocolate.  The dough turned a beautiful, rich brown color and tasted so yummy!

Dough all ground up before heading to fridge.

Dough all ground up before heading to fridge.

I found the balls rolled the easiest by squishing them into loose balls and then rolling them in the chopped pistachios.  After they were lightly covered with pistachios, I would roll them into tighter balls.  (Unfortunately, my ball rolling skills aren’t perfect- the balls are a little lopsided but they still taste delicious!)  It also seemed best to VERY finely chop the pistachios.  They adhered the best when finely chopped!

Blasts all ready to eat.

Blasts all ready to eat.

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Dark Chocolate Nut and Seed Bombs

Ingredients

  • 20 dates ground into a paste
  • 1/3 cup of almond butter
  • 1/3 cup of hemp seeds
  • 1 3.5 oz dark (70% or above) chocolate bar, melted
  • 1 tsp vanilla almond milk
  • 1/2 tsp sea salt
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp of cardamon
  • 1/2 cup raw walnuts
  • 1/4 cup of pistachios, finely chopped

Instructions

  1. Grind pitted dates in a food processor fit with an s-blade until a paste forms.
  2. Place chocolate in a double boiler over low heat, stirring occasionally until melted.
  3. Add walnuts and pulse until combined.
  4. Add hemp seed, almond milk, cinnamon, cardamon and sea salt. Pulse until well combined.
  5. Add in melted chocolate and pulse until well mixed with the nuts and dates. You may have to stop and scrape the sides a couple of times.
  6. Place food processor bowl in the fridge for about 20 minutes.
  7. Take nut mixture out of fridge and carefully roll the dough into balls.
  8. The balls can be rolled in chopped pistachios or other nuts according to your tastes.
  9. (I found it was easier to lightly squeeze the dough into balls and then roll them in the pistachios and then roll them some more to make the balls stay together.)
  10. Enjoy!
http://www.nourishedrootspdx.com/blog/dark-chocolate-nut-and-seed-bombs/
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A single blast of nutty goodness.

A single blast of nutty goodness.

I love the bright green of the pistachios contrasted with the brown of the chocolate!  It is so pretty!

A whole bowl of nutty goodness.

A whole bowl of nutty goodness.

Feel free to substitute different nuts or nut butters for any of the ingredients.  I think you can never go wrong with a nut.  Enjoy!

Shared with Rock My Vegan Socks, Girl Meets Nourishment, Today’s Creative Blog, The Novice Gardner and Real Food Fridays.

Filed Under: Blog, Snacks

Glo Bar Obsession

May 22, 2014
Glo Bars all ready to eat.

Glo Bars all ready to eat.

About  a week ago, I picked up Angela Liddon’s The The Oh She Glows Cookbook: Over 100 Vegan Recipes to Glow from the Inside Out
.  Since then I have become totally obsessed with making recipes out of this book.  Now, neither I nor my family are vegan but it has not mattered.  Everything I have made from this book has been super yummy!  As I have stated before, I am always on the hunt for healthier snack bars to feed my family so when I saw the recipe for her Glo Bars, I knew I had to make them.  Usually I make some substitutions or additions to recipes but these sounded so good I made no changes.

Oats and crispy rice cereal- the two main components of the bars.

Oats and crispy rice cereal- the two main components of the bars.

These bars were very easy and required very little time spent actually cooking- right up my alley.  These bars are gluten free, no bake, refined sugar and oil free- yummy!!

Finished bars.

Finished bars.

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Glo Bar Obsession

Ingredients

  • 1 1?2 cups gluten-free rolled oats
  • 1 1?4 cups rice crisp cereal
  • 1?4 cup hemp seeds
  • 1?4 cup sunflower seeds
  • 1?4 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
  • 2 tablespoons sesame seeds
  • 2 tablespoons chia seeds
  • 1?2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1?4 teaspoon fine-grain sea salt
  • 1?2 cup, plus 1 tablespoon, brown rice syrup
  • 1?4 cup roasted peanut butter or almond butter (I used almond butter.)
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 1?4 cup mini non-dairy chocolate chips (such as Enjoy Life brand) (optional)

Instructions

  1. Combine ingredients through sea salt in a large bowl.
  2. Place brown rice syrup and nut butter on the stove until begins to liquefy.
  3. Watch carefully and stir frequently.
  4. Pour hot liquids over the dry ingredients.
  5. Stir well till all dry ingredients are coated with syrup mixture.
  6. Stir in chocolate chips after mixture cools a bit. (I got impatient and stirred them in before it was cool and the chips melted a little. Fortunately, I like having the chocolate distributed throughout the bars!)
  7. Spread mixture in parchment lined pan and put in fridge until hardens.
  8. Once hard, take out of pan by lifting from parchment paper edges.
  9. Use pizza cutter to cut into bars.
  10. Store uneaten portions in the fridge.
http://www.nourishedrootspdx.com/blog/glo-bar-obsession/

My son on as a sous chef!

My son on as a sous chef!

Eat up!

Eat up!

Enjoy these tasty bars!

This post shared with The Nourishing Gourmet, A Glimpse Inside, The Idea Room, Food Renegade, Urban Naturale, Hello Veggy and Homespun Oasis.

 

 

Filed Under: Blog, Snacks

Chocolate Almond Butter Energy Blasts

May 8, 2014
Chocolate Energy Blasts

Chocolate Energy Blasts

Who doesn’t love a little ball of chocolate protein yumminess?  I know I sure do!   A no bake way to sneak  more protein in my diet?  Sign me up!!  I have been seeing variations of these balls all over the internet and finally decided to break down and try them for myself.  They are super easy and quick to make- even little kids can make them. I based my recipe on one I found on the Whole Foods website with a few minor changes.

Ready to eat.

Ready to eat.

I used almond butter for my Energy Blasts but I know peanut butter or any other nut butter would be just as yummy!  I also used dried blueberries because I had them in the house but the original recipe called for raisins.  I think dried currants would also be tasty.  These balls lend themselves to all sorts of substitutions so don’t be shy about experimenting with your own personal ideal Energy Blast.

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Chocolate Almond Butter Energy Blasts

Ingredients

  • 1 cup almond butter
  • 1/3 cup honey
  • 2 tbs of unsweetened organic cocoa powder
  • 1/2 cup dried blueberries
  • 3/4 cup unsweetened shredded coconut, divided
  • 1/4 cup sesame seeds
  • 1/4 cup finely chopped nuts (walnuts, pecans, etc.)

Instructions

  1. Place almond butter, honey, cocoa powder, blueberries and 2 tbs of coconut in food processor.
  2. Process until well combined.
  3. Put sesame seeds, coconut and walnuts in three separate bowls.
  4. Using about a tablespoon of dough roll into a ball until fairly well formed but not perfect.
  5. Roll ball in either coconut, sesame seeds or pecans depending on your taste.
  6. Continue rolling until reaches roundness.
  7. Enjoy!
  8. Store leftovers in the fridge. These will get sticky if they get hot.
http://www.nourishedrootspdx.com/blog/chocolate-almond-butter-energy-blasts/

As you can see my kindergarten play dough rolling skills are not that great but these will still taste great even if they are not perfectly round.

Enjoy your Protein Blast!

This post was shared with Food Renegade, Allergy Free Alaska, Natural Living Monday,  Gluten Free Friday, A Southern Fairy Tale, Today’s Creative Blog and She Eats.

 

Filed Under: Blog, Snacks

Chocolate Almond Butter Frosted Cookies

April 18, 2014
All yummy and ready to eat.

All yummy and ready to eat.

This is one of those stories of a very trying day in the kitchen.  You know, one of those days were nothing seems to go exactly as you plan.  I originally intended to make some chocolate peanut butter flower sandwiches like I saw on Gluten Free Homemaker but they were too ugly to share.  I attempted to tweak the recipe from Gluten Free Homemaker but the coconut oil I used made the chocolate flowers start to melt as soon as you touched them.  They tasted super yummy but looked like a disaster.

After melting and pouring two whole bars of delicious dark chocolate.

Dark chocolate and coconut oil.

Dark chocolate and coconut oil.

And then cutting out all these flowers.

Flower cut outs.

Flower cut outs.

All I got were these few, lousy but super tasty Dark Chocolate Almond Butter Flower Cups-BUMMER! (Oh and I had  lots of left over chocolate scraps to melt down again to put on strawberries for Easter Sunday brunch.)

Flower cups

Flower cups

Unfortunately, it was hard to keep the chocolate from melting any time you worked with it and as you can see from the picture above, it showed every possible fingerprint.  The boys sure liked the mess ups but I still had a bowl full of the almond butter .filling.  When I tasted it, I thought it would be great as a frosting on a chocolate cookie so I began searching for recipes.

I found a great option on the blog Chocolate Cover Katie.  However, the cookie part of this recipe also proved to give me some challenges.

Dough all mixed up and ready to go in the fridge.

Dough all mixed up and ready to go in the fridge.

Originally, I was going to roll out the dough and cut the cookies out into perfect circles.  However, as soon as I tried to pick up the cookies and move them to the baking sheet,their shapes got a little funky.

 

 

Sticky dough all rolled out.

Sticky dough all rolled out.

I decided it would be easier to transfer the cookies that moved easily to the baking sheet without changing shape too much and to take the remaining dough and scoop out clumps which I then smushed with the back of a fork.  I figured it wouldn’t matter too much how pretty they were because they would be covered with almond butter frosting.

Cookies ready to go in the oven.

Cookies ready to go in the oven.

I was right!  Even though these cookies didn’t look to pretty, they sure tasted good.

Finished cookies ready to be devoured.

Finished cookies ready to be devoured.

 

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Chocolate Almond Butter Frosted Cookies

Ingredients

  • Cookie
  • 3/4 cup Gluten free flour
  • 1/4 cup plus 2 tbsp cocoa powder
  • 1/4 cup plus 2 tbsp coconut sugar
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
  • 1/4 cup coconut oil melted
  • 3 tbsp milk of choice (I used almond)
  • 2 tbsp pure maple syrup (or agave)
  • Frosting
  • 3/4 cup of almond butter
  • 2 tbs of honey
  • 2 tbs of powdered sugar
  • 1 tsp of vanilla

Instructions

  1. Mix all the dry ingredients for the cookie into a bowl.
  2. Combine wet ingredients in a different bowl.
  3. Combine both bowls until well mixed.
  4. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
  5. While cookie dough in the fridge, combine all ingredients for the frosting.
  6. Scoop out about 1 tbs of dough for each cookie.
  7. Place on baking pan.
  8. Flatten with a fork.
  9. Bake at 300 for about 13 minutes.
  10. Allow to cool for at least 10 minutes.
  11. Frost with almond butter frosting.
  12. Enjoy.
http://www.nourishedrootspdx.com/blog/chocolate-almond-butter-frosted-cookies/

What cooking disasters have you had that you salvage into a tasty treat?

This post was shared on The Idea Room, Skip to My Lou, Gluten Free Homemaker,  Natural Living Mamma,  Homespun Oasis and Food Renegade.

Filed Under: Blog, Dessert

Seven Seed Bars

March 15, 2014
Photo by Naomii on flickr.

Photo by Naomii on flickr.

One of the major bonuses of being in a Wholistic Nutrition program is having other students and teachers cook for you.  We have shared some seriously tasty meals in the year we have been in school.  In one of our beginning classes, the Wellspring teachers brought a snack bar that has become a stable in our house.  This bar is something I can cook up in a short amount of time and know the boys are getting some good, healthy nutrition in a grab and go package.  These bars do not hang around very long in our house.

Measured quinoa.

Measured quinoa.

 

Roasting macadamias and quinoa.

Roasting macadamias and quinoa.

 

Stirring up some seeded goodness!

Stirring up some seeded goodness!

 

Seven seed bars ready for consumption.

photo 3 (20)

 

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Seven Seed Bars

Ingredients

  • ½c quinoa toasted
  • 1 ½c almond butter
  • ½c maple syrup (I don't like mine really sweet, so I often short my 1/2 cup a little.)
  • ½c brown rice syrup or agave (I will also short this a little too.)
  • ¼tsp cardamom
  • ¼tsp cinnamon
  • ½c sunflower seeds toasted
  • ¾c pumpkin seeds toasted
  • ¼c hulled hemp seeds
  • ½c macadamia nuts toasted & chopped
  • ¼c cacao nibs (sometimes I leave these out, depending on if I have them or not)

Instructions

  1. Toast nuts and quinoa in 350 degree oven or on the stove top in a heavy pan.
  2. Raise oven temperature to 350 degrees.
  3. Mix almond butter, syrups and spices.
  4. Add all seeds.
  5. Mix well.
  6. Oil a 9x13 pan and spread batter evenly.
  7. Bake 15 minutes til golden brown.
  8. Cool before slicing.
  9. Stores well in the fridge for about a week but only if they don't all get eaten in the first hour.
http://www.nourishedrootspdx.com/blog/seven-seed-bars/

As you can see, these are an amazingly dense bar, packed with nutty nutrition.  These bars offer a high amount of protein in a small package.  Quinoa is a gluten free seed which is an excellent source of vegetarian protein.  It contains eight essential amino acids our body needs to thrive.  One cup has 5 grams of fiber and is an excellent source of manganese, potassium, copper, B6, phosphorous and thiamine.

Almonds have been recommended for years as a quick source of healthy protein.  They contain two essential brain nutrients, the amino acid, l-carnitine and riboflavin.  Both nutrients have been shown to increase brain activity.  Almonds help raise the HDL cholesterol, “good”  cholesterol, and lower the LDL (bad cholesterol) in the body.  They also contain high levels of phosphorous with helps build strong bones and teeth.

Depending on the other nuts or seeds you choose to use in this recipe, you can create a nutritional powerhouse for your own family based on the flavors and textures they enjoy.

This post shared with Gluten Free Homemaker.

 

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Filed Under: Blog, Snacks