Coconut Quinoa Granola Bars (Vegan, Vegetarian, Paleo, GF)

So I don't let Roo eat her school's "snacks" since they seem to think marshmallows and chocolate chips are an appropriate snack for toddlers…. But that's a story for another time! Every week or so I make her some snacks that are actually nutritional and not filled with preservatives and chemicals and crap. She's super into granola and granola bars, so naturally, I made her some for snack time this week! I doubled the batch and brought them in to my office to let my guinea pigs, er, co-workers give them a try. They were about 50/50 on if they liked the chocolate dipped version or the plain version best. If you know me at all, you know I preferred the chocolate dipped version!

Ingredients:
1 cup uncooked quinoa
1 cup oats
1/4 cup chia seeds
1/2 coconut flakes (unsweetened)
1 cut nuts and dried fruit, optional (I used chopped almonds and raisins)
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup peanut butter
3/4 cup raw honey
1 Tbl oil (I use coconut)


Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a 9x13 inch glass baking dish. Sprinkle oats, quinoa, and chia seeds on a cookie sheet and toast in hot oven for 8 minutes.

Place into a large bowl and add coconut, nuts, and dried fruit. In a medium saucepan, combine salt, peanut butter, honey, and oil. Bring to a boil over medium heat and take it off as soon as it starts to boil. Pour it over the oats mixture and stir until it is all evenly coated.

Pour into the greased baking dish and flatten it down until the top is flat. Bake for about 20 minutes or until the top is golden brown.

Let cool for up to 2 hours and cut unto bars. If you prefer your granola bars sans chocolate… you seem boring, already. Just saying :P If you want chocolate on them, You'll need to also round up a spoonful of coconut oil and 2 handfuls of chocolate chips (real precise measurements, I know). Melt them together over low heat until smooth. Dip the bars into the chocolate and place chocolate side up on waxed paper. Let cool. Then you are ready to devour!!

Happy Eating!

Whole Wheat Italian Cheese Crackers (Paleo, Clean)

If you read my blog regularly, you know that I make snacks to send to school with Roo, since they only serve processed food with no nutrition. A while back I made these Spelt Flour Wheat Thins and sent them to school with her. They were a hit with the adults and some of her friends, but she said they made her too thirsty… Uh, please girl. The excuses toddlers come up with are so entertaining, right? Anyway, she's into cheese crackers currently so I looked up a recipe and gave it a shot. I've made them a few times now and as a warning, these take about 45-60 minutes to make, so I always double up the recipe so the batch lasts longer and I don't have to make them as frequently.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour (or spelt, gluten-free, etc)
1/2 cup flax seed meal (or ground your own flax seed)
*If you want to substitute 1/4 cup of any flour for coconut, that's what I did*
1 cup rolled oats, blended into a fine powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp paprika
2 tbsp finely chopped basil
2/3 cup water
1/2 cup olive oil (or coconut)
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, blended in a food processor into small chunks

Blend the oats into fine powder. Blend the cheese into small chunks.

Mix all ingredients until a dough forms. You may need to add a splash more water if it is too dry.

Roll out the dough on a floured surface. Try to get the dough as thin as possible. The thinner the dough, the crisper the cracker will be. If you want to be SUPER MOM: use a fun shaped cookie cutter to cut out the crackers. I did this the first time and then I realized, ain't nobody got time for that shit. If you want to retain any ounce of sanity: just cut the rolled dough into squares with a knife. Trust me, they will be just as popular in squares as they would be in stars or hearts or whatever the hell else you think your kid wants. I digress.

Place the crackers on an ungreased cookie sheet. They can be super close, almost touching, since they won't puff up at all. I lightly sprinkle salt over the sheet when it is full before popping it in the oven. Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes. The thinner the cracker, the less time it will take. I set the timer for 15 and add on 5 minutes at a time if they aren't done. They are done when they are hard to the touch and golden brown- like me after my Hawaiian vacation :D

Let cool completely before storing or they will get soft. Enjoy! Until next time, happy eating!