Apple Chips (Vegan, GF, paleo, clean)

Roo is totally into granola these days… I've been trying to find ways to make it more interesting than just oatmeal versions. We had a bunch of apples I didn't know what to do with, so I though I'd take a stab at drying them out for apple chips to add to granola. Here goes nothing!

Ingredients:

2 apples

1-2 cups of water

3 Tablespoons Lemon Juice

Slice the apples pretty thin, but not so thin you chop your fingers off… no one likes bloody apples. Put them in a bowl and cover with water and lemon juice. Stir around gently to coat.

Spoon out the apples and lay out on a thick stack of paper towels to drain. (This next picture is totally useless, don't say I didn't warn you.)

This is the time consuming part: Arrange the slices on a cookie sheet with parchment paper. If you feel the need to sing at the top of your lungs along to Beyonce while doing this, then that makes 2 of us! :) 

Once you've gotten that out of your system and all the apples are lined up on the sheet, bake at 170 for about 5 hours. This would be a good time to clean your filthy house, or better yet, catch up on the Real Housewives. After 5 hours, flip the slices over and turn the oven off. Return them to the warm oven and let them sit overnight. The next morning they will be crisp! If you are making them for your toddler, you may now smack yourself for taking that long to make your 3 year old a snack that now all the sudden she doesn't want anymore. Facepalm. Oh well, more for me!

Happy Eating!!

Apple Cinnamon Quinoa with Almonds (Paleo, Vegan, GF, Clean)

So I've discovered that being vegan is one of the most delicious lifestyles ever, despite common misconceptions that veganism means eating leaves all day. I'm in love with so many of recipes that I will be posting soon. I hope you'll try them and discover a few new favorites as well! Today, I had what my co-worker referred to as "Apple Crisp" for breakfast. That's how good it smells and tastes… Little does he know… *Cue evil Vegan laughter*

Apple Cinnamon Quinoa with Almonds

Ingredients:

1/4 cup dairy free butter (I used coconut)

3 medium apples, peeled and diced

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

3/4 cups uncooked quinoa

1/4 cup brown sugar (optional)

2 cups unfiltered fresh apple juice

1 teaspoon vanilla

Dairy-free milk (optional, hemp is our favorite!)

Sliced almonds, dry cranberries/raisins (optional)

Start by "melting" the butter in a skillet. If you are using coconut butter, it won't really melt. It just gets all ooey-gooey. Add the apples, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Stir that puppy up to coat every apple in goodness. Cook for about 5 minutes until the apples start getting soft.

 Add in the brown sugar, apple juice, vanilla and uncooked quinoa and stir. Cover.

 Let cook on low to medium heat for about 2 hours or until it has an oatmeal-y (ok, I made that word up) texture. Spoon into a bowl and add almonds, cranberries, raisins, more sugar, and dairy-free milk. If you are SMART like me, you'll keep the leftovers for a hassle free breakfast you can enjoy throughout the work week. Nothing like a good protein packed breakfast to get your day off to a good start!! 

Happy Eating! 

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!

Quinoa Tater Tots

I got this recipe from my friend, Rachel, who is seriously such an inspiration to me. She recently lost 100 pounds by revamping her entire lifestyle. So, naturally, I really admire the changes she has made and she definitely keeps me focused on WHY we choose this lifestyle and what AMAZING benefits come from treating your body properly. Ok, enough gabbing... Here is my version of the insanely savory recipe for Quinoa Tater Tots!!

 

Ingredients:
2 c cooked quinoa (I had red on hand so that's what I used)
1 onion, very finely chopped
5 mushrooms, very finely chopped
3/4 c four (I had spelt flour on hand, or you can use a GF flour)
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes (more if you like it spicier)
1 tsp salt
3 Tbsp non-dairy milk (or whatever you have on hand)
1 Tbsp lemon juice

Mix together the cooked quinoa, onion, mushrooms, flour, red pepper flakes and salt.  Keep mixing until it is totally combined and starts to get sticky.

Add the lemon juice and milk and mix again. It should be pretty sticky. If you need to add a splash more milk to get it to the proper consistency, do so- but be careful not to over do it!

Roll into small balls (I used the large end of a melon baller, but a mini ice cream scoop would work, too.) and refrigerate for about 15 minutes.

Heat a small amount of oil in a large pan. Add the tots and brown on both sides. I found it helpful to smash them a little flatter to get a nice brown on them. It should take about 5 minutes per side.

These suckers are straight delicious... I couldn't stop eating them! They have the perfect mix of spicy and savory and crispy, but without the guilt that comes with fries or regular tater tots. This recipe is definitely going in my recipe box!

 

Happy Eating!!

Spelt Flour Wheat Thins

So I have all these random different flours around my house from trying various products when I did a gluten cleanse last month. No joke, SO. MANY. FLOURS. Coconut, spelt, rice, oat, almond, flax… Sheesh. Luckily, this was the perfect recipe for me to start using up some of the extra bags I have laying around.  I made this recipe with some pretty "unusual" products, so if you don't have any of them, please feel free to substitute for regular flour, sugar, butter, etc. depending on your dietary needs and what you have on hand!

 

Here is the Spelt Flour Wheat Thins recipe as I made it:

Ingredients: 
2 c spelt flour (or whole wheat, almond, white, rice, etc.)
1/2 c coconut flour (or WW, almond, white, rice, etc.)
1 Tbsp. coconut sugar (or stevia, regular sugar, etc.)
1 tsp. paprika
8 Tbsp. coconut butter (or regular butter)
1/2 c water
1 tsp. vanilla

First, combine all dry ingredients and whisk until completely blended.

 Cut the butter into the dry ingredients, using a fork or pastry cutter. This takes a while, be patient and make sure there aren't any little chunks or it will change the texture of the cracker.

Add the vanilla to the water and slowly add to the mixture. Use the pastry cutter to completely incorporate. This also takes several minutes- make sure you are mixing until a crumbly dough forms. It should look like the picture below. If you need to add more water, add 3-4 tablespoons at a time until the dough is moist enough (I added about 7 Tbsps more, but this will vary). Remember this is a cracker recipe, not a cookie recipe, so the dough won't be as soft as you are used to seeing with cookies.

Once you have a dough, roll it out as thin as you can- remember this is going to be a cracker so we want to get it crunchy/crispy!  If you want to be cute or have a picky eater, cutting the crackers into fun shapes is a good idea. Otherwise, you can save yourself a few minutes and just cut into squares with a knife. (Definitely skipping the shapes next time. They are adorable but oh so time consuming!)

Arrange crackers on a cookie sheet and bake at 400* for about 10 minutes. Watch them carefully! Ovens can vary slightly and cooking time will be shorter the thinner your crackers are (and longer for thicker crackers). Mine took about 15-17 minutes since my oven cooks a little cooler than most.

Let them cool completely before storing or you will end up with soft, soggy crackers- aka NO FUN :( My finished product tasted EXACTLY like the store bought Wheat Thins. I was shocked, actually! All the goodness without any artificial ingredients or preservatives. Score! Be on the lookout for another similar post on how to make Homemade Goldfish Crackers!! But until then..

Happy Eating!!