Posts Tagged ‘oatmeal’

In search of a healthy summer dessert I came across a recipe in Clean Food for a fresh fruit tart with an almond crust. I’ve never been the type of person to make pies or tarts but I thought I would give this one a try. And I’m so glad I did! This tart is not only healthy, its extremely delicious! Without the use of butter or sugar, this tart has a natural not-to-sweet flavor that’s perfect for a summer dessert. This recipe is also extremely versatile, you can substitute any fruit that’s in season to make a healthy tart anytime of the year!

Ingredients:

Crust:

• 1 cup almonds
• 1 cup rolled oats
• 1/2 cup wheat or oat bran
• pinch of salt
• 3 Tbsp maple syrup
• 3 Tbsp canola oil
• 1 tsp almond extract

Filling

• 4 kiwis, peeled and thinly sliced
• 3 peaches, thinly sliced
• 1 cups berries
• 1 cup apple juice
• 1/4 cup fruit nectar (I used apricot nectar)
• 2 Tbsp maple syrup
• 1 Tbsp gelatin or agar powder
• 1 Tbsp arrowroot
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350*F. Put almonds in food processor and pulse until coarsely chopped. Add oats, wheat bran and salt and process until mixture is a coarse meal. In small bowl whisk maple syrup, oil, and almond extract. Add mixture to almond-oat mixture and process to combine. Transfer to a 9-inch pan and press down to form crust. Pierce crust several times with fork and bake for 15 minutes until lightly browned. Remove from oven and set aside to cool.

Arrange peaches around the outside edge of tart. Next arrange kiwis and finally fill the center with berries. In medium pot combine apple juice, fruit nectar, syrup, gelatin or agar, and arrowroot. Turn heat to medium-high and whisk continuously until ingredients dissolve and mixture thickens. Add vanilla and remove from heat. Set aside for 5 minutes. Spoon mixture evenly over tart. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour before serving.

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Baking cookies is the ideal way to spend a Monday night if you ask me. Last night I baked some vegan Oatmeal Raisin Cookies, using a recipe from (you guessed it), Eat Drink and Be Vegan!

If you haven’t noticed yet I tend to grab a different cookbook off of my shelf every couple of weeks and run with it. My idea of a relaxing night is lounging in front of the TV with a good cookbook to plan my meals and recipes for the next couple of weeks. Using one cookbook at a time just makes my life easier, and this way none of my cookbooks get neglected or dusty on the shelves!

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup + 1 Tbsp spelt flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 cup quick oats
• 1/4 cup unrefined sugar
• 1/4 cup raisins
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp allspice
• 1/4 tsp sea salt
• 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
• 1/2 tsp molasses
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup canola oil

Preheat oven to 350*F. In a bowl combine flour, baking powder, and baking soda. Add oats, sugar, raisins, cinnamon, allspice, and salt. Stir to combine. In a separate bowl combine syrup, molasses, and vanilla; then add oil to incorporate. Add wet mixture to dry ingredients and stir to combine. Line baking sheet with parchment paper and spoon batter onto baking sheets; flatten slightly. Bake for 11 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cook 1 more minute on pan before transferring to cooling rack. Makes about a dozen cookies.

With all of the wholesome ingredients and spices, these cookies were packed with flavor! They are even boyfriend-friendly; it couldn’t have been more than 20 minutes after I baked these that half of them magically disappeared from the kitchen! Next time I am going to double the recipe to ensure there are some left over for me!

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As you all know, I am obsessed with the bulk bins at any grocery store. Buying in bulk reduced unnecessary packaging, ensures that you pay for what you get, saves resources, and gives you the choice of buying as little or as much as you want! Here is a quick peak of the items in my pantry that I buy in bulk:

Oatmeal, Granola (this is my new local Milk & Honey Granola), and Rice

Whole Wheat Flour, White Flour (clearly I need more of that, I’ve been baking a lot of bread lately!), Trail Mix, Quinoa, Coffee, Wild Rice, and Chia Seeds

If you haven’t noticed I have a love for Oxo Good Grips Food Storage Pop containers (the clear containers with the white lids). They have a fun pop-top, air-tight lid that I totally adore. I bought mine at Bed Bath and Beyond; they are kind of pricey so I only buy one every now and then to add to my collection!

Do you buy in bulk? Do you have a favorite way to store things like me?

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One of my favorite things to have for breakfast is some old-fashion muesli cereal. While I do enjoy the occasional bowl of oatmeal for breakfast, I am more of a cold cereal person so muesli is the perfect match!

So what is muesli you ask? Muesli (pronounced myoos-lee) goes back to the 1800’s when it was developed by a Swiss nutritionist. The cereal is made from a blend of whole grains (such as rolled oats, wheat, rye, triticale, and barley), dried fruits (commonly dates and raisins), nuts, and seeds (like sunflower seeds, almonds, walnuts, and flaxseed). Muesli can be served hot or cold or even eaten right out of the bag as a snack! Mix equal parts water or milk and muesli. Microwave for about 3 minutes for a delicious hot bowl of breakfast cereal or allow to soak for 10 minutes or overnight in the fridge for a cold bowl of cereal instead.

My favorite is soaking my muesli with soymilk or almond milk overnight. This perfect breakfast, packed with whole grains, protein, fiber, and healthy fats, is quick and easy and gets me going in the morning!

You can buy muesli cereal in just about any grocery store in the health food section. The two brands I recommend are Bob’s Red Mill Old Country Style Muesli and Hodgson Mill Apples & More Muesli; both are delicious! Try some muesli for your next breakfast meal!

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The Christmas season is officially in full swing! Christmas is my favorite holiday of all time! This morning I am jamming to the Holiday Tradition channel on XM Radio and am planning on doing a little Christmas shopping and decorating later today! I slept in much later then planned today, I must have been wiped out from Thanksgiving with the family and my 6am Walmart shopping yesterday.

For breakfast today I decided to try a little twist to my usual oatmeal. It was a mixture of oats, cracked wheat, cracked rye, peanut butter and banana.

Last night I put 1/4 cup of Red River Cracked Wheat and Rye Cereal in 3/4 cup of milk in my fridge and let it soak overnight to soften it up so I wouldn’t have to spend 5 minutes cooking it on the stovetop this morning. When I woke up I added 1/4 cup of oatmeal to the mix and stuck it in the microwave for about a minute and a half.

The result was this delicious chewy and nutty mixture!

I added 1 Tbsp of my favorite crunchy Valencia peanut butter and 1/2 of a banana.

I read on the box that this cereal also included flax seed, but when looking at the actual cereal I noticed that the seeds were whole and not ground. From what I’ve learned in my nutrition classes, you don’t get the omega-3 benefits from whole flax seed, it has to be ground so that your body can absorb it. So I added 1 Tbsp of ground flax seed to my mixture for good measure!

Check out what I found at my Jewel! Chocolate Peppermint Stick Soymilk! In the spirit of Christmas I couldn’t pass it up and added some to my coffee this morning. It was SO delicious, the perfect festive touch to my breakfast! The box even recommends heating it up and adding whipped cream and a peppermint stick, yum!

Is anyone else as excited for the Christmas season as I am? Have a great Saturday and stay warm!

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