HOMEMADE GRANOLA

Oh, granola. If there was ever a health food that could be labeled a vice, this is it. If you've known us for any length of time, you know we are were avid cookie eaters and lovers of all things sweet. But we've been working on cutting back on refined sugar for a while now and we've taken some real strides in improving our overall diet. We feel better mentally and physically, and most important of all, it's one small step towards treating our bodies as the temples that Christ has so graciously made them to be {1 Corinthians 6:19-20}. So granola is our new "dessert", and boy is it good. I started eating a lot of it about a year ago, and I used to go through tons of the Bear Naked brand until my deployment-roomie from last year decided to start making a homemade version- go Sam! Obviously there's still sugar in this and it's still a high calorie food, so you have to have it in moderation. But I can tell a huge difference between eating this as opposed to a regular dessert with lots of empty carbs and refined sugar. This doesn't lead to an energy crash the same way the other stuff does, and it's packed with protein and healthy fats and nutrients. I do my best to make it through the whole day with extremely little refined sugar, and then this- with a handful of dark chocolate chips- is my evening treat.

I'm sure a lot of you already have your own granola recipes, but if not, give this one a try! Once you get the hang of it, it's the easiest thing to make and it's so much less expensive and fresher tasting than what you buy at the store. Not to mention a great, nutrient-rich snack for kids.

INGREDIENTS 

The Granola

6 cups raw Old Fashioned oats

2/3 cup honey

1/2 cup Canola oil 

The Extras {adjust according to taste!}

1/4 cup each of unsalted nuts like almonds, walnuts, & pecans

1/4 cup toasted sesame seeds

Non-stick cooking spray

Raisans, craisans, and/or dark chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Spray a baking dish with non-stick cooking spray.

Pour your raw oats into your baking dish and heat them in the oven for about 15 minutes.

Remove from the oven and add the honey and canola oil to the oats, being sure to stir and coat it evenly.

Place back in the oven and set your timer for about 20 minutes. Halfway through, stir the oats to prevent the top layer from browning unevenly.

Once your oats are golden {about 20 minutes}, take them out, stir them again- don't forget that or they may harden and stick to the pan!- and then let them cool.

Add the nuts, sesame seeds, raisans/craisans and/or chocolate chips and stir.

Enjoy!

HOMEMADE FLAX SEED BREAD

FLAX SEED BREAD

Ingredients

1 Cup olive oil

1 Cup maple syrup or honey

5 Cups warm water

1 Cup cornmeal

2 Teaspoons salt

4 Tablespoons flax seed

2 Tablespoons yeast

10-14 Cups of flour {white, whole wheat, or a combination}

Directions

-Mix all the ingredients in a large mixing bowl and use enough flour to make it thick and non-sticky.

-Let the dough rise for 45 minutes, until doubled in size.

-Knead and put into greased bread pans.

-Let it rise for another 45 minutes.

-Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and bake for 30-40 minutes, or until bread is golden and makes a hollow sound when tapped. {I like to under cook ours slightly to get a soft, moist, chewy texture}.

-Turn out immediately and cool on a cooling rack.

This flax seed bread is simple, yummy, and a new staple in our house. But best of all, our first taste of it began with a dear friend's act of kindness. A couple of hours after arriving home from a long car trip with the boys, my neighbor Becky pulled into my driveway with a half gallon of milk and a loaf of this flax seed bread. We'd been out of town for over a month and Thane was deployed, so fresh food and the familiar face of a good friend was a welcomed sight. What a blessing she was! And not just on that day. She's opened her home to us countless times, watched our boys more times than I can remember, and is always a fresh source of encouragement. Also, she's a fellow Army wife who recently went through a deployment of her own. That means she's well acquainted with the joys and challenges of it all, and there is such sweet fellowship in that. This bread will always be a warm reminder of her friendship, and I'm so grateful to God for putting her in my path!

One last thing, if you're looking for a healthy snack idea for the whole family {with no refined sugar!}, see my banana bran muffin recipe here. Happy baking!

HEALTHY BANANA BRAN MUFFINS

Lately I've been on a quest to come up with healthy, family-friendly snacks. I find myself craving sweet carbs- as in, muffins- between lunch and dinner. But after giving up refined sugar almost entirely a few months back, I couldn't revert to eating the standard sugary muffin that I would normally would. So, I've tried a few different recipes and I think I've found the keeper. It's modified from this recipe, in which I replaced the brown sugar, butter, and white flour with honey, greek yogurt, and whole wheat flour.

Ingredients:

-1/2 heaping cup of plain greek yogurt

-1/2 cup natural honey

-3 mashed bananas

-1/4 cup milk

-1 teaspoon vanilla extract 

-2 eggs

-1 and 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

-1/2 cup wheat bran

-1 teaspoon baking powder

-1 teaspoon baking soda

-1/4 teaspoon salt

-1 teaspoon cinnamon

-1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

-1/2 cup walnuts

Directions:

1) Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease a muffin pan or line with paper muffin liners.

2) In a large mixing bowl, cream yogurt and honey together. Add bananas, milk, vanilla and eggs; mix well. Stir in flour, bran, baking powder, soda, salt, and spices; blend just until moistened. Stir in walnuts. Pour batter into prepared muffin cups.

3) Bake at 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) for 20 to 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean. Cool in the cups for 5 minutes, then remove muffins and place on a wire rack to cool completely. 

Enjoy! 

EASY STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE

Asher and I made our first cake together! In spite of the quarter he added to the mix, the egg shell he attempted to add {from the egg that he cracked and dropped onto the floor}, and the sample he reached up and took out of the finished, cooling cake, he was a wonderful helper. I think chocolate chip cookies will be next on our mommy-toddler baking list!

Strawberry Shortcake with Homemade Whipped Cream

Ingredients:

-Yellow cake mix

-eggs

-vegetable oil

-one cup heavy whipping cream

-2 tablespoons confectionery sugar

-1 tsp. vanilla extract

-fresh strawberries

Directions:

Cook the yellow cake according to box instructions. Make the whipped cream by combining the heavy whipping cream, confectionery sugar, and vanilla extract, and beating with electric beaters until peaks form (a couple of minutes). After "frosting" the cake with the whipped cream, add freshly cut strawberries. Refrigerate or serve immediately, and enjoy!